Early Risers.

[simontaylor484]

I bought a couple of books from the US via Amazon on Frank Lloyd Wright as I love his designs and also a book on Vaseline Glass which is glassware made with uranium added and looks the colour of petroleum jelly. Uranium glass also comes in green it glows under uv light.

I had to order the book from the US as I couldn't get it for a reasonable price here and much of it is about production at Bagleys glass at Knottingley.

 

I didn't pay a lot in postage either really to.say they had come from Chicago and there wasn't any import duty they were posted USPS final delivery by our usual friendly Postie Andy

[pH]

1 hour ago, J. S. Bach said:

66? OK, here you go, "Get your kicks on route ...":

Yes,  but that’s SC66, not US66.

 

”Well it runs from Whitmire to Jo-Ann-A,

More than seventeen point six miles all the way”

 

doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

Edited February 4, 2021 by pH

[J. S. Bach]

57 minutes ago, pH said:

Yes,  but that’s SC66, not US66.

”Well it runs from Whitmire to Jo-Ann-A,

More than seventeen point six miles all the way”

doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

Ah, but SC-66 still exists! US-66 is gone and, in my hot-so-humble opinion, only became famous due to a rotten tv show.

 

Edit: There is also an Interstate 66 running west out of DC.

Edited February 4, 2021 by J. S. Bach

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[pH]

2 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Ah, but SC-66 still exists! US-66 is gone and, in my hot-so-humble opinion, only became famous due to a rotten tv show.

 

Maybe not as it did, but there are long stretches of road marked as “Historic Route 66”, a lot of them parallel to I-40, which replaced US-66 as the long-distance road. Having driven quite a bit of it in New Mexico and Arizona, I did find it interesting, certainly more interesting than driving the interstate.
 

2 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Edit: There is also an Interstate 66 running west out of DC.

I did not know that!

[TheQ]

Frank Lloyd Wright, the master of leaky roof design...

[iL Dottore]

15 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

...Condolences Neil on the death of his MIL.  It always make me wonder when so many of us seem to end up with very nice MILs just where all the jokes used to come from. or were we the exceptions that proved the rule?...

Firstly, my condolences to Neil (Black Rat).  When you are lucky enough to end up with an “acquired relative“ who is really top-notch, then it is a blow to lose them. My MiL wasn’t too bad (although an absolutely appalling cook) and we got on quite well (unlike the BiL who I consider a slimy, underhand, untrustworthy, selfish little weasel. [And Mrs iD isn’t fond of him either]).

As to The Stationmaster’s second point, I suppose the mother in law joke came about because too many women easily fitted into that stereotype. I read something quite intriguing about Les Dawson-perhaps the definitive mother in law joke raconteur - when his mother-in-law died, for many years afterwards he refused to tell mother-in-law jokes, for despite all the joking Les really had a great relationship  with his MiL.

 

Some of his classic mother-in-law jokes include: 

> I just got back from a pleasure trip. I took my mother-in-law to the airport

> I can always tell when the mother in law’s coming to stay; the mice throw themselves on the traps.

> My mother-in-law has got the things most men desire . . . muscles and a moustache.

10 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

...When I was working I also dealt with pensions and there was always several copies of death certificates coming in every month and many had pneumonia as cause of death or a contributory reason...

I have a number of books about various aspects of the history of medicine and in one of the books pneumonia was described as the “old man’s friend“. Presumably because, at the time the phrase was in usage, pneumonia was the least worst way to die for an elderly person (even as recently as 30 to 40 years ago, cancer, many cardiovascular, metabolic and other diseases were basically death sentences).

