Pendraken Miniatures Forum

Non-Wargaming Discussion => Chat & News => Topic started by: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 08:04:31 PM

Title: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 08:04:31 PM
There have been some truly spectacular rants of late and so I felt it was time we ha had a soapbox where any Tom, Dick or Nobby could come along and vent spleen.

Maybe, in time,  this will become a sticky topic,  who can say.  In the meantime gentleman and Lady of the forum: let's gripe,  b!t£h and moan >:(

Anything goes as long as it follows the normal forum rules ;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 08:05:59 PM
PS, Michael Gove is an @r$e  >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Maenoferren on 04 March 2015, 09:02:52 PM
I have the Shetland flu bug....I feel cr*p...slept all day today and feel dizzy every time I stand up.....moan, moan, moan
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Upgraydd on 04 March 2015, 09:06:36 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 08:04:31 PM
Anything goes as long as it follows the normal forum rules ;)

There are rules?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 09:09:32 PM
Quote from: Maenoferren on 04 March 2015, 09:02:52 PM
I have the Shetland flu bug....I feel cr*p...slept all day today and feel dizzy every time I stand up.....moan, moan, moan

Good moan!  A problem shared is a problem doubled,  or some such rubbish  :(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 04 March 2015, 09:18:45 PM
Where to start?

Drivers who don't indicate; the BBC disrupting the schedule for sports events that I really; really don't care about; winter pansies; cranberries;  people who don't vote; cyclists who can't decide if they're road or pavement traffic; skiers; the Hobbit being made into a trilogy; cold calls; they cancelled Firefly; people who leave dice, glasses and their dignity on a wargames table; Disney (Darth Vader in Disneyland!) politicians who can't answer a question; winter pansies; cranberries; e-smokers;  every gun in the German army (1939-45) being an 88mm; people who claim to be "cold" at 20c; the press; people who don't like Centurions; those who don't have a view of the Oxford comma; winter pansies; other people's children; BMW drivers; golfers; where are all the black women?; colony collapse disorder; religion (all of them); iTunes; cheap batteries; people who think I should like football because I have testicles; not being able to remember; the AWI; Bourbon American fall over liquid; waking to work in the rain; films that care more about the CGI than the plot (yes Marvel, I'm looking at you); junk mail; jackets worn with jeans; defaced library books; and winter pansies.  
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 09:24:05 PM
You make many valid points apart from your stance on winter pansies.  :o

Quality rant; any more in there?

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 04 March 2015, 09:24:13 PM
... ooh and people showing you their holiday/ wedding/ birthday photographs; people who think they're a photographer because they own a mobile phone; winter pansies; the Welsh language; Pepsi; utility companies; chocolates with pepper on them; telephone handset cables that get twisted; people who can't take proper messages; long life bulbs; wearing a tie and winter pansies.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 04 March 2015, 09:25:12 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 09:24:05 PM
You make many valid points apart from your stance on winter pansies.  :o

Winter pansies are an abomination against nature!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 09:27:21 PM
Quote from: fsn on 04 March 2015, 09:24:13 PM
... ooh and people showing you their holiday/ wedding/ birthday photographs; people who think they're a photographer because they own a mobile phone; winter pansies; the Welsh language; Pepsi; utility companies; chocolates with pepper on them; telephone handset cables that get twisted; people who can't take proper messages; long life bulbs; wearing a tie and winter pansies.

It's like throwing up isn't it; just keeps coming and you feel so much better when it's out  :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Upgraydd on 04 March 2015, 09:27:30 PM
Quote from: fsn on 04 March 2015, 09:25:12 PM
Winter pansies are an abomination against nature!

Are we talking about flowers or people that complain about cold weather all the time?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Subedai on 04 March 2015, 09:29:05 PM
#fsn. But apart from that...
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 09:32:29 PM
Quote from: Upgraydd on 04 March 2015, 09:27:30 PM
Are we talking about flowers or people that complain about cold weather all the time?

Oh yeah, that reminds me: Ozzie cricketers!  In fact anything to do with Ozzie cricket,  or Ozzie sports in general!  How can "smug" be a national pastime?  >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 04 March 2015, 09:33:00 PM
The flowers, Man! The flowers! A flower is designed to be bright an colourful to attract insects so they can take the pollen to other plants of the same type and so fertilise them so the plant species can reproduce. The thing about winter is that most insects are in bed, not popping out to the nearest flower for a pollen refill. When was the last time you got stung by a bee when it was below 0? Exactly! No, Sirrah! No. Winter pansies are man thumbing his nose at Mother Earth. They are a gaudy indication of our disdain for the way things should be, and Gaia will have her revenge!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Upgraydd on 04 March 2015, 09:37:48 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 09:32:29 PM
Oh yeah, that reminds me: Ozzie cricketers!  In fact anything to do with Ozzie cricket,  or Ozzie sports in general!  How can "smug" be a national pastime?  >:(

It's hard work but we manage...I'd like to thank the English for inventing all these sports that we can dominate them with. It won't be long until we add Football to the list.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 04 March 2015, 09:45:22 PM
People who rant...  :-*
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Matt J on 04 March 2015, 09:51:32 PM
I wear a jacket with jeans.... (agree on the winter pansies though)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 09:52:22 PM
Quote from: Upgraydd on 04 March 2015, 09:37:48 PM
It's hard work but we manage...I'd like to thank the English for inventing all these sports that we can dominate them with. It won't be long until we add Football to the list.

You can have it!   :P
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Subedai on 04 March 2015, 09:52:56 PM
Politics and by association, politicians who bleat on about the state of the country and then fiddle their expenses...in fact, most of them are self-aggrandising wastes of oxygen; footballers who deserve an Oscar for their acting ability; footballers who blatantly cheat to gain an advantage; FIFA because those at the top think more of themselves than the position they are entrusted with -mind you, that could apply to a lot of top people; the words 'Clinically Proven' in or on adverts -arsenic can be clinically proven to make your greens brighter on the wallpaper but look what it did to Napoleon. Adverts in general -stop bending the truth just to sell the product! Ignorance and bad manners; OAP's who think it is their god given right to shove you out of the way to get on the bus; queue jumpers; cyclists on the pavement...it is an offence for them to be there so FECK OFF! Drivers who have forgotten what indicators are for. Young girls and women Effing anf Jeffing in the street (I'm old school). C&W, the Smiths and doof-doof music (the type with the incessant beat and repetitive electronic noise); the worst song ever written is 'Walking in Memphis' closely followed by 'Tie A Yellow Ribbon' and 'Agadoo', shudder; the Bubble-Wrapped Slug building in the centre of Brum (the Selfridges building); people -especially wargamers with no sense of personal hygiene and rucksacks the size of a small family car surgically attached to their backs.


That'll do to be going on with.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Subedai on 04 March 2015, 09:55:05 PM
Quote from: Upgraydd on 04 March 2015, 09:37:48 PM
It's hard work but we manage...I'd like to thank the English for inventing all these sports that we can dominate them with. It won't be long until we add Football to the list.

We don't want to take all the glory. We invent games to give others pleasure, we can't be good at everything. :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 09:58:51 PM
This thread is at two pages already,  I would like to think I have performed a public service here  :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Upgraydd on 04 March 2015, 10:08:44 PM
Hipsters. That is all.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 10:11:04 PM
Quote from: Upgraydd on 04 March 2015, 10:08:44 PM
Hipsters. That is all.

Whining ex-pats? :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Fenton on 04 March 2015, 10:13:18 PM
Quote from: Upgraydd on 04 March 2015, 09:37:48 PM
It's hard work but we manage...I'd like to thank the English for inventing all these sports that we can dominate them with. It won't be long until we add Football to the list.

Oz will have to learn how to run a domestic competition first.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Subedai on 04 March 2015, 10:20:17 PM
As an anti-rant, I like Aussie rules football. (He whispered from behind the fence.)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: mollinary on 04 March 2015, 10:23:13 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 09:58:51 PM
This thread is at two pages already,  I would like to think I have performed a public service here  :)

But you would be wrong.  >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 04 March 2015, 10:34:04 PM
Quote from: mollinary on 04 March 2015, 10:23:13 PM
But you would be wrong.  >:(

Need a rant  :D :D :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Westmarcher on 04 March 2015, 10:47:56 PM
Chorizo

Its pronounced cho-ree-tho* (in Spain) or cho-ree-so (in South America)
Its not choreet-zo.
Its Spanish. Not Italian.
See how it is spelled? There is only one Z.  Not two Zs like pizza (which is Italian).
Pay attention and stop making it up!
Cho-ree-tho.
Simples.

(I quite like chorizo. Sometimes. Usually. In pizza.)

* as in thick
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 05 March 2015, 12:10:00 AM
People who rant...
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leon on 05 March 2015, 01:04:04 AM
Domestic trip switches that decide to trip whenever a single light bulb blows, making it decidedly difficult to find said trip switch in the dark and restore light.  How someone decided that this is Health & Safety is beyond me.

Stupid people.  The ones for whom 'Do not use hairdryer in shower' or 'Remove trousers before using trouser press' are necessary warning signs.  We need to allow Darwinism full rein and let the stupid people do what stupid people do.  If there's a massive hole in the pavement, surrounded by fences, flashy lights and warning signs, and you still manage to fall down it, then you obviously can't be trusted with lace-up shoes or anything sharper than a spoon.

