SpuffMonkey

My son went a couple of years ago - I didn't plan any of it - but I got the impression that its a lot more regimented these days. He had to buy so many travel days within the period and had to pre book quite a few of the trips. I don't know if thats because of where he was going, or if it made it cheaper? I take it driving is a no-no?

Did a degree in Industrial Engineering, and graduated in 1981, just as all the heavy industry was closing Went on the dole and tried hard to make it as a photographer, I used to run a Darkroom Technique Adult Ed course at a local community centre and (as I lived in really scuzzy dangerous bedsits) kept all my kit and photos locked up there - alas idiots broke in and set fire to the place and I lost nearly everything, apart from a few contact sheets and negs I had at home - it was a fab record of the steel works and other factories in Sheffield but after 4 years of abject poverty, when I went to the bank to try and borrow some money to replace my camera, they just laughed at me. I saw an ad in the local paper for a YOPS graduate retraining course in Hull, learning Unix - applied and was accepted - it was a HND compacted into 1 year - which was pretty intense from a standing start. Started Jan 1985 and during the summer break, we all had to do an industrial placement - the place I was offered me a job at the end of the summer, so I just started work as a programmer writing systems for lawyers. Went from programmer, senior programmer, product analyst, systems analyst, project manager, IT Manager in various firms, then was seriously ill for a year and couldn't get back in at the level I had been and had to start again in support and then school IT. I thought I knew it all until I worked in a school! A year there should be compulsory for IT people!

Cor, is your Dad Robert Pattinson????

Watched Parasite today - pretty good I thought

My Mum used to work at one of their shops

You could always Freegle it

And stick a lightweight Linux distro on it!

Yes - I did one just before Christmas too - it was fine

Fraid not - but I did buy some of these recently https://www.scan.co.uk/products/icy-box-ib-158sk-b-trayless-aluminium-mobile-rack-for-35-sata-hdd for a NAS unit - and for the price, they're fine

The most useful bit of Discogs is that it makes you aware of how much some records are worth - a couple of mine were around £500 - which was a shock to me as I had bought them out of bargain bins years ago

We're planning on downsizing when my wife retires in 18 months - so trying to get rid of LOTS of stuff! Quite pleased with Discogs - its an absolute pita to get all the records on there - but they have been selling well - about 60 gone now - better than just chucking them to a charity shop

Come over to Discogs - its all old stuff there! I'm selling all my vinyl - only 400 albums to go!

I'm enjoying Upright at the moment - worth a watch

Oo - I've still got my Yankee screwdriver too! Quite handy for drilling in awkward spaces!

Yay - Rick & Morty is back

Yeah - but it ONLY covers package holidays - not flights or hotels separately booked

Yeah, if working in schools taught me anything - its that there's always a way round! Tried to impress on mine that it was better not to go to the darkest areas on the net - but I don't think I was listened to, otoh he seems to have emerged as a sensible, sensitive adult at the other end, so...

Are you sure its not just poor ventilation - we suffered a bit when we had a houseful of teenagers taking really long hot showers in the cold months. I fitted a powerful extractor and that helped a lot.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Definitely this, or you'll be throwing cash away!

Yeah, from what I read, they are encrypted on these boxes, irritatingly!

I was visiting my elderly uncle today, and he said that his Humax PVR had stopped working with an "No signal" error and he had called a TV aerial repair firm. I was just about to stir myself into action to try and save him the call out fee when the doorbell rang. Lo, it was the said aerial guy, so since the fee was spent, I let him sort it. I watched him pull the cables out of the PVR and as the aerial cable was removed, I little pool of water formed! "Ah" he says, so I ask what's going on, and he says the coax cover has been breached probably up on the roof and rain water is flowing down through the cable, apparently he sees it fairly often. He pulls the cable down and sure enough the where it looped over the roof edge, it was completely abraided. I've never seen anything like that before - I've seen plenty of knackered cables, but never where water has travelled down it! Still, you live and learn. Sadly it had knackered the PVR too - so replacing that will be my next job, along with trying to transfer his extensive collection of recordered classical music concerts

Never admit anything - deny all knowledge!

I asked my lad who lives in Cardiff, he said that a meander about looking at the sites, then maybe something to eat at Blue Honey Night Cafe https://bluehoney.co/ or perhaps cocktails at The Dead Canary The Dead Canary - Award Winning Cocktail Bar Cardiff. Shame you're not about in the day, you could've tried the fancy ice cream where he works https://www.sciencecream.co.uk/, its really yummy

Thanks for all of that- perhaps I've been a bit over cautious - its just I've been trying out all the stuff in a VM and it won't see my Ricoh colour laser printer and I started to worry that it was going to become a tricksy job!

Hi - I'm looking to build a Linux box for general desktop duties and light gaming - just wondered if anyone can recommend some kit for it? I know it can be a bit fussy about drivers, so looking to avoid problems before I even start! I usually build my own - so MB, CPU and graphics were my main concerns Cheers