Early Risers.

[The White Rabbit]

 

8 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

It amazes me tyres don't get more attention as getting the right tyres is critical to performance. ... 

 

The Jimny is a good example of a car which is superb for a specific use (small off-roader) and mediocre at best for other use cases (like as a Tonka alternative to a Ford Ka). I love it and have genuine respect for it. If I needed to go off road it is a cheap (both to buy and run) off roader which is unlikely to go wrong. And it's great fun. However I do wonder about those who bought them in the UK as a fashion accessory as on road they're slow and drive like a tractor.

 

When I worked in electricity our line engineers at the time used 1st generation Nissan X-Trails. Despite being a consumer market SUV the AWD models had genuine off road capabilities yet drove like a regular car on-road. At the time those who selected the vehicle fleet in the company said it was the best of the SUVs for going off tarmac and cheaper than looking for a military or industrial utility vehicle. Given it got their engineers everywhere they needed to go it did what it was bought to do 

 

Yes, after all, the tyres are the only part of the vehicle in contact with the road. Or ploughed field, etc. 

 

One of the reasons for thinking about a Jimny was the off-road ability and higher ground clearance. It would have been useful on trips into the countryside, though at the moment I don't know how many of those I'd be able to do. I have also looked at Subarus and know someone who used to have a Nissan X trail (and liked it). Both of which would be more comfortable on the road. A farmer's son I knew some years ago had a Toyota pickup, wonderful reliability but he did get people calling it a technical! 

 

[The White Rabbit]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Is Mrs iD also a member of the wolfpack?

 

The alpha female I hope. 

[Erichill16]

4 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Bear here.....

A busy day is planned - with scope for things going horribly wrong......

BG

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, PupCam said:

Early Morning All!

 

 

We called them targets .....

 

Got to get a wiggle on.    A trip to the North Pole is on to go and wake @polybear for a day of adventure,

 

TTFNQ!

 

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

Good Morning all from a very quiet Londonium, 

 

 

Wonderful beasties, the Wolfpack.,,,

Dont go Bear, its a cunning trap. I bet you've  been promised a free all you can eat pizza lunch!

 

[tigerburnie]

I worked for Toyota for 12 years as a maintenance engineer at their Derby factory, although I didn't touch the cars I did learn a huge amount about the car industry, mostly from people who had worked for rivals in the motor industry. At the time there was more than one UK manufacturer selling cars  brand new with known faults that they "just let go", there are a couple of manufacturers cars I still wouldn't keep if you gave me a new one for free. 4x4 were cars I used a lot in Scotland when I first came up here with work and for fishing, I found the Terrano and the Shogun(I had the "sport" one) were excellent crossing muddy fields and going through quite deep ditches with proper off road tyres on them, just 20 mpg stops me having one now I'm retired.

[jjb1970]

47 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

I worked for Toyota for 12 years as a maintenance engineer at their Derby factory, although I didn't touch the cars I did learn a huge amount about the car industry, mostly from people who had worked for rivals in the motor industry. At the time there was more than one UK manufacturer selling cars  brand new with known faults that they "just let go", there are a couple of manufacturers cars I still wouldn't keep if you gave me a new one for free. 4x4 were cars I used a lot in Scotland when I first came up here with work and for fishing, I found the Terrano and the Shogun(I had the "sport" one) were excellent crossing muddy fields and going through quite deep ditches with proper off road tyres on them, just 20 mpg stops me having one now I'm retired.

 

I had something of an epiphany when I was sent to Japan to stand by newbuild container ships at the IHI yard in Kure in the mid-90's. I'd been fed all sorts of guff about Japanese good, the sanctity of German engineering, British quality etc as I grew up. My then employer had a fleet of mainly German built vessels, many of which had build defects going back over a decade and some shocking design innovations. When I went to IHI the yard operated like a watch, it was all clean, everything was carefully planned and there was a ridiculous attention to quality. The ship I was standing by was floated out on the exact day agreed on ordering, we went out for sea trials then went directly to load cargo with everything working. That was my experience in general of Japanese and then South Korean yards. Some might find it a bit contrarian but the better Chinese yards are now like that. When there was a problem hordes would descent and micro-analyse it and feed back into their design and manufacturing processes.

