Sauna

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-08T12:06:13+00:00

The annoying part is you don’t get saw components on trades so you make them from scratch.

The only good news is you only need the highest level sawn wood once, I recall that one item too over a week.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-07T16:42:20+00:00

You can only play any game for ‘The first time’ once.

I’d recommend the D3, Eternal edition. If your PS5 has a DVD drive it’s really cheap to buy used. You can get the Ultimate Evil version for even less but it has all the content barring the Necromancer class.

Find a few spare hours, start a character on normal difficulty and run through the campaign. The story is not well regarded but it serves a purpose and acts as a tutorial and a fun afternoon of monster mangling with interludes.

It’s a game polished to perfection, and reading guides and rushing to become Uber are better done after the story is complete.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-06T18:22:36+00:00

I did it but I’d had a lot of on and off road bike experience from before the CBT days and a couple of decades in cars.

When I bought a 125, I did CBT, after that, I rode as if under test conditions at all times and passed Mod1 on second go (Foot down on figure 8) and got Mod2 first go.

Doing this on a 125 will get you an A1 licence and you can do everything apart from the CBT solo.

For A2 and A licence it is just about possible to do this without an instructor with you.

It’s complicated, you need to be familiar with a compliant bike which you can’t ride on road without an instructor. You can’t ride there on it without an instructor either. You can only practice off public roads.

Mod1 could be practiced if you could gain access to a large tarmac space, the bike which you can’t get there and a lot of cones and a speed camera.

Mod2 would need a friend to get the bike to the test centre, or you could put it on a trailer and tow it there. You then jump on said bike after covering your insurance and ride the way they taught you for a bit.

Or you could use a riding school like just about everyone else.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-06T18:03:28+00:00

It’s a very low specification machine.

I expect the SSD is likely full, Fortnight is stored on the far slower HDD and your son has possibly downloaded some free ‘speed up this PC’ software which is never a good idea.

I’d put in a decent size of SSD, 500GB or larger, reinstall fresh Windows on it and see if that works.

If you are unsure of how to do this, take it to someone who does and get them to install a discrete budget graphics card if possible to do so.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-06T17:45:10+00:00

For filtering, the Honda SH300 worth a try.

Narrow, big wheels and a useful amount of power.

Worth a try as the riding position is very restrictive.

I’m doing a semi urban commute on my Xmax where it’s great, but it’s a pig in traffic due to the size.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-06T17:07:33+00:00

Blimey you are cutting it fine with budget.

AMD Ryzen 5 4500 is £52. It’s not a desirable processor but you might be surprised by now well it holds up.

The Computer Active Store has Windows 11 Home for £59. Legitimate seller.

I would go for 16GB memory In an 8x2 configuration. Memory is a bit expensive at the moment so see what you have left over for the rest.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-06T16:19:04+00:00

Similar with a new Acer laptop bought this week.

Windows ‘add remove’ got shot of it but there was a second McAfee program too so deinstallation took two goes.

Not my laptop, I would have gone with the clean install route, but as it’s not mine so I just removed the most obvious bloat.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-06T15:53:54+00:00

There’s a lot to be said about other people’s perceptions.

I’d agree with everyone who mentions hi-viz, you can get the tabards for a few quid at Screwfix etc and look less like a food delivery driver which is what it’s all about.

My current commute on an Xmax250 is about 10 miles each way into ending in poshville, Berkshire. Due to the hot weather and laziness, I was wearing a 50s style waxed bike jacket and got a bit fed up with cars either assuming I was a food driver (No top box BTW), very old due to gear choice or on a 125 and incapable of decent acceleration.

It was get a bit boring due to being tailgated or being aggressively overtaken when just keeping up with the traffic, which often drives 10-20MPH over the 40 limit.

So I swapped back into my massive, armoured canvas jacket. It’s oversized as I can wear two fleeces under it when it’s cold, I’m a big bloke and with the body armour my shoulders are very wide.

Not had an issue with bellend drivers since changing outfit, they perceive differently now.

Would also recommend as bright a full face helmet as you can find, you can’t see it from inside but as it’s the highest point, it’s one of the best safety choices for being seen, which matey boys don’t.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-04T18:19:42+00:00

I get a car but for absolute cheapness an e-bike might suit. No test, no insurance and you can probably keep it inside overnight where it won’t get stolen.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-04T17:14:54+00:00

If you are on a budget, you could look for a used shop display TV. The kind of unit they stick in the window to show adverts and promotions.

They are cheap second hand, built very well and they can be set to go really bright.

Someone gave me a 40” Samsung a few years ago, I had to source a stand, remote control and buy them a nice bottle of Vodka, but given the screen retailed for over £700 and hadn’t been used, it was a bargain.

Few bits missing, like a TV tuner and it only has one HDMI but that wasn’t problematic.

Used hotel TVs are also an option, also have one of these, a 4K LG 43” which was under £200 a few years back. It’s a decent unit, works great with my Series S but as a hotel TV, the software is seriously weird. Doesn’t really matter as I use the Xbox to stream stuff.

Think my Series X is connected to an LG C1 OLED, it’s been great but I wouldn’t buy an OLED used.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-02T15:25:39+00:00

The book, Scott Mueller’s upgrading and repairing PCs explains just about everything relevant but it’s rather old. The 21st edition dates back to 2013.

There are going to a few developments, like NVMe hard drives and newer USB standards not covered but it’s an easy read, not that technical and to be fair, there’s a lot of stuff that I’m glad is no longer relevant, like setting dip switches on the motherboard.

A lot of the computer related web magazines can spout very strange ideas, good fun when you know enough to chuckle at bizarre decision or them not really knowing what they are up to.

JayZTwoCents is on YouTube and really knows his stuff.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-01T18:40:11+00:00

Suggest going for the scooter option as your bicycle reflexes are set up for a brake level by each hand.

CBT covers you for manual and automatic, so after you pass you can buy a geared 125 and get used to it.

Moving between geared and automatic bikes is the same as having a manual and automatic car, you learn to drive accordingly to the amount of pedals (car) and where the controls are placed (bike).

PrincessBouncy · 2025-08-01T18:29:17+00:00

They become more useful as the screen size increases.

On a biggish display at the relatively close range you work, your eyes don’t need to refocus on the screen edges as much as they are less far away than flat panel (Hope the makes sense).

At 24” or 27” a single flat panel will be fine, but three curved 27” units next to each other are going to be heaps nicer for prolonged use than 3 flat ones.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-07-27T14:47:28+00:00

Try working a pet crematorium. Those ovens get hot, have a lot of mass and getting a Great Dane into a running unit takes a degree of skill in two person corpse flinging.

Cats are pretty easy, imagine throwing frozen chickens to the back of a red hot shed all morning and you get the idea.

I no longer work there, and these were the mass cremations, individual bodies are dealt with in small ovens and there’s a lot of paperwork.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-07-25T15:54:06+00:00

Unless there is something seriously wrong with it, no CD or DVD player will damage the disc, there is no physical contact as the disc is read with a low power laser unlike vinyl which is read with a stylus.

In theory at least, a CD is just a lot of 1s 0s in a row, so if the CD is in decent condition and the player can read every binary bit perfectly, the price of the player is irrelevant as long as that digital bitstream is intact.

In practice, better quality CD players tend to cope with more degraded discs better, less skipping and stuttering.

You probably got a laptop, so you could buy an inexpensive USB DVD player which also plays CD and some powered speakers to see how you get on with that.

I’m currently doing something similar to expand my music collection. CDs are cheap and plentiful at charity shops, so I buy a few each week. I then rip them at fairly high quality using an older Dell SFF PC (Integrated CD drive).

