trisonic Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Can I tell a quick story? We know that rarely it can get very cold even in the soft South of England. Sometime between 1979 and 1984 I went down to stay with my folks in Shenfield for a couple of days. It had snowed and it was still on the ground and in the morning it was -12C. Unfortunately I had a very compelling reason to get into London and the otherwise very charming Ray Buckton was in the middle of calling for one day strikes once or twice per week. On the old GER lines the drivers were 100% ASLEF - there was nothing running into Liverpool Street. My Dad said he would drive me to Ongar where I could get on the Underground (this was the bucolic version and certainly proves how long ago this was). Anyway we had only reached the main drag into Brentwood when his diesel car gave up the ghost because the fuel had jellied. Luckily we were close to the old BL main dealer Lambs (also long gone) and the bus stop for the Eastern National 251 service which then went from Southend on Sea all the way to Wood Green. Also lost to time... So I said "no worries" I'll get the bus to Newbury Park and pick up the Central Line there. Well, easier said than done as three buses went past full of school children heading into Brentwood. I was about to give up when another came around the corner where the old Green Dragon Pub is and it looked almost half empty. Hooblooodyray, I thought, but when I went to move, my Wellies had stuck fast to the pavement due to the cold and I nearly fell forward on to my face. Because my feet just kept coming out of them I had to reach down and pull the boots free with my hands. I did make the bus however to the amusement of the watching crew. Best, Pete. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium eldavo Posted January 13, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 13, 2012 Morning All, Clear and bright in these parts. Apparently it's Friday! Glad to hear medical and other situations are generally improving. Hasn't been much to report of late. In fact there still isn't. 3 month old phone has gone phutt and refuses to power on today so it looks like a walk into town to the O2 shop is on the cards. Mutter mumble... Have a good one all. Cheers Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted January 13, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 13, 2012 No detention, but having a little bit of trouble transferring pics. At present I have something like 15,000 pics divided up into directories and sub directories. I was told to download them into an USB drive and then import into iPhotos. Did that but they all go into 'events' and you apparently lose all the directories and each sub directory exists on it's own. So if you had a directory called Railways and a sub directory Horsham show, it would ignore the Railways directory and place Horsham show after say Holiday. Completely unrelated, but just sorted alphabetically. Still investigating that one, but Apple tech support said that was the case. Means I now have to rename all my sub directories along these lines, Railways-Horsham show to ensure all those railway subjects appear together. Not a happy man, but not the end of the world and not as seamless as I was lead to believe.... ....unless you know otherwise. Agh, the dreaded iPhoto. Knowing nothing about it I copied in one folder's worth of pics and started to play - and was not a happy bunny, not at all a happy bunny - especially when I tried to import pics that should be in another folder. So I tried Preview and had a few problems (solved by an appeal revealing my idiocy on RMWeb) which gave me the basic answers on how to actually access pic files in an easy way from a folder and I was away. So what I do now is download or transfer pics into an ordinary folder which lives in a master pics folder in the main documents folder and having not got on with a freebie equivalent of Photoshop I use Preview to do the relatively simple things I thus far need to do with pics. I found the quickest way (for me) to move stuff across from my external drive is to drop it, complete in all folders etc, into the destination folder on the Mac; stuff ex camera I download first to the desktop. And that apart it's a lovely sunny day here in the Thames Valley and good morning to all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixoh8sixoh Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Morning all the regulars and welcome aboard Shadow. Opened the curtains to a heavy frost and pretty much eye to eye with a sparrowhawk. It was sitting in the tree opposite my bedroom window, only about 6 feet away. Those of you who've seen pictures taken from my flat in Edinburgh will know there's no such tree, which means I'm down in Durham again! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixoh8sixoh Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 iPhoto isn't the greatest software. I've downloaded Aperture which is far better for editing pictures but I haven't used it much yet. I really need to set aside a week off work to scan in all my old negs and prints or really force myself to do a batch each night. It's just such a mind-numbing task... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) pretty much eye to eye with a sparrowhawk. It was sitting in the tree opposite my bedroom window, only about 6 feet away. Those of you who've seen pictures taken from my flat in Edinburgh will know there's no such tree, which means I'm down in Durham again! A couple of days ago a male one did a "raid" in the garden and caught a starling - he couldn't carry it off due to its size and weight, and was having trouble killing it, so he dragged it to the water bath and drowned it! He then spent two hours (in full view of the window,) quite unconcernedly plucking and eating it. We do see life in the raw! Edited January 13, 2012 by shortliner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted January 13, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 13, 2012 Why does Aditi need to pass an exam to fix the Viva then if you're just going to take it to the garage? Dave. She was once upon a time rather an expert on Vivas of the Vauxhall kind. Our first car was a Chevette which shared many parts with the Viva. I've just returned from the local industrial estate where the nice friendly garage is located. I left the Clio there and they will look at it! Either they can mount the part or if not I suppose it may be time to look for another small car. I thought Aditi seemed remarkably calm this morning about the mock viva voce. I hope she will be as calm for the real thing on Tuesday. I did offer to go up with her (carry briefcase etc) I could sit and drink tea in the Royal Festival Hall caff while she is interrogated but she said not to. She did the final read through last night of 55000 words. She has a list of errors (nine) for the examiners but apart from one repetition of the word "on" the others are misplaced commas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted January 13, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 13, 2012 and the bus stop for the Eastern National 251 service which then went from Southend on Sea all the way to Wood Green. Also lost to time... There were Eastern National routes that seemed strange but were very useful. The 151 from Canvey to Romford was useful for me on a few occasions. It too went via Brentwood and then Harold Hill where I worked. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) Tony, We had a rather large Red Tailed Hawk snacking on a cute Chipmunk this week. our dog hates the Hawk but he takes no notice of her (to her disgust). Yes I used to go to school, sometimes on the 151 - it had a very circuitous route that was actually handy, as you say. Best, Pete. Edited January 13, 2012 by trisonic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Just re-visited iPhoto to refresh my memory. It's not the latest version now. There a few dozen pics in there which I can't access ("Can't find Photo"). The only way to do so would be to have another copy on the desktop. Defeats the purpose really. 'Help' is very slow too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted January 13, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 13, 2012 Robbie when young seemed to have bird chasing instincts but now he isn't that bothered by them. He has trained the pigeons fairly well and they leave his lawn alone. He would always run towards the egrets that live in the park but he ignores them as well now. He would probably rolled in the remains of the chipmunk. Fortunately it is usually only dead things he rolls on, many dogs here are attracted to the odours left by foxes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 She was once upon a time rather an expert on Vivas of the Vauxhall kind. Our first car was a Chevette which shared many parts with the Viva. The Chevette was a great car. I always fancied an HS - I remember seeing one in our local Vauxhall dealership and it was love at first sight. Not much chance though, as there were only 400 built! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted January 13, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 13, 2012 The Chevette was a great car. I always fancied an HS - I remember seeing one in our local Vauxhall dealership and it was love at first sight. Not much chance though, as there were only 400 built! Ours was the 1256 cc Viva engined model. Good points, it had a very tight turning circle and was better for getting shopping home than my motorbike! To be fair many of the engine, gearbox and corrosion faults were due to the poor service from the previous owner's (MiL) main dealer. They had had it serviced regularly but I don't think it had ever had its spark plugs or points replaced. No matter how unreliable it was we really liked having a car. We were about 30 and it was our first car. We then got a Cortina and became a two car household. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium skipepsi Posted January 13, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 13, 2012 My brother had a chevette known as a shovit for obvious reasons one day he rang me uo asking if I would swop the engine with him as he had got a better engine from a scrapyard so we set to and did it, got it running nicely then it stopped. It stopped because there wasn't a drive shaft to the oil pump!we took it back to the scrappers and threw it on the counter. A refund was quickly given. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixoh8sixoh Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Sounds like a lot of work to change the engine for nothing. Still, with that make of car, you vauxhall the way there, then you vauxhall the way back... Mum and Dad's dogs completely ignore the dozen or so pheasants that come to the patio for food, but one of the dogs goes mad and chases away squirrels when he sees them, or if you say the word "squirrel". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 A friend of mine had a Jack Russell that would prick up its ears in a very comical way whenever it heard the word "squirrel". Woe betide the squirrel who was actually seen by said Terrier! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Max Stafford Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Met FiL in the park to walk the dogs again this morning. For the second time in two weeks, Abi caught a mouse and swallowed the damn thing whole. The last one didn't seem to bother her but she'll be on chicken and rice for a couple of days again to be on the safe side! Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Just another little update for you on the iPhoto saga. Spent another chunk of my life getting to grips with iPhoto and viewed several tutorials on Keywords, but blowed if I could get it to do what the tutorials did. Another search on the web told me this... 'Displaying keywords under the photos has been broken since iPhoto 11 was released'. Now they tell me. Seems the Holy Grail of computers may still be a little way away. Faith is dented but not broken yet. I still have a few more days to decide. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 You'll dump a whole system 'cos you dislike one program? What photo programs come with Dell or HP? Here's a shot from Iphoto: What happens if you click on it? "Aye, And it should gruesome more" Btw don't park next to the Railway equivalent of a Nuclear Submarine......... Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) Pete, you're taking me far too seriously and of course, it's nothing personal. Yes, I'm irritated and frustrated, but it's like everything else in life. The marketing guys paint a picture and you buy into it. Unfortunately the reality of life is that it nearly always falls short of your expectations. As marketing has got slicker it has moved away from reality and creates this world that doesn't exist, so is it any wonder that consumers get peeved when products fall short. Yes, I want things to work and do as the spec says. I can accept minor variances from spec, but overall I want it to do what I'm told it will. I've just spent 45 minutes talking to Apple Technical Support who were aware of the issue and say they are working on it. The problem is that it shouldn't have been released if it doesn't work, but then commercial pressures mean products are often released before they are fully proven. Been there, done that and could write a book on the subject. Sadly the consumer or customer IS the proving ground in these days of reduced time to market. Get it out there and someone will pick up the odd fault and we will deal with it, but at least we have it out there. Wait until it's 100% and you've missed the boat. In any case it will never be 100% no matter how long you wait. OK, I wasted several hours yesterday and another few this morning. If they had made the end user aware of an issue, then that time would have been put to better use and my blood pressure would have come down a notch or two. Of course that's not reality, so lets keep it quiet and live with the consequences. After much experimentation, I've found a work round, so I'll stick with it, even though I am a little disappointed to find such basic flaws so quickly. I've invested a fair chunk of cash in this machine and have a get out clause if needed. That is only 14 days, so I'm sure as hell going to test as much as I can, and be as certain as I can be that this machine will prove it's cost/performance ratio. Nothing so far is terminal, these are just tales of a newbie on a new system, nothing more. Edited January 13, 2012 by gordon s Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Gordon, Yes, I was disappointed with IPhoto too but then again my tame IT expert made it work for me (Mrs. trisonic). Nah, I was not being too serious either! Hence the old gruesome joke. I was serious about you clicking on the photo though! I want to know whether it expands when you do so... that diesel model is (apparently) the loudest on the planet, it even looks sinister... Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Btw my version of IPhoto is: 7.1.5 I think it is from 2008, vintage. Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted January 13, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 13, 2012 I was serious about you clicking on the photo though! I want to know whether it expands when you do so... that diesel model is (apparently) the loudest on the planet, it even looks sinister... It didn't just expand Pete - it more than filled my screen 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted January 13, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 13, 2012 I've got the Clio back. I won't be shopping for a new car this weekend thanks to the nice people at the garage. Aditi got the text I sent her to let her know about the car. She should be starting her mock exam interrogation just now. She normally gets to places just in time but was nice and early today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 That's one hell of a pic. If that loco ever moves, he'll take a few bumpers off.... To answer your question, as far as I remember, my Dell didn't come with photo software, it came with my Canon camera. It's no big deal as I'll probably buy Adobe 10 and use that until they get iPhoto 11 sorted. Now I've started digging a bit further, there is quite a reaction on the web to its shortcomings. As I said, my irritation is with marketing people who lead you to dissatisfaction as a result of them bending the truth. Of course it's the poor old Customer Service staff who have to deal with it whilst those who caused the problem sit in their ivory towers. When I was working, I made my IT people customer facing which was quite an eye opener for them and quickly solved some issues. Perhaps I should have done it with the ###### marketeers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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