What's made you grumpy today?

[PuntoHowTo]

No snow here but plenty of rain, get a call this morning 10 mins after my wife left for work telling me her wiper blades have broken and she can’t see to carry on, tells me she is calling recovery..... recovery for a broken wiper !!

Rush to get ready myself, jump in the punto, 7 miles down the road I find her stopped in a farmers yard. Taped the wiper back on and gave the glass a clean to minimise drag on the wiper, hurtled back home leaving her with the Punto, parked her car outside the house and had 4 minutes to make it to the train station to catch my train which is a 10 minute walk away, it’s a good job I run. Ran to the station making it seconds after the guard had blown his whistle, looked at me running and made a concerted hesitation to close the doors, just made the train with no time to spare!!

I am not having my wife call a recovery truck for a wiper blade !!

 

[DaveMcT]

The VW Splitty Transporter (it under-steered like nothing else) tought me to cadence brake.

 

[portland_bill]

The VW Splitty Transporter (it under-steered like nothing else) tought me to cadence brake.

Firm braking could be quite exciting in those, might dive in any direction as teh drums heated and gripped randomly.

 

[DaveMcT]

I had mine during 1981 and into the extremely cold winter of 1981/2 - the year when Nottingham saw -16C and parts of Shropshire went down to -25C. Such fun as the heater didn't work.

It was like driving a boat but I never crashed it? However, I took it off the road when I could see the body twisting on corners and rough roads. Chassis and body were terminally rusted. By today's standards a "restorable project". Back then, "rusty heap" was the correct description.

The Austin Mini 1000 that replaced it was great fun in the snow.

 

[portland_bill]

Parcel expected.
FedEx email said deliver today, before 6pm. Website said, 'in transit'.
6pm, still no parcel. Waited a while longer, in case driver running late. Website still said 'in transit'.
6:30, called them. Call centre appears to be abroad somewhere.
Long wait, while she made calls, then advised never on van, left in depot all day. She will get a manager to call me Monday to discuss delivery.
I had a better idea. Depot is 12 minutes away, I'll go fetch tomorrow morning.

 

[portland_bill]

Parcel expected.
FedEx email said deliver today, before 6pm. Website said, 'in transit'.
6pm, still no parcel. Waited a while longer, in case driver running late. Website still said 'in transit'.
6:30, called them. Call centre appears to be abroad somewhere.
Long wait, while she made calls, then advised never on van, left in depot all day. She will get a manager to call me Monday to discuss delivery.
I had a better idea. Depot is 12 minutes away, I'll go fetch tomorrow morning.

More silliness.

FedEx have moved.
Old address is on their website, and is also the one given to me by their call centre. Now occupied by Hermes, so they directed me to a competitor. Genius.
Hermes building has a clear sign declaring 'Reception', and a faded A4 paper on the door saying no longer here, go left further along building. All four other doors do not appear to be reception either, so secret entrance somewhere. Luckily found an employee who directed me to FedEx.
New location about half a mile away, now sharing the TNT building as FedEx apparently taken over TNT.
One-way system in car park, visitor spaces near exit, signs on fence only visible when you get there, or if, as today, car park nearly empty. Visitors on a busy day will probably park anywhere and find designated spaces during walk to building.
Bit of a walk from car park to a turnstile gate, press bell and wait... eventually there's a click, and you can fight the turnstile, cross the yard to the building.
Door has a clear notice saying automatic door, but that does not work, have to pull it pen as normal.
At least the guy found my parcel reasonably quickly. Then back to the wait at the turnstile to get out.

Delivering parcels is all they do, it is not one part of their portfolio, it is everything. Sadly not good at it.

 

[varesecrazy]

EX
as if they used to be..

 

[StevenRB45]

Not so much today as over the whole weekend..

Some thoughtful person took a child with diarrhoea and vomiting to a baby group my son attended on Thursday.

Come Friday night at 11pm my wife was at work and hear all hell breaking loose on the Baby monitor.

Went into the room to see him happily bouncing on his bed..in a massive pool of vomit. All over the bed and floor, also the bedside drawer was open a crack so he'd managed to fill that as well..including all the clean bedding.

Wasn't that concerned at this point as he's had bad reflux before however as I'm cleaning up the floor...he goes again..and again and again. Oh..

