The grumpy thread

[New POD]

5 minutes ago, loserone said:

The motorways only get shit when you get south of Leeds, and they get better again once you cross the channel.

I think that pretty much sums up our motorways.  

 

[richardmorris]

I've been in work for over an hour already with the a/c on full in two rooms and it's 23 degrees inside.

[chaseracer]

8 hours ago, adw1977 said:

Newcastle (under Lyme) is not part of Stoke, it's a separate town and borough.  Kidsgrove is also part of Newcastle borough. 

Hence both are in the county of Staffordshire, not the unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent, though ribbon development westward along the A50 puts the outer edge of Kidsgrove over the line into Cheshire.

Laugh a minute sometimes, my job - trust me!

[Tamworthbay]

10 hours ago, taxi paul said:

Had to go down to bordesley green in Birmingham today. Needed a cv joint for the jap bus and a nice man down there had them in stock.  It's a lovely * place , well it might be. But both there and back on the m6 I may have had to go into the first lane and undertake ,sort of safely . Actual knobheads in lane three and four doing 65 mph with clear spaces in lanes one and two to pull into. I think if you made it ten lanes wide . The outer two would be full of people doing 65 whilst the others go faster. 

I often think we should reverse the lanes on motorways, let the twats inhabit the ‘fast lanes’ whilst the rest of us fly past them in the ‘slow lanes’.

[Lord Sterling]

3 hours ago, loserone said:

Sorry, but you can stop tarnishing the rest of the country with that brush.  The motorways only get shit when you get south of Leeds, and they get better again once you cross the channel.

As someone who was a trade plater and drove regularly pretty much every single motorway on a regular basis, I can say that many drivers do still drive in pretty much the same manner around England. The motorways of North (North Yorks etc...) are a lot less congested and clearer of cars but you still find a few middle-lane dawdlers and "fast" lane hoggers. It just gets a hell of a lot more congested this of Leeds.

12 minutes ago, Tamworthbay said:

I often think we should reverse the lanes on motorways, let the twats inhabit the ‘fast lanes’ whilst the rest of us fly past them in the ‘slow lanes’.

That is exactly what I am beggining to see see now and what I used to do. The M42 south by South Birmingham/Solihull heading to the M42/M40 split was a regular spot for being massively congested, particularly for people heading up the M42 to the M5. I'd fly past a good 30mins of queues on the inside lane, see a nice large space near the split and safely filter in. It often saved me 30/40 mins on my journey home.

[Stanky]

9 hours ago, Rovorsche said:

It looks like this, at the moment, not a single hammer mark, boot imprint or fire damage.

 

The actual carb looks like this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mouchao-Carburetor-799583-Stratton-Lawnmower/dp/B07SLL495H/ref=sr_1_23?keywords=briggs+carburetor+799583

The one I ordered hasnt turned up and I cannot see the one I ordered but there are legions of Chinese clones for this part.
I fear my one will never arrive.

 

I could not see anywhere for a diaphragm to exist in this setup.

 

 

Hmm, thats a later engine than I'm familar with - and probably dispenses with the diaphragm as the tank is above the carb, not below it (as with the older engines which needed vacuum to keep sucking fuel once they'd been started). It has a priming bulb, correct? And when used, the mower runs until the primer fuel has been used up then dies? Has it got a fuel cut-off tap thats not fully open? Can you get it running, have an assistant hold the dead mans handle down (or use a g-clamp) and manually actuate the throttle butterfly to see if you can get it to run like that? Obviously not a long-term solution but would help to identify if its an issue with the throttle butterfly and/or the springs that control it. The springs are made of really cheap thin wire and lose tension with age.

[Tetleysmooth]

Me and Mrs Tet set off for the garden centre in her Pajero yesterday morning. Still can't use the Saab, still waiting for the exhaust to be fitted. Just as we turned onto the A1306 - BLAHHHHH - really loud. The exhaust blew somewhere up the front end. It turned out that when I deleted the EGR valve, I left a little piece of pipe attached and blanked that off. It was this piece which had split. So, I had to remove that and fit the blanking plate to the exhaust manifold. In that heat. With a red hot engine. And effing inaccessible. It took me hours. I had filthy hands and arm right up past the elbows. And cuts!! For fuck's sake, it looked like I'd gone ten rounds with the Wolverine. I hope I don't have to do that again anytime soon.

