Early Risers.

[monkeysarefun]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

 

There's video on the BBC website showing a guy throwing boiling water into the air and it immediately turns to snow.

 

Just tried that and burned the top of my head. Conclusion, don't try when it's 28C and sunny. Why don't the BBC warn people?.

Edited December 24, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[pH]

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

We didn't have much in the way of freezing rain - there is a little bit of ice on branches but mostly there was 10 - 20mm of accumulated crunchy sleet on paved surfaces. 

We got snow yesterday evening, followed by freezing rain overnight. We had to clear the driveway again this morning. The snow was almost like crème brûlée - a very thin hard surface on top, with soft snow underneath.

Edited December 24, 2022 by pH

[AndyID]

40 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Just tried that here and burned the top of my head. Conclusion, don't try when it's 28C and sunny. Why don't the BBC warn people?.

 

Pretty sure you could get a class-action lawsuit going against Auntie Beeb.

[monkeysarefun]

27 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

Pretty sure you could get a class-action lawsuit going against Auntie Beeb.

This is Ostraya, where instead we forward such things to all  our mates "ya gotta try this it really works!"

Edited December 24, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[Ozexpatriate]

36 minutes ago, pH said:

The snow was almost like crème brûlée - a very thin hard surface on top, with soft snow underneath.

I've seen that a number of times with nastier winter storms in Portland - deep snow topped with a thick ice layer (>10mm), or even the layer cake of snow, hard ice, snow, and hard ice.

 

The top layer of ice can be strong enough that smaller pets can walk on it without breaking through into the softer snow below.

 

A colleague had a funny story of his little dog running outside - all four legs wind-milling without traction and shooting down the driveway into the street.

 

This one should not be too bad. The current forecast is for increasing temperatures overnight. It is -2.5°C now and my 'phone suggests it will be 2°C at 2:00am. Christmas day might see >10°C.

 

We'll need rain tomorrow to melt the packed sleet though.

[jjb1970]

On lawyers and vexatious cases it's a bit of a minefield. It's easy for the media to misrepresent cases to generate outrage, and really the only way anyone can make a properly informed decision is to sit through the proceedings and consider the evidence presented, which is impractical for most of us. The infamous McD coffee case is a good example, it is still generally presented by the media as darwinism in action and ambulance chasing lawyers defying all common sense. However, it's not that simple. Now, personally I do think driving with hot liquid in your lap is a dumb thing to do, but McDonalds had been warned many times the temperature of their coffee was far too hot (significantly hotter than other shops and much hotter than typical home brewed coffee) and there had been hundreds of complaints. They chose to ignore all warnings and continue with serving it at very high temperature despite it being understood that lowering the temperature would still allow the coffee to be very hot and mitigate the risk of burns because of the time of exposure needed for the most severe burns. Does that mean that people don't have a responsibility for their own safety? No. Like I say I think driving with a hot coffee cup on your lap is dumb, but neither does it exonerate a company ignoring multiple warnings and complaints and not taking a very simple step to mitigate risk by just dropping the temperature of the stuff. In a past life I used to be involved in quite a lot of maritime accident cases, and they were never as simple or clear cut as people might think from those that were reported in the shipping media or pub conversations.

 

[Erichill16]

(Early) Morning All,

Not sleeping again due to a griping pain. I think I know what causing it but a bit of detective work tomorrow will be in order.

The media do like to sensationalise a story. You often get ‘news’ of practitioners not be qualified whereas the truth of the story is that their qualification is not recognised here and a simple qualification test will result in a qualification. True, they don’t have the correct qualification but they ain’t somebody ‘off the street’. Hate reading tabloid papers, all  sensationalism and no substance, wouldn’t even use one if my griping pain turned to something more serious and I run out of Andrex.

Good (early) morning.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

49 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

Now, personally I do think driving with hot liquid in your lap is a dumb thing to do ...

Which, of course, was not the situation in that particular case.

Quote

Mrs. Liebeck was not driving when her coffee spilled, nor was the car she was in moving. She was the passenger in a car that was stopped in the parking lot of the McDonald’s where she bought the coffee. She had the cup between her knees while removing the lid to add cream and sugar when the cup tipped over and spilled the entire contents on her lap.

The media had a field day misrepresenting this case as a frivolous lawsuit without the sort of context you describe in your post.

 

One has to consider that 12 "reasonable" people, presented with evidence and any relevant explanations of the law and their responsibility in their instructions by a judge made a decision.

 

While counsel (for plaintiffs and defendants) likes to empanel people they perceive to be "influenceable" (they generally don't like technical people used to analyzing data professionally) I don't understand why the fundamental principle of trial by jury, dating back at least to Runnymede in 1215, gets nullified so often by the media.

[Ozexpatriate]

35 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

You often get ‘news’ of practitioners not be qualified whereas the truth of the story is that their qualification is not recognised ...

Locally, the saga of Mats Järlström v. City of Beaverton. 

 

Mr. Järlström contested the timing of the amber aspect on traffic lights in Beaverton after his wife got a ticket from a red light camera. (He was right.) In evidence he described himself as an "engineer". (Which he was - an electrical engineer.) He was not however a licensed "Professional Engineer". The Oregon Board of Engineering fined him for claiming to be an engineer in court and threatened him with additional fines and potentially time in jail.

 

Meanwhile the Institute of Transportation Engineers reviewed his arguments and determined that his claims were correct and that the formula used by the city for amber aspects was wrong.

 

Ultimately he successfully sued the state engineering board for violating his first amendment rights.

[jjb1970]

I am a fellow of my institute and a chartered engineer, but I find some of the claims of ownership of the word engineer and attempts to monopolise the word a bit cringe inducing. The word extends far beyond licensed engineers, chartered/professional engineers and members of professional bodies/institutes. Most of the engineers I know (who are very highly credentialed, including a professor lecturing in engineering) haven't bothered joining an institution or registering as an engineer yet are employed in responsible roles and are accurately described as engineers. The word and concept pre-dates the modern concept promoted by professional institutes/bodies. I am often asked if I like some of the sillier uses of the word and if I would like anyone to be able to call themselves a doctor or solicitor. My response is that I usually laugh and that people should be employed and assessed on the basis of their education, training and expertise rather than what they call themselves. Licensing has its place but just as not all engineers have the necessary attributes to be registered or licensed so not all such engineers can do tasks performed by others who don't bother with titles. In safety critical roles there are generally strict authorization processes regardless of educational credentials. Being a P/Eng or C/Eng can be a large part of demonstrating core competency but is not sufficient in itself. Equally, people without such registration can satisfy authorization criteria. 

[jamie92208]

 Good moaning from the Charente.   It got so warm yesterday in the house that we let the fire go out.  We might well not light it till tomorrow if the warm weather continues.   There is certainly no white stuff on the ground here.

 

The day has been partially planned.  My first task is to go to the pharmacy with a prescription for Beth.  This afternoon we are heading for a carol service in Chef Boutonne about 10 miles north of here.  

 

There is not a lot else on the agenda but no doubt my time will be used up somewhow.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

Sleep I got for a change, 6 and 3/4 hours solid without assistance of pills, or alcohol.. I awoke to the sound of a noise at the back door.

 

So I went down stairs to find it was Ben,.  So I let him out and he disappeared down the garden in a hurry... He wasn't out that long, he's now back in his bed asleep..

 

Been coughing a lot since I got up though..

 

Personally I think there should be legal enforceable definitions of trade skill levels.

Seeing people calling themselves engineers after just a few day or weeks training at best is certainly misrepresentation.

Companies like playing with job titles to suit themselves , so everyone public facing becomes an engineer but back in the factory, they'll want engineering degree level qualifications and then want to call them a technician or less..

 

Plans for today,

Doors, getting pressure to finish them.

Landrover wipers try to sort out why one is parking on the rubber windscreen frame.

