* Posts by MJI

6857 publicly visible posts • joined 5 Mar 2009

One of Blighty's most-loved charities hands £46m to one of Blighty's least-loved outsourcers

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Croome Court

The gardens are very good, well worth a visit.

We read the Brexit copyright notices so you don't have to… No more IP freely, ta very much

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Re: Something missing.

Mistletoe and Whine

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Re: I am just going to ignore it and

Australians

Well we will always need barmen.

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Re: Ups and downs

I call it Brexshit.

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I am just going to ignore it and

carry on as I was.

Fancy yourself as a bit of a Ramblin' Man or Woman? Maybe brush up on your cartography

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Re: Any Idiot...

And yes I did try to work out his age.

Farmer was in 20s with a puppy and a new born lamb.

Now late 40s with dog and grown but small sheep.

Shaun & Bitzer are in their 20s!

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Re: Any Idiot...

Not my sat nav.

It is rubbish, put in address, and it has an arrow.

I prefer my maps thanks.

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Re: Any Idiot...

>> Sheep

I have seen the documentries.

They are about a very bright sheep in his 20s called Shaun.

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Years ago when looking for pubs to meet friends at we just used OS map references,

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Re: Any Idiot...

I have done it many years ago and to be honest was tiring, tents on the hills overnight.

These days if I could I would drive, but the rules include do it with at least one another vehicle. Walking distances is out with a damaged back.

However I carry lots of OS maps and it is not windy inside.

Oh and the sat nav is useless away from tarmac roads.

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Re: Any Idiot...

I think I would just take my car, but not on my own.

I discovered the world's last video rental kiosk and it would make a great spaceship

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Re: I would rent that!

VhsC

I remember it too, quite small but not that much smaller than my Sony portable, but picture quality, it was shocking, even the camera was not great compared to mine, which was known to be a bit average.

Back in those days the portable VCR market had about 4 or 5 main entrants. 3 most well known were, Jvc did a VhsC portable, Panasonic the NV180 which was reckoned to be the second best domestic portable. Sony the SL-F1 portable, which was the best, by a long way.

Others were from Hitachi, a full size Jvc and Sanyo/NEC.

Cameras, the best early camera was a top end Jvc*, best late a CCD Panasonic. There was some not very good cameras. But the Sony I had was basic but good, colour rendition was good, low light usable but not good, however it kept colour unlike early CCD chip cameras.

Done some digging GX-N70E, and Panasonic F10 I think.

People often mixed and matched which meant that running a top end camera from company A with recorder from company B, most common mix was JVC camera with Sony recorder. There was never a market for Sony cameras away from their recorders.

Kit differences were surprising, a cheap Jvc camera I have seen in use always ended up green tinged. Beta third generation were similar to Vhs edit masters. So the final product was better.

Raw footage -> Edit master -> final copies. Each one has generational loss.

Just ended up with Beta being so much better for this than Vhs some many little differences ending up making it a much better format for the job.

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Re: We Set Sail From Disaster

No DVD player?

We still have 3, 1 in use, 1 worn out and a car one we were given.

The in use one is also my CD, DVD-A, and SACD player.

My BD player is an older console (got the BD remote for it), and my streaming box is its successor.

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Re: "It's not enough to blame the internet"

Big argument at the rental shop about how shit they were and ripped up membership card and dumped it.

Happily they went bump not too long afterwards.

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Re: Love Film?

>> Why so angry?

Because the tossers stopped renting films before the production of them stopped. They just dumped the whole lot.

My favourite place shut down on the end of production. But was too far from where I was living at the time.

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Re: I would rent that!

Never existed the formats were too different.

Tape speed, drum or disc diameter, track angle, leader material, all different.

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Re: I would rent that!

I bought a N1502 but the heads were shot, ended up selling it for a very small profit (like £5).

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Re: Recycling

We need pictures!

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Re: I would rent that!

The tape formations are similar except the end bits, clear on Vhs and metallic on Beta, Vhs used little lamps that burnt out, Beta magnetic sensors.

No chance on recordings though not when the field track lengths were so much longer on Beta.

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Re: Lost For words

I hope so as 2 of mine still work.

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Re: "It's not enough to blame the internet"

Blockbuster were killed off by being rubbish.

I used to use a small shop a couple of miles from home (parents) then a big one in the local city who was a specialist in Beta rental, used them until I moved, had quite a few HiFi sound rentals as well.

Early 90s, moved quite a few miles for work, managed ONE rental at new place before the big argument and card destruction in store.

Was VERY early DVD adopter had to buy them, couple of small rental places, then a chap started up doing door to door, used them for a few years, was also part of LoveFilm DVD trial.

All this time Blockbusters were open, but never took on DVD, and never rented any of the decent cassette formats.

The gap between end of Beta rental and the release of DVD was not that big!

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Re: DVD rental

Tape on big screens

Well I have digital converted around 50 hours of video, from Beta to DV, then encoded to MPEG2 and burnt to DVD.

And it looks OK on my 46" LCD panel.

I even reedited some, much easier to do on PC than VCR to VCR and no 2 hour duplications.

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Re: Love Film?

I was happy to see the rental shops here go under, if they stop the product they can lose my custom. Also slow to take on DVD, just go bust you pricks!

Was better at my parents area.

Oh and I have NEVER used a Blockbusters, they never met my requirements.

Now renting a film is as easy as selecting a film on a programming running on a games console made by the same company as my old Video Recorders, watched on a TV of the same brand.

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Re: Video Rental

I remember renting some great films.

Did cause an upset at a film night once, I supplied the hardware and the film.

I arrived with my TV strapped onto the pillion seat, my video recorder in the tank bag, and a copy of Robo Cop.

Well I liked it!

Was surprising in late 80s how many people did not have a video or TV then.