Anyway, work won't let my wife come home to help so I'm alone with a projectile vomiting baby for 12 hours in what may be one the worst nights of my life..until my wifes mother and father arrive at 5 am Saturday but he's fallen asleep by then.

Spent most of Saturday trying to make sure he was hydrated and he'd stopped vomiting..initially we were thinking because we'd tried giving him cheese with his tea was why (he's on the milk ladder for his intolerance).

Come yesterday morning..I do not feel well at all. Try half a biscuit..immediately violently sick. Oh good sharing a flute with him at friday bath time was a bad idea..my wifes just finished a 12 hour shift so not entirely sympathetic. Palm child off on Grandparents..and spend Sunday morning lying on the bathroom floor. You know it's a good day when your goals are at the level of go to kitchen put some dilute orange in your water without vomiting or falling over and it takes you 4 hours to achieve that.

At this point it's about 2pm and I'm starting to feel better having had some paracetamol and sugar..and now my wife is feeling like death..also he's taken down grandad as well.

Course the little plague rat is running around quite happily..

 

[DaveMcT]

Kids can throw up and be fine within minutes. I wretch and heave to no effect then get it at the other end because I haven't cleared my stomach

 

[StevenRB45]

Not sure you've got enough salt down lads..also could you maybe actually put some in the hills where its needed..

 

[DaveMcT]

Stafford was terrible for using excessive salt. One morning, at 8C I only just managed to stop at a traffic island because the salt followed by gentle drizzle had made the road horribly slippery. Was I just being lead-footed? Not really, because I had to feather the clutch to avoid wheel spin while getting the car rolling again

 

[SB1500]

https://www.thelocal.de/20200304/germany-bans-export-of-medical-protection-gear-over-coronavirus

I wonder what the EU is going to do to penalise this anti-EU member state policy. Germany keeping it all for itself. Imagine that was the UK the backlash we’d get. Not anymore

 

[StevenRB45]

Had that a few times recently, so little traction that you've got no clue if the wheels are spinning or the clutch has given up! Usually it would hop a bit until the traction control or you stops it, but absolutely smooth due to 0 grip.

At least with it having TCS it just compares the wheel speeds and brakes the fastest one and feathers the throttle for you. Works alright unless you're on ice on summer tyres...where it literally stops you dead. But unlike most modern cars..it has an off button, and Off means off.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

https://www.thelocal.de/20200304/germany-bans-export-of-medical-protection-gear-over-coronavirus

I wonder what the EU is going to do to penalise this anti-EU member state policy. Germany keeping it all for itself. Imagine that was the UK the backlash we’d get. Not anymore

We’ve done similar in the past, last year we banned exports of a whole host of different drugs to make sure we had enough for ourselves.

 

[SB1500]

We’ve done similar in the past, last year we banned exports of a whole host of different drugs to make sure we had enough for ourselves.

Oh, okay. Is this something pretty much every country would do? What’s your take on it?

It did seem rather selfish to me as I read it. But I am by no means any kind of expert as we all know by now lol

 

[PuntoHowTo]

What’s your take on it?

There really is nothing more to say, they ban the export of something when they need to for the sake of their citizens and we do the same for the sake of British people when it suits

Certainly not something to worry about, or indeed care about.

 

[DaveMcT]

They will be classed as strategic supplies

 

[chr1s]

Read today on a BMW forum I'm a member of:
"Plodding along in the middle lane at 55-60 for over an hour (I didn't even bother to pull over when the inside was empty - I mean who does these days!) ..."
At first I thought he was being tongue-in-cheek, then I realised he was actually being serious.

 

[varesecrazy]

Read today on a BMW forum I'm a member of:
"Plodding along in the middle lane at 55-60 for over an hour (I didn't even bother to pull over when the inside was empty - I mean who does these days!) ..."
At first I thought he was being tongue-in-cheek, then I realised he was actually being serious.

If youve got somebody on board with a bad back.. lane 1 is a pain..

On our 90 miles of M4 there are sections I have to go faster..and use lane 2

Hoping the spring warmth will mean get these resurfaced

 

[portland_bill]

Where the trucks wear two channels in lane 1, these can hold a lot of water. I have on a few occasions in heavy rain travelled in lane 2, as lane 1 brings the risk of aquaplaning, and so much spray that visibility is reduced to dangerous levels. Lane 2 allows traffic to flow well in these circumstances.