Yoohoo Rusty!

[vickiebee]

Calling all cars, calling all cars - Rusty Hinge is missed at 2eggs
newsgroup.
v
--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[Mike Fleming]

On 15/11/2023 01:21, vickiebee wrote:
> Calling all cars, calling all cars - Rusty Hinge is missed at 2eggs
> newsgroup.

Haven't seen him in the motorcycle froup or the shed.

[vickiebee]

~~~
It always scares me when an active regular goes so quiet. Maybe he's
just busy with family.
v

--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

Not for nearly ten days.

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith
Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/
Host: Beautiful Theory meet Inconvenient Fact
Obit: Beautiful Theory died today of factual inconsistency

[Tease'n'Seize]

nev young wrote:

> Tease'n'Seize wrote:
>
>> Possibly just babbage engine prombles?  Maybe Nev knows?
>
> Just spoken to the corroded one.
> He is alive and still breathing.
> Is grateful for show of concern.
> Has laptop prombles.

I hoped that'd be the explanation

xpost to shed/caff

[vickiebee]

~~~
Ah, great news! Thank you for tracking him down. I missed his Rustyeese
posts.

v - when I fall off the radar, it's usually because my PC died. Yes,
this dinosaur still uses a desktop.
--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[Hymermut]

On 17/11/2023 11:44, vickiebee wrote:
> this dinosaur still uses a desktop

Nowt wrong with that. I've got two on the go.

Tone

[vickiebee]

~~~
(Big grin - high-fives fellow dino-sauer)

Alley-Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz6IpmmYSXA

v - dang, big-time earworm!
--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

Makes three of us using desktops - at least (although my desktop is a tower
under the desk).

[Nicholas D. Richards]

In article <20231117130349.058f...@eircom.net>, Ahem A
Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> on Fri, 17 Nov 2023 at 13:03:49 awoke
Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote

>On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 12:34:31 +0000
>Hymermut <to...@email.com> wrote:
>
>> On 17/11/2023 11:44, vickiebee wrote:
>> > this dinosaur still uses a desktop
>>
>> Nowt wrong with that. I've got two on the go.
>
>Makes three of us using desktops - at least (although my desktop is a tower
>under the desk).
>

Makes 4 of us. I have a topflat only for lounging with when in bed. It
has nothing stored on it or applications worth talking about.

A tower is so much more versatile, particularly when home built, and is
capable of having more, so much more, peripherals hanging off them.
--
0sterc@tcher -

"Oů sont les neiges d'antan?"

[Kerr-Mudd, John]

Mine isn't - I've waggled the front usb connectors so much that they no
longer erm connect. I have to have an extension string from a back port
for my 1Gb bottle opener.

--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

[Adrian]

In message <uj7jnc$2pfrj$1...@dont-email.me>, vickiebee
<prairied...@aol.com> writes

<waves to V>

>v - when I fall off the radar, it's usually because my PC died. Yes,
>this dinosaur still uses a desktop.

Some of us resemble that remark. Actually, it's three desktops if
anyone is keeping count.

Adrian
--
To Reply :
replace "bulleid" with "adrian" - all mail to bulleid is rejected
Sorry for the rigmarole, If I want spam, I'll go to the shops
Every time someone says "I don't believe in trolls", another one dies.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 13:47:55 +0000
"Nicholas D. Richards" <nich...@salmiron.com> wrote:

> Makes 4 of us. I have a topflat only for lounging with when in bed. It
> has nothing stored on it or applications worth talking about.

There's nothing stored on my desktop except the OS (FreeBSD) and
applications (all open source installed from packages), data lives on the
NAS where it's safe. I do have an ancient macbook for when I'm travelling,
the only thing of consequence on it are the VPN keys to connect to my LAN
remotely.

[Hymermut]

Got 2.72 TB on one of them.1.36 on t'other.

Should be enuff for me music.

Tone

[Hymermut]

On 17/11/2023 13:03, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 12:34:31 +0000
> Hymermut <to...@email.com> wrote:
>
>> On 17/11/2023 11:44, vickiebee wrote:
>>> this dinosaur still uses a desktop
>>
>> Nowt wrong with that. I've got two on the go.
>
> Makes three of us using desktops - at least (although my desktop is a tower
> under the desk).
>

My Dell is a tower on the desk behind the screen. T'other is an upright
Lenovo. Both second hand and both still running W7.

Tone

[Tim+]

Nicholas D. Richards <nich...@salmiron.com> wrote:

> In article <20231117130349.058f...@eircom.net>, Ahem A
> Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> on Fri, 17 Nov 2023 at 13:03:49 awoke
> Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote
>> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 12:34:31 +0000
>> Hymermut <to...@email.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On 17/11/2023 11:44, vickiebee wrote:
>>>> this dinosaur still uses a desktop
>>>
>>> Nowt wrong with that. I've got two on the go.
>>
>> Makes three of us using desktops - at least (although my desktop is a tower
>> under the desk).

I am so far ahead of you all in the dotage stage apparently. I only boot up
my PC if I absolutely have to, otherwise I use my iPad or phone. Can’t
imagine waiting to boot up a PC to read and post a few newsgrope massages,
buying stuff, booking tickets, sending e-men, general web browsing etc,
etc.

Tim

--
Please don't feed the trolls

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On 17 Nov 2023 19:24:33 GMT

Tim+ <tim.d...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I am so far ahead of you all in the dotage stage apparently. I only boot
> up my PC if I absolutely have to, otherwise I use my iPad or phone.

I never shut mine down, it only gets rebooted for kernel updates.

[Hymermut]

On 17/11/2023 19:37, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On 17 Nov 2023 19:24:33 GMT
> Tim+ <tim.d...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I am so far ahead of you all in the dotage stage apparently. I only boot
>> up my PC if I absolutely have to, otherwise I use my iPad or phone.
>
> I never shut mine down, it only gets rebooted for kernel updates.
>

I don't ever shut mine down. I don't do updates either.

Tone

[vickiebee]

Hymermut wrote:
[desktops]

>
> Got 2.72 TB on one of them.1.36 on t'other.
>
> Should be enuff for me music.
>
> Tone

I guess so! What do you like best? Folk and rock? I also collect music,
but have more vinyl than terabytes... everything from Beethoven, Billie
Holiday, Brubeck, and the Beatles.

Hey, did your see? Vinyl is coming back! I think it sounds richer than
digital.
v

--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[vickiebee]

~~~
My last PC was a HP - 21.5" All-In-One - Intel Celeron - 4GB Memory.

