The storm passes us by & its an organic day

Stories abound in the media this morning about the recent storm which left its trail of damage across parts of the UK yesterday.  The death toll is 4 or 6 depending which stories you read.

The Express headline tells of more storms on the way although its inevitable at this time of year the paper appears to be on its own on this one.
Here in Derbyshire which was predicted to be in the storms path at one time, the day passed largely wind free with only the odd rain shower .

Nuisance telephone calls are a curse we have to endure along with the piles of junk mail pushed through the letterbox.
This Daily Mail story covers the problem and claims people are so intimidated by the cold calls they refuse to answer the phone.  We just have the answer machine set to pick up calls on the second ring, this generally means the call will end before the incoming message finishes.

I'm making an effort with my book about my Army career and have read through it once more correcting the numerous spelling and grammatical errors.  Harking back to those days is strange because some memories are quite vivid and others, when you start to speak to friends are not even recalled.  I have recently been contacted and informed that one ex 7 RHA colleague has had a heart attack and another who went on to serve in the SAS General Sir Michael Wilkes KCB CBE has died.  I knew Wilkes when he was a Lieutenant in 7 RHA in the 60's. - - -

Today is meant to be a volunteer work day for me with http://peakorganics.org.uk but I fear the weather might have other ideas because its raining right now.  Ah well the book can always get a bit of attention.

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

The price of Broadband in USA & Storm, what storm?

Here in the UK we notice a lot of technology items are far dearer than they are in the US.  For once then here's a BBC story where it claims Broadband is more costly in the US

This graphic helps the story along until you read further down that the US is ranked 30th out of 33 on price at an average of $90 per month.  Considering that includes phone and TV I don't think that's too bad.  Our Broadband phone and TV package is with Sky and we were paying Sky £70 per month with only the movie package as an extra which we have now ditched!  - - -

The disabled drum gets a firm banging in this BBC story which harks back to the 2012 paralympics as a yardstick

There are a couple of good quotes from Tony Heaton who was responsible for the giant wheelchair adorning the channel 4 building during the games.  He says its 50 years since we put a man on the moon but we still cant get a wheelchair user from one railway station to another (presumably in London)
Another of his points is where non blue badge holders park in disabled parking spaces.  I recently saw a huge pick up lorry parked in one down at the local sainsbugs and not only did he not have a badge the truck was almost blocking the access road to the car park!  Like Mr Heaton says "its a sign that people generally don't care!

Mention of the putting a man on the moon reminds me of this BBC story about conspiracy theories

The text finishes off with a tongue in cheek quote from the author about the moon landings that will make you smile - - -

The storm ravaging the southern part of UK has failed as yet to materialise on our doorstep.

I put a pic in my last blog showing a tree on a car way back in 1997 and true to form the pic above is from a BBC story today  I have looked on the Metcheck site where people post their current weather and some of the reports sound pretty scary.  Mention of roof tiles coming off, 85mph winds and lots of rain.  Currently here its raining moderately and there's a 3,5 mph Northerly wind.  There's still time for it to get nasty though - - -

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Lottery winners not happy & we prepare for Christian!

Lottery winners were not happy according to this Mail story

This is a pic after they were told they had "Only won £4.7m".  A blunder by Camelot had estimated the prize to be £6.2m .  I think i would still be able to raise a smile!  Some of the readers comments below the article are "priceless!"  no pun intended - - - -

There's something satisfying about seeing a fox in the wild unless you own chickens.  An acquaintance has a constant battle stopping the foxes taking her laying hens!

Walking locally one morning locally we saw a vixen by the edge of a field watching a couple of its cubs rolling around in the grass.  Not long after in the same area we were surprised to see a fix walking along the narrow road towards us.  It had failed at first to see us but when it did it soon shot off into the dense undergrowth.  This BBC story concerns urban foxes.  Love em or hate em it looks as if they are around to stay

Psychics are always in for a bashing if they get things wrong and here's one who paid for it with his job
A bus driver thought something "bad was going to happen" so he didnt bother to pick up the school children he was supposed to.  A "Spiritual medium" defended his action while his bosses dismissed him out of hand!

