The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.

[Pickled Onion]

The post office is closed on Wednesdays, and I had some stuff to post, so was forced to buy a book of first class stamps instead of two.

That's not my grumble, this is: why wasn't the post even collected? I guessed this was the case when I posted something early on Thursday and by the sound it clearly landed on a load of other post. That, and the fact it wasn't delivered. Why? Royal Mail is not connected in any way to the Post Office and even less to whether it happens to be closed on Wednesdays!

[Mr Larrington]

O hai friends and family,

The next time any of you gives me a picture "suitable for framing" I will set both it and you on fire.

kthxbai

[Mr Larrington]

My elbow has seized up.  I was planning on going for a bike ride tomorrow.

Arse.

[Zipperhead]

My elbow has seized up.  I was planning on going for a bike ride tomorrow.

Arse.

You could stay in and have a ... oh, hang on, that's not going to work is it?

[rafletcher]

My elbow has seized up.  I was planning on going for a bike ride tomorrow.

Arse.

You could stay in and have a ... oh, hang on, that's not going to work is it?

Well Les Paul had his elbow set at an angle suitable for guitar playing.

[Mr Larrington]

Tazio Nuvolari had his whole body plastered up in a motorbike-riding position.  The difference is that he was getting paid.  My elbow goes hurty performing the strenuous task of operating a cigarette lighter so a bicycle is right out.

[Mr Larrington]

Mr Larrington went to the horriblemarket yesterday.

Mr Larrington forgot to purchase supplies of Brown Drink.

Silly Mr Larrington

[Bledlow]

I once travelled from York to Dundee to interview for a 6month contract. Dead cheap to get to and all that, Agency gave me a brief on what company wanted.
Arrived, presented my spiel, showed examples of previous similar work, talked about approaches, working methodology. At the end of all that they said "But we don't want someone to do that."

Over £100 in train fares utterly wasted. Effing agency had altered client requirements to fit my experience and strengths and told me a load of bullshit.

Twenty years ago, one effing agency sent me to an interview with a completely wrong idea of the customer requirement, & sent the customer a doctored CV to make it look as if I could do the job.

My utter unsuitability very quickly became obvious. We compared notes, & identified the source of the problem. Head interviewer & & I then had a nice chat. She regretted that they didn't have a job to suit me at the moment, but asked for my real CV in case they found they could fit me in somewhere, & promised (without being prompted) to stress my utter lack of culpability for the fiasco when she bollocked the agency. I reckon she'd have been a good boss, if I'd known the stuff her department needed.

[Mr Larrington]

This ^^^^.  Note to slave trade: some knowledge of RSTS-V8^* operations on PDP-11 != PDP system manager with 5+ years experience.

* 1989.

[mcshroom]

Looks like I have the next two hours standing on a crowded 2 carriage train to Cardiff;  and I've managed to leave a Yacf bidon on the last train

[matthew]

Well it looks like I will be on the bus to work tomorrow  The nurse at minor injuries has given me a splint for my wrist after yesterdays tumble and it wasn't easy riding home while wearing it.

[Kim]

Looks like I have the next two hours standing on a crowded 2 carriage train to Cardiff;  and I've managed to leave a Yacf bidon on the last train

Is that the Nottingham to Cardiff Crosscountry service?  You have to pick your time of day carefully with that one...

[mcshroom]

It's the Manchester to Cardiff Arriva service. Similar train. I got a seat at Ludlow

[Basil]

Is that the Nottingham to Cardiff Crosscountry service?  You have to pick your time of day carefully with that one...

*has become quite expert on that service*

Half past the odd hour from MC for a 3 carriage train would seem to be the pattern, based on my experience of 3s at 11:30,  13:30 and 15:30.  2s at 10:30 and 14:30.
Those are the only times I've ever caught it, but there seems to be a pattern.

[Basil]

It's the Manchester to Cardiff  Milford Haven Arriva service. Similar train. I got a seat at Ludlow

FTFY

[mcshroom]

It's the Manchester to Cardiff  Milford Haven Arriva service. Similar train. I got a seat at Ludlow

FTFY

No definitely Cardiff Central for this one. Maybe Sunday makes a difference

[T42]

Piece O'Shit chain tool fell apart this morning. IQ/Fly' ratchet's buggered. Got a click in the transmission. Fuckit.

[ian]

The American clocks have gone forward an hour, which means all those 2pm UK / 9 am EST meetings are now 1pm until the end of the month. Which is when I go to the pool. The evening sessions are full of chronic splashers and the mornings clogged with OAPs.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I once travelled from York to Dundee to interview for a 6month contract. Dead cheap to get to and all that, Agency gave me a brief on what company wanted.
Arrived, presented my spiel, showed examples of previous similar work, talked about approaches, working methodology. At the end of all that they said "But we don't want someone to do that."

Over £100 in train fares utterly wasted. Effing agency had altered client requirements to fit my experience and strengths and told me a load of bullshit.

Twenty years ago, one effing agency sent me to an interview with a completely wrong idea of the customer requirement, & sent the customer a doctored CV to make it look as if I could do the job.

Oh, the doctored CV . . . 
You have a carefully crafted CV, highlighting your strengths, technical skills and experience. This gets edited by an office assistant who thinks that 'C' and 'Assembler' are typoes, deletes them and writes 'programmer'. Or in my case, rewrites the sentence saying I'm familiar with C, VB, Pascal, Fortran and replaces them with one saying I'm a programmer. I'm not.

I very nearly didn't get an interview for my current job because the agency deleted the section of my CV that listed my contracting experience. The section listing the potential employer as a previous customer. Arseholes.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Is that the Nottingham to Cardiff Crosscountry service?  You have to pick your time of day carefully with that one...

*has become quite expert on that service*

Half past the odd hour from MC for a 3 carriage train would seem to be the pattern, based on my experience of 3s at 11:30,  13:30 and 15:30.  2s at 10:30 and 14:30.
Those are the only times I've ever caught it, but there seems to be a pattern.

Only caught that train once - from Newport to Chepstow - at can't remember what time, but I'm sure it was a four-carriage train on that occasion. Rather fancy new one, too. But it was school holidays, maybe that's why!

[Kim]

Thing about that train is that it stops at University^[1], which means if I time it right with regard to overcrowding, I can get to both Nottingham and Waleslandshire without having to suffer Mordor Central.


_{[1] The UK's most arrogantly named station.}

[Jurek]

Brighton Sausage Company.
When I pitched up on Saturday morning, having traveled from That London, and asked for half a dozen of your pork, lemon and ginger, being told that you 'make over 50 different varieties, and it's not possible to always have all of them in stock' is not really going to cut it. Is it?
It might be useful if the extensive list on your website gave some indication of that shortfall.
Pork & leek I can pick up anywhere.

[matthew]

Thing about that train is that it stops at University^[1], which means if I time it right with regard to overcrowding, I can get to both Nottingham and Waleslandshire without having to suffer Mordor Central.


_{[1] The UK's most arrogantly named station.}

What else should they call it "Queen Elizabeth" for the hospital?

[Kim]

Thing about that train is that it stops at University^[1], which means if I time it right with regard to overcrowding, I can get to both Nottingham and Waleslandshire without having to suffer Mordor Central.


_{[1] The UK's most arrogantly named station.}

What else should they call it "Queen Elizabeth" for the hospital?

They seem to have incorporated that into the signage and announcements since the big move from Selly Oak, which is useful and fair enough.

But I was thinking more like "University of Birmingham", on the basis that not only do other cities have universities too, but Birmingham has three.  I tend to buy orange cardboard online these days, but I'm sure asking for a ticket to "University" has hilarious consequences outside the West Midlands, much like trying to buy a ticket to Romiley from a station in the South-East.

[hellymedic]

Rebranding and marketing droids, I have booked the wrong hotel for next week and
IT IS YOUR FAULT!

Methinks it's deliberate.
Rename the Hilton the Crowne Plaza an stoopid out of townie me thought it was the other Plaza, which is much closer to Aged Parents' retirement pad.

I have booked through booking.com and paid by cc.
ICnBA to change things.

Bah!