Post a bad thing that happened in your life today

[sb photos]

30 minutes ago, Bryan said:

Re hair, or lack of it, my Mrs enjoys cutting hair. I haven't visited a barber since meeting her more than 50 years ago. I was entrusted to trim her hair during lockdown, a nerve wracking procedure. Fortunately the hair dressers are now back in business, which is more than can be said for our dentist.

 

My wife has cut my hair since soon after we met 44 years ago. Hope she doesn't tally up the haircuts and bill me. The only time she doesn't enjoy it is if it's late evening. She trimmed her own hair during lockdown. Looked good, but then long ago she did train as a hairdresser.

[John Morrison]

10 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

Called my hairdresser today who has been cutting my hair for over 30 years (since back when I actually had hair). I mentioned that I have had both my COVID-19 vaccinations and inquired about her status. Talk about awkward. Turns out she's an adamant anti-vaxxer and won't even discuss the subject. Rational arguments and scientific facts just bounce off her like balls tossed against a brick wall. Very depressing, not to mention scary. Now I have to go out and look for a new barber. 👴

 

 

 

I now have a couple of 'ex-friends', who talked blithely about meeting up... without masks or social distancing... in a crowd... without them being vaccinated. I said they could turn up at the pub, at the time they suggested... but I wouldn't be there.

 

 

[spacecadet]

39 minutes ago, John Morrison said:

I now have a couple of 'ex-friends', who talked blithely about meeting up... without masks or social distancing... in a crowd... without them being vaccinated. I said they could turn up at the pub, at the time they suggested... but I wouldn't be there.

 

 

Perhaps you could have persuaded them. It's no time to be having fewer friends.  I'm certainly not checking up on people I meet- I'm just assuming they're vaccinated, being in the right age groups and hesitancy being pretty low. I don't think I know anyone who might not be.

Off on me hols now.

Edited August 11, 2021 by spacecadet

[John Morrison]

5 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

Perhaps you could have persuaded them. It's no time to be having fewer friends. 

 

Erm... persuasion might work on the vaccine-hesitant... but not on committed anti-vaxxers.

 

Most of the people in hospital with Covid (in England, at least) are unvaccinated. Some of them are realising, too late, that, in refusing the jab, they made the worst decision of their lives...

[Bryan]

55 minutes ago, sb photos said:

 

My wife has cut my hair since soon after we met 44 years ago. Hope she doesn't tally up the haircuts and bill me. 

 

I had a similar thought, but then considered the costs of maintaining a family home and offspring ! 😒

 

But there are many good things that money can't buy. 🙂

[MDM]

2 hours ago, John Morrison said:

I now have a couple of 'ex-friends', who talked blithely about meeting up... without masks or social distancing... in a crowd... without them being vaccinated. I said they could turn up at the pub, at the time they suggested... but I wouldn't be there.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, John Morrison said:

 

Erm... persuasion might work on the vaccine-hesitant... but not on committed anti-vaxxers.

 

Most of the people in hospital with Covid (in England, at least) are unvaccinated. Some of them are realising, too late, that, in refusing the jab, they made the worst decision of their lives...

 

 

This link from a Guardian article yesterday on Herd Immunity is very interesting. Basically because fully vaccinated people can still become infected and transmit the virus, unvaccinated people are inevitably going to get infected at some point because there is no such thing as herd immunity with this virus. If  you are vaccinated you are less likely to become infected and, if you do, it is likely to be much less serious.

 

Unfortunately there is not a lot one can do to influence those who are prone to believing fake news and conspiracy theories.  

[Vincent Lowe]

1 hour ago, MDM said:

Unfortunately there is not a lot one can do to influence those who are prone to believing fake news and conspiracy theories.  

 

Try asking them if they know why we don't see cases of Polio anymore.