Just about every arm of the news media is covering "Christian" which is the name given to the storm approaching UK from the Atlantic.  Sky news  has a good piece about it with graphics to match

A satelite image attached to the story shows Christian approaching and the text waxes lyrical about the trail of damage that could come in its wake. They even drag out an image from the 1987 "Great storm"  Watch Christian develop today around Darley Dale on our weather website

So I guess we might see more like this through Monday and Tuesday.
Around here last night the sky was clear and we had a fairly stiff breeze.  Earlier this morning it was raining although now (07:00) the sky is reasonably clear again

as one of our resident squirrels raids the bird feeders.  

I have managed to get myself back into "the book" and am trawling through the 120 odd pages correcting spelling mistakes and grammatical errors before I insert a few remaining pics and move on to the next chapter 

Here's a good pic from 1965.  I was with 7 Para RHA back then and we were live firing the howitzers in Sharjah (Persian Gulf)  The gun has just fired and a guy called Brain Crampton is throwing clear the hot brass cartridge case.  - - - ah the good old days! lol 

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Get ready for some real rain & Chip and pin cats

Hurricane speed winds threaten Britain says Sky News

with this fine pic if waves breaking over a promenade somewhere.  Most other news media report the same or similar vying for the one with the highest mph for the wind, and the, Winner is - - - Daily Express with 100mph , what a surprise.  On the serious side its a fair bet the weather is going to turn very nasty Sunday and on into Monday.  As with all weather predictions I always think its a 50/50 probability of being right or wrong - - - only time will tell

Information about ourselves, how much do you throw out into the public domain?!  I like to think I'm pretty careful but this you tube video is a worth watching http://www.youtube.com/embed/F7pYHN9iC9I?rel=0   make sure you watch it right until the end!

There's no doubting that Concorde the aeroplane was a technological marvel and there are some interesting facts about it in this this BBC story 

 For instance, it flew so fast and high that 2 US SR71 Blackbird pilots were told to get out of the way by their traffic control as Concorde was coming through!  and when it turned up at the Toronto air show 750,000 people turned up to watch it.   Makes you wonder if people would still want to fly in it if they could get it airborne again?

Locally - - - The police have put out an e mail about people using the 999 (911 in the US) service for what "they consider emergencies" when the police have other ideas.
Examples: A woman phoned to say there was a spider in the house and her mother was out, could the police be sent to catch it.
A lady phoned (not sure how?) to say her phone wasn't working and she couldn't phone her hairdressers to say she wouldn't be able to make her appointment.
A householder phoned to say they had mail which had been delivered to the wrong address!   - - -

We are at last employing a bit of technology in an attempt to stop cats other than our won using the cat flap.  We have bought, but its has yet to be delivered, a cat flap with the technology to read the ID chip under a cats skin.  All you need do is programme the device and it remains locked to all who don't have the correct chip and pin!

Another bit of technology have I have purchased is an IP webcam.  The IP bit allows you to have it communicate by wifi with the computer you want to view the pics with. It has infra red for night viewing and works very well in pitch darkness.  Another feature is it can be used to "pan and tilt" thereby letting the user view almost 360 degrees around the camera.  I'm going to employ it to try and spot which cats are trespassing before we fit the "chip and pin" model! I have also managed to get it accessible through our website and might put it on their for general "visitor" use eventually.

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Another Spider story & Sorry sir you cant leave your bin ere!

Another story hits the news, this time in the Mail about a person being bitten by a False widow spider

Apparently not difficult to identify as the pic above doesn't look anything like the spiders we normally see around the garden and house. The story though has some pretty scary shots of John Catlins leg after he was bitten on the toe

Not something you would like to experience i'm sure!!!

The evidence i shall give etc etc etc has been The Oath used in our courts for years and a motion to end it has been defeated says this BBC story.

Solicitors argued that evidence given "under oath" or sworn on religious texts "must be strengthened" and opposed the ending of using "the oath".  Mind you so many people have been known to lie under oath i think its a bit of a waste of time myself.  A lot of time its seems he who wins has the best lawyer!    - - -

6 Tips to Revive Old Food Says this BBC story which must be a loser before it begins when you look at other stories claiming we throw away £750 worth of food a year.

One item covers using old bananas to make ice cream which we have tried with a fair degree of success.  Even with the cost of everything seeming to be spiralling ever upwards our "throw away" society I think is here to stay.

Talking of "Throwing things away" carries me neatly onto an amusing story from a friend of ours, lets call him "Croxford"
Rubbish bins we are blighted with up and down the country! green lids grey lids brown lids all mean something to our warriors of the early morning mega machines that give "early calls" to the idle around here and "oh bugger!" forgot to put it out again to peeps like me as you observe it gliding passed your house!
Croxford, who it has to be said is not the most agile of men being afflicted with various ills has to drag his general rubbish bin along the "back" of the houses to an assembly point for it to be emptied.
Having done that one day and seen the "bin lorry" pass by he went to retrieve his bin only to find it had disappeared.  
He phoned the relevant department reporting the loss to be promised a new bin right away which (of course) never turned up.  Another phone call some days later produced the promised bin and he duly dragged it to the assembly point on the correct day.  (like most communities various bins are only emptied fortnightly now)
On retrieving the bin he noticed it had not been emptied so he tried again a fortnight later only for the same thing to happen.
Time for action thinks Croxford and loads the still full bin into his wagon and go's to the council offices.  Having parked up he drags the bin into reception and explains the problem and tells the bemused receptionist that the bin is being left there by him for them to empty. It turns out that the bin had the "wrong coloured lid" to be emptied on the general rubbish appointed day!
At this juncture the "security man" approaches and utters the immortal words,"Sorry sir you cant leave your ere!"
Croxford manages to ignore the man and leaves the building followed at a distance by the Security man "pulling along the bin!"
Croxfords wagon is parked in the council car park and realising the security man might have desires on stopping him leaving without the bin he walks across to the local Morrisons and into the shop, the security man thinking he has parked in Morrisons car park follows him, with the bin.
Croxford hatches a plan and on leaving Morrisons jumps into a taxi and giving the man a fiver says, "council offices quick!"  explaining the sorry tail on the way.
The security man is puzzled at first watching the taxi disappear but then. All a little tooooo late catches on!
Struggling to get the bin across the Morrisons car park and back to the council one he is clearly dejected as Croxford sails out of the council car park and back home.
The council later contact Croxford to inform him that a new bin is on order but will take 2 - 3 weeks.
RESULT!

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

sell your baby for an iphone & shop antics

The story about the blonde girl picked up in Greece by the police from a Roma couple is all over the news but here's a couple on China who sold their baby to buy an iphone or so the story go's.  They had 2 children already and decided to sell the 3rd!

Another "child" related story is the horrific one covered by the BBC about abortions in El Salvador

It appears that some women who genuinely have miscarriages are jailed for Murder!   Worth a read! - - -

Another warning about threats to our trees is covered in BBC Story  this time its the oak tree that is in danger

These peats are oak processionary caterpillars.  The hairs on the caterpillars can cause skin rashes, eye problems breathing difficulty's and sore throats.

This is the type of damage to a piece of bark the caterpillars can do.  Accompanying the story is a list of other bugs we are also having to put up with.  It makes you wonder if we will have any trees left in 50 years!

This one makes me laugh! sleep cleans the brain of toxins

The boffins reckon that sleep acts as a "waste removal system" and that is one of the prime functions of sleep.  They also claim that not getting enough sleep may lead to some brain disorders.  Go on! think about the people you know and work with? there's at least a couple that definitely are not getting enough sleep!!!!

Nearly finished my series of shifts at the fun factory just tomorrow to go, I dont normally work Tuesdays but I have been asked to swap Wed for Tues.
The week has brought its usual number of "challenges" non more so than a lady customer today who spoke for a couple of minutes and still never told me what she wanted.  We went through the hand gestures and "well its like" and "Lots of other supermarkets do it" but were getting nowhere until she mentioned "It goes on lamb".  wandering to the "culinary's I gestured towards rosemary etc etc but always the response was always no.  We even visited the section where all the saice packets are located but still the answer was no.  "Morrisons have it" she said and the obvious answer was "well go to Morrisons!" but I resisted.  We finally parted after about 10 minutes still non the wiser although she thanked me for my efforts!
A far more satisfying outcome came about when i was sticking reduction stickers on items with today's date on.  I noticed a rather attractive 20 something girl wandering away down towards the far end of the shop.  A few minutes later she passed by again and once more a few minutes later.
I stopped her the 4th time and told I had noticed her passing a number of times, and asked what she was looking for.  Slightly embarresed she mentioned a couple of items, one was very close by so I took her and gave directions to the other and she went one her way!

