Done

It proved to be "a lot more fiddly than expected" to Chris, who had been encouraging me to fix it for several years. In retrospect, I can see that my father knew how a yacht should *look* but not how it worked. I have pretty much restored it to the original rigging, but would need to re-arrange things for it to sail effectively. This also explains why it wasn't very good. 

Missing someone.

As a child - quite a small one - I had this model yacht. Originally it came with 2 masts and pairs of sails like a sailing ship, but that was dumb and ineffective. My father made a new set of masts and rigging using tools and materials from the modelshop he ran, and although it never sailed well, it did at least look the part.

Move forward almost 50 years, the mast he made got broken somewhere along the line, and I'm now doing reconstruction to make it workable again. Most likely it will end up in the bathroom as a decoration, but I know a couple of small boys who may get to try it in a few years time.

It has just occurred to me that my father was probably younger than our son is now, when he did this. I don't often miss him (he's been dead more than 25 years) but this is a time when I do.

You know when

The phone signal has been good and you haven't needed to use it: 1 day 16 hours since last charge and it's still on 81%.

I've recently been getting just 3 days out of a charge, because I've been reading, taking pictures and sending videos over 4G data. It had made me wonder if the battery in this wasn't as good as the one in Chris's, but this shows it's really fine.

Repair or replace? Really??!

Sometimes I play bass. I'm not a 'great' bass player in that I play simple stuff, root & fifth with fills & runs plus occasional alternating octaves. Probably the biggest asset is that I play for the song, so I'm more concerned about making sure I play in tune and in time with an appropriate rhythm (you'd be amazed how many bass players must more able than me don't manage to do all those things).

The week before Christmas I broke the handle on my bass cab, carrying it out of a rehearsal. The cab itself is an ancient 150W Carlsbro with a 15" speaker, and being a substantial lump to cart around is far from ideal as I'm no longer in my 20s.

So how does one get a replacement strap for what appears to be a custom (budget) design?

Ebay? furrgeddaboutit.

Amazon? Ditto.

OK, alternatives then.

Traditionally guitar cabs have inset handles on the sides or strap handles on the top, although sprung swing-out handles can also be used. This cab is made from cheap chipboard judging by the weight, which means wood screws won't work, so the cab must be stripped & T nuts fitted behind any new handles to spread the load and prevent the wood tearing out.

Suddenly we're up to a major exercise in engineering and farting about, as well as sourcing handles, bolts, T nuts etc. It's really irritating, and I almost wonder if it's worth replacing the cab with something lighter and more modern to A) save the hassle and B) make carting the kit easier. But even if I keep it, I've still got to spend 20 quid on parts that I hope can be made to usefully fit.

I've read a couple of interesting things recently

Interesting if you care about business & technology, but also if you care about the human element in those areas.

An oral recollection by Evelyn Berezin about both her life as a child of Russian immigrants in the US and also development of the first true word processor.

Operation Elop, which covers the appointment of Stephen Elop as chief executive of Nokia and the eventual fate of their phone business.

It makes one realise how much businesses depend on people, how fragile they are, and how mere chance can sometimes bring the whole thing down.

Nicht Frankfurt

But Birmingham instead.

Time to go home

Das ist Frankfurt?

On the train again.

Waitin'.

Who needs early trains?

I've had no threats of bombs or acid attacks, so far.

Which is a good thing.

What makes these people a) so particularly unpleasant and b) so monumentally stupid?

Just to reiterate, if anyone ever threatens to uncover your secrets unless you pay a cryptocurrency ransom, don't believe them. And certainly NEVER pay them a ransom, because it will only encourage them to continue.

On a roll

I Can Take A Hint!

The Memsahib is always saying,"That toilet brush hasn't got my name on it you know!"

Never let it be said I do not listen. I am having her name engraved on a brand new brush for Christmas.

I know, I spoil her too much but I'm just that kind of guy.

Am I a sucker?

Courtesy of black Friday/cyber Monday I changed my 5" phone for a 6" phone of the nominally same type as Chris's. The idea was that in use, mine would be just like hers, any problems could be sorted by me etc etc. Plus I read quite a bit on the phone these days, and a bigger screen helps make the experience a little more fluid.

Typing doesn't seem any better though, judging from all the typos I just fixed. :p

 Bloomin' 'eck though, 6" is a big old lump in your pocket. Whoever can invent a phone with a holographic or projected screen that works in daylight and responds to touch, while being small and easily pocketable in itself will be onto a winner.

According to Facebook I was in Hyundai Banbury 24th November

Normally I'd assume this is some poisonous phishing email, but ALL the links go to Faceberk. I haven't knowingly EVER been to that place, certainly not around 11.30 on Monday 24th November, and apart from Whatsapp, I don't have any other software from that particular empire of evil on my phone.

So why the email, why there and why now, a couple of weeks later?

I also REALLY wish there was a viable alternative to Whatsapp.