Topic: Ask - R(ob)AWK replies

[Tesco tearaway]

No, can't help it. Amadickted

How did you know my name is Ted?

[BlackandWhitePaul]

The Voynich Code?

[The Gulleysucker]

The Voynich Code?

It's absolutely fascinating, as is the Codex Seraphinianus.

I posted the pdf download links for them here in the What book are you reading thread back in 2014.

My Children bought me the limited edition of the large hardback version of the Seraphinianus for Christmas a few years ago.

It's quite exquisite just to gaze at the pictures and ponder.

[CHOPPER]

It's absolutely fascinating, as is the Codex Seraphinianus.

I posted the pdf download links for them here in the What book are you reading thread back in 2014.

My Children bought me the limited edition of the large hardback version of the Seraphinianus for Christmas a few years ago.

It's quite exquisite just to gaze at the pictures and ponder.

I do exactly the same thing with Men Only and Razzle.

[Tesco tearaway]

The Voynich code has been deciphered as a derivative of ancient Turkish; there's a video on youtube about it.

Found out what the hand motion is.
It is a secret signal from one metal detectorist to another that a hammered coin has been found.

[Tesco tearaway]

I do exactly the same thing with Men Only and Razzle.

They have some fascinating motorbike articles in those publications 

[Crosby Nick]

I do exactly the same thing with Men Only and Razzle.

Too much pondering will make you go blind.

[Tesco tearaway]

Too much pondering will make you go blind.

[BlackandWhitePaul]

It's absolutely fascinating, as is the Codex Seraphinianus.

I posted the pdf download links for them here in the What book are you reading thread back in 2014.

My Children bought me the limited edition of the large hardback version of the Seraphinianus for Christmas a few years ago.

It's quite exquisite just to gaze at the pictures and ponder.

Yes, absolutely fascinating indeed

It's absolutely fascinating, as is the Codex Seraphinianus.

I posted the pdf download links for them here in the What book are you reading thread back in 2014.

My Children bought me the limited edition of the large hardback version of the Seraphinianus for Christmas a few years ago.

It's quite exquisite just to gaze at the pictures and ponder.

Yes absolutely fascinating, indeed.  Thank you for the links Mr Gully, I shall click on them and study the content tomorrow.   

[rawcusk8]

Who was the poster on here that made the thread about cheating on his wife with his work colleague? He never updated us, though it’s feared his wife may have read the thread

[Tesco tearaway]

Who was the poster on here that made the thread about cheating on his wife with his work colleague? He never updated us, though it’s feared his wife may have read the thread

Fitzy?

[CraigDS]

Who owns the pavements which run alongside a public road? Are they all owned / managed by the council or can private companies own them?

[rob1966]

Who owns the pavements which run alongside a public road? Are they all owned / managed by the council or can private companies own them?

The Highways act says its the usually the public money, ie council, who are responsible for the maintenance of the paths alongside public roads.

Whats your landlord done now?

[CraigDS]

Not landlord for once, but the pavement near the apartment is really wide (like 2 cars wide) and some people have been parking on it right next to the road. It leaves loads of room on the pavement still so not causing an obstruction.

Signs for a private car ticketing company went up the day before Xmas and I saw one of their guys ticketing a car parked there today and just wondering if that is council property and therefore they shouldn’t be ticketing anyone or if it could be private. The road is def council and not private.

[rob1966]

Unless the council have employed them to do this, it sounds like it is a rip off company just trying it on then. I know if you want to add or extend a driveway into your house, only the council are allowed to do it as the pavements are their responsibilty, so this sounds well dodgy.

Be worth dropping an email to the council to make them aware.

[CraigDS]

Yeah sounded dodgy to me too. They’ve already given me 2 tickets when parked on the actual road (an area without any lines) which I’ve appealed so they aren’t exactly coming across as legit.

Going to drop an email to the council later. I’ve tried to use their site but it’s shite and the only map I could find is not up todate to include this road.

[bradders1011]

Insurance excess. Anybody work in the industry?

a) What's the point of it? Is it just a swizz?

b) When companies do "excess refund" offers, why not just not apply an excess to that policy? Is there a difference?

[Elmo!]

Insurance excess. Anybody work in the industry?

a) What's the point of it? Is it just a swizz?

b) When companies do "excess refund" offers, why not just not apply an excess to that policy? Is there a difference?

In answer to a), it stops people claiming for anything and everything. If you have a minor accident that just causes a small amount of damage, if there is no excess to pay you might make a claim for it and get the insurance to pay for it, even though it will affect your future premiums. If you have to pay an excess that might be a significant percentage of what it would cost just to get it fixed yourself, it will make you less likely to claim.

It allows insurers to offer lower premiums.  It is a bit of a con though, they always put large excesses on by default but I always find if you reduce the voluntary excess to zero, it usually barely affects the cost of the policy.

I've not seen those excess refund offers so can't help with that.

[CraigDS]

How often do you use cash these days?

I paid with cash in my local last night and the normal barmaid was surprised as I don't think I have done for the entire time I've been going in there.

Made me think that tips for people who work behind the bar, and other places, must have dropped loads since people started using their cards more and more.

[stoa]

In the last year or so, I've started using my card more often when I go grocery shopping or when I'm buying other stuff. It's just more convenient to be able to pay without going to a cash-machine first, because you only have ten Euros or so left in your wallet. However, paying with card in restaurants or bars is not that widespread yet in restaurants or bars where I live (Austria). You can do it in most places, but it's more of an "emergency" thing whenever someone might not have enough cash with them. Other than that, most people still pay cash. But yeah, if paying by card becomes more common it might have an impact on the tips people are getting unless you can somehow put it on your bill or something like that. It's probably also an issue with stuff like food deliveries where you can pay with credit card or other means and don't have to hand over any money to the delivery guy. Whenever I order food, I usually pay in cash and give the delivery guy a small tip at the same time. Once I didn't have enough money at home so I paid by card or whatever and handed the delivery man 1,5 or 2 Euros. He was kind of surprised when I handed it over and it looked like he's not used to that.

[Crosby Nick]

How often do you use cash these days?

I paid with cash in my local last night and the normal barmaid was surprised as I don't think I have done for the entire time I've been going in there.

Made me think that tips for people who work behind the bar, and other places, must have dropped loads since people started using their cards more and more.

Very rarely these days. Monday to Friday tend to be card only, a lot of places near work don’t accept cash these days. I might get cash out at a weekend to try and be a bit stricter about what I spend but that never works anyway.

[Elmo!]

I can gg weeks at a time without using cash. I'll carry the exact same coins in my pocket pointlessly the whole time.

We're obviously a bit backwards up here, was surprised when I was in Manchester in September there were 2 bars we were in that didn't take cash at all.

[liverbloke]

I can gg weeks at a time without using cash. I'll carry the exact same coins in my pocket pointlessly the whole time.

We're obviously a bit backwards up here, was surprised when I was in Manchester in September there were 2 bars we were in that didn't take cash at all.

With you there. I currently have - searches through pockets - £1.63p.

That's a pound coin, a 50p, a 10p, 2p and 1p for you pendants.

I've carried these around me for 3 months now!

Should I phone Guinness World Records?

[Ghost Town]

I mostly use my phone everywhere I can; often don't take a wallet or cards out with me as the phone will do the trick. I'll take cash when going to the market or somewhere else where I know card/phone payments may not be accepted. I know I'm probably propping up something insidiously capitalist but it's so damn convenient.

I also use cash for buying second hand stuff (off ebay etc where I go to collect). So far have always bought cars/bikes with cash, from private sellers.

[BarryCrocker]

Trivia question I need a hand with. Does anybody know who was the first big screen actor/actress to make the transition to TV?

We're thinking Lucille Ball.

[The Gulleysucker]

Trivia question I need a hand with. Does anybody know who was the first big screen actor/actress to make the transition to TV?

We're thinking Lucille Ball.

I think it's difficult to decide.

Ball was never a major Hollywood player, from her bio on wiki it would seem she was known as the Queen of the B's and was actually more famous initially for her Radio show, much of that material being used for her later TV series.

If Ball is to be considered, I think a better contender would perhaps be Milton Berle who just preceded her onto TV, his show being enormously popular on TV in the late 40's US, and his career went all the way back to silent movies...

Berle's career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and television. As the host of NBC's Texaco Star Theatre (1948–55), he was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television" during the first Golden Age of Television.

[rob1966]

How often do you use cash these days?

I paid with cash in my local last night and the normal barmaid was surprised as I don't think I have done for the entire time I've been going in there.

Made me think that tips for people who work behind the bar, and other places, must have dropped loads since people started using their cards more and more.

I've started taking cash out specifically to cover tips because I very rarely pay in cash these days - its quicker to swipe the card than rummage to get the money out/get your change.

[WhoHe]

I've started taking cash out specifically to cover tips because I very rarely pay in cash these days - its quicker to swipe the card than rummage to get the money out/get your change.

Good for you, my eldest daughter works for the NHS and has a bar job in a typical "old mans boozer" and the tips certainly help her out. They have now started taking cards and so far not one person has added a tip, think cards are an ideal way to cover the fact your're a tight arse.
    We pay by card in restaurants but we will pay the exact amount then I will slip the waiter/waitress a tip in cash, started doing this when it came out about owners/managers taking a percentage of the tips before sharing the rest. I am also amazed at the amount of people who never tip, all of my mates do even the ones you could euphemistically call "careful".

Hate ones who will say "I dont get tipped for doing my job".

[liverbloke]

Good for you, my eldest daughter works for the NHS and has a bar job in a typical "old mans boozer" and the tips certainly help her out. They have now started taking cards and so far not one person has added a tip, think cards are an ideal way to cover the fact your're a tight arse.
    We pay by card in restaurants but we will pay the exact amount then I will slip the waiter/waitress a tip in cash, started doing this when it came out about owners/managers taking a percentage of the tips before sharing the rest. I am also amazed at the amount of people who never tip, all of my mates do even the ones you could euphemistically call "careful".

