What's made you grumpy today?

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What's made you grumpy today?

Several months ago now, when I had both my jabs of the oxford vaccine, aside from feeling slightly light headed for a few hours the next day, I was absolutely fine. Yesterday afternoon, I had my booster jab of the moderna vaccine and for the rest of the day, again, I was absolutely fine. However, last night, I came over very shivery, despite being very warm in bed. Today, I feel absolutely drained, and have zero energy. 😐
 
Several months ago now, when I had both my jabs of the oxford vaccine, aside from feeling slightly light headed for a few hours the next day, I was absolutely fine. Yesterday afternoon, I had my booster jab of the moderna vaccine and for the rest of the day, again, I was absolutely fine. However, last night, I came over very shivery, despite being very warm in bed. Today, I feel absolutely drained, and have zero energy. 😐
Much the same for me. two pfizers to start and then a Moderna booster. Minimal reaction to the Pfizers but the Moderna knocked me for six for more than a day. The Moderna booster is only a half dose too, only too glad it wasn't a whole dose?!
 
The only one I had a reaction to was my 1st shot of Pfizer.

Since then nothing, had moderna booster on 23rd December was expecting to feel like crap and nothing.

Wonder if having had free range covid had anything to do with reaction to first shot. I had "classic" covid obviously...none of this trendy delta or omicron business 🤣

Must be reasonably immune though given my sister and niece had delta...which she only found out the day after me and my son had spent the day at hers and didn't catch it despite spending 4 or 5 hours in their front room drinking coffees etc.

My Grump...repaired puncture is less repaired than advertised. Losing about half a psi per day...won't get a chance to get it fixed until the weekend after new year.

Give them another chance to scratch my wheel up..left it originally as they'd done me a favour fitting it in but currently all I've done apparently is paid them to damage the car.
 
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First jab AZ completely knocked me for 6, was really unwell for about 3 days, second one also AZ felt a bit rough for a few hours the next day, 3rd one Moderna, had a slightly sore arm about 2 days later didn’t notice any ill effects at all.

still unclear if I’ve ever had covid, have never had a positive test or anything like covid symptoms at any time
 
Dishwasher drain hose sprung a leak late Saturday. Great timing.
Ordered a replacement, paid extra for next day delivery, programmed for delivery today.
Royal Mail decided they could not deliver today, so didn't. Probably due to staff absences, but they would have known this first thing this morning. They seem to have chosen to deliver alternate days, including any special deliveries. Missed the point about special deliveries, haven't they.
The delivery office is half a mile away. Just after they closed, they sent an email declaring non delivery. If they'd advised earlier, I could have gone a fetched it.
But apparently, no. Could not collect unless I have a card, left after a failed delivery.
Their reason for existence is to deliver mail. And they're not very good at it.

They've promised to deliver tomorrow, but I'm working for two days, no time to drag the machine out to fit the hose. So that'll be a job for Friday then. I hate washing up. That's why I have a machine to do it.
 
Dishwasher drain hose sprung a leak late Saturday. Great timing.
Ordered a replacement, paid extra for next day delivery, programmed for delivery today.
Royal Mail decided they could not deliver today, so didn't. Probably due to staff absences, but they would have known this first thing this morning. They seem to have chosen to deliver alternate days, including any special deliveries. Missed the point about special deliveries, haven't they.
The delivery office is half a mile away. Just after they closed, they sent an email declaring non delivery. If they'd advised earlier, I could have gone a fetched it.
But apparently, no. Could not collect unless I have a card, left after a failed delivery.
Their reason for existence is to deliver mail. And they're not very good at it.

They've promised to deliver tomorrow, but I'm working for two days, no time to drag the machine out to fit the hose. So that'll be a job for Friday then. I hate washing up. That's why I have a machine to do it.
I feel a little sorry for companies involved in this sector (and even more sorry for the poor stressed out delivery drivers) as there is so much competition that you need to be right on top of things if you're going to survive. My perception from recent performance is that the "good old" Royal Mail doesn't seem to be doing as well as it might. Our daily delivery of mail is very much a "movable feast". Been some time since I've had a package delivered by them but we often see the Amazon, DPD and other vans making parcel deliveries.
 
I know an Amazon driver. I have no idea how he gets that huge van around the narrow streets of Devon (with sats nav that go doolally**) but he enjoys his work.

** Tech term for sat nav getting lost, because the map is crap or the signal is crap or both.
 
Council Tax Band - Bring Back Poll Tax

So you are moving home to a house in a low/given band as documented in the sales data etc.

So did you know you can go on line to a GOV website and check the band for any property?

So you do that and when digging deeper you find an "Improvement Yes/No" filed. If YES then the property will automatically be revalued AFTER sale. So the current band could end up as Band + N where N is unknown.

Also it is not possible to get and HM/GOV official value until AFTER you have purchased the property.

As the law/system currently stands you can own a lowest band property with say 1 bedroom etc and convert it into a 5 or 6 bed, 5 or 6 bathrooms, etc. and STILL be council taxed at Band A/lowest.

Poor old purchaser may end up in a property they can not afford in the long term.

Of course you will say that if buying a 5/6 bed property in such a low band was not a red flag issue/warning then you are not as smart as you think you are.

BUT!

When one gets higher up the bands a band step from F to G, or G to H or heaven forbid G/H to I makes a massive difference.

ADD

When there are no similar properties on the same road/estate to compare as "challenge" information/data then getting re-banded after purchase +N is not fair/good/acceptable.

So how to solve the problem?:

1) Every property change that requires planning should AUTOMATICALLY force a revaluation and associated banding status quo or change. That way and future purchaser KNOWS EXACTLY what they a buying into for the LONG term!

OR

2) Bring Back Poll Tax :)

OR

3) Refuse to pay and be kept at her majesty's pleasure with full board and lodging, skills workshops, TV, companionship (inmates moaning about the same injustices), etc. all at no cost to yourself. (Note! put you assets into a legal trust before refusing to pay?

But seriously official property Valuation/Banding can ONLY be obtained AFTER the event. That is surely not right and against my human rights in that I'm being forced into making a legally binding agreement but am UNABLE to fully quantify what I'm signing up to!
 
The state of Norfolk's roads this winter. 1 tyre sidewall before Christmas, and now....
20220111_120609.jpg
 
Council Tax Band - Bring Back Poll Tax
It has been an unfair system for decades, I've tried to argue the case on a different aspect for many years and never got anywhere, unless I change the law on council tax.

In our case, the inbuilt garage was changed to a room before we bought the house. A few years after buying it we got a letter saying a mistake had been made and the band was wrong. This was nearly 20 years ago, and being slightly naive and assuming they were right, we though fine, it's only £100 a year more.

One the rates started increasing dramatically for higher bands I decided to look into it more.
Firstly, if you dont say withing 6 month of the change then it can never be changed, it's considered an "illegal appeal", and you can try everything in the books and all they have to say it's it more than 6 month, case closed. Last time I complain I was told contact my MSP to change the law.

And the core of it comes from the valuation is from 1991 price. Our house was built in 1997. We bought it in 2000, and the price then was about the same as the bottom of the band, F. So how could it be in that price bracket 10 years earlier when the identially sized houses in the street are band D?
And may followup of it's not that, it based on floor space, again measured it all, gabe them the figures. Oh it's not that, it total building space - well that hasn't changed the garage was part of the building before. and so on and so on, all to meet, "over six month, tough!"
 
This is why I put my buckled (but not this bad) alloys in the garage and fitted steels to same dimensions. At £40 a pop plus paint they are a bargain

 
Tuesday yesterday so our "big" childminding day of the week. Up at 06.00. Hour's drive out south of the city which is actually quite nice as we are leaving the city when everyone is streaming into it. Walk my wee granddaughter (apple of granddad's eye) to school and then spend the rest of the day entertaining our 2 year old grandson (another "apple"). Collect our wee girl from school and take them both swimming. Return to their home, Mrs J makes their tea (evening meal), and roll around on the floor with them both until mum comes home from work at around 18.00 hrs. Back in our house, traffic permitting, for around 19.00 Hrs. Just about enough energy left to heat a can of soup and defrost an olive roll for our "tea" before collapsing.

