The Vent and Rant Thread

[kindlekitten]

Sometimes I think my brain comes up with self determined"truths" that don't necessarily exist simply because it is so overwhelmingly illogical to me for things to continue down the other path (have I completely lost everyone yet ). In this particular case it's charging cords. I thought some kind of standardized agreement had been reached that all charging cords would be/have a common end. (Yeah just upgraded phone yesterday). So up until now, phone, blue tooth, Kindle, have all used the same cord, and now all of a sudden we have a crayon of a different colour. ... I seem to remember a bit of a clamor when the last big iphone came out.

Anyone have any input, or have I once again been spending time on another planet?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

Anyone have any input, or have I once again been spending time on another planet?

In 2009 the EU tried a voluntary arrangement with maunfacturers to have a common charger standard using MicroUSB ports. Since that has essentially failed, they are now introducing legislation which will make provision of a standard MicroUSB charging port on mobiles and tablets compulsory on equipment sold in the EU, but won't come fully into effect until 2017.

Most stuff does currently use a MicroUSB port. Except Apple's iPhones and iPads which now use a Lightning connector. (Used to use Apple's 30-pin connector.)

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

Sometimes I think my brain comes up with self determined"truths" that don't necessarily exist simply because it is so overwhelmingly illogical to me for things to continue down the other path (have I completely lost everyone yet ). In this particular case it's charging cords. I thought some kind of standardized agreement had been reached that all charging cords would be/have a common end. (Yeah just upgraded phone yesterday). So up until now, phone, blue tooth, Kindle, have all used the same cord, and now all of a sudden we have a crayon of a different colour. ... I seem to remember a bit of a clamor when the last big iphone came out.

Anyone have any input, or have I once again been spending time on another planet?

Don't know about the law, but I do know that I set up a charging station with four different cords. I used Bulldog paper clamps fastened to the edge of a shelf with one cord routed through the 'wing' of each clamp and the wires going behind the shelf to keep them out of the way. There is a Lightning cord for an iPhone 5 and mini-iPad, a 30-pin plug for a regular iPad, and two micro USB plugs for the e-readers. No wiring visible unless something it plugged in. Only the plugs can be seen sticking up. This image isn't mine, but it's what I am using.




Stitchawl

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

In 2009 the EU tried a voluntary arrangement with maunfacturers to have a common charger standard using MicroUSB ports. Since that has essentially failed, they are now introducing legislation which will make provision of a standard MicroUSB charging port on mobiles and tablets compulsory on equipment sold in the EU, but won't come fully into effect until 2017.

Most stuff does currently use a MicroUSB port. Except Apple's iPhones and iPads which now use a Lightning connector. (Used to use Apple's 30-pin connector.)

It's good to know I'm not completely nuts!

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Don't know about the law, but I do know that I set up a charging station with four different cords. I used Bulldog paper clamps fastened to the edge of a shelf with one cord routed through the 'wing' of each clamp and the wires going behind the shelf to keep them out of the way. There is a Lightning cord for an iPhone 5 and mini-iPad, a 30-pin plug for a regular iPad, and two micro USB plugs for the e-readers. No wiring visible unless something it plugged in. Only the plugs can be seen sticking up. This image isn't mine, but it's what I am using.




Stitchawl

I have a charging station that would be fine if I was charging a phone and a Bluetooth. Right now I have cords laced through cast off shoes going around the cat tree. If a fire inspector were to come through, I'd be shut down!

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Don't know about the law, but I do know that I set up a charging station with four different cords. I used Bulldog paper clamps fastened to the edge of a shelf with one cord routed through the 'wing' of each clamp and the wires going behind the shelf to keep them out of the way. There is a Lightning cord for an iPhone 5 and mini-iPad, a 30-pin plug for a regular iPad, and two micro USB plugs for the e-readers. No wiring visible unless something it plugged in. Only the plugs can be seen sticking up. This image isn't mine, but it's what I am using.




Stitchawl

ohhh I like that idea. Might have to steal it

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

Lol! I didn't mean to start a whole schtick with the squirrels! I wonder though if the moth balls might not help with the mousie population? I read something interesting the other day about cat urine actually attracting mice. I guess that would help make sense with them going out to the catio, peeing and that's what would lure them in? Ya think? Hmmmm

Mothballs work okay with mice. Though I notice that they hate my cinnamon scented incense more (I have mice between the walls and ceilings). I've also been told that if you find the place where they enter to stuff it with steel wool because they can't gnaw through that.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I've also been told that if you find the place where they enter to stuff it with steel wool because they can't gnaw through that.

And if they do chew through it, just get a few powerful magnets and leave them around.

