The grumpy thread

[omegod]

5 pointed torx bit's. why was 6 point not good enough for Honda ? absolute knobheads caused a fruitless search of Halfords, toolstation ( rude staff) and screwfix. Very irritated to have wasted 2 hrs of my Sunday and now can't complete a task 

[Agila]

9 minutes ago, omegod said:

5 pointed torx bit's. why was 6 point not good enough for Honda ? absolute knobheads caused a fruitless search of Halfords, toolstation ( rude staff) and screwfix. Very irritated to have wasted 2 hrs of my Sunday and now can't complete a task 

Are they pentalobe? Have a more rounded edge rather than sharp points of torx bits.

[omegod]

4 minutes ago, Agila said:

Are they pentalobe? Have a more rounded edge rather than sharp points of torx bits.

yep 

 

[Agila]

9 minutes ago, omegod said:

yep 

 

Normally they have the security versions. Something like a cheap version of these."Sealey AK6227 Security TRX-TS Socket Bit Set 10pc 1/4" & 3/8"Sq Drive" https://www.mccormicktools.co.uk/catalog/product/view/id/4852

[beko1987]

2 hours ago, Timewaster said:

In our house it is ovens. 

First Hotpoint one lasted 9 years then gave up. That was last August. 

Yesterday I was making shortbread with my 7yr old daughter. Cooking time 12 minutes. 

After 20 minutes it was still dough.  Oh well I thought, I'm a useless Baker and it was a cheap bake kit from Aldi. We have probably cocked it up. 

But no, later my Mrs was cooking tea and after half an hour everything was just as raw as when it went in. 

Guess what I am going to buy today? 

Lucky we are still T2. 

Beko ovens are shit. 

 

 

Sorry... 

[RayMK]

5 hours ago, Floatylight said:

Good luck with that! If it's been made in the last 10 years you will probably find the bearing isnt replaceable, it's an integral part of the drum, had this with our Panasonic a couple of years ago, new drum £285! Bought a second hand washer off @Kiltoxfor £50 which is still goin strong..

Yes, true. I should have made it clear - the old machine will be replaced with a new one. I last replaced a drum bearing about 20 years ago i.e. about 5 machines ago. There used to be a place in Banbury which sold domestic appliance spares to the few who wanted to defer the throw away society for a year or two. I also replaced a tumble dryer thermistor and belt at about the same time but don't bother with tumble dryers now.  

The dishwasher shelf collapse was caused by the plastic coating the ordinary steel basket/shelf wearing away, allowing corrosion in the salty water and hence structural failure.  It's a built in unit, though with a bit of modification to the kitchen plinth I can fit a stand alone type without much bother.  What with the hardship of slaving over the microwave and now manual dishwashing, life is becoming a chore (1st world problems 😄).

Affording the replacement white goods is no problem, it's just the hassle of ordering boring stuff that has caused my schedule to slip in to an even more inconvenient time of the year. Entirely self inflicted. On the plus side, it gives me something to moan about.

[myglaren]

Call from youngest daughter.  Flat tyre and her electric pump doesn't work - fag lighter socket U/S.

Went up, couldn't get my car close enough to use my pump.  Shifted her car to a flat bit and tried, nothing happening.

Remove wheel - had to use the scissor jack as my trolley jack wouldn't quite go under the sill.

Took it to tyre place (National, I think) and it is an unusual size that they don't stock but have one in that was to be returned.

Otherwise wait until Tuesday.  She needs her car for work so bought it - Michelin, £199.00

I was expecting about £85.

I fit Sailuns, usually around £40.  They had hundreds of them, just not her size.

[Stanky]

Good grief, faced with that sort of price I'd have asked them to fit a pair of not-the-right-size-but-close budgets and stuck them on the same axle, with the biggest rolling radius on the back for 'stance'

£199 for one tyre! 

[Steve79]

5 hours ago, Timewaster said:

In our house it is ovens. 

First Hotpoint one lasted 9 years then gave up. That was last August. 

Yesterday I was making shortbread with my 7yr old daughter. Cooking time 12 minutes. 

After 20 minutes it was still dough.  Oh well I thought, I'm a useless Baker and it was a cheap bake kit from Aldi. We have probably cocked it up. 

But no, later my Mrs was cooking tea and after half an hour everything was just as raw as when it went in. 

Guess what I am going to buy today? 

Lucky we are still T2. 

Beko ovens are shit. 

 

 

You know its probably just the element gone which is no more than £20 and a 15min job to replace.

[Timewaster]

29 minutes ago, Steve79 said:

You know its probably just the element gone which is no more than £20 and a 15min job to replace.

I actually suspect its more likely to be a thermostat because it would work at max. 

Given time and spares availability I would give fixing it a go, but sometimes it's just easier to stick your hand in your pocket. Makes for a quieter life. 

