Non-motoring > Bought anything good in the sales? Miscellaneous
Thread Author: RattleandSmoke Replies: 42

 Bought anything good in the sales? - RattleandSmoke
I wanted to buy some new jeans and a t-shirt but the clothes shops were too busy so I will wait a bit.

I did buy a new cheap going out camera though, a Nikon 14 mega pixel thing, 3.6 x optical for £40 from Jessops. Its ok for the job I need it for, my bridge is too big for that purpose.

PCWORLD have a 20" monitor for £70 which will be ideal for my workshop, but I am no major rush but could just with a third monitor in there, its not cheap enough for me to want to buy it now though, and will continue to keep an eye out on gum tree for that second hand bargain.

Not checked Halfords yet but I can't think of anything motoring related I need apart from Petrol and that is never in the sale.

 Bought anything good in the sales? - Skip
Two pairs of black leather shoes from George at Asda, reduced from £25.00 a pair to a tenner ! Ideal for work, however i can't see a certain Mercedes driving member on here agreeing with me :-)
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Runfer D'Hills
Merry Christmas Skip !

May your corns be small ones.... !

Joking aside, the real trick will be to alternate the days you wear them and provided they fit you they'll be fine.

 Bought anything good in the sales? - Fursty Ferret
One of these:

www.trustedreviews.com/samsung-ue40d7000_TV_review

And very nice it is too, but will need to spend the next week calibrating the colour. :-)
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Robin O'Reliant
I've just bought this -

cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150724899097&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:GB:1123

Not strictly a sale, but ebay is slow at the moment and this is a good price.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Zero
Oh my god!, you'll be putting Cowboys and Indians along side the track next - shame on you.

Dont forget the herds of wildebeast running majestically across the plain Ok Buffalo - same thing, four legs.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Robin O'Reliant
>> Oh my god!, you'll be putting Cowboys and Indians along side the track next -
>> shame on you.
>>
American railroad modeling is astonishingly cheap compared to staying native. Brit steam engines command premium prices.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Ted

>> American railroad modeling is astonishingly cheap compared to staying native. Brit steam engines command premium
>> prices.
>>

Very true, Robin. My British 00 ones can be quite pricey but Continental HO takes the prize.
I'd be tempted to go for DB or OBB if they were affordable.
My Midland Compound didn't turn up in my Christmas stocking but it's my birthday on Thursday so who knows ?

I suspect it's not made it's date of 19/12 in the shops though. I've got pole position in the model shop's order book.

Ted
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Iffy
...but will need to spend the next week calibrating the colour. :-)...

You could, but I doubt there's any need.

My LG has three or four pre-set modes, I picked one and have not touched it since.

Altering brightness, saturation and so on by one click up or down makes very little difference to the overall experience.

Seems to me the source material varies widely, so what might be perfect for a re-run of Porridge wouldn't work so well for a Sky football game which in turn might be different to a game broadcast on ITV, all of which differs to a film etc etc.

 Bought anything good in the sales? - Fursty Ferret
>> ...but will need to spend the next week calibrating the colour. :-)...
>>
>> You could, but I doubt there's any need.
>>
>> My LG has three or four pre-set modes, I picked one and have not touched
>> it since.
>>
>> Altering brightness, saturation and so on by one click up or down makes very little
>> difference to the overall experience.
>>
>> Seems to me the source material varies widely, so what might be perfect for a
>> re-run of Porridge wouldn't work so well for a Sky football game which in turn
>> might be different to a game broadcast on ITV, all of which differs to a
>> film etc etc.
>>
>>
>>

LGs are generally good out of the box - this replaced an LG plasma that was going grey - but Samsungs are pretty appalling. Flesh tones in particular are completely wrong. This can be calibrated to the nth degree. Not just brightness / contrast etc, but colour gains and offsets and a 10p greyscale adjustment.

Fortunately I found a list of calibrated settings posted on the internet (why Samsung don't just sell it like this, I don't know) and it now looks absolutely stunning with both SD and HD sources.

To be honest, if I hadn't been able to get it calibrated like this I'd have taken it back and asked for a refund as not fit for purpose, as it genuinely was terrible in any of the default modes. It's just impossible to tell in the shop because it's that bright.
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Thu 29 Dec 11 at 10:46
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Zero
>> it genuinely was terrible in any of the default modes. It's just impossible to tell
>> in the shop because it's that bright.

And there is the key. In a bank of TV sets in your local leccy shed, they have to stand out to sell. Many have a "shop" setting for that very reason. Add to that the subdued lighting, and black effect wall backdrops.
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 29 Dec 11 at 10:56
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Iffy
...but Samsungs are pretty appalling...

I couldn't be doing with all that calibration, so it seems my barely-researched purchase of an LG was a lucky one.

It was on 'eco mode' out of the box which was very dim.

Seems daft to me to ship a TV with a mode set which no user is likely to find acceptable.

I managed to work out how to turn it off without too much trouble.

It would have gone back had I not been able to.

 Bought anything good in the sales? - BobbyG
Humph, you may be glad to know I decided it was new shoes time so went to Clarks sale. Alas nothing of interest.
Had a look in Barratts at their sale but again nothing suitable. Might wait till they go into full receivership sell of before I get a pair.

But I am looking so that's a start??? And off work for a week so that will give them a wee bit respite!!
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Armel Coussine
All the shops I go in in Portobello Road are having sales all the time, or so they claim. Anyway it is in their reduced, alleged sale shelves that I seek tennis shoes when the old ones are getting past it.

With that in mind (but before Christmas, days ago now), and in between getting trinkets for the nippers and Christmas-related food products, impulsively obtained a pair of garish white moccasin thingies with little nipples of rubber all over the sole and up the heel, driving shoe style. A rather steep 30 quid.

So far they have stood up well to their baptism of rural gravel, mud and water. They seem to be made of leather but the whiteness hasn't toned down much yet. A bit more mud may do it. Better still, they are more comfortable than the old (wrong shape) tennis shoes or the more recent (too small) ones. Very like no shoes at all in fact, so obviously good or so they tell us.

I hope you are reading this Humph.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Armel Coussine
>> Very like no shoes at all in fact, so obviously good or so they tell us.

I tried to add, but treacherous on slimy pavements which abound in some areas of London.

You have to be a bit cautious at my brittle age. As any fule kno from painful experience even bare feet will slip uncontrollably on the wrong surface.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Zero
WHITE!!!!!!!!


Oh good lord.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Robin O'Reliant
>> WHITE!!!!!!!!
>>
>>
>> Oh good lord.
>>
I bet he wears a thong too.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Runfer D'Hills
I don't really know what to say. I wasn't going to have a drink tonight but I may just go and pour a couple of fingers...
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Crankcase
Splashed out on the below, as one was missing on s-i-ls car I noticed Christmas Day, but I'm not buying anything else. Can never think of anything to buy.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320807185825?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 Bought anything good in the sales? - Zero
Wow you really know how to push the boat out
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Crankcase
Well I think she'd already had a Christmas present, so this will be extra.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Zero
Still you can save the other 9 for next Christmas
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Iffy
...Still you can save the other 9 for next Christmas...

A wiser purchase would have been dustcaps with a built-in valve key.

I bought four, fitted one, and have the others as spares, in case someone nicks the one on the car.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-METAL-SCHRADER-CAR-TYRE-VALVE-DUST-CAPS-KEYS-FIVE-/160702423164?pt=UK_Cars_parts_Vehicles_Wheels_tyres_trims_Valve_Caps_ET&hash=item256a9c607c
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Roger.
I had these on our Fabia, in Spain. Every one was stolen - parked in our building's underground car park, accessible through a residents only, remote control operated, door!
Never bothered again.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Armel Coussine
It was that discreet but immoral family of circus unicyclists upstairs Roger. Each thought separately: "Caramba! Just the final touch my rig has always lacked! He won't miss one, probably got a spare.' But there were five of them.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Roger.
Nah - it was the gypsy family from Ceuta. Horrible people- noisy and well, just LOUD!
Drove out some friends of our who were unlucky enough to be closer to them than we were.
We were pretty sure that it was they who superglued our door shut when we were away in UK once!
They never paid their community fees either!
Last edited by: Roger on Wed 28 Dec 11 at 21:55
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Crankcase
Whatever would you want a valve removing gizmo for? Or rather - why would anyone want to remove a valve?
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Iffy
...why would anyone want to remove a valve?...

