A random thread for small things that don't really warrant a thread of their own

[Diver300]

https://twitter.com/Wendywoo_g/status/1304710823613468672

[Basil]

https://twitter.com/Wendywoo_g/status/1304710823613468672

At least the wheels are rotating in the correct direction, unlike one I saw a couple of years ago.

[Pingu]

https://twitter.com/Wendywoo_g/status/1304710823613468672

At least the wheels are rotating in the correct direction, unlike one I saw a couple of years ago.

Is that bike equipped with a bottle of wine and a packet of fags?

[Mr Larrington]

https://twitter.com/Wendywoo_g/status/1304710823613468672

At least the wheels are rotating in the correct direction, unlike one I saw a couple of years ago.

Is that bike equipped with a bottle of wine and a packet of fags?

I saw one today with a chicken for aerobars.   Also, that ^^^^ video should carry a Government Phil Liggett Warning.

[T42]

This unit is all in favour of keeping tractors off the road.

[phantasmagoriana]

Got one of these through the door today - I had no idea they were still going!

[ian]

I bet it's far too thin to beat a confession out of anyone with.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Got one of these through the door today - I had no idea they were still going!

Looking at the colour, I think it's a special edition just for you!

[robgul]

I bet it's far too thin to beat a confession out of anyone with.

.... but should be pretty easy to tear it in half !

. . . .   remember when TV variety shows used to have the odd person on that could tear a phone book in half?  (that was when TV was B&W)

We've not seen a printed Yellow Pages for a while but until quite recently the even less useful Thomson Directory used to be delivered now and again - we now just get 3 different local advertising booklets each month, no use at all but they do improve our paper recycling target.

[phantasmagoriana]

I was wondering about Yellow Pages, too, as I've not seen one of those for ages either. It turns out they stopped publishing last year.

I'm not even listed in the teeny-tiny phone book (2/3 of which is devoted to business listings) - I assume I opted out of something somewhere. Not that there would be any point, given that the landline is never plugged in!

I might try and tear it in half before sticking it in the recycling bin...

[Jurek]

The trick to tearing it is to roll it, starting with the spine at the centre of the roll, so that you have all of the pages 'feathered'.

[robgul]

I was wondering about Yellow Pages, too, as I've not seen one of those for ages either. It turns out they stopped publishing last year.

I'm not even listed in the teeny-tiny phone book (2/3 of which is devoted to business listings) - I assume I opted out of something somewhere. Not that there would be any point, given that the landline is never plugged in!

I might try and tear it in half before sticking it in the recycling bin...

With Yellow Pages (and phone books in general) the history is nuts - back in the early 80s the French introduced Minitel which was in many ways the start of the "internet/www" for directory enquiries and over time a host other online functions we take for granted today.  The cute little set was offered in exchange for not having a printed directory.

We had Prestel/Videotex/Viewdata BUT there was no "killer app" as the French had (Teletext was a derivative but only one-way)

... and while Minitel was being launched what did we do in the UK? - entered into long-term contracts with a US printer to produce YP (at a factory in the UK) as well as BT phone books and consume masses of Scandinavian hillsides-worth of trees.

I can't recall keeping any YP, BT or Thomson Directory since about 2000 any longer than it took to get it into the recyling bin.

[robgul]

The trick to tearing it is to roll it, starting with the spine at the centre of the roll, so that you have all of the pages 'feathered'.

Yebbut, try that with one of the old A-D, E-K, L-R, S-Z London phone books that were best part of 40mm thick . . . . - back when being ex-directory was a novelty

[The other trick, so I understand, was to bake the phone book before trying to tear it in half - reducing the natural % of moisture in the paper made it easier]

[Basil]

It wasn't that difficult to tear a phone book in half.  I've done it myself.  If you can crack the spine, the rest follows quite easily(ish).
I suppose a lot depended on the age and style of the binding.

[hellymedic]

I think the Phone Book only lists BT customers who want to be listed.

[robgul]

I think the Phone Book only lists BT customers who want to be listed.

That is correct but your comment can be interpreted in two ways - a) the BT default is acceptable (i.e. are happy to be listed) or b) ask to be listed (I don't think that's the way it is)

We've had 2 different home phone numbers at 3 houses in the last 30 years (one was transferred to where we live now in Feb 20, about a km from the previous house) and have been "ex-directory" by choice (we did have another "business line" at one house for a whil and that was listed, for obvious reasons . . . we wanted customers and prospects to phone us!)

... on another tack, how on earth can anyone consider using the 118 rip-off services when the BT directory website is free??   https://www.thephonebook.bt.com/

[ian]

I presume under GDPR you have to specifically opt-in to be listed. They can't assume and ask you to opt-out.

[robgul]

I presume under GDPR you have to specifically opt-in to be listed. They can't assume and ask you to opt-out.

Not quite so sure on that - when we filled in the paperwork earlier this year to move our line/number etc we had to opt (actually re-confirm) that we didn't want the number listed.   

Thinking about it - you are buying a service/product that includes a number and your details . .  . so does that escape the GDPR rules and "comply" - I'm only guessing but I can see the logic.

I don't suppose you'd get a straight answer even if you ask BT


[You wouldn't believe it - while I was typing this our line connection dropped for the 5th time today - it came back to life after about 30 seconds]

[ian]

Actually, if I recall, there's a clause that covers older data, so they can possibly make an assumption. For the user data we hold hostage on the mothership we didn't have to go back through our historical data and ask everyone to opt-in. But I believe if anything changes re their details we have to ask them to opt back in.

[hellymedic]

I'm in the Phone Book. I think BT customers were listed by default.
I've been a BT victim at this address for 20 years.

[Cudzoziemiec]

... on another tack, how on earth can anyone consider using the 118 rip-off services when the BT directory website is free??   https://www.thephonebook.bt.com/

Is there much point to either of them? I looked for a few known-real individuals and found no record of any of them. I then did a search for "cycle shops" and it returned a decent list locally but I know for a fact it included at least two which closed down several years ago and omitted at least two others I know of.

[Beardy]

I would be over reacting to kill my future daughter-in-law utterly to DETH just because she never stops talking wouldn’t I? In mitigation, she is mostly loud.

[Ham]

I asked my daughter to pass me the phone book. She laughed and said I was old fashioned, I should use her iPhone. Well, the spider might be dead, but the screen is cracked and she's a bit mad with me.

[arabella]

I keep pointing out that you can see much more on an unfolded map that you can on a tiny phone screen

[ElyDave]

My daughter ridiculed my keeping of a roadmap in the car when it has a tw@tnav, I pointed out that a map doesn't have any batteries to fail or fuses to kaputt