Friday Thread

[Mad Ax 11388]

It's Friday again!  Has anyone got anything fun planned this weekend?

Going to be a quiet one for me.  Well, quiet it perhaps not the perfect word for it, but, my wife is going away for her birthday so it's just me and the child for a couple of days.

Friday - the days of 2pm finishes are sadly gone (at least until I get well settled in the new job), but I should be able to finish at 4 today if I get enough work in.  Won't be much spare time before I pick my daughter up from school at 5pm, but then it's pizza night, which is always something to look forward to.  Probably chill in the studio and work on the novel before bed.

Saturday - shopping for birthday presents in the morning, then softplay in the afternoon.  I might take some earplugs as it can get seriously noisy in there.  Probably spend a couple of hours working on the novel on my laptop while my daughter makes some friends.

Home in time to cook a curry (from a jar but with loads of added spices from the cupboard) and probably stream a film in the evening.

Sunday - no solid plans, but my daughter wants to help me plant a bonsai tree I got for Christmas two years ago and still haven't planted, then she wants help with her fossil-hunting kit (which is basically a soft brick with some fossils hidden inside).  Then we'll probably just chill out around the house.  I'm expecting some parts to arrive soon - M05 suspension parts to upgrade the Iconic Cup M03, plus an upgraded transmission to replace the one in my Cougar Classic which lasted about 5 metres with a 10 turn double in it.  So maybe I'll be able to do those at the kitchen table while my daughter tap-tap-tap-tap-taps at her fossil kit.

Evening - reheat the curry and chill out in the studio, and prepare for another week of work  

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend, and if you're doing anything RC-related, remember to share the joy!

[JimBear 1371]

I guess I am going to finetune the CR-01 during Friday, either alone or if I am up to it, with the kid. Need to get a package out the door first, and after tuning, I'll try to figure out where to continue with all the other (RC) projects.

Saturday and Sunday might be a mix of family walking the CR-01, gardening and around-the-house stuff.

@Mad Ax - Bonsai ... well, two years ain't much in that trade! Mine are still oaklings.

[Mad Ax 11388]

10 minutes ago, JimBear said:

Bonsai ... well, two years ain't much in that trade! Mine are still oaklings.

mine is still in the seed  

[JimBear 1371]

6 minutes ago, Mad Ax said:

mine is still in the seed  

I brought them up from acorns ... some of them comes from a tree not from where the kid went to Kindergarten, and some of them we picked up along the way on our walks. Ask me in 200 years if they turned out well.

[wolfdogstinkus 2063]

Sorry to derail the thread, you guys started it.

If you're into Bonsai, check out Bonchi, Fatallis guide to bonsai chillis, great webpage with some great tips that will help with your standard Bonsai trees.

https://www.fatalii.net/Bonsai_Chiles_Bonchi

Some amazing Bonsai chillis on there and you can achieve a really good effect in just 2 growing seasons.

[Mad Ax 11388]

2 hours ago, JimBear said:

I brought them up from acorns

A couple of years back a field maple seed landed and germinated in a tiny 1x1 metre square of dirt cut into the concrete out the front of my house.  I rarely use the front of the house*, and I didn't noticed until it had grown a good 60cm tall, and I figured it had to come out or it would cause problems later.

It was already a little tall for a bonsai, but I thought I'd try potting it anyway.  The main root extended at least 30cm into the dirt, and in the end I had to cut it off because I couldn't dig any deeper.  I thought it would die, but although it lost all its leaves in the first year, it retained some green in the branches and the following year it put out a healthy amount of tiny leaves and actually seemed to be thriving.  The leaves dropped off in autumn and I put it in the workshop to protect it from the frost, and the following year it put out more leaves.

Unfortunately I went away for 7 days during a heatwave at the end of May last year, and my wife forgot to water it or move it into the shade, and it dried out and died.  Even now, every time I walk past it I give it a quick glance to see if there was any glimmer of hope that it might put out leaves this year, but I think it's long gone.  I was quite sad, as it seemed to be a curious survivor.

*In the westcountry we use our front doors only twice, and we're carried both times

[JimBear 1371]

I wouldn't say that I am a bonsai expert by any stretch, but that's how understand it when you bring a sapling from the "outdoors" - especially maples seems to be surdy and surivive a pretty serious cut. And in many cases, other people seem to do what looks like severe cuts that turn out fine in the end, provided water and nourishment. I've had a few die on me too, even oaks have a hard time in a small pot.

All of which in turn makes me think of Terry Pratchett and his mention of bonsai mountains in Small Gods.

Love the bonsai chili, @wolfdogstinkus!

[Robert5000 929]

If everything goes to plan this weekend one of my nephews will build his first kit, the loveable Blitzer Beetle, and I'll build my first Avante. 
If we find the time we'll pop by the flea market our local marching band is arranging, and I've got a 1/1 car that needs washing. 
But first, BB4 into B1. 

[wolfdogstinkus 2063]

7 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

A couple of years back a field maple seed landed and germinated in a tiny 1x1 metre square of dirt cut into the concrete out the front of my house.  I rarely use the front of the house*, and I didn't noticed until it had grown a good 60cm tall, and I figured it had to come out or it would cause problems later.

It was already a little tall for a bonsai, but I thought I'd try potting it anyway.  The main root extended at least 30cm into the dirt, and in the end I had to cut it off because I couldn't dig any deeper.  I thought it would die, but although it lost all its leaves in the first year, it retained some green in the branches and the following year it put out a healthy amount of tiny leaves and actually seemed to be thriving.  The leaves dropped off in autumn and I put it in the workshop to protect it from the frost, and the following year it put out more leaves.

Unfortunately I went away for 7 days during a heatwave at the end of May last year, and my wife forgot to water it or move it into the shade, and it dried out and died.  Even now, every time I walk past it I give it a quick glance to see if there was any glimmer of hope that it might put out leaves this year, but I think it's long gone.  I was quite sad, as it seemed to be a curious survivor.

*In the westcountry we use our front doors only twice, and we're carried both times

If you scratch some bark off and you see green it's still alive, if it's all brown inside, it's dead.

[Mad Ax 11388]

7 hours ago, JimBear said:

All of which in turn makes me think of Terry Pratchett and his mention of bonsai mountains in Small Gods.

I seem to recall a moment where Lu Tze was carefully angling the parasols to get just the right amount of light onto his bonsai mountains, which I think occurs in Thief of Time (although I may be wrong).  The mysterious smiling monk is possibly my favourite character.

[JimBear 1371]

4 minutes ago, Mad Ax said:

I seem to recall a moment where Lu Tze was carefully angling the parasols to get just the right amount of light onto his bonsai mountains, which I think occurs in Thief of Time (although I may be wrong).  The mysterious smiling monk is possibly my favourite character.

As far as I understand (haven't read Thief of Time) the bonsai mountains are mentioned in both novels. I re-read The Colour of Magic on occasion and still laugh out loud. Need to read more Pratchett.

[Mad Ax 11388]

Just now, JimBear said:

As far as I understand (haven't read Thief of Time) the bonsai mountains are mentioned in both novels. I still re-read The Colour of Magic on occasion and still laugh out loud. Need to read more Pratchett.

Thief of Time is possibly my favourite* in the series.  I think of it as "Discworld does The Matrix".

Earlier this year my wife took me to a special talk on Terry Pratchett, hosted by Marc Burrows, the comedian who wrote his unofficial biography.  Best birthday present ever.

*It's a tough choice - The Last Continent is definitely up there, too, although I've read it too many times.  And the moment in Night Watch where Vimes's Personal Dis-Organizer goes down the wrong trouser of time is possibly the most genius piece of storytelling I have ever read.

GNU Terry Pratchett.

[Mad Ax 11388]

It's Friday again!  Has anyone got anything exciting going on?  No racing or events for me this weekend but it's a Bank Holiday over here, so at least it's a long one, and a rare opportunity to spend some quality time with the family.

Friday - work until 4pm, then chill for an hour before I fetch my daughter from school.  Wife is out today so having a quiet night in, pizza (from the freezer) and a couple of beers and probably call it early, as I was out in Bristol last night (watching Orbital play live) and didn't get home until gone midnight after an hour's motorcycle ride in the (surprisingly warm and dry) evening air.

