Early Risers.

[Gwiwer]

5 hours ago, grandadbob said:

since Covid we've rarely had a cold caller.

I had a cold caller only a couple of hours ago.  

 

Dr. SWMBO knocked the door because, having left my key inside it she was unable to insert her key outside.   Whoops.  

 

In other news there are "No Cold Calling Zones" designated around here by any of commercial landlords, tenant's / resident's associations or the local council.  We are supposed to be in one but there are very few signs up to this effect.  We do get random callers at times and usually after dark which is annoying because we can't see them properly at all.  A half-proffered identity card is next to useless in those situations.  

 

My usual response is a firm but polite "No thank you" to which many have a conditioned reply "But aren't you interested in ..... "  "No I am not and you are in a no cold-calling zone with CCTV fitted.  Goodbye"  

 

The number of callers has just started to rise after there being none at all in recent years - one of the few benefits of a pandemic.  We have had the photocopied "hand-written" letter from the JWs addressed to "The Home Owner" and which was dropped back into the post-box marked "Not known at this address" because we are renting.  I also return any junk mail with a similar style although it's not worth filling the Royal Mail's boxes with pizza or Checkatrade flyers which are not actually addressed even though they are delivered by RM.  

 

There is a "No junk mail" sticker clearly placed above our letterbox.  It stops nothing.  I occasionally manage to collar the delivery person if I'm quick enough.  The normal reaction is "No speak English" but they seem to understand "You are being monitored on CCTV" because they then disappear very quickly. In fairness those folk may be trying to support themselves and even families on casual and minimal wages for a thankless job which might be all they can get.  

 

The most persistent callers I have had to deal with here were Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Would they go away and leave me in peace?  No.  After several attempts at the front door one of which finally succeeded in getting them to move on they came around to the back.  It should be obvious that it's the back door and not the front of another flat.  But seeing me once again - this time with garden tools and a hose-reel within range - they finally beat a retreat.  Mormons, some call them.  In the case of those two individuals I would delete one of the Ms from that word.  

[polybear]

8 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

There are some advantages to life on the mean inner city streets, and one of them is that nobody in the 12 years I have lived in this flat has ever knocked on my door to sell me double glazing, electric beds, vacuum cleaners, 'we're in the area, do you want your driveway resurfaced' or any such nonsense. 

 

bear doesn't get hassled much - if it's house related I just tell them it's council (it was, once); they seem to rapidly lose interest after that, for some strange reason.

 

The last one, some years ago, was a man in a pick up with a chainsaw offering to trim the conifers in the front garden; he got out of the truck, put on the hard hat (with built-in visor & ear defenders) for full effect then knocked on the door.  He did take no for an answer without any hassle though.

 

I did have a recent phone call from a window place though (highly unusual to get such calls) who, after mentioning windows, went on to ask "am i correct in thinking you're the house owner?"  I didn't bother replying as i was too busy blocking his number.....

[PupCam]

25 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

What's the gadget the crankshaft simulator coffee stirrer is stuck to?  Looks like a pot. or a stepper motor.  Is there scope here for circular devices requiring accurate alignment (repeatably, using a stepper motor....) to fine tolerances ** whilst at the same time showing the position on, say, a control panel?

 

**I'm sure Puppers can see where bear is going with this......

 

 

 It's a full 360 degree rotary encoder Rotary Encoder with a resolution of 1/3 of a degree (should be more than accurate enough for a 1930s motorcycle by getting on for an order of magnitude.   It can rotate endlessly in either direction, if for example, one wanted to emulate the story of a loco on the turntable spinning round and round at Hawes driven by the biting winds "Up the valley" 😀

 

Using said device you could create a servo (in the widest sense, not an R/C servo) controlled turntable with a simple dc or stepper motor and gearbox with friction drive to the table (the drive can't be coaxial 'cos some twit has stuck a rotary encoder on the pivot shaft).   A "servo" at it's simplest is a driving device  eg a motor/gearbox AND a device to provide either position, rate, acceleration feedback having been "driven" depending on what you want to control (but bearing in mind your professional background there could be a degree of teaching granny to suck eggs there and if so, apologies all round! 🤣).  The only trouble with this particular type of encoder is it just indicates movement in either direction as it happens.   It doesn't indicate absolute position which in my application doesn't matter because the first thing you do when you power it up is to give it two known reference positions.      Not an insurmountable problem in your application it would just make it more complicated.

 

 

[BoD]

37 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Mormons, some call them.  In the case of those two individuals I would delete one of the Ms from that word.  

Ormons?

 

Nope, you’ve lost me there.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. The sciatica is not as bad as it was but its still there so I have to be careful not to set it off again. Just finished watching a zoom talk on the Post Office Railway, very interesting it was too.

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

You mean lawyers who don't practice before the bar? 😉

 

I understand what you mean, but I would have thought people would use something of similar purpose like "NO CALLERS". 

 

 

 

Due to the naturally erudite nature of Australians, the standard sign you see around here says  "Hawkers and canvassers need not call". 

 

Confusing weather at the moment. Chilly Autumn starts to the days of 12 to 15C  fooling you into thinking you need a jumper on but by lunchtime its a pleasanter 30. 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

The most persistent callers I have had to deal with here were Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I would be surprised to see "Elders" doing missionary work themselves - they would be running the show. Young church members have an obligation to perform missionary work - though I don't know how this is managed internally - like the consequences of performing their mission (or not).

 

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

Mormons, some call them.  In the case of those two individuals I would delete one of the Ms from that word.

They prefer not to be called "Mormons" these days - preferring Latter Day Saints or LDS.

 

I remember them ringing the bell in my youth but missionaries are uncommon for me now. I went to school with members of an expatriate LDS family. Oregon (like surrounding states, particularly Idaho) have a higher proportion of LDS than 'average' in the US. Not nearly as many as Utah of course.

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, The Johnster said:

'NO CALLERS' would, if taken literally as read, mean no callers of any sort, so no friends or relatives, no mail, no deliveries of stuff you have bought and want. and no undertakers to remove you from the propety when the time comes, which might concievably arise because the doctor took the instruction literally, which in practice introduces enough wobble room for anybody to decide on the basis of their own preferences that they are not a caller in that sense, and knock on your door.  

Perhaps that is why people here use a "NO SOLICITORS" sign? It seems to be effective. Arguably it is "stay off my property" warning without discouraging people who are invited or otherwise welcome - like parcels delivery.

 

It's probably worth noting that in the US (with some exceptions for porch mail boxes) do not have mail delivered to their door - but to a mail box on a post in the front yard or a community box.

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

The most persistent callers I have had to deal with here were Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I was looking after my sisters place for a week  while they were away and a couple of Jehavahs Witnesses turned up on Saturday morning. I listened for 5 minutes or so, took all the literature, asked heaps of questions etc. A month or so later my sister who was back from hols by then got stuck into me because a whole bunch of JW had appeared on her doorstep wanting to do the bible reading or whatever it was that I'd agreed  they come back and do.

 

Serves her right for trying to kill me all the time when I was little because I came in place  of the pony my parents had promised her. 

[Hroth]

14 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Due to the naturally erudite nature of Australians, the standard sign you see around here says  "Hawkers and canvassers need not call". 

 

You could confuse unwanted visitors using appropriate images, in case they can't read...

 

 

I think they'd get the message...  🤪

 

[Ozexpatriate]

Talk of rotary encoders and rotary position sensing brings me to my recent (short) tale of automotive troubles.

 

Out yesterday to run an errand involving some miniature, bauxite red, freight conveyances, my car would not start - despite several attempts with good voltage, oil pressure and cranking but no ignition. I was about 17 miles from home and wondering whether this would be over the 'free' towing distance offered by the AAA*. Eventually the car started but lit up several unrelated dashboard lamps that should not have been illuminated.

 

* Approximating the RAC.

 

I drove straight to my preferred repair place and left the car there - their courtesy driver bringing me home. Happily it is now all fixed by the replacement of camshaft position sensors and the car is back in the garage, with the greatest damage confined to the credit card.

[polybear]

bh...

currently watching "the falklands war - the untold story" on more 4; well worth a watch.

 

3 trammies down, one to go; a lot less grief from "the paw" than yesterday.  I gave the terrorist a call to tell her about the woo floo alert - she was fine about it and i think rather pleased i'd warned her.

just bits n' pieces stuff today, including a bit of sorting in the muddlin' room - worthwhile, and also meant I wasn't sitting around too long as I think that may be making the paw grief shoot up; that would explain why it was playing up at M.A. as bear did a lottasitting whilst muddlin'.

 

tomorrow?  dunno yet - more of the same; the M.E. Group is off-limits cos' of the paw, the trammies (though they don't seem to give bear any side-effects as yet, but i'd like to be on them a bit longer before driving) and the possibility that bear is a plague carrier (the woo floo has previously taken one of the group to the great machine shop in the sky, whilst another is struggling with long covid at present and has been awol for some time now).

 

still watching the falklands programme - some very prominent people being interviewed; it's apparent that (a) we were bluddy lucky to win, and (b) there were some (quite a lot, actually) total and utter f.wit decisions - such as the atlantic conveyor coming in in daylight.  the guy being interviewed (it may be the SAS boss) has never been able to discover who made that decision - i kinda get the impression he'd like to know.....

 

there was mention during the programme of HMS conquerer; after a google it appears that it may still exist - awaiting disposal; presumably the nuclear gubbins is the issue.

 

bg 

 

bg

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well I’ve not done a great deal today, whilst Sheila was at the hairdresser I busied myself in the kitchen and finished making the fruit tea loaf. It was taken out of the oven, just before we sat down to eat dinner. Whilst the cake was baking, I spent the 2 hours in the cellar office, doing a little more work on my write up for the turntable control circuit. 

 

After dinner, I went to the workshop and retrieved the 1/2 scale signal, brought it to the cellar and removed all the masking tape and glued in the 2 lens. I must say that the new paint job is much better than my first attempt, I’ll post a photo tomorrow. 

 

Just as I was packing up for the day, it started to snow, not heavy and it didn’t stay snow for long, it turned to rain not long after. 

 

For many years, we had a sign beside our front door telling door to door sales men not to knock. When the door went one day, the one particularly arrogant barsteward, went straight into his selling pitch, no hello or nothing. I pointed to the sign to him and if he’d noticed it, “yes he cockily replied, but I ignore signs like that” so I replied, “well, I slam the door in the face of those who ignore my sign” and I did!

Edited March 8, 2023 by BSW01

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[jjb1970]

On the Falklands war, it was a vicious little war which produced a wealth of superior quality literature.

 

I recommend Lawrence Freedman's two volume British official history, it's expensive but superb. Don't overlook the first volume which deals with the diplomatic and legal background. Many seem to go straight to the (much thicker) volume two on the war itself.

 

Amphibious assault Falklands by Michael Clapp (commander of the amphibious task group) and Ewen Southby-Tailyour is almost a hand book on how to undertake a major amphibious operation.

 

One that was quite controversial back in the day is 100 Days by Sandy Woodward, the later revision adds more reflection and addresses some of the things that caused a lot of comment. Max Hastings famously said that Woodward neither sought nor gained popularity, yet I really warmed to him in the book. He wasn't there to be popular, but to do a job. And I found the character that emerged in the book to be a man with rough edges but surprisingly humanitarian values.

[BR60103]

In all my working years, I remember only 2 times that snow kept me from work.

We had gone to Ottawa for New Year's.  The day we wanted to return, the road was covered with a sheet of ice and there were several inches of snow on top. We couldn't get enough traction to push through the snow.

Another time, we had a major snow storm. I was taking the train to work.  There were small delays but when we were past the second last station, we stopped dead.  Trains were barely moving into Union Station.  I think they were clearing one track.  Every time a train went by it pulled more snow into the string of double slip switches that lead to the platforms and they all had to be dug out by hand again. I think I got to work between 2:00 and 3:00 in the afternoon and had to leave sonn to catch the train home.  Luckily, I had my lunch and ate it on the train.

