Early Risers.

[monkeysarefun]

7 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

.  It's as much a part of the Aussie voting ritual as the Bunnings Sausage is to the weekend DIYers / weekday tradespeople. 

The dialogue  is very very Australian so keep away from the littlies or those who don't appreciate the more earthy words in our rich language.

 

 

[brianusa]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

y emphasis. "Shouldn't" and "does" are two different things.

This can be said of many things.  I should like X car because....... should like black or gay people because........... I should read X book because.......... likewise sports, grand opera or politics.  I should like them all but what if I don't; am I to be shunned or demonised for my preferences by those who don't even know me?   Ones preferences are ones own business!

Incidentally, I have a preference for Y cars!🙂

    Brian

[PhilJ W]

A ghost ship. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavius_(ship)

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[andyram]

Evening all. Good to see some other missing members make an appearance in the last day or so. I hope everyone is well.

 I noted @chrisfand his earlier comments about the lack of modelling inspiration. That is certainly something that is impacting on me at the moment. There may be many products half finished at the moment, but I just cannot bring myself to work on any of them.

 

 The black dog has had its moments today, although things got off to a good start. I awoke to the news that contracts have been exchanged for the provisional sale of Derby County Football Club. Hopefully, this is a major step towards avoiding liquidation. 

 Some may say that it is only a game, but the social aspect of football is crucial to some people - myself included. The walk to the ground, catching up with a few friends, a few pre-match drinks with family members prior to the game are all part of the experience. Then, for 90 minutes, the problems of the world can be forgotten with all focus on the game. And, yes, a great result can even lift your spirits for a day or so.

 For much of this season, there was a strong possibility that those experiences could have been taken away thanks to the selfish and egotistical actions of a few, It certainly has done nothing for my own black dog situation, although it is not the only cause. 

 

 it has been a pretty good day in footballing sense. My wife supports Forest and they have secured a place at Wembley for the Play Off final. She will be pleased when she finally arrives home following the extra time and penalties. Perhaps it will improve the mood and atmosphere at home somewhat!

 

Take care all

 

Andy

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Then theres  voting on Saturday which gives greater chances for everyone to vote, and compulsory voting means that rather than spending time  working out how to deny people the ability to vote the government HAS to give everyone a chance to vote, polling booths are even flown into remote settlements. If the US had at least some of these, most of the current issues around elections would go away. 

Several States (including Oregon) are 100% vote by mail. This is far superior to having to go to the church hall on a Tuesday or even down to the Primary school circus on a Saturday morning.

 

It is very secure (despite what certain conspiracy theories might say). There is a full paper trail if recounts are necessary. Ballots/signatures are checked by representatives from each of the two major parties who work in pairs before ballots are fed into counting machines.

 

There can be some minor issues. A USPS mail collection box was stolen* in Portland recently. It did contain ballots. People who sign up for online ballot tracking get a notification when their ballot is received. Those people affected will get a chance to vote by the end of the day today.

 

* Using the same kind of high speed disc cutters so popular with people who steal catalytic converters.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well i was very lucky with the weather, it held off and I was able to get on with sanding the last shelf. I’d just finished the rough sanding and had cut the shelf length to the required size. It was when I was measuring up to do the same for the width when it became apparent that I’d not widened it enough. So another piece of wood was glued to the opposite side and that is now once again, under clamps in the workshop. Both additional pieces of wood have had 9mm hard wood dowels glued through the joints to the main plank, to add some strength, so they also need to set before I can sand the edges. But it’s starting to look good now, I’ve just got a bit more sanding to do, as well as trimming the width down to size, but it’s only a few mm wider than the final size, so shouldn’t take to long to do, it’s just bl00dy annoying. But it’s entirely my own fault, I thought they planks were 10in wide, when in fact they’re only 8 1/2in wide, doh. 

 

After the days glorious sunshine, like yesterday, we got some rain, but also like yesterday, only after I’d watered the plants! 

 

At PB’s request, here is a photo of the plank with the first extension piece added (it’s on the left) and still with the clamps in place. 

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by BSW01

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

... primaries ... now seem as important as the actual election, and  I know its all part of the philosophy of letting the people decide candidates rather than the party machine but got to say it seems weird having a vote  to decide the person that you get to vote for at the actual elections.

