Early Risers.

[The White Rabbit]

Evening all,

 

Not a lot today, late on parade lately due to a couple of poor nights. Changeable weather but the rain helps refresh the plants (and wash the doorstep). A bit more sorting out done, some display units found, dusted off, photographed and listed (including here). Bayko and Minibrix almost ditto, though I won't annoy Andy by trying to list those here. Hopefully they can go on the blog and other online sites tomorrow or Friday. The Brio will probably have to wait for next week. 

 

Some chicken wire bending and splicing done earlier, two cages created to keep the birds off young plantpots with seedlings. It felt like a cross between metalwork and mending fishing nets. No prizes for appearances but they should do the job. Amazingly, no punctures in me either. 

 

And that's about it really. I shall now keep an eye out for Zebadee. Night... 

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Oddly inaccurate of our local paper - quelle suprise.  It was the Chief Officer, not the Old Man.  And if you believe his excuse.....LOL  Having seen the GPS track of the vessel, he must have had the trots for an hour or two. Not on the bridge for sure, doing something else for sure also.

Was he on the poop deck?

[New Haven Neil]

@polybear we had a Brintons stair runner in our last house, fancy bordered job, it was very good quality and looked great, and wore well in the time we had it.  But, TC's, it was expensive.  

 

A busy day of riding things powered by electickery and on running on parallel steel bars was had, it's the summer transport gala here.  After trying for a few years to blag a ride on 14, which is the only car still hand braked and is in pretty much original 1898 condition, and the only running power car with original Milnes plate-frame trucks, I rode on her three times today.  Whoop.

Edited July 27, 2022 by New Haven Neil
to avoid inappropriate comments!

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

I did think I was being a little ambitious asking the rather young person with numerous body piercings what the difference was between two different models of Samsung Telly.  Bear was correct...

 

It might have been worse, he might have been able to tell  you that this big one here uses organic light emitting technology while the one over there uses dioides that emit quantum dot light through a dot colour filter.... Or can I direct sir to the new LG QNED range? .

Edited July 27, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[simontaylor484]

I have seen a Samsung tv that displays a picture when not in use as a tv ideal for wall mounting.

 

I did used to see some large wall mounted tv's on our round you could stand on the pavement and look through the front window and watch tv if you were so inclined. This was the sort of area if it was sunny the sofa was put in the front garden 

https://www.heals.com/samsung-2021-75-the-frame-art-mode-qled-4k-hdr.html

Edited July 27, 2022 by simontaylor484
Link found

[BoD]

8 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

Things must be getting bad McDonald's are increasing the price of cheeseburger

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62317453

 

It really does worry me… on so many levels… when this sort of news makes front page headlines.

[andyram]

Evening all.  I am sat in the apartment with the lights from a couple of anchored boats shimmering in the distance on the wash. Today, it was Sarah's turn to feel a little under the weather this morning, although that may have been a result of the hot curry she consumed last night. As a result, she had a quiet morning in the apartment and Amber and I headed off down to the beach. An enjoyable hour or so was spent in the sea before we strolled back along the beach investigating the rock pools.  

 

 Sarah felt better when we returned so we walked into town for lunch, then took part in a round on the pirate golf before returning to the arcades. Whilst in the town I ran into a group of parents from my old primary school. They were on a week long trip to Norfolk with the scout group, containing many of my ex-pupils. Sadly the pupils were off exploring the town on their own and I did not see any of them. It was nice to catch up with the parents though. The irony is, their trip last year was to Whitby - the same week we were there, and they happened to be on the beach just a few yards from us on one particular day. The co-incidences! 

 

 The day drifted by in a relaxed manner and so there was no time to head to Wells or the real ale shop. The latter is a possible for tomorrow but, if not, will definitely be visited on Friday.

 

 Sadly, I report that my parents are both still testing positive so the shop remains closed. Fortunately, they do not appear to be seriously ill and the symptoms are a similar to a heavy flu. I think both of them are feeling very fed up right now. I hope, for their sake, that they will be better soon.

 

 I have noted the recent conversations about trash tv and multi-channels etc. At home we have Sky, but there are many nights when we find there is simply nothing to watch. Reality shows no longer hold our attention so we have not been seduced by the likes of Love Island. As for Naked Attraction, I shudder to think how anybody could find that a watchable program - and no I have not seen it (beyond a few clips during an episode of Gogglebox). And, no, we do not particularly enjoy Gogglebox either! Current choices tend to be repeats of  programs such as Bangers and Cash, Death in Paradise or old favourites such as Only Fools and Horses. The only new programs I have recently watched each week are The Apprentice, the program about Vectis Auctions called Scouting for Toys and the Hotel Inspector. 

 We have now been away on holiday for 5 nights and the tv has never been on. I have used the laptop to keep on top of online orders and have briefly dived into RMWeb, but both of us have spent the evenings reading. There is no desire to have the tv on.

 

On that note I wish you all well.

 

Andy

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[monkeysarefun]

2 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:

On the subject of TV, multiple channels with 24 hour schedules and distasteful programming, I can only offer the thought that that is why broadcast TV is sometimes known as a medium - as it is neither rare nor well-done. 

 

 The last ever final ultimate episode of Neighbours is broadcast here tonight.. Margo Robbie! Kylie!  Jason D! its a star studded cast.

 

Except sadly Bouncer the dog who died of cancer in 1993 and received more tributes  from around the world than any of the human cast,  says wikipedia.

Edited July 27, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[monkeysarefun]

I've had almost 2 tonnes of water-logged mud and clay  sitting in 6 or 7 huge builders bags on my kerbside, the waste from doing landscaping over the last few months. Have been meaning to be  getting around to hiring a skip to get rid of it but keep finding funner things to spend the $450 on.

 

Came home last night to find the local council boys doing the bi-yearly kerbside cleanup where you can  leave out oversized items (mattresses, furniture etc)  for free pickup had taken it all away. I knew the cleanup was on but never imagined they'd take it.

 

Caught up with them down the road on my way to work this morning where they were continuing their round and stopped to thank them . "No worries, bloody heavy but - put the weight of the truck right up!"

 

I'll send them  an online gift card later so they can score a carton of beer, (or alternatively a decent red if thats more their thing).

 

Australia - The opposite of a rant !     (Number 2).

 

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well, after this morning’s picture framing and hanging session, I did eventually get to the workshop. My first task was to make a new ‘spike’ for small portable parasol. We took it with us to Tatton Park last week and when I can to remove it, the original plastic spike stayed in the ground! So, I found a suitable piece of round hard wood and turned a new spike on the lathe. I the drill 3 holes in both the parasol tube and new spike, the screwed and glued it into place, so I won’t be losing that one next year! I then did a little more dead heading, mainly the buddliea bush, which at this time of year, needs doing daily. 

 

After dinner I spent a hour in the workshop, doing a little maintenance on my airbrushes. I tried 2 of my old ones last week when I was showing Charlie how to use them and I struggled to get them working, so I set up and used my new one which worked ok. I have 5 airbrushes altogether, 4 old DeVilbis models, 2 gravity fed and 2 suction fed and a new iawta Sparmax, all of which are double action. So, I stripped down and cleaned all 4 of my old DeVilbis airbrushes and gave each one a good clean. Then I re-assembled them all and gave them a test run with clean water and each one worked ok. I don’t think anything was actually wrong with them, but I don’t think giving them a clean did them any harm either, probably a lack of use! 

 

It was late when james and Amelia finally got here, but is was so nice to see them both. He also presented me with my repaired watch, which was also nice to have back. 

 

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by BSW01

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[southern42]

‘ night all and nos da.

 

Polly

[Darlington_Shed]

5 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

I have a biscuit jointer very useful piece of kit

"And a couple brads - punkah, punkah - to hold it while the glue sets" 🙂 Norm was one of my key influences when I got into woodworking, although I eventually discovered that you don't need five grand's worth of machinery to get started!

 

Greetings from Little Dabbling in the Shed. Regular readers will no doubt recall my recent close encounter with the coronavirus... happily, I am now fully recovered and was allowed off the cruise ship in time to catch the plane home. Unfortunately, I have sprained my left knee for the second time in three months and have been resident in Much Hobbling in the House these past two weeks.  Having surrendered myself to the tender mercies of a physioterrorist since I returned, I am happy to report that the knee is improving. Slowly.

 

Stay safe, everyone!

