Dolly is mediating
What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?
- Thread starter dave
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What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?
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Got back home today after a 4 day break in Yorkshire with my best mate. Things didn't go entirely to plan...
1: We had intended to go to Rotherham to visit my Great Uncle, whom I hadn't seen for 2 and a half years. He messaged me to say he had a stinking cold, and wouldn't be good company, so I had to chat on his doorstep for a couple of minutes when I dropped off the gift I'd bought him.
2: On Wednesday, the hotel we'd booked in Harrogate turned out to be a complete PITA to find. We eventually found the hotel, only to discover we'd both caught norovirus off of another friend. We then spent that evening throwing up. Thankfully, I was able to book some extra time at that hotel, so we were able to spend Thursday there whilst we were unable to carry on travelling.
Thankfully though, we had both recovered enough to go to Cleethorpes yesterday, and have a good time, despite still having lost most of our appetites; and having covered 570 miles over the last few days, the Grande didn't miss a beat, and was once again a lovely, comfortable car in which to travel.
1: We had intended to go to Rotherham to visit my Great Uncle, whom I hadn't seen for 2 and a half years. He messaged me to say he had a stinking cold, and wouldn't be good company, so I had to chat on his doorstep for a couple of minutes when I dropped off the gift I'd bought him.
2: On Wednesday, the hotel we'd booked in Harrogate turned out to be a complete PITA to find. We eventually found the hotel, only to discover we'd both caught norovirus off of another friend. We then spent that evening throwing up. Thankfully, I was able to book some extra time at that hotel, so we were able to spend Thursday there whilst we were unable to carry on travelling.
Thankfully though, we had both recovered enough to go to Cleethorpes yesterday, and have a good time, despite still having lost most of our appetites; and having covered 570 miles over the last few days, the Grande didn't miss a beat, and was once again a lovely, comfortable car in which to travel.
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The two kids from my first marriage were put in Terry nappies. By 20 months they both wanted no nappies and refused to wear pampers at night. I expected all sorts of mess but we had no accidents. Those from my second marriage were in pampers (no terries) and took ages to potty train. My little boy (age 8) gets it but often has to be told to go to the toilet. He's pretty much unconcerned when nature calls. As you said it's all about self-interest. If it's uncomfortable they want it sorted and will avoid making a mess. When its all done for them (pampers, pull-ups, etc) they don't care.My son...continuing to prove he is both more advanced than is immediately apparent and a little ****.
So during the day he is apparently basically potty trained, odd accident here and there but normally take him out all day and as long as you don't expect him to go 4 hours without a trip to the loo you're golden (or not golden..)
At night though we put him in his room with a potty and each morning potty is empty and his overnight training pants are wet. Now standard advice on this is wait until they are dry over night so we weren't pushing it.
Last night we were both knackered and the bedtime routine was out the window due to taking him for a haircut followed by shopping. So we forgot to put him in training pants at all just jamas.
Went in this morning not realising...right until I saw he'd used his potty. Went to check his training pants..realised he wasn't wearing any.
So he can use the damn toilet in the night..it's more convenient not to.
This is like nursery thinking he was mute and uncomprehending because he'd learned if you ignore them long enough they'll give up and you can continue doing what you want...a thing I only noticed because he tried it home.
We moan on here a lot about tyres and engine oils and lights and all manor of things as car enthusiasts, the main issue can be those who are “enthusiastic” but maybe not enthusiasts. Those who want a fancy car, they want to look good but maybe don’t have the budget or the aptitude to match that car.
So what we have in the picture below is a 2007 Mercedes Benz CLS
Almost all of them were 150mph cars, even at the basic spec and they are very luxurious and technologically packed cars, so while the bills are expensive you can literally buy one for £1000 if you really want one. But if you look closely at the tyre picture you’ll see the current owner hasn’t really matched the £50k+ value of this car in 2007 and has fitted the cheapest possible tyres they could find. Tyres I wouldn’t even have fitted to my Punto, they are in fact “RoadX RXmotion” tyres….. yep we’ve definitely all heard of those…..
So if he willing to put these ‘quality’ tyres on each corner of his 150mph car then imagine what else he’s willing to skimp on.
