***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 201 *****
IHAQ has reached its 200th Volume
That's approximately 20,000 posts of *useful* information
In this thread you may ask any question for which you need help, advice, suggestions or whatever.
It does not need to be motoring related. In fact, in this thread it should not be.
No Questions About PCs. Please use the current "computer Related Questions" thread instead.
No politics
No Speeding, speed cameras, traffic calming
No arguments or slanging matches
Nothing which we think is not following the spirit of the thread
Nothing that risks the future of this site (please see the small print for details
www.honestjohn.co.uk/credits/index.htm )
Any of the above will be deleted. If the thread becomes difficult to maintain it will simply be removed.
However, as has been said a couple of times, there is a wealth of knowledge in here, much of which is not motoring related, but most of which is useful.
This is Volume 200. Previous Volumes will not be deleted,
A list of previous volumes can be found here:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=18847
PLEASE NOTE:
When posting a NEW question, please "Reply to" the first message in this thread, i.e. this one. This keeps each question in it's own separate segment and stops each new question from getting mixed up in amongst existing questions. Also please remember to change the subject header.
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A quick note, Re: the font colour and moving animation above.
The HTML tags required to do it are blocked by the the swearfilter, leaving only the moderators and HJ able to use them.
Please don't see this as a challenge to try and copy the above.
Some explanation also here:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=36415&...e
TIA, DD.
Interesting word "able" - PU
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....... Re: the font colour and moving animation above.
It's no big deal. After a few bevies all the posts look like that to me!
--
L\'escargot.
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That's a bit early - I haven't started yet.
See my incoherent replies later!
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Awww, cmon, it was clearly meant in fun...you really should relax a bit sometimes.
V
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here's question 20,001
#1 daughter's bass has suddenly stopped working (cue cheers from everyone in a 2 mile radius) it was ok yesterday afternoon but no sound in the evening. The amp and cable appears ok as there's static noise if you hold the guitar plug. I had the finger plate off and all the wires seem ok so any pointers welcome before I go to the music shop and hand over my pay packet....
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Don't be a spoilsport - put the strings back on :)
What make of guitar is it?
Has it got multiple pickups and can you switch between them?
Have you another instrument to definately eliminate the amplifier?
Have you a spare lead?
My son plays lead/rythum(just for fun). He's mid 20's Could they start a group? Meet halfway? (LOL)
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it's a Fender of some type. it has twin pick ups but no idea if they can be switched between. I'll hook up the keyboard tonight to double check the amp and lead is ok.
She's a one man (?) band on her own - bass, acoustic, drums/percussion, keyboards - it's bliss when she goes out...
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It may be worth removing the plate where the lead plugs into the guitar. Have had one soldered joint failure on son's Fender (Stratocaster?). It looked like a cross between dry joint and fatigue failure due to flexing when lead plugged/unplugged.
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Double check the cable by unscrewing each plug and checking that the solder is holding. Not uncommon for damage to occur here so that contact is made only when the cable is in a certain position. Plug it in elsewhere and wriggle it about to ensure that there is good contact.
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it's bliss when she goes out...
I love MY Daughter..........teasing!!!!
Best reg's.MD
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well it was the cable after all. One end had been done by a master craftsman, the other by a monkey on a uni-cycle. Re-terminated properly and musical chaos reigns again.
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for future reference there is a Haynes manual on guitar maintenance for the Strat might give you a few pointers if it is the guitar itself next time
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Eighteen months ago I bought a cordless hedge -cutter from a large chain of DIY shops. A few weeks ago a fault developed in it.As it had a two year guarantee I took it back and it was promptly replaced with an identical model. So far,so good. However,I was not given a new sales chit, but the till lady initialed the original till receipt and wrote "replaced on " then the date. My question do I have a further two year warranty,or does the warranty expire in six months time?
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The answer is that usually you get the rest of the warranty offered on the original product and not a new 2 year one on the replacment item, even though it is new; ie you will get 6 months on the replacement unless you are lucky.
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Further to my earlier post I had a microwave pack up, under warranty; it was replaced with a new one, with a new warranty and, because the price had gone down £50 since I had bought the original one, I got a £50 refund! That was a result! Short answer = 6 months for sure, another 2 years if you are lucky. On the basis that you didn't get a new receipt I'd guess 6 months.