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

We could do with a British version of Norm Abram and The New Yankee Workshop

6 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

I also watch him on You Tube Norm also appeared on a show called This Old House.

This Old House has been on PBS since 1979. It's shown here every Saturday evening at 5:00pm. The current project being aired is in Saratoga Springs, NY. (Official website and PBS website.)

 

According to Wikipedia, Norm Abram was the master carpenter of This Old House from 1979-2022, but I haven't seen him on any of the recent shows, (of the last couple of years) where Tom Silva did much of the carpentry segments. It took the show some time to adjust to filming (and building) during the pandemic.

 

I get the impression (in their companion show Ask This Old House) that the current generation of contractors (Tom Silva and plumber/HVAC Richard Trethewey) are in their retirement glide path as well and might be ready to exchange the token with a new generation soon.

 

What they do is hardly DIY but I find it fascinating. While they don't *always* do 'high-end' renovations, the cost of many projects must be staggering. I have often wondered if there is some kind of financial incentive from the production company for home owners to participate.

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

7 hours ago, polybear said:

If only we could have some PROPER and IN-DEPTH DIY programmes instead of the usual cr@p that's dished out.

Saturday all day on PBS here is nothing but DIY. 

 

Starting at 10:00am, each at 30 minutes: Gardening, Gardening, Quilting, Quilting, Sewing, Sewing, Cooking, Cooking, Cooking, Cooking, Motoring, Carpentry, Carpentry, Home repair*, Home Renovation**

 

Even where topics are the same, the shows are different.

 

* Ask This Old House

** This Old House

 

The Motoring show (MotorWeek) does include a home garage segment, but it is mostly focused on new model road testing.

[iL Dottore]

Good morning all,

 

A bit of a bad start to the day: yesterday, when I went to get the deworming medication from the vets for Lucy and Schotty I must have run over something that punctured a tyre, the tyre pressure sensor in the cars dashboard has lit up – which is a considerable problem as much driving was planned for today and this weekend. A check of the tyres revealed a screw deeply embedded into the front left tyre. After TCS has turned up and made a provisional fix, an emergency dash to our Skoda dealer is definitely an urgent matter of priority this morning.

 

In regards to carpet: our house is very much European in that respect – parquet instead of wall-to-wall carpet but with various individual carpets (Turkish, Iranian, Afghan, Tibetan/Nepalese, etc.) scattered around. Whilst avoiding the whole “dropped paint on a corner - have to replace the whole *** thing” of fitted carpets, individual carpets – especially if of very high quality – do not come cheap. @polybear really doesn’t want to know how much Mrs iD dropped on her Tibetan carpet.
 

A minor annoyance of individual carpets – at least for this dog owner –, is that when Lucy has had stomach problems in the past and she needed to vomit, she seemed to deliberately make a beeline for a carpet instead of vomiting on the parquet (much, much easier to clean up). necessitating me following her around when she started to retch so that I could either roll up the carpet out of the way or gently move her to the parquet when the deed was being done.

 

Gotta run, TCS guy is here…

 

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

A bit cloudy with some hazy sunshine here.  It will probably stay dry with some sunny spells and a gentle breeze.

Currently 15°C possibly rising to 23°C .  

Thursday = Bin lorries x 3 + Sainsbury's + Amazon delivery.  The latter contains a couple of bottles of falling down water so I won't be going anywhere until that is safely on site.

Spent a bit of time in The Shed yesterday playing with the larger of the toys in there.  The siting of these is too high and needs a major rethink but my thinking apparatus can't figure out yet how to do it.

Time to take tea to Her Bossness.   She doesn't like being woken up before 07.00.  Oh dear, how sad, never mind.

Have a good one,

Bob.

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

A better again night , a 4 piece sleep, only about 6 hours but a bit more solid..

 

Ben the I want out Collie, had another good snuffle, this time the other side of the garden just some pigeons to chase off this time, But i suspect I think he got the trail of a mummy and baby Muntjac I saw in the garden and was following their wanders.

Dark this morning with 80% thick cloud cover, cool, just the hint of breeze.

