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The grumpy thread


outlaw118

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3 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

Drove down to Sheffield and between J34 and 33 (Meadowhell to Catcliff), speed signs on and set to 60.

Shed loads of traffic ?. No

Breakdown and lane closed?. No.

Bad weather conditions?. No.

No, the reason given on the big illuminated boards was "Speed restriction for air quality".

FFS, is Greta  Cuntberg on Sheffield council now. Bet the bloke in the Tesla wasn't too happy at the reason.

 

 

It's been like that for a few years. I think.

I was dealing with 2 companies one in Bradford and one in Wolverhampton, and made a few trips from one to the other in 2018 and years 2019.  The 60 limit was pretty much all of the M1 from Leeds to the A38, which was loverly at 70. 

Most of my trips the motorway was empty.  Couldn't get my head around it. 

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4 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

Drove down to Sheffield and between J34 and 33 (Meadowhell to Catcliff), speed signs on and set to 60.

Shed loads of traffic ?. No

Breakdown and lane closed?. No.

Bad weather conditions?. No.

No, the reason given on the big illuminated boards was "Speed restriction for air quality".

FFS, is Greta  Cuntberg on Sheffield council now. Bet the bloke in the Tesla wasn't too happy at the reason.

 

 

Not gonna lie when I saw sheffield

I was expecting you to say at the end of the list of potential reasons

"Brian in his Invacar"

I would not put it past him!

https://www.facebook.com/brian.palmer1/posts/10217328938683835

 

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If it's a crackpot,pointless,money wasting scheme Sheffield council will be at the head of the queue to throw money at it.

After over a year of disruption to traffic flow making the M1 four lanes with reduced speed limit of 50 ( probably causing increased pollution levels) to help increase traffic flow, reduce congestion ( pollution levels) we know have this brain wave.

The one before was reduce traffic ( private vehicles) in the city centre to reduce pollution ( if you stood on the hill to the north east you could see the smog from diesel buses raising from this zone) then complain that businesses where closing hand over fist as know one was coming to shop there but were using the free parking & indoor shopping facilities at the various places on the outskirts.

All though the city centre is now student central more ( private) housing,bars, etc are being built than home starved ratepayers I used to be proud to be from this city of industry ,but now it's just a wannabe London.

I'd be glad to leave only missing my friends.

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13 hours ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

If it's a crackpot, pointless,money wasting scheme Sheffield council will be at the head of the queue to throw money at it.

I moved away in 1978, my parents in 1987. Even before then, my parents used to say that when it came to wasting the ratepayers money, Sheffield Council were the world leaders in it. IIRC, didn't one crackpot scheme decimalise time and see the clocks in the town hall replaced by ones which only went from 1 to 10 on the dial but spaced evenly all the way around.

A great city, but sadly ruled by those who in the 60's would have been consigned to Middlewood.

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1 hour ago, busmansholiday said:

IIRC, didn't one crackpot scheme decimalise time and see the clocks in the town hall replaced by ones which only went from 1 to 10 on the dial but spaced evenly all the way around.

Nope.

This was an art installation at the Millennium Gallery, representative of attempts by Napoleon's Republican government to "democratise time".  In France.  Two hundred years ago...

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4 hours ago, chaseracer said:

Nope.

This was an art installation at the Millennium Gallery, representative of attempts by Napoleon's Republican government to "democratise time".  In France.  Two hundred years ago...

I thought the whole decimalisation of the calendar thing happened soon after the Revolution?

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5 hours ago, hairnet said:

Shit Arona hire car did 250 miles used 6 gallons. ( Wasn't that bad was comfy and had not bad kit)

1.6 diesel vag

No motorways used and only a small.amount of dual carriageway

Does that sound shit?

 

Probably wasn't full when you got it.

Edit:  First thing I do whenever I get a hire car is immediately go to the nearest fuel station and absolutely brim it.  Usually get at least 8-10 litres in.  That way I know how much I can drive with the needle still saying full, and I'll know to judge how much fuel to have in it when it goes back.