 

There is still a culture in much of British industry and Europe more widely that if you build a big thing like a ship or a power station you have to expect problems, the Japanese and Koreans have a culture where if they hand over something with a fault they need to find out why to avoid a repeat. If it is something difficult to foresee on a new design that's one thing, but most of the faults I saw in European yards were ridiculous things like pipe fittings assembled with dust caps left in (I'm not even sure how you can do that), oil lines not flushed, steam systems not properly chemically cleaned prior to commissioning, in one case starting a shaft with the lube oil system blanked off, incorrect assembly etc. All things which shouldn't happen.

[Tony_S]

My last three cars were made in Liverpool…

[Tony_S]

I know that people joke about most 4x4 SUV only going off road is the supermarket car park but I once rescued a chap with a Toyota pickup from the car park at Tesco Pitsea. It must have been the last time we had really heavy snow in South Essex. Anyway I was putting my shopping in the back of my Freelander when a man comes up and asks me if I can drive a 4x4. I said I can drive mine, how could I help. He did seem a bit embarrassed. It turned out his boss on the building site had sent him out in the company truck to get some snacks. Somehow he had reversed it into a big drift of snow under the flyover that the car park is under. I explained for my car it was easy, you just had to turn a knob to a picture of a snowflake and it worked. However I went and sat in the cab of his and looked. I suggested putting it in whatever mode  a couple of levers weren’t in and he could pull out. I said if I had needed to tow him out that Land Rover would have loved a photo!  

[Dave Hunt]

2 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:

 

I think it's about 2005-2006. The retailer I bought it from is no more, so I went to Hornby direct. I wouldn't have minded so much if I'd been able to play with use it. But over the last 15 or so years, a combination of work, caring duties and keeping two households afloat meant very little or no time for hobbies and so relative safety from the awl. I checked on it (and another on RMW's list, which so far is OK) when the first news of mazak broke and again a few years ago - it was fine then, so, to quote Basil Fawlty, I thought I'd got away with it... 

 

I wonder if they would - at face value, yes, easier just to settle but it could create a precedent for them and open the door to other claims. 

 

If they won’t play ball, how about starting a forum on RMW aimed at getting others affected to start a class action against them? That may shock them into being more co-operative.

 

Dave

[jjb1970]

I can't help thinking that there's a reason some things haven't been done before..... I don't think McVities will lose any sleep.

 

[Tony_S]

Probably not a problem in the UK
Robot camera spots alligator in Florida water pipe

 

Though it might help with the super rats inhabiting sewers nowadays. 

[grandadbob]

I'm suffering from a serious case of "slow" today.

Slow getting up.

Slow having breakfast.

Slow walk to Asda.

Slow (painful) walk home after a long slow talk to two neighbours.

Slow thoughts about whether or not we rejoin the National Trust after an absence of a few years and we have now done so.  Now slowly trying to decide which property to visit or re-visit first.

Slow lunch.

Slow phone call to the surgery to get a telephone appointment.  I was fourth in the queue but then got stuck at third for about 12 minutes however I will be getting a call this evening.

So slow that I haven't got around to visiting The Shed however things have just got a bit faster as tea and fruit cake made an appearance a few minutes ago and the cake has already gone!  

Oh dear,  I've just (slowly) walked past the cake in the kitchen and (slowly) cut another small piece......I'll make this bit last (slightly) longer.

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by grandadbob

[The Lurker]

23 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

And that is why we use Ocado.  The only delivery business which doesn't pick from supermarket shelves but uses their own warehouses and distribution centres.  They generally have a good idea of stock levels when you place the order.  Anything you try to order which is not in stock (or for which stock on hand is already fully spoken-for and no more is expected before your delivery) will show as "Out of Stock" an not allow you to select it.  Almost all of the very small number of substitutions we have had over five years have been reasonable alternatives although not all were accepted.  Fine-cut not thick-cut marmalade of the same brand, for example.  The only time we reject a sub is if a specific item is wanted for a particular reason and nothing else will do.  Or on the one and only occasion they substituted non-dairy yogurt with dairy which Dr. SWMBO needs to avoid.  

 

Other opinions and deliveries are available.  I tried to get my friends in Cornwall onto Ocado a while back after they repeatedly complained about ASDA delivering nothing like what they ordered including up to half an order completely missing and offering peanut butter instead of butter and dishwash instead of laundry liquid.  Ocado don't yet reach Cornwall.  