Nonsense reality TV, like Made in Essex, The Only Way is Geordie and Chelsea Shore. 

Talentless 'celebrities', the likes of which populate the above TV shows and fill the cover of almost every newspaper and magazine in the world.  We should ban the word Kardashian from the printed press.

Christmas songs.  All of them.  There is not one single half-decent one out there.

>:(

That'll do for now...

:D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 05 March 2015, 07:49:33 AM
I like this comma, and I also like this comma. Winter pansies are pretty and Aussies are sad because they have got like the East Germans over sport, and sport is essentially rather boring. Still, one day they might find something important to be good at.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 05 March 2015, 08:16:06 AM
I have not begun to rant!

I have just been laying out my list of potential rants. Warming up, so to speak.

I've just added people who think pronouncing foreign words the way they are said in their home tongue. For goodness sake, the French can't even say "Paris" right!

... and Amercanisms. It's a "pavement" not a "sidewalk", a "lift" not an "elevator", and SONAR is ASDIC! 

... and people who apply 21st Century morality to bygone eras.

... and "your 100 best films" which are always led by last year's blockbuster.

... Rap. It's not music. It's barely poetry. It's just talking fast. An auctioneer is far more impressive. 

... and while we're on the subject, R&B is no longer worthy of the title. It should be renamed Bump 'n' Grind.

... and people who don't say "thank you" if you hold the door open for them.

... and winter pansies.

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 08:18:27 AM
People who walk in front of you at the supermarket while you're looking at something without even acknowledging your existence as part of the human race.

People who can't use commas properly.

People who go on about commas as if they're something magical.

Winter pansies.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 05 March 2015, 08:21:35 AM
... and people who eat with their mouth open

... and perpetual sniffers

... and Pomeranian dogs

... and when someone puts a post-it note on my screen

... and badly formatted documents  >:( >:( >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 05 March 2015, 09:17:06 AM
People who live in :

Sarf Eoast
Wuncorn
Aus
US
and
WALES.

The French cause dey is more arrogant dan what I is.
UKIP - on general principles.

etc etc....

IanS

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 09:19:47 AM
Tool packages which actually require you to have tools in the first place to get the buggers open >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Fenton on 05 March 2015, 09:24:04 AM
Politicians from any party who have been to public school and then Oxbridge  an then get a job as an aide to another politician and then when trying to get get elected pretend they have had a normal upbringing and know what its like ' out there' in the modern workplace
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: DanJ on 05 March 2015, 09:41:48 AM
QuoteChristmas songs.  All of them.  There is not one single half-decent one out there.

I like 'A Fairy tale of New York' but apart from that I agree and would add any music rubbish enough to make the Brit Awards

Caravans.

People who say "Oh I wish I could do that but I just couldn't" when all they need to do is get off their fat @rs£s and make a bit of effort.

Caravans.

People who boast about being ignorant then ask you to fix their computer.

Caravaners who sit in their caravans and watch Eastenders/Corrie/Emmerdale/ on their caravan TVs - what is the bloody point in cluttering up the roads with thier caravans to just sit in a microcosm of their own front rooms watching the same cr@p on telly as they would at home?

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 09:45:28 AM
Quote from: DanJ on 05 March 2015, 09:41:48 AM
I like 'A Fairy tale of New York' but apart from that I agree and would add any music rubbish enough to make the Brit Awards
Agreed ;)

Quote from: DanJ on 05 March 2015, 09:41:48 AM
Caravaners who sit in their caravans and watch Eastenders/Corrie/Emmerdale/ on their caravan TVs - what is the bloody point in cluttering up the roads with thier caravans to just sit in a microcosm of their own front rooms watching the same cr@p on telly as they would at home?


Good point!  They're also in the same category as the "we like it here" brigade who go the same bloody place every year.

What's the point of that?  Big world, go and see some of it!!!  >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Westmarcher on 05 March 2015, 10:23:25 AM
This is good, isn't it?  :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Subedai on 05 March 2015, 10:25:41 AM
There's some really good gripes/moans and rants going on here.

#DanJ. Agree about the whole concept of a caravan and the people who have them.

@gatagrip. Big world, oh yeah and contrary to the belief of some people, it is quite nice in a variety of unusual ways.

DanJ. 'Fairy Tale of New York'?? Nah, the bloke has the singing voice of a stunned badger. Greg Lake for me.

#Ianrs54. Apart from the lack of geographical knowledge of some of the residents which makes me chuckle, I like living in the 'Sarf Eost.'

#fsn. Agreed. Our language isn't so much evolving as being subsumed by the influx of Americanisms.


Soap Operas on general principle. These people get paid a mint for re-enacting 'real life'. The sad thing people believe some of this sh*te. 'Celebrity' game/reality shows; the person who invented BB and I'm a Celebrity should build the wall first before standing in front of it. He can go next to the man who invented the saying that 'why let the truth get in the way of a good story' type of reporting. Guilty by Press, all trials should be behind closed doors and only reported on afterwards. Mothers who refuse to allow the father of their child(ren) to see them purely out of spite and despite court orders to the contrary. (not me, someone I know).

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 10:29:50 AM
Quote from: Westmarcher on 05 March 2015, 10:23:25 AM
This is good, isn't it?  :)

See, catharsis  :D

We are performing a public service (regardless what some people may say :P ;) :) ).
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Orcs on 05 March 2015, 10:39:09 AM
Rant , bloody hell I can rant with the best. Things that P*ss me off well a few of them :-

1  Politicians who fiddle their expenses - sack them and ban them from holding public office ever again. (after they come out of prison)
2  People who apply 21st Century morality to bygone eras.
3  Drivers  who hog the middle or outside lane when the inside lane is empty.
4   Driver who insist on using fog lights when its nots foggy- Its as much an offence as speeding etc.
5  Idealists - You live in a real world get on with it
6  Reality TV shows
7  Benefit Scroungers (I am refering to those that choose to live on benefit because they are too lazy/don't see why they should work)
8   the policy of concurrent sentencing of criminals. If you commit two crimes that carry a 3 year prison term - you should serve 6 Years)
9  The abolition of the Death penalty. Some people need to be removed from society completely.
10 Kiddy fidlers - See 9.
11 Religious extreemists of any religion.
12 Perpetual sniffers - see 9
13 People who plant winter pansies - see 9
14 The Royal Scroungers - see 9
15 People who assume that you are strange because you don't like football
16 So called "Safety cameras" ( They have nothing to do with road safety and are just there to raise money).
17 The Human Rights Act - its been so abused it has becosme a byword for lack of common sense and needs to go
18 People who feel that the "democratric west" have the right to dictate what goes on in other countries. Its there country let them choose how its run and what laws they follow.  If you don't like the laws, don't go there and don't trade with them  
19 People who refuse to accept the laws of the  country they are in. If your caught sh*gging on a beach in Saudi expect to get flogged.  Its thier country and you broke thier laws.


HMMM I feel better now, But like Arnie ! I'll Be back "   ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 05 March 2015, 10:42:58 AM
If I started.....I'd have to report myself to the moderators, and instantly lock the topic.  ;)
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Matt J on 05 March 2015, 10:47:42 AM
cats, they should all be shot.

I live in the middle of the country, I mean my garden is surrounded on all sides by fields yet they still sh*t in my frigging garden.

Plus remove all the cats and see the surge in indigenous wildlife.

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 11:15:25 AM
Quote from: Matt of Munslow on 05 March 2015, 10:47:42 AM
cats, they should all be shot.

I live in the middle of the country, I mean my garden is surrounded on all sides by fields yet they still sh*t in my frigging garden.

Plus remove all the cats and see the surge in indigenous wildlife.



Pratchett:  "If cats looked like frogs, we'd see them for the b@$t@rd$ they realy are!"
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Luddite on 05 March 2015, 11:50:30 AM
Dogs.  Filthy, foul genetic mutants and abominations against nature, entirely created by man.

People who work in shops, and insist on licking their fingers in order to open a plastic bag for you.  And then proceed to pack your food with their gob-covered fingers.  They might as well have spat on your shopping.

People who don't vote.  You are the problem with our democracy.

Religion.  It poison's everything.

Dice.  They hate me.  I hate them right back.

Sex and the City.  RRAAAAAAGGGEEE!!!!!!

People who drive too slowly for the road conditions.  The road is 60mph, its a clear fine day and there's nobody in front of you, then WHY ARE YOU DOING 40MPH?!?!?!?!!?

Ready meal packaging.  It's impossible to get the film off in less that 38 tiny pieces, and its then impossible to dispense the lasagne without basically flopping it onto the plate in a big mushy pile.

People who eat meat.  Its not neccessary and amazingly cruel.

Mordern corporate dictatorial culture.  Every organisation should be run democratically by its staff.  Why do we accept levels of tyranny in our working life that we would never accept in our private life?

Men who commit domestic violence against their spouse or kids.  You're scum.  Don't do it.  Ever.

Adverts (usually for some pointless woman-cream) that says '79% of 36 women agree'.  RRAAAAGGGEEE!!!!

Arthritis.  It's a miserable disease.  May you never suffer it.

Me.  I'm my own worst enemy.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 12:00:00 PM
Some healthy venting there Luddite; I agree with about 90% of it. ;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 05 March 2015, 12:31:42 PM
People who rant...
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 12:33:04 PM
People who post the same thing over and over again :P
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 05 March 2015, 12:36:36 PM
People who rant...
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Luddite on 05 March 2015, 12:37:19 PM
 ;D =D> =D>
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 12:40:47 PM
 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 05 March 2015, 12:47:09 PM
Domestic violence against a male partner is also unacceptable.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 05 March 2015, 01:06:51 PM
There are no gods, there are no demons, there are no ghosts, there are no goblins, there is one life and this is it so beloved let us love one another because this is the only sodding chance we'll get!

If your imaginary friend helps get you through the day that's great but your belief in them is not an excuse to be horrible to those who don't or to insist that others behave in a way you think your imaginary friend approves of!

And seriously, what is wrong with people who judge others based on the amount of melanin in their skin rather than on their words and deeds?

A country is NOT great just because YOU were born in it!!

Corrupt individuals are like weeds, always going to be there but that's no excuse not to get out the weed-wacker on a regular basis!

Politics should be a service not an occupation, the world will not seriously improve until politicians and their families are restricted to the mean income and forced to use only public services.

Corporations are not necessarily spawn of the devil but corporate group-think leads otherwise moral people to do incredibly wicked and/ or stupid things - weed-wacker time again!

Who on earth responds to telephone cold calls? Can we find out, round them up and lock them up for the good of the species? If no-one took up these offers the problem would stop almost overnight!

The message is more important than punctuation, the latter is there to serve the former not the other way round!

Smile and be happy ... it's worth it just to piss off the permanently grumpy :)

There, I think that covers the major stuff. Minor stuff as it occurs to me :D


Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Orcs on 05 March 2015, 01:07:54 PM
Quote from: FierceKitty on 05 March 2015, 12:47:09 PM
Domestic violence against a male partner is also unacceptable.

Yep totally agree, Its more common than most people think.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 05 March 2015, 01:18:28 PM
Page 4 and it is now only 1.15 pm GMT. A lot of pent up feelings coming out in the wargaming fraternity.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 01:24:26 PM
Quote from: Leman on 05 March 2015, 01:18:28 PM
Page 4 and it is now only 1.15 pm GMT. A lot of pent up feelings coming out in the wargaming fraternity.

Seriously, can a moderator make this a sticky?

I also have the feeling it's removing venom from other threads. ;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: cbr3d.com on 05 March 2015, 01:33:36 PM
MP's (Members of Parliament) who don't vote!  Why should they get paid if they are not working.

Trolls on the net - often paid a pittance to spout such garbage and quote one another as 'evidence' of their point of view.  (Great fun though tying them up in knots when they contradict themselves.  ;) )

Reporters who make up stories or just try to make news instead of reporting it in an unbias a way as possible.

Supermarket checkout staff who 'say' "You don't want bags do you" - Strangely enough it is obvious I do having just spent over a hundred pounds on 30 items of different size, shape, and texture.

People who say 'I hear what you say' - but never actually finish of the saying by adding 'but I am going to totally ignore it!'  (Why do politicians again come to mind?   >:(   )

BBC License fee - should be called what it is - a TAX.

So-called celebrities.  OK I know I don't know modern pop singers, actrors/actresses, sports stars, etc. - I guess they could be classed as celebrities even without me knowing them, but their brothers, sisters, cousins, the gardner of the ex-girlfriend of the 8th cousin removed of them are not celebrities!

Car adverts - what is the point of them?  Boring, tedious, and absolutely says nothing about the cars at all.

Just a few off-hand ones there.  (And oh yes, I joined the grumpy old men brigade some time ago - ask my wife and daughters!   ;)  )
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 01:38:01 PM
Quote from: Fig.ht on 05 March 2015, 01:33:36 PM
Supermarket checkout staff who 'say' "You don't want bags do you" - Strangely enough it is obvious I do having just spent over a hundred pounds on 30 items of different size, shape, and texture.

In fact, anyone who starts a sentence with "you don't...".

How the bloody hell do you know what: "I don't!"  >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 05 March 2015, 01:46:21 PM
Quote from: Ithoriel on 05 March 2015, 01:06:51 PM
There are no gods, there are no demons, there are no ghosts, there are no goblins, there is one life and this is it so beloved let us love one another because this is the only sodding chance we'll get!
If your imaginary friend helps get you through the day that's great but your belief in them is not an excuse to be horrible to those who don't or to insist that others behave in a way you think your imaginary friend approves of!
And seriously, what is wrong with people who judge others based on the amount of melanin in their skin rather than on their words and deeds?
A country is NOT great just because YOU were born in it!!
Corrupt individuals are like weeds, always going to be there but that's no excuse not to get out the weed-wacker on a regular basis!
Politics should be a service not an occupation, the world will not seriously improve until politicians and their families are restricted to the mean income and forced to use only public services.
Corporations are not necessarily spawn of the devil but corporate group-think leads otherwise moral people to do incredibly wicked and/ or stupid things - weed-wacker time again!
Who on earth responds to telephone cold calls? Can we find out, round them up and lock them up for the good of the species? If no-one took up these offers the problem would stop almost overnight!
The message is more important than punctuation, the latter is there to serve the former not the other way round!
Smile and be happy ... it's worth it just to piss off the permanently grumpy :)
There, I think that covers the major stuff. Minor stuff as it occurs to me :D

Only wrong on one particular point, Ithoriel.

There ARE goblins !
Trust me.....I've made/converted enough of the wee chaps.  X_X ;)
Cheers - Phil  :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 05 March 2015, 01:51:18 PM
You don't believe in goblins.........erm.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 05 March 2015, 02:34:56 PM
I know someone who does, though.  X_X
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: DanJ on 05 March 2015, 03:11:23 PM
I don't know about goblins but hobgoblins deffinately exist and keep giving me really bad headaches.

Web forums which don't have spell checkers.

QuoteDanJ. 'Fairy Tale of New York'?? Nah, the bloke has the singing voice of a stunned badger. Greg Lake for me.

People who disadgree with Me, I hates 'em my precious

Caravans

Wargamers who think a dozen 28mm figures with a couple of flags is a reasonable representation of a battalion.

Rules that thing 8" is a reasonable range for a pistol shot in a 28mm skirmish game (the bl00dy roads are wider and buildings taller than that)

People who think it's cute when their ratterdale or other small dog keeps trying to bite my hound, if I let the Mut act like that there would be a storm of complaint.

Caravaners who have small dogs
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Subedai on 05 March 2015, 03:11:36 PM
The phrase 'Do you see what I am saying'??? What the heck is that nonsense? 'Can you hear what I am saying' is logical but how the hell are you supposed to 'see' peoples words?

People who use 'like' in nearly every sentence -another Americanism that unfortunately managed to leap the Atlantic.

People who make every sentence into a question because their voice goes up at the end.

Constant use of internet acronyms. try writing in whole words for a change!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 03:19:28 PM
"I hear you..." >:( >:( >:( >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: DanJ on 05 March 2015, 04:09:19 PM
People who start a sentence "I don't want to be funny but...."

And then are not at all funny, but are very rude.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 04:37:46 PM
Quote from: DanJ on 05 March 2015, 04:09:19 PM
People who start a sentence "I don't want to be funny but...."

And then are not at all funny, but are very rude.

The twin of "no offence" when they are being highly offensive!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Nosher on 05 March 2015, 04:44:48 PM
Teenagers

People who dial 999 for an ambulance and have the temerity to tell you in a feature-length monologue that last a good twenty to thirty minutes without pausing for breath that "You took your time, blah, blah, blah."

And then are so Ill that they dont actually want to go to hospital and would prefer to be left at home with advice to actually try and make a doctors appointment for their life-threatening mystery illness that they have had for the past twenty years, which is the same today as it was last week and was two months ago and hasn't changed but they just wanted to be 'checked out' at 4am in the morning in the middle of nowhere fifty miles from civilisation.

I think I need an ambulance as I'm short of breath now!  ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Luddite on 05 March 2015, 04:48:11 PM
People who say 'on a daily basis'.  Its lazy and redundant verbiage.    >:(

People who say 'sexed up' about anything not involving sex.

People who say 'enormity' when they mean 'enormousness'.

>:(

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Bodvoc on 05 March 2015, 05:08:47 PM
Ok...here goes...

I hate my neighbours 3 legged dog that barks at unearthly hours every night.

I hate people who push in ahead of me in queues.

I hate queueing (and I probably can't even spell it).

I hate drivers who see you coming but still pull out in front of you and then go really slow.

I hate crowds of noisy people

I hate skiing

I hate cold calls, the whole lot of em need shooting, who on earth thinks I want to do a survey as soon as I get home from work, morons the lot of em!

I hate skiing because it's always so crowded and full of noisy sweaty people.

I hate Eastenders because all they ever do is shout at each other, I've been married for over 20 years and my wife and I have never shouted at each other once. Eastenders is banned in our house.

I hate tomatoes, yeuk!

I hate Chelsea football club.

...but I love apple crumble and custard!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 05 March 2015, 05:11:49 PM
People who rant...
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 05 March 2015, 05:21:02 PM
Quote from: Nosher on 05 March 2015, 04:44:48 PM
People who dial 999 for an ambulance and have the temerity to tell you in a feature-length monologue that last a good twenty to thirty minutes without pausing for breath that "You took your time, blah, blah, blah."

