What have you fettled today?

[Auntie Helen]

Frightening, I can understand that! I have clearly been here too long and read too much technical German.

[Kim]

Technical German's the best kind...

(When I was a PSO, I once spent an evening^[1] with a SUSE Linux box that I was trying to persuade to be a NAT router, with - due to the absence of a working NAT router - no internet access, a somewhat deficient understanding of TCP/IP and nothing but the German version of the ipchains manual.  In best xkcd://466 tradition, I made it work eventually.)


_{[1] For very long values of 'evening'.}

[L CC]

Frightening, I can understand that! I have clearly been here too long and read too much technical German.

I was sorely tempted to message you for help! 

[Mr Larrington]

Hovered inside, and fettled the hinges of, the Cupboard That Hides The Horrible Fireplace in preparation for it becoming a cunningly concealed network Stuffs repository.

[Andrij]

Hovered inside, and fettled the hinges of, the Cupboard That Hides The Horrible Fireplace in preparation for it becoming a cunningly concealed network Stuffs repository.

Today I Learned:
Mr. Larrington can levitate, and fits inside a cupboard! 

[ElyDave]

Is Mr Larrington really Debbie McGee?  I've never seen them together!

[Rod Marton]

Technical German's the best kind...

Indeed it is - the wonders of the compound noun make technical German remarkably easy to understand...

I once had to translate a patent concerning Einspritzbrennkraftmaschinen - translates literally as in-squirt-burn-power-engines. Written like this it is absolutely obvious what it means, but it is remarkably difficult to find an English equivalent. Yes, it is a diesel, but there are other engines which work in a similar manner and can't be excluded.

I love German.

[Mr Larrington]

I hate you all, you, you GITS

It should, of course, have read “Henryed”.

[Mrs Pingu]

Hovered inside, and fettled the hinges of, the Cupboard That Hides The Horrible Fireplace in preparation for it becoming a cunningly concealed network Stuffs repository.

Today I Learned:
Mr. Larrington can levitate, and fits inside a cupboard! 

I was thinking it must be a mahoosive cupboard to have all that space for levitating.

[Mrs Pingu]

It was raining this morning, so rather than go for an holiday bicyclops, instead I cleaned the oven (it was covered in fat from some cheffy meal we had delivered) which only took 45 mins (though I did take the side rails off for the first time) and I was sweating like an horse afterward.
Then I prepared to decorate the not-very-great hall at Pingu Towers, when I realised it was 1155 so I might as well have lunch. During which time a man delivered a new 5 in 1 combi ladder for me to stand on while painting the ceiling, which was good timing given I told them on the 24th June that the first one they delivered was borked and unsafe for use....
And then, after assembling said thing in a raised platform stylee (which is good but a bugger to manoeveur round our not very great but twisty hall) I did paint the ceiling and a first coat on the walls.
2020-08-17_07-29-11 by The Pingus, on Flickr
(I may regret doing that during the 2nd coat)

In between all this we have been watching some builders demolish a tree, a wall and use a digger to remove soil from a neighbouring property, because we are nosey.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Replaced the derailleur pulleys, chain and cogs on HK’s Brompton and inflated the tyres. Tightened the bolt between derailleur cable and derailleur and tightened the bolt securing the derailleur tensioner. One of the pulley bolts was so corroded in place that a Draper Allen key rounded out, which led to hacksawing the pulley and Vice-grips on the bolt. All solved now, save for replacing the Allen key.

Tomorrow’s job is replacing the swingarm pivot and some cables and straightening the Al chainguard. Will need to replace a worn pusher plate at some point.

[Mrs Pingu]

Pingu had a hair cut booked for today (if I'd booked a haircut on holiday my guts would be for garters but YMMV) so I spent the whole day putting a 2nd coat of paint on the walls of the not-very-great hall.
And then looked and grumbled, (and wished I'd ignored Pingu and just stripped the wallpaper off and put new up) and then did a 3rd coat.
It's better but some bits will need a 4th coat (not the bit where I wrote 'Poo!' but another wall where I did an experiment on cleaning the surface and then applying matt paint. You can see the 2 massive areas of matt...) 

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Spent a considerable amount of time and drill bits (all crappy, so replacement cobalt bits ordered) to remove both swingarm bolts on HK’s Brompton. The swingarm movement exceeded Brompton’s limit of 2mm movement either side of centre by a considerable amount. Fitted a new rear mudflap, reamed new bushes and Loctited the swingarm bolts.

Hopefully I won’t have to deal with this again for a while. Though the powder coat is starting to lift near the bottom bracket (like they all seem to do), HK didn’t want a new paint job yet.

I believe I have finally done a little better than breaking even with the pivot reamer compared to paying a shop, just on my own bikes. It has taken a while, though a few friends’ Bromptons have also benefited. The hinge pin tool and seatpost reamer (when I get one) will take a while yet to pay their way.

[ElyDave]

Water butts, somehow in clearing the ick from the gutter and fixing the leaky joints, the downpipe has shifted such that the diverter has dropped a fraction and there was insufficient friction to just push it up a bit.  Shims from an old airline loyalty card seem to have done the trick and saves me farting around with new lengths of downpipe

[T42]

Removed the lectern (yes!) from MrsT's old MBK Oceo, then took it off the turbo in the cellar where it spent lockdown and over to the workshop to make it rideable again. Added a seatpost rack and wanted to put on the kickstand & toe hooks it once sported but they must've been thrown out.

Not that MrsT's going to ride it again, but I'll do some shopping on it.

...a bit doubtful of the tyres: they're the original Hutchinsons and look pristine, but they're pushing 15 years old. Ah well, the shops I'm aiming at are in the next village - walking distance.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Poured a concrete base for our pond filter. I do miss having a  cement mixer.

[rogerzilla]

Removed the lectern (yes!) from MrsT's old MBK Oceo, then took it off the turbo in the cellar where it spent lockdown and over to the workshop to make it rideable again. Added a seatpost rack and wanted to put on the kickstand & toe hooks it once sported but they must've been thrown out.

Not that MrsT's going to ride it again, but I'll do some shopping on it.

...a bit doubtful of the tyres: they're the original Hutchinsons and look pristine, but they're pushing 15 years old. Ah well, the shops I'm aiming at are in the next village - walking distance.

"Made By Klingons", according to the sportsperson formerly known as Robert Millar!

[zigzag]

one of those "why do i bother?" jobs - servicing a ss freewheel.  cleaned, greased/lubed and haven't lost any of the tiny ball bearings.

[robgul]

Moved to this house in February* and the cistern in the cloakroom wouldn't flush properly (one of those stupid air operated bellows things) - concealed cistern so panel off the front and to flush you put your hand in the tank and gave the mechanism a push to flush.

Finally got round to fitting a new cistern and replaced the panel - and took the opportunity to drill a hole in the wall to fit an outside tap (with non-return valve) and a valve inside to isolate it during the winter.   All sorted and the wooden panel back in position.

Pretty simple but fiddly - made easier with the use of flexible hose compression fittings.

* we were away for a month in the meantime so I don't feel quite so guilty!

[rafletcher]

Should be a double check valve 

[robgul]

Should be a double check valve 

Sorry - terminology - it is!   Screwfix's finest brassware

[MattH]

one of those "why do i bother?" jobs - servicing a ss freewheel.  cleaned, greased/lubed and haven't lost any of the tiny ball bearings.

It is strangely satisfying though, doing those or old 5/6 speed freewheels. Cassettes just aren't the same.

[T42]

Removed the lectern (yes!) from MrsT's old MBK Oceo, then took it off the turbo in the cellar where it spent lockdown and over to the workshop to make it rideable again. Added a seatpost rack and wanted to put on the kickstand & toe hooks it once sported but they must've been thrown out.

Not that MrsT's going to ride it again, but I'll do some shopping on it.

...a bit doubtful of the tyres: they're the original Hutchinsons and look pristine, but they're pushing 15 years old. Ah well, the shops I'm aiming at are in the next village - walking distance.

"Made By Klingons", according to the sportsperson formerly known as Robert Millar!

They can Klingon as much as they like as long as they don't fall off.

[zigzag]

one of those "why do i bother?" jobs - servicing a ss freewheel.  cleaned, greased/lubed and haven't lost any of the tiny ball bearings.

It is strangely satisfying though, doing those or old 5/6 speed freewheels. Cassettes just aren't the same.

the only satisfaction is a better working freewheel; rode 112km on it today (still skipped once..).

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Punched holes into a fortnight-old B17 Std and laced it. It was rubbing my thighs raw!