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

That is a big fish & Are you Carenzas Grandad?

Sky news  covered this story which was picked up by others

Jasmine Santana was snorkelling. the fact that she is a marine biologist must have been more exiting for her as she "saw something shimmering in the water below her"  Dragging it ny the tail and then helped by others she managed to get it to the shore!

The usual bout of bush fires appear to be blighting Australia already with this report from the BBC

In this pic a chopper attempts to drown a fire while there are some heartbroken people watching their homes go up in flames!

Water rates or on a meter here's a guy with another idea.  This Daily Mail story tells  the tail of Lea Beaumont who demanded his water was switched off because he can survive cheaper on bottled mineral water.  

He reckons to be able to beat his £14 a month water rates bill,  Mmmmmmm     - - - 

Do you have "spiritual beliefs?"  according to this BBC story

Recorded 77% as believing some things could not be explained by science or other means.  "My take" does that necessarily mean they have a religious belief? Another bit of the text says that between 2001 & 2011 people in England & Wales calling themselves Christian fell from 72% to 59%!  - - -

Nearer to home our weather has been forecasted to be awfully rainy but its not happened yet!

In the fun factory (Sainbugs Matlock) the day was not that challenging although one old dear in a wheel chair asked me for "you know its a round thing with raisins in" Ah you mean lemon and raisin pancakes" I offered. "No i want a small wholemeal loaf", she replied.  I loaded the loaf into the basket on the fornt of her wheelchair and off she went.  Only to dump the loaf at the end of the isle!  - - -

"Can you tell me where the golden syrup is"  asked the lady in the Dame Edna Everidge disguise only to be joined by a "normal" lady piping up "oh yes I'm looking for that as well" The jams occupy a small portion of "My" isle so its a not uncommon request.
After giving directions, to the next isle the "normal" lady says, "are you Carenza's granddad?" "Pardon" i reply only to have the question repeated.  "No" I reply but with a delighted expression I say "but I'm willing to adopt"!!!!!  So funny!

I managed a little logging Tuesday before the forecasted rain arrived with a vengeance.  I made the decision to continue logging through the Autumn/Winter just to enjoy the fresh air and it looks to be paying off.  Its far easier in the "cool" and I'm seeing the season change!

No sunshine but its a lot cooler!!

Mist moving over the top of the valley

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Are you connected to nature? & Trees down at Peak Organics

Its not surprising that kids are not "connected to nature" according to this BBC article

The perception of adults that nature is dangerous and dirty seems to be holding children back from enjoying what nature has to offer.  I don't suppose its much of a surprise that kids "don't have time" to get out there nowadays.  The 3 year project by the RSPB indicates 21% of 8 - 12 years olds are "connected. Maybe if we had earlier data to compare it with it might not be to surprising

 The Daily Mail covers another environmental story about the removal of some wind turbines near Addingham in Yorkshire

pic by Alex Whitehead 

These 3 plus one more had apparently not worked for years and were removed with the intention of putting in 2 even larger ones.  Planning permission was denied and local protesters are trumpeting their vistory - - - interesting that the land belongs to the Duke of Devonshire. 

 Drone flying?  not something you come across every day but it appears to be getting very popular across "the pond" in the US and around the world this BBC story relates

Its not your radio controlled model airplane but a device you wear goggles that receive video from the drone and you "fly" the thing.  Sounds pretty cool and im sure we will see all kinds of stories popping into the news media.  Some kind of legislation to "regulate" the flying of them is just around the corner!

