Early Risers.

[Kelly]

3 minutes ago, chrisf said:

More trouble, I am sorry to say.  Way out in the sticks between here and Hitchin there is an automatic speed camera.  Trust me to exceed the speed limit and have this heinous crime recorded for posterity on the way home from the RCTS last month.  It is probably more of a punishment to have to make sense of the paperwork than to fork out the £100 fixed penalty.  With everything else that has happened this week I am not terribly happy.  Before anyone asks, I got clobbered for an educational course a few years ago.

 

Chris

 

You can usually take them every 3 years iirc, so you might still be able to take one if it was indeed a few years ago.

[chrisf]

Thanks, Kelly.  I did the course some years ago.  Will they notice if I do it more than once?  That's food for thought, that is ....

 

Chris

[southern42]

I took my mugadecaf round to the garden and noticed the hibiscus flowers are still doing well despite the dry spells. Well, mostly.  It looked like it had ditched one flower head, so I brought it indoors and made a mini vase for it out of an old mince pie case. A bit crude but hoping it the flower will carry on blooming for a bit. It seemed a shame to leave it to rot in the ground without trying to save it, first.

 

 

Still a few more buds to come out.

 

The fallen flower given a twirl.

     

I do like that deep red deep inside.

 

Woah! Lunch time already...

[TheQ]

The drainage system wins it.. Ben's long walk took us near a field the other side of the farm house.

There is a huge trenching machine, piles of pipes, and various other bits of machinery. They have dug a diagonal pattern across the low side of the field to a centuries old ditch...

It's almost on the marshes themselves I suspect in winter the water will run back up the pipes into the fields..

 

I've managed to get all the layout sections into trailer or Landrover, there are just the remaining trolley section, the trestles and some boxes of materials to collect from the MRC.

What's clear is I need to rearrange the internals of the trolleys, then they will carry all but two of the boards, one is a corner unit, the other is the sea / harbour.

I also need to redesign the trestles supporting the corner unit, so they take up less space for transport.

The folding high stool fits ok in the Landrover...

 

After that some work on the spinny thingy, four pieces added to the top for the sides to plug into. One side has temporarily been plugged into place, positions of flyer, drive system etc marked out, so I can sketch the shape of the rest of the sides...

 

For now I'm resting till heading to the MRC..

 

 

[DaveF]

 

Yesterday I mentioned I was having a busy day - but it was a very enjoyable busy day.

 

I decided to visit one of the local English Heritage properties - Belsay Hall and Castle - and so set off just before 10.00  It was quite a pleasant ride but I'll go a different way in future, I prefer quiet roads to A roads when going out for a day locally.  There are a couple of single track bits of road on my "quiet road" route which are used a lot by cyclists.  They now expect oncoming cars to stop to let them go by and if you are behind them you don't have a hope of them getting out of the way to let a car past.  Until recently they were more courteous.

 

When I arrived there was plenty of space to park in my favourite spot - partly shaded but not under sycamore trees which drip.  The Hall is covered with scaffolding while the roof is repaired, it comes down next month.  I had a nice walk around the gardens which have changed a lot since I last visited over three years ago.  The quarry garden (where the stone for the hall was taken) was as usual nice and cool with interesting plants - the gunnera by the pond was huge.  Next was the rest of the walk to the Castle which looked as delightful as ever.  I decided not to climb to the top of the tower - that was hard enough five years ago, the last time I did it.  Then I slowly retraced my steps - actually not exactly, as most of the way back uses a diferent path.  I was going to walk round the wood but it is still closed as they try to clear up the mess left by storm Arwen.  When I got back to the winter garden a small group were busy marking out the croquet lawn ready for a match later in the day.  In the garden by the Hall there were masses of butterflies, all flying about too much to photograph - peacocks, small tortoiseshells, cabbage whites, and several brown ones (speckled wood probably).  The colchicums and cyclamen were flowering well.

 

I had a late coffee sitting under a tree and then decided that it was getting busier so decided to go elsewhere for lunch, a picnic.  So I drove the few miles to Bolam Lake and parked at the top car park, just above the lake and near the bird feeders.  It is run by the council who allow one hour free parking , then there is a charge.  I had a pleasant walk along part of the lake then had my picnic watching the birds - great tits, blue tits, coal tiots, nuthatch, greenfinches, chaffinches, sparrows, dunnocks, crow, wood pigeons, magpie and robins.  I also saw a red squirrel in the distance.  I was there for 55 minutes.