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The fact that she's written on the receipt suggests that you might get another 2 years?? I mean, why bother writing on the receipt at all unless it's to check how many times you come back to get a new one!
Admittedly when I had a battery changed at Halfords they gave a new receipt out for the new guarantee.
--------------
Mike Farrow
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The date of purchase on the original receipt will be the start point for the calculation of any warranty IMO. No new receipt = no new warranty I think it will turn out.
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I don't think you can grumble if it is only 6 months. originally you got a 2yr warranty and it packed in after 18 months. But now you have a brand new one that also last 18 months before breaking. So you'll have possibly got the item for 36 months before it fails and you havee to buy a new one.
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Thank you all for your responses. I will take the receipt with me there and see if I can get an extension to the warranty. After all,it is made by Bosch, so one expects more than eighteen months service from it.
It just goes to show-hang on to those receipts!
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In the one instance where this happened to me Bosch honoured the second guarantee. Sky did it as well with a second Sky+ box that broke 12 months after it failed.
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Exactly (nearly) the same thing has just happend to me. I bought a Black and Decker hedge trimmer in 2004 and it packed in last year. I had it sent away and replaced under the 2 year warranty. Last week the replacement also packed up - same fault as the previous one I think. I phoned B&D who told me that the warranty for the new unit was also 2 years. I could not find any paperwork to prove when I had acquired the replacement and the agent who sent me the new one was unable to help. However, there is a date code on the implement that proves it was made within the last 2 years so no problem. It was collected yesterday. Excellent service.
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I had a similar problem with an appliance I bought from Argos.
I returned it after a few weeks (it had failed), and I was offered a replacement or a refund. I opted for the refund, as I'd noticed the price had dropped. I promptly bought a new one (with a new warranty). The girl said 'you can't do that', but as I'd already got the refund..........
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>>The girl said 'you can't do that',>>
She was absolutely wrong..:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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So if item has 2 year warranty and fails within the 2 years. You then get a replacement and that has a further 2 years warranty. If that fails you get a new item with a new 2 year warranty..... you can see where this might go.... this could bankrupt the supplier ;-)
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If an item fails within warranty, and you accept a replacement, the original warranty remains. That is your purchase is guaranteed from the original purchase date.
If an item is returned as being unfit for purpose, and you manage to get a refund, you can spend that money on anything you like.
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Interestingly I witnessed a different scenario with the company I used to work for.
An item of capital equipment went BER when it was under 12 months old and was replaced under warranty.
Within 12 months of the replacement but outside the original 12 month period the item failed again. The supplier informed us that the item was not under warranty any more.
However, I have had a number of instances where an item (tool/customer order item etc) has failed inside the warranty period and been replaced, and I have managed to get the warranty restarted.
My advice to anyone that this happens to is to ask for a refund then buy a new unit. Hence the warranty will always start afresh.
I recently had cause to claim under what I thought was a 3 year warranty on the LR battery bought from Express Factors. It turned out that it was a lifetime warranty.
The only 'proof of purchase' that I could come up with was a credit card statement entry detailing the date, place and value of the purchase. The new supplier of unipart batteries accepted this as a POP but initially refused to honour the warranty on the basis that I didn't have a code on the back of a card that I was supposed to have been given.
My position was that since they have accepted a POP and agree that the battery was bought by me on a certain date for a certain price, that they were indeed required to honour the warranty. The fact that I had not got this card etc because I hadn't been given it should not detract from that, as the way they organise warranty replacements was their business.
They agreed to replace the battery and I went to pick it up and drop off the old one. At the same time I was given a note from them (without asking for it) stating that the replacement of the battery was carried out under their obligations under a LIFETIME GUARANTEE! Apparently the new battery, if purchesed would have only come with a 3 year guarantee, but my original purchase came with a lifetime guarantee.
Hence I still have a lifetime guarantee on that battery as long as I keep the vehicle, which could be a long time!
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Hi everyone,
had a bit of DIY disaster with a McKeller planing tool which SWMBO borrowed off a friend from her works. My question is does anyone know if you can get spare parts for these? I know they are the exclusive brand for Focus and Wickes but neither site shows spares. Unfortunately did this after the stores closed today so I can't go in and check. The manufacturers (McKeller) website goes straight to the Focus website.
Any help gratefully received
Cheers
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which bit have you broken?
I have a feeling that they are made by Erbauer or at least some of them are physically identical to Erbauer tools except made of yellow plastic rather than blue/green
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Might be cheaper/easier to buy a replacement.
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Hi AC
The piece I have broken is the cast aluminium shoe, prior to the rotating blade, I take PU's point though may be easier to buy her a replacement, I'll have a look at Erbauer and see what I can find in the meantime.
Thanks All
P
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I would say almost certainly cheaper to buy a new one in that case.
those things are pretty much disposable. You can get new blades/rollers fairly easily for when you try to plane through 6" nails, but anything more is going to cost by the time you find a supplier and add in postage and your time.
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Decided in the end to do the decent thing an buy a new one, only £24.99 from focus anyway so not too bad. Makes you realise what a throw away society we are in though....
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I thought I had asked this before but can't find it - apologies if this is a duplication.
Thinking of taking SWMBO to London to see Les Mis during our school week which is Mon 15 Oct.
Have done a search for tickets and various agencies with various prices. Is there a "best" agency, or one that Londoners would use?
Also can anyone recommend a Hotel in the area? Would probaby fly down on Mon, see show on Tues night and fly back Wed. Hotel wouldn't need to be top class as we would probably be out and about. But if it was one with a nice lounge with roaring fire then that might sway us!
Any thoughts / comments would be appreciated.
--
2007 Seat Altea XL 2.0 TDI (140) Stylance
2005 Skoda Fabia vrS
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B
have you been particularly naughty? A MUSICAL?! Blah!! Not quite the same thing but which King was it who, on leaving the opera was asked if he enjoyed it and made some non commital remark. The questioner foolishly pressed on and asked what was the King's favourite opera. "The merry Widow" he replied. "Why's that?". "It's the shortest one I know".
And on that note over to someone who can actually help :-)
JH
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In my experience, all agencies charge a higher premium for the priviledge of buying a theatre ticket than buying direct from the theatre (the theatres still charge a premium - daft innit?)
The theatre contact numbers are listed daily in the Telegraph.
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There used to be a ticket office/returns in Leicester square, eons ago, don't know if it's still there, try the Free local papers, given out daily at tube staions,also try "seatwaves.com" a friend used them and though costly compared to some sources, got him some Brownie points.
Just up the road from Tower bridge is a Travel Inn, I've not stayed at that one, but others around the country, and they've served my purpose, and this is ideally located for such a trip.
have fun
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"There used to be a ticket office/returns in Leicester square"
Yes, the Half-Price Ticket Booth. But you usually only get returned tickets there, on (or shortly before) the day of the performance. Demand for Les Mis - and Phantom - has always been high enough that returns are most unlikely.
For hotels near the theatre (its moved to Queens, on Shaftesbury Avenue), have a look at the Les Mis entry on London Theatre Guide: tinyurl.com/24xfub
Don't despair, either, about Les Mis being "a musical", its about as operatic as modern musical theatre gets, and thoroughly enjoyable. Its about 15 years since I saw it, but I recall that, after 3 1/2 hours in the theatre, I'd happily have gone straight back in and watched it again. You're guaranteed to be humming to yourself as you head for the tube afterwards...
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Thanks for your advice so far.
Re Les Mis, I have seen it twice in Edinburgh and just absolutely love it, fantastic music and the Finale makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I am not into musicals etc usually but this one really does it for me.
However I didn't realise it would be so blinkin dear to see although having said that, I am not really sure how much I was expecting to pay and what I was basing it on!
Cheers again,
--
2007 Seat Altea XL 2.0 TDI (140) Stylance
2005 Skoda Fabia vrS
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For hotels laterooms.co.uk or lastminute.com. On Lastminute the secret hotels are very good prices. The trick is to cut and past a line of the description into google in inverted commas - lastminute generally cuts and pastes the hotel's own blurb and you can find out which hotel it is. They might be able to do a ticket and room combo offer
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I bought a Sony VAIO laptop from Comet on the 15th July this year. Ever since I got it it has crashed randomly when playing games, citing the problem to be a "Memory Parity Error". It only happens when playing games, but it's driving me up the wall as I use Flight Simulator X quite a lot.
