[Richard]

You might be able to work it out if you knew the keyboard mapping. I suspect that either a contact fault has developed or the software controller has started to fail. Could dampness have affected the machine? The ‘o’ fault suggests to me that something is producing part of the key scan code and masking what is needed.

[Richard]

Years ago I was about to head off overseas and hired a Hertz rent-a-wreak to take self and wife to the cattle station oops the airport, even then it was a shopping centre with a plane park attached. Anyway first we had to get there and with a 3 litre v6 it should have been at least pleasant if not fun. When geriatrics on bicycles were half way down the road as the lights changed and I was still trying to get across the junction in the thing I decided that it did not so much need a service as putting out of its agony.

[Richard]

My Aunt had a budgerigar at probably the same time. Some seed fell from the feeder into a hard to reach post where is promptly grew within reach of the bird. The budgerigar in question was lame in one leg and had a very disabled foot. However it happily munched on the small growing shoots for years and the poor thing died at some grand old age whilst having been happy as Larry while peg legging it round his cage. I see they often do not last more than 8 to 10 years, this one was well into his late teen years.

I understand that seed was later treated in some way to reduce the chance of sprouting.

[Richard]

Steve, you are a shade out on the viva price, by about 50% as the base price is north of £9,000 and no doubt with extras could nudge £10,000. It does look an entirely different bag of nails compared to the original from the early 1960s era. I knew one or two who had an original version back then, but somehow the new one does not capture anything good from the past so I can understand your lack of enthusiasm.

Yes cars get bigger and a whole lot more complex as the years go by. When I bought me most recent one it was just before Christmas 2016 and I needed a car URGENTLY. The only one off the shelf was a high specification version with a fair discount so 4 days later I was driving about in the Kia. I have used the speed limiter, I love it, I have used the cruise control, the radio, A/C and heater. I have not really used the sun roof, though I did check it was there and the rear reversing camera is a nice gimmick. The noisy proximity sensors are a pain. The fuel consumption gauge appears to be quite accurate, though my fuel use is ‘modest’, I have today topped up last October’s purchase so 4 months ago. The little Honda is showing its age a bit, it gets the short straw use to the shops and back so it barely gets warmed up this weather, that does nothing for the fuel consumption. With fewer options I guess most of its functions have been used over the last 12 years, with the Kia I have used very much less of its functions. The hands free mobile use is good, but not as good as the Nokia voice operated version from about 2008. Connecting the mobile to the satellite navigation system for traffic updates takes for ever, so it was a ‘used once to try it option’. It might be more useful if I made longer journeys . I am less sure about the road sign detection capabilities, since they do nothing more than produce a dashboard symbol. Park assist appears to be provided, but I have not explored that either. The automatic handbrake release function is sometimes useful, but I do have at least semi working hands so not essential. Beyond the radio and I have not checked out all the stations available, the Hifi options remain untried though there are a number of connectors I understand.  I ended up turning off many of the other functions, such as the automatic seat adjustment on entering and leaving the car.

[Richard]

Steve, I have to agree that was a real result. Tyres and brake parts are consumables and should not really need to be counted as a true cost though it is probably best to get off the 13 year old boot. The exhaust might be another thing about to go from condensation though they do ‘feel’ as though they last longer these days. Your BiL was the loser in that deal, I got more for a 18 year old Honda with just shy of 100,000 miles. That was a sound car but as a low slung 2 door coupé had outlived its tenure.

I was going to change the small Honda, but it had an issue with the throttle body wiring so it was not available and I needed something with 4 doors and a hatch back urgently. Now I have put too much into it with the throttle body, its wiring and disks all round having been changed, That has also done close to 100,000 miles, while the Kia has yet to reach 2,000 after 18 months. Still at least I have remained mobile one way or another.

[Richard]

I cannot see the split now and it tested OK just before I finally posted the link, so thanks RSB.

I guess that ‘cash and carry purchases’ are still OK, but watch out for guarantee issues and that ordering stuff for delivery is not a great idea. If you had any vouchers, spend them today and come away with the goods.

[Richard]

Bob, we currently have two pharmacies almost opposite each other and two banks for the moment. One pharmacy does offer a delivery service I understand. The lot who have been pushing their dubious service have no discernable geographical base but are angling to have electronic prescriptions sent to them for postal dispatch. There would be no personal tough at all – much like the banks these days. To be a little bit fair to the banks one branch I am ‘based at’ is 200 or more miles away and another is about 40 miles away. I cannot remember the last time I visited either of them, though I have visited other branches of both, just not very often.

It was good the action was taken against the visiting slime balls, we do not have much in the village/town that is worth raiding, though one shop was done at some ungodly hour for cigarettes. As is usual with such cases the damage cost more than the worth of the goods taken.

[Richard]

Likewise, for style and style of cracks. They used to be in every one of the examples but we recently had some filled and painted to make the others look worse.

[Richard]

I take that as slightly good news, at least they had a human who could deal with the exceptions and give you advice. With automated systems you can usually only code for so many actions, after that it becomes too messy to code for too many one time exceptions.

