Specchums and the coronavirus.

[MatGubbins]

Will it be 2 and a half rolls for a Next with scratches on the back case?

[Alessandro]

Hey! For a brand new Spectrum Next I am offering you this unopened set of four fine rolls, 4 sheets, 150 rips! Shipping included.

[PeterJ]

[Firefox]

Last Thursday's trip to Sainsbury's was a bit of a shocker - the place had been almost completely stripped bare. (Most meals of this past week have consisted of a hot dog in an increasingly stale bun and a small fruit pie.)

With that in mind, it was with some trepidation that I got into the car to set off for this week's supermarket visit. I pressed the start button and... brownout! Of course, I've not been using my car except for a short hop to the supermarket and back once a week.

So now I'm browsing through Amazon looking at lithium-ion jump-start pack thingys...

[1024MAK]

You may now need a new car battery

Not heard of battery chargers then...

Now that summer is coming, if your cigarette/cigar lighter socket is always ‘live’, you may want to think about buying a a solar panel trickle charger. Buy one from a reputable company though. The cheap ones are utter rubbish.

Mark

[Morkin]

Heh - last time my car battery died, it was on the day I was due to take it into the garage to have the battery checked...

I walked (~1 mile) to a parts shop to pick up another one, but they'd JUST closed 5 minutes ealier. After walking home I suddenly realised that there was a Halfords probably about 50 yards away from the shop I'd been to.

So I walked back there again, bought one, and walked home again with it. The lasting memory for me on that day is that car batteries are flippin' heavy...

[PeterJ]

The UK Prime Minister and his health secretary now have it too.

Edit. And the chief medical officer.

[1024MAK]

So I walked back there again, bought one, and walked home again with it. The lasting memory for me on that day is that car batteries are flippin' heavy...

Yes, lead and water are rather heavy when you have to carry them any distance

Mark

[Firefox]

You may now need a new car battery

Not heard of battery chargers then...

Oh, gosh, I hope I don't. There seemed to be plenty of juice for running the Xmas tree that is the dashboard, the fans, central locking, etc etc. Just cranking was extremely lethargic and not good enough to start the engine.

I've ordered a nice lithium-ion jump starter gizmo (which is also a super-bright torch and is able to charge your phone and tablet ) that apparently holds enough charge for up to 40 jumps. I watched some Youtube video reviews and it looks really good, and people seem to have nothing but good things to say about it. That should be here by Monday.

Once I've (hopefully) got the car started I'll take it for a good razz down the dual carriageway (and maybe a bit of motorway) to charge the battery up. I don't have a garage or shed or anything, so it saves having to pull the battery and carry it into the house and get oily grime over everything and worry if the battery's going to catch light or something (though I doubt it would).

Now that summer is coming, if your cigarette/cigar lighter socket is always ‘live’, you may want to think about buying a a solar panel trickle charger. Buy one from a reputable company though. The cheap ones are utter rubbish.

I had not thought of that! I'll have a read up on such things. Ta for the suggestion!


Oh, and I walked to a little Tesco Express (which is now covered in wasp-stripe tape and has barriers across isles!) and got enough food for the week. Not completely the food I wanted, but, First World problems.

Gah! I totally forget to see if they had toilet paper in stock!

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Heh - last time my car battery died, it was on the day I was due to take it into the garage to have the battery checked...

I walked (~1 mile) to a parts shop to pick up another one, but they'd JUST closed 5 minutes ealier. After walking home I suddenly realised that there was a Halfords probably about 50 yards away from the shop I'd been to.

So I walked back there again, bought one, and walked home again with it. The lasting memory for me on that day is that car batteries are flippin' heavy...

Sounds a good plot for a text adventure!

[Firefox]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyIzhRvtIJ0[/media]

[PeterJ]

Interesting feature on how we would have coped in the current global crisis with the technology of 2005.
BBC News - Coronavirus: What if this had happened in 2005?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52052502

[DouglasReynholm]

Pickle.

I'm having trouble getting any. Have had home deliveries from Tesco/Sainsbury's and Asda in the last 2 weeks, it's been on the order and not even been substituted for anything - from any of them.

I've got a shitload of corned beef going begging here. Any ideas?

[R-Tape]

Got any of these: jam, gherkins, HP, ketchup, pickled onions, raisins or vinegar? You might be able to rustle up something vaguely pickle-like with store cupboard stuff.

You'd have to be desperate, but pickle specialists still seem to have some, at cost.

I thought everyone got a shedload of pickles they don't want at xmas!

