please empty your brain below
If the fluorescent tube breaks perhaps you might replace it with a LED tube. Then chances are that you don't need to replace it again.

MK | 15.05.20 - 7:21 a.m. | #

We've had the resume of your (understandable) personal worries, but is there anything you are happy or excited about? Life has to be balanced in some way, even if that seems difficult in the current circumstances.

Waterhouse | 15.05.20 - 7:22 a.m. | #

Did you post this on order to get the large amount of technical advice which will inevitably follow in the comments?

martin | 15.05.20 - 7:26 a.m. | #

My iPhone 6 is nearly five years old. I'm not going to say anything else in case I jinx it.

Sarah | Homepage | 15.05.20 - 7:38 a.m. | #

I would spray a little DW40 on everything - it works miracles :)

PJS | 15.05.20 - 7:43 a.m. | #

Now you've got me worried about even more things than I was already worried about.. My iPhone 4 is still alive, but its replacement won't be an expensive Apple.. Times have changed - and not in a good way.

Alex McKenna | 15.05.20 - 7:58 a.m. | #

The on/off switch on my kettle won't stay on, but I gaffer taped the switch to be permanently on, and control it from the plug instead, when the kitchen is full of steam, I turn it off, I have got a new kettle - but getting it out of the box is hassle, might get a paper cut or something.

Still Anon | 15.05.20 - 7:58 a.m. | #

You can order online at Argos and then collect the next day at Sainsbury's if you have one nearby.

Jon Combe | 15.05.20 - 7:59 a.m. | #

I am quite worried that I might break my glasses -- annoying at any time, but potentially weeks of blurry vision if it happened today.

...and a reminder that I really should buy a cheap insurance pair the next time I order some.

ianm | Homepage | 15.05.20 - 8:23 a.m. | #

On the contrary, this is a perfect time to develop a health problem, unless it's a respiratory infection.

I'm in Germany so things are a bit different here, but these are some of things I've experienced:
- a friend who is a childcare nurse said she is bored stiff at work because children aren't injuring themselves or getting infected with *anything* anymore
- on TV they showed pictures of empty cardiac wards and bored cardiac surgeons with nothing to do
- GP's are complaining they might even have financial problems because no one is coming to see them even when they should

Jonathan P | 15.05.20 - 8:25 a.m. | #

The Sony app is excellent with one massive exception - it won't switch on my 8 year old Sony TV.
Fortunately my remote started playing up a few months ago so I bought one of the cheap ones on eBay and I'm very pleased to find that it works perfectly!

Steve Rochford | 15.05.20 - 8:33 a.m. | #

This morning the en-suite toilet wouldn't drain, and the macerator just kept running and running with nothing happening.

Eventually I stuck my hand down the toilet to try and do a plunger effect (thankfully the water was quite clean) and it slowly started draining again. The macerator eventually stopped. But I'm going to be worried that I'll need to get a plumber for ages now.

(This may have been too much information.)

Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 15.05.20 - 8:42 a.m. | #

Just after the pandemic started my Refrigerator stopped working, I am in the shielding persons category so no visitors. I ordered a new one they left it outside and I dragged it in after washing it down with a mild bleach solution.

Two week after that my washing machine broke down. I tried hand washing laundry for a week but then ordered a new one. The day before it was due to arrive I dragged the old machine out to the street- they are heavy. The next day that was removed and a new machine left outside, I arranged for a friend to open the packing and wash the new machine with a bleach solution, he then dragged it as near as he could to my front door then departed to a safe distance. I dragged the machine in to my kitchen and all has been OK since.

My main PC has been a bit temperamental in starting up but I have two other PC's plus a tablet and smart telephone so have back ups to use.

My landline telephone went faulty, now fixed at the exchange end.

I have often had fluorescent tubes delivered and not had breakages, get a new starter lamp at the same time if your fitting uses one.

For the remote control the generic compatible types are fine, but get one for your model of TV. Avoid the "universal" remotes. Your existing remote control may need to be opened up (they normally split open but check if there are any locking screws inside the battery case). Clean the rubber membrane and the touch pad. Lots of sites show you how to do this.

John | 15.05.20 - 8:43 a.m. | #

"One day soon I expect to flick the switch and hear the tube splutter and fail, plunging the room into darkness..."

Surely the room was already dark?

dg advises: Never risk a 'surely'.

Tim | 15.05.20 - 8:55 a.m. | #

Five days before lockdown my husband took his iPad to the Apple Store in Regents Street to sort out a problem. On the day of lockdown the iPad 'died' and he cannot receive emails. My iPad is working fingers crossed.
Our TV is eight years old and sometimes switches off then comes on again about a minute later.
My husband's crown has fallen out which will have to wait until ??

Sara | 15.05.20 - 9:04 a.m. | #

Still not as worrying as the baggage retrieval system they’ve got at Heathrow!
[I'm (Still) So Worried]

solar penguin | 15.05.20 - 9:08 a.m. | #

You really should get a generic remote control. It changes everything.

Old guy | 15.05.20 - 9:11 a.m. | #

We've found, well not generic, but cheap designed for the tv model remote controls to be fine and last as long as the original.

Andrew | Homepage | 15.05.20 - 9:15 a.m. | #

Diagnosis: GDA [Generalised Displacement Anxiety]

Frank F | 15.05.20 - 9:22 a.m. | #

Your TV *definitely* has a physical switch, it’s just in an obscure place and you haven’t been able to locate it yet.

Andrew | 15.05.20 - 9:24 a.m. | #

Just put a spare table lamp in your kitchen. Then, if the tube claps out, you'll have some lighting albeit probably a bit dim.

As for the microwave those things weigh a ton so surely it's easier to have one delivered to your door from the likes of Argos/Currys rather than humping one home from your nearest shopping centre. After all it's not as if you're likely to miss any delivery as things stand at the moment.

dg advises: Never risk a 'surely'.

milliem | 15.05.20 - 9:44 a.m. | #

Can I put a word in for Currys online. Free fast delivery on your chosen day and they texted me the morning of with a one hour time slot. Lose no sleep over your microwave but, yes, don't break a leg.

Becky | 15.05.20 - 9:59 a.m. | #

You do not have to stay with Apple and the iPhone, other brands and systems are very popular, cheaper and work well.

John | 15.05.20 - 10:04 a.m. | #

[Don't Worry, Be Happy]

popartist | 15.05.20 - 10:13 a.m. | #

This information about fluorescents may be helpful - they also state they’re doing deliveries if your usual supplier isn’t.

Martin | 15.05.20 - 10:36 a.m. | #

I worry about John.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 15.05.20 - 10:50 a.m. | #

Um.... the only thing I would worry about is that new kettle, I don't think you will get as many years out of it as your old one you told us about. As for TV remotes, at the moment the best thing that could fail would be the TV.

davews | 15.05.20 - 10:58 a.m. | #

So I'm not the only one with low-level anxiety chuntering away. I procrastinate and the worry builds up and the tension builds up. Until finally I face up to it and sort it out. The sorting out is never that bad and I always wonder why I made myself so ill. The latest bout is the annual sorting out of MOT, service and insurance.

Caz | 15.05.20 - 11:41 a.m. | #

I hate the 'planned obsolescence' in modern products. I have several dysfunctional bits of stuff that need dealing with and can't get fixed. As for the tv, checking the schedules just confirms I'm not missing anything. I've taken to using any bit of IT equipment to catch free theatre, cinema, film, museum and art gallery presentations. I've been very happy with what I've found. Just a pity that this will all end when we get back to 'open' for business.
A relative tells me that, often, the blister (on/off switch) button degenerates making the switch in plastic electronic products completely useless.

B | 15.05.20 - 12:48 p.m. | #

New remotes from ebay (generic or lookalike/OEM replacement)... have bought several in last few years (poorly made originals for Vestel made PVR which pack up after 2 years, on my 3rd, plus random acts of small boy loosing/breaking others).

Phone batteries very annoying. I have an older import model (dual sim with replaceable battery) but Samsung do not sell/stock originals anymore and most available online are counterfeit and/or poorly made (not rated mAh or fail quickly). Want to run 3 numbers (work plus professional plus personal) on as few a set of devices as possible hence rarer Dual sim wanted.

MilesT | 15.05.20 - 12:59 p.m. | #

Needless technical advice: If you have a VCR/DVD/Freeview/Satellite box most of them can control common brands of TV with their own remote, and Sony TVs have used exactly the same codes since time immemorial.

You might need to dig out the instruction manual., but I like to imagine you're as scrupulous about filing those as you are Millennium Dome paraphernalia.