Conceptually it takes candidate selection out of the in-party backstabbing, smoke-filled party caucus room and makes it transparent.  Unfortunately the law of unintended consequences puts the in-party backstabbing on television.

 

Different states have different primary rules. Oregon has "closed" primaries. Only people registered as a party member can vote in a primary election and can only vote for their party candidates. People registered as independents cannot vote in a primary, though they can vote for other non-primary things on the ballot - like local referenda.

 

Other states have "open" primaries. Some (like Iowa*) have in-person caucuses.

 

* To nominate a presidential candidate.

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[monkeysarefun]

17 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Several States (including Oregon) are 100% vote by mail. This is far superior to having to go to the church hall on a Tuesday or even down to the Primary school circus on a Saturday morning.

Thats what the two weeks pre-polling is to help avoid though you dont get the extras and you still have to put up with teh wall to wall election covereage and political announcements.

 

This was my favourite bit from the  last election "who was that love?" "Bloody prime minister was standing on the new grass!" 

 

 

[brianusa]

I dread the election season in America!  We live in a small cul de sac of six houses typically American, and while we know everyone well we have no intimation of their politics.  One is a cop, another likes guns, three off us are retired and the other is ex Army. We have an idea that most are Right of centre politically and we can't vote or own guns even if we wanted to.  We all get along well though!

  Brian

Edited May 17, 2022 by brianusa

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, brianusa said:

... we can't vote or own guns even if we wanted to

US residents (including non-citizens) may legally own firearms:

Quote

An alien legally in the U.S. is not prohibited from purchasing firearms unless the alien is admitted into the U.S. under a nonimmigrant visa and does not meet one of the exceptions as provided in 18 U.S.C. 922(y)(2), such as possession of a valid hunting license or permit.

[18 U.S.C. 922 (d)(5), (g)(5) and (y)(2); 27 CFR 478.11 and 478.32(a)(5) ]

Meaning, you can even purchase firearms as a visitor to the US if you have a hunting license.

 

In the State of Washington:

Quote

RCW 9.41.171

Alien possession of firearms—Requirements—Penalty.

It is a class C felony for any person who is not a citizen of the United States to carry or possess any firearm, unless the person: (1) Is a lawful permanent resident; (2) has obtained a valid alien firearm license pursuant to RCW 9.41.173; or (3) meets the requirements of RCW 9.41.175.

 

[BR60103]

We had someone in the house today -- only the second one since the onset of the Lurgy.

The water company wanted us to change the meter. Started a couple of years ago. We were allowed to defer it but now they are threatening to cut off the water.

Appointment made from 12:00 to 4:00. We shut ourselves up in the snug with the cat at noon. Dayle had a loooong phone call with a friend. About 2:30 there was a call that the tech is stuck at the Village gate. I pushed 9 on the phone but nothing happened. (I suspect now that he was using a cell phone instead of the intercom). I had to drive down to use my card. There is another entrance where the gate is up all day. He managed to replace the hardware in half an hour. Dayle left all the windows open for the rest of the evening.

***

Back at university, one class mentioned the reasoning behind the U.S. election day. (This was over 50 years ago). second Tuesday in November. What I remember involves harvest, bills being sent on on the first of the month, not sure why Tuesday.

But the US is in perpetual election mode.

 

What the heck, Ontario is having an election soon. Leaders debate last night but I can't stand to watch.

 

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Once more onto the field my friends..Once more! Yep a day of umpiring the Leeds/Bradford MCCU women v Loughborough women beckons. Wonder who will turn out for luggerburooger?

 

Rain overnight but its now sunny. Great! (Must take my sun tan lotion today.)

 

We are lucky that we are not visited by politicos on our side of the road during elections.. they must be afraid of the bombast awaiting them.

 

Once our passports return we can book our next walkabout trip. Plans have been made .. prices have been noted..ouch!

 

Time to ..finish my tea then wield the shark before cricket.

 

Have a great day.. Carpe Diem!

 

Baz

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a very sunny Chatente. It was 30 degrees again yesterday. Beth had her Physio session and now knows the route well enough to do it solo on Thursday.  Whilst she was bei g physio'd I did the shopping then had a pleasant hour watching trains.  On the way home we stopped at an excellent  Routier (think transport cafecthat setves decent food) the owner is a fellow Cumbrian so a good chat was had.  Some eyelid inspection  ensued and not a lot else got done.

