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Edited by Dynamic Dave on 30/10/2007 at 12:22
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Normally I'm pretty handy with all things ipod, but I'm paranoid I'm going to lose my music if i dont' ask this question first!
I've got a new laptop. If I download itunes to it, and then plug in my ipod, will all the tunes on the ipod synch automatically to itunes, or will the blank itunes synch to my ipod, wiping all the music off?
Is there a failsafe way to ensure I keep my tunes?
Thanks!
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Yes. And you can always back up your computer based downloaded stuff through itunes controls. You will have to "authorise" your iPod onto the new computer. It'll prompt you when to do it.
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iTunes does not sync music back from the iPod to a PC. That is how it used to work.
What you should do anyway is copy the music off the old PC to the new one and keep copies just in case on DVD.
There are programmes that copy the music off an iPod mind.
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Woah - hang on
iPod full of tunes, laptop with none?
Be very careful here- if you put the iPod onto a new iTunes library (a blank one), it'll prompt to synchronise and wipe the iPod == no tunes on iPod, no tunes in library.
iTunes won't take music from an iPod and pull it into iTunes.
Have a look at iLounge and its forums and take it very slowly!
You can backup your library from within iTunes if you have a later version (to DVD or whatever) File - Export Library -
Edited by Citroënian {P} on 21/10/2007 at 19:55
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The actual iTunes files if non-DRM can simply be coped off. Normally under "my documents", e.g. if never moved to another drive/folder then it would be C:\Document and Settings\Username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music.
But if you have DRM files like from iTunes store then proceed even more carefully - you might find you cannot use them on another PC or the existing iPod unless you take whatever steps necessary.
Do not just plug the iPod into the new laptop or bye bye music.
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Oh no... problem is, the old laptop is virtually dead, so I don't hold out much hope of getting it to open itunes or being able to get to the music folder where everything is stored. And it took days to copy all my CDs across, so I really don't want to go through that again.
Thanks for the warning, because I was all set to just plug the ipod in and hope. I'll take a look at ilounge.
Just a thought - I haven't downloaded itunes yet, so if I plug the ipod in now, will it just recognise it as an external device? Might I be able to get the music off that way?
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this will be brief I'm on my ipod touch!
There are utilities that take tunes off an iPod see iLounge. If you ripped your CDs using iTunes then they'll be tied to that and llikely as not DRMd
Dont worry all is not yet lost and you might be ahead if youve not installled itunes yet.
If you try to copy the ipod contents in disk mode it can be very tricky to decipher it
Just googled 'ipod library transfer' and got some good results worth starting there
Hth
Lee
-------------------------
07 Kia Ceed LS
05 Citroën C4 VT
04 Mazda MX5
85 Mini Mayfair
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Pologirl, you don't say what "nearly dead" is for the old laptop. If the hard disk is okay then one option would be to take out the hard disk, insert into a USB enclosure and plug into the new laptop. Files can then just be copied across.
Accessing the iPod in disk mode will be difficult to copy off the music as the file names do no correspond to the tracks - deliberate on Apple's part. You can get third party utilities to get around this though.
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If your ipod can be plugged into a PC and made to appear as an external drive then something like ephPod or similar can see the music files and let you copy them off. Might not work on latest iPods and ephPod did not run on my desktop PC either... iPod's can be forced into disk mode: docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93651
On my laptop I re-installed iTunes (took it off ages ago) and then plugged in the iPod which was sync'd with my desktop PC. It started to sync straight away and therefore started REMOVING files quickly - lost about 5Gb in seconds. Not a problem as plugging it into the desktop will fix that.... but it's synching everything.
For my 3rd Gen iPod it did not appear as a removable hard disk without iTunes but there will be other 3rd party tools to do this. Or try the force disk mode method I link to above.
What I would say is do not plug your iPod into another PC, including the new one, if there is iTunes installed. You have been warned ;-)
To avoid problems I personally would get the music off, import into iTunes and then sync the iPod with the new laptop.
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I did it, and it was really easy thanks to the tip to visit ilounge!
First of all I plugged the ipod into the laptop, and accessed the hidden folder Ipod Control, contained in which were a number of folders starting F01, F02 etc. I cut and pasted these to My Music.
Then I installed itunes, and told it not to synch when it came up with the prompt to synch and erase.
Then it was as simple as going to My Music and dragging the music files into the ipod library on itunes. Took about eight minutes in total to copy them all across. The file names were strange but were all normal again by the time they were in the itunes library.
