Early Risers.

[monkeysarefun]

37 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

He could get a trailer for them! A padded one.

Just chuck em in the back of the ute, mate 

Edited May 27, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Erichill16]

2 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Just chuck em in the back of the ute, mate 

Nice, but doesn’t  look like it’s got the ‘grunt’ of the one in the hill climbing video!

[BR60103]

I used to travel with my birth certificate -- the paper one signed by somebody who was there.  Then I found out that I was supposed to have a plastic wallet card produced by someone that hadn't even met me.

 

Our passport photos used to need signing by a "guarantor". This was a person in certain professions (engineers, medical types, accountants but not actuaries,...) who had known you for n years. We were lucky as one of our club members was an engineer. The last time I found it's no longer required -- I think the staff at Service Canada compare you to the photo. Still odd rules like no smiling and take off you glasses.

 

[TheQ]

When I came back from Saudi we'd just moved here, so I knew very few people, but I needed signature by an "approved " person. Luckily a late friend at the sailing club was a magistrate..

 

Mooring Awl,

4.5 hours sleep from as soon as my hit the pillow, plus 3 hours sleep.

 I needed that.

 

Right ankle a little annoying at present.

 

It was later revealed that clarksons Reliant had to be rigged to make it roll. It's actually very difficult to roll  a standard Robin/ Regal/ Rialto, and was especially the case with the Bond bug which was also made by  them. The reason being, the engine , gearbox and human ballast is within the triangle formed by the wheels.

 

While working on the unmentionable last night, I suffered a minor black dog, mostly on future of building the unmentionables. A proper review is needed, as I think I don't have enough time for current plans.

 

I've just taken Ben the stiff legged Collie out on patrol, it was just a plod round. On coming back in he normally gets up in SWMBO's chair. Today he looked at it, made as if to get on it. Stopped looked at me with sad face,  came over for reassurance, and a pat on the head. Then went back looked at the chair again, gave up and went to his bed..

 

Plans for today,

Fish the trailer out of its parking place.

Sort the cash boxes out with their floats.

Go to the MRC with trailer, load up and head to the hall..

 

I feel the need for a full English.

 

Time to go cook breakfast, see if I can cheer up Ben with some bacon.

 

 

[Grizz]

21 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:The insects seem to have approved of the aliums…snip

 

 

The same with our aliums….except every time I tried to take the photo they moved around the back.

They have been better this year than they have for years. Might be the north wind we have been having for the last month. 
Honey bees seem particularly fond of these and their nest is less than 50 yards away. 
 

 

 

 

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

I am umpiring on my own today (anyone fancy becoming an umpire? Good teas and expenses paid?) If the 2 teams involved play like they did last week it may not be a long game. Fingers crossed!

 

Had a good meeting about cricket matters in town. Watched the stupids bussing from town to the first pub on the "Otley Run" .. all in fancy dress.. wasn't like that when I did it many years ago.. and it was a half pint of beer to be drunk in every pub visited.

 

I havebused the Government Gateway for yonks now.. very handy. I have also just started to use the NHS equivalent.. I think this covers all of Leeds.  That is a welcome change! It served me well yesterday as my x ray referral is shown as "pending" ie the Marie Celeste admin have it from the joint doctor but haven't passed it on..  yet.

 

Time to.. drink my tea, sort out my overs card for today, make a bacon sarnie for breakfast and get on with the day!

 

Stay safe!

 

Baz

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Surely that cannot be right!  Hang on while I look it up.

...

Actually I just looked it up and it is.

 

That would not work in any country that has comedians or people with a certain sense of humour living  in it because they'd be thinking up novelty laws left right and centre that would easily find 100,000 Prank Enthusiasts to sign up for  - Bring back The Blue Smartie! etc

There is enough bureaucratic procedure that I've not seen anyone committed enough to file a ballot initiative for a lark. Ultimately any law so enacted has to be well enough written to survive legal challenges such that it does not contradict state or federal constitutions.

 

There are examples of political satirists running for elected office (officially filed but not in a very serious way) and setting up political action committees (which funnel money to campaign for a political candidate) - as a way of illustrating the arcana of such things for satirical intent. If I'm not mistaken they won a Peabody Award for it.

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[iL Dottore]

@Coombe Barton repeated tales of woe/frustration/annoyance/despair vis-a-vis his students made me recall an amusing interlude from my US student years. Me and a friend (both “pre-med” - as it was called then) had to take a basic class in a mandatory subject unrelated to our main degree (the university where I studied did that: if you were studying engineering or chemistry or whatever you’d also have to take some basic non-core subjects unrelated to your major - such as poetry - presumably to better round out your education).

 

Anyway, as this course was mandatory* for a lot of students who had absolutely no interest in the topic, the majority just turned up to do the minimum to get through. On the other hand, Joe and I decided that we would approach the course with the same demanding, competitive, academic rigour as we devoted to our core curriculum - which we then did. Come the first exam - Joe got 100% and I got 98% of correct answers (I had an off day 😀), whereas of the rest of the class, only one scored more than 60% (the passing grade). This was an unpleasant surprise for the slackers - who had expected to have been graded “on the curve” (that is the highest score - whether 80% or 40% - becomes the de-facto 100% against which the rest of the grades are assigned). Joe and I soon put paid to their idea of doing naff-all for a passing grade.

