The grumpy thread

[wuvvum]

I've got a Cree headlight for my bike.  It's fucking brilliant.  Or at least it would be if I hadn't lost the little rubber strap that holds it onto the handlebar.

[michael1703]

My workshop costs around £90 a month just for the electric. Unfortunatly the landlords pay the site electricty bill then sell it to us so we can't change supplier. It is taking the piss really as I am only here 5 days a week running just a computer and 2 strip lights most of the time.

Read your meter weekly and then read it before you go home, switch everything off and then read it when you turn up the next day/after a weekend away and make sure nobody is siphoning your leccy

[dollywobbler]

quit whinging the lot of you - at least until you are on lpg or oil!

 

My gas is twice the cost of yours ...

 

One of the most satisfying things we did here was ditch LPG for the house. Flogas were absolutely dreadful to deal with and charged a fortune. Barely used any gas over the summer and still hit by a sizeable daily charge. Customer services were dreadful and not long after we moved, a lorry turned up and just started filling the tank. We didn't even have an agreement with them! Horrifically expensive too. Now we just use Calor for the oven and one small gas fire that we don't use much, and logs for general heating. We've just changed log supplier - the new stuff is superb! We've barely used any tonight. Far, far more satisfying in so many ways to burning dino farts.

[michael1703]

I'm with ovo energy www.ovoenergy.com they've been very good so far and if they over estimate your useage they give you 3%interest and you can submit your readings online

[MrDuke]

Be similarly grateful that you're not on kerosene. Our supplier is actually fairly decent and easy to deal with, but that doesn't make up for gagging on the smell whenever I get within 5 feet of the (ancient) boiler. Or the tri-monthly knuckle-skinning and finger-scalding session when I have to manually re-pressurise the CH system.

[Cavcraft]

Edit: Wuvvum:

 

You can buy them as a job lot (of five or ten, or something) quite cheap on eBay. I know it sounds stupid as you've lost yours, but have you got a picture of the type you need?

[doobietoo]

Flashy bike lights are indeed illegal in the UK, unless they're used alongside ones that are on solidly. Flickering lights actually attract the eye and make you more noticeable, which can only be a plus.

 

 

 

Unless you are epileptic then its really not a plus... 

[wuvvum]

Cavcraft, on 12 Feb 2015 - 9:56 PM, said:

Edit: Wuvvum:

 

You can buy them as a job lot (of five or ten, or something) quite cheap on eBay. I know it sounds stupid as you've lost yours, but have you got a picture of the type you need?

I've actually found some on eBay which look about right.  It's this type:

 

 

Hopefully they won't be too thick.

[Cavcraft]

Have messaged you.

[Louise2cv]

Think mine is just a cheapy Cav, got it for Christmas so not sure. Yours sounds good, I will have to see how much dark riding/running I get done (if my leg ever gets better).

 

The only reason I have tried the head torch so far was when the kids begged me to get the trailer out at 9pm last Sunday, it was fun, but you don't realise how pitch black the cycle track is until you go out that late!

[dome]

I have a 10 mile commute through Fife traffic so always run two rear lights at this time of year, one on steady and one on a slow flash-gives me some redundnacy in case the battery goes and the slow flash is definitely more noticeable without being annoying. I agree about the stupid bright ones, they defeat the purpose. Got a Cree front one but I actually aim it so as not to blind drivers. There are idiot cyclists out ther ethough, just like there are idiot drivers...

[mat_the_cat]

 

Ouch.

 

As for bike lights, I have a reasonably bright set, but the front has a top cut-off to help prevent dazzle. The last thing I want to do is have a half blinded driver heading towards me! Rear one I tend to have on flicker at night, but flashing during the day.

[The Moog]

That's tempting, although i'm on a shite buying siesta at the mo. .

Got too many issues to fix to be honest including a windscreen surround made out of hope and pixies tears

[messerschmitt owner]

One of the most satisfying things we did here was ditch LPG for the house. Flogas were absolutely dreadful to deal with and charged a fortune. Barely used any gas over the summer and still hit by a sizeable daily charge. Customer services were dreadful and not long after we moved, a lorry turned up and just started filling the tank. We didn't even have an agreement with them! Horrifically expensive too. Now we just use Calor for the oven and one small gas fire that we don't use much, and logs for general heating. We've just changed log supplier - the new stuff is superb! We've barely used any tonight. Far, far more satisfying in so many ways to burning dino farts.

Ah, when you come for the sunroof, you'll find we have a woodburner and it heats three rooms comfortably - it's the other eight rooms that are the issue! We're with calor, tied in till April and then free to head elsewhere. We use no gas over the summer and one tank in winter (about 1000 litres).

 

I'm just about to change wood supplier after the bugger we've been using for two years dropped two loads of damp cherry with us. I never use softwood - ideally ash or cherry is best for burning.

[cort16]

This is what I want to do to yahoomail HQ. Just work you useless shitehawk of a system. You have one job, which is to fucking be an email system yet when I click on an email I just get a blank screem.
Aaaaaaargh.

 

 

[HH-R]

It's the same craic with most of the big name websites nowadays, rewrite everything because it wasn't broken and make it ten times slower, more annoying and with less functionality. But it looks more flashy!!!!11!11111!! Flickr is something else they totally ruined a year or so back, they keep moving/hiding buttons and there's that much shitty, pointless JavaScript running on each page (even after killing some of it with NoScript) that it makes my laptop overheat.

[quicksilver]

It's the same craic with most of the big name websites nowadays, rewrite everything because it wasn't broken and make it ten times slower, more annoying and with less functionality. But it looks more flashy!!!!11!11111!! Flickr is something else they totally ruined a year or so back, they keep moving/hiding buttons and there's that much shitty, pointless JavaScript running on each page (even after killing some of it with NoScript) that it makes my laptop overheat.

Amen to that, I reckon most websites have now got to the point where everything useful has been done so the only way to keep the developers occupied is constantly getting them to tinker with things that work fine and inevitably make them worse. They seem to abide by Meat Loaf's philosophy: "If it ain't broke, break it"...

[Lacquer Peel]

I'm just about to change wood supplier after the bugger we've been using for two years dropped two loads of damp cherry with us. I never use softwood - ideally ash or cherry is best for burning.

 

Cherry is crap firewood, I'm not sure why people are obsessed with burning only hardwood, seasoned softwood like Scots Pine is better to burn than cherry and won't tar up your chimney if you're careful with it.

[messerschmitt owner]

we don't have Scots pine here - but there's millions of dead ash trees. Must sneak into the woods with the chainsaw.

 

I'm seasoning off a cedar tree just now.

[Lacquer Peel]

Ash however, WINNAR.

[dollywobbler]

Sawdust briquettes can be marvellous things too. Nice and hot, like coal, but far, far cleaner. New wood seems good. We're barely burning any (comparatively), and our stove heats the whole house (via underfloor heating). 

[doobietoo]

AXA my present insurers want twice the amount the AA are quoting on Comparethemurcrap to renew my car insurance.....

[dugong]

Now and again a telegraph pole will 'disappear' and our landlord will have a mysterious supply of burner fuel for several weeks. Never thought about where he might be getting them from. 

 

Ash however, WINNAR.

 

Much concur. So burn. Very fire.

[gordonbennet]

Put something on the top shelf in the laughingly called garage, that closely resembles a skip, managed to knock a nearly full 5 litre pack of gear oil off, which popped the huge top off.

 

Was it the cheapo shit, not on your nelly, course it was the Millers fully synthetic all singeing all dancing stuff.    Bollocks.

[jakebullet]

Man on evilbay buys a pool ball gear knob for a citroen C1. He then complains it doesn't fit.

 

Eh? I've sold hundreds of them. What year is your C1?

Well it's actually a C15.

 

Yeah, I can see why you'd expect it to fit. They both have the letter C in common.

[chaseracer]

And a 1.

[Cavcraft]

I bet Fred Talbot is predicting some very unpleasant showers ahead.

[UmBongo]

[fred]

And getting a lot of Southerly High Pressure for quite some time I imagine

[fred]