Early Risers.

[southern42]

Happy Birthday, Baz.

 

[southern42]

' evening all from red dragon land.

Sunny day but, my, was it breezy! Warm too. 22C :D.

 

I checked into my MacBook about 10 minutes or so ago and came across a snippet from the Iceland eruption Live video I watch. If you have a soft spot within you, it will sure love this. Best viewed in full screen.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 19 by southern42

[pH]

28 minutes ago, BoD said:

When the clag hits the fan though all are fair game, except management/ bosses that is

Depends how sure you are of your case! 😉

[Coombe Barton]

Just posted this on a previous company's staff FB page ( left there in 2002) in answer to the question what the effect were
 

At the university everything went down. If it didn’t go down then systems accessing it were the problem.

 

What exacerbated things is that today is coursework resit submission day. This for some thousands of students over some hundreds of modules. As the students needing to resit are not the creme de la creme, (Spark, M, 1961, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), many having so submit resits for multiple modules, the angst would have been immense.

 

What academic Module Leaders had to do was to open up every submission point and make an decision when to reschedule the deadline for submission, not knowing when there would be any resolution. This occurred in each of our four faculties. IT have been trying to hep, but with only face to face communications reliably available when we’re had decades of email and online stuff, this was a challenge.

 

Whether this regime has been successful remains to be seen.

 

From the BBC, it seems that even a change of font may have been responsible. And in the recent past Microsoft 365 has changed the default font for creation. Many people will not notice as the fine looks similar to that previously employed.

 

However all this has affected me not one iota as I retired yesterday.

 

[TheQ]

Evening Awl,

Luckily our museum till system was not affected, and since none of the museum display systems are on 365, they didn't care either. The manager made the unilateral decision not to turn his computer on today,  therefore it should not get the errant update.

 

Not too many visitors, to my bit anyway, so a couple hundred track pins, fence posts were inserted in the board, some banks and the pile over the underground bunker were given a background wash of green paint.

 

Then 20 plus switches were repaired, involving sanding to size a plastic tube, inserting / gluing in inside the failing plastic tube that holds the light bulb then cutting to length .

Two notches that the switch buttons lock into were carved into the tube.

That is all setting now. Next week the original tubes where bits have broken off, have to be built up with epoxy filler, so the switch buttons are not loose.

5 switch buttons were repaired, they are a two part item that clips together , but after 46 years the plastic doesn't stay together as it should.

 

MRC went well, things align better now but there is a way to go on that.

 

Muggachoccy gone,

Good night Awl.

 

 

[petethemole]

Belated Birthday Greetings to Baz.

[monkeysarefun]

5 hours ago, polybear said:

31C recorded so far, according to the telly man.

 

 

 

 

Here we have an antarctic something or other affecting the Eastern States which is bringing strong cold winds. Is meant to be  only 15 here today but with the windchill the Feels Like is predicted to be  around 7 or 8.

At Thredbo Top Station in the Snowy Mountains, yesterdays feels-like was minus 20.9C

 

Also, 31 is NOT hot, bear-up to it!

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. My computer appears to be 99% unaffected by the outage. The only obvious thing was the clock froze at 09:14. When I again switched on this evening it was working and showing the correct time. It was el scorchio this afternoon, 35C and what with the humidity there won't be many ZZZZ's tonight.

[monkeysarefun]

11 hours ago, polybear said:

 I'd ordered a 32W and a 34W pair, just in case - fortunately the 32W fit just right, so that's a Tick.  The 34W will be going back - I wanted another pair of 32W but the price is £17 now 🤬 - no thanks.

 

 

 

Come on Mr Stingy, go for the 34W pair. Sure the power to run them will be slightly more expensive but the extra 2W makes a big difference.

 

I got a shot from your doorbell cam when you tried them on,look ok to me!

 

 

Edited July 19 by monkeysarefun

[zarniwhoop]

Almost-belated Happy Birthday to Baz.

 

I certainly don't think it has been hot here - yesterday the car showed 27° and my impression is that maybe overstates by a degree or two (or a lot more in the sun, but that reading was out of the sun), but a lot more humid (indoors up to 24 or 25 with 60 to 65% humidity.