Saturday - daddy/daughter day.  No solid plans, maybe do some reading and play some Viva Piñata.  IIRC tomorrow is the official open day of the 100-seat Gregg's restaurant*, and since that's literally the most exciting non-stabbing-related-event to happen in this town since they opened the cinema, and since my daughter is a huge fan of the Chicken Slice, we might go along for the opening ceremony.  And have a chicken slice.

Evening - going to cook a sausage and mash pie and enjoy the Cornish ale that my wife brought me back from her holiday last week.

Sunday - Workshop Sunday.  I need to rebuild the M03 before racing next weekend, so hopefully the last round of parts will arrive today.  All new suspension arms and hubs, new servo horn, and shimming anything that still has play in it.

Hopefully I'll get that done early enough to go for a walk, because I've literally got just 3 weeks left until my walking holiday in the Lake District and I've barely done any walking in the last 3 months  

Evening - reheated soz and mash pie and some Cornish ale.

Monday - my nieces have their birthday celebration at a restaurant on the outskirts of Bristol, so will be driving there for the celebration.  Consume way too many calories and maybe get home in time for a cuddle and film with the family before bedtime.

Have yourselves a great weekend everybody  

 

*yes, really, that's what they're calling it

[Twinfan 2454]

Packing day for me, we're off for a week away on Anglesey tomorrow so I'll be taking my "holiday" cars - a Lunch Box and a Mad Bull.  While prepping the Mad Bull a few days ago I manage to crack a rear upright on the chassis so I've got a spare one to take with me in case it completely breaks.  It seems to be a partial crack and may hold, but let's see what a pebble beach run does to it!  

I've also got a kite to take for another bit of nostalgia - I used to love flying a kite on the beach as a kid!  

[gogsyfinnie 714]

My mums birthday so a visit up North in store for me this weekend, like twinfan me and the kids will be packing the monster trucks for a bash!

Tonight I painted all the black details on my sons 037 shell, he built the full chassis himself but Dads body shop gets subcontracted for fiddly painting or awkward decals!

 

[Mad Ax 11388]

It's Friday again!  What's everyone up to?

It's been a crazy week for me.  Last weekend's Bank Holiday plans were scuppered by a poorly child, then I was away for work for 2 days and haven't really adjusted to being home yet, plus I no longer finish early on Fridays so I'm working all day today.  So a real quiet, sunny, sit back and relax type weekend would be great.

With that in mind:

Friday - work all day, then supposed to be going to my best mate's birthday night out in Bristol.  Except it's a 2-hour round trip, and by the time I get there after work they'll all be well underway, I'll be on a different cognitive plain altogether, and I'll be bored until I come home.  So maybe I'll call off and promise to see him for a night in playing some music in a few weeks when things are quieter.

So - maybe just cook a pizza and relax with the wife, as we haven't seen each other much since I started my new job.

Saturday - spend time with my daughter, she just said she wants to learn how to DJ so we'll spend some time doing that, plus I've got to charge all my batteries and pack the van for Sunday.

Leave home around 7pm for the long road north, stop at a hotel in Derby, hopefully get there around 10ish.

Sunday - up early for the final leg to Broxtowe for round 2 of the Iconic Cup.  I've completely rebuilt the M03 (with new M05 parts) since the last round, so hopefully its wayward handling will be fixed and maybe I can get just a little closer to the leaders.  At least, it would be nicer to get away from the relegation danger zone and secure my spot in the A group.

Hopefully get home in time for a takeaway, although for some idiot reason I decided to book a dental appointment for 9:30 on Monday so I'd probably best eat sensibly, for the dentist's sake, if not mine!

Whatever you're doing, have a great weekend!

[Mad Ax 11388]

It's FRIDAY!  What's everyone got planned?  Anything exciting?

For me, should be (hopefully) quiet and maybe I will do some walking.

Friday - work until 4pm, then an hour to tidy up and get my walking gear ready, fetch my daughter from school and then go for my Friday evening walk.  Next weekend my walking holiday in the Lakes begins, and I haven't done a lot of walking for the last few months, so tonight will be a training and confidence walk.  Because I have to do the school run, it will be a late walk and I'll be out well after sunset - so I might take a sandwich with me and cancel my usual Friday evening pizza.

Saturday - spend the day with my daughter.  I was planning to go see some family, but they haven't contacted me, so maybe we'll stay home or go for a cycle ride somewhere.

Sunday - unpack the diff in the M03 and give it a quick check-over ready for Iconic Cup at Carlisle next weekend, then consider going out for another training walk.  I'll have most of the day free, so I could drive somewhere different for a change.

Spend my usual Sunday evening in the studio working on the novel.

Have a fab weekend everybody!

[gogsyfinnie 714]

Happy Friday all!  Just finishing working from home here, although the sun is beating down in Glasgow so my afternoon tea break was substituted for an afternoon "drive the XV-01 Delta round the garden and test the new shorty lipo" break.

Tonight Ive got a concert that my son is in so currently debating an early or late dinner, been a mad week so probably an early night with no more RC fun for me.

Saturday - Free tomorrow am so like Ax i'll probably get a bike ride in and might fit some turnbuckles to by sons TA-02S to ease steering tune ups.  Afternoon its my daughters turn on stage with a cheerleading show!

Sunday - Kids rugby in the morning, depending on if my Savox 1252 thats on order comes in the post tomorrow I might get an hour or so at the bench on the M08 race car to fit that and give the steering a bit of fine tuning (my previous etronix 2035 was nabbed last week to replace a very poor plastic geared thing that was in my daughters TT-02 and did not survive last weeks rallying fun!  Still good excuse to upgrade the racer for next track visit I say!)

Have a good one folks

[Mad Ax 11388]

It's Thursday!!  YAY!  Which is officially Friday for me, because I'm off work tomorrow as I set off on my annual pilgrimage to the very north of England to enjoy one of the best racing circuits in the land, and then spend a few days enjoying some of the best scenery in the world.

Thursday - work until 4:30, later than I wanted due to various things that have taken up my work time this week - I took time off on Tues to go to a wake for an old colleague who passed away recently, and yesterday I lost an hour's worktime dealing with a contractor who came to replace the faulty sensor on my workshop door.  (Actually this worked out OK, as I used the time to loosen off the diff in the M03 ready for the weekend, and found another problem that needed fixing while I was in there).  Only got a 30-min lunchbreak today which I'll probably spend driving to Halfords to pick up a beach shelter, which will become the waterproof cover for my generator, as rain is forecast on Sunday.

Packing my suitcases in between work, also loads of admin to do (after school club booking time has come around, but due to the job change I no longer have an active childcare voucher account so I have to sign up for tax free childcare, plus a friend's motorcycle needs booking in for repairs).  LiPos are charging as we speak, they need to finish before I can finish loading the van.

Evening - probably more packing and admin, then hopefully have an hour or two to chill out with my wife and watch TV, as I won't see her for a week.

Friday - up early for some last-minute work on my side-hustle, take my daughter to school then set off on the 3-4 hour journey to Nottingham for my annual walk around the Attenborough Nature Centre.  Grab some lunch while I'm there.

Then another 30 minutes in the van to my overnight stop in a Premier Inn, maybe have time to do some work on the laptop before dinner.

Saturday - up for the early breakfast sitting, then straight on the long road north to Carlisle - another 3-4 hours.  Hopefully get there for the start of practice, get my car on track and get my mojo back, after the last round's somewhat disappointing result.

Takeaway and beers with my pit buddies in the evening, then camp in the van.

Sunday - challenge to get back in the A-final and not come plumb last - Carlisle tends to have a lower turnout than other events due to its remote location, so fingers crossed the top talent stays home and the rain doesn't put me off too much 

Then pack away and set off on another drive - 40-50mins, to my hotel for a much-needed shower and a good meal.

Monday - forecast for the week is for rain, so I might not be able to do the mountain walks I had planned due to fog / low cloud.  Still, there are plenty of walks at lower altitude that should be fun, plus I fancy the idea of hiring a boat for a couple of hours to potter around the lake.

Tuesday - I've hired a kayak for a couple of hours to get back in the water.  I don't care about the rain because I'll get wet anyway  - after that, weather depending, I'll either have another walk, go to some museums, or maybe take a ride on the steamer boat.