 

"... Before a vaccine was available, polio caused more than 15,000 cases of paralysis a year in the U.S. It was the most feared disease of the 20th century. With the success of the polio vaccine, Jonas Salk, 39, became one of the most celebrated scientists in the world.  He refused a patent for his work, saying the vaccine belonged to the people and that to patent it would be like “patenting the Sun.” Leading drug manufacturers made the vaccine available, and more than 400 million doses were distributed between 1955 and 1962, reducing the cases of polio by 90%. By the end of the century, the polio scare had become a faint memory. "

 

https://theconversation.com/the-deadly-polio-epidemic-and-why-it-matters-for-coronavirus-133976

 

[John Morrison]

7 minutes ago, Vincent Lowe said:

Try asking them if they know why we don't see cases of Polio anymore.

Or smallpox...

[Vincent Lowe]

4 minutes ago, John Morrison said:

Or smallpox...

 

Indeed... and many others - https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/forgot-14-diseases.html

[aphperspective]

2 hours ago, MDM said:

 

 

 

This link from a Guardian article yesterday on Herd Immunity is very interesting. Basically because fully vaccinated people can still become infected and transmit the virus, unvaccinated people are inevitably going to get infected at some point because there is no such thing as herd immunity with this virus. If  you are vaccinated you are less likely to become infected and, if you do, it is likely to be much less serious.

 

Unfortunately there is not a lot one can do to influence those who are prone to believing fake news and conspiracy theories.  

The Lemming mentality charging over a cliff shouting "Isaac Newton was spreading lies."

[John Mitchell]

9 hours ago, John Morrison said:

I now have a couple of 'ex-friends', who talked blithely about meeting up... without masks or social distancing... in a crowd... without them being vaccinated. I said they could turn up at the pub, at the time they suggested... but I wouldn't be there.

 

 

 

Yes, it's mind-boggling. Here we are, privileged people living in rich countries with loads of vaccine, and some people still won't take the simple steps to protect themselves and others. Beam me up, Scottie... 👽

[John Mitchell]

10 hours ago, Bryan said:

Yes I was surprised to encounter an acquaintance, intelligent and normally rational, who wouldn't even discuss the subject of vaccination. I assume that she had decided against. This despite regular tragic stories of relatively young people being cut down by the virus.

 

Re hair, or lack of it, my Mrs enjoys cutting hair. I haven't visited a barber since meeting her more than 50 years ago. I was entrusted to trim her hair during lockdown, a nerve wracking procedure. Fortunately the hair dressers are now back in business, which is more than can be said for our dentist.

 

Does. the Mrs. do Zoom haircuts?

[Betty LaRue]

Having a string of 100F days. I hope this is the last hurrah of very hot weather.

[Bryan]

1 hour ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Does. the Mrs. do Zoom haircuts?

 

Probably cut your ears off, good with hair and many other things, but IT not her strong point.

[Vincent Lowe]

I've been copying slides lately - using a Nikon D7200 + Rodenstock enlarger lens mounted on a Nikon bellows unit with slide copier attachment, all set up on a tripod.  Strolling past it this evening, caught the tripod leg with my foot and the whole lot went crashing to the ground.  Yikes!.  When I was picking up the debris I discovered that one of the tripod legs had actually snapped off!  The lower clasp thingy on one of the legs had snapped in half and the lower section collapsed.  Couldn't believe it - I could understand if it had fell off a mountain but just a glancing blow with my foot?   The tripod is over twenty years old and has been knocked about a bit up and down the odd mountain or hundred so I suspect it must have been cracked already and could have gone at any time.

 

Fortunately there is no damage to the camera gear - good job it landed on the carpet and not on some rocky mountain side.  Tripod is a Manfrotto 190XPROB and they still supply spare parts, so a new clasp assembly is on it's way - 25 quid including postage but it could have been a much more expensive disaster.  Check your tripods folks!

 

 

 

 

[sb photos]

1 hour ago, Vincent Lowe said:

I've been copying slides lately - using a Nikon D7200 + Rodenstock enlarger lens mounted on a Nikon bellows unit with slide copier attachment, all set up on a tripod.  Strolling past it this evening, caught the tripod leg with my foot and the whole lot went crashing to the ground.  Yikes!.  When I was picking up the debris I discovered that one of the tripod legs had actually snapped off!  The lower clasp thingy on one of the legs had snapped in half and the lower section collapsed.  Couldn't believe it - I could understand if it had fell off a mountain but just a glancing blow with my foot?   The tripod is over twenty years old and has been knocked about a bit up and down the odd mountain or hundred so I suspect it must have been cracked already and could have gone at any time.

 

Fortunately there is no damage to the camera gear - good job it landed on the carpet and not on some rocky mountain side.  Tripod is a Manfrotto 190XPROB and they still supply spare parts, so a new clasp assembly is on it's way - 25 quid including postage but it could have been a much more expensive disaster.  Check your tripods folks!

 

 

 

 

I’ve only ever had 2 tripods fail on me. One was a cheapy I would never have bought now, a leg clamp came away as I was collapsing it. The other was an original benbo that had been given to me by a friend. It had previously been repaired by welding close to where the clamp bolt went through 3 sections. He had been using it with a 4x5 camera for years from when he supplied the calendar market. I had been using it for about 4-5 years when the weld broke while on Skye. I replaced it with an 055p which I still have. I was thankfull my Toyo 45A wasn’t on it.  You had a lucky escape.

[Vincent Lowe]

On 12/08/2021 at 22:52, Vincent Lowe said:

I've been copying slides lately - using a Nikon D7200 + Rodenstock enlarger lens mounted on a Nikon bellows unit with slide copier attachment, all set up on a tripod.  Strolling past it this evening, caught the tripod leg with my foot and the whole lot went crashing to the ground.  Yikes!.  When I was picking up the debris I discovered that one of the tripod legs had actually snapped off!  The lower clasp thingy on one of the legs had snapped in half and the lower section collapsed.  Couldn't believe it - I could understand if it had fell off a mountain but just a glancing blow with my foot?   The tripod is over twenty years old and has been knocked about a bit up and down the odd mountain or hundred so I suspect it must have been cracked already and could have gone at any time.

 

Fortunately there is no damage to the camera gear - good job it landed on the carpet and not on some rocky mountain side.  Tripod is a Manfrotto 190XPROB and they still supply spare parts, so a new clasp assembly is on it's way - 25 quid including postage but it could have been a much more expensive disaster.  Check your tripods folks!

 

 

 

 

 

Impressive service from Manfrotto - replacement part ordered about 9.00pm Thursday and it arrived this morning.

[sb photos]

Weather not so good today, cloudy and flat lighting, plus rained earlier. Going to clean the car then shoot something close by I spotted yesterday that suits todays light, then fuel up. Completely different from Sunday, visited Maldon in Essex for sight seeing and shooting run of the mill stock. Light was great with very nice cloud formations. Now just wish I hadn't travelled light and had taken a bigger bag and my 17-35. All edited, just have to thoroughly check the sky's before uploading later. Cursing that I didn't detour a little to Watford on the way home to shoot some topical signage I spotted recently.

Edited August 17, 2021 by sb photos

[Betty LaRue]

Armyworms have invaded Wichita. They normally are found mostly in the southeast, but the moth catches wind, travel far, and lay eggs in new territory and decimates lawns. During the worm stage is when they do damage.  Thousands of them attack. They hide below-ground during the day, munch on roots, and come out at night to get the blades. A lawn can be reduced to dirt in two or three days if one has a heavy infestation.

I had brown spots in my fescue several weeks ago. My lawn service said I had brown spot, a fungus, and it cost me $80 to have the lawn treated for brown spot. Of course it didn’t work and the brown areas spread.

Well, it was armyworms, and now my lawn is very damaged. My sister, who lives 100 miles south, warned me when they hit her area. I happened to have most of a sack of the granules recommended. I bought a new spreader, and my son applied it. I’ll need a second treatment, so Sunday I searched all over for the product. Sold out everywhere! I have an order with Amazon which are out of it for the moment, but a hardware store got in an order of the spray in yesterday and I managed to snag some for me and my daughter. The granules I used are good, but the spray works best.

These aren’t a normal pest for this area, but every 20 years or so they come. They cannot survive cold weather, so winter will kill off any that homeowners don’t.  It’s always something to drain my bank account. Since applying treatment, I’ve seen some dead ones at the edges of my driveway.

Since fescue doesn’t creep and renew itself, I’ll have to do some major reseeding in September.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Betty LaRue

[wiskerke]

4 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

Armyworms

You did take pictures of the damage and the rest of the whole process of course. Plus of all the critters. Make them pay! 😁

I had to look them up, never heard of them. Wikipedia has several different ones. I had to look up Fescue grass as well.

Very few images on Alamy of the buggers on grass. Your Fescue dead spot does not mention the worms yet. Maybe that was another pest though.

 

wim

[Bryan]

1 hour ago, Betty LaRue said:

Armyworms have invaded Wichita.

 

Puts our slugs, snails, eelworms, cutworms, pigeons and rats (and occasional rabbits) into perspective. 

 

While on bad things, our outdoor tomato plants at the allotment have caught blight, I removed them, but sadly too late to save those in the greenhouse, as they also now have the rot. Taken out the three affected plants, but hold out little hope for the remaining three. 😒

 

I was experimenting growing a couple of toms outside the glasshouse in a south facing location, but right next to the door. I'll be growing cucumbers there next year.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Bryan

[Betty LaRue]

1 hour ago, wiskerke said:

You did take pictures of the damage and the rest of the whole process of course. Plus of all the critters. Make them pay! 😁

I had to look them up, never heard of them. Wikipedia has several different ones. I had to look up Fescue grass as well.

Very few images on Alamy of the buggers on grass. Your Fescue dead spot does not mention the worms yet. Maybe that was another pest though.

 

wim

Of  COURSE I didn’t remember to take pictures! 😲 I was too busy running all over town hunting product! The dead spots were definitely caused by the armyworms, my lawn service could have known if he’d turned up a shovelful of soil. But because they are so seldom seen here, he made the wrong diagnosis. I’ll give him a pass, but let him know the next time I have a brown spot in the future, to check. It’s easy enough to do it, then tamp the sod back in place. No harm, no foul. That $80 was 100% wasted. Anti-fungal will not kill armyworms.

I will take pictures of the lawn damage, though. My sister has them eating her tomatoes off the vine.

[Betty LaRue]

11 minutes ago, Bryan said:

 

Puts our slugs, snails, eelworms, cutworms, pigeons and rats (and occasional rabbits) into perspective. 

 

While on bad things, our outdoor tomato plants at the allotment have caught blight, I removed them, but sadly too late to save those in the greenhouse, as they also now have the rot. Taken out the three affected plants, but hold out little hope for the remaining three. 😒

 

I was experimenting growing a couple of toms outside the glasshouse in a south facing location, but right next to the door. I'll be growing cucumbers there next year.

What does tomato blight look like?

OMG, I just checked Alamy images for it. Horrible. Now I know.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Betty LaRue

[Bryan]

Listening to The Folk Show this morning I was saddened to learn that Nanci Griffiths died recently.  We saw her perform some years ago and her singing kept us sane while dragging our caravan the long miles down to the south of France.  Only 68, no age.

[TeeCee]

On 20/08/2021 at 06:10, Bryan said:

Listening to The Folk Show this morning I was saddened to learn that Nanci Griffiths died recently.  We saw her perform some years ago and her singing kept us sane while dragging our caravan the long miles down to the south of France.  Only 68, no age.

Hadn't heard - that is sad news Bryan. Her version of Speed of the Sound of Loneliness with John Prine is still high on my playlist.
Now both of 'em gone...
☹️

Edited August 22, 2021 by TeeCee