I'll bet I've made more 999 calls than the rest of the forum put together. :P
It WAS part of my duty in the exchange, where I worked, mumble, mumble years ago, to make sure the 999 circuits were working OK.

Typical call was "Emergency....Which service do you require ?"
"It's Phil, downstairs in TXE4 (That dates it !)...just testing."
"Thanks, Phil.....Click!"
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Subedai on 05 March 2015, 05:43:14 PM
Quote from: Techno on 05 March 2015, 05:21:02 PM
I'll bet I've made more 999 calls than the rest of the forum put together. :P
It WAS part of my duty in the exchange, where I worked, mumble, mumble years ago, to make sure the 999 circuits were working OK.

Typical call was "Emergency....Which service do you require ?"
"It's Phil, downstairs in TXE4 (That dates it !)...just testing."
"Thanks, Phil.....Click!"

Attention seeker!  :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Orcs on 05 March 2015, 06:00:44 PM
Quote from: Techno on 05 March 2015, 05:21:02 PM
Typical call was "Emergency....Which service do you require ?"
"It's Phil, downstairs in TXE4 (That dates it !)...just testing."
"Thanks, Phil.....Click!"

I used to program TXE4 exchanges,  and before anyone asks -  I AM NOWHERE NEAR AS OLD AS TECHNO!!!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 06:09:13 PM
Quote from: Just a few Orcs on 05 March 2015, 06:00:44 PM
I used to program TXE4 exchanges,  and before anyone asks -  I AM NOWHERE NEAR AS OLD AS TECHNO!!!

Phil's going to love the way you worded that  ;D  ;D  ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Last Hussar on 05 March 2015, 06:14:00 PM
The Pendraken painting competition.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 05 March 2015, 06:38:43 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 06:09:13 PM
Phil's going to love the way you worded that  ;D  ;D  ;D

The thing is......I know how old Mark is,......and he knows how old I am.
And he's a young whippersnapper, as far as I'm concerned.  ;D ;D ;D
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 06:39:55 PM
Quote from: Techno on 05 March 2015, 06:38:43 PM
The thing is......I know how old Mark is,......and he knows how old I am.
And he's a young whippersnapper, as far as I'm concerned.  ;D ;D ;D
Cheers - Phil

So is Methusela  :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 05 March 2015, 08:05:39 PM
Wasn't Techno the one who soldered the wires for that nice Mr Bell? It is well known that the first thing said over the telephone was Bell saying "come here Watson. I want you." What is less well known is that he was penned into a corner by Techno who was trying to explain the finer points of green putty to him.

Of course Techno had been sent to Bell by Edison, who hated Bell. At Edison's, Techno worked as the recording engineer. Every day he would sing into the phonograph, or perhaps recite some poetry, and in the evening, Edison would listen to the results. For years Edison tinkered with the machine, ironing out imperfections in sound quality and adjusting the speed of play back, working on removing the clicks and hisses, until someone pointed out that the recording was fine. That odd noise was just the sound Techno made.

Before that, Techno worked for Samuel Morse, and after a few years Morse sent Techno to Edison saying "I can teach this man no more." Morse hated Edison. It is well known that Morse became interested in long distance communication after he was unaware that his wife had fallen ill, and arrived only after she had died. What is less well known is that Techno was with Morse at that time, and during Morse's early attempts at creating the now famous Morse Code. As Morse slaved away, he was heard to exclaim "Dammit Techno! Will you stop tapping your fingers!" It is estimated that Techno's help added five years to the project.

Techno arrived at Morse's workshop with a letter of recommendation from Benjamin Franklin. Franklin hated Morse. Franklin described Techno as being key to his experiments. What is less well known that this meant that Franklin attached Techno to a large kite every time there was any prospect of lightning.

Techno arrived in America fresh from the laboratories of Luigi Galvani, who died shortly after Techno left his service - some say of relief. Galvani is most famous for his experiments with muscle tissue and electricity. It is well known that he accidentally touched the muscle of a frog with a scalpel that had collected a static charge, and the leg kicked. Some say his experiments were the inspiration for the Frankenstein story.

Nothing is known of Techno before his time with Galvani. 
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 05 March 2015, 08:14:57 PM
Just don't tell anyone I taught the 'ancients' how to electroplate.
AND I invented the first battery..

You're both horrid and mean to me  :'( :'( :'(
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 08:17:43 PM
Quote from: Techno on 05 March 2015, 08:14:57 PM
Just don't tell anyone I taught the 'ancients' how to electroplate.
AND I invented the first battery..

You're both horrid and mean to me  :'( :'( :'(
Cheers - Phil

And God formed man of dust from the ground...  Genesis 2:7

Sound like the skills of anyone we know?  :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Vamboozle on 05 March 2015, 08:23:42 PM
So going back to the gist of this thread I'm going to try to keep this short (so I don't come across as one of them mad shouty blokes you cross the street to avoid) - what makes me mad....

- anyone who thinks its ok to be rude and abusive just by adding "it's only banter" at the end of a sentence - no it's not banter it's just rude and abusive.

- those news voxpops where they have someone who agrees, someone who disagrees and some who doesn't know - what's the point? It doesn't add anything

- interviewing the neighbours after a murder who always state "this sort of thing never happen around here" - of course they don't unless you live in the Bronx in the 1970s

- retired types who have all day to go in the post office but choose to go in on a weekday lunchtime. Why?

- celery
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 08:26:56 PM
Old people who drive during rush hour when they've had the whole freaking day to do whatever it is they do.  Then they drive 20 miles below the actual speed limit except in built up areas where they do 40!!!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Vamboozle on 05 March 2015, 08:35:06 PM
When it snows people who drive having only cleared a letter box sized gap in the windscreen.

People who park across two spaces in a car park.

And celery.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Westmarcher on 05 March 2015, 08:43:24 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 08:17:43 PM
And God formed man of dust from the ground...  Genesis 2:7


And stuck him on ye base with ye super glue and ye baking soda. Amen.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Fenton on 05 March 2015, 08:55:31 PM
People who like their own posts on Facebook

Anyone not from the Faroe Islands

People who use Twitter

Olives

That bloke who gave me a funny look at the petrol station the other day

Speakers Corner at Hyde Park

Uncooked Tomatoes

There is just so many..........
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: cbr3d.com on 05 March 2015, 08:57:20 PM
Bloody coeliac disease.

Reporters who ask politicians questions and nod at the reply (that isn't reporting that is advertising).

The smell of freshly roasted coffee - it never tastes as good as it smells.

Vegetarians who eat bacon (I know two)

Hypocrits who tell us how bad things are when they live in luxury (politicians, wannabe politicians, and idiots who think we should all listen to them because they read a book once about UFO's and corn circles)

Dog owners who don't clean up after their dog defecates in a public place (I am a dog owner)

Dog owners who allow their dogs out onto the streets unaccompanied

Finding someone has stuffed one of my brushes hair first down in my brush container

Companies who 'improve' their products - 99% of the time means making them with cheaper ingredients that means that the quality is reduced.

(This is good fun, I would imagine the post count this month will be through the roof.   :D  )
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 09:00:51 PM
Tomatoes really are vile in their raw state: acidic snot with bits in!

People who overtake on the motorway by drinking towards your rear bumper at 900 miles an hour!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Fenton on 05 March 2015, 09:02:41 PM
People who like the word ' plop'


Forum threads that go on longer than they should
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Westmarcher on 05 March 2015, 09:06:57 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 09:00:51 PM

People who overtake on the motorway by drinking towards your rear bumper at 900 miles an hour!
That really is scary!  :o
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Vamboozle on 05 March 2015, 09:09:11 PM
Quote from: Fenton on 05 March 2015, 08:55:31 PM

That bloke who gave me a funny look at the petrol station the other day


Funny happened to me too the other day.....you weren't filling up in Sussex where you?  ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Fenton on 05 March 2015, 09:10:50 PM
Quote from: Vamboozle on 05 March 2015, 09:09:11 PM
Funny happened to me too the other day.....you weren't filling up in Sussex where you?  ;D

I have better taste than to be seen in Sussex😂
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 09:11:17 PM
Quote from: Vamboozle on 05 March 2015, 09:09:11 PM
Funny happened to me too the other day.....you weren't filling up in Sussex where you?  ;D

They're funny down there; you'll end up in the Wicker Man!  :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Vamboozle on 05 March 2015, 09:14:52 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 09:11:17 PM
They're funny down there; you'll end up in the Wicker Man!  :D

Oi!  Just because the chalky water calcifies our brains....... 8-}
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Subedai on 05 March 2015, 09:25:38 PM
I will have to stop reading this thread because I keep thinking of more.  :)

Adverts that say 'our best ever' now with added &*^%$ (insert whatever you want). Are they telling us that all their earlier stuff was cr*p?

How come these 'experts' keep finding new plants and extracts of said plants to add to beauty treatments.

I think I had better use a blanket 'I hate adverts'!!!!

Railway companies that keep putting up the price of tickets in the face of sh*te service.

Sunday opening of shops. (Holds hand up because he uses them but remembers when everybody managed to cope when they were shut.I would be perfectly happy if they were shut.)

