Ineffectual Superglue

Never come across this before - Superglue that simply did not set nor stick. Even after 3 hours it was still wet!!!!!

Somewhat frustrating, but carried out some preparatory tasks re permanent installation of the illuminated signs that will form my HO scale night-club street.

At present, the signs are affixed with blu tac directly to the wall and the wires are showing.

The aim is to use plastic ducting to conceal the wiring and support the signs.

The wiring will run through the ducting and then emerge each time a sign requires it.

 Other than cutting the apertures in the ducting, achieved very little today.

*********************************************************************************
Currently listening to:

Sergio Mendes, Brazilian, and still going  at 72 years of age.

Continuing with my Samba indoctrination, so sampled this CD on the iTunes' Preview facility. I have to say that Sergio Mendes is far too much like "Easy Listening", my most loathed form of music after Heavy Metal.

So, I'm going to ditch Mendes and see what French Samba music is available on iTunes eg

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

Quiche, baked potato and salad.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Currently Reading:

I've stopped reading Lermantov. It's brilliantly written but the narrator keeps stopping on his journeys through truly spectacular Russian terrain in order to recount mythical tales told to him by various characters he meets. I have no time for myths and legends.

So, back to the 21st Century with this book set in modern day urban India.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Miscellany:

Glad to see that the Royal Mail is still issuing postage stamps with a genuine Christmas theme.

Trans Europe Express

Cycled into the centre of Glasgow to meet someone at the Trans Europe Cafe this morning.

The logo for the establishment is, not surprisingly, a depiction of the famous train from the 1950s/60s, "Trans Europe Express".

The logo

And here is my model of the same train.

And here is the real thing:

There was no light in the toilet or the corridor leading up to the toilet in the cafe and so I had to keep taking flash photographs with my phone in order to illuminate matters.

*********************************************************************************
Currently listening to:

Afterwards we wandered down to Mono and its record shop, Monorail where I purchased this:

As we were leaving Mono, what should pass above us but a Deltic Diesel locomotive - I couldn't believe it and only just got my camera out of my jacket pocket in time to photograph it as it disappeared into the distance.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Currently Reading:

In this well researched book, Reynolds describes the huge influence that the German electronic group, Kraftwerk, had on middle-class black kids in the suburbs of Detroit in the late 1980s early 1990s.

Most of these teenagers' parents were working for the big motor manufacturers in Detroit and had well paid jobs. Reynolds draws a parallel: the role of steel in the motor industry and the album, Trans Europe Express, by Kraftwerk.

" ..... on the Trans Europe Express album, the title track - all indefatigable girder-beats and arching, Doppler Effect syths - segues into 'Metal On Metal', a funky iron foundry that sounded like a Luigi Russolo Art of Noises megamix for a Futurist discotheque."

And, regarding the unlikeliness of this German/Detroit link up.

'They were so stiff, they were funky,' techno-pioneer Carl Craig has said of Kraftwerk. This paradox - which effectively translates as 'they were so white, they were black' - is as close as anyone has got to explaining the mystery of why Kraftwerk's music (and above all 'Trans Europe Express', their most dispassionately metronomic and Teutonic track) had such a massive impact on black American youth. In New York, Kraftwerk almost single-handedly sired the electro-movement." p 3.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yesterday's lunch:

Forgot to take photograph of last night's Chinese take-away, so here's yesterday's lunch instead.

Spouse-made stovies, tomatoes and beetroot.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Miscellany:

No need for a separate miscellaneous section today.

Using Heat-Shrink on electro-luminescent wire

Spent a bit of time tidying up my pseudo-neon "Bar" sign.

First of all, I trimmed the plastic base and then cut the end off one of the elecro-luminescent wires.

Despite the fact that these electro-luminescent wires are powered from a teeny AAA battery, you can get a hell of a shock if you touch the exposed end of one of them. (Experience speaking here.)

So, back out with the rubber tubing ie heat-shrink to cover up the two exposed ends.

Then, out with the hair drier to shrink the tubing around the wires. (See Miscellany below.)

*********************************************************************************
Currently listening to:

Continuing with the Samba brain-washing; hence Cartola in the background.

Learned that the Samba tempo is basically 2/4 and approx 105 beats per minute.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

Salmon stuffed with crab mousse, spinach plus rice

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Currently reading:

Really enjoying Lermontov

But, totally rejected this -  hysterical and far too sentimental.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Miscellany:

Over the last 12 months I've used heat-shrink tubing a lot.

One thing that has always intrigued me about the process is that there seems little rhyme or reason as to where best to direct the hair drier. I presumed that the closer the heat-shrink tube was to the centre of the vent on the drier, the hotter. But that rarely seemed to be the case and often a separate piece of heat shrink on the periphery of the flow of air would shrink more quickly than the piece one was aiming the drier at.

Same experience this morning:

What I discovered, by placing my hand successively at points 1, 2 and 3 was that point 2 was the hottest ie approx 12 cm away from the vent. Point 1 was quite cool and 3 obviously cooler than 2.

I'm sure females learn these facts at school.

Dax

Nothing done on layout today so here are some images about SNCF from Google; namely, of the railway station at Dax.

Over the years, have taken numerous trains from Dax to various towns and cities in south-west France.

Dax station as now.

Flooded in 1952

*********************************************************************************
Currently listening to:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

Wood-pigeon, shallots, parsnips and spinach in mustard sauce

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Currently reading:

Cycled to library this afternoon to return a load of books. For some reason, my backpack seemed awfully heavy and so I borrowed only 4 paperbacks.

Started on "A Hero of Our Time" by Mikhail Lermontov.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Miscellany:

Crikey! this referendum to decide the future of the UK is really going to happen.

HO Scale Neon Signs continued

Spent a fair amount of time this afternoon transferring my neon "Bar" sign from 2 pieces of plastic backing to a single piece; again, using re-cycled plastic in the form, this time, of a soup carton lid. The sign is formed from two lengths of electro-luminescent wire powered by a single AAA battery

The existing arrangement on 2 pieces of plastic

Soup carton lid

Needle and thread to hold sections of luminescent wire in place

Rubber tubing to hide sections of luminescent wire

Punched holes in the plastic lid and threaded through the first length of electro-luminescent wire to form the capital B of "Bar".

In order to shape the upper loop of the B, a thread will be wrapped around the wire where my finger is pointing.

Used pin vice drill to make small holes for thread.

Then, with the second length of electro-luminescent wire, repeated the process for the lower case a and r.

Next step is to cut the plastic backing to size and turn the whole thing into a usable sign.

*********************************************************************************
Currently listening to:

Especially the 2nd CD of the set.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

Forgot to take a photograph, so here's one from the internet - two bacon rolls.

Actually, they did look like this one:

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Currently reading:

Skipped much of the last 50 pages of Isherwood and read the ending.

I was surprised to see that the book ends in 1976 with the death of Isherwood's Guru or Swami. In other words, Christopher Isherwood, he of Berlin and Cabaret fame, oft linked with other English writers eg W H Auden, was basically a practising Hindu for most of his life. Isherwood lived from 1904 to 1986. His devotion really surprised me.

There were many spiritually charged quotations from Swami throughout the book. Latterly, Swami spoke of death, not as something to be swept under the carpet and dreaded but as something to be seriously taken account of in deciding how one considers and indeed conducts one's own life. Death gives one's life meaning. So many writers, from Woody Allen to Jean-Paul Sartre to Jesus Christ, say the same thing.


From the sublime to the ???????????????????

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Miscellany:

Great Bongo session with tutor today: