Early Risers.

[pH]

7 hours ago, DaveF said:

Can you access your test etc results on line? I looked at the results from something I had checked last Friday this afternoon.

Here, results of most lab tests are available online the next day.

[iL Dottore]

12 hours ago, PupCam said:

I would suggest there's a mighty fine line somewhere between getting really excellent but expensive nosh from those that really can and do  and just expensive nosh with people being taken for a ride because they have more money than sense.    The trick of course is to stay on the right side of that line wherever it may be.

The perfect example of a restaurant on the wrong side of the line is Salt Bae’s London restaurant: the Nusr-Et Steakhouse - where a gold covered Tomahawk Steak will cost you £1450  (plus ungodly amounts for sides and drinks). Apparently, the restaurant made £7 million in sales in the first three months after opening. Yet the well respected and knowledgeable Observer food critic, Jay Rayner, thought the restaurant “ludicrous” and TripAdvisor, usually not the most reliable of guides, has the majority of the reviews (well over 60%) as terrible.

 

The thing is, and something ERs should take note of, restaurants like the Nusr-Et Steakhouse are not about the food - it’s all about being seen and showing off. You certainly won’t see many real foodies in such places (the food is generally between mediocre to just adequate*), but plenty of “celebrities” and (god help us) “influencers”.

 

Some of those “celebrities” and  “influencers” parading themselves at such places I wouldn’t trust to make a plate of beanz on toast - such is their limited culinary and gastronomic knowledge.

 

*Jay Rayner has reviewed a number of such restaurants and that’s pretty much his overall verdict.

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from another part of the continent.  We are apparently going to have a day without rain.  No major tasks have yet been arranged.  I might even go train watching this afternoon.  

 

Jamie

[NGT6 1315]

Good moaning awl.

 

Wet and autumnal outside and, to match, I'm feeling a cold coming and will be staying at home today. I'm hearing the HR department was essentially unstaffed yesterday due to COVID, which is making a resurgence here.

I don't blame people for wanting as much normality as possible after the pandemic, but I do think it'd be wise to remember some of the lessons from that time. I do see a few people wearing masks again, though for acceptance, I still don't believe we're even nearly where Japan is, for example.

 

Stay safe...

[jjb1970]

I think all interests and passions attract an element who see it as an opportunity for ostentatious displays and flaunt wealth, whether that be gastronomy, wine, sports, art etc. and which can attract a negative taint which leads to inverse snobbery and unfair criticism. I'm an audio enthusiast and the element of that hobby spending thousands on cables, power chords, equipment racks etc does include people who have convinced themselves it makes a difference to sound quality (rightly or wrongly. I think they're mad but if they enjoy it then good luck to them) but it also attracts people who see it as audio jewellery and ostentation and status symbols. Over the years I've declined multiple offers to go to corporate boxes and watch football as I have zero interest in football, most of those attending probably do enjoy football but for many it's an opportunity to enjoy free hospitality and they couldn't care less yet probably have better treatment at the ground than paying fans. I have accepted opportunities to symphonic concerts and opera performances as I love classical music and it was obvious other guests would struggle to differentiate Mozart from Abba. I have no issue with anyone pursuing a passion and willing to spend heavily in pursuit of that passion. If a lard butt buys a $20k bicycle because they genuinely love bicycles then good look to them (like the audio cable thing). Indulging in a passion is different to ostentation, though the line can be fuzzy. I've eaten in expensive restaurants which weren't over priced because while the bill was crazy the quality of food and service was commensurate with the price. I've also been taken to expensive restaurants for which I'd have considered paying a tenner excessive for the food and service on offer.

Edited November 15, 2023 by jjb1970

[Barry O]

Ey up,

 

Chuckinitdarn! Pah!

 

Successful trip to see Sister Drac.. reduction in metformin dosage to be set up. That will please the Cardio consultant ( a)) of the ones I have met want rid of metformin for cardio reasons.)

 

Off to the Vounty Palatine today.. should be a great say!

 

@Tony_S you may need to apply for an annual visa for Yorkshire.. glad you enjoyed your trip up to the second best county in the world (of course the best one is.. the land of the Prince Bishops!)

