test please delete

[NickFitz]

Lunch: nothing yet, as I thought I’d get something when I went shopping. But first I had to wait for the pharmacist to call

They did, a few minutes before the nominal appointment time, and reckoned I should stop taking the new tablets for a week and they’ll call me then to see if things have improved

So then I got it together and went down to the car… which had a flat battery

No idea why as it’s only just over a week since I last used it

Anyway, I came back in to get the two little battery packs that have served well in this situation in the past. That was when I realised the battery in the older one has started swelling, enough to have opened up one edge of the case

So now I have a lithium fire hazard to worry about as well. I gave the other one a try, but it wasn’t sufficiently charged, as I expected - it’s just been sitting around for ages

Shopping is therefore cancelled. Coming back in, I noticed that the case of the less-old battery pack also feels very slightly curved; I’m not sure if it was like that when I got it, but I have a feeling it was completely flat and suspect it may be heading the same way as the old one. So I decided not to take a chance on charging it, and it was off to Amazon for solutions. First in the basket: one of those AA solar panels that WTFH has been trying to persuade me to get for years

But that’s more for keeping a charge rather than charging from flat, so I went looking for a battery pack to get me moving. Loads of them, all suspiciously similar with the kinds of brand names fly-by-night Chinese drop sellers use; so I had a look on Halfords’ site as they’re still reasonably reputable. The one they had that seemed suitable was also on Amazon for about fifteen quid less though, so they didn’t get the sale

So stuff will be arriving tomorrow, and until it’s sorted out I’ll have to use up food from the freezer

[WTFH]

I went looking for a battery pack to get me moving. Loads of them, all suspiciously similar with the kinds of brand names fly-by-night Chinese drop sellers use; so I had a look on Halfords’ site as they’re still reasonably reputable. The one they had that seemed suitable was also on Amazon for about fifteen quid less though, so they didn’t get the sale

CTEK MXS-5.0 is what you want.
Although, I now use a Zappi to top up the battery in my car. In theory it could do a flat 12V to full in about 10 minutes, but I suspect the battery wouldn't like it.

[NickFitz]

CTEK MXS-5.0 is what you want.
Although, I now use a Zappi to top up the battery in my car. In theory it could do a flat 12V to full in about 10 minutes, but I suspect the battery wouldn't like it.

The CTEK appears to be mains-powered, so no good for me - there’s nowhere to plug it in and have it reach the car simultaneously

[NickFitz]

Tea has been the rest of the pork and cider hotpot I made last week

This was accompanied by the leftover bit of the Police Interceptors from last night

[NickFitz]

Tonight’s major motion picture premiere was The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026) which was, perhaps inevitably, not as good as the original. It was still pretty good! I enjoyed it, but it was very much a sequel, not a story in its own right. That must be hard to do though. They managed it with The Godfather II but not this time

My main conclusion was that it provides definitive proof that fashionable music has got worse in the last twenty years, because I enjoyed the music in the original despite it not being of my usual taste, but I thought most of the music in this one was mediocre - except for a remix of Madonna’s Vogue, the original version of which was in the first one

After that, I finally got around to rewatching 300: Rise of an Empire (2014). It’s not really a film one watches because of the story; it’s all about the special effects and such. Still, the story is about democracy surviving in the face of an overwhelming attack by the Persians, and it looks like democracy's about to die in the USA because of an underwhelming attack on the Persians, so it has a certain ironic resonance

And finally, a further episode of Silo. I’m starting to wonder why the people in charge even bother pretending there’s any kind of democracy down there because they’re obviously despotic and could control everybody more easily without the pretence. Maybe American audiences wouldn’t understand people accepting a way of life so different from their own - living under despotic rule whilst convincing oneself one is free because of some token gestures towards democracy must seem quite realistic to them

Goodnight all

[DoctorStrangelove]

Morning.

Saturday.

Dry.

Sunny.

Blue sky.

Drought. In Wales. Where it never stops raining. Who'd have thunk? It's 1976 all over again again.

I noticed yesterday that there was so little water in the river that Alwyn's Rock was about 6 feet from the water's edge.

22.2 deg in here, 24 in the kitchen, 21 in the leanto, 19 out the back.

1006 mBar, 29.7 in Hg, 754.6 Torr, 14.59 psi, (down from 1009 last night), 57% RH (Lidl electric).

Meanwhile on the 1st of April 2020 late afternoon (still 1st of April: two Oms that day, there was feck all else to do) AndyGarbs, Brillo, eek, MrMarkyMark, NF, and I (freecell: 83%) popped in.

Walk (abbreviated: 3 miles: forgot to look at Alwyn's Rock, canal empty by the gas works) walked in the unbearable heat when the sun was out & pleasant enough when it was covered by clouds.

Had a conversation.

Lunch: brunch. Entertainment: MoneyBox <click>.

[xoggoth]

Not doing my woodland volunteery thing this morning, tired and don't fancy working in this ghastly sun anyway. Off on shady walk with ll1 instead a bit later.

[ladymuck]

Morning all

Glorious sunshine and wispy fluff. Currently 21 degrees ('feels like' 24) with a high of 23 expected. Barometer down to 1011 mBar.

Sunrise 05:18; Sunset 20:58 BST

My brother's bedroom faces due west and he doesn't have blackout curtains. I do have my eye mask with me.

Gig3 final timesheet was signed off. The PM got told he's just got to figure out how to do his job and mine, so I won't be reinstated any time soon. It was worth a try. I will enjoy the next few days with Mum while my brother is on holiday rather than stressing about finding the next gig. At least I don't have to do any renumbering!

[NickFitz]

Afternoon denizens

It’s a sunny day, with clumps and wisps of cloud here and there. Looks like there’s a bit of a breeze too. It’s 25°C which is the high for the day, and the barometers are down to 995/1003mB

I already feel better for not having taken the new cholesterol thing last night

[ladymuck]

Mum decided that the bowl of cereal she made for herself, put down, forgot about then rediscovered half an hour later was from yesterday and threw it out. She refused to make herself any breakfast so I made a bacon sandwich which was inhaled.

Bed linen has been washed, dried on the line, and put away. Perfect drying weather out there.

I was going to go to Tesco but decided I couldn't be bothered and booked a delivery for tomorrow afternoon.