29 Mar
2010
29 Mar
'10
11:03 a.m.
Tony Duell wrote:
A soldering iron stand doesn't take up much space :-)
Mroe seriously, I am wodnerign why the shed is
the only place where you=
=20
can use a soldering iron. Don;t you have a
kitchen table?
I do. There are a few problems with its use:
1) It's currently covered in fruit, veg and other similar food product=
s.
2) Said table is in close proximity to a cage which is home to a=20
breeding pair of chinchillas (and two 3-month-old kits). Mum doesn't=20
want them exposed to solder fumes and random volatile chemicals.
Ah... Actually, I don;t think soldering fume would do them any harm, but
I don't really know.
3) There's an active ban on the use of soldering irons in the kitchen=20
after I burned a hole in the lino a few years ago. In my defence, it=20
would have been a smaller hole if the blasted fire extinguisher had=20
actually worked!
OK, what about your bedroom? If necessary work on a wooden board on the
bed (I have done this). Or work on the floor (assuming the floor is not
covered in bits of classic computers).
Little hint: second-hand safety equipment is a
false economy. Dad=20
The garage might be an option, if I can get the car out of there (once=20
again requiring the approval of the Luddite In Charge) and find a table=20
and a space-heater. I sure as hell wouldn't try and lug the 16500B and a=20
PC out there though, so debugging options might be, shall we say "limited
".
Couldn't you move the LA out there and leave it there for the moment? Or
is the garage too small to house a workbench and the car? Of course
portable PCs exist, so that should be less of a problem.
I've got him browsing the Internet on a Linux laptop so he's not a total=20
Luddite, although the concept of a PVR is lost on him...
"It's like a video recorder but it's better quality, has a programme=20
guide and you can do Series Link so you don't have to keep reprogramming=20
it every week"
"So what was wrong with the video recorder?"
OK, can you please explain why a PVR is so much better than a VCR. I have
never had my enjoyment of a TV programme spoiled by poor resoultion (bad
acting, non-existant plot, etc sure) And as everyone here knows, I would
much rather repair an N1500 than a PVR.
Although curiously, despite having done a basic computer course that=20
mandated the use of Windows, he picked up the basics of using Linux=20
quicker than my younger brother. Said brother is still point-blank=20
refusing to even try Linux because "if they have to give it away for=20
I wasn;'t aware you couldn't sell linux for whatever price you felt like.
Can't you sell him a linux CD that costs twice the price of a Windows
license?
free then it must be crap". And yet he uses
Firefox, Thunderbird,=20
OpenOffice, and a ton of other OSS/FS stuff. Hypocrisy in action.
Some days it's not worth chewing through the leather straps in the mornin=
g.
-tony