Cosmicblue

The Amazon Blink camera devices have a free trial period and then require a subscription fee: https://www.amazon.co.uk/b?ie=UTF8&node=20859596031

My pet hate is people who start and end conversations with 'you know'. I had a boss who was badly afflicted to the point where I found myself counting each use of the phrase.

BT are dangling fibre from telegraph poles these days as there is a big push to end the use of copper wires - so FTTP right to your address is the way it will be for everyone eventually. I have a mate who lives in a tiny village a few miles outside of Rugby, Warwickshire who has fibre broadband via a pole opposite his house and gets well over 900 mb/s.

I took an interest in 3D printers when they became a 'thing' around 15 years ago, and then moved onto other things - like shooting clays.😀 Now retired and with more free time I've gone back and taken another look - the technology has moved on tremendously as has the filament materials that one can print - if you have never looked then this is an informative list: https://all3dp.com/1/3d-printer-filament-types-3d-printing-3d-filament/ Now it seems the tech has moved on - you can design something with a CAD tool (some are free-to-use on-line) and the design is sent to a 'slicer' application that could be part of the printer's software. The Slicer figures out how to print the object in multiple passes, creating a lattice-work supports if needed for added strength/object integrity.

Up until retiring back in February I worked for a US based software company that sold to manufacturers, and whilst ISO 9001 is not unusual in IT, we didn't hold the certificate and it was never an issue. On the other hand we also maintained ISO27001 and ISO27018 - which are IT/Data Privacy standards and these were almost always requested.

https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/store/en/PUB100368.pdf The ISO standards can be viewed as aspirational objectives which an organisation aims to satisfy. Not all of the ISO 9001 standards will be applicable to all businesses so it's a kind of pick n mix as you select what's needed. Once in place and documentation created that pertains to the business - often referred to as the 'Quality Manual'. Certification is achieved by submitting to audit by an accredited external auditor - never racking for the responsible employees and tedious for the rest in my experience...😉

Was on the BBC - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65481714

I'm in my 11th week of retirement, will be 66 in August this year and responded to the 'Claim your state pension' letter last week. I find that its a process of 'continual adjustment', I still find myself doing stuff at the weekends that I could do in the week - old habits die hard.

Pensions are very difficult to grasp, new terminology serious implications if you get it wrong - need to find a decent, properly qualified independent financial adviser for guidance. Finding a genuine one is harder than you'd think - I'm 65 and state pension kicks in @ 66 in August - got made redundant in Feb of this year and paid off. I've had 19 jobs since I left school in 1973 with bits of pension all over the place. The first 2 advisers managed I talked to said no more than 'you should be OK', the third (who came by recommendation from a former colleague) asked for data and then two weeks later set up an on-line meeting and were able to show how all the pensions including state would work in practice - this was free. I had proper comfort that I was making a sound decision - way beyond 'should be OK'. Obviously going forward they'd like to manage the pension funds consolidated into something more modern and I'm cool with that: https://blueskyifas.co.uk/

The worrying thing is that many, often not quite so bright US Citizens like the Trump message. The 'Make America Great Again' slogan reminds people of the early 1990s when the US was a genuinely great place to live - everything was relatively cheap and the quality of life for many was good. We should remember that in the USA the news outlets don't report international news so many Americans are only vaguely aware that the rest of the world has changed - food prices have rocketed and that there are global shortages of many things so many will think Trump is bang-on solid and sensible - whilst to us he's fruitcake material. The USA is a genuinely divided society and the risk of insurrection/civil war is very real.

Mechanical watches having been driven very nearly to extinction when digital wrist worn devices showed up are having a bit of come-back. Seeing the pocket watches above - a good friend (and fellow clay shooter), David Cottrell, is making his second watch from absolute scratch. I worked with him in IT a few years ago - completely self taught. D J Cottrell Watches. Each one takes about 5 years, full time to make. Having a quality wristwatch serviced is VERY expensive, I've had a Breitling for around 20 years, was sent back for a service a couple of years ago and that was over £500, came back like brand-new though, no scratches anywhere.

I'm really hoping that the Chief Mouser @No. 10, Larry, will be standing for Election - I have faith in his ability to not tell any fibs and stick to the assigned job.

Haldex - unfortunately the service recommendations for Haldex seem to suggest that just changing the oil is enough when in the real world the Haldex pump needs removing and its internal filter gauze cleaning - what has a tendency to happen is that the gauze gets clogged by clutch plate debris and then the pump fails. This company are pretty useful (though closed until 27th March) https://www.haldexrepairs.co.uk/ Attached a picture of a pump removed showing the filter screen...

VAG vehicles, when equipped with a sunroof have an additional tool for this purpose - usually under the boot floor with the locking wheel nut adaptor.

The RSPB aren't wild about felines either. 😁

MSA Sordins for me with the gel ear pads - the gel pads provide an effective seal around your shooting glasses and are bearable on really hot days too. I used Peltor Spottacs for a good 10+ years before - the Gels on the Sordin are in a different league and also don't give you a headache is worn for extended periods. Prices vary wildly so its worth spending a while surfing the web for the best deal - less than £200 is a good target to aim for.

The original 828U had an alloy action and whilst the design was innovative the things are brutal to shoot, recoil is a serious issue even with light loads. Benelli then introduced the 828U Sport - with a black action made of steel and extended chokes - 30". I bought one new, have travelled quite some distance to get one with a decent bit of wood - it was a nice gun to shoot but so unreliable. I really thought the thing had escaped R&D before it was finished, it would fail to strike shell primers - like not even try. Was returned to GMK three times for warranty repairs - traded it before it could fail for a 4th time.

I'm on the brink of retirement, state pension age birthday in August, and just booted up the road (redundancy with severance pay not the worst situation to be in). Fortunately I'd tasked a Chartered IFA to produce a report on my pension position (complex because of having around 20 jobs in my 50 year working life) back in September 2022. Crikey it's complicated...it would so useful if we came with a year counter so you knew when you were going to die...the report is here, all 33 pages of it.

Despite the provocative headline, Michael Heseltine makes a very valid point (worth 7 minutes of your time to listen to) in that Boris and Rees-Mogg did a terrible job of negotiating us out of the EU leaving a dreadful mess that is effecting all of us now.

Android OK, this is happening because your phone has two Email accounts that are both storing Contacts, this duplication effect can also effect your Calendar entries too. It's actually quite a clever feature - let's say you use one phone for work and personal use for example, you can have two sets of contacts and calendar entries all shown in a single view. Easy to fix: 1) Settings (the cog thing at the top of the home screen) 2) Accounts & Backup 3) Manage Accounts At the top of the screen you'll see your Email accounts, scroll down and you'll find what looks like a set of duplicates with the Google 'G' logo - select one and there is a box marked Sync Account - press it and there is a list of functions like Contacts, Calendar etc - with an on/off selector for that data that is sync'd with the Cloud. If only one account is syncing then you won't see duplicates.

Me too Bruno22rf - the NHS, its amazing care delivery and its future are worth fighting for.

The huge overhaul is required but no politician will want to touch it with an eye on being re-elected - political suicide to make the tough decisions required, making it two-tier with a large private medical insurance function (as happened with the Dentists) and focussing the efforts and money on those delivering hands-on-patient care. There is no way on this earth that an NHS Hospital Chief Exec can justify a £300K+ salary - madness. Turkeys don't generally vote for Christmas so the problem won't fix itself.

Every death delivered by a gun in the UK whether held legally or otherwise feels like another nail in the coffin for shooting sports.

On the positive - at least it wasn't a shotgun. Tragic, pointless waste of lives nonetheless.

Larry for PM..