Worst one was an Ashtray I hired at Edinburgh Airport.  That took something like 18 litres to be absolutely brim-full IIRC.  I drove it about 200 miles and the needle had barely moved down from it's top-stop. (and still showed full)  So I returned it without putting any more fuel in, and nothing was said.  Had I driven it said 200 miles, I would likely have put in the fuel I had used plus at least another 10-15 litres of the not-actually-being-full-when-I-got-it space.

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So nearly a month on from Knobhead's birthday and I've still not bought her a present. I'm hoping by ignoring it or offering to buy her a takeaway she'll forget about it.

It's the same every year, she just won't point at something and say "that"

I couldn't give a flying shit what I get or indeed if I get nothing, but then I'm not female.

 

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10 hours ago, dozeydustman said:

That’s great.

34214226-E4E1-455F-BEA2-0690895FE30F.thumb.jpeg.0126d2e43b4e6ed305659b11f8fa6cbb.jpeg
 

Workshop reckon OMGHGF.

Were they not stunned by the concept of a driver actually paying attention to their instruments?

The guys at the garage back in Aberdeen were far more used to "it went bang and stopped" type defect reports!

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1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

Do you not just sit on the limiter on such journeys anyway?

Not all the time. Some dual carriageways in our area are 40 or 50mph limit. Plus it helps me get “thrifty driver of the week” regularly. I’ve had as much as 13mpg (combined) from a 26 tonner. They only do 3mpg while collecting, if that.
 

41 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Were they not stunned by the concept of a driver actually paying attention to their instruments?

The guys at the garage back in Aberdeen were far more used to "it went bang and stopped" type defect reports!

On this instrument panel it’s idiot light and a buzzer unless you manually select the temp gauge. Doesn’t even switch to this display when temp is getting high. Older ones have a proper dial. They don’t even have an air pressure gauge unless driver has selected it. Again older freighters do.

It only had a service last Thursday. This one and it’s 2 15-reg brethren have been unreliable from day one. If it’s HGF it’s the third time on this truck. I was running it out to a crew who had broken down - plenty of coolant on the morning check and plenty of coolant after it had cooled down. When I left work cab was up and one of the fitters stripping the engine down.

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12 minutes ago, dozeydustman said:

Not all the time. Some dual carriageways in our area are 40 or 50mph limit. Plus it helps me get “thrifty driver of the week” regularly. I’ve had as much as 13mpg (combined) from a 26 tonner. They only do 3mpg while collecting, if that.
 

On this instrument panel it’s idiot light and a buzzer unless you manually select the temp gauge. Doesn’t even switch to this display when temp is getting high. Older ones have a proper dial. They don’t even have an air pressure gauge unless driver has selected it. Again older freighters do.

It only had a service last Thursday. This one and it’s 2 15-reg brethren have been unreliable from day one. If it’s HGF it’s the third time on this truck. I was running it out to a crew who had broken down - plenty of coolant on the morning check and plenty of coolant after it had cooled down. When I left work cab was up and one of the fitters stripping the engine down.

That would drive me absolutely spare on a wagon...I want to know what's going on.  Especially when the potential bill is so big if it gets cooked!

What are they?  Don't immediately recognise the cluster... though admittedly 12 reg ADL buses are the newest things I've ever been behind the wheel of.  The E350H goes well up to the 45mph limiter though!

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34 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

That would drive me absolutely spare on a wagon...I want to know what's going on.  Especially when the potential bill is so big if it gets cooked!

What are they?  Don't immediately recognise the cluster... though admittedly 12 reg ADL buses are the newest things I've ever been behind the wheel of.  The E350H goes well up to the 45mph limiter though!

Euro 6 Merc Econics. Hateful things. They wallow along the road like cross-channel ferries. Give me a Dennis, DAF or Volvo any day.

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18 hours ago, dozeydustman said:

Euro 6 Merc Econics. Hateful things. They wallow along the road like cross-channel ferries. Give me a Dennis, DAF or Volvo any day.

Such a shame they've lost their way it feels in the last 20 years.  Merc stuff used to be decent, though I reckon Volvo always had the edge in the real world.  Definitely in the prime time of the B10 <insert suffix here> anyway.  Based on purely anecdotal experience in the bus world anyway.

First Aberdeen prove that the B10BLE was damn near indestructible anyway!  Even with their utter and complete lack of any maintenance they struggled to kill them.

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Two months before emigrating, I lost my passport.  A massive pain in the arse as I needed it for visa and quarantine applications.

A quick chat with the passport office suggested an online application would be the way to go and as it’s merely a replacement for a lost passport it should be done in 2 weeks, maybe 3 at a push.  It’s now week 4 and I chased up the app today.

Basically they have everything and have had everything since the 18th September,  for some reason it’s sitting in a queue awaiting further info, even though none is required and I haven’t been asked for anything.  Shit.  The nice man said he will ask someone else to move it into a queue for checking but couldn’t say how long this would take.  And added that he doubted it would be sorted by the time we leave the UK.  And neither can I have it fast tracked because pandemic.

So as a result of uncontrollable bureaucratic bollocks I might have to rebook my flights, quarantine, and maybe even alter the date for completion of my house sale.  It’s not a simple case of my wife and kids go and I follow later as NZ won’t let me in without a citizen in tow.  It also means I can’t apply for my work visa in advance so can’t even look for work.

Fucking fuckity fuck fuck fuck with a bonus cunt for good measure.

EDIT - Passport office called me.  A jovial chap explained how someone there had inexplicably put me down as not having had a passport before.  Obviously the fact I requested a replacement passport and provided details of my lost document didn’t register with their processing person.  As a result the system was awaiting additional information but this field was blank as nothing was needed.  Basically someone ticked a box they shouldn’t have.  They can get things underway now but despite having had my details for four weeks it will take three weeks minimum to process so I might just get the passport before I travel, I might not.  Good job I hassled them though, if I had waited like a good boy it never would have arrived as it would never have been processed

Of course there is fuck all I can do.  Not as if I can use an alternative passport office in future is it?

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1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

Such a shame they've lost their way it feels in the last 20 years.  Merc stuff used to be decent, though I reckon Volvo always had the edge in the real world.  Definitely in the prime time of the B10 <insert suffix here> anyway.  Based on purely anecdotal experience in the bus world anyway.

First Aberdeen prove that the B10BLE was damn near indestructible anyway!  Even with their utter and complete lack of any maintenance they struggled to kill them.

The NG & SK series were pretty hardy old things and had a decent seat and driving position, but were painfully slow and (ones I have driven) have postcodes between gear ratios (5/6 speeds). The only 'normal' cab modern Merc commercial I have driven is an Atego plated at 14 tonnes, 2013 model. Wasn't impressed with it one iota - same bum-numbing seat of the Econic, the suspension was far too soft so again it lurched about unladen, and the interior quality of the dashboard and switchgear was horrifically cheap and fragile. Not what one would expect from a 'premium' marque.

Volvo trucks are brilliant. Had a lovely 14 plate one when I did a little bit of general haulage when I first moved down here; comfy seat, great visibility for a high cab, smooth ride, cruise, air con and a really good 8-speed auto. I think their engines can be fussy though.

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Ma's been doing scorchio! on a plug.

IMG_20201013_164017.thumb.jpg.bf5dd54d58c6ac5e6ce753280f383867.jpg

Went with quite a bang. Plug innards are drunken fryup.

IMG_20201013_170234.thumb.jpg.725870ad8b27461ccb71d54d18ac750d.jpg

Lamp is eleventy million years old, and I can tell by the quality of the wiring my old man fitted it. Not sure why it should go so violently mind. Super safe* wylex fuse box wasn't bothered by a bit of arc welding and didn't blow the fuse.

Ma now giving me grade one evil eye. I must have missed out the chapter on how to react when your mother has a fireball erupt out of a shonky wired plug.

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On 10/11/2020 at 4:00 PM, hairnet said:

Shit Arona hire car did 250 miles used 6 gallons. ( Wasn't that bad was comfy and had not bad kit)

1.6 diesel vag

No motorways used and only a small.amount of dual carriageway

Does that sound shit?

 

That's the same 41.6 (ish) I got when I filled my 1.3 Fiat diesel. And that was a mix of town and motorway driving. So sounds brilliant.

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24 minutes ago, jakebullet said:

 Super safe* wylex fuse box wasn't bothered by a bit of arc welding and didn't blow the fuse.

I doubt a breaker box would trip either for that, especially on a kitchen ring! Nice vintage plug and wire, it's a shame it exploded.

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