Exactly why we use them and have done since Mrs Lurker was heavily pregnant with Younger Lurker. I think the hormones were getting to her when she told me Ocado had transformed her life...but you get the idea!

[jjb1970]

2 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

If they won’t play ball, how about starting a forum on RMW aimed at getting others affected to start a class action against them? That may shock them into being more co-operative.

 

Dave

 

There's a certain type of retailer which works on an assumption that the majority of customers they rip off will complain to friends and be unhappy but won't pursue things. A few years ago I went to trading standards after being told to s*d off (in as many words) by a shop which sold me goods not as advertised and as soon as I mentioned the shop the guys eyes rolled. He told me that not only do the retailers work on a basis that very few people will go beyond being angry, they also know that many of them after a while will drift back despite assuring themselves they'll never darken the doors of said shop again. He recommended using the small claims process (it's there, it's cheap, use it) but before filing the paperwork he recommended a final try. He gave me his card and said 'ask for Mr.xxxxx, tell him you've seen me and that I've said you have a good case and that you will therefore be filing a case under the small claims process'. I did as advised and wouldn't you know it they immediately gave me a full refund. I guess it's just another numbers game, they probably have it all worked out how many sales they lose and what it costs vs. what they make by playing fast and loose (it was a big national chain, a household name).

[Ian Abel]

Yikes!!!

 

So that week got away from me 😵

 

Weekend busy especially with an evening happy-hour on Saturday, ostensibly for the Coronation, but somewhat glossed over that.

 

The entire WEEK has been a non-stop client barrage of changes and feature additions to report - all needed hastily, AND

I had already planned to take Tuesday off to head to the cabin with Jemma and the Mrs to open it - install the pump and clean basically.

There's usually a 50-50 chance of the water system needing "something", this year was a good year, pump installed, and everything worked perfectly, no leaks!

 

So, here we are already at POETS. Probably be a little early, but plenty to still battle through for the client.

 

We've got Whitney today through Sunday as both Brendan and Jemma are flying. Jemma is the first family member to head south of the equator, flew overnight to Sao Paulo, returning Sunday early, in time to be here for a Mother's day and HER birthday dinner.

 

Weather becoming early summer suddenly, 15c first thing, partly cloudy, some rain overnight, high of 21c expected and 21c-26c highs next 4 days.

 

Tally ho.

 

[DaveF]

 

I did a bit of model stuff this morning, described in Night Mail as it is about things that move on bits of nickel sliver using electricity.

 

Once that was done I had coffee and did some of the Radio Times puzzles.  Then I decided that a copper warming pan in the living room needed a good clean - it was looking very drab and matt.  I got out a tin of Brasso wadding and spent a leisurely half hour or so getting it nice and shiny.  For once I remembered to wear a pair of disposable gloves so did not end up with filthy hands.  I doubt it is worth anything but it was always around at Mum and Dad's when I was a child, now it is a piece of clutter nice thing to look at in my house. 

 

I got it done in time for lunch after which I drove to Seaton Sluice and had a walk along the cliff top for a bit less than a mile.  It was  cold, only 9C so I put on a warm sweater and jacket, I could have done with a hat as well so I ended up putting the hood up.  It seemed that every car was having indicator problems, two cars signalled right and went left, one signalled left and then went right to turn into his drive, one signalled right and then stopped and reversed into a parking space.  Most cars were doing 40 mph in both the 30 and 60 limit areas, though they did slow down for the fixed speed camera.  In other words a normal day for driving.

 

Back at home I read a magazine and then as I got up to make a cup of tea I saw a sparrowhawk sitting on the fence across the road, it remained almost motionless for nearly ten minutes then quickly flew off.  It crossed the garden, turned sharp left by a tree and did not reappear, presumably it was dealing with whatever it had caught.

 

I think this evening will once again be book, music and TV. I'm sure it must sound boring but I enjoy it.

 

David

[Gwiwer]

5 hours ago, Tony_S said:

My last three cars were made in Liverpool…

I understand that a lot of cars get "un-made" in Liverpool too.  

