Bad Call! & Overheating PC fixed

How many times do you see folks using their mobile phones in the car.  I suppose they think the chances of getting caught are minimal

I guess this photo shows that your concentration is distracted when your'e on the phone!   Or is the van driver just stupid?

Another bad call - - - I had 7 phone calls from 01782 880300 yesterday the first couple rang for a while but the other 5 hung up after 3 rings?  Looking on the net there are numerous complaints about the number but no suggestion of who it might be?

Another gem from the Express newspaper this morning

Telling us all about the storm yesterday - - - must be a slow news day if there are no "miracle cures" to report.  One consolation has got to be the "free Christmas TV guide!"

Nearer to home
Sally's old Toshiba laptop has been running red hot for ages not helped though by old Tom the cat who always liked to sit/lie by the PC's exhaust to catch the warm air.

Over time the machines suck in bits of dust etc so eventually they need to be de-gunged.  As this is a common problem you would think the offending bits would be easy to reach - - forget it! you need to almost strip it completely down to get the rubbish out
Thankfully there are some good videos on You Tube

So, armed with a tube of heat sink jointing compound and a screwdriver I spent a couple of hours taking it to bits and finding a long ribbon of fluff blocking the hot air exhaust port.  The machine was originally a new but "re-furbished" one from PC World and i was amazed at how many internal screws were missing.  The thing fired up first time after being assembled so i think that ticks the success box

I blogged  in November about a problem I had with a letter from "Legal Aid" indicating I owed them £31.74p and that the debt having not been paid was being passed to "our Debt Collection Service" if I didn't pay up.
The letter in fact came from a Debt Collection Service using the Legal Aid letterhead!  This was confirmed 2 days later when a letter from Fredericks International popped in demanding I phone them immediately.
I noticed the paper, font, layout and return address on the envelope were the same in both letters and smelled a rat!  The DCS looks to have bought the debt and is attempting to recover it but using some rather dodgy tactics.
There's a number of stories here at Martin Lewis's Money Saving Expert site  about how the DCS operates.
I denied any knowledge of the debt and asked for proof, eventually receiving this letter in the post recently

The envelope unlike the previous letters was stamped as coming from London the real address of LA. (the others were UK mail stamped with no location indicated other than the return address on the back of the envelope)
The paper, font. and layout are different than the original purporting to be from LA but actually from Fredericks.
Ok, it turns out I don't owe the debt but how many others have worried over this type of approach - - - and maybe paid up - - - shameful tactics by the DCS and crappy administration by the LA!!!!!!

A great pic of Tom and Grumpy from 2007 to finish on a happy note

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website

Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam