The grumpy thread

[Guest]

Is it only me who notices and is bothered by the compression ratio on digital TV? Some channels look like the sort of thing you might get in 2003 when you were trying to watch a streaming "Realplayer" clip on your 56K modem. Being that an analogue signal can look fantastic with a properly-installed roof aerial, it seems like a step backwards in a way.

[CIH]

tooth ache ow

 

also people who try to soup-up rusy old shitters

[dollywobbler]

I don't have a telly, so wouldn't know. We got a visit from the licence folk at the weekend. Trust them to pick one of the few times we're not here! Guess they weren't convinced that we don't have a telly seeing as we've got TWO satellite dishes (haven't worked out how to reach them and take them down yet, but have removed the internal house wiring) and a huge old-style TV aerial (that we just keep forgetting we own). They're welcome to have a look around though. We really don't have one.

[Pillock]

Is it only me who notices and is bothered by the compression ratio on digital TV? Some channels look like the sort of thing you might get in 2003 when you were trying to watch a streaming "Realplayer" clip on your 56K modem. Being that an analogue signal can look fantastic with a properly-installed roof aerial, it seems like a step backwards in a way.

 

Indeed, it does look shatpank. I'm always seeing complaints from people that their brand new 60" TV has a terrible signal - do a bit of digging and it turns out they're just watching freeview. Plug a high-def source in and ooooooh, it looks nice now.

Even on my 40" from across the room, some channels just look awful, on both Freeview and Virgin. HD is fine, but some of the SD channels are really muddy.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

^^ Digital sig will have its wattage cranked up. They can't do it across the board at the minute, as it will walk over analogue. I did a server job for Bastards, Bolsheviks and Cunts (NI) a while ago and got chatting to one of their engineering staff in the canteen. Another factor to consider apparently is the fact that even cheapo £20 digiboxes are getting better and better all the time, as are the Freeview antennae. Mine was only £12 (plus a score for the box). I can get all the channels, and I live in a "marginal signal area"

That's something. My house is in a strong signal area but doesn't have an aerial so I'm using an electric booster internal one, which is never ideal but under analogue it was never worse than a snowy picture. Digital signal breakup makes channels completely unwatchable.

 

Is it only me who notices and is bothered by the compression ratio on digital TV? Some channels look like the sort of thing you might get in 2003 when you were trying to watch a streaming "Realplayer" clip on your 56K modem. Being that an analogue signal can look fantastic with a properly-installed roof aerial, it seems like a step backwards in a way.

No, it bothers me too. I've said before that programmes like Strictly Come Dancing and X-factor are the ugliest programmes on TV with all their flashing lights making it look like it was filmed on a mobile phone.

[CreepingJesus]

Glasses spontaneously broke yesterday. My clear ones, not my 'Mr Cool' shades. The spring in the left leg just popped.

So, today I goes to get them fixed: lass tells me it can be done, but it'll take a while. Fair do's, tho' I've forgotten to lift shades from car, can't be arsed going back to get them.

I'm not so blind that I can't navigate my way to Greggs via the cash machine, buy a chicken tikka slice and a coffee, and find a bench to sit on.

I am, however, blind enough to miss a C-plate boggo Polo that's sitting right beside me, with an old bloke who looks a lot like Carl Fredricksen in it, until it's too late to balance pastry product, coffee, and set phone to camera in time. Bollocks.

I get mildly annoyed about missing good spots, when there's really nothing I can do about it; I want to rewind time when I've been unlucky/stupid/too slow.

Bad driving day part, oh, 10 is it? There's a roundabout not far from here, which the council have decided to turn into a 30' diameter rainforest replica. Hence, no-one can see across the bloody thing. I pull up to the line, to turn left, a bloke on a scooter pulls up to my right. We both move at the same time, when a wankstain in a Dunfermline Coachworks 11-plate Golf comes round there, virtually on two wheels. How he didn't wipe out the scoot, I'll never know; and my face, bracing myself and mouthing 'oh for fuck's sake', was obviously visible enough to him, for him to make the 'wanker' gesture at me.

Shooting off up the road, he nearly rear-ends the car in front of him, which has stopped...due to the police clearing up an accident going the other way. His passenger (big lad, ginger, freckly face) leans so far out of the window to shout something at two lasses walking up the pavement, I was able to get a description of him. From the driver's side. They shoot up to the next roundabout, do the same again and head back down the hill. Fuckers.

On the offchance either of the fannybaws read this - you've been reported to the feds, the car's owners will be informed too. Consider yourself lucky that Kay kept me in the car.

[wuvvum]

If you'd bought that Volvo 740 you could have just punted her off the road and gone merrily on your way!

To be fair, you could probably do that with a flat-front 9000 as well.

 

Hypothetically speaking, what could one be done for in a situation such as the one DW described if one were to snatch dozy bint's keys out of the ignition and hurl them over the nearest hedge? It wouldn't be criminal damage unless the keys broke on impact; it wouldn't be theft as there's no intention to permanently deprive - bint can quite easily go and fetch her keys while you go on your merry way. I've been tempted to do this myself on a couple of occasions, but I'm sure plod would find / invent something to nick me for.

[eddyramrod]

Wilful obstruction of the public highway? You're deliberately stranding a car in the middle of the road...

[Richard]

I remember reading about a case like that a few years back, I'm pretty sure the bloke involved lost his licence for it.

[trigger]

I'm off to London for the weekend tomorrow as a birthday treat, No real plan, we got a cheap hotel through my wife's work in Lime street (Her London branch has it's own hotel for special clients upstairs), Not sure what we are going to do yet, She wants to go to Portobello Market tomorrow.

 

My grumpness is that i didn't realise it was the bloody London Marathon on Sunday when i bought my train tickets! Bollocks it's going to be rammed!

[Station]

When breaking down waiting for the AA:

 

a) 99% of people driving past had a proper good look to see what was going on,

3 people shouted something at me when they drove past (when I was out of the car),

c) A taxi driver beeped and flashed his lights when my car started kangaroo-ing to a stop. I called him a 'Bell End'.

[Des]

The roads were particularly bad today, not sure what's going on but for some time now there seems to be days when droves of moron zombie helpless shithead scum are just everywhere, might be related to monthly paydays, lunar phasing, care in the community need for tinfoil hats, god knows but it's a steep price to pay for the good days. Today I had to pop around here and there locally, took forever, then off to Harley St. to drop off one item and adjust another for someone I've kept waiting ages and really need to get done with, fucking M1 closed, divert to A41, one great long line of stationary pondlife scum, every variation of lifestyle statement was there, each one a selfish ridiculous little shit obsessively grasping for inches of roadspace, piling thoughtlessly into every gap causing the maximum obstruction and ensuring the greatest gridlock clusterfuck possible. I turned off to criss cross through Bushey, this does mean a 15 to 20 MPH limit forcefully imposed by the living dead who dutifully patrol all roads where overtaking is not feasible, (they also like to panic brake at each speed camera in spite of their low velocity) this also proved futile so I had to ring my punter and take a bollocking.

Another day leaves me fighting the belief that the human race is pointless, beyond help and needs termination.

[RobT]

Another day leaves me fighting the belief that the human race is pointless, beyond help and needs termination.

 

Well put Des. A road near me was closed off this afternoon in rush hour due to an accident and the rozzers were directing traffic. The number of people giving verbal to the coppers was unbelievable, in so much that how dare their mad dash home at 5.30pm be disrupted by such a piffling thing like a serious RTA. However, the notion that the RTA was proably caused by this very type of mad dash bellend wasn't lost on me. Unless it affects them personally they just don't give a shit

[CreepingJesus]

The halfwit with the air horn, during the Amir Khan fight. Came thro' loud and clear on my kitchen radio: 40 fucking minutes of inane tooting. Couldn't have been that audible in the Manc Arena, or someone would have done something about it, right? I've never wished a snapped tendon on anyone 'til now.

[Negative Creep]

Talking of sound is anyone else getting a horrible buzzing when watching BBC1? Thought it was my tv at first but every other channel and input is fine

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I don't have a telly, so wouldn't know. We got a visit from the licence folk at the weekend. Trust them to pick one of the few times we're not here! Guess they weren't convinced that we don't have a telly seeing as we've got TWO satellite dishes (haven't worked out how to reach them and take them down yet, but have removed the internal house wiring) and a huge old-style TV aerial (that we just keep forgetting we own). They're welcome to have a look around though. We really don't have one.

 

 

License enforcement are much worse than the DVLA- private-sector and much more slimey. NEVER talk to them or let them into their house- they're well-known for underhand tactics, and will use any kind of pretext to get you to buy a license (they work on commission). They don't have the right to enter your house unless they have a search warrant, which is practically impossible to obtain, so just DON'T LET THEM IN. In fact, what I usually do when I get bored with baiting them is write a letter saying that "I do not consent to any visits by your agents, and any attempts by them to gain access to my property without a search warrant will result in your company and its agents being sued for both trespassing and harassment". That gets understood much quicker than "come and see that I really don't have a TV".

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

The PU51 DRY thread.

 

Stop replying to it.

[Cavcraft]

To the gobshite in the 04 plate blue Peugeot estate: driving as close behind me as you possibly can then ramming on the brakes and pulling into the middle of the road is going to make absolutely fuck all difference. Had you had a brain or working eyesight you'd have seen the three cars in front of me going slow and if you want to overtake on blind corners between Bakewell and Buxton then just go for it.

You weren't quite so cocky when you were at the side of me by the lights later were you though?

[shite_meister]

I'm off to London for the weekend tomorrow as a birthday treat, No real plan, we got a cheap hotel through my wife's work in Lime street (Her London branch has it's own hotel for special clients upstairs), Not sure what we are going to do yet, She wants to go to Portobello Market tomorrow.

 

My grumpness is that i didn't realise it was the bloody London Marathon on Sunday when i bought my train tickets! Bollocks it's going to be rammed!

 

When you say rammed I hope you're talking about kicking the back doors in on your good lady before spraying her kidneys with your man-filth?

[Angrydicky]

The PU51 DRY thread.

 

Stop replying to it.

 

+1

[scaryoldcortina]

The PU51 DRY thread.

 

Stop replying to it.

 

+1

 

+69

 

But seriously, maybe it's the only way he will go away, he certainly isn't listening.

 

TV Licensing write to my garage about once a month - there is a cycle of letters starting with "We have noticed you don't have a telly licence" then "IMPORTANT - you need a TV licence" then "we are sending the boys round" but no-one ever comes to check. Their latest letter suggests that if a customer is watching live TV on a phone (for example) and plugs it into my mains supply to charge it I need a licence.

 

Wouldn't bother me much if they did, there isn't a TV (although there is a telecaster) but it bothers me that their whole argument is that everyone, everywhere has a TV and watches it all the time (even at work).

[autofive]

The PU51 DRY thread.

 

i like the idea of double amal though

 

[Inspector Morose]

Great. Spamstorm. G.F.O.

[brammy777]

Which now means we will get shedloads of people replying to the spambot and the wind up merchant. Excellent.

[Lord Sterling]

820e power steering

 

One of the power bloody steering pipes decided it would be a fun idea to pop off and spew p/s fluid all over the road outside my house AGAIN! There is already stains on the road from the previous pipe problems it had.

 

The p/s system obviously doesnt want to do the job its built for. Funnily enough I was singing the cars praises to my mate only a few minutes before, no sooner had I parked up when I heard a *pop* sound from the engine area and steam rising through the bonnet shut lines. I got and saw lots of red fluid on the tarmac, I popped the bonnet and saw the p/s pipe had somehow loosend itself off, I've managed to reattach the pipe, how long thats gonna last is anyones guess and now I need a bottle of p/s fluid to refill the system. I've no money until tomorrow and cant really drive the car without risking damage to the pump.

 

I've a pretty tight schedual tomorrow, so I dont need to be trapsing around to buy yet more pissing p/s fluid and worrying whether the pipe will find a away of coming off again whilst out. I can see myself sending this car back to my mate very soon.

[Justin Case]

Unthinking oafs who spoiled what could have been a good photo of a beautifully presented Suntor camper on a rare Morris A55 base by sticking on it a dirty great A4 advert for their own show, at someone else's show:

Morris camper by geoffp5, on Flickr

 

Well I have news for you. No-one has to go to the Shareshill Vintage Fayre and spelling 'Fair' like that doubles the reasons for not going. May the heavens open on your event.

[Tayne]

Unthinking oafs who spoiled what could have been a good photo of a beautifully presented Suntor camper on a rare Morris A55 base by sticking on it a dirty great A4 advert for their own show, at someone else's show:

 

Is what they did worse than you chopping the sides off?

[M'coli]

What the fuck are Ordnance Survey playing at? "Getamap" used to pop up a wee window and you got about 16 squares of map - now I have to update my operating system and install a fucking Microsoft plug-in to view a fucking OS map? Fuck off!

[Mr Lobster]

In a field, 'working' at a car show. I have a GPRS terminal to take card payments. Women comes up, asked if I do cashback without charge. I explain politely why I, as a small business can't do cashback in the middle of a Welsh field.

 

She looks at me as though shes caught me doing unspeakable things with a family pet and walks off

[Cavcraft]

In a field, 'working' at a car show. I have a GPRS terminal to take card payments. Women comes up, asked if I do cashback without charge. I explain politely why I, as a small business can't do cashback in the middle of a Welsh field.

 

She looks at me as though shes caught me doing unspeakable things with a family pet and walks off

 

She was a local then?