Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 16th April, 2020.

16th April, 2020.

Yes: I am bored … 

Radically bored … 

Bored in a way that involves been boringly bored in a bored kind of way.

Frankly?

The sooner the Corona virus lockdown is over, the happier I — and the rest of the country, frankly! — will be.

~≈Î≈~

On a slightly pleasant front … ?

I — occasionally — do phone interviews for the Office of National Statistics: the UK’s statistics body.

I did one recently: themed — inevitably — around the current crisis.

It took about fifteen (15) minutes.

And earn me thirty quid: as an Amazon gift voucher.

£30 worth of free stuff from Amazon can’t be bad.

Even if Amazon’s going to take ages to deliver!

~≈Î≈~

Right at the moment?

I’m concerned about charities.

I think some — ones like veterans charity, Help for Heroes and the various charities that support NHS hospitals like Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital — really shouldn’t exist.

As the causes are funded by our tax money.   The government should be doing a better job of using our money to fund them.

We shouldn’t have to pay extra for them.

So, seeing 99 year old veteran, Captain Tom Moore, doing a sponsored walk around his garden, to raise £1000 for the NHS — and raising £12 million as a result — leaves me feeling conflicted.

Raising that money’s the government’s job, not a retired captain who’s earned the right to have a sit down!

The walk … ?   And the money he’s raised?

Is STILL one hell of an achievement.

But, even so!

~≈Î≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 15-4-2020: World Art Day.

15th April, 2020.

I think I’ve mention this once or twice, already: but I’m diabetic.

I have to be care what I eat, for the most part.

I’m getting heartily sick of red sweet potatoes, I know that!

But getting the hang of brown rice.

Especially with soy sauce.

At any rate … ?

I’ve just picked up my second batch of Metformin: the commonest drug used to treat the condition.

Along side the original batch … ?

I got a warning that it could cause diarrhoea.

Which was … fun … 

But generally hasn’t been too bad.

I’ve mostly had had to put up with the farts, to be frank.

The two metre social distancing rules have been appreciated, there!

But, of course, that original batch ran out.

Which meant picking up a second batch, yesterday.

And … ?   My pharmacist has switched manufacturers … 

Which meant I got another case of the trots.

My bathroom door has never had that much exercise. 

~≈†≈~

A few days ago, I found out that some one had attacked 5g phone masts.

In the mistaken belief that the things were responsible for the coronavirus.

Something I felt was wrongheaded, at least, and downright stupid at most.

Well … 

There’s been more attacks: including one on the Birmingham Nightingale.

You have to ask, don’t you?

How idiotic ARE these people?

~≈†≈~

Doctor Who — The Faceless Ones: Episodes 1 and 2 — A Review

14th April, 2020.

Yes: we in the UK are living life under lockdown.

Hair going uncut, laundry done in an obsessive manner, vegetables fretted about … 

And a general sense that life is … on hold … 

For now.

Frankly?

I am bored out of my nut: as, I suspect, is most of the country.

And, quite possibly?

Quite possibly, I’m doing what many of us are doing.

Watching TV.

To be more specific?

I’ve just watched the first two episodes of classic Doctor Who story, The Faceless Ones*: complete with Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor.

~≈†≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 14th April, 2020.

14th April, 2020.

Right at the moment … ?

It’s Tuesday: and just gone ten to eight.

Frankly?

I’m going to be heading up to town, later: to pick up my diabetes medication.

And to get some shopping.

After a two week holiday?   Sainsbury’s have added some offers to my Nectar card.

Including for white fleshed sweet potatoes.

I hope they’ve got some.

I’m getting heartily sick of the red ones!

~≈¥≈~

Oh, just as a quick thought?

A robotics engineer in California has scored scored some brownie points.

By building an experimental ventilator: out of easily available parts, a lot of open source code … and a Raspberry Pi, Britain’s best selling computer.

The thing’s currently getting testing in Colombia.

Hopefully?

Someone in the UK will pick that up.

It sounds like it could be an ideal solution, here in the UK.

Especially given that the Pi, the best selling British computer ever made?

Is British!

~≈¥≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 13-4-2020: Monday

13th April, 2020.

It’s officially Easter Monday … 

And life goes on.

Lockdown is still in place, here in the UK.

For many of us, that’s still frustrating.

There’s also a certain amount of sadness, as well.

As yesterday saw the death of comedian, Goody, and I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue panellist, Tim Brooke-Taylor.

The world’s a smaller place.

~≈†≈~

How are you with mis-selling?

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking for a gift for a friend.

And managed to buy three of these USB flash memory drives: from a third party Ebay seller called Fashionjiacl.

Supposedly, the things had a capacity of some two terabytes, 2000 gigabytes: roughly two thousand hours of video, depending on the format and resolution.

At the advertised price, two terabytes is a godsend: especially if you are unemployed, and don’t have much money to spend.

I ordered three: which took a while to get to me.

When they did?

I immediately start copying my Dr Who collection over to one of them.

My computer told me that would take some twenty-four hours, given the amount of data.

The data didn’t copy.

The stick — which was showing up both mo my Mac, and my Ubuntu MATE laptop, as a two terabyte drive — wouldn’t hold more than approximately thirty-two (32) gigabytes.

So … ?

I complained to the sellers: who — initially — only offered a thirty percent refund: roughly the price of one of the sticks I’d bought.

I told them this wasn’t good enough.

They then offered a thirteen pound refund.

I refused, again.

And told Fashionjiacl that, unless I got a full refund, I’d be reporting them to Watchdog, and writing a blog post about it, and reporting them to Ebay, itself.

Something I’m still thinking of doing.

They refunded the money: which arrived in my bank account, yesterday.

I’m happy with that.

But?

I’m left with a bad taste in my mouth.

For a start?

Fashionjiacl is STILL offering hooky USB sticks on Ebay.

They HAVE added a footnote to say the devices are not the advertised two terabytes, but nearer thirty-two gigabytes: at the bottom of the page, in the proverbial last place we would look.

Something they weren’t doing when I bought them.

I’m assuming the things would still show up as two terabytes in any computer they’re connected to: so any one buying them would have no way of accurately know what the things could hold, or are holding.

I will give Fashionjiacl credit for refunding my money.

But … ?

I believe they are guilty of mis-selling.

And, given that this sort of thing seems to be common?   It’s something I thought I should warn you about.

~≈†≈~