 

Today i'm off to see Veronique to get my ears lowered then sadly this after have to go to the trainspotti g DIY store at Ruffec for something.  I might just have to spend an hour on the station there. It's a hard life.

 

Good to see some of thevMIA's reporting in.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[New Haven Neil]

Good morning from a rock where it certainly isn't 30c - 11 more like :-(  Windy as, er, wind too, but sunny with blue skies.

 

David '103's comment about the 'village gate' gave a wry smile, there is a gated community in the Bright Lights of Royal Ramsey', quite why I have no idea in a general community where you don't need to lock your car and leave house doors open for the postie.  Somehow I suspect the residents are not 'from around here', or able to engage with life here on the rock.  Their residency here might have more to do with taxation rates than the pleasure of living here perhaps......😉

[Erichill16]

Morning All and a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Rick.

Anyway better get a shuffle on.

Robert 

[polybear]

8 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Several States (including Oregon) are 100% vote by mail. This is far superior to having to go to the church hall on a Tuesday or even down to the Primary school circus on a Saturday morning.

 

But that'll mean no Sossie Snagger......🙁

 

Bear here....

Off to get the ears lowered shortly, then a day of MIUABGA - to include some some minor wielding of Mickey the Miele (then it'll all be finished 😁) followed by general "stuff"

 

Bear's News of the Day....

Perhaps yer average Ruskie might start waking up to what's really going on - don't fancy this guy's chances much though:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61484222

 

Some of us are (or would like to be) playing choo choos - at 64 this guy is doing this, and all in a 1/4 mile too:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/larry-spiderman-mcbride-sets-record-breaking-268-mile-per-hour-pass/ar-AAXlD6D?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=3c9dd033c5ae44b7b6b256031c7edf36

Time to tune up the AJ, Puppers....

 

There's dumb - and then there's this.....

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/idiot-steals-rocket-from-battlefield-then-it-exploded-in-his-car-in-russia/ar-AAXopP5?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=3c9dd033c5ae44b7b6b256031c7edf36

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Blue sky and sunshine here with the chance of heavy showers and thunderstorms later this afternoon and into the evening.  Look like I'll give washing the car a miss again.  Another warm day forecast with temperatures up to 22°C.

The Boss is deserting me this morning and meeting friends (ex workmates) for brunch. 

This leaves me to do what I like in peace and solitude.  I haven't played with the toys in The Shed lately, nor, because of a missing mojo  have I done anything to the layout for weeks months.  Still haven't finished the ballasting etc etc.  I think I should at least pay the place a visit and make a decision about what's to be done.  In some of my minor skirmishes with the dark animal I've even considered ripping everything out, selling all the stock and converting the building into a mini pub!  (that would be popular in some quarters)  I better not make a hasty decision though.  That's my trouble, these days I keep putting things off.

Have a good one,

I.N. Decisive.

[iL Dottore]

17 hours ago, Kelly said:

Speaking of poppy...

 

she is my almost constant companion most days and nights. Most probably because of the bed. 

Glad to hear about your improvements, Kelly.

I think that Poppy has the most amazing facial markings - they really make her look like she’s in a permanently bad mood, though I’m sure - should I ever meet her - she’ll be the sweetie you so often praise her for being.

I have no idea why, but I seem to have a good rapport with all kinds of dogs. A few times I’ve met dogs and gave them a bit of a fuss and a treat (after asking if giving a treat is OK, of course) only for the owner to exclaim “he/she never does that with strangers” (and - sadly - sometimes adds “especially with men”). I guess I’m just a big softy when it comes to dogs and they sense that…

12 hours ago, polybear said:

Any idea how much of this is parts?  Maybe Bear is old-fashioned, but £115/hour labour (if there are no parts in the bill) would seriously scare me.....

I know Bear is a tightpawed, grumpy old ursine with deep pockets and short arms, but has he ever considered that to get good and reliable quality service from a skilled technician (plumber, electrician, etc) they need to be paid a decent wage?

Too often there are posts on ER about poor quality, shoddy workmanship, bad attitudes towards customers…

Has anyone considered that you do get what you pay for? And quite frankly at some of the (laughable) wages & salaries being offered in the UK, it’s no wonder that shoddy work and poor customer service is so common.

There’s a website that compares salaries for different jobs across Europe and just crossing the channel brings an increase in income. And whilst the cost of living can be higher, for most jobs you still have a better income - even taking cost of living into account…

10 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

…if the US put aside its "we do everything the best because we are the US" attitude and looked at some other systems they could do worse then follow some of  Austtralias voting setup….

And not just voting. On far too many criteria the US has slipped down the ranking tables since I lived there: infant mortality, public transport/infrastructure, working conditions, etc. everything has worsened. Amongst the few tables that find the US with high - if not top - ranking include the number of people per thousand incarcerated, the number of individuals killed by police per year or the number of firearms/head.

 

Americans are no different than the rest of us (although when Americans do “stoopid” they really do “stoopid”) but they are poorly served by venal politicians and insitutions who benefit from promoting American Exceptionalism - something that has now become a drawback for the country as a whole. To create a metaphor: America is like the blue tribe who stills eats their meat raw because although the green tribe in the next valley discovered fire and invented cooking, “everyone” knows that no-one does anything better than the blue tribe.

 

There are a number of YouTube videos by young Americans who are shocked to find what life is really like outside the US (much, much better than expected). One of the most thought provoking was by a young American married to a Chinese who compares the Metro system of a small Chinese city to New York

I’ve known (and loved!) a number of Americans and individually they can be generous, wonderful, public spirited people - but by God are they traduced by their politicians, business and religious “leaders”

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Si Attica really had a go last night, I didn't get to sleep until about four. He is still hanging about so a bit more eyelid inspection this morning.

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, Erichill16 said:

Morning All and a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Rick.

Anyway better get a shuffle on.

Robert 

 

I only glanced at this and then did a double take to make certain I was reading it correctly as initially I thought it said - shuffle off. Thank the lord it didn't.

[Winslow Boy]

57 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Glad to hear about your improvements, Kelly.

I think that Poppy has the most amazing facial markings - they really make her look like she’s in a permanently bad mood, though I’m sure - should I ever meet her - she’ll be the sweetie you so often praise her for being.

I have no idea why, but I seem to have a good rapport with all kinds of dogs. A few times I’ve met dogs and gave them a bit of a fuss and a treat (after asking if giving a treat is OK, of course) only for the owner to exclaim “he/she never does that with strangers” (and - sadly - sometimes adds “especially with men”). I guess I’m just a big softy when it comes to dogs and they sense that…

I know Bear is a tightpawed, grumpy old ursine with deep pockets and short arms, but has he ever considered that to get good and reliable quality service from a skilled technician (plumber, electrician, etc) they need to be paid a decent wage?

Too often there are posts on ER about poor quality, shoddy workmanship, bad attitudes towards customers…

Has anyone considered that you do get what you pay for? And quite frankly at some of the (laughable) wages & salaries being offered in the UK, it’s no wonder that shoddy work and poor customer service is so common.

There’s a website that compares salaries for different jobs across Europe and just crossing the channel brings an increase in income. And whilst the cost of living can be higher, for most jobs you still have a better income - even taking cost of living into account…

And not just voting. On far too many criteria the US has slipped down the ranking tables since I lived there: infant mortality, public transport/infrastructure, working conditions, etc. everything has worsened. Amongst the few tables that find the US with high - if not top - ranking include the number of people per thousand incarcerated, the number of individuals killed by police per year or the number of firearms/head.

 

Americans are no different than the rest of us (although when Americans do “stoopid” they really do “stoopid”) but they are poorly served by venal politicians and insitutions who benefit from promoting American Exceptionalism - something that has now become a drawback for the country as a whole. To create a metaphor: America is like the blue tribe who stills eats their meat raw because although the green tribe in the next valley discovered fire and invented cooking, “everyone” knows that no-one does anything better than the blue tribe.

 

There are a number of YouTube videos by young Americans who are shocked to find what life is really like outside the US (much, much better than expected). One of the most thought provoking was by a young American married to a Chinese who compares the Metro system of a small Chinese city to New York

I’ve known (and loved!) a number of Americans and individually they can be generous, wonderful, public spirited people - but by God are they traduced by their politicians, business and religious “leaders”

 

I think this would be classed as a rant Herr Dokter.