And before anyone asks why I don't do the Saab exhaust myself, I get some sort of claustrophobia working right under cars now, makes me feel quite unwell actually.

[clayts450]

57 minutes ago, Lord Sterling said:

That is exactly what I am beggining to see see now and what I used to do. The M42 south by South Birmingham/Solihull heading to the M42/M40 split was a regular spot for being massively congested, particularly for people heading up the M42 to the M5. I'd fly past a good 30mins of queues on the inside lane, see a nice large space near the split and safely filter in. It often saved me 30/40 mins on my journey home.

Yes, that's a lovely stretch of road to do some legitimate undertaking - as long as you stay within the variable speed limit, if lanes 3 and 4 are going slower (they always are), absolutely fine to undertake there in my opinion (the old Highway Code blarney about overtaking on the left)

[Rovorsche]

Mole grips on the dead man's handle worked with less risk than asking a ten year old. I will try fiddling with the butterfly and see..

[jakebullet]

Ebay peeing me off as a buyer. I want a single one of these with a tyre with tread:

I've sussed if you type "discovery wheel" into the search you get er, discovery wheels. Adding TD5 which usually gets you D2 stuff just adds in 'breakin wheel nut m8' and other unrelated stuff. So look thru until I find one, simples?

Nope, 'cos the cock mytyres has listed everything he sells as fits every car ever made. So there's thousands of results like steel wheels BUGATTI Isidor 5B-1 205/55 R16 91V Sunny summer (Fits: Discovery) , and the filter out arsehole sellers option is grayed out. Nice one ebay.

Er, in the unlikely event anyone has a single disco 2 tempest alloy with a 235/70/16 on it please hit me up!

[clayts450]

1 hour ago, jakebullet said:

Ebay peeing me off as a buyer. I want a single one of these with a tyre with tread:

I've sussed if you type "discovery wheel" into the search you get er, discovery wheels. Adding TD5 which usually gets you D2 stuff just adds in 'breakin wheel nut m8' and other unrelated stuff. So look thru until I find one, simples?

Nope, 'cos the cock mytyres has listed everything he sells as fits every car ever made. So there's thousands of results like steel wheels BUGATTI Isidor 5B-1 205/55 R16 91V Sunny summer (Fits: Discovery) , and the filter out arsehole sellers option is grayed out. Nice one ebay.

Er, in the unlikely event anyone has a single disco 2 tempest alloy with a 235/70/16 on it please hit me up!

Disco 1 - no good I take it ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Defender-Discovery-1-Rrc-Alloy-Wheels-And-Tyres-235-70-16/283554917908?hash=item420530ae14:g:b-YAAOSwfuddM4Hw

I always search by tyre size  in the search box then filter down to wheels and tyres - this one popped up on the first page.

[Rovorsche]

Its been a while since I used Ebay but from memory if you put any term after a minus it used to exclude stuff, doesnt include sellers.

 

Under more refinements>filter>seller  then tick the box "Only show items from" and the exclude is active

[Cavcraft]

Having a meal outside a nice pub, and some Cheshire Set birds are having some sort of sales boasting competition. The 'leader' has not shut the fuck up since they got here about 45 minutes ago 

[jakebullet]

33 minutes ago, Rovorsche said:

Its been a while since I used Ebay but from memory if you put any term after a minus it used to exclude stuff, doesnt include sellers.

 

Under more refinements>filter>seller  then tick the box "Only show items from" and the exclude is active

Aha! Stupid ebay, if you change search to nearest first it disables the exclude seller thing. Works on the default search.

Disco 1 wheels don't fit, they changed the pcd.

[Zelandeth]

Our lounge/kitchen a couple of hour ago.

The portable AC units are managing to keep the master bedroom down to about 25C.

Why haven't we just got a proper fixed system installed yet?!?

Oh...yeah...because it's about £10K of work, that's why.