Graham | 15.05.20 - 1:35 p.m. | #

Perhaps dg, you could mention the model of your Sony TV and someone might have a spare remote.

MilesT - Dual Sim mobiles seem to be standard in French supermarkets. Including brands like Samsung, though Wiko (who?) are a very popular brand there. Maybe do an EU wide search on Ebay.

ap | 15.05.20 - 2:10 p.m. | #

In my experience most TVs do still have buttons, they can just be very well hidden. Look for a joypad style rocker button right on the bottom of the TV, or small buttons round the side. Might help to look in the manual! Of course maybe you've already done this, and your TV really doesn't have buttons.

Muzer | 15.05.20 - 2:45 p.m. | #

Thanks for worrying about me.

If your laptop has a non solid state hard disk it may be beginning to fail. While it is still working I suggest you make a bootable USB stick or DVD (if you have a DVD drive) of Linux. The Linux system will run from a USB stick or DVD even if your laptops HD has failed. Linux comes with an Office program and Internet browsers, so it should keep you going until a new laptop is available.
Cinnamon is a popular Linux version.
You need to ensure your laptop can boot from USB or optical drive.

John | 15.05.20 - 2:55 p.m. | #

My almost 9 year old laptop blue screened a few times recently but always booted up again without issue. Eventually I changed a setting and it hasn't done it since (fingers crossed).

X-Plaistow | 15.05.20 - 3:10 p.m. | #

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Matthew 6:27

Mr Jif | 15.05.20 - 3:33 p.m. | #

There is a growing trend for TVs not to have an on/off button. The TV remains on standby unless you turn it off at the mains switch. The extra power consumption on standby of a single TV is very small but it adds up over many thousands of sets, which seems contradictory to today's need not to waste energy.

JohnC | 15.05.20 - 4:44 p.m. | #

My teenage son's iPhone suffered a dead battery earlier this week. Our local independent mobile phone shop was closed, but had a poster up with a contact number. My wife rang, and they collected the 'phone and returned it with a new battery later the same day.

Ideally, I'd have booked a slot in the Apple Shop for this, but - weighed up against the potential of a teenager in lockdown without his phone - I think this was a far more sensible approach.

Isambard | 15.05.20 - 5:11 p.m. | #

I have not left the house since April 1st and I have not watched TV either.
I worry about running out of books

Sarah | Homepage | 15.05.20 - 5:50 p.m. | #

I've been TV-less for around 10 years and really don't miss it (though no longer being able to use the i-player is, very occasionally, a pain). As they say, the pictures are better on radio.

Meanwhile I woke up this morning to find my watch had stopped overnight, and there is definitely no local shop open where I can get the battery changed. Neither do I have another working conventional clock in the house, so at times when neither computer nor radio are on, I am currently a little vague as to what time it is.

Man of Kent | 15.05.20 - 9:19 p.m. | #

Vague as to time?
No-one is sure what day of the week it is.

Mikey | 15.05.20 - 11:36 p.m. | #

DG tells us what day and date it is. That’s a help, although I did forget to put the rubbish out this week as I didn’t remember when it was Wednesday. I hope DG’s laptop lasts out otherwise I’ll never catch up with time.

I don’t worry about anything though, as far as I am aware. I don’t watch TV other than the Queen, don’t listen to radio news and don’t read newspapers other than the occasional article online relevant to my needs, so that means I am not induced to worry. News is mostly bad, and I can do little or nothing about it anyway. So I stopped worrying long ago. Worrying about things going caput seems to bring on the demise one fears, so that’s not worth bothering with either.
The bit about luck and affirmation in Dilbert Future says it all really: if you worry that you might dent the new car, then you will. So, assume the best and all will be fine.

Herbof | 16.05.20 - 12:00 a.m. | #

Anyway you've had lots of suggestions here. Perhaps you'll take some of this advice into consideration.

milliem | 16.05.20 - 11:50 a.m. | #

TV remote - I have several of the One for All URC 7140 types (available for 1 - 4 way). I find that these are perfect for what I want and simple to programme. They're very flexible to use and include the option to learn from an original remote if required. The 4-way one I use for Kodi and set top box etc.
Currently available off the shelf in Asda and Sainsburys.

rogmi | 17.05.20 - 1:03 p.m. | #











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