Wednesday - the long journey back home.  It's a 6-hour drive if I do it flat out, but I'm considering taking a detour through wales for one final mountain walk on Pen-y-Fan.  Could take 5 hours to get there, plus another 2 hours drive back home for some nourishment before I get back to work on Thursday.

Anyone else got any plans?

[Twinfan 2454]

Sounds great, Mad Ax!

I'm heading to the Wheelspin Models "Cars and Coffee" morning on Saturday, combining my two hobbies of 1:1 cars and RC.  Never been to anything like it before so hopefully it'll be interesting with some usual cars to have a browse around.

Other than that, I'll be getting started on the build of my SuperBoomerShot......

[Mad Ax 11388]

11 minutes ago, Twinfan said:

I'm heading to the Wheelspin Models "Cars and Coffee" morning on Saturday, combining my two hobbies of 1:1 cars and RC.

cool!!  I saw some photos of a similar event recently, looks like a great idea.  Have fun!

[Mad Ax 11388]

It's Friday!  What's everyone up to this weekend?

Fairly quiet one for me, after my 900-mile round trip to the Lakes and back last weekend.  Working at home today, daughter is off school due to holidays and wife doesn't work Fridays, so I'll have some company.  Shorter day hopefully as I got a lot of extra time in yesterday while the house was quiet and I didn't have to do a school run.

Friday - work until around 4pm, then probably tidy the workshop and clean out the van, maybe even the studio.  Pizza from the freezer for dinner.

Saturday - no solid plans, spend the day with my daughter.  If the weather's good we could go out for a cycle ride or play in the woods, otherwise we're trying to save money for a bit so no trips out to softplay or food from takeaways.

Sunday - Workshop Sunday.  Need to check over the M03 and order some new diff parts and tyres after last weekend's wet weather race disaster, might also get a different ESC in there to lower the CoG.

After that, probably continue work on one of the other projects that have been hanging around for ages.  Still need to find some shocks that fit the hillwalking Dakar truck, so no progress there, but there's dozens of other half-finished projects that I could make some progress on.

End the weekend in the studio, hopefully  

Whatever you're doing, have a great time, and if it's RC-related, take some pics

[markbt73 6250]

Moving. Today we're packing up the second Pod with all our furniture, tomorrow we clean and have some junk picked up, amd Sunday we hit the road with the cats in the car. Five days later, we'll arrive in Maryland at our new house for good.

This has been a month-long process; all the rest of our vehicles and about half our stuff (including all my RC stuff) is already there. Just one last push, and then we can concentrate on moving in rather than moving out.

[Wooders28 5119]

Not posted much, as after my last visit down south (near RHR), as my dad was admitted to hospital, and is still in, so been up and down the road, any spare time off I've had..

Well, except for last weekend, we went down to the "Main Event " down at Santa Pod during the English Bank Holiday weekend, and the 17hr drive round trip towing a trailer tent... 😳, fantastic event / weekend, and a mate even give me a shot of his 9 second street car...😀

Down south again the now (nr Southport), trying to sort a room out downstairs, for my dad to come home out of hospital, Not saying things haven't been moved for a while, bit think there's a can of 'Skol' lager in one of the cupboards...🫣

[BuggyDad 6588]

13 hours ago, Wooders28 said:

Not posted much, as after my last visit down south (near RHR), as my dad was admitted to hospital, and is still in, so been up and down the road, any spare time off I've had..

Well, except for last weekend, we went down to the "Main Event " down at Santa Pod during the English Bank Holiday weekend, and the 17hr drive round trip towing a trailer tent... 😳, fantastic event / weekend, and a mate even give me a shot of his 9 second street car...😀

Down south again the now (nr Southport), trying to sort a room out downstairs, for my dad to come home out of hospital, Not saying things haven't been moved for a while, bit think there's a can of 'Skol' lager in one of the cupboards...🫣

There's nothing like an elderly parent and a bit of best before datey food. We opened a can of ambrosia rice with a date from the wrong century on it not so long ago, found in M-i-L's kitchen. 

Go easy on the Botulism 😬

But then again, didn't they find some tins in Capn Scott's Antarctic shed that were still (kinda) edible? 

Pop the can and toast his return!

But seriously, hope he's OK and you too. Can be tough being a long way away in these situations. And also the caring stuff when there. Do the things for them but don't forget to look after yourself too.