 

new mattress delivered and placed on the bed frame yesterday .. within the time slot identified. Great service.

 

now for a new tumble drier ( we have only had the current one for 15 years and its.. non functioning.. Pah!).

 

Next week means new carpets being fitted, trips to Chester le Street and Blackburn on cricket matters etc.. then.. Warley from Thursday.

 

Time for my tea and to get ready for my trip!

 

Stay safe!

 

Baz

[polybear]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

The perfect example of a restaurant on the wrong side of the line is Salt Bae’s London restaurant: the Nusr-Et Steakhouse - where a gold covered Tomahawk Steak will cost you £1450  (plus ungodly amounts for sides and drinks). Apparently, the restaurant made £7 million in sales in the first three months after opening. Yet the well respected and knowledgeable Observer food critic, Jay Rayner, thought the restaurant “ludicrous” and TripAdvisor, usually not the most reliable of guides, has the majority of the reviews (well over 60%) as terrible.

 

Rated 15,354th out of 15,756 London Restaurants.  Nuff Sed.

 

18 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I'm an audio enthusiast and the element of that hobby spending thousands on cables, power chords, equipment racks etc does include people who have convinced themselves it makes a difference to sound quality (rightly or wrongly. I think they're mad but if they enjoy it then good luck to them) 

 

IIRC there was a cable manufacturer in Oz that was SOOOO p1ssed off with punters being ripped off he was giving away SCART leads for free.

Gold Plated?  Oxygen - Free Cable?  Pah.

A friend (who wasn't loaded) was convinced by some spotty oik in Currys that he'd have to spend seventy quid on a cable to hook up his new HD Recorder to the telly, otherwise the picture quality will be cr@p.  And that was probably 20 years ago.  B'sterd.  Chances are if he'd paid a quid for one off the market he wouldn't be able to spot the difference.

 

Bear here.....

Today?  Templot.  Again.....

I might even get all excitable and clear some leaves in the front garden as well.

 

BG

[grandadbob]

Good morning all, 

Dry here although the ground is still saturated after yesterday's downpours.  Clear skies and it should be a dry, bright and breezy day.  8°C now rising to 12°C.

First task today is to check The Shed roof for signs of leaks but I'm fairly confident it'll be OK.  I might try to squeeze in a bit of bodgelling as well although other things may scupper that as firstly a visit to the local garden centre is planned after breakfast.  It seems they may have C#######s stuff there that The Boss could be interested in and I usually end up buying another decoration or set of lights when we go there this time of year.

This afternoon our friendly CH engineer is coming to do the annual boiler inspection and service.  It's a bit later than usual because "somebody" forgot to book him.  (That might have been me).  He's also going to give us a quote for changing a couple of radiators and valves.

The Boss doesn't seem to be in hurry at the moment but that could change in a millisecond.

Have a good one,

Bob.

[TheQ]

The Currys scart rip off was famous. It often involved detuned TVs on the cheap scart cables to deliberately show a poor picture.

 

Mooring Awl,

5 hours sleep, 1.5 hours sleep, not too bad I suppose.

 

Ben the I want Collie still hasn't got the time shift, he had to be asked to go back to bed, which he did.

We've now been out, it's obvious we've had over night rain, things are soggy. Including the car floor,

 

SWMBO is out this morning with car, so when she returns the next stage will be inspected, that is the seal inside the door.

 

Before that another barrow load or two of drive way will be moved.

 

Also I need to send copy of the clubs show insurance to the club secretary. One of the village halls we use has a much more efficient committee running it. The secretary organises the show bookings so needs to send a copy to the hall committee for the first time.

Added to that the fees for the hall have gone up nearly 50%, partly caused by us. Our in club caterer complained about the state of the kitchen for our last show, they now have it professionally cleaned after any hall hirer has used the kitchen.

 

I'll have to do some sums later and see if our intended entrance fee is sufficient to cover the hire costs. Guessing it's going to be a close run thing..

 

Time for muggacoffee number 2 before getting started.

