• 4 May 2023, 2:17 p.m.

    As a result of a near 25% increase in my car insurance quote, for no change in circumstances, I spent four hours researching alternatives.

    The best I managed was a quote 51 pence more than my renewal quote.

    I renewed with my existing insurer.

  • 4 May 2023, 4:12 p.m.

    I have voted. I have voted anti-traitorous bastards. Although round these parts the traitorous bastards could put a russian in the house of lords, and they'd still vote traitorous bastard party.

  • 6 May 2023, 11:15 a.m.

    I'm experimenting with simple logon, using a proton mail email address. To get the advertised 1Gb storage on a free account, you have to upgrade from 512mb, by feeding them data. Specifically by setting up a recovery method, loading contacts, sending an email, and installing their app.

    ....so I set up recovery email to a subdomain alias which I would go on to set up in simple login. Then I created a single false contact, exported it as vcard, and imported it in to proton mail. I sent an email to the account itself. Then I turned on the phone I use to install apps, connected it to the internet via tor (orbot), logged into the account, and logged out of the account, then turned the phone off. I created a simple login account using the proton mail email address, and crated the alias that I used above as a recovery email address (proton mail sent a verification email to itself).

    In this way proton mail find out nothing more about me, from their idiotic attempt at data harvesting (it will just be activity on the account, and ip addresses from logins that they can track), but I get the advertised 1Gb.

    It don't get more tedious and mundane than that.

  • 11 May 2023, 2:52 p.m.

    Away for a few days, so upgraded the partridge stack so that it would be working while I was away.

    It didn't come back up after a reboot.

    I fixed it.

  • 12 May 2023, 1:02 p.m.

    So the generation gap seems to be widening.

    My young beautiful client looks at me and says, “I guess I am old soul”.

    “How so”, I reply.

    “I Use pencils and paper and not electronics”.

    “I think that would be Old School, which is a different thing altogether”,

    “Really?”

    “Yes I am pretty sure I would know as I am a fogey nowadays compared with you”

    “What’s a fogey?”

    Oh Dear….

    Chicago: Feeling old.

  • 12 May 2023, 2:53 p.m.

    Today's garden bird survey:
    Sparrowhawk +1
    Sparrow -1

  • 27 May 2023, 2:49 p.m.

    Today is our village yard sale, a somewhat Canadian phenomenon (I think, the US might do it as well) where everyone puts out the shit that's cluttering their house and sells it to other people who wish to clutter up theirs with it.

    I mostly have no interest in these things but I am pleased with the amount of space I have been able to clear in the garage by offloading shit onto other people in exchange for nominal amounts of cash.

  • 27 May 2023, 3:04 p.m.

    I wish I had a house. The purchase of our condo has been delayed due to the buyers having a FHA loan, (which in short is a loan guaranteed by the government for first time buyers) and the upcoming debt ceiling issue might scupper our already fraught buying cycle with our Gut Rehab house on the wrong side of the tracks being delayed because the developer is um an artist... (fuck off you are a builder you slow cnut!).

    So in short it's hurry up and wait. Maybe the condo/apartment/flat sale will go through due to the government not going bankrupt which will allow us to get the full loan to pay for a rather expensive house which not be finished on time. Why is this an issue? Well we have a rent back on our place until the end of June but if the house isn't cleared to be purchased then we will be homeless. That would be bad enough but we have three cats and one of them is diabetic.

    Isn't life fun!!!!!!!

    Chicago: Joining Skid Row?

  • 27 May 2023, 3:44 p.m.

    As we also do in the UK. We had a village-wide garage sale every year where I used to live, in Northamptonshire.

  • 27 May 2023, 5:58 p.m.

    Got the registration through for the new car today. Abd have confirmed delivery with the dealership for 3 weeks time. Which is nice.

    The the reg features a a Talkbacker's Talkback name. Which is.... disturbing.

  • 27 May 2023, 7:20 p.m.

    I had not seen this kind of thing in the UK, but I'm pleased it exists. It turns out that getting drunk in the sun with your neighbours while people surprise you with what shit they're willing to spend money on is jolly good fun.

  • 27 May 2023, 8:50 p.m.

    I've put 54p on the treble of Everton to draw, Leicester and Leeds to win. This is how I see Leicester surviving, so I'm continuing with last week's idea that if I put money on it, it won't happen.

  • 29 May 2023, 1:57 p.m.

    A crew of guys turned up this morning to build my new deck, they're going to be working here for the next couple of weeks. They seem like nice lads but one of them is wearing a hat with the "Proud Member Of A Fringe Minority With Unacceptable Views" logo, which is the anti-vax, right wing convoy dickheads. As a point of principle I want to tell him to get off my property with that idiocy, but I also want my deck building.

  • 29 May 2023, 1:58 p.m.

    "Come in lads. Are you are stupid as your hat?"

  • 29 May 2023, 2:03 p.m.

    Find out if he’s a Sovereign Citizen, because if he is you don’t have to pay him and no law can make you.

  • 29 May 2023, 3:52 p.m.

    Even though we actually haven't bought the house yet as the other buyers of our condo have not been cleared to close my wife has decided to blow all our savings on expensive outdoor furniture and a massive cat fence. I suppose if it all goes to shit we can sleep on the fancy fixtures and the cat fence can keep the coyotes out if we are forced to sleep in the forest preserve. So maybe not such a waste of money after all?

    In other news it is a National holiday over here and we are prematurely packing even though we could be forced to put everything back.

    I love days of rest!

    Chicago: Boxed in.