COMPUTERS, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY

[Tripps]

In case you've only heard of Bitcoin - here's a link to another 254 of the things.

Crypto currencies

What could possibly go wrong?

[Stanley]

Not sure where to post this but as it's all technology.....
My sound bar has arrived but I have yet to open it up or even have any dinner as I have been on the phone to Talktalk for 90 minutes..... My outgoing SMTP server is down. I can receive emails but not send them. I was eventually referred to the man higher up the chain after all attempts to solve the problem failed. He has just told me that I am not alone, one of their servers has failed and they are working on it so I shall give up trying and leave it to see if it has healed up tomorrow.
By the way, it was a free call! I am gong to go offline now, have my dinner and play with my sound bar!

[Marilyn]

Are you happy with your sound bar???

[Stanley]

I am a happy bunny Maz, thanks for asking. The sound bar is working, I found the equaliser on the TV menu and altered the tone balance and I can now hear every word at lower volume, I think we can claim mischief managed!
Thanks Comrade.....
The outgoing SMTP server is back on line as well after over 24 hours down. So once more the technology is in harness.....

[Marilyn]

Good.

[Tripps]

I've mentioned a few times the modern dictum that 'man has never lived with a level of technology below that which is currently available'.

I rest my case Clever kettle

I love the 'Perky Blenders' brand of coffee.

[PanBiker]

Fine and dandy but it cant hold it under the tap and put the water in.

[Tizer]

Blimey we've got to the stage where we need all that just to boil a pot of water!

[chinatyke]

110 quid, you've got to be joking!

[Pluggy]

Or the cheaper far superior option :

https://www.nisbets.co.uk/caterlite-compact-airpot/k711

800 watts really quiet boiling, hot water for a brew the instant you want it (except if you've just filled it that is). Makes about 15 cups of tea/ coffee on a fill (real mugs not scratty nothingness cups). Takes around 30 minutes to get hot again if you empty it and completely fill it. In practice you fill it when you've just got a brew or 3 out and its ready by the time you want another.

Stuff having to find your phone to turn a bl**dy kettle on........

I bought a similar one foir my dad for a birthday present a few years back (who can't send a text message let alone work out a smart phone app). When he first saw it it was "what the hell is this you bought me", a week later he was swearing by it. When the hard Blackpool water killed it (you're supposed to maintain them in a hard water area, which he didn't) he asked me what to do, I said the easy option is you get your old kettle out of the cupboard or I can get another. Not a thought for the "easy" option, he wanted another.

[chinatyke]

52 quid? You guys must be rolling in money. Seriously, are things really that expensive nowadays?

[Stanley]

I'll bet it tells you the time as well..... Include me out. I like freshly boiled water for each brew. I'll bet the coffee is expensive as well. try Machu Pichu organic from the Co-op.... (LINK)

[Pluggy]

We have to pay significantly more than 50p for a glass of beer too......

[Stanley]

I was in the Dog having a Guinness one Sunday and we were talking about Harold Wilson's 'pound in your pocket' speech. I said it wouldn't be long before a pint and 20 Players would cost over £1. They laughed and they laughed! 20 fags cost 1/11 1/2 then, I forget the price of the beer. How much would 20 Players and a pint cost now?

[Big Kev]

I paid £3 a pint last night. No idea how much a packet of 'fags' is.

[Tizer]

I'll bet it tells you the time as well.....

That reminds me of the Red Dwarf toaster sketch, the one where the demanding toaster speaks and every time Lister comes in it shouts "Toast?"...."Toast!"..."Have some toast"..."Toast"...[quiet for a while]...." TOAST!!"

[Marilyn]

We have an advert, where a dog home alone, pushes the GREEN button on the remote control and watches what he wants on TV ( despite dogs being colour blind).
My husband pressed the GREEN button, ( well he swears that's the one he pressed but he tends to stab at any button). Took us hours to sort the TV out.

[PanBiker]

I paid £3 a pint last night. No idea how much a packet of 'fags' is.

Last time I was behind someone buying cigs and they opened the doors, I think it was around £8.00 a packet. You get a pretty picture for that as well, something on the lines of cancerous lungs or other nasties.

[Big Kev]

I paid £3 a pint last night. No idea how much a packet of 'fags' is.

Last time I was behind someone buying cigs and they opened the doors, I think it was around £8.00 a packet. You get a pretty picture for that as well, something on the lines of cancerous lungs or other nasties.

I've just 'Googled' it, the average cost for a pack of 20 in the UK is £10.50

[PanBiker]

Must be while since I saw in the cupboard.

[Stanley]

I'll stick to my Condor and Bruno, it's expensive but on that basis my consumption is equal to less than 20 fags a week..... I used to smoke 40 players a day plus cigars and the pipe.....

[chinatyke]

We have to pay significantly more than 50p for a glass of beer too......

IMG_20170428_210135.jpg

Me too, it's gone up 10% because of the poor exchange rate, it's now 1.10 GBP for 1.25 litres (2 pints) in the local bar.

[Stanley]

It looks a funny colour!
144mb of Libre Office and ubuntu this morning from Canonical. That might have cured the spell check.....

[Stanley]

I can't remember what the reason was but I think it was during the introduction of colour TV, the BBC decided to do an experiment in which they installed a small local transmitter and treated the whole of Waddington to a preview of whatever the new standard was. As part of their preparation they went to every house and ensured that their existing TV set was properly installed, tuned and maintained. At the end of the experiment they published their findings and the thing that amused me was that on a scale of one to ten, the most successful and productive thing they did was to clean the screens on the TV sets!
I was reminded of that yesterday when I cleaned my computer monitor, the first time I have ever done it. I smoke my pipe more in the kitchen than any other room in the house, the only other places I smoke are in the shed and the front room. I was surprised how much brown muck came off the screen! It's much better now, I can see the difference. I read all the advice about cleaners and in the end just used a clean lint-free duster damped with cold water and with ordinary malt vinegar sprinkled on it. It did the trick and I don't think I have done any irreparable damage!

[PanBiker]

Pipe smokers, I have related the tale before from my memoirs as a TV repair man. Lady of the house refusing to accept that the TV I returned to her was her own. It was mahogany from the effects of the Condor man of the house when I took it away for a bench service but restored to its original teak finish with my usual cleaning routine before returning to the customer. She would not have it and when I suggested it was down to her cleaning routine she went ballistic on me, I did suggest tactfully that Pledge was not the best way to clean a TV screen and cabinet, warm soapy water was preferred.

We had to pull the original sales invoice and show her the description and matching serial number before she would accept that it was her own set.