The only problem was that it wouldn't move across tunes that I had purchased and downloaded from the Itunes store. To get these to move across I had to authorize the computer through itunes, which is on the File menu I think, and log in using my previous itunes account detals. It told me that I'm now using two out of five of my authorised computers.
All done - thanks again for the tip not to just plug the ipod in and hope!
Edited by PoloGirl on 22/10/2007 at 20:01
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Glad we saved some grief between us. With new laptop backup original files to some blank DVDs just in case. And any photos/videos/files too.
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Nice one PG!
Good work there. I like the way you say "I just..." then give a few paragraphs of techo speak!
You're clearly very good at iPods I hadn't realised that the weird folder names and files also kept tag info
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Just reading a book that makes reference to the above. Would I be right in thinking that this custom built factory would have been on the site of Heathrow Airport ?
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Nope - It is where the Ford/Iveco factory is/was alongside the M4 - Transported by road to Heston and flown off from there.
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< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
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10 minutes then ! I'm impressed thanks.
Just found it on Google Earth, Helpfully there' a road called "Hurricane Way" Brill. Just one of those "wanted to know things"
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 21/10/2007 at 22:03
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In most houses, doors into rooms usually open into the corner of a room - i.e. at one end of the wall. (Yes, there are a lot of doors that open into the middle of one of the walls, but this seems to be less common.)
Such doors sometimes have their hinge in corner of the room, so that when the door is opened 90 degrees or so, it meets the wall and goes no further (i.e anyone foolish enough to hide behind the door would get squashed when it was opened.) More commonly, the door is hinged away from the corner so that it can potentially open almost 180 degrees (so that one could hide behind it if one so desired.)
What are the pros and cons of corner hinging - and what is the current state of thinking in the building trade about when one should put the hinge at the corner, and when one should put it away from the corner?
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AFAIK hinging doors away from the corner of a room was a Victorian invention, apparently they thought it improper to be able to see fully into a room before you entered it (thats what I was told anyway!).
With doors hung this way it may not always be possible to open a door fully to the wall (furniture, etc) so a door can get in the way, as they stick out about 2'6" from the wall.
In modern houses it is normal to hinge a 'corner of room' door so that it opens towards a wall; this means the door is out of the way when it is open. I dont know which era this method took over from the former; I'm trying to think of friends with older houses and which way their doors are hung.
My friends sister bought an old cottage in which the doors had been hung the modern way, and she had them all changed to the Victorian way because she preferred it...
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It's personal preference and the comment about the Victorians (post above) is almost certainly correct.
My preference is the modern method except for bedrooms, where as you open the door, the bed is still hidden from view until you actually enter the room. However, rooms size and furniture location can make me change my mind.
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We have a mid-1880s Victorian semi - all the doors upstairs, which are all original as far as I am aware, open away from the wall except for that in the toilet (it would be impractical as the room is comparatively small).
Downstairs it's a mixture of opening up against the wall and away from the wall, but as next door's property has the same setup it's probably the original.
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PS
It's a great pity that so many modern homes don't seem to be built to anywhere near the remarkable standards of those Victorian craftsmen.
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Most victorian homes (specially in london) were thrown up in a very poor manner. Very shallow foundations, no lintels, poor brickwork bonding bad roof truss designs.
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< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
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>>were thrown up in a very poor manner>>
I live in a North West seaside resort which has many, many Victorian properties.
The vast majority of them are in outstanding condition despite most being more than 100 years old; similar standards generally apply to properties built up to the 1930s.
Any properties that go up for sale in my area are rarely on the market for long - people are well aware of their quality and are prepared to pay the asking prices.
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Speaking from a professional capacity, I think you are confusing two issues. Victorian houses were built from high quality materials (e.g. properly seasoned timber etc). but they cut corners where people couldn't see, or they really didn't know any better. For instance foundations were much shallower than we have now, but they did not understand the need for deeper foundations, or thought that any problems would be so far in the future, it didn't matter.
In all cases though the actual workmanship was of reasonably high quality.
Today, we may have very good building regulations regarding depth of foundations etc, but we have numbskulls building houses, so despite good quality fittings houses are poorly built and poorly finished, because there is no pride in workmanship. What would I have? A house built to modern standards and fittings using Victorian workmen!
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"properly seasoned timber"
And how many new houses use that? The gauge (and quality) of timber used in most houses I see under construction looks appalling, although I daresay it's been treated. Modern prefabricated roof trusses look particularly flimsy.
Old brickwork often seems to have finer pointing and was designed to absorb a bit of movement. The high cement content mortar used nowadays is, I'm told, so adhesive that walls crack rather than settle. I used to live in an old cottage that had no foundations to speak of - just bigger stones at the corners. It's still there, over 200 years after they were put there.
WRT the doors, a likely factor is the intrusion into room space, which is generally less now than then. If architects had to live in their creations, house designs would be very different!
Edited by J Bonington Jagworth on 25/10/2007 at 00:02
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Modern prefabricated roof trusses look particularly flimsy.
They are flimsy individually but are strong once the roof is fully braced up. The rafter members may be as little as 38mm thick (not great for having to nail things to), but trusses are strong enough to be installed at 600mm centres, where traditional rafters would usually be installed at 400 or 450mm centres.
We were once told a story by one of our lecturers:
A family returned home on a windy day to find their house a complete wreck, the upstairs ceiling had collapsed and all the stuff from the loft was in the first floor rooms.
The owner had decided he would make the space more usable by cutting all the vital inner tie members out of the roof trusses. Bad idea!
Its not so surprising as it was estimated that he had stored approx. 7 tonnes of junk in the loft!
Appearances can be deceptive, modern structural timber is kiln dried rather than being traditionally seasoned, but it is tested and graded into specific strength classes.
Structural design standards are now far more onerous than ever before. We look at old houses that have stood up for 100+ years with no signs of distress, but we cant always prove things like roof timbers to current standards.
An old house roof *may* have been erected with better quality timber and better workmanship, but (for example) the members were sized by rules of thumb; rafters might be 4x1.5's where today for the same loading we might use 5x2's.
Today the workmanship on big housing developments *may* not be what it once was, but there is now a bigger factor of safety built in, and materials are graded in line with laboratory test results.
Rich. ;o)
(oops didn't realise I'd typed so much waffle!)
Edited by Rich 9-3 on 25/10/2007 at 11:39
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The seasoning issue is more important when it comes to external timbers imo (and quality, too). Georgian windows and window frames continue to give good service. Late Elizabethan timber can rot within five years.
I had cause to replace a window cill in a 1840s sash window. The timber that came out was very dense. The replacement was as low-density as a feather - and I had chosen 'hardwood' over 'softwood'.
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"I used to live in an old cottage that had no foundations to speak of - just bigger stones at the corners. It's still there, over 200 years after they were put there."
My parents built an extension on a similar aged property* in 1987. New building had to have 900 deep foundations with 5m³ of reinforced concrete in them - when they dug down past the old building, that had about 90mm of stone in the ground and that was it!
Old houses for me all the way - but I have wondered about that whilst replacing floors, underpinning foundation-less walls, fixing previous bodges etc etc.....!
* Coincidentally, JBJ, on the IOW!
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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PS
I dunno, you've now got an edit key but you're still PS'ing ;o)
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My house is mid 1930s. The reception rooms and all the bedrooms have doors in the corner of the room and the hinges are not in the corner of the room.
This is how the house was built.
(In each room I have installed a 13A socket about two feet in from the lock side of the entrance so there is always an accessible socket not obscured by any furniture. It makes it easy to power the vacuum cleaner.)
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I have 2 signal sources, Terrestrial TV and Sat. I have a DVD recorder, a sat decoder and a TV, each with 2 Scart sockets. I have 'tuned' the DVD recorder and it has put the 5 terrestrial channels into its system and in the correct order but it does not seems to recognise the Sat signal/input what I get is a very snowy and no sound picture and I think it has found a weak terrestrial signal rather than the sat one. Do I have a tuning problem or a Scart connection problem? The terrestrial is fine but a connection diagram would be helpful. One was posted earlier but it related to a one Scart DVD player which isn't what I have got. Help on finding the sat signal for the DVD by manually tuning would be helpful too! Any help gratefully received
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Sounds like your RF cabling between Sat - DVD - TV are dodgey. Assume you've got it with aerial going into Satellite box, then from there into the DVD player and then into the TV.
However, you should be able to select the SCART input on the DVD recorder when recording from the Sat decoder rather than tuning it into a channel. You'd need a SCART lead from the Sat box to the DVD recorder of course.
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rtj70 thanks for that - I think the cabling is good quality and I am away from home until Monday. I will keep working on it. I think there may a wrong choice, by me, of my connections from the two scarts on the Sat box. Obviusly one should go to the TV and one to the DVD recorder and I may need to change them over for a result.
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Hi- if I purchase a Wii component video cable on eBay from USA for £4.51 (of which £4 is p&p), what are the chances of having to pay additional import duty (or something)? And if so how much? I did try finding out on the TARIC site:
ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds/tarhome_en.htm
but couldn't find an appropriate classification code.
BTW cheapest I can find it in UK is £10 inc p&p, although I haven't checked my local Asda yet.
John
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If £4 is postage/packing which will probably be shown then you've nothing to worry about. Absolute worst case is VAT I think so for all the £4.51 that something like 79p :-)
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IIRC It would appear HM Customs are not really interested in small value items.
This seems to be supported by the number of small items my offspring have bought from abroad ( ouside the EU)
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It's a matter of luck - good or bad - as to whether your parcel from outside the E.U. is opened, inspected and tax charged (plus repacking charges IIRC!).
Customs at the main parcel post depot in the U.K. just don't have enough bodies to inspect every incoming parcel.
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Roger. (Costa del Sol, España)
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Thanks for the replies chaps.
John
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Now here's a real rip-off!
Why does it cost £72 to renew a passport in the UK via the Passport Agency, while at the British Consulate-General in Madrid it costs £119, (Plus 11 euros for the compulsory courier to send it back to me)?
Additionally, the so called "help" line is (a) useless and (b) only accessible via a premium rate 'phone line to a call centre in Ireland.
BONKERS!
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Roger. (Costa del Sol, España)
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But you might end up with a passport with an interesting "twist". My brother got his first full passport whilst in Germany (originally the temp one was fine) so his UK passport had a German issuing city which was the embassy. Dusseldorf I think. Passport stamp was the same as mine but for 10 years it was issues in Germany :-)
Back then it never raised an eyebrow but I bet it would now!
Malteser, I assume you are now permanently resident outside UK with no UK address then. Brother now lives in California so assume he's replaced the passport whilst out there.
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Job done. I used a taper tap followed by a "second" and turned the taps using a 5 mm A/F open ended spanner. The 6 mm counterbore ensured the taps started off vertically. I can fully recommend the supplier of the taps (The Tap and Die Co) who delivered my online order in 6 days by 1st class post. tinyurl.com/3289cf
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L\'escargot.
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..... my online order in 6 days by 1st class post. I fibbed ~ it was 6 days from me posting the order to receiving the goods. Online ordering is pending but not yet set up.
--
L\'escargot.
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Bit of a problem with the lights in the kitchen which I would like some help with.
We have 6 recessed lights in the kitchen ceiling. They are quite large and take R80 (or is it R60?) bulbs of the screw in variety. The light fittings are about 2 years old. For a while now one of them has been sporadic in its operation - sometimes it is on but most of the time it is off. I have found that if I give it a slight turn it will come on again for a while. I have checked the wiring a couple of times and everyting seems to be soundly connected. I have noticed as well that when there is a bit of steam in the kitchen the light works: it is quite close to the cooker (bit worrying really). 2 of the other lights are now beginning to show the same problem, ie sporadic working which can be temporarily remedied by a bit of a twist.
I have been back to the shop where I bought the fittings but they no longer stock them so I cannot buy new. I daresay that with a bit of hunting about I could find something that would repalce the old fittings without having to repalce the whole ceiling but I would prefer to work out what is wrong with the current set. Changing the bulbs does not help - same effects seen.
Any ideas anyone?
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In the centre of the screw fitting in the holder, is a sprung steel (copper coloured) contact.
This needs cleaning and pursuading to spring out a little more.
Take care, dont do it when its got power to it.
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< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
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sounds like the sprung steel in the light fitting has lost its tension so it gets warm and backs off fronm the circuit goes cold and then lights again
to be honest it might be safer to get rid of these chinese light fittings before the house burns down ,or ,you could try a blob of solder on the light fittings to make the "pip" longer
obviously check your house insuramnce is fully up to date as well
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I've got a couple of R63 bulb fittings that do this. I found it so annoying (they're used as reading lights) that I changed them for new ones. Guess what? I presume the type of bulb is prone to the problem. I'm half-heartedly looking around for something that'll do the same job.
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Possible solution.
Screwfix sell halogen light fittings that instead of requiring the normal 60mm diameter hole, fit the larger holes required by 'eyeball' style lamps.
Beats a whole new ceiling...
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When those screw fittings start to do that you often find the contacts burned or melted and the plastic around them also heat-damaged. When the contact is bad arcing or sparking takes place. Eventually the fitting becomes too damaged to work.
Not very likely to set the house on fire, but quite tiresome.
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A friend of mine has just had a roof fire caused by the transformer for 12v ceiling lights catching fire.
Edited by nick on 25/10/2007 at 16:56
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Thanks for all the tips guys. I'll be up the ladder tomorrow bending things around. Not sure I'm too comforted by all this talk of fire though...
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Any recommendations as to what is currently a good digital camera suitable for the office? Looking to spend a max of £300, require a decent lens with at least 5x zoom facility and at least 5 megapixels, but not complicated as a number of people will be using it.
I have an Olympus which is about 4 years old and has served me very well. The Olympus SP-500 seems to be the updated version of the one I have. Anyone experience of this model?
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My son has the Canon A710IS (just been superceded by the A720IS, which has a handful more megapixels).
It's easy to use, has a proper viewfinder, 6x zoom, takes cracking photos and features Image Stabilisation, which is a useful feature for those unfamiliar with keeping a camera steady. See:
digitalcameras.kelkoo.co.uk/sbs/124901/17119094.ht...l
for the best current price (offspring paid £150 and that was a very good deal at the time).
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That link changes when you open it up - this was the original (£120 and £126):
tinyurl.com/2dxdb2
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Edited by Dynamic Dave on 26/10/2007 at 01:28
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Look for digital camera review website. Its very good even if it is US based.
I bought a Canon IXUS850i for work as I need a wide angle lens but don;t want an SLR. I am more than happy with it, and it zooms from 28mm to 105mm I think in 35mm terms. Very easy to use and high quality shots, with lots of features easily accessible.
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I'd suggest looking at the www.dpreview.com website to look at cameras. It has a features search facility too:
www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp
Are you looking at a compact camera (pocketable), prosumer or even a digital SLR. You will even get a digital SLR for £300 now. Jessops even have the Nikon D-40 with 18-55mm lens for £299 but that won't be 5x zoom but is 6 megapixels and will produce very good pictures because of the much better lens on an SLR.
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I bought a Lumix (Panasonic) in the summer. Model DMC-LZ6.
7.2 mp + 6x optical zoom.
There are better models in the range.
Leica lenses on more expensive models.
Runs best on rechargeable Nimh batteries.
Buy batteries and charger for £10 in Woolies.
Has a "simple" mode for real dummies.
Only drawback is no sound in movie recording mode.
Not as versatile as my old Canon G2 :-(
If you want a camera for interior shots, choose one with a 28mm equivalent setting at the bottom of the zoom range and check carefully the range of the flash.
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Further to above - just had an e-mail from Amazon offering a 6MP 3x optical zoo Samsung S630 for £49.99..:-) You can buy one for each staff member...
tinyurl.com/235nv9
The link won't open at present, possibly due to demand.
By the way, although plenty of megapixels are handy the lens quality is as important, if not more so.
I have a six-year-old Minolta E203 with a modest 2MP, yet A4 prints of my other half's superb front of house huge hanging basket offer superb clarity and detail.
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Thanks for the responses. I've looked at a few reviews and most models are largely the same. High megapixels could be useful as we have the ability to print to A0 size - useful for posters!
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High mega pixels on compact cameras do not always bring better quality. They can also bring more noise. The problem is fitting the pixels into the same size sensor as lower. They therefore measure less light.
The dpreview site states sensor says and you'd be surprised how small they are on a lot of cameras. This is one reason a digital SLR produces better quality images (lenses being better is the other) and offer better sensitity to light etc.
Think about it, cram 10 million pixels on an APS size piece of silicone measuring 23.6 x 15.8mm and compare to how small the pixels are for a compact 10MPixel camera with 7.6 x 5.7mm.
www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Camera_System/se...m
Anything above 5MPixel on a compact is not really going to get you much in quality and may actually be worse than some older, lower pixel-count cameras. But marketing like big numbers but this is down to physics - less light can be sampled per pixel on a smaller pixel.
So if you really need to print at A0 then your £300 budget probably will not be up to it. You'll certainly notice poor quality of lenses etc.
