sheeponacid

I refuse to give up, it's still only November.
Yes the last couple of games have been bad. But it's not over. 
We win on Saturday and the other teams around us lose, which could happen, we're then only 4 points from safety.
If we can get Bielik playing we'll get those wins we need. 

Fireworks, trick or treating, a turkey dinner and then shove all her clothes in a plastic charity bag?

As a country bumpkin, we used to "borrow" a cow turnip from the back field and hollow it out, (we actually called them Turnip Lanterns).
By the time you'd carved one of those buggers out with a blunt pen knife, (took about a week), your hands were too sore to knock on any doors.
 

they’re clearly doing it wrong in your area then.
Just don’t put a pumpkin out if you don’t want to be involved. The only people that get their doors knocked in our area are those who have signed up to it by putting a pumpkin or other decorations out. 
Everyone has fun. I hate it when people describe it as begging. It’s clearly not. The traditional trick or treat ‘gimme some sweets or I’ll Chuck an egg at your house,’ is clearly wrong. But that’s not how it’s done these days. It’s just a game that everyone signs up for. Like if you had a massive neighbourhood game I’d hide and seek and the kids got sweets for participating. 
I saw a good quote recently saying ‘don’t judge the older teenagers trick or treating, be pleased that they are holding onto their childhood.’
I’d rather my kids be out joining in with the festivities than be sat at home being miserable. As long as they’re being respectful and following the rules of course. 

Not sure about tonight, but we've just polished this off for breakfast...

Basically loaded croissants- grilled bacon, chestnut mushrooms and a little cheese. The mushrooms are fried in butter, Worcestershire sauce, cracked black pepper and nutmeg - and they taste utterly divine.
 

Been off work for over 2 months with things being a real struggle one way or the other.
Ran nearly 3.5 miles for the first time in about 5 months wasn't easy and had to walk for a couple of times but did it. 

Yes it’s terrible we are now going to have train British workers and give them better pay and conditions instead of exploiting workers from other countries.

The EFL told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. - George Orwell, 1884.

As a friend said to me over the weekend "Norwich are going to take your record this year" I wanted to suggest the initiation of St Claude's Day, the date on which no club can undertake (or equal) our points tally of eleven points. Named in honour of a player more symbolic of our lack of preparedness, ability, and commitment than any other (a statement of recognition in itself) in that 07/08 season the race is now on to predict on what day it will fall this season.
In previous years St Claude's Day has fallen on the following weekends, last season's Covid affected schedule aside it has only three times made it past New Years Day.
2020/21: 4th March (Sheffield United)
2019/20: 22nd December (Watford)
2018/19: 27th February (Huddersfield)
2017/18: 13th December (Swansea)
2016/17: 19th December (Sunderland)
2015/16: 18th January (Aston Villa)
2014/15: 29th December (Leicester)
2013/14: 26th December (Sunderland)
2012/13: 2nd January (QPR)
2011/12: 31st December (Blackburn)
2010/11: 27th November (Wolves and West Ham)
2009/10: 19th December (Portsmouth)
2008/9: 8th November (Spurs)
So, on what day will St Claude's Day fall on this year? I predict it will be the fourth time it has made it past New Years Day but I still think last week in February our record will be safe for one more season.
 

A bit bizzare, floodlights went out during extra time. Despite all the conspiracy theories, it seems that it' s a requirement, with a 3g pitch used frequently by the community, for the floodlights to be switched off at 10 p.m., presumably for the local residents, and it's on a time switch. Jamie Ward showing his class, and Diego doing what Diego does. 14 goals so far this season
Now got an away tie against York City, who are one place below last night's opponents, in the Vanarama National North. Should be interesting.

Late Autumn night at Silverlands….Kettering won’t fancy it, cmon the Bucks
 

With all the strife and aggro about DCFC's situation and the angst over our 'fate', with points deductions and relegation possibly on the horizon, it's as well to check back to reality, with a fine young footballer, Bournemouth's David Brooks, now diagnosed with lymph cancer.
 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58903956
Here's wishing Brooks a successful outcome and with best wishes from Rams fans.
 

