Tony_S

Sounds about right for mid to late 1980s I should think. Sounds like something from the days when we used to debate extended vs expanded RAM!

I once returned to the sixth form college I worked in after the holidays and noticed the network history on the demonstration pc indicated someone had been accessing some sites whose names would get censored on RMweb. It turned out the IT technicians had been installing blocking software and had been "testing". Tony

Good morning. I've been out to put the recycling bags and containers by the road. Although it is dull it is warm. I have a shopping list so I'll be off to Sainsbury for a change as there are a few items on the list that Tesco don't stock. Tony

Memo to management Buy new pigeon

I'd just use an airbrush.

It isn't Russian, it is French! If I were to sell it it would probably best be described as "collection of Swiss motorway passes with Renault Scenic attached".

My car fortunately has only scrappage value. Putting two new tyres on it last week probably increased the value significantly as does filling up the petrol tank. We used to have a Volvo and the service costs on that were horrific at a main dealer though at least the one we took it to did service it unlike the one the previous owner (father-in-law) took it to who only seemed to have ever stamped the service document and written a bill. With all the scrappage schemes I did look at whether it was a good time to replace the Scenic but nothing I wanted seemed to be available on a scrappage scheme. I would dislike spending lots of money on a new (or nearly new) car and finding that the seats were not as good after a 100mile trip as the ones in my existing car. Tony

I suppose that being given the valet option is better than it being "free" and included in a £200 higher cost "inclusive" service. Our service cost fell by over £200 when we switched to a local garage rather than a main dealer. Only difference was they didn't valet the interior. Tony

I don't think we had an alarm clock malfunction this morning but I will need to check it. My wife knocked the clock off the bedside table this morning. She wakes up just before the alarm goes off and turns it off and then relies on the radio alarm for confirmation of what time she really wants to get up. The problem was that this morning the item she was trying to turn off was a glass of water. I suppose it was better to knock the clock over rather than the water though. Today I am going to the dentist (just a check up) and waiting for a courier to take the dead laptop away. I do hope it can be fixed as although new models have better processors there doesn't seem to be one that has all the features the current one has. Nice weather here today so far. Tony

Anything fishy being prepared makes Robbie very irritating if he is in the kitchen. He even tries to sneak under the cupboard door to try to get to the wastebin. I've never deliberately given him fish but I did drop a cod fillet once. It didn't even have time to hit the floor before it had been caught and swallowed. Robbie isn't a greedy dog and doesn't steal food out on low tables but anything heading floorwards is definitely up for grabs. When he was a pup he ate everything that landed. He is fussier now and looks quite disgusted if it is a Brussels sprout! The dog food he eats is available with fish but I'm saving that option in case he ever (hopefully never) needs tempting to eat. Tony

Perhaps the similarity is the colour of Robbie's coat, the "official" description of his colour is blue roan. I still haven't seen the film yet. I'll probably end up seeing the 2D version when it gets on the television.

Spaniels are eternal optimists. Though it was amusing at the weekend watching Robbie pounce on things he then decided he didn't fancy like bits of okra or cauliflower. I was mashing lamb earlier this evening(which interested the dog quite a bit) and yoghurt plus spices so we can have something meaty to go with the leftover Indian food from the weekend tonight The food scent that seems to really cause our dog to accidentally bump into us in the hope we will drop something is anything fishy. Tony

My avatar is currently in the kitchen. Tony

Is that the origin of "paws for thought?"

Morning all. It is still a bit cloudy here but it is supposed to be quite warm today. I'm not planning anything too exciting today. Well until a few seconds ago I wasn't but apparently I need to go to the shops for a few items. Tony

I hope you suggested that that should bee sensible.

What car are you most likely to see in school staff car parks now? Are BMWs no longer popular?

I suspect I could buy anything backup related at the moment. I've been really really good and have not said "I did warn you .." Fortunately our child is quite good about backups because he has to move work between the netbook he takes to college and his home PC. When he was at school his economics teacher lost his course-work. It apparently flew out of her open top BMW while driving home (makes a change from the dog ate it!). She asked Matthew if he had a backup and could reprint it. Of course he said no but he only wanted to see how worried she got and admitted he did! Tony

We can get free storage from our ISP. I think I'll set it up on my wife's PC when it gets back. I did suggest last year that we should get a homeserver but no interest was shown (then!) I did buy two different NAS devices last year and had to return them as they would not work. It was very frustrating. I am a believer in "to err is human, if you really want to mess things up get a computer!". I'm not really a Luddite,I just get frustrated when it doesn't do what it says on the box. Tony

We had an Escort that had mysterious leaks that meant the front passenger was usually damp. Rear light fitting s on cars made in the seventies and eighties seemed prone to leaking water into the boot. With the present car the water just drips off the dog. Fortunately whatever Renault use for boot carpet seems very damp/rot resistant. I've got a friend with an alleged off road capable vehicle that has a boot carpet that has gone mouldy just from a 3 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels delicate little paws. Laptop news update: courier will collect it on Tuesday, repair if possible takes 10-14 days. All the data is now going from my netbook to an external drive. Tony

My desk looks like robotic rats have been building nests but data is flowing from my wife's laptop hard drive to my netbook. The usb sata kit was even on special offer at Maplin. Once the data is safe I can reassemble the laptop and see if it can be repaired. Tony

If I can't recover the data myself I was going to ask for recommendations for data recovery and satisfied customers from ER must be a good testimonial. I'll know in a couple of hours after a trip to Basildon (Maplin Electronics are open at 10am today). Anyway back to normal ER business! I think it has been raining but is dry now. I think it could be a very pleasant day today. Tony

Thank you. As it looked completely power dead my my first reaction was wondering if the power supply was dead. It wasn't according to my test meter. I did then remove the battery and wait 5 minutes and put it back (as the Sony site suggested ) and it is still dead. I've just tried the method of removing and replacing the battery a few times and it is still dead! It still has some warranty but the data is more precious than the computer so before it goes for any repair replacement I want to get the data off if possible. If I can I'll back the data up to a couple of other pcs initially. I believe I'll be in Basildon tomorrow at 10am waiting for Maplins to open. Tony

I know what my task is tomorrow. Matthew turned his Mum's laptop on this afternoon to try to explain to my mother in law (she wants a small pc) that laptops can have good screens and the computer got to the normal screen and as he moved the mouse to start up the browser the computer died, no screen, no leds, no fans. Now this is the PC Mrs S is writing her dissertation on, so of course I have supplied her with various backup drives. Of course the last time anything was backed up was when I did it in July! Much angst in household! Actually quite a lot of stuff since then has been emailed to tutors so it does exist somewhere hopefully. I've removed the tiny sata drive and I'll go to Maplin tomorrow for their SATA to USB convertor and I'll copy everything off if I can, I'm hoping that the drive is OK and that it was some failure on the power bus that turned everything off suddenly. We will know tomorrow. I have explained to Matthew that it was just a nasty coincidence that the computer failed when he turned it on! I suspect that my wife will follow my suggestions about backup in future and not rely on the fact that her computer is a Sony. Tony

Is it teased out Scotchbrite Scourer? Tony