Closer to home - - - We took Tom our older cat to the Vets to get the all clear after his sore leg of the previous week.  We are still troubled by other cats coming in the house and apart from eating all the cat food they terrorise Sainsbury the younger cat.  We are looking at a cat flap which you can programme with the cats "Microchip" so it only lets them in.  Not cheap but it seems the only alternative

Working for http://peakorganics.org.uk yesterday started with me finishing off clearing the flagged floor of what we think was a pigsty years ago.

  The cleared floor area in the pic is about 6 x 12 feet and I have been asked to see how far it go's to the right before it hits the perimeter track, a job for next time maybe.

Vanessa arrived before noon and promptly picked 3 buckets of damsons to sell at the market and later the Tree man arrived and set about his work

He removed all but the lower trunk of one which was shading our garden, just beyond the fence, from light.  We are now proposing to remove the 2 trees just beyond the fence over winter in one of our "new projects"

Here's Dave complete with all the relevant safety gear demolishing a willow a little farther up into the garden.  The resulting wood is being shred between himself and the Garden itself 

Apparently we are going to get quite a bit of rain later today but I'm going to risk a couple of hours logging before it arrives late morning.  Gotta "connect with nature!" 

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Low fat diets make you fatter? & Peak Organics day

I bleated on about what's good for you one minute is bad for you the next yesterday and the subject was curved sole shoes.  Today it turns out a a low fat diet could make you fatter its form the Mail and it has some compelling evidence

This a pic of Sam Feltham a personal trainer on day 21 of his low fat diet where he has gained 16lbs in weight and put over 3 inches on his waistline!  There's also a suggestion in the text that a low fat high carb diet could raise cholesterol levels. - - - worth a read   - - -

Smartsource water offered consumers savings of up to 8% on their water bills.

What really caught consumers attention though was a guarantee not to increase prices for 4 years.  Whats the old saying "if it sounds too good to be  true it probably is"  The BBC story is a sad tale of unpaid bills and disconnection notices. Part of the problem was the company paid your water bill for you and obviously this didn't happen but its the "end user" who is still responsible. - - - 

Cut up a calor gas cylinder with a grinder? the story is form the Mail but a BBC2 DIY programme screened the act to millions. 

All this to make a lampshade!  Calor point out that apart from it being illegal, they own the cylinder you buy only the gas, its dangerous.  The fact the guy doesn't even have gloves on and bare legs while cutting the cylinder points the way to disaster sooner or later!    

Ever tried using those self service tills at the supermarket.  

Another Mail story points out that a third of people using them have walked out of the stores because of a bad experience.  Yes they are irritating as invariably an error will throw up the fact you need "assistance" which is usually 1 assistant watching all the self service tills and is attending to someone else at the time.  

My take is that we are being "conditioned" to want everything faster.  - - -  take it easy chill out beat the conditioners!!!!!!!   

Its that time again, I'll be spending some time working for the Peak Organics  people today. Digging away to expose a stone flagged floor in an old pig sty and smashing up an old tree trunk into firewood should keep me busy.  Then its one more day off before returning to the Fun Factory for a series of shifts! 

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

  

Another death in the mountains & I want 68 grams of yeast!

Once again the dangers of walking the Mountains in the UK are highlighted in this BBC story

pic by Dudley Smith 

The Ogwen Valley in Snowdonia is a popular place for walkers having the Glyders and Tryfan for enthusiasts to try out.  Its a particularly steep and rocky set of walks and the danger is pretty obvious evben from the various car parks along the A5 passing through the valley.  The unfortunate walker fell around 300 feet near to the Devils Kitchen scramble.  

The story also relates a rescue earlier in the day when a climber had his leg severed by a falling stone block which ended up on the A5 road some 500ft below! 

Sky News report  that Donald Miller Jr from Ohio vanished after losing his job and hitting the bottle back in 1986.  Declared dead 8 years later he then re-surfaces in 2005 alive and well declaring "I kind of took off and ended up in different places"

In attempting to have his social security number and drivers licence reinstated he was told by a judge "your'e still deceased as far as the law is concerned.  - - - only in America I suppose!?

This enterprising builders house was burgled

However, turning to sleuth hinmself it only took him 3 hours to get most of the burgled items back.  Triumphantly returning home he then gets a tongue lashing from the cops at his home taking down his wifes statement and was threatened with arrest for "ruining their investigation. - - - only in the UK I suppose!?