 

I drove a different way home, via Morpeth.  On the way I passed the hamlet of Angerton which once had a station.  One winter's day when there are no leaves I'll go and take some photos, though it is more overgrown than it used to be.  In Morpeth I stopped and took some photos of parallel steel lines before driving to the flat to check it and then home just in time for tea.

 

Belsay Castle

 

Belsay   Folly Farm

 

David

Edited August 27, 2022 by DaveF

[Kelly]

1 hour ago, chrisf said:

Thanks, Kelly.  I did the course some years ago.  Will they notice if I do it more than once?  That's food for thought, that is ....

 

Chris

 

When I did one a while ago, I was told you couldn't do one within 3 years of taking one. So if it is over 3 years you might be able to get one. It might be different for different police forces however. You'll still effectively have to pay the fine, but you won't have the insurance hit of having points if you can do the course. Worth checking if you can or not, the worst they'll say is no.

[iL Dottore]

The Swiss are fairly relaxed about minor speeding offences (say 5 - 10 kph over) - you just get a fine. However, if you really ARE speeding, things get serious! Recent penalties have included:

 

> SFr 1,000,000 (£882,000) fine

> 4 years in prison

> Confiscation of vehicles (and they’re  usually pricy “supercars”)

> Lifetime driving ban

> Loss of residency permit and deportation.

AND (to add icing to this particular cake) under certain circumstances your insurance will NOT cover/pay for any damage done if caused by speeding.

 

Needless to say, until he finishes converting his 1956 Bentley into a fully “advanced stealth” Bentley (doesn’t appear on radar, infrared, sonar, ultrasound or in any of visual spectrum frequencies) Captain Cynical doesn’t speed….

[The White Rabbit]

Afternoon all,

 

Thoughts are with Baz, I hope there has been some news now, preferably good. 

 

Speed cameras ... 🤬 territory for me too. This is not sour grapes either, so far at least, I've managed to avoid contributing to state funds in that manner. BUT - I have several criticisms:

• when the current speed limits were set, many cars would be very scary indeed at 70. Engineering has moved on rather a lot since. 
• As a society we seem to have succumbed to the trend of putting a number on behaviour wherever possible. This usually seems to result in 'dumbing down' to the lowest common denominator. Trouble is, this both restricts the capable and does nothing to stop the foolish or incapable from bad choices. Poor result all round. 
• Speed in itself is not bad. Inappropriate speed (taking into consideration all the circumstances) very definitely is. 
• Also, these days, policemen's evidence is more subject to challenge in court. PC Bloggs can no longer state "Suspect was driving recklessly and without care and attention" and have it accepted. Yes, there can be associated issues of police power/abuse of (etc.) but the simple fact is a driver can be a killer at 20 or perfectly safe at 120. Establishing a distinction between the two is the tricky bit and without being able to rely on the evidence of an expert witness, we seem to have resorted to putting a value on things which, by their nature, are not suited to that. I'm not sure what the solution is and won't try to speculate on here - but I am uncomfortable that smarter minds than mine have not come up with a better solution. 

Nothing much to report, same-o, same-o. I will investigate Il-D's links later, as my own sleep pattern shows no sign of returning to something resembling 'normal'. On the subject of carpets, I have some 'offcuts' of respectable sizes salvaged from my mothers which I hope to use for the garage and in the loft as extra insulation. Given the current issues over energy prices, I think I'll do some preparation for the winter now. Particularly as we seem to be getting a bumper crop of berries on many plants and that used to be a reasonably reliable harbinger of a long and or cold winter. 

 

The loft is now 'done'. Not really, as there's the insulation to improve but all the contents have been checked and allocated for the tip, charity shops or retention. It's a big step forward. A few days work on insulation and it will be ready for the future, whether that's staying put, moving or someone else having to sort out an inheritance.

 

The paperwork is also going down, albeit painfully slowly. At this rate, if I can sell some furniture and some of the modelling stock to clear some space, I might even be able to indulge in some modelling. Quick, nurse, the chair, I feel faint... 

