Reply to: test please delete

[NickFitz]

Home again, again - this time with the Corolla

I walked in the end. Turns out it’s under two miles via the shortest route, through the polytechnic, and it's downhill from here

I’ve only done just under 900 miles since last year and he felt there wasn’t much point giving it a full service. He’d adjusted the brakes for free as it only took him a few minutes, rather like the other year when one of the exhaust brackets was dodgy so he just welded it there and then rather than mucking about getting my approval for the work and calculating an estimate

So that was why it was ready by lunchtime rather than around teatime, as often happens. This meant I was able to pop along to Big Sainsbury’s while I was that side of the river, and get various bits and bobs that I would have had to get next week otherwise.

Upon finally returning home, not only was the preferred parking space free, but this entire edge of the lawn was empty, so I didn’t even have to parallel park. And just to round things off, the lift was on the ground floor, so I didn’t have to wait for that!

Time for lunch now; I’m quite peckish as I only had coffee for breakfast. Some hot wings (cold) await

[NickFitz]

Car’s ready!

I’ve only just recovered from walking about three miles earlier! Tempted to get the bus into town rather than adding another two mile walk. Rain’s due, so I could use that as an excuse, having already been drizzled on quite enough earlier

[NickFitz]

Home again after a considerably more active start than my usual Friday

I drove down and dropped the car off just after half eight. Then, as I was that side of the river, I walked up to the hairdresser’s - I’d made a minor detour on the drive over to check she was there. So I’ve had a haircut, which should see me through Easter

Then I walked back up towards town - this took me past the garage again, where I believe the car was up on the hoist, though I was across the road and they’re a bit of a way back across the yard in front of the units; so it may not have been. Anyway, I headed up past St. Nick’s church (c. AD 879) to the high street and into the shopping centre I hate (c. 1991-2008 depending on which bit you’re in) to collect some new AirPods Max from the Apple Store. Then onwards to the market, where I obtained various nice things from a couple of different butchers, and then set out for home.

I had been thinking of getting the bus back, something I haven’t done in many years. They now do tap on/tap off here, so at least there’s none of the hassle of fumbling for change and trying to remember the name of the stop you want. But the rain had stopped and the wind wasn’t too biting, so I decided to walk it

Most of the way back is up New Walk, a wide route lined with grand Victorian houses and the occasional incongruous new (c. 1970) block of offices. This has since its inception (c. 1785) been closed to all traffic (including bicycles) except carriages owned by residents of the houses. As few, if any, of the modern residents keep a stable of horses or a coachman, this effectively means it’s pedestrianised

And so home, where I now find that the car has passed its MOT!

The same advisories about some corrosion as last year and the year before, so it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse; and a couple of new ones about an imbalance in the brakes, which I assume they’ll fix as part of the service

[ladymuck]

Morning all

A dull start but it seems to be brightening up with some gaps forming between the clouds. Currently 7 degrees with a high of 11 expected. Rain likely this afternoon. Barometer up to 1018 mBar.

Sunrise 07:05; Sunset 17:25 GMT

A much quieter day today. A meeting this morning then I'm off to the hairdresser to get the greys covered up then a couple of meetings this afternoon.

Gig3 has paid me for last week's efforts, so I think that means clientCo changing their mind about my IR35 status is less likely to happen

[DoctorStrangelove]

Morning.

Friday.

Wet. Very wetly wet.

Grey.

Sunless.

Dark.

Dreary.

Dank.

Marsh full.

Chilly in here at 12.4 deg, 10.5 in the kitchen, 8 in the leanto.

1011 mBar, 29.854 in Hg, 758.3 Torr, 14.66 psi, (unchanged), 62% RH (Lidl electric).

Meanwhile on the 17th of March 2020 DaveB, BR14, LM, NF, and WTFH popped in, DaveB's dog was still at the vet's, and WTFH had 8 eggs, whereas I was looking forward to going stir crazy (not that anyone would notice the difference of course), and NF was celebrating the Opening Windows by airing out the flat.

Lunch: brunch. Entertainment: some thing about mountains and gorse fires in Ireland.

Other Book.

[WTFH]

Morning all
TFIF, etc.
Clear skies earlier and 6C, but now some high level light clouds are coming in.
Going to a wedding evening reception later today.

