tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43732330765134165032024-03-19T12:56:21.361+00:00bolingblogrjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.comBlogger712125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-62545076921125696522024-03-04T11:46:00.003+00:002024-03-04T11:46:27.129+00:00City Break<p> A couple of weeks ago I hosted my brother and one of his friends on their "gents city-break in Plymouth". We ate pasties and drank Plymouth gin. We maintained a length of my ancient Devon hedge. We observed bleak grey seascapes in heavy drizzle, we looked at moorland from indoors, we saw the ugly brutal architecture of the city centre in cold heavy rain, and we saw the inside of several (warm, dry) pubs.</p><p>I was reminded of a conversation that one of my colleagues had. "Isn't Plymouth beautiful?" "Yes, when you've got your back to it".</p><p>He's absolutely right, it's surrounded by moorland, rolling Devon hills and wooded valleys, cliffs, islands, estuaries, lighthouses, and harbours. But the city itself isn't much to look at.</p><p>Richard "Tourist Information" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-78059282967833396172024-03-04T08:32:00.001+00:002024-03-04T08:32:03.398+00:00Molatov<p> For the latter decades of my curatorship of the family lawnmower I had a very nice fuel mixing bottle, but I gave it away with the mower. Now I am a chainsaw owner I need the same thing again, but they're all trash. The top on the one I bought leaks terribly and I have been unable to fix it. Literally every other mixing bottle (except the expensive Stihl one) is the exact same moulding, and I can only assume is equally badly made.</p><p>Fine. I'll do it myself.</p><p>All I need is a clear bottle with a good screw cap, and a narrow neck, so that the measurements are somewhat accurate. I finished a bottle of rum and bought a measuring cylinder and I've now marked the empty bottle at 700ml and 714ml so that I can mix up a batch of 50:1 two stroke fuel.</p><p>Yes, since I own a measuring cylinder I did calibrate all the measuring jugs in my kitchen, wouldn't you</p><p>Richard "Lambs Navy Petrol" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-69570810959349986862024-03-04T08:30:00.001+00:002024-03-04T08:30:05.431+00:00I Bet You<p> I've got involved in a massively convoluted and expensive wager. One of my team can't drive and is starting to find it mildly inconvenient. I have previously wondered aloud whether I'm good enough at circuit driving that I could get a race licence. So we've challenged each other, who can get their respective licence first.</p><p>I will keep my readership informed of any important updates in this wager.</p><p>My rival has edged ahead as she's already applied for a provisional licence, while I still haven't actually ordered my Go Racing Pack from UK Motorsport. The bit I'm most worried about is what car I'm going to be in and which circuit I'm going to be at when I take the test. As far as I can tell the only hard and fast requirements for the car are that it has a passenger seat and an H pattern gearbox. Whether the driving school will accept my kit car, which has both of those, and which I'm confident driving, is another matter. Hiring cars at racing circuits is spendy.</p><p>Richard "Phileas Fogg" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-44365647200150529432024-03-04T08:27:00.004+00:002024-03-04T08:27:57.040+00:00Fault Report<p> Once, back in the old days I was adding a new feature to a ferry company's online booking system and I got the best fault report I've every received. I had added the feature to be able to take a bicycle on your crossing, and I'd done it exactly how they'd asked me to. However they had certain business rules at their end that I didn't know about. A bicycle is a type of vehicle and it makes its crossing on the car deck. When you book a vehicle their system might know exactly how much space it takes on the car deck, but if they've never heard of it before they assume that its 1.9m high and 5m long.</p><p>In reality bicycles are lashed to the handrail at the end of the car deck and take up approximately no space, however the booking system was assuming that they would take up 5m of space in an area that had a ceiling at least 1.9m high. You only had to book a few bicycles on a crossing and the car deck would be noticeably sparse, and vans would get turned away because the "wouldn't fit".</p><p>I was rung up by one of the people from the ferry company's computer centre. A woman with whom I had a friendly but professional relationship, and whom I had most certainly never heard swear.</p><p>"Richard" she said "bicycles are fucking massive this year".</p><p>Richard "lead passenger" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-2543888797097528942024-02-08T11:27:00.006+00:002024-02-08T11:27:41.163+00:00Henry Porter and the Wizard's Rock<p> I don't know very much about the Harry Potter cannon (I'll be Link if you are Gannon) but there are a couple of things I'd like to share with you.</p><p>Firstly: In the same way that adding "in bed" to the end of a fortune cookie message often makes it funnier, the title of pretty much every scientific paper is improved by adding "Harry Potter and the".<br />Harry Potter and the Structure of Deoxyribonucleic Acid<br />Harry Potter and the Computability of Numbers<br />Harry Potter and the Unskilled and Unaware of it: How Difficulties in Recognizing one's own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-assessments</p><p>Secondly: The sorting hat.