The grumpy thread

[AxWomble]

Walking over a zebra crossing on Sloane Square yesterday, two lanes of traffic coming from my left, black cab stopped in the lane nearest to me, I start crossing but have to pause halfway as an octogenerian in a mk1 Focus bombs straight through the crossing in the other lane. It was broad daylight, her view of me wasn't obstructed at any point and so I saw her coming from a way off and thought "not sure she's stopping" 

 

Worst thing - I had a 7 month old baby in a sling on my chest and at no point did she brake or even show any sign that she had seen me. Shivers....

[chodweaver]

Compare this with my experience as a driver - walking out into the road not just without looking, but actively looking the wrong way on one way streets, dual carriageways and where there is a pedestrian island is now the norm for 90% of the pedestrians i encounter. And it's not exclusively the under 20s either, in fact better than 10% of the under 20s exhibit safe and courteous* road crossing. Wtf is wrong with people? Do they believe they're bulletproof or something?

*(I'm doing my bit to bring back respect here - if they look first, and it's safe to do so, i stop and let them cross).

[beko1987]

To get to my current online insurance portal I have to put in the plate of the 406 I had insured with the same bunch a few years ago... Then the Xsara comes right up as another choice... 

I've darednt ring to try and rectify it, I just try not to crash so I don't ever have to see how tricky finding my details are😂

[Aston Martin]

1 hour ago, beko1987 said:

To get to my current online insurance portal I have to put in the plate of the 406 I had insured with the same bunch a few years ago... Then the Xsara comes right up as another choice... 

I've darednt ring to try and rectify it, I just try not to crash so I don't ever have to see how tricky finding my details are😂

This year I couldn't be bothered to even query the renewal price.

 

I'm now part of Hastings Premier which adds breakdown cover etc. 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[adw1977]

9 hours ago, AxWomble said:

Walking over a zebra crossing on Sloane Square yesterday, two lanes of traffic coming from my left, black cab stopped in the lane nearest to me, I start crossing but have to pause halfway as an octogenerian in a mk1 Focus bombs straight through the crossing in the other lane. It was broad daylight, her view of me wasn't obstructed at any point and so I saw her coming from a way off and thought "not sure she's stopping" 

 

Worst thing - I had a 7 month old baby in a sling on my chest and at no point did she brake or even show any sign that she had seen me. Shivers....

I once stopped at a zebra crossing on a two-way single carriageway road and the car behind went to overtake me!

They realised just in time to slam on the anchors, I really thought they were about to mow down the person crossing in front of me.

How oblivious do you have to be to not see the beacons and zig zags?

[MJK 24]

Little dudes have things to grumble about, too.  Such as half arsed Christmas lunches that cost three quid fifty…

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-59681239

[Metal Guru]

On 16/12/2021 at 14:36, Yank Tank said:

whoever said "no point crying over spilt milk" clearly never spilt four pints of semi skimmed into the front footwell of their company car.

holy shit, i've never smelt anything like it.  i am uneasy about these latvian car washes, so what should i do? mobile valeter? 

please for the love of god send help. s.o.s

Once had a litre carton of milk split and leaked all over the boot of my car en route to the South of France. Two weeks of 30C + temperature, I can still smell it.  Luckily a company car than was replaced a few weeks on. 

[mitsisigma01]

When I were a young lad my car was reeking of chicken vindaloo ,vomit , milk, Newcastle brown ale , vomit , Newquay steam lager , Jack Daniels and vomit , the cassette player used to work until it had vomit in it and on it . The propshaft got very noisy so we fitted a bigger stereo , it was hand painted skip yellow , with black tide marks up to halfway up the doors. Eventually got so drunk can't remember where we partied at one night  so I bought another banger to get around in ......... The car I lost ...... it was only a MK1 Ford Escort 2 door !!!! DOH !!!! 🤬🤬🤬

[Parky]

I had a rotten peach under the floor of my car years ago, that was nasty.  Not only was it a biohazard but it had welded itself to the carpet and nothing would shift the smell.  Eventually removed the carpet for a full on jet blast and a going over with a rug doctor but it still took tissue paper soaked with lavender oil to overpower the odour.  Had to put up with driving a car that smelt like an elderly spinsters underwear drawer

[wuvvum]

Not car-related but when we first went back into the office after an 18-month absence due to WFH, one of my colleagues discovered that she had left a kiwi fruit in her desk drawer.  That was a tad unpleasant.

[Ghosty]

My C30 stank when I bought it, after quite some investigation turns out a previous rear seat passenger had spilt, dropped or left something in one of the cubbies down the side of the rear seats, that had homogenised into a gloopy sticky mess. Soon as that was cleaned out the car was perfectly fine. 
 

[New POD]

20 hours ago, AxWomble said:

Walking over a zebra crossing on Sloane Square yesterday, two lanes of traffic coming from my left, black cab stopped in the lane nearest to me, I start crossing but have to pause halfway as an octogenerian in a mk1 Focus bombs straight through the crossing in the other lane. It was broad daylight, her view of me wasn't obstructed at any point and so I saw her coming from a way off and thought "not sure she's stopping" 

 

Worst thing - I had a 7 month old baby in a sling on my chest and at no point did she brake or even show any sign that she had seen me. Shivers....

I sometimes think it would be better if a barrier came down. 

[MikeR]

Great  , days before Xmas the main washer splits it's door seal , scabs to the rescue for now , but a new  washer in the sales .......

[MikeR]

Great  , days before Xmas the main washer splits it's door seal , scabs to the rescue for now , but a new  washer in the sales .......

[myglaren]

6 minutes ago, MikeR said:

Great  , days before Xmas the main washer splits it's door seal , scabs to the rescue for now , but a new  washer in the sales .......

