Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. The cold has really got a hold on me, runny nose, sore throat etc. so shortly I'll take a couple of paracetamols and have some eyelid inspection.

[Coombe Barton]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I find it amazing that flat Earth or young Earth beliefs still exist or worse are being more widely promoted.

@Tony_S Do you think that the prevalence of flat earth ridicule postings on science joke sites is contributing to teh spread?

[Tony_S]

17 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

@Tony_S Do you think that the prevalence of flat earth ridicule postings on science joke sites is contributing to teh spread?

I really don’t know. I suppose it could be a similar process to that of satire programmes where the person saying unpleasant things somehow becomes a role model. Sometimes things started as a joke can attract a lot of followers. The chaps who started making crop circles with ropes and weights even after fully confessing are disbelieved by the alien visitor believers. 

[woodenhead]

7 hours ago, Barry O said:

Ey up!

 

Slept badly again.. but .. hey ho! Time for more walkabout.

 

Baz

Has been happening to me regularly since the autumn, even my 'go to' sleep thoughts aren't working and I find myself getting back up at midnight and watching videos on Youtube into the early hours until my brain dulls.

 

When I do get to sleep earlier I seem to have some sort of nightmare about 4:30am that wakes me with a really active and extremely negative brain which takes about an hour to calm enough to sleep again.

[BoD]

Flippin’ eck.  Or words to that effect.

 

I need some 20mm  T2.5A fuses. Preferably ceramic but not essential.  £2.59 for 10 on Amazon.  Thinking about the postage and wait, I thought I would have a look at Screwfix.  They have fuses that size but Worcester Bosch labelled and with a replacement part number for their boilers. £27.99 for 10.  Can fuses differ that much in spec. and tolerances?   Like I said, Flippin’ eck.

 

Off to do more searches.

[Adam88]

11 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

There's a great example (and very local) example of how one junior researcher, J Harlen Bretz, stood the scientific establishment on its head just one hundred years ago here:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missoula_floods

 

That reference reminded me of the Parallel Roads of Glen Roy which seems to be an example of a similar phenomenon.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Roy

 

Many years ago I identified them on an OS map and decided they deserved a visit.  Although they are called roads and are easy to identify, they do not make easy walking as they consist of quite large rocks - at least the ones I investigated.  That was all part of a pleasant week tramping across the Highlands starting in Aberdeen and ending up dipping my toes in Loch Linnhe on the west coast.

[woodenhead]

Some good news, so the dark blue suit I bought for my father's funeral still fits for my son's impending wedding.

 

I am the same size now as I was back in November 2019, the first and last time I wore the suit.

 

Has suit wearing gone out of fashion apart from weddings and funerals, I think I had to wear a shirt once for a work teams meeting where we were hosting a potential client but that's it.

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

Sailing ...

Eyelid inspection for nearly 2 hours.

 

Sailing didn't occur for us, forecast 5mph, we didn't get that, some dinghies went out ... Very very slowly.

 

We instead had a leisurely time setting up a new jib, my sailing compatriot had bought for his boat. A little shorter on the foot, made up for in area by being a true deck sweeper.. so various bits and pieces needed adjustment.

 

The Big trophy we were supposed to race for has been postponed till next week.

 

As for the ideas that kept me awake, 

1 I've found it difficult to get out of the seat it now because the seat is now just 4 inches above the floor.

Then I noticed the holes left by the cross bar that was the mainsheet horse.

They were behind me, but now moving the seat back, they are in front. So retrieving the cross bar from the scrap metal pile, I've reinserted it, and it works very well as a grab bar to haul myself up out of the seat. It needs needs end caps to stop it sliding out in use.

 

I've now thought of using that as the mainsheet horse again, that would mean less length of main sheet in the boat, and no chance of a loop of mainsheet lassoing my head. It also means less modification to the hatch that needs to be split into two.

 

2, The seat will need more support, as stepping down onto it before broke it, with the cross bar In front of me, it's again a one step drop.

 

A third thing is all ropes, sheets and halyards will have to be led back to me at the seat as I can't wander forward due to the cross bar. That's five on the centre console, four on the sides of the cockpit. Thoughts are proceeding of rerouting everything and where to put all the ends of ropes.

 

[Tony_S]

11 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Has suit wearing gone out of fashion apart from weddings and funerals,

I suspect it depends. If nothing had been said then I suppose you can’t go wrong. At a friend’s funeral we were told wear what you like, nothing sombre though. At my sons funeral I don’t recall what I wore. Wasn’t a suit though, we had only arrived a Dublin a few days before and hadn’t realised how quickly things happened so had just packed clothes for a few days thinking we would be back later for a funeral. 

The last wedding we went to was in a hotel venue. The grooms male family and ushers had some sort of themed suiting. The brides family were very smart. As for the rest of us we were just asked to avoid certain colours as some were considered to be unlucky and others were bridal colours. The bride must have really liked her bridesmaids as their dresses were very elegant. Though as it was December in the Lake District and most of them had just flown in from Singapore they made use of the blankets until the moment the outside photos were taken.

