A silly bumbling old man is a 'Duffer' in my part of The Lincolnshire Backwoods (as in "He's a daft old duffer!"). Never heard of 'buffer' used in that context, but then we're 150 miles away from The Hub Of The Universe, Landon, where they awl talk propah, wiv a purfick English accent, so mebbe we no' nuffink aht 'ere in the cuds, innit? :-)   :-)