</p><p>If I remember correctly each of the children are sorted in to one of a few houses when they start their magical studies. To start with this seems like a wonderful and fantastical invention by the author, but it happens in real life too. It doesn't happen to absolutely everybody, it's more men than women, and it happens at a later age, but it's the same. Something intrinsic about your character identifies you with your house. There's some degree of family lineage which might affect which house you're in. Each house has its own culture and heritage. Once you're part of a house, you can never possibly change.</p><p>I know you're sceptical, and you can't remember being sorted, but you will when you see the names of the houses:</p><p>De Walt. Makita. Ryobi. Bosch. Milwaukee.</p><p>Richard "De Walt" B</p><div><br /></div>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-76809842575726208402024-01-16T10:56:00.003+00:002024-01-16T10:56:40.439+00:00Problem Neighbour<p> I have been burning hedge trimmings in a garden incinerator. I thought it was too difficult to light and burned too slowly so I modified it. There's now a hairdryer blowing fresh air in to the bottom like a blast furnace. This is what it looks like in oepration.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yJcAZu61iZagsT2LZO-sV1GgrPwUelVkhZYsrowfzVGqukX8K2FRImDbwFV2aLE96qv9paxi5RAGMihqpmNF7zQVjCIQ0QiScT5z9rBIqE6cUB5iBHHQTIcvnWOaQdLEfnma3YDyPYP1sdD6kLnXmmelsAJHqJV8pTlEC6M88fuYVBtyfXQvXMSNIHQ/s4032/IMG_20240115_172121358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yJcAZu61iZagsT2LZO-sV1GgrPwUelVkhZYsrowfzVGqukX8K2FRImDbwFV2aLE96qv9paxi5RAGMihqpmNF7zQVjCIQ0QiScT5z9rBIqE6cUB5iBHHQTIcvnWOaQdLEfnma3YDyPYP1sdD6kLnXmmelsAJHqJV8pTlEC6M88fuYVBtyfXQvXMSNIHQ/w480-h640/IMG_20240115_172121358.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p>It was a qualified success, but I had to turn the hairdryer off shortly after this photo was taken because the incinerator was glowing red.</p><p>Richard "Max Power" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-49110742224771902282024-01-09T14:35:00.001+00:002024-01-09T14:35:07.620+00:00Cheese plane<p> I have a couple of unusual phobias. Door handles and cheesegraters. These aren't crippling anxiety inducing phobias, I'm just slightly more wary of these things than most people. They're not irrational either, I nearly broke my wrist when it got stuck behind a door handle, and I once cut then ends of my fingers on the grater while grating cheese.</p><p>One of my brothers used to live in the Netherlands and gave me a cheese slicer from there (he either thought I would find it interesting, or that it would be a safe alternative to a box grater). It's a bit like a smoothing plane, but the sole is short and wide, and the tote is before the throat (like a German plane). I have found this contraption singularly useless. The cheese crumbles rather than slices, and it binds up on the sole.</p><p>At the weekend I had a bona fide Dutchman in the house, and by coincidence the cheeseboard I put on the table included gouda – which is a Dutch cheese. "What you need is a cheese slicer" he said and I was able to find the one which has been cluttering up my kitchen drawers for the last 15 years. On the hard, solid and slightly waxy gouda the slicer worked like a charm – effortlessly producing thin uniform slices of cheese. I now think it's rather excellent, but not compatible with cheddar.</p><p>Richard "Grchghouda" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-69906434509872956182024-01-09T14:30:00.003+00:002024-01-09T14:30:51.031+00:00The Bleaken<p> In the run up to Christmas I was disappointed to see how many people in the shops were in a bad mood. Everybody is trying to live up to an impossible ideal of Christmas day and it causes a lot of stress. I've since been told that this is very common and that if you work in retail you're most likely to get shouted at or mistreated in the run up to Christmas.</p><p>I have to admit that I must have been one of those disgruntled shoppers because I started to find myself very critical of the rest of the general public with their miserable faces and short tempers.</p><p>On Christmas day itself I was walking to the pub with my sister and her husband and we were discussing Christmas stress and people being in a bad mood. A young woman stamped her way from her car to the front door and shouted "HOW THE F!*£ IS IT MY PROBLEM THAT..." and then slammed the door behind herself. I've thought about it many times, and I'd love to know what problem she'd got caught up in. I think it would be rude to go to a stranger's house and ask then if they could remember what they were arguing about on Christmas day.</p><p>Richard "that the mince pies are made with suet" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-28475491564950149812023-12-18T13:22:00.003+00:002023-12-18T13:22:57.212+00:00Slippery When Wet<p> Motorists using roundabouts are too impatient. A couple of years ago my sportscar shed its luggage on a roundabout and a lot of it got run over before I could retrieve it. A couple of weeks ago I slipped off my motorbike on a wet roundabout. The second that I had picked myself up and started pushing the bike towards the kerb people started using the roundabout again, paying no heed to my top-box, the bits of my mirrors that were left behind, or the items which had fallen out of my pocket.</p><p>It was the classic low-side and it happened at a nice low speed. I was dressed very defensively and I was pretty much uninjured. I took most of the impact on my right hand and right hip, but somehow managed to bang up both elbows!</p><p>Richard "leathers" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-11621889789667415712023-12-12T13:23:00.004+00:002023-12-12T13:23:59.808+00:00Fridge Magnets<p> In my old house I sort of collected fridge magnets. In my new house there is nowhere to stick them. The fridge-freezer is concealed and everything is made from wood, plastic or stainless steel. I have found one small place on each oven that will support a magnet so I have picked two which are dear to me for the kitchen and left the rest on steel shelving in the workshop.</p><p>I chose the Osborne Bull (from a holiday to Spain) and the Legendary Cock of Barcelos (from Portugal). Sadly they fit in so well with the décor that it looks more like one oven is specifically for meat and the other for poultry.</p><p>Richard "magnetic attraction" B</p><div><br /></div>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-35001640312566743252023-12-12T13:22:00.000+00:002023-12-12T13:22:02.107+00:00Code Name<p> I've been climbing for about 18 months. I'm doing what's called bouldering (or low altitude indoor free solo) where you climb artificial walls at a gym with a thickly padded floor. You never get particularly high so there are no harnesses or ropes involved. I'm not particularly good at it, but I'm much better and stronger than when I started.</p><p>One of the moves is called a "mantle". It's where you grab something at (say) chest height and you start off by pulling down on it but end up pushing down on it at waist height. Like part of a muscle-up except you're allowed to use your feet too.</p><p>A couple of Saturdays ago I made friends with a Brummie who liked my solution to one of the climbs and said I made it look easy. I thanked him but pointed out that I couldn't do the mantle without making a silly little noise. It was completely involuntary and it was more than the sound of an old man getting up out of a sofa, but much less than the sound of a professional tennis player serving.</p><p>My new friend then climbed the same problem using my beta (set of moves) and made the same little noise during the mantle.</p><p>We then watched another climber do the same problem, but he didn't have to make the same noise so we agreed that he must be stronger than us.</p><p>I told this story to the guy I usually climb with. He used to be a professional athlete, and he's enormously fit and strong. He didn't need to make the noise, so he's now got a very cool gang name. "Silent Mantle".</p><p>Richard "quite fireplace" B</p><div><br /></div>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-4398002033575694982023-11-20T08:21:00.004+00:002023-11-20T08:21:50.020+00:00Strop<p> I wanted a strop for chisels and plane irons, and youtube encouraged me to make my own. It's only a scrap of leather glued to a flat bit of wood. So this weekend I took the radio and a cup of coffee out to the workshop and did some recreational woodwork.</p><p>Stock</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0stwXcCROEJJEWGlZv5b99iWjTHh2psiVEta91bOjp8cEGoK5CSP7puJnpXrQkJaKNWoCD4aa832IKFdcOWSWBsQGLTH9PKC7RPL4H-0-JE1Yhs9p91kNN3s3u6uO-VUNauSoqkr893s6GUk6PbXp8SDpmSvOm8CRMnbueNY8tU2QsB59fKeRyfIGyI/s4032/IMG_20231118_132347016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0stwXcCROEJJEWGlZv5b99iWjTHh2psiVEta91bOjp8cEGoK5CSP7puJnpXrQkJaKNWoCD4aa832IKFdcOWSWBsQGLTH9PKC7RPL4H-0-JE1Yhs9p91kNN3s3u6uO-VUNauSoqkr893s6GUk6PbXp8SDpmSvOm8CRMnbueNY8tU2QsB59fKeRyfIGyI/w640-h480/IMG_20231118_132347016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Sawing</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBAgkwttqzQG1Wv7GkOFrL2tirLqx3HAVVMs-incQcowFQgyJv7EmKNn-BvRYt-ZspL4TnPGYohcuZkJnX1xBB0Gvh4Qp8P5XFSczBq-lOFydpahE0Om7tBnfwpSJp0Fqu6LC01fECd4zhHU9-umniXBSFv1qFLyv8WlkIH1UzlUtllGDCieANrEY5JKw/s4032/IMG_20231119_103237887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBAgkwttqzQG1Wv7GkOFrL2tirLqx3HAVVMs-incQcowFQgyJv7EmKNn-BvRYt-ZspL4TnPGYohcuZkJnX1xBB0Gvh4Qp8P5XFSczBq-lOFydpahE0Om7tBnfwpSJp0Fqu6LC01fECd4zhHU9-umniXBSFv1qFLyv8WlkIH1UzlUtllGDCieANrEY5JKw/w640-h480/IMG_20231119_103237887.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Smoothing</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3-vdkEzd5BZYT1g2VGJncHjNURTKpWJnfsbsXW0JEs5i-qNIl4kI9FqlSHzAGRFkhsgasKME6-yUjhUkAJm1-0ixK2MQcAJBAZSZHEphHKeBVEAka4RRgAwGdNnSbB5SLbzNO1xa7lzFtLKftilSdKq4UCtiOijKlOXsvpNyn4twMj_q95yAbsRImkY/s4032/IMG_20231119_103420407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3-vdkEzd5BZYT1g2VGJncHjNURTKpWJnfsbsXW0JEs5i-qNIl4kI9FqlSHzAGRFkhsgasKME6-yUjhUkAJm1-0ixK2MQcAJBAZSZHEphHKeBVEAka4RRgAwGdNnSbB5SLbzNO1xa7lzFtLKftilSdKq4UCtiOijKlOXsvpNyn4twMj_q95yAbsRImkY/w640-h480/IMG_20231119_103420407.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Makeshift shooting board</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4eYJ1F4fyYxVAtydz4ngYLGpu-9LcQJjRt-zjsn9TuTsJ9jVcuuGvmrjYkMA0mz7Log-8Rtbtv2EuB7J38JdFadrxUljQ-uyTxcVVuIj9tmNVYtP9fkOA90Nm0hlFtxBop_IMUCmf1nRFupjhMA0YpdPKaSp-rVPLqupL5CvA27t-T4NKuQSCW9mnIc/s4032/IMG_20231119_115002718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4eYJ1F4fyYxVAtydz4ngYLGpu-9LcQJjRt-zjsn9TuTsJ9jVcuuGvmrjYkMA0mz7Log-8Rtbtv2EuB7J38JdFadrxUljQ-uyTxcVVuIj9tmNVYtP9fkOA90Nm0hlFtxBop_IMUCmf1nRFupjhMA0YpdPKaSp-rVPLqupL5CvA27t-T4NKuQSCW9mnIc/w640-h480/IMG_20231119_115002718.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Glue</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lgs2qvjF8suli9McLOPnyqGYsOXhnWGgkvrCEex4ywskxqcBpcsTu-Llyr5zumcD4Yuy5J9gEJYzU4sWNw84O3m8VSkmzH5l1YtQkWOGOrM2AJGKhcRLNDcZ7UKe_zXeAlYiK56kFMZ-fKsAKnMFbMhOY4P28iW1YGf4fWfzIS4YC0xjA78TTLC2n6U/s4032/IMG_20231118_153033739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lgs2qvjF8suli9McLOPnyqGYsOXhnWGgkvrCEex4ywskxqcBpcsTu-Llyr5zumcD4Yuy5J9gEJYzU4sWNw84O3m8VSkmzH5l1YtQkWOGOrM2AJGKhcRLNDcZ7UKe_zXeAlYiK56kFMZ-fKsAKnMFbMhOY4P28iW1YGf4fWfzIS4YC0xjA78TTLC2n6U/w640-h480/IMG_20231118_153033739.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Polishing compound ("soap")</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGAcTjMkT1Dx1S9ePrk1Lo2xcwxjSRNjvMDMbp7WNJtYb5boiWaxnt8_K8i2egAtrcv-M1y7-ojYRTxWIeSGtPqubRMdq30zWr4HFcsuLSxGyBTsXc7Bd1Jzwhf1PmxaQT-LWp0d-KPY96CrLpWugv4Nd9SpIvMjvGDT72cPFqWLvuoXz3ccGM8lUpd0/s4032/IMG_20231118_154258413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGAcTjMkT1Dx1S9ePrk1Lo2xcwxjSRNjvMDMbp7WNJtYb5boiWaxnt8_K8i2egAtrcv-M1y7-ojYRTxWIeSGtPqubRMdq30zWr4HFcsuLSxGyBTsXc7Bd1Jzwhf1PmxaQT-LWp0d-KPY96CrLpWugv4Nd9SpIvMjvGDT72cPFqWLvuoXz3ccGM8lUpd0/w640-h480/IMG_20231118_154258413.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Stropping</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30jn1g9Raj7b_z-pF3b6MjmNTmNMYpSukuxvYpPRapr2aZf-qpmKKqWYLfN2CTqAD5dJPpmR2ITFUXzIrJ0Fp6XKB3qj_S61Du2iW3WEcDyqchVMplaJUH1-gi5-knweaf3O_rSTK5r9PfmqKicng14dElNydxJ6RxYr1srguE44dlG0qBUMIJOJuoEw/s4032/IMG_20231118_155206438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30jn1g9Raj7b_z-pF3b6MjmNTmNMYpSukuxvYpPRapr2aZf-qpmKKqWYLfN2CTqAD5dJPpmR2ITFUXzIrJ0Fp6XKB3qj_S61Du2iW3WEcDyqchVMplaJUH1-gi5-knweaf3O_rSTK5r9PfmqKicng14dElNydxJ6RxYr1srguE44dlG0qBUMIJOJuoEw/w640-h480/IMG_20231118_155206438.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Sharp</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqs4cSGTb00UNLGOIXieLhYF8whg30t_dcRc1KeTOzDynJcHhqyW7kxbllU12ea4so5gpakIk6owiqf5WagoALx84HMtxOv6_HORyaA6k9W8pF2_GZMDMfLwi4SmjpoUZRA8BbZHTedhOy0QOhG3o77EAUbw1DkZy9X2frlLMgANqt0PGmHjtbn4Q9T9M/s4032/IMG_20231118_155501687.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqs4cSGTb00UNLGOIXieLhYF8whg30t_dcRc1KeTOzDynJcHhqyW7kxbllU12ea4so5gpakIk6owiqf5WagoALx84HMtxOv6_HORyaA6k9W8pF2_GZMDMfLwi4SmjpoUZRA8BbZHTedhOy0QOhG3o77EAUbw1DkZy9X2frlLMgANqt0PGmHjtbn4Q9T9M/w640-h480/IMG_20231118_155501687.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Richard "Walking on the razor's edge" B</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-89530812529407571032023-11-17T14:58:00.005+00:002023-11-17T14:59:45.215+00:00Long Service Award<p> For at least 30 years, there was an undisputed genius in engine tuning in Plymouth. His name was Alan Jeffery and you would hear stories, told in reverent tones about the godlike works that he had done. An ex-girlfriend's dad told me about the time that Alan Jeffery took a screwdriver, pressed it to the cylinder head and inlet manifold in many different places while listening to the handle and then told him (correctly) exactly why his car was running badly. When we were young, everybody with a good souped up Escort had had it tuned by Alan Jeffery. The man from the Vehicles Inspectorate who looked at my Caterham talked about him (and his skill with Webber carburettors) in nothing but glowing terms.</p><p>In early 2016 Alan Jeffery worked his magic for me, over the phone! My Caterham wouldn't pass the emissions tests. When I rang up he asked me to read the numbers off the failure certificate, and then told me exactly what was wrong (a clean air leak into the exhaust system). He never saw the car and he tried not to charge me.</p><p>His workshop was at the end of Valley Road but more recently it changed its name to Enginetuner Ltd and started concentrating on Subarus and Mitsubishis. I went there a couple of weeks ago to ask for advice on working out how worn my Caterham engine is (it has something like 200 hours on track). The receptionist said "Oh for a Caterham you'd be better off talking to Alan, he'll be there on Thursday". Alan Jeffery, semi-retired, well into his 70's with at least a 30 year glowing reputation showed me around the workshop, looked over my car, and essentially said "if it aint broke don't fix it", but "aint broke" involves oil consumption, temperature management, and emissions tests.</p><p>I'm delighted that he's still going, but rather sad that all the youngsters who work there are concentrating on modern cars. When Alan's gone, who's going to help me with my Caterham engine? Who's going to tune cars with carburettors?</p><p>Richard "Two first names" B</p><div><br /></div>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-56871313627136972172023-11-07T09:14:00.001+00:002023-11-07T09:14:09.351+00:00Bolingbroke Suite<p>I just bought a slightly battered silk lampshade from the charity shop, but it doesn't fit the pendant in The Bolingbroke Suite. To the workshop:</p><p>Bottle Top</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3NB67rZiI5pQnOX0gtgJJ40ibO1ZtVDPHFuzCgbYT34RZvMz9Vq83AtYKB6LGDxQv5_tSLl2jMZBwECBtFx0qEDag8xoj3Ybi32GjvKtnQtetLgzUmWqlw-aRZloFFBNLf52kEEjaJ1o81jMbGNfzcDLUx3Fhzu-FjIqFcxFk21dvMldbW5ltp1T9Mk/s4032/IMG_20231102_164420801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3NB67rZiI5pQnOX0gtgJJ40ibO1ZtVDPHFuzCgbYT34RZvMz9Vq83AtYKB6LGDxQv5_tSLl2jMZBwECBtFx0qEDag8xoj3Ybi32GjvKtnQtetLgzUmWqlw-aRZloFFBNLf52kEEjaJ1o81jMbGNfzcDLUx3Fhzu-FjIqFcxFk21dvMldbW5ltp1T9Mk/w640-h480/IMG_20231102_164420801.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Bottle Top with Groove</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVfeDgkTw4Z6LaRCWnuZOHPr3xzflmTzHZSqxjtnUWh3BLC6cQuffSLjZJbETUrLi9_b8U2N8rcz-DwhyrdPq25AbVT4EX1o1c0KGggbx0ESTkwD6A4CZeXtqYavzPmHp_VN8bkGDNRRUNQ-7Yn5urHZ4oN_FKjZ6GyU5dtZ0Fm2LmAo9GyPeNUveEbg/s4032/IMG_20231102_164558179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVfeDgkTw4Z6LaRCWnuZOHPr3xzflmTzHZSqxjtnUWh3BLC6cQuffSLjZJbETUrLi9_b8U2N8rcz-DwhyrdPq25AbVT4EX1o1c0KGggbx0ESTkwD6A4CZeXtqYavzPmHp_VN8bkGDNRRUNQ-7Yn5urHZ4oN_FKjZ6GyU5dtZ0Fm2LmAo9GyPeNUveEbg/w640-h480/IMG_20231102_164558179.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Bottle Top with O-Ring</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8FsOTuXWg9UuvgUXe-_2bp7pNfJVU0Pir7u-m88GZ0M413sqQBp71-xjP9geR7r7dcJQUvwyAwzSp6R1EPs4yw8UjwlmSwShjAbr93LRARacuchRy7KsrQfG7aahqYIF5Skvh_qgzqEaVr1kJ-5HmOUYarqy2luSNOviP0UgfKU5-yjw2j3mqXO1Luo/s4032/IMG_20231102_164914960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8FsOTuXWg9UuvgUXe-_2bp7pNfJVU0Pir7u-m88GZ0M413sqQBp71-xjP9geR7r7dcJQUvwyAwzSp6R1EPs4yw8UjwlmSwShjAbr93LRARacuchRy7KsrQfG7aahqYIF5Skvh_qgzqEaVr1kJ-5HmOUYarqy2luSNOviP0UgfKU5-yjw2j3mqXO1Luo/w640-h480/IMG_20231102_164914960.