Early Risers.

[DaveF]

Now about yesterday.

 

It was just a normal Sunday with the usual telephone calls, including the one to a friend who had been two funerals of his wife's relatives in the same week.  There were also the e mails I do every week.

 

Most of the rest of the day was spent making a start on sorting out the spare room, I can now get at my photo catalogues more easily which is much better.

 

Then it was evening with a book and TV - but I gave up on "Twelfth Night" on BBC4 - I just don't really like Skakespeare with a modern set and semi modern costumes.  Of all Shakespeare's plays it is the one I like least - probably because it was the "set play" when I did my O level English Literature exam in 1965.  I can still recite bits of it.

 

David

 

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by DaveF
To improve grammar.

[Winslow Boy]

45 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Just over 7 years since we bought the house and we'll have lived here for 5 years in June.  Time flies.

 

Jamie

 

Been enjoying yourself too much. That's what it is Jamie. 

[Winslow Boy]

4 hours ago, The Lurker said:

As far as I can tell, our surgery enforces this by not actually having any appointments most of the time!

 

What's a surgery?

[iL Dottore]

28 minutes ago, DaveF said:

but I gave up on "Twelfth Night" on BBC4 - I just don't really like Skakespeare with a modern set and semi modern costumes.  Of all Shakespeare's plays it is the one I like least - probably because it was the "set play" when I did my O level English Literature exam in 1965.  I can still recite bits of it.

I most definitely agree with the first point, but not the second - mainly because Sir Toby Belch from 12th Night is one of the most fun characters to play (as an actor).

The last time I played Sir Toby, I played him as a self-indulgent, trouble making, lecherous, drunk. Great Fun!

 

Playing villains is so, so much fun and so (theatrically) satisfying . Apart from Sir Toby Belch other fun roles I’ve played were that of a sadistic secret policeman and that of a perverted murderer.

 

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, DaveF said:

gave up on "Twelfth Night" on BBC4

I have only seen one version of Twelfth night and that the version with Tamsin Greig as Malvolio. I liked it. I had read it at school, we had these awful lessons where we had people reading out the lines from classic plays or books, with breaks for the teacher to explain what was meant. Only the cleverest boys went to to take Eng Lit O level. I was quite relieved not to be included. 

[polybear]

53 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I most definitely agree with the first point, but not the second - mainly because Sir Toby Belch from 12th Night is one of the most fun characters to play (as an actor).

The last time I played Sir Toby, I played him as a self-indulgent, trouble making, lecherous, drunk. Great Fun!

 

 

No great acting skills required then? 🤣

[iL Dottore]

7 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

No great acting skills required then? 🤣

Nope. Just channeling my inner Poly Bear

[polybear]

Bear here.....

Nottalotmore plumbing done - s'pose I could've started messing around draining the system and making changes to the pipework, but those sort of bvggerin' around jobs I like to start at the beginning of the day cos' in my experience something causes anguish sooner or later.

 

So instead I phoned EDF and asked them to change my Direct Debit to "D.D. Whole Amount" - so every month they'll ask for meter readings (cos' their effin' Smart Very Unsmart Meters don't send data 🤬🤬 ) and bill me the total amount owed; by doing this I get a Bill every month and not twice a year as they're doing at the moment 🤬🤬.

I know one thing for sure - I could never do the job of the very helpful Call Centre Lady; how on earth they do that job without losing the will to live I'll never know - all the Bullsh1t terms, rules and conditions they have to read out would make this Bear explode.

Anyway, she's apparently going to arrange for an Engineer to visit to check the (new) Meters that have never worked since Day One.  I'll not hold my breath.

 

Oh yes, and as a final parting shot I asked how much I was in credit by (their website doesn't show that).  HOW MUCH???  Seems they have a tad under NINE HUNDRED QUID of a certain Bear's money sitting in their Bank Account 🤬🤬  Well just as soon as the first/next bill comes in I'll be onto them for a refund.....

 

Just to clarify, there may be a Rant (several, actually) in the above.

