Early Risers.

[Ozexpatriate]

37 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

They've been a motley bunch

The most interesting part of that page to me is the two 18th century 'disputed' short-timers (two days and four days in office respectively). The US president with the shortest term in office is William Henry Harrison who died of pneumonia 31 days after his inauguration where, despite a cold, rainy day he did not wear an overcoat or hat.

 

That, and just how many of them had multiple terms in office, (even well into the 20th century) separated by periods out of office. This is even more true of Australian Prime Ministers.  The only US president to serve non-consecutive terms was Grover Cleveland.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

U.S. legal system is sufficiently broken

I'm guessing the basis for this assertion is a gut-check rather than a systematic case review.

 

There certainly are issues with wrongful convictions in some jurisdictions, questionable judicial appointments and there occasionally are 'surprise' verdicts but I think for the most part the twelve jurors do their best to follow the instructions given them by the judge and accordingly weigh only the evidence presented in court - much like it is done in the UK, in the spirit of Magna Carta.

 

Personally, my biggest concerns relate to mandatory sentencing legislation and the too frequent choice to prosecute minors as adults.

 

Edited January 14, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[TheQ]

Another correlation today with the past is one of Christine Keeler's other involvements was with a Russian agent. Today we learnt that a mp has just sacked an assistant.. why? Because the assistant has been exposed as the son of a Chinese agent who gave the MP a £500,0000 bung..

 

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, it's stupid o'clock 

 Can't sleep but at least I'm not working today..

 

Dropped in at the big Tes and Coes on the way home from work, the fruit and veg shelves were more empty than time through lock down, there were plenty of bog rolls elsewhere though. but it was the first time I've been there at that time, it might be that the next delivery was imminent for the Saturday rush.

 

For those of us who watch "pointless " we are getting increasingly  familiar with obscure American presidents. Martin Van Buren being regular answer these days...

 

Time to try for more sleep.

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

36 minutes ago, TheQ said:

... we are getting increasingly  familiar with obscure American presidents.

There are an awful lot of them in the 19th century that most Americans (excepting those who study them for television trivia shows or professional interest) don't remember - they may have heard of them but most can't put them in order, particularly the presidents between Jackson and Lincoln and US Grant and Teddy Roosevelt.

 

If you mention "Garfield" to most people, they might first think of a cartoon cat, rather than an assassinated 19th century president.

 

Edited January 14, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[chrisf]

It was Apprentice night yesterday.  This time the teams were charged with designing electric toothbrushes.  I would not know where to start and it was reassuring to learn that they didn't either.  As is so often the case, it was so bad as to be funny.

 

Some contradictory paperwork has arrived from the surgery.,  I'm not too bothered because in there somewhere is an invitation to visit the surgery the week after next and talk to/be talked at by the diabetic nurse.  There was me thinking that I had been forgotten.  1.30 pm is a strange time for an appointment.  Does the nurse not get lunch?  I shall have to set my recorder or miss Doctors on TV - proof if any were needed that I watch too much TV.

 

This morning I want to do the fodder run at an early hour.  The trouble with that objective is that it will mean de-icing the car windscreen.  This could take longer than the journey to Tesco.  Later I need to collect some meds from the apothecary.  It's all go round here.

 

Chris

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Never,ever, get involved in a discussionaboutcricket governance. Why? It's like stepping into a minefield with a blindfold, ear defenders and ropes tied round your hands and feet.

 

9n better matters..

 

I need tocollect my medication too today so a walk to the pharmacy is required. This will be followed by some "tidying up" ( the level of which is unspecified as yet) and some muddling. I await a deluge of emails containing questions to be answered at our Zooooom meeting on Sunday. 

 

There were some loud crashes and bangs from next door yesterday..perhaps a bit too much wall has been removed (hopefully)

 

Pub quizzes have a few questions on American Preesidents. If Dr Eldest Herbert is part of the team these are easy peasy to him. His years of being a politics student and now lecturer does pay off.

 

Time to..

 

Drink my tea!