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Bottle Top at Drill Press</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSopDFwbI8EeFLzVzc3hKRQQmrbGe1u6TjeP5xAO7S6eyGPwst-ZNCu17iYrdBl0BZg9YaPUN_I4GlbMPFUawDeP8uoG2pkyXhWFjs3BPZgrN7sYu8dX5kJhskyRjWhxL9tUGFj94G2Odvq3lDcMnBb07F7cAHoEkC63-GoTQgItQ0uV3hdFBXOFOSHk/s4032/IMG_20231102_165212320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSopDFwbI8EeFLzVzc3hKRQQmrbGe1u6TjeP5xAO7S6eyGPwst-ZNCu17iYrdBl0BZg9YaPUN_I4GlbMPFUawDeP8uoG2pkyXhWFjs3BPZgrN7sYu8dX5kJhskyRjWhxL9tUGFj94G2Odvq3lDcMnBb07F7cAHoEkC63-GoTQgItQ0uV3hdFBXOFOSHk/w640-h480/IMG_20231102_165212320.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Bottle Top with Hole</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZyXMlC4qHvLJV4v3DS_-G1PJemyfugGDfzhyphenhyphenAryBI35W7yubobapcSHPK8ZujHP2YYpkIiK4Ums7hS4E5r151H03n0PcfxkEoJCVYMkeBLi0yW_UxQzyH9baJ2S_eGShhZcBlYa1yc1i9j5_KdH3fDXgo0MxDSdPVdXz53ZP4SDT3EgrO6c6LITNNFVM/s4032/IMG_20231102_165300564.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZyXMlC4qHvLJV4v3DS_-G1PJemyfugGDfzhyphenhyphenAryBI35W7yubobapcSHPK8ZujHP2YYpkIiK4Ums7hS4E5r151H03n0PcfxkEoJCVYMkeBLi0yW_UxQzyH9baJ2S_eGShhZcBlYa1yc1i9j5_KdH3fDXgo0MxDSdPVdXz53ZP4SDT3EgrO6c6LITNNFVM/w640-h480/IMG_20231102_165300564.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Lampshade Adapter</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0a0Vgbt-TIZ1ReNWOU1Mb5ZKaSEbLwXL-CmLUP5kHpCTJiB_c6fpYHTTp1beRnQaqLS8pNtoB9oOCl3PQzzV_0mR9pW4Dt2yHLacxPmzYku2hCkJFEYALhfSDubYicIjKInQDAh5A7Rx7oyuq7rZqbnaMZMjEJ2gkZCYCHI6Zc3wtjBRpvQK3AeJ0VE/s4032/IMG_20231102_165500040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0a0Vgbt-TIZ1ReNWOU1Mb5ZKaSEbLwXL-CmLUP5kHpCTJiB_c6fpYHTTp1beRnQaqLS8pNtoB9oOCl3PQzzV_0mR9pW4Dt2yHLacxPmzYku2hCkJFEYALhfSDubYicIjKInQDAh5A7Rx7oyuq7rZqbnaMZMjEJ2gkZCYCHI6Zc3wtjBRpvQK3AeJ0VE/w640-h480/IMG_20231102_165500040.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Bolingbroke Suite</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-FZu4POkfwOb15O8dW2c42XUSjcPhhNfxw1WqhvxJu-y6fkJX-X9qJvrmQwZ2y_8RgekAwQMqHnTalfLcpdBnVEyTkvvIP6QfYk6zQLza4KnI-4IgnW5P179QWhXsl7wb7VVi8CPAK1u6ywo7PaG3P-FqpJTJe1yKbkLYM-o2FPEghKa_Gm-WK8CpOGc/s4032/IMG_20231102_165755386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-FZu4POkfwOb15O8dW2c42XUSjcPhhNfxw1WqhvxJu-y6fkJX-X9qJvrmQwZ2y_8RgekAwQMqHnTalfLcpdBnVEyTkvvIP6QfYk6zQLza4KnI-4IgnW5P179QWhXsl7wb7VVi8CPAK1u6ywo7PaG3P-FqpJTJe1yKbkLYM-o2FPEghKa_Gm-WK8CpOGc/w640-h480/IMG_20231102_165755386.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Richard "False Economy" B</p><p><br /></p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-21770574065393293352023-11-02T17:31:00.002+00:002023-11-02T17:31:52.379+00:00Food Culture<p> This week I present to you a couple of food based thought experiments. We have all grown up in a culture of food that has weird and subtle rules. We all know them but they're never said out loud. For example coffee and cake would come in the morning while tea and cake would come in the afternoon. If a group of people are ordering from a Chinese takeaway then no main dishes are duplicated, but the same rule doesn't apply at the fish and chip shop. No hot drinks with hot food - except at breakfast time.</p><p>I was supposed to be cooking brunch for one of my friends on Sunday, but it was cancelled at the last minute so I have an unexpected glut of sausages and bacon. The first question is are you happy to eat a meal of fried bacon, sausage, egg (maybe mushrooms, maybe potato) in the evening? I absolutely am, but my brother finds the idea repulsive. The next question is can you have a glass of red wine with it? I know a woman who does, but I find the very idea abhorrent.</p><p>Richard "Breakfast for Tea" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-92126763061843753342023-11-02T17:29:00.001+00:002023-11-02T17:29:12.495+00:00Breakfast of Champions<p> I'm getting used to cooking on an induction stove, and I'm getting used to cooking in a heavy carbon steel frying pan which I bought to go with it. After my house warming party I successfully fried an egg in it for the first time. I got it unstuck easily, I flipped it without breaking it, and it came out beautifully. What I don't know is what was the critical factor that lead to my success. Was it my new, thin fish slice? Was it that the pan had built up enough of an oily layer on its surface? Was it that I'd just drunk most of a bottle of champagne and a quarter of a bottle of gin? I hope it's not the last one because that would make cooking breakfast wildly inconvenient.</p><p>Richard "Chef" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-1751764548173362852023-10-12T09:06:00.002+01:002023-10-12T09:06:36.426+01:00Ostentatious Wealth<p> I have just sold my old house, so I'm not longer in debt, and I have some money to play with. There was some discussion about what I'd do when this happened. My boss thought I might buy a new Caterham, I thought I might buy a new cardigan. Anyway I have indulged myself a little – there are now two Bentleys in my garage, one vintage and one brand new!</p><p>Readers added context they thought people might want to know:</p><p>The Charles Bentley company manufactures brooms and brushes. I have owned a Bentley broom for many years and I have just bought a large Bentley dustpan and brush to go with it. They are both currently in the garage.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQgXPYeZ1RnRGuJn_mWkQR35GvhLSZf_dKhCf4aXSFJUBuaRiA8U76CDiHkYL6YX28pEfzPsc-MFbdRPr295v6Bvld6f81QQb365B-qbV4UiB5znMcLSm_oObUiSIi2bwohlaJ55TO33CtlH3xaDMesMpUxnn1FvBDMTLt2JUayzewcnPDxs46KpRbq8/s4032/IMG_20231008_150430091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQgXPYeZ1RnRGuJn_mWkQR35GvhLSZf_dKhCf4aXSFJUBuaRiA8U76CDiHkYL6YX28pEfzPsc-MFbdRPr295v6Bvld6f81QQb365B-qbV4UiB5znMcLSm_oObUiSIi2bwohlaJ55TO33CtlH3xaDMesMpUxnn1FvBDMTLt2JUayzewcnPDxs46KpRbq8/w640-h480/IMG_20231008_150430091.