Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[cyclin_al]

@mnemeth Whats going on in Monteral? I'm hearing reports of hostages being held on the roof of Obisoft offices by at least 1 armed man, have you heard anything at all?

I am far closer than the dwagon is.

Checking on CBC, the report from 34 minutes ago was there was some kind of hoax.  It looks like the people inside took protective measures and the militarized cops showed up.  Turned out to be no actual crisis; luckily there are no reports of accidents related to the response.

[Specmaster]

Yeah not worth it for that old piece of crap. Looks like one of the earlier ones. By the time you've paid for the fuel you could have had a working one shipped to you, and not visited Cardiff at the same time

Added to that as well is the fact that would almost certainly get me pulled over by the Police and issued a massive fine under the COVID-19 lockdown rules, in which case I'd be far better off buying a new from TTi direct and having it delivered.

[Specmaster]

@mnemeth Whats going on in Monteral? I'm hearing reports of hostages being held on the roof of Obisoft offices by at least 1 armed man, have you heard anything at all?

I am far closer than the dwagon is.

Checking on CBC, the report from 34 minutes ago was there was some kind of hoax.  It looks like the people inside took protective measures and the militarized cops showed up.  Turned out to be no actual crisis; luckily there are no reports of accidents related to the response.

Oh ok, thanks for the update, there was according to my son who told me about it a possible connection with the recent terrorist attack in France.

[tggzzz]

This TTi power supply just went on eBay for £27.50 with only 1 bid on it, the catch, collection only from Doncaster

Currently at £16, sale ends next 19 November 2020 - 16:54:30 UK Time. PPAuctions, BBC in Swansea

Yeah, I was aware of that one, the problem is its located in Cardiff and it has to collected from there as well so thats a 380 mile round trip to be factored in and with the current of fuel, is not viable for me. Doncaster on the eBay one is also a 330 mile trip to collect it. 

My daughter is 2 miles away, so that kind of thing could be an easy Christmas present

But most things seem to be going for silly prices ATM. I doubt that is because there are more people with hobbies now, and would have thought there will be more stuff on the market soon due to covid and brexit bankruptcies.

[Specmaster]

This TTi power supply just went on eBay for £27.50 with only 1 bid on it, the catch, collection only from Doncaster

Currently at £16, sale ends next 19 November 2020 - 16:54:30 UK Time. PPAuctions, BBC in Swansea

Yeah, I was aware of that one, the problem is its located in Cardiff and it has to collected from there as well so thats a 380 mile round trip to be factored in and with the current of fuel, is not viable for me. Doncaster on the eBay one is also a 330 mile trip to collect it. 

My daughter is 2 miles away, so that kind of thing could be an easy Christmas present

But most things seem to be going for silly prices ATM. I doubt that is because there are more people with hobbies now, and would have thought there will be more stuff on the market soon due to covid and brexit bankruptcies.

That was my thinking as well, there will many smaller companies go to the wall early next year.

[bd139]

I'm going to have to rent a storage unit 

[Specmaster]

More incoming goodies then?

[bd139]

More incoming goodies then?

I was mostly jokingly referring to the potential availability of stuff suddenly in January. Realistically though I'm not buying anything at the moment unless it's really cheap. I'm looking at my spreadsheet and trying not to burn my world down too quickly 

[mnementh]

Yea, true. I had forgotten that you Brits are still very much into "Class" and who has it and who doesn't. At least you can somewhat get away with being "upper class" by more or less acting and dressing the part. Over here it's skin color and you can't hide it.

Then there's the entrenched, institutionalized racism, like parts of Tejas. Where "driving while black" is an excuse to get dead in Police custody because you swerved to miss a cop car that was half in your lane. Google Sandra Bland; that happened in the county where I lived in Houston. 

And the horrible part is that is just the one in a hundred times you actually hear aboot it. 

mnem
They say that a conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged, and others say that a liberal is just a conservative who's been jacked-up by the cops.
I've been both... and I'll tell you, the latter is more terrifying by easily a factor of 10.

[mnementh]

I'm going to have to rent a storage unit 

Build you a steel storage shed like I'm doing.  Only ~CAD$900 and a buttload of pain...

mnem
C'mon... misery loves company. 

