The new news 24 thread

[EspenO]

On 07/10/2024 at 22:14, cort16 said:

Chris Harris has just gone up in my estimation.  Full corduroy interior in an m5

I don’t think any E60 or E61 M5 were ever delivered with fake leather.

It may not have been the übernice nappa leather, though.

 

[Lord Sterling]

8 hours ago, pilninggas said:

@Lord Sterling Do you still want it look at?

I'll try to get over there before the end of the week if you do.

@pilninggas Cheers. Only if you are passing/have time. Its just that I spotted it watching Glovestrains, so was interested to know what kind of carnot was. Looks like a late 60s Ford Cortina. 

[Lord Sterling]

7 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

  

Cheers Bournite. You've now pretty much solved a mystery for me that has been annoying me for the best part of several years.

I remember driving up this section many years ago when I was a trade-plater. But for some reason, I kept thinking that this tunnel was on the M25, now I know it's on the A1(M).

[New POD]

On 07/10/2024 at 20:00, egg said:

Crikey. Miracle nobody died here (County Down)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cglk8lgkzd6o

As I read that article, I kept thinking Snowflakes.  I know I'm very harsh. 

I realise that it would have been a shock, but it appears none of the kids (if you believe the article) has any ability to keep calm in a crisis. 

I don't suppose any of them are in the scouts or guides, and none of them have done any training in first aid, and their natural reaction was to scream. To be fair that's great for the first few ambulance crew on the scene. Those screaming are signalling they don't need urgent attention. It's the quite ones that need looking at first. 

As for smashing windows to get out. There are emergency doors and windows. 

[Coprolalia]

1 hour ago, New POD said:

As I read that article, I kept thinking Snowflakes.  I know I'm very harsh. 

I realise that it would have been a shock, but it appears none of the kids (if you believe the article) has any ability to keep calm in a crisis. 

I don't suppose any of them are in the scouts or guides, and none of them have done any training in first aid, and their natural reaction was to scream. To be fair that's great for the first few ambulance crew on the scene. Those screaming are signalling they don't need urgent attention. It's the quite ones that need looking at first. 

As for smashing windows to get out. There are emergency doors and windows. 

I mean... They're kids. 

[richardmorris]

[Westbay]

Good grief! that backend is ugly...

[Yoss]

13 hours ago, IronStar said:

Same here, but I’m sure they’ll do some mental gymnastics to say it’s not usage that wasn’t billed right, I’ve used it all in a month somehow and they’re doing me a favor by splitting it into installments. Oh and I’m sure they will find a way to argue that it’s all somehow my fault. 
I can’t even tell them to FRO and change providers because power utility company is  state-owned monopoly so you have no choice. Looking forward* to being bent over. 
 

EDIT: Called my lawyer, she says they can’t possibly bill it for a single month for their fuckup, and is looking forward to suing them for unlawful charges. Thinks she can get them to drop everything on the grounds of having no clue of monthly usage and the court will throw them out if they guesstimate over such a long period. This is all going to be very fun*.

We were fortunate* enough to have the reverse situation to this. OVO were supposed to fit a smart a meter and only did half the job. The meters worked here but didn't send the info back to them. In the meantime they were sending us wildly over inflated estimates. 

Despite frequent prompting from me (and it was always me ringing them, they never rang me back) it took 14 months to finally fix it including 3 times they completely failed to show up for pre arranged appointments. When I rang to ask why they hadn't shown up the person on the phone usually had no idea. 

Even once it was sorted we couldn't get them to believe they'd been massively overcharging us for 14 months despite them now having the info to prove it. 

I the end we went to the ombudsman (you may not be fortunate enough to have one of those in Serbia) who were brilliant. Within an hour of me sending a fairly lengthy email describing the story so far I got a phone call from a lady who said her name was Karen and she would be handling our case. And indeed it was the same lady all the way through who phoned and emailed regularly with updates. I had the foresight to take regular photos of the meters. I'd started doing this once I realised how incompetent OVO are. I sent a few of these to the ombudsman so OVO really didn't have a leg to stand on. We got an £850 refund including a £175 'goodwill' gesture (ha, I'm sure that was only because they had to, not because they wanted to). They paid within hours of the ombudsman ruling in our favour. It seems they take these rulings very seriously. Its a shame they can't believe their own customers in the first place. 

Karen from the ombudsmen rang me a couple of days day later to see if we'd got the money. So if anybody over here is having trouble with energy providers I really can't recommend the ombudsman enough, they were brilliant. 

 

[wuvvum]

2 minutes ago, Yoss said:

I got a phone call from a lady who said her name was Karen and she would be handling our case. We got an £850 refund including a £175 'goodwill' gesture

She probably marched into their offices demanding to speak to the manager and refusing to leave until she got what she wanted.

[Yoss]

3 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

She probably marched into their offices demanding to speak to the manager and refusing to leave until she got what she wanted.

I think that is exactly what they do, metaphorically. I couldn't believe how effective they were. I was expecting them to be like another sub department of government (which I think they sort of are) and to get passed around from one place to another for months on end, but quite the reverse. 

[Metal Guru]

4 hours ago, Coprolalia said:

I mean... They're kids. 

They scream like they’re being murdered when they’re playing , so I can only imagine what it’s like if they’re faced with real terror. Having said that , 99% of adults would have reacted the same if not worse. Stiff upper lip, keep calm and carry on, has long gone. 
 

[wuvvum]

Adults would have been posing for panic-faced selfies to post on Instagram for sympathy likes.

[New POD]

5 hours ago, Coprolalia said:

I mean... They're kids. 

