The grumpy thread

[beko1987]

Smashed my thumb on my right hand a few months ago when fixing the Xsara. It's gone through it yukky and hurting stage now and is at the waiting for the top layer to fall off and reveal an ugly nail stage. 

 

Earlier this morning I bought my left hand down hard without really thinking and smacked me left index nail square on something with a hard edge and cracked it clean in too with the same mega hurting as the thumb nail coming back 😡

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, MikeR said:

head light bulbs ... duff ones ... changing them is now longer a roadside job ..

sons aygo became one eyed at night , just pull the bulb and pop in a new one ..  thats the plan

no , the bulb arse is up against the turret , the connector is also seized on , and its cold , and its raining ..and the rubber boot wont even shift

in the end we undid all the bolts and forced the headlight unit around till we could get  the bulb out , new one in , test and refit ..

but as one duff bulb normally means the others on its way , in the interests of not suffering on a snowy day we went for some more hand abuse and injuries

by replacing the nearside bulb as well ....

which had the added satisfaction of the earthing lead being in the way , and extra wiggle  room to get the unit moved had to be  acquired by undoing the wing bolt and gently HEAVING till we could get the bulb changed ,tested  , and  refitting involved MORE HEAVING involving long tools to get it back  ..

quite a light injury list , just 3 minor cuts and some blood loss

next time I see a bug with panel gaps I will put it down to headlight bulb changes ...

Have to admit I just cut the brackets that disappear down behind the bumper off the headlights on mine - then changing bulbs became a 2 minute job with a 10mm socket being all that was needed.  They didn't sit any different or wobble any more than beforehand either.

[Boycie]

There should be a law to stop manufacturers designing cars that need a bumper removed to change a bulb ....

[New POD]

52 minutes ago, Boycie said:

There should be a law to stop manufacturers designing cars that need a bumper removed to change a bulb ....

Generation one Bini win the award. You open the bonnet and look up. 

[warch]

I used to dread having to replace the headlight bulb on my early 90s Honda CBR 600 (not withstanding that the feeble output was actually bloody useless if you wanted to see where you going). You needed special little double jointed hands to get the bulb into position and then fit the retaining clip. Think ship in a bottle. 

I remember telling my MoT man how long it'd taken me to change the sidelight bulb (same procedure) for the test. 'Oh, you needn't have bothered, they aren't testable on bikes' he replied.

[MikeR]

So EE and BT merge broadband ..

If I wanted EE I would of changed to them a few months back when I renewed the BT ... They must of been in talks back then ... 

And last night's "pizza" ....

No comment .... 

[stuboy]

Waiting for some one to download footage of my vehicle and thought christ this looks like a corridor to autoshite HQ....

[Muniphobia]

We currently have roadworks on the end of our road for the past few weeks.  This morning I drove own to the roadworks and the  road was completely gridlocked as there was another set of roadworks started this morning just up the road and with the 2 sets of roadworks on a busy road meant that the traffic was queuing back into the other set of roadworks and vice versa making it gridlocked in all directions and nothing was moving then to top it all while I was sitting there a tree branch fell on the BRZ and put a dent in the roof 🤬

I went back in the house and left it for the traffic to clear and it still took me nearly a hour to do the journey to work which normally takes 20 minutes.

[Metal Guru]

37 minutes ago, Muniphobia said:

We currently have roadworks on the end of our road for the past few weeks.  This morning I drove own to the roadworks and the  road was completely gridlocked as there was another set of roadworks started this morning just up the road and with the 2 sets of roadworks on a busy road meant that the traffic was queuing back into the other set of roadworks and vice versa making it gridlocked in all directions and nothing was moving then to top it all while I was sitting there a tree branch fell on the BRZ and put a dent in the roof 🤬

I went back in the house and left it for the traffic to clear and it still took me nearly a hour to do the journey to work which normally takes 20 minutes.

I’ve noticed a trend recently with road works with 3 or 4 way lights even if there’s next to nothing coming out of the side roads. Also there seem to be equal hold times for little used side roads and the main through road .

So the queues on the main road build up to double what they would have been. It could also encourage side roads to be used as rat runs to jump the queue.

[Muniphobia]

28 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

I’ve noticed a trend recently with road works with 3 or 4 way lights even if there’s next to nothing coming out of the side roads. Also there seem to be equal hold times for little used side roads and the main through road .

So the queues on the main road build up to double what they would have been. It could also encourage side roads to be used as rat runs to jump the queue.

That's not the case here, last Friday I waited nearly 15 minutes for the lights to change on the cul-de-sac where I live and in the end I drove past the traffic light and waited for a batch of cars to come through the roadworks and I pulled out behind the last car and followed them.

[cobblers]

I'm in Rotherham 

[Wilko220]

On 11/11/2023 at 16:25, Dick Longbridge said:

Can't decide if he wants to be Richard Hammond or wants to be in Peaky Blinders.