[wuvvum]

I've been regretting not pulling my finger out and fitting the new A/C drive belt to the Rover.  Left off work at 1.30 today and it was 34º in the shade.  The car, which had been parked in the sun, was somewhat warmer.  The wooden bits of the steering wheel were too hot to touch, and I very nearly burned my arse on the seat.  Thank feck I went for a car with beige leather rather than black.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

3 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

......  Thank feck I went for a car with beige leather rather than black.

Hope everyone who bought a black car is happy now.

[richardmorris]

15 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Our lounge/kitchen a couple of hour ago.

The portable AC units are managing to keep the master bedroom down to about 25C.

Why haven't we just got a proper fixed system installed yet?!?

Oh...yeah...because it's about £10K of work, that's why.

The ac in work was just about coping today, but fighting against the instrument furnaces at 1100degrees as well,

[BorniteIdentity]

I really hate moaning about the temperatures. My dear father in law will mention, almost moment by moment, how hot it is. It’s as exhausting to listen to him as it is to survive the temperature. 

Nonetheless. It’s too fucking hot. 

I experienced the same thing as Wuv getting into the Avensis today. Obligatory photo was taken, but I had to use a handkerchief (how fucking ‘Cambridge’?) to hold the wheel. I would guesstimate it was getting on for fiddy degrees in the car. 

Weirdly, the little green ‘Air Con’ light does fuck all to cool you down - and I’m too tight to make it actually mean something (regas m9)

Now off to sleep* like a beached whale in the recovery position. Until tomorrow chums! 

[Kiltox]

Something something modern something something ice cold air con

Had to make sure I parked it under cover at work today though, I normally park on the roof of the multi storey and it is insanely warm with the black / black leather / more black typically German interior

[Fumbler]

Me too hot. House too hot. Expected 38 degrees tomorrow. Me happy it all end after tomorrow. Me want rain and cold for a while....

 

In other news the P38 thermometer was probably reading over 50. Didn't try to look because leather car, leather interior etc.

[BorniteIdentity]

4 minutes ago, Kiltox said:

Something something modern something something ice cold air con

Had to make sure I parked it under cover at work today though, I normally park on the roof of the multi storey and it is insanely warm with the black / black leather / more black typically German interior

Yah yah yah. I get it. I’m not a complete luddite living off grid in a barely converted donut trailer or whatever - I’ve got an iPhone and EVERYTHING! 

I just... well... the thing... here’s the thing... basically it’s not me. They are brilliant at what they are, but - well you know. They’re about as appealing to me as a binge watch of Love Island and a ‘large’ weekend in Magaluf with the lads. 

It’s just not Lagom. 

Oh, and I’m tighter than a drum. 

[Kiltox]

I hear you. It doesn’t set my world on fire either (largely thanks to the very cold A/C ?)

[Lord Sterling]

Unfortunately, the AC in the Vectra doesn't work. I had it regassed for the last massively hot day we had some weeks back, but it leaked and was gone within a day.

I've been lucky so far* in that it hasn't got massively hot on the Vectra, I keep the windows very slightly open and the side window wind deflectors keep any seagul doings from entering the car.  The "limo" tints on the rear probably help from keepong direct sunlight out but generally act like radiators anyway when the air is warm.

[Timewaster]

Couple of weeks ago when I traded my old Galaxy, I sorted through what paperwork I had.

Of all the work I paid to have done in 6 years, about 60% was spent on the Aircon.

Regas, regas, condenser, regas, regas, pipe, regas.

I don't care. It was like a sodding greenhouse on wheels.

[Stanky]

Following a family bereavement, and couple of months of frankly intolerable stress at work, culminating in attacks of shakes, vomiting what I think might have been blood, and some extremely dark thoughts, today I cracked, left work early and went to an urgent appointment at my GP practice, where they signed me off for a month. Terms were used along the lines of 'nervous breakdown' which is pretty worrying in itself, and I've had to report this back to senior management at work, who were largely unaware this was going on.

I bit off more than I could chew, and have laboured to make things work largely singlehandedly, and now paid the price in my mental health.