[Richard]

Bob, the high street pharmacists are facing a bit of a battle with the semi wholesale ‘meds by post’ lot so many of them are as keen as mustard to retain their customer base. It frankly disturbs me that one day I might go to the quack, get told I need some medicine and then have to wait for the post to turn up some days later because the chemist has closed.

John, check with your chemist before you try to ring the passport lot so you have your ducks lined up first.

[Richard]

John,

It may well be that this thread has alarmed you, (and me) to a greater extent than necessary. As I said I have used my pharmacist in the past and he is set up with all the stamps to make it as official as possible. So I say ‘go for it’ and I am now pretty certain that all will be well.

[Richard]

My wife’s car is auto with paddles, though out of the tiny mileage last year, I had to do most going to and from services, the MOT, new battery etc. My wife did take me to and from my cataract operations and that was about all she was well enough to do.

I did find that I could get into a right old mess with the paddles and ended up realising that it was best to stop messing and let it sort out its own salvation, unhindered by me. My very similar car is manual but they are different enough to remind me.

In the Middle East my wife had Japanese automatics and I had a European manual. After a while I slipped into Japanese car = automatic, European car = manual.

The company car pool cars’ gearboxes tended to encourage me to rethink that plan!

[Richard]

Ed P wrote:

I think you are all reading too much into the ‘personally’ thing. It basically means a person who can recognise you on sight and knows your name, and you have both known each other by name for at least two years. Personally does not mean a ‘friend’. The legal definition is: “someone who acknowledges a person’s identity and can recognise that person.”

I hope and trust that you are right since he has done such things before, but these days you can get so many jobsworths rocking otherwise steady boats that you can take nothing on trust these days. After my collecting prescriptions for double digits years in almost industrial quantities the pharmacist is almost on first terms with me.

[Richard]

Here is HMPO  link https://www.gov.uk/countersigning-passport-applications 

It lists out a whole range of possible candidates, but there are some restrictions…

It suggests that you MUST be known personally not just professionally. About the only professional I know is the local pharmacist and he has signed things in the past, but I do NOT know him or anyone else socially. I guess that is another reason not to think about doing anything too exotic.

[Richard]

Your comment about bus passes brought back memories of the nightmare of renewing my daughter’s disabled user bus pass. This was due to expire in January so they wrote out two months before it expired. We went off to a local photobooth and selected the relevant size etc. filled out the form and sent it off with all the confidential bumph required. Several weeks later we had heard nothing so I started to ring a selection of numbers that I ended up being given. I was told that we might have applied too early – but they had asked for the renewal to be done in good time in view of the holiday period. We went round and round and in the end I sent a fresh lot in via e-mail addressed to a person not a reception desk. They reviewed the medical file and my how things changed. I was told that as her conditions would never change renewal should have been automatic anyway and did I want this or that extension to the pass. It arrived two days later… So far she has been unable to make use of the facility.

[Richard]

I see that there was an earthquake earlier today, I guess we generally have little shakes here, in the middle east there were some bigger sheiks, but I had to go to Japan for really big shakes when the floor would ripple for perhaps half a minute. I would put it down to last night’s beer only to look up in the office and see everyone under their desks hissing at me to take cover.

[Richard]

Bob, that is interesting though I do not think I shall bother any more. While there is a machine in the supermarket, shops as such are rare beasts these days and I would not know where to even try to look. My passport expires some time in the next couple of years, but the hassle of trying to get insurance and the godawful state of air travel is not inspiring me to roam any more. Even a cruise, by far the more civilised way to travel would probably be impossible to insure now. My wife’s mobility and resilience is severely reduced and daughter’s problems and issues make both trying to travel and gaining insurance for her a double doubtful venture.

I did deal on line with the driving license last time I renewed and that went well. I even printed my daughter’s photographs for her son and was surprised that they were accepted. He received his wanted poster book, sorry passport a short while later. Mind you since he was 5 months old perhaps they were less likely to object.

Ed, interesting, I have not read the form in a long while and based my comments upon John’s reference to a black pen being ‘recommended’. As far as I remember signing it has always been a requirement, but I am not sure how well an unsigned and thus invalid document would be treated these days. With less tolerance than in the past I guess.

[Richard]

Has France ever been that friendly?

[Richard]

Not here, unless it caused by me rolling over on the sofa.

[Richard]

To be completely fair the ones I really hate are all the drivers who have absolutely no recognition that the temporary speed limits on a couple of local roads are legally enforceable. The local council in a nearby town is doing something to sponsor the mud pie men on a new career via long term road works. As a result several local roads are severely restricted in both size and speed with 30 mph limits and for much, though not all of the time narrow single carriageway lanes. The number of goons who think that the limits should not apply to them is really worrying and I often feel they need to be filmed. The one who crossed a double white line, drove past 6 cars all of which were observing the limit in order to do something closer to 60 would be a starting point. The wagon driver, possibly from  Eastern Europe who hung out of the cab to shout obscenities because the single lane traffic flow stuck him to 30. Then a wholesale bunch of morons in Taxis who believe the temporary restrictions – now in force for well over a couple of years do not apply to their trade and so on. Oh the drunks/druggies who feel that whatever they can try to do is OK.

[Author]

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