The grumpy thread

[wuvvum]

7 hours ago, IronStar said:

Next to all knowledge of the world is a pull a phone from my pocket away from me. Most of the entertainment as well. I work in the IT industry, and the only time I use a laptop or any other form of desktop computing is whilst I'm at work. Why bother, when my phone does everything the laptop does, in a more convenient form factor with a battery that lasts longer?

I have to disagree with this bit.  I fucking hate typing anything more than a few words on a touch screen.  Give me a proper physical keyboard any day.

[Spiny Norman]

4 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I have to disagree with this bit.  I fucking hate typing anything more than a few words on a touch screen.  Give me a proper physical keyboard any day.

This.
And a decent 14-15" screen I can actually read....

[IronStar]

25 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I have to disagree with this bit.  I fucking hate typing anything more than a few words on a touch screen.  Give me a proper physical keyboard any day.

Matter of preference / getting used to. I can probably type faster on the phone with predictive text than on the laptop, but slower than on full size mechanical keyboard. I’m an early adopter and spend ages typing on it though. For the record I’m not even fastest in my friend group. 😄 I’ve seen people using speech to text, but my primary language is Serbian so that’s a hit and miss with it.

As for convenient form factor, it fits in the pocket rather than a bag, and I can use it while walking / cooking / doing next to anything, so it will always get points compared to something I need two hands and preferably a desk to use.

[Popsicle]

Mrs P's Qashqai, well I say Mrs P's but number one child seems to be always in it these days, has a wheel bearing type noise coming from the ns front, as I can't be arsed it was booked in at the friendly local garage that does what I'm too idle/incapable of doing. Got a call around midday telling me the bearing is fine but the gearbox is at fault 😒. Sigh not sure if its worth bothering with anymore.

I trust the garage and I get decent rates with them. The clutch has been getting heavy so probs needs doing too. He said if I get a used gearbox he'll fit it and supply/fit a new clutch and flywheel for £600, so better than I thought, but still its a 14 year old 170k odd mile Qashqai at the end of the day - decisions, decisions.....

[MikeR]

1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

I have to disagree with this bit.  I fucking hate typing anything more than a few words on a touch screen.  Give me a proper physical keyboard any day.

thats why I like my chrome book , its like a 11 inch android phone with keyboard , dam big battery as well ..

[camryv6]

On 23/07/2024 at 16:39, meggersdog said:

I employ a part time mot assistant, a single mother who works during school hours.She has three children in full time education. Previously the social were paying towards her rent and that was it, no free school meals no help with anything else. She has now been forced onto universal credit but because of her hours she has to have an interview and sign on. First couple of times she has had to take time off work.I am not paying her to sign on so her wages are down. They have now agreed to a telephone interview and this is my grump.

We don't have avery good mobile signal here so my assistant gave them the works number. So today I answer the phone to an 0800 number. As usual I answer with the name of the company. "err, what" I repeat the name of the company "oh, I was told to ring this number by a person"  Okay well I am a person so who did want to speak to. ( for the purpose of this let's call my assistant Jane) . " I want to speak to Jane"  sure who's calling " I AM NOT GIVING YOU MY NAME" erm, sorry "it's got nothing to do with you." she shouted . Oh says I " look it's a business matter with Jane and nothing to do with you"  with the phone in hand I went into the workshop and found Jane. Holding the phone near my face I loudly inform Jane there is some arsey woman on the phone for her.

WTF a not very civil, civil servant. If I am paying someone by the hour then taking them away from their work to answer a phonecall   has a lot to do with me.  

As an MOT tester myself i would never take a phone call during an active MOT ?

[louiepj]

I assume that means I'm not going to receive my 10 litres of 20W50 and two cans of engine flush for £14.87 then?  Sigh.

I have also had to just ask for refund on two carousel oil orders.

[adw1977]

12 hours ago, IronStar said:

I can concentrate almost everything I need for my (digital, and at this point in general) life on a single device as opposed to having to do with 25 different cards / devices / things

Doesn't that mean you are comprehensively stuffed if that single device gets lost / stolen / broken?

[IronStar]

17 minutes ago, adw1977 said:

Doesn't that mean you are comprehensively stuffed if that single device gets lost / stolen / broken?

Yet to happen in 15+ years of ownership of multiple devices. Everything is backed up to the cloud as well, so getting unstuffed is a matter of getting another device, logging into a single account, and pressing restore backup. Oh, calling the mobile provider to get another sim card issued / qr for e-sim if I can’t retrieve it from the previous device as well. I still cary physical debit/credit card, just in case.
If I can’t afford to replace the lost / stolen / broken device or the cloud is no longer there, there’s a significant problem with my life (option 1) or the world as we know it is probably going the way of the dodo (option 2). There’s also always one of the previous devices that wasn’t given away sitting in the drawer at home in case I need a device immediately and I’m close to home, but as I said, this has never happened yet.

