Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-land. Happy birthday Pete and I'm not far behind you, I will have made my 73rd solar circuit tomorrow. 

2 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear has been fitting kitchen door handles this morning (a grand total of two) - it's a job that Bear won't rush, for fear of (a) drilling holes in the wrong place and screwing up an expensive door, and (b) getting a wonky handle.  

I've seen some kitchen fitters using a home made template to fit cupboard door handles. It was a piece of plywood about 18" by 6" with a piece of 2x1 timber screwed across the top and one side. It had two holes drilled in it corresponding to the handles and the kitchen fitter dropped it over the door and drilled through the holes. He had two in fact, one left handed and one right handed. He had a lot more than two doors to do, he was working on a new build estate.

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, petethemole said:

the completion of my 73rd solar orbit

Happy Birthday.  Some Falling-down Water will be raised in honour of the event a little later.  

[tigerburnie]

Many Happies Mr Mole

[monkeysarefun]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

The new Health Secretary has stated that "New Coronovirus cases could go as high as 100,000 a day after restrictions ease".

No sh1t, Sherlock.  Nothing to worry about there, then.  Still, at least we'll all be able to console ourselves by going clubbin' or to a footie match....

Here in Sydney we are into week 2 of a lockdown because we are getting between 20 to 30 cases a day...

Most are close contacts or already in isolation but the 3 or 4 daily cases of unknown origin means we will probably get the lockdown suspended into next week until all cases are accounted for.

 

And it's masks for all with serious fines which are enforced - the deputy prime Minister copped a $185 fine last week for going into a servo to pay for petrol without a mask on, and someone who was probably not a fan of his work  dobbed him in.

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

Going back to water hardness i did an A level Geography field trip to the Isle of Arran (The geology field trip was to Hipposhire).

Somewhat the opposite here.  One of the many geology field trips was to Arran.  We stayed in Blackwaterfoot.  The water seemed very hard but this impression would have been tainted by the force with which it was flung from the sky.  

 

A geography trip was made to North Hipposhire and again that was one of many.  

 

Shennanigans at Blackwaterfoot included being challenged by Sunderland Polytechnic to a drinking contest.  "Ah ye ***** sootherers ye cannae drink fa' toffee" or something like that.  They hadn't reckoned with our lecturer nor the drinking abilities of a dozen or so rain-soaked anything-goes geology undergraduates hell-bent on finding some sort of enjoyment.  

 

We out-drank them.  They finally retired hurt at around 4am.  We were still drinking albeit slowly by then.  The barman desperately wanted bed but managed to find us some (cold) burgers and was happy to take any money he could.  

 

At 4.30am, in the teeth of a storm, it was decided that a sheep-hunt was a good idea.  In order to prepare the hotel for the muster the dining chairs were placed up on the breakfast tables and the one lad who had taken no part in proceedings was brought down from his slumbers - bed and all - and the bed with him still in it elevated to rest upon four tables in the midst of the dining room  I have no idea how we managed that.  

 

Shortly after 5 the hunters returned with a couple of sheep who were paraded into the dining room, performed acts of defecation in protest and were then released.  The hotel management were somewhat unimpressed at this and required us to leave.  We were going next morning anyway.  Leaving the island wasn't without its problems because the storm had prevented the ferry from leaving Ardrossan.  We were met at Brodick by the only policeman on the island who advised us we were all baa'd (sorry) from the island and to never return.  Six hours late the ferry arrived and collected, among others, a dozen severely hung-over students and a lecturer so far gone that he had to be wheeled aboard on a luggage trolley.  

 

And that was my trip to Arran.  I passed.  I have the degree.  Aforesaid lecturer had his employment summarily terminated before the next semester and was only seen again in the pub at the end-of-university drinks.  

[J. S. Bach]

Pete, Happy birthday to you. 

[J. S. Bach]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

At one time hereabouts the water had to be treated to kill some sort of shrimp infestation. I think it was mostly in the Southend area though. 

I would be more worried about the chemical(s) used for the treatment than the shrimp.

[Gwiwer]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

The new Health Secretary has stated that "New Coronovirus cases could go as high as 100,000 a day after restrictions ease".

No sh1t, Sherlock.  Nothing to worry about there, then.  Still, at least we'll all be able to console ourselves by going clubbin' or to a footie match....

The choice is to be left to us.  Most of us are capable of making informed decisions and while we might not all agree with the leadership nor with each other there is a diminishing need to remain locked away for ever.  Some aspects of lockdown are unsustainable in the longer term both economically and socially.  Mental health remains the heffalump in the room; many have suffered and probably more than they might realise. 

 

The UK is streets ahead of many nations in vaccinating our population.  Despite the surge in cases there has been no matching surge in hospitalisations nor in mortality.  Those numbers have risen only very slowly.  If we compare the point on the curve with the second wave then if we were in a similar position today we might expect 600 -  700 deaths a day not around 17 (seven-day average taken).  And around 2500 hospital admissions not around 350.  Per day.  

 

Yes there is a third wave of infections in progress but the mitigation is that over 86% of adults have had one jab and over 64% have had both.  A proportion of us has antibodies arising from past infection whether we know it or not.  It is known that almost all the infection is now among 16 - 24 year old unvaccinated young people and significantly in Scotland and northern England though there is infection everywhere.  It remains a very clear picture however that there is more infection in areas of dense and poorer quality housing.  It has been reported again today that mortality and severe illness has adversely impacted the ethnic minority communities and those with existing significant medical conditions.  

 

We all have our comfort levels and I will not criticise anyone for their personal decision-making.  I am absolutely ready to ditch the face-mask and with two jabs and twice-weekly testing I should be in a lower-risk demographic.  But I am not immune.  None of us is.  I shall continue to work normally unless medical or political circumstances determine otherwise.  It seems that fully-vaccinated folk will also no longer be required to isolate, as of 16th August, if contact-traced (but must still do so if they test positive themselves) which is another step towards personal choice and return to normality.  

 

I expect the numbers infected to rise though of note the number has steadied at around 27000 a day for a week now.  I expect the numbers in hospital and passing away to rise but not to anywhere near an overwhelming level.  For myself I hear the message "We must learn to live with the virus" and I am ready to do so.  

 

Other opinions are available, equally valid and will find support here.  

[Ian Abel]

Chewsday... meh

 

Without access first part of the weekend as we were at the lake cabin.

Thursday last was a complete flustercuck transitioning to the "new" company - wasted 4 1/2 hours of my life trying to sign up for all the things needed, even managed to get the "head of HR" to send me the link to their Peoplesoft system as they'd omitted sending the signup email to most of us. The LINK she sent didn't work, so I emailed AGAIN and turns out the link she sent had a typo in it for pities sake - UM, isn't this HER domain/responsibility and maybe she should therefore actually be able to get the LINK right!!!  

 

I'd had about enough by the end of the day so was grateful I'd decided to take Friday off and we headed to the cabin with our friends. 

 

Visited a vineyard Friday and managed to sample wine, buy wine glasses and p!ss away some money at the art fair going on in the grounds.

Delightful dinner at local restaurant that evening. 

Saturday relaxed and did who-knows-what, followed by another great dinner at a NEW (to us) place close by.

Sunday left late afternoon to return home, everyone really tired as we'd burned the midnight oil (actually fans as it was blistering hot!)

We decided to retreat to home and air conditioning as it was expected to reach 37C/98F with high humidity at the cabin and there's no a/c!

 

Yesterday family and friends gathering here for happy hour and drinks, Jemma home after a 4-day trip so the entire family present - well, not Brendan as he is still in Atlanta training.

 

So, today back working, seems the email etc., is working for the new lot, but since the old email also "works" and is supposed to forward to the new one, I now have TWO work emails to buqqer about with in case something slips through the cracks!  Was 36 and humid so most of the entertaining was inside.

 

Dramatic change in weather now, rain and 14 first thing, high of only 26 with 94% chance of rain all day - dropping to 12 overnight.

 

Carry on...

[Barry O]

Belated birthday wishes to @AndrewCand @petethemole!

 

been a real mixture of weather here today..  ut I managwd to get some of our potato plants lifted with an excellent crop.

 

like @grandadbob I have damaged an unmentionable ovject today. But it can be fixed. I have, in the past made one like GDBs work again...so it can be done.

 

spoken to the brother of our friend who died. No especial reason for his death.

 

A trip to Wales for some singing beckons.

 

Baz 

[The Lurker]

Happy Birthday to Petethemole and AndrewC.

[The Lurker]

I must wean myself back into the idea of going to work. While I miss all the proper human interaction, it has become quite easy to sink into a routine of just doing a domestic chore in the middle of the day (put the washing out, a load of ironing, buy the LDC etc) and not be bothered with a masked journey into the office.

 

But Thursday I need to be in for a meeting and the boss is going to decree that all of the team should be in at least once a week from the 19th to get us into going back in more often.

 

Having said that, when we move to smaller premises, it will not be possible to go in every day anyway. I wonder how few people will be in on Fridays?!

