test please delete

[NickFitz]

Busy afternoon. Went over to the new flat to see about fettling the Super Monkey Car; it's SORN so it'll have to be brought over here, but it would be nice if it could at least get on to the lowloader under its own steam

But on the way, I remembered I needed some bits, so I continued on to the retail park. Mayhem over there, but I managed to get a space right outside M&S by sheer luck, so I was able to get my mum's present (a gift card, I have no idea what she wants but she spends lots with M&S).

Then over to Sainsbury's for a rather odd shop, as I didn't need much while everybody else in there was going Christmas mad. But one thing I've realised about having a dishwasher is that you need more teaspoons and probably just more cutlery generally. So I bought a Habitat cutlery set that was on special offer.

Also, there's a box of six assorted beers including Pedigree and Hobgoblin and other nice ones which is on special offer: two boxes for £16, so around £1.30/bottle. Not an earth-shattering bargain but worth the investment IMHO

And then various bits of cleaning stuff, as I need to leave some such stuff at the old flat so I can clean that.

Anyway, once that was done, back to the old flat and to work on the Super Monkey Car. I regret to say that I've been rather neglectful of it, but with judicious application of WD40 and various tools, I was able to confirm that the battery doesn't have enough going for it. So I need to get yet another new battery, or maybe some jump leads and see if it can actually be started first

I'm still hoping to get it here in time for Christmas though

Speaking of which, I saw a Crouch Recovery heavy wrecker, brightly illuminated with orange lights

Now watching the car programme (an Audi S4 Avant) as I'm no longer restricted to the +1 channel.

[NickFitz]

Tea: ribs and chips

A bit earlier than usual. This is because, as I've started to realise, my evening schedule has largely been dictated by the need to go out and check the main back gate was shut and the local junkies weren't up to any mischief out there, and I'd eventually ended up doing that after ten at night because of people who worked late not coming home until then (and leaving the gate open). But as I'm not there, I don't have to do that, so I can start adjusting to a more normal kind of schedule

Anyway, tea was accompanied by Secrets of the Underground on another channel I couldn't get before. It was all about North End, aka Bull and Bush, the station beneath Hampstead Heath that would have been the deepest on the network, but which was never completed and ended up being the secret control room for the flood gates on the lines around the Thames during the Cold War. I always keep an eye out for it when travelling on that bit of the Northern Line so it was interesting to see what's actually in there

[NickFitz]

Tonight's major motion picture premiere was Yesterday (2019) in which the world slips into an alternative universe in which the Beatles never existed, and only one young and unsuccessful musician remembers their songs, which offers an obvious path to success. I've been wary of this one because that's the kind of premise that's really easy to **** up badly. But you know what? It's bloody excellent

Well, only if you like it of course, but I did

And then a few more episodes of The West Wing. I know whatsisname was deep into his cocaine problem at the time he was writing these, but I still can't work out why that made him get so deeply into Gilbert and Sullivan for one episode? But coke is one of those things I've never done, so I suppose it'll remain a mystery to me

Goodnight all

[ladymuck]

Morning all

Raining. Lots of rain. Currently 8 degrees with a high of 12 expected. The rain will apparently stop by late morning / early lunchtime. Barometer down to 1002 mBar.

Got quite upset yesterday evening as I tried to write my Mum's Christmas card. What the hell do you say? I finally came up with something that wasn't a trite "Hope you have a wonderful time".

Still have no idea about a gift. I think a M&S voucher could work, thanks for the suggestion NF!

The first coffee of the morning was pretty much inhaled and coffee #2 is actually being tasted.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Morning.

Friday.

Wet. Very wet.

Grey.

Gloomy.

Sunless.

Cool in here at 12.8 deg, 12.5 deg in the kitchen, 11 deg in the leanto.

996 mBar, 29.411 in Hg, 747.06 Torr, 14.445 psi, (down from 1003 mBar last night), 69% RH (GDR hair), 69% RH (Lidl electric).

Meanwhile on the 28th of March 2019 Xogg watched the trail for "I, Frankenstein" & remarked on the lack of neck bolts, whereas NF was seeing (shooting) stars whilst out the back fettling the bins.

I was roused from bed by a DHL operative hammering on the front door in the ongoing deluge & murrain of beasts.

Well who'd have thunk?

https://www.ge.com/news/reports/jura...puting-pioneer

It was mentioned on this morning's DID.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001g8m4

At 11:39 onwards.

Meeting with William Gates III. I'm not sure it would have inspired Windows(tm), but probably inspired Micro Soft Basic for the Altair.

House roughly vacced with the Vax.

Lunch: scrambled egg and poached tomato on Morrisons multiseed toasted crust, blackcurrant jam and marmalade on slices of Morrisons multiseed toasted crust and Morrisons wholemeal sunflower and spelt toast, yellow corner yog, 0.91*1.61 pints of good Glengettie tea.

Just discovered that the IBM PC XT has an external floppy drive connector. Who'd have thunk?

https://minuszerodegrees.net/5150_51...ette_drive.htm

I vaguely remembered that it could have 4 floppies but never bothered finding out how.

https://www.seasip.info/VintagePC/floppies.html

Entertainment: a thing on R4 about Richard Rogers, the architect chap, famous for inside out buildings.

TWAO.

And how to use an 8" floppy drive on a pc:

http://boginjr.com/it/hw/8inch-drives/

I might get a round tuit one day.

Nah. Never going to happen.

House roughly vacced to relieve the afternoon ennui a bit.

Walk (unabbreviated) walked in the grey gloom & wan sun shine.

Shopping trip to Halfords for a Leisure Battery. Strangelove Mater's shopping trolley came in handy for the trip home.

Tea: battered haddock, the last of the fruit cocktail, a yog, 0.91*1.57 pints of good Glengettie tea.

Entertainment: Wheeler Dealers S16 E4 2001 Saab Viggen 9-3. Bought: $4k5, Total: $7k, Sold: $7k5. Who'd have thunk you could cure a leak between the head & the block just by replacing & retorquing the head bolts with different stretchy ones? Saves all that nasty scraping of gaskets & suchlike. The refurb on the hydraulic cylinders was impressive. I wonder if that can be done in this country. There must be someone with a Victorian manual lathe who can do what that computer controlled lathe did. .

NCIS S17 E7 "No vacancy". No Ziva. The spy cameras in the motel attic one.

NCIS S17 E8 "Musical Chairs". No Ziva.

NCIS S17 E9 "Game Over". No Ziva.

NCIS S17 E10 "The North Pole". Ziva! Twisty plotting. Her final ep on Monday.

[WTFH]

Morning all
The overnight deluge has given way to some blue sky with a few clouds.

[NickFitz]

Morning denizens

Rainy rainy rain rain out. Currently 6°C with 9° expected, and the barometers are down a smidgeon at 987/995mB

[NickFitz]

I've had lamb shoulder bones and veg simmering gently in the slow cooker overnight. Now I need to decide whether to just make Scotch broth, or split it and also make scouse

[ladymuck]

The forecast was correct. The rain has ceased and it's brightened up considerably.

[xoggoth]

Looking a bit nicer, some blue bits. Going for a walk with loony lady 2 a bit later. Xmas day with loony lady 3 for a short while, don't want to spend ages with somebody else's family, bad enough having to spend time with yer own. Boxing day loony lady 1. Will be loony ladied out again.