Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

(**Not sure how many years ago when I last weighed as little as that - 30+, easily).

I can remember when I was just over 60kg but I prefer not to as I was really ill at the time. I don’t think my height at 182cm has changed though. Once the medical profession had sorted me out something was mentioned about putting on some weight. However it had progressed somewhat beyond what was envisaged. 

Edited April 6 by Tony_S
Spelling

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I notice that many supermarkets have done away with the serve yourself salad bar.

They disappeared during the pandemic - for obvious reasons. Few have returned.

 

One of the casualties of the pandemic (not to return apparently) is little bars in the posh supermarkets. A local posh supermarket (one that offers the local milk in glass bottles) had a little bar with taps serving beer wine and ciders in the booze department where shoppers could stop and sip. There was a counter with a couple of barstools. They would offer items they were promoting on tap, and also used this space for wine tasting. It all vanished in the depth of the pandemic.

 

They have brought back a small eating area for people who purchase ready-to-eat foods from the deli and have brought back an extensive range. All that had disappeared in the pandemic as well.

[Hroth]

The local big Tescos now has a sushi counter.

The people who shop in curlers and pyjamas are a bit puzzled by it....

 

Speaking of serve yourself, how many miss UK Woolies pick'n'mix?

 

[Ozexpatriate]

7 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Cup size is more of an enigma as I can think of three different cup sizes, you can use (no sniggering in the back): US cup, Australian cup and British/European cup, they are all slightly different; although I think now people have pretty much standardised a cup as 250 ml of volume.

All stems from England having two different gallon measures - the wine gallon and the ale gallon. (There was also a corn gallon.)

Quote

The gallon originated as the base of systems for measuring wine and beer in England. The sizes of gallon used in these two systems were different from each other: the first was based on the wine gallon (equal in size to the US gallon), and the second one either the ale gallon or the larger imperial gallon.

 

The wine gallon became the US standard (~3.8 l) and the ale gallon became the Imperial standard (~4.5 l).

 

There are 16 cups in a gallon (8 fl oz per cup) and the gallon determines the size of a cup. The US cup is still 236 ml.

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, Hroth said:

The local big Tescos now has a sushi counter.

Very common here. I had some supermarket sushi for dinner last night. They're inevitably not as good as freshly made to order, but acceptable if they're relatively fresh. Still 'safe' refrigerated for a little while but the rice starches congeal the nigiri into a firm mass which becomes unappetizing after several hours.

[Ozexpatriate]

7 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

We were brought up hard in them days. None of this namby-pamby soft tissue then. 

Integral bidet functions are rapidly increasing in popularity in the US - retrofitted 'add-on' bidet features are popular too.

 

A popular 'old school' home renovation show (been on television since 1979 and still going strong) had a remote controlled version with accessibility in mind broadcast a little while ago. The expensive Japanese toilet 'tech' is becoming less expensive and more mainstream.

 

Heated seats, remote open/close, pop-up bidets* and blower dryers* etc. I don't imagine the perfume or noise camouflage options will be popular in the US.

 

* Cue Lance Corporal Jones' objection.

 

Edited April 6 by Ozexpatriate

[Captain Cuttle]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

dog piddle

Were does that come into the equation then, Is it some concentrated high in protein plant food?

[Hroth]

2 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Integral bidet functions are rapidly increasing in popularity in the US - retrofitted 'add-on' bidet features are popular too.

 

A popular 'old school' home renovation show (been on television since 1979 and still going strong) had a remote controlled version with accessibility in mind. The expensive Japanese toilet 'tech' is becoming less expensive and more mainstream.

 

Heated seats, remote open/close, pop-up bidets* and blower dryers* etc. I don't thing the perfume or noise camouflage options will be popular in the US.

 

* Cue Lance Corporal Jones' objection.

 

Loud'n'Proud, eh?

 

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

We are now all used to air fryers, now we have the toaster oven. 

Counter convection oven/air fryers have been around for a while. A much better form-factor than the basket air fryer if you ask me.

 

There are versions with "French doors" as well - these have the advantage of projecting only half as far when opened.

 

They're struggling with terminology. "Toaster oven" is 'ancient' terminology for a horizontal toaster - good for melting cheese on bread (pizza on a bagel / ham and toasted cheese) etc. I think Noah had two.

[polybear]

3 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

 retrofitted 'add-on' bidet features are popular too.

 

Bear encountered those in Korea - great fun; heated seats, water temperature, adjustable spray pattern & pressure, No.1 or No. 2 wash, oscillating jets......take your pick...

 

They're all over the big river now - and cheaply too.

 

Go on - you know you want to.....

 

 

 

[Hroth]

1 minute ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Counter convection oven/air fryers have been around for a while. A much better form-factor than the basket air fryer if you ask me.

 

There are versions with "French doors" as well - these have the advantage of projecting only half as far when opened.

 

They're struggling with terminology. "Toaster oven" is 'ancient' terminology for a horizontal toaster - good for melting cheese on bread (pizza on a bagel / ham and toasted cheese) etc. I think Noah had two.

 

I've a toaster oven sitting in the garage.

 

[woodenhead]

Well I don’t own an air fryer so my carrots are currently roasting on a top/bottom oven with fan setting as the main fan oven function is broken and trips the fuse.

 

Cheat meal tonight, the shank of lamb is boiling in the steaming pan.

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, Hroth said:

The problem with all these cooking fads is that we'll start running out of space on the kitchen worktop!

They're all available as built-ins. But Ninja markets counter-top appliances - they know there is a segment of the population who will ignore and never update a built-in appliance installed when the house was built (because most people will want some sort of installer to install it) and purchase every niche counter-top appliance imaginable - since all you have to do is bring it home, take it out of the box and plug it in.

 

Which is all fine by Ninja - since that is what they sell.

[Ozexpatriate]

7 minutes ago, polybear said:

Go on - you know you want to.....

A colleague did some years back. His then young (barely toilet-trained) son was choking the toilet with a superabundance of toilet paper with each 'go'. They went with a retro-fitted bidet - problem solved.

 

Were I building the house now I would include them. My primary objective back then (almost 8 years ago) was to include a half-flush option. to save water. These are standard in Australia but still rare (though readily available) in the US.

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear here.....

I've finally got round to booking a hol in a few months - a week in Valetta, Malta; it's got free cancellation (Booking.com) so I have options for several weeks yet - I've yet to book flights yet (s'pose I'd better do that soon - though at that point I need to be sure cos' I don't think they'll be cancellable without loss).

I've never been to Malta before so I'm hoping it'll be reasonable (I usually go to Italy); not needing a hire car is a HUGE bonus in this Bear's book.  I believe they have Pizza so that's hopeful.....

A tip, avoid going there between mid June and Mid September as its HOT, HOT, HOT! 

[Coombe Barton]

Old measures

 

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

 

Old coinage

 

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

[Ozexpatriate]

5 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

I recall my mum having something called the Hotpoint Vertical Grill (maybe @Ozexpatriate will recall it!?)

 

It was basically like a toaster , but was meant for steaks etc. She'd bung them in a kind of very narrow basket that would slide down into  a narrow slot on top of the machine , along with sausages or chops and so on and they'd press up against a grilling element, similar to how a toaster works. 

 

Eventually smoke would pour out, meaning tea was ready to be served.

 

It did do a mean lamb chop , I liked the crispy fatty bit.

Maybe?

 

How about definitely. It's probably still in mum's cupboard and it probably still works. Horrible device - rapidly and efficiently incinerates protein polymers into carbon.

 

You didn't mention the 'drippings tray'. All fat in the meat was rendered very effectively so all the juices that give meat their flavour had a rapid gravity assist into the collection tray in the bottom - where according to the blurb "the fat shows up instead of on your Dad's tummy".

 

At one point dad was instructed to go on a low-fat diet and this horrible appliance which had very properly been consigned to a less accessible spot under the kitchen counter was returned to regular service - with inevitable results.

 

It probably was fine for lamb chops, though I think these days with smoke detectors it would set them off PDQ.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

5 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Thanks to horticultural explorers we can have sweet without all the sugar associated problems. I was at the RHS garden years ago and there was a plant from South America called Stevia that was used as a sweetener.

Take care with Stevia. It is not a panacea and can be problematic. People had very high hopes for it. Less so now.

 

US: NIH

Quote

In conclusion, non-caloric sweeteners either artificial (sucralose) or natural (stevia) hide several risks to their consumers. They are responsible for: 1- increasing glycaemia in spite of their lack of calories, 2- increasing liver enzymes due to the intestinal flora reshaping, 3- elevation of urea and creatinine levels, 4- reduction of the anti-inflammatory cytokines and elevation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines secretion. On the other hand, sucrose is a caloric sweetener with some risks of course; but it is safer than sucralose or stevia. So we recommend not using sucralose or stevia and decreasing the used daily dose of sucrose instead.

 

[Gwiwer]

49 minutes ago, Hroth said:

52 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I don't thing the perfume or noise camouflage options will be popular in the US.

 

* Cue Lance Corporal Jones' objection.

 

Loud'n'Proud, eh?

In Japanese culture it is disrespectful to be overheard using the lavatory. 
 

In the UK one respectfully tries not to draw attention to yourself but there is normally no need for sound-deadening devices. 
 

I’m unsure of US etiquette. 
 

In Australia it can be a case of “Strewth. That’s better. I needed that one, mate” after a resounding (and resonating) visit to the bush-dunny. After checking for spiders and snakes first. 

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, Hroth said:

The local big Tescos now has a sushi counter.

The people who shop in curlers and pyjamas are a bit puzzled by it....

 

Speaking of serve yourself, how many miss UK Woolies pick'n'mix?

 

In our Tess Coes a sushi counter replaced the salad bar, it also had a pick'n'mix but that went with the pandemic.

[Ozexpatriate]

11 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

I’m unsure of US etiquette. 

 

Fraternal encouragement.

Quote

"Who does Number Two work for?".

 

"How about a courtesy flush over there?"

Not exactly US etiquette, but I couldn't resist.

 

Edited April 6 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

What happens when territories for @Grizz and @polybear overlap?

 

CNN: From pizzly bears to strange fish, here’s why hybrid animal sightings are on the rise

 

"Pizzly bears" apparently.

[Andy Hayter]

3 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Acid rain, diesel particulates, dog piddle........ etc.

 

Dave

 

😄

 

All of which are external and can be washed off.

 

Acid rain - a bit old hat and almost no industry downwind this side of the Atlantic

Diesel particulates - lots of diesel cars and vans in our area of 300 souls with no agglomerations anywhere near.   For sure they will be there but this is rural France not semi-urban England.

Dog Piddle - more likely to be cat.  We have 19 just now.  So we take suitable precautions.

 

As to rat and mouse piddle - yes possible but more likely to be vole and shrew.  If you want to live in a sterile environment then I think NASA may be looking for victims volunteers for their moon base.  

Edited April 6 by Andy Hayter

[polybear]

5 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

In Japanese culture it is disrespectful to be overheard using the lavatory. 
 

In the UK one respectfully tries not to draw attention to yourself but there is normally no need for sound-deadening devices. 
 

I’m unsure of US etiquette. 
 

In Australia it can be a case of “Strewth. That’s better. I needed that one, mate” after a resounding (and resonating) visit to the bush-dunny. After checking for spiders and snakes first. 

 

 

In Korea I was somewhat taken aback to come across a public loo setup where there was a w.c. in the middle of a room with no cubicle around it - the locals thought nothing of having a No.2 whilst others standing around were having No.1's in urinals.

 

 

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Apparently some plants like a bit of pollution and help clean the air by soaking up pollution. One of the best plants for absorbing pollution is ivy and it has been planted against wire mesh fences to form an effective pollution barrier. Many other plants clean the air as well. I recall my first trip 'op north' nearly 60 years ago when it struck me how much greener the flora was. I put it down to the Pennine rains but it could just as easily been the dark satanic mills.