Early Risers.

[iL Dottore]

5 hours ago, BSW01 said:

…Tonight, I made a curry I haven’t made before, an Indonesian rendang and very nice it was too, I’ll definitely be making that one again….

I thought that a rendang was a Malaysian dish, but no matter it is still excellent. From what I have learnt from trying to find the best possible recipe is that the dish originally evolved as a way to make very tough meat edible and to cook it in such a way that it would keep for a while in a hot climate. Unfortunately, despite trying many different recipes, I have yet to duplicate the taste and texture of the rendangs I ate many times in Malaysia.
 

Did you use beef or goat? (I also vaguely remember a recipe for chicken rendang). I think part of the problem is that the meat we get in Western Europe is too tender for the long and slow cooking a proper rendang demands (one “authentic“ recipe I read required the dish to cook pretty much all day) . I’m fairly certain that if I could find some meat from an old water buffalo I would get closer to the original dish. From what little I know about Southeast Asian animal husbandry it seems that the animals lead much more “natural“ lives than food animals in the west – which means the muscles get much more of a workout and thus can be tough if not cooked properly.

 

However, one thing I did discover that brought me a little bit closer to a perfect rendang is to cut the meat into very large chunks – larger chunks than you would normally use as western European meat will shrink quite a bit when cooked in the manner of a rendang.

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by iL Dottore

[chrisf]

Against all odds, I ended up at Luton Pride for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon.  Stagecoach route 81 runs once an hour between Bedford and Luton, providing plenty of opportunities for the inhabitants of little villages that they do not use as often as they might.  I used my bus pass, at zero personal cost, and subsequently discovered that I could have gone by train after all.  The Pride was not a bad event, all things considered.  It would have benefitted from a parade and from better merchandise but the organisers have good reason to be pleased with their first efforts.  We shall see what happens next year.  One thing that happened yesterday was having to use a card to buy a cuppa, price £2.  Get used to the sight of coins, folks, for they may not have long to live.  The lady who served my tea said that getting rid of cash was easier for them.  Oh well, that makes it OK then.

 

It looks as though Network Rail could be making my trip to London next Saturday more difficult than it need be, even without the ever present threat of the oddly named “industrial action”.  I understand that much of the line between Luton and West Hampstead is to be dug up on Saturday and Sunday.  Plans B to Infinity are in preparation to get me and my photogenic rainbow boots to London.  Thank goodness I know the way to Stevenage.

 

Chris

[jamie92208]

Good morning from a cool Charente, but it isn't raining, unlike yesterday.  However 2 water butts are full to the brim and the other two are now up to 85% from 50 in a 24 hour period.  That means I've got nearly 4 tons of the stuff to last the summer.  

 

We went out for fish and chips last night at an excellent  restaurant run by two Belgian ladies.  They had a band on the celebrate the start of their summer season. Listening to live music was good. A 4 piece band playing what I can only describe as folk rap. However they could all play their various instruments in time and in tune plus they could harmonise.  Good to listen to and watch despite only being able to understand a small percentage of the words.

 

This morning we are off to the market for the first Sunday in about a month.

 

Good wishes to all the ailing and recovering ER's.

 

Jamie

Edited June 26, 2022 by jamie92208

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

The sun is beaming down on me through our near North facing window, it must be near mid summer. In the evening it illuminates the doorway into the room.

 

3.5 hours sleep, to the sofa,  3 hours sleep, 1 hours sleep. A good total.

it's 24C in here at 06:00...

 

Standing, reaching my toes would be painful. My back would definitely not agree with that amount of bending. But reaching while in the bath is no problem..

 

During my waking hours caught a bit of Sir Paul, he puts on a good show, you can recognise the tune, but after 80 years his singing voice is long since worn out...

 

Today is sailing day.

Round the cans outside the clubhouse on the river.

Low tide is around 12:00, which is good, it'll not be too strong for any race. But you try to stick to the banks against the tide, down the middle with the tide.

The wind is a southerly gusting to 21mph, a little strong for Blue Moon , but should be OK. Not too much tacking though, the fairly unusual southerly is across the majority of the course.

 

time for a muggacoffee I think..

 

 

 

[southern42]

Late to bed last night. We decided to watch  Paul McCartney at Glastonbury start time on the Beeb 10.30pm. I did not anticipate a finish time of 1.10am🥱but it was good and all seemed be having a good time so I stayed up. Now, if you catch me nodding off just give us a nudge. 😴

 

Sun and showers yesterday. Wet n windy at bedtime. Still chuckinitdarn & so to be till 4pm or so, they say. Notalot will get done here today, then.