 

I have very mixed feelings about the whole “clapping for XXX“ business. Especially the “clap for carers”.  On one hand, it is a way to show appreciation for the tremendous work frontline medical and nursing staff are/have been doing, but on the other hand it allows the clappers to feel smugly virtuous without actually doing anything about addressing the needs of those doing that front line work. But, to be very cynical, I suppose it is simply just too inconvenient to start up something like a daily “free parking for carers“ (or similar), that would actually benefit the people that are in the firing line. It’s much, much, more convenient, easy and visibly virtue signalling to go out onto the doorstep and clap for a few minutes and then return to the Xbox or Z-List celebrity TV programmes and do no more....

 

Forgive me for being so acerbic, but I have colleagues in the firing line who would love to have something more useful and enduring as recognition than a round of applause....

 

iD

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Yes it is the day in the week when herself gets to go to moreasons. This means I become a very early riser. Humph!

 

We didn't clap for Sir Tom as i had been busy preparing for a meeting and didnhear about it until gone 6pm (I listen the ABC Classic FM whn I am on line .. Australia news didn't mention it.

 

I have a few parcels to post today..hopefully it will stop raining to let me walk to the post office .. if not it will be a little run out for the beast.

 

Make the best of the day if you can.

 

Baz

 

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

Where did yesterday go?  I did the fodder run, bought a lot more than I put on the list and still forgot the yogurts.  It had been my intention to write the report of Tuesday night’s Zoom meeting but the ability to knuckle down to it somehow deserted me.  Clearly it must be high on the list to receive attention today.  The call to clap Captain Sir Tom was answered quite enthusiastically in my street and I read the reading matter that postie delivered.  The latest in an interminable series of flyers for takeaway pizza was tossed irreverently in the recycling bin, which I remembered to place kerbside as it is due to be emptied today.  Today I shall go to the bank to print a statement and to draw some cash for incidental expenses for the first time in months.  The preference of stores to be paid by card is fine by me except where the sum due is of a piddling nature, where the cost of processing the payment could well exceed its value.  It must be over a year since I was last in the ‘Spoons under St Pancras station.  There one is not offered the transaction receipt as a matter of course.  I insist on having one since it helps me keep track of my spending.  Why would anyone not want to do that?

 

Yesterday was an important anniversary in the world of pop music.  To be accurate, four deaths are marked – those of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in the same plane crash and of Joe Meek by his own hand in which was a shotgun belonging to Heinz Burt.  Joe was tone deaf, which is not exactly an asset if you are a record producer, but he gave us “Telstar”, which is a crowning achievement by any standard.

 

As I write this, last night, Bruce Springsteen is performing a shanty on the radio.  Infinite improbability drive is alive and well!  Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[jamie92208]

4 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Ah, but SC-66 still exists! US-66 is gone and, in my hot-so-humble opinion, only became famous due to a rotten tv show.

 

Edit: There is also an Interstate 66 running west out of DC.

I drove quite a few portions of Route 66 in California, one bit goes up Cajon pass. Only one carriageway is still in use and parts of the other a great parking spot to sit and watch trains. A bit further on, it disappears  into a Marine barracks. I wisely took the detour rather than tangling with the gaurds.

 

Anyway, good moaning to all and of course sundry.  Some plumbing investigations were done but some more parts need to be bought.  After lunch, Beth and I chopped and stacked some logs and I even managed some shed time.

 

This morning I'm an early riser as I'm off the The Danglies for a brain scan. I will report in due course wther they find one.

 

Condolences to Neil, (BR),  sorry to hear about MiL.  I got on well with mine and even the new step dragon in law is OK. Bil 1 is a different matter. 

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl Inner temple Hare,,

5 hours sleep followed by 2 hours of indeterminate dozing..

Ben the alarm Clock Collie was 5 minutes early, I told him to wait 5 minutes... 20 minutes later... so get ready for work was a bit rushed.

Ben was very happy on patrol, charging from place to place, then stopping for a good snuffle..

 

I had to start the car first of course as it was in Ice cube format, but it was drivable when Ben returned to the house..

 

Cold, frosty, No wind, mostly clear skies..

 

The first Hints of dawn this morning before driving commenced and the Dawn chorus greeted me as I got out of the car at work.. Spring will arrive soon.. After winter this weekend.. interestingly while the regional weather wombles on TV are giving dire warnings of snow for Saturday, Sunday and Monday, My favourite weather site says nothing of Snow, but three days of freezing fog.. we shall see..

 

Now talking of route 66, the A66 might be interesting this weekend, I wonder if the snow gates will be in use. I've been across there when off the road there was 4 feet of snow, and also when the rain was so torrential the car aqua planed at a steady 30mph on a straight uphill section. This is the longest period since 1979 that I've not driven on that road.. More vaccinations needed before I do..

 

Oh after our mentions of "My Pillow " the other day, the owner has followed his orange hero by getting himself banned from twatter..

 

The New system calibration is going well, except they haven't given it some of the required accessories, 1 Ohm, 1G Ohm, 10G Ohm, and a special lead.. I shall enquire of it's owner later..

 

And so 

 

Time to measure 1.9kOhm downwards..

 

 

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Dry but looks like a grey day with rain later.

Thursday = Bin Day  and Sainsbury's delivery. The latter have advised of 2 substitutions which are OKish but also 3 non available items.  One of those is ground almonds which means that I won't be making Bakewell tarts today.

 

Son Steve has been making beer with a kit we bought him for Christmas and has just tested his first effort: 

 

 

Looks pretty good to me but I'll reserve judgement until he's dropped off the promised couple of bottles.  ABV is 4.8% and he thinks I'll like it.  He's naming it "Old Ted" in honour of my Dad who used to like making beer, wine and liqueurs.  He was pretty good at it too.

 

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

 

[New Haven Neil]

Morning.  Boy oh boy is it raining!  Yellow warning well correct.

 

I made it asleep until 5am this morning, could be a record in current circumstances.  The trouble is the amount of pills required to achieve this.

 

Off at lunchtime to the Big City to discuss some machining work on the bike cylinder, it may not be a simple rebore due to the unavailability of parts.   When old Mr Honda himself was alive, he insisted that parts to keep a bike functional would always be supplied, not cosmetic parts but mechanical, however as soon as he died the accountants soon stopped that.  This bike is 45 years old and was only made for one year, parts are rocking horse poo.  What I have got may not allow the job to be done in a normal fashion but the machinist has suggested a work-around, but seriously accurate measurements are needed first, not my Mickey Mouse efforts with what measuring devices I have at home.

 

Mrs NHN was in a foul mood last night, the difficult work colleague appears to have deliberately left something Debs really needed at the place the colleague was working in during lockdown here, despite having being asked specifically to bring it back to base - even to the point when someone else still there was asked to mention it to them to ensure they brought it back, but they didn't put it in the box that was returned.  The back-flip though, is it may be a data breach if she left it somewhere she shouldn't have, which Debs will enjoy reporting!  8th March can't come soon enough.

[jonny777]

Dry and bright here in North Somerset, but the beast from the east is getting ever closer. 

 

Likely to hit the UK on Saturday night. Expect supermarket shelves to empty rapidly when the news hits the panic buyers at large. 

 

The forecast for N Somerset has air temperatures falling below freezing on Saturday night, and not rising above zero until at least the following Friday (12th). The rest of the UK is expected to be similar, if not worse. 

[Barry O]

according to her indoors fruit and veg is already in very short supply in Moreasons Kirkstall due to "weather problems in Spain".. and no big bottles of Flash in B&M  either...

 

Baz

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Quite foggy about an hour ago when I looked out this morning, BIN day today and I think the lesser spotted glass and bottle wagon is due but no sound of it yet. The other bin wagons, land fill, garden waste and recycling are also late. Another Zoom meeting tonight, only a talk by one of the members but its great to talk to friends afterwards. Not doing any shopping today, staying indoors in the warm. Thats it for now, be back later.

