Early Risers.

[chrisf]

Being forgetful has its drawbacks.  Yesterday I was unable to remember my bank PIN number, though I did remember it at 1 am today.  Fat lot of good that was.  Fortunately the bank staff were very helpful.  At the very least this is an argument against closing bank branches.  With any luck I have enough cash to get me through my forthcoming holiday.

 

I plan to get on the road at 6 am tomorrow.  I remembered to print off a map showing the location of my aunt's care home.  All I have to do now is remember to put it in the car.  I am due back on 7th August.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris  

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Off to see afriend and to operate his scale model of Skipwith today.. After shark wielding is complete.

 

I don't think that you can do a direct comparison of salaries in the medical profession between the UK and Oz.. I have a friend who moved down there. In effect to get her UK post in Oz she had to spend money (and time) to get her qualifications requalified. Plus the NHS is paid for by the state. Cost of living is another consideration.. and, of course Al the things that bite, spit, sting.. does focus ones mind.

 

I still pay professional Engineering fees.. even when you retire they are expensive with little return on your payments. 

 

Enough drivelling,mugatea then shark wielding..

 

Stay safe!

Baz

[TheQ]

The average Nurses salary is not their take home.. a new nurse just out of training in Nappies  gets £25,655 basic added to that they get shift pay and weekend working pay of between 1+ 30% and 60%  . The Royal College of nurses estimates the average pay is between £33,000 and £35000 , that is more than I get after 48 years as a degree holding electronics technician engineer. (note in all the years I've been working about half of them on shift work, I never received shift /weekend working / bank holiday working pay)

Pay bands for nurses

• Band 5: £25,655 to £31,534 (the band at which a newly qualified nurse starts)

• Band 6: £32,306 to £39,027

• Band 7: £40,057 to £45,839

• Band 8a: £47,126 to 53,219

• Band 8b: £54,764 to £63,861

• Band 8c: £65,664 to £75,874

• Band 8d: £78,192 to £90,387

• Band 9: £93,735 to £108,075

these are all basic salaries not including shift / weekend and over time pay.

you notice bands 1-4 are missing because they are still in training, but are still counted in the average pay for nurses...

there area couple 0f extreme cases where an Exceedingly special senior nurse earns of £200,000

they also get 27 days holiday + the 8 bank holidays.

Edited July 27, 2022 by TheQ

[polybear]

8 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I possess quite a few family heirlooms as well as some other antiques that are irreplaceable and I would hate to loose them. I just can't imagine losing everything like that. 

 

Bear is a member of that very same club - there are perhaps 5 items I'd grab immediately in a fire, though there are an awful lot more that'd really cut me up if I lost them.

 

7 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Yes you've guessed it can't see the dentist now because I'd missed my slot and would sir kindly rebook his appointment. I made the last bit up did you spot it. So after a considerable amount of 'I can't believe this' we managed to find another date when I was free.

 

 

SBT's;  I do hope I'm wrong but being of the suspicious (as well as cynical) Bear type I'd not be surprised if a Bill for a "missed appointment" didn't land on the doormat.

 

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

Having taken them all apart before installing them in the garden, superficially the rechargeable batteries and circuit boards look the same within a given set of lamps - so, theoretically, they should all perform the same. They don’t. I wonder if any of the electronic wizards on ER can illuminate me (no pun intended). And quite unexpectedly, the very cheapest solar powered lamp of all is the best performing!

 

Beary guess:  They're made from bits that, whilst working, failed test/quality control etc. during manufacture and so were flogged off cheap so some other company can build solar lights/nodding dogs/dodgy arduino's.

 

8 minutes ago, TheQ said:

The average Nurses salary is not their take home.. a new nurse just out of training in Nappies  gets £25,655 basic added to that they get shift pay and weekend working pay of between 1+ 30% and 60%  . The Royal College of nurses estimates the average pay is between £33,000 and £35000 , that is more than I get after 48 years as a degree holding electronics technician engineer.

Pay bands for nurses

• Band 5: £25,655 to £31,534 (the band at which a newly qualified nurse starts)

• Band 6: £32,306 to £39,027

• Band 7: £40,057 to £45,839

• Band 8a: £47,126 to 53,219

• Band 8b: £54,764 to £63,861

• Band 8c: £65,664 to £75,874

• Band 8d: £78,192 to £90,387

• Band 9: £93,735 to £108,075

these are all basic salaries not including shift / weekend and over time pay.

you notice bands 1-4 are missing because they are still in training, but are still counted in the average pay for nurses...

there area couple 0f extreme cases where an Exceedingly special senior nurse earns of £200,000

they also get 27 days holiday + the 8 bank holidays.

 

A friend's daughter went thru' nursing training and onto the wards at a certain young pup's favourite (or perhaps not) Hospital; within a very short time (a couple of years or so, literally) we're hearing from him that she's now the Deputy Ward Sister, then the Ward Manager etc. etc. and earning serious bucks.  She'd work extra days, "bank" days etc. etc. and get a very nice bonus as a result.  I did say I'd be concerned at how quickly she was promoted; "But she's very clever", he said.  Fair enough, but she's still quite inexperienced.  He didn't really get it.

 

Bear here.....

First Task of The Day is the Charity Shop Warehouse to drop off the redundant items discovered over the last few days, and then....

 

.......ARGHHHHHHHHHH.......😱

.....Yesterday evening was virtual carpet choosing mode; today is JL and physical carpet choosing mode.  'Nuff sed.   I may also take the opportunity to take a squint at their telly's and (maybe) sound bars as well - Bear has accumulated a fair few Bojo Tokens (as a result of the ONS C-19 testing) and as the lounge telly is now the conservatory telly it does mean that Bear will be telly-less in the lounge......

There's also a Charity Bookshop nearby, so a squint there may result in a book - they sometimes have the odd reasonable choo choo book or two; there's also a reasonable (or was - in pre-Covid days) Cafe that I'm hoping has a full english with a Bear's name on it.

Right, time to get the little furry ar5e in gear....

Bear gone.

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

Another poor nights sleep, though slightly better than the night before..

 

Ben the Changeable Collie decided to have an extended Snuffle, he went off into parts of the garden he doesn't normally venture. He made a deposit... At the entrance to a rabbit hole.. 

Dry, 50% cloud cover, gentle cool breeze.

 

Waiting time yesterday was spent drawing up the sails that are on Blue Moon at the moment, and the angle at which the mast is currently.. The tip being 3.5ft aft of vertical.. 

I then some time trying to work out an easy way of transferring that onto the main drawing, the solution of which was remarkably easy..

 

In my original drawing two centres of effort of the sails were already marked, the current and what I would like them to be..  That is 12% lead forward of the centre of resistance of the keel, with a vertical sail plan original sails. and 7% my preferred figure..  The current actual is near the 7% with a modified original set of sails and the mast tilted back.

 

 So now I have to plan for a new set of sails, with mast near vertical, this means extending the sail area Aft by the requisite amount.. So the boom I have isn't long enough, a commercial wayfarer dinghy boom is the only one I can find that is long enough, unfortunately that's nearing £300 when kitted out.

 

I think in the roof of the garage is the old boom for my Lysander, it's wooden and I think more than long enough, a search party needs to find it and give it a measure.. 

 

The first major system of the week seems to have thrown a wobbly at around 1kVAC, so that's on a rerun, of ACV.

The second major system of this week is nearing the end of it's overnight cal run, then I've just got 1MOhm and Frequency to do before it's finished.

Then I've got a 50A and 100A shunt to measure, 1 one and 10 Ohm special measurement or our Resistance Standards, then the second system of last week to finish.. 

 

Time to wait...

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

and, of course Al the things that bite, spit, sting.. does focus ones mind

 

Australian pay  in itself isn't very high what makes it big is the   danger money!

[TheQ]

Oh the lights..

Being made of the cheapest parts available they will have used 20% resistors, the lowest normal accuracy for a resistor.. That immediately gives you a 20% variability in output, added to the tolerance of other components and you get a hugely variable output.

 

For work here we generally use  0.001% or better resistors and then I measure them regularly, plot changes and predict the value to use at any time... We have histories of resistors charted for over 30 years..

This is the main purpose of the resistance calibration I undertake.

