Early Risers.

[Ozexpatriate]

5 hours ago, Tony_S said:

It has just adopted human behaviours. I remember reading about “fragging” of officers in Vietnam. 

British officers carried sidearms (pistols) in the first world war - they weren't intended just for the enemy.

[polybear]

Bear here.....

 

One of the flood alarms decided to start playing the "low battery" song this morning - when I took the battery cover off I discovered furry batteries.....

Supposedly "good batteries"* too - not Poundland Specials 🤬  So out came the scratch brush then IPA to clean the mess up, followed by a new set of batteries.

I've a good mind to take the duff ones back - but getting to the Stationary Cupboard* is kinda tricky now.  Turdycurses.

 

*Industrial Duracells.  So what if they were dated March 2016??

** Another of the very few things I miss about the G.E.  I miss the Photocopier/Scanner much, much more though - boy, was that fast (and free).

 

BG

 

[polybear]

Eight weeks suspended and 60 hours - how the car driver managed to survive this is a mystery:

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-suffolk-65815028

 

Worthy of a Rant.

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

No idea where beef for pies etc comes from.

It's best not to ask 🤣

[Hroth]

22 minutes ago, polybear said:

Eight weeks suspended and 60 hours - how the car driver managed to survive this is a mystery:

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-suffolk-65815028

 

Worthy of a Rant.

 

Eeek!

 

How about this one?

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-essex-65653429

 

Its even got bits of parallel metal in it....

 

[Gwiwer]

Evening all.  

 

Life has turned remarkably busy in the run-up to our two week trip to Pendeen.  So much cleaning and tidying to be done (partly in order to allow friends to stay at ours while we are away - they are on plant-watering duties) and Dr. SWMBO is already packing because it always takes her longer to pack than she is away for.  

 

Several bags of clothes have been taken to the recycling point, the gardens have been fed and watered and the roses particularly are finally looking good

 

In addition to which, and at risk of disturbing the slumbering awl, I have been cracking on with the small Porthgarrow project which has its first exhibition in just a few weeks' time and needs to be much farther advanced than it currently is to be presentable.  

 

The House of Fun has not been.  It is far too cold for the time of year at the hours of attendance.  I should not require thermal socks and gloves in June.  But the usual compensations are there; warm smiles from customers at times and a modest top-up of the bank account every fourth Friday.  A lovely American woman turned up today - a solo traveller a little bit misplaced.  As usual I told her where to go.  In the nicest possible way!  

 

Proceeds of the Aussie house sale are now through meaning we have the cash to offer if a suitable place presents itself whilst we are in Cornwall.  One viewing is booked (unless sold previously) with others in prospect.  One on the street I grew up on!  The hill would be too much for Dr. SWMBO and there's no front garden at all - the door opens off the street - but it's otherwise a near-ideal place for us on paper.  

 

I'll check in again before we go.  But once away we have limited intertubes and only very narrow bandwidth relying upon wind in the right direction and a good hot pasty in the oven. 

 

Take care.  

 

[Hroth]

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

British officers carried sidearms (pistols) in the first world war - they weren't intended just for the enemy.

 

Officiers carried pistols, but when going Over The Top, they wore tin hats and carried a rifle, otherwise they stood out amongst the rank and file and the Hun was known to target them especially.

 

(Mentioned in Robert Graves "Goodbye to all that")

 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I'm thinking of getting one of those two compartment air fryers. Then I can cook a meal certain that each component is cooked at the correct temperature and time and finish at the same time at the press of a button. Now to tackle Farcebook.

[pH]

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

British officers carried sidearms (pistols) in the first world war - they weren't intended just for the enemy.

Pierre Berton’s book “Vimy” contains a direct reference to such things. British Army officers attached to the Canadian Army were far stricter disciplinarians than Canadian officers. He writes:

 

”Such officers did not last long in the Canadian lines: those who weren’t sent back to the British Army were shot in the back by their own men.”

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, Hroth said:

Officers carried pistols, but when going Over The Top, they wore tin hats and carried a rifle

I imagine that practice was learned the hard way.

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

Officiers carried pistols, but when going Over The Top, they wore tin hats and carried a rifle, otherwise they stood out amongst the rank and file and the Hun was known to target them especially.

 

(Mentioned in Robert Graves "Goodbye to all that")

 

 

51 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I imagine that practice was learned the hard way.

The heaviest casualties were amongst the junior officers during WW1. So heavy that they had to commission new officers from NCO's and other ranks.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[monkeysarefun]

13 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

At least it was only a simulation so just as well.

Thats cos its the military and they wargame everything. But the day maybe wont be long coming when the software in vehicles,  elevators, aircraft, appliances, building aircon and  security systems......  starts getting  written by AI because its heaps cheaper for manufacturers to download ChatGPT etc to do the work  than it is  paying software developers, and a way of getting products developed and out  to market  faster than competitors?

 

How many of those things will get tested and workshopped extensively for every eventuality prior to release? Many variations on the old "will your driverless car crash into the tree and kill you rather than run into the errant pedestrian?" question could spring  up across all walks of life. Worst case -   @polybear may end up being Omega Man.

Edited June 5, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a sunny Charente.  The ironing awaits then some grass cutting. 

 

Jamie

[AndyID]

MrsID's has had her mobile phone for at least ten years and it was beginning to show its age so I sent for a new an unlocked Android phone for her. I was a bit nervous that our cellular carrier might not accept it but I swapped the SIM from her old phone and the new phone works as it should. The new phone was not the very latest model and I thought the price was quite reasonable.

 

I was following her back from town the other day and she seemed to be driving rather fast - she was doing a good bit over 70 in a 65 limit. We bought alloy wheels for the Summer tires on her Jeep Wrangler. The original steel rims are fitted with the studless snow tires. The alloy wheels are a size bigger than the steel wheels so I downloaded a GPS speedometer application on her phone and we went for a drive. The Jeep's speedo is indicating the speed about 8% slower than the actual speed. I could get a gizmo to re-calibrate the speedometer but as long as she remembers that an indicated 60 is more like 65 she should be OK.

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Off to Beverley for cricket today. Yesterday it was sunny.. today is grey and overcast..pah!

 

Time to get my tea drunk and gerramoveon!

 

Enjoy your day!

 

Baz

[polybear]

9 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

Eeek!

 

How about this one?

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-essex-65653429

 

Its even got bits of parallel metal in it....

 

 

It's a mystery to This Bear how a truck driver can even manage to forget to lower the tipper body before driving off (hopefully modern trucks have an interlock to stop that now, though I realise that moving at very low speed is needed for unloading).

There's been quite a few incidents over the years where the tipper has hit bridges - the truck tends to stop "rather quickly" as a result, often with the front wheels high in the air.

 

9 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

The House of Fun has not been.  

 

 

Do you get many people still trying to travel with (now banned**) leccy bikes/scooters etc?

 

**From many (if not all) Rail Operators, as well as L.U. (and Buses?)

 

9 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

Officers carried pistols, but when going Over The Top, they wore tin hats and carried a rifle, otherwise they stood out amongst the rank and file and the Hun was known to target them especially.

 

It still happens in modern warfare - I've seen quite a few war films (Afgan etc.) where the Officers get most upset if a new arrival salutes them as it makes them a prime target for snipers.

 

6 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

How many of those things will get tested and workshopped extensively for every eventuality prior to release? Many variations on the old "will your driverless car crash into the tree and kill you rather than run into the errant pedestrian?" question could spring  up across all walks of life. 

 

The Great Empire used to conduct extensive real-life tests - and cheap they weren't.  Good fun though.  Now?  Far less, with a lot more analysed by modelling cos' it's far cheaper.  Cynical Bear (plus a lot of Buddies "that've been there and done that" for real have pointed out many, many times that it's a poor substitute for doing it properly, but the Bean Counters know best, of course....

 

Bear here.....

05-20 today, so another early start....

Today sees work restarted on the architrave in the Hallway - some work has already been done; the architrave around the front door is a right PITA though, but as the leccy C.U. Box sits right where the RH Corner joint would normally be at least this aspect is simplified (there'll be a couple of butt joints to the front & underside faces of the box instead).  However, the wall surface/levels on the RHS of the door frame are "all over the F. Shop" (technical term) so I'm expecting "fun" (other terms are available) here; the architrave for the LHS needs to be reduced in width as well** as a Certain Bear totally screwed up the scribing to the adjacent wall so a recovery plan is needed (I don't have any spare architrave and it was an internet purchase (with a high minimum value order) and a profile not available in the Sheds.

I'd also quite like to get the Dado Rail & Skirting on the Landing secured to the walls - then I can pretty much say that the Landing "is finished" (apart from fitting the glass panels below the Banister Hand Rail - but they're still being manufactured).

 

**I need to set up the Table Saw for that job - I only have an attachment (currently in the Loft) that fits the Workmate; I need rescue it then fit the Circular Saw to the underside of the attachment & align it first though, all of which is a PITA but for something that doesn't get used too often it works well enough; a proper saw bench (even a small bench-mounted one) would take up valuable shed space for only occasional use.

 

In other news.....