As I said, I know I'm being harsh, but we need to teach people* to stop, look around, think, and not scream, in moments of adversity.  

*when I say people, I mean kids and adults. 

Perhaps instead of screaming we could all say. Oh dear. That wasn't a good thing that just happened. 

 

[wuvvum]

They should have taken the opportunity to sit down on the bank and enter this week's Rice Krispie consumption into their spreadsheets.  That would have kept them calm.

[horriblemercedes]

11 hours ago, EspenO said:

I don’t think any E60 or E61 M5 were ever delivered with fake leather.

It may not have been the übernice nappa leather, though.

 

Are you sure?

 

I'm pretty sure it would've been offered. Plenty of people (for example many Hindus) would not want real leather.

[wuvvum]

And vegans.  We mustn't forget vegans.  (Not that they'd let us.)

[chadders]

27 minutes ago, New POD said:

As I said, I know I'm being harsh, but we need to teach people* to stop, look around, think, and not scream, in moments of adversity.  

*when I say people, I mean kids and adults. 

Perhaps instead of screaming we could all say. Oh dear. That wasn't a good thing that just happened. 

 

As you do when you moan about the state of your marriage.

There's more than a bit of hypocrisy here. 

[horriblemercedes]

I assumed it was figurative - people don't actually just stand and scream, do they?

It's an evolutionary thing. If you're alone in the woods with your back against a tree and a bear is growling at you, you scream to try to attract attention and help. If you're in a group, you wouldn't actually scream, would you?

 

It's a bit silly to suggest that they should be adept at first aid and competent to tend to the wounded.

[Rust Collector]

1 minute ago, horriblemercedes said:

I assumed it was figurative - people don't actually just stand and scream, do they?

You’ve obviously never seen me out on the driveway fixing my XM.

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, chadders said:

As you do when you moan about the state of your marriage.

There's more than a bit of hypocrisy here. 

I thought everything was rosy in PODland these days, at least on that front.  Lots of overseas holidays and regular sex (from 15:00 to 15:05 on the third Saturday of every month).

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

1 hour ago, horriblemercedes said:

I assumed it was figurative - people don't actually just stand and scream, do they?

I prefer to sit and scream when Mad Wife in the Attic is driving.

[New POD]

1 hour ago, chadders said:

As you do when you moan about the state of your marriage.

There's more than a bit of hypocrisy here. 

I stopped and read what you put and decided you aren't really the kindest person on here are you?  Not sure why you choose to target my posts specifically.  I tried to see positive intent in that, but I can't see it. 

Here's an idea. Try to be more kind. It doesn't cost much.

[New POD]

19 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I thought everything was rosy in PODland these days, at least on that front.  Lots of overseas holidays and regular sex (from 15:00 to 15:05 on the third Saturday of every month).

I think the timing is out, and the word regular is probably a bit too optimistic, but we are doing better.  More good days than bad. 

[chadders]

3 minutes ago, New POD said:

I stopped and read what you put and decided you aren't really the kindest person on here are you?  Not sure why you choose to target my posts specifically.  I tried to see positive intent in that, but I can't see it. 

Here's an idea. Try to be more kind. It doesn't cost much.

As you did criticising the kids?..

[richardmorris]

[New POD]

1 hour ago, horriblemercedes said:

 

It's a bit silly to suggest that they should be adept at first aid and competent to tend to the wounded.

Why ?  What do they learn on Instagram ? 

  In the 70s whilst in the scouts we did a first aid badge.  Never used it until my friend ran over a pedestrian about 10 years later.  Unfortunately 7 hours of surgery didn't save him, but I stopped him from choking on his own blood, so that the professionally could have a go. 

Those who  choose to do the D of E award scheme did first aid training before the expeditions.  My wife's friends had to administer first aid after she fell off her bicycle and smashed her eye socket and broke her arm.  Apparently nobody screamed. They just got on with it. 

[hairnet]

more 2cv ffs

[horriblemercedes]

7 minutes ago, New POD said:

Why ?  What do they learn on Instagram ? 

  In the 70s whilst in the scouts we did a first aid badge.  Never used it until my friend ran over a pedestrian about 10 years later.  Unfortunately 7 hours of surgery didn't save him, but I stopped him from choking on his own blood, so that the professionally could have a go. 

Those who  choose to do the D of E award scheme did first aid training before the expeditions.  My wife's friends had to administer first aid after she fell off her bicycle and smashed her eye socket and broke her arm.  Apparently nobody screamed. They just got on with it. 

I have no idea - was Instagram something to do with the crash?

Maybe some of those children are/were in the Scouts. They're probably a bit too young to have been in the Scouts in the 1970s, but I don't think that should be an issue.

 

I really doubt there was mass screaming. It's something from films - I don't think it really happens.

[Christine]

3 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

You’ve obviously never seen me out on the driveway fixing my XM.

There's a self employed  fella up the road a bit  ,  that had his older  Transit truck up on axle stands , for about a week .. He was out at 7am until dusk every day  working on it . Hammering and swearing , trying again and again to start it ...no dice ..The previous week he changed a diff on the drive  ... I was going to offer him a hand but he seemed to know what he was doing and he had better tools than me , and anyway i know fuck all about diesels .... Come Friday afternoon , i hear the fucker start up and rev up, looking from my window ,  a  cloud of black exhaust ..... Suddenly , he gets out of the cab .   And he's  won the lottery or scored for West Ham ....Arms above his head , dancing in and out the road laughing,   shouting YES YES YES !

  Amazing !  I know the elated feeling well.  

[loserone]

Hope you took him a beer.