The really boring and totally pointless snippets thread IV

[OFSO]

Waking up in Spain and it is FREEZING. To be precise,ten degree colder than London. Sorting out all the electronic devices such as satellite receivers and Google Homes that have not fired up correctly after six weeks off...

[Woody]

Just to wind you up a bit more Ex-s, both the directors that got the bullet after the T5 opening debacle still get ST with First Class priority

[Wodrick]

Morning all,
too early to tell, looks like a high overcast at present, warmer than of late 11c.
The Heavy dew of the last few days is absent.

Just getting ready to take Punto to the Vet, he needs sedation for further investigation.
He has not eaten since Saturday evening.

Those Hotline tickets are good though, Little Brother (CSD retired) has offered us them for a visit in July.
The actual ticket is £4, the taxes bump it up a bit though.

[ExSp33db1rd]

Just to wind you up a bit more Ex-s, both the directors that got the bullet after the T5 opening debacle still get ST with First Class priority

Not at all surprised, I believe the whole Board keep it in retirement, too, regardless of time spent "on the board ".

When I took my last S.T. trip in 2014 I was able to use my 1 annual F/C "if available" - it was. At dinner time my wife noted that unlike everyone around us we had no tablecloth or any sort of knapkins. Upon enquiry we were told " You're staff, I'm not giving you a tablecloth, and if you want a knapkin go and help yourself to a paper towel out of the toilet" Nice.

If I genuinely thought that my pension was safe from "kiddy fiddling" ( and I don't, remember The Mirror ? ) should B.A. go the way of Flybe or Thomas Cook, I would welcome it, maybe even try to ensure it. They certainly won't ever get any of my pension back again as ticket sales. ( I'd even go Ryanair instead ! )

It's actually not just the financial aspect, tho' of course S.T. might help a bit, but the way they arbitrarily treated a whole bunch of long retired one time staff, and then felt that they were giving us something for nothing by allowing a 5 year period "to get used to it" their words, before finally kicking us in the arse, that gets up my nose and will continue to do so. Barstewards

[handsfree]

Strange isn't it ExSp33db1rd that BA can't afford to recognise the past service of their pensioners but
within their own cadre of "important" people it is necessary so as to attract the right people.
Nose, pigs, trough.

+5C and partly cloudy here. Forecast is for a sunny day with bits of clouds about.
I may give the lawn a bit of a haircut. These last few days of mild, damp weather has woken nature up.
I was going to give the cherry tree a pruning the other day but when I got close up it was obviously well in bud.
It will have to wait until next year.

Any news from Oz re the fires. I bumped into friends last night who are freshly back from 6 weeks in the Perth area.
Apart from being scorchio they were unaffected by any wild fires.

[CharlieOneSix]

Hatches battened down here - steady SW 45mph wind, just had a gust to 63. That just wicks the heat out of the house. Boiler and woodburner going full blast. Rather weirdly there are no high wind warnings in force for here, yet there were when storm Brendan passed by and we were almost unaffected by it.

[ian16th]

29c and 88% humidity.

[ribrash]

My coarse fishing days have ended today.Preparing to sell £1000's of pounds of gear for £100's.Sea fishing continues as normal.

[Undried Plum]

Got exactly the same wx as C16 here, with the same problem of the house's heat being carried away to Stavanger.

The ground source heat pump is working flat out, as is the usually wonky wind turbine. It 'cones' in high winds and still produces power while other types have to shut down. 2kW of its nominal 15kW go to drive the heat pump which produces a gross of 9kW. Surplus energy goes to heat a cluster of 7 large immersion boilers. The central one goes to 95C and the others to 75C.

Today I've finally agreed to buy a pair of Tesla wall-mounted batteries. The new system will allow me to continue to provide my own sun and wind energy even during a power cut. Currently, no pun intended, my system automatically shuts down to avoid giving grid repair crews a nasty nip. The new system is now approved and will disconnect in a millisecond but will allow me to continue to use my own power, so that a big boon for me.

For a couple of years I've toyed with the idea of buying a static steam engine as I have an inexhausible supply of firewood. My two Froelig boilers do me well and are very low maintenance but don't work during power cuts. A steam engine would be lot of fun/work but totally impractical for power cuts as it takes hours to get the thing going. I've therefore decided against it in favour of the Tesla Powerwall option.

[OFSO]

Tramontana does the same here. Nowhere can be kept warm in winter when it blows. Came back to a cold house last night even though the wench came up and turned the (feeble Spanish) heating on over the weekend. Lit the woodstove, turned the a/c to heat, and put the leccy blanket on.

[handsfree]

I can only assume you had a rotten day fishing ribrash or are things even worse than that ?

It's been chilly here and the wind has got up at times but it's been easy enough to keep the house warm (at a cost).
When we had a westerly it used to drive across the fields and hit us with a vengeance but in the last few months the
open aspect has sprouted not far short of a thousand houses. The only plus is that they may protect us from the
wind a little. Bloody progress, I hate it.

I must admit I like the idea of a static steam engine Undried Plum. Shame about the start up time. A damn sight more
fun that a couple of standby batteries will be.

[Ex-Ascot]

Thatched roof, stone walls always warm inside. No heating, no a/c Perfect climate if only it would rain more. Had to use the genny this morning to water the garden.

[Pontius Navigator]

Most people use water

[ribrash]

I can only assume you had a rotten day fishing ribrash or are things even worse than that ?

It's been chilly here and the wind has got up at times but it's been easy enough to keep the house warm (at a cost).
When we had a westerly it used to drive across the fields and hit us with a vengeance but in the last few months the
open aspect has sprouted not far short of a thousand houses. The only plus is that they may protect us from the
wind a little. Bloody progress, I hate it.

I must admit I like the idea of a static steam engine Undried Plum. Shame about the start up time. A damn sight more
fun that a couple of standby batteries will be.

Nah HF I've just had enough of the coarse fishing.Its not what it was.Everyone fishes commercial man made lakes stuffed with so many fish you could walk across them. Stick to sea fishing from now on.Can eat what I catch.

[Pontius Navigator]

As there is no news from Oz one might conclude the fires are now out and thus no news. Two items though, the smoke will go round the world and return to Oz and the Tennis will be in jeopardy after a player collapsed

Seriously though, what's happening?

[4mastacker]

There's no such thing as a bad day's fishing.

Eyes getting back to normal after having me annual retinopathy check. The drops applied beforehand do sting a bit!!

[1DC]

Been torrential rain in Melbourne today and the wind has changed which should clear the air. The storms are due to continue on to NSW and Queensland and last for a few days, won't break the drought but will bring some relief.
I hope Alison gets plenty of it, although it seems to be heavier inland.

[ian16th]

For a couple of years I've toyed with the idea of buying a static steam engine as I have an inexhausible supply of firewood. My two Froelig boilers do me well and are very low maintenance but don't work during power cuts. A steam engine would be lot of fun/work but totally impractical for power cuts as it takes hours to get the thing going. I've therefore decided against it in favour of the Tesla Powerwall option.

Is an oil burning auxiliary system viable to cover the start up period?

I believe that someone did produce an oil burning steam car.

[Pontius Navigator]

I remember the 3-wheel coal burning lorries in Liverpool around 1950.

[ribrash]

I remember the 3-wheel coal burning lorries in Liverpool around 1950.

Just a bit before my time PN.I only remember the coalmen dropping coal down the coal hole which was in front of the house.