I really like it, no tower to mess with. My needs are simple, I'm not a
gamer (except for Cryptograms and crossword puzzles). I do a lot of
research, keep a journal, used to write a political blog (back when I
thought George W. Bush was the worst we could do), pay bills online,
family email.

I don't bank online, and I backup a lot of stuff on paper - addys,
passwords. I still like to look at family pictures in a old-fashioned
album. Cell phones drive me crazy. I still have a landline... which my
neighbors came over to use when an ice storm knocked our power out for days.
v
--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[vickiebee]

Adrian wrote:
> In message <uj7jnc$2pfrj$1...@dont-email.me>, vickiebee
> <prairied...@aol.com> writes
>
> <waves to V>
>
>> v - when I fall off the radar, it's usually because my PC died.
>> Yes, this dinosaur still uses a desktop.
>
> Some of us resemble that remark. Actually, it's three desktops if
> anyone is keeping count.
>
> Adrian

~~~
Way to go, Adrian. I hope the world is treating you well. At the risk of
sounding like a 'you kids get off my lawn' grump, I must say it bothers
me how the world is changing... like when the record stores closed down,
we lost the experience of getting in our cars, driving to the music
store, walking around and browsing... when I was a kid they'd let me
listen to little 45's in a sound-proof booth. I also miss book stores,
and my city library is slowly dying... I love books, the way they smell
and feel in your hands.

Sorry to ramble on so...
v

--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[vickiebee]

~~~
Eek, I only plug mine in for 2 or 3 hours a day. Is that bad? I got into
the habit because we have sudden leckky storms with big lightning boomers.
v
--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[Hymermut]

On 18/11/2023 00:31, vickiebee wrote:
>> I don't ever shut mine down. I don't do updates either.
>>
>> Tone
> ~~~
> Eek, I only plug mine in for 2 or 3 hours a day. Is that bad? I got into
> the habit because we have sudden leckky storms with big lightning boomers.

I was told by somebody that knows these things that more wear and tear
is likely to be done to 'puters by shutting them down and restarting
them than by leaving them on, or in sleep mode.

I'm sure knowledgeable sheddi will either confirm or poo poo this.

Tone

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 01:19:34 +0000
Hymermut <to...@email.com> wrote:

> > Eek, I only plug mine in for 2 or 3 hours a day. Is that bad? I got into
> > the habit because we have sudden leckky storms with big lightning
> > boomers.

Probably the best thing you can do.

> I was told by somebody that knows these things that more wear and tear
> is likely to be done to 'puters by shutting them down and restarting
> them than by leaving them on, or in sleep mode.

This is certainly true if you use spinning rust for storage, with
SSDs not so much.

[Andrew Marshall]

Glad to hear arRusty's OK.

One desktop and one flotpat here still in jbexvat beqre; both are
penguin homes.

--
Regards,
Andrew.

[John Williamson]

On 18/11/2023 00:02, vickiebee wrote:

> Hey, did your see? Vinyl is coming back! I think it sounds richer than
> digital.
> v

A common feeling. From personal experience of recording and editing
choral and orchestral music, I know that CD can give a more accurate
rendition of what was played at the session than any analogue device.
This is not the same as a "rich" or "warm" sound.

When mastering for any analogue output, I need to be vary careful about
what I put on the master, due to the physical limitations of the
recording cutter and the playback device, (Or the heads and the magnetic
material on the tape) and this results in a more mellow sound than the
real thing. The frequency response is more limited, especially at the
high end, and the signal on CD is less distorted. Vinyl is also less
capable of providing a wide dynamic range, though there is a regrettable
tendency to reduce the range when editing a CD to make it sound louder.
Even conductors and musicians prefer the limited dynamic range that
results from mastering for vinyl or squishing the dynamic range on CD.
They play from ppp, to fff, but like to listen between p and ff, with
the high frequency edginess at least reduced.

Another aspect that makes people prefer vinyl is the ritual of cleaning
the disc, and setting up the system, rather than the digital experience
of just putting the disc in the slot or selecting the file and playing
it. Making the effort makes it seem more worthwhile.

MP3 and other lossy compressed digital formats are the modern equivalent
of the cassette. You can get some very impressive sounds, but they are
nothing like the real thing.

Our corroded mutual friend, does, of course, disagree with me, and has
made and sold some very good playback equipment to get the best possible
result out of vinyl playback.


--
Tciao for Now!

John.

[Kerr-Mudd, John]

I recently (re-)read My Bryson's /Lost Continent/. It has that nostalgic
look at the US he was growing up in. I (UK) never got to see or use a
record booth, or twirl on a stool at a drugstore counter. WIWAL the
nearest we had was the 'Ice-cream Parlour' that also had an impressive
espresso machine (and gossipy mums smoking a lot).

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 08:40:51 +0000
John Williamson <johnwil...@btinternet.com> wrote:

> The frequency response is more limited, especially at the
> high end, and the signal on CD is less distorted. Vinyl is also less
> capable of providing a wide dynamic range, though there is a regrettable
> tendency to reduce the range when editing a CD to make it sound louder.
> Even conductors and musicians prefer the limited dynamic range that
> results from mastering for vinyl or squishing the dynamic range on CD.
> They play from ppp, to fff, but like to listen between p and ff, with
> the high frequency edginess at least reduced.

It's been a long time but back when my ears were young and I owned
high end record playing gear I had a few half speed mastered records that
had noticeably greater dynamic range and high frequency fidelity than CDs.

[vickiebee]

~~~
Welluh, I checked with a techie over in Quora:

"Should a PC always be plugged in?
Depends on the computer. If it is a laptop I wouldn't leave it plugged
in, unless you want to ruin the battery. If it was a desktop then sure,
but I would recommend having surge protector even a battery backup with
surge protector as well (even for laptops) so that way you wouldn't risk
frying or bricking them."

Frying? Bricking? I think I'm wandering too far out into the weeds...
;) My brian isn't wired that way.
v
--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[vickiebee]

~~~~
Wow John, you really sound like you know what you're talking about. I
went to Google for more:

"There are paradigmatic differences between the sound quality of vinyl
records and digital formats. The former tends to be deeper, richer,
warmer, and of a more rounded quality. The latter tends to be more
clean, polished, and slick, of a more trebly, high-end quality."

That word "paradigmatic" almost stopped me in my tracks... but the rest
of it sums up how I feel.

v - stocked up on enough stylusses - styli? - to last my lifetime

--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 10:26:50 +0000
"Kerr-Mudd, John" <ad...@127.0.0.1> wrote:

> I recently (re-)read My Bryson's /Lost Continent/. It has that nostalgic
> look at the US he was growing up in. I (UK) never got to see or use a
> record booth, or twirl on a stool at a drugstore counter.

I recall using headphones in open soundproofed booths (like the
minimalist phone booths) to listen to singles in a record shop sometime in
the 1970s and enclosed booths to try out guitars in a music shop around the
same time but never twirling on a stool at a drugstore counter.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 04:44:08 -0600
vickiebee <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:

> Welluh, I checked with a techie over in Quora:
>
> "Should a PC always be plugged in?
> Depends on the computer. If it is a laptop I wouldn't leave it plugged
> in, unless you want to ruin the battery. If it was a desktop then sure,

That's good advice - although some laptops (the work Macbook for
example) do their own battery protection by turning off the charging
circuitry from time to time.

> but I would recommend having surge protector even a battery backup with
> surge protector as well (even for laptops) so that way you wouldn't risk

This is good advice, especially in areas subject to frequent
lightning.

> frying or bricking them."
>
> Frying? Bricking? I think I'm wandering too far out into the weeds...

Frying: Power surge damaged components due to excess voltage being applied.

Bricking: Anything that turns an expensive piece of electronics into a
non-functional object that might as well be brick. More commonly used to
describe the outcome of inadvisable software updates on phones and the like.

[Nicholas D. Richards]

In article <20231118101404.81ea...@eircom.net>, Ahem A
Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> on Sat, 18 Nov 2023 at 10:14:04 awoke

Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote

>On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 08:40:51 +0000
>John Williamson <johnwil...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
>> The frequency response is more limited, especially at the
>> high end, and the signal on CD is less distorted. Vinyl is also less
>> capable of providing a wide dynamic range, though there is a regrettable
>> tendency to reduce the range when editing a CD to make it sound louder.
>> Even conductors and musicians prefer the limited dynamic range that
>> results from mastering for vinyl or squishing the dynamic range on CD.
>> They play from ppp, to fff, but like to listen between p and ff, with
>> the high frequency edginess at least reduced.
>
> It's been a long time but back when my ears were young

As a sprog I felt there was an inherent injustice in the young not being
able to afford high end replay equipment in order to get the best
enjoyment of my music choices. By the time I could afford such
equipment, my ears were no longer able to give me the best enjoyment of
my music choices.

The Paradox has always been such.

> and I owned
>high end record playing gear I had a few half speed mastered records that
>had noticeably greater dynamic range and high frequency fidelity than CDs.
>

--

[John Williamson]

On 18/11/2023 10:58, vickiebee wrote:
> Wow John, you really sound like you know what you're talking about. I
> went to Google for more:
>
> "There are paradigmatic differences between the sound quality of vinyl
> records and digital formats. The former tends to be deeper, richer,
> warmer, and of a more rounded quality. The latter tends to be more
> clean, polished, and slick, of a more trebly, high-end quality."
>

I can get a deeper, richer, and warmer sound off my CDs by using the
tone controls. I can't get the brighter, more detailed sound of a CD off
vinyl, as the information is not there on the disc. I prefer accurate,
though for a lot of the stuff I listen to, accurate is an illusion, as
it has been recorded over a period of weeks, and, often the musicians
haven't even met each other in the studio. Then the engineer uses
effects on the mix, including, on occasion, an old tape recorder or
simulator thereof to get that warm, mellow, distorted sound that
analogue tape inevitably has.

I know a lot of people prefer analogue, but the figures back me up when
I say CD is a more accurate reproduction. The major distortion in both
cases is where the original sound is turned into an electrical signal
and vice versa. For real High Fidelity, you need excellent speakers (
Allow a couple of grand a pair, minimum) and an acoustically treated
room. (Allow for things like patches of sound absorbing foam in just the
right places on the ceiling and walls, as well as just the right balance
between soft furnishings, and rugs on the uncarpeted floor. Having the
floor and ceiling parallel is not a good idea, not is having airs of
parallel walls. Even then, to hear all the detail on a well recorded CD,
you need to put up with the unnatural listening experience of a pair of
what the professionals call "in ear monitors", which makes the listening
room irrelevant. There is one studio, in New York if I remember
correctly, where on decent equipment, you can hear the subway rumbling
past, and that's a good fifty feet down below the soundproofed,
suspended studio floor in solid rock. Oddly enough, you only hear it on
CDs, not vinyl, and they are using the same master tapes for both.

Some early CDs did have a brittle sound, as well as oddities in quiet
passages, but that was due to the poor quality of even the best analogue
to digital converters of the time.

The one thing I can't understand is that they are stocking cassettes in
supermarkets again, and they aren't even the Chrome Dioxide types, just
plain iron oxide. Presumably, people are using them for some unknown
reason. Maybe they have hearing problems, and the HF response of the
digital stuff hurts their ears?

> That word "paradigmatic" almost stopped me in my tracks... but the rest
> of it sums up how I feel.
>
> v - stocked up on enough stylusses - styli? - to last my lifetime
>

They don't last long, do they? Cartridges also have a limited life.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 12:59:00 +0000
John Williamson <johnwil...@btinternet.com> wrote:

> Some early CDs did have a brittle sound, as well as oddities in quiet
> passages, but that was due to the poor quality of even the best analogue
> to digital converters of the time.

I always assumed it was due to the analogue low pass filters needed
to cut off everything above half the sample rate.

[John Williamson]

On 18/11/2023 13:25, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 12:59:00 +0000
> John Williamson <johnwil...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
>> Some early CDs did have a brittle sound, as well as oddities in quiet
>> passages, but that was due to the poor quality of even the best analogue
>> to digital converters of the time.
>
> I always assumed it was due to the analogue low pass filters needed
> to cut off everything above half the sample rate.
>

Some of the early "16 bit" converters were lucky to get 14 bits of
accurate conversion.

Now, they use double or higher frequency sampling and do the filtering
in software. 192 kHz sample rate is common in studios.

[John Williamson]

The modern converters are so good, some can even accurately reproduce
the effect of Brownian motion on the microphone diaphragm, as well as
the thermal noise in the preamp stage.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 14:06:15 +0000
John Williamson <johnwil...@btinternet.com> wrote:

> Now, they use double or higher frequency sampling and do the filtering
> in software. 192 kHz sample rate is common in studios.

For sure, you can even get 192kHz, 24 bit on PCs although most only
go to 96kHz.

[Adrian]

In message <uj908d$30td9$1...@dont-email.me>, vickiebee
<prairied...@aol.com> writes

>Way to go, Adrian. I hope the world is treating you well. At the risk of
>sounding like a 'you kids get off my lawn' grump, I must say it bothers
>me how the world is changing... like when the record stores closed down,
>we lost the experience of getting in our cars, driving to the music
>store, walking around and browsing... when I was a kid they'd let me
>listen to little 45's in a sound-proof booth. I also miss book stores,
>and my city library is slowly dying... I love books, the way they smell
>and feel in your hands.
>

Same here. We used to have a really good music (largely CD) shop in the
town centre. I used to pop in from time to time, usually when something
had caught my ear. I bumped into the owner one day, and he informed me
that he was having a closing down sale, so I went in and picked up a
several of bargains.

Our last independent book shop went some time ago. In both cases I
suspect (although it wasn't mentioned) that the strong ladies were
largely responsible.

I might be unusual, but I try and ohl locally if I can, only going
online if there isn't a local source, which for anything beyond food and
clothing is becoming more often.

>Sorry to ramble on so...

What else is there to do on a damp Saturday afternoon ?

Adrian
--
To Reply :
replace "bulleid" with "adrian" - all mail to bulleid is rejected
Sorry for the rigmarole, If I want spam, I'll go to the shops
Every time someone says "I don't believe in trolls", another one dies.

[Bernard Peek]

On 2023-11-18, vickiebee <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:
> Hymermut wrote:
>> On 18/11/2023 00:31, vickiebee wrote:
>>>> I don't ever shut mine down. I don't do updates either.
>>>>
>>>> Tone
>>> ~~~ Eek, I only plug mine in for 2 or 3 hours a day. Is that bad? I
>>> got into the habit because we have sudden leckky storms with big
>>> lightning boomers.
>>
>> I was told by somebody that knows these things that more wear and
>> tear is likely to be done to 'puters by shutting them down and
>> restarting them than by leaving them on, or in sleep mode.
>>
>> I'm sure knowledgeable sheddi will either confirm or poo poo this.
>>
>> Tone
> ~~~
> Welluh, I checked with a techie over in Quora:
>
> "Should a PC always be plugged in?
> Depends on the computer. If it is a laptop I wouldn't leave it plugged
> in, unless you want to ruin the battery."

That was true in the early days of lithium batteries. These days the
electronics can manage batteries better than you can. Leaving a laptop
plugged in will have no adverse effects. The really dangerous thing is to
let the battery go completely flat. Doing that just once can wreck it.

A lot of the battery care advice on the 'net is from the days before NiCd
switched over to NiMH.

--
Bernard Peek
b...@shrdlu.com
Wigan

[Bernard Peek]

On 2023-11-18, Ahem A Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> wrote:
> On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 04:44:08 -0600
> vickiebee <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Welluh, I checked with a techie over in Quora:
>>
>> "Should a PC always be plugged in?
>> Depends on the computer. If it is a laptop I wouldn't leave it plugged
>> in, unless you want to ruin the battery. If it was a desktop then sure,
>
> That's good advice - although some laptops (the work Macbook for
> example) do their own battery protection by turning off the charging
> circuitry from time to time.

And every other laptop and phone made in the last ten years or more.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On 18 Nov 2023 20:33:50 GMT

Bernard Peek <b...@shrdlu.com> wrote:

> On 2023-11-18, Ahem A Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> wrote:
> > On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 04:44:08 -0600

> > That's good advice - although some laptops (the work Macbook for
> > example) do their own battery protection by turning off the charging
> > circuitry from time to time.
>
> And every other laptop and phone made in the last ten years or more.

I did not know it was that widespread - I don't buy laptops often
(my own Macbook is a 2012 model, rarely used and its battery is good for
maybe an hour, the work one is only two and a half years old - hmm I
probably rate a new one soonish) and my phone only spends lengthy periods
on charge when being used as a splatnav.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On 18 Nov 2023 20:30:12 GMT

Bernard Peek <b...@shrdlu.com> wrote:

> A lot of the battery care advice on the 'net is from the days before NiCd
> switched over to NiMH.

Eeek - definitely ignore anything that talks about memory effect.

[Nicholas D. Richards]

In article <20231118223825.846a...@eircom.net>, Ahem A
Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> on Sat, 18 Nov 2023 at 22:38:25 awoke

Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote

>On 18 Nov 2023 20:30:12 GMT
>Bernard Peek <b...@shrdlu.com> wrote:
>
>> A lot of the battery care advice on the 'net is from the days before NiCd
>> switched over to NiMH.
>
> Eeek - definitely ignore anything that talks about memory effect.
>

Unless you are still using a NiCad battery?

[Nicholas D. Richards]

In article <krsl6k...@mid.individual.net>, Bernard Peek
<b...@shrdlu.com> on Sat, 18 Nov 2023 at 20:30:12 awoke Nicholas from
his slumbers and wrote

>On 2023-11-18, vickiebee <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:
>> Hymermut wrote:
>>> On 18/11/2023 00:31, vickiebee wrote:
>>>>> I don't ever shut mine down. I don't do updates either.
>>>>>
>>>>> Tone
>>>> ~~~ Eek, I only plug mine in for 2 or 3 hours a day. Is that bad? I
>>>> got into the habit because we have sudden leckky storms with big
>>>> lightning boomers.
>>>
>>> I was told by somebody that knows these things that more wear and
>>> tear is likely to be done to 'puters by shutting them down and
>>> restarting them than by leaving them on, or in sleep mode.
>>>
>>> I'm sure knowledgeable sheddi will either confirm or poo poo this.
>>>
>>> Tone
>> ~~~
>> Welluh, I checked with a techie over in Quora:
>>
>> "Should a PC always be plugged in?
>> Depends on the computer. If it is a laptop I wouldn't leave it plugged
>> in, unless you want to ruin the battery."
>
>That was true in the early days of lithium batteries. These days the
>electronics can manage batteries better than you can. Leaving a laptop
>plugged in will have no adverse effects. The really dangerous thing is to
>let the battery go completely flat. Doing that just once can wreck it.

Most, if not all, modern controllers will switch off the device if the
remaining battery power falls below a safe amount. Both my phobile and
potpal close down at about 5-2%.

>
>A lot of the battery care advice on the 'net is from the days before NiCd
>switched over to NiMH.
>

--

[chr...@privacy.net]

On 18/11/2023 20:30, Bernard Peek wrote:
>
> A lot of the battery care advice on the 'net is from the days before NiCd
> switched over to NiMH.
>

Yes - a game changer that was..

Chris

[chr...@privacy.net]

On 19/11/2023 08:00, Nicholas D. Richards wrote:
> In article <20231118223825.846a...@eircom.net>, Ahem A
> Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> on Sat, 18 Nov 2023 at 22:38:25 awoke
> Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote
>> On 18 Nov 2023 20:30:12 GMT
>> Bernard Peek <b...@shrdlu.com> wrote:
>>
>>> A lot of the battery care advice on the 'net is from the days before NiCd
>>> switched over to NiMH.
>>
>> Eeek - definitely ignore anything that talks about memory effect.
>>
> Unless you are still using a NiCad battery?

I doubt (hope?) there are none still active!

Chris

[Nicholas D. Richards]

In article <kru9o3...@mid.individual.net>, chr...@privacy.net
<chr...@privacy.net> on Sun, 19 Nov 2023 at 11:26:59 awoke Nicholas

from his slumbers and wrote
>On 19/11/2023 08:00, Nicholas D. Richards wrote:
>> In article <20231118223825.846a...@eircom.net>, Ahem A
>> Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> on Sat, 18 Nov 2023 at 22:38:25 awoke
>> Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote
>>> On 18 Nov 2023 20:30:12 GMT
>>> Bernard Peek <b...@shrdlu.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> A lot of the battery care advice on the 'net is from the days before NiCd
>>>> switched over to NiMH.
>>>
>>> Eeek - definitely ignore anything that talks about memory effect.
>>>
>> Unless you are still using a NiCad battery?
>
>I doubt (hope?) there are none still active!
>

I still use a radio which has a (built in NiCad) battery. There is no
equivalent battery. It does not run for long on its battery.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

Especially when the low self discharge variant was developed.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 12:06:58 +0000
"Nicholas D. Richards" <nich...@salmiron.com> wrote:

> I still use a radio which has a (built in NiCad) battery. There is no
> equivalent battery.

You could make one with a lithium cell and DC-DC converter as used
in various batteries with USB charging ports. The charging circuit wouldn't
work though so that would take some fettling - or just an off the shelf USB
charging board.

[chr...@privacy.net]

Oooh!
What type (of battery) is it?

Chris

[Bernard Peek]

On 2023-11-19, Ahem A Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> wrote:
> On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 12:06:58 +0000
> "Nicholas D. Richards" <nich...@salmiron.com> wrote:
>
>> I still use a radio which has a (built in NiCad) battery. There is no
>> equivalent battery.
>
> You could make one with a lithium cell and DC-DC converter as used
> in various batteries with USB charging ports. The charging circuit wouldn't
> work though so that would take some fettling - or just an off the shelf USB
> charging board.

There are battery protection circuits for lithium cells that include
circuitry for charging them from 5v. Some cells are sold with the circuits
built-in. ZuLand have power-banks that include a single 18650 lithium cell
and the protection/charging circuit. I've just disassembled a power bank
that had three 18650 cells in parallel. The charging circuitry sacrificed
itself to protect them.

[vickiebee]

Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 18:24:42 -0600
[...]

> I recently (re-)read My Bryson's /Lost Continent/. It has that
> nostalgic look at the US he was growing up in.

```
You sent me digging around for my copy, couldn't find it, then
remembered that I'd lent it out. I write "STOLEN FROM VICTORIA B" on the
inside cover of all my books... book theives just don't seem to care. So
I went to thriftbooks.com and ordered a new/used copy for $3.41 and it's
on the way... along with "Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties" and John
Grisham's "Rogue Lawyer" (for free delivery).

BTW - what are you reading lately?
```

I (UK) never got to see or use a

> record booth, or twirl on a stool at a drugstore counter. WIWAL the
> nearest we had was the 'Ice-cream Parlour' that also had an
> impressive espresso machine (and gossipy mums smoking a lot).
>
```
Ah, yours sounds more sophisticated than our scruffy drug store, which
sold everything from lipstick, greeting cards, wart remedies and sex
aids (behind the counter only).
v
--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[vickiebee]

Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 04:44:08 -0600 vickiebee

> <prairied...@aol.com> wrote: [..]

>> Frying? Bricking? I think I'm wandering too far out into the
>> weeds...
>
> Frying: Power surge damaged components due to excess voltage being
> applied.
>
> Bricking: Anything that turns an expensive piece of electronics into
> a non-functional object that might as well be brick. More commonly
> used to describe the outcome of inadvisable software updates on
> phones and the like.
>

```
Thanks Steve, I love how "techie" terms sometimes make so much sense.
v
--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[vickiebee]

John Williamson wrote:
> On 18/11/2023 10:58, vickiebee wrote:
>> Wow John, you really sound like you know what you're talking

>> about....

>>
> I can get a deeper, richer, and warmer sound off my CDs by using the
> tone controls. I can't get the brighter, more detailed sound of a CD
> off vinyl, as the information is not there on the disc. I prefer
> accurate, though for a lot of the stuff I listen to, accurate is an
> illusion, as it has been recorded over a period of weeks, and, often
> the musicians haven't even met each other in the studio. Then the
> engineer uses effects on the mix, including, on occasion, an old tape
> recorder or simulator thereof to get that warm, mellow, distorted

> sound that analogue tape inevitably has. [...]
>
```
You know, when you stop and think about it, you realize how important
and complicated are the jobs of sound engineers and audio techs - the
creative freedom they have to influence a recording or performance.

I guess that's why they give out so many awards for it.
v

--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[John Williamson]

As long as we get it right, *nobody* notices.

> I guess that's why they give out so many awards for it.
>

Probably. But how many of their names do you remember?

[vickiebee]

Adrian wrote:
[..]

>
> Our last independent book shop went some time ago. In both cases I
> suspect (although it wasn't mentioned) that the strong ladies were
> largely responsible.
>

```
Our last independent book store owner threw up his hands and got a
Cannabis Dispensary license which is legal here and it brings him a
thriving business. Yet he still sells used books in the back. I love the
little reading cove back there, you meet such interesting characters...
```

> I might be unusual, but I try and ohl locally if I can, only going
> online if there isn't a local source, which for anything beyond food
> and clothing is becoming more often.
>

```
I also prefer to buy locally... although it's becoming more difficult
what with Amazon, etc.... the stores don't keep stocked. If I have to
shop online I have trouble because I don't have a cell phone so they can
text and verify it's me!