Whats good for you one minute is bad for you the next.  A familiar story here from the BBC 

pic by Sian Macrae 

This time its curved soled shoes once trumpeted as having "a positive impact on posture back and joint pain"  They now are "no better" than traditional trainers for reducing lower back pain"  The story relates the study with its over a 100 volunteers and in the end its a case of some for some against.  For my money, trainers are comfortable but shouldn't be worn continually because the soles are too soft.  

On my feet all day at the Fun Factory (Sainsbugs Matlock) my knees start to give me gip wearing trainers, so much so that I started wearing knee supports (old war wounds you understand lol)  I finally bought a pair of walking boots a few weeks ago with a fairly solid sole.  So far knee pain is staying away! - - - 

Talking of the fun factory, the other day a colleague form the bakery, "lets call her anonymous" related a story about a stroppy customer who declared "I want 68 grams of yeast" asking me how I would have handled the situation.  Now it all boils down to the fact that our pricing ticket machine is programmed to print 50g 100g 200g etc labels.  Not one for 68 grams!  

Explaining this to the customer Anonymous was on a losing track as the customer demanded rather rudely, "I want 68 grams of yeast"  The solution Anonymous came up with was to measure 68g but label it as 50g.  The customer marched off triumphant and will no doubt be back sometime to repeat the tirade.  

My solution I told Anonymous would be to take as long as possible calling a manager and then take as long as possible explaining the situation before letting the manager decide the outcome!  

Our period of manky weather is still with us and the rain is continuing to hammer down just as it did most of yesterday.  One good outcome though was that it drove me to pull out my laptop which "the book" is on.  Having dusted it down and then spent an hour downloading windows updates and Windows Security Essentials updates I finally managed a couple of hours pounding away at the keys!

   

I've found that even though I thought "I'd completed" the story of my period when I was with 7 Para RHA  for no apparent reason a memory would pop up that "had to go in the book".  Trying to squeeze in the text in the correct place invariably upset the arrangement of the pics I had already inserted and meant rearranging whole pages sometimes.  

I have now then opted for rattling down the text keeping an eye on the pics in my collection and inserting the pic number only to insert the actual pic when "I'm sure" that period is fully complete!  Here's hoping it works.  

So its a stroll by the river in the rain then back to the book for me today - - - 

Here's a pic Sally took at the beginning of June I'll see if i can get asimilar one of today's scene.  

Update 10:00am 

the flash fired so the colours look a little strange but  a big difference from the June pic 

The Autumn colours in all their glory in the foreground trees while the hillside is being hammered by the rain 

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Now Oz feels the heat & If it isn't broken don't fix it!

With the Indian cyclone having made landfall the pics are in all the news media, this from the Mail

and its the "usual" disturbing crop of pics showing people desperately trying to flee the storm, look after their livestock or the one above just being overawed by the effects.
As we head into our winter season in Australia they are are bracing themselves for an extreme summer according to this Sky News story.  There's talk of heat waves, cyclones, severe thunderstorms and the inevitable brushfires

Warmer than average sea temperatures are partly to blame according to the pundits!

A panic over fuel shortages could possibly be on the horizon, mind you that only my take on this BBC story about a proposed strike at the Scottish Grangemouth refinery.

 The headline screams that the threatened 48 hour strike starting from next Sunday could "shut most of Scotland".  My idea is that if the newspapers start to pump up the story (lol) there will be long queues at pumps all over the UK!

