Mapping

At the end of February, my ClustrMap was archived.

It had taken a year, but the UK had disappeared under a heap of red blobs, there was a smattering in Western Europe, an increasingly impressive swathe across the United States (with one clearly in Canada) and a smattering elsewhere, including a handful in the southern hemisphere. In fact, the only continent I hadn’t had a hit from was South America (admittedly there was only one in Africa, but hey).

Mt current ClustrMap is a sad reflection of the old one, though I have to admit that it is growing relatively quickly. The spots are reappearing in the US and already I have two big blobs on the UK. With the exception of a hit in what appears to be Burma (like the Foreign Office, I do not recognise Myanmar), all of the hits are in Europe and the US. When will I get my much cherished Australasian, South India and Sri Lankan hits back?

More annoyingly, once archived, the maps are only available in thumbnail!

Mapping

At the end of February, my ClustrMap was archived.

It had taken a year, but the UK had disappeared under a heap of red blobs, there was a smattering in Western Europe, an increasingly impressive swathe across the United States (with one clearly in Canada) and a smattering elsewhere, including a handful in the southern hemisphere. In fact, the only continent I hadn’t had a hit from was South America (admittedly there was only one in Africa, but hey).

Mt current ClustrMap is a sad reflection of the old one, though I have to admit that it is growing relatively quickly. The spots are reappearing in the US and already I have two big blobs on the UK. With the exception of a hit in what appears to be Burma (like the Foreign Office, I do not recognise Myanmar), all of the hits are in Europe and the US. When will I get my much cherished Australasian, South India and Sri Lankan hits back?

More annoyingly, once archived, the maps are only available in thumbnail!

Jewel cases

A word of advice for anyone thinking about buying CD jewel cases from eBay – it’s probably not worth the effort.

Having spent a couple of weeks fruitlessly trying to find a retailer that sells double CD cases, I gave up and bought some off eBay, dirt cheap. And that’s what I got: dirt cheap CD cases. They are a bit too flimsy for comfort, though once they are properly reassembled with CD sleeves etc put in them, they should do the job. I can’t see me needing to dismantle them a second time.

Twenty-five jewel cases for £4.50 including p&p seems like a bargain, but when more than 20% of the cases are broken – in some instances, shattered – it’s less of a bargain. I mean, 23p each is hardly a rip off, but it’s the principle of the thing: they were sold at the heady price of 18p each. That said, I can’t tell if the damage was done by the post office or not. I think maybe 5 of the 6 were post office mishandling – they were all at the same end of the package, but one was from the middle.

Oh well, caveat emptor as they say.

I’ve emailed the vendor but not heard back yet. I expect that it will be neutral feedback with a note.

Jewel cases

A word of advice for anyone thinking about buying CD jewel cases from eBay – it’s probably not worth the effort.

Having spent a couple of weeks fruitlessly trying to find a retailer that sells double CD cases, I gave up and bought some off eBay, dirt cheap. And that’s what I got: dirt cheap CD cases. They are a bit too flimsy for comfort, though once they are properly reassembled with CD sleeves etc put in them, they should do the job. I can’t see me needing to dismantle them a second time.

Twenty-five jewel cases for £4.50 including p&p seems like a bargain, but when more than 20% of the cases are broken – in some instances, shattered – it’s less of a bargain. I mean, 23p each is hardly a rip off, but it’s the principle of the thing: they were sold at the heady price of 18p each. That said, I can’t tell if the damage was done by the post office or not. I think maybe 5 of the 6 were post office mishandling – they were all at the same end of the package, but one was from the middle.

Oh well, caveat emptor as they say.

I’ve emailed the vendor but not heard back yet. I expect that it will be neutral feedback with a note.