WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Tizer]

The same as digital versus analogue radio. A bit irritating when we have atomic clocks that are accurate to minuscule fractions of a second!

Anyone got views on TV sound bars?

[Big Kev]

The same as digital versus analogue radio. A bit irritating when we have atomic clocks that are accurate to minuscule fractions of a second!

Anyone got views on TV sound bars?

Sound on the ultra slim TVs is appalling so pretty much anything would be an improvement. I have an 8 year old Sony 5.1 system, the new Sharp TV still has an optical out connection so haven't felt the need to replace it yet. I did notice that Sainsbury were selling Blaupunkt sound bars in their sale today, I didn't notice the price but if the £250 price tag that's on the 50in Blaupunkt TV is anything to go by I can't see them being too expensive.

[Big Kev]

I wasn't sure where to put this. Over the years my hearing has deteriorated and the quality of sounds in my house has deteriorated. I've never made up my mind whether the deterioration is my ears or the equipment but have never chased the problem down. At the same time I had another sounds issue, one of the twin speakers hooked up to my computer had gone AWOL. I had this set of Busby speakers upstairs surplus to requirements and today I bit the bullet and brought them down, swapped for the duff system and threw them out. Then I went on the web and found Bach's Toccata and fugue on Youtube and played it.
Wonderful! Because the speakers are on my level (the others were on the floor) I'm getting full enjoyable sound so whilst my ears aren't as good as they used to be they are good enough! This encourages me to think about radio in the rest of the house. If anyone has any advice I'd be pleased to have it.....

There are plenty of wifi speaker systems available, some as low as £50 but not sure on the compatibility of the app that runs them with Ubuntu. I have a Sonos system which is a few years old now, it has its own controller but this has been discontinued and the newer systems rely on PC/mac/Android/ios based software.

[PanBiker]

My daughter has a Bose system with a main base unit that has CD, Radio and an iPod dock. That is Wifi enabled with remote active speakers and feeds from a PC which acts as a media server. you can access as Kev says via Android and IOS devices (phones, tablets). It will also play any media that you have on those devices as well and link it into any other smart WiFi devices that you might have. They have just upgraded to a smart TV so that is integrated as well.

[Stanley]

All very complicated and I will stagger on with what I have at the moment. I am attracted to the sound bar though, I shall look into that. One complication I have is that I have a lot of stuff on cassette so I shall leave my Sony radio alone for the present because it plays my cassettes and CDs. Weird hearing the pips upstairs on FM and coming down to the kitchen to hear them again!
What's attracting my attention this week is that Muthomi is back in the UK tomorrow, Susan and Jess on Thursday and Mick the shed and Sarah are visiting me next Sunday. My social secretary is going to be busy!!

[PanBiker]

It's not very complicated Stanley, there are no wires!

[Stanley]

What I really need is a unit that will play and transfer to CD cassette tapes and vinyl and at the same time give good quality sound output! Any advice will be welcome! By the way, I'm enjoying searching Youtube for my old music favourites, amazing what is on there and much of the quality of sound is superb.....
In another part of the forest I'm listening to reports of Trump appointing his son in law as an adviser. Someone in the White House must be tearing their hair out watching him build a team of sycophants and oil billionaires to run the country......... I fear we may be in for a rough ride post January 20th.

[PanBiker]

I wouldn't bother putting them on CD Stanley. It would probably be better to rip straight to HD, you can get record decks that will do the vinyl, never looked so don't know if any have cassette decks fitted. If not you need something with an auxiliary input so you can shove a deck in that way. Anything on compact cassette will be lower quality though due to the limitations of the original media.

Question you should ask is would it be worth doing as you can access virtually anything online now.

[Stanley]

I agree Ian. I have been amazed by what there is out there!
See THIS for a Guardian report on what looks like a credible story alleging a Trump/Russia link. Too early to draw conclusions but this looks serious and if nothing else will follow him into his Presidency. Hard to believe we could get into a position like this......
The 15 year old girl arrested yesterday in York in connection with the death of a seven year old girl has been charged with murder.........

[Tizer]

`I have been amazed by what there is out there!'
That sentence could apply to this animation which I found coincidentally while looking at a web page related to the US ambassador to the UK: The Known Universe
"The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History."

Unrelated to the above is this BBC page with photos, old and new, of London City Airport which is celebrating its 30th birthday this year: LINK

[Stanley]

The fact that Susan was back home in her own bed in Earby by 23:00 last night.....

[Stanley]

Of course it was the weather. We have had an easy passage up to now but today is a taste of real winter. Bitterly cold and it will be horrible underfoot. I shall certainly be taking short strides this morning as I go down to the butcher's. There will be the usual influx of patients to A&E with broken bones suffered during falls. Deep Joy!. In view of the present lamentable situation the hospital staff will be dreading it!

[Stanley]

The reports emerging from the NHS about the dire state of services and bed availability. I remember the old Infirmaries before Bevan and this makes me very sad. We have lost our way here..... I will never forgive the politicians who have been swayed by the siren call of corporate providers who are winning their battle to get hold of our health system and make profit from it. As bad as the old Resurrection Men.....
What really worries me, and I haven't heard anyone address it beyond the usual platitudes, is how long the staff can function efficiently under these pressures. There is a breaking point and I fear we may be very close it it.

