The RANT thread (often contains fruity language)

[Kim]

Hive.  Stop spamming me with Heating Plus notifications.

Somehow, presumably due to my healthy sense of paranoia when it comes to internet-of-things devices I don't have the source code for, I'd completely overlooked the possibility of "spamming you with incessant shitverts" as a failure mode.  Never had any business sense, me.

[Adam]

What is the purpose of chewing gum other than a displacement activity for people in advanced states of mental decay?

I can think of a valid reason for chewing gum.  When I used to exercise the privileges of my Private Pilot's Licence as the CAA called it, or going flying in my Cessna in normal speak, I used to chew gum to ensure my ears didn't get blocked when climbing or descending.

I didn't spit it out though.

[Kim]

It's a substitute for smoking, innit.  Almost as disgusting, and equally good at polluting the environment in a way that's perceived to be somehow exempt from being classed as 'litter'.

Mrs barakta's-mum is a gum chewer, because cancer medication.  Every now and then you encounter a blob of the stuff on some random surface, in a way that I haven't really had to think about since school.   

[robgul]

It's a substitute for smoking, innit.  Almost as disgusting, and equally good at polluting the environment in a way that's perceived to be somehow exempt from being classed as 'litter'.

Mrs barakta's-mum is a gum chewer, because cancer medication.  Every now and then you encounter a blob of the stuff on some random surface, in a way that I haven't really had to think about since school.   

I'm off on a long-haul holiday this coming week with a stop-over in Singapore - even though it's only to change planes and we'll remain airside the paperwork told us not to have any chewing gum in our possession (it's banned in Singapore with possible fine or jail, although in the airport it's unclear whether the law applies)

I also see it as being on a par with smoking

[Peter]

What is the purpose of chewing gum other than a displacement activity for people in advanced states of mental decay?

I can think of a valid reason for chewing gum.  When I used to exercise the privileges of my Private Pilot's Licence as the CAA called it, or going flying in my Cessna in normal speak, I used to chew gum to ensure my ears didn't get blocked when climbing or descending.

I didn't spit it out though.

Ah, but did you inhale?

Another valid use is for "stimmers".  Some people have rituals that they perform, just about subconsciously, to enable them to focus on the "normal" world.  A child at a school I teach guitar in stims by chewing gum.  It helps the whole group because he is unable to sing at the same time.  He's a great kid.  It's not confined to autistic or otherwise spectrate people, either.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Chewing gum is nowhere near as bad as smoking. It doesn't make people ill, for a start.

[Kim]

On the chewing gum theme, for reasons that must have made sense to someone who never needed to wipe their feet, we have a patch of doormat material permanently fitted on the inside of our front door, which often requires industrial feats of hoovering to de-mud.

Yesterday I noticed that some chewing gum was embedded in it   

I assume from its position that it came in on a wheelchair wheel.   

[Jurek]

Some pipe-freezing spray may harden it enough that it can be picked off.

[Kim]

Some pipe-freezing spray may harden it enough that it can be picked off.

Eranu!

It got the inverted can of 'air'-duster treatment, while barrakta waited outside out of hydrocarbons range.  Peeled off nicely.

[Jaded]

Peeled off nicely.

Probably reusable then.

[Mrs Pingu]

Hmm ok, I need something similar to get the sticky stuff off the back of our CyclingUK cards, which is impenetrable.

[Jurek]

Hmm ok, I need something similar to get the sticky stuff off the back of our CyclingUK cards, which is impenetrable.

Shirley that'll be a solvent of your well-informed choosing.

[Mrs Pingu]

I dunno why they moved away from using the stuff that stretches like pizza cheese when you pull it, before pinging off.

[ian]

DesolveIt fabric cleaner works, even on beards. I think it's basically dry cleaning fluid (tetrachloroethylene, aka perc).


In other news, getting something dry-cleaned still makes me feel like a grown-up. I sometimes get stuff dry-cleaned for the sheer hell of it.

[Jaded]

Well, that's a first.

I've never heard of a dry-cleaned beard before.

[PaulF]

Will they dry clean your beard while you wait or do you have to leave it with them like you would a suit?

[Cudzoziemiec]

Can you have it taken in at the seams at the same time?

[Mr Larrington]

Bastard Humax record-o-matic!  All I want to do is watch the Ireland-Wales game.  With sound.  Why are you not piping noises to the amplifier?  Sort it out u muppet!

[Mr Larrington]

And now I've got sound but only a Green Screen ov DETH which means I can’t download HD recordings off it.  And no-one seems to sell new ones any more

[CAMRAMan]

Freeview or Freesat?

[Mr Larrington]

Freeview.  Freesat boxes are still alive and well but the only Freeview ones I can find are a Panasonic combined Bluray wossname which is expensive and a single Humax one at John Lewis in Oxfod Street which they'll have sold by the time I get there or deny any knowledge of at all.

Some sources claim it's an HDMI thing so I may find myself giving thanks unto the LORD that I didn’t bin those SCART cables.

[tatanab]

Some sources claim it's an HDMI thing so I may find myself giving thanks unto the LORD that I didn’t bit those SCART cables.

Yes.  I have had this several times.  It is a failure in the HDMI handshake, so switch it all off and usually it will return to function.  No audio is something to do with contracts to use high definition.  My HD recordings have no sound, just picture, but normal recordings are fine.

As soon as the new Mahattan T4-R is finally released I will be giving that a try.

[MattH]

My youview box is going unreliable, going into a startup loop, from where if I'm lucky a recovery mode run will bring it back to life with recordings intact, if not then I end up with a blank drive.

The new replacements are thin on the ground; the new Manhattan box is about 8 months late, which seems to be something to do with new standards for Freeview. The Humax Aura has fairly poor reviews. And they are pretty much the only choice.

We're in a bit of a transition period with TV moving from broadcast to streaming, and the newer boxes are trying to dial in the streaming bit, from what I can see. I'm a bit torn between replacing the youview with a second hand one, and waiting for the Manhattan one to come out.

[Mr Larrington]

Some sources claim it's an HDMI thing so I may find myself giving thanks unto the LORD that I didn’t bit those SCART cables.

Yes.  I have had this several times.  It is a failure in the HDMI handshake, so switch it all off and usually it will return to function.  No audio is something to do with contracts to use high definition.  My HD recordings have no sound, just picture, but normal recordings are fine.

As soon as the new Mahattan T4-R is finally released I will be giving that a try.

I used to get the GSOD if I switched stuff on in the wrong order, usually while wanting to start watching something that was still recording.  It went away after powering off and on again.  Now, though, it starts normally and then goes green after ten seconds or so of displaying the screen even after unplugging it.

If I can connect it to the distascope via SCART I can at least do a factory reset and/or pull the recordings off it and ignore them on a PC instead.

Edit: an overnight rest free from mains voles has seen it return to sound and vision even in HD.  I may have to not switch it off ever again 

[Mrs Pingu]

Quick, download everything you want off it while you still can...