DIY CHAT 22-29/11/20

[jinky]

CHAT Thread

DIY

I`ve spent lockdown doing a fair few jobs around the house as have many. I`ve decorated hall, landing and stairs, two bedrooms, bathroom woodwork and have the kitchen/ diner to do this week. My best achievement was making an outdoor lantern look like new with a sand down and respray job. So this week I thought the theme could be DIY.

Give us a picture of any aspect of DIY. Could be tools for the job, before and after shot,  you in action or anything linked to DIY. Anything goes re: processing.

Pictures to be taken between now and Sunday 29th November 2020 but if you`re struggling this week one from your archive is fine.
Pictures to be posted in the entries thread no later than 23:59 Monday 30th November 2020.
Poll will be up Tuesday 1st December 2020.

Winner to be announced Saturday 5th December 2020.
The Rules for the weekly competition are...

By entering you agree to take responsibility to

Post a topic on the Sunday (or sooner) following your declared win
Create an entries thread
Create a chat thread
Create a poll for that weeks comp and declare the winner on the Saturday
(if for any reason there is a problem and no subject is posted by the winner by Monday night admin will advise second place winner to post the topic asap, do the poll etc)

In case of a tie, the first entry posted wins.

[jinky]

Well my plans to decorate an get my shot this week have taken a hit. Not feeling too well. Sore throat for nigh on a week now and feel so tired with aching joints. Spent the last 3 days wondering whether to get a covid test but have none of the symptoms listed on the official NHS site apart from a bit of a cough but hardly persistent. Part of me wonders why bother as there`s no treatment if positive and I`m not going out much anyway. If it was a normal winter I`d just think it was a bug so I`ll give it a few days and see what happens. No decorating though. Fed up of Covid and it`s worry-making capacity!!!

[Hinfrance]

Hope you feel  better soon Paul. You might be comforted a little by a comment I saw the other day from a Stanford epidemiologist - he said if we hadn't known there was a new virus about and we didn't have a test for it we would not think this year had been anything particularly extraordinary. Also, it's rather odd, is it not, that according to the ONS the decrease in the number of flu and pneumonia deaths in the UK is down by about only 5000 less than the total number of deaths attributed to COVID.

I don't believe in conspiracy theories, but I have no trouble in believing in stupidity, panic, and gross incompetence, which is IMO the toxic mix we have been subjected to by our various governments for almost a year now.

PS, plumber still hasn't been to lay the new main, and we still only have water for two hours a day and no heating. 

[anglefire]

I don't wish to go political Howard, but the excess deaths for the UK so far this year compared to the 5 year average is about 70k - if I read your comment correctly you are saying that the Covid deaths are only 5000 more that normal flu/pneumonia deaths on average?

[Hinfrance]

Morning Mark, however it's not politics, it statistics. No, I was referring to peaks. I'm not talking about averages, they really are of very little use statistically, but I will refer to 5 year rolling averages. According to this week's ONS data (to week 46) there have been 60483 2020 excess deaths over 5 year tolling average for England and Wales, a total of 529928 ytd.

It fits pretty well with 2017/18 flu figures, excess deaths over that 5 year rolling average - nothing unusual in that UK annual death rates vary annually anyway (just look at 2000 and 2003). I haven't done a least square calculation because I can't be bothered to dig the data out. Also, getting data analytical, none of the ONS data is weighted, demographics have changed (possibly wouldn't account for much of the change), population has grown 3%+, other less significant bits and bobs, but more important the 17/18 flu deaths were where flu was the primary cause of death, not deaths with having had a positive flu test in the past 28 days. I have also been talking to a GP friend who believes that the eventual excess death toll from turning the NHS into a one trick pony will lead to anything up to 250,000 early deaths from undiagnosed and untreated cancers, heart and major organ diseases over the next 2-3 years. I think he's exaggerating, but it shows there is concern. Who knows?

No one is saying that this pandemic is not real, lots of people have sadly died before their time. What is surreal is the hysterical overreaction of Western governments.

I still have friends who work in high end statistical analysis and they are adamant that the public is being deliberately misled.

As this could get super complicated and/or fractious this will be the last time I mention anything on the topic. The important thing is that people use common sense and basic hygiene so we minimise all avoidable risks. And roll on 2021

[anglefire]

No I don't want to go down that rabbit hole either!

My last comment - What we don't know is what the death rate would have been like if nothing had been done.


Perhaps private messages if anything else to discuss - but I don't suppose we need to go there as you last comment says it all!

[Hinfrance]

No I don't want to go down that rabbit hole either!

My last comment - What we don't know is what the death rate would have been like if nothing had been done.


Perhaps private messages if anything else to discuss - but I don't suppose we need to go there as you last comment says it all!

 

[Hinfrance]

This afternoon I had to do a temporary repair to the cover for our water meter. The cover had broken into three pieces during our water main replacement. So I took a quick snap with my phone while I was waiting for one of the masonry drills to cool down.

[jinky]

Fully recovered from what bug I had now but unfortunately only just been able to re-start the diy today. Thus my cooking diy shot to make up the numbers