In message <uXc6N.75061$glg4.74625@fx11.ams1> at Sun, 19 Nov 2023
00:48:26, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> writes
>On 17-Nov-23 17:49, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> In message <XDN5N.1521$_f8d.738@fx40.iad> at Fri, 17 Nov 2023
>>17:44:22, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> writes
>
>>>
>>> Our cooker has a 24 hour clock, but it calls midnight "24:00" - very
>>>strange.
>>>
>> Does it carry on with 24:01 to 24:59, or 0:01 to 0:59?
>
>The latter, happily - or who knows where things might lead?
>
"The clocks were just striking thirteen ..." (1984 IIRR.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Her [Valerie Singleton's] main job on /Blue Peter/ was to stop unpredictable
creatres running amok. And that was just John Noakes.
- Alison Pearson, RT 2014/9/6-12

In message <jVc6N.75060$glg4.39878@fx11.ams1> at Sun, 19 Nov 2023
00:46:07, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> writes
>On 17-Nov-23 7:08, Penny wrote:
>> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:05:25 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk>
>> scrawled in the dust...
>>
>>>>> **Why is that the term used when you get to a certain age? I
>>>>>tripped over a
>>>>> step.
>>> Hmm, "had a fall" you mean? Yes, it does have a slight "old person"
>>> vibe, but I'm trying to think what phrase I could use that isn't that
>>> one. "Fell" isn't quite it.
>> Fell over.

That has a bit of a drunken, or at least unsteady, vibe.
>
>"I/He/She tripped" is pretty age-universal.
>
That sounds good. (Though "over what [you should correct it]" is likely
to be asked/said.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Her [Valerie Singleton's] main job on /Blue Peter/ was to stop unpredictable
creatres running amok. And that was just John Noakes.
- Alison Pearson, RT 2014/9/6-12

In message <C2d6N.75064$glg4.31436@fx11.ams1> at Sun, 19 Nov 2023
00:56:02, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> writes
>On 18-Nov-23 15:18, Nick Odell wrote:
>
>> [1]I can't see the point of the turntable myself - who plays records
>> at 5rpm?
>
>Especially as it changes direction every time you start it running.
>
>P.S. Why do they do that?
>
I think (a) to even things out, (b) in case something's got stuck -
microwave popcorn bags come to mind.

The rotating aerial seems to me a _much_ better way of spreading the
goodness. The turntable means about a quarter to a third of the area is
rendered useless, plus a lot of extra bits to get gungy and/or have to
clean.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Her [Valerie Singleton's] main job on /Blue Peter/ was to stop unpredictable
creatres running amok. And that was just John Noakes.
- Alison Pearson, RT 2014/9/6-12

On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 17:24:01 -0000 (UTC), Mike McMillan
<toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> wrote:

>Chris <chris.mcmillan@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>> Jenny M Benson <NemoNews@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>>> On 17/11/2023 17:44, Sam Plusnet wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Our first microwave lasted for over 40 years,
>>>
>>> I remember when I was waitressing in a small cafe in the Lake District
>>> and met a microwave for the first time. This would have been early
>>> 1970s. I was very impressed and enquired why there weren't more of them
>>> about and was told they were far too expensive for people to have one at
>>> home.
>>>
>>
>> We met our first one in the capable hands of Mike’s older sister, Easter
>> 1985. Our first holiday with them on the IOW. Her daughter was around six
>> months old, Wunderkind just over a year. We came home and bought our first
>> microwave, a Toshiba. I still have the recipe book : from whence came the
>> microwave recipe used for our xmas puds, wot I’ll be gathering up
>> ingredients for this week that I expect to make when Himself isn’t needing
>> the kitchen. They’ll sleep in the freezer till needed.
>>
>> Mrs
>>
>>
>
>In case anyRat is wondering why they go in the freezer; it is because they
>are a very fruity but light pudding that doesn’t take to room temperature
>storage for more than a few days without starting to grow a grey beard…

Not a problem with a traditionally steamed traditional recipe. This
year we will be using more puddings from the 2021 batch and still have
more for future years. I keep them at room temperature in a big tin in
the grocery cupboard still sealed in the pudding basins in which they
were cooked.

On the other hand, when I have any leftover Christmas pudding mix it
is quite fun to zap it in the microwave for a few minutes and watch it
foam and rise up like a builder's gap-filling glue. And the result is
delicious - especially with ice cream.

Nick

On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 00:56:02 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

>On 18-Nov-23 15:18, Nick Odell wrote:
>
>> [1]I can't see the point of the turntable myself - who plays records
>> at 5rpm?
>
>Especially as it changes direction every time you start it running.
>
>P.S. Why do they do that?

