Early Risers.

[Darlington_Shed]

50 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I can't help admiring Apple's marketing, they've managed to retain that cachet of being the alternative choice, for people who think differently, for people who want to stick it to big corp Microsoft etc despite the fact they're a huge mega corporation

 

As we used to say back in the '90s - Apple: Changing the world, one rich person at a time.

[Tony_S]

33 minutes ago, BoD said:

 

Over here the government has made payments to households to help cover the increase in the cost of fuel.  Payments to households are made each month. My energy company, rather than just reducing the bill by this amount (it’s the same amount for everyone) started making these payments into my bank account.  I was wondering why they bothered doing it this way but then I guess it would be much easier and with fewer chances of things going wrong for them to write and test a whole new piece of code rather than risk altering and then testing the code of their existing proven main billing system.

Ours just reduce the direct debit. We have just had an email telling us the price of gas and electricity will rise from 1st Jan and our projected bills for for 2023 based on our usage this year. I think their gas prediction is probably right but the electricity is still too high. For 9 months  of the year we use very little from the grid other than standing charge. Perhaps they think it will be a very overcast year. 

[Tony_S]

6 minutes ago, Darlington_Shed said:

 

As we used to say back in the '90s - Apple: Changing the world, one rich person at a time.

I am surprised I am allowed to buy or use any Apple products. I and a colleague were “banned for life” by a rather hysterical Apple salesman/demonstrator at an educational computing conference at Nottingham University. 

Tony
 

[Darlington_Shed]

1 minute ago, Tony_S said:

I and a colleague were “banned for life” by a rather hysterical Apple salesman/demonstrator

 

They do tend to be, um, devout and doctrinaire.

[PeterBB]

5 hours ago, Barry O said:

Ey up!

 

Slept well. Lots of odd bits and bats to do here so will have a very busy day ahead.

Temperature has rocketed to 8°C.. Great!

 

Life revolves around one thing.. money..dosh, lucre. The rest is just a supporting role delivering said money to a LIMITED (my modification of Baz'z comment) number of people.

 

Time to mash the tea. TTFN

Baz

My modification - most goes to those who have, who tend also to complain most about raised taxes that are of course important to be able to fund services that people need ... its becoming a rant so I'll leave it there.

 

On the recent software/hardware comments the latest 'upgrade' computers required new printer and new scanner as none of the previous computers were still supported and the previous printers and scanner are no longer compatible yet all still 'worked well' with heir predecessor.  The major problem being security in support.

[Tony_S]

19 minutes ago, Darlington_Shed said:

 

They do tend to be, um, devout and doctrinaire.

I was only trying to be helpful. This was before the days of Apple Stores full of shiny happy people too.  Leaving a stage being berated by a young man in a big suit “You two are from Havering, I know all about you, You did this deliberately, banned for life, banned for life” was not actually embarrassing. 

[monkeysarefun]

6 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

We make use of locally produced liquid antiseptic, it's called cognac or pineau. It has sofar proved to be very effective.  Another secretbingredient is freshly baked cakes.  I

Never mind that man, try this baby spinach..

Woah wooooooow wowowow hey there's a polar bear here  and he's writing things on the internet. How's  he doing that without thumbs? Freaking me out man. Think I'll lie down over  here for a bit. Hey I'm floating

 

 

[DaveF]

 

A bit later today as I have been busy all morning.  I've had a quick look throiugh all the posts but not read them all in detail today.

 

It is much warmer here, the last of ice went just after coffee time, now it is very damp but the sun has put in an appearance.

 

Yesterday was quite a routine Sunday with church - this time the service was much better organised - and the usual phone calls and e mails.  If anything the ice by the church was even more slippery than earlier in the week, getting to and from the car was a bit of a challenge.

 

Part of the afternoon was spent cutting holly to go in a big jug in the living toom, for once I managed not to cut too much.  Both the plain and variegated bushes are due for a heavy prune in the early Spring.  Then I sat down and fell asleep.  While I had my cup of tea I had a think about my appointments to see the nurse and GP during the week to decide what I want to talk about to try to make them realise that some dietary recommmendations simply are not suitable for me.  In the end I know I will end up going my own way as usual after taking account of what they say.  As I've mentioned before having what is most likely to be IBS and various allergies things are not always simple.

 

In the evening i read and watched TV as usual.  For once the timings of both the UK and German programmes I wanted to see did not overlap which made a nice change.

 

David

 

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

I am surprised I am allowed to buy or use any Apple products. I and a colleague were “banned for life” by a rather hysterical Apple salesman/demonstrator at an educational computing conference at Nottingham University. 

Tony
 

 

33 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I was only trying to be helpful. This was before the days of Apple Stores full of shiny happy people too.  Leaving a stage being berated by a young man in a big suit “You two are from Havering, I know all about you, You did this deliberately, banned for life, banned for life” was not actually embarrassing. 

 

Ohhh, please do tell us more.......

 

Bear here......

Buddy ex. next door arrived this morning for a catch-up;  much time was spent listening to his story regarding recent Bungalow extension/refurb and "The Builder from Hell" - even worse than the one he used when extending next door, and that's saying something.  The Builder was recommended by their Architect.....

I did think it was a mistake for them to bvgger off to France for several months whilst leaving him to it.  I've a feeling that the Builder is gonna be taking a rather large financial hit on this job, as both Buddy (who knows his stuff) and SWMBO aren't gonna let this one go, and he's still owed a fair wedge as it is.  There's a very good chance that the size of that wedge will grow significantly too.  But as Buddy says "it's not only the worry about the bits you can see that are wrong, it's the worry about what else is wrong with the bits you can't see...."

 

In other news......

Jeremy Clarkson has found himself in the middle of a sh1tstorm of his own making - and quite right too.  Not a great career move methinks.  Good.

 

 

[Tony_S]

5 minutes ago, polybear said:

Ohhh, please do tell us more.....

 Apple were trying hard to get educational institutions to buy CD Rom (very very expensive) based systems for libraries. One of the first was an encyclopaedia called Grolier. This package was being demonstrated and as my colleague had asked a couple of intelligent questions the demonstrator, said come on up, bring a colleague and try it.  So up we went and were observed looking at things that interested us. Anyway just as he was doing the bit about how robust the system was and suitable for unsupervised use, the one I was using just froze, visible to all on a big screen. Of course he carried on saying this while everyone else in the audience could see what had happened. When he looked, there was the outburst. Now I found out later, there was “history’ between that Apple reseller and our London Borough. I started work there a few years after the previous incident and what happened at Nottingham was just unfortunate. 
Tony

[southern42]

' afternoon all from red dragon land.

Outdoors 11.6C. A nice 18.8C inside.

Very WetnWindy, though, in case you think I am out sunbathing!

 

Hmmm. Yesterday, Ray made an early exit from the r**lway museum.  Frozen! Say no more.

 

Making steady progress on present wrapping and a few presents ordered in time for the Big Day. This making of gift cards has proven to be very therapeutic - one basic design, 4 to a page, with wording and interior picture (clipart) or photo to suit receiver. With a bit of effort, I have managed to find a range of clipart images that blend well together, which was both satisfying and a treat to find such gorgeous images.

 

Lunch had, just a mugadecaf to do, and then it is putting the marzipan on The Cake.

 

Keep warm / dry / cool. Be good. Mess about doing what you're good at.

Polly

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by southern42
grammatical error! oops!

[Winslow Boy]

Been following the discussion about computers and medicines. What is being described is the basic business model for any large/national/international company. It's used by everyone from leisure/gyms through to service industries. Use new customers to offset the cost of development. The only difference is that with pharmaceuticals the overheads also include the need to keep the 'users' alive. Something which as far as I'm aware the electronics industry hasn't deliberately caused someone's untimely demise due to the withdrawal of its service/ maintenance protocols.

