Author Topic: what I have learned today.  (Read 847081 times)

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3125 on: 25 January, 2019, 09:57:18 pm »
Remember those T-shirts ravers wore in the early 90s where they took a well known brand logo and altered it in a humorous way, like the Hoover one that said Groover? Well, I've just learnt that you can still get them, brand new. With a modern twist.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3126 on: 26 January, 2019, 03:33:48 pm »
Bandcamp has just taught me the phrase "looking for cookies". Means "fishing for compliments" with hints of "by flexing your moral credentials", in case it's as new to you as me.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

mcshroom

  • Mushroom
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3127 on: 26 January, 2019, 05:34:22 pm »
That I'm allergic to Fairy Non-Bio washing gel.

I've always been sensitive to some detergents, but recently I've been able to move out from my trusted Persil to Supermarket non-bio without any problems. Apparently Fairy must be different.

I'm now in the process of re-washing all the stuff I washed in Fairy, and I've dug out the antihistamines to try and stop the itching/rash :( - Anyone want an almost full bottle of Fairy Non-Bio? ::-)
Climbs like a sprinter, sprints like a climber!

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3128 on: 26 January, 2019, 07:27:15 pm »
That I'm allergic to Fairy Non-Bio washing gel.

I've always been sensitive to some detergents, but recently I've been able to move out from my trusted Persil to Supermarket non-bio without any problems. Apparently Fairy must be different.

I'm now in the process of re-washing all the stuff I washed in Fairy, and I've dug out the antihistamines to try and stop the itching/rash :( - Anyone want an almost full bottle of Fairy Non-Bio? ::-)

Oh that's annoying. That's one that Nye seems to be ok with so far (although they may have changed since last time we had it). He's alright with sainsburys and Coop non bio, but morrisons and waitrose make him itch. All the fancier pod type do as well.

Quote from: Kim
^ This woman knows what she's talking about.

mcshroom

  • Mushroom
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3129 on: 26 January, 2019, 08:03:31 pm »
That I'm allergic to Fairy Non-Bio washing gel.

I've always been sensitive to some detergents, but recently I've been able to move out from my trusted Persil to Supermarket non-bio without any problems. Apparently Fairy must be different.

I'm now in the process of re-washing all the stuff I washed in Fairy, and I've dug out the antihistamines to try and stop the itching/rash :( - Anyone want an almost full bottle of Fairy Non-Bio? ::-)

Oh that's annoying. That's one that Nye seems to be ok with so far (although they may have changed since last time we had it). He's alright with sainsburys and Coop non bio, but morrisons and waitrose make him itch. All the fancier pod type do as well.


It's weird isn't it. Morrisons stuff is fine for me (or was last time I tried), Tesco is fine too. We don't get any Sainsburys or Waitrose out here so no idea on them. I'm also fine with Ariel biological stuff, which is Fairy's sister product.

I've also found that Ecover is fine, but I hate the smell of it.
Climbs like a sprinter, sprints like a climber!

Giraffe

  • I brake for Giraffes
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3130 on: 27 January, 2019, 08:06:14 am »
2x4: thick plank; 4x4: 2 of 'em.

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3131 on: 27 January, 2019, 09:37:52 pm »
I like Surcare; it's non-allergenic and has no perfume in it.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3132 on: 27 January, 2019, 09:42:59 pm »
We've been using Bio-D for the last couple of months (the liquid, I think they do a powder as well). It doesn't have any "perfume" and it seems to do a decent job of getting things clean. And it's made in Hull, which seems good! But we're all okay with all the non-bios so can't comment on that score.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

barakta

  • Bastard lovechild of Yomiko Readman and Johnny 5
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3133 on: 27 January, 2019, 10:16:27 pm »
One of the fairy washing powders used to give me this evil creeping rash all over in the 1990s as soon as  I wore anything washing in it, haven't touched any of their brands since as it was so unpleasant and anti histamines didn't touch it. Fortunately we worked out the cause after the 2nd instance.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3134 on: 27 January, 2019, 10:42:54 pm »
You'd think these problems could be avoided by decent rinsing, but it seems not.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Giraffe

  • I brake for Giraffes
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3135 on: 28 January, 2019, 08:27:36 am »
It's pretty well impossible to 'rinse' cloth as it's absorbent. To add to the problem, the 'Delicates' programmes don't do inter-rinse spins so the dilution per 'rinse' is much less than with the 'Cotton' programmes, due to large amount of contamination left behind.
A washing machine doesn't rinse but only dilutes - for most practical purposes a hose pipe and an non-absorbent surface can achieve cleanliness (soap etc. is a contaminant even without any soil that it carries).
What is needed on washing machines is a 'Gentle Cotton' set of programmes - same as 'Delicates' but with inter-rinse spins.

BTW, Bio-D liquid is vegetation-based soap, same as the WU liquid.
In the early '90s I was asked by the Warden of Youlgreave YH to obtain the H&S Data Sheet for Ecover WU liquid. It's a soap based on coconut oil and has an undiluted pH of 5.5. Under 'Ingestion' was, roughly, 'Don't drink too much of it at once'! Fairy Liquid had Bitrex in it - go figure.
2x4: thick plank; 4x4: 2 of 'em.

Beardy

  • Shedist
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3136 on: 28 January, 2019, 09:41:42 am »
That chemistry as a science of discovery is more or less done. The figure quoted on the Start the Week programme was 97% of all chemestry is found and understood and chemists now need to turn their attention to applying chemistry with other scientific disciplines.
For every complex problem in the world, there is a simple and easily understood solution that’s wrong.

PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3137 on: 28 January, 2019, 09:52:39 am »
The joy of the  Excel INDEX and MATCH functions - someone (Ian?) mentioned them a few days ago and it's changed my life bye-bye VLOOKUP :)

ian

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3138 on: 28 January, 2019, 10:50:10 am »
The joy of the  Excel INDEX and MATCH functions - someone (Ian?) mentioned them a few days ago and it's changed my life bye-bye VLOOKUP :)

It probably was, I preach the gospel of INDEX and MATCH often. It's more flexible, less hassle, easier (you don't have to play guess-the-column-number for a start) and seems a lot faster across big worksheets.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3139 on: 28 January, 2019, 10:54:57 am »
One of the fairy washing powders used to give me this evil creeping rash all over in the 1990s as soon as  I wore anything washing in it, haven't touched any of their brands since as it was so unpleasant and anti histamines didn't touch it. Fortunately we worked out the cause after the 2nd instance.
Radion Micro should have been renamed Agent Orange in that respect.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3140 on: 28 January, 2019, 10:57:51 am »
The joy of the  Excel INDEX and MATCH functions - someone (Ian?) mentioned them a few days ago and it's changed my life bye-bye VLOOKUP :)

It probably was, I preach the gospel of INDEX and MATCH often. It's more flexible, less hassle, easier (you don't have to play guess-the-column-number for a start) and seems a lot faster across big worksheets.

In which case many thanks, I'm trying to match data across two databases on different domains which don't trust each other so Excel is a kludge at best but  is doing the job.

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3141 on: 28 January, 2019, 11:30:07 am »
We've been using Bio-D for the last couple of months (the liquid, I think they do a powder as well). It doesn't have any "perfume" and it seems to do a decent job of getting things clean. And it's made in Hull, which seems good! But we're all okay with all the non-bios so can't comment on that score.

Our local "Health Food" shop has started bulk dispensing Bio-D products, so we'll be trialling them as we use up the eCover.  Not that we have any issues with eCover ('tho our washing liquid was bought in bulk 6 months ago, so may predate any perfume changes) but we like to support the business.
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)

IanN

  • Voon
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3142 on: 28 January, 2019, 03:36:37 pm »
(yesterday)
If you are going to hack through a cable lock with some blunt pliers, in broad daylight, without being challenged...  Dress and look like a mamil / CTC member


Sorry cudzo.

Beardy

  • Shedist
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3143 on: 28 January, 2019, 09:42:06 pm »
The joy of the  Excel INDEX and MATCH functions - someone (Ian?) mentioned them a few days ago and it's changed my life bye-bye VLOOKUP :)

It probably was, I preach the gospel of INDEX and MATCH often. It's more flexible, less hassle, easier (you don't have to play guess-the-column-number for a start) and seems a lot faster across big worksheets.
I was another convert to INDEX(MATCH although I don’t hunk it was your good self that exposed me to it. Another twist lately added my M$ That I started using just before I finished was IFS() A bit like a poor mans Case in a proper language, but a bit limited and not without its quirks.
I quite miss using Excel. I wonder how much I could get for my excel power user skills
For every complex problem in the world, there is a simple and easily understood solution that’s wrong.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3144 on: 28 January, 2019, 09:45:08 pm »
I do like IFS and SUMIFS etc

Will take a look at MATCH etc, don't think I've tried those yet.
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Beardy

  • Shedist
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3145 on: 28 January, 2019, 09:54:09 pm »
I do like IFS and SUMIFS etc

Will take a look at MATCH etc, don't think I've tried those yet.
INDEX(MATCH is really very powerful and if you are in the habit of using named tables and columns, the resultant formulae are very easy to decode.
For every complex problem in the world, there is a simple and easily understood solution that’s wrong.

ian

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3146 on: 28 January, 2019, 09:59:38 pm »
IFS saved me a lot of pain with near-infinitely nested IFs. SUMIFS is a lot easier than SUMPRODUCT, though sometimes you have to dabble in the dark arts of array formulas, it's a kind of masochism. I think, tbh, the only other times I used array formula is with distributions and FREQUENCY.

Most people are frankly amazed by pivot tables. Even people who typically use Excel every day, rarely seem to have had any training, and only know the most basic features. Which makes even a simpleton like me some kind of wizard.

Beardy

  • Shedist
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3147 on: 28 January, 2019, 10:17:31 pm »
Array fomulae have got to be one of the biggest cludges in excel, which given the state of it is saying something. I used them mostly for dynamic sorting. Horrid things.
For every complex problem in the world, there is a simple and easily understood solution that’s wrong.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3148 on: 29 January, 2019, 07:21:12 am »
I'm still dealing with people that with a table of about 300 rows by Z columns decide in two places to put rows right across the table with merged cells.  Do these cro-magnons have no idea of what that does to efforts to sort and manipulate data?
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

ian

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3149 on: 29 January, 2019, 08:13:50 am »
People still bring their broken spreadsheets, with a surprising willingness to weather my scouring disdain. It's like they're bringing me a sick puppy. Fix it, medicine man, fix it. People who really ought to know better.

And fucking dates.

Though this might be a thing of the past, I will have developers and data scientists in a couple of weeks. If only I knew what I was doing. It's all sprints and scrums and frankly, I don't know what. I have a project manager, fortunately. Product development sounds very masculine and steroidal, like a sweaty rugger changing room. Somewhere in the mix there ought to be room for a contemplative snooze. If there isn't, I'm using my boss powers to create one.