[Mike Bellamy]

43 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Added to that the fees for the hall have gone up nearly 50%, partly caused by us. Our in club caterer complained about the state of the kitchen for our last show, they now have it professionally cleaned after any hall hirer has used the kitchen.

 

I'll have to do some sums later and see if our intended entrance fee is sufficient to cover the hire costs. Guessing it's going to be a close run thing.

 

We use a local church hall 3 times each year for swapmeets and every time the ladies in the kitchen say they left it much cleaner than it was when they arrived. That's the problem when so many different user groups have meetings and events there. We did get a 'Thank You' from the hall secretary for taking home tea towels and returning them washed and pressed unlike many who just leave a pile of dirty and wet towels.

 

At our Community Centre exhibition last month we had 520 visitors over two days at £5 each - but only paid £450 for the hall - perhaps it helps being the Chairman of the Community Centre - and the tearooms were very busy resulting in a decent profit for the centre as their volunteers run the tearooms.

.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Bladder control was busy last night, so busy I lost count, three times at least. The last time was gone six so I decided to get up. Got to get a few things sorted for tomorrow. The quarterly SEERS committee meeting where we will be inducting some new committee members. Not one of the current committee members is under seventy so we need some new blood. 

[Hroth]

Just got an email from Mighty River saying that my order would be delivered, perhaps, by Saturday. 

 

For a moment I thought it was one of those dodgy scam emails, so I didn't immediately click on it to see what they were blethering about, but went into the River website to find that it was a book that I'd ordered a while ago, had completely forgotten about, which had finally come into stock and that they would be sending out shortly!

 

So there!

 

Update: Captain Slog 20231116.21:49

 

Got an email yesterday at 9pm saying that the book would be with me on Friday. So far, so good.

Got an email mid-day today that the book would be with me between 3pm and 5pm today.

4pm Amazon bod arrived, rang the bell and didn't run away!

Result!!!

 

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by Hroth
Gobsmacked amazement.....

[monkeysarefun]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

The perfect example of a restaurant on the wrong side of the line is Salt Bae’s London restaurant: the Nusr-Et Steakhouse - where a gold covered Tomahawk Steak will cost you £1450

 

 

Now I'm gonna call that a rip off. I've never had to pay more than $875 for a gold covered steak.

 

https://www.sydney.botswanabutchery.com.au/whats-on/botswana-gold

Edited November 15, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[PhilJ W]

7 minutes ago, Mike Bellamy said:

At our Community Centre exhibition last month we had 520 visitors over two days at £5 each - but only paid £450 for the hall - perhaps it helps being the Chairman of the Community Centre - and the tea rooms were very busy resulting in a decent profit for the centre as their volunteers run the tearooms..

Quite common now, I know of two exhibitions that I have visited since lockdown where the arrangement was that the venue provided the catering and the hall was provided free of charge. Catering is very profitable at most exhibitions and is often the difference between profit and loss. But with the rising cost of hall hire, ageing membership and tougher food hygiene regulations I can see more exhibition managers taking that route.

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, not so early riser this morning, the exhaustion is back - for us both. 

 

Mrs NHN works at home on Wetkneesdays, catching up writing up various meetings and reports as she would be interrupted all the time in the open plan office.  As a lot of it is confidential too, it's difficult as folk are always trying to get a peek at her screen to see what's going on.  Having the Head of Fleet Services' PA in an open plan office isn't really too clever.  So at least she can work at her own rate today when she's not very well, I just have to keep a low profile. 

 

I have been up in beamland again, found some HR paperwork from 'old work' I had to retain for12 years on a legal basis - as we left the UK 21 years ago I think it is time to burn it!  A lot of other 'important' rubbish too, that really there is no point in keeping.  

[DaveF]

A nice sunny but breezy morning with hardly a cloud in the sky - yet.  There should be showers later on so if I go out for a walk it will have to be soon.

 

The kitchen is now nice and clean, including the floor and various other small jobs have been done.  