Mine doesn't. The turntable even has one-way grooves to locate the
drive pins so if I ever break the glass it's going to be a nugger to
replace. Although being over forty years old is probably going to be
more of a nuggerance if I need to replace anything more than the light
bulbs.

Nick

Serena Blanchflower wrote:

>I assume that's where the US format originated. When I was young, it
>was normal to write, or say, dates in that format, when the month was
>named in words. When they were specified in numbers though, it was
>always in what's now the UK preferred format.

As a side note, whenever I need to include dates in filenames,
using YYYY MM DD format means that similar files are in date
order in an alphabetic sort.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1
Plant amazing Acers.

Jenny M Benson wrote:

>On 17/11/2023 17:49, Sam Plusnet wrote:
>>
>> Do those buttons need a _really_ hard press to make them work?
>> Any setting which needs repeated presses hurts my fingers[1].
>>
>> [1] I try to share out the work, so no one finger suffers too much.
>
>I curl my index finger and use the knuckle, which almost always works
>first time, whereas trying to press hard enough with a flabby finger tip
> sometimes requires a few attempts.

Anybody remember the early Mini, where you could not press the
big mechanical starter button, with rubber boot, if you had long
nails?

Women (mainly) took to using a clothes peg (traditional style) to
help.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1
Plant amazing Acers.

J. P. Gilliver wrote:

>"The clocks were just striking thirteen ..." (1984 IIRR.)

and yet

<https://www.ahsoc.org/blog/a-clock-striking-thirteen/>

"A famous character in the history of the region was the 3rd Duke
of Bridgewater (1736 –1803), known as the Canal Duke. His first
canal was constructed to carry coal from the mines on his estates
in Worsley to the markets in Manchester.

In 1789 he had a tower built to house what became known as the
‘Bridgewater Clock’. I now quote:

'There is a well known legend that the Duke witnessed his workers
returning late after a lunch break. On asking them why they were
late, the men complained that they could not hear the clock
strike one above the noise of the yard. The Duke then promptly
asked a local clockmaker to alter the clock so that it would
strike thirteen at one o’clock. […] The clock remained in the
tower at the Works Yard until the site was demolished in 1903.'

The clock eventually ended up in a London cellar, but was
returned to Worsley in 1946 to be installed in St Mark’s Church,
which then celebrated its centenary. "

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1
Plant amazing Acers.

Penny wrote:

>On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 12:54:59 +0000, krw <krw@whitnet.uk> scrawled in the
>dust...
>
>>I think I first met one in a pub in about 1972, used for pasty heating
>>in a pub.
>
>The pub I worked in in 1970 had a fancy heating device for toasted
>sandwiches on the bar. As the sandwich had to be prepared in the kitchen,
>two rooms away, it was really an inconvenient gimmick.

At college in 1970 we had a vending machine, with an incorporated
microwave. Appropriate items were delivered complete with a
plastic widget which you inserted to get just the right time in
the microwave.

Naturally, once exposed to engineers, there was experimentation
on inappropriate combinations of time and object.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1
Plant amazing Acers.

On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 11:25:59 +0000, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
wrote:

>Jenny M Benson wrote:
>
>>On 17/11/2023 17:49, Sam Plusnet wrote:
>>>
>>> Do those buttons need a _really_ hard press to make them work?
>>> Any setting which needs repeated presses hurts my fingers[1].
>>>
>>> [1] I try to share out the work, so no one finger suffers too much.
>>
>>I curl my index finger and use the knuckle, which almost always works
>>first time, whereas trying to press hard enough with a flabby finger tip
>> sometimes requires a few attempts.
>
>Anybody remember the early Mini, where you could not press the
>big mechanical starter button, with rubber boot, if you had long
>nails?
>
>Women (mainly) took to using a clothes peg (traditional style) to
>help.
>
For a moment I thought you were talking about the even earlier Mini
which had the starter button on the floor. I suppose if you were
wearing rubber boots then it might have been awkward to squeeze your
foot between the pedals to press it.

Nick

On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 03:15:56 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

>In message <jVc6N.75060$glg4.39878@fx11.ams1> at Sun, 19 Nov 2023
>00:46:07, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> writes
>>On 17-Nov-23 7:08, Penny wrote:
>>> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:05:25 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk>
>>> scrawled in the dust...
>>>
>>>>>> **Why is that the term used when you get to a certain age? I
>>>>>>tripped over a
>>>>>> step.
>>>> Hmm, "had a fall" you mean? Yes, it does have a slight "old person"
>>>> vibe, but I'm trying to think what phrase I could use that isn't that
>>>> one. "Fell" isn't quite it.
>>> Fell over.
>
>That has a bit of a drunken, or at least unsteady, vibe.
>>
>>"I/He/She tripped" is pretty age-universal.
>>
>That sounds good. (Though "over what [you should correct it]" is likely
>to be asked/said.)

Ray used to trip over nothing at all, quite a lot (he never had more than
one pint and had never been drinking when e fell). At one point I decided
he did it deliberately, after two pretty young women helped him up and
fussed over him until I showed up with the sticking plasters (I'd learnt to
carry some with me by then).

Then I persuaded him to join me in seeing my Alexander teacher for a few
sessions. He never fell over again. I still find stashes of sticking
plasters in little-used bags.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 00:56:02 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> scrawled in
the dust...

>On 18-Nov-23 15:18, Nick Odell wrote:
>
>> [1]I can't see the point of the turntable myself - who plays records
>> at 5rpm?
>
>Especially as it changes direction every time you start it running.
>
>P.S. Why do they do that?

My relatively new one (the third I have owned) is the first I've ad that
does that.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

In message <gqrjlil1i0593bta6iff8t05nsqs9mkouo@4ax.com> at Sun, 19 Nov
2023 11:22:19, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk> writes
>Serena Blanchflower wrote:
>
>>I assume that's where the US format originated. When I was young, it
>>was normal to write, or say, dates in that format, when the month was
>>named in words. When they were specified in numbers though, it was
>>always in what's now the UK preferred format.
>
>As a side note, whenever I need to include dates in filenames,
>using YYYY MM DD format means that similar files are in date
>order in an alphabetic sort.
>
>Chris

Indeed. Although unless you've got "smart sort" (which you probably have
- it's on by default, I think from Windows XP onwards) you do need to
insert the leading zeros (e. g. 1960-04-23), which I don't by default.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Veni, Vidi, Vomit (I came, I saw, I was ill) - mik@saslimited.demon.co.uk, 1998

In message <p6sjliteibm4i0d4477grskf6ms294ahjo@4ax.com> at Sun, 19 Nov
2023 11:28:38, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk> writes
[]
>In 1789 he had a tower built to house what became known as the
>‘Bridgewater Clock’. I now quote:
>
>'There is a well known legend that the Duke witnessed his workers
>returning late after a lunch break. On asking them why they were
>late, the men complained that they could not hear the clock
>strike one above the noise of the yard. The Duke then promptly
>asked a local clockmaker to alter the clock so that it would
>strike thirteen at one o’clock. […] The clock remained in the
>tower at the Works Yard until the site was demolished in 1903.'
>
>The clock eventually ended up in a London cellar, but was
>returned to Worsley in 1946 to be installed in St Mark’s Church,
>which then celebrated its centenary. "
>
>Chris

Fascinating story! Does it (or did it) continue to strike 13 after that
installation?

(I suppose we could ask Ms. Worsley ...)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Veni, Vidi, Vomit (I came, I saw, I was ill) - mik@saslimited.demon.co.uk, 1998

On 19.11.23 11:22, Chris J Dixon wrote:
> Serena Blanchflower wrote:
>
>> I assume that's where the US format originated. When I was young, it
>> was normal to write, or say, dates in that format, when the month was
>> named in words. When they were specified in numbers though, it was
>> always in what's now the UK preferred format.
>
> As a side note, whenever I need to include dates in filenames,
> using YYYY MM DD format means that similar files are in date
> order in an alphabetic sort.
>
> Chris

Yes, I have been forced to adopt that approach - mainly to deal with
photographs and a few other items.

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics

On 19.11.23 13:45, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <p6sjliteibm4i0d4477grskf6ms294ahjo@4ax.com> at Sun, 19 Nov
> 2023 11:28:38, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk> writes
> []
>> In 1789 he had a tower built to house what became known as the
>> ‘Bridgewater Clock’. I now quote:
>>
>> 'There is a well known legend that the Duke witnessed his workers
>> returning late after a lunch break. On asking them why they were
>> late, the men complained that they could not hear the clock
>> strike one above the noise of the yard. The Duke then promptly
>> asked a local clockmaker to alter the clock so that it would
>> strike thirteen at one o’clock. […] The clock remained in the
>> tower at the Works Yard until the site was demolished in 1903.'
>>
>> The clock eventually ended up in a London cellar, but was
>> returned to Worsley in 1946 to be installed in St Mark’s Church,
>> which then celebrated its centenary. "
>>
>> Chris
>
> Fascinating story! Does it (or did it) continue to strike 13 after that
> installation?
>
> (I suppose we could ask Ms. Worsley ...)

