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Gripe of the Day thread.

238K views 2K replies 105 participants last post by  SearsPoncho 
#1 ·
The thread for having a whinge, just to relieve the feelings. :)

What's today's gripe?
 
#3 ·
We need a printer just a few times per year, and by then the ink has always dried up (or so it says). So we ditched the printer and do our printing off-line at a shop in walking distance. Unfortunately, we came across a couple of important sites recently that required printing on-line, without the option to export the filled in forms as pdf. :mad:
 
#4 ·
Get a laser printer, they don't have the ink problem, some are now not much dearer than an ink jet; also if you take cost per page into consideration a laser is much cheaper to run. Befgore retirement I spent some time repairing printers, we had way more Epson ink jets in for repair than all makes of laser.
 
#6 ·
Today I received yet another charity collection bag, the 4th in this last week. I probably average 8 a month. They’re mostly for clothes but some are for bric-a-brac, CDs, books etc. One of them, a children’s charity, puts a bag through once a month! This is ridiculous, how can one average household collect enough stuff to fill more than a couple of bags a year?
I’m completely fed up with having a pile of large plastic bags I can’t dispose of, though I’m sure a lot of people will just chuck them in the bin adding to the plastic waste that’s taking over the world.
I don’t know what the answer is.
 
#8 · (Edited)
We've had our house up for sale for 4 months and visitors, never abundant, have now more or less dried up as we approach the dead season - house sales down the lowest for five years nationwide, it seems.

So on the day that we have one of these rare visits scheduled, my cold has worsened, not got better as I hoped, and we'll have to cancel.

I don't think it's likely I'll be going to the Scottish dance tomorrow night either.

When you're well, you never can remember how it feels to be ill - and vice versa. :(

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And there was somebody else wanting to come round in the afternoon, while I'm still cowped out on my bed of snockliness.

Reminds me of that saying about the buses...
 
#12 ·
Packaging of pills; no matter which end you open it's always the one with the read this page(s) impeding access to the pills, when you've been taking the same prescription for years you don't need to read that lot every time. I have various pills that come in foil packs in boxes, for some reason two types of pill the same size come in vastly different packages, one being about twice the size of the other, why should this be? The pills themselves are different colours so little chance of getting mixed up.

While on the subject of packaging not only pills but just about everything else; foil packs, blister packs all go to make more waste to be disposed of; a box containing 28 pills that could quite easily contain a hundred or more, or a blister pack containing a dozen screws, or 2 hinges; there is a local ironmongers that still sells nuts, bolts, screws, nails etc loose, you ask them by weight ounces or pounds.

Not only is there more waste, but transport cost must figure too, the packaging takes up space so needing more and/or larger vehicles to transport it, hence more fuel needed; the only people to really benefit are the plastic and card industry that make all the packaging, and the parasites that "design" said packaging, who also rake it in by rebranding and similar unnecessary exercises.

There is also a certain amount of frustration at times getting the product out of its packaging
 
#13 ·
Packaging of pills; no matter which end you open it's always the one with the read this page(s) impeding access to the pills, when you've been taking the same prescription for years you don't need to read that lot every time.
I thought that until I got a rodent ulcer. The doctor told me it was a known side effect of the pills I'd been taking for over 5 years. I had the old leaflet and skin cancer / light sensitivity was about number 20 on the list of common side effects. When I checked the latest leaflet it had gone up to number 3 i.e. a really common side effect.

My favourite side effect that I've seen is "Risk of sudden death" :eek:
 
#15 ·
One of those days, had to go to the supermarket, ru8nning out of a few essentials, half mile tailback on the ring road, every traffic light went red as I approached; Tesco did not have any 6 pint milk, except a couple with sell by monday, so had to get a 4 pint, out of stock of some other things I need, went to the DIY store for a couple of other things, nil stock, so brave the traffic, avoid the ring road, traffic still heavy and red lights still saw me coming. Shoulda spent the day in bed!

One thing the DIY store had that was way cheaper than Amazon, 2Kw convector heater, DIY £12, Amazon identical models but with a number of different brand names prices from £17.49 up to £28, probably all made in the same factory in China.
 
G
#17 · (Edited)
If I haven't got proper oil or polish have used Olive Oil for squeaky door hinges and it works. I just smear a little round the hinges.