[J. S. Bach]

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Aditi is officially Dr Aditi and we were talking about dropping off to sleep. She usually can fall asleep in a the middle of a sentence but gets a bit stressed if she doesn’t fall asleep rapidly. If going down for a snack and drink doesn’t work, she tries to remember all the state capitals for the USA or Department names in France. She said she had never needed to learn all of them.

I do not know any of them; the Department names in France, that is! 

                                                          

[PhilJ W]

He (she?) is going to blame it on the dog.

 

[polybear]

7 hours ago, TheQ said:

I have a collection of retired break out boxes, a useful source of terminals and connectors.

 

Bear never saved the sockets (2mm) - but did save the cable looms out of each end of the boxes (they were going in the skip).  500mm long, fitted with Souriau Connectors of varying sizes that mate (connect) with each other.  Gold plated contacts, any thing up to 59 pins in a connector; The most expensive connector cost £6K back in 1997 - and that's for one, not a mating pair...

I'm sure they'll find a use across joints between, er, two separate "modules" as they are quickly detachable  😉

 

7 hours ago, TheQ said:

I'm surprised the back of the TV hasn't been investigated, some TVs have a back lighting unit that can be replaced. And of course there's always the chance it's just a connection or supply to the back lighting that has failed.

Its not like old TVs tube that could seriously bite it you touched something you shouldn't.

 

I've not investigated deeply as yet (I will do) by telly part number etc. for a fixit video on the 'tube; a quick google yesterday suggested genuine Samsung backlights costing maybe eighty quid, with copies a lot less.  I'm in no hurry - the small (20"?) telly is now up and running in the Conservatory once more; the good news is that it does have an HDMI socket after all 😃.  Result.  A new 32" telly is about £170, incidentally.

 

6 hours ago, Tony_S said:

The Firestick is likely to be redundant on any new TV anyway. The apps on the Firestick are almost certainly already installed, there isn’t anything on a Firestick that isn’t on our Samsung. 

 

That'll be a double Turdycurses then...

Tony - is your Samsung a recent one?  It does seem that many get a bit of a slating now over sound quality, with a sound bar being the fix (= more LDC vouchers).  The other option is an LG; whatever I go for it'll be 43" and from JL (I have a load of vouchers and they give a free 5 year warranty)

 

2 hours ago, chrisf said:

More trouble, I am sorry to say.  Way out in the sticks between here and Hitchin there is an automatic speed camera.  Trust me to exceed the speed limit and have this heinous crime recorded for posterity on the way home from the RCTS last month.  It is probably more of a punishment to have to make sense of the paperwork than to fork out the £100 fixed penalty.  With everything else that has happened this week I am not terribly happy.  Before anyone asks, I got clobbered for an educational course a few years ago.

 

Chris

 

Last month?  There are limits on how long the Plod have to inform you that you've been naughty, otherwise the ticket is void apparently.  A quick google will soon tell you more.

[simontaylor484]

Busy busy busy today

 

Now sat waiting for 2 deliveries Amazon and Ikea. Amazon is imminent Ikea slot is 230 to 630pm

 

We have got some more panel frames built. We had a little production line going. Cutting wood gluing and clamping then setting whilst we built more or painted what we had built. I have just had a sandwich I just haven't stopped.

We have changed the design of the panels the first one I built a few years ago when timber was half the price and the design had become too timber hungry.

 

Time to put the kettle on if I can move. The senior family protection officer of the DDSF will not leave my side.

 

Update Ikea will be here within an hour 

[J. S. Bach]

8 hours ago, TheQ said:

Mooring Awl,

 ...snip... Three were on the road.. I left each in a cloud of diesel smoke when a gap in opposing  traffic appeared. I had to really hoof it to safely overtake, a 35 year old engine really doesn't like that and I don't normally do it... ....ship...

That reminded me of a 1983 Chevy Diesel Suburban that I once owned. One Friday, I was approaching an intersection that was up a short hill and around a ninety-degree bend. There was a white MB convertible (top down) tailgating me. The light at the top turned out to be red so I stopped normally. The urge to "slam on the brakes" was very hard to overcome! Anyway, the following Friday the same situation happened but this time the light happened to be green so I stomped the pedal; huge clouds of exhaust smoke* engulfed the MB!! They backed off real quickly.