 

I am certain the dinner suit I bought for formal nights on cruises still fits but I suspect my other suit doesn’t. Our recent cruises also required a jacket (but not tie) for men in the restaurant for evening meals on non formal “black tie” nights. That had now changed to “no jacket required” for men. The formal nights have a slightly relaxed code too. Reading websites reveals that some people are very upset at the relaxation of dress codes on board cruise ships. I am not at all upset. 

[Coombe Barton]

49 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Has suit wearing gone out of fashion apart from weddings and funerals, I think I had to wear a shirt once for a work teams meeting where we were hosting a potential client but that's it.

Robustness over poshness prevails for me. Last outing for the suit was Sandy's funeral. Don't even know where it is now.

[TheQ]

28 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Some good news, so the dark blue suit I bought for my father's funeral still fits for my son's impending wedding.

 

I am the same size now as I was back in November 2019, the first and last time I wore the suit.

 

Has suit wearing gone out of fashion apart from weddings and funerals, I think I had to wear a shirt once for a work teams meeting where we were hosting a potential client but that's it.

Clothing ***

School,

Primary, uniform, grey shorts and pullover , white shirt and tie, polished black shoes ,

secondary, uniform, black long trousers , black blazer , white shirt and tie.

RAF uniform, RAF blues 

GEC, smart pressed trousers. White shirt and a tie, tweed jacket.

Saudi, light khaki uniform shirt and trousers. Brown boots.

Tesco , Dark blue trousers, and polo shirt, steel toe capped black boots.

Fluke, white anti static lab coats.

Bacton gas works , orange fire resistant overalls. Steel toe capped boots.

Sailing, bright waterproofs most of the year..

model railway shows, club shirt...  

 

Every one wears a uniform , even if it's just kids keeping up with their mates in the latest style or a suit.

 

These days I only have occasion to wear a suit (or formal kilt) to funerals,  weddings , and formal dinners. When I start being a guide at the museum it will be black blazer, black trousers, shirt and tie.

 

I must admit I do like the occasion to be smart, rather than the scruffs and overalls I wear around home.

 

**** Additional clothing is often a requirement, these are just the requirements on top of being warm and legal...

[DaveF]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

Has suit wearing gone out of fashion apart from weddings and funerals, I think I had to wear a shirt once for a work teams meeting where we were hosting a potential client but that's it.

 

When I started teaching in the early 70s I wore a sports jacket and dark trousers with brown shoes.  

 

As I climbed the promotion ladder I wore a suit and tie and black shoes, well polished.

 

When I retired and worked as an IT consultant in education I wore a suit with a tie on the days I went to school, when working at home it was any old shirt and trousers.

 

About 10 years ago I bought a new suit for a funeral, it still fits and gets worn now and then.  The dinner suit i bought in 2005 for the local Literary and Scientific Society dinners still fits me, but I have resigned from the society and they no longer have formal dinners anyway.

 

Most of the time now I wear walking trousers, in winter with a check or cord shirt, in summer with an ordinary, often long sleeved shirt (now and then short sleeved) from George.  If it is cold then a sweatshirt, fleece or sweater on top and/or some sort of coat/jacket.

 

David

 

[Coombe Barton]

At work I wear Rohan stuff as much as possible, Double 2 short sleeve shirts as the Rohan ones have gone trendy and not practical, and Karrimor shoes. This is from practicality as I'm often crawling round fixing deckh stuff and taking pix as well as teaching.

 

And it's just comfortable.

[zarniwhoop]

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I really don’t know. I suppose it could be a similar process to that of satire programmes where the person saying unpleasant things somehow becomes a role model. Sometimes things started as a joke can attract a lot of followers. The chaps who started making crop circles with ropes and weights even after fully confessing are disbelieved by the alien visitor believers. 

You have reminded me of my current mailing-list signature:

    Archbishop James Usher claimed that the heaven and earth were
created on Sunday 21st October 4004 BC at 9 a.m.  This too was

incorrect, by almost a quarter of an hour.      -- Good Omens
 

[The White Rabbit]

10 minutes ago, zarniwhoop said:

You have reminded me of my current mailing-list signature:

    Archbishop James Usher claimed that the heaven and earth were
created on Sunday 21st October 4004 BC at 9 a.m.  This too was

incorrect, by almost a quarter of an hour.      -- Good Omens

 

I thought it was Dr John Lightfoot, vice chancellor of Cambridge University, who claimed October 23rd... 

 

That's in my copy of 'The Book of Heroic Failures', sub-section 'The art of being wrong', immediately before the entry 'Rail travel at high speed is impossible, because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia' (Dr Dionysys Lardner, University College London, as you ask). 

[Winslow Boy]

7 hours ago, polybear said:

 

As are Air Miles.  When you're retired you'll be very very glad you did.  Ask Bear how he knows......

 

In other news......

Bear has sanded the joints on the coving; I've just given the joints a wet-wipe to get rid of any dust and now a few areas will get a second dose (using fine surface filler this time) to get rid of any remaining surface blemishes.

 

 

 

7 hours ago, Tony_S said:

“Science” is basically all about testing hypotheses. Unfortunately for some reason some people just will not accept that their test/proof is not supported by evidence or replication. I find it amazing that flat Earth or young Earth beliefs still exist or worse are being more widely promoted. 

 

I'm going to stick my head up here, quite happy to have it blasted off though if someone disagrees, but I wonder if the failure to comprehend what science is about, is because there has been a downgrading in its popularity and a corresponding surge in none science or science 'light' topics in education.

 

Whether that is because such courses tend to be perceived as easier and so more likely to obtain a pass, which in turn ensures the education establishment it's existence is I think worth considering as well.

[Ozexpatriate]

9 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

I wrote these some years ago because I was getting questions from younger researchers about the common units they were finding in documents in both measures and money. I'd lived using them and could translate relatively easily.

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/historic-british-coinage/

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/ancient-and-non-metric-measures/

 

And most useful they are too - particularly the coinage which most online sources don't consolidate the way you have done John.

 

Google's 'search bar' unit converters are quite handy for measures - though they don't do the gill or the larger more obscure Imperial measures like firkin, barrel and hogshead. (They do include the "oil barrel" which* is 35 Imperial gallons / 42 US gallons, as distinct from 36 Imperial gallons in the Imperial barrel.)

 

* As of course you note

[zarniwhoop]

2 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Google's 'search bar' unit converters are quite handy for measures - though they don't do the gill or the larger more obscure Imperial measures like firkin, barrel and hogshead. (They do include the "oil barrel" which* is 35 Imperial gallons / 42 US gallons, as distinct from 36 Imperial gallons in the Imperial barrel.)

 

* As of course you note

I thought the firkin was the British Standard unit of excess, normally used in two's. 🤣

[Winslow Boy]

3 minutes ago, zarniwhoop said:

I thought the firkin was the British Standard unit of excess, normally used in two's. 🤣

 

All depends on who is handing them out.

[Barry O]

I used to wear a suit every day.. even when having to climb in and out of tanks. Reduced that to 4 days a week by getting the boss to have dress down Friday ( a half day anyway). 

 

Saved me a lot of dosh when I moved to a company who did lots 9f work on building sites as you didn't wear a suit.. well a boilers suit on occasion!

 

Idohave a wedding/funeral/ b7siness lunch suit? And anyone want any ties.. I have loads of them!

 

Baz

[grandadbob]

Evenin' each,

A quite enjoyable day has been had.  After breakfast a brief walk was walked but I could only manage just over a mile as The Hip was not enjoying the excursion and that's putting it mildly.  On our return we had a fairly long chat with a friend who was outside washing his and his wife's cars.

Meters were read and I had a pleasant surprise as although more gas has been used the electricity was a lot less than the previous month so the net result is a lower cost for the month.

Steve popped in for a chat at lunchtime and stayed for a couple of hours and then it was time for rugby.  At least England managed to win but it'll take a lot more than that to get me too excited. 

Tonight I managed to surround a portion of very nice steak and mushroom pie made by The Boss and of course it was accompanied by a glass of wine, only a small one though.  I think I need to take the diet more seriously as I only lost 1lb last week.

Now waiting for the The Boss's skating programme to finish and then we'll probably watch Vera.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by grandadbob

[monkeysarefun]

Working in IT, most companies have introduced corporate polo shirts, much more sensible in Australian climates. Even the government IT branches have them. I still have hidden  in my bottom drawer the short-lived one that the Secret Services division of Defence put out - black with an "SS" (secret services) logo. ...

Edited February 12, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Ozexpatriate]

Just now, monkeysarefun said:

the short-lived one

Why was it short-lived? 😉

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. As I will shortly having a funeral coming up I will have to give some thought as to what I will wear. I have a black jacket and trousers and a roll neck jumper in suitably sombre colours. Only problem is shoes, due to problems with my feet I only one rather tatty pair of shoes.

[BoD]

18 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Whether that is because such courses tend to be perceived as easier and so more likely to obtain a pass, which in turn ensures the education establishment it's existence is I think worth considering as well.

Some (most?) schools have been ‘gaming’ the exam systems for years to ensure that their data satisfied Ofsted and in turn the local press.  Toward the end of my career there were an awful lot of staff who believed that if you trained your pupils to answer the exam questions and they got a grade C (pass) then it was for them you were doing the service rather than the school.  I suppose to a certain extent that was true as x number of passes were the key to further education, training and possibly jobs.  How much educating and understanding was taking place was debatable.  
 

It was difficult for an individual to ‘fight’  against such a system that attached so much kudos to a good Ofsted report and even more  stigma to a bad one.  I think things were just starting to turn away from that approach a little bit when I retired.  I don’t know what the situation is like now.