Early Risers.

[Sir TophamHatt]

I think what makes me a little sad about anti-vaxxers is that they will never admit they are wrong.

The BBC article above states these people are using laws that aren't actually laws.

My brother-in-law is likely to be part of that crowd.  He's just not a nice guy at all, thinks he doesn't have to pay council tax because the council isn't a business and so doesn't pay VAT or something - I can't really be bothered to understand.

 

More interestingly is I listened to a programme on BBC Radio 4 this morning (also available as a Podcast) - The Coming Storm - which is mainly about the American election but I can see the parallels here in the UK.  It described how a book about "How to Catch Witches" written in the 15th century by a guy as fiction (but written like fact) went viral and huge waves of women lost their lives as people decided they were a witch based on what the book was saying.  It links this to the riots at the Capitol and how certain messageboards, called "chans" - someone can write something and loads get on board thinking it is fact.

 

There's another Podcast somewhere about why people like conspiry theories.  Quite a reasonable, well thoughtout points raised in the programme.

 

People may see Christianity as a book about the life of a guy and huge amounts of people believe it but that's quite different to Covid conspiries.

 

What a weird morning!

[polybear]

3 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

@polybear is getting there with his suggestion but even thats to quick IMHO

 

Bear was being unusually restrained in order not to get a life ban from the site....

 

1 hour ago, simontaylor484 said:

@polybear may i suggest kneecapping with a sledgehammer perhaps elbows too as a little extra but no painkillers or any form of hospital treatment. After the bones start to heal perhaps further bone breaking with say a typewriter (as what happened to James Caan in Misery).

Yours Sincerely 

Mr V indictive

 

 

Hmm....shows a certain undeniable style  - and real promise.  Bear may have an opening on his Team for such a promising individual.  Cake provided.....

 

In other news......

It suddenly dawned on Bear that I had "things that needed to done" before The Plasterer starts tomorrow  Such things included the covering of the lounge window with newspaper cos' tomorrow I need to remove the curtain rail - so no curtains; it'll remain like that "for some time" in fact - such as after the walls are papered and painted - but that'll need the plaster to be dry, the coving up & finished, the ceiling painted, the picture rail done, the dado rail done.....you get the picture.....

 

*****BEARY NEWSFLASH!!!*****

It has just been announced on BBC TV Lunchtime News that Fraggle Rock** is to return to TV!!

Rumours of a guest appearance by NHN are as yet unconfirmed.......

 

(**Let's hope that it's not some "new improved - but screwed up" remake......)

(edit:  Yes, it is a remake  - it seems Jim Henson's daughter had a hand it, so there's still some hope.....)

(edit 2:  It seems you need to subscribe to "Apple TV+" to watch it. Triple Turdycurses)

 

The News presenter referred and pronounced one character "Gobo" as "Gobbo".   

 

[polybear]

45 minutes ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

My brother-in-law is likely to be part of that crowd.  He's just not a nice guy at all, thinks he doesn't have to pay council tax because the council isn't a business and so doesn't pay VAT or something - I can't really be bothered to understand.

 

Be interesting to see how well he does with that argument when the Bailiffs are carting the TV out of the front door....

[Mike Bellamy]

58 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

He's quite OK and posting on the Formula 1 thread.

 

Nothing new there then . . . . . . . 

.

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, simontaylor484 said:

Oh forgot to mention I don't recall seeing @Andrew P around for a couple of days hope he is ok

Thanks Simon, I do pop in and out now and again as per now, whilst having lunch etc, but the adds drive me mad.

I have a wayward Mouse that darts up and down and across the screen at will, so when I try to kill the Adds, I often miss the X and end up opening it, and so it thinks I like it and comes back time and again on other web Sites.

I don't have an add blocker as my Flip Flop is quite old in Lap Top terms, and so add blockers tend to S L O W  it down to much.

I used to do daily updates on my Layout thread = Bute Road, but tend to just post a Video on a Friday and Sunday now, again for the same reasons.

I may drop out all together soon, as life is to short to keep trying to beat the system, haha.

 

Keep well and look after your good lady, and the Kids.

[Ian Abel]

HUMP day -not exactly... VACATION start day

 

Quick check-in, we're off to the airport imminently.

 

-20 first thing here and sunny, -12 for the high but rather warmer in Phoenix when we get there.

 

Tally ho.

 

[The Lurker]

38 minutes ago, Ian Abel said:

but rather warmer in Phoenix when we get there.

 

 

should you have written 

"but rather warmer "By The Time I get to Phoenix"?!

[tigerburnie]

18 minutes ago, The Lurker said:

should you have written 

"but rather warmer "By The Time I get to Phoenix"?!

Groan button..................................GROAN BUTTON...................................................

[polybear]

Bear hammered the cash point this afternoon - and went for a walkies at the same time ; something I've not done for, well, far too long I'm embarrassed to say just how long (which is a good thing, cos' I've no idea just how long....).

A clever mappy-thing on the 'net tells me I walked 2.54 miles - in around 45 minutes.  Apparently this is 3.3867mph.  Bet you're glad I told you that 

In that time I walked past four building sites - which will probably account for 100 more new houses before long .  One is in a field where horses were within the last year or so - and cows in my lifetime; another on the site of a huge commercial nursery, one on top of a garden centre and the last on top of what was a very large house surrounded by land.  All used to be green belt land....  Back-handers?  Well if there weren't then Bear is a lettuce-eating Hippo.

 

Intended split-chassis progress?  Diddly squat...

[simontaylor484]

@polybear I would be glad to join the team only cake is a no no as I'm type 2 but I'm sure we can come to some arrangements.

 

 

Still no news from the eBay seller so I have referred it to eBay who have to wait till Saturday to get involved 

[Tony_S]

My activity app suggested I walked 3.86km today but probably not as fast as Mr Bear. We went to the RHS gardens at Hyde Hall. The exit is via the garden centre so we got a big bag of general purpose compost. We went in the Fiesta as it was really damp inside due to lack of use. It was initially like being rained on inside but the air on on max (which puts the screen heaters on too) soon shifted it. 
Our initially elusive Ocado order turned up. We were amused that not only were we informed of the drivers name (like Waitrose) but we were told he would be driving the plum van and its registration number. No problems with the order.  I now have a supply of black and white puddings that have now been sliced, vacuum packed and frozen which will last for a few breakfasts.

Tony

Edited January 19, 2022 by Tony_S

[Gwiwer]

Daft-a-noon all.

 

I haven't been able to catch up on all the day's events here and hopefully have not overlook anything of great significance.  

 

May I be the first to say I am looking cautiously forward to next Thursday and the ending (subject to Parliamentary ratification) of our wretched but necessary limitations on life.  Dr. SWMBO will return to working-from-work and was already planning to be there next Friday anyway.  I can ditch the chin-rag which has been a collector of condensation for the past several weeks since they were re-mandated late last year.  I will, instead, revert to wearing my exemption badge for a time if only out of respect to others.  

 

I know other opinions exist here.  We are being allowed to make up our own minds and learn to live with this thing largely in the background.  There are suggestions too that all forms of mandatory isolation will cease by Easter.  Already we are down to five "whole" days which sounds like "five days" but is really seven, as it already is, carefully disguised as five by the language.  

 

The effects upon staffing levels should be seen quickly.  Staffing levels need to return to near-normal pretty quickly because we can now anticipate a significant upturn in traffic through the House of Fun which the temporary service levels are unlikely to cope with.  

 

Speaking of the place of employment I have been assigned two trainees to coach.  Interesting if only for the fact that we are in the throes of negotiating severance to reduce our establishment somewhat yet are also recruiting new staff.  Hmmmm.  I wonder if I get the workplace coaching payment which has long been promised but has never appeared.  

 

I have to muck out the kitchen now before Dr. SWMBO attempts to dirty it again in the process of creating dinner.  I'll be back.  Stay well.

[Gwiwer]

10 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Our initially elusive Ocado order turned up. We were amused that not only were we informed of the drivers name (like Waitrose) but we were told he would be driving the plum van and its registration number.

I find that mildly amusing too.  In a place the size of London there is a chance of two vans arriving at much the same time and place with unrelated deliveries I suppose.  But mostly it's the only van you see and occasionally - because we are in a medium-sized block - they have more than one delivery at the same address.  I would find it more helpful if they used some form if ID when the driver called you.  Instead you get a call from a mobile "Unknown Number" which diverts on my phone to voicemail immediately.  

 

The driver is supposed call if they are likely to arrive outside the booked delivery window; sometimes early sometimes late.  Ocado's rule is that no-one should be offered a delivery more than 30 minutes early but it's OK to call and ask if the customer would accept an early delivery within 30 minutes of the booked time.  Also worth knowing is that they use an internal app for messaging between drivers.  I know it is used to identify hard-to-locate addresses and warn of potentially aggressive dogs.  Possibly for potentially aggressive customers too   You seldom see the same driver twice because they run such a large operation from various distribution hubs.  Our deliveries sometimes come from Erith, sometimes Hatfireld and sometimes from spoke sites at Wimbledon or Weybridge.

[New Haven Neil]

A'noon, or perhaps evening.

 

Mrs NHN under post hospickle visit care for a few days, so little chance of posting of a morning.  

 

I have not as yet been approached for a leading part in Fraggle Rock, as one of my besties is a TV producer guy I still have hopes, but he's tied up with work for a well known producer of electronic equipment and games at the moment.  Pays the bills apparently. With knobs on.   Some folk have all the luck, but he is a clever lad, works very hard indeed and deserves it all.

 

The island was named FR in a presentation my boss of the time (DI G Hardman - 'hard by name, hard by nature') and myself delivered to the Judiciary here some years ago.  It was getting a bit stodgy so he decided to liven it up a bit....his usual style.  We were also comparing our Youth Justice Team to the UK Young Offenders Teams in an attempt to get more funding, he said we were 'not so much a YOT as a leaky rowing boat'.  Well it broke the ice for sure, and we did eventually get more money!  he was a great boss.

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

Speaking of the place of employment I have been assigned two trainees to coach.  Interesting if only for the fact that we are in the throes of negotiating severance to reduce our establishment somewhat yet are also recruiting new staff.  Hmmmm.  

 

Get rid of the experience and replace with newbies.  Bear predicts trouble ahead.....

Do newbies get a lesser deal on the Company Pension by any chance, such as no longer being able to join (if one exists) a Final Salary Scheme?  That'd be a very good reason to explain why the Company is acting as it is.

Bear's Place of Fun Pain did that very thing some years ago.  And what was the outcome?  Probably THE biggest carrot for retaining staff was lost, meaning that the young 'uns bale out after a couple of years for pastures new, at a point where some of them start to become useful.  Others may never become useful...

[PhilJ W]

3 hours ago, tigerburnie said:

Groan button..................................GROAN BUTTON...................................................

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Went for a bit of eyelid inspection this afternoon but when I woke up both Arthur Itis and Si Attica were in full voice. Arthur is now quiet but Si is still grumbling on. Before the eyelid inspection I had lunch. An inspection of the cupboard and fridge revealed some (thickly sliced) black pudding and some burger buns so lunch was black pudding burgers. Tea has brewed so its be back later. 

[Ozexpatriate]

14 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

All hyperbole aside, there comes a time when we in the Western World will need to decide do we continue to fetishise the rights of the few over the rights of the many or do we consider the welfare of the many more important than the welfare of the few?

The logical extrapolation of utilitarianism is the playground of dystopian novelists.

 

We can happily discuss the implications of a notional society that elects to terminate the lives of the 'defective' for the greater good if you like.

[Ozexpatriate]

12 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

We got another call from Rachel last night, young Emily is doing OK but Rona, as Rachel calls it has cone to visit her as well. It probably won't be long before Laura gets it as well. 

I'm sorry to hear that Jamie. Makes me think of the old rhyme (there are many variants) dating back a century.

 

I had a little bird, and its name was Enza,

I opened up the window, and in flew Enza.

 

(Sung to a jump/skipping rope cadence)

Or:

 

There was a little girl, and she had a little bird,
And she called it by the pretty name of Enza;
But one day it flew away, but it didn't go to stay,
For when she raised the window, in-flu-Enza.

 

I would have thought there would be some 'popular' "rona" doggerel by now, rather than just stupid portmanteau words like "flurona". "The rona" is a colloquial expression for CoViD-19.

 

I had a email from my mum last week. From zero cases over two years, in the space of about a week, in my extended Australian family, four were sick, (two of them positive and one expecting a positive test result). Somewhere between five to nine additional people were likely exposed.

[Ozexpatriate]

13 hours ago, Barry O said:

We, or at least a fair few people in the world, seem to have decided that any consequences caused by decisions we make should be bourne by others. Question is..why???

The butterfly effect?

 

No man is an island?

 

Am I my brother's keeper?

 

The sins of the fathers?

 

Deeply philosophical, your question is. It all depends on the social compact of a given society.

 

I find the "sins of the fathers" entertaining (there are plenty of references with multiple opposing outcomes):

Quote

Deuteronomy 24:16 - The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

Deuteronomy 5:9 - Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[Coombe Barton]

... I do wonder what’s happening in the flat above Downing Street. Might it have the makings of a Carrie on film? ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2022/01/19/deja-vu-again/

[Coombe Barton]

@New Haven Neil

Children's show Fraggle Rock returns after 33 years

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-60058997

[polybear]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

An inspection of the cupboard and fridge revealed some (thickly sliced) black pudding and some burger buns so lunch was black pudding burgers. 

 

Bear has never tried Black Pudding - and every time I see it I never feel the urge to try it.  Certainly those examples served for brekkies in some Hotels always remind me of an ice hockey puck....

 

5 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

@New Haven Neil

Children's show Fraggle Rock returns after 33 years

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-60058997

 

But only for those with an Apple TV+ subscription   It does seem that a 7-day free trial may be available, so if The Fire Stick can cope with that channel then I might give it a look out of interest, if only to see how they've managed to screw it up (it's a re-make).  If Sprocket the Dog doesn't feature then there really is no hope.

[pH]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

We can happily discuss the implications of a notional society that elects to terminate the lives of the 'defective' for the greater good if you like.

And how many posts on the subject do you think it would take to get the topic locked and/or bans (temporary or permanent) issued? 

[BoD]

On 18/01/2022 at 19:44, New Haven Neil said:

Forgot to mention earlier, must have been shock....NHS come good.

I can’t complain either.

 

A few years ago I had a cataract removed from one eye but the other was left alone.  We knew it would need doing eventually.  My vision in that eye has deteriorated considerably, increasingly so more recently, and is starting to impact on various activities which is quite depressing, but that is another story.  Anyway, I had my nine monthly (ish)  glaucoma checkup and my consultant and I agreed that now was the time to sort the cataract out. This was only yesterday. Today I received an electronic letter with an appointment for pre-op assessment and preparation  for a fortnight today.  As I said, can’t complain about that.