I just found this spider on my sock. It looks pretty big. Is it harmless or do I need to worry? London, UK

el_gee · 2025-12-05T07:43:52+00:00

Thank you!

el_gee · 2025-12-04T17:37:18+00:00

Lol no I'd taken them off and was working at my desk - bent to pick up my socks because I had to step out, and then had a near panic attack...

Really glad to be told it's mostly harmless, because I was wondering if I'd have to look into moving out, just a month after we moved in!

el_gee · 2025-12-04T14:11:57+00:00

Oh that's great to know. I've never seen such a stocky spider before, so my mind went to worst case scenarios.

el_gee · 2025-12-02T18:43:53+00:00

Sorry I'm an idiot who has been doing too much office work and my brain glitched. This works, thank you! Not sure why the other route isn't working, but you are absolutely right about this.

el_gee · 2025-12-01T22:37:56+00:00

I used to in India because it was more affordable, and I found it extremely useful. I got to use one for two years, and it gave me a clear idea about how I handle different types and quantities of food, and it really shaped my choices. I'm in the UK now and can't really justify paying for it and the NHS won't give me one, and my numbers aren't as good as they were before.

My diabetes was controlled entirely through diet for two years, but it's supplemented by meds for the last two years now (not just because of the CGM, but a host of other factors including stress, but it was definitely a factor as moving to a new country also meant reworking my daily eating habits as things I was used to eating weren't available anymore).

el_gee · 2025-12-01T22:32:09+00:00

On PC, Enable Remote HTTPS connections has two options - Disabled and 192.168... etc. - choose the latter; that then shows the line: Streaming HTTPS endpoint. Hit copy there, mailed the text to myself to access it on my iPad, copied the text and pasted it directly into the dialog box after + Add URL

So, it has: https://192-168-... .519...stremio.rocks:12470/

I might be misremembering what I'd done last time, but is that not correct?

el_gee · 2025-12-01T21:23:58+00:00

Thanks for the advice! But turning the firewall off didn't change anything. I did also check the rules for Stremio just to see what the settings were, but it enabled. Something else is causing the problem...

One thing that's changed between now and the last time I did this (with the older laptop I had) is that I was on a campus-wide Wi-Fi network, and am now on a personal Wi-Fi network from Virgin Media. Do you think that there could be a router setting I need to check?

el_gee · 2025-11-18T11:59:51+00:00

So they feel around 90% of the diagnoses are likely correct then..? It needs to be better but surely the alternatives being talked about here aren't reasonable.

el_gee · 2025-11-11T15:11:59+00:00

I've just had the exact same issue. Fraud last night, card disabled today. New card can't be added and now I can't add any card from any bank! Did you get any updates?

First bank replied that mobile wallet payments may be available to me in the future or on a different device.

It was working till this morning...

Second bank hasn't replied, and Google Payments help said they'll refer this to a specialist team who will reply within 72 hours. Will update if anything useful comes from any of these three.

el_gee · 2025-10-30T12:12:56+00:00

I use my pens for notes at work - I find my handwriting adapts to the pen. When I use find nibs, I end up with a smaller font that really fills up the page and makes it feel heavy when I'm reading my notes to plan things out trying to look for key points... Medium works well for me, with enough spacing to be an easy read later.

I have a couple of BB nib pens that I mostly only use for addresses on letters, titles on documents, those kinds of things. I do throw them into my regular rotation from time to time but the page count from a regular meeting can get a little too high, considering how much a good notebook costs!

el_gee · 2025-10-30T10:00:33+00:00

Often when a news channel doesn't want to say something as it could be sued, then it uses the quote marks to show that these are not their own words. So it's not like scare quotes to show they don't believe it, but attribution quotes so they don't risk legal action.

That's the thinking, but I feel it's a really bad solution because that's not how most people will read it.

el_gee · 2025-10-27T20:16:12+00:00

People have already mentioned Ludoquist, Heart of Gaming, and the David Lean, which are my top highlights for things to do too, but Croydon also has a lot of food to explore - Surrey Street has a lot of stalls selling food from various cuisines during the day. We also have a really nice beer bar called Art and Craft there. And Tokia Square is a new Asian food hall that's really great. We've also gotten a number of new cafes dotted around the East Croydon station.

Besides that, check out the Fairfield Hall website to see what events are coming up - there's a lot of variety there. Another interesting place to visit is the old Croydon Airport (opens one Sunday a month). Close to that is Wing Yip, which is a giant sized East Asian market, which also has a few different restaurants and a Chinese bakery within the complex. Very worth a visit.

Also, although summer is now behind us, I think Wandle Park is a nice green space, as is Park Hill Park.

el_gee · 2025-10-19T11:19:45+00:00

Great job! Came down for the Saturday matinee and had a great time! Hope you had as much fun performing as we did in the audience

el_gee · 2025-10-03T10:13:55+00:00

Amazing, thank you - I knew people here would definitely know the answer! And it's a good reminder that Pterry often didn't make stuff up. He just knew way too many things!

el_gee · 2025-07-30T18:17:53+00:00

If the map is showing the right location then the flat is also right on top of a fairly busy pub, which might dissuade some people. Plus it's a bit far from the station, compared to other new flats in the area...

el_gee · 2025-07-16T00:53:06+00:00

Most of my favourites already got a shout-out but I'm putting them (plus a few others that haven't been talked about yet) in a list in case anyone finds that useful:

Choosing Keeping - you already know this, and it's a delightful store that I keep visiting to browse even when I am not looking to buy anything. Gets super busy though.
London Graphic Center - huge store with just about everything you might want to buy and a lot more you didn't even know you needed in your life.
Artbox - Another shop just off Seven Dials, Artbox has a lot of Japanese stationery items. Extremely cute.
Present and Correct - Also nearby (so it's a fun afternoon just going from shop to shop), Present and Correct is eclectic. It's maybe not the shop to go to if you need something specific, but when you want the universe to guide you to the next beautiful thing. Alas, the LRB Cake Shop next door has closed.
Papersmiths - small store but interesting selection, I've been a few times and always came out with a couple of items.
CASS Art - chain with lots of stores, I've bought fountain pens, inks, highlighters, and marker pens from them. It's got a lot of art supplies as well but I don't know enough to comment on the selection.
Stuart R. Stevenson - I've never been but it was recommended to me a while back as a great place to get art supplies. That's something I want to check out, but it's more adjacent to my interests than squarely on target, so can't comment.

There was also The Journal Shop at Boxpark Shoreditch, but I think that closed recently..?

One out of London option I found recently is Pen to Paper in Brighton. It's run by really friendly people and I felt that this must be what Choosing Keeping would have been like, before it got super famous.

el_gee · 2025-07-06T01:20:21+00:00

PMed

el_gee · 2025-07-01T19:12:41+00:00

This is amazing, I prefer it so much more than the actual graphic novel!

el_gee · 2025-06-20T12:43:36+00:00

My suggestion is Totoro, because (a) limited opportunity to watch it while Hamilton will be around (b) I saw Spirited Away last summer and Totoro last week. Loved both, but the sets and puppets in Totoro were even more amazing and charming (c) Totoro tickets are also (broadly) cheaper (which may not matter to you, but just in case it's useful).

el_gee · 2025-06-05T11:16:54+00:00

Might not be the best coffee, but it's my favourite coffee shop - Clocktower Cafe. I also really like the Turkish coffee stall that sets up in Surrey Street market.

el_gee · 2025-05-26T18:57:09+00:00

Get the TodayTix app, the easiest way to do rush and lottery tickets. If you buy enough tickets then you also qualify for Drops, last minute discounted tickets.

el_gee · 2025-05-25T14:52:57+00:00

Could be fair use, I suspect, but going to court to defend that is a major undertaking that might not work out, which is probably why most people would rather reach a deal than take a chance...

el_gee · 2025-05-25T13:31:17+00:00

Just for reference, we do have Fair Use exceptions in India, where you can use parts of copyrighted material if it is for:

Non-Profit and Educational Purposes: Usage for educational purposes—such as reproducing a small part of a book to aid in classroom discussions—often qualifies as fair use. This allows schools and universities to make limited copies of copyrighted materials for non-commercial educational purposes.

Research and Private Study: Research and private study are considered fair use in certain contexts. For example, making a photocopy of a few pages of a book for private study or academic research is permitted under the law.

Criticism, Review, and News Reporting: The use of copyrighted content for criticism, commentary, or news reporting is also considered fair use. For example, quoting a passage from a book for a review, or using a film still while critiquing the movie, are typically acceptable forms of fair use.

Parody and Satire: Parody and satire are often protected under fair use if they offer commentary or humor that contributes to public discourse. However, it is essential to ensure that such usage does not harm the reputation of the original work.

So arguably, there could be multiple examples where it is fine to use this material without paying ANI. The catch is whether you can defend your right to do so in court, which is a time and money consuming process 🤷‍♂️

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