rechargeable batteries

[Richard]

There has been an arms race in technology in terms of rechargeable battery performance.
This is mainly aimed at the trade, builders etcetera who buy massive amounts of tools and will pay for something essential for their work, time = money.
Plus, of course, the marketers of modern smartphones now include lithium-ion batteries.
In fact I suspect mobile phones first led the way with Li-ion but I refuse to use one if you have to charge it up every day, I have an early basic Nokia which runs for weeks.
Regarding power tools, most builders now only use superiror Li-ion battery-operated power tools but to the rest of us it doesn't really matter very much and it can even be beneficial because if you look at the bargain-priced rechargeable tools at, say, Robert Dryass, you will find that they have old-style batteries inside, e.g. Ni-MH but they are really still very good.
As for the trendy Dyson and his brushless motors made abroad, I am not one of his devotees, intensely disliking his quirky bagless vac's and their silly prices, give me a 'Henry' any day...

I don't know why most rechargeable househol (loose) batteries are still NiMH and not the latest LI-ion as NiMH suffers from leakage (self discharge) but eventually I think Li-ion will dominate 100%.

[Richard]

The problem with the more advanced, 'smart battery chargers' i.e. 'individual cell' battery chargers, is that they sometimes condemn batteries that are still useful.
So, probably best to stick with the cheapo' ones that do not examine each battery for 'defects'.
Also one that changes from red led to green when fully charged and has protection against overcharging, short circuit protection and reverse polarity protection and can cope with Ni-MH Ni-CD AA AAA's.
Plus remember to take the batteries out of the charger when charged otherwise they may lose power if left inside the charger.

[seahermit]

I think most decent battery chargers, even if basic, would have a light to tell you when the charging is complete. I also don't leave the batteries in there once charged up.

Re: smartphones, I wouldn't be without my Samsung, makes my life much easier. Saves putting the PC on just to check emails, news websites etc. and it has a crossword crib on there! All invaluable if I'm out for some time, in the pub or I go away. I can't understand my friend who is dogmatically against smartphones - the result is that he is often unaware of what's going on in the world and is constantly asking me to check out different things on Google! I manage to get a few daya out of each charge (unless I'm using the phone for something specific like watching a video or BBC programme) and how much trouble is it to just recharge it whilst the dinner's on?

But I don't use a touchscreen smartphone much for calls - too fiddly, prone to mistakes and too big. My great little Nokia (the revamped retro 3310) goes into my jeans pocket and can be operated with one hand! It even does basic internet and Gmail, for some reason Outlook won't usually work on Nokias.

[Richard]

My brother has given me a couple of smartphones but I can't stand them, too wide and prone to screen breakage.
I may look at the Nokia 3310 - I very much like the slim shape of the classic body.

[seahermit]

Well, Richard, before I start cooking spicy chicken stew (if it's any goood my friend may drop in tomorrow and finish it off!):

The little Nokias sold in EE etc. are not bad but for me are very basic. This revamped 3310 is much better and looks very smart.

I once had the 3210 and the 3510 - all of that series were for a while the best on the market, though for some reason the 3410 wasn't the best version and didn't sell well.

I carry my Samsung in a good protective pouch and have never so far had any damage problems. As you see, it serves me well for a quick break to check FB, the news and 1066!

Happy new year!

[Richard]

MJ, I have never tried and don't know a recipe for making spicy chicken stew or casserole, the last time I made a 'plain' one with celery, leek, carrots and parsnips, sometimes celeriac, I ruined it by experimentally adding too much pickled lemon, which is probably better with fish or lamb.
Now back to mobile phones, I don't want anything but text or speaking, the rest is not my scene and never will be. Actually it makes me feel miserable and I do not need any of it, it looks like some people need to 'feed their happy' on the go!
I have a desktop computer for anything more and don't want to be manipulated by social media or play with Facebook or twitter or snapchat-claptrap.
No way Jose, anything for a quiet life!
I prefer to read a good book at night, to unwind, than to get my kicks by watching Youtube or social media, which has now replaced TV for most kids as far as I can tell.
No wonder they are all becoming victims to intrusions of a deplorable nature.
Their world is more than ever at risk from dangerous perverts and bullying on many levels.
Their can be no innocence in childhood anymore, which I find truly lamentable.

Perhaps the giants (i.e. Google and Facebook) involved in allowing the uploading of dodgy material, to pay for their 'free' services, whilst making billions of dollars, will one day be brought under control, until that day we are being taken for a ride to nowhere in order to feed their (tax-free) empires.

[seahermit]

I am no cooking diva (I wouldn't look right in a frock anyway) - but I do enjoy cooking. I find traditional English roasts somewhat fiddly, several bits and pieces in different pots and, if you are not careful, by the time you have served it all together onto a plate some of it has gone cold. Precisely what happened at my friend's over Christmas - he did a nice meal but some of it wasn't hot! I might start a new thread later and post a couple of recipes - stews and casseroles are easy by comparison and a bit of over-cooking (if someone turns up late) just makes them more delicious.

I totally agree about the obsession with smartphones and the dangers of social media. People seem to want continuous instant entertainment/gratification (which smartphone applications supply) instead of doing creative things of their own, reading, exercising etc. Much of what is on FB is complete rubbish, jokes, childish videos, trivia, "look at me, I'm walking the dog!" etc.

The problem is never with the technology, it is with the way people use it. FB is a handy way of connecting with friends etc. All my photos of various live bands go on there and the bands post news and their upcoming gigs for the benefit of followers.

But the way that social media has been hijacked for abuse, hate campaigns, bullying, often completely false "news" etc. appalls me. It should be properly moderated by both the platforms themselves (Google, FB etc.) and by the authorities. But when there is a LOT of money being made from the advertising, human beings are reluctant to take any responsibility - unless forced by legislation to do so.

[Richard]

I'm looking forwards to some of your recipes, MJ, nothing like a hearty casserole on these winter evenings. Yes! they do taste better re-heated next day and are relatively easy to make.
I took 'domestic science (cookery) at school in the days (up north) when it wasn't done for men/boys to do that sort of thing.
I was the first and only boy at the time in the class and we had a very prim and proper teacher, for the O-level exam, we were docked points for not having all the utensils washed and cleared, in the right place and time. I hated the experience really and was a terrible cook, lumpy custard and tough steak was not so popular come the day of the exam.

You are too right about the giants of social media and search engines, they are too big to tackle and for sure, small-time lawyers can't compete with the vast resources of their own in-house legal teams. Why aren't they being regulated by gov'ts since they don't regulate themselves?
Possibly corruption and power, making money is seen to be an inviolate right of the American free enterprise ethic and a little 'road kill' along the way is passed off as 'unfortunate'.
Tax-dodges and a very rapid evolution into new ventures makes them money beyond our wildest dreams - let's hope they do some good with their riches one day.

What was that about batteries? I'm sorry I haven't a clue!

[Hairygit]

Seahermit, going off topic slightly here, but what makes you so sure you wouldn't look right in a frock/dress? Last time I was in Hastings (18months ago) I was driving through the town centre about 11.15pm, and the stateof some of the local females defied belief! There is no way a bloke in a frock could look any worse than some of the things I saw that night!

[seahermit]

I agree. Tonight I hope to get down to one of the very good music gigs to celebrate the end of a lousy year (for many of us). But dreading the freaky sights I am likely to encounter en route!

In the Weatherspoon pub one night, I passed a girl on the stairs - the dress was so skimpy it looked exactly like a red bathing suit, an awful lot of pink flesh on view. I said "Are you going to rhe beach?"" She replied somewhat vaguely/drunkenly "Wot?" which I am afraid doubled up me and my friend even more!