Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

18 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

There was a good reason for the weight limit.  There were a couple of cases of the gas cylinder exploding through the sest. That would bring tears to most peoples eyes.  When I set up an office for two new staff I had to specify the higher weight limit chairs as they were both rather large.

 

Jamie

I know. One of the other programmers suggested his large colleague stopped making a fuss. He had previously been a nurse and described  the effect of a piston exiting the chair seat. It appears that A&E staff have to deal with a range of items that people have accidentally sat on. 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Just done a bit of shopping at lunchtime. Just the usual things such as meals, milk and bread but the first time the bill topped £30 ouch!

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I quite like snakes, they are fascinating creatures. When I was studying herpetology as a university elective, I much preferred to handle snakes (non-poisonous ones, obviously. Poisonous snakes are handled with great respect and very carefully by experienced people) than handling frogs and toads. Lizards are also quite pleasant to handle, although the big ones can give you a nasty bite with the associated risk of a very nasty infection due to the bacteria in the lizard’s mouth.

 

Interesting Frog Factoid: South American Tree Frogs secrete either a hallucinogen or a toxin according to species, but a South American Treefrog, whether hallucinogenic or toxic, raised in captivity in Britain will not even give you a headache – no matter how long you suck on it. The reason being it is what the tree frogs eat in the wild that is metabolised into either a hallucinogen or a toxin.

 

”Frog Sucking” now that’s something for the jaded, louche nouveau riche…. A new TikTok craze?

 

Apparently the most hallucinogenic is the cane toad. They were introduced to Australia in the 30's to deal with an insect pest in sugar cane fields before becoming a pest species themselves. Their skin is both hallucinogenic and toxic.

[polybear]

6 hours ago, Kelly said:

The ankle is aching a lot this past couple of days, probably because of GETS Sunday. The show was good, but I was not too impressed being unable to access the two balconies with no lifts or any indication of a lift if I didn't see one. I'm hopeful I'll be more mobile next year and be able to manage the stairs, but this year it was a definite no, so I missed some of the layouts I'd wanted to see sadly. Accessibility is important and this will be a big factor over whether I return to the venue I think next year.

 

 

The website for this year's GETS show does mention "disabled access to all areas" so hopefully next year should be the same.

 

6 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Quite frankly, I can't be ars3d.

 

I have better things to do than indulge in playing with stuffed toys.

 

Captain Cynical

 

 

Hmm......sounds to this Bear like CC is running scared.  Wise, very wise.......

Rumour has it that Donk is prepared to show forgiveness....upon receipt of a suitably large consignment of cake, naturally.

 

6 hours ago, Barry O said:

muppet next door is removing ... more walls.. the house must be kept together by faith as no steel work has gone into provide any supports... still.. he knows what he is doing (!) .. yeh! Right!

 

Baz

 

Is said Muppets' house physically connected to Castle Baz by any chance.......

 

Bear here.......

Loft hatch ordered.  Tick.  Fortunately - and for no apparent reason - looking at the supplier's website today caused a "5% off if you order today" code to appear, which was kinda handy; enough saved to nearly pay for a couple of chip shop runs.  Result.

I also discovered that the loft ladder is too bloody long - it'll only just fit, so long as I don't want architrave round one of the doorframes.  That'll teach a certain Bear to take note of numerous Ar5ebadgers saying "order the longer one" in their reviews.  Turdycurses.  However.....

(a) the shorter one is a tenner cheaper,

(b) Wickes returns are free to collect.

(c) It enabled me to check clearances before ordering the loft hatch, and 

(d) No huge effort was wasted.

(e) It'll not delay proceedings.

- so not all bad.

I've now started work on painting the newly fitted mdf loft surround.

 

And finally.....

I've also heard that Bear's carpet for the H,S & L has arrived (ordered now as it'll be used in conjunction with the bluddy great free offcut from the lounge carpet - and I wanted to ensure availability and [hopefull] colour match).  Tick

 

[PhilJ W]

Talking of adjustable chairs, many years ago a colleagues office chair had broken. Fortunately no cylinders or pistons were involved as the adjustment was a screw mechanism. The shaft on which the chair rotated was hollow and that had broken. The colleague who's chair it was had to stick a finger down the hollow tube for it to come out covered in grease and dirt. The rest of us managed to control our amusement with some difficulty.

[Tony_S]

8 minutes ago, polybear said:

I've now started work on painting the newly fitted mdf loft surround.

I did all the ladder fixing and making sure it all worked properly before sorting out the hatch. The old hatch opened upwards. The new one had to swing down so it was easier to do all the making good (or as good as it got) in one go. 

[New Haven Neil]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Hmm......sounds to this Bear like CC is running scared.  Wise, very wise.......