[Tizer]

As we watch the NHS teetering on the brink of collapse we hear of a woman in the US dying from infection because the bacteria were resistant to every known antibiotic, even the so-called last resort ones. She had treatment for a broken leg while visiting India but it got infected and on her return to the US she was treated with antibiotics but nothing worked and she died from systems failure due to massive, widespread inflammation. The bacterial species wasn't even rare, it's a common gut bacteria and probably got into her wound through poor hygiene in India. By analogy, our NHS is heading for systems failure due to inadequate treatment by the UK government.

The US regulators are now chasing Fiat-Chrysler over what looks like another emissions scam. In the meantime, much more has come to light about VW's emissions scam now that documents have been released. Supervisors, managers and senior executives all knew what was going on, told their staff to keep it secret and let it continue. There's far more than I can write in a few lines here. Just read this new story to see how VW deliberately set about this scam. LINK

[PanBiker]

Mays response to our forced failing NHS is to "put pressure" on local doctors surgeries to open 12 hours a day 7 days a week. This smacks of moving the goalposts to me. There is no guarantee that even if this was imposed that folk would make the local surgery their first port of call. It's accepted now in the general population that it is perfectly normal to tip up at A&E with minor ailments that could be treated at home with advice from the local pharmacist for the correct lotion or potion.

Very sad that we have got to this state with our once world beating NHS. May would be much better advised to proper fund and staff the 101 service. This should be manned with qualified clinicians who can actually do effective triage with salient questioning. The service as it stands essentially is script driven by non qualified telephone operators who in my experience take the first 15 minutes of anyone's golden hour trying to determine if you are having a heart attack regardless of the symptoms you are trying to relate.

Folk need reeducating to accept that the emergency department in hospital is not the first port of call. We already have access to fully qualified pharmacists. We need a telephone service that can give the equivalent professional advise as to your next port of call. 8am - 8pm local surgeries would be helpful but I fear not attainable, regardless of the rhetoric it's not the fix.

[Big Kev]

12 hours a day 7 days a week would also require a significant increase in staff to cover the additional hours...

[PanBiker]

On another matter, I have received my timetable for the February mock exams up at school. Faye is getting serious with the kids now, I'm on every day for the whole two weeks. This will be the full practice under strict conditions for the real exams in May/June, full schedule.

[Stanley]

I know I keep whingeing but can anyone show me an area of society where things are working OK? In public policy, from NHS to Justice and social care to welfare and the railways everything is cash-strapped and deteriorating. This isn't management of the country. It's more like a bunch of spivs running a dodgy market stall!! That's what grabs me.....

[Stanley]

I had a house full of visitors yesterday and it was a delight. Today Jack and I will have a quieter day..... We missed our afternoon sleep but had a lovely night. Snug as a bug in a rug and sleeping like logs! I am so lucky and never forget that not everyone is as fortunate. Sleep heals most ills!
Cancer patients being denied surgery because of lack of beds. It's a disgrace......

[Tripps]

I heard on the wireless that BT is offering a new service called 'Call protect' - give you the capability of stopping nuisance calls. Sounds good - I've had quite a few recently after a long quiet period. It is said to be free too. Checked it out - seems I'm not eligible as I don't have a BT phone. I use Plusnet - a subsidiary company owned by BT . If I have a line fault - BT Openreach fix it. In what way do I not have a BT phone?

'If it sounds too good to be true - it usually is'

Then to rub salt into the wound the phone rings - "My name is Oliver and I'm from the Technical department of BT - we have noticed problems with you wireless router". . . all delivered in a strong Indian type of accent. I don't mind third world nationals trying to make a crust, but not when they start the spiel with a total lie, and intend to rob me.

Little wonder folks are stopping using land lines for voice phone calls.

[Tizer]

Tripps, I had a look at the Plusnet forums this morning because I'd heard the BT news and there are already some posts asking if Plusnet (which is a BT subsidiary) will be offering the service. We'll have to wait and see although I'm still a bit wary about how the BT system is supposed to work - they don't explain it fully. Here's the BT web page: Call Protect
I also saw this mentioned on one of the Plusnet forum pages: BT8600

[Stanley]

I tend to ignore services like this and simply ignore the phone for much of the day.... Idiosyncratic I know but my friends and family are used to it now. I am getting an average of five calls a week in the mornings when I answer the phone and most of them purport to be from Talktalk. I always hang up. The question is, if there really was an issue and Talktalk wanted to contact me how could they do it without appearing suspicious?

[Big Kev]

The question is, if there really was an issue and Talktalk wanted to contact me how could they do it without appearing suspicious?

If there was an issue you would be contacting them, anything else and they would send you a letter.

[Stanley]

I hope that's true Kev..... Perhaps I should call them and ask.

[PanBiker]

How efficient the service was at Airedale Hospital today. I tipped up a 11am at the Outpatients Dept, which has been totally remodeled from the last time I walked through. The former reception desk has been moved and replaced by a seating area, there is a new ambulance and reception area now ahead and to the right as you go in. I was scooped up by someone asking where I wanted to go and I was allocated a young lady to escort me through to the right department. The entire site inside and out is in the process of having all the signage replaced hence the assistance to get to where you need to go.

I was in Radiology by 11.05. Into the waiting area where there were already two ladies waiting. I had hardly time to pick up a magazine when I was called through to get changed. Kit off, back fastening gown, (how are you supposed to fasten them?), dressing gown on and then another two minute wait before being called in. A couple of minutes or so for lining me up on the machine, then another couple for the Radiologist to check that she had the imagery that had been ordered. All sorted so back to the changing room to get dressed. I think it actually took longer to my get clothes off and put them back on again than the rest of the procedure. I was out at 11.20 and back on my way home before half past. Results will be passed to my doc in 3 to 4 days so I will book my follow up some time next week.