The grumpy thread

[richardmorris]

13 minutes ago, jakebullet said:

Lucky coincidence?

When I was a student a gimp got a car with JAZ on it, and then spent the rest of the year trying to convince everyone to call him Jaz to match the car. Didn't work, they all called him jizz instead.

Pure coincidence- it was bought from a family friend ( he had it from his mum who bought it from the first owner at a year old). Previous owners dad had several Citroen CXs new, including a very early P reg.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

17 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

I run my house WiFi off this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TP-Link-TL-WR802N-1-port-Wireless-Cable-Router-/111685800152?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286 and it's grand. My speed isn't mega fast so it's not the bottleneck, it sits in 'hotel mode' and spits WiFi out of an eithernet cable from my switch (on a static ip and dhcp turned off but only recently and it worked fine before doing its own thing, ive got my pihole as the dhcp server) 

Looks like a useful little thing.  To go into a bit more detail, I have a TP-Link router under the stairs, as that’s where my fibre comes in (FTTP).  That usually does surprisingly well considering the placement.

For work though I have to have Ethernet (VOIP Phone upstairs).  So I have a pair of TP-Link Powerline adapters.  I then have a little 5-port switch upstairs too (that feeds into a docking station for Ethernet over USB) and an old Dell tablet that I use the Fedora WiFi hotspot sharing on.  I only usually need to use it under some conditions but I haven’t quite figured out why my WiFi drops out yet.

I’ve done a factory restore on the router lately and that’s massively improved things and my connection usually failed on channel 6 (plus the router reported as being Turkish when I checked the detail) so I suspect the channel is just different enough for my MacBook Pro’s (2013 Model)  WiFi card to not like it.  Always been fine on my ThinkPads...

[beko1987]

Sounds a decent setup, I ran a dirt cheap set of power line adapters for a few years before finally spending a weekend running a cat5 cable through the entire house! 

My router sits in the loft (4g job) and it's signal is pretty good until you get to the edge of the front room, so I've got the tp link doing that job instead with the loft WiFi off. 

Everything else sits nailed to the back of my desk. I got pihole set up the other day and that's given everything an amazing speed boost just by blocking lots of shit

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Eventually I'll do something like that with a PiHole or similar.  I don't really want to run Cat5 around everywhere, it's just not worth it in my house but my office is something of a Faraday cage (can't even got SW Radio in here, can elsewhere in the house) so even before I needed the VOIP phone I was considering Powerlines.  It helps that the house is a new-build (about the only time it helps) so the wiring is new and not knackered, so the powerlines are more than quick enough.

I honestly think 4G routers are great solutions for a lot of people, although I did come across a situation the other day at work where Virgin had blocked WebRTC on a 4G connection.  Took me a while to troubleshoot why they couldn't use one of the the online collaboration platforms we run and then figured it out.   Somewhat less than ideal but it made me feel like Billy BigBollocks because the specialist platform team had been scratching their head for at least a week on that one...

[Parky]

Had to have a drugs test for cop job today at a specialist testing facility.

Basically a simple urine sample and an instant result, clever stuff.  However on  arrival I didn’t need to go.  Several glasses of water later, and a walk in the cold to look at a river helped and I headed back for the test.

Was then informed it was a monitored test meaning they had to watch.  So today I enjoyed pissing in a cup while being watched by a woman in her sixties.  Some people would pay/charge good money for that.

Celebrated getting that out of the way by visiting a chiropractor to have another go at my back.  He is quite direct and believes if something is out of line it doesn’t need gentle manipulation, it needs slamming back into place.  After our last session where I tensed up prior to being punched he came up with a new idea - bag over my head.  So now I am pinned down with a bag on my head knowing a severe punch is coming from somewhere but can’t tell where and when.  It did work but I found myself thinking “Rich, if someone said to you in June 2020 that 12 months from now you would be 12000 miles from home pissing in front of an old woman before paying someone to beat you up, would you have considered that to be preferable to being a salesman for a bunch of wankers?”

You know what, it’s a close run thing but I probably would have taken the bag over the head and the beating

[goosey]

Beautiful morning and it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day weather wise, so why the fuck my neighbour at 6am decided to fill his burner bin with old feather edge light it on fire then ponce around it smoking a cigarette dressed in his dressing gown like Noel Coward I have no idea

[Dick Longbridge]

2 minutes ago, goosey said:

Beautiful morning and it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day weather wise, so why the fuck my neighbour at 6am decided to fill his burner bin with old feather edge light it on fire then ponce around it smoking a cigarette dressed in his dressing gown like Noel Coward I have no idea

Hopefully it'll have died down by the time you get back from work? 

[goosey]

2 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Hopefully it'll have died down by the time you get back from work? 

When I spoke to my wife about 10 mins ago, she said the fire had all but gone out by 9ish. To be fair if we’d have asked him he probably would have put it out as he’s a sound bloke and it isn’t an everyday occurrence.

I don’t know why but it really really pissed me off this morning, beautiful day and someone having a burn 

[jakebullet]

I thought things have been going well with Kinky Girl recently and we've been having a nice time. Wrong!

She messangers last night with "I hope you're happy we're going into lockdown again!! Fucking Boris and not banning all the Indians from coming here. TWAT!"

Er, sweetie, I'm not the conservative party headquarters, or on the SAGE committee. And your Nostradamus powers of hindsight are flawed, given this is another copy of the same we should have locked everyone out rant you've been using for a full year. 

She then goes on to say I'm constantly picking on her. Eh? Apparently saying there's a hole in your trousers is a personal attack now?

Which way is the single & sad thread?  I'm constantly on edge with trying to guess what OCD is going to kick off next, and if I've got to guess what random things will offend as well I may as well give up.

[PhilA]

3 hours ago, goosey said:

When I spoke to my wife about 10 mins ago, she said the fire had all but gone out by 9ish. To be fair if we’d have asked him he probably would have put it out as he’s a sound bloke and it isn’t an everyday occurrence.

I don’t know why but it really really pissed me off this morning, beautiful day and someone having a burn 

Used to be local ordinance that you couldn't burn any time other than between the hours of 6pm and 10pm - not including barbeques- because of "people having their washing out on the line to dry". That was Avon County Council (as-was) rules, so there may be similar bylaws where you at.

My grump is that the weather was really nice for the whole weekend, cool and dry and perfect outside weather. I got to spend it with my hermit children and their autistic cousin. Pleasant lad but can't be left by himself so instead of heading to the garage to work on the car I got to stay in the house and do laundry.

Now the weather's gone all hot, airless and muggy and in taking the dogs out this morning I got bitten 3 times through my clothes by skeeters. 

You just watch. Now the kids will complain they want to do outside activities.

[New POD]

2 hours ago, jakebullet said:

I thought things have been going well with Kinky Girl recently and we've been having a nice time. Wrong!

She messangers last night with "I hope you're happy we're going into lockdown again!! Fucking Boris and not banning all the Indians from coming here. TWAT!"

Er, sweetie, I'm not the conservative party headquarters, or on the SAGE committee. And your Nostradamus powers of hindsight are flawed, given this is another copy of the same we should have locked everyone out rant you've been using for a full year. 

She then goes on to say I'm constantly picking on her. Eh? Apparently saying there's a hole in your trousers is a personal attack now?

Which way is the single & sad thread?  I'm constantly on edge with trying to guess what OCD is going to kick off next, and if I've got to guess what random things will offend as well I may as well give up.

Jake. I feel your pain. Add in death of 2 parents and now imagine what shit can come your way. 

[jakebullet]

23 minutes ago, New POD said:

Jake. I feel your pain. Add in death of 2 parents and now imagine what shit can come your way. 

I've only got the one parent left, and she's not in the best of health. So probably got my sister trying to make me homeless in the next few years to add to the list. 

Bonus grump: car insurance who take the piss. Last year £335, good news! this year only £317. Hmmmmmm. Gocompare says £187. Phone up to cancel, 10 mins on hold, they can do me a very special deal of £220. Er, no. But do they have this magic feature? Don't know, don't care, it's a C1 not a rolls royce. Oh look, I've found a magic extra discount, £190! Not today thank you. £3 is £3. Bye!

 

[Jerzy Woking]

2 hours ago, PhilA said:

Used to be local ordinance that you couldn't burn any time other than between the hours of 6pm and 10pm - not including barbeques- because of "people having their washing out on the line to dry". That was Avon County Council (as-was) rules, so there may be similar bylaws where you at.

Where I live you have to get a fire licence from the local council, which is free. I could only have a bonfire between sunrise and 13.30 hours on Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Other areas in the town have the same times, but different days.

I said could because no fires are allowed between 1st June and 16th October (which was extended to mid November last year due to the dry summer).

 

[PhilA]

2 hours ago, Jerzy Woking said:

Where I live you have to get a fire licence from the local council, which is free. I could only have a bonfire between sunrise and 13.30 hours on Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Other areas in the town have the same times, but different days.

I said could because no fires are allowed between 1st June and 16th October (which was extended to mid November last year due to the dry summer).

 

If you're going to have anything bigger than a 44 gallon drum on fire you need to let the fire department know here. They come by and make sure you've got enough on hand that you can control it.

[Jerzy Woking]

29 minutes ago, PhilA said:

If you're going to have anything bigger than a 44 gallon drum on fire you need to let the fire department know here. They come by and make sure you've got enough on hand that you can control it.

The downside of living near a forest I suppose.

[artdjones]

3 hours ago, Jerzy Woking said:

Where I live you have to get a fire licence from the local council, which is free. I could only have a bonfire between sunrise and 13.30 hours on Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Other areas in the town have the same times, but different days.

I said could because no fires are allowed between 1st June and 16th October (which was extended to mid November last year due to the dry summer).

 

I was on the Costa Blanca a few years ago in May when someone in the country decided he needed to burn rubbish. Later that day we watched from about 4 miles away as fires burned across a cast area of hillsides. According to my brother, the perpetrator could expect jail time.

[Bren]

In the gym on Thursday - felt a twinge at the bottom of my back. Stopped what I was doing.

I am in a lot of discomfort - painful back and hips and numbness in left leg.

I have a good mind to stop doing all my exercise - once you approach your fifties it seems tk do as much harm as good.

[PhilA]

Nuts.

I had to special order these. They came in, 2000-odd miles from Brooklyn.

I could understand something specialty but 5-40 brass nuts? Sheesh. Nowhere locally carried them. Everybody has 6-32 or 4-40. 

 

I was cheered up slightly by the appearance of a single sunshine mimosa by my mailbox, which the mail van promptly ran over.

 

That and it's too bloody hot

 

[Jerzy Woking]

3 hours ago, artdjones said:

I was on the Costa Blanca a few years ago in May when someone in the country decided he needed to burn rubbish. Later that day we watched from about 4 miles away as fires burned across a cast area of hillsides. According to my brother, the perpetrator could expect jail time.

Although I had a lot to burn, all tree and shrub cuttings, I keep the fire small and just keep adding to it bit by bit from the cuttings heap about 10 yards away. I have the pool backwash hose close by.

I do this exactly because of what your brother said. I'm was not going to take the risk of ending up in the slammer over an out of control bonfire.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

3 hours ago, artdjones said:

I was on the Costa Blanca a few years ago in May when someone in the country decided he needed to burn rubbish. Later that day we watched from about 4 miles away as fires burned across a cast area of hillsides. According to my brother, the perpetrator could expect jail time.

Did that not depend on the Guardia Civil actually finding the fella?

[artdjones]

9 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Did that not depend on the Guardia Civil actually finding the fella?

I seem to remember my brother saying that the info was known. In Ireland in Kerry and Cork there's huge illegal hillside fires every year, which get started under the mistaken belief that it improves the grazing.  No-one ever seems to get caught for them, though the pool of suspects must be fairly small. That is, people who have commonage rights in the affected area.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Just now, artdjones said:

I seem to remember my brother saying that the info was known. In Ireland in Kerry and Cork there's huge illegal hillside fires every year, which get started under the mistaken belief that it improves the grazing.  No-one ever seems to get caught for them, though the pool of suspects must be fairly small. That is, people who have commonage rights in the affected area.

I know people will continue to cut peat in the boglands, despite any environmental bans!

[artdjones]

Yes, but again people have cutting rights on the bog from a long time back. It's like Germany, somehow they keep their enormous opencast brown coal mines operating, while every black coal mine in the UK shuts down.

[artdjones]

Who's doing the most environmental damage?

[High Jetter]

Turf wins on aroma every time though! I really miss that when visiting.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

10 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Turf wins on aroma every time though! I really miss that when visiting.

Yes, it's a bit like trying to imagine Amsterdam without the smell of weed....

[cort1977]

27 minutes ago, artdjones said:

I seem to remember my brother saying that the info was known. In Ireland in Kerry and Cork there's huge illegal hillside fires every year, which get started under the mistaken belief that it improves the grazing.  No-one ever seems to get caught for them, though the pool of suspects must be fairly small. That is, people who have commonage rights in the affected area.

In Scotland it's legal because it may make slightly better habitat for game birds.  For people to shoot.  Never mind the rest of the environment being an effective desert.

I would love to see Scotland properly rewilded with bears and wolves controlling the deer population and the forests allowed to regrow.  Would make going for a hike much more interesting...

[artdjones]

2 hours ago, cort1977 said:

In Scotland it's legal because it may make slightly better habitat for game birds.  For people to shoot.  Never mind the rest of the environment being an effective desert.

I would love to see Scotland properly rewilded with bears and wolves controlling the deer population and the forests allowed to regrow.  Would make going for a hike much more interesting...

 

Yeah, sounds like great fun.

 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

1 hour ago, cort1977 said:

In Scotland it's legal because it may make slightly better habitat for game birds.  For people to shoot.  Never mind the rest of the environment being an effective desert.

I would love to see Scotland properly rewilded with bears and wolves controlling the deer population and the forests allowed to regrow.  Would make going for a hike much more interesting...

May also help control the endemic of posh people going North of the border to shoot every year.

[somewhatfoolish]

6 hours ago, cort1977 said:

In Scotland it's legal because it may make slightly better habitat for game birds.  For people to shoot.  Never mind the rest of the environment being an effective desert.

I would love to see Scotland properly rewilded with bears and wolves controlling the deer population and the forests allowed to regrow.  Would make going for a hike much more interesting...

Only if open carry is allowed for protection! Nae chance under Nanny Knows Best.