Mundane News

[postman]

Just back from a short bus ride four stops.Sainsbugs and two bottles of Old Speckled Hewn low,not tried that one,and i have had a good day.Two bags litter picking and steak and chips Mrs P style for dinner,fattening me up.But not tonight dear,i am a little tired.

 

[Mike_P]

Lidl shopped by eBike this pm. Had rolls of vacuum sealer bags in. It was noticeably windy for part of the return and I knew hadn't done something before setting off but could not think what it was. The clatter of my mobile falling out of outside coat thankfully on a shared pavement cycle path rather than on a road made be realise what it was. No damage done.

 

[Gwylan]

Furthest travel today has been to the garage and back. About 20m altogether.
Camper batteries on charge and running a quality test with 50w lamp.
Watch the volt drop v time to see if they need replacing.

 

[DCLane]

Market place purchase has been collected.

One with two wheels?

 

[tyred]

Didn't do a huge amount today really. It's bitterly cold out and pretty windy.

The physioterrorist is very happy with my progress and given me more exercises to do. I can touch my toes when she couldn't do it herself! Need to go back on the 15th.

The lower grill thing on my car had come loose and was falling off. The clips seem to have broken for some reason. I couldn't get my hands in behind it without either removing the bumper or the radiator, which seemed like too much hassle. Cable ties to the rescue

 

[biggs682]

One with two wheels?

No wheels but bike related

 

[DCLane]

First ride out in two months since my hand accident before Christmas; just 13 miles up/down the greenway but mostly positive. The medic warned me that the biggest issue would be vibration from the path/road surface and they were correct. Otherwise all OK and I'll try again on the next dry and warm-ish day.

I've got the bars tilted slightly up and the shifters tilted slightly in so my right index finger can avoid most of the vibrations. That seemed to help.

 

[Jenkins]

Nearly taken out by an illegally ridden e-scooter while I was on my bike this afternoon - three possibly just about teenaged girls onboard and the 'driver' just rode straight off the footway via a dropped kerb to cross the road heading straight at me without looking HERE. Luckily (for them) no motor vehicles coming in either direction and I just about managed to brake hard miss them almost as if I was expecting something stupid to happen. Be interesting to try to work out how many offences were committed. Some robust language was aimed in their direction.

The sooner these things are just banned from sale the better and any ones currently in use are seized and crushed (after the batteries are removed and safely disposed of obviously).

 

[Jenkins]

Rant over.

Other than the above incident, it was good to get out in almost mild conditions even without sunshine for a few hours. A chunky KitKat and a strong mug of coffee were had as a recovery meal. Once I've had this evening's hot chocolate I think I may finally get round to watching the Wallace & Grommit film that was on TV on Ch****mas Day.

 

[biggs682]

Well done @DCLane just be careful

 

[Reynard]

It's been a very mild and mostly sunny day here chez Casa Reynard.

Did not sleep well as it was just far too warm in the house. Ended up yanking several throws off the bed during the night. Also, impending lady issues aren't helping matters. Ergo I had a quiet morning, doing nothing but the absolute minimum to keep things ticking over.

Lovely luncheon of toast, mortadella, abondances cheese, fruit and a

The football did not go well - was listening to it on the radio. Hey ho, another game, another shite refereeing decision. After that, put some decent clobber on and trotted off to Tesco. Yellow stickers almost a complete bust tonight. Plenty of stuff in chiller cabinet, less so in the fruit & veg, but the reductions were miserly and there was nothing worth taking from either. Good reductions in the green bins - picked up several bags of Reece's Pieces chocolate thingies reduced to 20p a bag, and likewise in the in-store bakery, where I bagged three sourdough breads, a job lot of croissants and a selection of rolls.

Soup & a bacon roll for supper - that bacon from Aldi is actually rather nice, and I'm now sat by the fire watching the final of the World Seniors darts.

 

[Reynard]

I don't think Trump is a particularly good candidate, but then I don't think a man who is senile is either & the problem with the latter is that you don't know who is really making the decisions. As for conspiracy theories, it is very clear that social media was being interfered with, the law was being used to interfere in politics and a seriously malign left wing agenda was being pushed.

This is a problem that's currently endemic in American politics - that a large number of their lawmakers are well above pensionable age and have no inclination to give up their seats despite being well past their sell-by date - both physically and politically. At least Nancy Pelosi had the good grace to step aside as Speaker when she did, whereas Mitch McConnell is currently generating as many brain farts as Joe Biden. Bernie Sanders however, is still managing to talk sense...

Social media, however, is driven by algorithms that give prominence to things it thinks you are interested in - particularly paid content. And that does include political posts and adverts etc. Although I don't actually *get* any politics posts on Facebook, simply because I choose not to engage on there. There was a very interesting study done back in the autumn (though I'm damned if I can find the link now) that looked at how US voters were being targeted by political posts on social media according to whether they stopped to read them or like them etc, and how it correlated with their actual political affiliations. But at the end of the day, the algorithms are only as good as the person that's written them, and if you understand how they operate, then you can avoid getting sucked in.

FWIW, I get a lot of recipes, car stuff and adverts for viagra on my FB feed. Absolutely *no* idea why I get the latter...

It's also quite clear that events in Ukraine are not as we have been told, that it is being used as testing ground for weapons & some are becoming seriously rich.

That, I'm afraid is absolutely nothing new. Humans have long excelled in finding new and interesting ways of bumping each other off right from the day that someone picked up a sharp piece of rock. Might I recommend the following book - Arms of Krupp by William Manchester - which, although there is a decidedly anti-German bias from the author, is a good and eye-opening read. And yes, it's about how business can profit from warfare and politics.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arms-Krupp-William-Manchester/dp/0316529400

(there are cheaper copies than that available, but I picked this link for the synopsis)

Also this cartoon, that incidentally popped up on my Book of Faces feed the other night...

As for the UK, the police are becoming more interested in what you are thinking, the process is the punishment & government is following their own agenda, not an agenda desired by the electorate.

To quote Babylon 5: the universe is made from matter, antimatter and enlightened self-interest. That's top-down government for you. But whatever the system of democratic government, it's never perfect. Each system has its advantages and its flaws e.g. first past the post as we have here, or full proportional representation as there is in Belgium for example, or the US system, where votes cast are given different weights according to population density.

And I don't care if TPTB are interested in what I'm thinking. I've nothing to hide. Except the whereabouts of my chocolate stash.

 

[Reynard]

Oh yes, forgot to say I bought a lemon, a packet of suet and a bag of currants in Tesco. For on Monday, I shall be making spotted dick!

 

[Illaveago]

We are listening to Fleetwood Mac.

 

[Reynard]

I am chatting with a friend on Messenger.