When I came out of the shop the car had gone but been replaced with a gold Mercedes’ CLC, the little compact 2 door c-class also on a 2007 number plate. This one had a completely flat tyre and was filled to the roof with junk the outside was covered in green slim and as I sat sorting out some papers in the car, the bloke who owned this Mercedes walked out of Halfords with an aerosols can of tyre repair Spray and used it to re inflate the flat tyre before driving off as normal. This was the middle of the day and there are a number of tyre places a stone throw away. Plenty of places he could have taken it to get the tyre checked, inflated, a puncture repaired etc, so my guess was he had no intention of getting the front near side tyre puncture fixed and figured a can of spray fix would do the job. All these cars are just waiting to find their next hedge, and we’re all driving around on the roads with them
So what we have in the picture below is a 2007 Mercedes Benz CLS
Almost all of them were 150mph cars, even at the basic spec and they are very luxurious and technologically packed cars, so while the bills are expensive you can literally buy one for £1000 if you really want one. But if you look closely at the tyre picture you’ll see the current owner hasn’t really matched the £50k+ value of this car in 2007 and has fitted the cheapest possible tyres they could find. Tyres I wouldn’t even have fitted to my Punto, they are in fact “RoadX RXmotion” tyres….. yep we’ve definitely all heard of those…..
So if he willing to put these ‘quality’ tyres on each corner of his 150mph car then imagine what else he’s willing to skimp on.
When I came out of the shop the car had gone but been replaced with a gold Mercedes’ CLC, the little compact 2 door c-class also on a 2007 number plate. This one had a completely flat tyre and was filled to the roof with junk the outside was covered in green slim and as I sat sorting out some papers in the car, the bloke who owned this Mercedes walked out of Halfords with an aerosols can of tyre repair Spray and used it to re inflate the flat tyre before driving off as normal. This was the middle of the day and there are a number of tyre places a stone throw away. Plenty of places he could have taken it to get the tyre checked, inflated, a puncture repaired etc, so my guess was he had no intention of getting the front near side tyre puncture fixed and figured a can of spray fix would do the job. All these cars are just waiting to find their next hedge, and we’re all driving around on the roads with them
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Goes with the territory...
If they had any money they'd have a newer Merc.
As it is they have an old one...and run it on beer money.
There's a local L322 Rangey does the school run..every time I see it, more fresh body damage as the owner can't see over the steering wheel and 4 slick tyres.
Tone fair my neighbour used to have a 2014 Range Rover sport from new and he forever damaged it. Back in 2014 he cracked the windcreen “hitting a hidden kerb” he also destroyed two tyres in the process, both the front and back lights on every corner were broken and there was a lot of scrapes and dents, not mentioning the huge 25 litres of cellar paint that exploded in the boot when it was a week old.
He also had a Maserati which was also poorly looked after, but as a multimillionaire he would send the car off for a few days somewhere and eventually it would come back perfect, he had a limit of damage that triggered him to send it for rebuild.
I still put original Bridgestone tyres on my golf because that’s what it had new. The type changed but still get basically the same tyres
Possible she's a secret millionaire...but it's not been repaired ever and if she had that money I'd doubt her child would be attending a state funded nursery.
It's all about priorities I guess...I'm sure people would assume many things from the car I drive as well. They'd probably be wrong as well to be fair.
I found I tended to notice these things more post my son arriving as I'd not want to put him or my wife in a car that wasn't mechanically A1...the body and interior can look like a skip but it must start every time, it must stop and it must steer correctly because I don't want them or me on the side of the road somewhere if it's avoidable which a good chunk of breakdowns are.
But then you see people whose morning ritual is to top up the same tyre before setting off...every day for 6 months..a puncture repair is 20 quid ffs..I'd dread to think what the rest of the car is like.
Today I've seen two Teslas on trailers.
The first was a model X, being towed by a dual cab pickup on the M40. The model X is about 2½ tonnes, plus the trailer, that must be approaching the maximum towing capacity of the pickup. More importantly, the trailer and load is significantly heavier than the towing vehicle, so a potential 'tail wags dog' situation. The driver was planted in the middle lane, looking not much further ahead than his bonnet, and reacting abruptly every time another vehicle changed lanes ahead of him. Each time something happened, he would brake momentarily, as well as jerk the steering right or left, just a little, so no lane change, but enough to make the trailer sway violently.
I was training, and it took far too long to get my driver to give it some beans, and get past it, rather than sitting close behind ready to become part of his mess.
Then later, coming towards me on a narrow country road, a 3.5t recovery truck, with a Model S on a trailer. Nothing on the truck bed.
A 3.5t gross vehicle weight recovery truck has a payload around 1.5t, so not capable of carrying any Tesla. But putting one on a trailer, is again setting it up for a 'tail wags dog' situation. This one was driving slowly, with the driver looking a bit concerned, so perhaps he'd already had a 'moment'.
