What's on your mind today?

[Dave]

It being 6.30am I have very recently been in the waking phase. There was a time when I awoke 100% ready to go. Now I need at least 15 minutes to decide anything more complex than whether or not, and how, to turn over.

I know the feeling...yesterday I awoke with a scare because I had set my alarm to 6 a.m. and decided to stay an extra 5 mins in bed without the Snooze function. Half an hour later woke up and literally jumped out of bed!

It takes me a while to get moving. I don't sleep well to begin with and what little sleep I do get leaves me feeling very, very stiff. I have to start by moving my legs around and sort of go from there. When nature calls early I wind up hobbling to the bathroom.

I'll match your hobbling with a stumbling.

[Dave]

After noting that the BBC are using "BC" instead of "BCE" (I am sure they used to use "BCE" before) it got me thinking about some politician ssying, "We are a christian nation."

"We are a nation in which the predominant religious tradition is christian" looks a bit more accurate. But I doubt that I am the first to think so.

[xSilverPhinx]

It being 6.30am I have very recently been in the waking phase. There was a time when I awoke 100% ready to go. Now I need at least 15 minutes to decide anything more complex than whether or not, and how, to turn over.

I know the feeling...yesterday I awoke with a scare because I had set my alarm to 6 a.m. and decided to stay an extra 5 mins in bed without the Snooze function. Half an hour later woke up and literally jumped out of bed!

It takes me a while to get moving. I don't sleep well to begin with and what little sleep I do get leaves me feeling very, very stiff. I have to start by moving my legs around and sort of go from there. When nature calls early I wind up hobbling to the bathroom.

I'm like that when it's cold, but mainly because I can't seem to relax my muscles when temperatures are low so I wake up feeling like I just ran a marathon.

[Tank]

It being 6.30am I have very recently been in the waking phase. There was a time when I awoke 100% ready to go. Now I need at least 15 minutes to decide anything more complex than whether or not, and how, to turn over.

I know the feeling...yesterday I awoke with a scare because I had set my alarm to 6 a.m. and decided to stay an extra 5 mins in bed without the Snooze function. Half an hour later woke up and literally jumped out of bed!

It takes me a while to get moving. I don't sleep well to begin with and what little sleep I do get leaves me feeling very, very stiff. I have to start by moving my legs around and sort of go from there. When nature calls early I wind up hobbling to the bathroom.

I'm like that when it's cold, but mainly because I can't seem to relax my muscles when temperatures are low so I wake up feeling like I just ran a marathon.

Cold in Brazil!!! You don't know the meaning of the word!!!

[xSilverPhinx]

It being 6.30am I have very recently been in the waking phase. There was a time when I awoke 100% ready to go. Now I need at least 15 minutes to decide anything more complex than whether or not, and how, to turn over.

I know the feeling...yesterday I awoke with a scare because I had set my alarm to 6 a.m. and decided to stay an extra 5 mins in bed without the Snooze function. Half an hour later woke up and literally jumped out of bed!

It takes me a while to get moving. I don't sleep well to begin with and what little sleep I do get leaves me feeling very, very stiff. I have to start by moving my legs around and sort of go from there. When nature calls early I wind up hobbling to the bathroom.

I'm like that when it's cold, but mainly because I can't seem to relax my muscles when temperatures are low so I wake up feeling like I just ran a marathon.

Cold in Brazil!!! You don't know the meaning of the word!!!

Cold by Brazilian standards!

[jumbojak]

A lady I work with offered me all of her deceased brother's Snap On tools and his box. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's the deal of a lifetime but I wouldn't feel right taking them for nothing.

[Dave]

A lady I work with offered me all of her deceased brother's Snap On tools and his box. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's the deal of a lifetime but I wouldn't feel right taking them for nothing.

If she refuses anything for them offer a donation to a charity that she supports, or is appropriate to her brother. I fo this with others with stuff I am taking to a charity shop and they ask for it, "You can have it if you make donation to a charity."

[Dark Lightning]

A lady I work with offered me all of her deceased brother's Snap On tools and his box. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's the deal of a lifetime but I wouldn't feel right taking them for nothing.

If she refuses anything for them offer a donation to a charity that she supports, or is appropriate to her brother. I fo this with others with stuff I am taking to a charity shop and they ask for it, "You can have it if you make donation to a charity."

Right. Maybe the donation is the best way to go. We're talking a ton of money. I made my living for several years as a mechanic, and still have the tools. Every time that Snap-On truck pulled into the driveway, I had to buy something. One never seems to have all the necessary tools. It was like crack, couldn't resist the truck! 

[jumbojak]

A lady I work with offered me all of her deceased brother's Snap On tools and his box. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's the deal of a lifetime but I wouldn't feel right taking them for nothing.

If she refuses anything for them offer a donation to a charity that she supports, or is appropriate to her brother. I fo this with others with stuff I am taking to a charity shop and they ask for it, "You can have it if you make donation to a charity."

Right. Maybe the donation is the best way to go. We're talking a ton of money. I made my living for several years as a mechanic, and still have the tools. Every time that Snap-On truck pulled into the driveway, I had to buy something. One never seems to have all the necessary tools. It was like crack, couldn't resist the truck! 

