TB

On 31/03/2023 at 23:36, mjmooney said:

Nowadays, I never voluntarily listen to any radio at all. Can't stand any of it. My wife has to have Radio 4 (occasionally Radio 2) on, all day long. She's not even listening to it, it's just background noise. As soon as she leaves the room, I turn it off. If I want music, in the house or in the car, I've got CDs and Spotify. 100% my choice, no irritating talking in between songs.

I really can't comment on UK radio channels, but I think I get what you mean. Nowadays, I only listen to Norwegian radio channels for news updates when driving to and fro work. Then I turn it off and find either something I want to hear again just because I'm in the mood for it right there and then or something new I've heard about that sounded interesting enough to add it to my playlist. That's about it. I have never really liked having radio or tv on just for the sake of it. Or music, for that matter. When I decide to listen to music, it has to be active listening. (I miss the days of going home with a brand new LP and playing it while checking out the liner notes and the  lyrics.)

On Norwegian radio channels, at least, there's so much uninteresting yadda yadda talking between songs.

Speaking as a foreigner, the FEB essentials for me are bacon, sausages, fried eggs, mushrooms, beans, (half of) a fried tomato, well-buttered toast or fried bread.  I'll eat the black pudding if it's on the plate, but don't mind it's absence. No more veggies of any kind on there for me, please.  I've had FEB served with chips (yes, even in the UK, but more often in Europe) or hash browns. Of those two, I prefer well-cooked chips, but to me, those two don't belong on the plate. I have never, ever, seen bubble and squeak included in a FEB anywhere. In the UK or abroad.

Where in the UK and equally important, when (as in: how long should one delve back into history to find any mention of it) has bubble and squeak ever been considered an integral part of a FEB?

On 26/03/2023 at 13:53, Rodders said:

Hello, 

I was given a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones for christmas 2021, and the charging function appears to have already gone kaput. There is a DIY fix it page on the internet, but considering my wife spent a fair whack on these ( £250!  ) I'm not **** doing that. Absolutely fuming with the technology. I've had regular cheapo headphones that cost 30 quid and lasted years, and these **** have gone after less that 18 months. 

I have emailed and complained to Sony and expect **** all back, but has anyone had similar issues at all, or know of ways to fix it that don't involve me having to deploy a fecking tool kit? There's no Sony store anywhere near Cardiff as far as their store locator thing suggests so unsure where to go. 

It is a usb charging cable, I have tried differed usb ports in different computers and I've used a plain old USB plug charger to a socket. Nothing's working. 

On 26/03/2023 at 14:17, Tegis said:

The only easy thing I can think of is dirt/lint in the usb-port preventing good contact. Poke around carefully with a toothpick and see if anything comes out

I've occasionally had some success 'reviving' apparently faulty headphone jacks and charging ports on pc's and ipads at work using pure compressed air from a can suitable for use on electronic equipment (*not* from a standard air compressor, as compressed air from some compressors may include droplets of oil). Point the narrow tube that is attached to the nozzle of the can directly towards the charging port from a distance of appx. two inches (not any closer), give it a short burst of compressed air, and test. Repeat if necessary. At the very least, it won't do any harm to the headphones or void any warranty.

I consider myself a reasonably well-read and well-educated teacher, who have worked with computers since CP/M and DOS 3.0 was the newest OSes available. I've played around a bit with ChatGPT 3 &4, and I'm not too impressed with what those virtual toddlers manage to come up with in fields where I have personal professional knowledge.

But moving on beyond these AI infants (as is bound to happen), I believe there absolute has to be an adult present in the room. Something akin to Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.  If not, Frederic Brown's 1950 short story "Answer" will come into fruition sooner or later.

5 minutes ago, bickster said:

Most definitely a thing, most definitely a thing to eat with a cup of tea and your mother always makes the best ones

After searching for recipes I think I get why... Without having made them myself (I absolutely will!) I don't really think lard, butter, margarine or a combo of them will make that much difference - but the first five-star rated recipes I found used totally different spices: cinnamon, mixed spice, mace, nutmeg (well, those two might be interchangeable to a degree)  or absolutely no spices whatsoever included.

IIRC, there was a study 10 years ago that stated that while US population represented 5% of the entire human race, 31% of mass shootings (that is 4 or more dead killed by gunfire) occurred in the US.

31 minutes ago, KentVillan said:

GGWAGs often end up killing innocent people too.

https://policingequity.org/resources/blog/the-fiction-of-a-good-guy-with-a-gun

It's one of those rare political debates where one side is just entirely, objectively wrong.

But who belongs to the other, objectively right side? I'd wager that a decent proportion of people voting for the Democrats also consider the right to own a gun in order to 'protect themselves' as important.

9 minutes ago, Xann said:

Disgusting picture. And there's a gun as well.

Think that's already a defender in a bin...

