Author Topic: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.  (Read 1576039 times)

Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11500 on: 26 October, 2019, 09:34:55 pm »
Shopping in Costco I'm conscious that the jeans I'm wearing a loose, baggy & probably past their best (rolling around my parents floor doing DIY stuff earlier didn't help).   By a fortuitous coincidence they have a table piled high with Levi 501s, after some burrowing I find a pair in Fat Bastard 32 leg & stick them in the trolley.   


Try them on at home & they fit OK , but the fabric feels like tissue paper.   I remember when new jeans would scratch & chafe your legs because the cloth was thick & stiff. 
Not fast & rarely furious

tweeting occasional in(s)anities as andrewxclark

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11501 on: 26 October, 2019, 09:45:36 pm »
Yup. I can’t seem to find any jeans that hold up to site inspections amongst barbed wire fences and thorny plants.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11502 on: 26 October, 2019, 10:28:06 pm »
Cowboys used to wear jeans, now they make them.

IGMC
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

TheLurker

  • Goes well with magnolia.
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11503 on: 27 October, 2019, 06:20:42 am »
Quote from: andrewc
I remember when new jeans would scratch & chafe your legs because the cloth was thick & stiff.
Shouldn't this be in, "You know you're middle aged..."? :)

I have this change dated to around about 1989-90 perhaps as late as '92.  Replacing some worn out 501s that were about 5 years old and noticed that the new ones were now "Made in {somewhere in eastern europe*}" and the fabric of the new pair was noticeably thinner than the knackered old pair I was wearing.  I was distinctly unimpressed.  That pair was the last pair of 501s I bought.

*It might have been Poland, but some details escape me.
Τα πιο όμορφα ταξίδια γίνονται με τις δικές μας δυνάμεις - Φίλοι του Ποδήλατου

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11504 on: 27 October, 2019, 08:34:36 am »
I remember having to scrub the blue dye from my legs as a kid, having not put them through the wash first
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11505 on: 27 October, 2019, 10:46:41 am »
Where they are made is far less of an issue than what they are made from.

Fashion is that you'll replace them after three or four outings.   I used to buy my favourite jeans for less than a quarter of new price on ebay and they were always in very good nick.  Sometimes they'd even still have the labels attached.

Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11506 on: 28 October, 2019, 08:54:32 am »
I'm interested in buying something. Person x else wants to sell thing.
Great.
We check and discover that we both have same weekend free. I can come and take a shufti at thing this weekend.

Arrange my life to have car, roofrack etc for this weekend. Message Person x to arrange time and day.

<tumbleweed>

They are 60 miles away. They have been trying to sell thing for 2 months. This is the only weekend for weeks when I will have car and time. FFS.

It's still a couple of days until the weekend ...

Depending on the tenor of the previous conversations, if I were the seller and the weekend had been agreed, I wouldn't necessarily be too bothered about narrowing down a time until Friday (or maybe even Saturday morning), at least as long as I was able to be flexible.

Sure, if I could only make a particular two hour slot on Saturday night and an hour at lunchtime on Sunday I'd have been keen to check that one of those worked for you, but if I knew I was going to be around all day I'd probably be happy with leaving you to give me a call before leaving, to see if I would be around in a couple of hours time.

I do realise some people might feel I'm a little lackadaisical ...
No phone number provided.
No address.

Only method of contact is via facebook, on the advert.

He finally responded, last thursday.

So, Sat I went to see, buy kayak.

Pristine condition, as described (amazing for its age). Incredibly light. Looked a bit narrower on the hull than I expected.

He said he was selling because he didn't race much and found it too hard to paddle (unstable).

I bought it.

Sunday took it for a paddle. Hmm, that's odd, I think, when I put it in the water. Jaguars are not noted for being that unstable. I'm looking at a boat so unstable it won't stay upright by itself. Capsizes just sitting in the water without a paddler sat in the cockpit.

Paddled the boat for about 11km. Handles nicely. No troubles in some powerboat wash. But it isn't a stable boat.

Have a close squint at hull details, some googling. Find a picture of a Jaguar (what I has supposedly bought) next to a Cleaver-x.