But yeah, what a contemptible scumbag.

[barefoot]

1 hour ago, Metal Guru said:

I’ve noticed a trend recently with road works with 3 or 4 way lights...

They set up 3 way lights here when they dig up the fucking pavement with no damage to the road. If I knew who to send footage to, I'd be filming them.

[Spurious]

Why does it rain on me. My Noco Genius charger is fubar. It's got another 6 months warranty so we'll see what they're like for warranty support. 

Wonder if they've a local Warranty place or do I've to post the effing thing to the US of A. 

[artdjones]

3 hours ago, cobblers said:

I'm in Rotherham 

Are you boasting or asking for sympathy?

[Mrcento]

9 hours ago, MikeR said:

So EE and BT merge broadband ..

If I wanted EE I would of changed to them a few months back when I renewed the BT ... They must of been in talks back then ... 

And last night's "pizza" ....

No comment .... 

I have a whole other rant about Pizzas....

Does anyone else notice how they are packaged now?, It's generally in a box, or some sort of sleeve where only about a third of the Pizza is visible.,

And you 100% know it's somebodies job to orientate the Pizza in the package at the most flattering angle, because the bit that is on display is never representative of the bits of the pizza the packaging hides, which you'll regularly find has virtually no topping on it at all. 

What's on it is loaded to one side to make it far more appealing than it is and if it was evenly spread over the pizza, it would be sparse all over.

[cobblers]

14 minutes ago, artdjones said:

Are you boasting or asking for sympathy?

Sympathy. I have to come back here now and again because of family etc. It was a no-hope shithole ten years ago when I left, and every time I go back it is significantly worse.

 

[artdjones]

25 minutes ago, cobblers said:

Sympathy. I have to come back here now and again because of family etc. It was a no-hope shithole ten years ago when I left, and every time I go back it is significantly worse.

 

I've only been there once, but my brother lived in Sheffield for 5 years and my wife for 3 years before we were married. They both got on really well with the friends they made, but I don't hear them harking back to how great South Yorkshire is.

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, cobblers said:

Sympathy. I have to come back here now and again because of family etc. It was a no-hope shithole ten years ago when I left, and every time I go back it is significantly worse.

 

Tough. I know a guy who owns a garden centre round there tho. FWIW

[RoverFolkUs]

Why have printers got to be the most fucking annoying unfit for purpose pieces of shit to exist? 

I have 3. 

Yes, that's right, THREE printers. 

I'm trying to print ONE page in BLACK

I try printer #1 - refuses to connect, point black. 

I try printer #2, it connects, it prints, but the document has an irritating black vertical line. I'm printing a postage label with a barcode, and the line makes it completely unusable. Fucksticks. 

I try printer #3. It connects. 

"Ink low, press ok to continue"

Ok, noted... 

*Send file from PC* 

Unable to print, replace cartridges [CYAN] , [YELLOW] to continue printing. 

Really??? 

I grab my box of assorted ink cartridges. Do I have the necessary cartridges in there? Do I fuck. 

I need a yellow and cyan cartridge to print fucking black... 

It then occurs to me that I bought some cartridges for printer #2 that turned out to be incorrect, so I lobbed them in a box of crap in the loft. 

I climb up into the loft to retrieve the aforementioned cartridges, searching through boxes, there they are. Luckily, they're correct for printer #3 even though I didn't realize at the time. That's handy. 

I pick out and install a cyan and a yellow cartridge. I press the button to acknowledge the fact I have installed non genuine cartridges which poses serious harm to nuns and kittens. 

It sits there doing something/nothing for a minute or so. It does not even attempt to ingest any paper, but there's a new error message 

"Paper jam" 

Arrghhhh!!! 😭😭😂

[barefoot]

I no longer have a printer, but pay to have the odd sheet printed as required. 

[paulplom]

On 13/11/2023 at 05:27, Boycie said:

There should be a law to stop manufacturers designing cars that need a bumper removed to change a bulb ....

My citroen relay has the easiest bulb change I've come across. To screw, a wiring plug and the whole headlight comes out making it a doddle to change them. Very well designed for once.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

@chris667 for years I have been of the opinion that all printers should be smashed to bits, then set on fire, buried, exhumed, set on fire, cast out to sea, netted back in, set on fire, exorcised by an old priest and a young priest, set on fire and then finally nuked from orbit.  Just to be sure.

'Quick' phone calls about printers are never 'quick' and they are all shit.

[New POD]

19 hours ago, MikeR said:

 

And last night's "pizza" ....

No comment .... 

Yes, the fat, and salt indicators are very red. We all need to be eating less processed shit. 

[MikeR]

8 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Why have printers got to be the most fucking annoying unfit for purpose pieces of shit to exist? 

I have 3. 

Yes, that's right, THREE printers. 

