The really boring and totally pointless snippets thread V

[Karearea]

^ Hope Mrs 4ma goes from strength to strength.

Good morning, cloudy with feeble sunlight at times, 9.0°C, may reach 14°C. Glimpse of snow-capped peaks to the west.

Future potential modelling career remains in tatters although the dressing required on nose is much reduced in size from ten days ago. Looks like it's healing well.

Planning to see Shackleton: The Greatest Story of Survival at the cinema later.

Radio NZ: Movie review - Shackleton - transcript

[4mastacker]

Thank you Mme K - slowly but surely is key.

[Hydromet]

Fox3, what work do you have planned for your new toy?

Glad things are looking up, 4mastacker.

Mrs Hydro & I both recovering from our colds. About bloody time.

Sky clouding over, currently 15c, forecast max 20c.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

First couple of welding jobs are making a smokeless fire pit out of an old 55 gallon drum, and using some old angle iron to make frames for 2 solar panel trailers.
The trailers won't be roadworthy, just draggable around my property.
Nothing complicated, just simple welds at right angles or along a seam. I always try to start with easy stuff.
I had a go at Uni on my engineering course, and assorted mates have let me do the odd joint every five years or so since, but I consider myself a complete novice.

[Hydromet]

Sounds like fun, Fox3. I did a bit at tech when I was an apprentice, but haven't done any since, apart from a bit of brazing.

[G-CPTN]

I owned a welder and used to build trailers (for example a tilt-bed trailer capable of carrying a ride-on mower).

I bought wheels and suspensions from scrapyards.

[PHXPhlyer]

Was the C$250 just for the unit or did that include helmet, cart, clamps, gloves, magnets, etc?
If the later, great deal.

PP

[Karearea]

Very much enjoyed seeing the Shackleton documentary film: original film enhanced with ambient sounds and modern-day footage.

Loved Shackleton's vivid prose used in the narrative.

The Project Gutenberg eBook of South, by Sir Ernest Shackleton

From a work of fiction, not about Shackleton at all, but seems apt:

"... high endeavour such as this keeps the ordinary man from feeling that life is nothing but a sordid struggle for bread and butter.... It makes one think better of oneself and every one else. Each one says in his heart, 'Perhaps it is in me to do this great thing, given the opportunity,' and the very hope that we might act greatly makes us not so small."

[OFSO]

Back to Catalunia on the afternoon train today. Would like to visit a couple of museums/galleries first but it never occurred to the French that some visitors might want to stash a backpack or case when entering, so no facilities for this, just notices saying "no luggage allowed inside".

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

PHX - no cart, it's small enough and has a handle, and I already have clamps, but everything else, and two 2lb reels of flux-cored wire, yes.
I watch the flyers very closely, talk to people, and read reviews. I find the time invested in same is well worth it.

G-CPTN - I want to build a couple of trailers eventually, one for my mower like yours. Advice appreciated - what size of tubing/channel did you use?

[Ibbie]

We have had rain on the Costa this morning.
Blue starting to appear above, as clouds dissipate.
.

[Woody]

In a major surprise today an event is taking place in the UK, but not in London

https://eurovision.tv/story/eurovision- ... ning-order

Hannah Waddingham

[4mastacker]

Today I will be mostly giving anything to do with the BBC a big wide miss.

There's plenty of footy, IPL cricket, police interceptors, under-water basket weaving, etc available on other channels.

[1DC]

Dull and grey on the Humber,10C. Most other places in the UK being warned about heatstroke and being reminded to put on the sun screen lotion, no point here. Maybe tomorrow.
Ordered some foreign currency for my hols next week used to be a next days service now it takes two or three days, wonder what the reason is?
Mrs 1DC off to get her Barnet combed. ON Thursday she was driving passed a tractor cutting down a hedge and a small branch was thrown into the side of her car door resulting in a small dint, only £181 to fix

[OneHungLow]

Currently dull and grey and uninspiring further South East too! Things should improve later

EGSS 130608Z 1306/1412 01011KT 9000 OVC003 BECMG 1306/1309 9999 BKN014 BECMG 1310/1313 FEW040 BECMG 1320/1323 9000 BKN004 PROB40 1400/1407 0300 FG OVC001 BECMG 1407/1410 30004KT 9999 SCT040


Talking of weather this tornado near Spalding Nebraska provided some interesting footage and photographs for chasers in that area yesterday.

[Ex-Ascot]

Morning folks. Nice day. At safari camp. Boss of Mack Air came with his boat to us for a beer earlier.

[G-CPTN]

PHX - no cart, it's small enough and has a handle, and I already have clamps, but everything else, and two 2lb reels of flux-cored wire, yes.
I watch the flyers very closely, talk to people, and read reviews. I find the time invested in same is well worth it.

G-CPTN - I want to build a couple of trailers eventually, one for my mower like yours. Advice appreciated - what size of tubing/channel did you use?

I used to use rectangular hollow box tubing in sizes around 2 inch by 1 inch depending on what 'looked right' - ie what the suspension loads were expected to be.

For the tilt-bed chassis I used the axle centre line for the tilt axis so that the axle (leaf springs) carried the weight regardless of the position of the deck.

I no longer have the diagrams that I used to calculate the loads, and I passed-on the trailers (and the ride-on mower) to a 'youngster' (young farmer) when I was forced to give-up my two-and-a-half acre property with internal workshop and outbuildings and move into a small mid-terrace house (divorce).

Even the photographs have been lost by 'upgrading' computers.

Since then the terraced house has been replaced by one room in sheltered housing.

Life ain't what it used to be - no space for possessions!

My first trailer was built on a rectangular bed-frame (single bed size) with no suspension - used behind the ride-on to collect cut grass and transport it to the compost heap(s).

Sides were 'sheep-fencing'. Base was the original diamond wire-mesh of the War-time 'Utility' support for the mattress.

[OFSO]

Train would not start in Paris Gare de Lyon station. Took an hour to find a fix. I was sitting with six Dutch ladies on their way to Girona, full of laughs (and rosé). We got as far as Montpellier, where we had to change to a new train parked alongside. Crossed platform, after we embarked I said to the six Dutch ladies, "it's funny but on my last train I also sat next to six Dutch ladies." They said seriously "how long ago was that? " I replied "about five minutes". Hysterical laughter.

[G-CPTN]

I said to the six Dutch ladies, "it's funny but on my last train I also sat next to six Dutch ladies." They said seriously "how long ago was that? " I replied "about five minutes". Hysterical laughter.

Ops-Normal standard humour . . .

[Rossian]

.....as an antidote I called up some utube videos of Maria Farantouri. Now I don't speak Greek but her voice gets right to my heart, it's Alto?, resonant and has a wide range and even in her '70s she can hold an audience spellbound. I first heard of her in the '60s when she and Thoedorakis were exiled by the Junta. I was on detachment near Athens and in a bar in an old part of the city I was told about her and heard some records (played quietly).
I have tried to engage with EV (I've got teenage grandchildren) but if you listen to the songs without seeing the video spectaculars they're nothing to write home about. Last test, could I hum any of them afterwards? I doubt it.
I guess I really am a Boring Old Fart.

The Ancient Mariner