Rudder, cut to size and fit cross rods to shaft..

 

Time to..

 Roll over for and do nothing for another hour..

 

 

 

 

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

I am currently a  Chartered Engineer. Once properly retired I will stop paying for the privilege of using C Eng MIET after my name as the only good bit of that is I get Personal Indemnity insurance..  woe! Big deal! And yet... in Oz to get the equivalent letters and jobs you need to become Australian.. weird!

 

Today involves checking plans for our walkabout, cooking a large ish piece of Gammon for tea and.. possibly going to the pub tosee friends..

 

Time for my tea methinks.

 

Stay safe!

 

Baz

[polybear]

8 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Well you'll not get another chance. I don't care how much pizza you have you've burnt your bridges now laddo.

 

Oh well.  I guess I'll just have to console myself with another Pizza.  Such is life......

 

Bear here......

More email sortin' and jugglin' the finances.  I can do that - at least the paws are gettin' time to recover somewhat; they were somehow gettin' a collection of numerous titchy cuts that seemed to hurt far more than their size justified.  I didn't cry though.

 

In other news.....

C'mon Puppers @PupCam - can you turn your back, Your Country Needs You.....

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64083802

 

Just think - instead of shivering away in that draughty 'ol Garage you too could be stackin' shelves in a nice warm large store nearby.....

 

"I'm sure I can write a sketch to do this" says Puppers, as his "Colleagues" look on whilst thinking "Just WTF is this guy on about??"

 

Bear gone.

[PeterBB]

34 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Ey up!

 

I am currently a  Chartered Engineer. Once properly retired I will stop paying for the privilege of using C Eng MIET after my name as the only good bit of that is I get Personal Indemnity insurance..  woe! Big deal! And yet... in Oz to get the equivalent letters and jobs you need to become Australian.. weird!

 

Today involves checking plans for our walkabout, cooking a large ish piece of Gammon for tea and.. possibly going to the pub tosee friends..

 

Time for my tea methinks.

 

Stay safe!

 

Baz

As also I believe for other professions - not Aussi then forget it.

[PeterBB]

Return to work after early retirement ... and have the trouble of having to 'go to work' in all weathers and pay exorbitant parking charges that are not tax deductible  and miss out on the time with family.

 

However generally the early retirees are those who can afford to be retired so why would they wish to go back to work?  They could do charity work and many do. 

 

Me, one of the lucky ones who enjoyed whatever he did so actually did not fully retire until 74 and may have stayed longer if the 'only paid if you work' corporate companies 'misused' was deemed 'illegall'.

Edited December 24, 2022 by PeterBB

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

It's a bit cloudy but there are signs of blue sky appearing.  A mainly dry and bright day with plenty of winter sunshine is expected.  Currently 7°C, might get up to 11°C.

Rugby watched and enjoyed last night.

A lazy day here for me today apart from another quick Shark wield.  More rugby is on offer this afternoon.  The Boss will be busy doing some cooking ready for the festivities.  

Tomorrow will be one of the quietest Christmas days we've ever had with just us and Nicki and Darren for Christmas dinner.  The grandchildren are spending the day with their Dad and other grandmother in Bognor.  They will all be descending on us on Monday for a couple of days along with son Steve so things will definitely liven up then.

Wishing all of you lovely people a very Merry Christmas and I hope that Santa hasn't gone on strike with everyone else and brings you all a little something.

Time for breakfast.

Have a good one,

Bob.

[monkeysarefun]

12 minutes ago, PeterBB said:

As also I believe for other professions - not Aussi then forget it.

For government jobs you need Australian citizenship but most nationalities  can hold dual citizenship if you don't want to give up your natural one, plus you get a certificate that says you are Australian which is more than born-here Australians have and you also  get a free wattle.

[PupCam]

39 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

In other news.....

C'mon Puppers @PupCam - can you turn your back, Your Country Needs You.....

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64083802

 

Just think - instead of shivering away in that draughty 'ol Garage you too could be stackin' shelves in a nice warm large store nearby.....