 

To be honest, Joe and I were never sure whether or not the prof was pleased or annoyed by our super competitiveness. Our classmates were initially a bit p1ssed-off, but a few did - to put it crudely - “get off their a***s and got their brain in gear” and found, to their amazement, they actually enjoyed engaging with the topic, One or two scoring respectably high grades on the final exam (and there were also a few, I fear, that regretted not taking the “basket weaving” option).

* if I recall correctly, all the professors had to give an basic course in their specialised area and most profs hated these “XXXX for dummies” courses

[Tony_S]

15 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

and a friend (both “pre-med” - as it was called then) had to take a basic class in a mandatory subject

Matthew did a year of overseas study at the University of Calgary. There was a compulsory course on Canadian history, culture etc. Matthew got 99/100, most students got about 50. What really amused Matthew was that Aditi asked what did you get wrong, rather than “well done”. 

[pH]

19 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

You p1ss off enough Swiss, the next thing you know the necessary number of signatures will be collected, and then you’ll be looking at the wrong end (or the sharp end) of a legally binding referendum.

 

9 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Surely that cannot be right!  Hang on while I look it up.

Actually I just looked it up and it is.

 

That would not work in any country that has comedians or people with a certain sense of humour living  in it because they'd be thinking up novelty laws left right and centre that would easily find 100,000 Prank Enthusiasts to sign up for …

That system was proposed by a Canadian party leader named Stockwell Day. The proposed number of signatures required was 350,000.

 

Here’s the result:

https://youtu.be/CdXjUCX6ONw

 

[Gwiwer]

15 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

the university where I studied did that: if you were studying engineering or chemistry or whatever you’d also have to take some basic non-core subjects unrelated to your major - such as poetry

Likewise. I was required to include a “General Studies” module unrelated to my core subject areas. Those being geology-with-geography so I opted for the module called “Practical Television”.
 

Using the facilities and resources of the university’s own studio to learn various techniques including presentation, filming, production and post-production. 

 

I still find it ironic that after three years of very intensive study (and which is now offered as a four year course) my highest grades were the A- for both Practical Television and what amounted to my dissertation namely six weeks Field Mapping in a Scottish mountain bog together with the full report into the geology of the region as I interpreted it. 
 

My television module included making a short “on location” report for which I chose to discuss the inner-city housing crisis. The opening shot was a fade-from-grey with title text filmed from a car window emerging into the daylight of the East End from the Rotherhithe Tunnel. At the time you were faced with a wall of derelict slum housing. Perfect. The course assessors loved it too. 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Just a quick hello as I'm off to Billericay shortly. 

[DaveF]

A somewhat late start today as I was awake in the night.  I've had breakfast, just about caught up here, put photos on flickr.

 

What comes next? - to be honest no idea yet.  I'll probably look at some photos, may go for a walk or do a bit of shopping or I could do nothing - which seems very attractive.

 

It's a lovely warm sunny morning, so it may involve being outdoors for a while.

 

David

[Gwiwer]

And a warm good morning from the Hill of Strawberries where there is a big golden shiny thing hanging in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't*.  I'm sure it will warm up later but for now there is still a bit of a chill outside.  

 

I am told my driving skills are required later in order to relocate a couple of dozen geraniums (gerania?) from the G***** C**** to the village planter.  I expect that will also involve me in fetching and carrying the watering can and in getting my hands dirty in the planting process.  

 

Muddling is required.  Tripe-writing at the computer is required.  Domestic Engineering is required.  We have guests coming tomorrow so the place needs to be at least presentable and as free from airborne cat-dander as we can get it.  

 

But for now it is time to throw the Gwiwer in the shower.  If someone then throws the soap in I shall emerge very quickly! 

 

* after the late Douglas Adams

Edited May 27, 2023 by Gwiwer

[Tony_S]

7 minutes ago, DaveF said:

What comes next?

For us, it will be trip round the NE quarter of the M25. Usually on days when we attend family events in Enfield, by the time we leave home, Aditi has been busy making desserts and chopping fruit to take over. We together did all that yesterday so hopefully todays departure will be more relaxed. I hope the day is. Nephew from Sussex will be there too allegedly with new romantic friend. BiL was being anxious that our MiL will make inappropriate comments. Possibly straight into questions about how many children do you want?

Our other nephew will be there.  He is over from Zurich for a while to have meetings in London with a manager from the US. He was originally planning to be in the US this week on holiday while his partner who works for a Swiss  university was also in Washington DC! 
Tony
 

[Hroth]

Just had a chappie phoning me from a sub-continental call centre regarding my "Microsoft Computer".

 

"Good Afternoon!" quoth he.

 

Their clocks must be mis-set, it was barely 11:55...

 

Told him not to be silly and hung up.

 

[iL Dottore]

Oh Bu99er. 
 

Just back from the vet. Lucy is still not eating well and is still loosing weight. A quick once over by the Vet resulted in Lucy being booked in for another ultrasound to see what is going on with the poorly defined mass in Lucy’s spleen detected on the ultrasound a few weeks ago.

 

Given the diagnostic possibilities of what the ultrasound will reveal, tomorrow - whilst I still can be objective - I will draw up  treatment pathway/decision tree for Lucy (basically “if X do A, if Y do B”). This I’ll agree upon with Mrs iD and get a reality check from one of our dog-loving medical friends. 
 

As Churchill said “hope for the best, prepare for the worst”

[jjb1970]

I am still suffering from keyboard fatigue, typing away all day putting me off doing even more when at home. Hopefully my IMO meeting briefs will be completed next week. I'm off to Bangkok on Monday for a working group meeting, I'll take the camera but I fear I'll be lucky to escape for any down time.

[DaveF]

In the end I went into town this morning and had a walk around the shops as there was something I needed.  As usual it was easy to park at the roadside, there were very few people about and most of them were around my age.  Once again a couple of cheap books jumped into my hand, after that I had a look round the charity shops and others.  I bought the birthday cards I needed.  It is a far cry from the busy shops and market of around 40 years ago.

 

I had a look at the Quayside and the park, which was very busy so didn't stop.  I did visit another small shop near the park, I've been meaning to go in for some time.  It turns out that it is owned by one of the organists at church. There must have been about a score of lovely old clocks, most of which chimed, though two had cuckoos.  I resisted temptation but did buy two small mug mats based on illustrations from Alice in Wonderland, though I am not sure about the accuracy of the quotes.

 

Back home it was time for a late coffee while I looked at my old photos as usual.  After lunch I went in the garden and made space for the rest of the new plants  and got them planted, I also moved one climbing rose which has never grown much to a new location.  I think it was too close to another rose so I've moved it to where there has never been a rose before.

 

I got that done just before Casablanca started so watched it yet again, it is still enjoyable.  Since then I've done things in the greenhouse, watered things and will now get tea and then settle down for the evening.

 

David

Edited May 27, 2023 by DaveF

[Coombe Barton]

... This afternoon sorting out the caravan. Just where I’m going to put the stuff I’m taking out I don’t know. Time for a complete review of what I carry as the new one’s smaller. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/05/27/down-a-bit-regional-changes/

[New Haven Neil]

Apols for absence - pre-TT Classic racing.

 

Puppers....look away from your bank account now, two MV's.....

 

[polybear]

18 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Round here they “consult” with messages that are basically “expect bangs on …”

 

A Certain Bear was once involved with a "bang" that was soooooo loud it required going to The Big House beforehand to get permission to do the job.

 

Bear here....

No danglin' today.  

BG

[Hroth]

47 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

... This afternoon sorting out the caravan. Just where I’m going to put the stuff I’m taking out I don’t know. Time for a complete review of what I carry as the new one’s smaller. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/05/27/down-a-bit-regional-changes/

 

An entrancing bit of Handel!

 

[polybear]

9 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

@Coombe Barton repeated tales of woe/frustration/annoyance/despair vis-a-vis his students made me recall an amusing interlude from my US student years. Me and a friend (both “pre-med” - as it was called then) had to take a basic class in a mandatory subject unrelated to our main degree (the university where I studied did that: if you were studying engineering or chemistry or whatever you’d also have to take some basic non-core subjects unrelated to your major - such as poetry - presumably to better round out your education).

 

 

Call Bear cynical but it sounds like the Uni were out to pad out the unpopular courses with students in order to make them viable.

Let's face it, just how many Careers are out there where the likes of Poetry are required, and (b) for the few that may exist then do the salaries they offer make all the work/student debt etc. worthwhile?

 

9 hours ago, pH said:

That system was proposed by a Canadian party leader named Stockwell Day. The proposed number of signatures required was 350,000.

 

Here’s the result:

https://youtu.be/CdXjUCX6ONw

 

 

In the UK I think anyone can propose something (e.g. free LDC every day for life) and if it gets 100,000 signatures within a certain timescale then it has to be discussed in The Big House**

(** Usually on one of those days where you see about 8 people in The Commons, 5 of whom are asleep.)

 

7 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Nephew from Sussex will be there too allegedly with new romantic friend. BiL was being anxious that our MiL will make inappropriate comments. Possibly straight into questions about how many children do you want?

 

A Guy I knew at work invited new G.F home for Tea with Mummy n' Daddy - best China, wearing their Sunday Best etc. etc.

The Cat strolls in, does an about turn in front of the Aspidistra in the corner, lifts his tails and then shat in the flowerpot whilst all looked on in total silence.  Mummy was mortified, by all accounts.

[Coombe Barton]

48 minutes ago, Hroth said:

An entrancing bit of Handel!

 

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