The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

GDB2222

PasturesNew wrote: »

Yes, very very important matters (else you're calling me a skinflint!).

Before you buy a new TV, have you heard about Restart? They might be able to fix it for you.

https://therestartproject.org/parties/portsmouth-2/

It's legit. They have them all over. I have a radio that I want to take to a local one. One day ....

Uh, I just looked up the distances involved. 100 miles round trip is probably not worth it, just on the off-chance it's fixable. Unless it has sentimental value, I suppose.

Pyxis

Jackmydad wrote: »

It was even more complicated than the "lines" the old stations were broadcast on VHF, and BBC2 on UHF. For a while in the 60s both systems were used. So you needed a TV that would receive VHF and UHF.
There's a bit on Wikipedia under History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/405-line_television_system
Earlier still, some of the first TVs would apparently only receive BBC. You needed a converter, a sort of "set top box" to get ITV.

Oh yes! We got one of those! It's one of my memories from when I was a prawn.
We didn't convert at the start of ITV - it was later, but I think a guy had to come to the house and wire in this lump of thing which sat on the back of the set.
Then I had the commercial break experience!

GDB2222 wrote: »

I reckon it's okay to discuss the weather and, at a pinch, the size of your TV. There's a sort of reverse snobbery in having a small TV. It implies that you hardly ever watch it, because your time is so taken up with very, very important matters, rather than just that you're a skinflint or simply have extremely good eyesight.

You two! :rotfl: :rotfl: You slay me!

GDB2222 wrote: »

Before you buy a new TV, have you heard about Restart? They might be able to fix it for you.

https://therestartproject.org/parties/portsmouth-2/

It's legit. They have them all over. I have a radio that I want to take to a local one. One day ....

Uh, I just looked up the distances involved. 100 miles round trip is probably not worth it, just on the off-chance it's fixable. Unless it has sentimental value, I suppose.

Ooh! That might be good for me! I have a very special something, quite old, that it would be good to get working again, if poss. Though not if means ripping all the original innards out, as that would defeat the object.

Edit. Just read the link........no, it won't be any good for the thing I have in mind. Useful to know for other things, though.



I was in John Lewis today, just having a browse, and was looking at the kitchen utensils, knives etc, when I heard a weird, faint buzzing sort of noise coming from further down the section, so I followed the sound, and it was coming from the knives.
For a couple of seconds I couldn't see why they were making that noise.
Were they all communicating with each other and plotting to take over the store and then the world?
Would the sound gradually increase until the vibrations gave them the momentum to fly off their hooks and stab everyone?
(Think I've been watching too much Doctor Who).

Anyway, Then I suddenly realised that it wasn't the knives themselves, or their packaging, making the strange sounds, but the anti-theft alarm thing attached to each one! There were so many of them, all close together, that you could hear them!

World takeover averted.

PasturesNew

GDB2222 wrote: »

... 100 miles round trip ...

It's not that sentimental
I'd not heard of them.... but so much stuff is London-centric that most things are irrelevant outside of the M25... and, with so much being touted ... then you look and it's London-centric, you stop bothering/noticing.

You're right, 100 miles round trip isn't worth it. I guesstimate total car running costs based on the cost/litre of fuel and at the moment 100 miles is about £20.

But it's more than that ... it's the mind-numbingly boring driving bit that puts me off driving afar these days. I get bored of sitting on a seat holding a wheel, looking forwards after about 30 minutes

I've never been in that direction, to be honest...

Jackmydad

Pyxis wrote: »

Oh yes! We got one of those! It's one of my memories from when Imwas a prawn.
We didn't convert at the start of ITV - it was later, but I think a,guy had to come to the house and wire in this lump of thing which sat on the back of the set.
Then I had the commercial break experience!

Interesting. I've got this vague memory of there being "no ITV", but then when we had a set that would get it, my dad was funny about it, and wouldn't watch it. To this day I'm not sure why. Somehow the TV was "his" though.

PasturesNew

I always wanted to watch The Double Deckers - but they were on London TV ...and I'd seen a snippet on a day when our aerial was picking it up ... and I got quite moody (probably had a tantrum) when dad couldn't just "get me The Doubledeckers" on demand! It was one of those things where, if the atmospherics were iffy, you'd pick up enough of a snowy signal to half watch some stuff from London ITV, whereas we were on a different ITV region.

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

But it's more than that ... it's the mind-numbingly boring driving bit that puts me off driving afar these days. I get bored of sitting on a seat holding a wheel, looking forwards after about 30 minutes

I've never been in that direction, to be honest...

It's very easy, actually........fast roads/motorway all the way, so pretty quick.

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

It's very easy, actually........fast roads/motorway all the way, so pretty quick.

First bit's not.... wobbling round lots of trees, seeing road signs warning of all manner of wild animals on the loose than can randomly cross the road

LydiaJ

PasturesNew wrote: »

Identification when I'm moaning....

If I can be identified, somebody doing that might see one of my posts where I'm whinging about them - and they can tell it's them,... and then they'll get huffy and shirty with me .... :

It's wise to be careful about these things.

Jackmydad wrote: »

Maybe I'm not paranoid enough, but I reckon you'd have to put something pretty specific about yourself to be identifiable.

Well, it depends how unusual you are. When I first joined MSE, I was always very careful never to post anything that could identify me. Then LNE died, and after not mentioning it for a while, I felt I really couldn't have the extent of "belonging" in this little cybercommunity that I wanted to have if I had to keep from mentioning that enormous life-defining event.

I knew that would mean that anyone who knows me IRL would recognise me instantly. How many physics teachers do you know whose nearly-ex-husbands died in road accidents after having got far enough through the divorce process to get a decree nisi but not a decree absolute???

PN once told me I was not the only one, and posted to a link to a post describing the same story on another website. I had to ask her to take it down immediately, because it was me! On a site where non-members, like PN, can only see my user number, but members can see my real name and my photo!
:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

PN, too, is not an "average" sort of person. I think people who know her IRL would be able to identify her from the things that she posts but then deletes, so I feel her concerns are valid.

GDB2222 wrote: »

I tend not to post anything that would upset anyone if they came across it and recognised themselves being discussed.

Yes, this is what I do now, since my anonymity is far from secure.

OTOH, I try never to post anything on here that would make it easy for someone who has only come across me on here to track me down IRL. That's much less restrictive that avoiding posting things that would be recognised by someone who already knows me IRL.

michaels

GDB2222 wrote: »

I tend not to post anything that would upset anyone if they came across it and recognised themselves being discussed.

I reckon it's okay to discuss the weather and, at a pinch, the size of your TV. There's a sort of reverse snobbery in having a small TV. It implies that you hardly ever watch it, because your time is so taken up with very, very important matters, rather than just that you're a skinflint or simply have extremely good eyesight.

Don't suppose we will upgrade ours until we can get 85 inchers at a sensible price at which point the 65 will go to the bedroom which currently has the 46 that used to be in the family room, that will go in DS room and his 40 will go to DD2 and her 32 to DD1 who is in the box room and currently only has a 22.



Chavtastic

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

First bit's not.... wobbling round lots of trees, seeing road signs warning of all manner of wild animals on the loose than can randomly cross the road

Wobbling round trees? :eek:

I usually stick to that nice long straight road with smooth tarmac on it! :rotfl: