The grumpy thread

[Rust Collector]

2 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

The 3 in 1 is better than it has any rights to be.

I’m currently dating a rather high maintenance but impossibly attractive Ukrainian lady. She made me coffee the other day in a somewhat unorthodox fashion. 

Ground coffee, milk and water in to a coffee pot, onto the hob. Then poured into a mug. It worked better than I thought it would, although there was a lot of coffee at the bottom of the mug that I didn’t bargain on. I still think some of it is attached to my larynx. 

My in-laws make coffee in a similar way. Coffee grounds go straight in the cup, boiled water goes on top. Job done*. It wasn’t a pleasant surprise the first time I was handed a cup, and just glugged it down thinking they’d put instant granules in.

I find the technique is to let it settle, then sip slowly without trying to disturb the cup too much.

Ive been introduced to ‘worker’s’ coffee too, which is made in much the same way but in a half litre beer stein, with lots of sugar and milk thrown in for good measure. It would only be suitable for me if I worked as a stress tester for toilets.

Mother-in-law has also had a scatter cushion printed with her, my partner and my son’s face which she then gifted us. I’d completely forgotten about that reference, so missed an opportunity to take the piss 🤣

 

Edited August 1, 2024 by Rust Collector
Speeling

[andy18s]

2 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

The 3 in 1 is better than it has any rights to be.

I’m currently dating a rather high maintenance but impossibly attractive Ukrainian lady. She made me coffee the other day in a somewhat unorthodox fashion. 

Ground coffee, milk and water in to a coffee pot, onto the hob. Then poured into a mug. It worked better than I thought it would, although there was a lot of coffee at the bottom of the mug that I didn’t bargain on. I still think some of it is attached to my larynx. 

3 in 1's are pretty much the standard offerings in most small coffee shops here.

We've been experimenting with different ground coffee in an attempt to reduce the Mrs headaches or migraines.

Lavazaa's decaff seems to winning at the mo..

[jakebullet]

Mad fuckin' Jean has totally lost the plot this time. Sent me a huge rant that was intended for the Mrs.

Highlights* are Mrs. is scrounging benefit money by pretending to be disabled so she can go on lots of holidays. John Boy is also benefit scrounging, and got a free car by phoning universal credit up and saying "free car plz". She's going to report all of this to benefits agency, people on benefits should be walking around picking up fag ends all day.

They are starving to death, there isn't a single thing in the house to eat.
Well, why not look out the window, where you will find the building next door is a chip shop. Or you could get in the car and drive 1/2 a mile to sainsburys?

Mrs. can't possibly be disabled, or she would be in hospital. ?????????

Contacted the Mrs, n she's had some other relative phone her, Mad Jean demanding she goes to Whitby right now tonight. Er, no. Then had Jean sending messages that she needs the police right now, and Mrs. must call them for her. Er, also no.

Think Mad Jean needs putting back in the nuthouse again.

[DavieW]

I was sitting behind a car at some temporary traffic lights yesterday. The 3 guys in the car were passing round a cigarette of some kind. The fact they were passing it round suggests it wasn't a Benson & Hedges.

[Metal Guru]

15 minutes ago, DavieW said:

I was sitting behind a car at some temporary traffic lights yesterday. The 3 guys in the car were passing round a cigarette of some kind. The fact they were passing it round suggests it wasn't a Benson & Hedges.

Given the price of a pack of B&H , maybe it was.

[sheffcortinacentre]

It's perfectly ok to do this as it's SPEED  that kills!!!!! Not driving like a twat,drinking,drugs, uninsured motorbikes/scooters/electric bikes but SPEED!!!!!

[Spiny Norman]

You haven't lived till you've had Maxwell House with Coffee Mate in it, like my old auntie used to serve, thinking it was the height* of good taste.

I don't know if it was that or my dad's horrid percolated coffee that put me of it for life, can't stand the stuff to this day. It all just tastes like bitter disappointment to me.  I can do a proper Italian espresso from a Gaggia in a proper Italian  restaurant but I drink more cups of tea in a day that I do coffee in  a year.

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

It's perfectly ok to do this as it's SPEED  that kills!!!!! Not driving like a twat,drinking,drugs, uninsured motorbikes/scooters/electric bikes but SPEED!!!!!

When they quote that 50% ( or whatever figure) of “accidents” are due to speeding, I always think , we’ll technically all are because if you weren’t still moving at the point of contact , there wouldn’t be the accident.

My second thought though is 100% are caused by driving like a twat. Unfortunately doing 82mph on an quiet motorway in good conditions , is very much easier to prove, than driving like a twat.

[comfortablynumb]

My old dad always used to say it's inappropriate speed, that kills, not speed per se, otherwise why aren't all the F1 drivers, shuttle pilots etc all pushing up the daisies?🤔

[BorniteIdentity]

22 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I do feel QUITE partridge working at the BBC with an Eastern European girlfriend.  Happy to report that, as yet, she's not had my face printed "onto scatter cushion".

And to cap it off - the garage has given me a LEXUS as a courtesy car!  

[Metal Guru]

27 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

And to cap it off - the garage has given me a LEXUS as a courtesy car!  

First world problems eh?

[Zelandeth]

Oh what fun. Our fridge freezer died at some point overnight.  It's actually dead this time, compressor has locked up.

Of course we only went shopping yesterday afternoon.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

And to cap it off - the garage has given me a LEXUS as a courtesy car!  

It's the Japanese Mercedes!

[artdjones]

10 minutes ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

It's the Japanese Mercedes!

With added quality.

[SunnySouth]

13 hours ago, Spiny Norman said:

You haven't lived till you've had Maxwell House with Coffee Mate in it, like my old auntie used to serve, thinking it was the height* of good taste.

I don't know if it was that or my dad's horrid percolated coffee that put me of it for life, can't stand the stuff to this day. It all just tastes like bitter disappointment to me.  I can do a proper Italian espresso from a Gaggia in a proper Italian  restaurant but I drink more cups of tea in a day that I do coffee in  a year.

A favourite Peter Kay line; Passing through a foreign airport on holiday as a kid with your parents, with a bag of white powder being examined by security:

Dad: “That’s Coffee Mate…. Coffee Mate”.

Security, in generic foreign accent: ”I’m no your fuckin mate”…

[horriblemercedes]

14 hours ago, DavieW said:

I was sitting behind a car at some temporary traffic lights yesterday. The 3 guys in the car were passing round a cigarette of some kind. The fact they were passing it round suggests it wasn't a Benson & Hedges.

A couple of years ago I was beside a Renault 5 GT Turbo in gridlock traffic on the M6 and the occupants were passing a spliff around. It was like a perfect scene out of 1995

[Zelandeth]

5 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Oh what fun. Our fridge freezer died at some point overnight.  It's actually dead this time, compressor has locked up.

Of course we only went shopping yesterday afternoon.

Well we managed to save about 40% of the food.  Sadly as it had been off since before dinner time yesterday it was pretty far gone by this morning.  I heard an odd "click" yesterday evening but got sidetracked before tracking it down - that click was the thermal overload on the compressor tripping/resetting.

I do have a couple of "questions" for Samsung though.

Firstly: If you're going to put a huge digital temperature display on the outside of the door...why on earth would you not make it show the ACTUAL temperature inside the thing, if not all the time, when there's an alarm condition?!? 

I know it knows the temperature inside the fridge and freezer, as it shows the current temperature for about 30 seconds when you first plug it in (as shown above).  Thereafter it just shows the setpoint.

Secondly: You made this thing "ping" at us if we leave the door ajar or hold the water dispenser lever in for longer than it takes to fill a medium sized glass.  Why the hell didn't you include a high temperature alarm in the list of things to make the bloody thing ping at us for?  There was absolutely zero outward evidence of the fact the fridge was at 19C and thrle freezer at 7C until we opened the door and discovered the issue.

Also the condenser design is just fscking stupid, and is pretty definitely what eventually killed the compressor.  Rather than a "radiator" like unit they've used a very densely coiled "square spiral" for want of a better word of finned tubing, with a tiny fan to draw air across it.  The downside to this is that the fins on the tube may as well be velcro for their tendency to attract dust, and the three dimensional nature of the thing (and surrounding metalwork) makes it basically impossible to clean all but the outer surface of it.  Even compressed air doesn't shift much.  Utterly stupid design.  You need to remove ten screws and wrestle a metal cover off to get in far enough to even clean that - Samsung don't intend that to ever be cleaned given that the cover has the "do not remove - no user serviceable parts inside" sticker on it.

Final grumble: Having spent a good bit of this morning scoping out as near as possible like-for-like replacements, why the actual fluffing hell do all fridges now have WiFi and/or Bluetooth connectivity?!?  It's a bloody FRIDGE, not a laptop.

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

I do have a couple of "questions" for Samsung though.

We have a Samsung FF, I guess older than yours from the display, we bought it in the early 00's. Shows current temps of fridge and freezer, not set points. We're unlikely to hear a high temp alarm as it's now in the garage but still works briliantly (touches wood). Maybe you'd get an email or BT notification that it has malfunctioned, from the newer ones? I agree, I can't see any benefit otherwise.

[Zelandeth]

Just now, High Jetter said:

We have a Samsung FF, I guess older than yours from the display, we bought it in the early 00's. Shows current temps of fridge and freezer, not set points. We're unlikely to hear a high temp alarm as it's now in the garage but still works briliantly (touches wood). Maybe you'd get an email or BT notification that it has malfunctioned, from the newer ones? I agree, I can't see any benefit otherwise.

This dates from 2002, and it was secondhand when we got it so I can't complain really.  However it's the first time I think I've ever actually seen the refrigeration side fail in a domestic refrigerator (not counting people wrecking the condenser when moving them/applying violence when defrosting). Usually the case/shelves/door falls apart long before the refrigeration bits die.

[horriblemercedes]

2 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Well we managed to save about 40% of the food.  Sadly as it had been off since before dinner time yesterday it was pretty far gone by this morning.  I heard an odd "click" yesterday evening but got sidetracked before tracking it down - that click was the thermal overload on the compressor tripping/resetting.

I do have a couple of "questions" for Samsung though.

Firstly: If you're going to put a huge digital temperature display on the outside of the door...why on earth would you not make it show the ACTUAL temperature inside the thing, if not all the time, when there's an alarm condition?!? 

I know it knows the temperature inside the fridge and freezer, as it shows the current temperature for about 30 seconds when you first plug it in (as shown above).  Thereafter it just shows the setpoint.

Secondly: You made this thing "ping" at us if we leave the door ajar or hold the water dispenser lever in for longer than it takes to fill a medium sized glass.  Why the hell didn't you include a high temperature alarm in the list of things to make the bloody thing ping at us for?  There was absolutely zero outward evidence of the fact the fridge was at 19C and thrle freezer at 7C until we opened the door and discovered the issue.

Also the condenser design is just fscking stupid, and is pretty definitely what eventually killed the compressor.  Rather than a "radiator" like unit they've used a very densely coiled "square spiral" for want of a better word of finned tubing, with a tiny fan to draw air across it.  The downside to this is that the fins on the tube may as well be velcro for their tendency to attract dust, and the three dimensional nature of the thing (and surrounding metalwork) makes it basically impossible to clean all but the outer surface of it.  Even compressed air doesn't shift much.  Utterly stupid design.  You need to remove ten screws and wrestle a metal cover off to get in far enough to even clean that - Samsung don't intend that to ever be cleaned given that the cover has the "do not remove - no user serviceable parts inside" sticker on it.

Final grumble: Having spent a good bit of this morning scoping out as near as possible like-for-like replacements, why the actual fluffing hell do all fridges now have WiFi and/or Bluetooth connectivity?!?  It's a bloody FRIDGE, not a laptop.

That does seem like proper shit design. 

 

I don't want to go all "the old days were better" but in storage I have an old Hotpoint freezer and Lec fridge. Both display "Made in Britain". I'd guess they're from the 1970s or 1980s. Both worked perfectly last time I tried them. They do have a bit of rust here and there though.... 

And I bet they use about 5x as much electricity as a modern one

They're just not in my house because I've moved to a small place that came with a nearly new  fridge/freezer. If that packs up, they'll be in the house 

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

This dates from 2002, and it was secondhand when we got it so I can't complain really.  However it's the first time I think I've ever actually seen the refrigeration side fail in a domestic refrigerator (not counting people wrecking the condenser when moving them/applying violence when defrosting). Usually the case/shelves/door falls apart long before the refrigeration bits die.

That's a good innings, didn't know Samsung made them that early

[myglaren]

My (Daewoo) FF is from 2000 too.  No complaints but is is quite basic with no ice maker or fancy screens.

I made tea, took the cup to the fridge, took out the milk, added to the tea, knocked the cup flying, spent the next hour dragging the FF out and cleaning it and washing the floors.

When I bought the FF from Northern Electric they had some deals going on.  I got £150 back from British Gas (it is an electric FF) also dozens of free LEF bulbs, half a dozen a month for over a year, and a huge discount for signing up to Scottish Power (from British Gas and Northern Electric).

Made no sense to me but money in my pocket.

[sheffcortinacentre]

19 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

When they quote that 50% ( or whatever figure) of “accidents” are due to speeding, I always think , we’ll technically all are because if you weren’t still moving at the point of contact , there wouldn’t be the accident.

My second thought though is 100% are caused by driving like a twat. Unfortunately doing 82mph on an quiet motorway in good conditions , is very much easier to prove, than driving like a twat.

Exactly, like all the blustering hype over these new cameras.

I'll be impressed when one that can spot concealed weapons, drugs etc is rolled out.

But again easier to make an honest man a criminal than a criminal an honest man.

[Metal Guru]

6 hours ago, horriblemercedes said:

That does seem like proper shit design. 

 

I don't want to go all "the old days were better" but in storage I have an old Hotpoint freezer and Lec fridge. Both display "Made in Britain". I'd guess they're from the 1970s or 1980s. Both worked perfectly last time I tried them. They do have a bit of rust here and there though.... 

And I bet they use about 5x as much electricity as a modern one

They're just not in my house because I've moved to a small place that came with a nearly new  fridge/freezer. If that packs up, they'll be in the house 

I got rid of a perfectly working 25 year old freezer a couple of years ago after checking how much electricity it was using . In the hottest week of 2022, it cost £10 to run. 

[artdjones]

7 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

I got rid of a perfectly working 25 year old freezer a couple of years ago after checking how much electricity it was using . In the hottest week of 2022, it cost £10 to run. 

I've got a customer who lived with her husband in the US for a few years then came back around 1962 to buy a farm with the money they earned. She brought back her Westinghouse fridge which looks something like this .

 

It's still running away in her kitchen on a 110-220v transformer sixty years later.

[MikeR]

took the kids to a cafe yesterday , 

ice cream , drinks , cuppa for me ..

after a while my tea had not arrived despite the staff arsing around behind the till ...

mentioned my lack of tea , oh yes you can have tea that's so much to pay ,, err I have already paid !!

more arsing around , eventually tea pot and cup turn up ...

minus the T bag ...

took the pot back and pointed out the lack of T bag ,

you guessed it , more arsing around 

pot comes back with a T bag but no lid ..

wont be rushing back ...

[EyesWeldedShut]

The perfect storm:

1) Kids visiting
2) Olympics on telly
3) Banal shite commentators blathering on about anything, everything and nothing

Yes, the art of conversation is officially dead. I'm off out to boil my head before I destroy the TV 

[JeeExEll]

I'm a mature horticulture student based mainly at a local garden which is open to the public.

Entry to the garden is free but there is a voluntary donations post-box by the gate on the way out. We get visitors from all over the world on bus tours, and in summer the donations box receives much appreciated donations which we use to continue the operation.

Unfortunately, recently, someone has been cutting through the box padlock with a battery powered grinder and taking the donations.

What is worse is that they then put their own padlock on the box.

We now have a battery powered grinder to remove their padlocks but are considering removing the box altogether or installing cctv. But the donations box is a long way from a power source.

Why do people act in this way?

We had one woman who used to come in and regularly dig up plants from carefully arranged borders and take them home. She was a high member of a local church but stopped the plant stealage when threatened with a police report.

[IronStar]

1 hour ago, JeeExEll said:

I'm a mature horticulture student based mainly at a local garden which is open to the public.

Entry to the garden is free but there is a voluntary donations post-box by the gate on the way out. We get visitors from all over the world on bus tours, and in summer the donations box receives much appreciated donations which we use to continue the operation.

Unfortunately, recently, someone has been cutting through the box padlock with a battery powered grinder and taking the donations.

What is worse is that they then put their own padlock on the box.

We now have a battery powered grinder to remove their padlocks but are considering removing the box altogether or installing cctv. But the donations box is a long way from a power source.

Why do people act in this way?

We had one woman who used to come in and regularly dig up plants from carefully arranged borders and take them home. She was a high member of a local church but stopped the plant stealage when threatened with a police report.

People are dipshits. 
How about 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Xiaomi-Wireless-Outdoor-Security-Camera/dp/B09DQ24TGX/

90 day battery life, no need for power source, decent video quality. Needs to be within the receiver range, but surely you can find a place with a plug to put that in? Has cloud storage as well. 

[sheffcortinacentre]

Plod won't be interested.