What’s on your mind?

[Scepticalscribe]

Enjoy. I miss fresh bread.

Fresh French bread is a pure joy.

I mean, today, well, of course, there are other bakeries......but their produce is nowhere nearly as good as the bread baked by the French bakery.

But my body doesn’t.

My sympathies.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Ah.

Lunch, (and, or coffee) rather than dinner and beer and a glass of wine?

Either way, safe travels and I hope you have a good time.

We will both be driving. Also both want to get back sooner rather than later. It’s about two hours drive for each of us.
But hey I think it’s the second time I’ve seen him this year, so better than most.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

We will both be driving. Also both want to get back sooner rather than later. It’s about two hours drive for each of us.
But hey I think it’s the second time I’ve seen him this year, so better than most.

Fair enough.

Driving - any distance - at this time of year is not fun.

Well, safe travels, and I hope you both enjoy a lovely lunch.

And it is very good that this is the second time you have seen him this year.

Take the time to enjoy it.

Actually, I'd give anything to be able to have a good lunch with my father - he liked Italian food (and Greek food), - bruschetta was a favourite - and loved a good chat over a glass (or two) of very good Italian red wine, such as Chianti (which he was rather partial to); and he loved good coffee, too, we used to regularly meet for coffee, he would also frequently meet my mother for coffee and a chat, and then they would each head home separately.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Fair enough.

Driving - any distance - at this time of year is not fun.

Well, safe travels, and I hope you both enjoy a lovely lunch.

And it is very good that this is the second time you have seen him this year.

Take the time to enjoy it.

Actually, I'd give anything to be able to have a good lunch with my father - he liked Italian food (and Greek food), - bruschetta was a favourite - and loved a good chat over a glass (or two) of very good Italian red wine, such as Chianti (which he was rather partial to); and he loved good coffee, we used to regularly meet for coffee, he would also frequently meet my mother for coffee and a chat, and then they would each head home separately.

My dad also loves red wine as well as Guinness.
I’ll be honest every time I see him I wonder if it will be the last time. We speak every few days but it’s not the same.
I should probably also make the effort to see my Mum in the NY. I have similar thoughts when we meet up.
Families are dam awkward at times. Especially mine!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

My dad also loves red wine as well as Guinness.

Mine was also partial to whisky, and loved jazz and classical music.

And Italian red wine.

In fact, the last Christmas of his life - strokes and cancer did for him - he had had one of his "turns" two days before Christmas, I vividly recall following those flashing blue lights of the ambulance on the way to hospital - a hospital admission on 23rd December - I'd have killed him if he wasn't already dying - (other "turns" had occurred at Hallowe'en, and the final one took place the following May Bank Holiday week-end, when he was admitted on the Friday, just as everyone was buggering off for the long week-end and died on the following Tuesday).

Anyway, he was in hospital over Christmas, and - bizarrely, - was in superb form, (we were wrecked), despatching me to purchase several boxes of Leonidas chocolates (only the best) for the nurses, and thrilling to the rich Italian red wine (Ripasso) that I smuggled in for him on Christmas Day ("Ah, that's nectar", he breathed happily, beaming, as he closed his eyes all the better to savour this divine delight).

I’ll be honest every time I see him I wonder if it will be the last time.

Take the time to enjoy it.

We speak every few days but it’s not the same.

Agreed, but it is good that you are in touch.

I should probably also make the effort to see my Mum in the NY.

Yes, I think that you should.

I have similar thoughts when we meet up.

Yes, I can relate to this so mcuh.

Families are dam awkward at times. Especially mine!

Oh, yes.

Amen to that.

 

[fanboy-ish]

Office politics: why, besides being lowly forms of sub-human life, would people badmouth their colleagues, even going as far as crafting outright lies, in a small, family-owned company where nobody stands any chance of any kind of career advancement or salary increase?

 

[Apple fanboy]

Office politics: why, besides being lowly forms of sub-human life, would people badmouth their colleagues, even going as far as crafting outright lies, in a small, family-owned company where nobody stands any chance of any kind of career advancement or salary increase?

Sounds more toxic than our place (just!)

 

[fanboy-ish]

Sounds more toxic than our place (just!)

I remember reading an article about the characteristics of toxic workplaces, mine checked almost every box.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Office politics: why, besides being lowly forms of sub-human life, would people badmouth their colleagues, even going as far as crafting outright lies, in a small, family-owned company where nobody stands any chance of any kind of career advancement or salary increase?