 

As always, the arrival of heat screws me up for a few days, blood sugar levels drop more than expected and I tend to sleep through that. Oh well, back to trying to keep "normal for me" hours ;-)

 

Still waiting to catch up with today's (full) recording of Le Tour - yesterday I was hoping to see places I remembered. I was at the Izoard and then the L'Ubaye in the late 90s, using my car to get there with my road bike (a Bianchi with Campag equipment), but apart from the views of the lakes there was very little I recognised, the trees seem a lot taller in some places than when I was there. Maybe I'll recognise something between the descent from the Col de Vars and the climb to the  Restefond and La Bonette (I did both as part of the 7 Cols Ubayennes 'ride in your own time/dates, get your card stamped' randonnée). It was a very nice area, and very good for butterflies.

 

On sport - it's a very personal thing - some people prefer team activities, some prefer individual, and varying degrees of competition. I got a single-speed bike when I was a Uni, at the end of my time there I got as far as Shap (from Morecambe) and learned to like the countryside, although until then I'd only commuted to Bailrigg. After that I was broke and learned to love cycling.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

After looking in both the cupboard and the fridge, I decided to make a white chocolate and lemon cheesecake. Tomorrow Ava and I will put lemon curd on top and then grate dark chocolate on top of that. 

 

We did go to Waitrose this afternoon, but the final bill was nowhere near as much as it usually is, so that's a result. It got up to 28C here today, last week the heating kept coming on! Not much else to report. 

Edited July 19 by BSW01

[Tony_S]

Evening all. 
Happy birthday greetings Baz. Sorry for the lateness. All at sea here . 
We had a restful day except when Aditi suggested we walked for a mile which  is 2 1/2: times round the ships promenade deck. There aren’t other ships to look at en route like other cruises we have been on, they are more birds as we approach Iceland though. We arrive in Reykjavik tomorrow morning. Rumour has it, that  it will not be raining. 

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAZ, sorry it’s a bit late.

ION

Went down to Newark today so see Mum and sister as it’s 20 years ago today since Dad passed away. Seems like yesterday, I remember it so clearly.
Turned out to be a  hectic day  as it was niece’s graduation ceremony this morning in Derby and the hot weather didn’t help.

Sister and family are going to Canada for a wedding on Sunday so didn’t stop long as I think she’d got jobs to do but didn’t want to rush us off. 

Another week closer to retirement.

Goodnight.
 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Barry O]

6 hours ago, DaveF said:

It's just on 25°C here at the coast, it was a little bit warmer earlier.  However it is humid and feels very sticky with a lot of cloud again.

 

In the end I went out for a while this morning and drove to Seaton Sluice.  I had a nice walk round having used a different car park for a change, one photo below.  I found why the big car park was closed, they are rebuilding the entrance from the road - it has been very bumpy as it is just a gravel surface and it looks as though it may be sorted out at last.  It is supposed to be open again tomorrow.

 

The rest of the morning and much of the afternoon was spent with one eye on the golf.  I had a phone call from a friend so we put the world to rights as usual.  

 

I drove over to the podiatrist leaving at 2.55 which is usually plenty of time for a 3.15 appointment.  I arrived at 3.14.   The road out of town was very busy and the traffic as often happens now was moving more slowly than it needed to.  Then I found another set of temporary traffic lights just before I got to the place.  They were just packing up so by the time I came home they had gone.

 

My toe needed a bit of work to sort it out, there is a piece of very hard skin which the nail was pushing against on its edge, more has been removed and a dressing put on it.  I have some spare dressings just in case.  It already feels more comfortable.

 

The greenhouse plants and tubs have been well watered, later I shall watch TV and read as usual.

 

Seaton Sluice harbour from the road bridge, looking east.  About1.5 hours after low tide.

 

David

Pub on the hill serves nice food..

 

Baz

[TheQ]

25C in the bedroom which Is up 1 degree since I arrived,  the heat is reraidating from the walls, no wind outside,  so there is no cross breeze through the bedrooms, i may decant down to the sofa for the night shortly,it will be cooler down there.

[BSW01]

Goodnight everyone 

[jjb1970]

What is warm and hot is subjective and heavily influenced by whether people are acclimatised I think. 

 

The weather here is constantly high 20's - low 30's and I wouldn't call it hot, warm yes but not hot. If people arrive from a North European winter it might feel hot but after acclimatising the temperature is very pleasant (the humidity is a different matter).

 

That is temperature, the sun can make it feel very different. Bright sunny days can be brutal even though actual air temperature is not that high. Sometimes I come home and entering the house feels like entering an air conditioned room when there a/c is off as getting out of the sun is night and day. I know in recent years there's been a bit of a debate on measuring temperature.