Edited July 27, 2022 by TheQ

[AndrewC]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Of the English speaking channels, Channel 4 has to be the one that is the very definition of tasteless, crass and vulgar. Their “hit show“ Naked Attraction, not only is a perfect definition of tasteless, crass and vulgar but it is also the modern equivalent of the Victorian Circus’s freak show. If anything can be held up to be a shiny example of “car crash TV“, then this program is it.

 

A quick trawl of the tv listings will bring up far worse than Naked Attraction. You are right, the Victorian Freak show is alive and well. Best part as far as the producers are concerned is there is an endless supply of willing freaks. Plastic vacuous "people" all looking for their 15 minutes of fame. These so called reality shows are a stupidly cheap way of filling schedules. Who needs to spend 7 figures on 12 hours of quality drama, when for 1/4 of that cost you can have about 100 hours of Britain's Favourite Naked Essex Island Bakery. 

 

I feel a rant coming on. 

[big jim]

24 minutes ago, AndrewC said:

A quick trawl of the tv listings will bring up far worse than Naked Attraction. You are right, the Victorian Freak show is alive and well. Best part as far as the producers are concerned is there is an endless supply of willing freaks.

when I quickly scanned this in my  ‘new posts’ list I read it a freaky willies! 

[iL Dottore]

2 hours ago, TheQ said:

…The Royal College of nurses estimates the average pay is between £33,000 and £35000 , that is more than I get after 48 years as a degree holding electronics technician engineer. (note in all the years I've been working about half of them on shift work, I never received shift /weekend working / bank holiday working pay)…

I rest my case about the British being underpaid.

 

A quick shufti on Google.ch gives a salary for an electronics technician engineer of between SFr 54’000 and SFr 146’000  (£47,000 and £125,000) depending on age and experience with an average of SFr.96,000 (£82,000). And with like many of these highly specialised skill sets for the really obscure/niche indications, salaries can go even higher.

 

Even with the cost of living being higher than in the UK (but actually not that much higher than around London), moving to Switzerland would still mean you would be “quids in“.

2 hours ago, polybear said:

Beary guess:  They're made from bits that, whilst working, failed test/quality control etc. during manufacture and so were flogged off cheap so some other company can build solar lights/nodding dogs/dodgy arduino's.

 

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

Oh the lights..

Being made of the cheapest parts available they will have used 20% resistors, the lowest normal accuracy for a resistor.. That immediately gives you a 20% variability in output, added to the tolerance of other components and you get a hugely variable output.

Both of your observations certainly reinforce what I read, many many years ago (and in regards to making the then brand spanking new cutting edge technology of CDs) that the two critical factors in producing a quality product are the quality of the materials used and the stringency and accuracy of the QC.

 

I would assume that there is only a limited amount of variability in the materials used to make transistors and LEDs,  so I would conclude that  it is the quality control that makes or breaks the final end product. Given that binning something that doesn’t make it through a stringent QC would cost the component manufacturer money, I speculate the following happens

> Company A with very high QC standards accepts only 20% of component manufacturer X’s output. Component manufacturer X then takes the remaining 80% of the batch and goes to

> Company B with high QC standard that only accepts 20% of the remaining batch from component manufacturer X, who intern takes the remaining material from the production run to

> Company C with adequate QC…

 

And so on down the line until you get to the Poundland suppliers.

 

[andyram]

Morning all. A quick check in this morning. Shortly after I wrote last night's post Amber woke up feeling sick. She was not sick thankfully. I think she got too hot in her room having wrapped herself up in her duvet. That, along with tiredness from some late nights and the adrenaline spent over the ear piercing, was probably the cause. She finally settled down on the lower bunk in her room with a sick bowl to hand and me squeezing into the top bunk and we were both out like a light!

 

This morning, feeling suitably refreshed, I walked into the old village to collect some croissants for for breakfast. The bakery used to be our daily haunt when we stayed in the old village a few years ago. This year, being further away, it was my first visit. However, the products were as delicious as ever.

 

With Amber feeling tired, but better, we are having a lazy morning before heading to the beach and the crazy golf. We plan to visit the real ale shop in Wells and then Wells itself in the afternoon. There is the Wells and Walsingham Light Railway which may provide a steam fix, but time will tell.

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Bear is a member of that very same club - there are perhaps 5 items I'd grab immediately in a fire, though there are an awful lot more that'd really cut me up if I lost them.

Problem is that most of the items I would want to save are too large or heavy. Principle item would be a glass fronted display cabinet that was made by my cabinet maker grandfather c. 1920. Not only is it very heavy but it is used to display some of my Dinky Toy collection. 

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, AndrewC said:

A quick trawl of the tv listings will bring up far worse than Naked Attraction. You are right, the Victorian Freak show is alive and well. Best part as far as the producers are concerned is there is an endless supply of willing freaks. Plastic vacuous "people" all looking for their 15 minutes of fame. These so called reality shows are a stupidly cheap way of filling schedules. Who needs to spend 7 figures on 12 hours of quality drama, when for 1/4 of that cost you can have about 100 hours of Britain's Favourite Naked Essex Island Bakery. 

Some of the food shows can be particularly dire, I would agree – but at least with the reasonable ones and with the good food programmes you do learn something (I have picked up quite a few tips, hints and tricks from watching various food programs: the skills test in Masterchef Professional is very much a great teaching moment).

 

But as for the others, with “Love Island“, “Big Brother“ and many more of that ilk you have an toxic combination of vacuousness,  a completely unrealistic and inflated sense of self-worth and self-esteem, a monstrous sense of  entitlement and a complete and utter absence of any self awareness or self criticism. When the presenter of Naked Attraction cooes at some morbidly obese, tattooed and pierced specimen of humanity of indeterminate gender “oh you are so beyoootiful“ I don’t know whether to laugh or throw up!

 

Although theatre & film is one of my hobbies (and I have been a semiprofessional actor off and on) the reason I never wanted to do the job full time and fully professionally was not only because of the huge amount of luck you need to make any sort of career in the film and theatre industries, but also – and principally – because I very quickly realised the real power is in the hands of producers, directors and (in film and TV) the editors.

 

“Reality television“ is about as far away from reality as you can possibly get. The fact is I could shoot 8 to 12 hours of “reality“ footage of any one of the ER posters going about their normal, daily, business and edit it to make them seem like Mother Theresa and Saint Francis of Assisi rolled into one; or edit it to make them look like a cross between Harold Shipman and Jeffrey Epstein.

Add a suitable soundtrack and narration and voilà: instant fame or instant notoriety…

55 minutes ago, big jim said:

when I quickly scanned this in my  ‘new posts’ list I read it a freaky willies! 

Trust me Jim, there will be a Channel 4 program called “freaky willies“ – sooner or later!

[jamie92208]

Good moaning, just, from the Charente.

 

A good day was had yesterday  with trainspotting in thecafternoon very enjoyable. Andy brought the beercand cake ascusual.  Our task was to demolish the remains ofva chocolate cake that hadn't turned out as Andy's wife had planned. It's hatd work but someone has to do it.  Plenty of ttains about as well and a couple of lines in the book.  After tea, Beth and I thoroughly  enjoyed wstching the Lionesses thump Sweden at kickball.  What a pleasure tobwstch, no diving or feigning i jury and a fabulously cheeky goal no 3.

 

I was up and about early this am as I had to take some x rays to the dentist.  Shevis difficult to get hold of on the phone as they don't employ receptionist/ dental nurses.  Howe my cunning plan was to bevoutide the surgey when dhevopened up.  The plan worked.

 

Since then the lower big weed patch has been cut. At this time of the yearconly the dandelions grow, the grass is more sensible.

 

Coffee and fruit brioche time now.

 

Jamie

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Had a bit of Arthur Itis and Si Attica this morning but they soon went but Nurofen has been deployed in case they want to have a comeback.

5 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

@monkeysarefun made a very interesting post about what awaits a trained nurse in Australia versus the UK. What I find appalling about this is that the average salary for a UK nurse is merely a fraction over £25,000, whereas some NHS trusts are advertising for “non-jobs” such as “diversity awareness officers“ (or similar) at salaries starting in the mid 30s. Whatever your views on the NHS, there is something seriously wrong when a “non-job“ gets paid more than a patient-facing role.

Thats been going on for years now. About 25-30 years ago the local hospital had achieved a (well deserved) reputation for bad service. A local newspaper ran an opinion poll on the hospital but the hospital employed a full time press officer on a large salary who promptly went around asking people to give the hospital a good report. As one local councillor said they want medical doctors not spin doctors. Fortunately the local paper got wind of what was going on.

