The grumpy thread

[DeeJay]

The only "Irish" bars I found were in Temple Bar, so I avoided those places. Likewise much of Galway City.

I was in Dingle for a night, went in about 5 bars and only heard 4 or 5 different songs.

Molly Malone, Whiskey in the jar, The Irish rover, Brown eyed girl etc.

It's was like all the DJ's had bought the same copy of "Now That's What I Call Irish (tourist trap) Music".

[DodgeRover]

Last time I was in an Irish Bar they were playing Flogging Molly. I obviously have a ear/ nose for tracking down places

[Guest Hooli]

If you've a snapped driveshaft, the gearbox is no longer being turned so you can now tow it! Jobbed!

 

The diff will still be turning though & spinning just one driveshaft will give it a good chance of overheating the planet gears & blowing the diff.

[Guest Hooli]

The last Irish bar I've been in was in Whitby, it (like all Irish bars) was nothing like a good country pub in Ireland.

[Roobarb]

Just back from Berlin / Hamburg. The flight back to the US was a bloody nightmare.

 

On getting to US immigration (there were two people in front of me when I started in the queue, about thirty behind in my line by the time I was at the front) there were only two officers working for two planes in from Amsterdam.

 

Eight people were put in front of me due to being 'priority passengers' and the fact the poor guy on the desk was working from two queues alternating. Feel for the guy and the probably 100+ people waiting who would have ended up waiting for him by the time I was through.

 

Then when I went to pick up luggage. They only sent half of it from our flight.

 

We had to wait 45mins from the last of the other luggage from our flight, and only called and had the rest sent, after I went and said 'Hey, there seems to be quite a bit of luggage missing from our flight'.

 

This was followed by denial and maybe mine had been lost, with me pointing out that they must have lost a shit ton of luggage as 70 odd people were still waiting for it to appear.

 

Then I had to queue to get through customs, and when I finally got to the front, thinking damn, these delays now mean my hour drive home is going to be more like two, (as I'm about to hit rush hour in the teeth because of all these delays) the custom guy stopped me and let 5 'Global entry' people through (from nowhere) in front of me.

 

He then had the piss to tell me that people in my line (me I guess) had a 'face like they had constipation'.

 

I had been traveling for 18hrs with no sleep for 22+, of which at least 2 if not 3 had been waiting in queues; to get a taxi, get my plane ticket printed at the airport, queue for the automated luggage drop off, get through security in Hamburg, get through passport control in Amsterdam, go through a security check in Amsterdam to get my departure gate number, go through another security check at the departure gate, go through immigration in the US, wait over an hour for my luggage, then wait in his queue, all the time, other people were able to push through the queues for one reason or another.

 

I couldn't say anything back to officer Jack Ass (wish I'd thought to check his name), as the power those bastards have over you... before you know it, your case is being cut open by a Stanley knife, your trousers are around your ankles and you are being interviewed for the next 6 hrs.

 

I had pretty much accepted it all until that comment. It's just such an arse when someone has so much power over you and you can't say anything back.

 

At least the traffic home was so slow, the lack of sleep made no difference.

[Guest Hooli]

Thanks for reminding me why I've never been tempted by trips that involve flying.

[artdjones]

Thanks for reminding me of one of the reasons I'm not tempted to go to the US.

[dave21478]

panda engine swap needs finished

pickup injectors need fiddling

mgf squeeling fanbelt needs prodding

its raining

its cold

if i spend another weekend getting filthy in the garage i will do something silly

but

being a sad cunt with no friends and no other hobbies

what else can i do

sitting here with the entire history knowledge and experience of the human race at my fingertips

flicking between the same 5 websites

telly can get fucked

just want to...i dont even know

[Tadhg Tiogar]

The last Irish bar I've been in was in Whitby, it (like all Irish bars) was nothing like a good country pub in Ireland.

No greater pubs than the ones in Clare.

[Talbot]

The diff will still be turning though & spinning just one driveshaft will give it a good chance of overheating the planet gears & blowing the diff.

I was being *slightly* sarcarstic/stupid/simplistic with that comment. If anything, towing with only one working half-shaft will cause more damage than if the diff was being turned normally as the differential gears will be doing a lot of work.

 

If the engine still runs and hence the oil pump in the gearbox is turning, towing should be ok but a borked shaft does make that a little more complex.

 

4-wheel lift methinks.

[OwdChina]

Thanks for reminding me of one of the reasons I'm not tempted to go to the US.

I always fly back to the US via Dublin, the republic has an agreement with the US and you go through US Customs passport control at Dublin airport and the flight to the States is considered to be an internal flight. Land, pick up baggage and away you go, no bullshit to deal with.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Thanks for reminding me of one of the reasons I'm not tempted to go to the US.

 

Canada in winter looks like a good laugh, though. I'm thinking Yukon Territory....

[artdjones]

Canada is great.I've only been once,but my wife went back to Northern British Columbia in September (she was born there),and had a great time.There was slight trouble with Canadian immigration,but nothing like what happens in the US.

[Stanky]

I've just had to take our 9 year old cat to be put down. He had a string of seizures last weekend which necessitated an £800, 24 stay in the local pet hospital where they told us he didn't have an infection, cat aids or leukaemia.

 

He had another seizure today which went on for about 2 hours, took him back in and they siad there were 3 options

 

1. Keep him in (at £800/day) until Monday for montioring

2. Keep him in (at £800/day) until Monday, then refer him for an MRI scan and consultancy (at another £1500) to see if he had cancer or a tumour

3. Send him home on some anti-seizure medication which would work, but only for a matter of weeks

 

I asked what the long term prognosis was, as it was clearly something severe and repeated seizures were not going to be good for his brain. They nodded and said that I was right, but until they knew what was wrong, they couldn't treat it. I countered with 'if what you are telling me is that he has either epilepsy or cancer, how will you treat that if it is confirmed?'

 

They said that they couldn't.

 

So with my wife in floods of tears we decided the most kind thing to do was to put him down there and then. He's been a great cat, and will be sorely missed by us all, but with a baby due in 3 weeks, my wife unable to drive for 6 weeks afterwards and me working an hour from home, and it being another 45 minutes to the vets its just not fair on the little guy to risk him having another seizure. While we;re hoping the pet insurance covers the majority of the current bill, we just can't afford £3k+ in bills for him just to work out what is wrong, then to find it is incurable.

 

I feel like a complete and utter cunt right now.

 

RIP mate, you'll be missed

 

[The Moog]

It sucks but better that than hold on hoping it will get better and it doesn't.

 

 

Someone once told me that if you don't regret or have last minute thoughts about putting a pet down, you have left it too late.

[John F]

panda engine swap needs finished

pickup injectors need fiddling

mgf squeeling fanbelt needs prodding

its raining

its cold

if i spend another weekend getting filthy in the garage i will do something silly

but

being a sad cunt with no friends and no other hobbies

what else can i do

sitting here with the entire history knowledge and experience of the human race at my fingertips

flicking between the same 5 websites

telly can get fucked

just want to...i dont even know

 

You need to cheer yourself up by making a fully-automatic crossbow

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbKGjRoSofA&t=114s

[Pillock]

Sorry to hear that Stanky. You did the right thing, but I appreciate that's hollow right now.

 

On the plus side, how much did he like Marmite? What a geezer.

[madrat]

Its horrible, been there more times than I care to remember, but I couldn't imagine a life without animals. All the best

[LostnotFound]

Terrible news Stanky, he does look like he was a fun cat.

[nigel bickle]

Huw, it's never easy, there's never a ' right time'.

 

The loss can feel massive, unimaginable, but it is survivable - if that's the right word....

 

Remember the good times, the enjoyment from each other's company. Would he have wanted it any different.

 

Time will ease the pain, and it sounds like you have your hands full elsewhere.

 

Chin up man, you made the right/ humane decision.

[Stanky]

Thanks guys, the pic was from when he won the 'rescue cat of the year' award in 2010. His name was Marmite and Unilever (who own the brand) got in touch as they wanted to run a PR thing about him winning, they gave us the Marmite spread and sofa thing, and put a couple of grand into the Cat's Protection coffers as well. Google it if you like, a load of the guff is still on the internet, including pictures of me when I still had (some) hair left.

[John F]

Aw shit Huw, sorry to hear about your loss

[clayts450]

That sucks - I openly admit to weeping copiously when I had one of mine put down. Unfortunately I had to make the call over the phone as the cat was on the operating table, so I asked the vet (who I know well) to kiss him goodbye for me.

 

The other one thankfully shared me the hassle of considering euthanasia by passing away (it was expected as she had cancer) just as I was about to head off to the vets - took her last breath in the garden which was actually a lovely moment. Still wept copiously.

 

First few days horrible, give it a few weeks, get another rescue cat, try and get a different colour.

[Talbot]

Completely black cats are the best. I had one was permited to look after one too, many years ago.

 

 

Who also suddenly became very ill, and had to be put to sleep well before I felt was time. Cats are extremely good at hiding illnesses, and when they can no longer do so suddenly get very ill very quickly.

 

Sorry for your loss. Cats are the best.

[mrbenn]

Very sorry to hear about Marmite. They really are part of the family and, having had to part with a coupe of furry friends, I feel your pain. But you did exactly the right thing.

[madrat]

We had a black cat called Heathclife, had him for the first 13 years of our marriage, still miss the little bugger.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I love black cats, they always look proper shifty. Sorry about your loss Stanky.

[madrat]

ours used to sit outside on the window ledge in the dark so all you could see were a pair of yellow eyes lol lol

[Kiltox]

 

Our boys are like family, they’re just youngsters at 4.5 and 4 but I hate to think about having to deal with what the future will bring

[Cavcraft]

Sorry to hear about that, Stanky. It’s horrible when a pet dies