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[WTFH]

A pleasant meal out with the wife’s family and now TFBSZ.

[NickFitz]

Tonight's major motion picture premiere was Wolf Man (2025).

Over ten years ago, Universal decided to take advantage of the intellectual property they had in stories like Dracula, Frankenstein, and all that stuff from the 1930s. They created a new brand, "Dark Universe", and were going to do a big series of films, but the first one they actually made was The Mummy (2017): an expensive blockbuster extravaganza starring Tom Cruise which was a massive flop (though I really enjoyed it, for what that's worth). They then decided to scrap the entire Dark Universe project and cancelled everything, because Hollywood studios are run by dumb people who don't know anything about making movies

But now they're starting to do the same thing, except without the big ambitions, and this is an excellent example of how well that approach can work. Not a blockbuster extravaganza, but a drama based around a horror story that develops and builds to an intense level. It was much better than I expected it to be, and well worth watching. But don't expect an easy ride

And then, if only to take my mind off all that malarkey, I rewatched the greatest film ever made, as judged by the number of extremely likely deaths amongst the crew that were miraculously averted: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Finally, S2E1 of The Last of Us: Future Days (TV Episode 2025). I already get the feeling things aren't going to turn out well for the human race in this series (or season)

Goodnight all

[DoctorStrangelove]

Morning.

Saturday.

Dry. Very very very.

Sunny. Very very very very.

Blue sky: not a cloud to be seen.

Warm in here at 23.1 deg, 24.5 deg in the kitchen, 23 deg in the leanto.

1009.5 mBar, 29.81 in Hg, 757.2 Torr, 14.64 psi, (down from 1010 last night), 70% RH (Lidl electric).

Meanwhile on the 31st of January 2020 WTFH, LondonManc, Brillo, BR14, LM, and OPM popped in, whereas I was doing the washing.

Freecell score: 100%, running average: 83%.

Lunch: brunch. Entertainment: Dead Ringers.

Book. Other book.

Not going out there is this: it's 30 deg in the saltinghouse already.

New book.

32.3 in there now.

Nice mug of mediocre coffee.

Freecell score: 91%, running average: 83%.

Tea: soup etc.

Entertainment: PM. Robinson talking to some Lib Dem chap.

Book. Other book.

"Look at Life": the 1961 census. IBM 714 card reader. IBM 705 computer. IBM727 magnetic tape drive. Lots of mag tape. Lots of punched cards. Take the returned census form and punch the cards on IBM 029 (done by ladies who can type with one hand faster than I can type with two. Take the card deck and transfer it to magnetic tape. Take the magnetic tape & read it into a computer. Check for errors. Punch out an output deck. Print the results.

I didn't realise that everyone in the country at that midnight was censused: passengers in transit included.

The computer system was one used by the RAF and borrowed for the census.

Maigret and the Revolver (1960). Odd. Presentation S&W revolver nicked from Maigret's appartment. Obvious one would be the S&W model 25 in 45 Colt. At the end when he recovers the gun it's a break top. Weird.

Massive Engineering Mistakes: S6 E4, E5.

Pittsburgh, Penn. Fern Hollow steel bridge built of "weathering steel" proved to have "weathered" so much it fell down. Sydney Australia, 1977, rail crash that brought down an overbridge killing 80, due to lack of maintenance on the track & the loco. Henderson, Nevada, a mere 1.5 kt of a potential 4.5 kt of ammonium perchlorate detonated at the then solid rocket booster plant: there was that much stored because of the earlier shuttle accident. Caused by welding sparks setting fire to glassfibre. No sprinklers. Stuff stored here there & everywhere. Omaha Nebraska, 40 year old animal feed factory storage bins collapsed due to seat collapse on a seated connection: it wasn't designed to take the limestone they were storing in it, much heavier than the intended fill. Ooops. Sticking it on the roof didn't help. Killed 2.

Lynch Nebraska: Spencer dam collapse due to accumulation of broken ice flowing down the river causing overtopping. Bad Reichenhall, Germany, wooden roof collapse of an icerink due to failure of the glued finger joints. Quebec City cantilever bridge collapse 1907 due to design changes without recalculation of the stresses. Killed 75. During construction of the replacement the centre section collapsed during the lift due to a broken casting. Wasn't a good time to be a Mohawk.

[WTFH]

Morning all
CBS, etc. Currently 26C. Pressure has dropped to 1017mb.
Too hot to walk the dog, we’re off to a local garden for a walk in the shade. Then back here to pick plums.

[ladymuck]

Morning all

Cloudless. Currently 24 degrees with a high of 30 expected. Barometer down to 1017 mBar.

Sunrise 04:58; Sunset 21:15 BST

Yesterday HWMBO fired up the BBQ and did some grilled veg and chicken kebabs. Very delicious it was too.

Today I have a surfeit of social engagements. Lunch with a friend I used to work with and then a 40th birthday party. I never had a 40th birthday party. Why do people feel the need to make such a fuss?

Still suffering occasional pains in my head that aren't quite a headache. Just above my left eye and a bit stabby. I'm thinking maybe my reading/computer glasses need the prescription checked. It's coming up to two years since I got them.

EDIT: It's more than two years! I got them on 8 July 2023.

[NickFitz]

Afternoon denizens

Clear blue sky out and another warm one. Currently 27°C with 28° due soon, before it starts cooling off again at teatime. The barometers are down to 1005/1012mB

[NickFitz]

EDIT: It's more than two years! I got them on 8 July 2023.

You should have had a party for them

[NickFitz]

Cold sausage bap for lunch

[xoggoth]

Nice shady walk in some woods. Cold shower when I got back. Warm again now, will somebody please get rid of that damn shiny thing up there!

No reply to texts from ll2. Unusual, we always exchange bollox. Hope she's ok.

[ladymuck]

Lunch was very enjoyable. Glad I booked an inside table. I decided against staying out in town. I came back home which has proved a wise move as I could just flump on the bed in my underwear. Off out again soon to be sociable again.