[Ed P]

msinfo32 – maybe? It is a long time since I used it, but I vaguely remember it being something like your description. Alternately perhaps go to the Control Panel and look at System., the other way was to right-click on the ‘your computer’ icon and that throws up various properties which may be what you need.

Blind leading the blind on this one!

[Ed P]

System info (‘systeminfo’) on Windows command line?

[Ed P]

Drezha wrote:

starting and stopping

Does it use the main big hybrid battery to do the starting and stopping, or a poxy little 12v lead-acid thing?

Toyota had a REALLY irritating design (which saved them peanuts in the cost of an extra inverter) and used a 12v auxiliary battery to run all the electronics, engine management etc.  Unlike the big hybrid battery the cheap 12v battery typically only lasted 12-24 months and left the car dead in the water when it failed. Even worse, the 12v thing only had a 12 month warranty.  BAH!

Although I rant at Toyota for this carp design, it was a common car manufacturing cost cutting trick at the time we bought the Auris. Even our e-Niro still has the same irritating issue.

Tesla has now recognised that this design is deeply unpopular with many drivers, and now somehow use part of their main battery pack to run the 12v electronics.

[Ed P]

PlaneMan wrote:

It’s definitely losing air.

As you have changed the tyre, that sounds rather like a valve stem problem. I hope that it is something just as cheap and simple.

[Ed P]

@PM As it is a pretty new car, it probably is fitted with TPMS. You have eliminated tyre/valve problems by changing the tyre, so I’d guess that you have a TPMS sensor problem rather than a puncture or valve problem..

I wondered how my car ‘knew’ whether a specific tyre had too little air in it so I did an online search. This YouTube has the best explanation of TPMS that I could find, and how a mechanic can fix tyre sensor problems.

[Ed P]

Nice looking car.  What is your experience in using the brakes?

On our old Toyota Auris hybrid SWMBO found that there was only a very slight difference in foot pressure between low speed gentle braking and the car slamming on the anchors as the electric motor braking cut it.  It caused her to get rear-ended twice at different junctions by drivers behind not leaving enough space!

[Ed P]

Just as an addendum – the Russian seizure and re-routing of the production from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant now makes strategic sense. If Europe covers Ukraine’s electricity shortfall this winter then Italy is at major risk, if Europe does not cover the shortfall then Ukraine faces major problems.

As the Chinese Government states:

“China supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis. The pressing priority is to facilitate talks for peace. The fundamental solution is to address the legitimate security concerns of ALL parties and build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture.”

Maybe as the European power problem becomes understood steps will be taken to rein in the some of the more hawkish voices in the West and pressure the Ukraine to accept that throwing Russia out of the Ukraine and seeking reparations is an unrealistic goal.

[Ed P]

Interesting, as I suffer from bad astigmatism (due measles when a kid), I found the prospect of alleviating this very appealing – unfortunately cataracts make it an impractical desktop solution.

[Ed P]

Etsy link for Rainbow chillies – apparently they are an edible medium heat chilli, and you eat them when red.

[Ed P]

SWMBO grew some Rainbow Chillies in a trough for the decorative effect. We never had the courage to eat them, so I’d be interested to hear if anyone ever has eaten them.

They did however look really nice (this picture links to Etsy where you can buy the seeds)

[Ed P]

Have a beer to celebrate your birthday.

[Ed P]

Tobacco plant flowers have a nice night-scented smell which is rather like Jasmine. When I was small, lots of people grew tobacco plants, and many sunny outhouses had lines full of drying leaves.  I suspect that the tobacco so produced was a bit rough as people stopped growing it when the economy improved.

I guess the same thing happened in the 50s-70s with home-brews – every small town and village used to have their own wine and beer making clubs. But that seemed to peter-out by the noughties. I bet we now see a resurgence of that hobby following the imminent Truss Winter of Discontent and people with very limited cash. Some of the beers and wines were quite tasty, but I do remember a Wine Club member’s very poisonous attempt to make brandy via the freezing method and someone else brewing an insecticidal ‘wine’ from African Marigold flowers.

[Ed P]

SWMBO decided we needed a new supply of fresh veggies as things were going pear-shaped with Brexit screwing up the Dutch imports. So she bought one of these (a sort of cross between hydroponics and a propagator), and started growing Pakchoi. Much to my surprise it has worked really well! As Lee shows, you don’t need a lot of space to grow veggies, and his chillies will look quite decorative.

https://www.harrodhorticultural.com/salad-and-veg-planter-pid10778.html

Have a great birthday Lee.

[Ed P]

Or we are pretty crap at measuring big things!

[Ed P]

I agree with Wheels, I’d suggest that your other problems with background noise are wiring/connector related.

It may be that you can get better results with your old kit by changing out the connecting wires, and perhaps rerouting them through the same locations as you used for the USB wires. (the latter action may avoid a source of induced electrical noise, e.g. loops around some piece of electrical gear or even a magnet/speaker).  As you get the same improvements on both PC and TV then my bets are on the wiring and its connectors rather than the routing..

[Ed P]

I found an interesting under the hood comparison between Intel and AMD chip architectures. Chiplets is the new CPU in-word.

link

[Ed P]

Some say the future is not with Iter’s Tokamak but with the German Stellarator, as it has better plasma containment and up-time.

link

[Ed P]

Iter states that it will capture the heat from the neutrons that wander out of the plasma. I guess the South Koreans found that the movement of neutrons out of the plasma was too slow.

“The helium nucleus carries an electric charge which will be subject to the magnetic fields of the tokamak and remain confined within the plasma, contributing to its continued heating. However, approximately 80 percent of the energy produced is carried away from the plasma by the neutron which has no electrical charge and is therefore unaffected by magnetic fields. The neutrons will be absorbed by the surrounding walls of the tokamak, where their kinetic energy will be transferred to the walls as heat.

In ITER, this heat will be captured by cooling water circulating in the vessel walls and eventually dispersed through cooling towers. In the type of fusion power plant envisaged for the second half of this century, the heat will be used to produce steam and—by way of turbines and alternators—electricity.“

[Ed P]

I was wrong, despite the plans the Queen had agreed before her death, the country now goes into 10 days of limbo at a time when we can ill afford the luxury of a Parliamentary and Bank of England holiday. What a mess. not what she would have wanted I’m sure.

[Ed P]

Thank heavens ‘mourning’ has not thrown the country into limbo the way I recollect happened when George VI died. The official Mourning arrangements look both pragmatic and well thought out. link

It looks like the Golf and Cricket organizers had not seen the guidance, and I guess we will soon find out if the FA is in the same boat. Given the high percentage of non-Royalists it would probably be a better mark of respect  to call for a one+ minute period of silence before the start of any football matches.

The following is the official guidance for entertainment and sporting fixtures:

“There is no obligation to cancel or postpone events and sporting fixtures, or close entertainment venues during the National Mourning period. This is at the discretion of individual organisations.

As a mark of respect, organisations might wish to consider cancelling or postponing events or closing venues on the day of the State Funeral. They are under no obligation to do so and this is entirely at the discretion of individual organisations.”

[Author]

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