Early Risers.

[Ozexpatriate]

After the icy conditions at the end of last week (with temperatures as low as -8°C at one point) today saw morning temperatures of about 12°C and plenty of rain. (We need to catch up on precipitation and the forecast for the week intends to oblige.) My walk was very wet and it shouldn't get much warmer.

 

The micro-climates being what they are, 12mm of ice is forecast for the Columbia River Gorge, less than 60 miles from the weather reporting station at the airport.

[Ozexpatriate]

Regarding the recent holiday: I have always enjoyed turkey, but that was consumed recently at Thanksgiving so Christmas dinner was beef.

 

This year, the 24th and 25th fell on a Saturday and Sunday. The NFL obliged and a full slate of three games were televised on each of Saturday and Sunday. Very easy for me to find *something* to watch and in any case was too busy to watch most of them. The final week 16 game will be played tonight. (Normally the NFL does not play on Saturday but the regular College football season is over.)

 

There are now only two weeks of the regular season left so many of the games had playoff implications.

 

For basketball fans, Sunday saw five NBA games back-to-back.

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by Ozexpatriate
Spelling

[monkeysarefun]

49 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Little different here, though not at the close of business on the Feast of Stephen. While there will be a short interregnum of holiday closeout sales, the seasonal aisles will quickly turn blood red for the feast of an obscure third-century Roman martyr now more known for an association with manufactured commercial notions of romance than his presumed stoning and beheading.

They skip that here but I know I'll be able to grab  a hot cross bun in the next couple of days if I need one.

Edited December 26, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[Ozexpatriate]

3 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

They skip that here ...

After February 14, much turns green for about a month, but during that time the Easter eggs proliferate.

 

Easter appears close to the 'average' time next year - April 9.  (About halfway between March 22 and April 25, the earliest and latest it can appear.) 

[Gwiwer]

22 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Seems strange that things are even open on Christmas Day.

We noted several small “corner shops” open here yesterday including our own Upon the Hill of Strawberries which is open every Christmas Day. Most service stations along our route were open too and for that at the Horsham Park & Ride site we were extremely grateful as they also (unlike many) also provided toilets. 
 

There is little reason for anything much else to open in the UK though some pubs seemed to be open as are some hotels. 
 

My impression of Christmas in Australia (where we had 17 of them) was that despite it being the main summer holiday period many larger shops remained closed but the corner shops were always open. 
 

Restaurants and pubs which opened did good trade. Beach-side cafés and takeaway food venues could have long queues. 
 

Being the main summer holiday most public transport runs. Mostly to a special timetable based on Sunday services. But even the rural and regional state-supported coach services mostly offered at least one trip. 
 

I was required to work on my last Christmas there; all others had fallen on my rostered days off or I had not been required so was stood down fully paid. But the last one I could not avoid. 
 

It was forecast to be a scorcher. I took the train from home to the city and the Palace of Attendance, a journey of an hour. Being staffed for a Sunday meant all shifts were 12 hours long.  The temperature climbed through the 30s and under the huge tin roof it peaked at 48C by early afternoon when it was officially “just” 40C outside in the open. 
 

Every train to every beach suburb was packed from very early; by lunchtime they were packed in both directions as the early risers returned ready-roasted to be replaced by those who had perhaps attended church before worshipping the waters. 
 

Dress was almost optional. In that heat and typical of the relaxed Aussie lifestyle the average was bikini / boardshorts with (and, as it got hotter, without) a cotton shirt. All that body heat, perspiration, assorted deodorants and a few stray pheromones at large packed like sardines into tin trains.  Even the older generations were travelling in their skimpies. 
 

It was exhausting in the heat. We had frequent supplies of iced water brought round.  We all displayed sweat-soaked uniforms.  But the job was done and none of us suffered heat distress. Nor, remarkably, did we have a single sick passenger although I saw several cases of pretty severe sunburn. 
 

And our thanks?  Not a word from management - not even a “Merry Christmas”. At least it was paid at 2.5 times the hourly rate. 
 

And there was a good deal of “eye candy” to suit at least most tastes!!!  

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

After February 14, much turns green for about a month, but during that time the Easter eggs proliferate.

