The grumpy thread

[fordperv]

Talking of welding. I'm thinking of doing a course here in Doodlay starting in Jan or Feb. £250 seems fair for the basics. Two evenings a week over three months, or summat.

Put the money you were going to pay for the course towards a welder and gas and learn by doing on some steel at home

[Negative Creep]

Have to say I've found Plusnet brilliant. Very, very reliable and no bother with customer sevices the od time we've had to call them. If you're using them to stick it to the BT man though, they're now actually owned by them, I believe. 

 

 

I've been with them for years and have found them really good. Only had 2 minor problems which were swiftly resolved.

[HH-R]

I think where most folk get grief with home broadband is when all of their neighbours have broadband too(as you'd expect nowadays), as well as printers etc that create their own wireless networks.

 

The ISPs and tablet/phone/laptop makers often cheap out and make stuff that only operate with 2.4 GHz wifi. 2.4 GHz has 11 channels you can use but there should have a free channel between them, so you get in the situation where if five of your neighbours have wifi it will run like shit.

 

There is a successor, 5 GHz which has been available for years that solves this issue but for some reason you can still buy equipment that doesn't support it.

[Guest Hooli]

I think where most folk get grief with home broadband is when all of their neighbours have broadband too(as you'd expect nowadays), as well as printers etc that create their own wireless networks.

 

The ISPs and tablet/phone/laptop makers often cheap out and make stuff that only operate with 2.4 GHz wifi. 2.4 GHz has 11 channels you can use but there should have a free channel between them, so you get in the situation where if five of your neighbours have wifi it will run like shit.

 

There is a successor, 5 GHz which has been available for years that solves this issue but for some reason you can still buy equipment that doesn't support it.

 

Yup & even if the hub (or whatever) is good at picking a free channel it doesn't know if there is interference in another part of your house that stops things working.

[myglaren]

It is weird, my desktop is ethernet wired and is also as far from the hub as is possible in this house.

The wireless laptops all work fine anywhere in the house except in the dining room, right on top of the hub.

Sometimes it is just about impossible to get it them to connect.

[Hendry]

Ballcocks! Driving home last night with the radio up quite high, well rather had an old ipod plugged into the aux socket, which has a weird thing of transmitting engine hums through the speakers, didnt really think any more about it, got home, turned radio off completely, started the car up and it was rattly as fuck, struggled to start too, thought finally the battery's goosed totally and ive now got a rattly engine, great, took it a run up and down the street and yep something not right, mega metallic rattling and a sort of "boom" note from it. Im thinking at least its not the turbo, gearbox, clutch, and doesnt sound like its coming from the engine block itself, so hopefully wont be expensive to sort out. Too dark to have a look last night so today went out and jacked it up to look underneath, spotted a problem straight away. Not sure if its a grump because another fault and more money needing spent, or if its a grin that its nothing too serious and should hopefully be cheap to fix, every cloud and all that.

 

Just getting fed up continually fixing stuff every week, thats been every week or 2 since April the bloody thing has needed money spent!

 

IMG_2241 by Greg Hendry, on Flickr

 

IMG_2242 by Greg Hendry, on Flickr

[fordperv]

It's the joy of cars

[gordonbennet]

^^, yep and a grin in the respect that the exhaust bracket could have broken in the middle of February @ -10' and 6" of bloody snow on the ground, which is when my bugger would have given up.

[Louise2cv]

Retro Rides people trying to maintain hundred car convoys on Worcestershire country roads with no regard for normal people trying to make progress.

 

 

It's been a rubbish weekend. I'm irritable.

[dollywobbler]

I've been with Plusnet for years, because VALUE. They did used to be very good at customer service, but that's gone pretty shit lately. Everytime I phone now it's "call waiting times are 15 minutes," and the last time, half an hour. And the hold music is AWFUL. Not even complete songs, just catchy little nuggets that WILL NOT LEAVE MY BRAIN. So, I don't like them as much as I did.

 

Nor have they been able to explain why uploading video/documents/pictures now utterly f*cks up my connection. I can understand it making things a bit slower, but it renders the connection utterly unusable until whatever is uploading has finished. Bear in mind it's a 2.5mbps connection most of the time, and uploads max out at around 0.25mpbs. I've given up trying to get a straight answer, because they just blame Wi Fi (even when I'm using a cable), the phone lines in our house, pigeons from outer space etc, etc. 

[strangeangel]

I've been with Plusnet for years, because VALUE. They did used to be very good at customer service, but that's gone pretty shit lately.

 

This has also been my experience. I've shied away from changing on the basis that - like Plusnet - all ISPs are most likely lying, incompetent nuggets, but if this state of affairs doesn't improve I might actually move.

[Captain Furious]

I'm more amazed that an overlapping exhaust joint has decided to separate of its own accord, regardless of clamp breakage

 

Last time I tried to separate one of those it involved hammers, chisels and eventually an angle grinder.

[anonymous user]

I think the internet is just fucked with bloat and volume of traffic.

Yep all those photos of someone's dinner

[purplebargeken]

Arse of a day.

 

Abnormally tired, back is killing me, bowel products not normal by any stretch of the imagination, can't find the Beetles logbook and key anywhere, Golf log book also MIA. Fuck you Sunday. Fuck you.

[Rusty_Rocket]

... and discussion* about mk6 Escrots. 

[puddlethumper]

Put the money you were going to pay for the course towards a welder and gas and learn by doing on some steel at home

No garage or driveway, one parking space.

Not sure the other flat dwellers would be very happy. 

[wuvvum]

Innocenti has sprung an oil leak.  Bollocks.

[D Spares & Tyres]

Talking of welding. I'm thinking of doing a course here in Doodlay starting in Jan or Feb. £250 seems fair for the basics. Two evenings a week over three months, or summat.

A welding course will teach you how to weld nice clean metal on a bench but its a world away from patching up an old Micra sill with sparks fizzing in your ears and up your sleeve...

 

Quick lesson in welding not particulary structural shite to get through one last mot:

 

Grind til solid metal found

 

Cut patch of approximate shape

 

Attach plate with various 'tacks' of weld.

 

Join the dots until you can no longer be arsed. Cover your shit welding with seam sealer and paint.

 

Anyone can weld to mot standard, so long as you weld it before it fails. Some testers want to inspect the welds if they have failed it

[cobblers]

Don't forget the "weld the corners, then smash the fuck out of the rest of the plate with a hammer so it fits at all" and the "push the plate against the bottom of the car with the handle off the hammer and tack it quick before it all sproings off"

[Tamworthbay]

Don't forget the "weld the corners, then smash the fuck out of the rest of the plate with a hammer so it fits at all" and the "push the plate against the bottom of the car with the handle off the hammer and tack it quick before it all sproings off"

Strange, I can't remember showing you how I weld........

[Pillock]

Retro Rides people trying to maintain hundred car convoys on Worcestershire country roads with no regard for normal people trying to make progress.

 

 

It's been a rubbish weekend. I'm irritable.

I've been for previous years, and whilst the show is excellent there has always been some iffy driving on the roads around and on occasion, some downright atrocious stuff. Followed an Orion out last year, lobbing wrappers and drinks cans out the windows as they went.... Nearly took out an incoming car by doing idiotic F1 style swerving (because your 195/55s need warming through, dickhead) and then nearly got t-boned by a people carrier because of the threat of being separated from his mates led him to pull out where there just wasn't room.

[D Spares & Tyres]

My grump is finally signing up to Facebook, purely to buy and sell stuff

 

I used fake details but they still have suggested i add as a friend actual people I know as friends and neighbours. No idea how but I don't like it

[dollywobbler]

I've been for previous years, and whilst the show is excellent there has always been some iffy driving on the roads around and on occasion, some downright atrocious stuff. Followed an Orion out last year, lobbing wrappers and drinks cans out the windows as they went.... Nearly took out an incoming car by doing idiotic F1 style swerving (because your 195/55s need warming through, dickhead) and then nearly got t-boned by a people carrier because of the threat of being separated from his mates led him to pull out where there just wasn't room.

 

To be honest, you get this ANYWHERE that has modified cars. It's why there's often such a heavy Police presence after some of the bigger shows. Folk get  carried away. Only twatish behaviour I saw as we were leaving was some pillock in a BMW X5 refusing to slow down when coming the other way. Clearly didn't like other people being on his road.

[dollywobbler]

Actually, I remember some kid in a Volvo 340 being handed a rake and told to clear his mess up after daring to do some gravel donuts at a Retro Rides meet. On site at least, the organisers tend not to look too kindly on twattish behaviour. 

[Pillock]

Absolutely, and knowing one of the RRG organisers as a mate I know they don't tolerate twattery. Sadly their remit only goes as far as the gates and like you say, showing off goes too far at any car show.

 

I was once delayed leaving a VW show at Donington because some fool had tried drag racing down the road outside and introduced their car to a hedge.

 

The road to Santa Pod has frequent holes in fences, the latest one is someone's mashed the stone bridge just the other side of the crossroads .

 

It's not a RRG thing, it's a showing off thing. Fully support as many police as possible at these events, around and about.

[Noel Tidybeard]

...and another thing, has anyone else noticed the JamesI'mmorefamousthanyouCorden advert for insewerants- the petrol pump reads $20.00 for 194 fucking litres/gallons and the 194 doesnt change as the $20 runs up

 

argh does my fruit!

[Noel Tidybeard]

the golf gte advert was just on and shows some gimp "being naughty" by pressing a "gte" button then he spanks it all the way round to 3000 rpm

 

 

oh the shame of it nuns and kittens will die

[Louise2cv]

It was possibly more due to my massive moody than awful driving, but there were a couple of irritating slowing down/slamming on/pulling in to wait for mates going on.

 

Couldn't believe the numbers there though, look mega impressive.

[Hendry]

To be honest, you get this ANYWHERE that has modified cars. It's why there's often such a heavy Police presence after some of the bigger shows. Folk get  carried away. Only twatish behaviour I saw as we were leaving was some pillock in a BMW X5 refusing to slow down when coming the other way. Clearly didn't like other people being on his road.

 

I used to be on a local car cruise forum in my younger days, and tbh all the folk there were level headed, yeah they liked fast cars, modified cars, loud music, but generally they didnt drive like twats, sometimes fast yes, but not like twats, and we got sick of getting tarred with that brush because as you say generally anywhere that has modified cars gets this happening, so we just were found guilty by association.

 

As usual the arseholes ruining things for the decent people who were genuine modified car enthusiasts and not boy racers. 

 

...and another thing, has anyone else noticed the JamesI'mmorefamousthanyouCorden advert for insewerants- the petrol pump reads $20.00 for 194 fucking litres/gallons and the 194 doesnt change as the $20 runs up

 

argh does my fruit!

 

I dont pay attention when any insurance advert comes on, find them all irritating, especially that one, and I dont particularly like James Corden, I think hes brilliant in Gavin & Stacey, but otherwise always comes across as a bit of a smug, self-obsessed arrogant knobend, whos fame has gone to his head far too much. 

[andy18s]

Don't forget the "weld the corners, then smash the fuck out of the rest of the plate with a hammer so it fits at all" and the "push the plate against the bottom of the car with the handle off the hammer and tack it quick before it all sproings off"

If it touch's ,it fits.......