Street food  this BBC story claims is becoming increasingly popular with the more festivals we are having.  The health angle is the predominant line and it mentions 400 people suffering food poisoning at an event in Newcastle.  I'm a bit squeamish about street food as you only have to look at the person preparing it to "hold back" on a purchase.
Mind you back in the early 70's I vividly recall sitting on the kerb in Bugis Street Singapore eating a meal from one of the many "Street food" vendors.  Nowadays Bugis street is clear of the food stalls as legislation moved them into government controlled "Food Halls"

This is a pic of one of the more popular Food Halls, you can still eat outside in China towns "food street" but the food halls are great for a quick meal.  Maybe we should follow Singapore's lead! - - -

"If it isn't broken don't fix it" A true and well tested saying yesterday by me! It was raining but I was going to change the sponges in the pond filters come what may.  I wandered up to the shed to collect the replacement filters and flicked up the screen of the old laptop we use to run the birdfeeder and cloud view webcams.
It seemed to be using a lot of CPU so I started to find out why.  Updates was the answer it was updating itself but I unticked a box which would cut out 2 procedures when it was saving the still pics to the webserver.  No problem now where are those sponges

A soggy hour later the pumps have been hauled out of the pond and cleaned the sponges changed and the pond looks good.
Later in the day I notice the weather machine image on the website is showing only half the length it should and the web server is showing errors!  2 hours later after trying all the usual fixes and even re installing some of the weather software I admit defeat and take the weather image off the site.
4:30 this morning I wake up still puzzled but hey! The last weather image (the one only showing half of the pic) was timed at 0840, the same time I unticked the box on the other machine, could that be the problem?  Sno good I'm going to have to get up and "Fix it again!".  20 minutes later after remotely ticking the box on the shed machine and putting back the weather image on the site, all is well!!!!!   So "If it isn't broken don't fix it!" has another twist of "If it isn't broken Fix it till it is!"    - - -
Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Cyclone heads for India & we buy Billy the bookcase?

Each day as I switch on my PC I look at a few webcams around the world mainly to see what the weather is like, OK sad I know but there we go.  this one is on the island of Kuredu in the Maldives and the weather was looking rather dull!
Surfing the news channels it soon became obvious why this was

A huge cyclone is working its way across the Bay of Bengal towards India's eastern coast.  We remembered being on holiday in the Maldives around this time last year when a similar cyclone was following the same track and the Maldivian weather was affected by one of the cyclones tails stretching far out into the Arabian sea.

Here's a pic of last years cyclone with an arrow pointing out where we were.

This pic shows the effect on the Maldivian weather at the time.  Once the cyclone hits the Indian coast the Maldivian weather returns to its sunny aspect.  Heavens knows what it must be like on the Indian coast

Another weather ralated story from the Metro this morning is of a German motorist who slid off a snow covered road in Bavaria into a river

He managed to get out of the car up onto the roof and as the car began to sink was saved by the emergency services throwing him a lifeline!

Another Metro story we picked up on was one about a diver having his teeth cleaned by a shrimp!

I think I would draw the line at letting anything wander inside my mouth while snorkelling but sometyimes we have been nibbled at by the "cleaner wrass" if you hang around too long in one spot

In this pic you can see a fish about to have a go at my watch strap. They'll happily swim quite close to you looking for lunch!

Having been force fed pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast yesterday!

It was suggested by Sally that she was going to sort out the books in our bookcase which is a tad overflowing.  Taking my life in my hands I suggested we get another "bit" to join onto the existing 2 shelves.
The 2 we have came from "IKEA", yeah you know the place you go in for a T Towel and come out with a 3 piece suite!   (we did just that once!).
Anyway, Thankfully I was despatched, alone "cos it will will need the front seat folding in the van" i remarked.
Wandering around the place you see the couples picking up all kinds of things they don't really want and resolutely try to keep your eyes "to the front" and concentrate on the one item you have come to buy, "Billy the bookcase".  We have silly names for our cars like I suppose lots of people do but why is it that IKEA have such silly product names?
Having found the right item in the "Furniture self service" warehouse i quickly whizz through the check out and back out into the rain. Ah! I cant get my trolley past the huge concrete bollards in the loading area! Well its not that heavy so I pick up Billy, abandon the trolley and puff and pant across the car park, in the rain to the van.  "Hey Cyril (the van) meet Billy" I say as I load him into the van and make good my escape feeling pretty pleased with myself at having only bought what I came for!
Back home its still raining so a good excuse to install Billy right away.  So with Sally "supervising" and reading the instructions and me only drawing blood once from a screwdriver to the right index finger Billy stands proud next to, well, the other Billy's we already have

 All we need now is for Sally to do the arranging of the various volumes!
Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam