No pineapple rings in Aldi today. Had to go to Sainsbury's and pay twice as much for half as much...
Graphics cards are a real problem in computing at the moment and it’s worldwide. You’ve got several issues all adding to the mix and it’s hard to see when it’s going to get better.
Things which made it worse:
Semicondutor demand has increased in every walk of life
People making the semiconductors have been affected by COVID
People shipping them have been affected
Increased demand for all computing products shot up because of workplace demand
Increased demand for all computing products shot up because of home and leisure demand
Cryptocurrency demand had driven data mining which is massively increased sales of any graphics cards. It’s generally the fast DDR6 memory which is what they use, Bitcoin has gone more towards processor power but newer CC tens to use graphics cards capabilities - nvidia are trying to bring out cards which detect mining and slow down but who knows if it will work.
Nvidia and AMD have brought out new cards recently which are really really good and a big step change in capabilities so a lot of people are wanting them (in addition to the reasons above!)
And to cap it all anything that IS available is scalped by automated bots are sold for much higher prices than RRP.
My AMD Rx590 I bought for £210 18 months ago, last time I checked I could sell it for £380 second hand on eBay but there is NOTHING I could buy to take its place at any price point bar £20 ultra basic “just run windows” cards.
It’s bonkers.
nvidia are trying to bring out cards which detect mining and slow down but who knows if it will work.
Yeah, they marketed that feature on a mid range card back in March and then "accidentally" released non-throttled drivers for it the very next week. AMD aren't really interested in ensuring that consumers can actually buy their products at all, let alone at MSRP.
Dryrobe seat covers
Kites
Wetsuits
Sheds.
AMD aren’t really interested in ensuring that consumers can actually buy their products at all, let alone at MSRP.
I have a long memory and I still have a bit of an issue in taking ATi AMD seriously as a performance GFX manufacturer.
The Lidl wrap issue is extant in Scotland too. I had to get mine from Tesco ewww
Shimano brake pads.
Hot-cross buns. Not necessarily related.
The Mona Lisa. Saw it once on a film and quite fancied it for my home office. Phoned the Louvre to enquire and they're not even returning my calls...
My new coffee grinder, both hard to get hold of AND expensive!
Stupidly expensive, but widely available - the pso-rite. What price happy hip flexors though?
Hot-cross buns
No problem feeding my hot x bun addiction using Tesco ~£1 6-packs.
Aldi "Specially Selected' Prawn Cocktail Crisps. They've not had any for bloody months.
And another vote for the PS5 and more urgently – PSVR Move Controllers.
The Mona Lisa. Saw it once on a film and quite fancied it for my home office. Phoned the Louvre to enquire and they’re not even returning my calls…
I've seen it in real life mate, it's shit. About the size of a postage stamp and dark, dull colours. You want to ask them for one of those Monet jobbies, much more jolly. Unsure on price/availability issues.
Plasterers, I've phoned [counts] 14 local plasterers to do some work at the surgery this morning, one even laughed at me...
Same with painters and decorators
A few weeks ago it was coconut milk.
None at all in our local Aldi, Sainsburys and Co-op. My wife managed to find a couple of cans in B&M of all places.
I think I've seen it back in Aldi since but the shelf was nearly empty again.
911 GT3's
Plasterers, I’ve phoned [counts] 14 local plasterers to do some work at the surgery this morning, one even laughed at me…
Same with painters and decorators
Worryingly we found a plasterer no problem who is coming next week. Also got a joiner fairly easily for another ~ 3 day job. Both recommended so there might be some wild regional variations in these shortages.
Hot-cross buns
Bought some in the Coop the other day....
Oh, I know.
Dentists.
A couple of years ago I got struck off from the place I've used every six months since I first had milk teeth, for the crime of being a few minutes late for an appointment. After ringing every dentist in the area, of which there are many, I rang the NHS "you are entitled to a dentist" helpline. She asked if I was in Lancashire, I said yes, and she just about laughed in my face.
Dentists.
Yep, our NHS Dentist is not currently seeing patients because Covid, however if you're a private patient it's not so much of an issue.
Computer Stuff in general
Yep, Absolute perfect storm or 'cluster ****' if you prefer.
Part of my every day life, is specifying, buying, configuring (that bit someone else does) and selling Computer Hardware...
Last year I, along with everyone else in the the trade bought any and every laptop we could lay our hands on, honestly I bought and sold some proper shady crap - if you wanted a Gold colourer laptop with a 5 year old processor that, and I'm not making this up, had a chassis that was more than 60% full of air for £800 (plus Vat) I was your Man, not because I'm a con man, but because with everyone of our 3k-ish end-users clambering to WFH at short notice, it's all we could get, and clients didn't mind.
Once every piece of shit device from every channel supplier was gone, we asked when we could buy more only to be told "The stock that's coming in now, is the last stock we'll be getting for a while, the factories are closed". It came, we bought it, it's gone.
Fast-Forward to August 2020 and things were starting to feel more normal, both in general and in the IT world, bosh, here comes Kent / Wave 2 and every Local Authority in the UK buys up everything they can get their mitts on ready for home schooling in September.
Then Semiconductor shortages, Suez etc etc etc.
Thankfully, supply is *just* about keeping up with demand at the moment, it's hard finding stock, but not impossible, it's the price that's hurting us. HP / Dell et al, they're not wasting their valuable CPU stock on banging out standard issue Business machines, they're starting at the mid-range and above, plus like bike parts the industry generally works on a high stated rrp with 20% discounts being the norm, not anymore. the £400 unit I was buying in Feb 2020 is now £600 or more.
All that pales to the fact I really fancy an Xbox Series X and can't buy one.
I actually work for one of the Tier 1 IT vendors.
The summer is going to be an absolute shitshow when it comes to supply of IT kit
Vans. I was looking at trying to get a VW Caddy maxi Life. Not a chance. Local VW Commercial dealer said the prices have gone through the roof, and zero stock anywhere.
Funnily enough he could source me a new Electric VW Van, quite cheap to lease but only a 70 mile range.....Lol
Apparently there is a drought in Taiwan where a lot of the electrical stuff for the world is made, this, plus a Global Pandemic, Plus the Captain of a fairly substantial cargo ship has made a lot of stuff like rocking horse poop...#whodathunkit
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-chip-shortage-is-bad-taiwans-drought-threatens-to-make-it-worse-11618565400#:~:text=TAIPEI%E2%80%94The%20worst%20drought%20in,chip%20shortage%20in%20recent%20memory.&text=TSM%201.28%25%20%2C%20the%20world%27s%20biggest%20contract%20chip%20maker.
Plasterers, I’ve phoned [counts] 14 local plasterers to do some work at the surgery this morning, one even laughed at me
I taught myself in the spare room. A few how-tos on the youtube, give it a go, not the end of the world if you balls it up.
Top tip 1) make it runnier than you think you need.
Top tip 2) Get a wall sander. I'm obviously not as good as the pros, but if I can get it close enough I can finish it off with a wall sander. Obviously a decent plasterer wouldn't need to do that
My new coffee grinder, both hard to get hold of AND expensive!
What coffee grinder is that? Just being nosy. 🙂
Our garden is still a literal building site. We were hoping to have it done by summer.. lol. Not much chance of that, cos we will be needing cement based materials.
Graphic cards are insanely hard to buy atm. Even the retailers are bumping up RRP's and scalpers selling them for over double on ebay. I bought a 3060 ti after a week of jumping on discord alerts and I could sell it for £1200 on ebay easily - I paid £500!
Shimano brake pads are a nightmare to find. I order a couple sets from an LBS in the scottish highlands that was about 10 pages into the google search.
And we're starting to look at buying our first house but the market is crazy right now.
I forgot - sheds.
Like rocking horse Kaka.
And +30% compared to last year.
Amen for Costco and Keter 😎
Oh, I know.
Dentists.
A couple of years ago I got struck off from the place I’ve used every six months since I first had milk teeth, for the crime of being a few minutes late for an appointment. After ringing every dentist in the area, of which there are many, I rang the NHS “you are entitled to a dentist” helpline. She asked if I was in Lancashire, I said yes, and she just about laughed in my face.
Whitworth Dental Centre in Lancashire taking NHS patients, quite efficient, haven't heard any horror stories but this is STW so you never know
I forgot – sheds.
Like rocking horse Kaka.
My good lady has just bought a new shed, she had to enter a lottery for the chance to purchase it 😳.
She got it and it is very nice so shes happy.
We got in the right time then.
Bought a shed early last year and in feb bought a half greenhouse half shed. No delays
Whitworth Dental Centre in Lancashire taking NHS patients
Oh brilliant, thank you. not exactly round the corner but I'll take an hour's round trip if it'll save me a few grand.
Pistachio's or salted almonds so tasty and always get a few rogue pistachio that won't come out their shell
A wee tip never eat the scraps left in the bag as good as it is there will be a bit of rock hard shell to remove a filling adding to the overall cost
