Mundane News

[Mike_P]

Sainsbury's a few weeks back had, as usual for no apparent reason, shuffled the washing powders about with the result I had convinced myself that they were no longer stocking Halo sports wash, but a very slow walk down the aisle this evening and the sports wash found. Still cheaper than Wiggle (etc) by a quarter and Amazon's price is ridiculous.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Imagine your next visit to Yorkshire!

Why, what have you done now?

 

[classic33]

Why, what have you done now?

Nothing unusual for these parts.
Yet!

 

[tyred]

I meant try a sneaky last minute bid on something on eBay but I forgot and missed the end of the auction by twelve minutes.

 

[biggs682]

Another frosty night so another early am ride ruled out

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Nothing unusual for these parts.
Yet!

Normal for North folk?

 

[classic33]

Normal for North folk?

Normal for Yorkshire folk.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I know it's midwinter but there were definite signs of spring preparations while out and about today. Great tits were beginning to call for mates with their siren on laughing gas racket and the squirrels were out chasing each other about en masse. I got caught in a squirrel stampede in Brimmington Park. No sign of the top goldfinch of the neighbourhood yet.

 

[Hebe]

Faber Castell 9000 series.

Otherwise, Staedtler Noris. I bought a pack of 12 online during first lockdown as the art shop was shut and the postage on them was free - as opposed to several quid for something as daft as a couple of pencils. I use them for doing the under drawing for paintings and pen & wash. They're B-grade though; harder leaves a dent in the paper, and softer just makes a mess*. They're a bit cheaper than the Faber castell, but still pretty decent as far as these things go.

* I've got quite a heavy hand when it comes to drawing.

I've probably posted this before... Hebe Jr's choice of bedtime podcast in the tent.
BBC The Boring Talks - Pencils

Unusually, I have caught a cold from someone outside the family. This is not the normal way of things. Also, one of the cats keeps standing on the new scratching thing we bought her while she sharpens her claws on the sofa arm.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I've probably posted this before... Hebe Jr's choice of bedtime podcast in the tent.
BBC The Boring Talks - Pencils

Unusually, I have caught a cold from someone outside the family. This is not the normal way of things. Also, one of the cats keeps standing on the new scratching thing we bought her while she sharpens her claws on the sofa arm.

If CAT were an acronym, the C would stand for Contrary.

 

[Reynard]

Lovely supper of cullen skink, followed by home made smoked haddock, leek & mushroom pie, mash and peas & carrots.

 

[Reynard]

Some don't even bother with that , ive seen some right clowns doing "tree work". It's with good reason why you need a different ticket to work up trees than the one I have for felling them from the round.

I don't have a ticket, simply some twenty years' experience of managing some woodland - aka my garden. I've definitely "learned by doing" and there's a knack to working out where something's going to drop.

Problem is, a small error at the base gets translated into a much bigger error at the top end.

It's rare a dangly tree defeats me. A series of v-shaped cuts around waist height is usually enough to allow gravity to snap the trunk. Then it's just a matter of pulling the top part free.

 

[Reynard]

I saw somebody recently well up a tall tree with a chainsaw. No cherry picker. Seemed to have climbed up somehow with a waist belt and spikes on his feet I think. He did have a safety rope which he took up and attached before starting work.

Oooer, you wouldn't catch me doing that... Besides, some of these dead trees can be quite rotten, so you really don't want to be doing work on them other than ground level.

 

[Reynard]

I know it's midwinter but there were definite signs of spring preparations while out and about today. Great tits were beginning to call for mates with their siren on laughing gas racket and the squirrels were out chasing each other about en masse. I got caught in a squirrel stampede in Brimmington Park. No sign of the top goldfinch of the neighbourhood yet.

Saw loads of squirrels running around like mad things while I was outside this afternoon. And I had to stand and watch a pair of male pheasants having their own version of Rumble in the Jungle. That was hilarious, and I was half hoping that I could catch the loser and stuff him in the crock pot...

My winter aconites are out, and there's snowdrops popping up everywhere. And even the forsythia has a few flowers.

 

[Reynard]

Odd that it was only 6 months ago when firms were crying out for well qualified staff, particularly engineers! Seems to have gone off a cliff-edge?

Hah, that was the same tune being bandied about when I graduated back in '98. Nothing's changed, I see...

I ended up going back to academia so that I could fall down a research rabbit hole.