The grumpy thread

[dollywobbler]

Whenever I'm coming back from down that way, I chop across to the A5 from just S of MK, then take the A422 just north of Stony Stratford through Buckingham and Brackley to the M40 at Banbury. It's a half-decent drive, too!

 

Yeah, I should have done that. Stupid me just wanted to get home by the quickest route possible. 

[Pieman]

Sodding tree and sodding birds.

 

IMG_20190401_174143.jpg

 

Just the state you want a car you'd ideally like to sell wind up looking after a couple of weeks.

 

That happened to my Focus at the end of last year - was staying at a country hotel somewhere in Leicestershite and parked a bit too close to the trees, next morning it was COMPLETELY coated in huge black bird-turds.  It's rare I wash my car but I had to on that occasion to avoid paint damage - brushes wouldn't get the turds off without some serious elbow grease, they practically had to be chipped off the car with a trowel!  Fuck knows what kinds of birds were living in those trees!

[Supernaut]

Desks at work.

 

At my current place of work, one does not have an assigned desk. You get a laptop and the desks have docking stations.

We recently got new laptops, and the docking stations for them don't have enough display outputs, so the third monitor is handled by a usb to dvi adapter. It's utter dogshit.

My laptop works fine on some desks, on others the third monitor doesn't work at all, and on others it flickers. A colleague can plug their identical laptop into a desk that mine works on, and the third monitor doesn't work. It's utterly insanity-inducing how random these things are.

 

This all means I end up spending a good quarter of an hour every morning when I come in trying to find a desk that works. Then I have to find a chair! It means I'm guaranteed to be pissed right off before I even start work.

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

Desks at work.

 

At my current place of work, one does not have an assigned desk. You get a laptop and the desks have docking stations.

We recently got new laptops, and the docking stations for them don't have enough display outputs, so the third monitor is handled by a usb to dvi adapter. It's utter dogshit.

My laptop works fine on some desks, on others the third monitor doesn't work at all, and on others it flickers. A colleague can plug their identical laptop into a desk that mine works on, and the third monitor doesn't work. It's utterly insanity-inducing how random these things are.

 

This all means I end up spending a good quarter of an hour every morning when I come in trying to find a desk that works. Then I have to find a chair! It means I'm guaranteed to be pissed right off before I even start work.

 

Liked in geek camaraderie...……. right there with you bro!

[HMC]

This is a grump about being priced out of older mercs. In the mid 2000’s in the paper version of autotrader was the under 1,000 section. There would always be a choice of (admittedly a bit ropey) cheap w124s. Times have moved on and I’m left looking at corroded w210/ w202 specimens which is all my shiter (sub £400 ) budget will buy for a running motd example.

[Datsuncog]

Desks at work.

 

Ah, that's a right old ball-ache... I feel for you.

 

When I worked for AXA Sun Life on the outskirts of Bristol, they had a hot-desking policy for the call floors.

 

The chances of getting a location with a working monitor, keyboard, mouse and phone headset were vanishingly small. After scurrying round four or five desks, and finding that a different key component was fucked on each, I'd then get a bollocking from my team leader for not being logged in and ready to go at the start time.

 

I ended up buying a cheap USB keyboard, mouse and headset and carrying them around in my bag. At least if I could find a desk with at least one working monitor and phone, I could handle the rest.

 

Then I got taken aside for using 'non-authorised equipment'. I countered that I couldn't do my job with the broken equipment provided, and surely it was the office manager's job to make sure headsets didn't have the wires pulled out or mice weren't missing their tracking balls.

 

He didn't like that, and rather than going and fixing the problems, the bollockings increased.

 

So I left. Maybe not a smart move, but it was a temp role anyway.

 

As an aside, a few months later I believe the entire HQ in Filton closed due to their parlous financial situation. Which I'd kinda picked up on because of the number of red notices coming through on investments, funds closing, and panicky calls from IFAs on behalf of high-worth investors. It was an interesting introduction to the world of finance, and how massively clueless some of these self-appointed 'masters of the universe' are on a number of levels. 

 

They might have had a subsidised gym, bar and Starbucks for their staff but by golly, there were some fucking stupid decisions made in that place.

[iainrcz]

Today, not only am I dying of lurgy I also seemed to have ruptured my ACL in the night. My right knee is killing when I bend it.

Jesus, I'm 38 going on 94.

 

Although, it has just rained and I have a GT86 on the drive..hmm skids ahoy.

[dollywobbler]

 

 

So I left. Maybe not a smart move, but it was a temp role anyway.

 

 

 

There is nothing more satisfying than telling someone to shove their job up their arse, even if you phrase it more diplomatically than that. It's the only thing I miss about actual employment. Certainly is true that people don't leave jobs, they leave managers.