Edited January 9, 2023 by polybear

[polybear]

10 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Nope. Just channeling my inner Poly Bear

 

Can't be.  Bear doesn't drink....

[Erichill16]

Just helping elder nephew with homework.

Makes Kevin ( from Kevin and Perry of the FastShow) look engaging and articulate.
 

[TheQ]

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the caldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt and toe of frog,

Wool of bat and tongue of dog,

Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,

Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

 

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Cool it with a baboon's blood,

Then the charm is firm and good.

 

Yes I copied it, it's easier than typing it out, but I think you can guess which play we did.. Since the school I was at was less than a mile from the real Macbeth's Castle and 14 miles from the Castle Shakespeare positioned Macbeth at Cawdor Castle  it was a given we'd have to do that one.

 

We have a problem, with the car not being used much, and the heavy rain causing humidity. The Speedo was steamed up, and more unfortunately the hand brake stuck. They came off with a bit of engine drive. For the moment when the car is parked at home the hand brake will be left off and the engine in gear.

 

Afternoon Awl,

Much discussions, another display cupboard has been selected for the hallway, it's smaller in width. Giving enough room to build another shelf unit to match those already in place, so it will be bookshelf unit, a ornament area, that allows the heat to escape from the back of the chimney stack, then another bookshelf unit.

So after a trip to a big shed to get flooring, evostick and multi surface primer. It was old display unit out, lift carpet , liner,  gripper rods and place replacement unit back in. 

Various measurements were taken to build shelving units, and a box to raise the display unit up.

 

The old carpet has been cut into more floor mats.

 

 

 

 

 

[iL Dottore]

5 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Can't be.  Bear doesn't drink....

I am reliably told that too much LDC (especially cut price “to go” LDC that has started to ferment) has the same intoxicating effect as ETOH

[New Haven Neil]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Do they still write to you and email you?  I think we have finally managed to stop them sending stuff trying to get Matthew to pay them some money. 

 

No not now, but they did for some time, also trying to get me to update my Continuing Professional Development.  I can manage without the monthly 'People Management' magazine which only had a half page per issue of interesting case law, the rest was companies self promoting services disguised as 'articles of interest'. It was once parodied on Have I Got News, when Angus Deayton admitted he took it from his brother who was a Personnel Officer.

[New Haven Neil]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

a sadistic secret policeman and that of a perverted murderer.

 

 

Worrying, in a Doctor.....

[New Haven Neil]

21 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and caldron bubble.

 

Friend Jayne has a T shirt that reads similar, but:

 

Hubble Bubble

Toil and Trouble

This Girl's trouble!

 

Her surname.....is Hubble!

[zarniwhoop]

I've received post today! Christmas cards, several magazines from December, various other things. For the past month I've received a maximum of one item of post per week (3 items all told). I guess this means one of the main offices, probably Gatwick area, is sorting through their backlog.

[polybear]

26 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I am reliably told that too much LDC (especially cut price “to go” LDC that has started to ferment) has the same intoxicating effect as ETOH

 

It's rarely around long enough to start fermenting.....

 

3 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Friend Jayne has a T shirt that reads similar, but:

 

Hubble Bubble

Toil and Trouble

This Girl's trouble!

 

Her surname.....is Hubble!

 

Bear knows it as "Hubble Bubble Toilet Trouble"; no idea if there are any more words to the rhyme though.

[Ian Abel]

Monday...

Successful weekend overall.

 

Friday, Zoom with friends now winter-relocated to Arizona, planned our trip there for the end of January, a week in a warmer climate (at least temperature wise!)

 

Saturday, enjoyable dinner/movie night with neighbors, very excellent Indian take-out obtained, and plenty of wine consumed.

 

Sunday, Brendan dropped Whitney off, both he and Jemma now out on trips. A few to-do items handled, then late afternoon and evening spent at the Mrs sisters' birthday gathering, Actually for both her AND her hubby, my BIL. Just family and a very nice get together.

 

Working today, quiet so far.

 

Weather all weekend has been sunny but cold, -14c first thing, expected to make 0c if we're lucky!

