Early Risers.

[Gwiwer]

Good morning from the House of Fun where we enjoyed one of the autumn’s regular sky-shows as day broke. 
 

I must speak to someone about these self-breaking days. Very poor workmanship if you ask me

 

 

[polybear]

 

16 minutes ago, PupCam said:

I am fortunate that I actually enjoyed quite a lot of my working life, particularly in the early days.  

 

It seemed to go downhill around the late 80's, strangely.  Can't for the life of me imagine why.....

In saying that, this Bear was fortunate enough to have some good jollies at the Firm's expense - Mumbai (the sh1ts were no fun though..), Korea (3 times), Malaysia (twice), Kuwait (3 times), Germany, Italy (quite a lot of times), as well as all over the UK.  Got to work on some decent kit too - Lynx, Sea King, AB212, Tornado, Jag, Harrier, ATP, Hunter - as well as various Naval vessels.

Sadly the proliferation of tw@ts did spoil it far too often though - many of whom just didn't know the difference between ar5e and elbow and were also so far up their own ar5es they were practically inside out.

 

16 minutes ago, PupCam said:

@polybear  - don't forget what I said about my recent renewal (not with the large Welsh Opera Singer).     Just playing with the Online Tool prior to hitting the Go! button revealed that selecting a £0, £50, £150 or £250 excess made absolutely no difference to the already very good premium I was quoted which was ~35% of the premium requested by my previous supplier for my loyalty ( 3 years IIRC).     What a stinking racket that business is!

 

 

Fortunately the rules are about to change as from January:

 

Car insurance pricing is changing in January – check NOW if you can save

From 1 January 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates insurance, will ban car insurers from charging existing customers more at renewal than they would expect to pay when taking out a new policy with the same firm. Currently, many insurers hike renewal prices for existing customers – this is known as 'price walking'.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance/

 

[Pacific231G]

Excellent images Gwiver, the second one in particular.

Good noontime all.

Nothing much to report today. I'm just entering my busy editorial period so will be a bit head down  for a while.

It's now dull and grey in W. London (though I did see a bit of Gwiver's red sky when I went to the bathroom early this morning). No rain yet and I had a brisk 3 mile walk at about 11.00-12.00.  On the way I noticed that Thames Water are on the Ealing Golf Club's course  pumping large quantities of water into the River Brent. I've  no idea where from as it's about 300m from the former New River Company water main from N. London to Hounslow which they've been digging up in stages for the past couple of years and installing a large new pumping station just to the west of the Hoover Building. 

[polybear]

2 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I'm pretty sure thats what they gave my dad in his last hours. He had an unusual form of cancer*, it appeared literally overnight as a pea sized lump in the chest cavity. At first it was thought to be angina but a chest x-ray revealed what it was. At the time (1990) it was incurable but he was warned that it would increase in size over time but not gradually but like it started suddenly swelling then stopping and then suddenly increasing size again. Eventually it increased in size to such an extent that his airways were obstructed and I had to call an ambulance and he died twelve hours later. I'm pretty sure that what he was given not only knocked him out but may have even helped him on his way.

*I can't now remember the name of the cancer and I don't have his death certificate to hand.

 

Bear feels your pain 

Caution - some may wish to skip the next bit.....

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When Momma Bear had The Big C and was in UCH there was one instance where she asked the docs for a bullet .  For some strange reason that wasn't available on the NHS - however I've no reason to believe that suitable pain management wasn't in place (she did receive Morphine once - and only once - after which she said "never, ever again" but wouldn't elaborate).  Knowing what I know now about the particular flavour she had I'd feel totally comfortable (and I'm sure she would've gone for it too) if she'd decided on a Holiday in Switzerland; no doubt I would've been in deep doo-doo upon return but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

As for those who seem intent on blocking such ways out, just don't try convincing this Bear......

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from a Sidcup which is grey and dry although my weather app has promised rain!

 

The weekend has passed, as weekends tend to do, all too quickly and here I am back at work again. The rain that fell strategically mid Saturday morning put paid to my tentative plans to mow the lawn and clear up the first fall of leaves - the copper maple has started to let go of its leaves. With more rain forecast for this week, I am doubtful the lawn will get another mow this year.

 

Have a good day all

[TheSignalEngineer]

2 hours ago, PupCam said:

 

I am fortunate that I actually enjoyed quite a lot of my working life, particularly in the early days.    I quite enjoyed the technical aspects of a lot of my later working life too, it was just the BS and the associated pedallers of same that used to get me down.  

I was lucky to get a job I liked and until privvy-tization it was generally enjoyable. Yes there were hard times but a brew and a bit of railway humour usually got us through those. It all changed with the Failtrack blow-ins. Mostly no knowledge other than how to work out what quantity of concrete had been poured or bricks laid.

I got grief from them until I commented that my savings were bigger than my mortgage and my pension would keep me comfortable for longer than I was likely to live so when I stopped liking the job I would be off. They were mostly very nice to me after that.

[Tony_S]

Aditi really liked her job, although she didn’t really like the journey to and from work. I know she spent a lot of time when not at work doing work related stuff too. However at annual reviews with a line manager she would always say her motivation was to earn enough money to go on holiday/travel. Asked about what did she want to do next year she usually replied “your job”, or in later years “My garden”. 

[simontaylor484]

I really enjoyed my last job little stress until the halfwits in the office messed things up. I used to have a bit of variation either out walking and picking litter up. Or driving the van round emptying litter bins and dealing with jobs that had come in. Then on occasions I would be driving a pavement sweeper.

    We had a good team we had a laugh

Sadly it was all ended by 3 doctors a psychiatrist and occy health 

 

 

[simontaylor484]

In other news 

 

The sat nav update has worked yay 

 

I am no longer driving through fields on some of the new roads 

[PupCam]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

It seemed to go downhill around the late 80's, strangely. 

 

You might think that, I couldn't possibly comment ......

 

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Car insurance pricing is changing in January – check NOW if you can save

From 1 January 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates insurance, will ban car insurers from charging existing customers more at renewal than they would expect to pay when taking out a new policy with the same firm. Currently, many insurers hike renewal prices for existing customers – this is known as 'price walking'.

 

So I wonder, will the renewal prices come down to meet the new prices OR will the new prices take a bit of a leap in the upwards direction - you decide!

 

I know which one I'm going to plump for and this non-betting man wouldn't mind having a bet on it.     See, I told you I was professional cynic

 

36 minutes ago, polybear said:

As for those who seem intent on blocking such ways out, just don't try convincing this Bear......

 

The double standards applied to animals (e.g. "Smudge" the cat & "Rover" the dog) and human beings are just bewildering and farcical - only it's not a funny subject.     I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult, as is always claimed, to put the necessary checks and balances in to "Make it So" if the will was there but it clearly isn't.   Clearly society has to guard against wrong doers seeking a quick route to auntie's fortune, but that's just process.   No, there's much greater resistance from elsewhere and I must stop before I cross the line into the territory of two forbidden topics.

 

If ever there was a more universally abused human right surely it is this;  it must be every human's right to decide (either in advance or at the time as appropriate for the circumstances) when enough is enough.       When did a vet last say "Well, the kindest thing for little Smudge is to let him go but we're not allowed to do that so we'll keep him in terrible pain and misery for as long as possible"?    No, I thought so, double standards .......

 

19 minutes ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

I got grief from them until I commented that my savings were bigger than my mortgage and my pension would keep me comfortable for longer than I was likely to live so when I stopped liking the job I would be off. They were mostly very nice to me after that.

 

That must have been a rare occurrence!    Normally those sort of types are oblivious, blind and deaf to such logical arguments and fail to see the widest of pictures

 

Alan

[simontaylor484]

@polybear that's why I have a mix of pyracanthus and nice rusty barbed wire on my back fence. I have bought some bamboo screening to staple to the fence now it's repaired and the ends of that seem sharp too as a bonus.