 

I woke at about 01.00 feeling I was gasping for breath, I had managed to get my nose well stuck into the pillow.  I also realised that I had forgotten to take my antihistamine, taking it soon dealt with the problem and the general panic I always have  in such circumstances.  For a few moments I was certain it was the tamsulosin then sanity prevailed as I realised the effects were wrong. I went back to sleep quite quickly, woke again briefly a couple of times and then got up at 07.30.  Even yesterday's slightly sore throat has almost gone.  Apparently the side effects of tamulosin can last for several weeks before they fully settle down and it seems that they can change from day to day.  At least there is an improvement in the area it is intended to treat.

 

I'm not sure what will happen for the rest of the day, I need to look up some photos of Swiss station platforms for the next stage in the work on the layout.  Apart from that there doesn't seem to be anything urgent, yesterday's rain has once again managed to leave some water lying on the greenhouse floor so I cannot finish cleaning it.

 

David

Edited November 15, 2023 by DaveF
spelling

[iL Dottore]

After inadvertently ending up at the TickTock Influencer's Bar & Grill, @polybear is horrified at the bill and @iL Dottore is horrified by the food....

 

A quick escape was effectuated and the Bear and the Doc ended having a decent bowl of noodles at a street food stall...

 

 

Only £7.50 a head (plus another £5 for three spring rolls each)

Edited November 15, 2023 by iL Dottore

[iL Dottore]

11 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

Now I'm gonna call that a rip off. I've never had to pay more than $875 for a gold covered steak.

 

https://www.sydney.botswanabutchery.com.au/whats-on/botswana-gold

Yep, budget steakhouses are great value for money...

[tigerburnie]

11 hours ago, DaveF said:

 

That has happened to me in the past, I think my surgery does training differently now.

 

Can you access your test etc results on line? I looked at the results from something I had checked last Friday this afternoon.

 

David

We signed up for that online thingy ma bob, to be told it only applies in England, the SNP government blocked it in Scotland, I cannot think of a good reason for that.

[monkeysarefun]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

IIRC there was a cable manufacturer in Oz that was SOOOO p1ssed off with punters being ripped off he was giving away SCART leads for free.

 

 

It wasnt us, we don't have SCART. Actually I think we went through this before and me and @Ozexpatriate both decided  that SCART is an unnecessarily oversized  ridiculous looking  connection.

 

There WAS an audiophile magazine though who at the Sydney  HI-FI show about 15 years ago  did a "blind' sound test with two systems - one which used fancy-pants  Monster cables to connect the speakers, the other used wire coat hangers or something and got people to decide which was which. 

 

The end result was pretty much exactly the same as if everyone had just guessed - which they probably did.

 

Various other similar tests have been done, with similar results:

 

https://www.soundguys.com/cable-myths-reviving-the-coathanger-test-23553/

 

 

That said, I have just ordered a pair of B & W PX7 S2e headphones -  will I be able to tell the difference between them and $20 Samsung earbuds? 

 

 Probably!

Edited November 15, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Andy Hayter]

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

 

12 days without internet or phone.  (No mobile signal so we have no mobile phones.)

 

First problem, how to contact Orange to inform them of the problem when you cannot phone or send a message.  Solved through the kind help of the secretary at the town hall.

Second problem, following storm Ciaran all the technicians had been posted to the North of France.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

We’re off to go and look at kitchens!

 

Back later. 
 

Brian

[monkeysarefun]

28 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Yep, budget steakhouses are great value for money...

 

 

 

 

I'm just trying to figure out what is going on  that  my sunnies are reflecting.

 

Is the Siege Of Khartoum or The Crusades   going off in front of me and ruining  my expensive  dining experience?

[monkeysarefun]

Just something  for Captain C to be aware of if he comes down here by black helicopter.  

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/08/the-crocodiles-bellowed-at-the-sky-then-mated-like-mad-the-sex-frenzy-sparked-by-helicopters

Edited November 15, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[jjb1970]

14 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

 

 

I'm just trying to figure out what is going on  that  my sunnies are reflecting.

 

Is the Siege Of Khartoum or The Crusades   going off in front of me and ruining  my expensive  dining experience?

 

It's worse, much worse....it's a ritual meat pie desecration by angry backpackers to protest some new rules about public rooting or something. Albo has had an emergency cabinet meeting and demanded that protestors do something less controversial like burn a quran or stone Scomo to death.