>> Sorry to ramble on so...
>
> What else is there to do on a damp Saturday afternoon ?
>

```
Right. I love to clean house... empty junk drawers and stuff on gray
rainy days... accompanied by Billie Holiday or Howlin' Wolf.
v
--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[vickiebee]

Bernard Peek wrote:
[..]

>
> A lot of the battery care advice on the 'net is from the days before
> NiCd switched over to NiMH.
>

```
Thanks Bernard, info that might be outdated is important to know.
Speaking of batteries, where do you think the world is headed with
electric cars? I toyed with the idea of buying one recently, but
chickened out at the last minute.

v - dragging my feet into the 21st century.
--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Tue, 21 Nov 2023 15:07:01 +0000
John Williamson <johnwil...@btinternet.com> wrote:

> As long as we get it right, *nobody* notices.

Reminds me of a quote by a classical musician (name forgotten).

If I don't practice for one day I know it, if I don't practice for
two days my fellow musicians know it, if I don't practice for three
days /everyone/ knows it.

[Adrian]

In message <ujihmf$sgov$1...@dont-email.me>, vickiebee
<prairied...@aol.com> writes

>v - dragging my feet into the 21st century.

I've had a good look at the 21st century, and I'm rapidly coming to the
conclusion that it is over rated.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Tue, 21 Nov 2023 09:17:33 -0600
vickiebee <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:

> Thanks Bernard, info that might be outdated is important to know.
> Speaking of batteries, where do you think the world is headed with
> electric cars? I toyed with the idea of buying one recently, but
> chickened out at the last minute.

All new cars will be either electric or hydrogen in the near
future.

In the EU all new cars will have to be zero emission (battery or
hydrogen) from 2035, in Norway its 2025 (less than two years!), Britain,
Israel and Singapore 2030. Several manufacturers have already announced
their plans to stop making internal combustion engine cars - probably with
great relief engine design is incredibly expensive these days.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Tue, 21 Nov 2023 08:53:35 -0600
vickiebee <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:

> Thanks Steve, I love how "techie" terms sometimes make so much sense.

All too often they're terrible puns or things like male and female
connectors - it's no fun when a child asks you to explain those. I did once
get a funny look from a customer when I asked a colleague to hand me the
gender-bender.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:12:39 +0000
Adrian <bul...@ku.gro.lioff> wrote:

> In message <ujihmf$sgov$1...@dont-email.me>, vickiebee
> <prairied...@aol.com> writes
> >v - dragging my feet into the 21st century.
>
> I've had a good look at the 21st century, and I'm rapidly coming to the
> conclusion that it is over rated.

I looked at my SF book collection and realised - the future was
never like this - so I wrote a song with that as the opening line.

[chr...@privacy.net]

On 21/11/2023 16:01, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Tue, 21 Nov 2023 08:53:35 -0600
> vickiebee <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Thanks Steve, I love how "techie" terms sometimes make so much sense.
>
> All too often they're terrible puns or things like male and female
> connectors -

Not to mention the fact that you get male sockets and female plugs!*

Chris

*I eventually worked out that the plug/socket description always applied
to the nature of the pins whereas the male/female term applied to the
shrouds. HTH

[Julian Macassey]

On Tue, 21 Nov 2023 09:17:33 -0600, vickiebee
<prairied...@aol.com> wrote:
> Thanks Bernard, info that might be outdated is important to know.

Even before the advent of NimH and Lithium Ion
batteries there was a lot of idiocy written about batteries.

For example"

Standing a lead-acid battery on concrete will discharge
it.

Nickel-cadmium batteries have a memory effect.

You should always completely discharge a NiCad befoore
charging it.

> Speaking of batteries, where do you think the world is headed with
> electric cars? I toyed with the idea of buying one recently, but
> chickened out at the last minute.

Buy one!

Cheap to run.

Quiet.

Comfortable.

Reliable.

Great excelleration.

I had a Nissan Leaf, a great car. One of the best cars I
have owned.

--
The modern web is a crumbling edifice of unspeakable horror -
Jamie Zawinski <j...@jwz.org>

[vickiebee]

Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:

> On Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:12:39 +0000
> Adrian <bul...@ku.gro.lioff> wrote:
>
>> In message <ujihmf$sgov$1...@dont-email.me>, vickiebee
>> <prairied...@aol.com> writes
>>> v - dragging my feet into the 21st century.
>>
>> I've had a good look at the 21st century, and I'm rapidly coming to the
>> conclusion that it is over rated.
>
> I looked at my SF book collection and realised - the future was
> never like this - so I wrote a song with that as the opening line.
>

```
And then what happened? Did you allow them to record it?
;)

--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Fri, 24 Nov 2023 06:35:01 -0600
vickiebee <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:

> Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> > On Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:12:39 +0000

> > I looked at my SF book collection and realised - the future was
> > never like this - so I wrote a song with that as the opening line.
> >
> ```
> And then what happened? Did you allow them to record it?
> ;)

I play it from time to time at a regular open mic session in
Tralee. The guy that organises it has promised to record this (The Future)
and my other song "Dogs of War" in his studio, but he tends to be over
committed so it's not happened yet. I don't push but he brings it up from
time to time to say he hasn't forgotten and it will happen.

[vickiebee]

Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Fri, 24 Nov 2023 06:35:01 -0600 vickiebee
> <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>>> On Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:12:39 +0000
>
>>> I looked at my SF book collection and realised - the future was
>>> never like this - so I wrote a song with that as the opening
>>> line.
>>>
>> ``` And then what happened? Did you allow them to record it? ;)
>
> I play it from time to time at a regular open mic session in Tralee.
> The guy that organises it has promised to record this (The Future)
> and my other song "Dogs of War" in his studio, but he tends to be
> over committed so it's not happened yet. I don't push but he brings
> it up from time to time to say he hasn't forgotten and it will
> happen.
>

```
Wow, a musician/song-writer TAAAW, eh? I have many such talented people
in my family, most of them have day jobs as CPA's. They once showed me
an article wot said that the brains of musicians and people who work
with numbers are wired the same way.

Gosh, I can't stand people who don't fulfill their promises. Maybe you
should shop it around, or re-title it so it doesn't get mixed up with
Pink Floyd's "Dogs of War" back in the 80's.

Good luck with it all. I love music to death, couldn't live without it,
but can't play a note on any instrument. But I can sing! I used to tend
bar in a little SoCal jazz club that had live music on weekends... the
musicians used to talk me into singing ballads... told me I had a good
voice.

But you know how musicians can sweet talk...
;)

--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[John Williamson]

On 24/11/2023 13:15, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Fri, 24 Nov 2023 06:35:01 -0600
> vickiebee <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>>> On Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:12:39 +0000
>
>>> I looked at my SF book collection and realised - the future was
>>> never like this - so I wrote a song with that as the opening line.
>>>
>> ```
>> And then what happened? Did you allow them to record it?
>> ;)
>
> I play it from time to time at a regular open mic session in
> Tralee. The guy that organises it has promised to record this (The Future)
> and my other song "Dogs of War" in his studio, but he tends to be over
> committed so it's not happened yet. I don't push but he brings it up from
> time to time to say he hasn't forgotten and it will happen.
>

If you weren't so far away, I'd nip round with the mobile rig. As it is,
I'd need to drive a couple of days and take a ferry trip each way. Or
fly and hire a car...

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Sat, 25 Nov 2023 04:26:03 -0600
vickiebee <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:

> Wow, a musician/song-writer TAAAW, eh?

It's a recent development and very much in progress - I bought my
first guitar (which is still regularly played) in August 1974 with the
proceeds of working as a steward at the Cambridge Folk Festival. Fame and
fortune did not strike me as a teenager so since then the guitar has been a
background hobby practised in private or among good friends. I never
thought of myself as a musician - I used to say I knew how to operate a
guitar.

It's coming up on five years since that changed - first I went
through a bad patch a few months after my wife died then a friend got me
jamming first with an electric he'd bought to sell on which inspired me to
play in ways I never had before and later an acoustic which (again he
bought to sell on) I couldn't play without singing along to - I didn't
usually, not having much faith in my voice. I wound up buying both of those
guitars.

People around me encouraged me and told me I didn't sound bad often
enough to become convincing and we started talking about organising some
kind of folk club or at least an open mic sort of thing and several of us
starting getting material together and working on organising a venue - then
COVID - during which the entire social circle imploded in a series of bad
breakups.

Covid passed and I went looking and found the open mic night I now
play at nearly every Thursday - it's almost exactly what we were trying to
get going before it all went sideways - and I don't even have to organise
it.

It's been a year and a half now that I've been playing in public
and I'm starting to believe that I might not sound too terrible on my good
days (the regulars and pros all say they like my stuff). First time out I
learned from first experience what it feels like to be shaking in my boots!
My legs were like jelly before I was half way through. My playing has
certainly improved more in the last year and a half than in the preceding
forty odd - I'm finding stuff easy now that I couldn't struggle through a
couple of years ago, and I've started writing songs which boggles me
completely.

For now I'm just enjoying the ride.

[vickiebee]

Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:

> On Sat, 25 Nov 2023 04:26:03 -0600 vickiebee
> <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Wow, a musician/song-writer TAAAW, eh?
>

> It's a recent development and very much in progress [...] I never

> thought of myself as a musician - I used to say I knew how to operate
> a guitar.

;)

> It's coming up on five years since that changed - first I went

> through a bad patch a few months after my wife died [...]

My sympathies, I also went through a rough patch when my husband died.
He was 14 yrs. older and the Sun around which I revolved. It's nice that
you had music to help you through. I have no such talent, although I do
enjoy sewing fabric art... wall-hangings, etc.

So I gathered my pretty fabric scraps and started making children's
quilts for charity. Mostly donated to Women's Shelters... those little
ones sometimes arrive in the middle of the night, scared, with just the
clothes on their backs. I wanted them to have something cheerful to
comfort them, and call their own. I still do this in my spare time... or
if it's 2am and I can't sleep...

[...]My playing has

> certainly improved more in the last year and a half than in the
> preceding forty odd - I'm finding stuff easy now that I couldn't
> struggle through a couple of years ago, and I've started writing
> songs which boggles me completely.
>
> For now I'm just enjoying the ride.
>

;) Me TAAAW. I think I'm older than you and quite happy to be alone.
Good luck with it all, they say the more you do it, the easier it gets.
And never give up!
v

--
https://www.thefarside.com/

[Mike Fleming]

On 25/11/2023 16:03, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>
> It's been a year and a half now that I've been playing in public
> and I'm starting to believe that I might not sound too terrible on my good
> days (the regulars and pros all say they like my stuff). First time out I
> learned from first experience what it feels like to be shaking in my boots!
> My legs were like jelly before I was half way through. My playing has
> certainly improved more in the last year and a half than in the preceding
> forty odd - I'm finding stuff easy now that I couldn't struggle through a
> couple of years ago, and I've started writing songs which boggles me
> completely.

I was like that for a while - always wore loose jeans so people couldn't
see my knees shaking.

In 2005, I started taking SWMBO to an open mic night, as I'd heard her
singing in the kitchen and thought she could be quite good. Her first
outing was not good, but I took her back next week and it was a
considerable improvement. We kept going to that for a few years - I
became the house band's bassist. Recently we got the news that the
organiser, John Benbow, had died, and I went to his funeral on Tuesday.
The wake afterwards also featured an open mic in John's honour.

[Mike Fleming]

On 21/11/2023 16:18, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Tue, 21 Nov 2023 09:17:33 -0600
> vickiebee <prairied...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Thanks Bernard, info that might be outdated is important to know.
>> Speaking of batteries, where do you think the world is headed with
>> electric cars? I toyed with the idea of buying one recently, but
>> chickened out at the last minute.
>
> All new cars will be either electric or hydrogen in the near
> future.
>
> In the EU all new cars will have to be zero emission (battery or
> hydrogen) from 2035, in Norway its 2025 (less than two years!), Britain,
> Israel and Singapore 2030. Several manufacturers have already announced
> their plans to stop making internal combustion engine cars - probably with
> great relief engine design is incredibly expensive these days.

Sunak has kicked that particular can down the road - the UK has now been
shifted to 2035, much to the annoyance of the manufacturers who were
planning based on 2030.