Luckily we aren't spending it on anything else at the moment. 

[Neil clark]

2 hours ago, myglaren said:

Call from youngest daughter.  Flat tyre and her electric pump doesn't work - fag lighter socket U/S.

Went up, couldn't get my car close enough to use my pump.  Shifted her car to a flat bit and tried, nothing happening.

Remove wheel - had to use the scissor jack as my trolley jack wouldn't quite go under the sill.

Took it to tyre place (National, I think) and it is an unusual size that they don't stock but have one in that was to be returned.

Otherwise wait until Tuesday.  She needs her car for work so bought it - Michelin, £199.00

I was expecting about £85.

I fit Sailuns, usually around £40.  They had hundreds of them, just not her size.

What size???

[Floatylight]

Just noticed garage courtesy car (Corsa D) (See Floatylights family fleet thread) has a headlight bulb out, looked at changing it myself need to remove air box or bumper to get to it... crazy bit of design..

[Saabnut]

For the second time this year, covid travel restrictions have snookered me. This time, I have been notified that a ditch at my house in France has become blocked, and as the house is on a flood plain (it flooded once, in 1962) it needs attending early. Being Christmas and lockdown, no one in France can do anything until at least the New Year, and the insurance states that as soon as I become aware it has to be sorted asap or no cover. Booked eurotunnel to cross Tuesday early hours. Today I loaded the trailer with mini-digger and loaded the car, ready to depart about 10am tomorrow.

Just been announced all travel forbidden UK-France for 48 hours from 2300 tonight. Bollox. Have managed to get a booking at 0530 Christmas Eve, but fully expect that to be cancelled as well but at least the insurance remains valid!

[beko1987]

Sounds like a pain. Do you have to have at least a valid booking to have insurance then? Even if you know you'll be rebooking that Xmas eve... 

[blackboilersuit]

1 hour ago, Saabnut said:

Just been announced all travel forbidden UK-France for 48 hours from 2300 tonight. Bollox. Have managed to get a booking at 0530 Christmas Eve, but fully expect that to be cancelled as well but at least the insurance remains valid!

You may yet be allowed to travel. There are so many continental trucks in the UK just now all trying to deliver cargo and beat the Brexit deadline that some dispensation will have to be made to allow those drivers to return home. I suspect the 48hr ban is just to give the French authorities a little breathing space to come up with a plan and that commercial traffic will be allowed to restart soon. Hopefully you can legitimately claim commercial status and make the journey. 

Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[maxxo]

just done a damn good job of putting myself in a mood.......which is decently impressive for me

worked on my burglar alarm today, realised i'd rather do that as a career compared to the degree in art i'm studying at uni

proceeded to get drunk and email my uni lecturer telling him i find art boring, talked a load of shit for a few paragraphes and now i'm sulking for no reason

also grump

quite fed up of how crap my PC has been running recently, not fed up enough to replace it but it's starting to get annoying

[myglaren]

6 hours ago, Neil clark said:

What size???

225/65 - 16 I think.

[Mr Laurence]

45 minutes ago, maxxo said:

just done a damn good job of putting myself in a mood.......which is decently impressive for me

worked on my burglar alarm today, realised i'd rather do that as a career compared to the degree in art i'm studying at uni

proceeded to get drunk and email my uni lecturer telling him i find art boring, talked a load of shit for a few paragraphes and now i'm sulking for no reason

also grump

quite fed up of how crap my PC has been running recently, not fed up enough to replace it but it's starting to get annoying

I came to the same realisation a few years ago. I’d spent two years studying art before realising that it wasn’t for me. I still appreciate art as a subject, but forcing myself to keep going with it was making me unhappy; I just couldn’t picture myself doing it for the rest of my life and ended up choosing a completely different route to go down instead.

If you ever need someone to talk it over with, my PMs are always open:)

[maxxo]

5 minutes ago, Mr Laurence said:

I came to the same realisation a few years ago. I’d spent two years studying art before realising that it wasn’t for me. I still appreciate art as a subject, but forcing myself to keep going with it was making me unhappy; I just couldn’t picture myself doing it for the rest of my life and ended up choosing a completely different route to go down instead.

If you ever need someone to talk it over with, my PMs are always open:)

Thank you, it's very much appreciated

i just can't help but feel i'd be better off going down the route of electronics or something

[Mr Laurence]

8 minutes ago, maxxo said:

Thank you, it's very much appreciated

i just can't help but feel i'd be better off going down the route of electronics or something

You should definitely look into it! No point spending your time on a degree you know isn’t relevant to the career you want.

[5speedracer]

Thank you, it's very much appreciated
i just can't help but feel i'd be better off going down the route of electronics or something

As a member of the general public I"m of the opinion the country needs more people who can fix, make and design things.