www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=9044

I've not needed to remove a valve core for years, but they do fail occasionally.

Bits of grit can get down beside the valve, impeding its operation.

Dust caps stop most of that, but it can happen during inflation.

I've known cores work a tiny bit loose.

A valve key solves all these problems.

 Bought anything good in the sales? - Crankcase
Thanks for the info.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Zero
The World At War: The Ultimate Restored Edition 2010 11 DVD's edition

£15 tesco.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Dog
>>The World At War:<<

S'on the History channel today, I'm back on The Somme t'night :(

Watching Les Enfants du Paradis in b&w with subtitles at the mo :)
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Skip
The World At War: The Ultimate Restored Edition 2010 11 DVD's edition


I've always had an interest in WW2 and have learnt so much from watching this excellent series.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - R.P.
Definitive in many ways, made at the right time when a lot of the main players were still around. Made a lasting and profound impression on me. Right bargain Zero.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Bromptonaut
>> The World At War: The Ultimate Restored Edition 2010 11 DVD's edition
>>
>> £15 tesco.

Bought at similar price in Sainsbo's sometime last year. Well worth it.

Glad I never got round to paying the nigh on £100 being demanded for the series on VHS when the kids were younger.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - R.P.
I have it on VHS and free DVD from Daily Mail
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Zero
>> Daily Mail

Ah! I see....
 Bought anything good in the sales? - R.P.
Bought it from e-bay - I'd only throw the paper away.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Stuu
I finally bought something in the sale. Dont get excited.

Bamboo plants at 50% off at local garden centre.

Ive been looking at them all year as they grow exceptionally well in my garden and I like them, but they are stupidly expensive ( a 2ft plant @ £16.99 ) but now they are half price, so I may go bag some more tomorrow afternoon.

Actually, they are doing quite a selection of plants in the 50% off bit so maybe the garden is about to get some more new additions.
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Runfer D'Hills
At least you now know what to get for your next car. Has to be a Panda really doesn't it?
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Zero
Ho Ho Ho

2012 - New Year Old Jokes.

 Bought anything good in the sales? - Armel Coussine
At the risk of really annoying you Stu, I can say that had you come by here you could have taken as many 10 or 20 foot bamboo plants as you wanted, and welcome. The stuff can be a real pest when it takes hold. There's a huge, dense, spreading clump of it not 50 yards from where I am now, encroaching on a path and leaving itchy scaly deposits on you if you brush against it.

I wouldn't know how to transplant it of course. It seems to manage that for itself on a local level. It's fairly skinny and spindly though, no good for furniture or serious structural, just peashooters and slightly flexible but decently slippery curtain rods if you search for a thick bit...
 Bought anything good in the sales? - Stuu
I use it as screening as it grows fast, my back garden is rather open to nosey neighbours so Im trying to fill in the borders somewhat as I dont grow a great deal of flowers that require space in the beds. Back garden was barren when I moved in but Forsythia, Bamboo and Buddleia are now well established along the back fence so I can see much less of the neighbours house ( and back door ).

The stuff along my back fence is already approaching 9ft and new shoots go higher than the ones that die off, though mine doesnt grow out too much, just up. I like it personally but it does need the occasional thinning out.


 Bought anything good in the sales? - RattleandSmoke
Bought that AOC 20" monitor from PCWORLD, but had to order it online so probably won't receive it for another week. It went down from the £70 to £50, I am so glad I didn't buy it last week.
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