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Further to earlier note, e-Buyer is now offering the Panasonic Lumix FZ8 at £159.99 (12x Leica zoom, image stabilisation, 7.2MP). See:
www.ebuyer.com/product/125837
However, it's a 36-432mm 35mm equivalent lens rather than true wide angle, which may make capturing interiors awkward.
Even so it's a good price.
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From painful and slightly expensive personal experience let me suggest that anybody who buys a digital camera without a proper viewfinder will find it inconvenient to use in bright light! A big screen is great for viewing pictures at home but it is total rubbish for using to see what one is taking! It is often either totally blanked out by the bright sunlight or shows you reflections of your own nose!
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"useful for posters"
The quality of the picture (noise, exposure, clarity) will be greater even on an entry-level SLR with 6Mp than on a compact with 12Mp, irrespective of print size. That's not to rubbish compacts, but to place the Mpix argument in context. I use compacts all the time, and my own requirements are for a viewfinder to follow action and in bright light, and a swivel LCD for overhead and low shots. The Canon A6xx cameras fit the bill well and, unusually, have optical viewfinders even with the 6x zoom of the most recent versions. The Panasonic TZ-3 is a tempting camera, too, with an amazing wide-angle to long-zoom lens, but no viewfinder and the usual Panasonic problem of noise. DP review is an excellent source of material, but be prepared for a long reading session! Also, as with motoring reviews, small differences get exaggerated - ordinary mortals are often quite happy (for their own reasons) with equipment that may not get top billing.
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"...as with motoring reviews, small differences get exaggerated"
This is very true - you could read some reviews and they seem to pan a camera when the images to me are very acceptable. Or it takes a fraction of a second longer to start-up/focus/etc.
Still a good site... now owned by Amazon I think.
Edited by rtj70 on 29/10/2007 at 12:40
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Another respected review website:
www.steves-digicams.com/
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I've got an 8MP Vivitar ViviCam 8600s (sold by Aldi as a Traveler DC-8600) which is a very good camera, and available in uprated 10MP format. It's got a fully-auto mode as well as lots of manual settings, video mode, white balance setting, macro down to etc. Sure, people sneer at the name - but the results are outstanding - at least as good as "big name" ones. You can certainly get one for less than £200. I have irritated people by taking better shots with it than they have with their more expensive less well specc'd cameras.
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Eldest son left home on Wednesday and am re-doing his room. Visions of a room for music, computers and books - beds going on ebay indecently quickly, although we will replace with a sofa bed incase new digs don't work out (lets not make it too comfy lol).
On lifting the aged carpet we discovered a patterned wood block floor, laid when the room was added in 1949. The edges of the floor are (painted or stained) dark brown and the middle is plain. If I leave it uncovered, will I need to sand the whole room? Is there an alternative to sanding? What is the best treatment then? Waxing? Stain and seal?
Do I do the floor before painting the room or after?
Want a fairly speedy result so I can clear other rooms of aforementioned junk in 9 weeks before Christmas invasion.
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Do the floor after decorating the room. Sand it all over, vacuum all the sawdust out of the room, seal - the most old-fashioned, slow-drying stuff is best - at least two coats, allow to dry, wax all over.
There aren't any short cuts and it's an arduous, messy business. Wear a face mask when sanding. Heavy hired sanders require a knack to use well and can gouge the floor if you aren't careful.
However the results can be rewarding to look at and will last for ever, with an occasional waxing to hide scuffs. If the wood used is softwood, the finish won't be as durable, but my guess is that in 1949 hardwood will have been used.
Edited by Lud on 28/10/2007 at 13:29
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Thanks Lud. Looks like I am going to be busy for a few weeks then!
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IMHO sand floor BEFORE you decorate, otherwise your newly painted paintwork wil be covered with huge quantities of sawdust. Then varnish and allow to dry for several days; then cover with dustsheets and decorate.
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The edges of the floor are (painted or stained) dark brown and the middle is plain. If I leave it uncovered will I need to sand the whole room?
That would probably be best, if the blocks are thick enough, and stuck down well enough. The (spirit) stain may have penetrated a good way, though. I assume it's some sort of tropical hardwood?
Is there an alternative to sanding?
Cover it back up with new carpet after cleaning and polishing the edges!
What is the best treatment then?