Or a new door seal perhaps?

[MikeR]

2 minutes ago, myglaren said:

Or a new door seal perhaps?

Its had other issues , one of which is not to drain properly ,it only cost me 80 quid years ago , the outside washer can be used for now , new washer and scrap the old ones ....

[hairnet]

caught a wheeler dealers where brewer was working on the car

ffs

[Metal Guru]

LED lightbulbs . Stated 20000 hrs lifetime, which is roughly 3 years continuous. Given normal use might be 2 hours a day, that should be about 30 years , which would be a lifetime at my age probably.

Instead , they last a year if you’re lucky!

Even worse are LED lights that have non replaceable bulbs. Always expensive and you end up binning the whole light. Hardly compatible with the green ethos presented by LEDs.

[Spurious]

Just now, Metal Guru said:

LED lightbulbs . Stated 20000 hrs lifetime, which is roughly 3 years continuous. Given normal use might be 2 hours a day, that should be about 30 years , which would be a lifetime at my age probably.

Instead , they last a year if you’re lucky!

Even worse are LED lights that have non replaceable bulbs. Always expensive and you end up binning the whole light. Hardly compatible with the green ethos presented by LEDs.

Chances are it's a couple of LEDs overdriven which will drastically reduce the life of them. 

 

[grogee]

1 hour ago, MikeR said:

Great  , days before Xmas the main washer splits it's door seal , scabs to the rescue for now , but a new  washer in the sales .......

Ooh is that scabs as in bike inner tube things? That is a very good tip and might come in v handy one day - thanks

But like you say, "fun" finding a replacement in the Jan sales. Which have probably started already

 

[Metal Guru]

58 minutes ago, Spurious said:

Chances are it's a couple of LEDs overdriven which will drastically reduce the life of them. 

 

Is there a way to stop that?

[Fumbler]

23 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

Is there a way to stop that?

Getting better quality fixtures that use more LEDs at less power, or by adding more LEDs yourself to reduce power consumed by each LED.

[tooSavvy]

19 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

...... or by adding more LEDs yourself to reduce power consumed by each LED.

 

[Pieman]

On 12/17/2021 at 11:39 AM, AxWomble said:

Walking over a zebra crossing on Sloane Square yesterday, two lanes of traffic coming from my left, black cab stopped in the lane nearest to me, I start crossing but have to pause halfway as an octogenerian in a mk1 Focus bombs straight through the crossing in the other lane. It was broad daylight, her view of me wasn't obstructed at any point and so I saw her coming from a way off and thought "not sure she's stopping" 

 

Worst thing - I had a 7 month old baby in a sling on my chest and at no point did she brake or even show any sign that she had seen me. Shivers....

According to the precedents in this thread earlier this week, that's your fault for not fully making sure everyone had stopped.

[HillmanImp]

What the fuck is this shit? 

Naff all £1.50 cars (and normally 3 for 2 in this shop) anywhere we went but loads of these £7 jobbies! 

I had promised ImpJr a hotwheels car (I lost a bet on which side the platform would be on as we pulled into the station) but said these were too much and found a 'street fighter' Ryu car for £3.50 that was half price, probably trying to flog old stock to parents like me not wanting to spend seven fucking quid on what would've cost £1 if I'd bought it a few weeks ago. 

[myglaren]

3 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

LED lightbulbs . Stated 20000 hrs lifetime, which is roughly 3 years continuous. Given normal use might be 2 hours a day, that should be about 30 years , which would be a lifetime at my age probably.

Instead , they last a year if you’re lucky!

Even worse are LED lights that have non replaceable bulbs. Always expensive and you end up binning the whole light. Hardly compatible with the green ethos presented by LEDs.

I have loads here and the majority have lasted very well.  One in the dark stairwell is permanently connected and has been on for five years now, its predecessor lasted about five years and I think was spiked by a heating engineer working on the boiler - it is connected to the boiler.  The only other one was a huge cob bulb in the bathroom which lasted two years.

And an LED strip on top of the kitchen cabinets - overheating as I didn't provide a heatsink for them.

Otherwise I have chucked a couple of early ones out that were a bit crap and replaced with improved ones.

[somewhatfoolish]

On 12/13/2021 at 2:44 PM, wuvvum said:

That didn't go well.  Went out to the Mazda at lunchtime to check the coolant level, noticed a drip from under the thermostat housing so removed it to check whether the gasket was seated properly.

Well shit.  That's that car out of action then until I can source a replacement.  Only possibilities I've found so far are a new housing from a site in the Philippines which won't post outside the country, and a rather overpriced used Ford Festiva housing on eBay US. @gricer do you have any hot tips for sourcing bits for these?  I could try JB Weld I suppose but that's unlikely to be a long term solution...

 

You'd be surprised; the ship I'm on has had a coolant manifold temporarily* repaired* with wob(specifically the Wencon equivalent of Milliput) while waiting for a replacement to arrive. The replacement was ordered last year, it looks shit but it's not leaked yet. Because that housing only has two bolt holes I'd try making a reinforcement from sheet steel or aluminium and glue that on at the same time with epoxy of choice.

[AxWomble]

9 hours ago, Pieman said:

According to the precedents in this thread earlier this week, that's your fault for not fully making sure everyone had stopped.

Indeed, lucky I checked properly! 

[Metal Guru]

14 hours ago, tooSavvy said:

 

I just want to screw in a light bulb not rewire the house.

[Rab]

Weather Grump.

Here on west coast we've been enveloped in a haar..thick fog that seems to roll in from everywhere..its quite normal for the east coast..but three days on the west is highly unusual..