 

Just back from a difficult morning at the House of Fun followed by a most convivial lunch with certain members of this august establishment.  Of which more will no doubt be posted anon.  It wasn't my finest morning either as I was suffering the effects of pollenitis requiring the application of both the Beaky-nose antihistamine spray and the steroidal asthma inhaler.   

 

The lack of action by most drivers meant only a modest number of trains were able to run through the House of Fun today.  This number was abruptly brought to a grinding halt when the signals went PHUT at Vauxhall.  The twin facts of it being Friday (not normally a busy day any more) and a strike day for most rail operators meant passenger numbers were quite low but the frustration boiled over at one point.  I wasn't closely involved but it was all a bit too much for one woman who picked up and threw her suitcases (all three of them) at the coffee shop whilst screaming torrents of abuse aimed nowhere in particular.  

 

Luckily the coffee shop still has its Covid-related screens in place which took the brunt of the frustration and prevented damage or injury to anything more than a few pieces of cake.  @polybear may however wish to administer the Last Rites in absentia for the loss of several slices of chocolate cake and millionaire's slice.  

 

All, as they say, in a day's work.  I hope that having vented her spleen and any other organs involved that she then calmed down.  

 

Tomorrow requires me in Surrey for another meeting and a trip in the Little Red Driving Box enforced by ongoing lack-of-action by selected members of the railway industry.  And on Sunday I plan to do as little as possible.  

[iL Dottore]

A splendid time was had today by the august members of the Brains Trust (now with “extra added @polybear and @PupCam“)

 

Seated around the table we have, going from left to right

Some dodgy old geezer who just turned up and wouldn’t leave, @unravelled, @bbishop, @roundhouse a shy and retiring @PupCam, @Gwiwer and @polybear.

The venue was pleasant (and easy to get to), food was good and priced about right, but the beer? £7.25 a pint!

Furthermore there was no cake or curly fries! (I think the BT food and drink subcommittee may be having a rethink on the venue before the next Brains Trust meeting).

As usual, conversation was cordial, erudite, informed and civil - despite a whole panoply of political opinion and philosophy. A wide range of subjects was discussed; from politics (“don’t trust the ******** “), to Rod Stewart’s modelling skills (serious respect) to whether or not a certain manufacturer of things that run on two parallel strips of metal is “well dodgy“ (explored at length).

 

Swiss chocolates were dispensed to those who had requested such a boon from Captain Cynical and The Brains Trust dispersed in an extremely agreeable mood In the late afternoon!

[grandadbob]

Evenin' each,

Promised phone call from doctor arrived earlier than expected.  This was to discuss the X-ray I had on my hip last week because when I phoned earlier in the week I was told it had come back stating something like "Normal - no action required."   "Pah" said I.  What I actually said to myself was "F### that for a game of soldiers."  My doctor has been away for a few days so today was the first chance I had to speak to her.  Bearing in mind I was X-rayed and diagnosed with arthritis in both hips several years ago she agreed with me though not using quite the same vernacular.   😁 The upshot is that I have to return next week for a second X-ray.  Great, but at least it's something.  Meanwhile a further prescription for Tramadol will be issued as I'm starting to run low. 

In other news Melton Mowbray pork pie with some salad has been enjoyed and of course there was wine involved and more of the same to come as usual.  Normal service is resumed at GDB Towers with nothing on the box to interest me. The Boss will be watching that stupid I'm a Z -list celebrity programme and tomorrow she's following that up with the Eurovision carp that I understand also has an Australian entry.  Weird.  Suffice to say I won't be watching but at least I've got a couple of rugby matches to see over the weekend.

Cheers 🍷🍷

 

P.S.  It seems that ArchBish Justin has been slightly naughty.  Shocking!  😂

Edited May 12, 2023 by grandadbob

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

it was all a bit too much for one woman ...

I continue with my observation that post-pandemic levels of anxiety, stress, frustration, depression, other forms of mental illness are greatly increased for society at large. There is much reporting on this relative to school children, but I think it extends to society at large with a lot of people 'on their last nerve'.

 

I find it visible in ever increasing levels of political divisiveness and even simple impoliteness but perhaps that is because I am looking for it. The art of winning elections is in recent years in the focus on what divides rather than what unites, but it seems like society at large is similarly inclined.

[Ozexpatriate]

3 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

It seems that ArchBish Justin has been slightly naughty.

Intrigued, it seems this was the news hit:

Quote

The Most Reverend Justin Welby was recorded driving at 25mph in a 20mph zone in his Volkswagen Golf last year.

Hardly sinful to my lights. Perhaps royal patronage extends to a the royal prerogative of mercy (for recent services rendered)?

[grandadbob]

The thing about these 20mph zones  is that they are supposed, I believe,  to be traffic "calming" measures primarily to reduce accidents.  All well and good and I applaud anything (within reason) that helps to reduce accidents but I have found around here that the queue of drivers behind someone religiously 🤪 keeping to the limit is often anything but calm! 

Edited May 12, 2023 by grandadbob

[Ozexpatriate]

15 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

... whether or not a certain manufacturer of things that run on two parallel strips of metal is “well dodgy“

If that is the same manufacturer that I am thinking of then a rant is likely forthcoming. (I'm keeping my powder dry until the credit card statement appears.) In the fulness of time I anticipate you'll see some westerly whining. In this case it is more to do with business practices than the quality of manufacturing.

[Ozexpatriate]

1 minute ago, grandadbob said:

The thing about these 20mph zones  is that they are supposed, I believe,  to be traffic "calming" measures primarily to reduce accidents. 

Portland has a campaign called "Twenty is plenty!" (20mph in neighbourhood streets) ostensibly to reduce pedestrian accidents - which represented 44% (the leading cause) of traffic deaths in Portland in 2022.

 

The pedestrian fatalities are reported on the news (to my way of thinking) in an appalling manner - all focus on the number, no focus on what streets, in what conditions and with whom.

 

Neighbourhood streets where the 20mph limit was applied were not, (of course), the problem as indicated in Portland's "Vision Zero" report where 70% of fatalities occurred on their designated "high crash network" streets (8% of streets).

 

A high proportion (36%)* of the pedestrian fatalities were homeless people** on dangerous roads.

 

* 70% in 2021

** 0.7% of the population.

 

City of Portland had suspended their traffic detail for the duration of the pandemic. It was reinstated with a skeleton crew this week. The Police Bureau has had serious staffing problems since the early days of the pandemic where events triggered mass 'retirements'.

[New Haven Neil]

Most estate streets here have 20 limits, however most folk just drive at 40 everywhere, I have never seen a radar in a street.  Just in the places they know they can make a profit easily where a lot of drivers speed as the there is no need for a limit - there's a few of those.

[tigerburnie]

8 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

 

I had something of an epiphany when I was sent to Japan to stand by newbuild container ships at the IHI yard in Kure in the mid-90's. I'd been fed all sorts of guff about Japanese good, the sanctity of German engineering, British quality etc as I grew up. My then employer had a fleet of mainly German built vessels, many of which had build defects going back over a decade and some shocking design innovations. When I went to IHI the yard operated like a watch, it was all clean, everything was carefully planned and there was a ridiculous attention to quality. The ship I was standing by was floated out on the exact day agreed on ordering, we went out for sea trials then went directly to load cargo with everything working. That was my experience in general of Japanese and then South Korean yards. Some might find it a bit contrarian but the better Chinese yards are now like that. When there was a problem hordes would descent and micro-analyse it and feed back into their design and manufacturing processes.

 

There is still a culture in much of British industry and Europe more widely that if you build a big thing like a ship or a power station you have to expect problems, the Japanese and Koreans have a culture where if they hand over something with a fault they need to find out why to avoid a repeat. If it is something difficult to foresee on a new design that's one thing, but most of the faults I saw in European yards were ridiculous things like pipe fittings assembled with dust caps left in (I'm not even sure how you can do that), oil lines not flushed, steam systems not properly chemically cleaned prior to commissioning, in one case starting a shaft with the lube oil system blanked off, incorrect assembly etc. All things which shouldn't happen.

I found the Japanese way different, they get there eventually often the long way there, but their aim for quality seemed admirable, they really did want a happy customer, I recall watching one of the first cars coming off the production line, there were a few of us stood nearby, when one of the inspectors rejected the car as the paintwork wasn't good enough. A colleague next to me with many years experience at the Jaguar factory informed us all that in all his years he had never seen a Jag as good as the car that was just rejected, the Japanese didn't understand why we were all laughing.