This isn't a Jaguar. It is a Cleaver-X. Stability 1, which makes it nearly as unstable a boat as they get. Caveat emptor.
I don't think the seller knew.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

ian

Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11507 on: 28 October, 2019, 10:05:41 am »
Some critter spent the night digging up the lawn on the top terrace of my garden. No idea what, it basically peeled all the grass back to get at worms (I assume) underneath. Look like it had big paws, though I'm not sure foxes round here don't survive on KFC leftovers. We do have occasional badgers but I'd think they'd make more of a mess and deeper holes. I don't think yetis or bears eat worms.

Of course, there's no CCTV on that lawn, so it may remain mysterious. Made a mess of my lawn though.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11508 on: 28 October, 2019, 10:13:54 am »
Quote from: andrewc
I remember when new jeans would scratch & chafe your legs because the cloth was thick & stiff.
Shouldn't this be in, "You know you're middle aged..."? :)

I have this change dated to around about 1989-90 perhaps as late as '92.  Replacing some worn out 501s that were about 5 years old and noticed that the new ones were now "Made in {somewhere in eastern europe*}" and the fabric of the new pair was noticeably thinner than the knackered old pair I was wearing.  I was distinctly unimpressed.  That pair was the last pair of 501s I bought.

*It might have been Poland, but some details escape me.
It would have been Poland. Levi's had/have a factory in a place I could point to on a map (it's the widest point of the River Wisła, downstream of Warsaw) but can't remember the name of. ( :-[)
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11509 on: 28 October, 2019, 10:23:18 am »
Some critter spent the night digging up the lawn on the top terrace of my garden. No idea what, it basically peeled all the grass back to get at worms (I assume) underneath. Look like it had big paws, though I'm not sure foxes round here don't survive on KFC leftovers. We do have occasional badgers but I'd think they'd make more of a mess and deeper holes. I don't think yetis or bears eat worms.

Of course, there's no CCTV on that lawn, so it may remain mysterious. Made a mess of my lawn though.

Common enough along roadside verges here. Usually wild boar.  No trotter-prints?
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

ian

Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11510 on: 28 October, 2019, 10:41:02 am »
You know, it did look piggy, but I don't think we have wild boar in suburban Surrey. The most exotic animals are bear. There's a couple of foxes than hang around the garden, but they're huge and well-fed, and I think they probably get dinner delivered by Deliveroo. Do foxes grub around for worms (given the rain, there would have been plenty)? They're the obvious candidate. I think badgers would dig bigger holes and leave claw marks. We do get the occasional deer and they could, I suppose, have been re-enacting their favourite bits of River Dance on our lawn. That would also explain it. The holes looked to too big for smaller critters.

Guy

  • Retired
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11511 on: 28 October, 2019, 11:20:45 am »
You have an infestation of Coarse Anglers Ian. They were looking for bait.
"The Opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject"  Marcus Aurelius

ian

Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11512 on: 28 October, 2019, 11:37:37 am »
It's a possibility. I'd normally blame the cats but that would be strange behaviour even for them. It could be a chupacabra, I suppose. Or a hover-mole.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11513 on: 28 October, 2019, 11:41:37 am »
could actually be woodpeckers.  A few years back we had mysterious holes appearing in the lawn one winter, then I caught the bugger in the act flinging bits of turf all over the place.  It's more prevalent in hard winters as they start to dig for ants and the like, but yours may be afraid of the tree-yetis and find the lawn a safer place.
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

ian

Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11514 on: 28 October, 2019, 11:51:01 am »
Nah, the holes are too big for beaks. Current culprit rankings are:

1. Fox
2. Badger
3. Deer
4. Cat (either Bad Cat or LMC)
5. The fabled hover mole
6. Chupacabra
7. Tree Yeti
8. Surrey Jungle Bear

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11515 on: 28 October, 2019, 12:42:01 pm »
They do not create beak-sized holes, more like shell craters


That may contain elements of exaggeration
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

andytheflyer

  • Andytheex-flyer.....
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11516 on: 28 October, 2019, 01:39:21 pm »
Some critter spent the night digging up the lawn on the top terrace of my garden. No idea what, it basically peeled all the grass back to get at worms (I assume) underneath. Look like it had big paws, though I'm not sure foxes round here don't survive on KFC leftovers. We do have occasional badgers but I'd think they'd make more of a mess and deeper holes. I don't think yetis or bears eat worms.

Of course, there's no CCTV on that lawn, so it may remain mysterious. Made a mess of my lawn though.
Badgers.  They are now out and about - next door's now getting a regular visit, if our dog's intuition is anything to go by.  We've not had a visitation yet - but only a matter of time  - unless the smell of a black lab is putting them off this year.