I'm not at all grumpy about the above, in fact I/we absolutely love being with the kids although we both agree we couldn't manage it on our own. However as we were getting ready to leave in the evening the wee girl came up to me with a toy she'd been given by her Auntie for her Christmas. The pickup doesn't work any more granddad, can you fix it? I'll try to affix some pictures. It's like one of those fairground/service area machines you see usually loaded with soft toys and other "tat". After taking the top off it it could immediately be seen that one of the wires going into the moving carriage was severed. I'll try to post a picture of this bit too after I repaired it (didn't think to take pics before repair - it was the blue wire, towards the bottom of the picture, which had broken where it joins the PCB). The problem is that as the carriage traverses it drags the wires with it, causing them to bend at the same time. There's no way around this due to the cheap way the machine has been designed and it'll eventually do the same again, but at least it's working again at this time. I've slaistered a bit of silicon sealant around it to try to give it some support, but probably all that'll do is make it break somewhere else!

I'm feeling grumpy for two reasons. Firstly because I bet a good price was paid for this poorly designed toy. But, more importantly, it brought home to me how old I'm getting as I couldn't stop my hand from shaking whilst trying to apply the soldering iron tip to this small fiddly PCB. I had to brace the edge of the palm of my hand against the top of the work piece before I could get my hand steady enough to avoid damaging the connection next to it on the board with the tip of the iron. This getting old really SUCKS!

PS. She's also found an old Swiss music box - you know the type of thing, looks like a little Swiss chalet and when you lift the lid it plays a wee "plinky" tune. I think we brought it back from an Austrian hill walking holiday we went on back in the late '60's. It hasn't worked for years and "lives" on Mrs J's bedside table. Foolishly? I've told her -granddaughter - I'll try to get it working again but I suspect it'll have to be completely dismantled as it's thick with crud. Now I don't know if my hands will be steady enough? However, flushed with the success of getting the grab working again, I'm going to give it a try!
 

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I know the feeling PAJ. Poorly designed toys that grandpas are asked to make better and hand problems. I have the 'shakes', too, along with Dupuytrens Contracture. Also called Vikings Disease. Can't straighten a couple digits on the left hand. Makes it hard to pick my nose when my right hand is full. :)

But on to today's grumpy. Working in the field today, covered in grease and hydraulic oil, plus it's cold outside. Boss calls to tell me that a customer called one of the sales guys wanting to order a part but gave a weird part number. Can I help? Sigh and tell my boss to give me the number and I'll get back to him in a bit.
Well, a bit wasn't good enough. He wanted it now. Jeez, after 25 years of working together, I thought he knew better than to do that.

Leaving out the F-bombs, I let him know that I'm working outside, I'm covered in crud, my laptop is turned off and in the car, and why am I the only person in the entire US part of this world wide company that knows how to verify a part number. You'll get the verification when I can get to it.

His response was, "When you get time?"

After I got clean and warmed back up, it took longer for my laptop to boot up than it took me to get him his answer.
 
We are in a semi-detached house. The attached neighbours have a small dog, arrived at start of lockdown 2020. Owners have no idea about discipline or training, themsleves, or the dog.
Dog will bark at anything, and is allowed to continue to bark until it just gets tired and stops. Now they seem to have bought it a squeaky toy, so between bouts of barking, we just get a continual squeaking.
I cna now sympathise with people who kill their neighbours in a fit of rage. Sadly, or perhaps thankfully, I no longer have an axe, gave it away to someone who would use it safely.
 
Totally sympathise. Not a dog in our case but two boys one of who (the younger) has the most ear-piercing shriek and voice. Over several days they were continuously out in their garden (thats ok) screaming their heads of chasing each other around (that is not OK). Three days of hot weather where we could not go out, had to have all the windows closed from 7am to 8pm. It got to the point where we were shaking, dreading the next noise. Total physical and psychological torture. I had to say something so I did. He will not now acknowledge a good morning. She is far more pleasant but clearly under his thumb.

For over 30 years we have lived in the same house and have had several couples move in and bring up their babies/kids and never ever had any problems so I can 100% say it is not us just being funny. Having kids is a responsibility and you just don't kick them out like a dog or cat to create disturbances to other people.

Thankfully we are moving anyway to a quiet rural location.
 
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