Week 86: tar patch for Alan Shearer
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Gambling is, and I cannot stress this enough, a mugâs game. But I placed a bet (ÂŁ6) on the orange tyrant, and cashed out the following morning when the market was having a panic that he might win. So I won ÂŁ3.85, and he didnât win, so thatâs nice â the two best outcomes.
What can one buy for ÂŁ3.85? Apparently a bottle of Sainsburyâs Penguin Sands wine (either Shiraz or Cab Sav). 𤯠I have not bought one.
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Bicycled to see my da. Itâs sugar beet season so I mudded my clean trousers and shoes, mainly by squelching past some magnificent Scania lorries that were parked inconsiderately so beets could be elevated into their trailers. Apart from that it was lovely.
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During a different bit of biycling, I saw the sobering sight of fieldfuls of furloguhed aeroplanes, and then came across a bit of cycle path where the message tar patch for Alan Shearer had been spray-painted on the ground. So there must be a person named Alan Shearer whoâs in charge of tarmacadaming at the council or one of its contractors, and I bet sharing a name with a beshirted retired footballer turned pundit is⌠not much of a hassle actually. The most interesting thing about this graffiti was how large and clear the lettering was â usually you just get some small illegible abbreviations.
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As soon as I read about the AirPods Pro Service Program for Sound Issues, I booked an appointment with a Genius, in the nick of time before the non-essential shop would have to close. I wasnât sure if my sound issues were really issues â a crackling sound when out in windy conditions, or when lying down with an AirPod touching a pillow, both easily solved by changing the âNoise Controlâ setting from âNoise Cancellationâ or âTransparencyâ to âOffâ â but surely it was worth checking, and if you have to switch off one of the main features then whatâs the point?
Before I was allowed in the shop, I was delighted to have my temperature taken and again confirmed to be perfect â even though having a normal temperature is no more special than passing a cognitive screening test (person, woman, man, camera, TV).
Well, after a bit of palaver with serial numbers and diagnostics, the Genius replaced both AirPods for free, even going to the trouble of extricating the replacements from their elaborate individual cardboard boxes. And the replacements donât make any crackling sounds, which is reassuring.
Shortly later, I woke from a nap and was convinced for a while that Iâd swallowed an AirPod, which was alarming. (If you do swallow one, you want to expedite its passage, because remember the pig pedometer fire? â you donât want the battery catching fire in your tummy.) I eventually found the stray AirPod, on the floor not in my poo, so panic over, but perhaps itâs best to use wired headphones when sleepy.
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The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 came into force here in England. Itâs nice that there are fewer motor cars about, at least compared to the few days before when folks were flocking to non-essential shops. Website traffic and money are less low than they were in April â possibly because some places arenât England, and schools are still open, and the government isnât actually advising âavoid public transportâ.
Stay well.