Early Risers.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

The sun is shining and the skies are blue here in England’s northwest corner. So, I’m heading outside to finish of the shelf that I left clamped up in the workshop yesterday. Hopefully I should get it finished today and maybe even find time to drill the walls and mount the shelf brackets too. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian

[iL Dottore]

29 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

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

Which bit?

[New Haven Neil]

Well the C's have increased to 18, I'm orf to the garage to fit new lights.  This may take some time as frankiefoot doesn't like standing on stepladder treads.  Can't use runged ladders at all.

 

 

[AndrewC]

Moaning all from the tropical paradise of the boring borough. Almost half way through the week already. Holy carp where did the last 2 days go?

 

Last Saturday I noticed a £0.00 transaction on one of my credit cards. Normally this is a pre-authorisation for something. However, I'm not prone to shopping with JC Penny in Texas. A quick call to Capital One. Answered very quickly. Nice Indian lady took me through the security questions. I was then transferred to the fraud department. Card blocked, investigation started, new account number created, new card dispatched. It arrived yesterday. I have to say I couldn't have asked for better service. Turns out there were a couple more £0.00 pending transactions that hadn't shown up in the app yet. We are quick to criticise but slow to praise, so three thumbs up to Capital One. 

Lesson learned: my precautions mostly worked. Inconvenience level 2/10. 

1: use a low limit sacrificial card for most online transactions. (£500 in this case) That way anything large gets declined quickly. It also means that if it gets compromised, you can live without it for a week or two. 

2: don't let the merchant store your card number. (I made that mistake once and that is likely where they got the number from)

3: use a phone app to keep your eye on all of your cards and banking. I check mine daily so the transaction was quickly spotted and stomped on. 

 

Coffee time then more meetings. Enjoy the day.

[simontaylor484]

Morning all 

 

Its taken over an hour to do the school run this morning due to problems on the M62 its shut in both directions and traffic is diverting through Cas Vegas and Ponte Carlo.

By the sounds of it some poor unfortunate has taken a dive off a bridge.

[45156]

14 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Bear's Tip of the Day:

In the event that any fellow ER'er should ever need a new CAT (of the brum brum variety, not the Meoow variety) then make sure you keep the old one - they're worth good money (sometimes VERY good) down the scrappies.

 

 

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.....

No there were new lights needed, as the old low voltage ones were both knackered and wrongly wired up - which is strange as the bathroom was professionally done five years ago. 

[PhilJ W]

Hello again from Estuary-Land. As I mentioned my brother called me last night. Among the usual brother chat he mentioned that he has a girlfriend! and less than three months after his wifes funeral. What is more his new girlfriend attended the funeral and wake. He always was a randy so-and-so but even I didn't think he'd move that fast. He's 75 years old and in poor health and if she's a gold digger she's in for a nasty shock. The bungalow that he shared with his late wife belongs to her family and apart from his pensions he hasn't got two pennies to rub together.

[chrisf]

BT must have been having a lie-in this morning, for at the ungodly hour when I usually post here my broadband was non-operational.  It now appears to be firing on the usual number of cylinders.

 

Today sees the monthly meeting of the Chilterns Area Group.  For the first time for absolutely ages those attending will be meeting in person instead of via Zoom.  Like all technology, Zoom has its moments.  Nevertheless it was good to be able to use it to keep in touch with other Group members.  Having lunch is that much more difficult when one is using software and a screen instead of wielding cutlery at a table.  I shall have to buy petrol on my way to Harpenden: so be it.   Now let us hope that the M1 behaves itself.

 

Chris

[Pacific231G]

3 hours ago, grandadbob said:

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.

Good morning Bob,

The modelling mojo does come and go. My folding  H0 layout sat in its box for over two years while I tried to get on with an H0m layout that, having exhibited it once at a Society event in a slighlty wip state  I'd rather lost enthusiasm for. During one of the lockdowns, I just got it out to operate without beating myself up about doing any more work on it. It's a fairly simple five point BLT (or perhaps I should call it a TLS  Terminus du Ligne Sécondaire)  and I found just bringing a mixed train slightly too long for the run round in, exchanging incoming witth outgoing wagons and sending it out again surprisingly enjoyable. There's a lot to be said for a bit of wagon bashing so it now sits on the back of the bench with a loco and some stock ready to be switched on and played with whenever the mood takes me.

Is the layout in your shed in an operable condition- ballast or no ballast?

 

 

I drove back from a friend's in Oxfordshire yesterday evening and it was fair chucking it down though for once the motorised morons seemed to have avoided crashing into things and blocking the motorways. What is fairly terrifying is watching how people drive and knowing that our driving test is one of the most stringent. 

