Early Risers.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[Ozexpatriate]

Hopefully the spam in my email box will decrease as of Wednesday.

 

Just about every day in the last week is "branded" and leveraged by electronic marketing, except Sunday. (I guess the NFL still owns that.)

 

Thanksgiving

Black Friday

Small Business Saturday

(Sunday)*

Cyber Monday

Giving Tuesday

 

* NFL week 12?

 

I don't mind an occasional email (and usually can easily unsubscribe) but I've been getting as many as three different emails every day from some retailers every day for about a week. Hopefully that will slow down.

[pH]

Our power has just gone out. There were what looked like a couple of attempts at a reconnection (those are automatic on some circuits) but that didn’t work. It looks possible that it’s a tree branch down on a line.

[Ozexpatriate]

3 minutes ago, pH said:

Our power has just gone out.

Hope it gets reconnected soon and everything is back online by morning. It's no fun in the dark with snow on the ground and no central heating. 

 

Don't open the freezer. It should be 'good' for 24 hours.

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[iL Dottore]

Good Morning All,

 

Trolled through the posts and noted an interesting juxtaposition of posts about travels through the US and geology (specifically volcanoes).

 

This got me thinking: a number of the more easily excitable media commentators - upon learning that the upwards movement of the Yellowstone caldera floor and the rising of the Yellowstone plateau have been increasing a lot recently - have declared that a supereruption of the Yellowstone is “overdue”. So if you have places to visit in the US on your bucket list, you’d better visit them “toot-sweet”

 

Fortunately, cooler heads have prevailed:  the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory issued a statement on its website stating: Although fascinating, the new findings do not imply increased geologic hazards at Yellowstone, and certainly do not increase the chances of a 'supereruption' in the near future. Contrary to some media reports, Yellowstone is not 'overdue' for a supereruption.

 

Having said that, unless we’ve learned to “tame volcanoes” by then, when the caldera does erupt (and I think it’s a question of when, not if) it will cause devastation on a world-wide basis. In comparison the Eyjafjallajokull eruption would be very small beer indeed. Apart from the immediate destruction around the caldera itself and blanketing a goodly portion of the US in volcanic ash, what would be spewed into the atmosphere would significantly affect the climate and cause a massive die off of plants and animals - the knock on impact from that would permanently alter our biosphere. Of course life on earth would survive (including us humans, perhaps) but a decade or so on from such a supereruption we’d be living on a very different planet.

 

Time to get out the Nomex undies, perhaps.

 

Fascinating topic geology - puts human puny and egotistical posturings into perspective, doesn’t it?

[chrisf]

This moring's news is not entirely welcome.  I have started chemotherapy.  More ruddy tablets ...

 

Chris

[iL Dottore]

27 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Hopefully the spam in my email box will decrease as of Wednesday.

 

Just about every day in the last week is "branded" and leveraged by electronic marketing, except Sunday. (I guess the NFL still owns that.)

 

Thanksgiving

Black Friday

Small Business Saturday

(Sunday)*

Cyber Monday

Giving Tuesday

 

* NFL week 12?

 

I don't mind an occasional email (and usually can easily unsubscribe) but I've been getting as many as three different emails every day from some retailers every day for about a week. Hopefully that will slow down.

You forgot one Oz

 

Give Captain Cynical your cash Wednesday 

[Barry O]

4 minutes ago, chrisf said:

This moring's news is not entirely welcome.  I have started chemotherapy.  More ruddy tablets ...

 

Chris

@Chris F I hope itgoes well!

 

Just keep taking the tablets.

 

Baz

[jamie92208]

Good moaning to all and of course Sundry.  @chrisfI hope thatbthings go as well as they can. 

 

Here it is still dark but the fire has been rejuvenated  and it is warm in the house. We had a bit of frost on the car windscreens yesterday.  Time to put the duvet cover on the lemon tree.  The ironing awaits so some suitable music will be chosen.  Not a lot else to report apart from the fact that Beth and I watched and enjoyed the football last night.  The politics surrounding Iran being sent home by the USA must have been interesting.

 

Jamie

Edited November 30, 2022 by jamie92208

[Barry O]

Ey Up!

 

Still fatchy pog here. Pah!

 

Off to Rutland today for a family lunch/ present swap. The North West Leeds Highlands  to Donnie railway station thencottesmore..lunch and return. Beast has a full petrol tank and batteries.

 

I avoided the kickball..from the screams of excitement numbknuts next door desisted from drilling/hammering/ General noise making to watch the kickball.

 

Herself may have upset him..she had the music group around for a recorder session. I was in my loft room and I could hear them..great!

 

I need to get a wiggle on.. mugatea first then... the M62 and A1 here I come!

 

Have a great day!

 

Baz

 

[TheQ]

16 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Good moaning to all and of course Sundry.  @chrisfI hope thatbthings go as well as they can. 

 

Herecitbis still dark but the firevhas been rejuvenated  and it is warm in the house. We had a bit of frost on the car windscreens yesterday.  Time to put the duvet cover on the lemon tree.  The ironing awaits so some suitable music will be chosen.  Not a lot else to report apart from the fact that Beth and I watched and enjoyed the football last night.  Thecpolitics surrounding Iran being sent home by the USA must have been interesting.

 

Jamie

And not I suspect good for the Iran football team. Had they won, they would have been heros at home and the " authorities" couldn't have touched them.. But now not singing their anthem and losing to the USA....

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

 4 hours sleep, 1.5 hours sleep.. unspecified semi dozing.. Not enough sleep.

 

Ben the Brave Collie ventured into the darkness this Morning, and it was dark heavily overcast, the only light was that reflected from the clouds from Norwich , Great Yarmouth and Bacton Gas works.

Fairly chilly it was too but no frost.

 

Ben will not notice for the first few days as I'll be back slightly early on the Thursday and of course I normally have the next three days off.. Come the Monday morning He'll be trying to get me up to go to work.. and be quite worried about me not going.. He's very much into routine..

 

So we can blame the  Ukraine  / Russia situation on Norway Sweden and Denmark... Because the Ukrainian Rus are descended from the Vikings..

Actually we can blame a lot on the Vikings, the loss of the Welsh speaking Pictish kingdoms in Scotland, the Irish invasions of what is now England, Scotland and Wales... The Norman invasions of England, Wales and Ireland, with their take over of Scottish aristocracy and also the way we speak..

 

Some of the electrical noise on the systems has been traced.. When the outside lights came on the noise levels doubled, there is a second system in the lab now with a routing running on it keeping a measure of when these noises show up.. 

 

Time I went to get a third system (actually this weeks second major system to be worked on).. It' getting crowded in here..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Lurker]

43 minutes ago, TheQ said:

And not I suspect good for the Iran football team. Had they won, they would have been heros at home and the " authorities" couldn't have touched them.. But now not singing their anthem and losing to the USA....

Being thrashed by England in the opening game won’t have done them much good either. England is regarded in a very low light  - perfidious Albion indeed - because of political manoeuvring in the 19th century during the Great Game and the protection of our interests in India. 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Somewhat dull here but it should stay mainly dry with the odd sunny spell.  6°C now rising to 10C.

A walk at least as far as Asda will be undertaken as we're running short on milk and that won't do if I want copious amounts of tea and coffee.

A couple of minor domestic tasks need attention today and once again I have to scale the North Face of Mount Loft to replace all the empty decoration boxes.   I also need to sort out my car insurance renewal although I've still got a couple of weeks go do that.  

The Boss has got a dental appointment for a check up  but such is her confidence since she's changed to my dentist I am no longer required to accompany her which means I'm a free agent for the rest of the day,

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

 

 

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, chrisf said:

This moring's news is not entirely welcome.  I have started chemotherapy.  More ruddy tablets ...

Unpleasant news, I agree. But I shouldn’t grumble too much - without these “ruddy tablets”  you wouldn’t be with us today.

 

Medicine has transformed itself over the past half-century, especially in Oncology. When I started in the 1970s, a diagnosis like yours was pretty much a guaranteed death sentence. Nowadays, many cancers - if caught early enough - are not just treatable but in many instances curable.

 

Many of the 15 Medical Milestones flagged by the BMJ were already in place in the 1970s (https://www.bmj.com/content/medical-milestones) but it was the rocket fuelled development of computer technology in the 1990s which lead to a tsunami of advances in molecular biology which in turn led to the monoclonal antibodies - a mammoth advance for the treatment of cancer.

 

It’s sobering to reflect that many ERs (including yours truly) would be D-E-A-D had we been born even just 50 years earlier than we were. Verily, until quite recently, life for most people was indeed “nasty, brutish and short” 

 

Now to do something about obesity, alcohol, smoking and other lifestyle related disease, which - according to a number of reports I’ve read - eats up about 40% of the NHS budget

[polybear]

9 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

You didn't by any chance come across a Tonka Test Pilot called Dave Tanner alias Uncle T amongst the team.  He's a mutual friend of myself and Dave Hunt.

 

Jamie

 

Sadly not - the Guys I dealt with were either Flight Test Dept. (but no Aircrew), the Armourers or the Mech & Avionics Guys from the Hangar.  Good times - we had a pretty good crack.

 

5 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Oakland had a bad reputation for a good reason. 

 

A quick Google found this (based on 2019 - I somehow suspect that things are worse now):

 

Crime in Oakland, California

Crime is ranked on a scale of 1 (low crime) to 100 (high crime)

Oakland violent crime is 75.5. (The US average is 22.7)

Oakland property crime is 81.2. (The US average is 35.4)

 

A certain Bear has just crossed it off his Bucket List....

 

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

You forgot one Oz

 

Give Captain Cynical your cash Wednesday 

 

And the most important one of all:

Give Bear your Cake Thursday 😁

 

Bear here.....

MIUABGAD - starting with new labels to go on the parcel to be collected; Evri failed yesterday as well (it wasn't booked, but I did think they might anyway as they failed on Monday).  The buyer has been advised....

After that I think I'll start pondering the installation of small decorative ceiling roses for the Hall and Landing Ceilings - I already have the roses (one is plaster, the other is MDF).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[polybear]

Firstly, VSBT's to @chrisf......

 

57 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

I also need to sort out my car insurance renewal although I've still got a couple of weeks go do that.  

 

 

From the Money Saving Expert Website:

 

"Your renewal notice from your insurer will show the new price for next year (and the price you paid last year). It's usually sent around 28 days before your current policy ends. If you do nothing, it'll usually automatically renew at that new price, so always have your renewal date in your diary to take action. 

The cheapest time to get quotes is 23 days ahead of your renewal date – cover becomes more expensive the closer you get

Our analysis of over 70 million quotes from February 2020 to February 2021 from the four biggest comparison sites – Compare The Market, Confused.com, Gocompare and MoneySupermarket – showed a policy costs an average of £1,198 a year on renewal day. But 23 days earlier the average is just £694 a year, a MASSIVE £504 difference.

In general, the closer to your renewal date you get quotes, the more of a risk you're deemed to be (we've heard that it can show insurers you're a bit disorganised). But getting quotes too early, for example, 28+ days out, can also push the average price up – likely as fewer insurers will provide quotes that early". 

 

HTH

Bear gone.

[pH]

Power’s back on. The power company’s online outage map only shows outages which are still (in)active, so I don’t know what caused the one that affected us. There are now several devices, clocks etc. flashing various incorrect numbers, but resetting them can wait till later.

[jjb1970]

I just spent 40 minutes in the local MRT station area waiting for the afternoon deluge to pass over, it was a full-on tropical deluge, the choice is to either:

 

1. Just walk and accept you'll be soaked to the skin with everything drenched (including back-ack contents, it doesn't matter what the manufacturers say, they don't keep stuff dry in this rain), regardless of having an umbrella;

2. Call a grab ride or taxi, but waiting times go bonkers when rush hour coincides with one of these deluges; or

3. Wait, and take a chance the rain will pass over after a reasonable time.

 

Do ya feel lucky?? I'd advise against option 1, this isn't just a shower, it's like a fire hose in the sky. Out of options 2 and 3, depending how far it is option 3 tends to be sensible, MRT stations often have hawker centres and super markets on the same site so you can get something to ear or go shopping while you wait.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

A grey, but dry start to the day here in the northwest corner of England. Today I’m on door answering duties as Sheila will be grappling with the iron and bedding and when this is taking place, she does NOT like interrupted! So I will potter about in the cellar, ensuring I can both hear the door and answer it too. 

 

On the subject of cancers and chemotherapy, I would be definitely not be here if it wasn’t for modern cancer treatment. I’ve mentioned on here before, but I was diagnosed with T3 aggressive prostate cancer 10 1/2 years ago. If that diagnosis had been made 25 years earlier I’d have been lucky to surveyed 4 years, let alone 10 and 1/2.

 

Back later. 

 

Brian

[The Lurker]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

It’s sobering to reflect that many ERs (including yours truly) would be D-E-A-D had we been born even just 50 years earlier than we were. Verily, until quite recently, life for most people was indeed “nasty, brutish and short” 

 

 

I've read that the modal age of death in England and Wales was 0 until the early 1960s, such was the prevalence of infant deaths.

[New Haven Neil]

3 hours ago, TheQ said:

Some of the electrical noise on the systems has been traced.. When the outside lights came on the noise levels doubled, there is a second system in the lab now with a routing running on it keeping a measure of when these noises show up.. 

 

LED lighting?  They are awfully electrically 'noisy'.

 

Morning, late on here due to full on domestication, but the washing is done, and now as it is a sunny 8c, I'm off for a walk to the Post Office.

 

Best wishes sent to Chrisf, iD's pills should keep you well.

[PhilJ W]

4 hours ago, chrisf said:

This moring's news is not entirely welcome.  I have started chemotherapy.  More ruddy tablets ...

 

Chris

Very sorry to hear that Chris. I hope the cure is effective.

[PhilJ W]

11 hours ago, zarniwhoop said:

https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Gods

An interesting sight, quite a choice of gods to adhere to, or do they adhere to you?

[polybear]

1 hour ago, BSW01 said:

Today I’m on door answering duties as Sheila will be grappling with the iron and bedding and when this is taking place, she does NOT like interrupted!

 

Hmm......playing Doorman, or risking an 'umpy SWMBO?  No-brainer.

 

Bear is MIUAHGA - some prep/planning associated with the Great H/S/L refurb (that is taking FAR longer than it should - the antics of certain brush-wielding fellow ER'ers are putting a Bear to shame.....) plus a little checking/planning regarding a possible new mod to the chassis construction jig.

Right, time to empty the kitchen bin cos' it's bin day tomorrow. 

 

In other news.....

@chrisf Any news on the iffy legs - any better?

 

And finally.....

Bear is rather impressed with @PupCam's machining exploits - sadly such projects that require time-consuming and very careful setting up become a no-no when you only have an evening to do them it ☹️

 

Bear gone.