Ain't the internet great?

[mick]

I'm well pleased and it's down to the net.

Yesterday I had a problem with my house gutters. In the past I would have gone up the ladder and fixed it myself. However age and a slight balance problem, as well as SWMBO, convinced me that high ladders might be unwise.

I turned to the net and found a local 'one-man band' who specializes in gutter fixes and gutter cleaning. I phoned him, and he said I'll call you back at lunchtime. He did and asked if he could come round later that evening.

He turned up on time, fixed the issue and cleaned all the house gutters into the bargain and charged a very reasonable fee.

I'm well pleased and it struck me that 'pre-net' it would have been much more difficult to find someone and to get the job done.

As I said, Ain't the internet great?

Mick

[don]

We used to only have local newspapers or Yellow Pages

[Kath]

It certainly can be. But sometimes you need good ol' word of mouth. My daughter spent 18 months searching for a flat using the internet. No luck whatsoever. In the end she met someone who knew someone...

Similarly, we needed someone to come to the college and cut the grass. Tried online and got several no shows. Eventaully we called the bloke who used to cut our grass when we had a big garden and enough money for that sort of thing. He was so pleased to get the work that he is also doing the grass for us at our new home all in. He does a far better job of it than I ever could with a dodgy flymo!

[mick]

Kath,
I hesitate to write this and I honestly, really honestly, mean no offence,

If it were a Govt minister getting a free grass cut on the back of a public contract would you expect there to be a backlash?

Sorry again and double sorry if I misunderstood your post.
Mick

[Kath]

Jun 8, 2023 6:12:55 GMT mick said:

Kath,
I hesitate to write this and I honestly, really honestly, mean no offence,

If it were a Govt minister getting a free grass cut on the back of a public contract would you expect there to be a backlash?

Sorry again and double sorry if I misunderstood your post.
Mick

Gah - I just typed out an explanation and somehow managed to delete it!  

No apologies needed and any misunderstanding on  your part was down to me not explaining it properly.  Our grass cutting is not free!  We pay a fair price for the job.  

When we moved here we had to let our grasscutter 'go' because a) we couldn't afford to keep paying for such a thing and b) there was someone here doing the gardening already.  Andy said it was probably just as well because the new lawn was so small but parking his van round here was very difficult - wouldn't be worth the hassle.

A couple of years or so later, we called him when the college gardener retired and various other avenues had proved useless.  He was really pleased to get the work.  We still didn't need/couldn't afford a gardener.

The woman who did the gardening had to leave in a hurry some time in the last two years and so the gardening fell to us.  Everyone else with access to it rents their property and apparently they aren't interested in the upkeep of the communal area.  I have struggled to cut the grass because of joint/fibro issues, and now that my son has moved out he's not here to do it either.  Mr Kath does such a dreadful job I refuse to
 let him near it.   I strongly suspect that when we phoned Andy to ask if he'd do it, the fact that we'd got him the work at the college persuaded him to change his mind.  We have also asked him to strim the other areas in the garden where other residents etc park which makes it a slightly more substantial job than we'd initially asked him to do as well which is what I meant by 'all in'.  I am in the process of writing a letter to the other residents asking if they will chip in for this service because I think they should but I'm not expecting much of a positive response in that respect!

[kate]

The internet certainly helped me get my current home. In context, my builder was doing a roofing job at the same time as I got the home report on my old house. It was pretty negative, lots of might be, might haves in it and a reduced valuation. I stepped outside and moaned to my builder who promptly said he would buy it!
So I was keen to find a place in town and tried some estate agents. The properties were dire, not because of cost, just what was available at the time (Februaryish). So I asked on a local board on facebook if anyone was selling a place in town. Got a response straight away from a guy who had just completely renovated this place and was happy to now sell it instead of renting it out. Came here, found it in pristine condition and in a very convenient place.
Bought it.
So yes, the internet is great.

[Kath]

Also...I have friends, proper, real, lovely friends that I would not have if it weren't for tinterweb!

[MJB]

Thanks to the Internet I no longer have to rummage around hedgerows for free porn.

[dreampolice]

Jun 8, 2023 16:31:46 GMT MJB said:

Thanks to the Internet I no longer have to rummage around hedgerows for free porn.

Kids of today have no idea what they are missing.

[kate]

Jun 8, 2023 16:34:54 GMT dreampolice said:

Jun 8, 2023 16:31:46 GMT MJB said:

Thanks to the Internet I no longer have to rummage around hedgerows for free porn.

Kids of today have no idea what they are missing.

Avoiding the gearstick?  Feet at car windows? Memories memories.

[dreampolice]

Or getting disturbed by a policeman knocking on the side window when you thought you were in a safe place!!


I am sure kids still experience that nowadays though!

[zou]

Jun 9, 2023 6:10:56 GMT dreampolice said:

Or getting disturbed by a policeman knocking on the side window when you thought you were in a safe place!!

Laughing at two things, firstly, thinking you are the cop in question, and the chances of you saying something inappropriate, and secondly, the recognition that the presence of police means it ain't a safe space.

[dreampolice]

Jun 9, 2023 6:12:26 GMT zou said:

Jun 9, 2023 6:10:56 GMT dreampolice said:

Or getting disturbed by a policeman knocking on the side window when you thought you were in a safe place!!

Laughing at two things, firstly, thinking you are the cop in question, and the chances of you saying something inappropriate, and secondly, the recognition that the presence of police means it ain't a safe space.

As for the inappropriate bit. This particular aside of inappropriateness wasn’t started by me, lol.

I wasn’t the cop in question, I was the teenager in the car, but of course we all knew the “safe” places too!

I was once sent to a report of someone doing it in a car on a semi rural road with houses during the day. I knocked on the window and opened the door. It was a 17 yr old with his secret girlfriend from Church. She was 13! Not a good day for him as he is taken away!

[mick]

Kath,
Thanks for explanation. I might have known that I misunderstood.

Mick

[gray1720]

I've never forgotten being in a car in a layby with my first girlfriend, cars hooting as they drove by because the windows were steamed up.

We found it hysterical, because we were actually eating fish and chips!