Early Risers.

[iL Dottore]

Time for a “Bespoke, hand-crafted, Swiss quality, grumble”.

 

Following the indulgences of the Christmas period, Mrs iD channeled her inner Sgt Hartmann (Full Metal Jacket) and declared that I am a “disgusting fatbody” who needs to loose weight.

 

So much for me growing old, fat, bibulous and gormandizing my way into a garrulous and testy old-age like Falstaff.

 

Anyway, I do tend to agree with her, inside this John Candy sized body is the soul of a buff, toned Arnold Schwarzenegger-ish mature hunk that’s trying to get out.

 

So I have duly set to with a pleasant enough diet: watch the daily carbs and calorie limit and eat what I enjoy (with moderation).

 

Now here’s the grumble: at breakfast (switched from lunch as I arose too late to cook) I had two mini-flatbreads, two slices of ham and some sliced turkey; whereas for my delayed breakfast I had a sausage, a slice of black pudding, three rashers of bacon, two scrambled eggs and some mushrooms fried in the fat from the bacon (no extra fat was used). The breakfast that many people would say is the healthier option came in at 439 calories, whilst the Full English came in at 489 calories, with the FE only having 10g more fat than the breads and meat! And here’s the kicker: after lunch I was satiated, after breakfast I wasn’t . Apparently, this is all down to how the body metabolises food: first the carbs, then the fats and then the proteins.

 

Whilst this may be a tad academic, it does mean that for the foreseeable future I will have to not only eschew potatoes and bread (no hardship there) but also pasta/noodles/rice. A rather unhappy situation, because when you are down in the dumps or have had an incredibly tiring day. There is absolutely nothing more guaranteed to lift your spirits better than a good plate of Bucatini alla carbonara (made with real Guanciale) or any one of a dozen tempting pasta treats (and no, [British] SpagBol isn’t on that list!).

 

In the absence of a calming and restorative plate of  Bucatini alla carbonara , Lasagna Verde alla Bolognese and the like, I might be a tad testy and maliciously misanthropic.

 

(It’s not me folks, it’s the biology!)

[Sidecar Racer]

10 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 Until someone invents portable booster batteries or something for an EV, it will mean a tow. 

 

 

 Already been sorted .

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

or

https://gajitz.com/little-generator-trailer-lets-electric-cars-go-the-distance/

 

 For those who want a quick look ,

 

 

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

In the absence of a calming and restorative plate of  Bucatini alla carbonara , Lasagna Verde alla Bolognese and the like, I might be a tad testy and maliciously misanthropic.

 

The lasagna we  transported to Enfield (vegetarian, not vegan) was rather nice. MiL  asked for some portions to be left for later, so she must have liked it. She was especially pleased it had been created rather than being a ready meal. Apparently, a Mary Berry recipe rather than from an Italian cookbook. 

[jjb1970]

I must admit I do enjoy lasagne, I have a soft spot for the sort of Italian food that was very popular in Britain like lasagne, cannelloni and ravioli. 

[jjb1970]

One that makes me laugh is Singapore noodles, which is a popular-ish dish in many Chinese and Asian restaurants and for instant noodles in Britain. It's basically noodles with Chinese curry flavour, I must confess that I rather like it. However, I have never seen it in Singapore nor met anyone here who has ever heard of it. I find it slightly disappointing that traditional Singaporean food is absent from Singapore, clearly I have to educate the locals on Singaporean food. 

[Gwiwer]

11 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

though the most remote one I've seen in real life said that there was 275km until the next fuel.

 

 

 

What that doesn’t say but rather relies upon you knowing is how far your vehicle will travel on a full tank with the pedal to the metal. 
 

How far from the previous road house is it to the “560kms” marker?  
 

There’s no point hanging about in the outback. Except to comply with aerial speed checks (yes they’re a thing; small aircraft are used) and the common sense to be able to avoid wandering camels or bouncy-rats.
 

Our Kia Rio (not an outback car) could manage 600+ kms on a full tank when well driven at freeway speeds. But I wouldn’t want to be 50kms short of Normanton when it ran out. That is why you always carry a jerry-can or three with you. Also filled.  The Ford, which was an Aussie-designed, Aussie-built Falcon Futura with beefy 4L engine wouldn’t manage quite the same distance because it was thirstier but by the time we got it it was dual-fuel meaning a switch from gas to “gas” extended its range by around 250kms.
 