[dean36014]

Decided to use the works hot pressure washer this morning(3am) after getting back to  the yard. Had a filthy Bx subframe I've sold and wanted to get it squeaky clean to check for cracks and rust. Positioned the car with main beam on pointing at the hot wash, chucked subframe on floor and steamed cleaned the hell out of it. Checked it over with a torch and it's spotless. Tidied up, put lance away neatly, walked back towards car, headlights on remember, and promptly fell over the bloody subframe. One pair of now designer ripped trouser, 3 inch gash to leg, buggered my back even more, and cut my palm where I landed. I'm beginning to think it wasn't all worth the pain for 40 quid     

[Supernaut]

 

They might have had a subsidised gym, bar and Starbucks for their staff but by golly, there were some fucking stupid decisions made in that place.

 

This place has none of that. We get some fruit delivered to the kitchen every Monday and Wednesday, and we have a free coffee machine...

 

I've only been here since January and the amount of stupid decisions and departments flat-out failing at doing there jobs is already staggering. I'm actively looking at other roles as I hate being 100% desk-based.

[anonymous user]

At the moment I'd be glad of any job (probably get fed up with it fairly quickly) today was my third go at applying for the same job. It's something I'm easily qualified and experienced to do, being a full time role of what was a small part of my last job. The online only application should be easy, but was not compatible with being done on my phone. Tried again using a notebook, not all the drop down things worked but did as best as I could and sent covering email, also pointing out that the form downloaded from the advert said it was for internal applications. Got sent a similar, but slightly different form, the drop downs still don't work properly, but I have sent it anyway. The cynic in me thinks that the job will go internally and that the external applications go in the recycle bin.

[Jerzy Woking]

There is nothing more satisfying than telling someone to shove their job up their arse, even if you phrase it more diplomatically than that. It's the only thing I miss about actual employment. Certainly is true that people don't leave jobs, they leave managers.

 

 

I had a career that, due to senior management, just became a job. Took retirement as soon as I could afford to.

 

Plus pointlessly moving dozens and dozens of people, and all their documents and equipment, around in an office that is closing in about 15 months.

 

Plus this forced hotdesking. 45 staff on my team. 22 desks. So people started "working from home". Like having a paid holiday in my eyes, as I am sure the majority that were working from home did fuck all on those days.

[Jerzy Woking]

And my new motorbike won't be delivered today (same as yesterday) because the shop can't get it registered, as the registration office has been shut for the last two days ( last day of the month/first day of the month). And today they have a backlog of applications to do.

 

Makes me appreciate the way the DVLA work (the majority of the time).

[Cavcraft]

This is a grump about being priced out of older mercs. In the mid 2000’s in the paper version of autotrader was the under 1,000 section. There would always be a choice of (admittedly a bit ropey) cheap w124s. Times have moved on and I’m left looking at corroded w210/ w202 specimens which is all my shiter (sub £400 ) budget will buy for a running motd example.

I always thought Mercs seem to take an age to reach good money. W124s were at give away prices for years, ditto stuff like those 1970's SLC models that either rotted away or were incredibly cheap.

[iainrcz]

I've been using a couple of job "apps" to find a new job. Pop on once a week or so and it's pretty much - Here's a job for minimum wage - no. Here's a job you're not qualified for - no. Here's a job you'll have to wake up at 4am to do - no. Here's a job you'll have to shave and stop swearing for - no.

 

Still I suppose clicking no on the 4 jobs that appear every week is better than filling in all your private information and getting fucking 800 emails or text messages every day.

 

Although, now they've got the moronic idea of a 4 on 4 off shift pattern out of their heads maybe I won't have to run to the hills. Me, work more than 3 days a week? Pfft. All my best work is done at home.

[dean36014]

I must have struck lucky buying an unrotten c class on lpg for £220 then! Mind you whilst it been off the road I've fully serviced it and replaced anything slightly dodgy so no owes me circa 500. Still a bargain in my eyes.

[Sheefag]

Sounds like a coil issue?

 

It's broken down mate, not pregnant.

[reb]

 

 

I've been using a couple of job "apps" to find a new job. Pop on once a week or so and it's pretty much - Here's a job for minimum wage - no. Here's a job you're not qualified for - no. Here's a job you'll have to wake up at 4am to do - no. Here's a job you'll have to shave and stop swearing for - no.

 

Still I suppose clicking no on the 4 jobs that appear every week is better than filling in all your private information and getting fucking 800 emails or text messages every day.

 

Although, now they've got the moronic idea of a 4 on 4 off shift pattern out of their heads maybe I won't have to run to the hills. Me, work more than 3 days a week? Pfft. All my best work is done at home.

I'm in a job that pays minimum wage (or close to, depends how lucky I get with the standing down) AND "requires" me to shave and not swear. I sometimes comply.