We've had them carry out little surgical digs to get worms and leather jackets, that simply require the replacement of the divot and a firm tread in.

We've also had the badger equivalent of Steven Spielberg's remake of The Battle Of the Somme.  That was half an hour with a spade, that one.  Bloody badgers.........

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11517 on: 28 October, 2019, 01:43:57 pm »
What I'm wondering is what has moved into the void under nextdoor's path that's been created by a blocked drain overflowing.  At first I thought the hole was created by the water, but after a couple of fillings-in and strategic blocking of the hole with a brick, I've concluded that it's definitely a critter enlarging the hole, rather than hydraulic action.

I'm suspicious that it may be a rat.  But if not a rat, then something of similar size.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11518 on: 28 October, 2019, 02:46:00 pm »
What I'm wondering is what has moved into the void under nextdoor's path that's been created by a blocked drain overflowing.  At first I thought the hole was created by the water, but after a couple of fillings-in and strategic blocking of the hole with a brick, I've concluded that it's definitely a critter enlarging the hole, rather than hydraulic action.

I'm suspicious that it may be a rat.  But if not a rat, then something of similar size.

A different rat?
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

ian

Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11519 on: 28 October, 2019, 04:00:45 pm »
It could well be badgers, I know they're out and about though I rarely see them (I once tripped over one*, they're really not good at running out in front of things). It happened over the very soggy Saturday night. It'll grow back tbh, I think badgers are generally a lot cooler addition to a garden than lawns.

*apropos of nothing, I nearly stepped on a huge adder while aqua-hiking on Saturday, it reared up ready to bite me which, considering my size 9 boot was about to descend on it, seemed not unreasonable.

andytheflyer

  • Andytheex-flyer.....
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11520 on: 28 October, 2019, 04:55:11 pm »
It could well be badgers, I know they're out and about though I rarely see them (I once tripped over one*, they're really not good at running out in front of things). It happened over the very soggy Saturday night. It'll grow back tbh, I think badgers are generally a lot cooler addition to a garden than lawns. 
I did meet a couple of them last year at dusk one evening.  They made it quite clear that this was their patch, and they were not moving for anyone, least of all me, at 105kg.  I stood aside and watched them trot past.  No doubt on their way to dig up someone else's lawn.  They exuded attitude, just like Maro Itoje on Saturday.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11521 on: 28 October, 2019, 05:09:09 pm »
so we could have The Badgers vs The Springboks on Saturday
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11522 on: 28 October, 2019, 07:36:08 pm »
My yearly grumble about the rock salt spread with wild abandon across the dry roads. If its going to be wet with a chance of freezing fine but grit would do the job without croading everything and killing roadside plants and fouling watercourses.
Of  course moterists must be allowed to drive just as fast in winter as in summer  ::-) :facepalm:.
the slower you go the more you see

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11523 on: 28 October, 2019, 07:46:55 pm »
I agree, cycleman, but I ~think~ the salt and grit are usually premixed, so they don't have the option of just grit. Which is pretty stupid really.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.
« Reply #11524 on: 28 October, 2019, 07:48:55 pm »

He finally responded, last thursday.

So, Sat I went to see, buy kayak.

Pristine condition, as described (amazing for its age). Incredibly light. Looked a bit narrower on the hull than I expected.

He said he was selling because he didn't race much and found it too hard to paddle (unstable).

I bought it.

Sunday took it for a paddle. Hmm, that's odd, I think, when I put it in the water. Jaguars are not noted for being that unstable. I'm looking at a boat so unstable it won't stay upright by itself. Capsizes just sitting in the water without a paddler sat in the cockpit.

Paddled the boat for about 11km. Handles nicely. No troubles in some powerboat wash. But it isn't a stable boat.

Have a close squint at hull details, some googling. Find a picture of a Jaguar (what I has supposedly bought) next to a Cleaver-x.

This isn't a Jaguar. It is a Cleaver-X. Stability 1, which makes it nearly as unstable a boat as they get. Caveat emptor.
I don't think the seller knew.

Congratulations.  I have never paddled anything like that.  I bought a south african boat about 10 years ago in a similar fashion which turned out very similarly.  I was not as good as you and whilst i spent many happy hours in it there was a steep learning curve of falling in!