[mnementh]

@mnemeth Whats going on in Montreal? I'm hearing reports of hostages being held on the roof of Obisoft offices by at least 1 armed man, have you heard anything at all?

I have no idea... I've been on the road all day running down the lumber I need for this project. Maybe cyclin_al would have a bit of a clue; he's from that neck of the moose.


                                                  "You might be in Canada, ehhh...?!?"

Speaking of which... one of the lumberyards has an interesting mascot; my son named him Mustard Moose.

mnem
"Oh, just trample off, ya hoserrr..."

[Specmaster]

@mnemeth Whats going on in Montreal? I'm hearing reports of hostages being held on the roof of Obisoft offices by at least 1 armed man, have you heard anything at all?

I have no idea... I've been on the road all day running down the lumber I need for this project. Maybe cyclin_al would have a bit of a clue; he's from that neck of the moose.


                                                  "You might be in Canada, ehhh...?!?"

Speaking of which... one of the lumberyards has an interesting mascot; my son named him Mustard Moose.

mnem
"Oh, just trample off, ya hoserrr..."

Yeah, he has answered already, it seems to be either a hoax or some sick perverted way of getting some media exposure for free about their new upcoming game release.

[mnementh]

I have noticed that the social media self-view-bubble is getting more pronounced.

Several people I otherwise consider to be at least of average intelligence, and general good will, seem to believe any crackpot conspiracy theory that the likes of Qanon pushes.
Traditional mass media is almost universally distrusted by the people I work with, only outlets that agree with their own world view are considered in any way reliable.

The only reason the social media algorithms can't isolate me with own-view reinforcing propaganda (strong term I know, but I feel it is justified) is because I deliberately show interest in opposing political views. I hope it breaks the f*ck out of their profiling software, arseholes.

"A smart man surrounds himself with smart people. A wise man surrounds himself with smart people who disagree with him." ~grand-dad

mnem
And a TEA man surrounds himself with blinkenlights. 

[mnementh]

Ugh... back OT...

...Also arriving this week... a Star Wars Bluray box set of the proper films (none of that Disney rubbish), a bundle of 14 Anime DVDs, and some other not even remotely TE related stuff. And some other stuff that didn't arrive yet...

I don't know about cutting up my cards, I think I need to cut off my fingers!   

The LaserDisc (actually, if you can find the CDi intact) are the highest res you'll find "The Proper Star Wars". Everything since the THX remaster decades ago has been the retconned, CGI "enhanced" shite where Lucas raped Solo's corpse to make him a straight hero, etc...

Fuck that noize. Han shot first, and Jabba was NOT "a wonderful human being"... 

mnem
And I can still hear Boba Fett playing Solitaire on his wrist pooter in Sarlacc's belly... 

[25 CPS]

@mnemeth Whats going on in Montreal? I'm hearing reports of hostages being held on the roof of Obisoft offices by at least 1 armed man, have you heard anything at all?

I have no idea... I've been on the road all day running down the lumber I need for this project. Maybe cyclin_al would have a bit of a clue; he's from that neck of the moose.


                                                  "You might be in Canada, ehhh...?!?"

Speaking of which... one of the lumberyards has an interesting mascot; my son named him Mustard Moose.

mnem
"Oh, just trample off, ya hoserrr..."

Wow.  That's one of very few moose left from Moose In The City back in 2000.  That thing's over 20 years old now.

[Zucca]

The only reason the social media algorithms can't isolate me with own-view reinforcing propaganda (strong term I know, but I feel it is justified) is because I deliberately show interest in opposing political views. I hope it breaks the f*ck out of their profiling software, arseholes.

https://www.netflix.com/de-en/title/81254224

after seeing it, I tapped on my shoulder and said "Good boy you left gmail".

bastard monkeys

[mansaxel]

In Sweden, if you want a DIN 49491 Heizgerätestecker for your Germany-built VTVM and not desire paying 30€ plus shipping for a new one, you shall search for "Toaster", because that's where they were mostly used.

Possible side effect: Vintage Toaster Acquisition Desire.

[McBryce]

I restored a similar toaster a few years ago for someone, but learning the cost of having something re-chromed ensured it didn't become a Vintage Toaster Acquisition Desire.

McBryce.

[Saskia]

your view on racism might be a bit different if you were a white woman somewhere in Northern Germany trying to fill up your car and being threatened because you were not wearing a head scarf and you were driving a car in the first place.

(This happened at Cloppenburger Straße in Oldenburg, similar thing happened in Ingelheim, City Center). Ingelheim is the town where the police throws you out of their police station if you want to report a rape. They would not file a police report and investigate.

Your experience may differ ...

There is always 2 sides to the story. And we all made different experiences in our lifes. Even though it seems that I have a subscription on shit happening to me.

And: Anybody who tries to force their opinion and way of life onto another is an asshole. Completely independent of race, color, ethnicity, sexual orientation or identity, political views, etc.

[Saskia]

on a more subject matter:

just brought a NUC from the Reichelt returns bench to life. It's currently installing FreeBSD.

[Specmaster]

your view on racism might be a bit different if you were a white woman somewhere in Northern Germany trying to fill up your car and being threatened because you were not wearing a head scarf and you were driving a car in the first place.

(This happened at Cloppenburger Straße in Oldenburg, similar thing happened in Ingelheim, City Center). Ingelheim is the town where the police throws you out of their police station if you want to report a rape. They would not file a police report and investigate.

Your experience may differ ...

There is always 2 sides to the story. And we all made different experiences in our lifes. Even though it seems that I have a subscription on shit happening to me.

I'm struggling here a bit, are you saying then that Northern Germany is a coloured area and that they discriminate against white people, white women in particular who aren't wearing head scarfs and are a car driver? I was under the impression that is us whites who were supposed to be guilty of being racists. 

[AVGresponding]

Ugh... back OT...

...Also arriving this week... a Star Wars Bluray box set of the proper films (none of that Disney rubbish), a bundle of 14 Anime DVDs, and some other not even remotely TE related stuff. And some other stuff that didn't arrive yet...

I don't know about cutting up my cards, I think I need to cut off my fingers!   

The LaserDisc (actually, if you can find the CDi intact) are the highest res you'll find "The Proper Star Wars". Everything since the THX remaster decades ago has been the retconned, CGI "enhanced" shite where Lucas raped Solo's corpse to make him a straight hero, etc...

Fuck that noize. Han shot first, and Jabba was NOT "a wonderful human being"... 

mnem
And I can still hear Boba Fett playing Solitaire on his wrist pooter in Sarlacc's belly... 

Indeed, and having watched the first 3 films on VHS many many times, I am sensitive to alterations.

Some are a bit "meh, w/e, ok", some are a bit "meh, why did you bother?", but some are downright "wtf, you spoiled it, you fecking numpties!".

The one that annoyed me the most was Hayden Christensen replacing Sebastian Shaw as Anakin's force ghost at the end of ROTJ. The explanations I've seen for it are absolute bullshit, in that it better represents the healing from Anakin being turned back from the Dark Side.
The Seb Shaw ghost was already healed, so if you're gonna use Christensen, you should also use McGregor instead of Guinness.

For me, Christensen seemed to leer out of the screen like he was only pretending to be a Jedi, and was still a Sith. Maybe that was the intent, what with all the Disney retrocon shite in the new films. I don't know as I haven't watched any after TFA, which was such an onanistic shit-show I decided right then not to bother with any more.

The Sarlacc might well come second on the list, they completely ruined it with that stupid beak and extra sound effects.

Frankly I consider the post-ROTJ books to be canon; Disney and Lucas can go and take a long walk off a short pier, as far as I'm concerned.

[AVGresponding]

your view on racism might be a bit different if you were a white woman somewhere in Northern Germany trying to fill up your car and being threatened because you were not wearing a head scarf and you were driving a car in the first place.

(This happened at Cloppenburger Straße in Oldenburg, similar thing happened in Ingelheim, City Center). Ingelheim is the town where the police throws you out of their police station if you want to report a rape. They would not file a police report and investigate.

Your experience may differ ...

There is always 2 sides to the story. And we all made different experiences in our lifes. Even though it seems that I have a subscription on shit happening to me.

I'm struggling here a bit, are you saying then that Northern Germany is a coloured area and that they discriminate against white people, white women in particular who aren't wearing head scarfs and are a car driver? I was under the impression that is us whites who were supposed to be guilty of being racists.

Racism is not a disease that exclusively affects white people.

[Saskia]

your view on racism might be a bit different if you were a white woman somewhere in Northern Germany trying to fill up your car and being threatened because you were not wearing a head scarf and you were driving a car in the first place.

(This happened at Cloppenburger Straße in Oldenburg, similar thing happened in Ingelheim, City Center). Ingelheim is the town where the police throws you out of their police station if you want to report a rape. They would not file a police report and investigate.

Your experience may differ ...

There is always 2 sides to the story. And we all made different experiences in our lifes. Even though it seems that I have a subscription on shit happening to me.

I'm struggling here a bit, are you saying then that Northern Germany is a coloured area and that they discriminate against white people, white women in particular who aren't wearing head scarfs and are a car driver? I was under the impression that is us whites who were supposed to be guilty of being racists.

That is what I experienced. We also had assaults on the company parking lot. White women were the victims, and young north african males the perpetrators. Ingelheim city center: similar experiences until they hired security patrolling the area.

As a white woman I do not feel safe there. Which is why I welcome the opportunity of working at home.
This also means that I do not go there to shop and welcome Amazon, etc because I can avoid those situations that may bring me harm.

I am married to a foreigner (Hubby is most definitely not German), my marriage witnesses are chinese/vietnamese, and I do have several aquaintences who had the tough luck of being intersexual or transsexual. We get along just fine, as it should be, and I have seen some institutionalized oppression against them.

I have also seen institutionalized racism against white males.
A friend of mine, white male in his late 50s, native German, has worked all of his life, suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Diagnosis performed by the cancer center in Heidelberg university hospital, was denied social security benefits by the Arbeitsagentur Karlsruhe while being given some absolutely unacceptable reasons, such as "he must have forged the diagnosis, and they need the funds for the immigrants".

Now, guess what such a statement does to someone who had worked all life and suddenly falls ill and has to struggle with job loss (his employer could not sustain him, so they had to let him go).

None of that should have happened in an ideal world. But the world is just not ideal.

[Cerebus]

Saskia, I don't really see where this is going. There seem to be a lot of logical disconnects - Your friend with cancer seems to have encountered an arsehole civil servant (we have them too BTW), I don't see what that has to do with racism. Ditto, the local police being worthless and not doing their jobs (that happens here too, it seems the police everywhere seem to find it difficult to find the wit to deal appropriately with sexual crimes).

I'm with Martin Luther King Jr. we ought to judge folks by the content of their character, not the colour of their skin, or the god they worship, or what school or university they went to, etc. etc. The current UK Prime Minister is white, went to a 'good' school (Eton), a 'good' university (Oxford), and look what a worthless idiot he is. A prejudgement on his easily perceived superficial characteristics would be proved wrong.

The only trouble the large Pakistani-origined Muslim family across the street ever causes is their kids playing football in the road. Just an ordinary family in other words even though all the males go out dressed in pyjamas of a Friday lunchtime. The two  2 ¹/₂ Odinists who live in the road are quiet and keep themselves to themselves, and I suspect nobody but me and SWMBO knows what they are. The Black families next door and opposite (British natives and Francophone immigrants respectively) are no trouble, they're just ordinary families. The Ukranian lesbians downstairs and the English lesbians next door are fine too. The mad cat lady who lives at the other end of the street is what she seems, but she's normal otherwise. I can find no major faults in the actual content of the characters of my neighbours, but someone somewhere is ready to pre-judge those people because of one of the perceived characteristics I've mentioned and they would be wrong, both in judgement and morally, to do so.

The only truly suspect character in my entire street is this old beardie-weirdie with long grey hair who lives at one end and drives around in a red convertible sports car (At his age? Really?) with some blond floozie who's even older than him. Well sketchy if you ask me. You see him carting weird electrical equipment into the house, and bottles of chemicals. Trust me, we're gonna see police tape around his house one day, one of those tents over the door and lots of CSIs walking in and out in bunny suits.