It was much the better car for a long road trip. Automatic, Aussie-sized bodywork with Aussie-bloke (or Sheila)-sized seats it seemed that all I had to do for the 800kms or so between Melbourne and Sydney was to aim it. And stop it when required. 
 

I can’t remember the exact distance but leaving The Alice in the camper van there was a sign indicating “next fuel …. kms” which was at the Erldunda road house. That’s only 200kms. There was another as we left towards Uluru which is 275kms. The van had been drinking fuel like it was going out of fashion although in fairness it was also being (legally) driven at up to 175kmh (about 109mph) on the “open road” which of course is fuel-hungry but we were keen to reach our destination before the dark of the desert night made that risky. 

[Tony_S]

One outbreak of range anxiety has made me obsessive since. We were driving a Jeep Liberty from Calgary to Jasper. I didn’t top up in Calgary , thinking we would fill up on the highway. Big mistake. There were service stations but they all had signs stating closed until May. We left the highway at Lake Louise and filled up. The garage was really quiet but the owner said in summer there were queues as far as we could see. He was keeping busy that day shovelling snow and ice away. 
Tony

 

Edited February 4 by Tony_S

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Quite busy at the toy fair, I found it difficult to find a *parking spot and ended up parked outside in the street. I made a couple of purchases one of which may be DCC fitted as on inspection when I got home it appears to have something electrical added under the roof wired to the motor. As usual all of that walking about set off Arthur Itis but now the Nurofen is starting to fight back.

*Part of the school were the toy fair is rented by a 'church' that does not have its own premises, I'm tempted to ask if they are licenced.

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,,

At the sailing club... Slowly increasing wind all day, forecast to be reaching close to 50mph soon

direction south westerly. But the club house and what passes for a hill here, are to the west, blocking any thing west so in those areas the wind is southerly.

 

Course, 3P, SP, NS, 2S, WP, 6S translated as sail into the wind, across the top, down wind to South buoy, across the bottom to Buoy 2, then midway up the Broad to West buoy, back across to Buoy 6 on the Eastern side, then start again.

 

Race one, we were late for the line passing behind the entire fleet, we decided to go right to the bank, before taking onto starboard. Going up that side once clear of clubhouse there was enough west in the wind to aim the boat just upwind of buoy 3, this continued and we made it, the other boats being slightly early were well down wind of 3 and had to tack back... We caused chaos at the buoy as half the fleet had to turn back onto starboard the other half went behind us, just two boats made it through in front of us , just..

 

we followed through to Buoy S, then headed to N, the lead two boats went left to the west protecting their position we went right towards the east bank of the broad. It paid off, the stronger wind meant we over took the second place boat on the run, rounding N in second place. As the third place boat was tight behind  being we close hauled away from  buoy N till it was time to ease sheets, and aim for buoy 2. At that point the third place boat carried on to windward aiming for the wrong buoy. 

That gave us a breather but on the next run down a boat further behind put up a Spinnaker on the long run, sat behind us slowing us and we dropped to third  at the Northern buoy.

They kept ahead , just , for two more laps, on buoy 2 again they tacked onto port almost straight away, we held starboard tack as long as we could before taking. The other boats had gone right across the broad before taking back, we crossed just ahead, made it close to the buoy before tacking , towards the finish line.

finishing in second place.

 

Race two, course, 3S, SS, 2S WS, 6S.

Another bad start. We successfully made it to Buoy 3 in last place, held that to Buoy S. Almost the entire fleet went west on the run,  fighting for position, so we went east, with clear air and no boats in the way, we gained a place.

gradually catching the next place boat . On the last lap we were tight behind that boat. So while going from 2 to W we followed them halfway across the broad then tacked onto starboard, they carried on as far as they could before tacking.

Eventually we tacked back into port, at the cross over we had to dip behind them, they tried to crash tack above us 3/4 ton of boat doesn't like that as we shot beneath them they lost speedand dropped towards us, so we called windward boat, they panicked aimed much higher swinging their stern towards us, that hit us . While they carried out their penalty turns we carried on and gained another place.

 

 

 

 

 

[DaveF]

I've had a typical Sunday.  I went to church and acted as a server at communion, once again all went well, then I came home for coffee and to finish the Sunday e mails and phone calls.

 

After a good lunch I read a bit, looked at the garden and watered some plants in the garage, had a short nap and listened to some music.  I also ran some trains.

