Be Excellent To Each Other

About 3 hours and 49 minutes remaining to transfer my data from the Acer to the MacBook. When I kicked it off, it said 19 hours, so that’s an improvement. I can spend the time looking at MacBook tutorials on my iPad.

If you're new to Mac, look into keyboard shortcuts. Can save you a whole lot of clicking.

Ooh, also the touchpad gestures. Makes you feel like a wizard

Oh, I’ve always favoured KB shortcuts. I used to have races with the non-tech IT manager I worked with, to see who could carry out tasks faster in Windows with her using her mouse, and I’d win most of the time. And I bought Mrs. W a Chromebook a couple of years ago, so we've both got used to using gestures and I sometimes find myself trying to use them on my Windows machines, so it should be a doddle on the Mac. She initially demanded a mouse, but soon stopped using it.

File migration is bothering me now. It's been hovering alround 3 hours and 5 mins for ages. Pity it doesn't show files names as they migrate across as I suspect it may have hung. Or it may suddenly say, ‘Migration complete.’

Probably doing one large compressed file.

The FBI have found something especially interesting to read, it's being passed around the office before they move onto the next file.

It was moving music files, which are obviously bigger, and the boy has just stopped using Netflix on his Firestick, so it’s chugging a bit faster now and has moved on to photos. Dropped to 1:37 now. How exciting.

The disc drive on my PS4 Pro has just fucking packed in! It made a weird noise as I was sliding a film disc into it so I pulled the disc back out and it's now totally unresponsive. Fuck sake.

Must still be under warranty, right?

Not sure, I bought it January 2017? There's a Sony support site for warranty stuff which I'll need to plug the serial number into when I'm back at home this evening.

There is a secret screw you can use to eject stuck discs which I might try fiddling with in case that 'resets' the mechanism somehow but I don't have a Phillips head screwdriver slim enough to get into it so I'll need to try and pick one of those up at lunchtime.

I really wish people wouldn't put slot-loading drives into consumer electronics because I just don't trust them, and this incident hasn't helped.

Sony warranty is normally only 1 year mate

Would the EU 2 years for electric goods thing work?

Good thinking; may be worth pursuing that if your PS4 isn't working.

E: From my quick googling I believe the sale of good act trumps the EU directive which gives you the warranty, I'll have a read through the act and let you know what it says.

E2: You still have rights under the Consumer Rights Act or Sale of Goods Act, even if your manufacturer's warranty or guarantee has expired, and retailers can't ignore this; contact the people you bought it off and explain the fault they may repair or replace for free?

I bought it from a physical store and, somewhat stupidly, didn't keep the receipt so I'm probably fucked here.

It wasn't by some amazing stretch of luck Argos was it?

Yeah depending where you purchased it from stores keep receipts (they have to by law) for this sort of thing they may be able to dig it out?

Lawyer note: Sale of Goods Act only applies to goods purchased before 2015. TSOGA was effectively replaced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for all goods purchased after 2015.

Nah, it was Game I believe. I'm still holding out hope the new screwdriver I bought will help with it but, if not, I'll probably just take it to the local repair shop for a quote.

So many bloody acts and laws. Noted for future reference then.

You'll probably need to know the exact date and time. This is what Sainsbury's told me when I needed a reprint anyway.

Surely a bank statement would provide this information? And possibly count as a proof of purchase.

But until the warranty situation is clarified, it's all academic.

From my experience, there'll probably tell you to contact Sony unless you bought an extended warranty with them.

Really stupidly I left my curtains open all day. The sun comes around the front of the building around 4pm, then by 7 you feel yourself slowly being cooked. I just had a cool bath, put on my bath robe and I am sitting here soaking wet

It's like being in an oven. Have closed the curtains again, but it's roasting in here.

One for the bank, there, everyone.

Open the windows maybe.

Only two open now (other one was painted shut) but there's no breeze at all. Last night around 9pm I thought "I know, I will take a walk down to Tesco, it's bound to be cooler outside !" and when I got out there it was actually warmer than my bedroom and by the time I got back I was drenched. I did manage to get some fizzy drinks though ! which was nice, given everywhere else has none.

I forgot to revisit this but I seem to have managed to fix my PS4 disc drive. After sourcing a screwdriver small enough to get into the relevant hidden screw, I did the following:

• Power down PS4
• Place a disc just inside the drive slot
• Turn the screw to sort of 'suck' the disc right into the drive.
• Power up the PS4; still the disc isn't recognised
• Power down PS4
• Turn the screw to eject the disc from the drive
• Power up the PS4
• Put the disc in the drive slot, the motor engages as normal to suck the thing in and the PS4 UI correctly reports it's existence. I then ejected it as normal and tried a few different films discs and they all worked as you'd expect.

It strikes me now that I never bothered to actually begin playback on any of the films so I suppose it could still fuck up at the point of reading the disc in anger, but certainly the initial problem seems to have been solved.

Good work!

I'm sorry I haven't posted for so long, the longer I go without posting the harder it feels to post
so I decided to make this post so I don't disappear completely
I'm struggling. This could also have gone in the Black dog probably, but deciding where to put this already making me cry so you know
I was struggling for months, also having a lot of health bother, and then my father died suddenly
I had a very strained relationship with him because I had a badly abusive childhood with him as he was a violent alcoholic
but trying to be a good girl and having a child I maintained the "relationship" at arms length so he would have a chance to know his granddaughter and katie would have a chance to know her grandfather
and then he died. suddenly. and he lived in Bosnia and they bury really quickly so it was a roller coaster to get there and the funeral was argh
and I thought I would feel relieved, or maybe not feel much of anything, but I'm feeling so much and I'm all over the place and it's been a while now and it's not much better
I know it's ok but damn I'm struggling a lot, and when I feel badly I go quiet
so I'm very sorry to dump this all on you guys, and I will be fine, but if I didn't say anything I would probably never get the courage up to post again

Maybe they won't play if they're shit films. What was the original disk that caused it to go titsup?

Hey Miki,

I'm sorry to hear that it is far from great for you right now. There's not a huge amount that I feel I could say to ease things, but I want you to know that you're not alone, and your decision regarding your child and her grandfather was incredibly kind and thoughtful.

It might seem to be rubbish now, and maybe in the near future, but soon it'll pick up. Thete's little bits of joy and hope that'll self assemble into gloriousness. Promise you.

You take care, kiddo, you're a good 'un.

M.a.

Sorry to hear you are having so many troubles. Life can do that to you sometimes.

Oh lovely, I feel you. I see that conflict and I recognise it, and I went through a v v similar thing last year and I still don't entirely know what I'm supposed to feel. Some days it's sadness and regret and some days I'm so so angry and some days it just feels like a big jumble stuck at the back of my throat trying to choke me. I don't have anything useful to say / advice but I wanted you to know you're not alone with this & I'm here if you ever want to let off steam or talk or whatever. All my love

Hi Miki,

What Mali said.

Whether or not your relationship with your dad was good, you'll still feel grief over his passing and you will indeed be 'all over the place' for some time. If you haven't done so already, look up 'The grief Cycle,' which will help you at least understand why you're feeling like you are, why your feelings change and why it's normal to feel the way you do. I did a short course on this a few years ago, and before that I hadn't realised that you can feel like you've got over your grief, only to have it triggered again at some point in the cycle, maybe a long time later. The knowledge doesn't take the pain away, but at least helps you accept that it's part of the process.

thank you guys so much for your kind words

I've got little add to what everyone else said, and they probably said it way better than I could anyway.

Stay strong, buddy.

Yeah, what Grim... said.

Really sorry to hear what you're going through, use this place to vent it all! x

What everyone else said.
Sounds like you did a really good thing for your daughter.

Hang in there Miki.

what everyone else said.. There is no script on how we should feel.

Sorry to hear that and as others have said, hang in there, you've got this.

Sending love and hugs Miki. I don't know where you live, but if you can come to the BBQ on Saturday. There will be copious hugs available. Xxx

I believe Miki lives in the Netherlands, which makes it a little tricky

thank you so much everyone
yes, still in NL so no BBQ, though thank you for the offer of hugs!

I think it's not helping that I'm so ridiculously tired

The Netherlands is flat so it means no hills until Germany. Makes it a little easier.

Just get the ferry to Newcastle and Grim… will bomb up the A1 to pick you up!

Also I hope things pick up for you soon, Miki. xxx

Pfft. Excuses.

Tiredness makes everything a million times worse. I know it's hard, but look after yourself. Small bites to eat, sip at a drink and get the rest you need. Oh, and I'm sending the hugs anyway.

My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer about 6 years ago and it seems that it's finally getting the better of him.

He had been slowly losing the use of his legs as the cancer had attacked his spine a year or two ago and after a massive operation that involved metal plates and all manner of screws, he could barely walk. He'd been bed bound since around Christmas time and slowly getting worse.

He's currently in the living room at home in a hospital bed and it's shit seeing him like that but at least I've been able to visit him and chat. He hasn't moaned about all this at all and instead, has just got on with things.

The past few days has seen him take a turn for the worst and he hasn't eaten properly since Friday and hasn't managed much to drink. The Macmillan nurses are looking into moving him into a hospice so maybe this is the end? I don't know. I know that he doesn't want to live like this and who can blame him?

I'm off to see him again tomorrow morning... I guess while I still can? It's heartbreaking.

Sorry to hear that, Vision. It's always tough.

Mate. That sounds awful. I went through similar with my father in law, but he went much quicker. Cherish your time. Much love.

So sorry to hear this. It must be hard. Sorry.

Really sorry to hear this, mate. Make the most of the time. Love to you and your family.