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

[T42]

Sod's Law verified yet again in terms of need 10mm hole, 10mm wood drill worn out, drill battery flat & backup f*cking battery kaput. Add to which 8°C outside, 15°C in workshop, bloody dogs knocking door open all the time; and I've run out of decent coffee, cause visitors.

[essexian]

Its my birthday next month.... so CBH asked me what I wanted.

Ah, that's easy. I need a new winter cycling top so suggested she gets me one of the jerseys on sale at Aldi's this weekend. 

Er no....CBH doesn't like shopping there and thus, I suggested that she orders it online. Er no...she only buys online from suppliers she has used before, so no Planet X or the like. No, I can have a cycling top but only from Amazon and/Ebay.....

Well, that proves a problem for me as I don't buy stuff from Amazon until THEY PAY SOME BL**DY TAX... but did check on their site just in case. I am getting to the grumble...honest.

My grumble. Just how rubbish are both sites search engine?! Try putting "Winter Cycling Jersey" into them and see what total rubbish you get back. There were something like 7 000 replies of which about 5 were of any interest.

Frankly, a site which robs...sorry which makes so much money each year could afford to design a better system, or....is that the point. They are so rubbish that buyers get fed up and just buy any old rubbish?

Anyway, I can't be bothered to look anymore so will just tell her to buy me whatever she wants to. I will have to try to say I like it when I am unlikely to do so.... God, how miserable and ungrateful am I!

[TheLurker]

Its my birthday next month.... so CBH asked me what I wanted.

I have a deal with MrsLurker.  She asks what I want for my, "One year nearer hopping the twig" day or for the "It's winter and it's bloody miserable outside so let's cheer each other up" day gift.  I tell her and if it's something hobby related, which includes cycling, I buy it, she gives me the cash for it, takes it off me, wraps it and gives it back to me come the day.  It's a system which, normally, works very well.   Which brings me to my grumble;  I'm still waiting for the cash for the Lacey M-10 kit I bought some months ago.

[ElyDave]

I've stopped pretending - I buy stuff I think I need/want when I need/want it, people aske what to get me for [reason] I just say either nothing/suprise me/get me  abook.

I thought "get me a non-fiction book" would be pretty safe with my sister.  She bought me 4 books for Christmas - I already had 3 of them.

[Mr Larrington]

"Who calleth me at this ungodly hour?" asked a bleary-eyed Mr Larrington, before realising:

• it's half past ten, and
• the ringing phone means my landline, and thus internets, is working again

The grumble being that although I told BT's fault tracking webby SCIENCE to send updates to my mobile, it took absolutely no notice.

[ian]

I've stopped pretending - I buy stuff I think I need/want when I need/want it, people aske what to get me for [reason] I just say either nothing/suprise me/get me  abook.

I thought "get me a non-fiction book" would be pretty safe with my sister.  She bought me 4 books for Christmas - I already had 3 of them.

I tell people I don't want birthday and Christmas presents for the same reason – if I want something, I'll buy it. My wife still insists on buying something (which mean I have to do the same) because, I don't know, tradition or something. I honestly wish she (and anyone else) wouldn't.

[T42]

I've stopped pretending - I buy stuff I think I need/want when I need/want it, people aske what to get me for [reason] I just say either nothing/suprise me/get me  abook.

I thought "get me a non-fiction book" would be pretty safe with my sister.  She bought me 4 books for Christmas - I already had 3 of them.

I tell people I don't want birthday and Christmas presents for the same reason – if I want something, I'll buy it. My wife still insists on buying something (which mean I have to do the same) because, I don't know, tradition or something. I honestly wish she (and anyone else) wouldn't.

I have let it be known that you can never have enough clamps.

[Zipperhead]

I've stopped pretending - I buy stuff I think I need/want when I need/want it, people aske what to get me for [reason] I just say either nothing/suprise me/get me  abook.

I thought "get me a non-fiction book" would be pretty safe with my sister.  She bought me 4 books for Christmas - I already had 3 of them.

I tell people I don't want birthday and Christmas presents for the same reason – if I want something, I'll buy it. My wife still insists on buying something (which mean I have to do the same) because, I don't know, tradition or something. I honestly wish she (and anyone else) wouldn't.

I have let it be known that you can never have enough clamps.

Too true. A dungeon isn't a proper dungeon without a sufficiency of clamps...

[Beardy]

I’ve got my new phone, and a thing of grate shiny it is. But i can’t set up Apple Pay on it because my current credit card expires in 6 days time and my new credit card isn’t valid until October. Arse!

[T42]

I've stopped pretending - I buy stuff I think I need/want when I need/want it, people aske what to get me for [reason] I just say either nothing/suprise me/get me  abook.

