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Posted

I missed out on a 23000 mile Rover 114SLi with 11 months' test today. Ok, it had giffer parking dings and rusty arches but the MOT history said the mileage was correct.

The real grump is it was only 10 miles away and on sale at £225...

Posted
  On 07/06/2016 at 21:43, reb said:

Today while I was at work a cow masquerading as a bird took a massive shit on my windscreen.

 

 

Don't spend too long in Aberdeen when you're on your way to Shetland.

 

Posted
  On 08/06/2016 at 17:49, MarvinsMom said:

oh i told them at the interview that i am not a "high commander" type but  a "little indian" type instead as i have not got the slightest intention of attempting to clime the corporate ladder. and apparently my ad version to responsibility too is a problem.

 

in my late 20's (i'm 42 now) i ended up in a lead engineer type position which nearly broke me. and led up to my first melt down.

 

so the thought of been in the position where i am in charge again, and therefore been sick and bad with worry and all the stress and anxiety that i know will come with that fills me with dread. 

 

i don't like what i do much, but it is better than the alternative of been made physically and mentally ill cos i don't want to move up the greasy pole makes me all the more determined to just quit the friggin' thing and go and do something more interesting in stead.

  You are not alone woooowooooooooowooooooo (bad clip of old TV prog). I understand exactly what you are saying, PM me your address and I'll send you someone's autobiography who had it similar but worse. I have 20+ engineering years on you and have a job 20- engineering years on you, some companies who hire engineers DO NOT understand that engineers choose to be engineers NOT managers. My line manager struggles to manage me as he cannot get his head around the engineer to manager is NOT PROMOTION.

Tomorrow I will plant chillies on an allotment at 5-30am onwards. arrive at work 9am, make coffee for 2 senior managers + interviewee (admin girl doesn't drink coffee so is stressed about having to make it) I will supply the tray, single cream, Portuguese coffee, and a few small cakes but will be wearing dirty jeans n red Che tee shirt.

  • Like 5
Posted
  On 08/06/2016 at 16:01, Pillock said:

That's a crap PDI place then.

 

I was working at the Hilton in Edinburgh, which is over the road from the massive hire car prep depot which seems to be join-run by all the hire firms there.

Chap in high vis jacket takes a nearly new car through a jetwash, seemingly just slowing to walking pace whilst two guys jet, brush and rinse it. Then he screams round to the canopy where it gets lathered. Someone chucks the fuel nozzle in and locks it on whilst they pop the boot open and check spare tyre etc. Someone else opens all the doors and gets busy with the vac whilst a third person is cleaning windows. The bonnet is opened for about 30 seconds, presumably for an oil and "is anything on fire" check. You then see a chap with a clipboard look around it, squatting down to see the panels in the light etc, and it moves on. Total time seems to be less than 15 minutes from filthy returned car to ready to hire.

Lol! Sounds like where I've been. They were waiting for a part to arrive which keeps the rear 'truckman' cab down. It took until 1:30pm before I was out of there. Never had a problem before, cars/vans are usually ready before I even arrive at the place.

 

Still, at least I get paid 'waiting time', plus this job brought me very near home, which is where I am now.

  • Like 2
Posted

There is a smelly man at tescos every night at 7pm for the 5p OMG reduced veg n bread madness. There's actually a regular crowd of people who fight each other to see how much cheap stuff they can cram in their trolleys. Fair enough, if you're broke go for it. Except today I spotted smelly loading his 50 loaves of bread into his 15 plate car parked in the disabled bay.

 

I'm baffled what's going on. What does he do with so much bread per day? If he can afford a new car why does he need 5p bread?

  • Like 2
Posted

Ask him. He or someone he lives with might be on disability, and he helps out at a foodbank - you never know.

  • Like 4
Posted

I used to see the local big issue seller get into a (then new) 08 plate yaris and drive home when I worked at Sainsburys

 

We used to get the same guy come in every evening and hassle us to reduce stuff for him, or 'knock it down' a bit more. Pleasent chap, but fuck me did he talk, and one day he caught me in the wrong mood, I snapped and we never saw him again.

 

Funnily, I didn't get told off for it... 

Posted
  On 08/06/2016 at 21:54, jakebullet said:

There is a smelly man at tescos every night at 7pm for the 5p OMG reduced veg n bread madness. There's actually a regular crowd of people who fight each other to see how much cheap stuff they can cram in their trolleys. Fair enough, if you're broke go for it. Except today I spotted smelly loading his 50 loaves of bread into his 15 plate car parked in the disabled bay.

