Seemingly trivial things that cheer you up

keef66

Surrey Commuter wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Robert88 wrote:

Alan Turing to appear on £50 note.

I don't think I've ever seen a current £50 note so I'm not sure what to make of Turing appearing on the new one. I doubt I'll ever see one of those either!

Me neither, apparently most of them are in the hands of drug dealers.

most retailers won't take them as they think they are forgeries and/or you are a drug dealer

If you want to withdraw several grand in cash from a bank you've dealt with for years, they make you feel like a drug dealer by asking a load of impertinent questions about what you intend to do with (your) money and insisting on multiple forms of identity checks. Allegedly to crack down on money laundering. I'm sure your average career criminal has bent accountants and the like running rings round the banks, but it's a massive ball-ache for joe public wanting to buy a cheap used Fiesta.

FocusZing

A partial Lunar (that thing the Yanks pretended to land on) eclipse.

orraloon

keef66 wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Robert88 wrote:

Alan Turing to appear on £50 note.

I don't think I've ever seen a current £50 note so I'm not sure what to make of Turing appearing on the new one. I doubt I'll ever see one of those either!

Me neither, apparently most of them are in the hands of drug dealers.

most retailers won't take them as they think they are forgeries and/or you are a drug dealer

If you want to withdraw several grand in cash from a bank you've dealt with for years, they make you feel like a drug dealer by asking a load of impertinent questions about what you intend to do with (your) money and insisting on multiple forms of identity checks. Allegedly to crack down on money laundering. I'm sure your average career criminal has bent accountants and the like running rings round the banks, but it's a massive ball-ache for joe public wanting to buy a cheap used Fiesta.

There is a Bank Protocol to act against fraud and scammers. If some doddery old soul rocks up and wants to draw out large sums of cash, bank staff obliged to ask questions in attempt to protect against said doddery in some cases not so old fool giving their money away.

awavey

But I bet no one blinks when in Europe getting or paying with a 50 Euro or even a 100 Euro note...why the difference in attitude?

verylonglegs

Probably posted this before...the smell of a pea harvest. I need to plan a dinner soon with lots of peas now.

surrey_commuter

awavey wrote:

But I bet no one blinks when in Europe getting or paying with a 50 Euro or even a 100 Euro note...why the difference in attitude?

I have never seen a €100 note and until recently €50 was only worth £35.

The main problem with £50 notes is the risk of forgery as if you pay it in it gets confiscated with no compensation

orraloon

Surrey Commuter wrote:

awavey wrote:

But I bet no one blinks when in Europe getting or paying with a 50 Euro or even a 100 Euro note...why the difference in attitude?

I have never seen a €100 note and until recently €50 was only worth £35.

The main problem with £50 notes is the risk of forgery as if you pay it in it gets confiscated with no compensation

You saying € notes are more reliable than £ notes? Botster, Botster where are you? There's a traitor loose.

Stevo_666

orraloon wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

awavey wrote:

But I bet no one blinks when in Europe getting or paying with a 50 Euro or even a 100 Euro note...why the difference in attitude?

I have never seen a €100 note and until recently €50 was only worth £35.

The main problem with £50 notes is the risk of forgery as if you pay it in it gets confiscated with no compensation

You saying € notes are more reliable than £ notes? Botster, Botster where are you? There's a traitor loose.

I think this belongs in the Eurobollox thread.

awavey

Surrey Commuter wrote:

awavey wrote:

But I bet no one blinks when in Europe getting or paying with a 50 Euro or even a 100 Euro note...why the difference in attitude?

I have never seen a €100 note and until recently €50 was only worth £35.

The main problem with £50 notes is the risk of forgery as if you pay it in it gets confiscated with no compensation

do modern bank notes get forged these days though ? and how long did we stick with the £1 coin which supposedly had such a high rate of forgery, something like more than 2/3rds it was claimed were forgeries in circulation, had it been accepted in the general acceptance of cash there was no trust in the £1 coin anymore, it would have completely trashed the economy, but we all panic instead about the £50 note, which Ive certainly not had one since Christopher Wren was on the back of one, which is over 20 years ago, I knew they were red now but didnt even know the current one had two people on the back of it instead.

it just seems weird we dont have the same hangups with handling other currencies of the same value.

Lagrange

verylonglegs wrote:

Probably posted this before...the smell of a pea harvest. I need to plan a dinner soon with lots of peas now.

..perhaps you could restrict your fluid intake then?

rolf_f

OK, have to do this (ref annoy thread!): Extinction rebellion (not that it is a trivial thing; about the least trivial topic there is). Just walked past them in Leeds. Yes, they are naïve and potentially annoying etc but ultimately they are right and their aims and words will probably be looked on as right in a couple of hundred years (and if not then probably nobody will be around to criticise them!).

They've managed to turn Neville Street in Leeds (the most polluted street outside London apparently) into a place that I am actually prepared to walk through and if it causes people driving into the city enough inconvenience that one or two might try public transport then that is a useful outcome. My 10 mile commute is unaffected by it and there's no reason why many of those in the gridlock outside our office couldn't be unaffected by it if they made some different decisions.

Ultimately, this is a few streets in the whole country affected for a few days. There should be more of this.

I did enjoy going up to the riot van parked in front of them and mentioning to the officers inside that being parked with their engine running is illegal! (Sadly they had a slightly reasonable answer to that....)

pinno

Rolf F wrote:

I did enjoy going up to the riot van parked in front of them and mentioning to the officers inside that being parked with their engine running is illegal! (Sadly they had a slightly reasonable answer to that....)

Which was?!

slowbike

Pinno wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

I did enjoy going up to the riot van parked in front of them and mentioning to the officers inside that being parked with their engine running is illegal! (Sadly they had a slightly reasonable answer to that....)

Which was?!

The kettle works on an inverter - couldn't boil the water without the engine running - and the donughts were getting cold ...

keef66

A pair of green woodpeckers on the dog walk. I noticed yesterday it seemed to be flying ant day, and I suspect this pair were hoovering up ants around the paddock this morning. Very colourful.

surrey_commuter

awavey wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

awavey wrote:

But I bet no one blinks when in Europe getting or paying with a 50 Euro or even a 100 Euro note...why the difference in attitude?

I have never seen a €100 note and until recently €50 was only worth £35.

The main problem with £50 notes is the risk of forgery as if you pay it in it gets confiscated with no compensation

do modern bank notes get forged these days though ? and how long did we stick with the £1 coin which supposedly had such a high rate of forgery, something like more than 2/3rds it was claimed were forgeries in circulation, had it been accepted in the general acceptance of cash there was no trust in the £1 coin anymore, it would have completely trashed the economy, but we all panic instead about the £50 note, which Ive certainly not had one since Christopher Wren was on the back of one, which is over 20 years ago, I knew they were red now but didnt even know the current one had two people on the back of it instead.

it just seems weird we dont have the same hangups with handling other currencies of the same value.

the hang up is with retailers and whether the threat of forgery is real or not they are very hard to spend

Stevo_666

Rolf F wrote:

OK, have to do this (ref annoy thread!): Extinction rebellion (not that it is a trivial thing; about the least trivial topic there is). Just walked past them in Leeds. Yes, they are naïve and potentially annoying etc but ultimately they are right and their aims and words will probably be looked on as right in a couple of hundred years (and if not then probably nobody will be around to criticise them!).

They've managed to turn Neville Street in Leeds (the most polluted street outside London apparently) into a place that I am actually prepared to walk through and if it causes people driving into the city enough inconvenience that one or two might try public transport then that is a useful outcome. My 10 mile commute is unaffected by it and there's no reason why many of those in the gridlock outside our office couldn't be unaffected by it if they made some different decisions.

Ultimately, this is a few streets in the whole country affected for a few days. There should be more of this.

I did enjoy going up to the riot van parked in front of them and mentioning to the officers inside that being parked with their engine running is illegal! (Sadly they had a slightly reasonable answer to that....)

Ironically the protest outside Waterloo station on Monday evening was stopping people cycling past. At least the one in April on Waterloo Bridge left enough space to pedal through.

pblakeney

Listening to the BBC's sports guy trying to pronounce places in the Pyrenees.

rolf_f

Pinno wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

I did enjoy going up to the riot van parked in front of them and mentioning to the officers inside that being parked with their engine running is illegal! (Sadly they had a slightly reasonable answer to that....)

Which was?!

"Operational equipment requires the engine to be running" - yes, I know! But it was a pleasant atmosphere, I had to get to work and I didn't think I'd get much better out of them by digging! I'd make a lousy secret police interrogator......

capt_slog

Al Murray on the Tour de France.

FocusZing

When threads are not trivial.

rjsterry

PSB closing Newsnight

https://youtu.be/fXZ7AKDfDwk

awavey

rjsterry wrote:

PSB closing Newsnight

https://youtu.be/fXZ7AKDfDwk

and that is at least the full version, not the abridged version that aired as they faded out midway in the song

the moon landing celebrations have definitely cheered me up this past week, though they dont feel trivial

Matthewfalle

awavey wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

PSB closing Newsnight

https://youtu.be/fXZ7AKDfDwk

and that is at least the full version, not the abridged version that aired as they faded out midway in the song

the moon landing celebrations have definitely cheered me up this past week, though they dont feel trivial

good but not was wonderfully excellent as "the other side"....

https://youtu.be/P8LlUrT7MFo

#wonderful

Lagrange

Driving down the road and seeing bins left out with HUGE house numbers written on the lid and the sides. I mean no-one will steal one and abusers of bins would only put the same crap in them that we do.

Out of interest do these mad people paint large numbers all over their houses?

rolf_f

Lagrange wrote:

Driving down the road and seeing bins left out with HUGE house numbers written on the lid and the sides. I mean no-one will steal one and abusers of bins would only put the same crap in them that we do.

Out of interest do these mad people paint large numbers all over their houses?

Someone nicked my garden waste bin...... Nice part of town too!

Does this presumed irrationality cheer you up then?

PhilipPirrip

Lagrange wrote:

Driving down the road and seeing bins left out with HUGE house numbers written on the lid and the sides. I mean no-one will steal one and abusers of bins would only put the same crap in them that we do.

Out of interest do these mad people paint large numbers all over their houses?

It's useful for finding addresses on Google Streetview where people have requested their house number be hidden but leave their numbered bin exposed for all to see.

robert88

Lagrange wrote:

Driving down the road and seeing bins left out with HUGE house numbers written on the lid and the sides. I mean no-one will steal one and abusers of bins would only put the same crap in them that we do.

Out of interest do these mad people paint large numbers all over their houses?

I'd imagine it is useful on the estates where kids set fire to them. Obviously if the bin wasn't numbered they might set fire to their own bin by mistake.

Lagrange

Rolf F wrote:

Lagrange wrote:

Driving down the road and seeing bins left out with HUGE house numbers written on the lid and the sides. I mean no-one will steal one and abusers of bins would only put the same crap in them that we do.

Out of interest do these mad people paint large numbers all over their houses?

Someone nicked my garden waste bin...... Nice part of town too!

Does this presumed irrationality cheer you up then?

NO I'm utterly mortified and will send you all my money.

Lagrange

Robert88 wrote:

Lagrange wrote:

Driving down the road and seeing bins left out with HUGE house numbers written on the lid and the sides. I mean no-one will steal one and abusers of bins would only put the same crap in them that we do.

Out of interest do these mad people paint large numbers all over their houses?

I'd imagine it is useful on the estates where kids set fire to them. Obviously if the bin wasn't numbered they might set fire to their own bin by mistake.

Soft estate you live in if they can read.

rolf_f

Lagrange wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Lagrange wrote:

Driving down the road and seeing bins left out with HUGE house numbers written on the lid and the sides. I mean no-one will steal one and abusers of bins would only put the same crap in them that we do.

Out of interest do these mad people paint large numbers all over their houses?

Someone nicked my garden waste bin...... Nice part of town too!

Does this presumed irrationality cheer you up then?

NO I'm utterly mortified and will send you all my money.

Thanks for the kind offer - it was very sweet of you and I won't forget it but I got a new one from the council for £15.