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Video Rental

I used to back in the 80s, then suddenly they stopped. Arguments with the tossers which ran the places.

Didn't help that I moved from a place with good rental to one with crap rental.

Then on next visit home found my favourite place shut.

Started renting again I think in 1999 or 2000 after bullying some rental places to get with the times.

I think it was 8 years with no rental options. Just waited for TV to show them.

And yes I did blow £800 on a VCR and £500 a few years later on a DVD player.

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Go

I would rent that!

But not an unspooled one, never had an issue like that.

My VCR collection is now a Sanyo VTC-M40, a Sony F1 portable and a faulty Super deck

Sod 3G, that can go, but don't rush to turn off 2G, UK still needs it – report

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Re: Here's an idea

Formed by BT so of course I am going to hit BT around the head with it.

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Re: Here's an idea

BT tried to sell me a moblie phone, but would not accept that I had my work one which was BT as it has O2 on it and O2 is BT to me as it was called BT Cellnet.

Help! I bought a domain and ended up with a stranger's PayPal! And I can't give it back

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My domain

I am adding my sons to the admins for it.

As if it goes they lose their email.

They have debit cards!

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Re: Trying to report when people sign up with my addresses is painful

They had Sierras in America?

Did you get the Cosworth?

Welcome to the World Of Tomorrow, where fridges suffer certificate errors. Just like everything else

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Re: Don't Buy Samsung appliances.

They used to make good HDDs then sold the plant to WD.

My boss had a Samsung TV, had to swap it due to naughty HDMI ports.

My TV has been reliable and trouble free, but is a Sony.

However my Sony video camera failed about 15 years ago, the pick up tube wore out. Apart from that I had to have its lead replaced once, and they also serviced it. Mind you its partner recorder still works but is not quite 40 years old.

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Re: How much for an offline Fridge?

Toaster

Whenever someone mentions smart toasters I think of Talkie Toaster

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Re: Carbon footprint ?

Our fridge is older than the twins (1 at Uni)

Thought it was getting knackered but yes I found the spares!

Nice new handle now.

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Can't see the point in a dishwasher

My current cars cylinder head is too long.

This is what people do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mj-6Ox_hc0

Tinfoil-hat search engine DuckDuckGo gifts more options, dark theme and other toys for the 0.43%

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Multiple search engines

I use multiples.

Newcomer Google annoys me, they keep trying to change the way it works, removing + annoyed me.

Then the way it decides that looking for XXXYXX word I really mean XXXXX word just because XXXXX is a zeleb.

Sometimes I just give up!

And it keeps demanding to spy on me!

I am sure the pre Google search engines were more useful, but Yahoo is now not as good as it was.

Imagine finding this bad boy in your shower: Brit startup pulls the sheets off Moon spider mech

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What is wrong with a ....

Coin operated oven on skis?

In a touching show of solidarity with the NBA and Blizzard, Apple completely caves to China on HK protest app

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No he IS Paul

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Paul O'Grady

Why do you use a picture of him?

Diggerland comes to Mars as boffins battle to save InSight's mole

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Need a JCB?

Perhaps they need to use one as a Mars rover.

If you really can't let go of Windows 7, Microsoft will keep things secure for another three years

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10 UI is shit

I have recently been upgraded at work to a new PC infected with Win 10.

And so far due to a poor UI.

I sent a part written message to a customer as I thought the button was on teh dialog I was currently on.

Possibly moved rather than copied our source code.

The UI for 10 is horrific and is slowing me down and stressing me out.

Astronaut Tim Peake reminds everyone about the time Excel mangled his contact list on stage at Microsoft AI event

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Re:Small databases

I have been known to use Advantage Data Architect to store stuff with

We're all doooooomed: Gloomy Brit workforce really isn't coping well with impending Brexit

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Re: Creating arguments

Ah but this person keeps on about it, has a piccie of Bojo the clown on facebook, and doesn't understand basic economics.

My daughter however is likely to commit brexshiitercide

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Re: "since there are about 4-5 versions of leaving."

Cummings should be tried as traitor.

Bloody disaster capitalist!

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Re: Not coping well with Brexit

Which is why we need the best deal we can get, but since parliament is determined to hamstring the negotiations by creating a situation where the EU, alone, gets to decide what the deal is I agree, we're probably screwed.

Its Brexity McBrexitFace!

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Creating arguments

We have a person at work who goes to Europe a lot, so of course he voted to leave.

He said he doesn't mind it costing more to go, He is happy to pay.

But for some stupid reason or other he is not willing to pay for my daughters EU funded research project.

Also he went blank when I said "Good Friday Agreement"

He knows I consider him an idiot.

BOFH: We must... have... beer! Only... cure... for... electromagnetic fields

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Re: solution

Startac - I remember them, they were hot I think.

Not had hot phone issue for years. First one I used didn't but it weighed a ton and had a lead to the main unit.

Some early pre Nokia all in ones were wierd.

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Re: solution

I can sense the electric from transmission cables, but I think that is simply due to 1/4 million volts.

Don't notice in the car, only walking, or biking.

Now that's integrity: Bloke sinks 7 beers, turns himself in. Cops weren't looking for him

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Lager - Czech or Belgium?

I do like genuine Czech lager, expecially the one of similar name to the recycled urine/

HP printer small print says kit phones home data on whatever you print – and then some

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Re: HP wouldn't try to bork printers with third party cartridges again

I have a Canon printer and for some stupid reason I find I can get genuine cartidges for not much more than copies.

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Re: WC2E 9DD

.5char

Actually this is a software issue on some emailing software, 3 characters are the limit on one we currently buy in.

.co.uk OK

.com OK

.wales no chance

Bit annoying for a Welsh customer, but luckily their customers still have their .co.uks

And yes we found it with .wales