 

We have low water pressure at the moment which means the toilet tanks are not filling up properly.. I suspect this is not because of the drought, but more to do with blue markings on the tarmac in the next village ... Again....Again ... again.... again...  its a major junction of waterpipes with half a dozen drain covers I think it's about time the water men gave up on the patch it up approach and completely dug it out and renewed the whole lot. You have to take the top off the toilet and hold down the float to fill the tank to the mark before it will flush next time..

 

We have another spinning wheel appeared in the kitchen, not for once not belonging to SWMBO, but a friends ... Its a cheap one made from ply trees, so there are no spokes just every thing solid ply.. At some point it has been painted a dark blue, all of it and her friend has taken a dislike to that. So wants it decorated.. Yesterday two roses appeared on it...

 

One of this weeks major systems was completed yesterday, the other was on it's over night crosscheck run. The last of 24 standard shunts was completed, and so were the special resistors completed. so hopefully after checking the cross check I can complete the major system from last week.

 

Time to ... do nothing for 10 minutes...

 

 

[iL Dottore]

Now at the Skoda garage. Having dropped off Mrs ID and the Wolfpack, so the doggies could be walked whilst I waited for the car, I am now waiting for their return surrounded by some very nice looking new Skodas and enjoying a complimentary cup of coffee while I wait.

The TCS guy did an excellent repair job and, something I didn’t know, with new tyres such repair jobs become permanent as the heat generated by the tire running along the road will vulcanise the repair so that it melds into the original tyre. And thus we can drive normally (and our driving plans for today and the weekend are still on, thank goodness).

 

Having said that, I still can’t repair the Skoda with basic tools: a fully computerised and outfitted workshop/garage is definitely a necessity nowadays!

 

Have a great day

[grandadbob]

I still carry my 50 year old tool roll in the boot of the car for "emergencies."  Actually purely more for old times sake as I doubt any of them are any use on my car and I would not have a clue what to do under the bonnet these days anyway apart from checking the oil*and water etc.

 

*Still check it even though every time I switch on the dashboard display tells me "oil level correct."

Edited July 28, 2022 by grandadbob

[brianusa]

Another over 90 old degrees in GH!  Another one tomorrow  and until the weekend when it breaks and back to the normal 70 or so.  Town has been busy with tourists trying to negotiate the miniscule roundabouts that have proliferated and tend to slow traffic rather than speed it up.

 Leave the A/C on for a while yet to cool the upstairs!🙂  Cats gone to bed so we shall soon follow

 

Brian.

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a sunny Charente  Maritime.  We are off to the seaside today to visit the Ile D'Oleron for the first time.  Could be good.  

 

I got a surprise yesterday.  I app,ied for my new passport on 8th July and was told to expect it in 11 weeks.  The process however was easy.  Yesterday, 19 days later my shiny new one was delivered.  Good service in less than 3 weeks.

 

Regards to all and good wishes to Chrisf at Sidmouth.

 

Jamie 

 

[iL Dottore]

28 minutes ago, brianusa said:

Another over 90 old degrees in GH! 

Fahrenheit?

Celsius?

Kelvin?
Rankine?

Delisle?

Newton?
or

Réaumur?

You do need to be a bit more specific, dear fellow. We need the units so that we can commiserate accordingly. We’d look a bit silly saying “oh gosh, that’s hot” when it’s actually 90°K (- 183°C. -297.67°F)

 

p.s. most of the above temperature scales have been around for a while, so can be considered “old”

Edited July 28, 2022 by iL Dottore

[monkeysarefun]

20 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Fahrenheit?

Celsius?

Kelvin?
Rankine?

Delisle?

Newton?
or

Réaumur?

You do need to be a bit more specific, dear fellow. We need the units so that we can commiserate accordingly. We’d look a bit silly saying “oh gosh, that’s hot” when it’s actually 90°K (- 183°C. -297.67°F)

 

p.s. most of the above temperature scales have been around for a while, so can be considered “old”

 

 

Oh for some reason  I assumed Brian was talking angles so 90 degrees meant he was standing upright  and was planning to do that for the next couple of days, at which point he was going to  recline slightly.

 

As opposed to saying he was at 0 degrees which I guess would mean he was stuck on his back like a tortoise, perhaps waving his legs and arms helplessly, or 180 degrees which would mean face down, unable to post stuff. 

Edited July 28, 2022 by monkeysarefun