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThyQYCdtK6z7NYotqTnHrkDPCKgms4rrw9OUe3C58QEvwbb_4JKvuXczFYiEz2JO5yBOL_A7oCP3FeesmLewsocOhSlj7dQMUzl_UOo9qeYryFayJVicsRCDuGixRDLC5-3yCqmNam6vF5clvoHzRQCWisrJnb8EfCcW4khkcVTVj2xanDfvQwGwKz_M/s4032/IMG_20231008_150346755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThyQYCdtK6z7NYotqTnHrkDPCKgms4rrw9OUe3C58QEvwbb_4JKvuXczFYiEz2JO5yBOL_A7oCP3FeesmLewsocOhSlj7dQMUzl_UOo9qeYryFayJVicsRCDuGixRDLC5-3yCqmNam6vF5clvoHzRQCWisrJnb8EfCcW4khkcVTVj2xanDfvQwGwKz_M/w640-h480/IMG_20231008_150346755.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7KWjHEXqjgokjrgLzh9U1fIXph_t4h9RwSk23YSO0cMNx1ws7XZhXnH_8vDGhlJD4oREviJ6w7F7M7V-NhLH128BEouKkMLOFY1mq7X8h7hF9gEEVP_VCvsKrqtMDAeMXI1EXTrh0-Pv4jU9x8nHOxv_04IfnQSqP7U4BgY620YIwS33sO_iH2Ygt5WY/s4032/IMG_20231008_150135979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7KWjHEXqjgokjrgLzh9U1fIXph_t4h9RwSk23YSO0cMNx1ws7XZhXnH_8vDGhlJD4oREviJ6w7F7M7V-NhLH128BEouKkMLOFY1mq7X8h7hF9gEEVP_VCvsKrqtMDAeMXI1EXTrh0-Pv4jU9x8nHOxv_04IfnQSqP7U4BgY620YIwS33sO_iH2Ygt5WY/w480-h640/IMG_20231008_150135979.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Richard "Rich" B</p><div><br /></div>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-31720816827168726252023-10-04T16:01:00.001+01:002023-10-04T16:01:07.749+01:00Moving Day<p> I've been moving house for the last month and I still haven't finished. All my friends have rallied around to help, and on the main moving day even my god-daughter was involved. I think my favourite bit of the whole experience was finding one of the boxes which she had packed. It contained my (flashy new carbon-steel) wok, my (flashy new carbon-steel) frying pan and various oven trays. It was labelled "greasy crap".</p><p>Richard "de Buyer Carbone-plus frying pan" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-90030912845282867282023-09-25T11:12:00.003+01:002023-09-25T11:12:44.237+01:00Small Bench<p> I did a little bit of woodwork at the weekend. I started with a scrap of mahogany that I inherited. It was originally the top of a bench at Plymouth Polytechnic (now university), my father rescued it from the skip in the early 80s and I ended up with what he hadn't used by the time he died.</p><p>I turned it into the top of a very small workbench by fixing it to the legs for a bench grinder. Then I bolted my bench drill on top of it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifA4fbNN40gGe3LCQCUzVE3Yu0kqiJMmuRmH9T7hAIVzGIg1SlWWPJlX3grpg3vXFamtpCdMuoAdI_lsd1Op1xnu5IINFxYxubBg9h0AFQmhoETN7yUAPBQglRNHDkSA90iioGlWaP0nCZqa_VafKleNO2EiiUFXk76TbZZvXd5Fp8SfatSS3jkShiBvc/s4032/IMG_20230924_092655495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifA4fbNN40gGe3LCQCUzVE3Yu0kqiJMmuRmH9T7hAIVzGIg1SlWWPJlX3grpg3vXFamtpCdMuoAdI_lsd1Op1xnu5IINFxYxubBg9h0AFQmhoETN7yUAPBQglRNHDkSA90iioGlWaP0nCZqa_VafKleNO2EiiUFXk76TbZZvXd5Fp8SfatSS3jkShiBvc/w640-h480/IMG_20230924_092655495.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Measuring tape</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FGBT2L6EjmiEJts9k_Q-Vd3fCokqIOVX1yoO8YYSZ2N73nFS2-W9ow_Qc_NTTpLrTcE-saIPmGqiPjnCIHHfsEW25NAO4-RIE60OyUs8e7OsVAobrAlgGTqX0HOZVbGZ-MlD4Q04whhjNmK_0HBIdy3TPLBrwJeTfCsep6-7Ekhe8QUc0Ok1mR6ssVo/s4032/IMG_20230924_093813145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FGBT2L6EjmiEJts9k_Q-Vd3fCokqIOVX1yoO8YYSZ2N73nFS2-W9ow_Qc_NTTpLrTcE-saIPmGqiPjnCIHHfsEW25NAO4-RIE60OyUs8e7OsVAobrAlgGTqX0HOZVbGZ-MlD4Q04whhjNmK_0HBIdy3TPLBrwJeTfCsep6-7Ekhe8QUc0Ok1mR6ssVo/w640-h480/IMG_20230924_093813145.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rip saw</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpr2ugZ-6d9pKS-o4qp20_TpHJGlJbjUFXxQ6WEhm4-1k_QiWTDBx8KTwbO87iWL4HmwqzdCLCho5OMIKd4p-Ao-TFn4y3t6pAmmVV_zLtnyj4GcEIIXubEgkFWMYXTLfJIki2lHqAtnqt7masJLl-_Yugy3sgbcFo07pfpswoIA3IiJ6nYY02gP_wk98/s4032/IMG_20230924_095539836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpr2ugZ-6d9pKS-o4qp20_TpHJGlJbjUFXxQ6WEhm4-1k_QiWTDBx8KTwbO87iWL4HmwqzdCLCho5OMIKd4p-Ao-TFn4y3t6pAmmVV_zLtnyj4GcEIIXubEgkFWMYXTLfJIki2lHqAtnqt7masJLl-_Yugy3sgbcFo07pfpswoIA3IiJ6nYY02gP_wk98/w480-h640/IMG_20230924_095539836.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Smoothing plane</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq--1qBjao8_Bi5p_uvj70QfJPsPzp5YkR6w01shFGVk5Ogglrw1Y05AiDnQe7pKmeisKgv-sYJdYYcHsv4t2Bg8PlpTuwtYubDTcAzydR24t1IJntTrGJ1rcJ1lv5CJIvsj1Em7OB6kmhxq2UHtXzmOe1pIITJ172QozPE8g1J3RT1OeyccibVpeCDak/s4032/IMG_20230924_143644051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq--1qBjao8_Bi5p_uvj70QfJPsPzp5YkR6w01shFGVk5Ogglrw1Y05AiDnQe7pKmeisKgv-sYJdYYcHsv4t2Bg8PlpTuwtYubDTcAzydR24t1IJntTrGJ1rcJ1lv5CJIvsj1Em7OB6kmhxq2UHtXzmOe1pIITJ172QozPE8g1J3RT1OeyccibVpeCDak/w640-h480/IMG_20230924_143644051.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Smoothing plane</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFVUch4oItw8elpoN60uKYOQzlLqQm8rszQhvf5XQlqTgKOC2f76puGywqe0AoIfX2yNnhcNHx0AEUz1qh61GSCGSoT6pQxk5NUUtkzd1ouGb_GVWhKII2HC2J_wN_eJtCa1PSIrZ91hcxB-KcAXPZBxVwBE8tFFHlM0i8BSiNGLMCN26clicpVr27hA/s4032/IMG_20230924_145227715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFVUch4oItw8elpoN60uKYOQzlLqQm8rszQhvf5XQlqTgKOC2f76puGywqe0AoIfX2yNnhcNHx0AEUz1qh61GSCGSoT6pQxk5NUUtkzd1ouGb_GVWhKII2HC2J_wN_eJtCa1PSIrZ91hcxB-KcAXPZBxVwBE8tFFHlM0i8BSiNGLMCN26clicpVr27hA/w640-h480/IMG_20230924_145227715.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Block plane</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMLv-ZpMyHhOow8wmbn4H184R2U2ZLpjT1Gb_tHjVvAlMcITMpgphgGSUtqxzjKfWSvEg3UJ1XegtVCzK5s5Mtj3iUUejunIcjk5nTFXWj-Sgvw7p_rvAnfKaO_3L1HN8qJu0MqE4eEk0aGPSXhU9Z7fPmROihU396PU8hRxOVUpo6X5CRGp8fx4vjwis/s4032/IMG_20230924_150251279.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMLv-ZpMyHhOow8wmbn4H184R2U2ZLpjT1Gb_tHjVvAlMcITMpgphgGSUtqxzjKfWSvEg3UJ1XegtVCzK5s5Mtj3iUUejunIcjk5nTFXWj-Sgvw7p_rvAnfKaO_3L1HN8qJu0MqE4eEk0aGPSXhU9Z7fPmROihU396PU8hRxOVUpo6X5CRGp8fx4vjwis/w640-h480/IMG_20230924_150251279.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Old pants</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FjZqIHQfB-tY95IoW26jazN0qO7Ula0ZgI-6kHqHV49KRsMzZOOxFAZEH1qsj3iO8gLYp5YuqdB_S0gS2P10m1VYpppPCDsH-TPyXWs4NlnLK4PJx4RC6Wi0YTLZ8MjDt2gFrHaWPd8uUAUDiQA6CdhgOVo9Zzwdo0KQQ705n7g6qBexeSbQuw8UGzE/s4032/IMG_20230924_150733586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FjZqIHQfB-tY95IoW26jazN0qO7Ula0ZgI-6kHqHV49KRsMzZOOxFAZEH1qsj3iO8gLYp5YuqdB_S0gS2P10m1VYpppPCDsH-TPyXWs4NlnLK4PJx4RC6Wi0YTLZ8MjDt2gFrHaWPd8uUAUDiQA6CdhgOVo9Zzwdo0KQQ705n7g6qBexeSbQuw8UGzE/w640-h480/IMG_20230924_150733586.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Old pyjamas</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqnan69enaFowwtVBM9b1iUWjNttti5P8zoP_uBaMNIw_hIYWJN_1ekvodMZZdgXy_5YlBs2NlDtsibP8V19rVN41Effq3BMPa4l_io9ctRYH3I-7DrO2fKmB7iSJUV4I4fVrdtvyd4KAHkBBKqKLjIYYWz-oB8RnXpcwMiP1G5-wDzktqQKPdClkFqcs/s4032/IMG_20230924_153549652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqnan69enaFowwtVBM9b1iUWjNttti5P8zoP_uBaMNIw_hIYWJN_1ekvodMZZdgXy_5YlBs2NlDtsibP8V19rVN41Effq3BMPa4l_io9ctRYH3I-7DrO2fKmB7iSJUV4I4fVrdtvyd4KAHkBBKqKLjIYYWz-oB8RnXpcwMiP1G5-wDzktqQKPdClkFqcs/w480-h640/IMG_20230924_153549652.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Legs</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhakvlH4rT3B4IJE82jQEG19l9-T-ovVg3YBVzWRn8ycsf7EupBD-cCAFoIpwOKFoESjCZwpFFkyq1q4ZgYHl-rJUJFVni_cCbSHfrq-S64DPtw4abXG4KSR6LLRd19FpaAD9tuybvlGdKSRZThH2XNv7Q7TJYFAwrAxOPWl90_MC0BPU8tgSHczMA2Q/s4032/IMG_20230924_155426292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhakvlH4rT3B4IJE82jQEG19l9-T-ovVg3YBVzWRn8ycsf7EupBD-cCAFoIpwOKFoESjCZwpFFkyq1q4ZgYHl-rJUJFVni_cCbSHfrq-S64DPtw4abXG4KSR6LLRd19FpaAD9tuybvlGdKSRZThH2XNv7Q7TJYFAwrAxOPWl90_MC0BPU8tgSHczMA2Q/w480-h640/IMG_20230924_155426292.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And now it's a floor standing drill</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Richard "you never know when it'll come in handy" B</div><br /><p><br /></p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-40450090748075517852023-09-13T11:56:00.001+01:002023-09-13T11:56:35.669+01:00The Very Hungry Caterham<p> At the end of last week I was at a race circuit celebrating my birthday and a racing car ate my trousers! I took my own sports car, but I also hired a track prepared Caterham for the day. It was very impressive and a lot of fun to drive. It had a full roll cage which I had to learn to climb in to and it had 4 point harnesses with which I was completely unfamiliar. The two shoulder straps were quite easy to put on and adjust, but the waist straps were awkward. Once they were fastened you pulled on the loose end to take up the slack through a roller buckle by your hip. It was a hot day, but you're not allowed to wear shorts on a racetrack so I was wearing lightweight linen slacks and I had to take everything out of my pockets to even fit in to the seats. On my first trip out in the hire car I wound my trousers into the buckle and couldn't get out of the seat again without tearing my trousers.</p><p>Richard "Consumables" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-61669222597294160212023-08-21T11:29:00.001+01:002023-08-21T11:29:07.051+01:00Security Policy<p> I spent a lot of time in the bank on Saturday. I had to go there in person to organise transferring the price of a house from one of my accounts to my solicitor. I was expecting it to be a slow process, but my nosiness and belligerence made it take nearly all day. While they were setting up the transfer I witnessed an information security incident. A bank laptop, which had already had the Windows password entered was left unattended with a customer (me). When it finished the (very slow) login process I had access to Microsoft Teams and email but not the banking system.</p><p>When I questioned the banker about what was going to happen I was unconvinced that they understood their ISO27001 process for reporting an information security incident, so I insisted that I would witness the incident report. It was boring, but it looks like they did take it seriously and they did follow their process correctly.</p><p>Richard "Karen" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-64181882383603061882023-08-18T11:23:00.004+01:002023-08-18T11:23:34.626+01:00Name all the members of The Band<p>In some anti-misandrist corners of the internet there's the idea that men receive so few compliments in their life that they pretty much remember every single one. I don't know how true that is, but I was complimented in about 2012 and I still remember it. At the time I took playing the electric guitar quite seriously and I was OK at it (nothing special, good enough that I would occasionally get paid, good enough that people would sometimes dance at a wedding or a birthday party).</p><p>A good friend of mine said about my playing "You sound like Robbie Robertson". The compliment is doubly moving because the guy who said it really could play electric guitar, and Robbie Robertson played in a way that I very much admire – an absolute virtuoso and incredibly versatile but he played nothing too showy or self indulgent and pretty much never played a note that didn't need to be there.</p><p>Anyway Robbie Robertson died last week at the ago of 80 and you should go and watch The Last Waltz. It's the best film that's every been made about live music. The Band had decided to retire, the show was so sold out that tickets were rarer than unicorns, the list of guests who played with them on stage that night is an absolute Who's Who of the music world. Martin Scorsese filmed it and did a couple of interviews, and there was some very professional sound recording. There's nothing else to it!</p><p>If you go and watch it – which you should. You'll hear about 90 minutes of live music with not a single mistake, loss of tempo, bum note, or in fact anything at all to criticise. You can hear and see Robbie Robertson play perfectly for Neil Young in the style that the song requires, and then transition to playing with Eric Clapton, in the style of Eric Clapton, only rather better (I kid you not)</p><p>Richard "farewell" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-21936288212745015612023-08-11T16:35:00.003+01:002023-08-11T16:35:32.582+01:00Slow Tidying<p> I've been cleaning my house getting ready to sell it. On Sunday I spent some time "spring" cleaning the kitchen. My more careful cleaning of the knobs in the gas hob led to grimy water getting down inside the mechanism that light the gas. It short circuited and started going haywire. To get the gas hob out you have to first take the oven out. To get to the ignitor you have to completely dismantle the gas hob. This little bit of wiping down led to 4 or 5 hours of difficult, stressful and dirty repair work.</p><p> Richard "having first drained and removed the fuel tank" B</p>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-67631354246553127472023-08-07T08:54:00.000+01:002023-08-07T08:54:00.657+01:00Berbenheimer<p> At the weekend I saw "Barbenheimer" in the cinema. We watched "Barbie" and then "Oppenheimer" with a short break in between. I was later told that that's the order a psychopath watches them. I think we chose that order mainly so we could fit lunch into the programme.</p><p>Oppenheimer was good, but slightly disappointing. Too long, too noisy, too complicated. I was hoping for this generation's "The Right Stuff" about the Manhattan Project. That section was only about 45 minutes long, the rest of it was a political drama. And it was all told out of order, like a boring "Reservoir Dogs".</p><p>"Barbie" was a lot of fun. It was funny and it looked amazing. A lot of people have been talking about whether it's sexist or woke or anti-woke. For my money, those people must have gone into the cinema with wildly over-sensitive sexism detectors. My sacrilege alarm went off way before my sexism alarm ever would have: You've got a real yet unreachable magical realm that is concerned with the wellbeing and development of mortal man. You've got an emissary from there who visits us, is betrayed, is sent back, and then after a short break comes back to Earth. All well and good so far, Christ and Batman are the two origin stories that nobody every stops telling. What I spotted is that She was chief (or at least most angelic) among the angels, so I think that would make her Lucifer. She visited out of selfishness and vanity, not love and duty. When She was caught and her hands were just about to be bound She lost her nerve and ran away. When She returned to Heaven / Barbieland it was to wage war, not to absolve the sins of all mankind.</p><p>Wait a minute! Did I just watch a sequel to “Paradise Lost”?</p><p>Richard "Milton-Gerwig" B</p><div><br /></div>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373233076513416503.post-79438020025893359382023-07-25T13:26:00.001+01:002023-07-25T13:26:37.090+01:00House Bodging<p> I've been tidying up and painting my house ready to sell it. As I know that it will soon no longer be mine, I haven't been doing it very thoroughly. But is it still really bodging if you do a half-arsed job to a very high standard?<br /><br />This cupboard door is slightly twisted and doesn't close properly.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HiJs5IPa0mSjWrYXmOzyuIFi4rNdEIU20ZERWFBK4UKMfnv2H6oqTFkMA4TO9PnTnhLZTgU1nzi1VAb4NjW10fgZl69qrIqfBlhBbAHt_3tiKVSzIQoW0PF_By9oBcMrn0rXGdEAU8xH1YucokWj1UwnVwfHAN_VhHEHF4ZeWv0OUEPoWCCUxIDxyPI/s4032/IMG_20230722_120029847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HiJs5IPa0mSjWrYXmOzyuIFi4rNdEIU20ZERWFBK4UKMfnv2H6oqTFkMA4TO9PnTnhLZTgU1nzi1VAb4NjW10fgZl69qrIqfBlhBbAHt_3tiKVSzIQoW0PF_By9oBcMrn0rXGdEAU8xH1YucokWj1UwnVwfHAN_VhHEHF4ZeWv0OUEPoWCCUxIDxyPI/w640-h480/IMG_20230722_120029847.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><br /><div>I made these oaken wedges.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_vj5F48UfMrZEMk_CHITUd7pudmiracMLA_YKABmXPkcN_gUxp2ll0tF7cxkzBiejxm_AJ8ZU39q-ZRHaFitHbstD7LMaaP3pIA_ZDkNb7Ls66qcdHC6vwxz4gU_0zDhF4ofLWmOykMWewviywFE0XBr2dLcsiks-kOpaOuooR4ZBbxokCYT4Mv0_hQ/s4032/IMG_20230722_115834507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_vj5F48UfMrZEMk_CHITUd7pudmiracMLA_YKABmXPkcN_gUxp2ll0tF7cxkzBiejxm_AJ8ZU39q-ZRHaFitHbstD7LMaaP3pIA_ZDkNb7Ls66qcdHC6vwxz4gU_0zDhF4ofLWmOykMWewviywFE0XBr2dLcsiks-kOpaOuooR4ZBbxokCYT4Mv0_hQ/w640-h480/IMG_20230722_115834507.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And braced it with an aluminium channel<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYILk70EfA706_sYJia7dJyni4OxwtsKhcHz4cb9Zt6GorzV-KW7baWcuGHcmKE-G-tsF_hlcG7ZiCOZc1HH_Hld8Zi7fiUd8rIYce-5nyECR6Aqo4DRd6YmtLHQOmboTUsl7pzwzCwLuHMFvQeAKOAk--UapV2AtIgtMLciaPBf51zndZgLIMIYv342k/s4032/IMG_20230722_120157639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYILk70EfA706_sYJia7dJyni4OxwtsKhcHz4cb9Zt6GorzV-KW7baWcuGHcmKE-G-tsF_hlcG7ZiCOZc1HH_Hld8Zi7fiUd8rIYce-5nyECR6Aqo4DRd6YmtLHQOmboTUsl7pzwzCwLuHMFvQeAKOAk--UapV2AtIgtMLciaPBf51zndZgLIMIYv342k/w640-h480/IMG_20230722_120157639.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And it's now pretty straight.<br /><br />Richard "homes under the hammer" B</div><br /><br /><div><br /></div>rjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11590791061799558814noreply@blogger.com0