Hate ones who will say "I dont get tipped for doing my job".

I've got a mate who has a well-paid job - always flying here and there for his job (oil company) - and he is the tightest get I've ever known.

He's always last to the bar - in fact, you feel embarrassed for letting him know it's his round!

He NEVER tips and once I actually handed over a cash tip to the girl behind the bar after his round.

Beside this, he's a nice lad, very good footballer and always has the ladies interested - yeh, I hate him really the twat 

[rob1966]

Good for you, my eldest daughter works for the NHS and has a bar job in a typical "old mans boozer" and the tips certainly help her out. They have now started taking cards and so far not one person has added a tip, think cards are an ideal way to cover the fact your're a tight arse.
    We pay by card in restaurants but we will pay the exact amount then I will slip the waiter/waitress a tip in cash, started doing this when it came out about owners/managers taking a percentage of the tips before sharing the rest. I am also amazed at the amount of people who never tip, all of my mates do even the ones you could euphemistically call "careful".

Hate ones who will say "I dont get tipped for doing my job".

I got caught out a couple of times when I had no cash and felt like a right twat. I ended up giving the waiter a tenner the next time we went in in owed tips.

I hate that "I don't get tipped" attitude too, its not like they earn great wages - roughly £8 - 8.50 hr, so the tips give the staff a nice little booster, especially for those who work P/T. The staff where I drink are great, really friendly and dead helpful. If you say and your own, they only take 20p, so I've started just giving them a quid instead.

[reddebs]

I rarely ever have cash on me and I feel awful at the supermarket when the local kids groups are fundraising. 

They should get a card machine like I've got for my mobile work so those of us paying by card can do a quick contactless payment.

They cost pennies per transaction yet they'd make far more money when fundraising.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[Titi Camara]

I small flip side on the tips front. A lot of places in Chester add on a discretional 10-15% service charge...but don't point it out...and when I've not noticed it explicitly on the bill and effectively tipped twice, no one has said a word.

Feel that's just as shit as not tipping myself.

Given we're not a tipping culture, who decided the rules on who gets tipped or not?

[CraigDS]

I small flip side on the tips front. A lot of places in Chester add on a discretional 10-15% service charge...but don't point it out...and when I've not noticed it explicitly on the bill and effectively tipped twice, no one has said a word.

A lot of places do that for tables 6 and over (some 8 and over). Not sure why a bigger table means you get to charge more, you’re paying the same for food as a table of two and take up less space than 3 or 4 tables of 2.

[Titi Camara]

Whatever they say, its discretionary and you can deduct it if you wish, although obviously that makes you look a big T

[rob1966]

I small flip side on the tips front. A lot of places in Chester add on a discretional 10-15% service charge...but don't point it out...and when I've not noticed it explicitly on the bill and effectively tipped twice, no one has said a word.

Feel that's just as shit as not tipping myself.

Given we're not a tipping culture, who decided the rules on who gets tipped or not?

I don't even remember when I started tipping, but its only ever taxi drivers, bar staff and waiting on staff - although I have sent a pint in for the chef before now - got that from when I worked in a kitchen and a customer bought drinks for the kitchen staff.

[Barneylfc∗]

I don't even remember when I started tipping, but its only ever taxi drivers, bar staff and waiting on staff - although I have sent a pint in for the chef before now - got that from when I worked in a kitchen and a customer bought drinks for the kitchen staff.

People tip barbers over here. I don't, as I get a simple short back and sides that takes no more than 15 minutes and costs £9. Fuck that.

[BlackandWhitePaul]

I get my hair cut every 6 weeks and it is the same person each and every time.  There is 7 of them works there but it is his place, he's the boss.  I never say what I want and he doesn't ask, I sit down and he starts cutting.  He's been doing it since 2005 so knows the crack.

He asks for £17 and I give him £20 every time bar Christmas when I give him £25.

He's more like a mate than my hairdresser / barber   

He's a smashing bloke, born and raised in Queens / New York and married a lass from Bedlington, Northumberland where he has been living since 2002.

[BlackandWhitePaul]

Whatever they say, its discretionary and you can deduct it if you wish, although obviously that makes you look a big T

Yeah the sly c*nts.

It happened a few weeks ago when I was out in Newcastle with my Da.

I gave the lad a £5 tip and only when outside did I take a look at the bill and there was a £4 service charge on it   

[rob1966]

People tip barbers over here. I don't, as I get a simple short back and sides that takes no more than 15 minutes and costs £9. Fuck that.

I did used to tip the barber now you mention it - not been the barbers for a couple of decades now, missus has been doing my hair with clippers for 10 years now and before that the ex used to cut it.

[CraigDS]

He asks for £17

You still getting a perm or something for that price?