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

[arabella]

I turned up at the blood donation centre in Brum without an appointment today and was dealt with and bled in <1 hour. It was my 50th donation (in the UK) and I got a card for my troubles. Apparently I'll also get a gold badge in the mail and an invitation to a big dinner for similar folk. Not really necessary, but it would be churlish not to accept.

Edit: this was supposed to be in the random things thread. No grumble intended!

That must be new.  For my 50th donation I got a badge* and a pen, in a nice box (each).  And the ertificate.  And a duplicate certificate.  *Thinks wistfuly about a dinner*
*Actually I think my bronze bage looks nicest.  Apparently the next one is emerald for 75, should I still be donating.

[nicknack]

Apparently the next one is emerald for 75, should I still be donating.

Poo. My 74th looks like it might have been my last.

[CAMRAMan]

I wonder if I should ask them to transfer my 11 Hungarian and 6 Swedish donations?

After the Hungarian ones, I was given beer! In cans though. In Sweden you were paid a small sum to donate, however, it was the done thing to donate that sum to the local equivalent of the WRVS who had laid out a proper smörgåsbord of wonderful dishes. I spent nearly an hour sampling their lovely cooking.

[woollypigs]

The last time I checked they didn't want my blood here in the UK. In DK we used to get beer or wine after, would do wonders for the blood to alcohol levels. I for one was rather light headed after my first donation and a quick pint with a mate after.

[jsabine]

I turned up at the blood donation centre in Brum without an appointment today and was dealt with and bled in <1 hour. It was my 50th donation (in the UK) and I got a card for my troubles. Apparently I'll also get a gold badge in the mail and an invitation to a big dinner for similar folk. Not really necessary, but it would be churlish not to accept.

Edit: this was supposed to be in the random things thread. No grumble intended!

That must be new.  For my 50th donation I got a badge* and a pen, in a nice box (each).  And the ertificate.  And a duplicate certificate.  *Thinks wistfuly about a dinner*
*Actually I think my bronze bage looks nicest.  Apparently the next one is emerald for 75, should I still be donating.

#25 was a week or two back - slightly shoddy card on the day, and a whinge from the staff that they didn't have the badges any more to give out. I shall wait and see if one turns up in the post - they said they thought it would, but didn't seem confident.

Coincidentally, I'd found my bronze badge a few days earlier. Quite nice, but predictably it's still in the wee box.

[Dibdib]

Well now I just feel guilty for having previously felt chuffed when my blue five donations card dropped through the letterbox last week.

It's a shame it's taken me until now (I've just turned 30) to get into a regular habit of giving blood. There was a while in my teens when they didn't want my blood because of recent piercings, but it's something I really should have got sorted sooner.

[jsabine]

Well, I gave for the first time in the year I turned 30 - should have sorted it out sooner, but never quite got round to it. And I've not been as regular as I'd like to be since, either - been a couple of years where I haven't given at all.

[essexian]

My considerably better half and I aim to go out at least once a month on a "Date Night," mostly to the theatre, cinema, a gig or the likes. Been doing it for years!

Today was the first time since the bloke out of REM had a brain haemorrhage  that we have received notification that an event has been cancelled (Last of the Duty Free at Malvern Theatre).... not a bad run given that was about 20 years ago.

Why the grumble…. Well I have just had another email cancelling a second show (The importance of being Ernest at the Alex Birmingham). Two in one day! Someone is out to irritate me!!!

[CAMRAMan]

Well, I gave for the first time in the year I turned 30 - should have sorted it out sooner, but never quite got round to it. And I've not been as regular as I'd like to be since, either - been a couple of years where I haven't given at all.

The Blood Service, or whatever they're called, are still a bit unreconstructed NHS. That's both good and bad, but they do sometimes act like they are doing me a favour when I am donating. Yesterday's receptionist, for example, was very abrupt, if not unpleasant, although she warmed up later on, possibly because the system flagged up that it was my 50th donation. The whole process was very haphazard, in what is the second city's premier centre.

[Wombat]

Apparently the next one is emerald for 75, should I still be donating.

Poo. My 74th looks like it might have been my last.

As I rapidly scanned the page, I read it that you feared your 74th poo might be your last... well if it was 74 in a day, then I'd hope it was your last!

[nicknack]

Apparently the next one is emerald for 75, should I still be donating.