I thought "get me a non-fiction book" would be pretty safe with my sister.  She bought me 4 books for Christmas - I already had 3 of them.

I tell people I don't want birthday and Christmas presents for the same reason – if I want something, I'll buy it. My wife still insists on buying something (which mean I have to do the same) because, I don't know, tradition or something. I honestly wish she (and anyone else) wouldn't.

I have let it be known that you can never have enough clamps.

Too true. A dungeon isn't a proper dungeon without a sufficiency of clamps...

Shh!  Little do they know...

[rafletcher]

What genius decided to purchase office chairs with faux leather vinyl covering for the office refurb. It may look smart but its also sweaty 

[T42]

I remember one long August meeting in 1976 where the chairs were all vinyl. 1976 was a scorcher here. When we broke up we looked as if we had pissed ourselves.

[Giraffe]

Bloody Samsung! Lamp fails in the millewobblecookhole. No problem, look for spare lamp, recall that I'd fitted it to next door's fridge about 8 years ago. Get 2 new ones.
Remove cover, find out that a). the lamp is 20W, not 15W ('reason': some brain-dead bozo decided to paint the inside of the oven in a nice black finish THAT DOESN'T REFLECT MUCH LIGHT! b). f'ing lamp is part of the holder so instead of £1.19 for 2 it casts £4.50 each on ebay - or pay aninginear to come and do it.
The old oven lasted ~23 years with no faults; this one's 3 years old - and takes 3s to 'boot'.

Sorry - should have been that there thread over there ->>

[Canardly]

Smart motorways. Which Einstein decided that we drive around with every road junction in the country memorised? e.g. the A14 is closed at junction 20. WTF is that? Hows about the A14 closed 40miles instead?

[Torslanda]

More to the point, which fucking genius decided that we no longer need hard shoulders or emergency refuge so we can make 4 lane roads** with no run off and control it all with cameras.

How's that working out?




** Latest from the Tory twats is that most of the hard shoulder on the Northbound M1 from around Jct 6 has been sold to Taylor-Wimpey who will be starting development of 'affordable homes, 2,3 & 4 bedroom' with 'direct motorway access' soon. ish.

[Kim]

More to the point, which fucking genius decided that we no longer need hard shoulders or emergency refuge so we can make 4 lane roads** with no run off and control it all with cameras.

How's that working out?

An awful lot better than I ever expected it to, tbh.

[Beardy]

More to the point, which fucking genius decided that we no longer need hard shoulders or emergency refuge so we can make 4 lane roads** with no run off and control it all with cameras.

How's that working out?

An awful lot better than I ever expected it to, tbh.

Like a lot of things that are managed by spreadsheet, it’s a grand idea as long as everything runs smoothly. But the removal of contingency means that when something does go wrong, the incident will escalate rapidly.

[ian]

It works well for the trains. Oh wait, hold on...

[matthew]

More to the point, which fucking genius decided that we no longer need hard shoulders or emergency refuge so we can make 4 lane roads** with no run off and control it all with cameras.

How's that working out?

An awful lot better than I ever expected it to, tbh.

I have recent memories of congestion on the M1 south from Milton Keynes where the signs said something along the lines of "Congestion use the Hard Shoulder" to then find the hard shoulder occupied by the broken down vehicle and the congestion being caused by vehicles having to lane change to get round it. That resulted in a rapid 999 to the police to report the stranded vehicle and the need to get the Hard Shoulder closed.

[T42]

My monthly coffee order was due to be delivered yesterday but still isn't here. As if I weren't already fed up.  Unfortunately the dogs keep cats out of the garden otherwise I'd have something to kick.

[Mr Larrington]

Smart motorways. Which Einstein decided that we drive around with every road junction in the country memorised? e.g. the A14 is closed at junction 20. WTF is that? Hows about the A14 closed 40miles instead?

This ^^^^.  I've been using the M25 for more than a quarter of a century and I can't remember junction numbers.  Overhead signs telling me "J28 - 7 min" are useless.  Is J28 Waltham Thingy, the M11, the A12?  The hyperspace bypass for Thurrock?  Dunno.  Perhaps I'll stop on the non-existent hard shoulder and look at a map

[Beardy]

I know that J22 is London Colony and that there’s a Sainsbury’s there.

[Tim Hall]

J18 is A404,road not found.

[fuzzy]

More to the point, which fucking genius decided that we no longer need hard shoulders or emergency refuge so we can make 4 lane roads** with no run off and control it all with cameras?

How the emergency service are going to get to the front of an incident that closes the full width of a smart motorway carriageway is left to the readers imagination.

[T42]

Still no coffee delivery.