 

First shift back today so been tidying the car so I don't end up on Facebook with some complaint about delivering pizza perched atop a pile of car parts and other detritus. Technically the exterior should be "clean and represent a positive brand image" but I live on a farm so they can FRO if they think I'm going to wash it every day just to keep them happy. Part of the joy of ordering pizza is when it turns up in some grubby shitter, or is that just me?

 

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

[louiepj]

Low coolant warning light came on in the Sharan so I opened her up and had a good look and found her coolant flange leaking.....

Main stealer part but only £19 and be with them tomorrow. Took a bad picture of it too:

[iainrcz]

Ooh leaking flange. Nasty. My Mrs is nearly 41 and so far she hasn't developed that.

[wuvvum]

Buick failed its CT.

Big fail sheet

20190401_191313.jpg

 

Oh bummer.

 

Brakes and emissions aren't a huge surprise given how long it'd been stood up, and I would imagine the bushes and track rod end would be easy enough to get from Rock Auto or somewhere, but the corroded wishbones etc. might be more of an issue - can't see them being easy to get second hand, or cheap to buy new.

 

Are you going to crack on with it?

[wuvvum]

Desks at work.

 

At my current place of work, one does not have an assigned desk. You get a laptop and the desks have docking stations.

We recently got new laptops, and the docking stations for them don't have enough display outputs, so the third monitor is handled by a usb to dvi adapter. It's utter dogshit.

My laptop works fine on some desks, on others the third monitor doesn't work at all, and on others it flickers. A colleague can plug their identical laptop into a desk that mine works on, and the third monitor doesn't work. It's utterly insanity-inducing how random these things are.

 

This all means I end up spending a good quarter of an hour every morning when I come in trying to find a desk that works. Then I have to find a chair! It means I'm guaranteed to be pissed right off before I even start work.

 

They were talking about bringing in hot desking where I work as part of an upcoming office refurb.  Apart from the general shitness of not having an assigned "home" for the place where one spends the majority of one's waking hours during the week, the team I am in works really well together, there's an excellent spread of knowledge across the team, we help each other out if one of us has too much on, and as an added bonus we all get on brilliantly together. 

 

Sadly senior management don't seem to care about intangible stuff like that - the fact that splitting the team up would cause morale and productivity to drop like a stone cannot be entered into an Excel spreadsheet in pounds and pence, and therefore doesn't matter.  So we've all told them in the "additional comments" section of the feedback form that if hot desking is introduced, the entire team will walk.  Which we would.  Whether that will be taken any notice of remains to be seen...

[Kiltox]

Supernaut - is there another shift after you who need the desk?

 

We have this shit at my work (which doesn’t have another shift) - I Kensington lock my laptop to the desk and leave it....

[Supernaut]

Yes, there are other shifts.

 

I'm currently on 9-5 Mon-Fri but once I'm deemed experienced enough (fuck knows when) I'll be on 12 hour shifts. 4 on 4 off.

The place is 24/7 support so there are also night shifts involved.

 

As if 8 hours in an office wasn't bad enough.

[HillmanImp]

944 is broken again, the throttle cable has unravelled itself and is getting stuck open so that's another thing on the looooooong list of shit to do. This car is breaking much much quicker than I can fix it.

 

Nothing too serious (yet) though but it's a right bleedin' Diva.

 

 

Its fecking fit though innit? However, beauty is only skin deep and I am starting to think its a bit mental behind the eyes. 

 

I can't help but think that if it was a bird, it would throw the crockery at me for going to the pub without it and then fuck anyone and everyone behind my back and blame me when it got the clap.

 

Its the exact opposite of Meg which is fugly and nowt special but is absolutely lovely when you look past the crusty exterior. 

 

Will have to see how I get on with it over the next few months to see if it's a keeper or not. The rate of breakage might ease off once it's bedded into life at Imp Towers.

[SiC]

944 is broken again, the throttle cable has unravelled itself and is getting stuck open so that's another thing on the looooooong list of shit to do. This car is breaking much much quicker than I can fix it.

 

Was it that throttle cable that caused the high idle? Or was that caused by something else?

[HillmanImp]

Was it that throttle cable that caused the high idle? Or was that caused by something else?

 

Yeah it was that.

 

 

It's got stuck in the liner leaving it to idle fast. Obviously this will be a Porsche only part and will cost £900.

[Timewaster]

Porsche only part and will cost £900.

Jeebus?! For real, or a prediction based on bitter experience?

[SiC]

Jeebus?! For real, or a prediction based on bitter experience?

Exaggeration, but Porsche-tax is very much a thing.

 

https://www.design911.co.uk/mobile/#part;id=923

70quid for a cable is still pretty pricey.

[beko1987]

That porche description makes me want to puke!

 

I bodged similar on my old green zx with a choc block which then outlasted the car, bet porche will sell you a bit of choc bloc for waaaaay less than £70...