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

[hellymedic]

It's very easy to opt out of buying stuff when you've already got plenty of stuff.  This is what all those politicians who claim they could easily live on $smallnum for a week are carefully handwaving, and those angry idiots who complain about benefits claimants having $expensive_items overlook.

Too true!

[hellymedic]

We are going to have post fun soon.
Across road from us there are new houses being built. The development will be called 'Holgate Mews'. There will be a 5 Holgate Mews. That will have the same postcode as my house, which is also number 5.

Are you sure they'll have the same postcode?
Houses across the road here have different postcodes.

[hulver]

It's very easy to opt out of buying stuff when you've already got plenty of stuff.  This is what all those politicians who claim they could easily live on $smallnum for a week are carefully handwaving, and those angry idiots who complain about benefits claimants having $expensive_items overlook.

The Sam Vimes "Boots" Theory of Economic Injustice.

“The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

[mrcharly-YHT]

We are going to have post fun soon.
Across road from us there are new houses being built. The development will be called 'Holgate Mews'. There will be a 5 Holgate Mews. That will have the same postcode as my house, which is also number 5.

Are you sure they'll have the same postcode?
House across the road here have different postcodes.

100% certain. There are very few houses on the other side of the road, since most of one side of the road is a park. Maybe 10 houses in total (including the 5 under construction), vs mebbe 60 on my side.
Although the houses haven't been finished yet, the addresses are already coming up on postcode searches when entering the postcode.
It's going to be such fun with couriers, not.

[hellymedic]

Dear Aliza, from UK Claims service,
If you start a call with 'Shalom' and I answer in Ivrit, do not reward me with silence/call centre background.
Just BOG OFF! I don't do these calls in ANY polite language!

I think I surprised both myself and the caller when I did this!

[ElyDave]

just read the instructions on my new swimming goggles. Starts with a warning "will not prevent drowning"

Do they really need to say that? Are people really that stupid?

[Ruthie]

just read the instructions on my new swimming goggles. Starts with a warning "will not prevent drowning"

Do they really need to say that? Are people really that stupid?

Yes.

[Pedaldog.]

We are going to have post fun soon.
Across road from us there are new houses being built. The development will be called 'Holgate Mews'. There will be a 5 Holgate Mews. That will have the same postcode as my house, which is also number 5.

Are you sure they'll have the same postcode?
House across the road here have different postcodes.

my address is Flt 3, **** court, Mainway.
my "On the maps address is 3 Mainway.
there are some new (..ish) houses about 30 yards away called "Hills Court" and they are on Mainway, have a number 3 and the same postcode as mine.
It makes the  electronic address generating things get confused a lot of the time!

if we have a fill in postman he gets quite confused.
Luckily we have a pretty regular postie and I always tell people to use the Full address.

[Vince]

just read the instructions on my new swimming goggles. Starts with a warning "will not prevent drowning"

Do they really need to say that? Are people really that stupid?

Yes.

When I was involved in SCUBA diving, on more than one occasion we had non-swimmers turn up to try-dive evenings.

[ElyDave]

just read the instructions on my new swimming goggles. Starts with a warning "will not prevent drowning"

Do they really need to say that? Are people really that stupid?

Yes.

When I was involved in SCUBA diving, on more than one occasion we had non-swimmers turn up to try-dive evenings.

I'm no diver, but I would have thought easier than it sounds? What with all that buoyancy of cylinder, rubber suit etc?

Always interesting when you get the non-swimmers on the offshore survival training, with the underwater escape stuff.

[CAMRAMan]

Blood UK: You waste hundreds m(maybe thousands) of Pounds sending incompletely addressed letters to my place of work, despite being told that this happens.

Also, on a personal level, you write to me, text me, email me and call me - at home at 8pm - to chide me into donating. I will give, but in my own good time, so bugger off with the 'reminders'. I'm hoping my account updates will rein you in somewhat...

[mrcharly-YHT]

just read the instructions on my new swimming goggles. Starts with a warning "will not prevent drowning"

Do they really need to say that? Are people really that stupid?

Yes.

When I was involved in SCUBA diving, on more than one occasion we had non-swimmers turn up to try-dive evenings.

I'm no diver, but I would have thought easier than it sounds? What with all that buoyancy of cylinder, rubber suit etc?

If you are a non-swimmer, how do you cope when things go wrong? There is more to swimming than doing lengths in a pool.

[ElyDave]

just read the instructions on my new swimming goggles. Starts with a warning "will not prevent drowning"

Do they really need to say that? Are people really that stupid?

Yes.

When I was involved in SCUBA diving, on more than one occasion we had non-swimmers turn up to try-dive evenings.

I'm no diver, but I would have thought easier than it sounds? What with all that buoyancy of cylinder, rubber suit etc?

If you are a non-swimmer, how do you cope when things go wrong? There is more to swimming than doing lengths in a pool.

Agreed, but how much of scuba is swimming vs knowing how to use the scuba gear safely - I speak entirely from a position of ignorance here.

[fuzzy]

just read the instructions on my new swimming goggles. Starts with a warning "will not prevent drowning"

Do they really need to say that? Are people really that stupid?

Yes.

When I was involved in SCUBA diving, on more than one occasion we had non-swimmers turn up to try-dive evenings.

I'm no diver, but I would have thought easier than it sounds? What with all that buoyancy of cylinder, rubber suit etc?

If you are a non-swimmer, how do you cope when things go wrong? There is more to swimming than doing lengths in a pool.

Agreed, but how much of scuba is swimming vs knowing how to use the scuba gear safely - I speak entirely from a position of ignorance here.

Using it safely is all well and good but, learning how to deal with an unexpected occurrence is important. being able to assist someone in trouble is also important.

[Legs]

just read the instructions on my new swimming goggles. Starts with a warning "will not prevent drowning"
Do they really need to say that? Are people really that stupid?

Yes.

When I was involved in SCUBA diving, on more than one occasion we had non-swimmers turn up to try-dive evenings.

I hope they were welcomed and encouraged, though the implication of your post is that you were quite snooty towards them...   As someone who is not a strong surface-swimmer (low natural buoyancy) I will vouch that the swimming aspect of SCUBA, on the couple of times I've given it a go, is much easier - the effort that was previously diverted to flotation can be redeployed into propulsion.  It's not at all unreasonable for a non-surface-swimmer to be able to expect to enjoy diving.

[T42]

^^^ Seconded.  I swim like a breeze-block but with flippers and my hands flat out front as a foil I can have a great time.

[mrcharly-YHT]

There is a big difference between a non-swimmer and a poor swimmer.

[T42]

I'd be poor whether I could swim or not.

[Paul]

just read the instructions on my new swimming goggles. Starts with a warning "will not prevent drowning"

Do they really need to say that? Are people really that stupid?

Yes.

When I was involved in SCUBA diving, on more than one occasion we had non-swimmers turn up to try-dive evenings.

I'm no diver, but I would have thought easier than it sounds? What with all that buoyancy of cylinder, rubber suit etc?

If you are a non-swimmer, how do you cope when things go wrong? There is more to swimming than doing lengths in a pool.

This is the point. There isn't a scuba qualification for swimming pools, afaik. If you're looking to qualify, you have to be able to swim. In the sea. Possibly having lost a fin or two. And bouyancy aids. Against the tide.

Even if you just want to have a go in a pool, you'll be wearing weights. If you loose bouyancy and panic, you might drown. A swimmer will have a better chance than a non-swimmer.

(I also imagine it's quite likely that an instructor is required to assess someone's ability to swim before allowing them to gear up, if only for the purposes of his/her insurance and continued professional body membership.)

[Si S]

just read the instructions on my new swimming goggles. Starts with a warning "will not prevent drowning"

Do they really need to say that? Are people really that stupid?

Yes.

When I was involved in SCUBA diving, on more than one occasion we had non-swimmers turn up to try-dive evenings.

I'm no diver, but I would have thought easier than it sounds? What with all that buoyancy of cylinder, rubber suit etc?

If you are a non-swimmer, how do you cope when things go wrong? There is more to swimming than doing lengths in a pool.

This is the point. There isn't a scuba qualification for swimming pools, afaik. If you're looking to qualify, you have to be able to swim. In the sea. Possibly having lost a fin or two. And bouyancy aids. Against the tide.

Whilst dragging your buddy along behind you. I don't think many would dive with someone who would have no choice but to leave them if it all went wrong.

People seem to forget that when diving they are entering a potentially fatal hostile environment and much knowledge and many skills need to be acquired to minimise the risks.

[Kim]

Either that or they're used to entering potentially fatal hostile environments and just don't think about it, of course.  We see enough of that on the roads.


Anyway, I've no idea what a "try-dive evening" involves, but it sounds a long way from qualifications needed to dive at sea with someone you might end up needing to rescue.  If it could be done safely with a non-swimmer, it might be the inspiration they need to go away and acquire some proper swimming skills.


(And I second Legs' point about surface swimming vs diving.  In my anorexic pre-teenage years, I was negatively buoyant (sitting cross-legged on the bottom of the pool sort of thing), and swimming within breathing range of the surface consumed vast amounts of energy compared to blatting along underwater, which I'd do to great effect.  I've not done much swimming as an adult, but what was noticeable was that in the intervening years I'd acquired the ability to *float*, opening up all sorts of intriguing possibilities.

I'd love to have a go at SCUBA, but I'm severely out of practice with swimming, and my middle ears don't react well to rapid changes in pressure.)

[ElyDave]

My buoyancy is deficient, and whilst I can swim reasonably, I've never had any coaching. Main reason for never having triathlon'd

[T42]

^^^ Ditto re buoyancy. Legs very heavy for some reason.

[SoreTween]

Blood UK: You waste hundreds m(maybe thousands) of Pounds sending incompletely addressed letters to my place of work, despite being told that this happens.

Also, on a personal level, you write to me, text me, email me and call me - at home at 8pm - to chide me into donating. I will give, but in my own good time, so bugger off with the 'reminders'. I'm hoping my account updates will rein you in somewhat...

Too true.
 They keep writing to tell me how valuable my blood type is. They'd be welcome to more of it if only they'd take the narrow minded prong who schedules sessions round the back of the barn with one round chambered.  Having fixed days for a given location is fine for those it suits and 100% excludes those it does not.

[ElyDave]

I'm not allowed to give blood anymore

Always used to fall foul of the travel to odd places rules as well