Or for your sliding doors, you can apply some tinned beeswax polish, just apply it along the runners with your fingers or cloth. I should give the frame a good wipe clean first though. I do that along the curtain rails as well when the curtains don't open or shut properly , sometimes the curtain rail needs a bit of attention. You needn't use beeswax polish if you haven't any, some Mr. Sheen should do as well . Remembering that spray cans are not good for asthmatics, can bring on an attack.


I also use beeswax polish on wooden drawers when they get a bit stuck.

:)
 
#22 ·
Automobile Gripes:

Oh why oh why do we have to have all these fancy features in cars that actually make them harder to drive. My wife has a 2008 Mazda 5 and the HVAC is very difficult to operate, as is the radio. It drives me nuts the wipers are on the right with the lever moving up and down. The lights are on the left and turn. In my S10 the wipers are on the left and turn and there is not stalk on the right. So I will be driving the Mazda and want to adjust the wipers but instead will turn off the lights. Worse is that all my driving years (about 40 years) if the dash module is lit up the lights are on. Not so in the Mazda. Many times I have driven off with no lights at night. This could be catastrophic.

As fir HVAC, for years (90s and into the 2000s) I had three dials: fan, temp, and setting. Nice and easy. Can adjust without looking. Nowadays, it is electronic and anybody's guess as to how to make basic adjustments.

Radios in cars! Ahhhhhhhggggggh! I want my old 1970s two knobs and 5 pushbutton radio back. It was so easy. Now adjusting the radio is distracting.

What else. They can keep power windows and power locks for any two door. On a four door I'll grant that power locks are helpful so long as there is a manual override, but power windows and you park, yank the key, and then can't roll the window up.

Automatic transmissions! Ahhhhhhgggggh! Can't stand them! They never shift the way I want to except the rare case of an old school vacuum modulated 3 speed automatic. But these newfangled 5+ speed automatics are a nuissance. If I mash the pedal too much it kicks down to first and screams like a banshee when I only wanted to speed up in the same or perhaps one lower gear. Or if you mash the pedal, there is a hesitation before it takes off. Paddle shift option! Oh please! I tried it a few times and it makes no sense and is no more responsive than just leaving it in drive. What is the point in manually shifting an automatic anyway. Stuns me that the companies quit putting manual transmissions in half-ton pick-ups years ago.

Frankly, I think the EPA is ruining life for us. The fancy dancy automatic transmissions are all about meeting fleet fuel economy targets to avoid fines. Even with a manual, they generally make it hang rpms when you disengage the clutch as a rpm dump apparently spews emissions that they don't want. Oh, it goes on and on EPA is in your dishwasher and probably washer and dryer too. I bought a new dishwasher and it won't properly dry dishes because I was told EPA limits the drying cycle to save energy. If I only knew, I would have had my old one refurbished.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Automobile Gripes:

Oh why oh why do we have to have all these fancy features in cars that actually make them harder to drive. My wife has a 2008 Mazda 5 and the HVAC is very difficult to operate, as is the radio. It drives me nuts the wipers are on the right with the lever moving up and down. The lights are on the left and turn. In my S10 the wipers are on the left and turn and there is not stalk on the right. So I will be driving the Mazda and want to adjust the wipers but instead will turn off the lights. Worse is that all my driving years (about 40 years) if the dash module is lit up the lights are on. Not so in the Mazda. Many times I have driven off with no lights at night. This could be catastrophic.

As fir HVAC, for years (90s and into the 2000s) I had three dials: fan, temp, and setting. Nice and easy. Can adjust without looking. Nowadays, it is electronic and anybody's guess as to how to make basic adjustments.

Radios in cars! Ahhhhhhhggggggh! I want my old 1970s two knobs and 5 pushbutton radio back. It was so easy. Now adjusting the radio is distracting.

What else. They can keep power windows and power locks for any two door. On a four door I'll grant that power locks are helpful so long as there is a manual override, but power windows and you park, yank the key, and then can't roll the window up.