1 minute ago, sne said:

I've been told by a lot of colleagues that worked and lived in Norway that people in Norway grow up learning that meat should be cooked well done and that for a lot of them it stay with them when they get older too. No idea how accurate that is. Might be a regional thing and it might also be the older generations?

But since we might be getting a bit OT here I'll add that I rather take a smash burger that a regular burger, partly because they are easier to get right

Possibly OT, yes ... but absolutely a regional thing. There are traditional meals in the South/East/West/North of Norway that no-one in any other region would consider cooking or eating. Stick a really sturdy pin in mid-Oslo and turn Norway 180 degrees, and its northernmost region will be approximately around Rome. That's some distance. As for the older generations: I'm 67, and had a hard time convincing my now adult daughter that salmon, burgers and steak should have a pink centre. She's starting to come around to it. I generally cook meals from other cuisines, because I'm bored with the traditional meat, two veg and potatoes. Spanish/French/Italian/Indian/Chinese/Korean/East-African etc. Occasionally I'll recreate my grandmother's Sunday dinner when I'm feeling nostalgic..

On topic (sorry) Smashburgers? Found some recipes on the 'net. Not convinced, but will give it a try.

2 minutes ago, sne said:

Same here. I generally take my meat rare or medium rare (depending on what meat of course) and I love steak tartar. Funnily enough from my experience when we had Norwegian customers they almost always wanted their meat medium well or well done. Any time we got an order for well done meat it was either a pregnant woman or a Norwegian group  

Depends on the age group and and what part of Norway they come from, I guess. In some districts, if there are no boiled potatoes on the dinner plate it isn't a proper meal for some, even when you're actually served some kind of pasta - my uncle from a fishing village in the North of Norway wouldn't touch any kind of shellfish. "You don't eat bait - that's solely for fishing!").

53 minutes ago, Rds1983 said:

Assuming you're not a fan or steak tartar then?

Not trying to answer on @Anthony's behalf, but I agree with him to a degree... When I make burger patties from pre-ground meat or cook readymade patties I cook them until well done. I have absolutely no idea how much bacteria I have to kill during cooking. When I take the time to grind the meat myself I like a medium rare - or even rare - burger. I know that the bacteria on the outside of the meat won't have time to grow over time, because the patties goes straight into the pan after making them.

@sne I believe Sweden and Norway have pretty similar rules on health safety and regular inspections of restaurants and cafés. When I'm in a decent restaurant with a good rating I usually order a medium rare burger, or a rare steak. I have had no problems with steak tartar, as that's usually freshly made there and then when the customer orders it and isn't something spending days in the fridge...

1 hour ago, HallGreenVillan said:

I'm getting married in  10 weeks time in a church, :-0 needing recommendations for wedding hymns for non particularly religious people please

I don't really see the problem here... I'm not a believer in sky fairies, but if I have to attend a ceremony in a church I'll happily sing along to any hymn as long as I know the melody and the words. it's just words, after all. They don't have to have a special spiritual meaning to me.

16 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

If you had to get rid of one and never have it again, would it be potato, bread, rice or pasta?

 

Anything edible involving either potatoes, bread, rice or pasta? Rice, without a doubt.

Didn't think this required a new topic, but what music gear do you regret not buying, and what did you later regret selling? I'll go first: not buying a year-old Ovation guitar at a quarter of the original price in the mid--70s when a fellow student was desperate to pay the rent.

I probably should regret selling a 60s Vox AC-50 valve amp head (not the 4x12" Selmer cab it came with, though - too heavy) in order to finance a Leslie 760/ACE GT-7 keyboard combo (again: too heavy) later augmented by a Roland SH-1000 synth and replaced by a Yamaha DX-7). Don't think I'd actually use the AC-50 today, though.

(Edit: and I really regret not storing my Farfisa Compact deluxe in a place where mice were unable to make a nest in it. It stunk to high heaven afterwards.)

23 hours ago, veloman said:

There was a make of amp years ago called "HH" , I played with a number of musicians who used that kit. One of the amps had "VS" on it claiming that it sounded like a valve amp . Best bass amp I ever played with was a Peavy with Black Widow speaker - ever come acrosss that stuff ?  One bass player had a Fender Bassman rig and a pre CBS Fender Precision. Main problem was ....... he was crap. Dropped bum notes in 3/4 time numbers; and to make matters worse he was from London !!   

Yes, I remember HH (British, wasn't it?), but mainly as bass amps and rack-mounted PA amps. I think HH was bought by Ampeg later. Peavey bass amps with Black Widow speakers were great amps. Not too happy with the old Peavey guitar amps, though, Black Widow-equipped or not. Too clean unless you maxed the volume. A bit like a Fender Twin Reverb. (IIRC, Johnny Winter and Rick Derringer played with six Twin Reverbs stacked in a pyramid on stage. Each.)

On 09/10/2022 at 16:14, Xann said:

Yarp.

Though the valve vs solid state thing is something that I was told about 30 years ago, by Ron at the Synthesiser Service Centre.

He repaired Eno's kit, you don't tend to forget that sort of info.

Nice to see someone's gone some way to empirically proving it.

This goes into HiFi too. Lots of snake oil there.

The valve vs solid state was very much a thing early on before MOSFET transistors were introduced in amps, IMO. Early transistor-based preamps (60s/70s) tended to deliver a harsh sawtooth or square wave when overdriven, whereas tube preamps delivered a smoother sine-wave. In the 70s, I hated the overdriven sound of any transistor-based amp I tried.

My first MOSFET-based solid state guitar amp (a Sessionette 75 - early 80s) had the fattest overdrive sound I've ever experienced with a humbucker-equipped guitar. it couldn't produce the shimmering overtones of a single-coil pickup like a Telecaster, though.

Today, I think there's no real discernible difference. I've enjoyed playing through modern solid state amps as much as through my own Mesa Boogie V-Twin pedal & Fender (Paul Rivera-designed) Super Champ combo.

@Marka Ragnos: Liked it enough to check out more of your music. Enjoyed Inland Sea King, Name Some Names, Pulled A Knife, You're My Education In Adoration, Of Course Your Poetry Is Better Than Theirs... You're exploring a vast musical soundscape, aren't you? I'd buy the album.

I imagine I might get a few Monty Python gifs in any replies to this, but my partner (at the time) wanted us to buy, as it would be cheaper in the long term compared to renting (that's what she said)... I was sceptical, but eventually agreed. This was in the late eighties. Interest rate when we bought the place was  6.5%. Six months later it was 18.5%. Ouch.

16 minutes ago, sne said:

So I assume at least of you sick lot has tried these ones  

https://www.odditycentral.com/foods/lithuanian-company-launches-nsfw-potato-chips.html

5 minutes ago, Marka Ragnos said:

At the moment, I have a much-beloved Martin 00-15M manufactured about five miles from my house and an equally adored Fender American Tele Performer series with a neck humbucker. 90% of every sound I need I can get from those. 

I possess a pretty amazing Chinese SX jazz bass I bought for like $125 ten years ago -- they are excellent reproductions but getting hard to find now to that early standard. There's a Yamaha acoustic I rarely play, and a Seagull dulcimer that's fun but I've never recorded with it.  

I use Logic to record with an AKG-420 and an amazing StudioV3 tube preamp that totally improves the whole set-up.

I'm currently writing a "trans-media" novel right now with a character's songs woven and recorded into the novel. The demos are meant to sound like recordings from 1978-1979, when the novel is mostly set, and I use a lot of VSTs for things like a CR-78, etc. 

I've got one of the first Chinese Gitane replicas of the Maccaferri/Django-style D-sound hole acoustics. Absolutely love it. Fast and wide neck.

On 18/06/2022 at 13:11, veloman said:

One bloke who played in the band I was in had a "Tokai". I really couldn't tell it apart from a Strat, really nice sound (I thought). Anyone ever had one of these ? Are they still about ?

On 18/06/2022 at 15:12, mjmooney said:

They are. I've never played one, but they do have a good reputation. 

I've played some old Tokais. Really nice guitars, and they play just as good as and sound very like my ESP Frankencaster and my Fender Strat. Cannot comment on current ones.

On 10/06/2022 at 10:08, Mister_a said:

Does anyone else own a guitar from their birth year?

I have two acoustics from 1971, both Japanese Martin rip-offs (a.k.a. Lawsuit guitars lol), one 6 string and one 12.

It's the best acoustic in terms of sound, and playability, even though it only cost 250 quid (compared to a 1971 Martin, you can see why i went for the cheaper option!).

It has obviously been a while since I visited this topic... No 1956 guitars in my house, unfortunately  - or any other instruments from that year. Some older: my grandmother's small body mid-30's (?) Levin acoustic with a neck so heavily warped that it's only fit for bottle-neck playing, my father's 50's steel-string acoustic guitar (which I brought down from the attic at the age of 13 after deciding I'd like to learn to play the guitar, having found some chord charts. Literally played 'till my fingers bled due to the strings by than being more like razor wire), my mother's 50's mandolin and 3/4 sized violin.

None of them ever played any of those instruments that I can recall.

Next up in line year-wise among my instruments is a 1962 Höfner single cutaway acoustic/electric that was the first guitar I bought myself.

5 hours ago, mjmooney said:

USA: Why walk when you can drive?

Two decades ago, I worked for a multinational company  When visiting öne of their major US sites, one day I had to attend a meeting at another company building. My US host/colleague told me: "C'mon, I'll drive!". We went to the parking lot,  and after having manouvered through some local traffic he eventually parked his car on the other side of excactly the same parking lot, a walking distance of 300 m from where we started!

True story.