 

I'm baffled what's going on. What does he do with so much bread per day? If he can afford a new car why does he need 5p bread?

Who cares? Perhaps he can afford a new car because he's careful with money?
Posted
  On 08/06/2016 at 17:02, Pillock said:

First rule of employment is if anyone ever asks you "Where do you see yourself in five years" you give a sarky answer and get out of there. Normally "I was going to ask you the same thing, cos I'm having your job" works well.

No sensible employer will ever ask that, pushing people hard is the best way to break them. They should be looking at your talents and offering you progression - or, horror of horrors, accepting that some people just like doing their job and don't want to move up.

 

Do you mind if I print this off and leave a copy on my boss's desk?

 

EDIT: Actually just the bold bit. He's got no interest where anyone else will be in five years (or ever) unless  benefits him, and is more than happy to accept that some people don't want to move up-the only upward move is to his job. 

Posted
  On 08/06/2016 at 21:54, jakebullet said:

There is a smelly man at tescos every night at 7pm for the 5p OMG reduced veg n bread madness. There's actually a regular crowd of people who fight each other to see how much cheap stuff they can cram in their trolleys. Fair enough, if you're broke go for it. Except today I spotted smelly loading his 50 loaves of bread into his 15 plate car parked in the disabled bay.

 

I'm baffled what's going on. What does he do with so much bread per day? If he can afford a new car why does he need 5p bread?

He probably owns a couple of cafes.

Posted
  On 08/06/2016 at 21:54, jakebullet said:

I spotted smelly loading his 50 loaves of bread...

I'm baffled what's going on. What does he do with so much bread

He'll be going round to the fishmonger's to get 20 fish and be off to feed the 50,0000...

  • Like 2
Posted

I want to get my work out to a wider audience and generate better income but I'm struggling to work out just how to do that.  I've started to plateau just lately on the income/time balance and I'm not earning enough per hour to get to my next target and can't figure out how to improve on this without working far too many hours a day.

 

My business model is non-standard and my product difficult to sell so I can't just look at how others do it and copy that.  I have to fudge it until something works.  I have to rely on social media and various fora to advertise my work, build an audience and attract paying customers.  Sometimes this works very well, sometimes it doesn't.  The biggest problem is being unable to pay for advertising and my lack of ability to maintain my own website and attract the relevant traffic.

 

I feel at the limit of what I know how to do and as a result my business risks stagnation and, ultimately, failure.  Making the jump from where I am now to where I want to be is quite a gap to get across.  I want to be free of financial support but I can't figure out how to make my work earn more without taking up all of my time.  Artwork is labour intensive, materials are expensive and correspondence time-consuming.  I can only devote so much time to everything and no matter how organised I am, there is never enough time to do what I feel I need to as well as all-important down time so I can recharge and keep the quality high enough.

 

I don't know who to ask for help or even what to ask but I feel I need to get this out into the open somewhere so it's not just rattling round my own head going unsolved.

Posted

Those stupid 4x4 Bitsofshitty Animal Bastard Genocide Rocksmasher type wanker chariots. I've seen a few recently where they've had the tailgates down to put a cycle in.

I've no idea what 'lifestyle choices' the average owners of these things have, but the fact you can get a cycle c/w wheels on into a fucking Mk3 Astra hatchback and those ridiculous pick ups having rear seats so small a legless pigmy ant would struggle to fit into, make them seem utterly pointless.

Posted

They are usually a company car tax dodge.

Classed as a commercial the cost the lowest rate.

  • Like 2
Posted
  On 08/06/2016 at 15:27, xtriple said:

I have fallen into a nettle bush. I am stung to fuck all over my right hand and leg and even now a couple of hours later it is still hurting like a bastard. Anyone know a good cure?

 

Next time you do this, rub the affected areas of your skin with a piece of butter.

Posted

Vulg, is there a local business forum that you could plug into, or a enterprise group/chamber of commerce?

 

That would be a start I guess.

Posted

Vulg - you need to find a way to make passive income, earning money when you sleep.

 

So find a big market (vw, Porsche, harley stuff is obvious) create some innovative work and just flog that relatively cheaply.

 

Your negative space work looks great. I think if you could find a way to do some t2s or beetles in different colour then offer mugs etc you may do well. It doesn't need you to create new work each time.

  • Like 4
Posted
  On 09/06/2016 at 07:29, The Moog said:

Vulg - you need to find a way to make passive income, earning money when you sleep.

 

So find a big market (vw, Porsche, harley stuff is obvious) create some innovative work and just flog that relatively cheaply.

 

Your negative space work looks great. I think if you could find a way to do some t2s or beetles in different colour then offer mugs etc you may do well. It doesn't need you to create new work each time.

 

And offer generic marque products to the appropriate owner's clubs. 

Posted

Vulg - You need to pick a handful of markets and hammer them. Markets with plenty of cash and a big following.

I'm an old VW head, I was growing up with Beetles when they were a few hundred quid and campers weren't much more. To see it turn into a lifestyle is a bit depressing, and nothing shouts lifestyle more than going to Bugjam, and seeing dozens of stands selling camper handbags, pictures of beetles made out of yak hair, all that stuff where it used to be loads of car parts, spares, performance mods, magazines with their project cars and stuff.

 

BUT - as depressing as it is, they go home with very little stock. They're making money.

 

Substitute Beetles and Campers with whatever you like - Land Rovers, Minis. Do it a bit different if you want, knock out some Mk1 Astras and head down to Billing one year. Then take a some Fiesta prints to a Ford show. Get a core set of designs you really like and put them on different things - prints, canvas, t-shirts, crotchless knickers and stuff. I know a guy who laughs about all the VW Tat stalls, but makes money selling similar things online.

 

It'll probably feel like you've sold out, but selling out brings in the cash - and at least you get to dictate how much you sell out. If it starts getting depressing, go back to one-offs.

Posted

^^^^^^ This ^^^^^^

 

Any old shit with a vw pic on it flies at VW shows. Have stock range for punters to buy, and sit there drawing as well. Take commissions, charge double what you normally would. Kerching.

  • Like 3
Posted

As an ex jap car owner I still follow a few of the clubs, and they buy ANYTHING with any sort of connection or reference to Japan.

 

You can charge JDM tax on that too so its a double winner.

  • Like 2
Posted
  On 07/06/2016 at 19:17, rainagain said:

Indian fucking call centres/Indian support services. I raised a support ticket saying one of the RAM modules in a server was faulty, the ticket was closed with the report "RAM fine". After many many emails and an hour of arguing I finally managed to get them to agree it was faulty. Then they told me I would need to pay for it, "no I won't" I said, "it's covered under our support contract", cue many more emails amongst themselves before agreeing that yes it is covered but it will take a while to sort out as they will need to generate a PO. It's been over a month now since I raised the initial ticket!

In contrast to that. I raised a call about a faulty switch chassis with HP on Tuesday. An Indian guy called me back within half an hour, confirmed the shipping address, and I received a replacement switch yesterday.

Posted

Check out Redbubble too - my sister uses it and put a few designs on it, of which she gets a percentage each month from things sold. Her designs are mostly based on the X Files and Sherlock, but I know that she gets about a fiver if someone orders a T-shirt, obviously cheaper things like phone cases and posters she gets less money from. But crucially, once the designs are up there she doesn't have to do anything else except watch the money (it averages about £40 for her, but it depends how much and what kind of work you put up there) come rolling in each month.

  • Like 3
Posted

Any car marque groups on facebook you could tap into? The only issue would be not looking like you joined to just flog stuff I suppose.

 

Could you do a 'base' drawing, then scan it in and mess about with different styles? So sepia, b&w, andy warhol, sketch etc and create a load of 'stock' images from that? Then watermark it and proceed to cash in on scene tax as above?

Posted

Thank you for that, guys, that really does help.  I've got time on my side at the moment because I've got very little commission work in so I should be able to devote it to some ideas and try and get some prints and stuff set up.  I'm really not using online services to their full potential, I think I've been too focused on producing one-off pieces and the poor response to printed items (in terms of actual sales) I've had in the past.

 

I reckon Mini, Minor, Beetle and MX-5 are probably the best ones to go for at the moment and I've already got two popular Mini and Minor pieces I can use in my portfolio.  Feeling more positive about that now that I've got a new direction to explore.

Posted

I am considering buying a commercial unit to keep all my shite in and work on it but I can't find any websites that seem to sell this sort of stuff to see if its doable as I have literally NO idea how much stuff like this costs.

 

I am looking or an industrial unit or workshop with room for storage but every website I visit is just trying to sell me a fucking business. Where can you view shizzle like this and see how much they go for?

Posted

Just got renewal from coop  insurance for my 1976 Volvo 940.Its gone up from just over £300 to just under £500.

Got 8 years no claims.

Any suggestions on where to try.

Posted
  On 09/06/2016 at 02:06, vulgalour said:

I want to get my work out to a wider audience and generate better income but I'm struggling to work out just how to do that. 

 

Could Etsy.com help?

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