Never Too Late by northie

[Carlos Hazday]

I kinda forgot there was a wedding being televised this morning. Didn't watch it live but I caught highlights while eating breakfast. I'm trying to imagine what Eric thought of the grounds around the castle.

 

[northie]

1 hour ago, Carlos Hazday said:

I kinda forgot there was a wedding being televised this morning. Didn't watch it live but I caught highlights while eating breakfast. I'm trying to imagine what Eric thought of the grounds around the castle.

 

I haven't seen anything of it. I'm stuck in a church hall in Rugby playing Renaissance music. Doubtless it'll be on the news later ....

[Timothy M.]

2 hours ago, Carlos Hazday said:

I kinda forgot there was a wedding being televised this morning. Didn't watch it live but I caught highlights while eating breakfast. I'm trying to imagine what Eric thought of the grounds around the castle.

 

 

I've managed to avoid it so far, but I'm sure there will be plenty of highlights in the news tonight.  

[Carlos Hazday]

15 minutes ago, Timothy M. said:

 

I've managed to avoid it so far, but I'm sure there will be plenty of highlights in the news tonight.  

 

Hours upon hours of coverage on this side of the pond. I fail to grasp the fascination with royalty. Didn't we fight a war with England to get rid of kings and queens? 🤯 The fact the bride's an American may have ratcheted the frenzy up a tad. They do make a handsome couple.

[Timothy M.]

Since the news are mostly filled with sad or annoying stuff, I don't mind having the media focus on something happy. And celebrating love is good.  

[northie]

23 minutes ago, Carlos Hazday said:

Hours upon hours of coverage on this side of the pond

I think the BBC's coverage started at 9 am, or thereabouts for a noon wedding. I'll give the highlights a look later. The grounds at Windsor ( or what I've seen of them) are far too formal for my taste, and I think, for Eric's as well. He may well admire the hard work of the gardeners though.

[Former Member]

3 hours ago, Carlos Hazday said:

They do make a handsome couple.

Harry & William?  ;–)

 

Coverage here started at 2am PDT. I watched part of it, but got tired of hearing too much about women’s hats and seeing too many men’s shiny bald spots. I turned it off when she handed her bouquet to the little girl while standing at the altar with Harry.

 

The cars were pretty though…  ;–)

[northie]

Chapter 6 of Part 2  nearly finished and 7 & 8 will be following along shortly. Just as well really as I need to get as much done as I can before Soul Music gets going again. As I discovered over the winter, trying to keep both stories going in my head was pretty difficult. Especially as the chapters for Soul Music have to be produced against a timetable.

 

Anyway, the real purpose of this post ... I need to have a proper sense of Andy and Adam's house - described previously only in general terms as a semi-detached Edwardian villa (ie a large town house). For reasons you'll discover in due course, we spend more time in their house than Eric's for a couple of chapters or so. This is a general outline.

Edited May 27, 2018 by northie

[Former Member]

Wow! And it’s just Adam and Andy living there? Adam is certainly doing well!  ;–)

[Ivor Slipper]

2 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

Wow! And it’s just Adam and Andy living there? Adam is certainly doing well!  ;–)

 

He must be a banker

[Former Member]

2 minutes ago, Ivor Slipper said:

He must be a banker

Even worse: a lawyer.  ;–)

[northie]

Well, Adam describes himself at one point as an upper-class toff so I've always imagined there's money around. Buying a large semi in a rural town isn't the same as buying it in London or Birmingham, but yes, it's not going to be cheap. Adam will be earning a good salary, there's the income from Andy's business, and there's family money around as well. So a large deposit paid to bring the mortgage down? Something like that. We get to meet their parents a little later on. 

[Former Member]

21 hours ago, northie said:

Well, Adam describes himself at one point as an upper-class toff so I've always imagined there's money around. Buying a large semi in a rural town isn't the same as buying it in London or Birmingham, but yes, it's not going to be cheap. Adam will be earning a good salary, there's the income from Andy's business, and there's family money around as well. So a large deposit paid to bring the mortgage down? Something like that. We get to meet their parents a little later on. 

My impression is that Andy’s family isn’t as wealthy. It seems to me that Andy’s background is more lower class, or possibly middle class. I hope it’s not just my prejudices based on their jobs…  ;–)

 

I remember being shocked when I met homeless guys who had iPhones, but somehow couldn’t pay rent or buy their own food! Economic status doesn’t seem to correlate wth technological acquisition. Apparently, where there’s a will, there’s a way.  ;–)

[northie]

23 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

My impression is that Andy’s family isn’t as wealthy. It seems to me that Andy’s background is more lower class, or possibly middle class. I hope it’s not just my prejudices based on their jobs…  ;–)

 

I remember being shocked when I met homeless guys who had iPhones, but somehow couldn’t pay rent or buy their own food! Economic status doesn’t seem to correlate wth technological acquisition. Apparently, where there’s a will, there’s a way.  ;–)

Yeah, that's right. Andy I see as middle class, his garden design qualifications having come from a degree based course of some kind. He also likes his gadgets a little more than his fiancé, but neither of them would be seen dead chasing after the latest whatever. 

[Timothy M.]

1 hour ago, droughtquake said:

I remember being shocked when I met homeless guys who had iPhones, 

 

Some people are surprised when refugees have such phones, but others say the priority of keeping in touch with family and friends back home is of utmost importance, so it's the last thing they hold on to. Also, they can follow the news, navigate, buy bus/train tickets, and in Denmark use MobilePay (pay-via-phone) to shop.

 

More than ten years ago, an organization for homeless people started a magazine, and instead of begging the homeless will sell HusForbi. I often buy one when I see them, and if I have cash. But since most payments are done with cards, fewer people have cash. Also carrying cash increases the risk of them being robbed, so quite a few homeless people now have MobilePay, so you can use your phone to pay them. It's only been the last couple of years, but yeah technology trumps poverty.

[Former Member]

1 hour ago, Timothy M. said:

 

Some people are surprised when refugees have such phones, but others say the priority of keeping in touch with family and friends back home is of utmost importance, so it's the last thing they hold on to. Also, they can follow the news, navigate, buy bus/train tickets, and in Denmark use MobilePay (pay-via-phone) to shop.

 

More than ten years ago, an organization for homeless people started a magazine, and instead of begging the homeless will sell HusForbi. I often buy one when I see them, and if I have cash. But since most payments are done with cards, fewer people have cash. Also carrying cash increases the risk of them being robbed, so quite a few homeless people now have MobilePay, so you can use your phone to pay them. It's only been the last couple of years, but yeah technology trumps poverty.

In California, there is a program that used to offer extremely reduced cost landline service: Lifeline Service. It’s subsidized by a small surcharge on telephone service. They’ve branched out to providing free Android cell phones if you are getting certain government payments (including CalFresh/SNAP/food stamps and Medicare benefits) – there’s a similar Federal program. The free phones are often called ‘ObamaPhones’ although he didn’t have anything to do with them. Most poor people qualify unless they’re evading the government or refusing to get a job (paranoia can cause people to avoid seeking the mental health treatment that would eventually qualify them for government assistance). 

 

So probably about a third of the homeless population could get a free phone, if they wanted one. I have one. I hate its clumsy design, but it’s free.

 

I plan to scrape together enough to buy an unlocked iPhone at some point. The free phone I have uses the T-Mobile network. I bought a SIM card cutter to cut the SIM down to Nano SIM size (it was cheap enough on Amazon). I decided to buy a new iPhone SE rather than a fancier used model and rumors suggest that Apple is replacing the SE with a newer model later this year, so I’m waiting. Using the same SIM card means the network will think I’m still using my old phone and I’ll keep my phone number and free service.

[northie]

On 5/28/2018 at 7:56 PM, droughtquake said:

They’ve branched out to providing free Android cell phones

I'm not aware of any such scheme here in the UK, despite a (mobile) phone being essential to many peoples' lives. I could just imagine the howls of indignation should such a scheme be proposed. There's help with buying a computer, but not phones.

[Former Member]

1 minute ago, northie said:

I'm not aware of any such scheme here in the UK, despite a (mobile) phone being essential to many peoples' lives. I could just imagine the howls of indignation should such a scheme be proposed. There's help with buying a computer, but not phones.

It’s subsidized by a small fee charged to everyone else who has a phone or phone line. Calls are free, but data is very limited. It’s justified in many people’s minds as being essential for finding a job or housing. It really is difficult to acquire either one of those without a phone. Everyone expects to be able to contact you immediately and at any time of the day.

[northie]

Continuing my exploration of Andy & Adam's surroundings, here's a plan which gives something of an idea of how their garden is laid out. Their garden (like many in English urban or suburban situations) is long and fairly thin. And in case you're wondering, the main garden is always behind the house. Front gardens are usually quite cursory and often eaten away by the need for car parking space (and room for wheelie bins).

 

I should say the sketch is not mine, but has been nicked from elsewhere. The text is mine though.

 

 

[Former Member]

In the US, wherever parking is at a premium, people try to park in what would otherwise be a front lawn. When streets are widened and the front lawn was never very large to begin with, this means cars in driveways block sidewalks (impeding pedestrians and wheelchairs). In San Francisco, some people have been fined and forced to rip out paving that was done without permits!  ;–)

 

In newer or wealthier suburbs at least, front lawns and gardens are showpieces meant to show off the owner’s wealth and prestige. In older, more rundown suburbs, you see cars parked on what was once a lawn. Wealthier suburbs have laws against things like that – regulations that sometimes prohibit parking boats, camping trailers, or motorhomes on streets or driveways too!  ;–)

[Former Member]

When I lived in Dublin, California (not Ireland, Ohio, or any of the numerous other cities named after the capital of the Republic of Ireland), there were regulations that prohibited leaving the plastic waste and recycle bins visible from the street (except on the day they are picked up and emptied). They were required to be hidden behind fences or inside garages.

 

Of course, townhouses are not common in California either. What I think of as small lots generally have space on either side for access and storage. It’s only in old cities (like San Francisco) or some newer developments that houses are built right next to each other (my older brother lived in a townhouse for a while in an outer suburb of San José/Silicon Valley).

Edited June 2, 2018 by Former Member

[Former Member]

14 hours ago, northie said:

I'm not aware of any such scheme here in the UK, despite a (mobile) phone being essential to many peoples' lives. I could just imagine the howls of indignation should such a scheme be proposed. There's help with buying a computer, but not phones.

I’m sure most of the US population has no idea the program exists. They know they pay several odd fees on their phone bill, but don’t know what they’re for. Some might know of the older version that subsidized landline phone service. There are notifications inserted into phone bills regarding that program's availability.

 

I didn’t know about the cellphone addition, but there are periods where tables with large banners pop up like mushrooms after the rain in areas where low-income people are common (like my city). They banners advertise free cellphones. There are often two or three on the sidewalk alongside the parking lot of the busiest strip mall and a couple on the sidewalk near the McDonald’s. I’m sure they don’t appear in the suburbs!

 

Various companies specialize in this. They give you a cheap cellphone when you give them the required information. They register it online as you wait using a cellphone or tablet. There is a small profit incentive for the companies – that’s why they don’t have physical stores or regular employees. They really only make money in high volume. There are upsale plans for additional data if you want to buy it.  ;–)

[northie]

Tomorrow's episode of Eric will post later than usual. I'm on the road again, visiting family. Look for it about 7 pm BST. 

 

[northie]

Preparing the next episode made me think of the first time I was faced with a computer and how completely baffling I found it. First time ever was, I think, when I was a student (so mid 80s) and my father allowed me to use his (or his department's) Amstrad. I was completely at sea. I remember sitting in front of it wondering how something that was a glorified typewriter could be so confusing. One problem of course was that nobody really showed me how to use it. A brief intro of the 'you do this, and this, and this' sort wasn't anything like enough.

 

Several years later (end of the 90s) I needed an email address for work. However my employer hadn't rolled out email addresses to the likes of me, so I was sent off to get a Hotmail account. Again nothing was explained and I experienced the same sort of frustration I can imagine Eric may be about to suffer ... 

 

See how he gets on this Friday ... 

 

 

 

[Former Member]

My mother was a computerphobe. But when we got an Apple IIe in the mid-‘80s, she sat down and played the tutorial that was included. But that was the last time she touched our computer (or any of the ones that would eventually follow).

 

She eventually got a job at the Learning Resource Center (aka the community college’s library) and was forced to use their computer system to check books in and out. At least she had three decades of typing at that point. She functioned as an unpaid secretary to my father for most of his ministerial career. She typed literally hundreds of church bulletins and Sunday programs. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, that meant mimeograph stencils. I doubt the vast majority of church members ever wondered who prepared them all.

 

Her mother used to hand-cut the stencils for her church’s bulletins since typewriters for Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana (Japanese written language systems) were extremely expensive and rare in the US during that era.

 

These days any relatively recent Mac, right out of the box, can be configured with a couple clicks to switch between English and Japanese (or Danish, Arabic, Gujarati, Greek, Russian, Hebrew, even Icelandic and dozens of others, including the necessary fonts preinstalled). Depending on how sophisticated your documents need to be, you might need to install a page layout application instead of the standard word processors most people use. Add a laser printer and you have the tools needed for a small- to moderate-sized church or similar organization.