The grumpy thread

[Kiltox]

Laser tools have become a massive rip off. Same Chinese crap you can get on eBay in a blue box. 
 

 

[reb]

  On 07/10/2022 at 15:13, grogee said:

I've received a £50 Halfords voucher, which isn't making me grumpy - far from it, it's a thoughtful gift.

No, it's the fact that those robbing bastards are trying to charge £113 for something that is exactly the same kit as I bought a couple of years back for £25.

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I'll echo the sentiment that that's identical to the sub £15 set I have.

For more generic tools (like a screwdriver or whatever) Halfords are actually quite reasonably priced for the quality, especially with a trade card.

There's no chance that the checkout person believed me that I was a trader, but they still gave me the card, it's all good.

[Lankytim]

  On 08/10/2022 at 12:36, High Jetter said:

I do hope you haven't paid in full upfront. It sounds like they're stringing you along TBH.

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We’ve paid half up to now, it’s a priced job rather than a day rate, although they’re acting like it’s a day rate. 

[High Jetter]

I'd be hesitant about paying any more until the job's finished, then.

[grogee]

  On 08/10/2022 at 13:52, reb said:

I'll echo the sentiment that that's identical to the sub £15 set I have.

For more generic tools (like a screwdriver or whatever) Halfords are actually quite reasonably priced for the quality, especially with a trade card.

There's no chance that the checkout person believed me that I was a trader, but they still gave me the card, it's all good.

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+1 on the generic tools, and they're lifetime warranty (or they were). 

Think I'll use my voucher to get some old fashioned 10w40 for the Maestro and maybe a rachet or summat.

I think the oil filters and stuff were reasonably priced last time I checked. 10-20% more than the Bay, but open on a Sundii when you're actually balls deep in car grease.

[Jerzy Woking]

  On 01/10/2022 at 00:21, Zelandeth said:

Christ on a bike, travel insurance has got expensive.  Last time we went to the US in 2018 it was ~£300 for the four of us.  This trip: Just over a bloody grand!  Not like it's something you can just chose not to have and the providers have a captive audience...so just a case of grimacing and dealing with it.  

Definitely more ammunition for me saying I'll just stay home next time I think!

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What you need to do is go without insurance  then, when it all goes tits up, get someone to set up a JustGiving /GoFundMe page asking for contributions to pay your medical bills or fly your body home, like this

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/i-just-want-baby-home-7091363

[reb]

Ordered a fuel cap for a 2011 MiTo from ECP, collected it and the box says it's for a 1999 145...

The part number matches and it looks sort of like it might fit, but I'm not holding out much hope.

[RoverFolkUs]

Fan bloody tastic

At least it was repairable, most punctures I've had in recent years have all been too close to the sidewall 

[reb]

Update; the fuel cap fit perfectly, better than the original in fact.

[artdjones]

Great week, now the boiler has expired, terminally.

[PhilA]

News: Car event in Mississippi

People driving a 57 Chevy get side swiped by a truck, die in hospital

Car flips over after old man driving like horny teenager exceeds his skill and tries to take out half the crowd

Road closed after collision between road racers

Police car wrecks into car in effort to break record number of tickets written in one day

 

My wife: Hell no we aren't going to that

 

Sigh. Third year running I get to miss Cruisin' The Coast. This year because of g'damn Facebook

[andy18s]

  On 08/10/2022 at 10:40, grogee said:

Here's another one. £50 heat shrink.

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1 of our diy stores sell these straight off the roll at around 3p for 250mm,or buy the whole 10m roll for £1.

[Zelandeth]

Ah, nothing like coming down with a stinking head cold in the middle of a holiday.

[twosmoke300]

Have you tried a hat ? 😂

[High Jetter]

Pedestrians: If you have headphones on and are looking at your phone when you amble into the road without looking for traffic you should not be surprised if a driver is slightly* cross that you caused him to make an emergency stop rather than kill you.

[Talbot]

  On 07/10/2022 at 08:35, cobblers said:

In the business center where we work, every radiator in all the communal areas and most of the offices (25000+ sq ft total) has a TRV. Every TRV is turned up to full. They have all the windows open because it's too warm.

Every few days I will walk past the rads in the communal areas and turn the TRVs down. By the next day they're all turned back up to full by the fucking numbskulls who work in the offices.

Give me fucking strength.

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Very easy fix for this:  You find out who has to pay the energy bill and explain to them what is going on.  Very shortly thereafter there will be a decree that if anyone changes the valves from setting 2 (or whatever works) they will be personally responsible for the Gas bill.

I've had similar battles in the past with people who have absolutely fuck-all understanding of thermostatic control, TRVs, energy consumption etc.etc.  In one company there was about 40kw of electric heaters on under peoples desks, with windows wide open "for fresh air".  I explained all this to our MD, who realised we were spending well over a grand a month on electricity, which was quite literally going straight out the window.  He spent about £5k on a recuperative heat exchanger system for the office (which draws in fresh air, heating it with the warm stale air on the way out) and banned under-desk heaters.  Paid for itself in under 6 months and the office was far more pleasant to be in.

[cobblers]

  On 10/10/2022 at 08:45, Talbot said:

Very easy fix for this:  You find out who has to pay the energy bill and explain to them what is going on.  Very shortly thereafter there will be a decree that if anyone changes the valves from setting 2 (or whatever works) they will be personally responsible for the Gas bill.

I've had similar battles in the past with people who have absolutely fuck-all understanding of thermostatic control, TRVs, energy consumption etc.etc.  In one company there was about 40kw of electric heaters on under peoples desks, with windows wide open "for fresh air".  I explained all this to our MD, who realised we were spending well over a grand a month on electricity, which was quite literally going straight out the window.  He spent about £5k on a recuperative heat exchanger system for the office (which draws in fresh air, heating it with the warm stale air on the way out) and banned under-desk heaters.  Paid for itself in under 6 months and the office was far more pleasant to be in.

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I've mentioned it a few times to the facilities manager but she's an absolute simpleton.

In summer, they bought 4 portable air conditioners to cool down the "meeting room" area which is some massive glazed atrium area, and they just had them stood in the middle of the room pumping the heat out of the back, directly into the room.

When this didn't have the desired effect, they bought two more air conditioners and opened all the windows as well. Had them running like this all summer.

[Talbot]

  On 10/10/2022 at 09:10, cobblers said:

I've mentioned it a few times to the facilities manager but she's an absolute simpleton.

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Go to the MD or shareholders then.  "Do you know that your money is being wasted by doing xxx.  The company has wasted £eleventyK on energy this year, which has come straight out of your profit margin.

That gets people's attention.

[goosey]

Just found out the Neighbour has had his drink drive charges dropped as the Police couldn’t prove he was driving and he denied that he was driving when questioned.

A changed man apparently 🙄

 

[cobblers]

  On 10/10/2022 at 09:14, Talbot said:

Go to the MD or shareholders then.  "Do you know that your money is being wasted by doing xxx.  The company has wasted £eleventyK on energy this year, which has come straight out of your profit margin.

That gets people's attention.

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It's owned by the council, I'd be wasting my breath. The last competent person in the commercial property area left about 18 months ago, and the remaining bloke has been off on long term sick for over a year so the whole department has been left to run itself.

[Talbot]

  On 10/10/2022 at 09:28, cobblers said:

It's owned by the council

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Fuck that then.  You'd have more sucess talking to a brick wall.

[Metal Guru]

  On 10/10/2022 at 09:40, Talbot said:

Fuck that then.  You'd have more sucess talking to a brick wall.

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Contact the press or put it on whatever social media the council uses. They’re all “seen to be green” and don’t like to be shown up for being environmentally irresponsible .

[chaseracer]

  On 10/10/2022 at 09:28, cobblers said:

It's owned by the council

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  On 10/10/2022 at 09:40, Talbot said:

Fuck that then.  You'd have more sucess talking to a brick wall.

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https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blowing-the-whistle-list-of-prescribed-people-and-bodies--2/whistleblowing-list-of-prescribed-people-and-bodies

[cobblers]

  On 10/10/2022 at 09:53, Metal Guru said:

Contact the press or put it on whatever social media the council uses. They’re all “seen to be green” and don’t like to be shown up for being environmentally irresponsible .

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They love to be be green, they built a pretty sizeable wind turbine at the end of the carpark. Worked great for about a year until the big warehouse on the adjoining plot was complete,  which blocks all the wind. 

Rather than sell it or move it, it's just been stood there useless since 2006.

[High Jetter]

  On 10/10/2022 at 10:05, cobblers said:

They love to be be green, they built a pretty sizeable wind turbine at the end of the carpark. Worked great for about a year until the big warehouse on the adjoining plot was complete,  which blocks all the wind. 

Rather than sell it or move it, it's just been stood there useless since 2006.

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That's either a very low turbine or a mahoosive warehouse! Someone in planning cocked up there.

[cobblers]

  On 10/10/2022 at 10:19, High Jetter said:

That's either a very low turbine or a mahoosive warehouse! Someone in planning cocked up there.

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It's a bit of both, it was built in the mid-2000s so by sizeable I mean "not one of them 8 foot wide things". Construction of the big warehouse was apparently already underway when they built the turbine.

[Dyslexic Viking]

I had to take a trip to the nearest town (Arendal) today and towns and cities are as terrible as ever. And the shops have already started selling Christmas decorations.

[Talbot]

  On 10/10/2022 at 10:25, cobblers said:

Construction of the big warehouse was apparently already underway when they built the turbine.

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[twosmoke300]

  On 10/10/2022 at 08:45, Talbot said:

 

I've had similar battles in the past with people who have absolutely fuck-all understanding of thermostatic control

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Insert sexist comment here

 

Women? 🤣

[Talbot]

  On 10/10/2022 at 13:37, twosmoke300 said:

Insert sexist comment here

 

Women? 🤣

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Often, but not always.  The difference also is that in many cases the women are more willing to listen if I try to gently explain.  If it's a man who doesn't understand, he'll almost stick two fingers in his ears walking off shouting "LAA LAA LAA LAA".  While simultaneously expecting the central heating to work more if it's turned up to 30c and complaining that it's too warm and opening up windows.