I telephoned Sony's technical support line last week and called them back today after they failed to call me back as promised. They aren't sure what the problem is, and had me reload the default settings in the BIOS, which didn't help. Their only advice at this point is to wait for a few more weeks when a new driver may solve the problem.
I'm sceptical of this, since no new drivers have appeared on their tech support website for months, and I'm using the latest graphics card driver from nVidia. In fact, I'm inclined to suspect the problem lies in the graphics adapter memory, since a normal memory test comes up clean. I use the computer a lot, and I'm heading off to Oxford in a few weeks, and will need it full time there.
As far as I'm concerned, I've been more than reasonable in attempting to get the computer fixed. Sony have admitted that they're not sure where the problem lies, and I don't want to hang around waiting on a rumoured driver update, which I doubt is the solution. Can I take the computer back to Comet and ask for my money back or a replacement, or is everything now in the hands of Sony?
{Moved across from IHAQ - DD}
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Hey dave,
Thanks for moving this across. However, the question was really about the warranty and asking for a replacement, rather than trying to fix the problem... which I'm pretty sure is in fact unfixable. Any chance it could go back into IHAQ?
Cheers,
David.
Moved back in here at David's request....PU
{Sorry David - DD}
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Biggest mistake was to buy it from Comet or any other similar high street outlet...:-(
I would seek a refund under the Sale of Goods Act (i.e. not fit for purpose) and buy a replacement from a more deserving outlet.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Biggest mistake was to buy it from Comet or any other similar high street outlet...:-(
I have to say that I bought this Toshiba laptop from Comet and other electrical items cos strangely enough their staff are quite knowledgable and friendly whereas their sister company, Curry's, the story is much different.
MD
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"their sister company, Curry's"
Comet and Curry's are not sister companies. Curry's is part of the Dixon Group of Companies, i.e. includes PC World, Curry's Digital (ex Dixons) and Dixons Online.
As for the laptop, if it only crashes in games it might still be system memory because the games probably use more of it especially if you're running Vista.
Some questions:
1. What model Vaio
2. What version of Windows
3. Which games
4. Which graphics card from Nvidia - probably swappable by the shop as they are mini PCI Express cards effectively on higher end laptops
5. Do you know if the Nvidia card is only using its own memory or sharing some of the main memory.
If you want to stress test the laptop download something like a Futuremark benchmark like 3dMark06 and let it run. Might be easier to prove it fails to be able to demonstrate in the shop.
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Hi there,
model: vgn-fz11l
Windows Vista Home Premium
Flight Simulator X, Bioshock etc
8400m gt
It's very fast, I imagine it has its own memory.
I doubt the problem lies in the main memory since I've run the Windows Memory tester in thorough mode overnight with no errors found. It's also fine when thrashing away encoding video etc.
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If it runs Bioshock etc. and it's taking too much of your time playing then leave as is and do not play games ;-) Finished Bioshock yet? I'm getting there soon.
Have you tried what I said and run 3dMark06 on loop? It ought to crash it if games do although newer games exercise system memory more, especially with Vista (typically 50% more memory used).
If it's an Nvidia 8400 could you try to get the shop to swap the graphic adapter - it should be removable on this sort of spec laptop?
I can see it might be difficult to convince Comet to swap the laptop without demonstrating the problem. Hence my suggestion of 3dmark06 or similar. If you can reproduce you're getting somewhere.
Have you tried asking if you could swap the laptop and swap hard drives to see if the problem goes away? As a temp measure at least? Put old laptop in another chassis, e.g. a display one??
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All of rtj70's suggestions are valid BUT the important point is the laptop isn't doing what David bought it to do and Sony accept that, as of this moment, they don't know how to fix it.
You bought a computer, not a DIY project. Bring it back to Comet, with a record of your contact with Sony's tech support, and request a refund or new unit (if you'd be happy to accept another laptop that's working) as the one you bought isn't fit for purpose. Do it now, before you've used it enough for "normal wear and tear" to become an issue in getting a full refund.
Agreed, demonstrating the problem by running 3dmark06 helps prove your point. But don't get into swapping parts or making repairs. Just state you bought the machine, its given trouble, the problem is reproducible and Sony can't fix it. Therefore you want a refund or a new, fully functional, machine.
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Totally agree Gromit. Laptop not fit for purpose and Sony accept that. Trouble is he has to go via Comet.... best of luck to him. That's why I suggested coming up with a way, e.g. 3dmark, to break when you want.
You should not have to but if this was an intermittent car problem and you wanted to reject we'd be jumping through hoops. To recreate a problem in a car is difficult but thankfully for OP, if this is games only (so using the 3d component of the Nvidia graphic card) then it can be proved.
If OP lived near me I'd go to Comet with him and enjoy making them squirm. Like Manuel might say "they know nothing" ;-)
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ARGH! I arranged a meeting with the manager for this afternoon and now it's working perfectly. It ran on autopilot all night without the slightest hiccup, and I've had 2 hours play out of it this morning. Obviously the threat of going back to the shop worked on it. Thanks to everyone for their advice, although I'm completely stumped how an issue like this can appear and disappear unless it's some sort of latent fault with the memory.
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Maybe the graphic card is/was not seated correctly? Could it be cooling - it's getting cooler so maybe it's not overheated this time?
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OK, well, shortly after posting that message it went kaput again. I don't think it's the graphics card seating since they're usually soldered to the board on smaller laptops, and the Nvidia control panel reports the core temperature as about 60 degrees so OK there.
This time I left the message on the screen and went down to the Comet store, where they rang Sony and parroted back the line "It's a software incompatibility, the guarantee is on the hardware". Over, and over, and over again. I pointed out, as you said, that it's not fit for purpose and that I've done my best to fix the problem, as well as giving Sony the opportunity to do so. Sale of Goods act not applicable here, it seems. It's my responsibility to prove a fault exists; the only word they'll accept is Sony's, and they say that it's a software fault.
My only option, apparently, is to send it off to Sony for inspection, where they will re-image it, say that's its fine, and post it back to me - and I have to pay for the privilege. Their next line was to say that it doesn't have enough memory to run the games (2GB not enough, apparently!), and that it's fine for browsing the web and so on.
So, as the nice lady on the end of the phone at Comet Customer Services informed me, there's nothing I can do. "Can I avoid playing games on the computer?" was one of the questions. Thanks to everyone for their advice - I think I'll eBay it and stand the loss of a hundred pounds or so.
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I would not like you to lose money or someone else to lose out either. You have the chance to get this replaced.
You mentioned Bioshock as a game and it crashing in games. Have you seen this link:
tinyurl.com/2hylj5
Implies it's a driver for your graphic card optimised for Bioshock. It is not on the MS WHQL though.
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Hi there,
Thanks for looking that up. I tried the driver and unfortunately it didn't help, although my problem was different to that of the people in that thread anyway. :(
I've written up the experience into a website, where hopefully it will encourage Comet and Sony to look at the situation again.
www.sony-sucks.org
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Sorry - one other question. The laptop was an insurance replacement, paid for by Saga. Is it worth asking them to intervene? Do they have any responsibility? Obviously, if I'd bought it myself I'd have put it on the credit card but didn't have that choice this time.
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Can anyone recommend somewhere in the vicinity of Selby, Tadcaster, York South, etc. that does a good Sunday roast and is Child / OAP friendly. I'm very partial to Sam Smiths beer which might sway things somewhat.
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Have a look on the Good Pub Guide site.
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try the crooked billet at toytown (towton)
be sure to walk across the field to the smallest church in the world after the meal mind or before
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>>Have a look on the Good Pub Guide site.
What, for somewhere that sells Sam Smiths. Enough to make a sixteen stone beer belly shudder :>)
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Horrible stuff. I'll be glad when I've had enough as my Dad used to say.
JH
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Nearly all guides are carp no matter what the subject, from Pubs to Builders to Garages. In the building and Construction Industry you see firms and their advertising that you would die for and I sometimes think, now why didn't I do it that way, but I didn't. I deal with a fair amount of traditional lime plastering and I have just lost a job, on price, to another local firm. Fair enoughski says I, that is life. The winning bidder who I know a little about puts up a very good surface show and even has a 'unit' on a local trading estate! Whoever did his design and signwriting should be awarded a Knighthood, it is brilliant.....BUT... when the 'lads', a couple of young 'Innits' showed up on day one to remove the existing failing lime render thay had to borrow a hammer for their bolster. Pathetic. I even e-mailed the client in a fit of pique informing him of same as he lives away, amateurish I know, but I was blde LIVID. Now the 'innits' haven't been seen for days!
Do not trust a guide book or recommendation unless it is from someone very very close.
Spit spit stamp stamp.......One more Vin Rouge and up the wooden hill. MD.
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Martin, can you put a lime plaster 'skim' over lath & plaster to smooth off bumpy bits, like you would with (spit) gypsum or does it not key properly as the substrate has long since gone off?
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This any help?
www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/53/5304/Angel_and_...r
www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/27/27071/1331/York
From website
www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/results.shtml/county.../
Don't know the pubs myself, but do like Sam Smiths! (and John Smiths!)
--
Phil
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Thanks Phil
Angel looks like my sort of thing, I'll check to see if they're child friendly.
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A recent BBC news item ref introducing HDTV tinyurl.com/3a59u8 says "Viewers would need to buy a new set-top box to receive the channel - but, because of proposed changes in the way Freeview is broadcast, they may have to upgrade their equipment again when the full, nine-hour service becomes available"
So it sounds like there are "proposed changes" to Freeview and then there would have to be further changes to accomodate HDTV. Does anyone know what the first set of changes are, which are presumably nothing to do with HDTV?
JH
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I'm not an expert but I imagine the first set of changes would be using MPEG-4 coding/decoding for the HDTV programmes on the four hour service, which is not supported by current 'normal' Freeview boxes, the second change would be use of the DVB-T2 standard for transmission, which IIRC has not yet been finalised on paper, yet alone implemented in consume electronics hardware.
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So it sounds like there are "proposed changes" to Freeview
What's this - I buy a PVR last year, and will have to change it???
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>> So it sounds like there are "proposed changes" to Freeview What's this - I buy a PVR last year and will have to change it???
Only if you want to watch / record HDTV channels, and it's only a proposal for this very reason.
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How often are Google Earth aerial views updated? The view of our house is 4-5 years out-of-date.
--
L\'escargot.
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Shudder to think how old our image is, i'm stood in the back yard, and i've got hair!!! i must have been bald (ish) 10yrs now!
Billy
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I was told the lowest pictures were aerial photography, not satellite.
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Aerial or satellite photography... they are not updated very frequently. Depends on where you are looking at though. The search for Steve Fossett resulted in new images from satellites for that area.
Then again how often do the images change for general viewing? We're not talking spying on people in real time are we ;-)
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The one of our house was taken in Spring 1994 - I can tell because it's from when we still had a front garden. Shortly after, the garden became extra driveway space as both my sister and I passed our driving tests and bought cars (and the over zealous "we've lived here for 30 years and you are the newcomers" neighbourhood watch people complained about us parking in the road).
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I haven't used Google Earth lately, but if it's anything like maps.live.com , the answer is the photos come from a variety of sources and the dates vary, sometimes by a matter of years.
In moments of boredom, colleagues have studied their own neighbourhoods, and determined the age of the photos from cars parked outside, and alterations made to their houses. Often, viewing the same position from different angles results in pictures that are several years apart.
Google itself has reverted photos to old (or obscured) versions because of privacy and security concerns. See www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/15/google_apec_consp.../ and many other articles on similar subjects from the same site.
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Google Earth is mainly US geared, but major cities elsewhere such as London are updated fairly regularly.
In the case of my seaside town, it was updated about four to six months ago to shots taken sometime over the past four years - previously they dated back to the late 1990s or early 2000s.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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As Welliesorter says, maps.live.com (based on Microsoft's Virtual Earth) has better or more recent aerial views for many locations. It also has a "birds-eye-view" facility for some locations which shows even closer images.
What is hidden in this particular location?
maps.google.ca/maps?ll=64.916840,-87.878265&spn=0....n
local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=64.910734~-87.7...1
Does anyone here know?
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Something commercially sensitive perhaps? It isn't likely to be military, bearing in mind the size of the area blanked out? A gold mine, diamond mine, the place where they are digging up the tar sands to recover oil? Just guessing!
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Something like this ie an ecological disaster?
tinyurl.com/3xp3q8
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can't see anything blanked out here. There's rather a lot of space in Canada, though.
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We're planning a bonfire night party and the ideal spot around the house would be on my veg patch which I've been growing some spuds and salad stuff.
I'll only be burning wood and the fire will be a cone about 2m in diameter at base when lit.
I figure it won't do any real harm and the ash might be good for it. Any veg patch experts here?
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Don't burn any tanalised timber (fence posts, etc) and you'll be fine. We still have a lush circle of lawn where we used to have bonfires - you'll have an area dosed heavily with potash after the fire.
V
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I'd be a bit dubious about this. We have very clayey soil to which I apply lots of compost. After a big bonny some years ago the ground was covered in ash but on digging it in I found that all the humus had been burnt out and below the ash was hard baked clay - took lots of compost to bring it back to decent soil again.
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Phil
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Report in today's S Tel saying that, in the forseeable future FM and AM radio bands are going to be shut down and go digital. If/when this happens, what will be the position for 99% of all car radios in use today?
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Not read the ST, but it seems a dubious story - it's the UHF transmissions TV wise that are being closed down for the switch to digital.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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" I wonder, too, how many listeners know they are planning to do the same thing to radio. No one wants to broadcast the fact yet, but industry regulators are already talking about switching off the AM and FM signals to force everyone to use digital radios. As far as most radio companies are concerned, the only question is when."
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Report in today's S Tel saying that in the forseeable future FM and AM radio bands are going to be shut down and go digital. If/when this happens what will be the position for 99% of all car radios in use today?
It didn't say that, at least not in my copy.
The article was primarily about the delay of the pips in the time signal on digital radio. The exact quote is "....the process of switching off the analogue TV signal begins in two weeks and radio is expected to follow suit". No mention of time scale or even if it will definitely take place.
As only in five households has a digital radio I think it extremely unlikely that it will take place within the next twenty years.
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That should read: "As only one in five.....
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My 1159 quote was verbatim from the article in my copy of the S Tel.
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As of 1st October phone companies are required to retain information about all landline and mobile calls we make and to supply these, on request, to 795 Government departments including taxmen, all Local Councils, Food Standards Agency, Gaming Board, Charity Commision and many others. Do those who say "Nothing to hide = nothing to fear think that this is a good thing?
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I can't see a problem. The records will still need to be analysed, ultimately, by humans.
What do you think is the risk?
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This could also work to your advantage. If for some reason they suspect you of doing something you should not... automatic storage of phone records could rule you out.
All I know is if other countries had as many CCTV cameras as we do (yes big brother) then poor Madeline McCann might have been spotted by now.
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GM - I don't think there is a risk, I just think it is a bit intrusive. rjt70, you make a good point but I bet there will be an exorbitant fee to access the information that they have got for nothing!
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The trade off between freedom and security.....
Times have changed in recent years. The current terroroist threat is different to that we have faced in the past.
I only hope that this information is used to make real impacts on serious and organised crime, as opposed to monitor Joe Bloggs tax return....
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There is not a Government on this planet that can sort out serious and organised crime. The villains of the calibre you mention are Professionals. The politicians are elected pink fluffy dice heads. Only a very serious war, as in the past, can sort out the problems that we now have and if you know of anybody who thinks differently I respectfully suggest that they put their efforts to good use elsewhere. It CAN'T be done.
Realist..............MD.
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I only hope that this information is used to make real impacts on serious and organised crime as opposed to monitor Joe Bloggs tax return....
There you are, you see. When where you are, who you are talking to, what you are saying (not on the agenda right now - probably tomorrow), what you buy with the money you get from a monitored place, your shoe size, inside leg measurement, DNA profile, etc. etc. are all monitored and these data kept forever, there may (Shorely shome understatement - Ed.) be temptation to use them for all sorts of purposes, and the potential for coincidence causing problems (at best) to outright mis-use of information is enormous. CCTV is a tiny affront to civil liberties, by comparison.
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Is this real? Saw it in the Mail on Sunday while picking up my Observer but in some doubt about the veracity of the story. The mobile companies at least have been required to retain this sort of info for some years.
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Maybe so, but they haven't been required to hand it over willy nilly to any Tom, Dick and Harry in the Government for undefined and unexplained purposes.
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It strikes me that before long there won't be enough of us turning a pound to keep all the twerps in the grey suits. Now wasn't that polite?
MD
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