Isolated Blurt Thread

[MagicaPractica]

And of course you can do it. We believe in your abilities. So should you.

Oh, Ogg. Thank you.

Now, now, dear.
Calm down and drink this. It's freshly made Tea.

Now, that's helpful. Yes, tea. Definitely.

https://img.pandawhale.com/165595-your-scientists-were-so-preocc-K8Ym.jpeg

Hm. Not very helpful, is it?

Erm, well, it is relevant . . . and enjoyable.

 

[Handley_Page]

My lens has arrived.
10-20mm f4.?

 

[MagicaPractica]

Honestly, I'd rather have someone who talks to me than flowers sent regularly.

 

[Handley_Page]

Honestly, I'd rather have someone who talks to me than flowers sent regularly.

Dear Lady,
Do you realise that you are surrounded by loads of blokes who would happily talk with you ? Ye gods, they'd even make the tea !

 

[oggbashan]

My wife was puzzling over a record transcription for family history. A late 19th century Scottish record showed the mother's first name as Qunnit.

The original image isn't available on line. We'd have to go to Edinburgh to see it. My wife did some more digging around and found a woman also researching the same family who had found Qunnit.

The other researcher had added a note. "She wasn't Qunnit. She was Janet!"

 

[Handley_Page]

My wife was puzzling over a record transcription for family history. A late 19th century Scottish record showed the mother's first name as Qunnit.

The original image isn't available on line. We'd have to go to Edinburgh to see it. My wife did some more digging around and found a woman also researching the same family who had found Qunnit.

The other researcher had added a note. "She wasn't Qunnit. She was Janet!"

That's a strange thing.
I wonder how /why ?

 

[MagicaPractica]

Dear Lady,
Do you realise that you are surrounded by loads of blokes who would happily talk with you ? Ye gods, they'd even make the tea !

 

[oggbashan]

More family puzzles

My wife has continued to work on the family of Qunnit/Janet.

She, and others researching the same family, couldn't work out the relationships in the mid 19th Century. We thought that a man had married his deceased wife's sister. That was only possible at the time by a private Act of Parliament. That was very unlikely because the cost of such an Act would have bought a row of houses.

Today she solved it. The elder sister married the son of her younger sister's husband, thus making her younger sister her mother-in-law.

The son was from the previous marriage. The son's mother had died in childbirth. The younger sister helped to look after the children before marrying her employer.

 

[Handley_Page]

My wife has continued to work on the family of Qunnit/Janet.

She, and others researching the same family, couldn't work out the relationships in the mid 19th Century. We thought that a man had married his deceased wife's sister. That was only possible at the time by a private Act of Parliament. That was very unlikely because the cost of such an Act would have bought a row of houses.

Today she solved it. The elder sister married the son of her younger sister's husband, thus making her younger sister her mother-in-law.

The son was from the previous marriage. The son's mother had died in childbirth. The younger sister helped to look after the children before marrying her employer.

Things seem to have been more complicated in those days.

 

[trysail]

A beautiful example of the enormous social benefit of free market economics.


https://alfred.stlouisfed.org/graph/alfredgraph.png?g=ctho

"The solution to high prices is...

high prices."
​

-T. Boone Pickens​

​

​

 

[oggbashan]

Two phone calls taken by my wife while I was out:

"We're calling from the (omitted) technical department about your internet service."

and a few minutes later:

"We're calling from the technical department of your internet provider." Unlike the earlier one they didn't specify which provider we have.

My wife's response to both:

"Oh no you're not! Goodbye!"

 

[MagicaPractica]

Two phone calls taken by my wife while I was out:

"We're calling from the (omitted) technical department about your internet service."

and a few minutes later:

"We're calling from the technical department of your internet provider." Unlike the earlier one they didn't specify which provider we have.

My wife's response to both:

"Oh no you're not! Goodbye!"

I like to just laugh and laugh at those people. When someone called claiming to be from the internal revenue service I just had to ask, do you really expect me to believe you? He tried to convince me, got rather angry about it too.

 

[oggbashan]

I like to just laugh and laugh at those people. When someone called claiming to be from the internal revenue service I just had to ask, do you really expect me to believe you? He tried to convince me, got rather angry about it too.

What is worrying is how many people fall for these scams.

I get several emails a week claiming there is something amiss with oggbashan's bank account.

What bank account? oggbashan is a fictional identity.