[Tony_S]

It is warmer here today. Steady, light rain too.  We had a slightly longer journey home last night as Benfleet isn’t accessible from the west. So we had a diversion via Canvey Island. Both eastbound and one westbound lane of the A13 in Benfleet are still closed today. I am not going out anyway but the burst water main may not be fixed today. 

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

It is warmer here today. Steady, light rain too.  We had a slightly longer journey home last night as Benfleet isn’t accessible from the west. So we had a diversion via Canvey Island. Both eastbound and one westbound lane of the A13 in Benfleet are still closed today. I am not going out anyway but the burst water main may not be fixed today. 

I hope its fixed soon as I will be going that way in a couple of days. I take it that its the part of the A13 between Sadlers Farm and Tarpots.

[Coombe Barton]

When it come to operating systems, most web servers worldwide use Linux, a derivative of Unix, which is what macOS uses.

I'll stick with Mac, thank you, as I have since 1984.

 

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by Coombe Barton
Typoman

[Tony_S]

9 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I hope its fixed soon as I will be going that way in a couple of days. I take it that its the part of the A13 between Sadlers Farm and Tarpots.

Yes, you are correct. The closure is clearly marked in Google maps with the traffic option turned on. If it is blocked you will have to go via Canvey. At least you get an overseas trip. I believe the work had turned out to be more extensive thuan originally thought. At first only one eastbound lane was shut but damaged pipe was found needing  a bigger hole closing 3 of 4 lanes. 

[Winslow Boy]

2 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Yes, you are correct. The closure is clearly marked in Google maps with the traffic option turned on. If it is blocked you will have to go via Canvey. At least you get an overseas trip. I believe the work had turned out to be more extensive thuan originally thought. At first only one eastbound lane was shut but damaged pipe was found needing  a bigger hole closing 3 of 4 lanes. 

 

Best take the passport then just to be on the safe side. Have the border control people gone on strike yet?

[BoD]

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Ours just reduce the direct debit.

Perhaps British Gas don’t trust their software people as much.

[jjb1970]

A few years ago Steve Jobs ordered a super yacht with visual styling done by the famous designer Philippe Starck. I thought it one of the ugliest yacht designs I ever saw but aesthetic taste is a very personal thing. However, in the context of this thread Jobs insisted that some of the bridge workstations for navigation assistance use Apple hardware. Initially I believe he wanted software too but the providers explained it didn't matter how much he offered to pay, they weren't going to jump through all the hoops required for approval. Even just using Apple monitors was ridiculously expensive as they had to be type approved and certificated for the application. That's not normally a big deal as the costs are recovered over thousands of units but doing it for one ship was bonkers. I hated super yacht work as such things were normal. Several tycoons who insist on flashing their green credentials and virtue signalling ordered over powered vessels for speed bragging rights even though they never do it again after sea trials because doing so destroys lots of expensive trinkets. That's fine, it's their money, however they then demanded waivers from certain emissions regulations because after treatment wouldn't fit in the engine room or exhaust uptakes. My guidance to a couple of flag administrations was to refuse as the emissions equipment would easily fit with slightly smaller engines and the (mandatory) regulations were what they were. You can imagine how that was received, miraculously the yards managed to squeeze it in when told they either made the engines compliant or the ship would be tied to a jetty because they wouldn't be allowed to use the engines.

[TheQ]

I remember the Grolier encyclopaedia, got given a pirate CD of it, still got it somewhere ... It was crap, in particular it was a very American view they were trying to sell the world.. Edison invented the light bulb...  WW1 started in 1917, WW2 Started at the end of 1941.

 

Dash board taken apart.

Around 20 screws several bolts.

Undid nut on outside holding on gear mechanism.

This allowed some movement of the wiper mechanism, two nuts undone on that and it fell to pieces, and was easy to remove..

Went to put in new one and...

It wouldn't go in, ..

The shaft with spindle wouldn't go through the hole , until...

The 17mm bolt holding the steering support arm was removed, and the air tube to the windscreen demister remover, more screws. then it could be pushed into place with a little bending of panels.

 

Then I found the corkscrew cable wouldn't go in.

Had to partially remove the wiper motor take the cover off that, unhook the driver arm. Then the spiral cable could slide back, be aligned into wipers gear box, then pushed in.

Once done the wiper gear box was fixed to the bulkhead.

The drive motor reassembled, then two problems, 

The earth wire to the motor broke at the bayonet connector.

The second , one of the mounting bolts was supposed to fix to a nut affixed on the otherside of the bulkhead. It fell away.. in the engine compartment that's hidden by the heater many hour work to remove.

So the solution is I've ordered some aluminium rivnuts and a set of bayonet connectors cos I can't find my box of them..

Hopefully the house of strong ladies will deliver tomorrow.

 

Ben had been wandering around the garden, watching me, waiting  for his long patrol, we then went for his normal distance. No ice just sticky mud..

 

Apple I wouldn't use, over priced for my use..

Android for portable items,

Win 10, and office pro on the main machine, about £10 each on a deal through the company.

 

 

 

 

[New Haven Neil]

2 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Been following the discussion about computers and medicines. What is being described is the basic business model for any large/national/international company. It's used by everyone from leisure/gyms through to service industries. Use new customers to offset the cost of development. The only difference is that with pharmaceuticals the overheads also include the need to keep the 'users' alive. Something which as far as I'm aware the electronics industry hasn't deliberately caused someone's untimely demise due to the withdrawal of its service/ maintenance protocols.

 

Well....

 

 

 

[Winslow Boy]

58 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Well....

 

 

 

 

I stand corrected. But as someone far more knowledgeable and erudite than i once pontificated - if you put 'crap' - other words are available, in, guess what you'll get out.

[pH]

4 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Leaving a stage being berated by a young man in a big suit “You two are from Havering, I know all about you, You did this deliberately, banned for life, banned for life” was not actually embarrassing. 

The Scottish meaning of “havering” would appear appropriate to the young man’s verbal behaviour.

[Ian Abel]

Morning, just, here...

 

Weekend replete with various events, issues and some general annoyance!

 

Friday, awoke with red/sore eyes and baggy eye lids making me look about 95!! As I was heading out for a few items for our evening party decided to "drop in" at the Urgent Care (A&E equivalent).

After a fairly extensive investigation, was decided I had "Conjunctivitis (nonspecific)" whatever the HELL that means. Told it wasn't contagious, party can continue, use cold compress for itching and swelling, take some prescription antibiotic eye drops in case there was an underlying/undetected bacterial infection in the eye!

PAH TURDYCURSES!

 

"Christmas Vacation" party was deemed a success by all attending, unfortunately Brendan and Jemma couldn't come as he's still in quarantine due to COVID +ve 7 days back.  

Attached, the Mrs and myself who were declared a VERY passable Uncle Lewis and Aunt Bethany.

 

Saturday and Sunday SUCKED, eyes feeling worse, pretty much sat around bothdays applying cold compress and whining! Doesn't help that it was also hard to get a decent sleep.

 

Today the eyes finally feel somewhat better, but NOW my sinus issue has made a bid to p!ss me off even more. What a cluster.

Long Island client also ramping up for year-end with some changes to misc. reports rolling in.

 

Weather blqqdy cold at -19c getting the newspaper in, had snow off and on ALL weekend continuing occasionally today. Does make for a nice winter wonderland out.

High forecast to be a blazing -9c!!!

 

Onward...

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Headlamp bulb sorted, hardly a DIY job as it involves removal of said headlamp. Speaking of which there was a car in for an MoT that failed because the headlamp covers were misted.  I've noticed that mine were getting misted but not apparently bad enough to fail the MoT. I gave them the once over and they didn't appear to be as bad as they were. Then it dawned on me. A few days ago I had to scrape the frost of of the windows, when I'd done that it had also removed all the squashed bugs and bird carp as well leaving the glass crystal clear. At the same time I'd also scraped the frost off of the headlight covers and it seems to have had the same effect.