[NickFitz]

Morning denizens

Mainly clear skies out there today, but with very high patches of thin cloud coming in from the west. It’s likely to get cloudier and windier, with light rain expected from time to time. It’s 4°C but “feels like” -2°, with an expected high of a rather balmy 10°, and the barometers are back up to 1003/1011mB

I’ve got to head out soon, dropping the car off for its MOT and service. I’ve become quite unused to this business of leaving the flat first thing in the morning

[NickFitz]

Tonight’s viewing was the motorway cops thing, in which they actually spent some time on the motorway! Made a change

And things are getting stranger in Peace and War

Goodnight all

[NickFitz]

Tea was brought to me from Nando’s, partly because I’m lazy, partly because I had a reward that needed to be used up

The rewards are valid for a year, but I’d misunderstood the way it worked. You get a green, then an amber, then a red reward, and I hadn’t redeemed the green or amber because I thought it was cumulative and wanted to save all the points up for the red one, as that’s the best deal. But I got the red one the other week, and it turns out I still had the green and amber ones! So I had to use the green one or lose it

[ladymuck]

Checks thread and wonders where ladymuck is as she's not posted since yesterday morning when she was off to see Client C for the first time..

It was the second time; you didn't scroll back far enough

However, you are quite correct in that I have been tardy in my usual daily weather report.



Evening all

It's been a dull day. Damp. Currently 4 degrees ('feels like' 2) and the high was 6. Barometer up to 1011 mBar.

Sunrise 07:07; Sunset 17:24 GMT

It's been a busy day. I earned my money from all three gigs today. Back to back meetings all day. Fortunately HWMBO is still here to make me dinner.

[eek]

Checks thread and wonders where ladymuck is as she's not posted since yesterday morning when she was off to see Client C for the first time..

[NickFitz]

Another day done, another week done!

As soon as I’d finished, I popped down to the Corolla and cleaned out a load of the rubbish therein: old receipts, empty water bottles, old carrier bags, etc. I know for a fact that at least a couple of things from the back of the boot (well, the front; away from the door) have been sitting in there since some time when I was working in Cambridge, so probably around 2012

And then I set to work with the fancy handheld vacuum cleaner I’ve just bought specifically for this purpose. The interior is looking a lot better now - well, to the extent that I could tell, as it was nearly dark when I’d finished

There was a trace of dried mud on the rear seat which came from putting my Dad’s wheelchair in there when I was taking him to see Mum in hospital, so that was nearly three years old, and the car wasn’t exactly clean and tidy then

I have no idea if the theory about garages doing a worse job if a car appears untidy and neglected are true but, if so, they’ll have no excuse this time

[NickFitz]

Lunch: Heinz tomato soup and white toast

I had been thinking of heading to Sainsbury's, but not only is it a bit stressful cramming it in over lunch, I was also expecting an Amazon delivery that I'd have to be in to give a one-time code for: 16TB across two external SSDs. As the AI bros' insane business model means there'll be a global shortage of RAM this year (and probably next), I figured I'd stock up while I still could

These duly arrive around 12:30, so I now have about 40TB of SSDs to hand, not to mention innumerable hard drives. This means I should be OK for storing stuff until the bubble bursts and sanity returns

However, it then occurred to me that I don't need much by way of shopping, and tomorrow morning I'll be dropping the car off for its MOT and service at 8:30 in the morning. The car vet is close to the city centre, just outside the inner ring road; our city centre isn't really very big. So it's only a short walk from there to the market, where I can get such meat and veg as I require! And with that done, I can either get the bus back, or walk if the weather's bearable

[Pondlife]

Good morning. Happy Friday eve.

Wind 8 kt from the North
Temperature 5°C
Humidity 87%
Pressure 1003 hPa
Visibility 10 km or more
Scattered clouds at a height of 1400 ft
Scattered clouds at a height of 2000 ft

Hints of blue above the grey.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Morning.

Thursday.

Damply dry.

Calm.

Blue sky in parts.

Wanly sunny.

Chilly in here at 12.4 deg, 10.5 in the kitchen, 8 in the leanto.

997.5 mBar, 29.456 in Hg, 748.2 Torr, 14.467 psi, (up from 988 last night), 61% RH (Lidl electric).

Meanwhile on the 17th of March 2020 AndyGarbs, xogg, LM, NF, and I popped in. It was very quiet out there. LM had health food for lunch. .

4 deg in the saltinghouse.

Since it was sunny I did a quick wash, which has been out on the line not drying much ever since. Went grey immediately of course. All would have dried in an instant in yesterday's semigale.

Walk (towpath, unabbreviated) walked in the wan sunshine/grey gloom.

Lunch: brunch. Entertainment: The Bottom Line: workplace bullying. Oh for 9x19. .

Stuff in off the line still damp: that requiring the iRon received its attentions: airing upstairs.

Book. Other book. Book. Other book. TD goes beep.

Tea: beans on toast plus baked spud. Nice enough. Tinned pears: like concrete FFS.

Entertainment: PM. Mostly seems to be about someone who's about to fall down some stairs, accidently, like.

Some bollox about Norma Jeane on Sky Arts. <click> UFO bollox on Blaze instead, during which I dozed off under the influence.

Book.