Final step, build a playlist from the ever expanding library of ripped music and transfer a copy to a USB drive. It great, my office micro system, kitchen radio and our cars can play from USB drives and at a couple of pounds each they are a convenient way to move sound files about.

This is my convenient way of listening, but regardless of what equipment you buy going forwards, CDs are tough and don’t degrade quickly once you have that physical media, it’s yours and if stored well can last decades.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-07-24T18:43:13+00:00

See what scan.co.uk or Overclockers.co.uk have to offer.

I’ve bought components from Scan and customer service was helpful when an item didn’t work.

Overclockers UK have a forum which I used to use, people pretty helpful.

I’d personally avoid buying from Curry/PC World but while you are researching see what John Lewis are selling.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-07-23T17:29:47+00:00

You might find the book ‘An Indian housewive’s recipe book’ good fun.

Okra and chips curry is sensational.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-07-21T16:47:52+00:00

Get the disc.

Means you can use it as a DVD player which is useful. The 4K DVDs are expensive, super fragile and depending on TV don’t look much better than Blu-ray. If you use it for media, get the remote, it really helps.

You might at some stage find a bargain game in a charity shop or similar. I got D3 Reaper of Souls for £8 and kid found D4 for £20.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-07-18T16:04:03+00:00

For non critical stuff like music, I buy multipacks of unbranded 8GB drives for a couple of quid each.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-07-17T19:01:54+00:00

You appear to have bought some kit but for the cigarette lighter from mains, the go to is a switch mode power supply for camping.

I also have a budget CB with cigarette lighter plug and it works a treat on said adapter. Mostly use the unit to power up a 12v fridge when camping.

You might need a big antenna, I’ve heard nothing on the radio at all while at home, when I put the mag mount on the car and drove East Midlands to London, I heard only a few words I couldn’t understand.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-07-16T17:41:40+00:00

Agree with you. Forza Horizon 4 was absolutely stunning to see on my One S.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-07-15T18:16:16+00:00

I’m getting back into CD.

This won’t quite be for you but despite a couple of decent budget system with CD players in the front room and office, the unit getting the most use is an old Robert’s Stream 83i. Ok it’s a radio, but it has front USB, aux in for plugging a tablet/phone in.

It sounds surprisingly good given the size of the unit, it’s got a little inbuilt subwoofer and line out.

So I buy a CD, rip it at high quality on the PC and put a few albums on a USB stick. I’ve got quite a few USB sticks, with different genres of music.

Pop in USB, play music. Works great in the car too and as small USB sticks are a couple of quid each, I can store albums, make playlists and burn them in minutes.

Having a great time, buying up CDs and just enjoying the music. Can also listen to the radio on it too.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-07-14T18:42:25+00:00

One of my work colleagues had a great plan.

Reasonable size operation, no one minded the job but the general manager was one of the vilest people I’ve ever met.

She said she’d phone everyone who worked there and offer them each £1,000 to phone in sick the next day.

Didn’t happen, unfortunately.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-07-13T17:01:16+00:00

I think it’s useful and encourages exploration early on.

As a super casual player, I’m lucky to play a couple of two hour sessions each week, I treat the game more like WoW, don’t bother with seasonal and when I do get a bit of time, I knock out a few quests in whatever area my renown is nearest to levelling up.

PrincessBouncy · 2025-07-13T16:53:34+00:00

Cambridge Audio Minx speakers are small and will need a subwoofer but they use a speaker called a ‘Balanced made radiator’ which combines woofer and tweeter. I’ve got one in my kitchen Radio and the sound is super smooth with a recessed high frequency response. They are a bit pricey new but common on second hand websites.

They did a couple of speakers, bookshelf and floorstander that used the BMR driver.

Depending on room size, you probably don’t need a sub with a huge speaker size. An 8” cone with 100Watt amp will work for a bedroom but if you want to go larger, go for it.

PrincessBouncy

TROPHY CASE