 

Have a great morning, afternoon,evening, night as appropriate tother location you are in.

 

Stay safe!

 

Baz drivelling away inthe North West Leeds Highlands. 

[jamie92208]

8 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

First of all let me state that I am no fan of your royalty but what if Prince Andrew did NOT do what that slimy biotch says he did? Like you, I hope that he rains all over their parade! Sorry, but those are my feelings. He was a military hero flying choppers in Viet the Falklands war; they can not take that away from him!

I won't go into the details of Air Miles Andy's troubles but 2 points occur to me.

 

1) Most commentators don't seem to realise the differnce between a civil case where someone is seeking damages and

2) what he is accused of took place in the UK 12 years ago where what he allegedly did was perfectly legal, if somewhat foolish.

 

 

Anyway here it's -3 outside but nice and warm inside.  The Hens are up and about and it's bright and cloudless outside. 

Thoughts are with Phil, I hope that you can help your brother.

 

Here there are various tasks to be done and then some more tidying in tbe shed.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[polybear]

8 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

John Profumo ..........had an extramarital affair with 19-year-old model Christine Keeler beginning in 1961. Profumo was then 46. Bit of a parallel to the current (I hesitate to say) affair.

 

 

As did a certain Heir to the throne, though without the age differential.

 

In other news.....

(TMI alert)  Bear woke at about 0230 wanting a No. 1 - and could I get back to sleep again?  Could I eck as like....  In the end I resorted to the soothing tones of Alexa reciting the Paddington Bear book.  Seems to work for this Bear.

 

Not sure what today holds as yet - MIUAIGA I suspect.  Little if anything remains to be done prior to the arrival of the Plasterer on Wednesday, other than one or two very small tasks that need to be carried out much nearer to his arrival.  I think I'll mess around with College project planning a little - I've been making a dividing head for the lathe for many moons and I'd like to see that finished I think; I also have a cunning plan for attaching a dial gauge to the head of the College Milling Machines, which will prove very useful when aligning vices and workpieces.  That'll do to be going on with.

 

And finally......

Oh dear, what a shame.....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-59991762

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Another frosty start here but it's dry and we are promised plenty of sunshine and light winds.  My phone apps are confused so the temperature is either -1°C or 3°C.  I can't be bothered to go outside and see what the car thermometer says.

A splendid 4 hours was spent Zooming yesterday afternoon with several friends near and far. 

Both pensions have been received this week so a bit of money laundering and book balancing is required today.  

Once again there is Much Aching In The Joints so some sort of movement is required to loosen things up.  "Here Boy Bob, walkies." Possibly. 

As has been mentioned by me with monotonous regularity there is of course a wooden building at the end of the garden which could be visited.  However to reach it would entail walking across some wooden decking and down some steps which look pretty icy at the moment so I might wait a while.

I know the names of many (but nowhere near all) of our prime ministers but apart from the ones in my lifetime and the few years before would struggle to put them in any order.  I'd like to forget about some of them but don't lose any sleep about it. 

Time for some porridge.

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

 

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, it's not stupid o'clock 

 Typo there Jamie, it was 21 years ago not 12.. Andy was 40 Giufree was 17..

 

I got another hours sleep before Ben got me out, it's extremely frosted out there, but I'm not going out again yet, as others would put it, instructions have been given.

There are several boxes heading for the loft. The space released will be filled by the old bed settee moving into the old spare bedroom.

 

After that I'll decide whether it's mow the grass or work on the boat.

 

Time to put some overalls on before climbing a ladder.

 

 

 

 

[Gwiwer]

Good morning all. 
 

A rather cool and frosty morning has arrived Upon the Hill of Strawberries. Clear blue sky and sun trying to rise above the rooftops may make inroads into temperature and the crunchiness of the grass. 
 

Dr. SWMBO is out for her regular Friday walk-and-talk with a friend. I expect to see some interesting frosty photos later. 
 

I’m no good at naming or reciting US presidents but kings of France are easy - they were all called Louis weren’t they?  Just as His Holiness has been Pius far more often than anything else. 
 

I have some paperwork to attend to and then it’s off to play with the real trains for a while. Part of the Northern Line is closing tomorrow for some weeks to allow a new part to open at Bank. And my employer is apparently running the last of its little 2-car units today but we’ll see whether or not there’s truth in that come Monday. 
 

Stay warm. Stay well 

[Tony_S]

11 hours ago, brianusa said:

 

Ernest Borgnine in The Vikings!

 Brian

He got eaten by rats in “Willard”. 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Didn't stir until eight this morning, slept like a log. A bit of frost this morning but the sun is warming things up nicely. Time to run a bath, be back later.

[The Lurker]

Greetings from a clear but frosty Sidcup.

 

Work carries on in a vague forward direction. I think I am really putting off getting stuck into too much that I can see coming my way! It is Friday after all!

 

The first summer job I had was apple picking and I earned the princely sum of 90p an hour which was the agricultural minimum wage. I think I was still 15 at the time.

 

My first full time job I had (September 1988) a few years later brought me £666.67 a month. I have no idea what trainee accountants earn these days but I know then that wages had increase quite significantly in the 5 years prior to me joining and if you went back a few yeas before that, you had to pay to work as an articled clerk - there were people who had done that who were at the firm at the time.

 

As for beer, I can't remember the price of those sneaked pint but by the time I got to University, Tetley in the Union bar was 52p a pint, Theakstons XB 70p a pint. A pint in a pub in the city (mainly Tetley, but occasional Trophy, Castle Eden, Jon Smiths or Stones) would be around 70p. When We dscovered the Fox & Newt I think pints were another 20p dearer. Pints back at home in Kent (Fremlins or Flowers) would be around 90p.

 

More importantly you could get chips onion bhajis and curry sauce from North Lane fisheries Headingly for 99p and that was Sunday tea. 

[AndrewC]

Greetings all from the boring borough. 

 

Condolences and thoughts with @PhilJ W 

 

Just back from the vet again with George. Good news and bad news. First he is still with us and his "backlog" has cleared out quite nicely. The bad news is he suffers from one of the more rare and obscure side effects of the drug he is taking to keep his poop chute flowing. The effect is like giving a 4 year old a pint of Red Bull. Medicine changed again and hopefully this time it will have the same upside without the downside. If this works we have a longer term treatment plan that will hopefully keep him around for a while longer. 

 

Little else to report. 5 hours until POETS and a weekend that is totally unplanned as far as tasks, trips, etc. 
 

Enjoy the day. 

[Gwiwer]

5 minutes ago, AndrewC said:

5 hours until POETS and a weekend that is totally unplanned as far as tasks, trips, etc. 

I regret that I cannot POET today as I am already on Annual Leave.  The rest, however, is true.  

 

The electrician has been.  He was due "between 11 and 12" and somewhat out of character for a tradesperson arrived early at 10.30.  The job - replacing the light pull-cord in the bathroom because the fitting is worn out and no longer "clicks" on or off - was completed by 11.00 and he has gone on his way.  

 

I am reminded of Flanders and Swann's song about the gas-man because he apologetically left some minor damage to the ceiling where the old fitting had become stuck over the years.  We now need the painter ......   

[grandadbob]

Somehow got derailed by "requests" from The Boss so have spent the past couple of hours on tasks domestic.  You'll be glad to know that the "facilities" are now spotless and the upstairs of the house has been attacked by a Shark.  I've also helped with her finances and placed online shopping orders as well.   

It seems that I can now get on with what I want to do and as it involves finances the black armband may have to come out.  I had a suggestion yesterday from my energy supplier that I might consider increasing my monthly direct debit by £10 a month so I did what they asked.   Cheeky sods have today suggested I might like to increase it by another £10.  Getting a bit p!ssed off but what can you do?  (apart from turning the heating down or off which we're already doing)  Incidentally they were the ones who suggested doing that-tick , putting on more clothes -tick, eating porridge - tick, doing STAR JUMPS........you're 'aving a f#####g larf mate, with my knee?

D.I.S Gruntled of Sutton.

Edited January 14, 2022 by grandadbob

[polybear]

16 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

Cheeky sods have today suggested I might like to increase it my another £10.  Getting a bit p!ssed off but what can you do? 

 

Decline their kind request and keep the gronkits in your own account, with the proviso that you may have to clear a backlog at some point in the future.  In my experience they're very keen on you being in credit by as much as possible.  Er, no thanks - I'd much rather have the money in my account for as long as possible....

 

In other news.....

Bear visited the Co-op (plus others) for a stock-up; many items were on special offer - or even better being "cleared" - and a certain Bear did rather nicely, thanks very much   Bear's favourite Pizza's were on special offer - so three fell into the trolley; unfortunately fortunately I discovered that once I'd paid I'd been charged the full price.  Why fortunately?  Cos' whilst checking the receipt I noticed that numerous other "clearance" items were charged at an even lower price than that shown on the shelf - such as McVities Mince Pie Flavour Choccy Digestives (Normally a quid, 50p on the shelf, charged at 25p   So Bear had no option but to add a couple more packs to those already paid for, as I'd got to go back to the till to sort out the Pizza overpricing.  A result.

 

I received a telephone call a few minutes ago on the home phone - from my own telephone number and previously labelled "Blocked" by yours truly (no doubt after internet investigation);  that'll be some scrote trying a con of some sort.  No thanks.

[chrisf]

8 minutes ago, polybear said:

In other news.....

Bear visited the Co-op (plus others) for a stock-up; many items were on special offer - or even better being "cleared" - and a certain Bear did rather nicely, thanks very much   Bear's favourite Pizza's were on special offer - so three fell into the trolley; unfortunately fortunately I discovered that once I'd paid I'd been charged the full price.  Why fortunately?  Cos' whilst checking the receipt I noticed that numerous other "clearance" items were charged at an even lower price than that shown on the shelf - such as McVities Mince Pie Flavour Choccy Digestives (Normally a quid, 50p on the shelf, charged at 25p   So Bear had no option but to add a couple more packs to those already paid for, as I'd got to go back to the till to sort out the Pizza overpricing.  A result.  No thanks.

Mince pie flavour chocolate digestives?!  Gosh.  I have not been at all au fait with biscuits since I gave them up almost completely following the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.

 

Chris 

[polybear]

13 minutes ago, chrisf said:

Mince pie flavour chocolate digestives?!  Gosh.  I have not been at all au fait with biscuits since I gave them up almost completely following the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.

 

Chris 

 

They're a new one on me too - but at a quid for four packs I figured it's worth the gamble.  All in the name of science, you understand......

[simontaylor484]

Good morning all 

 

Been to try and get some cable stuffing glands this morning for the new garage sockets to prevent them filling up with dust it would appear there are shortages although I have managed to source 4 from Yess electrical.

 

I see old Novax could be getting the boot from Oz again served him right.

 

Prince Andrew its a funny (not HaHa) situation. He has become tainted by his association with 2 very dodgy characters.

I consider him a hero for basically flying a helicopter to become a target for exocets. 

As others have commented I think a gold digger is at work here even though she had a legal agreement precluding action against any possible defendants 

 

Back later

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

 

I am reminded of Flanders and Swann's song about the gas-man because he apologetically left some minor damage to the ceiling where the old fitting had become stuck over the years.  We now need the painter ......   

As long as it isn't next to the gas tap.

 

Jamie

[simontaylor484]

The closure of part of the Northern line came to my attention last night via a you tube video by Geoff Marshall. We had intended to use the Northern line from King's Cross to Bank to get on the DLR.

I am assuming the rest of Bank is open as usual then we can use the Piccadilly line to Holborn then Central line to Bank. Otherwise we use the Central line to Stratford then on to the DLR then the Jubilee line from Canary Wharf back to Westminster then walk up Whitehall to see if Boris is having a party.