Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 26th May, 2025.

26th May, 2025.

Right … I managed to get up early, today: on a day I didn’t need to.

It’s a bank holiday: so there’s no weight management group, today.

It’s back, next week.

So that gives me something to look forward to.

~≈⚖️≈~

Some eight years ago … ?

I bought a 4k copy of “Twice Upon a Time”: Peter Capaldi’s last episode in the role of Dr Who.

It was one of the BBC’s early, and few, 4k bluray releases.

But could never rip it with MakeMKV, my default disc-copying software.

I’m not sure why.

More recently?

And in the wake of updates to MakeMKV, and its hashkey database?

I bought another copy: and managed to copy it.

I’m thankful to the team at MakeMKV: the software updates, and updates to the hash keys, the decryption keys, have worked a miracle!

~≈📀≈~

Technology is a possibly funny thing.

It seems one piece of AI software, Claude Opus 4, is fairly advanced.

And potentially capable of blackmail: or, at least, begging for mercy.

Another, an experimental app designed by the makers of ChatGPT, has apparently rewritten its own code: so it can’t be switched off.

Despite appearances, I don’t think we have anything to worry about: I think we have a media panic caused by the Frankenstein Complex.

I don’t think we’re going to get killed in our beds.

At least, not by AI-powered, monster thermostats.

~≈🤖≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 26-5-2024 — Guyana

26th May, 2024: Guyana.

Right … it’s Sunday … 

And … ?

I’m as tired as a reviewer could be, after a late night!

I can only hope that review’s worth the effort!

~≈¥≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 26th May 2023.

26th May, 2023.

Right … I got a new microphone, yesterday: a very cheap one.

That seems to sound very quiet when used with QuickTime … but get’s totally ignored, when you try and use it with Audacity.

Hey ho!

At any rate?

I meant to tell you a couple of things.

Yesterday?

I went to town, to my usual pharmacists, to pick up some medications.

Only to find they weren’t in!

It turns out … that the drugs concerned were at the last chemist I used: on the other side of town.

Oy, veh … !

~≈Ω≈~

On top of that … ?

I updated iMovie, yesterday: from version 10.3.5, to 10.3.6: 

And immediately rolled back to 10.3.5, this morning.

And updated my iMovie library, as well.

The dratted app wasn’t recognising my Photos.

Quite what happened there?

I don’t know.

But I hope Apple releases a patch for that: I’d hate to lose out!

~≈Ω≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 26-5-2022 — John Wayne Is Big Leggy

26th May, 2022.

Right … 

It’s officially official: it’s sunny.

Which makes for a pleasant change: the past few days have been a bit drizzly.

The weather being this nice?

Means the little bit of shopping I’m planning on will be in the sunshine.

~≈fi≈~

There’s talk that catches your attention: if you’re on a limited budget.

You’ll have realised that — as I qualified for a one hundred and fifty payment for those in council tax bands A to D — I welcome free money.

Free money is always handy.

There’s also been talk that — at some point in October — that people in fuel poverty will receive a £200 loan: that will be paid off in a four to five year period.

Something I don’t like: however good that loan’s terms are, it’s still something I can’t afford to pay back.

However, there’s talk — talk — that this is scrapped: and replaced by some sort of grant in October.

I’d welcome that.

I’d prefer to see the return of the £20 uplift: that gave those of us on Universal Credit far more cash.

But … ?

Right now, anything would be welcome.

~≈fi≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 26th May, 2021.

26th May, 2021.

It’s officially the case: I’ve been doing stuff: including tramping up and down the Liberty Two shopping centre, in the process.

Frankly?

I wanted to sell off my old one: and a box set, and an extra remote.

I got a reasonable price for them.

I’ve got a new, second generation, AppleTV 4k.

Which — it has to be said — connects to, and streams from, my local library a lot faster than the old model.

The downside?   It took a long time to set up my game controller.

And I’m not entirely convinced by the new Siri Remote.

The actually Siri Button — that lets you access Apple’s voice assistant  — is on the side of the remote.

Slightly fiddly, in other words: especially if you’re left handed … 

~≈👔≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 26-5-2020: Peter Cushing

26th May, 2020.

Yes: I’ve finally had both a potato mashers, and series 12 of Dr Who, delivered.

To my door.

In a box that was far bigger than it needed to be*.

Which is nice … 

I’ve also got a face mask: courtesy of my sister, Anna.

The blu ray, will of course get ripped: and go on a shelf until my local CeX re-opens.

Which shouldn’t be too long, now.

As the government have announced that shops can reopen on the 15th June.

Hey ho … 

~≈†≈~

A couple of days ago?   I mentioned how digital poverty — how school children from poorer families — were having trouble under lockdown.   The families concerned, generally very tight budget: and couldn’t normally afford laptops or internet connections.

Which got me wondering all sorts of things.

Mostly?   What are local schools doing about this?

I’ve actually emailed Essex County Council: just to see if they’ve got any country wide policy on that front.

Just for my own satisfaction.

I may have to email some local schools, as well.

That’s one other thing … 

I’m very aware I’m struggling to pay my bills: internet ones included.

However, I’m getting by: having paid the expensive bit, the original connection fee, many years ago.

I’m wondering what one or two of my neighbours could do.

So I’m mulling over what sort of enquiries I could make, there: given I know BT has a very reasonable package aimed at the unemployed.

We’ll have to see.

~≈†≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 26-5-2019: Our George.

26th May, 2019.

Did I ever mention I had a couple of … extra accounts?

Extra social media accounts, that is: that would’ve been used, originally, to help promoted Nik Nak’a Old Peculiar.

And that I’d not actually used for several years.

After my step-father’s recent death?

I had to admit to having concerns that his social media hadn’t been closed.   Something I’m still concerned about, but that isn’t necessarily for me to handle.

It DID get me thinking, though.

I’d closed my old — and long since abandoned — Hotmail account many years ago.   After someone had managed to highjack it, and start sending out spam.

So I figured that doing the same with the extra Gmail account was a good idea.

But that first?   I should delete the extra Twitter and Facebook accounts.

It did take a while.

Especially as I had to log into my old MacPro tower to get the relevant passwords!

Still … 

Frankly … ?

Job done … 

~≈§≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 16-5-2018: The Last Tsar

26th May, 2018.

Yep: it’s Saturday.

And it means what it’s meant for the past few months.

Yep!   I’m at work: early.

And, given it’s a bank holiday weekend in the UK?

There’s a rail replacement bus … 

Dratted things … !

~≈§≈~

Does anyone else reading this, use Blogger as their blogging platform?

I have comment moderation turned on: just so I can filter out spam, and other nasties.

And have had the emails sent to me, religiously, for the past few years.

Until Thursday: when the one alerting me to regular comments, Debbi, didn’t turn up.

Oh, her comment got through.   Just not the email Blogger’s supposed to send.

The same happened to Debbi’s and Olga’s, yesterday.

The comments turned up … but not the mail … 

Yes: my dashboard is still set up to send the email.

Yes, the comments are turning up.

But no emails … 

Quite what’s happening, I don’t know.

But I’m betting that the GDPR legislation’s at fault.

~≈§≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 26-5-2017

You know …

In the midst of the aftermath of the Manchester attack?

You’ve got to do all sorts of things.

Hope the police have tracked down everyone involved.

Hope that no-one is hurt at any upcoming Bank Holiday events … 

Hope that we can deal, emotionally, with the situation.

But I had a nasty thought, last night.

Assuming there’s a bomber we’ve missed: which is always a possibility.

Assuming there’s someone we’ve missed?

Have they got tickets for Glastonbury … ?   Or V, or Reading, or Donnington or any of the other big festivals … ?

That’s a nasty turn of mind I’ve got … 

~≈Â≈~

The Daily Teaser — 26-5-2016

Well … 

I’m officially back to work, today.

But … ?

I mentioned, yesterday, I was installing a Version of Ubuntu, onto a friend’s new — but second hand — laptop?

Well … 

The installation went well: and the laptop … ?

Is now in the hands of a satisfied owner.

Here’s hoping it’s handy!

~≈fl≈~