[Andrew P]

Well a short walk was had. I had been seizing up a bit due to frosty or raining mornings, but today was at least dry, no frost just very damp in the atmosphere. 

I feel better for it, and really looking forward to the summer when I can do the longer walk through the woods and around a bigger circuit.

New Glasses tomorrow.

Jab on Saturday.

Paper and milk on Sunday.

At least they are all legitimate excuses to leave home.

 

Have a good day one and all, stay safe and keep well.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Here in England’s northwest, there is large round solar object that hangs in the sky and it doth shineth and the skies are blue, with a few patches of white fluffy stuff. It’s a cool start to the day, 5C at the moment, but as I’m spending most of it in the cellar it doesn’t really make much difference. 

 

Work on the 2 old chairs will continue today, hopefully I’ll get them both stripped and ready to paint, but we’ll just have to see how it goes. Other than that there is nothing else happening here, so I shall take my leave. 

 

Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later. 

 

Brian

[tigerburnie]

Morning one and all, another grotty day weather wise, cold wet and windy, no plans to go far today, seems we should hear when we get our first jab this week, no news yet though.

[Simon G]

Morning all,

Raining here again, as it is with NHN, and showing no sign of stopping.  I don’t think we will be going far today (just for a change!!!).  Nothing else to report!

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from Sidcup where there is some grey cloud but it appears to be dry. Rain is forecast later. Snow is forecast for next week but I won't believe it until I see it.

 

Our street managed a reasonable turnout for Captain Sir Tom. I thought I heard a few fireworks. Where do people get them from at such sort notice?

 

There was a panic this morning when Mrs Lurker set the laptop that Younger Lurker uses for schoolwork on an update. It got stuck on 23% and time before school start was running out. Fortunately we have more than one laptop so the day was saved. The update took another hour.

 

In culinary news I have  run out of dried chipotle chillies but have order some online. They are an ingredient in the Mexican chilli chicken that seems to be a family favourite.

 

Picking up on Chrisf's comments, cashless is very convenient, but the only place I insist on a receipt is the pub - too easy to get carried away and lose track of what I am spending there....!

 

Now however my card is due to expire at the end of the month and Natwest have not sent the replacement yet. Inconvenient because things like Ocado slots are best booked 4 weeks in advance and we cannot at the moment because mine is the card that pays for it all!

 

Have a good day all

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It was foggy earlier, probably just misty now. I can’t see Canvey Island.Perhaps when I drive there late for my blood test it will be clear. When we went to the pharmacy yesterday We went via a garage with pay at pump facilities using a phone app. This time it worked. I think the last time I filled up with petrol for my car was in February last year. We filled the Fiesta petrol tank in the summer. Aditi remarked we have enough fuel for a couple of years now. 
Our weekly food delivery is coming later this morning. One substitution , no Gruyere so Comte instead. One item completely unavailable, almond and mixed fruit snack mix. I think we may survive these changes. 

Tony

 

[New Haven Neil]

This says it all really.....Fraggle Rock not visible through the rain clouds!

 

[BoD]

1 hour ago, jonny777 said:

Dry and bright here in North Somerset, but the beast from the east is getting ever closer. 

 

Likely to hit the UK on Saturday night. Expect supermarket shelves to empty rapidly when the news hits the panic buyers at large. 

 

The forecast for N Somerset has air temperatures falling below freezing on Saturday night, and not rising above zero until at least the following Friday (12th). The rest of the UK is expected to be similar, if not worse. 

Looking at various webcams it would appear the the Scottish Ski resorts have the best snow they have had for for a few years now and are expecting much more.  After a few lean years it is a much needed boost.

 

Just a pity that no one is allowed to make use of it.

[Andrew P]

Good jobbie I got me walk in earlier, its now raining, so the POD / Pit of Doom is the best retreat for this morning.

No Mod...... but a bit of Pen and Ink Art for this morning.

Just chilling out today.

Edited February 4, 2021 by Andrew P