Rumour has it that Donk is prepared to show forgiveness....upon receipt of a suitably large consignment of cake, naturally.

 

Donk tells me he has entered an Entente Cordiale, I'm not sure if the delivery of a GWR van full of horse nuts has anything to do with it.  He swears he didn't use any biological weapons, and iD's brush with covid has more to do with the Haggis Front of Edinburgh, or the Edinburgh Front of Haggi than any nefarious donkey tricks.

 

 

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

I did all the ladder fixing and making sure it all worked properly before sorting out the hatch. The old hatch opened upwards. The new one had to swing down so it was easier to do all the making good (or as good as it got) in one go. 

 

Bear made sure to do as much as is necessary before starting the painting - having "the wrong" ladder at least allowed me to check the clearances (the new loft hatch will reduce the loft opening a little).

[iL Dottore]

4 hours ago, 45156 said:

…we tested several times, and they never came up positive - how odd is that - or is it?  One has to wonder about the accuracy of the tests.

Getting accurate lab results is very much a science on its own. In regards to Covid testing, there are basically two main types: a rapid antigen test and a PCR test that takes about 2 to 3 days to analyse. With both types of tests there is a greater or lesser degree of false negatives (the test says it isn’t there but it is) and false positives (the test says it is there, but it isn’t). Of the two, PCR is the most accurate.

 

However, complicating matters further is the issue of where you get your samples from. Even the best analytical test, with high specificity, reproducibility and accuracy, is only as good as the sample it analyses. To put it (very) simplistically, you could say that the more invasive the sampling, the better the specimen for analysis.

 

Although not an analytical test per se, a good illustration of the above is that of taking a patient’s temperature. The most accurate assessment is a rectal temperature, followed by temporal artery (which requires a specialised thermometer)  tympanic (ditto) and sublingual temperatures. Axillary temperatures aren’t terribly accurate, but may be useful for a quick check. Although the most invasive sampling (rectal temp) is the most accurate, unless absolutely necessary tympanic temp is taken instead.

[BoD]

Cue the ‘Carry on ….. ‘ jokes

[J. S. Bach]

9 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

...snip... Went to Florida a long time ago and was impressed by the wildlife while others were impressed by Disney Land etc. ...snip...

I really doubt that, Disneyland is in California; Walt Disney World is the one in Florida.

 

9 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

 ...snip... I did however really, really enjoy two days at Cape Cabaveral.

Cape Canaveral.

[Tony_S]

I haven’t been to Cape Canaveral but my brother visited and was rather impressed. Matthew and I went to Houston. They had improved Mission Control since I saw the original moon mission TV broadcasts. Back then it was all black and white but  when we visited some colour had been applied. Fairly drab colours to be honest. To be serious, it was a great day out. 

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

”Frog Sucking” now that’s something for the jaded, louche nouveau riche…. A new TikTok craze?

Old news for Queenslanders where lads were dared to lick the cane toads - (Rhinella marina) a disastrous early 20th century South American import made before the import(ance) of the destructiveness of invasive species was understood.

 

No TikTok was required for children to do stupid things.

 

They do secrete toxins (bufotenin) which can produce hallucinations and can cause illness and even death.

 

EDIT

Oops - missed Phil's post:

2 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Apparently the most hallucinogenic is the cane toad. They were introduced to Australia in the 30's to deal with an insect pest in sugar cane fields before becoming a pest species themselves. Their skin is both hallucinogenic and toxic.

Yes.

 

Edited October 11, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[Kelly]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

The website for this year's GETS show does mention "disabled access to all areas" so hopefully next year should be the same.

 

 

 

 

If there was any kind of lift then I failed to find it and there was no signage by the stairs access pointing to a lift. Signs would have been helpful. 

 

I could have asked of course and the staff were very friendly,  but by the time I remembered that the balconies existed it was less than a hour to go before kicking out and I was already exhausted by then. 

[Ozexpatriate]

4 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

It sure would be nice if all USB charging cables where the same BLQQDY type! I mean what IDIOT decided that there should be so many variants. I've more than a dozen in different lengths and connectors.

The EU has mandated USB charging compatibility (USBC I believe). I'm not sure when this goes into effect. Doubtless manufacturers will ignore this for non-EU products (even with the extra cost of maintaining EU-specific variants).

 

Edited October 11, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[Kelly]

Just now, Ozexpatriate said:

The EU has mandated USB charging compatibility (USBC I believe). I'm not sure when this goes into effect. Doubtless manufacturers will ignore this for non-EU products (even with the extra cost of maintaining EU-specific variants).

 

 

2024 for phones etc,  2025 or 2026 I think for laptops. 

