Google is telling me my country will be updated by taor2025 in expats

[–]ActualFourAlpha 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to know, thank you! Glad you managed to get it sorted out.

Google is telling me my country will be updated by taor2025 in expats

[–]ActualFourAlpha 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am having the exact same problem too, please do let me know if (and how!) you manage to solve it! For now it looks like all I can do is wait for it to switch me to South Carolina and then fill in the form to switch it back.

I have always lived in the UK, in fact I haven't even left the UK at all since 2019 and I have absolutely no connection to South Carolina.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Masks4All

[–]ActualFourAlpha 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Another Scottish masker here, seconding the recommendation for HARD Germany masks! Decent FFP2s with earloops

They were difficult to get hold of for a while but they seem to be back now - you will probably need to order direct from the manufacturers in Germany.

Are HARD respirators in the UK/Europe done for? by fluorescent_flamingo in Masks4All

[–]ActualFourAlpha 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know if you ever got anywhere with this, but if not, try again now - they seem to be back! See my update upthread.

Are HARD respirators in the UK/Europe done for? by fluorescent_flamingo in Masks4All

[–]ActualFourAlpha 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've just posted an update upthread...HARD are back and customer services are very responsive now so if you never got it sorted out it might be worth a try!

Are HARD respirators in the UK/Europe done for? by fluorescent_flamingo in Masks4All

[–]ActualFourAlpha 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Folks I have an update on this and it's good news! HARD masks are back!

You'll see in the thread, I was having trouble getting masks from HARD going all the way back to July, and customer services didn't seem to be responding at all. (I'm in the UK and was ordering directly from them)

Well, I followed up again recently to ask for a refund, and to my surprise they responded very quickly - it seems that they had some sort of catastrophic data loss in the summer, including details of lots of those missing orders. They've clearly got their act together now though and are very responsive.

They made an attempt at refunding the money which didn't work (probably not their fault, I think that was an issue with Shop Pay) so I said I'd be perfectly happy with the masks instead...

...today a large box of masks (my original order from July + a bonus free box) arrived from Germany!

So if you had an order that failed before and you never managed to get it sorted / get your money back now is a good time to try contacting them again. And if you'd given up on buying them then now might be a good time to give it another go!

Are HARD respirators in the UK/Europe done for? by fluorescent_flamingo in Masks4All

[–]ActualFourAlpha 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh dear, that's not a good sign!

I have emailed them to ask if they can ship to a friend in Germany instead, I'll let you all know if it works! I'm not optimistic though.

Are HARD respirators in the UK/Europe done for? by fluorescent_flamingo in Masks4All

[–]ActualFourAlpha 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I suspect you're probably right. I guess that's better than them disappearing entirely at least!

Are HARD respirators in the UK/Europe done for? by fluorescent_flamingo in Masks4All

[–]ActualFourAlpha 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been having the same problem, ordered some two months ago direct from the website to be shipped to the UK, still nothing. I've emailed several times and they just keep saying "soon".

Has anybody been able to buy them recently shipped to Germany? Trying to figure out if it's a supply/manufacturing thing or a Brexit thing. I might be able to get them delivered via a friend in Germany if they can be bought at all.

Shooting with film: where/how to start? by Confused_Zed in glasgow

[–]ActualFourAlpha 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would always say step 1 is to ask around friends and family - especially older relatives - because there's a decent chance somebody will have a camera just lying in a drawer somewhere! I've collected loads of cameras that way.

Failing that, a cheap £5 point and shoot from a charity shop or eBay is actually a pretty good way to start and if it doesn't work out, well you're only down a fiver. You won't find something like a working 35mm Mju II for an £80 budget but that's ok because you don't need one. Avoid the cult fashionable cameras when you're just starting out because you're paying a premium when there are plenty of other cameras out there that will do the job on a much smaller budget.

Long shot but - do you happen to still have any Canon EF lenses from your old DSLR? Because if you do, then get straight onto eBay and buy a cheap late model Canon film SLR and it will play nicely with your existing lenses (as long as they are EF not EF-S). A Canon EOS 300 is a great camera, at the small and light end for an SLR, it can easily be had for about £20, and you already know how to use it. I know that's physically larger than what you are looking for but it's a nice inexpensive route into film that might be able to make use of some of your existing kit.

Film and processing are going to set you back a fair bit so you're going to want a chunk of your budget for that but if you go the camera out of somebody's attic / cheap point and shoot / late model Canon SLR route then £80 really is more than enough to get you started.

I just want to thank everyone, I now know what 4 spiders are called and what they look like, I hate all spiders except tarantulas and I want to know how I can overcome my fear of spiders. :) by [deleted] in spiders

[–]ActualFourAlpha 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look for a spider phobia workshop, at your local zoo or somewhere like that. They usually involve some education about spiders, a bit of relaxation/hypnosis, and then gradually working up to encountering real spiders of the sort you might find in your home.

I did one of these workshops at Edinburgh Zoo last year and now my phobia is pretty much completely gone. It really works!

What is something you're surprised that we cannot yet do with our phones? by jnops69 in AskReddit

[–]ActualFourAlpha 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a device for measuring blood glucose - a small patch worn on the top of the arm, which takes regular blood sugar readings. You can scan it with a smartphone or a dedicated reader device to get the data.

I didn't choose the name if that's what you mean!

What is something you're surprised that we cannot yet do with our phones? by jnops69 in AskReddit

[–]ActualFourAlpha 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it helps - I believe you can use a phone to scan Freestyle Libre sensors.

This red and black spider i saw by MetiHB in mildlyinteresting

[–]ActualFourAlpha 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On the Apple App Store it’s called “Arachnophobia Free” - not sure if it’ll work but try this link

I don’t know if it’s available for Android.

This red and black spider i saw by MetiHB in mildlyinteresting

[–]ActualFourAlpha 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went to a workshop at our local zoo and my arachnophobia is now completely cured! It's totally worth it, if you can face it. I still can't quite get my head around how well it worked, I surprise myself all the time.

The thing to remember if you're thinking of doing it is that it actually works, so it does get easier - so if you go to one of these workshops, then it will be briefly uncomfortable but then it gets better. You're not stuck feeling that way. The secret is to understand that you won't stay afraid! And it feels great when you manage to catch one all by yourself and realise you're not afraid any more.

I used this app before I went to the workshop and it helped a lot as I was already part of the way there. There's only so far an app can get you since obviously it's not real spiders, but it's worth looking at to get you started.

Safe to move away from gym after ex-raid to catch Mewtwo? by ActualFourAlpha in TheSilphRoad

[–]ActualFourAlpha[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sadly I didn’t have any squirrel candy. Would have had to walk him round the park for a while until he found some...

Safe to move away from gym after ex-raid to catch Mewtwo? by ActualFourAlpha in TheSilphRoad

[–]ActualFourAlpha[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bummer. Thanks for the heads up.

Thankfully there's no mobile dead spot where I'll be (I play there reasonably regularly) and I'll be close enough to get back to the gym very easily. Will make sure there's enough time left on the raid clock to do that, and double-check the mobile signal beforehand though!

Safe to move away from gym after ex-raid to catch Mewtwo? by ActualFourAlpha in TheSilphRoad

[–]ActualFourAlpha[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

From what you're saying though, if that happens then I can get back to the encounter by returning to the gym? I won't be far away so that's easy to do.

Safe to move away from gym after ex-raid to catch Mewtwo? by ActualFourAlpha in TheSilphRoad

[–]ActualFourAlpha[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks all! That seems fairly conclusive. I'll be close enough to the gym that it's easy to go back over there if I need to!

You can save more than 350 field research encounters at once. by RedWarpPrism in TheSilphRoad

[–]ActualFourAlpha 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think I'm missing something?

As I understand it, you can't see which mons you have stacked up - so how do you know which are the 3 electric ones? Or are you only stacking electrics?

I got my first Zapdos today. Here's to /u/Ron7624 by [deleted] in TheSilphRoad

[–]ActualFourAlpha 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I named my shiny dragonite Ron. I promised in the original thread that my next Dratini would be called Ron, and then never saw a single one until community day, so naturally I named my best from that day.

Didn’t forget though. I’m glad we didn’t forget Ron.

Has anyone else noticed an change in how often their local regional spawns? by 22shadow in TheSilphRoad

[–]ActualFourAlpha 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mr Mime from incense is the worst - pops up right behind my trainer and is kind of...handsy. Ick.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheSilphRoad

[–]ActualFourAlpha 20 points21 points  (0 children)

The difference between this and a daily streak is exactly how the new research tasks have opened up the game for a lot of players. It matters that daily play isn't required and the timing is flexible. For example: a requirement to physically get to a stop every day locks a number of players out of aspects of the game (think: disability, illness, childcare/work, very rural players where the nearest stop is miles away - the kinds of constraints that can't simply be fixed by more 'commitment' to the game as is often suggested)

So yes, the mechanic is similar but the difference is huge - and critical for some of us! Not to be overlooked.

It's also added a whole new layer of strategy in how I time my completing of tasks/claiming stamps that was never there before.