test please delete

[NickFitz]

Finally got around to unboxing and setting up the two HomePods I got before Christmas! Can't wait to… watch while they download a software update

Gave them a go without waiting for the update (which adds support for voice enhancement when watching Apple TV, to make up for modern filmmakers being unable to conceive of making the actors audible by default) and the sound is very good indeed. Blasting out Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis and it sounds great

[DoctorStrangelove]

Now waiting for the news story: "Man banned from playing loud classical music in Leicester flat". .

Upstairs neighbour complains "I couldn't even hear my SDS hammer drill it was so loud".

[NickFitz]

Now waiting for the news story: "Man banned from playing loud classical music in Leicester flat". .

Upstairs neighbour complains "I couldn't even hear my SDS hammer drill it was so loud".

I was wondering how loud they go, but I think I'd better wait until everybody else is out, though who knows if that will ever happen

By switching the Apple TV to use the ARC-enabled HDMI port on the telly, I've been able to set it up so all TV audio goes through them even when the Apple TV is nominally switched off. I'll give it a few days to decide if this is better than using the sound bar

Meanwhile, the lift is moving again! It's going up and down a lot and stopping at different floors, presumably so the engineer can check stuff, but I should be able to resume activities involving moving heavy stuff downstairs tomorrow

[NickFitz]

Tea has been Scotch broth with a bit of wholemeal, because I thought it was about time I had something a bit more nutritious than what I've had for the past week or more

This was accompanied by the motorway-avoiding cops thing. I'm thinking that the AirPods, currently sat on the floor, might supply a bit too much bass through the celling g to the neighbours downstairs. I'll have to raise them up - I've got a couple of speaker stands I've had for years that might do for now

The fuses (and other stuff) have been delivered, and the fairy lights still don't work

In fact, about half of them didn't work anyway. I'm wondering if they're maybe a couple of circuits in series, and one had already blown and now the other has too. I'm not sure if it's worth getting into trying to fix them though

[DoctorStrangelove]

Om.

[ladymuck]

Om.

[NickFitz]

The HomePods are now on the speaker stands. They still sound good and presumably aren't pumping so much bass directly into downstairs' ceiling

But I didn't bother watching any more telly, instead finishing Behold the Man

Early night now as I'd like to make a reasonably early start on getting that furniture shifted tomorrow, and also need to pop along to not-as-big Sainsbury's to get some bread and other bits and bobs. Terrible to think I've only got three days left before I have to start work again

Goodnight all

[WTFH]

Morning all
-2C on our perambulation, crunchy ground, crisp air with mist in the valleys. V. pretty, a proper winter's morning.

[NickFitz]

Morning denizens

Frosty roofs, frosty lawns, and frosty cars out there today. Almost a clear sky again though, with just a couple of small decorative wispy bits floating about. Officially, it's 0°C but feels like -5°, though it'll be a bit warmer today, reaching 4° by lunchtime. The barometers are up at 1010/1019mB

[DoctorStrangelove]

Morning.

Friday.

Dry.

Sunny.

Frosty.

Cold in here at 10.2 deg, 8 deg in the kitchen, 6 deg i the leanto, 2.6 deg in the saltinghouse (with the dehumidifier on all night).

1022.5 mBar, 30.194 in Hg, 766.94 Torr, 14.83 psi, (up from 1021.5 last night), 61% RH (Lidl electric).

Meanwhile on the 16th of December 2019 Brillo was still knackered, covbob had his CV "out there", NF was doing something with something called Celery to fix his twitter feed thing, and my car passed the MOT, during the bus trip down to the garage I met a colleague from Siliconix days driving the bus: he'd then worked for Sony etc. programming stuff in FORTRAN and C, then made redundant again and ended up driving buses. Worse things happen at sea. . C wot I did there? .

Walk (unabbreviated) walked in the sunshine & frost. Brrrr.

Lunch: Brunch.

Entertainment: the leveret thing on R4. The Reith lecture. 'Ang 'em all, that's wot I says. .

2nd walk (unabbreviated) walked along the canal towpath, not that said path is much use for towing considering the number of trees now blocking the canal, during which I met the lady who took charge of the ex cat: ex cat was taken to the vets, microchip read & ex cat's owners/slaves duly notified. Which, whilst sad, is better than not knowing, as per my sister's much loved ex cat Monster who disappeared in the early 1980s never to be seen again.

Tea: chilli con carne (tinned). etc. Nice enough. Plus a slice of Aldi xmas cake.

Entertainment: PM. 18 o'clock news.

Freecell score (W95): 83%, running average: 85%.

Thing about Jack the Ripper at 21:00. Meh.

Thing about Vera at 22:00.

Last 25 minutes of Fleetwood Mac live in Boston 2004.