WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Wendyf]

I looked out of the kitchen window soon after 5.00pm this evening and saw the lights of vehicle stopped by the cattle grid where the track leaves our field. As the track to the road is uphill and covered in compressed snow and ice we thought one of the builder's from Brown Hill next door had got stuck, but didn't worry because there seems to be plenty of folk around. Half an hour later it was still there so I got myself coated and booted and went to investigate. It turned out to be a delivery van man ... down the wrong track too poor soul and hopelessly stuck. He had phoned his base and they were sending someone out to help. It was obvious to me that his only hope of help was a tractor so I toddled home to phone the farm. Farmer John was busy with cattle in the sheds but promised to come down with the tractor once he had finished. When I got back to the delivery man with the news that he would eventually be rescued he had learnt that "base" were sending another Sprinter van to help. Aagh!! Sure enough 15 minutes later another van came down the track and got stuck too!! They were both eventually removed by tractor power, but it took an while to shift them.
The first driver was telling me that he had "chapped the door" of Brown Hill but got no answer. Good job I lived in Scotland for 20 years or I wouldn't have understood a word he was saying!

[Stanley]

Failure of the lock system on my back door. No security problem, I can still bar it but as soon as it warms up a bit I'll have to open it up and find what's gone wrong..... At first I thought it was the cold but now believe it is a mechanical fault in the security bolt part, I shall soon find out when I take it to bits! There's always something!
Bitcoins, I'm with Maz. Best way to double your money is fold it and put it back in your pocket.... Best avoided like the plague Dave!!
Delivery driver..... Anyone daft enough to go down that slope on packed snow in a white van was asking for it Wendy. Discretion is the better part of valour!

[Tizer]

The plumber's here and finished the boiler. He tried a new TRV on the vibrating rad but to no avail so he's going to change the valve itself. At the moment he's fitting an outside tap for us at the front of the garage.

You'll remember me writing about how a wood turner was going to have the best wood from our cherries when they were felled. The cherry wood has to be matured for some time before turning so in the meantime he has made us a bowl from American elm. Here's a photo with the tea mug to show the scale...

[chinatyke]

Very nice. I like wooden things like this.

[PanBiker]

I have one more or less the same that I made in woodwork 50 years ago! I loved using the wood turning lathe, hands on, similar to the forge which was my favourite in the metalwork shop.

[Stanley]

Nice job.... Very hard to get the interior as good as that.....
The death of the fourth child from the Manchester house fire. Only 4 years old and her mum still doesn't know all her children are dead..... Such a wicked deed....

[Tizer]

For years now I've been complaining that authors write their novels too long, too complicated and with too many characters. I like the old Helen MacInnes, Evelyn Anthony, Hammond Innes etc. Having done some publishing I assumed that publishers were simply competing to produce the longest and most complicated books. This morning I learnt the real reason on a trailer for a radio programme. An author said he wanted to write shorter stories but the publisher told him "That's no good, people are now used to watching boxed DVD sets of serials in binge sessions so we need to give them long , detailed books to keep their interest." It's almost as if the problem of short attention span has been replaced by excessive attention span.

[Stanley]

I heard the same report Tiz but still think the purest form of writing is the short story. I was told by a fan the other day that my articles haven't suffered by being cut to 500 words by the paper.
I'm just going to start an 800 pager.... Norman's book 'Vanished Kingdoms'.......
See THIS for a Guardian account of the report of the Royal Commission in Australia which has spent five years investigating institutional abuse of children. The 17 volumes of the report make 400 recommendations and the government has 12 months to respond.
This is a good if belated start. Now we need to see some action and similar enquiries in other countries including the UK. What strikes me is the courage of those who came forwards and gave evidence. They should get recognition.
Later at 07:15. Nothing on the web yet but breaking news that Airbus have sacked many of their top staff. This is believed to be about 'commissions' paid world wide to grease the wheels of commerce. A possible fine of £1billion is described as a fleabite in this market. Really.......

[Tizer]

The boss of housebuilding company Persimmon is going to receive a bonus of £100 million. It was mooted a while back back I believe it's been confirmed today. All that money for failing to provide enough houses and the right type of houses for us all.

[plaques]

We all like a good moan but occasionally we get a surprise. Called in the bank for a new cheque book. Christmas being a disastrous time for the pocket, I was promised it would arrive before Christmas. That was 11.00 AM. at 11.30 AM the following day the book arrived. Well done the bank and the post office team.

[Tizer]

They're probably trying to get rid of their stock of cheque books before they try to ban them again!

