CitroJim's Citroens

[xmexclusive]

Beware the dreaded Buddleia.
The worse the soil the more it thrives.
Particularly likes lime and sand.
Most Victorian brick structures used lime mortar (cement was usually too expensive).
The weak porous mortar joints are ideal to catch and germinate Buddliea seeds.
The roots work into the brick structure.
Lop the plant off flush and as it grows again it redoubles its root system further damaging the building structure.
These days it is usually left on railway brickwork until a block of work justifies economic treatment.

Stick with the Heather border Jim.
From small widely spaced plants it will take over the border, keep the weeds down.
After 20 years it will be still going well probably up to waist height by then.

John

[CitroJim]

Buddleia really does thrive around these parts John. Just up the road from me is the site of the old Aston Martin factory. It was demolished in 2009 (I think) and the land cleared ready for Tesco to build a supermarket on the site. Due to lots of NIMBY'ism (not by me - I want the Tesco very badly!) the store is still not built and now the land has been taken over by a veritable forest of Buddleia or perhaps more correctly an impenetrable jungle of the stuff!

I drove a car for the first time today since Saturday and then only because I had to due to an emergency of a critical nature. My kettle packed up I had to replace it pronto. I normally keep a spare new one but on this occasion I'd used my last new one and not replaced it... Won't do that again

Had the kettle not died I'd not have gone anywhere today either and likely not tomorrow either as late on Sunday I crashed big-time and I've been home since quietly recovering... It was the worst crash I've experienced since CXM back in September so it it a bad one and I'm not by any means right yet...

My fault again. I've been pushing too hard for too long in too many directions trying to get back to my former levels of normality. Epic fail I'm afraid... It's come and bit me very hard this time. One day I might learn...

I took the XM and I've not driven that one since Friday when I used it to get emergency plumbing supplies in for the toilet. Just in that short time of not driving an XM you forget just what a joy to drive it is and how the one I have goes like a scalded cat and is remarkably fleet for such a big car I love it

And the bloody kettle that caused the emergency has now started to work again and has been faultless since I've looked for double chevrons on it but can't find any so I assume it because there's a brand new Russell Hobbs stainless steel affair just waiting to take its place or maybe the old kettle has been seeing too much of an XM parked outside the kitchen window and got into bad habits...

[captainhaddock]

It's a rotten rotten thing Jim. Don't try and keep up with the rest of the world cause nobody can anyway.

At least you can have your Earl Grey's, 'hot!' again!

[russ92xmsed]

Sorry to here you've been knocked for six again Jim. hope you are taking it easy.

It is a serious problem when the kettle goes. I think we have two spare ones! Typical too the old one started working.

[CitroJim]

Tea is about all I drink these days and since I started on the decaffeinated stuff I seem to drink even more so without a kettle I'm lost... I'm about as addicted to tea as Homer Simpson is to beer...

I'm doing my very best to take it easy Russ although it's not in my nature to do so and it's something I find incredibly hard to do. It's like I'm having to reverse the habits of a lifetime. I must though and I must learn to read the signs better; it's very insidious how it creeps up behind me without me being aware and then taps me on the shoulder... with a bloody great sledge-hammer

Don't try and keep up with the rest of the world cause nobody can anyway.

That's very good and sound advice Jaap In my case it's trying to keep up with me that causes all the trouble

[xmexclusive]

Hi Jim

Hope you settle back into things and recover quickly from this episode.
At least ME is now recognised as being a real illness.
I well remember those less informed earlier days.
Meeting people suffering twice over because the medical opinion was they were workshy.
The support group used Amstrad PCW's and I used to go and fix them.

John

[CitroJim]

I used to have an Amstrad PCW John. It was quite excellent for what it was and more powerful than it was sometimes given credit for. I taught myself a great deal about CP/M (forerunner to MS-DOS) on it..

Indeed, it is good we live in more enlightened times now, especially in the world of HR and occupational health but sadly I still find a few who either can't or won't try to understand what ME is all about and how debilitating it is. I think it stems from the fact that for the most part we look quite OK and are more or less OK. Its fluctuating nature seems to cause the most difficulty in other people I find. 'You were OK yesterday so what's changed?' I think too the old labels of 'Yuppie 'Flu' and the like take an awful lot of shaking off.

[xmexclusive]

My main CP/M computers were NASCOM's, self built from component kits.
It had the ability to operate any type and size of drive so I was into data transfer as a hobby.
I also repaired doddgy disk drives and the PCW 3" drives were the worlds crappiest.
The ME support group were making funds out of a floppy disk data recovery service.
The bulk of the work came in on PCW 3" disks and I supplied modified drives with manual adjustment for track spacing and centering.
Some other poor soul then spent his evenings nudging the adjusters until hopefully the corrupt disk could be read.
Then it was copied back onto a good disk using a calibrated drive.

John

[CitroJim]

I modified mine to use both 3 1/2" and 5 1/4" disks John.. I have to agree the old 3" disks were a bit on the rubbish side...

I was looking to add a hard disk to it but before I did I was seduced away by an IBM PC Clone and very early versions of Windows...

Looking back at those early Windows attempts it's amazing Windows now occupies such a formidable position in the IT world...

[russ92xmsed]

I'm afraid I am anti windows now. After going to a Mac in 2008, can't go back. Windows is just a pain.
However, I haven't used the latest version so I'm sure it is better.
Vista was a complete waste of time. My sister bought a very expensive hand built computer which had it and it is now virtually useless. It spends all its time nagging you. She ended up buying another of the shelf all in one job.

I fondly remember my parents first computer....an Acorn...withh tape dec to load games. Didn't even come with a screen. You had to plug it into the TV!