 

By then it was time for a cuppa and a slice of cake during which I made the last phone call of the day to my aunt who is 94 next month.

 

It will soon be time for a sandwich and then I'll settle down to watch TV and read until bedtime.

 

I was going to do other things but Mr. Hernia was being a nuisance and wouldn't stop nagging me, I've just had some paracetamol which should quieten him down.

 

David

[New Haven Neil]

Evening orl.

 

Post here - 'Isle of Man Post' not RM - is now 5 days, since early 2023, but parcels are sometimes delivered on a Saturday.  Service is pretty god, local village shop has a post office and the Bright Lights of Royal Ramsey 5 miles away has a sorting office and a bigger post office in a large Spar shop. 

 

However....our mail used to fly to and from the UK, and because of the flight times gave next day delivery both ways 99% of the time, which enabled us to provide such good service from Trackshack.  This service was...WAS....paid for courtesy RM, so of course they pulled the flights late last year and the mail now goes on the ferry.  When IT goes!  Twice a day service technically but this has not happened several (many) times this winter, it has been particularly windy here the last 6 weeks or so, and that cancels the ferries. Pah, I think is the operative word.

 

EV's - hmm, they should be ideal here, given the rock is only 32 miles by 13, but the price....eeuww.  ut of our range now with me being retired. We have a large 3+ car driveway so chargers etc wouldn't be a problem for us, but in towns it surely is impractical.  My pal JB has a Nissan Leaf, but being an old one the 60 mile round trip up here is at its limits. He brings his Lexus.  For us, going to the UK involves driving many miles so would still need something other than an EV.

[pH]

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

One outbreak of range anxiety has made me obsessive since. We were driving a Jeep Liberty from Calgary to Jasper. I didn’t top up in Calgary , thinking we would fill up on the highway. Big mistake. There were service stations but they all had signs stating closed until May. We left the highway at Lake Louise and filled up.

A couple of episodes on a trip in Alberta made me very conservative about fuel.

I left the big dinosaur museum just outside Drumheller to drive to Edmonton. I was low on gas but didn’t go back into town to fill up - I thought I would fill up in the next town. The problem was that I hadn’t looked at a map to see that the next town was a considerable distance away. The car was running on ‘Empty’ for some distance before we got there.

 

And I found that there are very few i.e. maybe one gas station on the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper. And the one that’s there can charge what they like for gas!

 

My rule now, when driving in thinly-populated areas that I’m not familiar with is, once the tank goes below half, fill up at the next gas station.

[iL Dottore]

4 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

One that makes me laugh is Singapore noodles, which is a popular-ish dish in many Chinese and Asian restaurants and for instant noodles in Britain. It's basically noodles with Chinese curry flavour, I must confess that I rather like it. However, I have never seen it in Singapore nor met anyone here who has ever heard of it. I find it slightly disappointing that traditional Singaporean food is absent from Singapore, clearly I have to educate the locals on Singaporean food. 

Yum, Singapore Noodles, done right they can be amazingly good. 
 

As you pointed out, they aren’t Singaporean, my extensive reading on culinary matters suggests that they originated in Hong Kong.

 

As for “traditional food”, I find that there’s a lot of commonality across the SE Asia nations with many dishes - each being developed into a unique national dish. But the devil IS in the details: is a particular dish “wet” or “dry”? is it mild or searingly hot? what is the protein used? The answers to these questions (and many more besides) will mark you out either as a culinary connoisseur of excellent taste and refinement or a boorish culinary hooligan who might as well eat at McDonalds.

Interestingly, the same - identical - answers will mark you out as a connoisseur in one country and a boor in the next….

[Ozexpatriate]

11 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

My guide  that day told me that many such buildings were products of Roosevelt 's New Deal in the 30's.

Yes. "New Deal" / Works Progress Administration buildings are quite recognizable by their art deco details. I'm pretty sure the one I linked from Wheaton, Illinois dates from that period.

[iL Dottore]

Hmm, running out of petrol. It’s never happened to me - cross fingers, ‘though a couple of times I’ve been running on “empty” which gives me about a 15 - 20 km leeway in my current car.

 

Over a wee dram with Captain Cynical, I mentioned to him the problem of completely running out of fuel. He didn’t see that as a problem, saying that “if a gentleman driver is with his wife and the wife can walk, then she can also push”

 

Perhaps there’s a reason CC is single?

[Tony_S]

17 minutes ago, pH said:

My rule now, when driving in thinly-populated areas that I’m not familiar with is, once the tank goes below half, fill up at the next gas station.

That has become mine too since the Alberta incident. Aditi also reminded me that we later set off from Jasper and crossed into BC to look at something scenic. When we arrived the visitor centre was shut (until May). With a big sign “ nearest heated washrooms 66km east” which was actually back in Jasper. Fortunately we did find an  unheated one. 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I've only run out of petrol once, that was almost fifty years ago. I was still living at home with mum and dad. The car that I had back then had a faulty fuel gauge, it wouldn't show below a quarter full but I was aware of about how far the car could go before filling up. My dad used to borrow the car from time to time, often without asking. We were on a visit to my recently married sister when the car ran out of petrol. My dad was having a go at me about not filling up until I remembered that he was the last one to use the car and it was about time that he put some petrol in it.

[Ozexpatriate]

4 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

One that makes me laugh is Singapore noodles

The worst is a casual dining chain in the US called "Outback Steakhouse". The company is based in Tampa, Florida and is Australian-themed. (They have several other themed restaurant chains as well.)

 

Everything listed on the menu would be unrecognizable in Australia.  Not necessarily the food itself - but the way it is named - like "Gold Coast Shrimp" (coconut fried prawns). (This used to be "Surfers Paradise Shrimp".) The first clue is no one uses the term "shrimp" in Australia.

 

And this nonsense:

Quote

Kingsland Pasta

A steakhouse twist on your favorite Queensland Pasta! Grilled steak and shrimp are served over fettuccine noodles tossed in a bold Alfredo sauce.

"Queensland Pasta" is chicken and shrimp.

 

If you asked someone in Queensland for "Queensland Pasta" they'd give you a funny look and say something like "Pull the other one mate".

 

Edited February 4 by Ozexpatriate

[PupCam]

Evening All

 

17 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

One more... Why does every charging provider require you to set up an account with them and expect you to enter all your personal and financial details into them before you can use them?

 

Why can't you just use tap and go like petrol pumps have? 

 

Even the "Free" provider (Exploren) that the local council-installled chargers use requires you to have an account with them.. If its free why can't you just plug your car in anonymously? I don't need to download an app and register in order to put air in my tyres, why is this different?

 

11 hours ago, Barry O said:

If I could ever get hold of the eediots who invented apps for paying for parking (the one used by Leeds City Council doesn't work) and EV Charging I could end up in jail. Due to our "free market" in the UK we end up with lots of apps each intent on taking you money for poor services..

 

Yes and parking in the UK is going that way too and it really hacks this Puppers off.     IF* places are going to insist you pay for charging / parking or whatever then IMVHO there shouldn't be 36+ (I believe the number is) different parking Apps needed to park anywhere.   No; legislation and standards should be brought in that provides a common interface for "exchanging money for parking rights".     Companies should be free to provide whatever flashy Parking apps they wish.  The user should be free to chose and stick with whichever one takes their fancy and it should work at EVERY parking location that fleeces you for money.       The current system free-for-all joke is just plain stupid!

 

* Personally I think that the public should be encouraged to use public transport by making parking at, for example, railway stations free and don't even mention the huge tax on the sick and their families at hospitals which I think is verging on the criminal!

 

16 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

They are perfectly practical for city commuters who have a garage - like me. My driving pattern is not unusual.

 

But is far from the majority, at least in the UK.    

 

There is a huge proportion of housing in the UK which is not really suited to car ownership with on-street parking the only option and more so now the norm is 2 or 3 abnormally large, bloated SUVs let alone having a myriad of charging cables laying across the pavements from the houses to the parked vehicles!   The fact that the housing is not suitable for parking outside in older communities is no real surprise.  They were designed and built in a time when car ownership was generally unheard of so it wasn't a consideration.       The particularly appalling thing these days is that the modern rush to build 1000's of new homes is being done with no realistic regard to the amount of parking "needed"  by those properties.    This is something else that I think is verging on the criminal;  developers, councils etc pay lip-service to "meeting the needs of residents" (which generates no cash) but then squeezing in another 25% of properties on top of what is probably a realistic density does.      To go back to the original point; in my road alone (in a typical, smallish Bedfordshire village)   there are many terrace houses  that are not as wide as the Range Rover** is long (or even the Ford Focus) that is parked outside of it.   

 

This photograph illustrates the situation that is widespread in a significant  percentage of streets  in towns and cities in the UK.   It also happens to illustrate another modern problem; what to do with the wheelie bins when there is no direct access to the rear of such properties.

 

** Other large vehicles are of course available

 

16 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

I assume that if an EV says you are going to come to a stop   50km from the nearest recharger, you really are going to come to a stop  50km from the nearest recharger.

 

I'm guessing 60km ....  😉

 

11 hours ago, Graham108 said:

A deliberate spelling mistake?

 

It wouldn't have been with me 🤣

 

ION

 

After the small Thrashette yesterday over to Pure Triumph in Woburn   I was going to join the chaps with a run over to the Danish Camp on the River Great Ouse east of Bedford.    Unfortunately when I woke up my BP was rather low so I decided against it.      When I finally perked up I was informed that a trip to St Evenage to visit some "Retail outlets" was required.     We were stunned by the level of traffic, it seemed more like rush hour on a Monday morning or going home time on the last day before Christmas.      Too many people,  too many vehicles .....   moving somewhere quiet with few inhabitants (or visitors) becomes ever more attractive!

 

Oh yes and I have been dining table chair repairing this afternoon.   The joints on one of the Carvers had  come loose so the front bar / stretcher or whatever it's called (you'll have guessed I'm not a furniture expert) was removed, the tongues and sockets cleared of old glue and then re-assembled with epoxy and all pulled together with ratchet straps.      Me thinks that the 40+ year old dining suite might be passed it's best and perhaps next time it will be time for a replacement (after all, it's hardly Chippendale).

 

TTFN

 

 

 

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

25 minutes ago, PupCam said:

The particularly appalling thing these days is that the modern rush to build 1000's of new homes is being done with no realistic regard to the amount of parking "needed"  by those properties.    This is something else that I think is verging on the criminal;  developers, councils etc pay lip-service to "meeting the needs of residents" (which generates no cash) but then squeezing in another 25% of properties on top of what is probably a realistic density does.

This is a problem in the US in gentrifying neighbourhoods where multi-unit dwelling spaces are built on what might have been a couple of lots with early 20th century bungalows and detached single car garages. These places frequently are not built with enough off-street parking.

 

People in apartments have similar issues. They usually have off-street parking but little provision for charging. Apartment managers would not be keen to see extension cords all over the parking lot. I expect to see charging provision in apartment complexes change.

 

It's not a problem for huge numbers of suburban people with garages - which is a very sizeable portion of the population.

[BoD]

7 hours ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 

 

I always knew that vacuum brakes would make a comeback.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[jjb1970]

On food, I know I have said this before, but the funniest people to wind up about food are Malaysian and Indonesian people. That gives me hours of harmless fun.

 

For background, both countries were essentially created by European colonialism and the core parts of both countries (noting both are diverse, Indonesian to a remarkable degree) share a common culture and language.  Written Malay and Bahasa Indonesian are different because of the way they were romanized by the British and Dutch but are mutually intelligible and dialects of a shared language verbally. The result is that, as so often happens when what are basically the same people separated by a border, there is a certain enmity between them.

 

The way it tends to manifest itself is food. The great national dishes of Malaysia and Indonesia  (such as rendang, soto, lasksa, gadogado) are a source of endless dispute, claimed by both as being theirs. Usually it's quite funny but every now and again it turns nasty as it's one of those silly trigger issues which can be manipulated by unscrupulous politicians and media for a cheap brownie point.

 

A further irony is much of the food tradition which people (rightly) take great pride in is peranakan. The peranakan people were outsiders who settled in SE Asia and married into local culture, primarily but not exclusively the straits Chinese.  So most peranakan food is a fusion of Chinese and local Malay/Indonesian flavours and styles (there is also Indian and Middle Eastern peranakan tradition). Given the traditional antipathy to the Chinese it's slightly amusing such a significant part of the culture owes so much to the Chinese. 

[Tony_S]

5 hours ago, PupCam said:

** Other large vehicles are of course available

Like Mondeo for instance, definitely longer than my Range Rover. 😇

[pH]

This afternoon, I gave the vines in the back yard their annual pruning indiscriminate hacking. The green (compost) bin is now very full and heavy.