Chiefly British

@matigo We are caught in a pincer movement between two stupid ideologies. One that believes there is no problem that can’t be solved by free market, profit-orientated capitalism. And one that believes there is no problem that can’t be solved with utopian, all-you-need-is-love collectivism. There is also the hybrid ideology where the worst of each of the above is combined to make a hellish third way. It wouldn’t be so bad if they combined the best aspects of each, but no, they always use the stupid bits.

/@joeo10

@matigo Most people are cyphers. (The shame is that it’s not just the labourers and shelf-stackers. Most members of the educated classes are cyphers too.)

@jextxadore I’ll pray for you.

jextxadore.10centuries.org.

@matigo It happened here. Prices went up a lot and delivery times lengthened. They have to make profits now to support the share price…and executives need to be paid their massive bonuses. Over here in Victorian times, there could be multiple postal deliveries per day, maybe four or five, sometimes extremely early in the morning. And a first class stamp meant next day delivery…but sometimes arrived the same day. Even when I was a youngster, you did on occasion get a second delivery in a day and first class always meant next day (probably between 8AM and 10AM). Not long after privatisation, first class became more like two to three days, so similar to the old second class stamp. Next day delivery is now a luxury add-on for the well-to-do, the spendthrifts and the desperate. Second deliveries became more and more rare, and I don’t think they happen now. And the letterbox doesn’t clank these days until 1PM to 2PM. The after-bloody-noon?

Oh, and when privatisation happened, the new corporate parent company of the old Royal Mail gave itself one of those hideously bland trendy names. 'Consignia' I think it was. Whenever a company adopts a meaningless made-up name, you know standards are about to go downhill.

/@joeo10

matigo.ca.

@matigo I suppose everyone likes a bit of suspense sometimes.

matigo.ca.

@jws Thanks.

Consistency+time=trust

/@matigo @phoneboy

jws.10centuries.org.

@matigo I don’t know how Apollo 13 ends. I don’t know anything about it.

matigo.ca.

@matigo I have the type with a rectangular top tube, inside which goes the battery. Every time I want to ride, I have to release two catches, fold the bike, insert battery, lock with key, yank the loop on the battery to make sure I locked it properly, unfold the bike and snap the two catches again. There are different degrees of faff: mine is a lot of faff; if it’s electric but the battery is outside the frame it’s a bit less faff; if it’s not electric, there’s even less faff. But most folding bikes (not mine though) get you to fold the seat and bar too. The thing that always catches people out with folders is the weight. They see a picture of one and think 'ooh, that’s nifty. I’ll get one and store it in the hallway in my flat'. Then they get a shock when they go to lift it (especially the electric ones).

matigo.ca.

@matigo I got a folding bike to encourage me to go further by putting it in the car. That never happened.

matigo.ca.

I often wonder if I should get a GoPro and stick it on my handlebars for bike rides. Would it turn out to be a gimmick where the novelty quickly wears off? And there are limited places to explore around here, so I may just run out of new places too soon.