[Mike Fleming]

On 18/11/2023 08:36, Andrew Marshall wrote:
> On 17/11/2023 12:34, Hymermut wrote:
>> On 17/11/2023 11:44, vickiebee wrote:
>>> this dinosaur still uses a desktop
>
>> Nowt wrong with that. I've got two on the go.
>
>
> Glad to hear arRusty's OK.
>
> One desktop and one flotpat here still in jbexvat beqre; both are
> penguin homes.

One tower and one lapdog running W11, one tower and one lapdog running W10.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 13:25:30 +0000
Mike Fleming <mi...@tauzero.co.uk> wrote:

> Sunak has kicked that particular can down the road - the UK has now been
> shifted to 2035, much to the annoyance of the manufacturers who were
> planning based on 2030.

They'll still plan based on 2030 for the EU, most are well into
the switchover already, they'll just dump their last infernal combustion
vehicles on the UK.

[Sn!pe]

Ahem A Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> wrote:
[...]

> > Sunak has kicked that particular can down the road - the UK has now been
> > shifted to 2035, much to the annoyance of the manufacturers who were
> > planning based on 2030.
>
> They'll still plan based on 2030 for the EU, most are well into
> the switchover already, they'll just dump their last infernal combustion
> vehicles on the UK.

That's just as well, there's no chance that the UK's electric power
capacity and infrastructure will be ready on time. There'll be tears
before bedtime. . .

--
^Ï^. Sn!pe, PA, FIBS - Professional Crastinator

My pet rock Gordon likes the closure of Google's Web2News gateway.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 14:45:42 +0000
snip...@gmail.com (Sn!pe) wrote:

> That's just as well, there's no chance that the UK's electric power
> capacity and infrastructure will be ready on time. There'll be tears
> before bedtime. . .

There's plenty of capacity - provided everyone charges overnight.
Which is easy if you have a house with a drive or garage and rather harder
if you live in a flat.

[Sn!pe]

Ahem A Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> wrote:

> On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 14:45:42 +0000
> snip...@gmail.com (Sn!pe) wrote:
>
> > That's just as well, there's no chance that the UK's electric power
> > capacity and infrastructure will be ready on time. There'll be tears
> > before bedtime. . .
> >
>
> There's plenty of capacity - provided everyone charges overnight.
> Which is easy if you have a house with a drive or garage and rather harder
> if you live in a flat.
>

Unless e.g. you have to make long motorway journeys.

Then there's the need to get the juice from offshore windmills to
population centres where it's needed. How will they obtain the manpower
and materials needed to beef up the grid? How will they satisfy excess
demand when it outstrips capacity? How will they store surplus capacity
when it exceeds demand? All that within their very ambitious timescale?

If I was in government I'd make private motoring so boodly expensive and
inconvenient that people would be forced to give it up and use public
transport instead (haha). You wouldn't need all that extra 'lecky for
cars then; you could use it for electric heating. And think of all the
other savings you could make. . .

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 16:36:04 +0000
snip...@gmail.com (Sn!pe) wrote:

> Ahem A Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> wrote:
>
> > On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 14:45:42 +0000
> > snip...@gmail.com (Sn!pe) wrote:
> >
> > > That's just as well, there's no chance that the UK's electric power
> > > capacity and infrastructure will be ready on time. There'll be tears
> > > before bedtime. . .
> > >
> >
> > There's plenty of capacity - provided everyone charges overnight.
> > Which is easy if you have a house with a drive or garage and rather
> > harder if you live in a flat.
> >
>
> Unless e.g. you have to make long motorway journeys.

Sure for that there is a need for fast chargers along the way.
Although with battery sizes rising steadily (500km or more is a common
range for the current crop of EVs) the need for this is diminishing on a
per-car basis - and increasing overall as the number of cars goes up. This
should always only be a small proportion of the total EV charging though.

> Then there's the need to get the juice from offshore windmills to
> population centres where it's needed.

The distribution capacity is up to the daytime load so adding a
hefty night time load should not cause problems AFAICS.

> How will they obtain the manpower
> and materials needed to beef up the grid? How will they satisfy excess
> demand when it outstrips capacity? How will they store surplus capacity
> when it exceeds demand? All that within their very ambitious timescale?

I don't see that the grid needs beefing up for electric cars,
provided the majority of the charging happens overnight at low rates.

Switching to pure renewable sources does require adding a *lot* of
power storage to the system, enough to run everything for at least five
days (preferably ten) on stored power. The only things in the frame for that
currently are flow batteries based on either Vanadium or Iron with the
former providing higher energy densities and the latter requiring only
extremely common elements - iron and chlorine. They're both good enough for
the job but there's a lot of them needed.

> If I was in government I'd make private motoring so boodly expensive and
> inconvenient that people would be forced to give it up and use public
> transport instead (haha). You wouldn't need all that extra 'lecky for
> cars then; you could use it for electric heating. And think of all the
> other savings you could make. . .

This is a good plan - but you have to be prepared for that public
transport to have big loss making parts and keep the Beechings away from it.

[Tease'n'Seize]

Mike Fleming wrote:

> Andrew Marshall wrote:

>
>> Hymermut wrote:
>>
>>> vickiebee wrote:
>>>
>>>> this dinosaur still uses a desktop
>>
>>> Nowt wrong with that. I've got two on the go.
>>
>> Glad to hear arRusty's OK.
>>
>> One desktop and one flotpat here still in jbexvat beqre; both are
>> penguin homes.
>
> One tower and one lapdog running W11, one tower and one lapdog running W10.

Two flatpots running Win11, one tower running penguin, green robot
fondleslab and phobile.

[Mike Fleming]

On 23/12/2023 13:42, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 13:25:30 +0000
> Mike Fleming <mi...@tauzero.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Sunak has kicked that particular can down the road - the UK has now been
>> shifted to 2035, much to the annoyance of the manufacturers who were
>> planning based on 2030.
>
> They'll still plan based on 2030 for the EU, most are well into
> the switchover already, they'll just dump their last infernal combustion
> vehicles on the UK.

EU switchover is 2035, not 2030. The UK was leading that particular
element of the net-zero campaign until Sunak.

[Mike Fleming]

On 21/11/2023 14:58, vickiebee wrote:
> You know, when you stop and think about it, you realize how important
> and complicated are the jobs of sound engineers and audio techs - the
> creative freedom they have to influence a recording or performance.
>
> I guess that's why they give out so many awards for it.

Some awards, not just enough. Not only do they have the task of making
what is set before them sound not just listenable but good, they have
the task of putting the mics in the right place in the first place.