 

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, big jim said:

when I quickly scanned this in my  ‘new posts’ list I read it a freaky willies! 

18 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Add a suitable soundtrack and narration and voilà: instant fame or instant notoriety…

Trust me Jim, there will be a Channel 4 program called “freaky willies“ – sooner or later!

I thought that was the alternative title for Naked Attraction.

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Sunny earlier but dark clouds have appeared and showers are expected.  I expected them yesterday after I'd washed the car but they didn't happen.  Bound to today.

Late on parade today and problems with upper part of the undercarriage in The Hip department.  Went for a walk to Asda to try to loosen up but made it worse.  It's only about an 8 minute walk but I had to stop twice on the way there and on the way back.  Ibuprofen has now been deployed.

19 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Beth and I thoroughly  enjoyed wstching the Lionesses thump Sweden at kickball.  What a pleasure tobwstch, no diving or feigning i jury and a fabulously cheeky goal no 3.

 Us too and that's a very rare event because as you have all probably realised by now I prefer to watch people play with funny shaped balls.

It's now time for that exciting event of the week,  finalising the Sainsbury online order.  I may be gone sometime as this week's list  is bigger than usual due to us having visitors on both Saturday and Sunday.

Have a good one,

Bob.

[monkeysarefun]

46 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

 toxic combination of vacuousness,  a completely unrealistic and inflated sense of self-worth and self-esteem, a monstrous sense of  entitlement and a complete and utter absence of any self awareness or self criticism. 

 

 

Theres an afternoon  show just like that on TV here pretty often, we cant turn it off fast enough.

 

  "Parliament Question Time" my ar5e, its just fat blokes shouting at each other.

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Late on parade today due to having been tasked very early on with framing 3 prints we recently bought when we were at Chatsworth House. We bought some frames from IKEA on Friday and they've been resting by the bookcase ever since. But, there's always a but, once framed I was then asked to hang them on the wall, the wall on the attic landing. Anyway, there all up and Sheila is very happy, as its freed up space that the prints and frames were taking up and they look nice were I've hung them. So a few brownie points have been earned. 

 

A bit of workshop time is now on the cards. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian 

[AndrewC]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

> Company A with very high QC standards accepts only 20% of component manufacturer X’s output. Component manufacturer X then takes the remaining 80% of the batch and goes to

 

The same applies for food and other goods. Generic or supermarket brand goods are mostly from name brand companies that sell on batches that fail SQC. (statistical quality control) This also explains why many of these generic items have greatly varying taste and consistency. This is also the difference in many other products like motor oil. If the base refined product doesn't meet spec, it goes into making a lower spec product. 

[simontaylor484]

3 hours ago, big jim said:

when I quickly scanned this in my  ‘new posts’ list I read it a freaky willies! 

Quite apt for Naked attraction me thinks

[simontaylor484]

Afternoon all 

A visit to the Garden centre this morning to look at olive trees they didn't have any. We took Pebbles the dachshund in with us she was very well behaved unlike another dog owner tgat let their dog foul and not pick it up. Pebbles couldn't be blamed for it as it was a rather large dollop (too much information sorry)

Then Asda for a drink saw my Brother and 2 of his 3 kids in there. 

Then Swmbo to the pharmacy for her weekly prescription 

This is where the fun starts it wasn't available despite being ordered in time a quick visit to the GP next door the Dr wants to talk to the trick cyclist about something to do with her meds not told her so she is now without meds for tonight.

To say I am incandescent with rage is an understatement.

I have now dropped her and Lucas at the hospital for his appointment I am parked up waiting for them.

[Tony_S]

Blood, drugs and money seem to be the list for me this afternoon. 
Blood test (routine) on Canvey Island, return to Benfleet to collect prescription, and then visit Sainsbury’s car park cash machine.

 

[TheQ]

cash Ah thanks for reminding me, I'll need a load for regatta week.. all them pints of expensive orange squash

 

 

 

 

30P..

[simontaylor484]

Tv programmes 

A while since there were a load of DIY programmes on the networks decided there were too many. These have now been replaced by too many reality(allegedly) talent and so called celebrity (has beens) shows.

All of whomever seem to have not the sort of lifestyle you want your kids to aspire to eg alcohol and substance abuse and treating people like sh1t