Automatic transmissions! Ahhhhhhgggggh! Can't stand them! They never shift the way I want to except the rare case of an old school vacuum modulated 3 speed automatic. But these newfangled 5+ speed automatics are a nuissance. If I mash the pedal too much it kicks down to first and screams like a banshee when I only wanted to speed up in the same or perhaps one lower gear. Or if you mash the pedal, there is a hesitation before it takes off. Paddle shift option! Oh please! I tried it a few times and it makes no sense and is no more responsive than just leaving it in drive. What is the point in manually shifting an automatic anyway. Stuns me that the companies quit putting manual transmissions in half-ton pick-ups years ago.

Frankly, I think the EPA is ruining life for us. The fancy dancy automatic transmissions are all about meeting fleet fuel economy targets to avoid fines. Even with a manual, they generally make it hang rpms when you disengage the clutch as a rpm dump apparently spews emissions that they don't want. Oh, it goes on and on EPA is in your dishwasher and probably washer and dryer too. I bought a new dishwasher and it won't properly dry dishes because I was told EPA limits the drying cycle to save energy. If I only knew, I would have had my old one refurbished.
I definitely sympathise. Luckily here in the UK a stick shift is common and most people expect "four on the floor" (actually usually 5 these days).

We've just got a new car :eek: Almost everything is done on a touch screen - there are a couple of buttons to demist the front and rear screens after that it's all menus - yuk. OK there are some buttons on the steering wheel but that's just as bad and only for the audio.

When I started driving, you could (almost) get in beside the engine to work on it, Now - it's just a computer on wheels. Our first car had a regular problem with its distributor - the rotor arm kept failing. We found somebody had "fixed" one of the connectors with a paper clip which gave intermittent sparking. Nowadays I wouldn't even know where to look for the spark plug controls and as for the plugs themselves they're buried way inside and you can see them. All good fun for garages.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Only a mini-gripe and it’s probably just me but the updated time of GMT+2 is really annoying and surely wrong? When our clocks ‘went back’ one hour, how can the site time be +2? When I vote in the games and the previous post says ‘yesterday’ it’s sometimes actually ‘today’ where I am and I have to work out whether or not I can vote! :confused:
 
#33 ·
Only a mini-gripe and it's probably just me but the updated time of GMT+2 is really annoying and surely wrong? When our clocks 'went back' one hour, how can the site time be +2? When I vote in the games and the previous post says 'yesterday' it's sometimes actually 'today' where I am and I have to work out whether or not I can vote! :confused:
Ah yes. Here we are in the 21st Century and we are still doing this silly game of jumping the clocks back and fourth. It annoys me to no end having to reset all the clocks which gets done infrequently enough that I usually have to look up the instructions as each car seems to have a different procedure for that. I did not mind the extra hour of sleep this am though. :)
 
#29 ·
Those stupid little screens carried by postmen, couriers etc, can anybody actually make recognisable signatures thereon?

My suggestion would be to use the same or similar technology to contactless cards, bus passes etc, swipe by a reader instead of fiddling with a stylus on the screens that seem far too sensitive.
 
#37 ·
I only change the clocks I can reach without a ladder. The rest I change when the batteries die. I live on my own so it doesn't really matter.
Don't have any clocks high up, 2 mantel clocks one set GMT the other BST so there's always one right; anyway I spend nearly all day at the computer and have day/date/time on the task bar. I wear a watch and have radio alarm in the bedroom, so only two things to change. I also live alone, or as alone as one can be in a block of 65 retirement flats.
 
#35 · (Edited)
I have to admit, I like the clocks changing. I remember the experiment when the clocks didn't go back, and I absolutely hated the dark mornings. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-20082176/remembering-when-the-clocks-didn-t-go-back
They made me feel ill and depressed.

I like having the extra hour in the autumn, and I like it staying lighter later in the summer.

The gripe I have is when Londoners and the Southern English talk about abolishing the changes as if it was only common sense, forgetting or disregarding how horrible it was for the Scots and Northern English.
 
#36 ·
Any criticism on TC of some modern classical no matter how mild results in an infringement and being called a Troll, just how precious can you get? :)
 
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#38 ·
Seems like it's my gripes day.
Can't stand the woman next door though, motor mouth, can't stop talking about Lewis Hamilton and travels the world to F1 races, also raves about soccer - a Liverpool supporter - plus she's continually moving, either swinging legs or arms about even when sitting; mind you she is 20 years younger.

I can remember when racing, football, cricket, darts, snooker etc were games, not media events with everything dumbed down to try and hold the limited attention span of couch potatoes.
 
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