 

"I'm sure I can write a sketch to do this" says Puppers, as his "Colleagues" look on whilst thinking "Just WTF is this guy on about??"

I’d love to help out but I’m washing my hair today.    And tomorrow and the next day …..

 

(if only I could find some)

 

Back later!

[jjb1970]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Ey up!

 

I am currently a  Chartered Engineer. Once properly retired I will stop paying for the privilege of using C Eng MIET after my name as the only good bit of that is I get Personal Indemnity insurance..  woe! Big deal! And yet... in Oz to get the equivalent letters and jobs you need to become Australian.. weird!

 

Today involves checking plans for our walkabout, cooking a large ish piece of Gammon for tea and.. possibly going to the pub tosee friends..

 

Time for my tea methinks.

 

Stay safe!

 

Baz

 

A friend of mine went to Australia to work on the Collins submarine program in the 90's. After a while it was suggested he apply for Australian citizenship so he could work on the bits reserved for Australian nationals so he did. Probably the best decision he ever made (though he annoyed me slightly by coming home a few years ago, voting in a certain political event then going back to Ozz when he didn't like the way things went after his choice won).

I am in RINA, the only thing I will say in their defence is they have some excellent publications and do excellent work as a consultative observer at IMO. Their 'Warship' magazine is probably the best magazine on the subject.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. As an early retiree the idea of returning to the daily grind, no way! As @PeterBB said it costs money to go to work. Most if not all early retirees have a pension on which they pay tax so the taxman grabs 20% of whatever you earn. Also a few of my colleagues carried on until 65 and beyond, without exception they never reached their 70th birthday. O, nearly forgot HR departments will be lining up the hoops ready for you to jump through.

[Winslow Boy]

Reading all the comments around what I would term - what's in a name, brings up some strong emotions in me as I worked in a profession- horiculture which at the best of times wasn't highly rated. I entered it when considerable 'effort' had been spent on stripping out the skill set required in order to reduce the labour costs.

 

This was especially evident on the amenity side which had basically been split in two. One side the 'working or contractural' side having virtually no professional qualifications at all, whilst the other retaining some but  not necessary in the field. I started as a Technical Assistant', changed to an Officer and finally became a Manger.

 

During that time my Profession Qualifying 'Guild'? disbanded and merged with one where 'getting your hands' dirty was seen as very no no. Whilst not wishing to stray into politics there was at the same time a big push into getting a everyone to have piece of paper. Which in theory was a good idea but it cost millions and didn't mean much if you were being paid less than what a shelf stacker. 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

I’m firmly with Phil and Peter, there’s no way I’d go back to work again, my mental health just would not cope with the way the company was heading. Bailing out when I did, has certainly done me good mental health wise, although there are some people who might well disagree with that last statement. 

 

I will shortly be heading off to collect Ava who is once again spending the day with us, although I’m not sure what Sheila has planned for her, still, it beats working for a living. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian

Edited December 24, 2022 by BSW01

[BoD]

36 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

and finally became a Manger.

You got a part in the nativity play?

Edited December 24, 2022 by BoD

[pH]

1 hour ago, monkeysarefun said:

For government jobs you need Australian citizenship but most nationalities  can hold dual citizenship if you don't want to give up your natural one, plus you get a certificate that says you are Australian which is more than born-here Australians have and you also  get a free wattle.

I know for sure that you’re not allowed to hold Australian and Canadian dual citizenship, though I can’t remember which country doesn’t allow it.

 

An originally Australian friend of ours married a Canadian, took Canadian citizenship and gave up his Australian citizenship. The week after he’d done that, his mother was killed in a traffic accident in Australia. So there he was, having given up his right to his Australian passport, not yet with a Canadian passport, and needing a visa (which he obviously didn’t have) to get into Australia. He said the Canadian citizenship and immigration staff were superb - expedited all the processes he had to go through on the Canadian side and basically did all the processing he had to do on the Australian side for him.