The grumpy thread

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 minute ago, chaseracer said:

We're high enough here (no, not like that...) to actually be IN the cloud on occasion.

You're that tall, eh?

[chaseracer]

Only when standing next to Domestic Management.

[AnnoyingPentium]

2 minutes ago, chaseracer said:

Only when standing next to Domestic Management.

Story of my life, that. Lol.

[Fumbler]

I don't think this is supposed to be like that

Absolutely smashed up inside. Oh well. Hopefully next time the seller will actually send the box with some packaging.

[cort1977]

2 hours ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

On my way to my first date in nearly four years! Feeling a fuquilibrium of excitement and nerves. 

 

What right-thinking lady could resist a man in such a natty cravat?

Best of luck.

[Metal Guru]

8 hours ago, Spurious said:

Also worth checking out parcel2go and Royal Mail directly @carburettor

Parcel2go lets you compare loads of couriers and then Royal Mail directly will have their own parcel service which you drop at a royal mail sorting office (not a post office). Both can be setup online 

Agree with others on recycling packaging. I've even used cornflakes boxes with shredded paper from the shredder in work to bulk out boxes for transport. 

It can certainly be done cheaper than the Post Office who are quite expensive for anything bigger than a small parcel (books, dvds etc). 

Above 2 kg , Royal Mail and Parcelforce are ridiculous. I normally use Hermes who are much cheaper unless you want to send something West of Glasgow or North of Stirling ( probably parts of Wales too), which they just don’t do. 
Anything longer than 1.2 m and you’ve only got Parcelforce , starting at £12.

[Mrcento]

Point 1.

What's the point in ebay auctions?

Car i wanted was on local a few days back, Auction and classified, it randomly disappeared at 10pm a couple of nights ago, sold, fine. Weird at that time, but fine.

It's back up the next day, boy never showed up, just an auction this time.

I fire the boy a message asking what he wants for it (i know roughly already, if he'd given me a number relatively close....it was about £500 overpriced IMO but such is the market, i'd probably have went and picked it up today....)

Messages me back, he's not selling outside auction, will let it run. Pain, but fine. I stick a placeholder bid in.

9pm tonight, auction gone, cunts went and sold it. Fuck off.

Why is it so fucking hard to buy a car here? Is there some sort of secret code you need to say to buy anything?

Point 2.

Marketplace strikes again. Something else i've wanted for years comes up. Of course, despite searching 3-4 times a day, every day, it decides not to show me it until the ad had been up 48 hours.

I message the seller- Sold pending collection. Will let me know if it doesn't go.

Why is it when i want to buy a car, it NEVER gets held?, Always first come with cash and it's sold, I can even put money to the seller to hold it whilst i arrange collection and they'll still fucking sell it regardless and just give the deposit back?

yet when someone else wants to buy it? Nae fuckin bother pal, i'll hold it for you for a week or 2.

What am i doing wrong trying to buy cars? seriously?, i'm actually starting to think i just can't do it anymore and only i find it fucking impossible.

It's like the elusive Peugeot 406's as well, i can't fucking buy one. Even when they are for sale, i can't get the deal done, always, and i mean ALWAYS a sob story of it getting withdrawn for sentimental reasons, bizarre.

Do i just have some sort of tag on me that means nobody will sell me anything? I can't work it out 🤣

[AnnoyingPentium]

16 minutes ago, Mrcento said:

Do i just have some sort of tag on me that means nobody will sell me anything?

All car traders and private sellers were faxed out a photograph of you captioned with "do not sell to this man". Sorry about that.

[Mrcento]

2 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

All car traders and private sellers were faxed out a photograph of you captioned with "do not sell to this man". Sorry about that.

Genuinely feels that way!

Even the 2 i have now, i fell into.

Cinq i took in part ex years ago, Civic was from a mate who needed rid and couldn't be arsed with advertising so i took it off his hands.

[AnnoyingPentium]

18 minutes ago, Mrcento said:

Genuinely feels that way!

Even the 2 i have now, i fell into.

Cinq i took in part ex years ago, Civic was from a mate who needed rid and couldn't be arsed with advertising so i took it off his hands.

Best I can offer is a clapped out and overpriced weegie Fabia diesel on the Gumtree... 😆

[Fumbler]

2 hours ago, Fumbler said:

I don't think this is supposed to be like that

Absolutely smashed up inside. Oh well. Hopefully next time the seller will actually send the box with some packaging.

Seller's agreed to send a replacement for free. This time, with actual packaging.

[LightBulbFun]

3 hours ago, Fumbler said:

I don't think this is supposed to be like that

Absolutely smashed up inside. Oh well. Hopefully next time the seller will actually send the box with some packaging.

 

40 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

Seller's agreed to send a replacement for free. This time, with actual packaging.

I dont know what it is, but Philips SL Lamps are the worst for being sent with shit packaging jobs, which is sad and frustrating to see because they need a good packing job on account of their heavy mass (they aint nick named Jam jars for nothing!)

I think the worst I ever had was an SL*9 I won off ebay which was not packed at all

literally the original cardboard box, with a single layer of brown paper around it just for the address

by some miracle, although the rest of the lamp was sadly utterly wrecked, outer glass smashed and the E27 base bent, the actual tube itself survived (which was then harvested and used to repair a First generation black base SL lamp I had which had a smashed tube)

 

on the plus side at least you have a ballast and glow bottle you can harvest out of it  (and the glass Jar itself)

[Fumbler]

1 minute ago, LightBulbFun said:

I dont know what it is, but Philips SL Lamps are the worst for being sent with shit packaging jobs, which is sad and frustrating to see because they need a good packing job on account of their heavy mass (they aint nick named Jam jars for nothing!)

I think the worst I ever had was an SL*9 I won off ebay which was not packed at all

literally the original cardboard box, with a single layer of brown paper around it just for the address

by some miracle, although the rest of the lamp was sadly utterly wrecked, outer glass smashed and the E27 base bent, the actual tube itself survived (which was then harvested and used to repair a First generation black base SL lamp I had which had a smashed tube)

 

It's the lack of internal support inside. Unlike high wattage discharge lamps with helpful support bars and such, These were only meant to be shipped on a pallet and in bulk, so unless they come with some actual shock protection in the packaging (i.e, some proper packing peanuts and tons of bubble wrap) they ain't gonna make it.

Shipping CRT monitors and televisions are met with the exact same issues.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

2 hours ago, cort1977 said:

What right-thinking lady could resist a man in such a natty cravat?

Best of luck.

Thankyou very much sir! 👍👍👍😎😎😎

[LightBulbFun]

11 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

It's the lack of internal support inside. Unlike high wattage discharge lamps with helpful support bars and such, These were only meant to be shipped on a pallet and in bulk, so unless they come with some actual shock protection in the packaging (i.e, some proper packing peanuts and tons of bubble wrap) they ain't gonna make it.

Shipping CRT monitors and televisions are met with the exact same issues.

oh indeed I am well aware, I have sent many a lamp and tube in the post! it was not all that long ago I sent 25 4ft fluorescent tubes to a friend in the states and I managed to pack them such not a single one was damaged  

sadly even on the high wattage discharge lamps often the mass of everything inside means if such a lamp gets rough handling in shipping

you can end up with the light bulb equivalent of a car with a bent chassis, it still *works* but now its going down the road sideways...

(now the frame of the lamp is bent and the arc tube is at a 45 degree angle and the frame has popped out of the top support dimple)

[Fumbler]

7 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

oh indeed I am well aware, I have sent many a lamp and tube in the post! it was not all that long ago I sent 25 4ft fluorescent tubes to a friend in the states and I managed to pack them such not a single one was damaged  

sadly even on the high wattage discharge lamps often the mass of everything inside means if such a lamp gets rough handling in shipping

you can end up with the light bulb equivalent of a Bent chassis, it still *works* but now its going down the road sideways...

(IE now the frame of the lamp is bent and the arc tube is at a 45 degree angle and the frame has popped out of the top support dimple)

I remember reading ages ago at how fragile these things were. Hopefully the replacement is better packaged.

I originally bought it because it's effectively a museum piece, albeit one that was built so well that it lasts for decades before thinking of failing. I've bought from the seller before and that stuff turned out fine (a fused unit and G23 tube) and I'll order from him again provided he fixes his litte mistake.

[LightBulbFun]

37 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

I remember reading ages ago at how fragile these things were. Hopefully the replacement is better packaged.

I originally bought it because it's effectively a museum piece, albeit one that was built so well that it lasts for decades before thinking of failing. I've bought from the seller before and that stuff turned out fine (a fused unit and G23 tube) and I'll order from him again provided he fixes his litte mistake.

was the seller hrconsult9 per chance?, said seller is sadly well known for his inadequacies in the packaging department

although somehow I think your SL lamp is the first casualty I  have heard reported from the result of his poor skills, by some miracle all the other lamps various collectors have bought from him have managed to survive...

[Fumbler]

50 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

was the seller hrconsult9 per chance?, said seller is sadly well known for his inadequacies in the packaging department

although somehow I think your SL lamp is the first casualty I  have heard reported from the result of his poor skills, by some miracle all the other lamps various collectors have bought from him have managed to survive...

Yes it's him.

His 'parcel' was literally a piece of cardboard wrapped around the lamp's box and copiously taped at each end. Hardly appropriate packaging for anything apart from rigid or 1 piece plastic

[New POD]

We ship £500k of hydraulic valve in Cardboard every single day.  We in Manufacturing enguneerung had to order sets of parts from production, for an automation supplier.  I've never seen so much packaging. Parts that were almost impossible to damage like 500 O ring seals were in a plastic bag, with a bar code on. Inside a plastic back with a different bar code on, wrapped in bubble wrap. In a cardboard box with corrugated  cardboard to stop it moving.  With a barcode label on it, inside another box with other lots of other boxes. And a barcode label on the outside. 

The parts that came from our Sister company in the USA were taken out of their packaging, counted, and repackaged with new packaging.

 

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, New POD said:

We ship £500k of hydraulic valve in Cardboard every single day.  We in Manufacturing enguneerung had to order sets of parts from production, for an automation supplier.  I've never seen so much packaging. Parts that were almost impossible to damage like 500 O ring seals were in a plastic bag, with a bar code on. Inside a plastic back with a different bar code on, wrapped in bubble wrap. In a cardboard box with corrugated  cardboard to stop it moving.  With a barcode label on it, inside another box with other lots of other boxes. And a barcode label on the outside. 

The parts that came from our Sister company in the USA were taken out of their packaging, counted, and repackaged with new packaging.

 

Amazon are really bad for excess packaging despite all their ads saying “look how green we are!”

Im tempted to buy a roll of bubble wrap just to see how they package it.

[New POD]

2 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

Amazon are really bad for excess packaging despite all their ads saying “look how green we are!”

Im tempted to buy a roll of bubble wrap just to see how they package it.

I actually bought a roll of bubble wrap. It came in a clear plastic bag. 

[Tickman]

On 1/27/2022 at 5:53 PM, AnnoyingPentium said:

Oh and that Golf up my backside, didn't like it when I tapped the brake, did you?

Good old brake checking, one step worse than tailgating

[New POD]

10 minutes ago, Tickman said:

Good old brake checking, one step worse than tailgating

I don't brake check. I take my foot off the accelerator. It's much less likely to result in road rage and sends out the actual signal you want to send.  Which is "I'll go slower to make it easier for you to overtake" 

The number of people at the speed awareness course I attended who said they were speeding because the person behind was tailgating, was ridiculous. (5 out of about 25 people).  

[sierraman]

18 minutes ago, New POD said:

I don't brake check. I take my foot off the accelerator. It's much less likely to result in road rage and sends out the actual signal you want to send.  Which is "I'll go slower to make it easier for you to overtake" 

The number of people at the speed awareness course I attended who said they were speeding because the person behind was tailgating, was ridiculous. (5 out of about 25 people).  

I just slow down to a snails pace gradually if there’s no overtaking opportunity. They soon back off. 

[AnnoyingPentium]

3 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

Im tempted to buy a roll of bubble wrap just to see how they package it.

I've done this. It arrived loose in a massive box.

[grogee]

16 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

The cassette deck (1980/81 Technics RS-M215) I've had in my bedroom for years was moved through to the living room stereo this morning. It's now running off-speed, I'm guessing the belts are finally dying - worst case scenario the motor is away.

I mean, 41 years on the original belts is good going mind you. I could replace the belts, but that's outside of my technical capabilities.

Try it, you might surprise yourself. I've done a few (cassette decks, not your actual model). Fiddly but take your time, have lots of light and you should be ok. 

[AnnoyingPentium]

4 minutes ago, grogee said:

Try it, you might surprise yourself. I've done a few (cassette decks, not your actual model). Fiddly but take your time, have lots of light and you should be ok. 

I did an RS-B205 some years back and haven't been able to get the two halves of the mechanism back on even now. 

See above comment in relation to the Pioneer CT-757 I had.

I've never had this one open but the plan will be to open it up to at least see what I'm up against. I'm willing to try changing belts again, since I have more of an idea what I'm doing.

[grogee]

1 minute ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

I did an RS-B205 some years back and haven't been able to get the two halves of the mechanism back on even now. 

See above comment in relation to the Pioneer CT-757 I had.

I've never had this one open but the plan will be to open it up to at least see what I'm up against. I'm willing to try changing belts again, since I have more of an idea what I'm doing.

I have a bag of assorted size belts because I got sick of paying £5 for each one individually. If you like I'll send you the bag and you take what you need, then send it back. 

You'll need some alcohol/meths and ear buds to clean the sticky belt residue off the sprockets though. 

[AnnoyingPentium]

14 minutes ago, grogee said:

I have a bag of assorted size belts because I got sick of paying £5 for each one individually. If you like I'll send you the bag and you take what you need, then send it back. 

You'll need some alcohol/meths and ear buds to clean the sticky belt residue off the sprockets though. 

Thank you! However, I'm planning to get my own bag of belts since this isn't the only one that needs belts at this moment in time.

Re: alcohol/methylated spirits, I've had to do that before but with a VHS video recorder. 

On that note, here's today's fun fact:

An O-ring rubber seal for a Vauxhall Vectra B 2.0 oil filter is the perfect fit as a belt for your Thorn VCR. The more you know, eh?

[grogee]

2 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Thank you! However, I'm planning to get my own bag of belts since this isn't the only one that needs belts at this moment in time.

Re: alcohol/methylated spirits, I've had to do that before but with a VHS video recorder. 

On that note, here's today's fun fact:

An O-ring rubber seal for a Vauxhall Vectra B 2.0 oil filter is the perfect fit as a belt for your Thorn VCR. The more you know, eh?

That is solid gold useful info, thanks. The chances of me having either in the future are pretty close to zero. 

VCRs are cool though