Reply to: test please delete

[NickFitz]

Another Monday done

I was singularly unproductive today; didn’t have any energy or focus. This was even before the stuff about the agency change came to my attention

I spent a bit of time this afternoon looking at the four umbrella companies on offer from the agency we’re being shifted to. As one would expect, each of them has an even split in search results between people saying they’re great, never had any problems, etc. and people saying they’re terrible, no end of problems, etc.

[ladymuck]

Gig1 has asked me to reduce my days to 2 a week (down from 3) as they're running out of budget on the programme I work on. Suits me just fine

[NickFitz]

Lunch: a sausage bap

Turned sunny out there now

At ClientGov, I found out earlier that they’re switching suppliers in a couple of months and my contract will be moved over to whoever the new lot is. Not sure what this means yet; I’ve saved myself the hassle of dealing with a brolly by being on payroll with the current lot, but I don’t know whether that will continue to be an option

One annoying thing is that contractors on the “bench contract” are deemed to be Outside IR35 - yet they all work for the same consultancy, in which they have performance reviews and improvement plans and all that malarkey, and can be moved around from one project to another or even to a different end client at the drop of a hat. I’ve never seen a clearer case of disguised employment, but because that’s with the consultancy and not with the department itself, they’re assessed as being outside.

Meanwhile, I accept things like not being paid for several months in the hiatus between one project and another, or while I was waiting for security clearance, yet I’m deemed to be Inside because they expect me to attend Teams meetings and so on - meetings which the bench contract people also attend!

[NickFitz]

Links are up

[ladymuck]

Morning all

Sunshine and wispy fluff. Currently 13 degrees with a high of 14 expected. Barometer at 1015 mbar.

Sunrise 06:44; Sunset 17:43 GMT

Busy morning with back to back meetings across gigs 1 and 3.

HWMBO goes home today.

Off to the theatre this evening.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Morning.

Monday.

Grey.

Wanly sunny.

NotSoChilly in here at 13.9 deg, 13 something in the kitchen, 12 in the leanto.

1005 mBar, 29.6776 in Hg, 753.8 Torr, 14.576 psi, (up from 1004 last night), 69% RH (Lidl electric).

Meanwhile on the 19th of March 2020 Anonimouse, LM, WTFH, NF, xogg, and I popped in, with xogg thinking of looking at the wall & contemplating big bums due to everything being shut down.

This morning's dream before waking seemed to involve Ye Olde Sloughe of Desponde. And a railway that doesn't exist. Odd. Slam door carriages too IIRC. .

Shopping trips to Morrisons, Aldi, and Tesco done dusted washed dried sanitised & put away.

Lunch: brunch. Entertainment: Y&Y waffling on about train refunds <click> 13 o'clock news <click>. The Orange Mother****er isn't dead. What a shame.

Did you know you can make a nuke go with 60% enrichment? Just takes about 1.5 times the amount that 90% takes. .

Just fell asleep whilst "watching" some Ancient Aliens bollox on Blaze. That'll learn me. . It's all about Irish Fairies and The Shining Ones, with the odd druid thrown in for good measure. The usual talking heads.

[WTFH]

Morning all
Some light cloud, but mostly blues skies and sunny here. Was 10C at 6am, so a lighter jacket was the order of the day for our walk. Back in, one load of washing (dog towels) on the line already, next load in the machine.

[NickFitz]

Morning denizens

It’s back to grey out, though it may brighten up later. Breezy too, so the current 8°C “feels like” 2°; it’ll soar to 14° this afternoon though. The barometers are a touch down at 999/1007mB

Monday again. Let’s see if there’s anything good in the news to start the week on a positive note… ah, no, let’s not

[NickFitz]

There was a bit of wildlife stuff on the telly over teatime

Tonight, not being in the mood for serious and weighty works of history, I started reading This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. I tried starting this a while ago (possibly a couple of years ago, even?) but wasn’t in the mood for it at the time. But I’m quite enjoying it this time

Monday again tomorrow. Five weeks till Easter

Goodnight all

[ladymuck]

Back in Blighty!

Waiting for the Lizzy Line to leave the station and then I'll soon be home again.

[NickFitz]

Evening all, Paris calling

Literally a flying visit

[NickFitz]

Tea has been the Guinness-braised beef short ribs I made last week, with chips and peas

This was accompanied by a new episode of Forensics: The Real CSI on iPlayer, about the stabbing of a young lad in Birmingham

[ladymuck]

Evening all, Paris calling

Dry and sunny on arrival, with the just just setting as we landed. Currently 8 degrees and the high was 12. Barometer at 1022 mBar.

Sunrise 07:32; Sunset 18:33 CET

Had a lovely morning mooching around Krakow, before starting our journey home. The sun came out and it was a glorious day. We will be getting on our last flight of the weekend, back to London, in about half an hour. I'm a bit tired now.

[xoggoth]

I get some wierd dreams. Last night was about a lot of us doing something with the cooling systems on our cars which were connected to the mains supply. Bit of a flaw with that.

Not sure I'll go to village club later, people I know don't seem to be there recently. Heard one was ill but dunno about others. Perhaps just look through window and see.

[NickFitz]

This morning’s forum wrangling has been the tags import, as for whatever reason that step runs between threads, which I got working on Friday, and posts. It wasn’t a particularly complicated one though

Time for lunch: a leftover pork chop in a wholemeal bap with apple sauce

I’m not sure whether to tackle importing posts this afternoon; it’s going to be quite a big one as it’s spread over several steps, so it might be better to approach it when I have a whole day to spend on it