 

I also feel your pain regarding Momma Bear both my Grandma and Mil died in terrible pain from Cancer towards the end of their lives until they went to the Prince of Wales Hospice in Pontefract who looked after both as in patients for a short while before the end. The staff could not do enough for them and any visiting relative. I stayed with Mil after she passed for 2 hours just to see her out of pain and I didn't want her to be alone the staff brought me tea and toast .

 

Pre pandemic my dad was on the Rota for visiting Chaplain he says its the only service he does when he hopes no one turns up

[polybear]

36 minutes ago, PupCam said:

 

You might think that, I couldn't possibly comment ......

 

 

So I wonder, will the renewal prices come down to meet the new prices OR will the new prices take a bit of a leap in the upwards direction - you decide!

 

I know which one I'm going to plump for and this non-betting man wouldn't mind having a bet on it.     See, I told you I was professional cynic

 

Mr. Lewis seems to think that prices will end up somewhere between renewal and new customer prices:

 

Banning price walking is a popular move and is good news for those who don't switch (or do switch but don't want the hassle of doing it). But it could also push up prices for savvy switchers over the coming months.

Our guess is insurers won't just cut renewal prices to match those they charge new customers. They'll drop them and crucially increase new-customer charges to meet in (or above) the middle.

That's apparently what happened when cheaper car insurance for females was outlawed as being discrimination.

 

In other news:

Big H back this afternoon, so not chased off yet  ;  winding up - and down - the meds has to be done slowly, otherwise the side effects can make you feel somewhat iffy to say the least; I'm normally on 10mg/day but was on as high as 60mg/day several years ago - I was warned by the Neuro guy not to suddenly stop taking them otherwise I could expect all sorts of nasties.

A waste of a day today - just the odd little bit here and there.  Turdycurses.  I did do the car insurance price comparison cr@p  - I'm still waiting for my latest renewal price from the AA to see how they compare though; at present it looks like the RAC via GoCompare are the best deal - two hundred notes, which is some sixty quid less than I paid the AA last year.

[TheSignalEngineer]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

 

That must have been a rare occurrence!    Normally those sort of types are oblivious, blind and deaf to such logical arguments and fail to see the widest of pictures

 

Alan

Most were at least clever enough to realise that I had been around long enough to have put in, maintained and designed alterations to the old systems that needed to be modified or interfaced to. In one instance a particular early computerised system of which only one existed was preventing any alterations at one signal box until I announced that the machine originally used to produce thd EPROMS was sitting in our office, and for a small fee I would get a man who knew how it worked to see if it could be resurrected. It turned out that it could be, and one of our clever people modified the program to run on Windows.

We were provided with a set of the data records to assess the extent of the alteration and soon realised that they didn't match the installed infrastructure. Mods done were missing and stuff included had never been installed. For a slightly larger fee we arranged to clone the existing EPROMs to provide a set of spares and a copy of the as installed data. Our company bean counters were a bit twitchy that I was following a couple of little jobs, but I won them over when I told them that there was a big contract in the offing and we would be specified as sub-contractor for the mods to the electronics. The client was being backed by the TOC and local authority and would not quibble much if I said it could cost up to £0.5m and we came in with a price a bit lower. The contract got done and overall from me first being asked about it we made a margin of about 30% on our part. 

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by TheSignalEngineer

[New Haven Neil]

We've recently renewed insurances, and stayed with our current providers (UK - better for the campervan and they did a deal for all 3 of our 4 wheeled vehicles) but it took a bit of poking to get the best value out of them. 

 

The bikes are insured locally, and beat any UK based broker pricing by about 60% or more.  Locally underwritten, so they truly understand the low crime (theft esp.) environment, and we're old enough not to want to smear ourselves over a crash barrier (aka stone wall) up on the mountain pretending to be racers.  Vintage Motorcycle club membership helps too, as does IAM (motorcycling) membership.  

[Barry O]

just paid for my Holiday Insurance... that Covids has badgered the prices.. even with a healthy discount it has gone from £238 to £402 for the two of us.. and we can't go to Singapore for reasons best known to the insurance company.. and yes I did look at some others which.. come out very similar to the non discounted price...PAH!

 

Baz

Edited October 18, 2021 by Barry O

[Barry O]

I enjoyed most of my jobs over the years.. even the emptying bins as a students one! I had a bad time with three bosses (all were fired after I left clutching copious amounts of dosh!) although you could play them like a salmon on a line...not the smartest of cookies, just arrogant and.. quite thick really!

 

My first job (the rocket scientist one) was OK but I got bored doing simulations of various types of rockets, the support to production and.. not a lot else.. and promotion? Well it was dead mens shoes or .. leave!  I left!

 

Baz

[Ref44]

40 minutes ago, polybear said:

I did do the car insurance price comparison cr@p  - I'm still waiting for my latest renewal price from the AA to see how they compare though; at present it looks like the RAC via GoCompare are the best deal - two hundred notes, which is some sixty quid less than I paid the AA last year.

Have just done the same thing with my AA renewal and the RAC came out best at just over £200. It looks as if our move should progress soon; we are waiting on the solicitors agreeing a date. We need to move for SWMBO, she was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia last week.

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

....The double standards applied to animals (e.g. "Smudge" the cat & "Rover" the dog) and human beings are just bewildering and farcical - only it's not a funny subject.     I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult, as is always claimed, to put the necessary checks and balances in to "Make it So" if the will was there but it clearly isn't.   Clearly society has to guard against wrong doers seeking a quick route to auntie's fortune, but that's just process.   No, there's much greater resistance from elsewhere and I must stop before I cross the line into the territory of two forbidden topics.

 

If ever there was a more universally abused human right surely it is this;  it must be every human's right to decide (either in advance or at the time as appropriate for the circumstances) when enough is enough.       When did a vet last say "Well, the kindest thing for little Smudge is to let him go but we're not allowed to do that so we'll keep him in terrible pain and misery for as long as possible"?    No, I thought so, double standards .......

Surpisingly, despite having Dignitas and the like, Switzerland doesn't seem to be awash with scheming relatives ready to off their rich but elderly relatives...

 

There are a huge amount of checks and balances in place and - importantly - the person choosing to end his/her life MUST be compos mentis. Otherwise it doesn't happen. The cocktail of drugs is self-administered and no-one is permitted to administer the drugs (although I understand you can give the drugs to the person - in the sense of handing the medication to the individual to take).

 

The problem in the UK is that the elderly fit will frequently be denied treatment that would allow them to continue to have a decent (and possibly independent) life, yet at the same time the very ill elderly will often be given treatment even though the treatment is unlikely to be successful. And whilst this is most noticeable in geriatic care, it is an ethical dilemma that raises its ugly head for all kinds of patients in all age groups. That dilemma is "we can do treatment/surgery X, but should we do treatment/surgery X?" As the Joe Bonamassa song goes "Just 'Cos You Can Don't Mean You Should"

 

Another complicating factor that using QALYS (Quality Adjusted Life-Year) is in itself problematic - what might be an unviable treatment (and thus uneconomical) in one person, may bring significant quality of life to another.

 

I am glad that this is a dilemma that I don't have to deal with...

 

iD

Edited October 18, 2021 by iL Dottore
Typo

[TheSignalEngineer]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

As for those who seem intent on blocking such ways out, just don't try convincing this Bear......

My thoughts are that if illness gets too much to cope with I'm sure a bottle of single malt with the medication would help matter along. Even more effective would be a bottle of the 72% Poitìn that my son gets over in Ireland.

[pH]

3 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Good morning from the House of Fun where we enjoyed one of the autumn’s regular sky-shows as day broke. 
 

I must speak to someone about these self-breaking days. Very poor workmanship if you ask me.

It’s like they say with eggs and omelettes - you have to break some days to get views like those!

[polybear]

31 minutes ago, Barry O said:

My first job (the rocket scientist one) was OK but I got bored doing simulations of various types of rockets, the support to production and.. not a lot else.. and promotion? Well it was dead mens shoes or .. leave!  I left!

 

Baz

 

If you want promotion in that place, it's no good being an Engineer....

Bitter and twisted?  Moi?

 

In totally other news.....

Bear's Question of the Day:  Can anyone tell me what make and model the following lorry is please?  It seems that the registration is 1964.  And if anyone knows of the existence of a 4mm/ft model.....

 

[polybear]

31 minutes ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

My thoughts are that if illness gets too much to cope with I'm sure a bottle of single malt with the medication would help matter along. Even more effective would be a bottle of the 72% Poitìn that my son gets over in Ireland.

 

Unfortunately - or should that be fortunately? - the body can often decide to reject such tablets; however often not before they've done some significant damage (which may or may not be terminal).

I believe there have been more than a few cases of deliberate attempts at banging out using paracetamol, only for it to be unsuccessful;  however several days later the person is in deep doo-doo cos' their liver has been totally screwed.

 

In other news:

Bear has just received an email from the local OWL (aka Neighbourhood Watch) Group:

 

 

Dear Watch Member,

Street signs are an important part of neighbourhood watch ,they give a clear message that your neighbourhood is active and people a sense of ownership and pride. 

We now have a grant to buy some more, but I need your help? 

Please  let me know if your existing sign is broken or damaged and you would like a replacement.

If you do not have a sign and would like one, please let me know.

......ok, fair enough.......  

We also have new 'Welcome' signs linked to areas such as Davison Drive with a picture of Emily Davison a suffragette, Coopers Walk a man coopering barrels . 

If you would like a custom made 'welcome' please let me know.

 

Jeez, they must have money to burn.  Is that really the best they can come up with?  FFS

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by polybear

[iL Dottore]

44 minutes ago, polybear said:

…Unfortunately - or should that be fortunately? - the body can often decide to reject such tablets; however often not before they've done some significant damage (which may or may not be terminal).

I believe there have been more than a few cases of deliberate attempts at banging out using paracetamol, only for it to be unsuccessful;  however several days later the person is in deep doo-doo cos' their liver has been totally screwed.…

Committing suicide by taking an overdose of paracetamol is a very inefficient way of kicking the bucket and frequently doesn’t work leaving the unfortunate would-be-suicide without a functioning liver or even a functioning brain. Not alive, but not dead either. Most other drugs are relatively slow in having a deadly effect (and like with all substances the lethal dose is invariably a mg/kg affair and most people take too little). 
 

Pentobarbital, a seizure medication, in large doses quickly renders you unconscious. it shuts down the heart and brain functions usually within one or two minutes, but it has to be given intravenously (it’s what Vets use to euthanise animals). Quick and painless, but not DIY. There are numerous very, very, poisonous substances out there (botulinum, ricin, tetrodotoxin, cyanide, strychnine), etc). But they all either work slowly (and in the case of strychnine incredibly painfully) or they remain a danger to others even if it is only you that takes it. Plus they are rather hard to get hold of (thankfully).

 

Nope, the only guaranteed DIY quick death (and probably painless - but who knows) is massive trauma due to stepping in front of a speeding train (sorry @Gwiwer) or jumping off a very high building.

Quite frankly, I can’t begin to even imagine how desperate someone must be to want to commit suicide….

 

Given the fact that the only certainties in life are death and taxes, the only sane thing to do is postpone the former and avoid the latter - as far as is humanely possible.

A final thought: some very clever people of the biologist persuasion have estimated that the maximum feasible human lifespan is around 160 to 180 years, beyond which the body will have really worn out and would be unrepairable, no matter what medical technology could do. Imagine, drawing your pension for three times the time you spent as a working adult (I guess that they’d raise the retirement to 110 or something like that)

[TheSignalEngineer]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

In totally other news.....

Bear's Question of the Day:  Can anyone tell me what make and model the following lorry is please?  It seems that the registration is 1964.  And if anyone knows of the existence of a 4mm/ft model.....

 

Morris Commercial FG?

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

If you want promotion in that place, it's no good being an Engineer....

Bitter and twisted?  Moi?

 

In totally other news.....

Bear's Question of the Day:  Can anyone tell me what make and model the following lorry is please?  It seems that the registration is 1964.  And if anyone knows of the existence of a 4mm/ft model.....

 

BMC FG commonly known as the threepenny bit cab.