 

In some ways I am fairly relaxed about the loosening of bonds; I will probably continue to wear a mask on public transport for a while (mind you, if we have another very hot spell...); and I think that the upcoming school holidays will reduce some of the spreading. I must be reasonably relaxed; we're some of the 140,000 people heading to Silverstone in a couple of weeks' time. It's a pilot event so we need to show proof of vaccinations/negative tests but that is all. A colleague said that at the cricket earlier this week, the checks of the vaccination QR code were very cursory - it wasn't scanned.

[Coombe Barton]

Happy Birthday, Pete

[simontaylor484]

The last time I went out apart from a couple of hospital appointments was just before lockdown 1 I pushed past my anxiety and depression to go and watch a certain kettle 60009 go through Pontefract Baghill station i only pushed myself because it was her last railtour. I am not sure about going out yet myself but these restrictions do need to end if we are to live with this virus for the foreseeable 

[AndrewC]

Happy Birthday Pete

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

"We must learn to live with the virus" and I am ready to do so.  

Fortunately I am retired but someone for instance of working age taking the same medication as I am would be at great risk of being one of the ones who doesnt live and get on with anything . I intend to go on avoiding people in crowded public places especially if mask wearing and social distancing are ignored.

[grandadbob]

For now I will carry on wearing a mask anywhere that I consider a potential risk such as crowded public transport (although I’ll only use that if I have to) and supermarkets.  Visits to these are very brief now as we will continue to have the bulk of our shopping delivered.

Edited July 6, 2021 by grandadbob

[BSW01]

Belated birthday wishes to Andrew C. 

Pete. Happy birthday for today. 

Phil. Happy birthday for tomorrow. 

 

Edited July 6, 2021 by BSW01

[laurenceb]

Belated  Birthday greetings Andrew C

[Gwiwer]

3 minutes ago, laurenceb said:

Belated  Birthday greetings Andrew C

Ooooh yes. I missed that one. Better late than never 

[Coombe Barton]

... I’ve just bought some more FFP2 masks from Amazon – topping up supplies ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/07/06/how-many/

[Tony_S]

9 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

I’ve just bought some more FFP2 masks from Amazon – topping up supplies ..

I have just purchased a mask and filters but they aren't for covid protection. I may need to clear the loft and it very dusty up there. With the goggles I should be ok .

Edited July 6, 2021 by Tony_S

[Andrew P]

9 hours ago, AndrewC said:

Greetings all from the soggy boring borough. 

 

Back from 4 days and 3 nights camping in North Wales. (Bryn Gloch to be exact) Our tent was less than 50m from the Welsh Highland line. Sadly we weren't at the site at the right times. We managed to visit a few railways and had a nice late afternoon ride on the Talyllyn.  It was good to see the parking lot at the Corris rammed and the train when it arrived was quite full. Other than that and a visit to Portmeirion it was rather sedate. There was one w@nkpuffin in an HGV who managed to ignore several signs on the road saying "not suitable for HGVs" and manged to get himself rather stuck. I caught the edge of the pavement trying to get around him and the wheel slipped down slightly into the mud. I've now got a 1.5m tree created racing stripe down the passenger side. Paint not disturbed so it should buff out. Loads of rain. Loads of sheep. Yesterday morning we were delayed in packing up as it as p*ssing down. It stopped suddenly, and by the time we were loaded and ready to go it was bright sunshine. 

 

Overall a rather nice way to have a quiet 60th solar orbit completion. 

 

Enjoy the day. 

The very least I can do is to wish you a belated Happy Birthday, and probably one you wont forget in a hurry.

[Andrew P]

5 hours ago, petethemole said:

Strong winds and heavy rain in the early hours accompanied the completion of my 73rd solar orbit, along with a twitchy leg, so I was awake for an hour or so, reading The Bedside Backtrack, that I picked up in a charity shop the other day.  It's still breezy with showers.  I'm off to Sainsbury's soon with Mrs mole to collect a new kettle, my pressie from herself.  We have separate kettles as she likes a filter.  Mine looks manky and appears to be leaking.  As I'll be in her car so I will get some bags of cat litter.

 

We have hard water.  The local water companies have water quality reports for different districts.. They are quite informative.

 

I will have some beers later....

And a very Happy Birthday to you too, hope it was a goodun.

[Andrew P]

3 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Afternoon all from Estuary-land. Happy birthday Pete and I'm not far behind you, I will have made my 73rd solar circuit tomorrow. 

I've seen some kitchen fitters using a home made template to fit cupboard door handles. It was a piece of plywood about 18" by 6" with a piece of 2x1 timber screwed across the top and one side. It had two holes drilled in it corresponding to the handles and the kitchen fitter dropped it over the door and drilled through the holes. He had two in fact, one left handed and one right handed. He had a lot more than two doors to do, he was working on a new build estate.

And so a very Happy Birthday to you from me for tomorrow, just in case I'm not around for any reason.