What I Did This Weekend - In Pictures!

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Wet and windy here today, so it wasn't really suitable to get on the roof with the co-ax cable, which did, as predicted, come over the hedge this morning.

I had a bit of a reorganisation in the Chalet - and brought in the 'main machine' from the car. It's not been online for a fortnight, so a bit of updating ensued.

This machine has the pictures stored in subject folders, not by date, so I need to get on top of sorting out the ones that have arrived in that time.

It also means that the evening's box-set series presentations will be a little better.

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The Samsung monitor that I purchased off @Chillybean a few months back so impressed me that I got a bigger one for everyday use.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
The roof was a bit more habitable this morning, so I finished off the outside part of the aerial cable installation - apart from patching up the bit of render that I blew off as a result of drilling the hole from the inside. The hole slopes up into the building, and the cable is caulked around with a bit of nylon rope poked into place.

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This is the north-facing wall, so it gets the least sunlight and rain exposure.

I have 'a bit too much' cable inside at the moment, but I don't really know where things are going to end up, so it'll do for now.

It is definitely an improvement on the reception front.

As long as the birds don't knacker it...
 

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
More like what I did this extended weekend. I decided to give the Windows 98 computer a miss and dragged this beast down from the attic. I remembered it was faulty but that was years ago. So on Saturday I started in on it. Have two C drives with Windows 7 on but will boot from neither. Tried repair/recovery/blah blah but no joy. (The drives are in removable docks.) Was thinking it's an onboard fault as unlikely both disks would develop the same fault. But as a test, I've installed SkyWave Linux on a separate disk and it went in ok. Except, it would not recognise anything on the USB ports, so SkyWave, which is customised for SDR's wasn't much use.
So I installed an early edition of Ubuntu Linux and again went in OK. Also the USB problem disappeared as I could list the devices (Linux is a bit nerdy. I'm not really an expert but I did train on Unix with the Civil Service which was a Linux precursor.) Everything was hunky dory until I updated it (like Windows, Ubuntu gets constant updates.) All went in, but on restart ... wouldn't boot.

Stripped down the machine and checked nuts and bolts and replaced hard drive leads. Then decided to move away from the two IDE drive connectors and go for SATA only. So in went another drive and installed the latest Ubuntu Linux which works fine. Installed some SDR apps and that's working fine. So pulled in what few updates there were and .... AAARRGGHH .... or restart it wouldn't boot !!

Re-installed Ubuntu and installed SDR Apps and all is working great as you can see. I think I'll skip the updates and see if this fault (possibly intermittent, or being a fairly old machine it doesn't like something in updates.) It's an Intel Dual core CPU with hyperthreading so it's technically four core. It's got a halfway decent video card so I'm quite happy to run Linux on it (it's sitting in the conservatory where I spend a lot of time in the Summer.)

I might try re-installing Windows on another drive in search of this elusive fault. I can't seem to find a good memory checker in Linux ... :?:

TallBoyComputer.jpg
 

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
More like what I did this extended weekend. I decided to give the Windows 98 computer a miss and dragged this beast down from the attic. I remembered it was faulty but that was years ago. So on Saturday I started in on it. Have two C drives with Windows 7 on but will boot from neither. Tried repair/recovery/blah blah but no joy. (The drives are in removable docks.) Was thinking it's an onboard fault as unlikely both disks would develop the same fault. But as a test, I've installed SkyWave Linux on a separate disk and it went in ok. Except, it would not recognise anything on the USB ports, so SkyWave, which is customised for SDR's wasn't much use.
So I installed an early edition of Ubuntu Linux and again went in OK. Also the USB problem disappeared as I could list the devices (Linux is a bit nerdy. I'm not really an expert but I did train on Unix with the Civil Service which was a Linux precursor.) Everything was hunky dory until I updated it (like Windows, Ubuntu gets constant updates.) All went in, but on restart ... wouldn't boot.

Stripped down the machine and checked nuts and bolts and replaced hard drive leads. Then decided to move away from the two IDE drive connectors and go for SATA only. So in went another drive and installed the latest Ubuntu Linux which works fine. Installed some SDR apps and that's working fine. So pulled in what few updates there were and .... AAARRGGHH .... or restart it wouldn't boot !!

Re-installed Ubuntu and installed SDR Apps and all is working great as you can see. I think I'll skip the updates and see if this fault (possibly intermittent, or being a fairly old machine it doesn't like something in updates.) It's an Intel Dual core CPU with hyperthreading so it's technically four core. It's got a halfway decent video card so I'm quite happy to run Linux on it (it's sitting in the conservatory where I spend a lot of time in the Summer.)

I might try re-installing Windows on another drive in search of this elusive fault. I can't seem to find a good memory checker in Linux ... :?:

View attachment 8187
Could you translate the above into English?
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I have wanted to empty The Heap for a long time and I've not added anything for a couple of years now, on the basis that I didn't want 'new' on top of 'old'.

So, not realising quite how warm it was going to get, I decided that today was The Day.

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I got most of the material into the Cold Frame / Raised Bed next to it and fluffed up the remainder, to assist in inoculating and new stuff that goes in - I have a few piles secreted around the place already. The Geranium has stood guard over the heap for many years, so he can transfer to his new post. If I ever find last year's seed, I might even plant something, or there could be a chance of cadging stuff from neighbours, when I am released from internment.

The dimensions of the structure were based on the old windows from the house across the road, which are still available, stored out of the wind.

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This being a 'working corner', I rarely look at the place from here, but the Sun woke everything up today.

DSCN7941.JPG
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
More like what I did this extended weekend. I decided to give the Windows 98 computer a miss and dragged this beast down from the attic. I remembered it was faulty but that was years ago. So on Saturday I started in on it. Have two C drives with Windows 7 on but will boot from neither. Tried repair/recovery/blah blah but no joy. (The drives are in removable docks.) Was thinking it's an onboard fault as unlikely both disks would develop the same fault. But as a test, I've installed SkyWave Linux on a separate disk and it went in ok. Except, it would not recognise anything on the USB ports, so SkyWave, which is customised for SDR's wasn't much use.
So I installed an early edition of Ubuntu Linux and again went in OK. Also the USB problem disappeared as I could list the devices (Linux is a bit nerdy. I'm not really an expert but I did train on Unix with the Civil Service which was a Linux precursor.) Everything was hunky dory until I updated it (like Windows, Ubuntu gets constant updates.) All went in, but on restart ... wouldn't boot.

Stripped down the machine and checked nuts and bolts and replaced hard drive leads. Then decided to move away from the two IDE drive connectors and go for SATA only. So in went another drive and installed the latest Ubuntu Linux which works fine. Installed some SDR apps and that's working fine. So pulled in what few updates there were and .... AAARRGGHH .... or restart it wouldn't boot !!

Re-installed Ubuntu and installed SDR Apps and all is working great as you can see. I think I'll skip the updates and see if this fault (possibly intermittent, or being a fairly old machine it doesn't like something in updates.) It's an Intel Dual core CPU with hyperthreading so it's technically four core. It's got a halfway decent video card so I'm quite happy to run Linux on it (it's sitting in the conservatory where I spend a lot of time in the Summer.)

I might try re-installing Windows on another drive in search of this elusive fault. I can't seem to find a good memory checker in Linux ... :?:

View attachment 8187
I thought you were welding, then I realised you were just wearing shorts.

Are your farts really so delicate that you need a speaker to make them audible?
 

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
It's very warm in this conservatory. It faces East so by 9am the temperature is up to 25C if it's sunny even at this time of year. I've got two wall fans in there but when they're going It's like being in a bloody wind tunnel testing a jet engine.

It's a bit like that old mnemonic for remembering the Three Laws of Thermodynamics. Think of them as a gambling card game with three outcomes:

1. You can't win. (Energy can neither be created or destroyed.)
2. You can't break even. (Some energy is always dispersed ... i.e. entropy always increases.)
3. You can't get out of the game. (You cannot achieve a state of zero energy, i.e. reach absolute zero.)
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Lots of little things done today, taking advantage of the presence of the summer.

The only thing worth recording was the fitting of the mudguards and 'tarmac' tyres to the bike, in readiness for my parole from house-arrest tomorrow. I will be able to venture out as far as 2km, though, beyond that, I must have a 'good reason'. I fitted the mudguards with the old knobbly tyres in place, so that they can go back on at some point, should that ever be necessary/desirable.

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Also seen is the bespoke clip-on saddle bag that attaches and detaches from the carrier in a second. The side pockets also contain lightweight pannier bags, although I do also have more substantial panniers that also clip on and off quickly.

It seems to go quite nicely, I may venture out on it in a day or two, although there is likely to be quite a clamp-down on spurious travel here over this long weekend...

I kept the fire ticking over gently all day, but ended up opening the Chalet windows and leaving the door open until now.

I cleaned the car and checked it over, making sure it would start after 13+ days asleep. It went surprisingly easily.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Dandelions have the misfortune to have hi-vis flowers that give their positions away at this time of year, so I've had a campaign of eradication today - I got about four times this quantity in the end. They can dry in the Sun for a few days now.

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What was more concerning was the impression that daily episodes* of The Prisoner may be taking their toll...


* I am up to #15 of the 17 episodes tonight.
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
Dandelions have the misfortune to have hi-vis flowers that give their positions away at this time of year, so I've had a campaign of eradication today - I got about four times this quantity in the end. They can dry in the Sun for a few days now.

View attachment 8211

What was more concerning was the impression that daily episodes* of The Prisoner may be taking their toll...


* I am up to #15 of the 17 episodes tonight.
You could make dandelion wine?
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
A day of steady, gentle drizzle led me to have the fire going, after a day off.

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And I tarted up a few more old tools rescued from the boot sale a while ago. Four rosewood handles, three that are probably beech and one that looks like some form of horn, maybe even ivory.

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The hammer could be ash?
 
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