Our garden is tiny but packed with plants. All looking a bit tired after a long, hot summer but I like it. #gardening #Autumn

Hello Masto-techies, I need phone advice. My Oppo A53 had been ok for 5 years or so but it's dying. Poor battery life and random crashes. I'd prefer a 'non Google' OS. In the past I've used Lineage but what's the current favourite? Also which phones are easy to root and install an OS on? Pixels seem to be highly recommended which is ironic. Has anyone dealt with Back Market? https://www.backmarket.co.uk/en-gb/p/google-pixel-9
Please boost if you have techie followers.

(...Cont) The app 'dashboard' displays a warning that the function isn't working. The 'fix' is to unpair the aids via Android Bluetooth and reconnect via the app, which I mentioned previously doesn't work. 2 audiologists and the Hearing Advice service have tried and failed. Dana Logic has no tech support and doesn't answer emails. Forums suggest it's broken. Does anyone have it working? #Hearing #HearingAids

UK hard-of-hearing people, can you help? I have Dana Logic Ambio hearing aids with the pretty awful Be More Android app. The instructions say you should not use the Android Bluetooth pairing system but the one provided by the app, but it won't work on my phone. Normal Bluetooth doors with one exception, direct audio streaming that should allow the aids to work as media headphones (more...)
#Hearing #HearingAids

I think I've done it but my Nextcloud server is going VERY sl...ow. It lives in my garden shed so I suspect it's overheating 🫡

I want to do some computery stuff that I've done a few times before and it was hard and confusing. Thanks to hard and software upgrades it needs redoing but the upgrades means it doesn't look quite like last time so it'll be even more confusing and as long as I sit here wittering on Mastodon it has actually gone wrong. Yet.
#procrastination #Phonetrack #Nextcloud

Circulating the air will help your body lose heat by evaporation and may change the temp gradient in the space by moving cool air from the floor to head height where it feels better but they cannot cook the whole room as claimed. Why is this false advertising allowed? #AC #Coolizi 2/2

I keep seeing adverts for portable 'Air Conditioning' units. The latest is Coolizi. There's even an 'independent' review with a section that claims to explain how it works (it doesn't). To be effective AC has to remove heat energy from your space and send it somewhere, usually the atmosphere outside. Lacking that they are just fans. 1/2

I assume that since the USA has claimed hegemony over the whole Western hemisphere and recently installed a new president in Venezuela they are helping rescue efforts following the earthquakes and will be putting $billions into reconstruction. Right? #venezuela #USAID #Earthquake

Waiting in the hospital cafe to collect wife and an old guy is sharing the table while he waits for his wife. He wants to chat. Within a couple of minutes he's on about 'them' and 'stop the boats'. I argue, politely but this is why I have no friends since we moved down here. Everyone I speak to turns out to be far right. #politics #EastofEngland #Bedford #Bedfordshire

An Australian woman explains why the US is such a menace to the world. Carefully argued from history but ends with a glorious no-holds-barred Aussie rant. Brilliant.
https://youtu.be/j9MubNsh3rs
#USA #CriticalThinking

Can anyone from the travel industry explain online check in? I cannot understand why this is necessary. All the details they ask for are the same as when I booked and 'check in' is supposed to confirm that the correct people and vehicle have arrived at the port ready to board. They still have to verify that when we actually arrive so what is the point of this charade? #BrittanyFerries #Check-in

Opened a new box of muesli 'Original Recipe'. With '30% more fruit'. So not 'original' then? #Alpen #Advertising #Copywriting

Any chemists out there? Various 'lifestyle' TV shows advocate using a paste of sodium bicarbonate+vinegar as a bathroom/kitchen cleaner. My wife thinks it is a good idea. I don't. My limited knowledge of chemistry (O level, 1968) says that the bicarb will neutralise the vinegar producing CO2, H2O and sodium acetate. Which I don't think has any cleaning properties. So what's the point?
#household #cleaning #chemistry

Until I retired I ran my own website on Wordpress. When I retired I closed that but got involved with a local boat club and helped set up their site on WP. Left that a few years ago and someone else runs it now. Consequently although I've noticed some disagreements about WordPress on here I haven't really been paying attention. What's the situation? I'm thinking of creating a new blog, is WP still a decent option? What's the TL:DR version of events? #wordpress #blogging

#OldPeopleOfMastodon in the UK. Question for you. In the 1960s my mum occasionally used to get a cordial drink. It was vaguely fruity and very spicy. Non-alcoholic. Mixed with hot water it was something like mulled wine, which I didn't get to taste until 20 years later. Definitely a winter warmer drink. Does anyone know what it was? Or if it, or something similar, still exists?

For boring medical reasons I now find cold bitter beer too astringent. When I can find it in a pub I prefer draught mild but I don't get out much so I'm looking for a bottled beer that's dark and mild and ideally mainstream so I can order it from a supermarket or at least find it in a local shop (in England). Any suggestions? #Beer #MildBeer #BottledBeer

For fans of modern covers of classic rock, this takes some beating
https://redirect.invidious.io/watch?v=IHrrHvKe95s
Dark Side of the Moon finale. Sina and friends (inc choir) recorded at Abbey Road.

Many, many years ago my wife and I meandered down to Provence stopping at Chambres d'Hôte. We had paper maps and and a Chambres d'Hôte handbook and at some point each afternoon we'd figure out where we'd like to stop and phone to make a booking for the night. In these days of satnav and AirBnB it ought to be easier but had anyone any experience/tips to share?

I have a cheap #android phone, an #oppo A53 which is fine in most respects except that the earphone socket no longer works. Today I tested it with a USB C earphone and that didn't work either. Anyone got any suggestions? Is it worth buying Bluetooth earbuds or is it likely they'll not work either? The built-in speakers work ok.