 

Mid 30's and above is hot to me, and places like Kuwait where it can head towards 50 are no fun.

 

It's the same going the other way. My local colleagues wear jumpers and coats when everyone else might be wearing polo shirts enjoying mild spring weather in London and people in Arctic regions are used to sub-zero weather and how to get on in it. As long as you are dressed appropriately it can be lovely to go out in crisp and fresh winter conditions. When I worked for British Antarctic Survey I felt quite comfortable in sub-zeo conditions, though we were issued very good winter gear. Good winter gear isn't necessarily thick and heavy, technical garments can be quite light and it's more about layers and the right materials than huge Arctic parks.

 

For me, the killer isn't temperature in warm climes but humidity. A dry temp of 35C really isn't that bad, 25C with 100% humidity is much worse to me. Thr challenging thing about acclimatising in SE Asia isn't temperature,  it is the humidity which is just as constant as the temperature.  Which is when you appreciate just what a difference a light breeze makes.

[Ozexpatriate]

4 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Also, 31 is NOT hot

Without air-conditioning it is hot enough to be uncomfortable - it can be pleasant, outdoors, in the shade, with a breeze and a cold beverage. Much depends on how much overnight cooling there is.

 

I probably need my air conditioning looked at. It runs all night trying to get to 22°C. (It does get there but doesn't shut off.) If the ambient air drops below 22°C, I turn it off and open a window.

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, TheQ said:

there is no cross breeze through the bedrooms

Can you install box fans in open windows - one blowing in, the other in a room across the hall blowing out - in an attempt to create some laminar-ish airflow to shift the heat radiating from your walls.

 

They are not expensive. I lashed mine to the window with a small adjustable clamp (with rubber grips) so they wouldn't fall while sitting on the window sill.

 

Noisy as all get out, but I would run them as soon as the sun set until bedtime. After bedtime a quieter oscillating fan on a pillar (with a timer) is nice to help get to sleep.

[Ozexpatriate]

Then of course there is the 5 gallon bucket DIY swamp cooler (evaporative cooler).  This guy used a frozen gallon milk jug instead of ice - which is clever - it would last much longer.

 

All units in foot-pound furlongs per fortnight.

 

More efficiency with a cooler / Esky* from the same guy. A cheap styrofoam cooler would work.

 

* @monkeysarefun knows what that is.

 

You can just point a fan over a bucket of ice - which is less efficient but easier.

 

There are also copper coil alternatives, but these are more expensive - obviously. Many good ideas on Youtube.

 

Won't work if the ambient air is very humid.

 

Edited July 20 by Ozexpatriate

[BR60103]

Toronto will be a good place to avoid this weekend.

They had major rain on Monday that flooded the main railway station and a number of subway stations; a river overtopped its banks and covered the motorway that runs beside it and many smaller incidents.

The expressway that runs along the lake is under reconstruction. It was built while I was still in school (over 60 years ago) and the major street that runs beside it is closed for some sort of car race.

If the temperature isn't too hot we may go to the Highland Games.

 

[jjb1970]

Amazon and other sites sell 'air conditioners' which are just a cold water reservoir and fan interpretation of the swamp cooler. They sell for peanuts and it is indeed easy to make a home made one.

 

The reviews and comments are always amusing as they tend to be full of 1* reviews claiming they're a scam. They're not a scam as in a dry heat they can be pretty effective, but I think they are mis-sold in not making clear that limitation and pretending they're a cheap gas compression/expansion or absorption chiller alternative. 

 

If people are struggling and it is temperature only causing problems it's worth a go.

[Ozexpatriate]

5 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

They're not a scam as in a dry heat they can be pretty effective

They (swamp / evaporative coolers) are quite common in desert settings - being cheaper than the 'normal' compressor-based air conditioning unit and effective in low humidity. In that environment adding a little humidity to the cooled air is a plus.

 

My eldest had one in his home in Twenty Nine Palms (high desert near Palm Springs, California). 

 

There is no substitute for normal air conditioners where the climate is humid.

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

@monkeysarefun knows what that is.

 

 

 

That'll be one of these..

 

 

 

 

But dont ride it after you've drunk the contents because its classed as a vehicle and you can still get breath-tested.

 

 

 

And they'll take it away and impound your esky for three months - thats a long dry summer!

 

Edited July 20 by monkeysarefun