I'm not quite sure where to go from here, I need the time to recover and feel a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, but am in limbo regarding pay for the time I will be off - strictly speaking it will only be SSP which doesn't even cover the rent let alone anything else. I'm putting this to one side for now, and have set myself a list of small jobs which I will tackle one per day to start to rebuild myself. While I've struggled with my mental health in the past it has categorically never been this bad.

I'm also trying not to consider how I go about returning to the office in 4 weeks time and having 'that meeting'. I will have to make my case that managing 3 teams, 50% of which are new staff who need training on top of trying to deliver 50+ projects is not tenable for the foreseeable future and that I need to have fewer areas of responsibility if we don't want this to happen again in 6 months.

For now, I am trying to focus on the positive. The GP was understanding, the triage team were efficient and I've now got breathing space. For anyone else feeling similar, don't let it get to this point.

[EssDeeWon]

I love this weather, went to work in shorts today and will again tomorrow. Anyway that's not a grump..

I was following that chap on youtube called classic britain, young chap trying to run an absolute heap of a P6, he was tolerable but now become too gobby, shame really because it was really good watching this P6 constantly breakdown and them trying to fix it but its now gone from cringe tv to total little prat tv.  i'll catch up with Hubnut instead.

[Floatylight]

Following a family bereavement, and couple of months of frankly intolerable stress at work, culminating in attacks of shakes, vomiting what I think might have been blood, and some extremely dark thoughts, today I cracked, left work early and went to an urgent appointment at my GP practice, where they signed me off for a month. Terms were used along the lines of 'nervous breakdown' which is pretty worrying in itself, and I've had to report this back to senior management at work, who were largely unaware this was going on.
I bit off more than I could chew, and have laboured to make things work largely singlehandedly, and now paid the price in my mental health.
I'm not quite sure where to go from here, I need the time to recover and feel a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, but am in limbo regarding pay for the time I will be off - strictly speaking it will only be SSP which doesn't even cover the rent let alone anything else. I'm putting this to one side for now, and have set myself a list of small jobs which I will tackle one per day to start to rebuild myself. While I've struggled with my mental health in the past it has categorically never been this bad.
I'm also trying not to consider how I go about returning to the office in 4 weeks time and having 'that meeting'. I will have to make my case that managing 3 teams, 50% of which are new staff who need training on top of trying to deliver 50+ projects is not tenable for the foreseeable future and that I need to have fewer areas of responsibility if we don't want this to happen again in 6 months.
For now, I am trying to focus on the positive. The GP was understanding, the triage team were efficient and I've now got breathing space. For anyone else feeling similar, don't let it get to this point.

Sorry to hear this Stanky but glad you've made the first move and visited your GP and got signed of sick.

Few quick bits of advice..

Firstly join the appropriate trade union, most have a qualifying membership period for legal advice but many reps will provide advice and a listening ear with minimal membership, just don't join online and then call for advice half hour later! They may come along to a meeting with you and provide support..

Secondly consider counselling, whilst the gp may have put you on a waiting list it may be worth looking to local volunteer run ones, don't discount ones in churches, they are often just based there..

Three, talk to friends and get out of the house, walk, join the library, don't let four walls close in around you...


*Just my thoughts, 15 yrs as a union rep and wife is a counsellor...

Get well soon
Steve

Sent from my Moto G (5) using Tapatalk

[Stanky]

Thanks Floatylight

The kids are on holiday now so plenty to keep me out of the house doing stuff with them which is going to be theraputic I hope, The GP put me onto a non-referral councilling website which I shall investigate tomorrow and see whats what with that. I just needed some breathing room which I now have, so I need to make the most of it to build myself back up and charge my batteries up too.

 

I've been poking about TU's a while back and never went anywhere with them, I've got time to play with now so will be looking into that too. As ever, should have got it sorted a while back!

[MarvinsMom]

wednesday was my 45th birthday.

i "celebrated" by going to work.

it has been slightly hotter than the surface of the sun.

32 celsius at the loading doors, 45 degrees at the top of A-row, next to the driers......... 

at least i was only there for 8 hours, not the 12 hours that the plebs on the presses have to endure!