Today is looking sunny and warmish and it looks like the rain will arrive very politely overnight. So, time for walkies I think before the weather gods (aka complex non-determinsitic systems subject to chaotic behaviour)  change their mind and produce thunder and lightning.

Have a nice day!

 

 

Edited May 18, 2022 by Pacific231G

[Adam88]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear here....

Off to get the ears lowered shortly,....

 

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

 

That's not such a good way to get your ears lowered.  I bet what was left of them weren't half ringing.

[iL Dottore]

@Winslow Boy as ERs know, there is an official Rant Award on the thread: The Bearies.

 

However, because the likelihood of either iD or Captain Cynical winning A Beary is about the same as the UK winning the Eurovision Song Contest (probably less), both iD and CC refuse to enter any longer.

 

Why go to the effort of creating a high-quality bespoke rant from carefully sourced and sustainable ingredients, when North San Marino can win with a clearly re-badged and re-painted mass produced rant built from the cheapest materials…

 

I wonder how many LDC it takes to (ahem) “acquire” a block vote?

 

I’m not casting aspersions, just asking for a friend….

Edited May 18, 2022 by iL Dottore

[Pacific231G]

23 minutes ago, Adam88 said:

Bear here....

Off to get the ears lowered shortly,....

 

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

That's not such a good way to get your ears lowered.  I bet what was left of them weren't half ringing.

I did once see someone on eBay offering a cannister of railway detonators for sale and it seems that people are taking these things back home to mother Russia to sell.  This chap was a retired major which must suggest something about the level of training in the Russian military.

Edited May 18, 2022 by Pacific231G

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It is very pleasant here, not sure of the temperature but all the windows are open. Our garden is going to need air traffic control soon. I refilled the bird feeders after a while of no use to distract a visiting rat. We think the rat has been discouraged permanently by neighbours. Anyway I must be getting a substantial part of my daily exercise refilling the bird feeders. Mainly for sparrows, but I really like sparrows. The blue tits nesting in the garden don’t seem to feed here but they are incredibly busy. I wonder if their complicated flight path is to confuse any magpies watching.

Tony

[petethemole]

Many years ago, before I joined it, the local military modelling club had a middle aged member from Hungary.  This was in the late '70s and he used to visit home regularly and go foraging on the 1945 battlefields for bits of miltary kit to bring back to UK and sell.  One evening he turned up at the club to show off his finds with a live Teller mine in the boot.  The club was then run by a serving RN officer and a reserve Army major who both realised it was still live.  They drove it down to the Southampton waterfront at an accessible point and chucked it in the drink late at night.

[grandadbob]

 

@Pacific231G

David, my layout is fully operational although the purists would probably give me never ending lectures about its non-likeness to a real railway.  I have in fact been out there this morning and played with the toys and believe it or not done some muddling.  That is, I have been attacking a sheet of polystyrene with an old bread knife to try and carve some semblance of a small embankment.  Having thought about it it would be shame if I didn't carry on doing something with it.

 

RED ALERT!  INCOMING!  FORBIDDEN PHOTOS.  LOOK AWAY NOW IF YOU DON'T WISH TO BE OFFENDED:

 

 

 

Edited May 18, 2022 by grandadbob

[simontaylor484]

Well I have finally managed to sit down with a mug of coffee the back door is open Rolo the dachshund is sunning himself on the decking.

 

I had Swmbo to take to an appointment then collect some meds we ended up buying a couple of sandwiches from Aldi and ate them in the park.

 

The park was full of students from the sixth form college. One poor lass was having a wardrobe malfunction as she was walking her little dress was riding up at the back showing her ar5e.

 

I must have one of those screwdriver sets from the Bunnings video thatstarts as a lot of bits then you end up with 1

[simontaylor484]

According to the BBC website it was concerns for someone's safety that shut the M62 this morning.

At least it's not a tragic end

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-61490181

 

 

[polybear]

4 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I know Bear is a tight-pawed, grumpy old ursine with deep pockets and short arms,

 

Ouch....

Bear prefers financially shrewd, wise - and who understands the value of the foldin' stuff...

 

4 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

......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?

 

 

Fortunately @45156 has now clarified that the two hundred and fifty notes for two hours included some degree of parts as well - but let's assume it hadn't.....

Bear's Kitchen Floor was levelled (taking numerous shortish visits - it was a real B1tch) and then Tiled - taking numerous full days (not sure exactly how many - 3+?).