Office politics can be utterly toxic, agreed.

In my experience, people leave bad bosses - and dreadful atmospheres and places - rather than bad jobs.

However, I will observe that with the seepage of work into the rest of life (which didn't happen thirty or forty years ago, and wasn't as pronounced, even twenty years ago), the lack of properly policed boundaries between the world of work and the rest of your life, the fact that you are not encouraged (unless you are French, where you are supported by law) to completely switch off from work in the evenings or week-ends - which wouldn't have happened (and couldn't have happened, as communication didn't allow for it) - a few decades ago - work demands to play an ever-increasing role in every hour of one's waking life, - you spend a lot more time with work colleagues than you do with friends or family - and, thus, I am beginning to think that it is almost inevitable that the inescapable nature of work (for when can you switch off?) must give rise to tensions which are then expressed by the development toxic work environments.

This is merely by way of attempting to explain this phenomenon, and is in no way excusing it.

 

[fanboy-ish]

Office politics can be utterly toxic, agreed.

In my experience, people leave bad bosses - and dreadful atmospheres and places - rather than bad jobs.

However, I will observe that with the seepage of work into the rest of life (which didn't happen thirty or forty years ago, and wasn't as pronounced, even twenty years ago), the lack of properly policed boundaries between the world of work and the rest of your life, the fact that you are not encouraged (unless you are French, where you are supported by law) to completely switch off from work in the evenings or week-ends - which wouldn't have happened (and couldn't have happened, as communication didn't allow for it) - a few decades ago - work demands to play an ever-increasing role in every hour of one's waking life, - you spend a lot more time with work colleagues than you do with friends or family - and, thus, I am beginning to think that it is almost inevitable that the inescapable nature of work (for when can you switch off?) must give rise to tensions which are then expressed by the development toxic work environments.

This is merely by way of attempting to explain this phenomenon, and is in no way excusing it.

I absolutely agree, people leave bad bosses and toxic places.

I think the keyword here should be: boundaries; when the line between “work life” and “private life” starts to blur then we expose ourselves to gossip, when we start to feel at ease with colleagues we may lay our guard down and reveal things that might be used against us, or even manipulated to create a false narrative.

It surely was misdjudgement on my part, that’s why I’ve started to set and enforce boundaries, and quite coldly too, when I’m asked what I do outside of work I just say “what happens outside of the workplace, stays outside of the workplace”, and over the last three years I haven’t attended the Christmas parties - those organized outside of working hours -, I even stopped getting a coffee or taking breaks with some colleagues; I can pretend I don’t dislike someone up to a certain point, but I don’t play well with the hypocrisy of acting like we’re all friends, only to go back to backstabbing the day after the party.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I absolutely agree, people leave bad bosses and toxic places.

I think the keyword here should be: boundaries; when the line between “work life” and “private life” starts to blur then we expose ourselves to gossip, when we start to feel at ease with colleagues we may lay our guard down and reveal things that might be used against us, or even manipulated to create a false narrative.

It surely was misdjudgement on my part, that’s why I’ve started to set and enforce boundaries, and quite coldly too, when I’m asked what I do outside of work I just say “what happens outside of the workplace, stays outside of the workplace”, and over the last three years I haven’t attended the Christmas parties - those organized outside of working hours -, I even stopped getting a coffee or taking breaks with some colleagues; I can pretend I don’t dislike someone up to a certain point, but I don’t play well with the hypocrisy of acting like we’re all friends, only to go back to backstabbing the day after the party.

Well said.

Giving the Christmas party a wide berth seems to me to be a good idea; these are not parties - or, rather, it is foolish to assume (or pretend), that these gatherings in any way resemble private, social gatherings with friends and family.

Rather, they are - or, so I used to remind myself - work gatherings in a social setting, which meant that they were different (and not the same) as social gatherings with friends (and family).

Most work colleagues are not friends (although, it is inevitable that some are), they are colleagues, and this is a very different relationship, by definition, one defined by professional concerns, and that is leaving aside entirely other aspects, such as alcohol (and lowered inhibitions), and the work hierarchy.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Well said.

Giving the Christmas party a wide berth seems to me to be a good idea; these are not parties - or, rather, it is foolish to assume (or pretend), that these gatherings in any way resemble private, social gatherings with friends and family.

Rather, they are - or, so I used to remind myself - work gatherings in a social setting, which meant that they were different (and not the same) as social gatherings with friends (and family).

Most work colleagues are not friends (although, it is inevitable that some are), they are colleagues, and this is a very different relationship, by definition, one defined by professional concerns, and that is leaving aside entirely other aspects, such as alcohol (and lowered inhibitions), and the work hierarchy.

I don't attend the Christmas party. But part of the issue is trying to find a venue that suits 20 somethings right ups to 60 somethings. Not all that easy. They don't all want the same thing. But this year we aren't having one at all. Its quite an expense for the business especially with the hotel rooms etc.

To be honest they have mostly been tame affairs from what I hear in recent years. People are generally sensible when at a work do.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Witnessed an incredibly selfish act last night.

We were driving home along the freeway and a severe hail storm (severe storm, heavy, squally rain, tiny, pea-size hail) hit.

Six cars just a few cars ahead of us stopped under an overpass to shelter from the storm, blocking the whole freakin' highway. Hundreds of cars blocked from going anyway, having to wait out the storm in the open, while six cars shelter.

I have no words...

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I don't attend the Christmas party. But part of the issue is trying to find a venue that suits 20 somethings right ups to 60 somethings. Not all that easy. They don't all want the same thing. But this year we aren't having one at all. Its quite an expense for the business especially with the hotel rooms etc.

To be honest they have mostly been tame affairs from what I hear in recent years. People are generally sensible when at a work do.

Not a fan of Christmas parties, either, and, in recent years, avoid them when and where possible.

I'm sure that we have all heard the horror stories.

 

[rm5]

My (quite expensive) K12.2 amp's main encoder knob just decided to go bye-bye on me... as in it literally fell off as I was using it. It's how you turn thing up and down, change EQ, etc. so I can't do any of that. Quite an unbelievable fault for such a product. I'll try to fix it myself, but if not, I guess I'll have to take the whole thing to a repair place...

 

[Scepticalscribe]

My (quite expensive) K12.2 amp's main encoder knob just decided to go bye-bye on me... as in it literally fell off as I was using it. It's how you turn thing up and down, change EQ, etc. so I can't do any of that. Quite an unbelievable fault for such a product. I'll try to fix it myself, but if not, I guess I'll have to take the whole thing to a repair place...

Commiserations.

Are you confident that you are (fully) capable of repairing it yourself?

If not, I suggest that you take it to a (qualified) repair centre, in order to get the needful done.

 

[Macky-Mac]

My (quite expensive) K12.2 amp's main encoder knob just decided to go bye-bye on me... as in it literally fell off as I was using it. It's how you turn thing up and down, change EQ, etc. so I can't do any of that. Quite an unbelievable fault for such a product. I'll try to fix it myself, but if not, I guess I'll have to take the whole thing to a repair place...

somehow it's always a simple part that fails making the whole device unusable.....hopefully the knob can be replaced without too much difficulty

 

[Scepticalscribe]

somehow it's always a simple part that fails making the whole device unusable.....hopefully the knob can be replaced without too much difficulty

It may also be a (lamentable) decline in the standards in how such products are manufactured, irrespective of price.

One doesn't want to sound like the proverbial "ancient person shaking impotent fist at sky", but, as my old political philosophy professor - a dry Scot with a wry wit (who had himself been taught by Karl Popper) - once remarked in class - I was an awestruck undergrad - (he was explaining the concept of inbuilt obsolescence, which I thought evil, but economists think necessary), "in the old days, when you kicked a car, you broke your toe".

It was only years later, when I was teaching at the university, and ran into my old professor, (who - though himself a teetotaller - calmly gained admittance to a shut pub sometime after closing hours and proceeded to buy me a drink or two) that I did think to wonder about how a youth from Glasgow knew all about kicking cars.

 

[rm5]

somehow it's always a simple part that fails making the whole device unusable.....hopefully the knob can be replaced without too much difficulty

I hope so, too. The amp itself still functions, just can't change anything on it.

 

[rm5]

Commiserations.

Are you confident that you are (fully) capable of repairing it yourself?

If not, I suggest that you take it to a (qualified) repair centre, in order to get the needful done.

This is the part:

When it fell off, the little silver thing (which seems to have the electrical connections to make the knob work) also fell off. The thing is, that knob is meant to be taken off to upgrade the firmware on the amp (as a small USB port is underneath. The thing that's NOT supposed to be taken off is the metal piece. 🙁

This is how the back looks now without the knob:

 

[rm5]

Not a fan of Christmas parties, either, and, in recent years, avoid them when and where possible.

Unless I'm forced to go to one, I avoid them too.

 

[Apple fanboy]

It may also be a (lamentable) decline in the standards in how such products are manufactured, irrespective of price.

One doesn't want to sound like the proverbial "ancient person shaking impotent fist at sky", but, as my old political philosophy professor - a dry Scot with a wry wit (who had himself been taught by Karl Popper) - once remarked in class - I was an awestruck undergrad - (he was explaining the concept of inbuilt obsolescence, which I thought evil, but economists think necessary), "in the old days, when you kicked a car, you broke your toe".

It was only years later, when I was teaching at the university, and ran into my old professor, (who - though himself a teetotaller - calmly gained admittance to a shut pub sometime after closing hours and proceeded to buy me a drink or two) that I did think to wonder about how a youth from Glasgow knew all about kicking cars.

They used to say that if you bought cheap you bought twice. In other words better to spend more and have the item last. However that’s becoming less and less true. Nothing is built to last. Nearly everything is designed to fail. Cheaper materials or components and less vigorous testing.
Then trying to find someone to repair anything. Well good luck with that!
We have a repair department at work for the photography lights we sell.
Dying art I’m afraid.

 

[Apple fanboy]

This is the part: View attachment 2320347

When it fell off, the little silver thing (which seems to have the electrical connections to make the knob work) also fell off. The thing is, that knob is meant to be taken off to upgrade the firmware on the amp (as a small USB port is underneath. The thing that's NOT supposed to be taken off is the metal piece. 🙁

This is how the back looks now without the knob:View attachment 2320351

I believe your knob is called a potentiometer. Hope you are able to find a suitable replacement and repair it.

 

[fanboy-ish]

It may also be a (lamentable) decline in the standards in how such products are manufactured, irrespective of price.

One doesn't want to sound like the proverbial "ancient person shaking impotent fist at sky", but, as my old political philosophy professor - a dry Scot with a wry wit (who had himself been taught by Karl Popper) - once remarked in class - I was an awestruck undergrad - (he was explaining the concept of inbuilt obsolescence, which I thought evil, but economists think necessary), "in the old days, when you kicked a car, you broke your toe".

It was only years later, when I was teaching at the university, and ran into my old professor, (who - though himself a teetotaller - calmly gained admittance to a shut pub sometime after closing hours and proceeded to buy me a drink or two) that I did think to wonder about how a youth from Glasgow knew all about kicking cars.

Apple, Samsung, Epson, Canon, HP, Brother and FIAT have entered the chat

Not really a joke, though.

I've noticed it on my Mac, iPhone and Samsung phone (S8+ when I still used inferior devices), as well as the company phone (a Samsung A something, newer device, newer OS, still sucks though), when upgrading to a new OS the devices would slow down; on the iPhone, having crazy powerful CPUs, it's less noticeable than with Intel Macs or Lagdroid phones, but it was there on my iPhone 8 and 11.

On Windows devices not so much, I think because the Surface line is just a fraction of Microsoft's business, so I don't think they're making the new versions of Windows more demanding just to push customers to newer devices, but I remember it happened with my Nokia Lumia once I upgraded from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, it was a good OS, better than Android.

I remember when printers had code in place that would make them stop working after a set number of pages, even if the components themselves were fine, or when you bought a FIAT car and, once you had changed a part, the new part would last longer than the original FIAT one.

I think nowadays planned obsolescence is still a thing, it's not as "in your face" as before, devices don't just stop working but they slow down, they become less snappy due to more demanding software.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

They used to say that if you bought cheap you bought twice. In other words better to spend more and have the item last. However that’s becoming less and less true. Nothing is built to last. Nearly everything is designed to fail. Cheaper materials or components and less vigorous testing.
Then trying to find someone to repair anything. Well good luck with that!
We have a repair department at work for the photography lights we sell.
Dying art I’m afraid.

Yes, my mother often quoted her mother (with evident approval) - with the remark "buying dear is buying cheap in the long run".