 

Edit: I have a device of fruity variety, so it’s worth next to nothing to a thief as it can’t be unlocked, lost can be tracked down by find my assuming I can get access to Mrs Star’s phone or my laptop. 

[meggersdog]

11 hours ago, camryv6 said:

As an MOT tester myself i would never take a phone call during an active MOT ?

No tests were undertaken when the phone rang so no "please do not distract the tester" occured.  Answering the phone is one of the reasons I have an assistant..

[maxxo]

re smartphones,

i fucking hate having one, i get that it's useful sure but it's mostly a glorified camera these days

if i need to make a phone call then it's on the landline with pretty much no exceptions

i hate smartphone culture, i refuse to use QR codes

oh and 95% of my internet access is done via a PC which has a proper keyboard and is actually useable

that's why i use my sisters cast off iPhones, they're free and i'm not paying stupid amounts for a mobile phone

basically it's a camera and a device for surfing the net whilst having a poo

going on holiday in a week or so and i'm tempted to not take it

[EyesWeldedShut]

I've just astounded myself when searching for my missing smartphone to confirm a spend online that the thing was actually in my pocket all the time - that's unusual  

Tbh - I did a lot of pukka (boring, science) research into smartphones/smart fridges and shite like that 2017 - 2019 and it was apparent that big companies were viewing it as sales leverage/the way forward. A lot of the stuff we looked at was 'meh' e.g.

fridge with camera + barcode scanner = less food waste (but hassle, tricky to get right, fun to experiment with tho')

but a company guy looking at it would see
fridge with camera + barcode scanner + online = less food waste automatic restock/sell more stuff/upsell recipe ingredients blah blah

It is how the world goes around these days, sell tech to those that want it and hope the rest follow (if you want to go all TALC on me - I'm a total laggard/non-adopter - and that includes cars  )

[myglaren]

Just been in Asda, something that rarely happens and is always a disappointment.

Woman at the exit waving a huge Q-code placard to take a survey and win £100.

[Bren]

EE.

My wife has just swapped our providers - gas electricity and phone . We will still be with EE but paying less for a better package. We were told that we would have to pay for ending the contracts early and this would be reimbursed by the new provider and that we needed to send the final bill to them - we would have to pay first. Not a problem except there was no bill - they just attempted to take £400 by DD and wife now has no access to her account with them so we cannot see the final bill.

[jakebullet]

Idiot sister in thick as pig shit shock, news at 10!

She's stationary at traffic lights yapping on phone to Ma about this horse that had a really big shit. She gets hit up the arse and shunted forwards. Got to go somebody has just crashed into me.

10 mins later she phones back.

He was a nice young man. His car was fucked up! But there's no damage to my car at all.

Did you get his details?
No! Why would I?
Not even the number plate?
No! Why would I?

Hmmm, let me count the ways.

Your expert* diagnosis of no damage turns out to be wrong when you try to open a door.
You find your neck / empty little head starts hurting tomorrow.
Your insurance company wants to know why you've not reported the accident you had where you reversed into the poor man's car and injured the 5 people in it. Followed by driving off.

Well she hasn't got any evidence anyway! That's because the dashcam I bought you is in a drawer and not in the window of your car... 

[EyesWeldedShut]

8 hours ago, myglaren said:

Just been in Asda, something that rarely happens and is always a disappointment.

Just had an Asda delivery, something that happens weekly and is always a disappointment.  
(Actually - it saves me about 2 hours driving into town plus maybe minimum an hour trolling around the shops - not that bad tbh)

Todays grump from here - Feckin' Sevel builds (1) caged bolts (2) extra long fixings fitted to #1 (3) salt on the roads.
1 + 2 + 3 = two hours feckin' about to pull the front bumper/grille off a Boxer - FFS! 

 

[reb]

8 minutes ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Just had an Asda delivery, something that happens weekly and is always a disappointment.  

 

Whenever I get an Asda delivery these days I think "where's the fucking rest of it!?"

I usually shop at aldi, and when I buy from asda I seem to spend more and get less.

[Sheefag]

On 24/07/2024 at 01:38, sheffcortinacentre said:

The looks I get when I say I haven't got one & don't want one , you'd think I'd just asked if I could shag their wife 

You'll like my new business venture

[sheffcortinacentre]

Found out a friend was killed in a motorbike crash last weekend was 57  rip George.

