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

[Basil]

Why, when you need to replace a florescent tube starter, will they always sell them in packs of two?  And where the hell does the spare one go when you eventually need to look for it?

[Legs]

see also: C2032 batteries

[fuzzy]

Whichever pencil-fairy conceived this ridiculously-shaped building that I'm trying to size steelwork for must have been totally on crack. 

Architects eh 

[barakta]

Whichever pencil-fairy conceived this ridiculously-shaped building that I'm trying to size steelwork for must have been totally on crack. 

Architects eh 

On my shitlist and all. IF they have won awards, it's a sure sign the building will be visual stress on a stick and make me hideously ill.

[Kim]

The unholy trinity of awful buildings:

• Award winning
• Eco rated
• Completed on time and within budget

[Tim Hall]

Dear The BBC. Please learn the difference between accuracy and precision, especially when it comes to converting metric units to imperial:

It was being driven back to the beach when it became stranded 1,968ft (600m) offshore on 4 April.

kthxbai.

[Wombat]

It should be 600m (approx 2000ft) anyway.

We went "metric" on January 1st 1970, before I started my long and not especially illustrious career in building.  I have just retired.  Please stop pandering to stupid people by using non-current units, and they'll soon get the hang of the correct ones (and that doesn't include non-SI compliant centibloodymetres, either!).

[Cudzoziemiec]

I reckon they're not so much stupid people as old ones (and also those who went to school in that time when we retreated from metric).

[T42]

Aye well, there's no fool like an old fool, and I should know.  After n years in France I still see short distances in inches and longer ones in metres and km.

What pisses me off more is the so-called science page in the Trib that will helpfully tell you that a light year is the distance light travels in a year, but the business section never defines any terms.

[jsabine]

It should be 600m (approx 2000ft) anyway.

3 furlongs would have done, surely, with no need to mess about offering conversions.

[T42]

Just as long as they're fake-furlongs.

[Tim Hall]

It should be 600m (approx 2000ft) anyway.

3 furlongs would have done, surely, with no need to mess about offering conversions.

A third of a nautical mile, or thereabouts.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Twenty seconds of latitude. A short-lived festival.

[Kim]

I reckon they're not so much stupid people as old ones (and also those who went to school in that time when we retreated from metric).

Old people and USAnians.  The BBC, for all their faults, lead the way when it came to putting news on the web, and as one of the early pioneers they had a very international audience.  I expect they're still a go-to new source for colonials looking for a European - or at least non-American - perspective.  Doesn't seem unreasonable for their style guide to reflect that. (Personally, I'd prefer the original unit to be quoted first.  Expecting journalists to understand precision seems a bit ambitious.)

[ElyDave]

effin' BA - their website is borked, but it seems to be my problem.

I may get to book my flights in a day or so once they've sorted their clearly spammed website out

[hellymedic]

Neighbours abutting rear of back garden are having a very noisy barbecue party.

Similar parties have been very lengthy affairs in the past.

They built a HUGE brick barbecue edifice last week.

To be continued...

[Pickled Onion]

It should be 600m (approx 2000ft) anyway.

We went "metric" on January 1st 1970, before I started my long and not especially illustrious career in building.  I have just retired.  Please stop pandering to stupid people by using non-current units, and they'll soon get the hang of the correct ones (and that doesn't include non-SI compliant centibloodymetres, either!).

The Beeb seem to have gone backwards on this, I'm sure they reported in proper measurements in the past. Now it seems to be all imperial apart from the weather.

It's completely ridiculous, no-one under 50 should have been using feet and inches at school, no-one with any sense uses imperial in their professional life. And as you say, everyone will get the hang of it in about two weeks just like Celcius if you stop pandering to the UKIP tendency. The new 20-bob coin's quite nice though, a bit like the thr'p'ny bit, haven't seen one of those for a week or two.

[Pickled Onion]

I reckon they're not so much stupid people as old ones (and also those who went to school in that time when we retreated from metric).

Old people and USAnians.  The BBC, for all their faults, led the way when it came to putting news on the web, and as one of the early pioneers they had a very international audience.  I expect they're still a go-to new source for colonials looking for a European - or at least non-American - perspective.  Doesn't seem unreasonable for their style guide to reflect that. (Personally, I'd prefer the original unit to be quoted first.  Expecting journalists to understand precision seems a bit ambitious.)

Exactly, out of the two (old people, USAnians) the old people aren't stupid and could easily be happy with metric if it was a given. As for colonials, they all went metric before we did, even the Australians are happy with beer in litres. India, Africa, anywhere pretty much, the ex-pats are using metric.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I remember that the Kiwis were metric in everything apart from beer when I was there (20 years ago). But their beer wasn't in pints either, it was in a variety of odd measures mostly referred to by numbers which, I think, were fluid ounces; except when they were given names, which could be anything. But when I replied to a question about the highest mountains in Britain with "Ben Nevis is about 4500 feet,"* the immediate reply was "Er, I don't do feet." Which kind of took me by surprise cos I was/am used to flipping between the two. But I can't do that with stones easily and Fahrenheit I never got used to at all. So I think it is just a matter of what you're exposed to.

*Probably an exaggeration but it certainly makes the conversion easier!

[T42]

Bought a DIY-supermarket router bit this morning. It took 15 minutes' work with scissors, screwdriver, pump pliers, big screwdriver, Stanley cutter & much peril to fingers to rid the thing of its packaging. And there's a patch of rust just starting on the shank.

[hellymedic]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-39629459

Suspect cycle theft needs half a million YouTube 'shares' and exposure on Auntie's News before Bristol's BRITAIN'S Finest take notice.

[Cudzoziemiec]

See also: http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-motorbike-gang-taunt-police-26860
They steal motorbikes only to post vids of wheelies etc before burning the bikes on instagram.

[mcshroom]

I accidentally hit the "Mark all posts read" button

[Basil]

I hate it when I do that.

[Kim]

Yeah, then you have to work out what board things are in.