Wikipedia says it does.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mark%27s_Church,_Worsley

But do not believe everything you read on t'interwbbythinggumjob

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics

Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> wrote:
> On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 00:56:02 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> scrawled in
> the dust...
>
>> On 18-Nov-23 15:18, Nick Odell wrote:
>>
>>> [1]I can't see the point of the turntable myself - who plays records
>>> at 5rpm?
>>
>> Especially as it changes direction every time you start it running.
>>
>> P.S. Why do they do that?
>
> My relatively new one (the third I have owned) is the first I've ad that
> does that.

It is a revolutionary idea I think.

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk> wrote:
> Penny wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 12:54:59 +0000, krw <krw@whitnet.uk> scrawled in the
>> dust...
>>
>>> I think I first met one in a pub in about 1972, used for pasty heating
>>> in a pub.
>>
>> The pub I worked in in 1970 had a fancy heating device for toasted
>> sandwiches on the bar. As the sandwich had to be prepared in the kitchen,
>> two rooms away, it was really an inconvenient gimmick.
>
> At college in 1970 we had a vending machine, with an incorporated
> microwave. Appropriate items were delivered complete with a
> plastic widget which you inserted to get just the right time in
> the microwave.
>
> Naturally, once exposed to engineers, there was experimentation
> on inappropriate combinations of time and object.
>
> Chris

Whole elephant - rare, 10 hours, well cooked 15 hours - turn midway.

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 03:30:24 +0000, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com>
wrote:

>On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 03:15:56 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk>
>scrawled in the dust...
>
>>In message <jVc6N.75060$glg4.39878@fx11.ams1> at Sun, 19 Nov 2023
>>00:46:07, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> writes
>>>On 17-Nov-23 7:08, Penny wrote:
>>>> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:05:25 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk>
>>>> scrawled in the dust...
>>>>
>>>>>>> **Why is that the term used when you get to a certain age? I
>>>>>>>tripped over a
>>>>>>> step.
>>>>> Hmm, "had a fall" you mean? Yes, it does have a slight "old person"
>>>>> vibe, but I'm trying to think what phrase I could use that isn't that
>>>>> one. "Fell" isn't quite it.
>>>> Fell over.
>>
>>That has a bit of a drunken, or at least unsteady, vibe.
>>>
>>>"I/He/She tripped" is pretty age-universal.
>>>
>>That sounds good. (Though "over what [you should correct it]" is likely
>>to be asked/said.)
>
>Ray used to trip over nothing at all, quite a lot (he never had more than
>one pint and had never been drinking when e fell). At one point I decided
>he did it deliberately, after two pretty young women helped him up and
>fussed over him until I showed up with the sticking plasters (I'd learnt to
>carry some with me by then).
>
>Then I persuaded him to join me in seeing my Alexander teacher for a few
>sessions. He never fell over again. I still find stashes of sticking
>plasters in little-used bags.

I've been doing tai chi for some years so maybe I'd be worse if I
hadn't. Can't with a broken arm.

J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
> In message <gqrjlil1i0593bta6iff8t05nsqs9mkouo@4ax.com> at Sun, 19 Nov
> 2023 11:22:19, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk> writes
>> Serena Blanchflower wrote:
>>
>>> I assume that's where the US format originated. When I was young, it
>>> was normal to write, or say, dates in that format, when the month was
>>> named in words. When they were specified in numbers though, it was
>>> always in what's now the UK preferred format.
>>
>> As a side note, whenever I need to include dates in filenames,
>> using YYYY MM DD format means that similar files are in date
>> order in an alphabetic sort.
>>
>> Chris
>
> Indeed. Although unless you've got "smart sort" (which you probably have
> - it's on by default, I think from Windows XP onwards) you do need to
> insert the leading zeros (e. g. 1960-04-23), which I don't by default.

I say shout loudly enough at the computer and it should sort it for you!

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

Nick Odell wrote:

>On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 11:25:59 +0000, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
>wrote:

>>Anybody remember the early Mini, where you could not press the
>>big mechanical starter button, with rubber boot, if you had long
>>nails?
>>
>>Women (mainly) took to using a clothes peg (traditional style) to
>>help.
>>
>For a moment I thought you were talking about the even earlier Mini
>which had the starter button on the floor. I suppose if you were
>wearing rubber boots then it might have been awkward to squeeze your
>foot between the pedals to press it.

That floor mounted device was what I had in mind. Sorry if my
participles were floating. ;-)

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1
Plant amazing Acers.

In message <KOKcnQjVuoDDiMf4nZ2dnZfqnPGdnZ2d@brightview.co.uk> at Sun,
19 Nov 2023 14:02:06, krw <krw@whitnet.uk> writes
>On 19.11.23 11:22, Chris J Dixon wrote:
>> Serena Blanchflower wrote:
>>
>>> I assume that's where the US format originated. When I was young,
>>>
>>> was normal to write, or say, dates in that format, when the month was
>>> named in words. When they were specified in numbers though, it was
>>> always in what's now the UK preferred format.
>> As a side note, whenever I need to include dates in filenames,
>> using YYYY MM DD format means that similar files are in date
>> order in an alphabetic sort.
>> Chris
>
>Yes, I have been forced to adopt that approach - mainly to deal with
>photographs and a few other items.
>
FWIW: for Windows users (I don't know if IV is available under other
OSs), IrfanView has the ability to rename photos to the date and time
they were taken, and can batch do it (i. e. do lots of images in one
go). I'm pretty sure it can retain the original name as part of the new
one, too, so if you've named some of them, you can still do the
rename-to-date-and-time without losing that effort, though I haven't
used that aspect. Bit it certainly helps if you have lots of files
called something like DSL0001, DSL0002, etc..

Assuming, of course, you set the date and time in the camera. These days
that's less of a problem as the camera tends to be a smartphone, and I
think those automatically have the date and time - although some images
my American cousins shared with me after our day or two in Norfolk
_didn't_ have date information in them, and they _were_ taken on a
smartphone.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward. -Ellen Glasgow,
novelist (1874-1945)

On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 16:39:34 +0000, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

>Nick Odell wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 11:25:59 +0000, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
>>wrote:
>
>>>Anybody remember the early Mini, where you could not press the
>>>big mechanical starter button, with rubber boot, if you had long
>>>nails?
>>>
>>>Women (mainly) took to using a clothes peg (traditional style) to
>>>help.
>>>
>>For a moment I thought you were talking about the even earlier Mini
>>which had the starter button on the floor. I suppose if you were
>>wearing rubber boots then it might have been awkward to squeeze your
>>foot between the pedals to press it.
>
>That floor mounted device was what I had in mind. Sorry if my
>participles were floating. ;-)

I've never driven a Mini, but the only rubber floor button I ever met in a
car was used to dip the headlights. Fingernails were never involved in its
use, though I guess some styles of shoe might have made it tricky to
operate.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On 18-Nov-23 23:45, Penny wrote:
> On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 16:39:34 +0000, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
> scrawled in the dust...
>
>> Nick Odell wrote:
>>
>>> On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 11:25:59 +0000, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
>>> wrote:
>>
>>>> Anybody remember the early Mini, where you could not press the
>>>> big mechanical starter button, with rubber boot, if you had long
>>>> nails?
>>>>
>>>> Women (mainly) took to using a clothes peg (traditional style) to
>>>> help.
>>>>
>>> For a moment I thought you were talking about the even earlier Mini
>>> which had the starter button on the floor. I suppose if you were
>>> wearing rubber boots then it might have been awkward to squeeze your
>>> foot between the pedals to press it.
>>
>> That floor mounted device was what I had in mind. Sorry if my
>> participles were floating. ;-)
>
> I've never driven a Mini, but the only rubber floor button I ever met in a
> car was used to dip the headlights. Fingernails were never involved in its
> use, though I guess some styles of shoe might have made it tricky to
> operate.

I once had a hire car where the windscreen washers were operated by a
floor mounted pump/button. Tricky to discover that when you're in the
middle lane of the motorway, and a lorry has just sprayed the windscreen
with a largesse of mud.

--
Sam Plusnet

On 17/11/2023 17:24, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <uj7uo4$2r9kb$1@dont-email.me> at Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:52:52,
> Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> writes
>> On 17/11/2023 14:05, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> []
>>>  I must admit I had the same reaction when I read the above. But like
>>> Nick I'm not wanting to tell others how to react. (Especially if they
>>> bought it for you. Though the video about the iPad is tempting - but
>>> I can't think of a similar use one could make of something
>>> 'phone-shaped.)
>>>>
>> Does it have a vibrate function?
>>
> LOL!
>
> [You were, of course, thinking of using it to stir ingredients, or
> similar. (-:]

Of course. How else would one mix a Martini?

--
Ric