Author Topic: The Good News / Bad News Thread (Read 393219 times)

Kim · « **Reply #2576 on:** 19 November, 2019, 06:01:53 pm »

BN: I think I've got the lurgy. This has prevented me from seeking grout and waste fittings with non-age-hardened gaskets and such.

BN: Barakta's Thunderbirds-effect uppy-downy desk malfunctioned, with one side failing in the 'down' capacity. After failed attempts at turning it off and on again etc, we removed the top^[1] in an attempt to apply persuasion to the left-side lifting column without it being under load. Long story short, the linear actuator self-destructed, and I'm now looking at an armature, some very strong magnets, and a deeply suspicious circlip. I'm not sure how I could further dismantle the motor in order to correctly align the brushes on reassembly, but I'm reasonably sure that putting it back together afterwards involves a hydraulic press.

GN: It's got a 5 year warranty, with about 2 weeks left on it.

BN: This involves dealing with Posturite, a company whose general uselessness strikes fear into the heart of barakta in her professional capacity.

GN: I've found a supplier for the relevant part, if that doesn't work out.

BN: Wrong colour (it's an obsolete model) and the best part of £400

_{[1] Incompetently, causing assorted minor injuries that I'll undoubtedly feel in the morning. Fortunately the heavy bit landed on my knee, rather than barakta's arms.}

andrewc · « **Reply #2577 on:** 28 November, 2019, 11:49:13 am »

Bad news: Whilst rummaging in my kit cupboard I knocked my stainless steel vacuum flask off the shelf. It landed on something hard & sustained a deep dent. Filling it with boiling water showed the outside getting scorchio at the site of the ding.

Good news: By dint of some gentle squeezing I was able to un-ding the thing. I filled it back up with hot water & this was still finger hot 18 hours later.

Kim · « **Reply #2578 on:** 28 November, 2019, 01:21:25 pm »

GN: Lurgy fucked off, and I was able to obtain some new seals for the unobtanium-sized bath trap (the mere purchase of which appears to have scared the original into not leaking), and some grout with which I have touched up the dodgy bits, and re-attached a bit of broken tile in the kitchen.

GN: Discovered that replacement rubber bits for shower screens are available in a range of fucking sizes. Obtained and (with the help of barakta and harsh language) fitted one, which now seals better than the original did. No screws were lost down the plughole in the process.

GN: Posturite responded to assorted stern emails from barakta by shipping a new part, so I was able to re-mantle the desk in working order. Barakta can now do her Thunderbirds thing, and I'm no longer tripping over kettle leads and bits of awkwardly-shaped steel.

BN: She's suffering from the effects of a week of bad ergonomics, and has a backlog of work to do.

BN: I think my lurgy's flaring up again.

GN: The weather's about to get properly wintery anyway.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #2579 on:** 29 November, 2019, 08:22:41 pm »

BN: Yesterday, my phone stopped working. The power switch that activates the screen stopped responding, so if someone phoned me(!!!) I could answer but I couldn't make calls(!!!), send texts, use apps, etc. Taking the back off and poking the switch with a sharp object sometimes worked and sometimes didn't and was never practical.

GN: Today it works as it should. Don't know why.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #2580 on:** 30 November, 2019, 12:49:23 pm »

Temporary phone issues are sometimes caused by proximity to a demon. Once the demon is banished the phone will start working again. It's true. I read it in a book.

Kim · « **Reply #2581 on:** 30 November, 2019, 01:32:44 pm »

The sheer amount of wireless communications in a modern smartphone means they're demonic by default.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #2582 on:** 30 November, 2019, 01:51:46 pm »

Quote from: Mr Larrington on 30 November, 2019, 12:49:23 pm

Temporary phone issues are sometimes caused by proximity to a demon. Once the demon is banished the phone will start working again. It's true. I read it in a book.

So ian's written it after all!

spesh · « **Reply #2583 on:** 30 November, 2019, 05:16:17 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 30 November, 2019, 01:32:44 pm

The sheer amount of wireless communications in a modern smartphone means they're demonic by default.

Demonic possession might go some way to explaining the fun and games I've had in the past tuning and testing amplifiers operating in the S to Ku-bands (2-18 GHz).

Kim · « **Reply #2584 on:** 11 December, 2019, 06:37:12 pm »

Ordered a couple of floor-standing halogen uplighters, with a view to retrofitting with LEDs.

BN: They sent the wrong items.

GN: They were significantly higher spec dimmable LED uplighters.

BN: The dimmers PWM at ~200Hz, which isn't barakta-friendly.

GN: The LED modules themselves aren't a bad colour and are within spec for my flicker-free driver, saving me a large amount of mechanical fettling (notably, cutting sheet aluminium, which is always more swear-inducing that it ought to be); just need to add a temperature sensor, upgrade the homeopathic layer of thermal paste and replace the cable.

BN: Gave one of the dimmers the Big Clive treatment. Someone had been naughty with one of the cable strain reliefs.

GN: They're otherwise pretty good. Plenty of filtering, decent separation, proper class X/Y capacitors^[1], looks like it's doing PFC, etc. Maybe they'll come in handy for something where I don't want to dim (there's no flicker at 100% brightness).

_{[1] To achieve what ian refers to as "Chinese earthing". Not to be confused with true Chinese earthing, which generally involves a mysterious^[2] green wire from the mains lead flapping about unterminated inside a conductive enclosure.
[2] To the person assembling it.}

Kim · « **Reply #2585 on:** 20 December, 2019, 10:31:22 pm »

GN: I've recently discovered that I have £30 worth of premium bonds, presumably purchased on my behalf by a grandparent, in 1981.

BN: They've never won anything.

Jaded · « **Reply #2586 on:** 21 December, 2019, 12:11:57 am »

You will win.

Trust me.

Kim · « **Reply #2587 on:** 21 December, 2019, 12:15:57 am »

My mum won 50 quid on them once. She had rather more than £30 worth though, as she used them as a way of squirrelling away the equivalent of the cost of extended warranties in order to self-insure whitegoods. (A strategy that seemed to be reasonably effective.)

Jaded · « **Reply #2588 on:** 21 December, 2019, 08:40:25 am »

You keep the original investment, albeit aff3cted by inflation.

rr · « **Reply #2589 on:** 21 December, 2019, 09:21:32 am »

Quote from: Kim on 28 November, 2019, 01:21:25 pm

GN: Discovered that replacement rubber bits for shower screens are available in a range of fucking sizes. Obtained and (with the help of barakta and harsh language) fitted one, which now seals better than the original did. No screws were lost down the plughole in the process.

R's first law of bathroom work: always cover the plug hole before unleashing pinfuckits.
Second law: pad anything that can be scratched or broken before using tools.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

orienteer · « **Reply #2590 on:** 30 December, 2019, 05:16:36 pm »

BN: Tried to play an LP on my hi-fi today, but JVC turntable no longer works. Can only be about 35 years old.

GN: Half decent Marantz turntable on offer for less than a ton at Richer Sounds, will pick up tomorrow.

PaulF · « **Reply #2591 on:** 05 January, 2020, 06:33:00 pm »

Good news: I picked up a mandolin for the first time in nearly a year.

More good news: I can still play as well today as I could a year ago.

Bad news: I can still play as well today as I could a year ago.

CAMRAMan · « **Reply #2592 on:** 13 January, 2020, 10:51:54 am »

GN: I'm off to Germany on Friday for a boozy weekend in Bamberg
BN: I'd forgotten to book the leave! Short staffed too! Utter stupidity, if true, which is what the evidence points to.
GN: Just before I found that out I'd agreed to do the boss a favour
GN: Because of that he has let me have the two days off.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #2593 on:** 13 January, 2020, 05:05:53 pm »

Enjoy Bamberg. Make sure you have some Schlenkerla.

CAMRAMan · « **Reply #2594 on:** 13 January, 2020, 07:57:46 pm »

I prefer the rather more subtle Spezial Rauchbier to the Schlenkerla. I shall have to remind myself of both beers, just to make sure, obviously

Pingu · « **Reply #2595 on:** 14 January, 2020, 11:03:04 pm »

A U

CAMRAMan · « **Reply #2596 on:** 19 January, 2020, 08:48:47 pm »

After a cold trek up the river, Keesman was open, but Mahrs closed for renovation, as was Klosterbräu. January is not the ideal time to hit here, with hindsight...

The Family Cyclist · « **Reply #2597 on:** 03 February, 2020, 08:35:27 pm »

Good news tax rebate. Bad news wife paid her tax bill (she does a bit of freelance). Nett loss of £2 between the two

CAMRAMan · « **Reply #2598 on:** 20 February, 2020, 11:13:05 am »

VGN: I managed to find an extremely good ebike in another parish at a very good price
VVGN: It came with two large capacity batteries. Bosch batteries are VERY expensive; i.e. £650 new for a 500Wh one like this one
VVVGN: I've sold one of them on eBay for a good price, making the new bike even better value
BN: I now have to pack it up and post it
BN: My knees mean that I need an ebike

CrinklyLion · « **Reply #2599 on:** 22 February, 2020, 02:42:18 pm »

BN: EldestCub's beloved Triban was nicked from the bike stands while he was 10 pin bowling. Poor sod had just put his shiny new Christmas present tyres on the Triban last week, and spent a couple of hundred quid on a new rear wheel and service for it just before Christmas

GN: A while ago a very kind forumite donated a mtb to him, which we stuck in storage as it was a squeak to big for him
More GN: Granny Annie had her second cataract op this am, which went well, and my sis dropped the bike off on their way home from the hospital
BN: No saddle, clipless pedals (and he has no suitable shoes) and in need of a service
GN: I found a saddle in the bits box, his Bedstemor sent him some cash which he is going to use to buy some flats, and we've got a workshop slot tomorrow