Twats, frankly.
(Non-Flash compatible devices can read it here)
So... if someone posts negative feedback in circumstances that break eBay's Buying Practice Policy, eBay will remove it. That's what the policy says. How much effort does it take to persuade them to act in accordance with their own, published policy? See below. Twats, frankly. (Non-Flash compatible devices can read it here) About a month ago, I wibbled on about the extent to which domestic devices will chit-chat to all and sundry over your home network. And I mentioned that I have a surprising number of devices already gossIPing (sorry) away. This weekend, I counted them.
Not because I particularly wanted to, but because I get occasional problems with devices having the same IP address on the network - mostly down, I think, to my habit of hibernating PCs. It's irritating, because some devices won't tell you there's a problem, they'll just not work until you reboot them. There's a simple solution - make sure every device on the network gets the same, unique, IP address every time. So this is what I spent a bit of time doing this weekend. Turned into quite a Sherlock Holmes affair, since some devices just don't want to let you know what they are, you have to divine it from tables of MAC addresses and manufacturer. Also doesn't help that my crappy Netgear router GUI fails to correctly report the MAC address or identity of devices that are connected via the repeater. A proper 'Well, I've %&£*ing started now...' exercise. Now finished. Which, in a vaguely anally-retentive way, makes me happy. Seventeen. Seventeen devices on the network. And I bet I've forgotten one somewhere. A skipping rope? A jigsaw puzzle? An encyclopedia? The world has moved on. Abby wanted an iPod Touch. We didn't want her to have an iPod Touch because few of her friends will have an iPod Touch, they're expensive, they're highly loseable and stealable and they suffer from Apple's walled garden approach when it comes to exercising any kind of parental control. And I have no doubt that, in a year or two, we'll be buying her a phone - which will be some kind of smartphone, duplicating much of what she could do with it. So, we disappointed her by buying something that's generally more versatile, reasonably priced, more controllable and not Apply in any shape or form. The Google Nexus 7 has surprised me with both it's capability and its pricing. The press are generally pretty impressed with it as well. And now that Abby is getting over the initial 'it's not an iPod Touch' reaction, it's beginning to impress her too. Our ability to control what she can do with it and at what time is impressively functional: I think it's critically important that children are able to ease gently into the connected world we now exist in - but, at 10, need to be shielded from stumbling over the many aspects that they aren't ready for or becoming too screen addicted. Funamo helps us do exactly that and allows us to help her understanding mature without nasty surprises. Apple are imminently expected to release a 7" tablet, despite what Steve Jobs always said about them. - because they clearly do have a place. I'm quite happy for the house to step away from the Apple ecosystem just a little: There's more to life than fruit.
I hate musicals. So I wasn't overjoyed at Abby choosing - nay, insisting - that she take a friend to see Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre. But I am a huge Tim Minchin fan - and since he wrote music and lyrics, it could have been worse. If you're forced to take someone to a musical in the West End, it knocks spots off any of the other options.
Al was itinerary manager, so had us walking from Waterloo across the bridge - which was an inspired idea, particularly since it was a beautiful, sunny Autumn day: Forgotten how great the views across town are from here. And forgotten that my kids haven't seen London that much, hence are capable of having fits of delight at spotting Big Ben, The London Eye, Warhorse... But Christ it's expensive to take a family out to the theatre in the smoke: By the time you factor in lunch - Belgo (pretty good), which I haven't been in since it first opened - trains, ice-creams, programmes etc... Well, Matilda was 2hrs and 20 mins long. You can work it out. |
All
March 2020
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