 

[jamie92208]

7 hours ago, polybear said:

there was mention during the programme of HMS conquerer; after a google it appears that it may still exist - awaiting disposal; presumably the nuclear gubbins is the issue.

 

 

Conqueror, like all our nukes right back to Dreadnought, is floating in a basin at, IIRC Plymouth. There are about half at Rosyth.   The problem of disposal was kicked around by Government for about 30 years and we spend many millions per year keeping them afloat.  I believe that one is now in the trial dismantling stage but that could take some years.  The Americans cut theirs up in dry dock but seal off the reactor compartment then two the whole block up the Columbia to, IIRC Hanford, and leave them in the desert.

5 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

On the Falklands war, it was a vicious little war which produced a wealth of superior quality literature.

 

I recommend Lawrence Freedman's two volume British official history, it's expensive but superb. Don't overlook the first volume which deals with the diplomatic and legal background. Many seem to go straight to the (much thicker) volume two on the war itself.

 

Amphibious assault Falklands by Michael Clapp (commander of the amphibious task group) and Ewen Southby-Tailyour is almost a hand book on how to undertake a major amphibious operation.

 

One that was quite controversial back in the day is 100 Days by Sandy Woodward, the later revision adds more reflection and addresses some of the things that caused a lot of comment. Max Hastings famously said that Woodward neither sought nor gained popularity, yet I really warmed to him in the book. He wasn't there to be popular, but to do a job. And I found the character that emerged in the book to be a man with rough edges but surprisingly humanitarian values.

I also have quite a lot of books about the Falklands.  Two very good ones are a) about the submarines and b) one I found about the artillery.   I believe that there is one out now about the role of the Blues and Royals and their armoured vehicles.   I'll look out the two that I;ve got and post the details.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a still dark Charente.   The logs got chopped yesterday and at least a fortnight's worth is now in the right stack in the shed.  The ready use pile on the house verandah has been stocked up.  In the afternoon a friend appeared with two lorry loads of good soil for the raised beds.   The first load was 2 tons, the second load was nearer three.  Apparently the supplier was a bit generous.   I've got to shovel it into place now.

 

Guess what I'll be doing this morning, then after the house of big ladies has made a delivery I'm off out with Andy to watch trains.   His knee replacement has gone well and he is now up to coming out to play.  Not a bad day in prospect.

 

Jamie

[Ozexpatriate]

49 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

The Americans cut theirs up in dry dock but seal off the reactor compartment then two the whole block up the Columbia to, IIRC Hanford, and leave them in the desert.

Hanford is an environmental disaster area with the potential to be much worse. It is also on the banks of the 5th largest volumetric flow of river water in North America.

 

Estimates of the costs to scrap USS Enterprise are $1.55B. (The USS Gerald Ford cost $13B.)

 

The Hanford Reach is arid but the surrounding area (which includes the Yakima Valley*) is very productive agricultural land.

 

* A designated viticultural area also famous for apples, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears and plums. Yakima is about 50 miles from Hanford.

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Got some better WiFi.  Wooopppiiiddddoooo!

 

Falkland Isles.. erm first war for young Baz. Had to test and get to work a Sea Skya control section. Not helped by having a very worried you matelot..  armed with a gun!

 

I got it working and went on Holiday.  

While I was away that Skua skewered a submarine.. strike 1 to Baz!

 

Time to get on with the walkabout!

 

Baz

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, BR60103 said:

In all my working years, I remember only 2 times that snow kept me from work.

Much depends on conditions and mitigation infrastructure.

 

I lived in Chicago for seven years. Lots of plows, 'salt'* and relatively flat terrain make a huge difference. Mayors lose elections if their snow removal investment is inadequate. I rarely had much of an issue getting around in Chicago in winter. I lived in an unincorporated part of a suburban county, but the plows still ran all day and night in my neighbourhood.

 

* Not just NaCl but all the other 'salts' used for snow mitigation

 

Portland is a different story - any substantial snow shuts the city down, every time. But the differences are for a large number of reasons that accumulate:

1. The investment in mid-west level snow removal equipment is not cost-effective for our very occasional snow storms
2. Microclimates make prediction of exactly where/when/how much snow will fall much harder than the midwest
3. Salt is difficult to apply effectively. Usually we have rain turning to snow. Salt laid down before the snow washes away. Plus there is a reluctance to use salt since it drains directly into the watershed and salmon habitat
4. There are lots of hills here that get really icy
5. In heavy traffic (like when everyone tries to get home the instant it starts to snow) tyres quickly compact unplowed snow into a layer of ice that would make a Zamboni driver proud. (I never saw this in Chicago.)
6. Plows here tend to plow to 1" above the road surface; midwestern plows grind down to the surface. Why? I'm not sure.
7. Ice storms are as common as snow

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[iL Dottore]

13 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

Brief and to the point.

But how has the Foreign Office upset you so badly?

 

I’m assuming The Bear is upset because the Foreign Office has not prevented the admittance of (ahem) “alternative entrepreneurs” - such as Captain Cynical - with the result that The Bear is worried that The Bear’s quality of life may be radically and significantly altered by things like CC’s fatwa on baked beans or the very real threat that CCI GmbH will buy up all the LDC factories and jack up the prices (CC says “one LDC for one Deltic sounds like a very fair price”).

 

Y’see, you just can’t trust Johnny Foreigner….

[TheQ]

I started watching the " Falklands war , the untold story" but rapidly got bored because I found very very little was untold.

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

 

 

Not sure how Jamie got into this posting. But I can't get rid of it.

 

Mooring Awl,

A poor nights sleep, couldn't get to sleep to start with, then had 5 hours solid, nothing since.

 

I'm trying not to buy in soil for our raised beds,  some is coming from the hump being removed nearby, but I've not identified a source for the rest, as I'm trying to level the ground elsewhere not dig holes in it.

The normal trick with a raised bed is to lower the ground around it shovelling that into the bed, but this is one of the few places I can't do that, as the sewage pipe to the septic tanks, and the gas tank which we are hiding with the raised beds are in the way.

 

Actually thinking about it some other areas will need soil eventually, the technical solution would be to lower everywhere else, but digging up the turf over an acre of land , to lower it a couple of inches doesn't appeal. The overall intention is to have a few really raised beds, of at least 2 ft above ground level, the rest being level enough to mow.

Thoughts will continue when I go on patrol with Ben the currently sleeping Collie.

 

There is a house of strong ladies delivery in our post box according to their site, it arrived late last night.

This is the door handles I'm planing to use to pull myself out of the seat in Blue Moon. I'll check when out on patrol with Ben, who has just surfaced. He's not yet asking out though.

 

One of the things to be delivered Friday is some wire mesh for fencing on the unmentionable. I've realised a bit could be used to make a poor representation of the Type 7 radar.

Last night I got the email confirming the duties for everyone at the radar museum, I'm in the radar history room on Fridays..

 

I'll take this gadget next Tuesday, make a list of the models / info in the radar room.

Then make a list of the essential statistics for each one.

 

Type 7 radar, early models. In use 1941-1960.

Rotation speed between 0.5 and 8rpm.

Max Peak power 100kw,

Pulse length 3, 5, or 8 microseconds.

Pulse repetition frequency between 300 and 540pps.

Transmission frequency 209MHz some models 193 or 200MHz

Early model antenna width 30ft height 25ft.

Beam width 15 degrees,

Height of Aircraft  500ft, range 10 miles

1000, 30

5000, 51

10,000, 67

20,000, 90

 

 

Time to patrol then breakfast.

Edited March 9, 2023 by TheQ

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Raining steadily, has been for a while and plenty more to come today.  3°C rising to 8 or 9°C.

Bins being clattered as I type and more due to be collected.  Sainsbury's have been put on the naughty step by The Boss as 5 items are unavailable today but we are getting eggs and vegetables.  We suspect the delivery is coming from the store we don't like so will probably have to visit the other,  "better" one which unsurprisingly is where The Boss used to work.  Can't wait.

No other plans made for the day yet.

Have a good one.

Bob.

 

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by grandadbob