Even Fag-Ash_Lil has had a couple asking her to confirm her bank security details.

 

[Handley_Page]

I like to just laugh and laugh at those people. When someone called claiming to be from the internal revenue service I just had to ask, do you really expect me to believe you? He tried to convince me, got rather angry about it too.

Would this reply work ?
"Give me your telephone number and I'll call you back"

I got some young twerp calling itself "Fiona" (as if Fiona is in Bombay !)
who asked me if I'd had any response to my claim for help with an arthritic back.
"But I haven't got an arthritic back"
silence,
<off shot muttering>
Disconnected.
Click

 

[_Lynn_]

My brother would have been 56 today.

 

[Handley_Page]

Sympathy.
But you'll doubtless be 56 sometime. . . . .

 

[oggbashan]

I'm not happy with Literotica.

Apart from the Valentine's Day Contest still "coming" a week after it started and no obvious link to the contest entries, the change to the members area was implemented without warning.

The old control panel has this heading:

Please, proceed to your New Literotica Control Panel
Old UI is still available, but will be turned off eventually.

I can't see all my stories at once. I can't see the exact numbers of views.

At my age I don't like change anyway but to have it forced on me is very annoying.

I am seriously considering looking for somewhere else to go.

 

[MagicaPractica]

My brother would have been 56 today.

 

[TxRad]

I'm not happy with Literotica.

Apart from the Valentine's Day Contest still "coming" a week after it started and no obvious link to the contest entries, the change to the members area was implemented without warning.

The old control panel has this heading:

Please, proceed to your New Literotica Control Panel
Old UI is still available, but will be turned off eventually.

I can't see all my stories at once. I can't see the exact numbers of views.

At my age I don't like change anyway but to have it forced on me is very annoying.

I am seriously considering looking for somewhere else to go.

Mine still seems to be working. I'll find out later as i have a chapter 02 to post tonight.

 

[oggbashan]

Mine still seems to be working. I'll find out later as i have a chapter 02 to post tonight.

I've gone back to the old view while I can. 12 pages to work through instead of one is a real pain, particularly as the new one isn't accurate.

I don't like the new story submission page either. Although my eyesight still is reasonable the contrast is far too weak. It will be a real pain for anyone with sight problems.

 

[TxRad]

I've gone back to the old view while I can. 12 pages to work through instead of one is a real pain, particularly as the new one isn't accurate.

I don't like the new story submission page either. Although my eyesight still is reasonable the contrast is far too weak. It will be a real pain for anyone with sight problems.

This whole update thing is pointed toward cell phone users. Goggle and other sites like it are down grading sites without cell phone compatible/friendly applications. That included Lit.

 

[oggbashan]

This whole update thing is pointed toward cell phone users. Goggle and other sites like it are down grading sites without cell phone compatible/friendly applications. That included Lit.

And what about those who can't use modern cell phones because of their eyesight?

I can switch skins to see the forums better. I need the functionality to do that on the submissions page too.

 

[oggbashan]

Og in Grumpy Old Git Mode...

1. Today I had an email from the credit card company which included:

Make a statement – go digital – Do away with the filing and view your statements online, in the most secure way possible. Everything in one place – whenever and wherever you want.

I receive my credit card statements by post on paper. That's the way I prefer to have them. But apparently, from previous missives from banks, credit card issuers, utilities I should be "on trend" and have it all on Apps on my mobile.

My basic mobile, which is almost never turned on, doesn't have the facility for Apps. Even if it had, I couldn't use them because of limited movement in my fingers. I find it difficult enough to use the keyboard on a laptop. I prefer a full size keyboard with my desktop.

2. We buy saving stamps from two local supermarkets. We stick them to savings cards, get a bonus when we have reached £50 or £100 and before Christmas we give them to young friends who are on low incomes. It helps them to fund their Christmases.

But today I had an email from one of those supermarket chains. They are changing to digital saving stamps that I can load onto my store loyalty card. I can't give MY store loyalty card and password our friends. I could buy gift cards but that's not the point. A few saving stamps added to a shop in the supermarket builds up over the year. If we are shorter of cash in one month we can buy more stamps next month. We can't do that with gift cards in multiples of £25 minimum.

3. I met one of my neighbours yesterday and we were both in grumpy old man mode. A couple of years ago the domestic gas supplier insisted that the gas meter had to be replaced by a new 'smart' meter that could be read remotely. Why? The reason, although not officially said, was that my neighbour was using too little gas. He has hot water from solar panels, an electric oven and a gas hob. The gas hob is rarely used because they have an electric hob as well. The gas central heating usually doesn't need to heat the water they use and is only on when their wood burning stove is out. So they're using very little gas, suspiciously little.

On Friday evening the gas boiler for the central heating didn't come on. The digital display indicated 'No gas supply'. My neighbour checked. No gas at the gas hob either. He went to the smart meter. It told him "no credit".

But it isn't a credit meter. He pays by direct debit with amounts set by the supplier higher than necessary to fit with their estimate of the gas he ought to be using but isn't. He gets a large annual refund each year.

He rang the supplier. They accessed the meter remotely and it told them "no credit". "Oh, it must be a faulty indication. Please press these buttons.". He did. The display showed "Gas valve off". Could they change that remotely? No. He would have to wait until Monday morning and ring a different number to make an appointment for an engineer to call, possibly towards the end of the week. No. It couldn't be arranged faster. Bye.

My neighbour was furious. He looked again at his paper statement. He was £200 in credit and had NO gas. But there was a number to ring for a gas failure and a different number if you were a vulnerable customer. He rang the second number and said he was in his 70s, his wife was disabled, they had no heat, the temperature outside was below 0 c and the temperature inside the house was dropping.

A gas engineer arrived within the hour. He worked for an hour before removing the 'smart' meter and replacing it with an 'unsmart meter'. The gas supply on the 'unsmart meter' could only be turned on and off manually with a large visible lever. What was wrong with the 'smart' meter?

The batteries which are supposed to last a minimum of ten years had failed after two. Why? It was a fault in that model of meter. It draws more power than it should and when the batteries get low they use their last power to shut off the gas "for safety" - in other words because if the meter failed the customer would be getting free gas unless the meter shut off. That model had been superseded by two later models, both of which had shown different faults. A fourth version should be rolled out later in 2017. That one might work.

4. Car parking.

Three of our local car parks have barrier operation. They recognise registered users and charge for length of time the car is in the car park if it is for longer than ten minutes. About one third of users, including me, are registered. Two thirds are not registered and have to pay before leaving the car park by entering their full vehicle registration and then paying cash or by credit of debit card.

BUT - the system does not recognise foreign cars. They can't pay to get out. They are stuck in the car park until they ring the control centre on the emergency line. Even then - they can't pay for their car parking because their vehicle registration isn't valid.

How then do they get in? The system opens the barrier when it recognises a clear image. It tries to match that image on exit but the match can only be with a UK registration.

This week the local council announced they were changing almost ALL the local car parks to the same barrier controlled system. They know about the problem with foreign registrations but it is "manageable".

How many foreign cars are in our district on an average summer day?

Thousands.

How many car parks will jam because of foreign cars?

All of them.

Temporary end of rant.

 

[trysail]

This is an unusual and fascinating photograph of Roger Federer. Virtually every photograph you will ever see of Federer hitting a tennis ball will show him looking intently at the ball. He's notorious for his intense focus on the ball (which is a critical and too frequently forgotten necessity). During today's match a commentator noted that Federer has the extraordinary ability to take his eye off the ball whilst serving to check to see if the receiver is guessing on the intended location of the serve by "cheating" to one side or the other. Receivers (particularly on a second serve) will frequently move in an effort to improve the likelihood of receiving the serve on their favored side. Federer's ability to take this glance is an amazing subtlety and one that I had not previously been aware of.

http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2017/01/29/gettyimages-632973912-9e4f773445068eb79df24ff668ae00f8f976e2fd-s800-c85.jpg


​

 

[oggbashan]

Expletive deleted.

2017 looks like being a bad year for Og's extended family.

Eldest daughter has a long term health condition that might end her career as a teacher. She has been off work sick for two months and improvement is very slow.

Son-in-law who has two of our grandchildren for half a week and is their main financial support is facing redundancy because the company he works for is in deep financial shit. He hasn't been paid for a fortnight and isn't sure whether he will be paid at all. His employer, despite having more work orders than it can cope with, has been playing fast and loose with its creditors' money and could collapse at any time. If it does, a hundred specialist and highly skilled employees will lose their jobs AND are unlikely to be paid redundancy money for months. The company's owners and management have been incompetent for years. The recent events suggest that there might have been criminal embezzlement by them as well.

If either or both things happen my finances might take a big hit.