The Bill? £370 - which included levelling compound and tile adhesive (both not cheap).  Is Bear happy with the job?  Oh yes, a bargain; the old floor area under the Fridge Freezer was particularly wonky - and now the F/F stands vertical - as in dead vertical, to within 0.1 degrees (I used to have to use bits of plywood to make it stand upright).  Can't ask for much better than that.

Plastering?  The kitchen was £720 and the lounge £650 - including all materials (plaster - expensive, beading, PVA etc.) and each taking the best part of a week (working maybe 5 or 6 hour days); many plasterers would do it much quicker than this - but there would often be two on the job and they would be a long way off retiring, as "my Guy" was.  Bear happy?  On the whole - yes; some minor fettling required but nothing serious.

Hence my dismay at the prospect of a leccy charging £125 an hour.....

....especially when......

 

2 hours ago, 45156 said:

No there were new lights needed, as the old low voltage ones were both knackered and wrongly wired up - which is strange as the bathroom was professionally done five years ago. 

 

.....a previous "Professional" may have charged such a figure for that job.....

 

2 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

......and if she's a gold digger she's in for a nasty shock. The bungalow that he shared with his late wife belongs to her family and apart from his pensions he hasn't got two pennies to rub together.

 

It certainly didn't work for this lady:

https://news.amomama.com/289124-woman-marries-recluse-millionaire-25-yea.html

 

In other news:

Ears lowered - booked on-line, a few minute's walk to the Barber in the village, in at 9am and out at 0916am (Buzz Cut);  no messin' around.  Tick.

 

Mickey the Miele wielded - the Castle is now "done".  Big Tick.

 

General dross activities carried out - more to do.  They *may* even keep a certain Bear out of trouble.  Or not....

 

 

[polybear]

Bear's Financial Tip of the Day**:

 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions/?utm_source=MSE_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=17-May-22-20758e28f7f49568d7f-6284928ef87459628535873aba11110d&source=CRM-MSETIP-20758e28f7f49568d7f&utm_campaign=nt-bignote-one&utm_content=3

 

**Bear isn't an Authorised Financial Adviser blah blah blah and all that blame swerving b0**ox.....

[iL Dottore]

43 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

 

@Pacific231G

David, my layout is fully operational although the purists would probably give me never ending lectures about its non-likeness to a real railway.  I have in fact been out there this morning and played with the toys and believe it or not done some muddling.  That is, I have been attacking a sheet of polystyrene with an old bread knife to try and carve some semblance of a small embankment.  Having thought about it it would be shame if I didn't carry on doing something with it.

 

RED ALERT!  INCOMING!  FORBIDDEN PHOTOS.  LOOK AWAY NOW IF YOU DON'T WISH TO BE OFFENDED:

 

 

 

Bloody Hell GDB,

 

Not only am I offended, I am disgusted as well. 😲

 

How the **** have you such a clean, tidy, neat and dust free modelling room? Do you have a dedicated cleaning lady?

 

Surely the natural, the only state of being of a model railway room is:

• untidy
• messy
• covered with dust
• scattered with tools and half-built kits

Everyone knows that

 

This egregious untidymodelroom-shaming is most upsetting.

 

How dare you!

 

iD

 

p.s. all said in fun - most impressive it is! You've given me a well needed kick up the **** and reminded me that I have a signal box to finish...

[Erichill16]

4 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

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.

To tell the truth the way things are at work and the new premises ………….

 

[Erichill16]

Interesting article for all dog lovering  ERs 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-61494094

[The White Rabbit]

2 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Interesting article for all dog lovering  ERs 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-61494094

 

I met one this morning while taking a wander and it was audibly struggling. It's a warm day but not desperately so and the going was level(ish), a steam engine with a load on might have been working hard but no normal two or four legged beast in fair health would. They can be great little dogs, many I've met/known are/were full of charisma but yes, hand up, I worry about the breed's physical health too. 

[iL Dottore]

5 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Interesting article for all dog lovering  ERs 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-61494094

I am (and have always have been) against the breeding of brachiocephalic dogs - how dare we impose so much suffering and ill health on an animal breed just for cosmetic reasons. Many dogs are bred for specific reasons, but when you breed a dog for a job (like a scent hound) you don't cripple it by breeding-in genetic deformity. Which is what they have done with pugs and similar breeds. By any yardstick, many of the so-called "animal lovers" in the Kennel Club and breeder's associations are anything but. Those who promote this type of dog should be named and shamed!

 

It's no different to breeding humans to be real-life Barbie Dolls or Action Men(and that's not allowed - so why allow it for dogs?)

 

I'd better stop here or I might post something I'll regret later...

[woodenhead]

So what I am reading today is that @polybear is saying that I should be fitting my own tap in the kitchen and not letting an unknown person into my home for 100 pounds or so.