The first was a model X, being towed by a dual cab pickup on the M40. The model X is about 2½ tonnes, plus the trailer, that must be approaching the maximum towing capacity of the pickup. More importantly, the trailer and load is significantly heavier than the towing vehicle, so a potential 'tail wags dog' situation. The driver was planted in the middle lane, looking not much further ahead than his bonnet, and reacting abruptly every time another vehicle changed lanes ahead of him. Each time something happened, he would brake momentarily, as well as jerk the steering right or left, just a little, so no lane change, but enough to make the trailer sway violently.
I was training, and it took far too long to get my driver to give it some beans, and get past it, rather than sitting close behind ready to become part of his mess.
Then later, coming towards me on a narrow country road, a 3.5t recovery truck, with a Model S on a trailer. Nothing on the truck bed.
A 3.5t gross vehicle weight recovery truck has a payload around 1.5t, so not capable of carrying any Tesla. But putting one on a trailer, is again setting it up for a 'tail wags dog' situation. This one was driving slowly, with the driver looking a bit concerned, so perhaps he'd already had a 'moment'.
You'd probably probably toss your cookies, PB, if you saw what happens on this side of the pond. There are many 1T four door diesel pickups hauling four car fifth wheel trailers, legally, all over the interstate highway system.
Myself, I've hauled my 1948 DeSoto on a twin axle car hauler trailer, 400 miles, with my Chevy Silverado 1/2T pickup. I know the car is in the neighborhood 3300 lbs, pickup is about 5000, trailer weighs about 2500 but has a rated capacity of 10,000. Pickup towing capacity is 10,000.
That said, trailers over a certain weight are required to have separate braking systems. The above has electric brakes. If I was doing this for a living, I'd be required to have DOT(Dept. of Transportation)numbers with annual inspections and annual health physicals, in addition to state registrations. It runs into a lot of coin.
Probably apples to oranges because every third pickup on the road over here is a $100,000 one ton four door beast and wide highways are the norm.
Myself, I've hauled my 1948 DeSoto on a twin axle car hauler trailer, 400 miles, with my Chevy Silverado 1/2T pickup. I know the car is in the neighborhood 3300 lbs, pickup is about 5000, trailer weighs about 2500 but has a rated capacity of 10,000. Pickup towing capacity is 10,000.
That said, trailers over a certain weight are required to have separate braking systems. The above has electric brakes. If I was doing this for a living, I'd be required to have DOT(Dept. of Transportation)numbers with annual inspections and annual health physicals, in addition to state registrations. It runs into a lot of coin.
Probably apples to oranges because every third pickup on the road over here is a $100,000 one ton four door beast and wide highways are the norm.
Our work EV is a 2.5tonne 'jag slab'
The dual cab 3.2 litre pick.up isnt heavy enough.. so we have to borrow a RangeRover
The dual cab 3.2 litre pick.up isnt heavy enough.. so we have to borrow a RangeRover
My Chevy has a 4.8L V8, the smallest one GM offers. Still rated at 300hp. My Dad and Son in law have Dodge Rams 4 doors. Dads is a 1500 1/2T with a 5.3L and the SILs is a 2500 3/4T with a 6.4L. 350hp and 450hp, respectively. The hood(bonnet)on the 2500 comes up to my shoulder. My oldest has a Ford F150 4 door with the 3.5L twin turbo Ecoboost V6. Her kids call it Moms' Rocket.
The first 4 door pickup I ever rode in was a Toyota Hilux in Australia. Bastards made me sit in the rear seat.
The first 4 door pickup I ever rode in was a Toyota Hilux in Australia. Bastards made me sit in the rear seat.
As mentioned in winter tyres thread, needed to sort the tyre pressures out as I'd adjusted them for a motorway trip in warm temps and it's now forecast not to get above 7 degrees for a week.
I'm a weekly check guy, so also topping the screenwash up with neat -20 to bring the strength up so it won't freeze and levels check etc while I'm on.
Figured I'd quietly do it while little un was watching telly.
No chance, as soon as he saw the screenwash bottle..." My car!! Where's my shoes?" He was in his pj's at the time so I now have to dress him.
So he's dressed..but my wife has left the car on the road. He keeps wandering round off the path to see what I'm up to so I figure right put him in the cabin he can press buttons to his hearts content. No he just starts kicking the dashboard..so move the seat back. He then jumps in the drivers seat and starts beeping the horn. The car is parked under the window where my wife is sleeping off night shift..
Eventually all sorted...in an hour...and about 10x as stressful as it needed to be. Bless him he just wanted to see what was going on but with her leaving it on the road which national limit about 40 feet away I absolutely don't want him out there.
I'm a weekly check guy, so also topping the screenwash up with neat -20 to bring the strength up so it won't freeze and levels check etc while I'm on.
Figured I'd quietly do it while little un was watching telly.
No chance, as soon as he saw the screenwash bottle..." My car!! Where's my shoes?" He was in his pj's at the time so I now have to dress him.
