@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

Wizardofosmium

@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot

Retired chemist. I like to explore.
I'm not good at much, just good enough to get by.

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fitheach, to Scotland
@fitheach@mstdn.io avatar

I'm getting used to the sky looking like this every day. 😃

#Highlands #Scotland

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
It was like that here this morning but now it's just gray. Visibility is down to about 5 miles.

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
It was good this morning, almost too hot for working on the allotment.

fitheach, to random
@fitheach@mstdn.io avatar

Someone has just told me about Tattoo Flu.

I wouldn't know anything about it, but, apparently it's a "thing".

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
The last time I went to Edinburgh Castle to see it I got soaked. I can believe it's a thing.

:)

fitheach, to random
@fitheach@mstdn.io avatar

Did I miss something in the sky, last night?

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
I don't know, it was cloudy here when I looked out.

Wizardofosmium, to random
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

I had Scottish water round this morning to test my water. I didn't request it it was just a random check.
I felt like I was back at work talking about water analysis.
There was one I've not done before, they took a sample to test for cyanide.

fitheach, to Dogs
@fitheach@mstdn.io avatar

I've spent an interesting hour or two researching cordless vacuum cleaners. Yes, my life really is that exciting. 😃

It's possible to spend hundreds of pounds on models from the high-profile brands. I've decided on a Russell Hobbs Centaur 2 in 1, which I got for £69, incl. delivery. Time will tell if it is any good. Although, at less than half the price of some other models, it is hard to see how it can go wrong.

The war against dog hair continues...

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
Does it say "By your command"?

fitheach, to random
@fitheach@mstdn.io avatar

Wanted to listen to some music in the bathroom. Took the 'phone with me. Started playing the music. Thought it sounded a bit quiet. Then realised the audio was emanating from the (Anker) Bluetooth speaker, which was downstairs, in the kitchen, about 30m away.

Bluetooth is getting really, really good.

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@Jkp
We still have a "landline" but it had to be changed to VOIP. Is that likely any time soon where you are?
@fitheach

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

I don't think I've often had a wheel as badly pringled as this one to true! Wish me luck.

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@simon_brooke
Good luck. The worst wheel I fixed was 20 years ago and it's still in use. I made one mistake though, I put the hole for the valve in the wrong place. I wasn't going to change it after the time it took me to true it. At least I'll be able to recognise my wheel.

ottaross, to DoctorWho
@ottaross@mastodon.social avatar

My occasionally warns me "Your heart rate is too high!" with numbers in the 126 bpm range.

Of course, I'm sitting quietly and relaxed when it happens, with an actual heart rate of 50-55bpm.

Perhaps I need to tick the "TimeLord" box on my profile to indicate I've got two hearts.

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@ottaross
It might be worth making sure you don't have atrial fibrillation. I was diagnosed with it 12 years ago when my Polar HRM measured mine at 190 when I was resting.

fitheach, to Dogs
@fitheach@mstdn.io avatar

First tick of the year (on , not me).

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
That seems to be a bit early in the year for them. That's not good.

withaveeay, to TeslaMotors
@withaveeay@mastodon.scot avatar

Goth Leo the #EV happy to spend the day asleep, I think.
With luck tomorrow's rain will see all of this go quickly.

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
Rats are good at chewing things too. We had 13 as pets and would occasionally let them run about free until one chewed through the modem data cable.
@withaveeay @fedops

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
We started out with 2 females but one was pregnant.
Our cairn terrier wasn't too happy at the time. The rats would climb over him when he was trying to rest.
@withaveeay @fedops

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

OK, here's my precious BBC Micro, which hasn't been switched on for about twenty years, and for about twelve years of that was stored in a damp shed. It's been in the house – and therefore reasonably dry – for six months. What precautions do I need to take before I experiment with switching it on again?

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@simon_brooke
For what it's worth. This is my experience with wet computers about 14 years ago.

https://madrivermark.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/38/

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

Is Liz Truss the only UK prime minister ever who was appointed and dismissed within the same parliamentary term, and never fought a general election as leader?

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@simon_brooke
So far. There's still a chance Sunak might be replaced.

fitheach, to random
@fitheach@mstdn.io avatar

Listen luv,
your hands might be warm in these gloves, but, the rest of you is going to get pretty cold.

Image used for a listing, selling warm gloves, on eBay.

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
They might not be for warmth. They might be protecting her from a hazardous material. You don't see what she might have to touch.

fitheach, to nature
@fitheach@mstdn.io avatar

I was involved in a short discussion about hair ice. It surprised me that other people, in Scotland, had never seen hair ice. For me, it is a very common sight.

To see hair ice one needs frosty conditions, suitable wood (deciduous branches are good, particularly beech), and, crucially, the presence of Exidiopsis effusa. Currently, I have an abundance of all three elements.

To-day, I found several examples, after a quick search. The attached photo was the best.

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
I've only seen it once and that was beside Loch Arkaig. It appeared to be coming out of the ground at the side of a dirt track. There was no vegetation beside it.

fitheach, to Scotland
@fitheach@mstdn.io avatar

A photo of the loch and mountains, or it would be if everything wasn't enveloped in a blanket of mist.

Just as well I brought my tracker dog (Gruoch) with me, or we wouldn't have found our way back to the house.

#Highlands #Scotland

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
It's a bit like that on the Firth of Forth just now. This is the view from my window.

fitheach, to food
@fitheach@mstdn.io avatar

Food prices have increased significantly in recent months. One item , in particular, caught my attention yesterday. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is now £5.40 per litre, and that's at a "low-cost" supermarket. I'm not sure what the price was previously, but, I'm certain it wasn't that costly.

Has there been a failure in the olive crop this year, or is it something else?

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
I read about it a few months ago.
This is the second year in a row that the crop has been drastically reduced in Spain due to the warmer summers.

fribbledom, to random
@fribbledom@mastodon.social avatar

It's important you quickly learn from your mistakes... so you can move on to make new ones.

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fribbledom
My maths lecturer at Heriot Watt Uni told us "They say you learn from your mistakes. If that was true you lot would all be geniuses."

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

Jings, how many wrong kinds of USB cable are there in the world and why do I have ALL of them?

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@simon_brooke
I have more of the ones I don't need and not enough of those I do need.

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

After a year in which I haven't seen many butterflies, the air is completely full of red admirals.

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@simon_brooke
I feel like I've seen a lot more recently too.

penguin42, to random
@penguin42@mastodon.org.uk avatar

Perhaps they should offer to replace anyone's even vaguely dangerous dog with a cat.

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@penguin42
No! We have too many cats shitting in our garden as it is.

finestructure, (edited ) to random
@finestructure@mastodon.social avatar

Regarding “back to the office”: Why is the commute the employee’s burden anyway? Make it part of the work time and have at it requiring people to come to the office. Three hours commute? You get 5 hours in the office.

Employees are available immediately at home but if they’ve required in the office, the clock starts when they leave home. You rent their time, your choice to spend it on travel.

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@finestructure
Why does everyone assume that all jobs can be done from home?

Apart from that, I worked in a lab, I wasn't allowed to take pharmaceuticals home to test there. One of the development chemists lived almost 200 miles away, he had a 4 hour commute each day for 6 months, he would have loved your idea. I like it too but there has to be some limits.

fitheach, to random
@fitheach@mstdn.io avatar

My bank keep sending me useless, content-free emails. The latest email purported to tell me about the super-dooper interest bearing savings accounts. In reality, the email had zero information. To get any details required clicking the links in the email. Of course, every link was stuffed full of UTM parameters. Grrr!

You can do better, Banca na h-Alba.

/rant

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
My wife and I both get regular posted letters saying that the bank emails are not getting through to us. We do get emails from them.
Same bank as you.

fitheach, to random
@fitheach@mstdn.io avatar

Part 3 of my series on wood processing.

No chance of cutting your legs off this week, just mucking about with polytunnels in 30mph winds.

https://fitheach.co.uk/life/wood-processing-the-ideal-set-up-part-3/

Wizardofosmium,
@Wizardofosmium@mastodon.scot avatar

@fitheach
When I was looking into buying ours last year, I read that they usually only last 6 or 7 years.
£65 incl. delivery looks like a good price.

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