 

Onward...

[BoD]

2 hours ago, DaveF said:

I can still recite bits of it.

 

 

If music be the food of love etc.

That was ours for 'O' level too,

 

Along with Kim

 

Do you like Kipling?

I don't know I've never Kippled before.

 

... and Chaucer's Prologue.

 

I'm not even going to attempt to quote that.

[The Lurker]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

No not now, but they did for some time, also trying to get me to update my Continuing Professional Development.  I can manage without the monthly 'People Management' magazine which only had a half page per issue of interesting case law, the rest was companies self promoting services disguised as 'articles of interest'. It was once parodied on Have I Got News, when Angus Deayton admitted he took it from his brother who was a Personnel Officer.

I can confirm this last piece to be very true. He interviewed me when I applied to join my current place of work. I still remember him asking me whether I thought working in a place where people came from all over the world would cause me any issues!

 

When I joined, it was just before the start of a new season of Have I got News For You, and he had tickets for the show. Unfortunately for him, it was the show where Angus was ripped to shreds...!

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Bear knows it as "Hubble Bubble Toilet Trouble"

In which case I do NOT want the fire to burn nor the cauldron to bubble!!!!! 

[Erichill16]

WTF!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64210427

[The Lurker]

Filthy lucre indeed!

[Coombe Barton]

... marking, that foolproof cure for insomnia in academics ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/01/09/plough-monday-the-start-of-the-agricultural-year/

[PupCam]

8 hours ago, BSW01 said:

Was it SMER by any chance? 

 

Absolutely no idea this far on ....

 

3 hours ago, polybear said:

Oh yes, and as a final parting shot I asked how much I was in credit by (their website doesn't show that).  HOW MUCH???  Seems they have a tad under NINE HUNDRED QUID of a certain Bear's money sitting in their Bank Account 🤬🤬  Well just as soon as the first/next bill comes in I'll be onto them for a refund.....

 

I was going to do that after I'd given the latest meter readings the other day.    Then I got the revised bill .........

 

I know they've been going on for sometime warning of steep price rises but FLAMING NORA!      We are now on two woolly jumpers each and heating not going on until the evenings!     Thank goodness it's mild allegedly although it feels rather nippy to me even if there isn't snow on the ground. My son told me of his daily gas bill as indicated by his Smart meter and bearing in mind that our house is older, has more external walls and is nowhere near as well insulated the exorbitant cost is probably on a pro-rata par with his.🤬

 

Advice to @polybear:  Make sure you are sitting down when you read the next bill and I'd have the Resus Unit number on Speed-dial if I were you.

 

In Other News

 

Puppers decided he wanted to move the telescope "clock" drive (that drives a correctly aligned telescope so that it tracks what ever star it is pointing at) control box to somewhere he could  operate the 4 control buttons whilst  looking in the eyepiece.       So the box was removed and disassembled so that some sort of mounting plate could be made and fitted.   While looking at the electronic innards I started thinking of a Plan B.   Wouldn't it be better to leave the box close to the motor that it drives and have a handy little remote control that would "Press the buttons" when operated?  

 

I had a rummage through my usefully electronics box and came across a pair of very dinky, 4 digital channel,  Tx & Rx remote control modules I'd bought sometime ago from Amazon for some long-since still born project.     A quick Google found the necessary technical info and so the two were set up on a breadboard and a Noddy arduino program cobbled together to monitor and display the state of the Rx's 4 output lines (which will effectively be pressing  the telescope drive controller's buttons).    A flying earth lead took the place of four push buttons to connect to the Tx modules 4 input lines and after a few goes at trying to pair/configure the two the Arduino display sat happily displaying ones and zeros to reflect which input the flying lead happened to be resting on at the time.     

 

 

Transmitter on the left, receiver on the right.     Give them 5V, add 4 push buttons to the Tx and maybe 4 transistor drivers to the Rx and Bob is indeed your Mother's brother!

 

I have to say this is a great age for electronic "Lego" bricks!

 

TTFNQ

 

Alan

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by PupCam
Added photo