 

*Reminiscent of an EM-1 attacking Sand Patch.

Edited August 27, 2022 by J. S. Bach
To do a minor edit.

[simontaylor484]

Here he is having his ears tickled 

 

Frankenrose has started to bud up again which is a bit of a surprise. It stopped flowering before the heatwave. Must be the rain we had 

[TheQ]

I appreciate Captain Cynical having the correct James Bond car, not the fake one shown in the film's...

 

Souraiu plugs yes we had a few of those, so do I, sadly not often with the matching pair.. changed many a pin thanks to ham fisted flight line crew. 

Almost time the head for the MRC...

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Since I turned the fridge down I've noticed that the electricity consumption has dropped. Just as well with the price increases coming up. Its still keeping things pretty cold so I might turn it down another notch. Got to get the layout fettled for my MRC exhibition in two months time. The controller is a bit old so I might get a new one for it. 

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

Much skipping has transpired, as we have just been busy, busy, busy with the house of late - nothing major, just a plethora of small jobs.  So generic greetings to all fellow ERs.

 

30747 just bought a vintage pond yacht off Ebay, and it has polished up very well.

 

I have somehow managed to b*gger the landing light.  30747 wanted the shade changing as she had a "better" one - the light fitting is a Laura Ashley brass jobbie, and the shade ring would not undo - so I tried to persuade it with a mole wrench, and instead of the shade ring coming off, the whole brass assembly has fallen to bits, and will not do up now so that the light comes on - so a call to our electrician.  I did tell 30747 at the time that I didn't really like brass fittings, and now I remember why.

 

So I seek some advice - our friends have recently bought an air fryer - a Ninja - and think it will

(a) save money

(b) cook as well as their oven, or possibly better

Any fellow ERs can assist with opinions as to whether we should obtain one - possibly a little less expensive than the Ninja.

 

And music lovers, I'd like to share two offerings today. 

 

 

 

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[simontaylor484]

Ikea are now 10 minutes late 

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, 45156 said:

So I seek some advice - our friends have recently bought an air fryer - a Ninja - and think it will

(a) save money

(b) cook as well as their oven, or possibly better

Any fellow ERs can assist with opinions as to whether we should obtain one - possibly a little less expensive than the Ninja.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

I have had one for two or three years now and I highly recommend them. They are virtually a mini fan oven and I use it for roasting root veg, it takes about ten minutes to do my Christmas roast veg all in one hit. A complete simple meal (pie and chips) can be cooked as well. It uses little if any more power than the microwave as its fitted with a thermostat and the fan uses negligible amounts of power. Mine is getting a bit long in the tooth now and the modern ones have more features. If I ever have to replace it I'm thinking of a Tefal one. They have a glass window so you can check on what you are cooking and a grill (like some microwaves). Dry fryer recipe books are available if you want to be adventurous. The Tefal is about £100 and IMHO is well worth it.

Edited August 27, 2022 by PhilJ W

[jamie92208]

2 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

I do not know any of them; the Department names in France, that is! 

                                                          

I know a few but there are over 100 if you cou t the overseas departments. 5 of them are in Paris.  Ours is no 17, Charente Maritime.  As to the US states I might well get up into the mid 40's but might be aslepp by then.

 

Jamie

 

[polybear]

1 hour ago, J. S. Bach said:

That reminded me of a 1983 Chevy Diesel Suburban that I once owned. One Friday, I was approaching an intersection that was up a short hill and around a ninety-degree bend. There was a white MB convertible (top down) tailgating me. The light at the top turned out to be red so I stopped normally. The urge to "slam on the brakes" was very hard to overcome! Anyway, the following Friday the same situation happened but this time the light happened to be green so I stomped the pedal; huge clouds of exhaust smoke* engulfed the MB!! They backed off real quickly.

 

*Reminiscent of an EM-1 attacking Sand Patch.

