h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

[RNick]

for GDZ, I do hope it all ends well!

The So.Cal fires look absolutely dreadful. We were also commenting chez neanderthal on the 'refugee' situation ...

Strangely, it looks as though your only solution is to get your man downstairs to install a ceiling insulator:

http://www.noisestopsystems.co.uk/ceilings_sound_proofing.htm

Failing that, start collecting eggboxes as mentioned before and make him glue them end-to-end, sealed tight across the whole of his ceiling...

Sadly the chance of either of my neighbours spending serious money must be zilch as they have nothing to gain from it as I am so quiet. However perhaps I should be like the person who kept asking and asking a neighbour to turn their loud music down, in the end he got so frustrated he borowed a disco system and left it on loud and when away for the weekend.....the noisy neighbour got the subtle hint.
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I think I might go for carpet tiles on top of my existing flooring as they can be removed and stored if noisy kid and co leave. I think the old fashioned rubber underlay, several extra layers, would be best as modern underlays don't seem to stop much noise.
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I saw on TV a few years ago a machine that had been invented to be pointed at the nuisance noise and it would reflect it back, using sound I think, so the noise bombarded the person making it but with a delay which effected the noisey person badly. I can't remember why it was invented but just imagine you could point it at noisey neighbours, those cars that have base speakers you can hear a hundred yards away, just anything really, ah bliss!

[GDZ]

There has been a lot about fires in California on news in UK. They just said the wind has eased a little. It seems a little strange seeing The Terminator on TV talking about it though.

Well, the interview went alright... slight panic last night when I realised I had no decent shoes to go with my suit (I have decent shoes, but they're brown and brown shoes with a charcoal suit is a sartorial no-no) luckily Tesco had some okayish (nice and comfy but they have those awful chisel shaped ends which make your feet look too long) shoes for only a tenner. Soon as I get paid next I'm going to a real shoe shop and get some real shoes. With rounded toes.

Sorry to hear about your accident, GDZ. The important thing is that you're okay.

Strangely, I can imagine how frustrated you must be. I think you may have to get some really good earplugs or a set of headphones to block the noise. Pity there isn't some way to force them to lower the noise level. can you call th epolice there and complain? Maybe if they are visited by the police, they will get the message.

I'm glad the interview went well, Mr. D.

I wonder if my sense of taste is on the wane. Not unexpected, as it happens to women in my family, but unwelcome nonetheless. Anyway, I opened a new bag of Churchill's coffee this morning, made a pot and honestly can't tell the difference between it and the Folgers, which is half the cost. So, won't waste my money on this again.

Strangely, is there no higher authority (no caps) to whom you can complain about the noise?

I haven't seen the main media news on telly about the fires, but if they're doing massage therapy etc. at the refugee centers, that's a ghastly contrast to the privation and death that went on at so-called refugee centers during Katrina. Just sayin'. Also, it would have been better if all the National Guard had been at home to help with the fire-fighting, instead of being deployed in Iraq. That's what the National Guard is supposed to be for. Why are we using domestic forces in Iraq?

Two days off and a payday coming up. I can't get used to these paydays arriving with such munificent regularity. Oh, and Freddie goes direct on 1 November.

Strangely, have you thought about air ducts and pipes? Maybe the sound is being conducted through those. I don't know what you could do about air ducts, but pipes may benefit from being wrapped in insulation. Apart from that the only thing I can suggest is that you keep some pleasant noise going all the time - classical music or something you enjoy that you can put just loud enough to mask the other noise, but still stay in the background so it doesn't drive you crazy itself.

I doubt the police would help if the only noise this person is making is due to his regular speaking voice.

That is the problem the insulation here is so bad with wooden floors that even voices are heared in every detail he just happens to have a very loud voice that carries particualrly badly, mind you I can hear the kids voice very clearly too but his particualry so. That is the problem it isn't loud music that you could say hey please turn it down, although does he really have to have kids DVDs on at 7am? The problem is sometimes he puts it on if kid is screaming to keep it quiet which means kid will learn screaming gets a DVD!
I have tried to push insulation below wall which is above their lounge too incase it is acting like a loud speaker and carrying noise, it is a hollow internal plaster board wall which doesn't help. I have used carboard over floorboard gaps to stop noise through them. The only thing that may be making it worse is wooden joists transmiting noise but can't do much about that. Three walls are external brick walls so shouldn't carry much noise and thankfully there are no pipes from there to here nor flats to side that could carry sound along through their wooden floors, so really I am at a loss as to why noise hasn't reduced with all that insulation.

If you have a nearby university with an engineering department, you should take your problem to them. Acoustic engineers love this kind of problem.

[Bagpuss]

What happened in the accident, GDZ? And didn't you *just* get that car?

It probably has more to do with Californians being, well, Californians. Natural disaster? Mass destruction? Panic in the streets? Time for healing crystals, tai chi, and a meditation session!

[MTG{KEA}LtG - Shoulder mysteriously feels like it's been ripped out of socket and I have to bowl tonight]

GDZ...I hope the news from the mechanic is better than you fear. Hang in there!

Stangely, what are the laws about excessive noise in the UK? I know that if I had neighbors who talked excessively loudly or played DVDs loudly at off hours, I could legitimately complain. Maybe Mr LoudMouth was never taught to use his "inside voice"...it certainly bodes ill for the kid ever learning it.

The fire situation here is horrific in so many ways...losing one's home is very traumatic, no matter the size of the house. I feel the need to point out, however, that these SoCal houses are in the 2500-5500 square foot range, so the comparison to the New Orleans situation is totally inappropriate. Not to mention that ~1000 people died in NO.

[mr]

>>What happened in the accident, GDZ?

I was approaching an intersection, slowing down actually, when an ambulance or paramedic came through. The minivan in front of me stopped suddenly, as he should, I was too close to stop in time. The front end of my car went under the van. My radiator is hosed and my engine wouldn't turn over. The hood is all messed up too.

My car should be at the body shop now and an adjuster is supposed to be looking at it, I don't have any other info at this time.

What made the accident so bad, for me, was the fact that it happened on Jen's birthday.

Sorry about the axterdint, GDZ - hope you manage to get the car fixed, rather than written-off

When will you hear about the job, Mr D?

Just had my performance review today. For a change, it didn't leave me feeling carp. I managed to negotiate some positive changes to my working day, which should reduce the stress somewhat.
We shall see ...

Glad that went well, Teuchter.