Sent from my R19 using Tapatalk

[Timewaster]

I never went to uni, but it always struck me that there are degrees you do for the love of the subject and others you do for career progression. 

Electronics, engineering, law, chemistry or medicine would be career degrees as they are sought by employers and there are jobs you can't do without them. 

Subjects like Literature, art, history, performing arts you do for the love of the subject. 

Some might get their dream job off the back of the degree but it is statistically less likely. 

If you love art and you can see it through then stick with it. 

It must be hard this year with all the remote learning and zoom bollocks. 

[New POD]

To be honest, I did Engineering at university, and after 31 years I can safely say it never made me rich or happy.  I can't point to 2 consecutive weeks where I truly felt like it was a career worth having.  Most Mondays I still struggle to get motivated. 

I actually think I'd have been better doing accountancy. Tax avoidance* being my specialist subject.

And contract law. In clear English. 

Both of these I've had to learn due to my employment status, and I've much more research and background reading than I ever did at Poloytechnic. 

*To avoid getting slagged off, and to clarify, I mean:  paying what is due, When it is due, claiming back what I am entitled to claim back, But no more, and definately not evasion or money laundering.  

[Tamworthbay]

50 minutes ago, Timewaster said:

I never went to uni, but it always struck me that there are degrees you do for the love of the subject and others you do for career progression. 

Electronics, engineering, law, chemistry or medicine would be career degrees as they are sought by employers and there are jobs you can't do without them. 

Subjects like Literature, art, history, performing arts you do for the love of the subject. 

Some might get their dream job off the back of the degree but it is statistically less likely. 

If you love art and you can see it through then stick with it. 

It must be hard this year with all the remote learning and zoom bollocks. 

I agree, I think there should be quotas for funded places based on national requirements. So if you want to be a doctor then it won’t cost much. If you are the 100,000th person to want to do the history of renaissance art then you fund yourself. I did Biochemistry At Leicester Uni and the level of workload was four or five times what some subjects got.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

What I will say is that one of my lecturers was Chilean and brought up under Pinochet. 

In Santiago, all you could study was Mathematics, Engineering or Medicine (or related).  No arts subjects.  I am admittedly biased here (having studied an 'arts' subject at Lancaster around a decade ago) but the arts are an important part of our national identity and economy too.  They don't appear as 'necessary' as other things (particularly in the current context) but society needs musicians, authors, artists, designers and if they didn't exist, life would be very different indeed.

Even if you treat them as a means to another end, the cross-skilling from arts subjects can be significant.  If you've ever tried to solve a Bach chorale then you'll understand how music (for instance) teaches skills that can be applied to a wide range of other areas.

The loss of arts subjects (which may seem trivial to some) would be an enormous loss.

[Timewaster]

I guess there is a line between what is artistic talent and what can be taught. 

With sufficient education I could learn medicine and become a doctor. 

All the time and teaching in the world could not make me the next Gary Barlow or JK Rowling. 

But if I'd did have their talent then I'm sure I could learn how to apply it. 

Like all things in life, we need a balance. 

It would be a dull depressing world (moreso) if there were no arts and entertainment but equally we would be screwed if nobody did medicine and in 30 years all the doctors have retired or died. 

 

What sparked my interest in the subject, a kid I was at school with went on to do a degree in ancient history  and the last time I saw him, he was sticking labels on bottles for a living. 

But he was properly weird - virtually unemployable anyway. 

[montytom]

Currently sat doing a cpc course. If anyone has done them before you will know what I'm currently going through. I cannot complain to much as I still have a job unlike some other poor souls.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Agreed on the need for a balance and I genuinely do understand the importance of fields like science, engineering and medicine. 

My brother is a programmer that has a PhD in Mathematics and two ABRSM music performance diplomas.  He's also autistic and all of these things interrelate and he uses exactly the same approach for all of them.  There is a cross-section of skill there.

When it comes to the arts, talent gets you a headstart but no more than that and it's the application that really matters.  Do, practice, do more and repeat.  The same as any other field, repetition and practice moves you along.

I'm a musician and sound engineer by study but work in IT.  In many ways they're the same thing - just a slightly different application of my skills with some specific knowledge applied either way.

[Tamworthbay]

My nephew is on the max morphine now and it looks like the cancer will win in the next few days. Shouldn’t grumble as it was expected way back in the spring but the shite of this year has stopped him making the most of that extra time. There is no good time to have cancer but this year has to be one of the worst.

[iainrcz]

8 minutes ago, Tamworthbay said:

My nephew is on the max morphine now and it looks like the cancer will win in the next few days. Shouldn’t grumble as it was expected way back in the spring but the shite of this year has stopped him making the most of that extra time. There is no good time to have cancer but this year has to be one of the worst.

For fuck's sake. Speaking as someone who has lost too many family members to it, it's an absolute cunt.