The RANT thread (often contains fruity language)

[Canardly]

Well he is a legend in his own mind.

[SoreTween]

Mrs Tween seems to be on a mission to listen to pootube, all of it :-(  That such a fetid pit of self promotion exists in a supposedly intelligent society is rantworthy enough but that's not what I'm here for today.  Oh no.

I wish to reserve pain, suffering, fleas, pestilence, leprosy, lice and piles, oh so many painful piles for the shittiest 'human' being on the planet.  That being the one that wrote software to facilitate the auto-removal of in breaths from recorded speech or video.  So many of these turdspurts on pootube are a constant, unending stream of drivelous fingernails-on-chalkboard voice.  Circular breathing for tens of minutes on end when you cannot go 6 words without an 'um', 'er', 'but', 'seeeeeeeeriously', 'sooooooo' or 'amiright'?  I think not. These hopeless individuals cannot possibly have the smarts nor patience necessary to edit audio/video manually to remove the blessed pauses (based solely upon the monosyllabic crud I cannot distantly unhear them spew).  It has to be an automated tool.  It is to be fair a clever tool, but so are nuclear bombs and as the saying goes, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

[Kim]

Probably the same person who invented Autotune and Optimod   

[Paul]

Mrs Tween seems to be on a mission to listen to pootube, all of it :-(  That such a fetid pit of self promotion exists in a supposedly intelligent society is rantworthy enough but that's not what I'm here for today.  Oh no.

I wish to reserve pain, suffering, fleas, pestilence, leprosy, lice and piles, oh so many painful piles for the shittiest ...
, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

That’s some satisfying ranting.

Quality, real quality.

[Mr Larrington]

Mrs Tween seems to be on a mission to listen to pootube, all of it :-(  That such a fetid pit of self promotion exists in a supposedly intelligent society is rantworthy enough but that's not what I'm here for today.  Oh no.

I wish to reserve pain, suffering, fleas, pestilence, leprosy, lice and piles, oh so many painful piles for the shittiest 'human' being on the planet.  That being the one that wrote software to facilitate the auto-removal of in breaths from recorded speech or video.  So many of these turdspurts on pootube are a constant, unending stream of drivelous fingernails-on-chalkboard voice.  Circular breathing for tens of minutes on end when you cannot go 6 words without an 'um', 'er', 'but', 'seeeeeeeeriously', 'sooooooo' or 'amiright'?  I think not. These hopeless individuals cannot possibly have the smarts nor patience necessary to edit audio/video manually to remove the blessed pauses (based solely upon the monosyllabic crud I cannot distantly unhear them spew).  It has to be an automated tool.  It is to be fair a clever tool, but so are nuclear bombs and as the saying goes, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Cycling's Yates twins have that fitted as standard equipment.

[Paul]

Mrs Tween seems to be on a mission to listen to pootube, all of it :-(  That such a fetid pit of self promotion exists in a supposedly intelligent society is rantworthy enough but that's not what I'm here for today.  Oh no.

I wish to reserve pain, suffering, fleas, pestilence, leprosy, lice and piles, oh so many painful piles for the shittiest 'human' being on the planet.  That being the one that wrote software to facilitate the auto-removal of in breaths from recorded speech or video.  So many of these turdspurts on pootube are a constant, unending stream of drivelous fingernails-on-chalkboard voice.  Circular breathing for tens of minutes on end when you cannot go 6 words without an 'um', 'er', 'but', 'seeeeeeeeriously', 'sooooooo' or 'amiright'?  I think not. These hopeless individuals cannot possibly have the smarts nor patience necessary to edit audio/video manually to remove the blessed pauses (based solely upon the monosyllabic crud I cannot distantly unhear them spew).  It has to be an automated tool.  It is to be fair a clever tool, but so are nuclear bombs and as the saying goes, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Cycling's Yates twins have that fitted as standard equipment.

Indeed. They always make me think I’ve sat on the ff button.

[Polar Bear]

I don't see the problem with YouTube.  You can choose what you watch.  I for instance enjoy David Cambridge, The Running Channell and Cosmic Shambles amongst a select few and even then I frequently don't watch an entire "episode" if it isn't grabbing me.

This evening we shall be tuned in to Sara Pascoe at "Shedinburgh". 

If I was to have a rant about YouTube it would be about it's horribly intrusive adverts for MafiaCity, TikTok and other bullsbit interrupting viewing.  I tend to drop channels which are so monetised very very quickly.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I don't see the problem with YouTube.  You can choose what you watch.  I for instance enjoy David Cambridge, The Running Channell and Cosmic Shambles amongst a select few and even then I frequently don't watch an entire "episode" if it isn't grabbing me.

This evening we shall be tuned in to Sara Pascoe at "Shedinburgh". 

If I was to have a rant about YouTube it would be about it's horribly intrusive adverts for MafiaCity, TikTok and other bullsbit interrupting viewing.  I tend to drop channels which are so monetised very very quickly.

Same here.

I like Tod's Workshop

[Kim]

If I was to have a rant about YouTube it would be about it's horribly intrusive adverts for MafiaCity, TikTok and other bullsbit interrupting viewing.  I tend to drop channels which are so monetised very very quickly.

What, no Wix and Grammarly?  "Fuck off Wix!" is a regular expression^[1] when the Skip Ads come on in this house.

Youtube's fine if you take care with what you're watching.  It only seems to be a few steps from SCIENCE and tech Youtube, through computer gaming Youtube, to misogynist incel flat-earth conspiraloon Youtube.  Like Friendface, it's probably best not to let anyone under the age of 15 or over the age of 50 have access to it without supervision, in case they become radicalised by the far right.


_{[1] Not that kind of regular expression.}

[citoyen]

Train timetables. Why are they no longer a thing? Why is it that if I want to travel by train, I have to tell you precisely when I want to travel in order to find out when the trains are running? What if I don't know when I want to travel? What if when I want to travel depends on getting a broad overview of the options available to me so I can make an informed decision?

Why is it that when I use the online search facility, you only give me an edited selection of results based on pure guesswork by you about my needs, rather than presenting me with the simple facts and allowing me to do my own interpretation of the results?

You're driving me up the wall you frustrating bastards.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Nationalrail.co.uk gives all the services for that day. Or at least it used to, they might have changed the way it works.

[hatler]

Go to https://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/timetables?, enter your station near the bottom, click enter and you then get the option of a bunch of downloadable pdfs.

[citoyen]

Go to https://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/timetables?, enter your station near the bottom, click enter and you then get the option of a bunch of downloadable pdfs.

The link to the timetable I need is both a) out of date, and b) broken.

I was by the station this morning for other reasons, so popped in to ask for a printed timetable, but they no longer hold them - online only now.

[hatler]

Bugger. Worthy of a secondary rant I would think.

[citoyen]

There's a more general rant to be had about how information online is only provided in restricted ways based on faulty algorithms - not just train times, but also eg product searches in online shops, which also caused me to get annoyed this morning.

I know the shop stocks the item I'm looking for because I bought one from them only a few days ago. Now I need another but even entering the precise product name doesn't turn it up in the search results, so I can only find it by browsing through a million other similar and completely different items until I eventually find what I'm looking for on page 274 of the category listings...

Fucking internet.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I was by the station this morning for other reasons, so popped in to ask for a printed timetable, but they no longer hold them - online only now.

That's a bit crap. Is that just your station or do South Eastern generally no longer produce printed timetables?

[ElyDave]

There's a more general rant to be had about how information online is only provided in restricted ways based on faulty algorithms - not just train times, but also eg product searches in online shops, which also caused me to get annoyed this morning.

I know the shop stocks the item I'm looking for because I bought one from them only a few days ago. Now I need another but even entering the precise product name doesn't turn it up in the search results, so I can only find it by browsing through a million other similar and completely different items until I eventually find what I'm looking for on page 274 of the category listings...

Fucking internet.

Exactly the same the other day when looking for a toothy comestible I know exists as I have bought it in person. Look under generic XXX, no. Look for specific YYY, oh yes, we do have that one indeed.

Fucking Internet!

[TheLurker]

Train timetables. Why are they no longer a thing?

Hypothesis.
They're too expensive to reprint regularly when timetables are changed (i.e. to cater for surreptitious and regular extension of journey times to cover up late running), they provide solid evidence to customers that the TOC (any TOC) is failing, dismally, to maintain its scheduled services and it's far easier to con persuade people to take higher cost services if they can't easily find cheaper alternatives.

Addendum.
The software developement for the on-line "replacement" was contracted out to the cheapest offshore company that could be found and the result is the software equivalent of a bus replacement service with buses made using Pacer bodies re-fitted to road running gear.

[Cudzoziemiec]

buses made using Pacer bodies re-fitted to road running gear.

[citoyen]

I was by the station this morning for other reasons, so popped in to ask for a printed timetable, but they no longer hold them - online only now.

That's a bit crap. Is that just your station or do South Eastern generally no longer produce printed timetables?

Don’t know, but I wouldn’t put it past southeastern to use Covid as a pretext for cost cutting... also for the other reasons Lurker mentions.

When I actually start commuting again, I’ll ask at a proper station.

You’re right about the National Rail site, by the way - it does provide full results. Still doesn’t allow browsing in the same way as a proper timetable though. But thanks for reminding me of it anyway (tbh, I was only looking at southeastern’s site instead because I can only update my electronic season ticket on their site).

[ian]

Finally got around to cancelling our travelcard, because it could only be done at a train station and not online. Apparently, they can only go back 56 days for a refund (and any unused). OK, we never checked but I think the 'oh, we don't know you didn't use it' doesn't wash because you, dear TfL, do keep a detailed travel history, so you know precisely we've not taken a train, bus, or tube since March.

[Tim Hall]

While we're talking trains I was mildly disgruntled to find my Network Rail card had run out but Covid related free extensions were not available.

[ian]

I did check the journey history and it ends in early March. Blimey, it's been a while. I have naively assumed we'd be able to cash it in, we hung onto it on the off-chance normality would have resumed, but neither of us envisages being back in the office this year. Basically you have to cancel it entirely and they give 56 days as recompense. Oh and you get to pay a bonus £10 admin fee. I don't miss Southern's skanky trains though.

[citoyen]

I cancelled my season ticket within two days of lockdown starting.

[Pickled Onion]

I cancelled my season ticket within two days of lockdown starting.

I cancelled mine after a week, and only recently discovered you were allowed to backdate the cancellation date