Stain (use a spirit-based stain such as Colron, that you apply with a rag, *not* a surface coating). Use an oleo-resinous floor seal such as "Bourneseal" (quick), or apply boiled linseed oil and polish (will take a week or so).
Do I do the floor before painting the room or after?
Do the floor first, it'll be a bit messy and you will ruin your new paint! Cover it with paper and a twill dustcloth when painting.
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They may be right about doing the floor first. But you will have to cover it carefully when decorating.
Sawdust won't ruin dry paint. But it will get everywhere, on picture rails and even on the walls even it they aren't textured. You have to vacuum every surface.
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The problem with decorating first is that the machine can knock and graze new finishes, and the stain seems to get onto all sorts of things, even if you're being very, very careful! It ruins stuff like very carefully applied tile grout, I can tell you.
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stain seems to get onto all sorts of things even if you're being very very careful!
Personally I see no point in stain. Wood has its own colour which tends to be darkened and yellowed by varnish or seal. Indeed if it is oak or mahogany stain is completely redundant... 'to paint the lily or gild refined gold....'
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We have a Nikon Coolpix S1 which my daughter has managed to break. The camera does everything except it cannot see! Turn it on and the lens opens but there is no picture on the screen and any photograph is blank. Photos taken before the break, are displyed fine.
What has she done, can it be repaired, and if so how much and where (near to Manchester?).
Thanks
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Jessops springs to mind but it will probably be as cheap to get a new one.
Maybe a connector between the sensor and the rest of the camera has come loose? What did your daughter do to break it?
Since the camera's only about £129 I might be tempted to open it up myself.
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Replacement £129. Old one stuck on eBay might make you £30 'spares or repairs'. Diagnostis, £80. Repair £100. Time taken 6 weeks.
No brainer, I'm afraid.
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3 years ago when I had some similar malfunction there was an £80 charge to diagnose the fault and then the repair cost was above that. A new camera will be way cheaper and more up to date. I could have claimed on my insurance but a new camera was cheaper than my insurance XS!
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Yes - thats my thoughts as well.
Another thing to persuade me is that connecting the camera to the computer is a real pain. My old Ricoh and current Canon use a simple USB mini connector, which is compatible with all sorts of devices including Palms, Blackberrys etc. The Nikon needs a cradle.
I will probably buy another Canon.
Edited by Espada III {P} on 28/10/2007 at 11:11
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Espada - with most cameras one can put the memory card into a dedicated slot on your computer and/or into a commercially available muti card reader. Camera connection is not the only option, usually.
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>>Camera connection is not the only option, usually.>>
This is my preferred method i.e. via a memory card reader.
However, it is important to remember to Delete and/or Format memory cards whilst in the camera and NOT connected to the computer; using Remove Hardware Safely before removing the memory card from your memory card read/computer system is also advisable.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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>>... can it be repaired, and if so how much and where (near to Manchester?).
>>
IRRC Nikon do have a repair service so ask them.
It may be a similar cost to elsewhere.
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If you took it to Jessops they would probably send it off for repair to Nikon.
If this was my camera the worry would be it would break again. And probably at a time that it was needed.
My camcorder got damaged last summer due to the HGV that run into the hire car. It worked afterwards but the door needed to be forced open to get a tape in/out. Could record and playback and take pictures. Claimed on insurance and it was deemed uneconomical to repair so I got a replacement one. Replacement was worth about £360. And remember this was just the door mechanism that had become damaged.
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Norhern Rock Perpetually Subordinated Bonds are currently selling below par and yielding a mouth watering 13.5%. I realise PSBs come last in the case of a failure but Northern Rock is not being allowed to fail. So what is there against a punt?
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You need to read the terms in detail.
If NR was taken over it could be the Bonds are left to dangle.
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There's a reason the City boys aren't piling into them at that price. You are unlikely to be able to beat those boys at their own game.
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often recommended here, but is anybody able to access it at the moment - it seems to be dead as far as I can see
rgds
Edited by wd 40 on 28/10/2007 at 13:32
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www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=57043&...e
Have a look in here - explains it a bit in non-geek terms
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PU - are you saying that is what is happening to moneysavingexpert - if so, how do you know ?
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I only know what is said in the PPI thread (click on it and see !)
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moneysavingexpert is now displaying a page saying they have had to effectively shut down because of a DDS attack, and that they think the timing of the DDS attack and their PPI story is 'more than a coincidence'
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This started more than 24 hours ago and is the subject of discussion on at least one computer forum - it hasn't been made clear yet whether it's due to a Denial of Service attack (DOS) or Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS).
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I have just finished reading a novel based on Benbecula and have also been thinking of seeing the Northern Lights in Shetland (is that possible?). I fancy a trip to that part of the world (I know they are miles apart).
The only time we have free is February half term. We have two boys aged 9 & 7 and a daughter aged 3. Without skiing, what is there to do up there, are we being sensible or is it too dark for most of the time to make it worthwhile. We are very happy doing outdoor things and to be honest museums etc for our children are a waste of money.
All suggestions and comments welcome.
Thanks
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The further north you go, the longer the daylight hours.
I've been on the beach at Wick at midnight in July and read a newspaper without difficulty.
The airport at Benbecula can only take small passenger carrying aircraft as, I should imagine, most of the northerly Scottish airports.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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To venture that far north you are in the hands of the weather. Get a good period and it will be a good place to go, get a depression over the area and you could spend a long time watching horizontal rain and snow. The appearance of Northern Lights in Shetland is a rare event.
With children I'd be tempted to be stay somewhere with a bit of life such as Inverness then at least if the weather is bad you can take advantage of local indoor activities - swimming pictures etc. If it's fine you can head off to remote areas, Loch Ness, beaches etc.
We were in central Scotland a couple of years ago at this time of year and it was dark by 4pm and this was with good weather. It snowed on our second night, but this was followed by a day of bright sunshine. The scenery aorund Loch Tay was more spectacular than I've ever seen it in summer and the area was totally devoid of Wallace Arnold buses, making for a far more pleasant trip!
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Espada, if you decide not to go to the extreme North but still want to holiday in Scotland, I recommend www.tullochfarm.co.uk/
This is based just outside Fort William and is ideal base for commuting to Fort William , Invernesss, Skye, Aviemore. we stayed there a couple of years ago, kids would have been 11 and 8 and they still talk about the holiday as being the best they have had. The cottages have their own wood fires so every night it was "back to base", fire on, home made soup and chilling by reading books, playing games, watching TV (it had Sky as well).
Fantastic time and I hope to return someday.
--
2007 Seat Altea XL 2.0 TDI (140) Stylance
2005 Skoda Fabia vrS
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Endorse BobbyG area, try www.road-to-the-isles.org.uk/roshven.html which is where husband escapes for his fishing week. Really nice family too. It is worth doing the train journey from Glasgow to some point towards Oban - it has to be the most spectacular journey in the country.
Re weather in the extreme North, it really is difficult to say. My parents used to live on Inch Kenneth (Inner Hebrides) and I stayed for Christmas one year - Christmas eve was blowing a hooley, couldn't even get onto the Isle from Mull - local doc had been watching the weather, turned up at the jetty and offered us a bed for the night. Christmas Day just as we sat down to lunch with the doc and his family, Ma rang to say there was a lull. We had a window of about one hour when we got across. I still remember the look of astonishment on his new d-i-l's face that we couldn't finish our Christmas Dinner - these mainlanders - lol! The next week was as it is here today - blue sky, mill pond clear sea.
What you do have to bear in mind is that you might get good weather en route and then not be able to get off! As the Fair Isle, for instance, winter flights are only on Mon, Wed and Fri it is some delay. Flexible employers and contingency plans have to be in place. I have various relatives dotted about Fair Isle and outlaying Isles who all seem quite happy with the short days - lots is arranged for entertainment in the winter months - and Lerwick has excellent pubs/recreation centre. You would also be delighted to see a true night sky - not obscured by civilisations lighting, if weather allows.
Have you thought of booking a Northern Lights cruise from Norway? That is on my wish list of trips. Fjord Travel do one which includes flights, transfers, hotels etc .
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Frankly unless being cold and wet with three very bored children is your idea of fun the I don't think you'll have much of a holiday in Shetland in February. But don't let me put you off; here's a link to some of the fun things to do next Feb:
www.visitshetland.com/eventcalendar/events.php?mo=...8
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for somewhere nearly as "exotic" as shetland, and with the same Viking influences, and a lot more to do in February, consider:
www.goiceland.org/dateline_17.html
Billy
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In reply to Normd's post.
Looks pretty exciting stuff, particularly if you are hooked on Bingo and Line Dancing!
--
pmh (was peter)
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 30/10/2007 at 18:20
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'sfunny - I thought I wrote that... :)
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