[PanBiker]

We went out with friends last night and one of them was saying that a tradesman he was using asked to be paid by cheque rather than cash, not quite dead yet.

Could it be that the banks have realised that processing cheques might let them hold on to their jobs a bit longer.

[Stanley]

They are essential if like me you have a remote bank branch and want to send them money by post. I did it only yesterday to pay my credit card account. Then there is the problem of retailers and traders wanting to deposit cash. Easier to send a cheque by post......
The mother of the four dead children is still in an induced coma and will not know about her loss for a long time yet. Imagine having to tell her.......
See THIS for a BBC account of the death of Barry Sherman and his wife. I have never heard of him until now. The police say the deaths are 'suspicious' but they are not looking for anyone else involved. It sounds like a family tragedy and the reason it grabbed me is that time and time again we see that celebrity and wealth do not guarantee happiness.

[Stanley]

The freezing fog during the night and early this morning. It's a long time since I saw proper freezing fog and I have just looked out and it's lifted now I think.
I mentioned the fact that the local chemists looked at me as though I was mad when I enquired about the impregnated gauze and iodine. I don't think people keep proper first aid boxes these days. I told Margaret about it and she knew immediately what I was talking about. She is sending me a supply as a Xmas present. I suppose this is one of the reasons why A&E departments are overworked.....
I always listen to 'Something Understood' just after 06:00 on Sunday morning, it's always thought provoking This morning it was Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand examines the prevalent feeling of not having enough. She made so many good points I'd like to recommend it to you. Well worth a listen if you like thought provoking reports.....

[Tizer]

A Parent's Night Before Christmas (on the theme of: 'Twas the night before Christmas).

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house
I searched for the tools to hand to my spouse.
Instructions were studied and we were inspired,
In hopes we could manage "Some Assembly Required."
The children were quiet (not asleep) in their beds,
While Dad and I faced the evening with dread:
A kitchen, two bikes, Barbie's town house to boot!
And, thanks to Grandpa, a train with a toot!

We opened the boxes, my heart skipped a beat....
Let no parts be missing or parts incomplete!
Too late for last-minute returns or replacement;
If we can't get it right, it goes in the basement!

When what to my worrying eyes should appear,
But 50 sheets of directions, concise, but not clear,
With each part numbered and every slot named,
So if we failed, only we could be blamed.

More rapid than eagles the parts then fell out,
All over the carpet they were scattered about.
"Now bolt it! Now twist it! Attach it right there!
Slide on the seats, and staple the stair!
Hammer the shelves, and nail to the stand."
"Honey," said hubby, "you just glued my hand."

And then in a twinkling, I knew for a fact
That all the toy dealers had indeed made a pact
To keep parents busy all Christmas Eve night
With "assembly required" till morning's first light.

We spoke not a word, but kept bent at our work,
Till our eyes, they went bleary; our fingers all hurt.
The coffee went cold and the night, it wore thin
Before we attached the last rod and last pin.

Then laying the tools away in the chest,
We fell into bed for a well-deserved rest.
But I said to my husband just before I passed out,
"This will be the best Christmas, without any doubt.

Tomorrow we'll cheer, let the holiday ring,
And not have to run to the store for a thing!
We did it! We did it! The toys are all set
For the perfect, most perfect, Christmas, I bet!"

Then off to dreamland and sweet repose I gratefully went,
Though I suppose there's something to say for those self-deluded...
I'd forgotten that batteries are never included!

Author Unknown
Copied from: LINK

[Stanley]

The fact that time speeds up as you near Der Tag. Three days to the shortest day and seven to Xmas.... It will soon be over......
You may remember I mentioned the other day that I had a problem with my back door locking mechanism. As I am getting closer to being in the shed and my first job was to have a look at it I went on Youtube and did a bit of research. What I have seen has convinced me that this is one time when we spend money so I've found a locksmith talked to a nice young man and they are coming out to me this morning.
Later. It was a good call. The locksmith has been and it's a fault in the lock mechanism, needs a new unit so I couldn't have done anything about it. They're coming back tomorrow to fit it and new handles on both front and back doors. I got them to look at the front door and that is a bit worn as well. £200 I can't afford but the problem is solved and that's worth a lot.

[Stanley]

See THIS for a report about a leak on the Queen Elizabeth. I've just been listening to John Humphrys questioning the BBC technical consultant on the matter. His aim was to make the most of this shock horror story and unfortunately the 'expert. was very badly briefed. The leak is in a propeller shaft seal and he seems to be under the impression that the shaft is 7 metres in diameter, it's big but not that big! The truth is of course that this leak has showed up during the sea trials and is not unusual. I doubt if any tail shaft seal is 100% leak proof and anyway this will be covered in the contract and the builders will reduce it to an acceptable level. In short, this is a storm in a teacup.
Later.... I was taking Jack for his mid morning crap when I was accosted in the Pioneer car park by a strange man..... It turned out it was Plaques!! He couldn't come round for a cup of coffee because he's left his better half in Colne but it was nice to meet him. (He is very tall..... good for taking pics of plaques I'll bet.)

[Tripps]

Alpha Zero - This has caused quite a stir in the chess world. From Google - wouldn't you know it. From the chess.com website.

But how does AlphaZero actually work?

How is it different from other engines and why is it so much better? In this two-part article I’ll try to explain a bit of what goes on under AlphaZero’s hood.
First, let’s reflect on what happened. AlphaZero was developed by DeepMind (a Google-owned company) to specialize in learning how to play two-player, alternate-move games. It was primed with the rules of chess, and nothing else.

It then started learning chess by playing games against itself. Game one would have involved totally random moves. At the end of this game, DeepZero had learned that the losing side had done stuff that wasn’t all that smart, and that the winning side had played better. DeepZero had taught itself its first chess lesson. The quality of chess in game two was a just a tiny bit better than the first.

Nine hours and 44 million games of split-personality chess later, AlphaZero had (very possibly) taught itself enough to become the greatest chess player, silicon- or carbon-based, of all time.

How on earth did it do it?

[Big Kev]

See THIS for a report about a leak on the Queen Elizabeth. I've just been listening to John Humphrys questioning the BBC technical consultant on the matter. His aim was to make the most of this shock horror story and unfortunately the 'expert. was very badly briefed. The leak is in a propeller shaft seal and he seems to be under the impression that the shaft is 7 metres in diameter, it's big but not that big! The truth is of course that this leak has showed up during the sea trials and is not unusual. I doubt if any tail shaft seal is 100% leak proof and anyway this will be covered in the contract and the builders will reduce it to an acceptable level. In short, this is a storm in a teacup.

A definite storm in a teacup, the fact that the story contains a quote by the Sun newspaper is always going to create a bit of sensationalism. A maximum of 200 litres of water a day is not really a worry on something that size, as the story says, ships have pumps on them...

[Pluggy]

When I did my time in the RN, a fair amount of leakage from the glands around the prop shafts was par for the course. It only became a problem when the bilge pumps couldn't keep up. 200 litres a day is b*gger all, it wouldn't have raised an eyebrow on a Leander class frigate at about a tenth of the size of an aircraft carrier. The damn things used a ton (1000 litres) an hour of feed water, and they distilled that from seawater.

[Tripps]

I think the 200 litres a day was from when the story first broke. I think the media have now reached a consensus of 200 litres an hour. Maybe they could pump it straight into the distillation plant and solve two problems at once.

[PanBiker]

44 gallons or thereabouts a day, it's not even a bucket full per hour you could shift that with a single bucket if push came to shove. Two buckets and the deck (or whatever) would not even have to get wet.

[Tizer]

You've probably all noticed that in recent days the poor news media have had a tricky time with not much in the way of `home stories'. And they have to fit in their Xmas parties and the many receptions, Xmas lunches and so on. So the news of Queen Elizabeth having a leak floats to the top, in a manner of speaking.

[plaques]

Nine hours and 44 million games of split-personality chess later, AlphaZero had (very possibly) taught itself enough to become the greatest chess player, silicon- or carbon-based, of all time.

The writing was on the wall when 'Deep Blue' the IBM computer beat Garry Kasparov in 1996. Link.. I think in this case they programmed in all the chess games that had taken place and it selected the next move from an indepth examination up to eight to twenty moves deep. These things never get tired, have no emotion or feelings and don't care if they win or lose. Quote 'Kasparov experienced a drop in performance due to anxiety in the following game.

[Stanley]

Wait while they take over all the well paying jobs...... Like running a university.
What grabbed me yesterday was how well it turned out. Daughter Susan is getting better. Finger vastly improved, hair cut and both doors fully serviced with new, better handles and perfectly functioning locks. I feel as though things are dropping back into place....
Read THIS if you like a heart warming story with a happy ending. We need more news items like this!
Another piece of good news. The ECJ has just ruled that Uber is not simply an information service but a transport provider. Well done the ECJ! This has enormous complications for many firms in the 'gig economy' as many of them use the same argument to avoid any responsibility for their drivers or the safety of their services. Now they are open to regulation like any normal service. This is of course one of the regulating bodies that Brexit will remove us from.