 

Uncle Psycho used to drive a rather high mileage K reg Vauxhall Cresta around the Worthing area (3.3L straight six; it didn't need oil changes cos' it'd burn it too quick....).  As a result it'd "smoke a bit" - especially when, if sitting in a traffic jam in town, Uncle P. happened to see anyone cross the road directly behind him when daring to cross the road whilst "The Red Man" was showing at a pedestrian crossing - he'd floor the throttle and create an instant smoke screen that James Bond would be jealous of.  Us cubs used to think it brilliant fun; Auntie Poly used to go absolutely Ape Sh1t whenever he did it - which was quite a lot....🤣

 

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

Souraiu plugs yes we had a few of those, so do I, sadly not often with the matching pair.. changed many a pin thanks to ham fisted flight line crew. 

 

 

The Great Empire thought they'd try doing away with different keyways to prevent the incorrect mating of connectors that weren't meant for each other - a cost cutting exercise.

Worked well until some Pongo connected a plug and socket not intended for each other - and stuffed 3 phase down Data Bus Lines.  Oops.

 

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Since I turned the fridge down I've noticed that the electricity consumption has dropped. Just as well with the price increases coming up. Its still keeping things pretty cold so I might turn it down another notch.

 

Bear wonders if the unplugging of items such as Microwaves** when not in use in order to save vouchers is actually a good idea, or does it increase the chances of failure?

(**They don't use much in standby, but over the course of a year it can add up apparently)

 

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Got to get the layout fettled for my MRC exhibition in two months time. The controller is a bit old so I might get a new one for it. 

 

Used Gaugemaster from the 'bay are a pretty safe bet cos' the manufacturer gives them a lifetime warranty (I believe that's still the case).

[polybear]

1 hour ago, 45156 said:

So I seek some advice - our friends have recently bought an air fryer - a Ninja - and think it will

(a) save money

(b) cook as well as their oven, or possibly better

Any fellow ERs can assist with opinions as to whether we should obtain one - possibly a little less expensive than the Ninja.

 

 

A friend has just taken delivery of one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Uten-Technology-Healthy-Cooking-Grilling/dp/B08NF6XPRT/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=ni4vP&content-id=amzn1.sym.31c9090c-9b65-4f91-bf37-04dd92281172&pf_rd_p=31c9090c-9b65-4f91-bf37-04dd92281172&pf_rd_r=38YHNZGPS1DXWT9JA63C&pd_rd_wg=TOMtF&pd_rd_r=7de03a0a-a4db-4437-85cf-a983a37aa6af&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mi

 

Apparently Air Fryers were being discussed on some morning TV programme as a good way to save money cos' they're a lot cheaper than using an oven.

 

I'm waiting for a report on how she gets on...

[polybear]

Bear here....again....

A busy day;  the carpet offcut was measured (it has a slight taper - 1.84m at one end, up to 1.94m at the other) - as a result there is some concern it may not now be big enough for the hall & landing.  Careful checking required....

It's now been rolled & stored in the muddling room.

Next it was sorting, cleaning & bringing various items of furniture downstairs into the lounge - this included two dining room chairs (Bear has a set of four - for those dinner parties that happen, er, never....); I was rather pleased to discover that one still fits in the alcove behind the telly - that space is narrower than it was due to the pipes being boxed in.

 

Then it was sorting the TV cabinet in the Conservatory, including much cleaning.  This progressed to a "fairly" deep clean of the Conservatory itself - which took all afternoon.  Feels (and looks) good when it's done.  Tick.

 

Door planning?  Diddly squat.  TC's.

[Kelly]

2 hours ago, 45156 said:

So I seek some advice - our friends have recently bought an air fryer - a Ninja - and think it will

(a) save money

(b) cook as well as their oven, or possibly better

Any fellow ERs can assist with opinions as to whether we should obtain one - possibly a little less expensive than the Ninja.

 

 

We got a cheapish one from Lidl last year and it has been great. Does really good roasties and jacket spuds and uses a fraction of the power the gas hob and/or the electric oven would use.

 

A friend posted a link on facebook with a breakdown of the cost of cooking appliances and Air Fryer, Slow Cooker and Microwave were amongst the cheapest to run.

 

I suspect over the coming months, especially when winter starts to hit, the slow cooker will get more use as well as the air fryer.

 

Definitely worth getting an air fryer if you can find one in your budget. They can't do everything, but they can do a lot and do them pretty well.

[simontaylor484]

Ikea delivered 4 large boxes now in the garage. The bookcases will need cutting at the bottom to fit the skirting board so they will fit back to the wall. 

Now where did I leave my profile gauge?