This morning, I had to resort to the 'B' URL for I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again. That's common enough: it very often happens that the main URL doesn't work for me, nor does the 'A' URL, on the "What Was On" page, but the 'B' URL on the same page usually comes up trumps. But now, even the 'B' URL for Mordrin McDonald: 21st Century Wizard isn't working for me. Specifically, all these URLs fail (Winamp comes up, and tells me it's "[Connecting]", but it isn't):

usual: [www.bbc.co.uk]
A: [wm-acl.bbc.co.uk]
B: [wm.bbc.co.uk]

I don't think I've ever had to use the Beebobodge. Does it produce the same URL as 'B'? Let's see:

Beebobodge: [wm-acl.bbc.co.uk]

Oh, dear! It looks like I'm screwed. Anyone else?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2143 Jun 26 2012 by Matamore!.

Hi Mat, there may be a clue HERE.

If anyone has already stepped in and P.M-ed you with more detailed information or a solution in the meantime ... good;

This post is to let you know that from my point of vantage, Brussels, the ISIRTA broadcast you mentioned works via the BBC i-Player. The Beebobodge otoh, doesn't (for the time being) deliver, though again, the explanation is given in Kron's post flagged above, neither do I succeed in capturing the broadcast via the What Was On page.

It seems the BBC have changed streaming over from wma to wma9 (at this point, I'm afraid the technicalities quite defeat me so I can't enlighten you more, hopefully others may ...).

Are you unable to listen via the BBC's i-Player Mat?


A commitment to Mod'nAdminlyness: I understand that ^{r-e-s-i-s-t-a-n-c-e} _{*i - s*} ^f-u-t-i-l-e.
I shall not be starchy, nit pic, patronize, commit misandry, be economical with the facts or be a pedant, neither shall I whine. I shall endeavour to abstain from gratuitous point-scoring off the comments of other Mods or Administrators and also from engendering a culture of BLAME, remembering too to give the benefit of the doubt. Everything in my power will be done to achieve a modest post count & share my smileys, sources & avatars,



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2226 Jun 26 2012 by Truthyness.

Truthyness Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are you unable to listen via the BBC's i-Player
> Mat?

AAAAGGGHHH!!!! Please don't mention the iPlayer!!! TONY BLAIR!!!!

Just "edited" my above post Oooops! (bad habit of mine) and you may find further information in it. As for i-Player, if there's no other way to tune in ... it's seems to be simple case of Hobsons dunnit mate !


A commitment to Mod'nAdminlyness: I understand that ^{r-e-s-i-s-t-a-n-c-e} _{*i - s*} ^f-u-t-i-l-e.
I shall not be starchy, nit pic, patronize, commit misandry, be economical with the facts or be a pedant, neither shall I whine. I shall endeavour to abstain from gratuitous point-scoring off the comments of other Mods or Administrators and also from engendering a culture of BLAME, remembering too to give the benefit of the doubt. Everything in my power will be done to achieve a modest post count & share my smileys, sources & avatars,



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2232 Jun 26 2012 by Truthyness.

The links all look correct, Mat. I'm not getting the program either. It sounds like a problem with the file. I can't even get iPlayer to load it, but that may just be me.

If we had more time before expiry we might be able to get the BBC to fix it. It may still be worth a try.

Wish I could have been more help. But hey! At least ya' know you aren't crazy, eh?

Sorry, Tru, I cross posted on ya'. (Glad you're back btw! )

I guess the iPlayer is just me. I hadn't thought about the WMA9 thing. That's probably it. Something went wonky.

No Wizardry has succeeded in linking to Mordrin at this end either it must be owned ...


A commitment to Mod'nAdminlyness: I understand that ^{r-e-s-i-s-t-a-n-c-e} _{*i - s*} ^f-u-t-i-l-e.
I shall not be starchy, nit pic, patronize, commit misandry, be economical with the facts or be a pedant, neither shall I whine. I shall endeavour to abstain from gratuitous point-scoring off the comments of other Mods or Administrators and also from engendering a culture of BLAME, remembering too to give the benefit of the doubt. Everything in my power will be done to achieve a modest post count & share my smileys, sources & avatars,

Janaru Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> At least ya' know you aren't crazy, eh?

If only ...

That's a thought, though. Perhaps I could tune in using the fillings in my teeth?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2242 Jun 26 2012 by Matamore!.

I've also tried listening to The Archers from yesterday. No go. Can you listen to anything?

I can't seem to listen to anything at the moment. Perhaps it's an Auntie hiccup. Anyone else?

I do suspect it is some very general hiccup, and one which has been building up at least since this morning.

I've had no joy trying to listen to last Thursday's In Our Time, either.

Oh well, I suppose I'll have to resort to ... gasp ... reading a book!

Hi Mat - I've just tried and I can't get anything from anywhere on the Beebotron right now either.

It's a bit late to look into this tonight, and tomorrow Blod & I will be out all day getting my car serviced. Thursday's out of it, and on Friday we have the added luxury of getting t'other car serviced.

So it may be a few days before I can get stuck into this one.

If it's any consolation I've just had to buy four tyres for my car in prep for the MOT. Oh, how I laughed when I found I needed them!

You may, even if you can't listen, bask in my financial schadenfreude...

Sorry for the delay, K

Hiya J-ru ... Thanks.
Dunno if it is a wma9 issue ... only I remember reading Kron's post ... I've been scrambling to catch up on the month that was just expunged from my life by a bunch of marauding "builder-decorators"! Seems the BBC intends continuing with the trend .... expunging ...!


A commitment to Mod'nAdminlyness: I understand that ^{r-e-s-i-s-t-a-n-c-e} _{*i - s*} ^f-u-t-i-l-e.
I shall not be starchy, nit pic, patronize, commit misandry, be economical with the facts or be a pedant, neither shall I whine. I shall endeavour to abstain from gratuitous point-scoring off the comments of other Mods or Administrators and also from engendering a culture of BLAME, remembering too to give the benefit of the doubt. Everything in my power will be done to achieve a modest post count & share my smileys, sources & avatars,



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2252 Jun 26 2012 by Truthyness.

Oh joy. I'll bet The King of Belgium just loved that.

Well, sounds like it's going to be a quiet week.

Everything seems to be working again - dunno what happened there!

I'm happily listening to Mordrin now (via the URL on the main Radio 4 FM pages).

There are still some problems. The next programme I tried listening to was Honest Doubt: The History of an Epic Struggle, #19/20: On Presence and Absence (Thursday 21st, 1:45 p.m.). The URL on the main Radio 4 FM pages failed to work at all. The 'A' URL on the "What Was On" page for last Thursday worked, but the clip stopped dead at 1 minute and 8 seconds. That is the same kind of problem I was having with I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again. I'm trying the 'B' URL now ... (sorry, I didn't mean to post this yet, just preview it) ... the 'B' URL is working so far ... it worked.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 1049 Jun 27 2012 by Matamore!.

That does sound pretty tyring K!


A commitment to Mod'nAdminlyness: I understand that ^{r-e-s-i-s-t-a-n-c-e} _{*i - s*} ^f-u-t-i-l-e.
I shall not be starchy, nit pic, patronize, commit misandry, be economical with the facts or be a pedant, neither shall I whine. I shall endeavour to abstain from gratuitous point-scoring off the comments of other Mods or Administrators and also from engendering a culture of BLAME, remembering too to give the benefit of the doubt. Everything in my power will be done to achieve a modest post count & share my smileys, sources & avatars,

I have to admit that the OP somewhat nonplussed me as ISIRTA was last on last Wednesday. As it was getting late, I didn't look into it. However, as this morning was shopping day, so I didn't try to listen to today's ISIRTA until midday. I had the same problem as Mat. I tried the Listen Again page and also the Beebobodge (which normally works) and each one gave me 'Connecting'

In the end (sorry Mat!), I reverted to iPlayer.

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

This really seems like a BBC problem. The links seem to be working it's just that the content on the servers isn't always accessible. They were going in and out all night. For one program things would be fine and the next it wouldn't connect at all. And if I was trying to listen to a long program (one hour or more) well then forget it! It would most certainly cut out before the end.

Janaru Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This really seems like a BBC problem. The links
> seem to be working it's just that the content on
> the servers isn't always accessible.

Ah, I see. That was what I always thought. Sorry about the ambiguity. I didn't mean to imply that the URLs themselves were somehow at fault. It never occurred to me that my words could be read that way - obvious though it seems now. I wondered why K was apologising!

(All future posts will be written in first-order predicate calculus with equality.)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 1315 Jun 27 2012 by Matamore!.

Well, it very well could have been the url's. Especially since they've switched to WMA9. So....there ya' go.

So what did you read Mat ... do tell? After all with mute silence on air ... it's likely we BBC-heads have got time on our hands and consequently would be pleased to hear! The trouble w/reading though is you need passably functioning eyesight to be up for it.


A commitment to Mod'nAdminlyness: I understand that ^{r-e-s-i-s-t-a-n-c-e} _{*i - s*} ^f-u-t-i-l-e.
I shall not be starchy, nit pic, patronize, commit misandry, be economical with the facts or be a pedant, neither shall I whine. I shall endeavour to abstain from gratuitous point-scoring off the comments of other Mods or Administrators and also from engendering a culture of BLAME, remembering too to give the benefit of the doubt. Everything in my power will be done to achieve a modest post count & share my smileys, sources & avatars,



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2236 Jun 27 2012 by Truthyness.

"If, for all x, there exists y such that, if, for all z, and for all w, there does not exist t such that ..."

Oh, dear. I had better try writing English again!

I managed to read one Ramsey Campbell short story, "In the trees". Scary.

Reading is a problem, because not only is my concentration shockingly bad (I've given up trying to read anything except short stories, and even one of those can take me days), but both my eyes became infected, a few weeks ago, and although the infection seems mostly to have cleared up, they feel puffy, and keep twitching almost constantly (I mean, frequently, randomly, and mostly unpredictably). The maddening twitching seems to get set off by reading, whether it's a book or a computer screen. I saw the GP this week, and all he said about it was something about calcium deficiency. That doesn't seem to make sense, because I drink as much milk and eat as much cheese as I ever did, and of course there has just been this infection, which is surely relevant. (I'm tempted to post a gruesome picture of my right eye, taken a few weeks ago with a digital camera set to macro!) I always used to have good physical health (mental is quite another matter! - alas, my schemes for total world domination have failed), but now that I'm 60, I seem to be falling apart. Since last year, it's just been one thing after another. Mercifully, there's been nothing really serious, and in particular my vision seems mostly unaffected, although I'm worried that it might not stay that way.

Please excuse the moan! I'm very down in the dumps at the moment, even by my usual standards. Do I gather that you also have problems with eyesight, making reading difficult? If so, I imagine they're worse than just a lot of twitching!

URLs are working about as well for me now as they normally do, but I haven't listened to enough programmes to be sure that things are back to normal.

Gosh Matamore ... hmmmm well! That tells us a lot. I've been floundering about in Maud Fontenoy's harrowing description of sailing single-handed round the globe "Le sel de la vie". I've had it a while now and it keeps falling into the water.....................

You must beware of setting "boarders" off on the "health" tack! Once done, there's no going back .... be warned!

My eyesight is fine in short spurts as long as illuminated magnifying glasses are at hand ... not to mention bifocal specs and lots of halogen... the 3 in one glasses don't work for me.

Eye infections though, now there's a thing! Rheumatoid Arthritis (such as I enjoy) offers various pluses such as, in many cases, inflammation of the lids ... in serious cases ... this may lead to .... ohhhhhh dear well best not to dwell on detail here.

The bounty of search engines and 20 years surf led me once to a touching set of posts from an Indian living on Blighty who saved her husband's eye when antibios failed. She resorted to the use of cold pressed Castor Oil (an Ayruveda remedy much vaunted). Supplies were to be found at Boots. I'd heard about the virtues of the substance for R.A. from other sources (one : a book on vegetable oils for health written by a couple of respected pharmacists). Virtually all eye-ointments, it seems, comprise (as much as 50%) castor oil, only of the heated variety. Indeed the plant oil (unheated) is made up of 50% glycerine, not to mention precious vitamins and so on.

Since then, I've staved off dry eye, irritation and complications as by magic. Google it if you like. The stuff has all kinds of applications and virtues.

As for radio ... these days I pick up broadcasts (thrillers and classics chiefly) tried and tested, mouthing the words as I go ... they've been round so often I know them by heart. ...

Right ... back to emptying crates and packing a suitcase for a 10 day post-home-remake break away ...


A commitment to Mod'nAdminlyness: I understand that ^{r-e-s-i-s-t-a-n-c-e} _{*i - s*} ^f-u-t-i-l-e.
I shall not be starchy, nit pic, patronize, commit misandry, be economical with the facts or be a pedant, neither shall I whine. I shall endeavour to abstain from gratuitous point-scoring off the comments of other Mods or Administrators and also from engendering a culture of BLAME, remembering too to give the benefit of the doubt. Everything in my power will be done to achieve a modest post count & share my smileys, sources & avatars,

They all seem to be working for me now. I've only had one dropout in the last twenty-four hours....so....good sign!

I never have trouble with my eyes (except for a few vision issues), but for some reason, this year is terrible. I guess it's allergies. They're dry and itch to beat the band. Castor Oil is a great idea, Tru. Never though of that!

Isn't doesn't heated Castor Oil produce Ricin? Yikes!

Janaru Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Isn't doesn't heated Castor Oil produce Ricin?
> Yikes!

Two birds with one stone! World domination, here I come!

Hmmm, says he, wondering to himself who's stoned in the last post ...

I don't think that Ricin is produced from Castor Oil, but from the waste produced in the manufacture of Castor Oil.

I've not been able to test the URLs today as I've been having problems with my Broadband link. I don't know whether it's the weather or the fact that the nearness of the Olympic Torch has caused an increase in usage.

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2033 Jun 28 2012 by IvorThirst.

If my (rather extensive albeit non scientific) research is correct, the castor bean shell contains a toxic albumin, which is filtered off during the pressing process. If I understood castor oil need only be mildly heated and sieved to be separated from the toxic albumin known as Ricin while at the same time preserving its healing properties. In the US the bean has always been abundant cheap and multipurpose. Then the military kicked in, their interest was toxic weapons. Cheap and available. The game next consisted of frightening day to day users away from it. In agriculture, the heated cake remnants after filtering offered cheap and nutritious cattle fodder, it provided cheap environment friendly fertilizer-weed killer. The oil, virgin variety, offered countless health benefits (google Castor Oil Packs and Edgar Cayce). In the pharmaceutical industry, the oil, though heated to a degree in which most of the oil's qualities have been destroyed, it is used in almost all eye preparations chiefly because of its high glycerine content, a substance offering impressive soothing qualities that protect the conjunctival membrane ...

Should I stop there !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OOOOps no sorry can't

Oh yes, and I forgot, Ayruvedic medicine uses the "virgin" pressed oil extensively as therapy. For Rheumatoid Arthritis, nay, any arthritis, massage with the stuff provides virtually instant relief. Supplier quality is the key, as like many vegetable oils, it doesn't keep that long.

The Castor oil plant is decorative and commonly found in most plant nurseries and many gardens. A child dies in a very few minutes after ingesting 2 or 3 of the beans whole, an Adult needs 4 or 5. The poison acts from the very furthest nerve endings dissolving, unknitting them. Rapidly generalized irreversible haemorrhage follows. Still man has used the stuff for centuries and filtering it is straightforward. It shouldn't be an issue. If you get it from Boots I doubt you'll snuff it popping a teeny bit of it along the edge of your eyes.

Apply a drop or two warmed up in the ear to treat otitis (ear infection) on lashes to make 'em grow thick and strong. Perfect for nails and hair. fantastic skin care ... and so on.

The purge some of us were unfortunate enough to take as kids wasn't the virgin variety, it was the pharmaceutical type, the sought after laxative effect being provided by the high levels of glycerine in it.

Possibly this type of drivel has been posted on these boards before by me ... apologies


A commitment to Mod'nAdminlyness: I understand that ^{r-e-s-i-s-t-a-n-c-e} _{*i - s*} ^f-u-t-i-l-e.
I shall not be starchy, nit pic, patronize, commit misandry, be economical with the facts or be a pedant, neither shall I whine. I shall endeavour to abstain from gratuitous point-scoring off the comments of other Mods or Administrators and also from engendering a culture of BLAME, remembering too to give the benefit of the doubt. Everything in my power will be done to achieve a modest post count & share my smileys, sources & avatars,



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2221 Jun 28 2012 by Truthyness.