Poo. My 74th looks like it might have been my last.

As I rapidly scanned the page, I read it that you feared your 74th poo might be your last... well if it was 74 in a day, then I'd hope it was your last!

  

[Pickled Onion]

Broadband has been throttled down to 256kb/s a whole seven days before the end of the billing period. This has made listening to Just a Minute a bit of a challenge.

Yes, it's uni holibobs time, and they're all blaming each other for one or other of gaming/streaming/p2p. Just how did they manage 22GB of gaming + 14 GB of web + 13 GB of p2p on a SINGLE 24H period?

[Dibdib]

Broadband has been throttled down to 256kb/s a whole seven days before the end of the billing period. This has made listening to Just a Minute a bit of a challenge.

Yes, it's uni holibobs time, and they're all blaming each other for one or other of gaming/streaming/p2p. Just how did they manage 22GB of gaming + 14 GB of web + 13 GB of p2p on a SINGLE 24H period?

Without looking in more detail, my hunch is that a bunch of it will be installing/updating games on Steam or a similar games platform. My Steam client is set to only apply updates between midnight and 8am when Plusnet turn off their allowances.

[Pickled Onion]

Yes, you're almost certainly right, and the majority of that would have been in the unmetered off-peak otherwise we wouldn't have made it this far - we only have 100 GB a month.

It's a pain that the overall allowance/usage is done on peak usage, but the detailed daily breakdown shows complete 24 hour periods. Makes it difficult to point the finger at any one of them, they can just say they only used off-peak. Which has a lot of truth, as I was leaving for work the other morning one of them was just cleaning his teeth ready to go to bed 

[hulver]

I just dropped my pants in the toilet as I was getting changed after my lunch time ride home.

So I'm now wearing cycling shorts under my trousers.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Yesterday (Wednesday) I received a small job due on the morning of the 20th. I glanced at it, confirmed to myself that it was very small and easy and would take an hour tops, more likely half an hour, and decided to do it on Thursday. Last night, people were discussing the solstice. Somehow I got it in my mind that the 21st was on Friday, with the result that this morning I woke up and immediately thought "Shit, that job's due in at 08:00 - and is that BST or CET? - and I haven't even started it yet!" So I jumped out of bed, put some coal in the computer and got to work, in my best office pyjamas.  Luckily it was indeed a small and easy job, even if the person who'd worked on it before me seemed more akin to google translate than anything human, and probably more time was spent accessing systems (Across, are you listening?) than correcting. Sent it off, made my son's school lunch, took him to school, all calm - and then realised it's only the 19th today.   

[hulver]

I must have slept funny on my arm last night, as I woke up with "fizzing" in 2 and a half of the fingers and my thumb on my right hand. It isn't going away, and makes typing and drinking tea (my main activities) quite irritating to do. Lack of proper feeling in them, although they are warm so it's not missing blood, and I can still just about feel hot and cold with them.

I'm glad I'm left handed.

[PeteB99]

The binmen emptied the recycling box an hour ago. Since then 4 separate items of junk advertising have been shoved through my door

[orienteer]

The binmen emptied the recycling box an hour ago. Since then 4 separate items of junk advertising have been shoved through my door

Maybe they are just recycling it.......

[hulver]

I half sliced the tip of my thumb off last night while slicing mushrooms. I've never seen a knife go so far through a nail before.

Living without being able to use your thumb is quite awkward.

[Guy]

I've never seen a knife go so far through a nail before.

This made I cringe

[hulver]

This made I cringe

I went a bit pale and wobbly as well.

Picture below.

(click to show/hide)

[Pickled Onion]

I clicked on the spoiler button, but was then quite pleased the picture won't show here

My grumble: Campag chainset on ebay, "what's the BCD?" - answer "140mm". That will be easy to get rings for then   

[Guy]

Indian-sounding twat on phone

Can you put me through to Nicholas?
Me: I don't know who you're talking about
I-STOP: This is the British Army?
Me: Yes, but not all of it (  )
I-STOP: Second part of name is spelled <****>
Me: Oh. No I'm afraid I can't. Colonel **** retired from the army a couple of years ago.
I-STOP: Oh. Goodbye then

That's the second Indian-sounding person who's rung for Nick in the last two weeks.

[Ruth]

My feet are killing me.