 

Most phones and tablets already use USB c connections anyway now. Only apple has been holding out on the iPhone. The good thing is that it will solve the mess of things that require usb but don't use the standard connections as all will have to have usb c, and it will be cheaper to just standardise on that world wide.

[monkeysarefun]

16 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Old news for Queenslanders where lads were dared to lick the cane toads - (Rhinella marina) a disastrous early 20th century South American import made before the import(ance) of the destructiveness of invasive species was understood.

 

No TikTok was required for children to do stupid things.

 

They do secrete toxins (bufotenin) which can produce hallucinations and can cause illness and even death.

 

Oops - missed Phil's post:

Yes.

 

 

 

But you'd have wanted to bring your nan back one of these when you went on childhood  holidays up north  cos "nan loves ornaments!"

 

 

 

Edited October 11, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[Ozexpatriate]

19 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I haven’t been to Cape Canaveral but my brother visited and was rather impressed.

I haven't been back since the late 1980s - contemporary with STS (Space Shuttle) operations. Things have changed dramatically for the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex since then when the 'museum' attractions were largely Project Apollo based.

 

Space Shuttle Atlantis was still new (only a couple of years old) when I visited and is now on display there.

 

I did see a distant rocket launch (non-shuttle) from Orlando.

 

Edited October 11, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[BoD]

So …

 

the world/country is going to hell in a handcart and possibly much worse but one of the main stories on the news  is about an artist selling these non fungi token things then burning his own works of art.  
 

Is it just me?

[Ozexpatriate]

6 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

one of these

Glad to see the "Australian made" tag! The cane toad tat in the souvenir shops always amazed me.

 

They don't *seem* to be quite as common as I remember them (based on my sporadic visits). I suspect mosquito abatement in the suburbs has probably reduced their population density a little bit. 

 

Once upon a time their leathery remains* would lie flattened and baked in the sun for months on roadsides.

 

* When run over, their insides explode through their mouths (they pop) and birds, insects, etc clean up the viscera while the toxic skin bakes in the sun.

 

[Tony_S]

3 minutes ago, BoD said:

So …

 

the world/country is going to hell in a handcart and possibly much worse but one of the main stories on the news  is about an artist selling these non fungi token things then burning his own works of art.  
 

Is it just me?

I didn’t see that. I watched the 8pm news on BBC news channel (231 Freeview); Ukraine, British Economy and Iran protests. 

[Ozexpatriate]

4 minutes ago, BoD said:

... one of the main stories on the news  is about an artist selling these non fungi token things then burning his own works of art

Two observations:

1. A consequence of a surfeit of horrible news (nuntium horribilis?) is the desire for alternatives by news producers
2. Reporting here is that the bottom has fallen out of the 'market' for NFTs.

[Ozexpatriate]

49 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I didn’t see that. I watched the 8pm news on BBC news channel (231 Freeview); Ukraine, British Economy and Iran protests. 

Topline on CNN/us right now is Ukraine and US politics with sidebars on the DART mission success and the coronation date.

 

EDIT:
 

What I presume was the offending story, presented only as video, was third down in the "News and buzz" subsection (after an editorial on a Frederick Douglass speech in 1852 and a story on boaters rescued from sharks).

 

Topline subsequently changed (45 minutes later) with the news of Angela Lansbury's death at 96.

 

Edited October 11, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[grandadbob]

@BoD Not just you Warren.  When I saw that I said "What a ####### moron and ###### #### #######  etc 

Many expletives deleted and I was nearly deleted as well and severely chastised by Management as she doesn't approve of swearing and is trying to bar me from watching the "news" in future.......

oh and don't get me started on people gluing themselves to roads and stopping normal people trying to go about their business and go to work, hospital  etc etc.

Edited October 11, 2022 by grandadbob

[monkeysarefun]

4 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

 

 

They don't *seem* to be quite as common as I remember them (based on my sporadic visits). I suspect mosquito abatement in the suburbs has probably reduced their population density a little bit. 

 

 

 

 

Unlike people, they are leaving Queensland and heading south, in fact only last month.....

 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/29/nsw-on-alert-after-more-than-a-dozen-cane-toads-found-an-hour-north-of-sydney

 

I've encountered them on trips to Nth Queensland and the Territory, thy can be surprisingly large.   At  RAAF Townsville they would gather under the pathlights in groups in the evening, I guess waiting for moths, but gave you the opportunity to play canetoad golf using the umbrella carried  for the tropical downpours. 

 

 

[Tony_S]

2 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Topline on CNN/us right now is Ukraine and US politics with sidebars on the DART mission success and the coronation date.

The BBC news channel has a bit more US centric stuff later in the evening but I probably won’t be watching tonight. BBC news and BBC World news are combining at some time in the future so perhaps all the news will come from Washington and Singapore.