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

[Wowbagger]

I'm in full agreement with the uselessness of modern cisterns and their inferior filling mechanisms.

[Mr Larrington]

I don’t want to go out into the Big Room.  It’s cold and damp, and I won’t enjoy it.

are you back ar Larrington Towers or are you still keeping Charlie the constructor company?

The former.  No ULEZ in Hastings so I could use the Fast-Appreciating Future Classic to go shopping (also it's a seven mile round trip from the Schloß to Mr Sainsbury’s House of Toothy Comestibles and contains some horble hills).

[hellymedic]

You still have your cistern out on display and not tiled behind a wall? Disgusting!

Behind-the-wall cisterns make it extremely difficult for me to use an unmodified WC.

I can't rise from a low seat without using both hands to push down/pull forward on something.

[andrewc]

I'm going out for some chamber music shortly, the Ensemble of St Luke's playing some lovely pieces.  https://www.liverpoolphil.com/whats-on/classical-music/ensemble-of-st-lukes/8718


My digestive system has chosen this moment to get quite loud....     

[T42]

Disappointed.  Got new orthotics this morning because my left ankle-bone occasionally hits the cranks, and every winter's neoprene overshoes are rubbed through by spring.  I'd corrected this recently by shoving Specialized varus wedges into the toes of my shoes, but thought I might as well get the real thing courtesy of the health service so went to a podiatrist. Surprise: the orthotics only work on the heel and have no effect on ankle-tumblehome on the bike.  When I WTF'd the bloke on the subject he said "oh, go on using your wedges". 

Pshaw.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

HK uses a cycling podiatrist to get orthotics that work with the forefoot, rather than concentrating on the heel.

[T42]

Yes. There is one in Alsace, but since he caters to the top pros here (keeps plaster casts of their feet) he likely costs a bomb whereof the social security will pay a generous 3.50€.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I wouldn't be surprised if HK's podiatrist drove a Roller, judging by the cost of her orthotics.

[T42]

So I keep using the wedges.

Aye well.

[rogerzilla]

My Poundland battery-powered Xmas lights (on the tree in the middle of the front lawn) have crapped out in their second year.  They might revive with a hairdryer - I think the IP rating is, as usual with Chinese shite, lies.

[ElyDave]

I wouldn't be surprised if HK's podiatrist drove a Roller, judging by the cost of her orthotics.

I get mine through the NHS, a nice lady at Addenbrookes phones me once a year and asks if I'd like a new pair.  Mine are based on my foot casts, and specifically targetted at my forefoot due to big-toe-bone-spurs.

I rarely run these days as a result.  My 2022 Cambridge half is likely to be my last

[The Family Cyclist]

Saturday so no alarm to set so hoped for a bit of a lay in. Was never going to be a great sleep though as on the sofa due to wife having cold and taking night nurse which escalates her snoring to something akin to the mating call of a red deer

Dog woke me up first but settled, then woke me again as he needed to go in garden to have a wee, no point trying to take him for a walk as its raining and he doesn't like the rain. Snuggled back down in sleeping bag and then alarm goes on wife's phone which she had set for last Saturday and forgot to cancel and left downstairs

To make matters better she came down shortly after and grumbled why I had set my alarm to which I pointed out I hadn't she had

[Beardy]

Why do electrons in the employment of banks only travel on working days do you think? Gits.

[Wombat]

It's one of those fields where the last 30 years of innovation has just made things worse.  Like printers.

Don't start me on plastic pipes.  I ripped them all out.  And the pushfit fittings (pushfittings?). My late mother's house has flexible plastic microbore to all the radiators, buried in the walls.  Good luck with that in 10 years' time after 1000 heat cycles.

I know you hate plastic, and we've had this conversation before, but I'm going to reiterate; properly installed plastic is superior to modern copper (which is very far from pure copper). Properly installed. It is easy to not install properly, because people look at it and think it is like assembling lego.

Microbore of any type is no good.

This retired building maintenance professional with decades of experience endorses this viewpoint.  Nowt wrong with properly installed plastic.  As for copper with bloody compression fittings, just don't get me started...  Designed to leak!

[rafletcher]

So Apple have obsoleted the iPod Touch, one of which my wife uses every day and night to listen to audiobooks, including from our local library on BorrowBox. Recently BorrowBox had some issues, and wouldn’t play. Two updates later it’ll only run on the 7th gen Touch, but not on the 6th gen (her back-up - she can’t sleep without something playing) as it needs a later IOS and Apple have blocked the 6th gen from the update. I could understand if they were still supporting them and wanted people to trade up, but it’s a dead line. Bugger. Oh and they’re making silly money now. I guess an older Android phone will be the next step.

[Beardy]

That’s not an Apple issue, that’s the software providers issue as they’ve blocked their software working on older versions of the OS. Apple not porting their newer OS to older devices is understandable because it might be too big or require changes to accommodate old hardwear. Of course Apple are to blame if they are the vendor of the App.

[Mrs Pingu]

The used vacuum cleaner I bought a few weeks back to live upstairs has been a bit whiffy in operation. Today I finally investigated. The pre motor filter reeks of damp/mildew.  Clearly the previous owner washed it and put it back damp. (Or lived in a house full of mould, it doesn't look mouldy but pheeeeeuuuw).
I did attempt to wash and soak in vinegar but it still smells. Time to bin that filter then.

[Kim]

Why do electrons in the employment of banks only travel on working days do you think? Gits.

My theory is that the 'back-end server' is some low-paid oik frantically copying and pasting data between some vintage COBOL that nobody understands and a hacky mess of Perl and Excel that nobody understands.  Pretty much every conversation I've ever had with anyone who works with financial systems has only reinforced this view.

[Mrs Pingu]

We have a leaning shed. Long term bodge plan is to get some thicker runners to go under one side but that's a spring job. For now there is a big triangular gap between the top of the door and the frame that I need to bodge closed because it's letting the rain in (I have a brand new box of blood fish & bone that is soaking). Bah.

[Kim]

IRTA 'learning shed', which really ought to be A Thing.

[TheLurker]

Why do electrons in the employment of banks only travel on working days do you think? Gits.

My theory is that the 'back-end servant' is some low-paid oik...

[Beardy]

Why do electrons in the employment of banks only travel on working days do you think? Gits.

My theory is that the 'back-end server' is some low-paid oik frantically copying and pasting data between some vintage COBOL that nobody understands and a hacky mess of Perl and Excel that nobody understands.  Pretty much every conversation I've ever had with anyone who works with financial systems has only reinforced this view.

Actually, my experiences over a career of managing the integration of disparate back end systems rather reinforces this suggestion and I’m embarrassed not to have come to the same conclusion in my own. 

[Mr Larrington]

Back in the days when this Unit toiled as a lowly greaser of Babbage's Cogs in a financial institution, networks were creaky and unreliable and data was transferred largely by voodoo and us BOsFH.

[Beardy]

While the links can now be made fairly robust and redundant diverse routing is fairly simple to implement, the actual protocols, setup and ongoing maintenance of data networking remain the work of Stan and require frequent blood sacrifices of work experience PSOs. I’m sure of it.

[T42]

Back in the days when this Unit toiled as a lowly greaser of Babbage's Cogs in a financial institution, networks were creaky and unreliable and data was transferred largely by voodoo and us BOsFH.

And the Adidas network: office boy sprinting with floppy.