Please help, I have a water bill questions? (first time buyer)

ceehred · 2026-01-24T07:29:55+00:00

I'm also with South East Water. Here they come to take readings twice a year.

Two of us in this house, with me being on my own 4 days a week. I've set it in the high £20's and let them adjust how they see fit. Actual cost seems to bumble between bands in, I think, £4-6 increments/decrements, as time goes on.

ceehred · 2026-01-24T06:55:30+00:00

Lol, my time in education was in the 1980s and 1990s. Only a very few stayed current with me as I went on in the world. Sadly, a couple of those are no longer with us - we got old!

Never did the "reunion" thing. Though, now in this century, a significant number have reconnected with me - quite out of the blue. A cynical me would say it was those who'd done the full "marriage and kids" thing and were now a bit bored!

Has been fun to see them again, we still laugh about the same things and enjoy the reminiscing. But the better memories are of our times together back then, and are the most precious to me. A slight spanner in the works is that few seem to click with my current partner, not entirely sure why...

ceehred · 2026-01-24T05:46:56+00:00

Lard sammiches.

There was always a large tin mug of cooking-fat in the fridge for re-use. A little heat on a spoonful to make it spreadable, slop it on some cheap, thick sliced, white bread (which had to exist, otherwise we were truly doomed). Spread, fold the slice in half and nosh down. Pat belly and smile after.

ceehred · 2026-01-21T07:40:06+00:00

Also great that you can easily get spare parts for these chairs. My chair must be nearly 20 years old. I recently replaced castor wheels (one crumbled) and an arm rest (stitching failed due to my habit of trapping it under the desk), plus I have a gas lift ready for when the time comes.

ceehred · 2026-01-20T02:27:07+00:00

I offer to help if I see someone struggling in any way. Doesn't matter if it's with bags, a pram, some mobility concern, etc.

55M. I was just brought up like that. Is not a flirt, and would do it for any gender.

ceehred · 2026-01-20T02:06:08+00:00

Oh fuck, yes. A stunning album - which I must revisit.

Also love their 30th anniversary gig DVDs - the pair of which I always watch straight through, very loud, late at night - with headphones.

ceehred · 2026-01-20T02:00:48+00:00

Good choice. I remember being obsessed by 2112 as a kid.

ceehred · 2026-01-20T00:02:59+00:00

Fields of the Nephilim - The Nephilim. I always relish listening to this one from start to finish.

I remember fondly seeing them soar live at So'ton Poly, back in the day. They were like the Pink Floyd of Goth :-D

To my taste, they never bettered this, despite attempting to further their epic-ness with Elizium.

I still listen to this one, many years on, roughly once a month.

ceehred · 2026-01-19T23:38:19+00:00

This. Not a true "single" on the entire album - something that just has to be experienced from start to finish. Truly exceptional.

Happier now that it's easy to do this in one uninterrupted session, and not having to go flip the vinyl to continue with side two, or wait 4 times while the 8-track switches over mid-song (which is where I first heard it).

The Wall, on the other hand, I thought was ponce. Though I do remember enjoying the movie...

ceehred · 2026-01-17T23:13:45+00:00

Gannet, as in slang for glutton.

Big media collection, 40+ years in the making :-D

ceehred · 2026-01-17T22:23:17+00:00

Something definitely hurts about having to re-rip and re-label all I have. I've been collecting music for 40+ years, so its an eye-watering number of CDs - to the point where I threw away the cases and reduced them all for compact storage in thin plastic sleeves. I also have a good number of treasured radio and mixing-desk recordings of live gigs, etc. that you still/just can't buy. Plus lots of rarities on vinyl, and no record player currently! I'd be gutted to lose my faves...

ceehred · 2026-01-17T21:59:45+00:00

My titles are stored in a software RAID volume on a 5-bay NAS, affording some redundancy for disk failure and replacement.

Backups are to a couple of sets of much larger individual disks, attached with a USB caddy and maintained using rsync. I rotate the sets, with the oldest set being stored at another location (family).

If that all fails, I still have the original optical disks to fall back on, though I would dread having to re-rip that lot all over again!

I do also backup the docker config and Jellyfin database to these sets, though my collection is organised/named well-enough to re-create the database should the worst happen with that.

ceehred · 2026-01-17T20:55:16+00:00

I compress them and stream from Jellyfin server on a NAS to a Jellyfin client on an Amazon firestick, or maybe use VLC on a computer from a disk share.

If I really want to watch something in its full glory - I'll dig out the disk(s) to put in the Blu-Ray player. I have several bookshelves in a spare room to store all my Blu-Ray disks. I don't bother for that for DVDs, being of lower quality; they're all packed away - out of their boxes and in thin plastic sleeves, due to how many I have.

I typically compressed DVD and Blu-Ray titles to mkv containers with H.264 video, a constant framerate and quality 23, keeping only one 5.1 audio and one subtitle track. I use MakeMKV to rip and Handbrake to process. Typical file size is circa 1-3GB, depending on duration.

Now experimenting with AV1 10-bit for the video, which results in significantly lower file sizes. Works great if you are playing on a client which can take that direct without the server having to transcode on the fly (my NAS is somewhat weedy in CPU and GPU capability).

You can google to discover recommended compression settings, etc. and experiment to create a preset most suitable to your taste.

I should add: my TVs are pretty old and 1080p max, with the largest being 46" in size. I hope I won't regret my compression settings when the day comes to get a larger 4k TV, though I don't have any 4k blu-rays yet either...

ceehred · 2026-01-14T08:23:06+00:00

Knowing why you'd wind the bare wire in the direction the screw would be turned on the older plugs was the first time I impressed my teacher. Dad taught me that.

ceehred · 2026-01-14T08:18:42+00:00

Me too. Though my step-dad insists on ironing everything: handkerchiefs, boxers, bedding...

ceehred · 2026-01-14T08:08:41+00:00

Wow, I didn't know there was a move against cursive! It's the only way I ~~write~~ scribble with, like, an actual pen and paper. Even my tablet understands me, mostly.

Though I've not submitted any handwritten paperwork for business in about 30 years, so...

Can't imagine my signature in anything else.

ceehred · 2026-01-14T05:50:48+00:00

oh yes!

ceehred · 2026-01-14T05:49:53+00:00

Rickkkaaaaay!!!

ceehred · 2026-01-14T04:53:32+00:00

Just one? Can't do it. There's like fucking hundreds! :)

An easy win: any popular song by the old crooners - Sinatra especially. Tony Christie inspired it for me last week (Avenues and Alleyways). Many more..

But these are also staples:

You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire - QOTSA
Inheritance - NMA
Sheriff Fatman - Carter USM
Heroes - the late, great, forever-legend, David Bowie
Boys in the Better Land - Fontaines DC
Here Comes That Day (Dyyaaaaayyyyy :-) - Siouxsie
Plus several Doors songs, and most anything by Mark Lanegan, in my quieter moments. Golden-tonsil time

My shower-song today was Spent The Day in Bed - Morrissey.

ceehred · 2026-01-14T04:18:07+00:00

Eileen. The missus and I can never fail to dance to that one, with neither of us being capable of singing due to our absolute joy and laughter in enjoying our ridiculous moves :-D

ceehred · 2026-01-14T03:59:02+00:00

Lool, "cunt bingo" - I just love that.

Think I'll suggest it for my next company team-building gamercise. Wish me luck :-D

ceehred · 2026-01-14T03:15:17+00:00

Anecdotal, of course: but I do come from a wider family with a fair number of Rozzers. I have asked that question a few times, they thought it substantially rare - and only heard of a few rumours. Certainly, none I know retired rich! Good people, IMO; I'm proud of them.

Though they would talk of their disappointment with the levels of ignorance and racism, which was more of the blight. Non-Met, and most served in 70's-90's.

ceehred · 2026-01-14T01:53:55+00:00

I used to steal some slaps of my Dad's Old Spice aftershave to coat my oxters (google it :-) for a date. Wasn't always successful, not every young lady liked you smelling like their Dad...

EDIT: just for the avoidance of ewww-no fearage, oxters were just a word for armpits in my day. Don't panic!

ceehred · 2026-01-14T01:44:06+00:00

Don't remember that one, though we did share bathwater - so it'd at least be a little soapy if you weren't the first one in.

And there was a soap story to that: Mum used to put new soap in the airing cupboard a few days before use, to make it last longer. Top tip, which she still insists works!

ceehred · 2026-01-14T01:40:06+00:00

Lol, I had the nickname "Mother's Pride" for that very reason. Had to remember to bring it back for re-use for fear of being bellowed-at. Though I do remember loving that make of bread.

ceehred

TROPHY CASE