Nice people thread part 7 - a thread in its prime

PasturesNew

Generali wrote: »

I find it surprising that more UK homes don't have fly screens. They're cheap and very effective.

They are on my "To Get" list for when I finally get a house - it's not flies that I've been plagued with in life, but dusk-time moths that suddenly find your light/room on an evening when you've got the window open as it's still stiflingly hot.

I was planning on probably making my own (cheap) version though ... because although you say "they're cheap", I bet I'd think "HOW MUCH???" and find that a bit of net curtain and some velcro will do the job for £2.

Edit: I just checked - they're £2-7 .... but, for me, the cost of the little man to put them up would be a consideration..... so I'd end up with velcro and some old net

PasturesNew

vivatifosi wrote: »

....one of my big gripes about houses here.

I think I mentioned it 1-2 years ago that there was a house for sale that I'd seen that had an outside area, that you could sleep out in. Personally I'd not fancy it ... from a personal security perspective. The sale particulars gave it a very specific name, which I think was the Arab word for an outside gazebo style thing.

PasturesNew

Spirit wrote: »

Doors were hung with beaded curtains.

In the 1960s all the houses on our council estate had brighly coloured plastic strips on the doors. You can buy them/they still exist.... but are considered old-fashioned and common/naff now probably

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stv-Stv235-Strip-Blinds-Doors/dp/B005348JC4

My parents had a type of bead curtain on the back door .... just about the first thing us kids took down/took to the tip when we were clearing and decluttering the house.

PasturesNew

SingleSue wrote: »

Have you thought about a mobile phone which has the capability to tether? My son has a 3 pay as you go phone where if he tops up £15 a month, he can get an all you can eat data plan which gives unlimited internet.

It has enough oomph to run tv on the laptop, games systems etc.

His phone is the Samsung Galaxy mini.

No - because I am a n00b to posh phones.... and I know absolutely nothing. I've never had one, seen one, played with one, nor seen what other people have done with them.

Even reading your post I've no idea how to turn that into googleable information that I can comprehend and act on.

Maybe somebody can break it down .... as if talking to a time-traveller from the 1800s

I mean ... if it's "that easy" .... and for £15.... why isn't everybody doing it?

PasturesNew

Generali wrote: »

I have a feeling that iPhones in the UK can't be tethered unless you jailbreak them.

I do remember seeing one of those BBC programmes that does snippets of tech stuff - about 18 months ago .... can't remember the programme now, but it's on in early morning newsy runs....

Anyway - they mentioned tethering - and said some can, some can't - and, they even explained which could etc ... but I am just aware that you can, with some - but don't know how or which ones .... but out there, somewhere, that BBC programme will be available.... if I can remember the name of it.

Edit: Did some googling - BBC Click is what the programme is.

Edit2: Tethering with Vodaphone http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/iPhone-4-4S-and-iOS-5/tethering-now-included/td-p/757233/page/2

Tethering on BBC Click (the video at the top of this is the actual programme I saw - they explain it all) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/9573538.stm

PasturesNew

lemonjelly wrote: »

I've only ever paid into mine because employers have.
My rationale is that in the same way employers will try & gain everything they can from me, I value my time & labour equally high. I'm therefore going to get the maximum wage possible. Therefore, I am going to pay into the pensions scheme, as are they. If they don't pay into the scheme, I'm selling myself short...

I've never had an employer that had a pensions scheme Nor have I ever been employed long enough even if they had had one (years ago you used to have to have been in a job 2 years before you were allowed to join).

PasturesNew

Most pensioners want/expect a better lifestyle and income than I'll ever achieve from working full-time. I'll be happy with my £100/week or so 'state pension'/equivalent .... I'll be better off than I am working

Scare stories about pensions/income aren't for people like me - they're for richer bugg4hs that are used to having more.

michaels

Tethering has been round for ages - when I got my N95 bout 5 years ago it was 'cool' to set up a wireless hotspot for colleagues to use to get online...I thought however that even the 'unlimited' mobile data packages have a 'fair use' small print making it unsuitable for TV watching?

I don't think you have to retire just because you take a lump sum from your pension - could be wrong though.

Generali

Tethering: my phone collects and sends packets of data from and to the Interweb in one of 2 ways. Via the mobile phone network or using a local WiFi network.

Normally it uses that data itself in its own web browser but if I attach the phone to a computer, the data requests and sent items can be generated by the computer with the mobile phone being used as a conduit.

zagubov

Silvercar's earlier comment has sparked the thouight that maybe we don't need a housephone. We've all got mobiles. Nobody phones us on the landlines.

We've got fast internet - but it disappears from time to time, but I suppose that happens with all suppliers. It's like greased lightning when its working.

We've got cable TV but don't know what we're getting that's more than freeview.

Got some thinking to do.
Food for thought.

Anybody else here not using a landline?