 

First mugadecaf of the day coming up hoping I can stay awake. 

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

@BR60103.. yes umpires do a lot of watching and makes decision every time a ball is bowled.. at the test I let the 4 umpires (2 on field and 2 in air conditioned comfort) make the decisions.

 

Watched Paul McCartney  on the TV last night.. problem is when youknow the words from a song from1964....

 

Be careful @grandadbob ..don't upset the boss. Why? Well opening a bottle of wine with only one hand can be difficult,😄

 

Time toget ready for another day at the test, but first my mugatea and breakfast preparation.

 

Enjoy your day/night (as appropriate to your location)

 

Baz

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Blue skies with a bit of cloud and bright and breezy here.  It should stay dry but there is a chance of the odd shower and temperatures up to about 22°C. 

Hand is OK and feeling seems to have retuned to the tips of all fingers now and I can use thumb and index finger to gently grip things which has made a big difference.  Almost had a mishap last night though as I took the sling off while sitting in my armchair as it was hot and uncomfortable and forgot and put my hand on the arm of the chair to stand up.  I felt that and won't be doing it again in a hurry!

No gardening for me although I did manage to water the pots one handed with a watering can last night until The Boss stepped in and said she would be doing it for the next couple of weeks.  Can't really use the hose as it's in a wall mounted drum and although we could haul it out it out needs two strong hands and a bit of a knack to get it all back inside the drum and leaving it out all over the garden "someone"  🤔 would probably end up tripping over it.

Tea has been taken up to Herself and she is now on the move and the usual cooked breakfast will be supplied later.  After that we're going for a walk and then I may actually visit the neglected train set in The Shed.

Typing much faster now, almost up to my normal speed.

Have a good one,

Bob.

Edited June 26, 2022 by grandadbob
Missing letters and words

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. 

6 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

Hand is OK and feeling seems to have retuned to the tips of all fingers now and I can use thumb and index finger to gently grip things which has made a big difference.  Almost had a mishap last night though as I took the sling off while sitting in my armchair as it was hot and uncomfortable and forgot and put my hand on the arm of the chair to stand up.  I felt that and won't be doing it again in a hurry!

Bob.

I have to be careful as one wrong move and Si Attica will jump in with both feet. I did manage to avoid him this morning. I felt a twinge so I stopped the manoeuvre and carefully moved my leg another way. Off to the toy fair shortly, be back later.

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It is a very pleasant morning here, sunny and breezy.

We are off to Enfield for lunch at Aditi’s sister's house, Quite a few family members will be there , Originally it was because my nephew and his partner were visiting from Zurich for a friend of theirs wedding yesterday. However their flight from Zurich was cancelled. To recreate their travel itinerary (they were flying to Italy for a holiday afterwards ) was too expensive to consider so they are going by train to Rome and then on to Palermo as intended. Those of us travelling from Essex, Sussex and Northants hopefully won’t subject to cancellations. 
My Friday evening was spent removing a blockage from the drain that leads from the first rodding point to the manhole. Nothing too unpleasant as it was from the kitchen rather than a loo. Aditi reported it with her “we have a problem…” voice that is a warning I will be looking for an appropriate tool box. My garage might not be ultra tidy but it it fairly organised now so I know where different types of tool are. 
Tony

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, from a rock that is likely to have moved position and it is certainly sipping down.  Not a nice day, Ireland ferry cancelled, the Seacat doesn't like winds over force 6.  it's not known as the Vomit Comet for nothing.

 

Ah, carrying drinks from the kitchen whilst using crutches etc, that was an issue for me for a long time as I was totally non-weight bearing on the left foot for 3 months as well as it being in plaster.  Eventually the answer was a Zimmer frame with what they called a 'caddy' on the front, basically a carrying basket, which I was able to put a flask in to carry back to the lounge.  After Mrs H had to go back to work that would get me three brews, by which time the smallest room had to be visited to pump the bilges on the way to make more coffee.  A seat height extender made that an easier (but still NOT easy!) process also.  Got it all to look forward to again at the end of the year after op number 3 on it, pah.

[grandadbob]

I am now shaved, showered and my fast has been broken and very nice it was too.  Bit awkward but The Boss cut my bacon up for me so that made things easier.  Showering has also been made much easier with the purchase of one of these :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Waterproof-Protector-Watertight-Reusable-Adult-Upper/dp/B07Y5MYLHH/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=1DXAN8EZM4Z4R&keywords=show

Far better than mucking about with plastic bags or clingfilm.

Coffee time now but still thinking about the walk.  I might get a round tuit but am in lazy mode at present.