 

Easter appears close to the 'average' time next year - April 9.  (About halfway between March 22 and April 25, the earliest and latest it can appear.) 

 

The Republic of Ireland came into being on an Easter Monday and it's just as old as me 😀

[Tony_S]

We drove over to Enfield today. The traffic wasn’t at all busy but some of the drivers were scary. Leaving the A127 for the M25 I was nearly hit from behind twice. The first clearly didn’t see me, stationary at the end of the queue, they left moving out very late. The next thing I could see in my mirrors was another car heading towards my rear apparently unaware I was there. Fortunately they looked up in time to brake. The motorway was ok apart from people driving slowly in the second and third lane(M25 is four lanes in each direction  on that section). 
We had a nice lunch at Aditi’s sister’s house. It was nice seeing the nephews and nieces.  We distributed and received various presents.  We are of the age now where we get food hampers as gifts but they were full of nice things. The meal today wasn’t leftover turkey, it was Punjabi vegetarian food. We contributed channas, a chickpea curry. To be honest all I did was get the chickpeas down from the high shelf in the kitchen cupboard. 
After Christmas lunch yesterday, I saved enough turkey for a meal tomorrow night and carved the rest , packed it into vacuum bags and froze it. We know from last year that after defrosting it is fine. The turkey wasn’t dry and tasteless either. We had bought it frozen for Easter last year but didn’t use it. It came from a turkey farm in Essex, not that far from here. I just followed the online instructions which aren’t quite like those for normal supermarket turkey an all was fine what was interesting was that the one we bought on offer cost us about half of what it would have been if we had ordered one this autumn for Christmas.  

Edited December 26, 2022 by Tony_S

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Got to Clumber Park on time finding the rest of the family bit of a nightmare as no phone signal and I can’t remember ever going before. Eventually met up, went for a walk, Sunny but dogs didn’t get one but there was a lot of dogs about. Stayed about an hour and a half then returned home just in time for the football which was a disappointment. Left overs for tea and then a couple of films.
Just seen a huge lightening flash and rumble of thunder, most unexpected.

Feeling a bit drowsy after a little too much falling down juice.

Goodnight,

 Robert 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. My right leg has been sore over the holidays and I put it down to the eczema. Now my right foot has swollen up and is 'leaking', a clear fluid is coming out. It has no discernible smell, almost like water. It looks very much like oedema and I hope it clears up soon.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by BSW01

[monkeysarefun]

5 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

My impression of Christmas in Australia (where we had 17 of them) was that despite it being the main summer holiday period many larger shops remained closed but the corner shops were always open. 
 

Restaurants and pubs which opened did good trade. Beach-side cafés and takeaway food venues could have long queues. 
 

Being the main summer holiday most public transport runs. Mostly to a special timetable based on Sunday services. But even the rural and regional state-supported coach services mostly offered at least one trip. 

 

 

Away from holiday areas or the water most of the place seems to shut up between Christmas and New Year, many businesses close during that time, especially the smaller ones. I remember one year when I worked in the city in the 90's I went in for a couple of days and you could shoot a cannon through the downtown area away from the Quay, , not a soul on the footpaths, food shops and food courts under the highrises that catered to office workers were all shuttered. Totally different as you got closer  to the Harbour, crowds of people enjoying the sun , catching ferries,  etc. 

 

This week is usually noted for the strange stupor that comes over all, main sounds are the occasional lawnmower braving the heat , the cricket commentary drifting out of garages or passing cars, and the endless chirp of cicadas. Even the birds go quiet.

 

The bigger shops open for the  traditional boxing day sales but yesterdays didn't bring out the expected crowds, previous years the news has traditionally featured huge crushes at the doors waiting for the opening scramble. Thanks to online shopping,  maybe interest rate rises and possibly a return to decent beach weather this years  pics served to highlight the lack of anyone in shopping centres looking for bargains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[AndyID]

2 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Thanks to online shopping  and .....

 

We live 20+ miles from the nearest town. It's not a big town but it has most of the usual retail suspects. But if we need something even slightly obscure and we don't need it in a hurry it's online for us. We do pay an annual fee for the privilege but I'm pretty sure we are getting a much bigger part of the bargain.

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

8 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

The bigger shops open for the  traditional boxing day sales but yesterdays didn't bring out the expected crowds,

Back in the day we never did anything on Boxing Day - other than watch the start of the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race and the cricket. I don't think much has changed.

[Ozexpatriate]

Am seeing the artificial intelligent chatbot ChatGPT in the news a lot lately.

 

Many news outlets wrote stories on how it (and in particular its natural language parser) represents a potential threat to search engines like Google Search. The NY Times called it a "Code Red" for Google. Most articles note that it includes no fact checking and can often be wrong.

 

An op-ed today made a thoughtful observation about whether students, instead of the current scourge of plagiarizing from Wikipedia can now use AI to generate essays. The university professor authoring the op-ed demonstrated with an example:

 

CNN: Opinion: Is no career safe anymore? 

[zarniwhoop]

Well, the TV this evening was a lot less bad. Tribute to Robbie Coltrane on BBC4, followed by a 'grumpy old man' reminiscing about the Tutti Frutti series in which they both appeared, and then the first two episodes. Don't think I ever saw it before, but adequate for this time of year. Then I switched to channel 5 and watched most of the Stones in Hyde Park - of course, for all you larks that was definitely past your bed time. 😊

[monkeysarefun]

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Am seeing the artificial intelligent chatbot ChatGPT in the news a lot lately.

 

Many news outlets wrote stories on how it (and in particular its natural language parser) represents a potential threat to search engines like Google Search. The NY Times called it a "Code Red" for Google. Most articles note that it includes no fact checking and can often be wrong.

 

An op-ed today made a thoughtful observation about whether students, instead of the current scourge of plagiarizing from Wikipedia can now use AI to generate essays. The university professor authoring the op-ed demonstrated with an example:

 

CNN: Opinion: Is no career safe anymore? 

Funnily enough I was playing around with this a few days ago and reckon it's got a way to go. For instance I asked it to write  an  opinion piece on P4 scale in the style of Jeremy Clarkson and it didn't mention throwing poo, gentlemen's sausages or shooting people in the face even once:

 

 

 

Open sidebar

P4 Model Railways Review

Write an opinion piece about P4 model railways in the style of Jeremy Clarkson

As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of all things automotive, I have to admit that I was initially skeptical about the hype surrounding P4 model railways. "It's just a bunch of tiny trains running on tracks," I thought to myself. "How could it possibly be as thrilling as a high-octane race car or a muscle car with a roaring engine?"

Well, let me tell you, I was wrong. Dead wrong.

P4 model railways are a true masterpiece of engineering, and they deserve to be celebrated alongside the most impressive automobiles in the world.

First of all, the attention to detail on these miniature trains is nothing short of staggering. From the intricate paint jobs to the perfectly scaled down replicas of real-life locomotives, it's clear that a tremendous amount of care and craftsmanship goes into creating these models. And the level of realism doesn't stop there - the tracks and scenery are also designed with incredible precision, making for an immersive experience that truly transports you to another world.

But don't let the small size of these trains fool you - they pack a powerful punch when it comes to performance. The level of control and precision that can be achieved with these models is truly impressive, and watching them deftly navigate through tight turns and switchbacks is a sight to behold.

In short, P4 model railways are a true marvel of engineering and design, and they deserve to be recognized as such. So the next time you're tempted to write them off as just a kid's toy, think again. These little trains pack a big punch, and they are well worth checking out for any car enthusiast.

ChatGPT Dec 15 Version. Free Research Preview. Our goal is to make AI systems more natural and safe to interact with. Your feedback will help us improve.

 

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by monkeysarefun
Reran and got a funnier result

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Back in the day we never did anything on Boxing Day - other than watch the start of the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race and the cricket. I don't think much has changed.

 

Times have definitely changed.

 

Dad was a pharmacist and when he took over the chemist shop in Renfrew in the 30's (could I speak to a gentleman assistant please?)* the shop was open on Christmas day. At that time in Scotland the only holiday was New Year Day. Dad made Christmas day a holiday too.

 

We did not put up any Christmas decorations until Christmas Eve and they stayed up for the twelve days.

 

*My brothers and I knew exactly which drawer.

