London Plane, a story.

Posted on 6th May 2017 by essiep

,A London Plane tree, near a school.

This tree tells a story, those long vertical splits in the trunk are not common to this type. I suspect a long seasonal drought one year, followed by a substantial period of rain. My hypothesis is that during the dry time, the whole tree contracted. When the rain did come, there was not enough flex in the bark to avoid the splitting we see here. The tree has recovered, I’m glad to say.
Spring in 2012 followed that pattern. This year could do the same. So far we’ve had the driest 6 months for 20 years.

Why I hate shopping.

Posted on 25th Oct 2016 by essiep

10°C, cool easterly dry wind.
It’s mostly the disappointment. Shopping is about making choices, you go into a shop and either choose something that doesn’t fit, or you choose to leave the shop.
It doesn’t matter whether I want clothes or a sleeping bag. Most clothes are either sized for medium people, or for fat people. Clothes for larger men are the same as medium except that have fat belly space. Sleeves are usually the same length as are trouser legs. Short sleeves and legs don’t have adjustable hems any more.

A capella, acapulca, a poodle-goat, as you can see.

Sleeping bags are sometimes available in long lengths. I say available, but that doesn’t mean any shops have them in stock, it doesn’t even mean the importer has any either. The sleeping bag I want may be available by the end of February.
Are you getting a sense of why I don’t like shopping?

Two weeks, what’s the plan?

Posted on 10th Nov 2014 by essiep

9°C, mostly dry.
Two weeks until my 50th birthday. So how best to mark the occasion? Best idea so far- do one activity each month for the year. Taster days, like the velodrome in Manchester, a training course at Plas Y Brenin near Capel Curig in Snowdonia.

This is the Raleigh cross bike. The top tube is almost level which makes it easier to shoulder. I don’t like the outboard rear brake. Besides that, the frame should be good, the wheels even better.

I know how to live it up.

Posted on 23rd Jul 2014 by essiep

20C,not a cloud, light sea breeze.
Never done this before in the 11 years I have had this car. I have wax polished it.

It’s a little tricky, the instructions on the bottle make it sound easy. The car does need to be spotlessly clean. The polish is a milky liquid that should be left to dry. Then within a big soft cloth, you buff it off. Easy, but the dry chalky stuff really sticks to any flaws or bits of dirt to show how bad you are at washing.

Shall I try it on my bike?

|~~~~~~~o_o~~~~~~~|
Posted from a mobile.

Lost child.

Posted on 30th Sep 2013 by essiep

17C, windy light cloud.
Queueing in the supermarket we noticed a fat kid noisily climbing over a plastic child’s ride. He grunted, gasped and shouted as he heaved himself over its shiney yellow surface for what seemed like ten minutes. The woman next to me remarked: “you wouldn’t loose that one would you?”.
My answer-
“I’d loose him right away! When he isn’t looking, I would run for it”.

Posted on my phone.

Calm before…

Posted on 15th Sep 2013 by essiep

15C, big storm approaches.
The storm, a opportunity arose this morning with grey sky but no real rain, yet. So what happens, I woke with a pre-cold throat, dammit.
It’s been a long run since the last cold- was it Easter?

Written & Posted from a Smartphone.

Ledare

Posted on 21st Jun 2013 by essiep

16°C, fog, very damp.
Ikea- lights are more and more LEDs. I picked up two of these for the kitchen. They are spot-lights to illuminate the cooler and the sink. This is very mundane and domestic, but I am very impressed. View are brighter than the 40W equivalents that they replace. There is little of the flicker that affects compact fluorescent atlas that I so dislike. There are possibly good dough to read by and only use 8 watts.

Rated at 400lm, which is a unit I have to get used to. It’s bright enough with a warmish colour that tints towards sink at the edges.

Rage road.

Posted on 5th Feb 2013 by essiep

Movement within a roundabout in a country where traffic drives on the left. Note the clockwise circulation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

+4°C, clear icy strong wind.
Not safe to ride this morning- black ice covers more than usual today- roads as well as pavements.
Not safe to drive either, look…
Near home there is a tee-junction with a roundabout for left or right. So I got in the right lane and joined the other cars waiting. Then just as I turned, a guy in the left turning lane server right in front of me. Annoyed, I blew the horn and flash lights.
As I follow him onto the turning he stopped. I braked and blew the horn again; is he just not looking or what? Then he moved and stopped again. Horn again, he started then stopped once more, but for longer, much longer.
Then he actually got out or his car. I could see him mouthing something, pointing at the roundabout and waving arms. He’s trying to communicate; I hit the central locking. No point interacting with this life-form. The traffic built up behind jamming the roundabout.
What a puzzling experience. A driver is in such a rush that he doesn’t mind treading on toes. He’s in such an adrenaline haze that he stopped to have a tantrum and wasted his own time as well as ours.
What a depressing way to run your life.
Strange thought though, is the stretch of road where this all happened. I have been subject to three road rage incidents over the last ten years. All of them on this half-mile section of road. Beware.

Why Do We Have Road Rage and Not Sidewalk Rage? (fixthetoaster.wordpress.com)
Road Rage (southernbuddhist.wordpress.com)

Back to back.

Posted on 11th Jan 2013 by essiep

7°C, sunshine.
The Doc says I probably have a second cold straight after the first. Unlucky, but not a serious worry. Presumably, there is no reason that you couldn’t be infected with two colds at once.
Snow is on its way, though it may not fall here. The Mirror paper predicts -15C and blizzards, though view predict that every time the temperature dips a little. Nobody believes them any more. Well, no-one worth mentioning does.

The ‘snowpocalypse’ is coming (themediablog.typepad.com)
All change with our weather this weekend as winter bites back (itv.com)

Repair and ride

Posted on 9th Dec 2012 by essiep

7°C. Some rain, sun too.
A mending weekend: TV, laptop, bike, smoke detector, hair, shelves
TV makes a short high buzz with a few minutes of changing channel or starting a video. One web forum sort said unplug it for at least 4 hours to reset it. So far, no better, possibly getting worse.
Bike: has a new tyre to replace the one that gave trouble on Friday. It’s all shiny and clean now.
Laptop: frequently drops the internet connection. The router is okay, the desktop pc, phone and DVD player all work properly. Again, the web forums say install new network card drivers. Done, and it’s better but still cuts sometimes.
Not the best way to spend a December weekend. Cycling is the best but I have a cough and listless.
So, housemaking it is.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

Category Archives: Mundane