I'm trying to print ONE page in BLACK

I try printer #1 - refuses to connect, point black. 

I try printer #2, it connects, it prints, but the document has an irritating black vertical line. I'm printing a postage label with a barcode, and the line makes it completely unusable. Fucksticks. 

I try printer #3. It connects. 

"Ink low, press ok to continue"

Ok, noted... 

*Send file from PC* 

Unable to print, replace cartridges [CYAN] , [YELLOW] to continue printing. 

Really??? 

I grab my box of assorted ink cartridges. Do I have the necessary cartridges in there? Do I fuck. 

I need a yellow and cyan cartridge to print fucking black... 

It then occurs to me that I bought some cartridges for printer #2 that turned out to be incorrect, so I lobbed them in a box of crap in the loft. 

I climb up into the loft to retrieve the aforementioned cartridges, searching through boxes, there they are. Luckily, they're correct for printer #3 even though I didn't realize at the time. That's handy. 

I pick out and install a cyan and a yellow cartridge. I press the button to acknowledge the fact I have installed non genuine cartridges which poses serious harm to nuns and kittens. 

It sits there doing something/nothing for a minute or so. It does not even attempt to ingest any paper, but there's a new error message 

"Paper jam" 

Arrghhhh!!! 😭😭😂

I have 2 printers , a Laserjet and a ink , the laserjet is great despite being a BW printer , one cartridge , always works , spits out pages quickly

the inkjet , its on its 2nd life after having the ink counter reset , why printers have this I dont know , but basically it counts the number of prints

and then says the ink head cleaner is full ???????  , normally during a period of high need/usage as it did .....

it is a piece of sponge buried in the gubbins of the printer ... a long involved search brought up a maintenance program which reset the counter ....

its is also normal practice to change one cartridge , to be then presented with a need to change 2 more afterwards .......

I think a special type of person deigns printers .....

 

 

[TataBobu]

Ink printers are sold at a loss, the money is made from cartridges. Just search YouTube for a way to refill your inkjet printer's cartridge, most likely you'll find a video of a helpful guy demonstrating how you only need a specific type of ink, a syringe, some izopropilic alcohol for cleaning and a small bit of electrical insulating tape to cover the hole trough which you refilled it.

I have a cheap HP inkjet/scanner thing, for which there is a black cartridge (about 20 quids) and a colour cartridge with three "rooms" in it, also at around 20 quids. The printer when originally was bought costed about 30 quids, so seeing that I'm a cheap ass I bought the special black ink at around 2 pounds/100 ml, just the black one, and used that to refill both cartridges. Yes, nuns and kittens, if I want to print in colour I have to go to a specialised shop, but it doesn't bother me.

If you go this route you could expect around 20-30 refills of a cartridge from 100 ml of ink, and anywhere between 30 and 50 refills per cartridge untill it becomes unusable due to build up of dry ink in the sponge inside.

[Vimesy]

The best printer that I bought (and still have and use intermittently) is a cheap Ricoh laser printer, ideal for postage labels and it's never failed me yet....

[Metal Guru]

39 minutes ago, TataBobu said:

Ink printers are sold at a loss, the money is made from cartridges. Just search YouTube for a way to refill your inkjet printer's cartridge, most likely you'll find a video of a helpful guy demonstrating how you only need a specific type of ink, a syringe, some izopropilic alcohol for cleaning and a small bit of electrical insulating tape to cover the hole trough which you refilled it.

I have a cheap HP inkjet/scanner thing, for which there is a black cartridge (about 20 quids) and a colour cartridge with three "rooms" in it, also at around 20 quids. The printer when originally was bought costed about 30 quids, so seeing that I'm a cheap ass I bought the special black ink at around 2 pounds/100 ml, just the black one, and used that to refill both cartridges. Yes, nuns and kittens, if I want to print in colour I have to go to a specialised shop, but it doesn't bother me.

If you go this route you could expect around 20-30 refills of a cartridge from 100 ml of ink, and anywhere between 30 and 50 refills per cartridge untill it becomes unusable due to build up of dry ink in the sponge inside.

Or you can save the mess and by “compatible” cartridges from eBay or Amazon. The correct Epsom cartridges cost about £45 a set ( the actual printer cost less), but I can get about 3 sets for £10 of copies, so a year’s worth us about £5 for me.

Very occasionally ( less than one per pack), the printer won’t accept one but at less than £1 a go , it’s not too upsetting. 

[MikeR]

Hot water heater on the blink again ... Can get a pilot light flame. But it trips out if the thermocouple shakes/is touched/boiler lights ..

Tame plumber informed/asked about fitting a combi ... 

Good timing as usual .... 

Up side is that only one area of the house will have  water pipes when done .... 

[High Jetter]

24 minutes ago, MikeR said:

But it trips out if the thermocouple shakes/is touched/boiler lights ..

Might just be a dodgy t/couple