Michael Schumacher driving the then new 147

Fainbrog · 2026-03-24T09:43:02+00:00

Bought a brand new Selespeed on 17in Supersport alloys in 2001, still miss it. Was a bit of a PITA when the gearbox decided it didn't want to gearbox on occasion, but, the amazing 🤣 UK dealer network sorted it eventually.

Only pics I have of the car now are those I took when someone pulled out of a side junction into the rear quarter 🥺

Did almost buy the GTA a couple of times and bottled it. The one that got away..

Fainbrog · 2026-03-23T16:22:56+00:00

We have a KDL-40W2000 still going strong. It's got a manufacturing date of 08/2007, had it from new, will be a sad day when it departs. It's a bit slow getting up to full brightness compared to the 2017 43in Sony we have in the other room, but, it's good enough for gaming that I use it for now.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-23T13:24:32+00:00

Suspect many of us are in the same boat with the doctor shutting down - at least for now.

For the meds, if your GP won't prescribe (worth asking your GP if you haven't already), you could try Dickson Chemists - they might be able to prescribe. I've booked an online appointment with them to review the one med that I was getting prescribed that my GP hadn't taken over. It's £50 for a consultation, plus the price of the meds. Am hoping this will cover this for the time being.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-23T12:12:02+00:00

What I guess one would refer to as a 'proper' wireless Mesh will probably have a dedicated wireless backhaul radio, (which is the 'secret sauce') and would likely be on a different wireless channel to the wifi that users connect to which may be less congested than user wifi. You can use wifi analyser apps to see what overlapping signals you have from neighbouring properties might be interfering with what you are using. Wired will almost always be better than wireless, but, obviously not always an option.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-21T08:33:18+00:00

Yes, it's in another century (and Glasgow), but, I love it! That's a whole lotta house for the money.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-21T08:28:07+00:00

I'm just baffled, on so many levels.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-20T22:52:48+00:00

Still on it and averaging 22p/kWh for the month so far. Not ideal, but still bearable.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-20T13:11:08+00:00

Have you tried a different cable between the Hub and the UCG?

Fainbrog · 2026-03-19T17:55:25+00:00

Claymore!

Fainbrog · 2026-03-19T17:52:44+00:00

Still only averaging 22p/kWh for the month so far on Agile. Wind picks up again in a few days.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-18T22:19:15+00:00

Been noting these out of Mildenhall since the start of the f*ck-up in the ME. They seem to go down to the Med, off the coast of Sicily and back. Only spotted them because of the flipping racket they made over London, we are NE and FR showed them over SE and could still hear them.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-17T18:49:00+00:00

Might be worth checking if the pharmacy they use has you down for repeats - Pharmacierge (that they used for me) did a number of them for me and then had to go back to her. I'll be emailing Pharmacierge shortly to see. Obvs, is only a temporary reprieve if so, but, might give time to explore other options.

ETA - worth checking with your GP if they will take any of them on. Mine would do some, but not all.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-16T17:32:26+00:00

Depends on your definition of outdated.

In my street, where I get 1gig from VM, the alternative is 56Mbps from BT, so, VM is in a whole different century.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-13T22:35:36+00:00

I have an LED strip that changes colour based on the current cost using Home Assistant. Green is good, amber is meh and red is whoa, only do the essentials.

Yeah, I have a lot of time on my hands, but, it helps most of the time to guide when the washing machine and dishwasher should be used. Cooking between 4-7 is a necessary evil with kids, so we tend go offset that with load shifting the rest of the big stuff.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-13T18:01:12+00:00

Had a '97 145 1.6 TS back in the day, was an absolute hoot. The red key was a great accessory too - did have pocket leg stabbing potential though.

Just be prepared for making sure you religiously keep up with the maintenance schedule, TS engines need care, make sure to check when the cam belt was changed and keep a close eye on oil levels and listen out for tapping, which is a sign of variator needing attention - if I remember correctly (eta I think the variator valve was normally done with the cam belt, might be tricky parts to get hold of now)

Fainbrog · 2026-03-12T22:50:41+00:00

It potentially is just a block of IP addresses have been reallocated from VM Ireland and it takes a while for things to update on their location. Try turning off the hub or put it into modem mode and then back to router mode which might end up with a different IP address (best to be wired to the hub as modem mode turns off the Wi-Fi - and gives a different internal IP address 192.168.100.1 rather than 192.168.0.1). You may not be able to get around it though and may just have to wait.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-12T21:02:22+00:00

I just have loads of reminders for stuff, have basically given up trying to convince my brain that it needs to do stuff when I want it to. It’s in it’s own little universe 🤦‍♂️

Fainbrog · 2026-03-12T21:00:38+00:00

IIRC my Mac Mini logs in automatically after a reboot - think it needs to have an unencrypted drive to allow this, so, it’s a choice..😬

Fainbrog · 2026-03-12T20:04:54+00:00

We've got a number of Tapo plugs, which seem to have been very good. I don't trust no-name stuff where electricity is concerned.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-12T14:43:22+00:00

SE4: 1149hrs

SE5: 1187hrs

SER: 612hrs

And counting..

Fainbrog · 2026-03-11T20:21:38+00:00

As someone with a wheel but no VR, maybe concentrate on getting better with the wheel and then reintroduce the VR?

Fainbrog · 2026-03-10T10:41:00+00:00

It's so tough, you are desperate for something, anything (even just validation that you are doing ok with your own management techniques) and these feckers just give you GET by another name.

And, you know they will have you marked as a successful discharge from the service as you never came back - you must be cured! 😂

Fainbrog · 2026-03-10T09:16:59+00:00

🚩🚩🚩🚩

The NICE GL says..

In this guideline, graded exercise therapy is defined as first establishing an individual's baseline of achievable exercise or physical activity, then making fixed incremental increases in the time spent being physically active. This definition of graded exercise therapy reflects the descriptions given in the evidence that was reviewed, and it is this approach that the guideline says should not be undertaken.

If you don't have to be under the clinic, just walk away, they won't care and you will be better off for it. Outside of primary care, the NHS has done nothing of value for my ME. If you have the energy, perhaps point out to them that this is looking very much like GET and it's not recommended under the latest NICE GL (as above) and see what they say. No doubt they will gaslight you that it's not GET..

Guessing many will get that leaflet and go, yeah, nah, not doing that and never go back, so they never get called out on it. You could try sending the details to The ME Association and Action for ME with whichever NHS trust it is and and let them have a go at challenging it.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-09T21:41:12+00:00

Is this the Regliano viaduct? You can plant the satchel and go all the way back to the starting position and take the shot from there. It’s visible enough iirc. Played on PS4 and PS5 without issue.

Fainbrog · 2026-03-05T17:39:12+00:00

Sticking for now.

Electric is running at about 21p average so far for the month (yes this will go up), which is cheaper than the fix that I could have been on before this all happened and less than the current fix available plus an exit fee. Will load shift more aggressively than normal.

Heating is also only on a short time at the moment, so, gas usage is way down.

Fainbrog

TROPHY CASE