[kindlekitten]

The ones getting into the catio are getting in through a chain link fence, so stuffing that won't work. I had kind of assumed that just cat scent would keep them away, that's why the article about the urine was kind of an ah-ha! Sort of moment

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

The ones getting into the catio are getting in through a chain link fence, so stuffing that won't work. I had kind of assumed that just cat scent would keep them away, that's why the article about the urine was kind of an ah-ha! Sort of moment

In summer we always open the door to the attic so the heat can go up (in winter we close it) and Lexie can roam free upstairs, that works. Also, she's decided that my bedroom will be her summer retreat (for now) and she taken to meowing very loudly when entering my room. Since then the rustling between the walls and ceilings has stopped .

There are little speakers available emitting a high squeaking sound which mice don't like. Normal people can't hear that sound and aren't bothered by it, neither are cats, but I'm not normal and can hear it so that's no option for me, but it might be an option for you.

[kindlekitten]

Lol! That's kind of funny as I have huge high frequency issues! "Listening" to big commercial buildings drives me absolutely batshit. I used to be able to listen to telephone circuits and let the German engineers know when they dropped. I was damn near as good as a meter!

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

Lol! I didn't mean to start a whole schtick with the squirrels! I wonder though if the moth balls might not help with the mousie population? I read something interesting the other day about cat urine actually attracting mice. I guess that would help make sense with them going out to the catio, peeing and that's what would lure them in? Ya think? Hmmmm

One has to kind of think that mice, squirrels, et al, going INTO a catio, particularly one for Savannahs or other bigger cats, means Kami-Mouzi-Mice, doesn't it? Suicide by cat?

On noise: jeeze, are we the same person? I served also, in Germany, also, and I can still hear department store shoplifting detectors when I try to enter the stores, a very high-freq sound. I have to be careful about using the newer light dimmers, because I can hear the choppers (on/off, on/off, yadda). Drives me crazy when I need new lights.

Hitch

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by Hitch

One has to kind of think that mice, squirrels, et al, going INTO a catio, particularly one for Savannahs or other bigger cats, means Kami-Mouzi-Mice, doesn't it? Suicide by cat?

On noise: jeeze, are we the same person? I served also, in Germany, also, and I can still hear department store shoplifting detectors when I try to enter the stores, a very high-freq sound. I have to be careful about using the newer light dimmers, because I can hear the choppers (on/off, on/off, yadda). Drives me crazy when I need new lights.

Hitch

mebbe!? brudder from an udder mudder!? do you hear rheostats (light dimmers) as well? I cant be in a room with florescents for longer than about thirty minutes, start getting the between the eyes ache. and building noise in general is just.... argh!

[Rumpelteazer]

I also hear some dimmer switches and some shoplift detectors. One of the CFL in my ceiling light is buzzing, but normally CFLs and fluorescents don't bother me much, though it really depends if they use cheap electronics or not (cheaper ones usually buzz). I can remember once at a Meat Loaf concert one of the strings of the bass broke I cringed because of the sound but everybody around looked at me as if I was crazy, they hadn't heard it.

I also annoy my family because I always turn the volume of the tv lower, the volume they find audible is too loud for me. And I annoy my mother by regularly asking her to turn down the volume of her ipod/pad/phone because I can recognise which song she's listening to.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

mebbe!? brudder from an udder mudder!? do you hear rheostats (light dimmers) as well? I cant be in a room with florescents for longer than about thirty minutes, start getting the between the eyes ache. and building noise in general is just.... argh!

It's WEIRD to me, when I see you post, often, because seriously: many of your experiences, etc., are extremely similar/identical to my own, which I would have thought a bizarrely minute chance of odds. (If you ever got stuck in Schwäbisch Gmünd at a MI listening post, as punishment--don't tell me). I didn't, however, from my inferences, serve as long as you did, and my service was in the 70's. (Small note, since this is a RANT thread: the woman sharing the room with me at Quarters had the first then-Cat Stevens album, on cassette. She played it over and over and over, to the point that I can probably still sing/copy every word from every Cat Stevens/whatever his name is now tune that was ever on the charts. When I hear "Morning has broken," I actually receive visceral memories--the smell of the quarters, the smell of the needles on the trees...if I ever see her again, I'm going to launch a platter at her head.)

And, yes: freaking rheostats, too, but the choppers type, in my own house, seem to be worse for me. At least, for the LR ceiling fan/lighting fixture that I was trying to use one for, the last place in the house that still has bulby-bulbs. ;-)

Hitch

[kindlekitten]

oh yeah! I ALWAYS hear what people are listening to on headphones which makes public transportation extremely difficult for me, and I would LOVE to have the volume of TVs much lower than most people like. I went to "Maleficent" this weekend and was thinking I might need to start bringing earplugs. for the most part I really am not fired up about going to movies and as I sat there cringing, I wondered if that was part of the problem. I certainly have enough sets of earplugs around, I can keep some in my purse