It's the future. Folk will resist it, but some form of renewable energy will ultimately have to supersede coal, oil and gas, there's no getting away from it. 
A couple of observations would be that 415 watt panels cost what 180 watt boards did just a few years back. Likewise, inverters and battery storage costs are plummeting as they become more ubiquitous. As some have pointed out, FITs (feed in tariffs) are a thing of the past, but I'd say if you look at TCO, we back in a place where solar makes sense, especially in countries where sunlight is abundant and in instances where the panels can be positioned for maximum efficiency. Bear in mind too that battery systems can also be set to draw and store electricity from the grid during off-peak hours for deployment during the higher cost hours; it's not all about the panels! 
A few words to the wise though... Do not scrimp! If you do go down the renewables route, buy the best panels you can (and the highest capacity) and don't scrimp on the other key components. And don't buy from an installer... Go straight to the distributors who will not dry-hump you on the hardware costs and will install more cheaply than third parties too. 

We have had solar panels for about 12 years. We own them and were originally paying off a no-interest loan, but paid in full after two years because we could - about £8,000.
We get an "allowance" of 50% of our electricity running costs as long as panels are generating so we do everything we can in daylight hours. Even if you're using 100% of your solar panel generation you get 50% top up which helps pay for your electricity use at other times.
We also get a payment back each quarter, which varies from about £60 in winter to £250 in summer. 
More noticeably our electricity bills plummeted immediately after installation and have remained lower than friends with similar sized properties ever since.
We are 1 degree off south facing, panels are on back so not obtrusive to others.
No maintenance costs yet and still look smart. Guaranteed for 25 years.
We own so will sell with house. 
Probably will just about make money back on purchase but that doesn't take into account the electricity saving over many years.
Also, now we are retired, every payment is a little bonus! 

1. Yes. I have. 
2. no running costs for the solar panels, but see 4. 
3. not a lot as far as I can tell. Just don’t rent your roof out. Buy the solar panels and own them lock stock and barrel.
4. the warranty for the solar panels is 25 years. So all the maths I did was based on 25 years. They cost about £15k including a battery, and then we spent about another £5k getting rid of all our gas heating and water, and replacing it with solar hot water and electric Infra red heating panels, and another battery. 
I needed the other battery cos that extra heating would put so much strain on my electric that it would cost a fortune. The batteries will charge overnight when the grid pays you to store excess electricity. 
The batteries are the most important bit. We get about £30-£40 every 3 months from the feed in tariff on the solar panels, and they’ll charge the batteries a bit during the summer and probably give us some electricity, but you could get away with just having batteries and charging them over night. When I get an electric car, I’m just going to get more batteries for the attic. 
But beware that batteries don’t last as long as the solar panels. They might last longer in the future. But the ones I’ve got will probably last another 5 years before needing replacing. 
but all this was considered in the maths. I know it’s a sales tool, but the salesman did have a very convincing tool that showed how, even with just normal inflation price rises in energy, based on normal consumption, how much my energy will cost me over 25 years, and it was comparable to the cost of the solar panels and batteries, even taking into account the interest on the finance (but I had a bit of a windfall soon after getting them and paid them off in full). He also gave models for how energy is projected to rise in price, a best and worst case scenario. 
I was happy to do it based on just breaking even, if it’s cost neutral and helps the environment, the happy days. But it looks increasingly like the worst case scenario for energy prices is coming to pass, which puts me in a very smug position. 
Only problem I’ve had is that the guy that installed my Infra red panels was also going to install the new batteries, but he’s dicked me around for about 8 months. Finally came to install it last week, got it int he attic, and then realised it had the wrong connections, so god knows how long it’ll take to get a different one now. Meanwhile, my solar panels and existing battery haven’t been enough to cope with all the electricity I’m now using, so now my electricity bills have been through the roof for 8 months. It’s very frustrating, so I can’t actually attest to the massive savings I should be making yet. But one day this battery will be installed, and it’ll all be worth it. Still, the battery I bought for £3k 8 months ago, is now worth about £8k apparently. So I’m tempted to just sack off the idea, sell it and use the profit to pay my electricity bill for the next few years  
5. definitely get a battery, but check it’s one that can you attach more to if you want to. 

Just seen that Wayne Rooney has been nominated for September Manager of the month, thoroughly deserved for the way he has managed the team with everything going on.......not sure who decides the winner hopefully not the EFL

Having read that... Thank you, by the way... I've decided I'm going to start shopping at Asda.  I strongly suspect I won't be alone!
Did I mention Thank you, by the way?

When you consider that only one thousand years ago, or a lot less than that, we only knew what happened in our own locality and we knew pretty much everyone in our social circle. We were connected with pretty much everyone we came into contact with. We knew what made them tick and we knew who was a threat and who wasn't. We were connected to almost everyone we knew and we were connected to nature. Strangers were few and far between. Compare that with today. We are suddenly aware not just of own immediate surroundings but of the whole world. We meet hundreds of people each day that we are unfamiliar with. We are no longer so closely connected with nature. The world around us has changed so fast and I don't think we have evolved fast enough to keep up with it. No wonder we are stressed, over whelmed. I think under the circumstances we do very well!

One thing I will say about all this though, and this could live here, or in the climate change, or in the energy crisis threads ( @Davidyou need to get onto being able to #posts). 
im kind of glad this is happening. I don’t believe in conspiracy theories, I think this has happened organically. But all those people driving round in electric cars now, or with fully electric, solar panelled houses (that’s me), are now driving round with super smug face saying, ‘I told you so.’ 
this is all a bit earlier than planned, and it is just a temporary blip, but it is definitely a stark view of the future. Fuel will be in short supply, as petrol stations start to shut down, and get replaced by electricity hook ups, only available for classic car enthusiasts, probably with some sort of licence. They’ll be about as easy to find as LPG. Gas and non-green electricity will become increasingly expensive as carbon tariffs are applied. Maybe this has opened a few peoples eyes, and hastened their future purchase of an electric car, or a battery for their attic. 
a bit like how covid is a view of the future (unnecessary ranger alert). Covid m, as pandémica go, could have been a lot worse. This is our dress rehearsal, pandemics are a very real risk in a more populated, connected world. Covid has hopefully opened our eyes to the fact that we are woefully under prepared for even a strong flu, let alone something like smallpox or Ebola.
So hopefully the positive to take away from this is that from all these crises, whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, and we’ll be better prepared next time. 

It sounds perfect, @86 Hair Islands.  I'm veggie but I love a good nut roast and all the trimmings!
I'm reading a book at the moment by Will Buckingham called 'Hello Stranger' and it deals with how we connect with each other both now and in the distant past. He writes about the importance of sharing meals together and says that the purpose of inviting people to eat with us 'at the hearth' goes back far into ancient times when it was a means by which we strengthened relationships so that we were not isolated and always had someone to guard our backs. The meal is a means to facilitate this 'ritual'. It's a basic human need. Today we just go out with friends for a meal and we don't think any deeper than that, but I find it fascinating how basic this 'ritual' is and how obvious too! A meal with friends holds just the same significance in strengthening friendships today as it did in ancient times. OK. I'll just crawl back under my stone at this point. ?X

Books about walking particularly in the mountains if ever in need of a pick up then any of Wainwright’s Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells do it for me. Having said that favourite book is Waterlog by Roger Deakin arguably the catalyst for the wild swimming craze we have today, a spellbinding read.

It is what it is. To move forward these kind of things will pop up from time to time and need addressing and dealing with. We are in a transition things with the EU were built up over 40 odd years.

Forever hopeful that we can scrap our way out of this.
1- we’ve eroded the -12 points already
2- we are hard to beat and well organised (it appears)
3- several other teams could well be compounded with some level of points deductions too
4- we have the best midfielder outside the Premier league due to return to our ranks by January ????
5- king CKR is due back in to the squad
6- if we get new owners before January then just maybe we can make a few additions ????
7- our fans are standing up to be counted and as a whole we are unified against everyone else (good old siege mentality) ??????
 
8- we have FORTRESS Pride Park
9- we have something to fight for
10- WE ARE DCFC NOW LETS HAVE IT ??????
if we do manage to pull this off then someone should make a film about it.