Edited June 26, 2022 by grandadbob

[Gwiwer]

Bit blowy here. I wonder if NHN might pass by later 🤣

 

[chrisf]

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

... problem is when you know the words from a song from1964....

As an occasional singer of folk songs I find that nearly all of my repertoire dates from before 1964.  For me it's not a problem!

 

Chris

[PupCam]

Morning all and a very bright but blowy one it is too.    

 

I had thought that a short bimble on the AJ might have been on the cards but I'll save that for a day not so suitable for kite flying.

 

5 hours ago, chrisf said:

Thank goodness I know the way to Stevenage.

 

More importantly, I know all of the ways out of it 🤣

Those "Stevenage Tourist Attractions" signs always used to make me chuckle - well, I needed something to  smile about going to work on a Monday morning 😀

 

I've been messing about with the telescope camera trigger system again this morning.   Whilst still very much a "working prototype" I can at least use it now with any (integer) exposure durations between 1 and 120 seconds without resorting to reprogramming it which is much to much of a faff when you are stuck in the dark in the garden at midnight!   Unfortunately when trying a lashed-up mode changing switch I accidentally shorted a line on the Arduino Nano to ground that shouldn't be shorted to ground when a wire slipped .....  After which the (brand spanking new 😡) Nano got the right 'ump and refused to communicate over the USB connection ever again.   PAH!,   PAH!  and thrice PAH!

 

Anyway, it's been replaced now.   Whilst speaking of telescopes and the like I've been toying with the idea of adding a digital position readouts to both moveable axes of the mount. The mount is supplied with two dials and pointers to indicate position but it is generally accepted that on budget telescopes these are mere ornaments as they lack the necessary accuracy and precision by a couple of orders of magnitude to actually be used to locate invisible objects.    To that end I bought an optical rotary encoder (with ball race mounted shaft and very low torque to turn it) from the great American River Company that seemed to be good value at ~£18.   I've given it a quick go with yet more lashed up Arduino code and it seems to work very nicely - I'd better buy a second one for the second axis then.  Oh yes, and perhaps another pair for my mates telescope!   

 

Now I had a very cunning plan and that was to insert a small rare earth magnet into the end of the shaft that it will be measuring the position of and to use the magnet as the drive to the encoder.   I'd previously removed the shaft from the mount and bored a suitable hole in the end but then came unstuck because it turns out that the encoder shaft is made from a high quality stainless steel.  And we all know such stainless steel is non-magnetic ...... Turdycurses!    Oh well, I'll just have to adapt the plan.   It doesn't matter too much as the "direct drive" version was to be temporary as a geared-up version will ultimately be required to get the degree of resolution necessary to find those pesky, small and invisible objects.   For which I will need a high precision, zero backlash and cheap (not much of a challenge then) epicyclic gear box.     Never mind, I have a second cunning plan that might involve open caged ball races .....

 

Here's the very nicely made encoder and the end of the shaft that will drive it.

 

 

 

 

On to aeronautical matters ....

 

@iL Dottore your lighting problem sounds like an Arduino project to me.     What's the full spec (number of lights, colour, solid or flash (& rate), space available in the fuselage for boards and batteries etc?

 

TTFNQ

 

Alan

 

[DaveF]

I managed to keep myself occupied yesterday  After breakfast I sorted out things in the garage, I just need some more shelf units - a job for anther day.

 

That waa followed by an attack on the living room to move stuff I'd brought back from the flat into better places.  It all looks a lot better now.  I have started to sort through the books - some may go to a local second hand dealer, others to charity shops.

 

After lunch I decided to go out for a ride into the country.  For those who know Northumberland: I headed north on the A1 until the junction for Wooler, then just past the garden centre turned off onto a narrow lane - just wide enough for one car.  The only passing places are field gateways or the verge - but in places it is soft or lower than the road.  I stopped several times to take photos looking towards the Simonside Hills and the Cheviots.  I also parked at the side of the third ford and a bit further on to look at a pleasant view.  I think I encountered three other cars in about an hour.

 

Then I went to look at the Simonside Forest, but it is still closed due to storm Arwen damage.  The woods I saw had been almost completely destroyed, a very sad sight.  It too is on a single track road, instead I stopped at the foot of Lordenshaws where there is a bronze age fort on the top of the hill.  I had a very brisk walk up and took more photos, and an even brisker walk back - I just got in the car in  time to avoid getting soaked.

 

After that it was time for a leisurely drive home along quiet roads, through Scotsgap, Mitford and Morpeth.  It's the furthest I've been from home in over four years.

 

David

Edited June 26, 2022 by DaveF

[iL Dottore]

6 minutes ago, PupCam said:

On to aeronautical matters ....

 

@iL Dottore your lighting problem sounds like an Arduino project to me.     What's the full spec (number of lights, colour, solid or flash (& rate), space available in the fuselage for boards and batteries etc?

 

TTFNQ

 

Alan

 

Oooh! I foresee a bespoke building in a certain Pupper’s future 😁 Anything of particular interest/desire, Alan?

Let me have a look at the model(s) this afternoon and I’ll see what the dimensions are. I’ll see what sort of space there’ll be with and without interior.  I’ll pm you in the next 24 hrs.

 

iD

* for some reason, I ended up with a 1/48 scale Bell UH 1D Huey. Rather than finish the model as a US army Vietnam era chopper, I’m thinking of finishing it as either a corporate aircraft or – something more amusing – as the flying K9 unit of Captain Cynical Industries GmbH’s security services 😱

[BSW01]

Good afternoon everyone 

 

A bit late on parade today due to having a bit of a lie in and breakfast in bed. I then went straight outside and made a start on some gardening, where its a bit blowy, the trees are making a fair bit of noise with the wind rustling through the leaves. 

Today I've been repotting some rosemary and mint, with fresh compost with added grit. I'm currently sat on the bench under the workshop window having a well earned muggertea, before carrying on. 

 

Id, I used chicken in last night's curry, as chicken is our preferred meat for curry dishes. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian 

[grandadbob]

Just spent a little bit of time ordering a case of wine as those nice people at Naked Wines have just offered me three free bottles as I haven't bought anything from them for about 4 months.  Seemed rude not to accept the offer. 🍷

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, grandadbob said:

those nice people at Naked Wines

Does that mean it arrives without a bottle? Or just without its label? 🤣

[PupCam]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

 Anything of particular interest/desire, Alan?

 

How are you at building working, reliable BSA B21 engines ? 🤣

 

As I'm unlikely to be building a model railway anytime soon, maybe something small & amusing with an astronomical twist?

 

https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/hampshire-news/alexander-observatory-queens-avenue-aldershot-16413479

 

Would complete with a working telescope be out of the question? 😂

 

Anyway, lets get the lights sorted first!

 

Alan

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

 

8 hours ago, chrisf said:

Thank goodness I know the way to Stevenage.

 

More importantly, I know all of the ways out of it

I reckon I could still find my way. Haven’t been there in 40 years or more but I still have a good memory of the ways in and out. 
 

303/303A : Hitchin - Potters Bar

384 and 390 : Stevenage - Hertford by quite different routes 

386 : Infrequent around-the-villages route on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays only to Buntingford then on to Hertford on Tuesday or Bishops Stortford on Friday or both on Saturday. 
716 : Hitchin - Chertsey Green Line coach

716A : mostly Welwyn Garden City but sometimes Stevenage - Woking Green Line coach. 
 

Apart from the different ways through WGC and Hatfield which always confused me, and some altered road patters today, I reckon I could still drive any of those. 

 

[Coombe Barton]

... Destroy evidence? Would they ever do anything so unethical?...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2022/06/26/doubled-since-start-of-june/

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, chrisf said:

As an occasional singer of folk songs I find that nearly all of my repertoire dates from before 1964.  For me it's not a problem!

 

Chris

We were contemplating something similar this morning. A gathering of voices and ukuleles is scheduled for Friday evening. The repertoire is to include (among other things)

 

Greensleeves (definitely pre-1964)

John Barleycorn (older than is sometimes thought and definitely pre-1964)

Deep Water (one of Dr. SWMBO’s original pieces)

The Rochester Recruiting Sergeant (pre-1964 for sure)

Long Lankin (again much older than the popularly-known Steeleye Span version)

Plus what ever else we feel like, really. 
 

The Lost Pirates of Withiel shall gather in rural Somerset hopefully far enough from any neighbours to avoid nuisance! 

[New Haven Neil]

@DaveF some lanes there I used to be familiar with!  It's been a long time since I was in Northumberland trail riding though - 21 years to be exact.

 

The rock is certainly dryer this afternoon, but still windy.  Not likely to blow past Rick, DaveF is more likely given the wind direction.

 

I have a similar waterproof thing to GDB for my foot, although it has a sort of diaphragm that is very flexible and seals against the calf, works a treat once you get it over the foot, but can cause utterances I learned in the Merch if it sprung against the sore bit!  We'll have to look out all of that gear again in the autumn I suppose, but still waiting for an updated MRI currently and not holding my breath.  Hopefully that isn't pushing the proposed surgery date back, but somehow I think it is!

 

[NGT6 1315]

A'noon all. Scorchio is the motto of the day and I don't like that one bit!