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

[mrcharly-YHT]

Parents of YACF, how early is too early to let your small child shout and scream while playing in the back garden?  Imagine if you lived in a terraced house surrounded by people sleeping. 

I feel 5.30 is a bit early.

Sprinklers

[Cudzoziemiec]

It's time for one of those "Why did they change it?" grumbles. Firstly, I ordered the exact same size and model of mitts to replace the one the paramedic scissored. But Altura seem to have changed their sizing and Medium is now rather tight across the palm while having slightly longer fingerlets. I'm sure my hands haven't become Large so I guess the mitts will stretch a little. No big deal.

Second, the saddle, again exact same model. Well, same manufacturer and same model name. Noticeably lighter than the old one. That's good! But how have they made it lighter? Three ways: by taking most of the squidge out, by shortening the nose and by introducing a cut-out into the shell (but only the shell, not the top). None of these are necessarily bad things but why can't they say they've altered it? Finally, they're using a different material for the top and it's a bit slippery to sit on. I'll see how I get on with it anyway, and at least my bike is now about 100g lighter!

[T42]

Marketing abhors perfection.

[lou boutin]

I have cabin fever. I am on bed rest again and sick of the sight of these four wall.  Since my op 5wks ago I have left the house 3 times.  I've walked to the shop this week which seems to have lead to the need for bed rest.

[barakta]

Gah sorry to hear you're having to rest more after unfair over exertion. Hope you reheal quickly and are able to get out and about soonest.  We should send you silly things to cheer you up!

[Kim]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/cm_G82Vq5jY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/cm_G82Vq5jY&rel=1</a>
https://youtu.be/cm_G82Vq5jY

[Cudzoziemiec]

Don't they make funny noises!

[lou boutin]

They're so cute

[Mr Larrington]

Lloyds Bank, whether you believe it or not, people sometimes visit more than one part of Abroad, where the FOREIGNS come from, in the course of a single trip, be it Bizniz or holibobs.  But your atupid webby SCIENCE requires specific dates for each country, so I can't tell it that I'll be in USAnia and Canuckistan between dates X and Y.  I don't know precisely when, or even if, I'll be in the latter (although the presence on the Chips Room shelf of a fistful of Canuckistani dollars is a powerful incentive to visit Winnipeg) and trying to adjust things online once I am in USAnia strikes me as being a risky venture.  Oh, and the branch can't do it either, unlike last year.

Your are a pack of Sillies.

[mike]

that sounds better than first direct, at least they're taking an interest and pretending to have a system. 

Every bloody time I visit the US I warn FD, and every bloody time they block my cards the very first time I use them there, needing a 20 minute phone call to their 'help' desk, then a painful conversation for them about refunding my phone bill.

[Ruthie]

FFS.  While I've been at work the bloody cats have had a crap-fest in my back yard, and a nice cuppa in the garden was curtailed by the smell of cat shit, which even overwhelmed the smell of the jasmine which has just come into flower.  I'm going to have to GAMI again and pay him to pressure wash the whole place.  Again.  I've heard a layer of coffee grounds may discourage them, but I fear just encouraging them by giving them something to dig.

 

Oh, well.  I guess it's part of urban living - people and pets living in close proximity and requiring a higher level of tolerance.

I'm off to take a dump on next door's pansies.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Get a small boy in with a catapult.

[ElyDave]

olbas oil or eucalyptus oil on used tea bags has been mooted to work.  Seems to have stopped them getting in my greenhouse

[Cudzoziemiec]

I didn't know about used tea bags, but that would explain why no cat has ever been seen in my kitchen!

[CAMRAMan]

It's time for one of those "Why did they change it?" grumbles...

On a related note; Merrell - I ordered a pair of your Freewheel Shoes in 10.5 and they fit perfectly. Another style in the same size were a tad too big, but fitted with an insole and a third style gave me blisters within 5 minutes. Aaaagh!

[lou boutin]

Apparently you can buy devices that emit a high pitched noise that scares off animals but can't be heard by humans.  My friend has one and it's stopped her neighbours cat goingimto her garden.

[Ruthie]

Apparently you can buy devices that emit a high pitched noise that scares off animals but can't be heard by humans.  My friend has one and it's stopped her neighbours cat goingimto her garden.

I noted a couple of potentially useful devices on the relevant thread, but couldn't afford them this month.  Expensive things, other people's cats 

[David Martin]

Apparently you can buy devices that emit a high pitched noise that scares off animals but can't be heard by humans.  My friend has one and it's stopped her neighbours cat goingimto her garden.

I have one for scaring to foxes away from the chicken coop. I can hear it at the lowest frequency.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Probably scares away kids then. 

[Kim]

Lloyds Bank, whether you believe it or not, people sometimes visit more than one part of Abroad, where the FOREIGNS come from, in the course of a single trip, be it Bizniz or holibobs.  But your atupid webby SCIENCE requires specific dates for each country, so I can't tell it that I'll be in USAnia and Canuckistan between dates X and Y.  I don't know precisely when, or even if, I'll be in the latter (although the presence on the Chips Room shelf of a fistful of Canuckistani dollars is a powerful incentive to visit Winnipeg) and trying to adjust things online once I am in USAnia strikes me as being a risky venture.  Oh, and the branch can't do it either, unlike last year.

I was wondering about this with NatPest, though I haven't actually tried yet.  Maybe it accepts overlapping dates?  Maybe it stops your card if you don't cross the border at midnight?  Who knows?

What I do know is that their webby SCIENCE only pertains to debt (TBAGO) cards.  For credit cards you have to resort to that instrument of anbaric audism, the telephone.  Bastards. 

[Mr Larrington]

I believe Lloyds covers both credit and debit cards.  If it doesn't I shall probably be thrown into an Illinois gaol a week on Sunday.

In 2013, having not flagged my FOREIGN business to the bank at all, because I didn't know you could, my credit card stopped working at 'gas' stations from Wyoming to Delaware, but hotels happily accepted it

[rafletcher]

my "Tesco" CC specifically says I do not have to tell them about travelling abroad, and thus far I've had no issues. I've not experienced the FD problems Mike has had, as I rarely use my debit cards, and never abroad.

[ElyDave]

I've found that you can either tell them just let it be used anywhere, or tell them each time.

Halifax let me give them a number of countries and date ranges.  Oddly they wanted to know about Indonesia, but couldn't give a stuff about Vietnam - different fraud risk profiles

[ian]

I have never, ever told them. Mind you they should have got the message by now. My wife's card got cloned in NYC as usual. Unless she's buying a lot of sneakers on the sly ($900 in Foot Locker etc.)

[andrewc]

that sounds better than first direct, at least they're taking an interest and pretending to have a system. 

Every bloody time I visit the US I warn FD, and every bloody time they block my cards the very first time I use them there, needing a 20 minute phone call to their 'help' desk, then a painful conversation for them about refunding my phone bill.

Odd.  I'm with First Direct & have never had this problem.  It's a few years since I visited the USA mind, but I didn't tell them about any of my recent European trips & everything worked fine.