Keeping Up

Not having any problems myself. Have you tried resetting IE back to its to default settings (Internet Options, Advanced, Reset - IIRC you can find them through the Control Panel without opening IE or OE). Failing that, you could ask on the Vista Forum (even if you aren't using Vista)

When we had Keeping Up built we had the family name Jones included because it explained the name. At a repaint we had "Regd at Longport 177" added, since when we've met lots of lovely people who either come from the Stoke-on-Trent area or who have or had a boat built there. So I don't regret it for one moment.

I'd heard that too. The slight variation that I also heard was that a lock-wheeler was not permitted to turn a lock around against a boat that had passed the marker, and it was his responsibility to check first (by looking through a bridge or round a corner if necessary). Whether or not he did is another matter (as in "Yes of course I checked and you were just a few feet short of it, mate" )

In the United States, according to another forum I use, they steadily reduced the bitrate of the SD transmission until it was virtualy unwatchable, and at the same time steadily reduced the bitrate of the HD transmission until it was equal to the old SD standard. By then everybody had forgotten what SD used to be like and was happy to pay the extra for an HD channel to provide them with the same quality as the old SD. Now the same thing seems to be happening in the UK. Already I understand that Channel 5 has reduced the quality below that required by its licence, and they have been given by Ofcom the option either to improve it or become a subscription-only channel; they are more likely to do the latter. The other channels, in decreasing numerical order, are rapidly following suit - after all, BBC is now led by the man who drasticaly reduced the bitrate of Radio 3 on DAB and claimed, despite thousands of complaints, that listeners would be unable to hear the difference. On that occasion the complainants won and the bitrate was increased again, but R3 has a high percentage of audiophiles in its audience. For other channels, especially the TV channels, the masses probably can't tell the difference and we can look forward to the quality continuiing to deteriorate.

What date will that be? We may see each other, as we make our way from Limehouse to Teddington. We've a vague thought of heading back down to visit the Wey again after the initial dash up to Oxford; I'd love to see the Basy as well, it's always been closed whenever we've tried to go there. That's how the best-laid plans are usually formed.

No there isn't. The moon's movement is too complex for such a simple solution. The Excel spreadsheet behind the sundial is 70 columns by 30 rows, and no doubt if you knew the moon's timings you could devise a spreadsheet to calculate the angles, but that's beyond my limited abilities.

I've got a beautiful brass windlass which I am terrified of dropping. I certainly don't want to spoil its appearance by putting jubilee clips all over it either. I just take LOTS of care not to drop it!

I don't know the Maplin kit - but like all sat receivers it must supply the power for the LNB up the co-ax. Is there a fuse for that supply, which could have blown if the wire pulled out of the F-plug and shorted inner to outer? It could be worth unscrewing the connector from the LNB and checking for the presence of 12v at the end.

Develop a taste for non-vegetarian spaghetti?

We've got Hep2O (Acorn etc) throughout the boat, and it has proved very reliable as long as it's installed properly, the main issue being certain that it has been pushed home properly in the joints. As Phil says, any problems seem to show up straight away. I now have a large bag full of miscellaneous joints (body and screw-on parts separate of course), grab rings, O'rings, and spacers. Whenever I do a plumbing job I find myself trying to assemble a working joint from all the bits, and have even managed to make one that was "old style" on one side and "new style" on the other; it stayed water-tight for a couple of years before I took it off to make some changes and realised what I'd done. I'm beginning to think it would be best if I actually threw them all away - but my naturally conservative attitude (small c) says I should keep them all so that if an old joint somewhere should fail then there is bound to be something in the bag that will fit it!

My suggestion would be to get a new pump, but then also repair the old one and keep it as a spare - with all the connections (plumbing and electrical) the same and ready to swap. Or even better, plumb them both in with a changeover system. Then when in a few years time the new one fails at the most inconvenient time (as they usually do) it will be only a few moments work to get your water supply back again.