what I have learned today.

[Jakob W]

Unless I'm missing something it's a single-speed 'get you to the next control' bodge, right? One advantage of using DT shifters is that replacing a snapped gear cable is nearly as quick as any other temp fix.

[TheLurker]

That there's enough Al RF shielding inside a dead laptop power brick to make a good number of trim tabs and other v. thin sheet parts for model aeroplanes. 

[rafletcher]

That “Wagamama” means something like  “wilful and self centred” and that the restaurant chain of the same name prefer “naughty child” as a translation.

[andytheflyer]

That there's enough Al RF shielding inside a dead laptop power brick to make a good number of trim tabs and other v. thin sheet parts for model aeroplanes.

Hmmmm.........<goes off to find and break open some old electronics.....>

[Cudzoziemiec]

That “Wagamama” means something like  “wilful and self centred” and that the restaurant chain of the same name prefer “naughty child” as a translation.

So now I'm wondering if "waga" is a proper Japanese word or if it's a borrowed word like "mama". And also wondering how widely recognised the word would be in Japan. And as for learning things, I've learned (presumably from the same source) that it's a British chain: I tend to assume (overly cynically? or insufficiently cynically?) that all these chains are USA in origin.

[rafletcher]

It was a Japanese colleague who recognised the word when we were discussing “Japanese” restaurants in th UK.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Okay! I googled something like "what does wagamama mean?" and the first hit was Wikipedia, with a sentence almost identical to yours. Which is where I learnt it's a British chain. I've never been to one so it doesn't really matter!

[TheLurker]

That there's enough Al RF shielding inside a dead laptop power brick to make a good number of trim tabs and other v. thin sheet parts for model aeroplanes.

Hmmmm.........<goes off to find and break open some old electronics.....>

If it's power bricks you'll need a hacksaw blade to crack the casing and don't cut too deep or you'll ruin that lovely thin* sheet.

Dead electronic bits, esp Mice, are a surprisingly good source of v. tiny screws which are likewise jolly handy in the building of small model aeroplanes.

*Haven't taken the calipers to it yet, but first order approximation says 10 thou.

[Kim]

If it's power bricks you'll need a hacksaw blade to crack the casing and don't cut too deep or you'll ruin that lovely thin* sheet.

I believe the saying is "With a Dremel and flat-head screwdriver, *everything* contains user-serviceable parts", though whoever came up with that left putting the case back together as an exercise for the reader.

A spudger is useful for cracking into consumer electronics things, though mains power supplies tend to be glued or ultrasonically welded shut to stop the electrons falling out.

[T42]

Thought it was "a sliding spanner and a four-pound hammer" myself, or was that basic bike maintenance?

[andytheflyer]

Most of my really, really small fasteners have come from dead mice and hard drives.  Well, anything smaller than 1/4 Whit anyway.

[rafletcher]

That a company called Burtles produces the "Aircraft" blouson. This has twin fans in the kidney area that can run for 12 hours, keeping the wearer ventilated and somewhat cooler and fresher than the 34C / 93% humidity environment that is Yokohama today.
https://global.rakuten.com/en/store/worktk/item/bt-ac1001-l-b/

[Chris S]

That there is a music genre called "shoegaze". So named because performers of such music appear to be staring at their feet as they operate foot pedals! 

[Clare]

1. There is such a thing as a spudger.

2. The reason our front garden wall appears to be subsiding. Who the hell puts a DPC in a garden wall? It has been slowly sliding off its footings since it was built.

[T42]

When I was 15 I spent most of my summer holidays hacking the bottom 18" of plaster off the ground-floor walls of our house, applying bitumen and replastering.  The wretched builder had put a DPC under the flooring and a DPC in the walls, but hadn't joined the two so that the plaster wicked up the moisture, softened and bulged out under the wallpaper, which also looked a bit sad.

No compensation from the builder, either: he had started a firm to build & sell the houses then pocketed the money and closed down. You could do that easily in the 1950s.  He was 12 years gone by the time my dad decided to tackle the walls himself, and I pitched in as well. As it happened I did 90% of it - horrible job.

[rafletcher]

That the term “Jizz” means “the overall impression or appearance of a bird garnered from such features as shape, posture, flying style or other habitual movements....”. Furthermore “experienced birders can often make reliable identifications.... by using jizz”.

[Jurek]

1. There is such a thing as a spudger.

2. The reason our front garden wall appears to be subsiding. Who the hell puts a DPC in a garden wall? It has been slowly sliding off its footings since it was built.

There is also such a thing as a podger.
I have a 17mm, two-way ratcheting one.
It used to be very useful for undoing the nut on the eccentric rear axle on my Honda 650.
Mostly, scaffolders/riggers use podgers.

[rafletcher]

The pointy end is used to align bolt holes, by inserting and levering.

[spesh]

That the term “Jizz” means “the overall impression or appearance of a bird garnered from such features as shape, posture, flying style or other habitual movements....”. Furthermore “experienced birders can often make reliable identifications.... by using jizz”.

You've some spunk, posting that... 

[TheLurker]

There is also such a thing as a Podger.

And a damn fine fiddle player she is too.

[Jurek]

The pointy end is used to align bolt holes, by inserting and levering.

Indeed.

[Kim]

1. There is such a thing as a spudger.

Yeah, anyone who's had the misfortune to attempt to repair modern consumer electronics (and particularly the products of the Mega-Global Fruit Corporation of Cupertino, USAnia) knows all about them.  Best operated in combination with misplaced optimism and harsh language.

If you're in the market of a spudger, the iSesamo ones are good.

[Jurek]

1. There is such a thing as a spudger.

Yeah, anyone who's had the misfortune to attempt to repair modern consumer electronics (and particularly the products of the Mega-Global Fruit Corporation of Cupertino, USAnia) knows all about them.  Best operated in combination with misplaced optimism and harsh language.

If you're in the market of a spudger, the iSesamo ones are good.

Noted.

[Tim Hall]

That the term “Jizz” means “the overall impression or appearance of a bird garnered from such features as shape, posture, flying style or other habitual movements....”. Furthermore “experienced birders can often make reliable identifications.... by using jizz”.

Guardian weekend quiz?

[Canardly]

The derivation of riff raff from the original french verbs which also explains rifling through garments and the rifling of gun barrels. Known to go back at least to the 14th century apparently.