[DouglasReynholm]

Well thanks, but they're all items I don't eat individually! I'll try the pickle specialists. Important to keep the smaller businesses ticking over in these times so I can swallow a bit of a premium.

[PeterJ]

@[mention]DouglasReynholm[/mention]
We have an online order with Sainsbury's arriving tomorrow. If you are happy to pay the postage I can try and get some for you. Let me know tonight though before 2100.

Peter Jones
Pickle merchant of old London town
By Royal Appointment to Queen Elizabeth
Established 1863
spectrumcomputing.co.uk/pickle

PS. Try Amazon too

PPS. The offer is a serious one.

[DouglasReynholm]

@@DouglasReynholm
We have an online order with Sainsbury's arriving tomorrow. If you are happy to pay the postage I can try and get some for you. Let me know tonight though before 2100.

Peter Jones
Pickle merchant of old London town
By Royal Appointment to Queen Elizabeth
Established 1863

PS. Try Amazon too

PPS. The offer is a serious one.

This is why I love this place. Thank you Peter, but I just bought some as suggested by R-Tape. No way I'm messing about with pickled onion, raisins and vinegar.

Sincerely, thank you!

[Firefox]

Corned beef goes amazingly well with the sort of mustard that's darker and packed with whole seeds (got that tip from Babylon 5, of all places), and it also goes surprisingly well with ketchup.

[catmeows]

Well, our minister of defense came with idea that in time of crisis, premier should have stronger rights and he should be allowed to declare state od emergency on his own.
It feels like covid-19 has another victim - democracy in our country.

[R-Tape]

Well, our minister of defense came with idea that in time of crisis, premier should have stronger rights and he should be allowed to declare state od emergency on his own.
It feels like covid-19 has another victim - democracy in our country.

Is this the new 'rule by decree' in Hungary? Do you think it's a bit of short-term extremism in response to the virus, or something that will endure?

Here in the UK, we've seen a lot of previously unimaginable restrictions and extra police powers. On the whole, they are sensible given the circumstances, and it seems the police are mostly applying it reasonably. Some cases make me uncomfortable though, like the black dye being thrown into a lagoon in Derbyshire to stop visitors. The extra covid measures will be reviewed in 6 months, and I'm not worried that restrictions will continue without good reason (yet!). Our countries have very different histories of course.

[catmeows]

Well, our minister of defense came with idea that in time of crisis, premier should have stronger rights and he should be allowed to declare state od emergency on his own.
It feels like covid-19 has another victim - democracy in our country.

Is this the new 'rule by decree' in Hungary? Do you think it's a bit of short-term extremism in response to the virus, or something that will endure?

I have only vague idea what happens in Hungary but IMHO the problem is that state of emergency has not given end date and it will end when Viktor Orban says so.

Here in the UK, we've seen a lot of previously unimaginable restrictions and extra police powers. On the whole, they are sensible given the circumstances, and it seems the police are mostly applying it reasonably. Some cases make me uncomfortable though, like the black dye being thrown into a lagoon in Derbyshire to stop visitors. The extra covid measures will be reviewed in 6 months, and I'm not worried that restrictions will continue without good reason (yet!). Our countries have very different histories of course.

I live in Czech Republic. Our prime minister, Andrej Babis, repeatedly named parliament as "chat/babble club" and overall it seems he would like to see parliament less powerful and his own position more stronger. So I'm not happy to hear a member of his cabinet introducing ideas that basically copy what Orban did in Hungary.
Because right now, due the emergency state, you cannot even go to streets to attend demonstration against goverment.
I'm basically all right with restrictions as long they have explicit end date and any prolongation has to be approved by parliament.
Of course, this all is politics and you could find many people who would actually agree with giving more power to Babis. But I have found quite alarming that someone tries to take advantage on current crisis and bend political system for his own good.

[+3code]

This song has become the covid anthem here in Spain

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd85ylSTtaM

[Firefox]

This song has become the covid anthem here in Spain
...

Pretty nice, but I prefer this one:

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkynEPjkstI[/media]

[PeterJ]

This is ours in the UK! For those none UK residents, this is Matt Lucas who used to be a show called Shooting Stars 20+ Years ago, and its a rework of a song performed on that show. Its being released on Friday and all proceeds are going towards meals for NHS staff.

https://www.facebook.com/RadioX/videos/ ... 435989962/

[PeterJ]

I'm working from home using this computer....



When I wish I was using these! Don't think they would be much good for MS Office 2019, and SQL Server Management Studio though.