Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

PasturesNew

Heirhunters was good this morning. They quite often feature a firm/man that specialise in tracing Jewish people - and today was one such day.

A woman had died. She was a widow. They found she'd had one son but he'd completely disappeared. The estate sat around for 3 years on the bona vacantia list until the Jewish firm picked it up when he decided her name "sounded like it might be Jewish".

He then got the marriage certificate and decided "she sounds a bit Dutch". It turned out that 31 members of the family had been rounded up and killed in WW2. They eventually found a lot of potential heirs - but still couldn't find the son.

He then looked at old Electoral Rolls and saw the couple living with somebody with a different name - and decided he must be the son, who'd changed his name. So, with the new name they then found a man of his name going to America with a date of birth that matched the "missing son" they were after.

They then found a death certificate in Hollywood in 1992 for the son, giving his parents names on the death certificate.

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

How long would an amputated finger or eyeball be viable for that sort of thing?

You could extend the life of a finger by removing the finger and making a cast of it, then using that .... maybe?

For eyes, it'd probably require some close up photography, print it out, then stick it on a fake eyeball.

Pyxis

Pastures, I know it's been said before, but that would be such a good job for you!
I know, I know, it's different when it's a hobby, but it's all just what you like doing!
I must admit, I'd probably enjoy it, too, as I like puzzles and mysteries and finding links in things, and tying things together.

ivyleaf wrote: »

Our current car has both the eco stop/start and the "keyless go".
OH's fob lives in his pocket and mine in a pocket or in my bag (I don't drive, but it's handy to have my own fob anyway). You unlock it by touching the door handle as if to open it, and similarly when you want to lock it; the lights flash to tell you it's locked, and the wing mirrors turn in.
Recently we got out of the car at the local shops and the car refused to lock :eek: Panic stations. Eventually I shopped on my own and went home, while OH took the car to the dealer to see if they could help.

It turned out that at the time we were trying to lock it, my handbag had still been inside, with my fob inside it The car won't allow locking if there is a fob inside the car.

You see, you'd think there would be some sort of manual override, because there must be the odd time when it does fail.

Even with the electronic press-button fob for locking/unlocking, there is a key which you can use if, say, the battery runs out. Ok, it'll set the alarm off, but at least you can get in and drive home.
That happened to me once, when I parked in a specific spot in a car park. There must have been some sort of very local interference, because it didn't happen in any other part of the car park, and it happened again when I parked in that specific spot on another occasion! (The battery was fine!)

It also happened when I first got the car, at home, parked in my front garden, and the dealer said it was most probably a kid in a nearby house with an electronic toy! It happened a few times and then stopped. That was eleven years ago.

chris_m

ivyleaf wrote: »

The car won't allow locking if there is a fob inside the car.

Rather handy really

The only experience I've had of a sort of keyless go was in a Renault Megane quite a few years ago - you put a card into a slot then depress the clutch and hit the start button.
All was going well until I needed to stop briefly to pick some stuff up. I took the card out, got out and couldn't lock the car. Eventually I worked out what the problem was. I hadn't hit the start button again to stop the engine, assuming that removing the card did that - as became clear when the bus on the other side of the road pulled away and I could hear the car engine still running

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

You could extend the life of a finger by removing the finger and making a cast of it, then using that .... maybe?

For eyes, it'd probably require some close up photography, print it out, then stick it on a fake eyeball.

I don't think that would work on the iPad, because I think there might have to be the tiny bit of electrical something or the other you get from flesh.

I suppose they might be able to make an impression in some sort of silicon with properties similar to flesh, but then they wouldn't need to cut your finger off, would they?

It might be harder with an eye.

ivyleaf

Pyxis wrote: »

Pastures, I know it's been said before, but that would be such a good job for you!
I know, I know, it's different when it's a hobby, but it's all just what you like doing!
I must admit, I'd probably enjoy it, too, as I like puzzles and mysteries and finding links in things, and tying things together.





You see, you'd think there would be some sort of manual override, because there must be the odd time when it does fail.

Even with the electronic press-button fob for locking/unlocking, there is a key which you can use if, say, the battery runs out. Ok, it'll set the alarm off, but at least you can get in and drive home.
That happened to me once, when I parked in a specific spot in a car park. There must have been some sort of very local interference, because it didn't happen in any other part of the car park, and it happened again when I parked in that specific spot on another occasion! (The battery was fine!)

It also happened when I first got the car, at home, parked in my front garden, and the dealer said it was most probably a kid in a nearby house with an electronic toy! It happened a few times and then stopped. That was eleven years ago.

Yes, our fobs do have an actual key you can pull out to lock/unlock if that happens. But we don't know if that would work when there was another fob still inside the car. Might try it next time, if I remember!

ukmaggie45

Pyxis wrote: »

I don't think that would work on the iPad, because I think there might have to be the tiny bit of electrical something or the other you get from flesh.

Oooh Pyxis, that's exactly what happened in a recent Silent Witness. They tried to open phone with dead finger on corpse but had to put a small lecky charge through for it to work - milli-amps I think, so very small charge.

chris_m

ivyleaf wrote: »

Yes, our fobs do have an actual key you can pull out to lock/unlock if that happens. But we don't know if that would work when there was another fob still inside the car. Might try it next time, if I remember!

If it's like my Merc, I suspect that it would work - just being a mechanical lock/key, probably intended only for unlocking the driver's door in an emergency.

Pyxis

ukmaggie45 wrote: »

Oooh Pyxis, that's exactly what happened in a recent Silent Witness. They tried to open phone with dead finger on corpse but had to put a small lecky charge through for it to work - milli-amps I think, so very small charge.

There you go then.

michaels

I always put the key transmitter into the little centre junk hole before pressing the start button as we need the transmitter on the same keyring to hand to open/close the garage.

Then I do the same in the old car and then have to remember to get it out again and put it in the ignition in order to go anywhere.

I think a bottle of champagne and some flowers for GF would be ideal.

At what point do you stop dreaming of the peace and quiet after your kids have left home and start worrying about an empty nest?!