Early Risers.

[iL Dottore]

In regards to talking to your machinery, long before the computer geeks came up with the idea of AI, there was something called “ghost in the machine“ whereby machines did something that they were not designed to do or programmed to do, the imputation being that they developed some sort of Independence, self awareness or awareness of their environment as any other rational explanation just simply didn’t quite work.

 

What does the above have to do with misbehaving machinery? Well, assuming that “ghost in the machine” is a real thing and not something just dreamed up by geeks and science fiction writers, then using that knowledge that machinery is aware of its surroundings, can be advantageous.

 

Case in point: whenever my computers misbehave, I take out a couple of screwdrivers, a pair of pliers and a very big hammer and lay them next to the computer. Saying out aloud “ it shouldn’t take long to fix this” whilst picking up the big and heavy hammer.  Most of the time when I do this, whatever glitch the computer decided it would throw at me suddenly disappears and the machine performs as it should. 
 

Coincidence? Possibly. Or possibly the computer realises that if it doesn’t want to be turned into bits for a talking toaster then it better behave before the big hammer descends.

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, from a rock bungalow that has one small Wisteria in the garden.  Herself prunes it as and when she feels like it, interfere at your peril.

 

Windy, dry and 19c but feels more like 9. :-(

 

First Manx Grand Prix practice this afternoon, may go to Jayne's to watch.  Her house is right on the course at Sulby Bridge.

 

ION  In my continuing attempts to reduce weight (see:- Winslow Boy, yesterday) one of the strategies has been not consuming alcohol.  I don't drink much anyway nowadays, but the advent of reasonably palatable 0% Guinness has been quite a success, so flushed with that (enter suitable ablution comment) decided to try Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum 0%, as I am partial to spiced rum. Advice: - Don't!  It is foul.  A flavour of raw chemicals, diluted with perhaps something out of a boiler feed water test kit that smells like poison, is poison, and looks like poison. Bleah.  It's the same price as the real stuff too, being presumably not liable to alcohol tax, a total rip-off then. Avoid.

 

 

[polybear]

52 minutes ago, PupCam said:

 

If they are really naughty do you put them on the Naughty Step?

 

 

I much prefer the @Grizz approach…..sledgehammer/baseball bat/axe……

 

Of course Grizz has the option of going apesh1t and use the bucket on his digger….

[Winslow Boy]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear here.....

 

That little WWF B1tch decided 04:45 would be funny.....Bear can think of other words, however 🤬

Of course at that time the Beary Bonce fires up and that means diddly-squat chance of revisiting zeddyland again.  Poo.

 

Today?  Well it seems that Harry Owner #2 (TBC) wishes to visit Bear Towers tomorrow morning for viewing and, if all is well then transferring oodles of Deltics direct into Bear's account electronically** there & then - Harry would then disappear off into the sunset on the back of a Trailer....

So by tomorrow evening a Certain Bear could be Harry-less.....😀😱😭

He'll not be going too far though - just down the road from Puppers @PupCam in fact......

 

So today I need to fire up Harry, have a word with NNNND about bringing Harry thru' their back garden (previously already given the ok on that one) and carry out work to make sure fence panel removal will be quick & easy...fortunately they're 4ft panels in slotted posts - but there is trellis on top and a climbing rose nearby......

 

Apart from that it'll be MIUABGAD - I must check Bear's recent Choo Choo acquisitions, sort some important docs., finish backing up Larry the Lappy to an external HDD, maybe take Bertie the Bosch for a short drive, sort the other bits that are to go with Harry, prepare & print off a couple of receipts for Harry ("sold as seen for re-commissioning, with no warranty implied or given" etc.) for mutual signature should do the trick, empty Dezzie the Dishwasher......

I reckon that'll do for starters.

 

Time to wriggle the little furry ar5e I reckon....

 

BG.

Looks like once I've finished at Mr Puppers establishment -I'd put some Dettol on that if I where you Mr Puppers, I'll be calling in at Bear Towers to provide some 'guidance- leave it alone my Dear Bear to scab over naturally.

[iL Dottore]

4 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

decided to try Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum 0%, as I am partial to spiced rum. Advice: - Don't!  It is foul.  A flavour of raw chemicals, diluted with perhaps something out of a boiler feed water test kit that smells like poison, is poison, and looks like poison. Bleah.  It's the same price as the real stuff too, being presumably not liable to alcohol tax, a total rip-off then. Avoid.

Oh dear! What a disappointment.

But to be slightly critical, I am surprised that you fell for that a whole “diet version” nonsense. It’s pretty much a truism that if something contains alcohol/sugar/caffeine/fat, then to remove it involves the use of all kinds of “interesting“ chemical processes, none of which contribute to either the taste or to its healthiness.

 

Having said that, when cooking with brandy, rum, or whiskey and  you don’t want to have raw alcohol in the dish, you can burn off the alcohol in a pan (basically you put a measure of alcohol in a small pan and light it with a match. When the flame goes out, the alcohol has been burnt off). This gives me an idea: you could make your own spiced rum using a measure of rum that has had its alcohol burnt off in a pan. I don’t think it would be 100% alcohol free, but what alcohol remains is more than likely to be just in trace amounts.

[iL Dottore]

4 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear here.....

 

That little WWF B1tch decided 04:45 would be funny.....Bear can think of other words, however 🤬

All these continued references to the Wee Wee Fairy has got me thinking going. Perhaps it’s time for Percy Prostate to get a visit from Dr Gloved Finger. Not to mention a quick visit to the Vampire Nurse in order to surrender a few drops of precious bodily fluid for a PSA test.

[Winslow Boy]

3 hours ago, Grizz said:

Looks like even God is feeling the pinch these days……the sign says ‘Til Salg’ (for sale)……although I suspect that some local Danish wag has just dumped it there for a bit of a joke. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe the Church of England has stopped or perhaps refraining is a better word, from using the word church when refering to the places where they commune with the Big Boss. Instead they like to use 'community worshiping places'.

[iL Dottore]

Just now, Winslow Boy said:

I believe the Church of England has stopped or perhaps refraining is a better word, from using the word church when refering to the places where they commune with the Big Boss. Instead they like to use 'community worshiping places'.

Will that also apply to Mosques, Synagogues, Hindu, Sikh and Shinto Temples  as well?

[Winslow Boy]

25 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Morning, from a rock bungalow that has one small Wisteria in the garden.  Herself prunes it as and when she feels like it, interfere at your peril.

 

Windy, dry and 19c but feels more like 9. :-(

 

First Manx Grand Prix practice this afternoon, may go to Jayne's to watch.  Her house is right on the course at Sulby Bridge.

 

ION  In my continuing attempts to reduce weight (see:- Winslow Boy, yesterday) one of the strategies has been not consuming alcohol.  I don't drink much anyway nowadays, but the advent of reasonably palatable 0% Guinness has been quite a success, so flushed with that (enter suitable ablution comment) decided to try Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum 0%, as I am partial to spiced rum. Advice: - Don't!  It is foul.  A flavour of raw chemicals, diluted with perhaps something out of a boiler feed water test kit that smells like poison, is poison, and looks like poison. Bleah.  It's the same price as the real stuff too, being presumably not liable to alcohol tax, a total rip-off then. Avoid.

 

 

Oh I could do with a holiday to 'foreign climes'. Never been to Fraggle Rock. Do they speak English there or will I need a translator.

[Winslow Boy]

1 minute ago, iL Dottore said:

Will that also apply to Mosques, Synagogues, Hindu, Sikh and Shinto Temples  as well?

What do you think.

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, tigerburnie said:

 

They used to say an Aston Martin cost the same as a three bedroomed house in the suburbs of London at the time, no idea on the house prices, but in 1971 that car cost just shy of £8k new, I bought it for £14k in the '90's and it would cost you a £100k to buy one now.

 

 

 

 

I love a V8 coupe, in fact it could be argued that a ute is basically a coupe with a huge boot!

 

(At the caryard where we first met just 11 short years ago.....sigh..)

 

 

 

 

 

 

But looking at the cost when new  you definitely have to storm the ramparts and overthrow the ruling class that kept  V8 coupes out of the hands of the Common Man.

 

They may not have Aston Martin badges and be all leathery and posh, but in 1971 in this working mans paradise we could buy the HQ GTS Monaro 5.7Litre for £2,400

 

 

 

 

The Chrysler Valiant Charger, though the desirable model (the E38R/T)actually had a 6 cylinder Australian designed slant 6 and triple webbers that put out over 300BHP, for  £2050 (i didnt have my own picture so stole one)

 

Ford didnt have a coupe in 1971 but if you waited 12 months you could get the XA GT 5.8L for £3450

 

 

 

 

Similarly to the Aston, all these are now astronomically priced, I'd have to do about 250 work callouts at weekend rates to afford any of them.

 

Edited August 18 by monkeysarefun

[rockershovel]

6 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

What do you think.

C of E probably like to think so. Whether the thought is reciprocated might be another matter entirely. 

 

I've taken Communion in a couple of village churches in my recent travels around East Anglia. Looks as though shutting the doors in the faces of the congregation when they stood in need of support was a major error. 

 

If that doesn't finish it off, starving the parishes of any remaining cash to pay for "diversity and inclusion" bureaucrats while blathering about "evangelical led community worship" (ie, "you are on your own now") certainly will 

Edited August 18 by rockershovel

[Winslow Boy]

5 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

C of E probably like to think so. Whether the thought is reciprocated might be another matter entirely. 

Diversity rules OK!

[BoD]

Morning all. 
 

Just had a walk along the foreshore to experience one last smell of the ‘tangle of the Isles’. It is so very distinctive and evocative. An accompaniment to so many wonderful memories over the years. We will be heading home soon but I won’t be in any rush, picking a pleasant driving route rather than the fastest, with several stops on the way.*

 

I think I will pick up the route of the old Callander and Oban Railway  to start with so there may well be a few stops.

 

* I always do this. I don’t care if it takes longer. I try to avoid motorways and major roads although sometimes needs must.

[Tony_S]

31 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Will that also apply to Mosques, Synagogues, Hindu, Sikh and Shinto Temples  as well?

Despite all the missionaries the C of E isn’t responsible for naming other religious buildings. 

[PhilJ W]

9 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

That is one UK car that can go on my "Impressive" list.

Out of interest, how affordable for the common man were they when new? 

 

Times have changed, it doesn't seem too long ago that you would see an Aston Martin in a used car lot alongside Toyotas and Mazdas, well here at least!

 

 

 

 

 

I'd rather have the MG T alongside it.

3 hours ago, AndyID said:

Seriously?

That car still exists and can be viewed in the Royal Mews* at Sandringham.

*Now a museum of royal transport.

[Tony_S]

45 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

But to be slightly critical, I am surprised that you fell for that a whole “diet version” nonsense. It’s pretty much a truism that if something contains alcohol/sugar/caffeine/fat, then to remove it involves the use of all kinds of “interesting“ chemical processes, none of which contribute to either the taste or to its healthiness.

I suspect Neil didn’t fall for anything. Following the success of his Guinness Zero (one I have also taken to) he tried Rum Zero and decided it wasn’t nice at all. I don’t really like rum (except rum and raisin ice cream) but at least have been spared,a taste test. Our “diet’ versions of desserts have lots less sugar added rather than chemical or physical abstraction. 

[jjb1970]

2 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I'd rather have the MG T alongside it.

That car still exists and can be viewed in the Royal Mews* at Sandringham.

*Now a museum of royal transport.

Best royal transport was HMS Vanguard (battleship porn) followed by the Westland Wessex in royal flight livery.

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

In regards to talking to your machinery, long before the computer geeks came up with the idea of AI, there was something called “ghost in the machine“ whereby machines did something that they were not designed to do or programmed to do, the imputation being that they developed some sort of Independence, self awareness or awareness of their environment as any other rational explanation just simply didn’t quite work.

 

What does the above have to do with misbehaving machinery? Well, assuming that “ghost in the machine” is a real thing and not something just dreamed up by geeks and science fiction writers, then using that knowledge that machinery is aware of its surroundings, can be advantageous.

 

Case in point: whenever my computers misbehave, I take out a couple of screwdrivers, a pair of pliers and a very big hammer and lay them next to the computer. Saying out aloud “ it shouldn’t take long to fix this” whilst picking up the big and heavy hammer.  Most of the time when I do this, whatever glitch the computer decided it would throw at me suddenly disappears and the machine performs as it should. 
 

Coincidence? Possibly. Or possibly the computer realises that if it doesn’t want to be turned into bits for a talking toaster then it better behave before the big hammer descends.

Formally known as Gremlins. You should be very careful when destroying a Gremlin infested item as they can escape and infest another electronic item.

[PhilJ W]

49 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

All these continued references to the Wee Wee Fairy has got me thinking going. Perhaps it’s time for Percy Prostate to get a visit from Dr Gloved Finger. Not to mention a quick visit to the Vampire Nurse in order to surrender a few drops of precious bodily fluid for a PSA test.

I had the same problem with blood in the urine but the PSA tests came up negative. A sound scan revealed what was thought to be a cyst in my bladder, it turned out to be an enlarged prostate that was also vascular, hence the bleeding.  The urologist has put me on a course of medication called Avodart* which almost instantly relieved the symptoms.

*I assume it is some sort of testosterone as there are dire warnings about other than adult males taking the capsules.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Had a very good night last night, so good that apart from waking up once at gawd knows what hour and going back to sleep again after a visit to the loo to thwart the WWF I didn't wake up until almost ten.

[PhilJ W]

Nearly forgot, I will spend this afternoon watching the 100 series cricket. I've not bothered much with the limited balls/overs version of the game but having viewed it over the last few weeks its beginning to 'grow' on me. What do other ER's think of the new form of cricket?

Edited August 18 by PhilJ W

[DaveF]

14 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Nearly forgot, I will spend this afternoon watching the 100 series cricket. I've not bothered much with the limited balls/overs version of the game but having viewed it over the last few weeks its beginning to 'grow' on me. What do other ER's think of the new form of cricket?

 

I haven't watched much but to me it seems to be a bit of get out there as a batter and slog the ball.  Try not to get out but you are not there to do tactics and build an innings.

 

To be really honest a bit like the Sunday afternoon village cricket teams I used score for and watch back in the early 70s.

 

To me proper cricket is still a 3 or 5 day game with tactics, patience and concentration.  I know I am getting old..... but I have memories of going to test matches and county matches at Trent Bridge with grandfather when I was a child and really enjoying it over several days.   The only bad bits were the teas (he was a member so we got food) - always lettuce sandwiches.  I still don't like lettuce very much.

 

David

Edited August 18 by DaveF

[tigerburnie]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

Oh dear! What a disappointment.

But to be slightly critical, I am surprised that you fell for that a whole “diet version” nonsense. It’s pretty much a truism that if something contains alcohol/sugar/caffeine/fat, then to remove it involves the use of all kinds of “interesting“ chemical processes, none of which contribute to either the taste or to its healthiness.

 

Having said that, when cooking with brandy, rum, or whiskey and  you don’t want to have raw alcohol in the dish, you can burn off the alcohol in a pan (basically you put a measure of alcohol in a small pan and light it with a match. When the flame goes out, the alcohol has been burnt off). This gives me an idea: you could make your own spiced rum using a measure of rum that has had its alcohol burnt off in a pan. I don’t think it would be 100% alcohol free, but what alcohol remains is more than likely to be just in trace amounts.

It's a myth that all the alcohol is burnt off, some is but not all, it has been found that more will evaporate if you leave it uncovered than is removed by setting fire to it.

[tigerburnie]

A mate bumped into Billy Connolly some years back when he was advertising an alcohol free beer, the conversation went a bit like " Connolly you barsteward, that beer you advertise is shite". Connolly couldn't answer for laughing.