[monkeysarefun]

12 minutes ago, AndyID said:

Times have definitely changed.

Workers get  double time for working public holidays,  and even  more  if they fall on a weekend, which combined with lack of customers due to Christmas festivities does not make opening profitable for most businesses.

Edited December 27, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Back in the day we never did anything on Boxing Day - other than watch the start of the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race and the cricket. I don't think much has changed.

 Christmas always included a box of mangoes which we'd get sent outside to eat. Usually in 40 degrees so trying to avoid the superheated concrete  garden path as you ran to the shady bit.

 

In the meantime if  the cricket  was on the telly  a major wicket would invariably fall while you were busy out there.

Edited December 27, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[Ozexpatriate]

39 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

if the cricket was on the telly ...

That wasn't an "if" for my home.

[jjb1970]

For about half of my working life Christmas was just another day. At sea if you're on the boat for Christmas that's just the way the biscuit crumbles, ditto when I worked in electricity generation until I moved to an office role. There were no extra payments as it was considered to be consolidated in the salary. I never minded Christmas trips at sea, one year the ship was alongside in Trinidad and although not Christmas I had some splendid New Year port calls which were fun (Singapore, Yokohama, Hamburg, Aberdeen). What did annoy me was that in electricity and at sea there were people who worked the system to get Christmas at home every year, which meant the burden was carried by others far more frequently. My objection wasn't to doing a lot of Christmas trips (I wasn't bothered about that) but rather the selfishness of people working the system without considering others. In electricity I had no objection to people requesting shift swaps and usually agreed unless there was a reason to do otherwise but it annoyed me when people would play games to force the issue. One incident drove me crazy when I was operations manager at a power plant. An operator asked for a shift swap based on an entirely reasonable offer to do the other guys shifts around Ramadan, which I approved as it was a mutually beneficial arrangement (I had to approve all shift changes). Come Ramadan the guy refused to cover the agreed shifts and denied ever having agreed to. The fact it was in writing (well, e-mail) might tell you he wasn't the brightest bulb in the box), it was one of the few times as a manager I really did flex my authority and made clear if he refused to honour his agreement it'd be escalated to a formal disciplinary matter (at which point he suddenly remembered what he'd agreed to). At the risk of sounding shallow, I'm not sure what angered me more - his obvious selfishness and duplicity, or the fact I was lumbered with a 5W bulb who was so dim he thought he'd get away with it when the e-mails agreeing the swap were in the system. 

[BR60103]

I talked to my sister today.

Friday was their 50th wedding anniversary and they had arranged a do. (We weren't going; we still avoid crowds.)  That was the day that the weather rolled in.  They managed to cancel the do; the hall was happy not to have to bring staff in during the blizzard. Most of the food could be kept/frozen until their next date. The exception was the cake. She came back with strawberry shortcake for 49.  She's been calling neighbours in and took half of it when she visited her son's parents-in-law.

 

We went to the mall today.  We needed a walk indoors as the surfaces here are variously ice and snow covered.

 

[jjb1970]

2 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Times have definitely changed.

 

Dad was a pharmacist and when he took over the chemist shop in Renfrew in the 30's (could I speak to a gentleman assistant please?)* the shop was open on Christmas day. At that time in Scotland the only holiday was New Year Day. Dad made Christmas day a holiday too.

 

We did not put up any Christmas decorations until Christmas Eve and they stayed up for the twelve days.

 

*My brothers and I knew exactly which drawer.

 

I remember when I was growing up in the 70's and 80's Christmas was still very much the junior event compared to New Year. The way New Year is celebrated seems very different, I remember it as a time for house parties and people would wander around paying house calls and enjoying frivolity (getting progressively more drunk), going into the city centre for organized events and parties, or going out to bars was much less popular.

[AndyID]

31 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

 

I remember when I was growing up in the 70's and 80's Christmas was still very much the junior event compared to New Year. The way New Year is celebrated seems very different, I remember it as a time for house parties and people would wander around paying house calls and enjoying frivolity (getting progressively more drunk), going into the city centre for organized events and parties, or going out to bars was much less popular.

 

Yup! At Nerday you could invite yourself into anyone's house after "the bells". Clutching a bottle of Bell's also helped.