So he's dressed..but my wife has left the car on the road. He keeps wandering round off the path to see what I'm up to so I figure right put him in the cabin he can press buttons to his hearts content. No he just starts kicking the dashboard..so move the seat back. He then jumps in the drivers seat and starts beeping the horn. The car is parked under the window where my wife is sleeping off night shift..
Eventually all sorted...in an hour...and about 10x as stressful as it needed to be. Bless him he just wanted to see what was going on but with her leaving it on the road which national limit about 40 feet away I absolutely don't want him out there.
You know I’m taking notes on all of these posts.As mentioned in winter tyres thread, needed to sort the tyre pressures out as I'd adjusted them for a motorway trip in warm temps and it's now forecast not to get above 7 degrees for a week.
I'm a weekly check guy, so also topping the screenwash up with neat -20 to bring the strength up so it won't freeze and levels check etc while I'm on.
Figured I'd quietly do it while little un was watching telly.
No chance, as soon as he saw the screenwash bottle..." My car!! Where's my shoes?" He was in his pj's at the time so I now have to dress him.
So he's dressed..but my wife has left the car on the road. He keeps wandering round off the path to see what I'm up to so I figure right put him in the cabin he can press buttons to his hearts content. No he just starts kicking the dashboard..so move the seat back. He then jumps in the drivers seat and starts beeping the horn. The car is parked under the window where my wife is sleeping off night shift..
Eventually all sorted...in an hour...and about 10x as stressful as it needed to be. Bless him he just wanted to see what was going on but with her leaving it on the road which national limit about 40 feet away I absolutely don't want him out there.
One day I'll write a parenting book...
It'll be marketed as satire to avoid legal issues..
That's what small children do, yet so many parents seem to think they'll stand still if told. So often, in supermarket car parks, they'll tell the toddler to stand still, while they transfer the shopping from trolley to car. Of course, the child moves, and then the parent shouts at the child.
As a non-parent, surely, best procedure is to nail the child into the car (Other fixing methods may be available), then load the shopping, knowing the child is safe and secure. Is it really the fear of someone walking off with the trolley, that makes that a priority? Is the child not more valuable? (Although, with some badly behaved children, perhaps not.)
A well behaved toddler is like a well behaved dog...once you're out of line of sight all bets are off.
But a dog will probably return when called.
My string of first class upgrades ended today. Still, 13 upgrades over 14 flights so far this year is still pretty good. Flying to Denver on Monday, so maybe I can start over.
On another front Mrs. C and I are thanking our grandsons for the marvelous snot factories that we have become since their last visit. Throw in that I was in North Carolina the last couple of days during 'Pollen Season', I am one miserable SOB.
On another front Mrs. C and I are thanking our grandsons for the marvelous snot factories that we have become since their last visit. Throw in that I was in North Carolina the last couple of days during 'Pollen Season', I am one miserable SOB.
2 weeks into parenthood and the worst possible thing happened….
The coffee machine broke !!
The motor for the bean grinder decided to disintegrate, leaving it making a horrible noise.
Normally I’d just leave it but having bought a huge back of coffee beans I was going to have to get the grinder working again.
As you can see from the picture there is zero hope of gluing anything back together the plastic had become brittle and shattered so I was going to have to come up with something else.
I’m fairly handy with CAD so I whipped up a 3D model of the broken part with a flange on the base with the idea of screwing the new part to the top of the motor. A quick print on 3D printer and I had a first trial piece to see how it will go together.
The part was very close but still needed some fettling, some tweaks to the dimensions and some improvements in the design, and I had a finished part.
Put it all back together and it works brilliantly. Another win for the 3D printer and for my sanity with the need for caffeine
Also very much liking the way that you can attach pictures to the posts, makes for a much better way to add pictures to posts.
The coffee machine broke !!
The motor for the bean grinder decided to disintegrate, leaving it making a horrible noise.
Normally I’d just leave it but having bought a huge back of coffee beans I was going to have to get the grinder working again.
As you can see from the picture there is zero hope of gluing anything back together the plastic had become brittle and shattered so I was going to have to come up with something else.
I’m fairly handy with CAD so I whipped up a 3D model of the broken part with a flange on the base with the idea of screwing the new part to the top of the motor. A quick print on 3D printer and I had a first trial piece to see how it will go together.
The part was very close but still needed some fettling, some tweaks to the dimensions and some improvements in the design, and I had a finished part.
Put it all back together and it works brilliantly. Another win for the 3D printer and for my sanity with the need for caffeine
Also very much liking the way that you can attach pictures to the posts, makes for a much better way to add pictures to posts.
