Dead Nintendo DS – slight rattle.
First step – buy a tri-wing screwdriver – about £1.50 on ebay.
Step 2: Check fuses
Step 3: Resolder small black thing that turned out to be an inductor
Mending a Nintendo DS
Steamed up about Freecycle
Freecycle‘s a great idea – give away the things you don’t need anymore so anyone willing to make the effort to come and collect them. There’s a kind of community noticeboard where you put up what you’ve got to get rid of, and people can also request items they need.
But surely, surely, it is taking it to extremes to ask for “Wanted: Working moped – any as long as it works, will pass MOT” and “Wanted – Car – Family car would be good, it would be nice to have something for just to go around shopping go see family with Children”?
I don’t mind that people ask for things, I saw one today asking for a Unicyle, and fair enough it might be something you have in the attic, not used for years and a request like that prompts you to get it down and give it a good home. But sometimes the Wanted requests make me mad! I’m waiting for the day I see “Wanted: Money, must be valid tender” next?
A Summer Weekend
Listen to Mica Paris (recorded on iphone)
“Sent from my phone” annoyance
Why should anyone care if the email they get is “Sent from my phone” or not. Does it add anything of value? I don’t think so…
Doubly annoying is that when people get emails on their mobiles, the urge to hit reply is too much to resist, so you typically get this:
Thanks! Sent from my phone.Look – just leave it! Would you write some a letter or call them just to say one word?!
Handbags
Cool UK plug design
Carrying power plugs – especially Britain’s big ones – can be the bugbear of any gadget-laden traveller. But one designer may have come up with a solution: a folding plug.
Read the full story on TheRegister
Nominet will be regulated after all
In the recent Digital Britain report (out for consultation), the government makes clear it is looking to regulate the .uk domain industry.
“In view of this, the Government has decided that on a precautionary basis it will seek reserve powers in any appropriate forthcoming legislation to regulate against the risk that the entry into the sector of a number of new, and as yet unidentified, players will mean we need a basis for industry cooperation. These powers may, for example, enable the Government to direct Ofcom to regulate the distribution of domain names in the UK, possibly by setting conditions and establishing a code of practice to which the industry would be required to conform.”As this is exactly what the current board of Nominet was seeking to avoid in it’s governance review, it appears as through the horse has already bolted.
Beeny bags
The sarcasm is back, the eye-rolling is back, the beeny-bags are back.
Property Snakes and Ladders C4, 8pm Tuesdays
Sarah is also one of the judges of this years “Shed of the Year“
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No More Westcountry TV
I found out by chance the other day that ITV have shut down Westcountry TV and made most of the staff redundant.
I worked at Westcountry TV from 1990-1993, straight after University. It was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had and I’m rather sorry to see the old company disappear.
Wikipedia gives a good potted history of the station, which underwent quite a few acquisitions over the year – although when I was there it was under the original small company that won the ITV franchise. My bosses were Ray and Sim Harris
The company had made a commitment to local news in the franchise award, which meant I had the good fortune to be based in Exeter for my 3 years. Since there is now only one ITV Plc, I guess these commitments have been thrown out of the window now – there’s is apparently no way ITV can be run as franchises with all the benefits of competition this entailed.
The team in Exeter was small, just 4 of us most of the time, and we really felt we were our own little TV station – we put out our own little 2 1/2 minute “opt-out” from the main local 6pm news, broadcast live from the Exeter Arts Centre where our offices were based.
Steve ‘Buckets‘ Jennings, David Whitbourn, Broni Lloyd-Edwards and Sarah Windsor (from Barnstable as was made clear) were my first set of co-habitees in Exeter and we had a fantastic time there (when not being ordered about by the big bosses up in Plymouth!). Steve in particular was a mentor to me. His humour, intelligence and technical skills, along with unstinting kindness taught me so much in those 3 years.
After 3 years I was ready for a change, and drove off to France in my lovely old Triumph Spitfire.