Reports are coming in that Poo Tin has blown up a major Dam in the Ukraine - which has consequences for a Nuclear Power Station (loss of cooling water?).  T0ssers.

 

BG

[jjb1970]

The modern equivalent of looking for people who are saluted by underlings, wear a better class of uniform and are armed with a pistol is tracking data and emissions, which is a good indicator of where decision centres are, force size etc and can act as a bomb magnet. I remember being told by RN officers it really didn't matter that much if signal traffic was encrypted and unreadable, they could tell a lot just by monitoring gibberish signals. And radars are very much a two edged sword, they are essential for ground based air defence but are also probably the ultimate missile magnet if not used cleverly.

[DaveF]

A dull dismal cold morning.  I woke much too early, made a cup of tea and went back to bed to read my book.  I was up and had finished breakfast before Asda delivered the groceries at 07.45, it was only 15 minutes before the time slot, it suits me well.  I can now hear the bin lorry, it has just reversed at its usual high speed past my house and round the corner to the end of the road.  It saves them turning round and there are only houses on one side of the road.

 

Once again I had a very vivid dream and had a shivering attack at the end of it, but I didn't actually fully wake.  I now have no recollection of the dream's content.  I do get periods like this, always after a period of stress - though I'm not sure what the stress was.  I've also had a couple of migraines, thay also only appear after stress.  It may just be that I am at last starting to throw stuff out which came home from the flat and moving on from the past yeaar of sorting things out concerning Mum's estate.

 

Various things need doing today mainly in the greenhouse and garden, the forecast is dull and cool so I don't think I'll go far.

 

David

[New Haven Neil]

Mornid.  Ib fud of code.

 

I thought it was hay fever, that has been a real issue this last few weeks, but I have the additional fun of a cold on top of it.  Bl**dy visitors bringing their germs.....

 

Actually not sunny this morning for the first time in almost three weeks, but the fore-guessers have said it will clear mid-morning.  20c.

[pH]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

It's a mystery to This Bear how a truck driver can even manage to forget to lower the tipper body before driving off (hopefully modern trucks have an interlock to stop that now, though I realise that moving at very low speed is needed for unloading).

There's been quite a few incidents over the years where the tipper has hit bridges - the truck tends to stop "rather quickly" as a result, often with the front wheels high in the air.

There was an unfortunate incident here where the raised body on a truck hit a metal pedestrian bridge over a road. It brought a section of the bridge down on the truck cab, crushing it and killing the driver.

Edited June 6, 2023 by pH

[jjb1970]

I had a bit of a laugh in the hotel. They're obviously very proud of their efforts to save the world and reduce GHG emissions, something which should be applauded. So why do they deliver bottles of Italian still water to the room every day, is there something wrong with tap water in Denmark?

[southern42]

On 01/06/2023 at 19:51, Ozexpatriate said:

The mind boggles. Do you have the option to compost? I can imagine things getting stinky after four weeks.

 

Mine was collected yesterday (weekly). They don't seem to change the schedule whether there are holidays or not. I brought the wheelie bin to the kerb the night before and when heading out for my walk, checked to see if the truck had been by - only to find a little bag of someone's precious canine waste. (Which I don't mind - far better in a little plastic bag in my bin than in the grass I have to mow.)

 

It makes me think how bad it would be for someone with a large dog* to not have garbage collected for a month.

 

* Having had a Lab at one point.

 

Our food waste is processed at a food waste anaerobic digestion (AD) plant at Gwyriad, Clynnog-fawr near Caernarfon, generating renewable energy and producing a valuable biofertiliser for local farmland.*

* https://www.biogen.co.uk/About-Us/Biogen-in-Wales

 

Our food and recycling bins are collected every Tuesday. General waste every three weeks. We fit in the "off the beaten track" area, on account of a narrow road with cars parked alongside thus having small collection vehicles rather than the usual waste lorries.

We also have a garden waste bin (with an annual charge for this), which has its own collection, on Mondays, once a fortnight.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Still a bit nippy but at least its dry. Forecasters are saying that it will warm up for the weekend thankfully. Interesting item on You-Tube'

 

Interesting flora, the one shaped like a bottle brush intrigues me, tree shrub or cacti?

[PhilJ W]

13 hours ago, Hroth said:

How about this one?

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-essex-65653429

I recall a similar incident on the A13 (not at all far from the above incident) several years ago. Only this time it was a farm bridge across the road. The tipper body was left upside down facing the direction it had come from and the truck chassis was banana shaped. The marks could still be seen on the bridge until it was replaced during road alterations.

Edited June 6, 2023 by PhilJ W