Reply to: test please delete

[NickFitz]

Checking back through TPD, the Corolla appears to have got a new battery in December 2020, which was going flat occasionally in June and July 2021, possibly due to me not using the car much. Then there's mention of a new battery in February 2022. So this one is nearly three years old, having lasted longer than the previous one and possibly the previous two

I might just replace it anyway; it's not a huge hassle, though I don't live within a short walking distance of two car parts shops any more. But Halfords is only down the road

[NickFitz]

Shopping done!

Not-as-big Sainsbury's proved once gain that it's a better place for getting sliced in-store bakery bread. They already had a sliced white one out on the racks, and happily sliced a wholemeal one for me. So the supplies of both toasted sandwiches for lunch and the wholemeal toast I usually have for breakfast when working are secured for a couple of weeks

I didn't want much else and some of what I did want, they didn't have. Lots of the meat also had quite short dates, probably due to stock levels and distribution dates having been thrown out of kilter by the festive season, but I've got meat in the freezer that I could do with using up. So there was no difficulty getting everything upstairs, the lift not having been fixed again by the time I got back

The car was playing up a bit too; not starting for several goes here, though it did in the end. Then at the other end, it refused to recognise the wireless key thing for several goes, before suddenly noticing it and unlocking, and then wouldn't start four or five times. I'd just undone my seatbelt ready to open the bonnet to use the battery booster thing, in case that helped, and it started on the last attempt. So the cold seems to be a factor even when it isn't damp, as it's a crisp and dry sort of day, though it also seems to be a problem when the car has warmed up. I'm wondering if it's worth getting a new battery for it, though I vaguely recall getting one only two or three years ago; it seems to get through them quite quickly

[NickFitz]

The lift's broken again

I'm going shopping, though not buying anything heavy given that I'll have to bring it up the stairs

[ladymuck]

Morning all

Clear sky, not a wisp to be seen from my vantage point. Currently -1 ('feels like' -4) with a high of 5 expected. Small chance of light precipitation, which may be in the form of snow. Barometer up to 1024 mBar.

I have an appointment at the hairdresser this afternoon. Not sure I want to go outside in the cold but the greys won't go away by themselves.

[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. .

[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

[WTFH]

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

[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

[ladymuck]

Om.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Om.

[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

[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

[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]

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

[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