[EyesWeldedShut]

11 hours ago, reb said:

Whenever I get an Asda delivery these days I think "where's the fucking rest of it!?"

I usually shop at aldi, and when I buy from asda I seem to spend more and get less.

I think Asda sits between Lidl/Aldi and the rest? Locally (in driving distance) we have a Morrisons, Tesco & Lidl - all 45 minutes from here.
Asda is 70 + miles but they will run a van out to here and, so far, have a decent hit rate on delivery/substitutes because (I think) they are loading up in the big store in Swansea rather than a smaller one.
Nearest Aldi is 44 miles (Cardigan) away but I know folks not too far from here that will take a drive over there to stock up.

Basically, I hate shopping so would much rather have a dude in a van rock up (one due this morning in fact - 1 substitute ) 

[barefoot]

9 minutes ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Basically, I hate shopping so would much rather have a dude in a van rock up

Plus eleventy!

[barefoot]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c728q974d4zo.amp

Fuck me, Albert saved the best 'til last

[Mally]

ABS light is on on my 75. Took it to one of our esteemed members who diagnosed  a possible faulty ABS pump, but could be anything. and accepted no payment.

Took it to a T4 man, who diagnosed possible faulty ABS pump, but could be pins/wires/anything.  and relieved me of £20. Which was quite fair, but didn't help.

MOT in a few weeks time.

Do I try a second hand unit, from a car which may have been scrapped because of ABS light?  I was hoping it was a wheel sensor.

Or buy another 75/whatever, on which the  ABS light may come on the very next day.

[IronStar]

2 hours ago, Mally said:

ABS light is on on my 75. Took it to one of our esteemed members who diagnosed  a possible faulty ABS pump, but could be anything. and accepted no payment.

Took it to a T4 man, who diagnosed possible faulty ABS pump, but could be pins/wires/anything.  and relieved me of £20. Which was quite fair, but didn't help.

MOT in a few weeks time.

Do I try a second hand unit, from a car which may have been scrapped because of ABS light?  I was hoping it was a wheel sensor.

Or buy another 75/whatever, on which the  ABS light may come on the very next day.

Maybe a bit obvious but can’t you get a tested one that’s still on a car from someone breaking a 75?

[Mally]

7 minutes ago, IronStar said:

Maybe a bit obvious but can’t you get a tested one that’s still on a car from someone breaking a 75?

Nah mate, never* had a problem with the ABS light 😂

Anyone  on here got one I'll buy it. I'm going to get the battery shelf off next week, see if the pipes will undo.

It's supposed to be possible to just swap the electric bit and leave the pipes alone. I'll ask on here.

[High Jetter]

Not saying anything, avoiding THE FEAR!

[Stinkwheel]

Whichever idiot designed the mini clutch master cylinder clevis pin location and then decided to use a split pin rather than an R clip, absolute son of a b**ch aaaaaghhhhh

[MikeR]

FFS   this country !!   posted on FB

[Pieman]

On 25/07/2024 at 18:05, jakebullet said:

Idiot sister in thick as pig shit shock, news at 10!

She's stationary at traffic lights yapping on phone to Ma about this horse that had a really big shit. She gets hit up the arse and shunted forwards. Got to go somebody has just crashed into me.

10 mins later she phones back.

He was a nice young man. His car was fucked up! But there's no damage to my car at all.

Did you get his details?
No! Why would I?
Not even the number plate?
No! Why would I?

Hmmm, let me count the ways.

Your expert* diagnosis of no damage turns out to be wrong when you try to open a door.
You find your neck / empty little head starts hurting tomorrow.
Your insurance company wants to know why you've not reported the accident you had where you reversed into the poor man's car and injured the 5 people in it. Followed by driving off.

Well she hasn't got any evidence anyway! That's because the dashcam I bought you is in a drawer and not in the window of your car... 

Seriously, grow a set of bollocks and blow your fucking top at her explaining to her (instead of a bunch of randoms on a website) everything that's wrong with her.

If you're too scared to do that, give me her address and I'll do it.

[jakebullet]

5 minutes ago, Pieman said:

Seriously, grow a set of bollocks and blow your fucking top at her explaining to her (instead of a bunch of randoms on a website) everything that's wrong with her.

If you're too scared to do that, give me her address and I'll do it.

Everything? I'm 50 now, don't think I've enough time left!

Did attempt to point out the problems of letting nice* man drive away, but it just ended up with us screaming fuck fuck fuck at each other, and Ma giving me a hard time 'cos I'm obvs the bad guy.

It makes me feel a smidge better to share, and I'll take a smidge when everything around me is going to hell in a handcart.