That's a good idea, because it is a ton of money if she has what she says she does.

As to the Chrome Crack Dealer, I won't get on the truck. Even when I'm looking for something in particular I send someone else with a part number and cash to get EXACTLY what I need and nothing more. It's too easy to finance a grand for twenty bucks a week.

Which reminds me... I need to send my guy to pick up something. They sell an indexing pry bar that I need in my life right now.

[Dark Lightning]

A lady I work with offered me all of her deceased brother's Snap On tools and his box. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's the deal of a lifetime but I wouldn't feel right taking them for nothing.

If she refuses anything for them offer a donation to a charity that she supports, or is appropriate to her brother. I fo this with others with stuff I am taking to a charity shop and they ask for it, "You can have it if you make donation to a charity."

Right. Maybe the donation is the best way to go. We're talking a ton of money. I made my living for several years as a mechanic, and still have the tools. Every time that Snap-On truck pulled into the driveway, I had to buy something. One never seems to have all the necessary tools. It was like crack, couldn't resist the truck! 

That's a good idea, because it is a ton of money if she has what she says she does.

As to the Chrome Crack Dealer, I won't get on the truck. Even when I'm looking for something in particular I send someone else with a part number and cash to get EXACTLY what I need and nothing more. It's too easy to finance a grand for twenty bucks a week.

Which reminds me... I need to send my guy to pick up something. They sell an indexing pry bar that I need in my life right now.

You're a mechanic? Cool! I'll have to remember that "Chrome Crack Dealer" title!  I know what you mean about the payment plan...it's so seductive, and we can justify it by need, which makes it easy to stay hooked. It took a lot of sacrifice to pay that guy off before I went to the other job. I don't think I had any beer for a month after that...which would have been about $8, in '76. That was right after I got out of the US Navy, and I needed a lot of tools beyond the basic stuff I had at the time. Before I joined the Navy, my tools had been provided (as they were in the Navy, for that matter).

[jumbojak]

I'm not a "professional" mechanic, but I do wind up working on a wide variety of vehicles and equipment. Everything from big tractors to sewing machines. I'm probably as well tooled as a lot of pros though. It's very satisfying to have exactly what you need to do a job.

Plus, I'm addicted to wrenches... This is partly because I like them, partly because sacrificial spares for cutting and welding into different shapes are so handy. Need a thin wrench? No problem, just grind one down until it fits! Need a crowsfoot? No problem, just cut the end off of a wrench and an extension and zap those bad boys together!

You see some crazy shit in farm shops. My oldest brother and I broke a 36" cast iron pipe wrench one day and nearly smashed the back window out of his truck doing it. One of those jobs where a torch was needed but not handy...

[Tank]

A lady I work with offered me all of her deceased brother's Snap On tools and his box. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's the deal of a lifetime but I wouldn't feel right taking them for nothing.

It's a gift horse! Don't look it in the mouth. Just make sure when she needs some help you can give, give it.

[Dave]

A lady I work with offered me all of her deceased brother's Snap On tools and his box. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's the deal of a lifetime but I wouldn't feel right taking them for nothing.

It's a gift horse! Don't look it in the mouth. Just make sure when she needs some help you can give, give it.

That's a good one - return the favour.

[Dave]

I'm not a "professional" mechanic, but I do wind up working on a wide variety of vehicles and equipment. Everything from big tractors to sewing machines. I'm probably as well tooled as a lot of pros though. It's very satisfying to have exactly what you need to do a job.

Plus, I'm addicted to wrenches... This is partly because I like them, partly because sacrificial spares for cutting and welding into different shapes are so handy. Need a thin wrench? No problem, just grind one down until it fits! Need a crowsfoot? No problem, just cut the end off of a wrench and an extension and zap those bad boys together!

You see some crazy shit in farm shops. My oldest brother and I broke a 36" cast iron pipe wrench one day and nearly smashed the back window out of his truck doing it. One of those jobs where a torch was needed but not handy...

Thank goodness Snap On does not bother us amateurs! I have enough trouple in any DIY tool store. And Amazon,

With you on the modified wrenches. Had to install some high pressure immersion heaters in a test rig. Needed a special spanner at about £50. One very old (and rusty) 3" AF Imperial spanner, 20 minutes on a mill, 10 minutes with a gas torch, a 7lb hammer and the biggest vise I could find on site (and great enjoyment) later I had a spanner the right size, thin enough where it counted but still full thickness round the outer edge for strength.

[Recusant]

After noting that the BBC are using "BC" instead of "BCE" (I am sure they used to use "BCE" before) it got me thinking about some politician ssying, "We are a christian nation."

"We are a nation in which the predominant religious tradition is christian" looks a bit more accurate. But I doubt that I am the first to think so.

I found an old article from The Guardian about this:

The BBC has not issued editorial guidance on the date systems... Both AD and BC, and CE and BCE are widely accepted date systems and the decision on which term to use lies with individual production and editorial teams.

I still tend to use BC/AD myself, for the same reason the author of the Guardian piece does--it's what I've used all my life, and the Christian origin doesn't bother me. Of course I don't have any problem with BCE/CE, if somebody prefers that.