Staff name badges. Hated wearing mine when I worked for a multi-national supermarket chain. Why should I want people knowing my name when I will probably never speak to them again. If people want to know my name all they had to do was ask.

People who don't acknowledge when you hold the door open for them.

University graduates who are fast-tracked to managerial positions because of their degree, most of them have the life skills and common sense of a comatose wombat.


Too much pollution, they say. Cut the number of cars on the road, they say. Use public transport instead, they say. Then the bus and rail companies put their fares up. You work it out.

Privatisation. That's just me, I'm not trying to start a political debate.

Cyclists who think the Highway Code is not for them and it's okay to jump red lights, pull out in front of or change lanes in front of cars. Is it any wonder why the accident head count is rising. And this is from a non-driving cyclist.

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: OldenBUA on 05 March 2015, 09:35:48 PM
People who rant about people who rant...

Threads that go from one page to seven in a single day.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 05 March 2015, 09:57:45 PM
Quote from: OldenBUA on 05 March 2015, 09:35:48 PM
People who rant about people who rant...

Threads that go from one page to seven in a single day.

Mwah hah hah...my work is done  :d

Cyclists who slow me down on the way to work, seem to think they own the bloddy road and don't pay a bean in road tax.  THEY cause more pollution because everyone's engines are less efficient as they try to get round!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Last Hussar on 06 March 2015, 12:58:38 AM
Boy George was on the Today Programme defending the fact the Chinese were building a power station here.  Apparently that is a good thing because the Taxpayer doesn't have to pay for it.

How can anyone not see the flaw in the argument?

It's sad when you hope that the people in power are corrupt, because the only other explanation is they are completely insane.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 06 March 2015, 01:02:20 AM
That empty box in the collection marked "Mexica".
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leon on 06 March 2015, 01:25:52 AM
Quote from: Subedai on 05 March 2015, 09:25:38 PM
University graduates who are fast-tracked to managerial positions because of their degree, most of them have the life skills and common sense of a comatose wombat.

Yes.  The whole world seems to be run by people who've never done it at ground level.  If you're the Minister for Education, you should have actually been a teacher or worked in a school at some point.  Minister for Health?  Should have worked in the NHS, and not at management level either.

I used to manage pubs for a large chain, and the number of nonsensical drinks promotions we had sent down to us from head office was ridiculous, all of them thought up by a Business Studies grad with a calculator.  The best one was 'Buy 10 Budweiser, Get 2 Free!"  If any of you know any barmen, ask them how often they've sold 10 Bud's in a single round...
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: xccam on 06 March 2015, 03:04:19 AM
based on this thread nobody likes anything, and a number of you would have gripes with me for a number of different reasons.

I thought this was a good natured forum! :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 06 March 2015, 04:15:03 AM
Quote from: xccam on 06 March 2015, 03:04:19 AM
based on this thread nobody likes anything, and a number of you would have gripes with me for a number of different reasons.

I thought this was a good natured forum! :D

We are good-naturedly grumpy :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: paulr on 06 March 2015, 06:24:46 AM
Quote from: Ithoriel on 06 March 2015, 04:15:03 AM
Quote from: xccam on 06 March 2015, 03:04:19 AM
based on this thread nobody likes anything, and a number of you would have gripes with me for a number of different reasons.

I thought this was a good natured forum! :D
We are good-naturedly grumpy :)

Based on the survey on age we are good-naturedly grumpy old men  ;) ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Upgraydd on 06 March 2015, 06:58:48 AM
Rant;

- People who say "it's always in the last place you look". Of course it is, if you find it and then keep looking then you have serious problems that years of intensive therapy won't even be able to help with.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 06 March 2015, 07:02:34 AM
One of my coffee mugs is emblazoned with the logo....."Keep calm, you grumpy old git."
Cheers - Phil.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 06 March 2015, 07:17:54 AM
Quote from: Upgraydd on 06 March 2015, 06:58:48 AM
Rant;

- People who say "it's always in the last place you look". Of course it is, if you find it and then keep looking then you have serious problems that years of intensive therapy won't even be able to help with.

And redundancies like "ATM machine", "PIN number", "report back", and "chainmail".
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Sandinista on 06 March 2015, 07:42:17 AM
Car/van drivers:
most don't look or stop at roundabouts, on my daily commute to work some A-hole usually comes close to hitting me
those who try to excuse their inability to drive competently by saying "motorbikes are dangerous" no, you are dangerous
the idiots who still believe that motorcycles filtering through traffic is illegal
those who use hand held mobile phones when driving car/van
screen was nozzles that are aligned so that they miss the windscreen completely, hitting me in the face driving behind
those who overtake and don't give enough room to cyclists or horses
those who sit behind me in a 20mph zone flashing/tooting their horn at me as I obey the speed limit near schools
those who fail to see a red light and slam into the back of motorbikes who have stopped - a friends husband was killed by such a c***
I'll stop here as I need to go to work today...

All vehicle license holders should have to retake their tests ever 5 years - pass or be banned until you do
Post test training should be made compulsory for all vehicle owners, failure to do so will result in points and then a ban

I ride a motorbike if you hadn't already guessed

Cheers
Ian
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 06 March 2015, 07:46:51 AM
Been taken off my motorbike twice by numpties not looking; despite lights, hi viz jacket, white helmet >:(

Hate hate hate hate hate middle lane hoggers!  Move over!!!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 06 March 2015, 08:18:26 AM
Still think you need to differentiate between chain mail and plate mail.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 06 March 2015, 08:38:43 AM
You can. They're mail and plate. If you suffer from the redundant syllables disease of a trans-Atlantic nation that we shall in courtesy not name, you could try writing out a thousand times "It's not an elevator, it's a lift."
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 06 March 2015, 09:48:16 AM
Dendra is plate, Milanese and Gothic are plate mail.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 06 March 2015, 10:11:52 AM
Chain mail, plate mail, plate or mail...who cares.  Words are used for communication and to be understood.

PLATE mail and CHAIN mail remove confusion, so........there :P
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 06 March 2015, 10:22:54 AM
Evidently I have been lifted to a higher plain. Very heavy though in my redundant Hollywood chain mail.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Westmarcher on 06 March 2015, 10:34:37 AM
What about junk mail?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 06 March 2015, 11:02:02 AM
Worn by Chinese sailors in the C15th I believe.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 06 March 2015, 11:07:43 AM
Quote from: Leman on 06 March 2015, 11:02:02 AM
Worn by Chinese sailors in the C15th I believe.

As life jackets. I've heard that medieval men at arms left their chain-mail off to help with floating....

IanS
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Westmarcher on 06 March 2015, 11:20:20 AM
Quote from: Leman on 06 March 2015, 11:02:02 AM
Worn by Chinese sailors in the C15th I believe.
:D =D>

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Last Hussar on 06 March 2015, 07:16:47 PM
Motorcyclists who think their idiotic behaviour is car drivers fault.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 06 March 2015, 07:29:44 PM
Quote from: Last Hussar on 06 March 2015, 07:16:47 PM
Motorcyclists who think their idiotic behaviour is car drivers fault.

Fair few of them and vice-versa  :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Westmarcher on 06 March 2015, 08:00:15 PM
Are motorcyclists adrenalin junkies?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 06 March 2015, 08:02:12 PM
Quote from: Westmarcher on 06 March 2015, 08:00:15 PM
Are motorcyclists adrenalin junkies?

Yes and no.   Come in both flavours.

For me,  just being on a bike, on a nice bendy road is enough  ;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: cbr3d.com on 06 March 2015, 08:05:22 PM
Reporters (mainly on TV) who insist on refering to 'murders' as 'killings', refer to Putin as 'communist' when he clearly isn't, refer to 'public opinion' when they mean 'their own opinion', in fact reporters generally!

The Sun newspaper who years ago moved 'Haggar the Horrible' from the back page to an inside page.  (Amazing how many people in WHSmith used to pick up The Sun, turn to the back read Haggar and then return the paper to the shelf, me included.   :D  )

Teachers who insist on giving up-beat reports about children in their school reports rather than tell the truth.  (How does that help the child?)

Petrol stations who insist on charging for petrol in fractions of a penny - coin clipping is illegal in the UK, so why charge a fraction of a coin for an amount?

Statisticians - well just statisticians actually.  

Pollsters, and especially amature pollsters, who insist they know the reult of elections days, weeks, or even months before an election.  (For those not in the UK I should explain that we are approaching a General Election and now the pollsters are out in force.)

Those people who argue that something must be right because it hasn't been proved to be wrong!  (Think religion here especially.)

The fact that paint brushes have a finite lifespan, especially the best ones!   :(

In summer the lawns need mowing twice a week, and when half way through cutting it starts raining!  (Live in Cumbria, so when it is not raining it has either just stopped raining or about to rain, or indeed usually both! )
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 06 March 2015, 08:09:49 PM
Quote from: Fig.ht on 06 March 2015, 08:05:22 PM
Statisticians - well just statisticians actually. 

:o I am a statistician by training! Was a member of the Royal Statistical Society for many years! We perform a useful service to 78.47% of society, 94.2% of the time! (at the 0.01 confidence level.)


Probably not going to help the case really, is it?

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Westmarcher on 06 March 2015, 08:39:23 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 06 March 2015, 08:02:12 PM
Yes and no.   Come in both flavours.
For me,  just being on a bike, on a nice bendy road is enough  ;)
Interesting, Grip. I'm not a biker myself so genuinely interested to know what bikers get out of driving what to me is a more dangerous form of transport than a 4 wheeled vehicle. The bendy road bit - assume the satisfaction is judging and solving how to guide the bike smoothly round the bends or something? Just intrigued as to why bikers like to do what they do.

Quote from: Fig.ht on 06 March 2015, 08:05:22 PM
Reporters (mainly on TV) who insist on refering to 'murders' as 'killings'.... refer to 'public opinion' when they mean 'their own opinion', in fact reporters generally!
Saw a headline today in a local rag, "Machine gun found in Dad's car." Intrigued, I wondered what kind of MG. It turns out it was "a deadly, loaded" one........
Dread the day when the Press get their wish to take over the justice system.

Quote from: Fig.ht on 06 March 2015, 08:05:22 PM
Petrol stations who insist on charging for petrol in fractions of a penny - coin clipping is illegal in the UK, so why charge a fraction of a coin for an amount?
Funny enough, I've never ever looked at my receipt to see if they round up or down. I wonder?  :-\
Quote from: Fig.ht on 06 March 2015, 08:05:22 PM
In summer the lawns need mowing twice a week, and when half way through cutting it starts raining!  (Live in Cumbria, so when it is not raining it has either just stopped raining or about to rain, or indeed usually both! )
Living in the West of Scotland, know what you mean!

Quote from: fsn on 06 March 2015, 08:09:49 PM
:o I am a statistician by training! Was a member of the Royal Statistical Society for many years! We perform a useful service to 78.47% of society, 94.2% of the time! (at the 0.01 confidence level.)
Are these lies or damned statistics?  :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 06 March 2015, 08:46:41 PM
Yep,  that's about the size of it.   Awesome sensation  :)

You know when you watched the imperial troops on their speeder bikes on Endo,  well... :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: sunjester on 07 March 2015, 12:44:55 AM
Bloody cyclists!
Especially the d***heads who ride around in London, I've had 3 really close calls in the past couple of years, all, yes ALL, with t***ers on 2-wheeled conveyances.
And don't get me started on all the 2-wheeled t**ts around here (Aylesbury). The council wasted a fortune (including my taxes) installing cycle paths all over the shop and do any of the complete ***ts use any of them? NO, they ride on every other piece of pavement instead! Today I walked the 500 yards to the nearest shops and had to avoid 3 a***holes riding their baby bikes on the pavement (which is against the law!). None of them could be bothered to cross over the road and use the proper cycle path.
If people want to ride bikes there should be a special lane for them down the middle of the road, just for 2-wheeled transport and juggernauts to share!
And then there's those complete ****ers who think that red lights and other traffic laws do not apply to cyclists!

**@@@**ERS!!!!!!!!

That's better :P
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Last Hussar on 07 March 2015, 01:54:05 AM
Quote from: fsn on 06 March 2015, 08:09:49 PM
:o I am a statistician by training! Was a member of the Royal Statistical Society for many years! We perform a useful service to 78.47% of society, 94.2% of the time! (at the 0.01 confidence level.)


Probably not going to help the case really, is it?



Scrag him chaps.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 07 March 2015, 02:02:48 AM
My favourite statistic: An unrepresentative 99% of lawyers get the rest a bad name.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 07 March 2015, 07:06:04 AM
Quote from: FierceKitty on 07 March 2015, 02:02:48 AM
My favourite statistic: An unrepresentative 99% of lawyers get the rest a bad name.

I LIKE that one !
Another 'profession' also springs to mind.  ;)
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 07 March 2015, 07:07:44 AM
Quote from: FierceKitty on 07 March 2015, 02:02:48 AM
My favourite statistic: An unrepresentative 99% of lawyers get the rest a bad name.

Good one.  ;D

Can't stand people who let their kids run round restaurants; it's beyond ignorant.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 07 March 2015, 08:17:10 AM
Have to agree with that last comment. I often go for a coffee and a read in a local Italian Emperor's coffee shop. Sometimes there'll be a couple or more of young mums in there with buggies. That's fine. Then a baby wakes up and starts yowling. Kids do that. 40 minutes later one or more of the babies still yowling and the two or more mummies are still engrossed in conversation - WTF  >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 07 March 2015, 08:27:09 AM
Quote from: FierceKitty on 07 March 2015, 02:02:48 AM
My favourite statistic: An unrepresentative 99% of lawyers get the rest a bad name.

"He uses statistics as a drunk uses a lamp-post - more for support than illumination." - Andrew Lang.

The first year of my Applied Statistics degree had a session in which we all chanted "statistics, statistical, statistician." Just so we could say them properly.



Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 07 March 2015, 08:31:57 AM
Quote from: fsn on 07 March 2015, 08:27:09 AM
"He uses statistics as a drunk uses a lamp-post - more for support than illumination." - Andrew Lang.

The first year of my Applied Statistics degree had a session in which we all chanted "statistics, statistical, statistician." Just so we could say them properly.





Ah, the complexity and academic rigour of higher education :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Upgraydd on 07 March 2015, 09:15:22 AM
Quote from: Luddite on 05 March 2015, 11:50:30 AM
People who eat meat.  Its not neccessary and amazingly cruel.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 07 March 2015, 09:29:37 AM
Quote from: getagrip on 07 March 2015, 08:31:57 AM
Ah, the complexity and academic rigour of higher education :D
Yeah, one lesson of learning how to say things right then four years of higher level maths, computer programming, data analysis, and survey design. Doddle really. 
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 07 March 2015, 10:30:31 AM
Thadthithdical !!!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Sandinista on 07 March 2015, 10:59:34 AM
Quote from: Last Hussar on 06 March 2015, 07:16:47 PM
Motorcyclists who think their idiotic behaviour is car drivers fault.

I take it you're not a very good driver then  ;)

Cheers
Ian
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Orcs on 07 March 2015, 12:08:28 PM

Cyclists who refuse to use the pefectly good bike lane on the side of the road and insist riding two abreast in the main lane chatting away. >:( >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Sandinista on 07 March 2015, 12:12:07 PM
Quote from: Just a few Orcs on 07 March 2015, 12:08:28 PM
Cyclists who refuse to use the pefectly good bike lane on the side of the road and insist riding two abreast in the main lane chatting away. >:( >:(

Perfectly legal for them to do so as well
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 07 March 2015, 12:16:45 PM
Quote from: Sandinista on 07 March 2015, 12:12:07 PM
Perfectly legal for them to do so as well

But not - Ride on the pavement or ignore red lights.

Also your are wrong - there is a good chance you could get em for fail to pay due care and attention to other road users.

IanS
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 07 March 2015, 12:31:25 PM
Quote from: fsn on 07 March 2015, 09:29:37 AM
Yeah, one lesson of learning how to say things right then four years of higher level maths, computer programming, data analysis, and survey design. Doddle really. 

;D ;D ;D

Nicely put ;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Westmarcher on 07 March 2015, 01:23:17 PM
Quote from: Leman on 07 March 2015, 08:17:10 AM
Have to agree with that last comment. I often go for a coffee and a read in a local Italian Emperor's coffee shop. Sometimes there'll be a couple or more of young mums in there with buggies. That's fine. Then a baby wakes up and starts yowling. Kids do that. 40 minutes later one or more of the babies still yowling and the two or more mummies are still engrossed in conversation - WTF  >:(
If after 11.00 am, could try the pub. The ones I go to also serve coffee ....... but no cake ...... damn ..... so much for that idea.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 07 March 2015, 02:27:11 PM
I don't mind kids being there; I've got a four year old.  I just don't like them running riot in a place where people are trying to relax.

It's not on!!! >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 07 March 2015, 02:29:35 PM
Likewise, but letting them yowl non-stop for 40 minutes is a little insensitive to other customers. In the end I left first.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Vamboozle on 07 March 2015, 05:20:58 PM
Luckily our local chain coffee shop (named after a Spanish Coast) has an upstairs which broadly appears to be off limits.

What really annoys me is kids being allowed to run around in restaurants - and I'm not talking toddlers but 7,8,9 years olds.

When I was that are I'd already been taught how to behave at the dinner table. You didn't get up until everyone had finished.

Grrrrrr
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 07 March 2015, 05:25:18 PM
Quote from: Vamboozle on 07 March 2015, 05:20:58 PM
Luckily our local chain coffee shop (named after a Spanish Coast) has an upstairs which broadly appears to be off limits.

What really annoys me is kids being allowed to run around in restaurants - and I'm not talking toddlers but 7,8,9 years olds.

When I was that are I'd already been taught how to behave at the dinner table. You didn't get up until everyone had finished.

Grrrrrr

My fella is four and will say "is this a restaurant?"

He gets "it", cos we taught him "it!"

Perfect parents we aren't, but there are standards!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 07 March 2015, 05:32:14 PM
I think "learning manners at the dinner table" is the key point here. I get the impression that fewer families in this country now sit down together around a table for a meal. We seem to be developing a grazing culture, where eating and drinking (and putting on makeup for that matter) is being subsumed into other activities rather than being a discrete activity (or in the case of makeup a discreet activity). I hate seeing these things going on  on the morning commute. Go to bed and get up earlier.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 07 March 2015, 05:33:29 PM
Quote from: Vamboozle on 07 March 2015, 05:20:58 PM
What really annoys me is kids being allowed to run around in restaurants -  

Or casualty...When you've got a broken toe and you don't want ANYONE to touch, kick, or tread on it.
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 07 March 2015, 05:36:21 PM
Agree with both of you,  it's just respect!

Sounds like Phil's been using a lump hammer.

DON'T LET PHIL NEAR TOOLS!  Will they never learn,  oh the humanity  :'(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 07 March 2015, 05:37:40 PM
I was nearly run over by a young gentleman on a bicycle  ... in the middle of a supermarket.  >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 07 March 2015, 05:38:59 PM
Whatever happened to social awareness and/or the sense of shame?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 07 March 2015, 05:39:40 PM
Quote from: fsn on 07 March 2015, 05:37:40 PM
I was nearly run over by a young gentleman on a bicycle  ... in the middle of a supermarket.  >:(

That ain't no gentleman but he is curiously perceptive  :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 07 March 2015, 07:00:02 PM
I suppose it was a rather large supermarket.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 07 March 2015, 09:17:54 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 07 March 2015, 05:36:21 PM
Sounds like Phil's been using a lump hammer.

No.....It was when one of the gee-gees trod on it, and then pushed down with most of his weight, as he walked forward.
Mrs T thought I was having a laugh, until I took my sock off, and we saw the toe had gone almost black....and was sticking out sideways.
That smarted !!  :'( :'(

That's why I objected to a small child running around casualty, and getting WAY too close, to my somewhat sore foot, for comfort.
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Vamboozle on 07 March 2015, 09:21:23 PM
Now horses - there's something I just don't get (unless they are small, metal and chasing my opponent off the map)

Have friends who have them and are mad for them - they keep trying to get us interested but they are large skittish prey animals that smell funny - just don't see it.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 07 March 2015, 09:21:35 PM
Quote from: Techno on 07 March 2015, 09:17:54 PM
No.....It was when one of the gee-gees trod on it, and then pushed down with most of his weight, as he walked forward.
Mrs T thought I was having a laugh, until I took my sock off, and we saw the toe had gone almost black....and was sticking out sideways.
That smarted !!  :'( :'(

That's why I objected to a small child running around casualty, and getting WAY too close, to my somewhat sore foot, for comfort.
Cheers - Phil
;D ;D ;D

You are a one man disaster area ;)

11 pages in 2 days! :o  Is that a record???  :-\
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 07 March 2015, 09:21:51 PM
My recollection of Shetland ponies (proper ones from Shetland, not the pamper overgrown poodles they have down here) is that they come in two varieties - those that kick and those that bite. To be fair, this may also be determined by your position relative to them.

Describe then, dear, and black footed Mr Techno, the pleasures of equine ownership?  
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 08 March 2015, 08:22:17 AM
They're Mrs T's passion/hobby.....Not mine !  ;D ;D
But the irony is, it's how I got into photography.
Like I've said before, I used to get dragged along to horsey competitions......And get bored out of my tiny little brain.
One of Mrs T's friends (who WAS a photographer) suggested I take up photography to give me something to do, rather than stand around going "Is it finished yet".

So I did.....Got reasonably good at taking pics of horses going over jumps and galloping around.....Combined the photography with the wee painted men.....And it all just developed ( ;)) from there.
So in some respects.....Horses are why I do the job, I do now. Weird, Eh ?

Cheers - Phil

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 08 March 2015, 08:43:52 AM
So we have Mrs T to thank for everything?

Please, for the assembled gentlemen of the forum, could you give her some sort of affectionate squeeze, or a hug, or shake hands, or whatever you do in the privacy of your own home to express your affection?

Perhaps a "thank you, jolly well done" could be added?


Sort of makes up for the whole "governing the country for 13 years" thing in my eyes. - FSN 
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Fenton on 08 March 2015, 08:44:56 AM
But its Mart who sculpts the tanks and things
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 08 March 2015, 08:49:13 AM
Oh yeah, the sculpting thing.

No, I was just thinking of the way I use Techno as the butt of all my jokes.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 08 March 2015, 08:51:01 AM
Didn't mean it ... I love his/your work.


Techno walk into a bar.
Another bruise!

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Fenton on 08 March 2015, 08:57:50 AM
Techno checking the height of the jumps for this years Pembrokeshire  Gymkhana

(http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt334/SteveW_04/a-guy-walks-into-a-bar.jpg) (http://s625.photobucket.com/user/SteveW_04/media/a-guy-walks-into-a-bar.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 08 March 2015, 09:00:45 AM
 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 08 March 2015, 02:18:53 PM
Leave me alone....I'm busy !!  :-*
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 08 March 2015, 04:13:33 PM
Quote from: Techno on 08 March 2015, 02:18:53 PM
Leave me alone....I'm busy !!  :-*
Cheers - Phil

Iuf you are going to use terminological in-exactitudes Phil at least make hem believable.

IanS  ;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 09 March 2015, 11:05:25 PM
Supermarket checkouts!!!  >:(  >:(  >:(

And the silly @r$e in front of me looking for the exact change!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Subedai on 10 March 2015, 03:04:29 PM
Supermarket checkouts are okay. Much preferable to those feckin, cr*ppy, noisy, back-chatting self-service monstrosities. When they put them in at the store where I worked I refused to use them on principle.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 10 March 2015, 03:41:08 PM
Quote from: Subedai on 10 March 2015, 03:04:29 PM
Supermarket checkouts are okay. Much preferable to those feckin, cr*ppy, noisy, back-chatting self-service monstrosities. When they put them in at the store where I worked I refused to use them on principle.

Incorrect item in bagging area...

Incorrect item in bagging area...

Approval needed...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Matt J on 10 March 2015, 04:59:09 PM
I like it when it says 'call for help' in a slightly panicked voice  :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 10 March 2015, 06:01:07 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 09 March 2015, 11:05:25 PM
Supermarket checkouts!!!  >:(  >:(  >:(

And the silly @r$e in front of me looking for the exact change!
that was probably me. I hate carrying loads of coinage around.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 10 March 2015, 06:01:47 PM
Quote from: Leman on 10 March 2015, 06:01:07 PM
that was probably me. I hate carrying loads of coinage around.

>:( >:( >:( :P ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Roy on 11 March 2015, 10:10:21 AM
You want to know what really winds me up. And I normally don't watch this thing due to this problem.

Channel5 Weather at 17:23hrs. The first thing out of the lass's mouth is always:

"Hi. I'm Sian Welby."

What's that got to do with the weather! How many other weather bulletins begin with the presenter telling me their names. Who cares! The bulletin could be read out by a convicted thief dressed up as a lobster for all I care, as long as they correctly predict the upcoming forecast.

"Hi. I'm Sian Welby"

Has got to be one of the most useless pieces of information to give out on a weather broadcast to date!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 11 March 2015, 10:17:33 AM
That's akin to comedians ending their routines with...
"I've been Joe Bloggs.....Thank you, you've been a great audience !"  ;)

If that's your name...Who else are you supposed to be ?

Cheers - I've been Techno. (Some of the time, anyway.  ;))
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 11 March 2015, 11:01:26 AM
"Waiter, what's this slop?"
"It's bean soup, sir."
"I don't care what it's been. What is it now?"
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 11 March 2015, 12:02:25 PM
People who start sentences with "So...", our local grammar nuisance may be able to comment ?

IanS
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 11 March 2015, 12:24:56 PM
I try not to pick on Americans, tho' I admit that one tries my tolerance.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 11 March 2015, 12:50:10 PM
So, what exactly is wrong with starting a sentence with "So, ...." :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 11 March 2015, 01:20:59 PM
So a needle pulling thread?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 11 March 2015, 02:33:44 PM
Quote from: Ithoriel on 11 March 2015, 12:50:10 PM
So, what exactly is wrong with starting a sentence with "So, ...." :)
It's a connective. It's rather like starting a sentence with 'and'. Why can't people just say 'umm' or 'well' if they feel the need for preamble before telling us  what they actually want to say. It's another one of those things that didn't exist ten years ago. Rather like the days before Neighbours reached our shores and the only sentences which rose in pitch at the end actually were questions.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leon on 11 March 2015, 02:50:40 PM
So, what you're saying is, you watch Neighbours...?!

And Home and Away as well?

;) :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Luddite on 11 March 2015, 03:02:32 PM
Quote from: Leman on 11 March 2015, 02:33:44 PM
It's a connective. It's rather like starting a sentence with 'and'.

And yet, subordinating conjunctions like 'although' are perfectly acceptable.  Although coordinating conjunctives like 'and' are often considered 'incorrect' at the beginning of a sentence, this is actually a matter of preference rather than a grammatical rule. 

It is very common to find conjuctives used throughout the history of literature, by even the greatest authors.

;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 11 March 2015, 03:38:48 PM
Quote from: fsn on 11 March 2015, 01:20:59 PM
So a needle pulling thread?

Who let Julie Andrews in.

IanS
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 11 March 2015, 04:02:24 PM
OFSTED...

We have them in today, woo hoo!  <:-P <:-P <:-P
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 11 March 2015, 05:08:22 PM
Good luck!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 11 March 2015, 05:10:43 PM
Quote from: mad lemmey on 11 March 2015, 05:08:22 PM
Good luck!

Cheers mate, just catching a bit of forum time before I head home.

I have my grilling meeting with them tomorrow ;)

Two inspectors, 1 hour, poor little old Grip, all on his own...

...bring it on! :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leon on 11 March 2015, 05:13:36 PM
Two phrases that are commonly used wrongly:

"I could care less..." when it should be "I couldn't care less..." This one seems to be more common in America, to the point where I think the incorrect version is more widely used now.

"We could of done better..." when it should be "We could have done better..."  I get that the spoken words can sound like an 'of', but that doesn't make it right.   >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 11 March 2015, 05:20:05 PM
Quote from: Leon on 11 March 2015, 05:13:36 PM

"We could of done better..." when it should be "We could have done better..."  I get that the spoken words can sound like an 'of', but that doesn't make it right.   >:(

Agreed! >:( >:( >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 11 March 2015, 05:24:45 PM
I've never heard the phrase, "I could care less", before.....
Whatever !  :D
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 11 March 2015, 06:09:05 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 11 March 2015, 05:10:43 PM
I have my grilling meeting with them tomorrow ;)

Two inspectors, 1 hour, poor little old Grip, all on his own...

...bring it on! :D

My money's on you.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 11 March 2015, 06:20:59 PM
So, I could've done better .... like I could care less  :P

Although, knock 'em dead grips!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 11 March 2015, 06:38:36 PM
Put simply. some things to some ears just sound wrong, and no amount of grammatical shilly-shallying is ever going to change that until that particular generation dies off. To me the constant use of so as a sentence starter, the far too frequent end of sentence pitch rise, and to go boldly where no one has gone before just sound wrong.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 11 March 2015, 07:05:02 PM
Quote from: fsn on 11 March 2015, 06:09:05 PM
My money's on you.

Cheers mate  ;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 11 March 2015, 07:16:17 PM
Oh yeah, Ofsted are a shower of shysters. Of course they find things wrong, otherwise they're out of a job. If they don't find enough wrong they change the rules so that they will. Ofsted, otherwise known as Morale Boosters R Us.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 11 March 2015, 07:34:23 PM
Walked in to one school a while back as a supply, HMI were in, observing an Ofsted inspection team.

Nice if someone had told me, no planning, no support, no class info.

Good luck. If you get anywhere as stressed as I did...
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 11 March 2015, 08:21:56 PM
Good luck Gareth.
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 11 March 2015, 08:52:51 PM
Thanks for all the support guys  :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Roy on 11 March 2015, 09:20:23 PM
Just do what my old school did.
Gave the most troublesome students the week off.
True story.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 11 March 2015, 09:22:38 PM
Yep,  seen it happen.

Bit of a problem though,  I'm responsible for them  :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Upgraydd on 11 March 2015, 09:31:36 PM
Quote from: Leman on 11 March 2015, 02:33:44 PM
Rather like the days before Neighbours reached our shores and the only sentences which rose in pitch at the end actually were questions.

What really annoys me about the Australian language at the moment is when people end a sentence with or? Are we going to the cinema or...? Are we shagging a sheep or...? I don't know when or why it started but I wish it would stop.

And what does lucked out mean? My wife and I argue about it constantly. I contend that it means that you have run out of luck and she says it means that you have got lucky.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 11 March 2015, 09:32:27 PM
I always too "lucked out" to be a good thing.

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 11 March 2015, 09:40:43 PM
Lucked out is lucky in my book but it doesn't really make sense  :-\
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 12 March 2015, 01:33:35 AM
I think your wife is right. That phrasal verb's been with us for decades.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 12 March 2015, 01:36:04 AM
Quote from: Upgraydd on 11 March 2015, 09:31:36 PM
What really annoys me about the Australian language at the moment is when people end a sentence with or? Are we going to the cinema or...? Are we shagging a sheep or...? I don't know when or why it started but I wish it would stop.



Do Aussies still end sentences with "but" to imply strong emphasis?

That Fierce Kitty's a beaut tactician but!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Upgraydd on 12 March 2015, 01:42:00 AM
Yeah they do, I wouldn't worry about it but.

We will also never tell you how things are, just how they aren't;

How are you? - "Not bad"

How's your broken arm? - "It's not good"

and so on.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 12 March 2015, 01:48:05 AM
Is that different from classic Anglo-Saxon understatement?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 12 March 2015, 07:37:21 AM
Quote from: FierceKitty on 12 March 2015, 01:48:05 AM
Is that different from classic Anglo-Saxon understatement?

it's exactly the same but with better barbecues.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 12 March 2015, 07:41:59 AM
Never really liked barbecues - vastly overrated in my opinion. Then again I don't like meat very much.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 12 March 2015, 08:00:15 AM
We do them much better in SE Asia.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: barbarian on 12 March 2015, 09:02:17 AM
Don't do the barbecue, you'll end with bad burns in the wrong place.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 12 March 2015, 09:11:08 AM
As one grows older, one looks for new sources of excitement.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 12 March 2015, 10:05:09 AM
Re. barbecues, that may well be more sauces of excitement.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 12 March 2015, 10:29:35 AM
I was hoping nobody would say it.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 12 March 2015, 10:31:24 AM
Quote from: Leman on 12 March 2015, 10:05:09 AM
Re. barbecues, that may well be more sauces of excitement.
No, no, no, no, nooooooo...........%-(  ;)
Cheers - Phil.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 12 March 2015, 10:41:33 AM
Quote from: FierceKitty on 12 March 2015, 10:29:35 AM
I was hoping nobody would say it.
That has to be the biggest joke.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Luddite on 12 March 2015, 01:32:32 PM
Never got on with barbeques either, even in Oz.

I did go to a gathering at a farm a few miles out of Canberra.  A pit was dug and a tree thrown in and set on fire.  The food was roasted on a huge grill over that.  That was pretty good...but then the longnecks and 'local buds' probably clouded my judgement.

We headed back to the city about 4am.  Getting off the farm involved a 3 mile journey down a dirt track.

Sat on the bonnet of a severely overloaded Holden Ute, bent out of shape, and directing the driver to avoid the wheels dropping into the ruts and beaching the car was quite an intense experience...

Good times... 8->
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 12 March 2015, 02:32:03 PM
So, Ofsted are now deliberating and meeting the Head of School and Executive Head.

My meeting was fine, all good this end. :)

I can now go back to my real job which is actually doing stuff rather than talking about doing stuff to people who don't do any stuff =)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 12 March 2015, 04:57:39 PM
Good man
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 12 March 2015, 06:07:28 PM
Good show Grip. To celebrate have this photo of a Scottish Barber Queue.

(http://www.barnettsbarbersbridgnorth.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/barnettsbarbers.jpg)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 12 March 2015, 06:09:42 PM
That deserves even worse than 'OIK' !!  ;) ;D
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 12 March 2015, 06:30:54 PM
 ;D ;D ;D

Thanks guys.

We are really happy (can't share the result yet) but...

NAILED IT!!! :D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: paulr on 12 March 2015, 06:48:59 PM
Quote from: getagrip on 12 March 2015, 06:30:54 PM
;D ;D ;D

Thanks guys.

We are really happy (can't share the result yet) but...

NAILED IT!!! :D

Well done that man =D> and the rest of the staff
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 12 March 2015, 07:14:14 PM
Quote from: paulr on 12 March 2015, 06:48:59 PMand the rest of the staff

Well said,  my team were amazing  :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 12 March 2015, 07:32:54 PM
Good one.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 27 March 2015, 07:24:18 PM
OFSTED; waste of public money! >:(

C'est tout!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 28 March 2015, 02:40:08 PM
Shooting's too good for them!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 28 March 2015, 02:55:59 PM
Quote from: Leman on 28 March 2015, 02:40:08 PM
Shooting's too good for them!

It's just such a waste of money; spend it actually helping schools.

Or and I'm going to sound like a crazy man here, actually spend the money on schools so they can have better equipment and more teachers!

Woah, crazy crazy thoughts :-\
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Orcs on 30 March 2015, 10:21:39 AM
I am willing to accept that OFSTED may not be the best way of checking up on schools and teachers, but was it not set up to monitor things because of the problems with poor teachers and schools that were basically getting away with doing a bad job as there were no real checks? 

When my eldest was in primary school they had a teacher who constantly shouted at the class, could not maintian disciplne in the classroom, and behaved completely inappropriately - on one occasion hooking a rowdy pupil up on a coat peg by his collar.

He was investigated 5 times but apparently they could not get enough on him to sack him.  When my daughter was due to go into his class the parents had had enough. The parents of 20 children due to go into his class the next september, told the Head that they would remove their children from the school if this person was to be thier teacher.

Not sure what happened then but said teacher fortunately  "resigned"
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 30 March 2015, 10:25:24 AM
Dreadful.

But you don't need OFSTED to manage that,  you actually need quality management.  :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Orcs on 30 March 2015, 10:38:44 AM
Quote from: getagrip on 30 March 2015, 10:25:24 AM
Dreadful.

But you don't need OFSTED to manage that,  you actually need quality management.  :)

I agree, but was OFSTED not set up because of a general lack of quality management in schools?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 30 March 2015, 10:41:14 AM
Then you get HMI inspecting Ofsted, but who inspects the HMI?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 30 March 2015, 10:52:04 AM
Quote from: Just a few Orcs on 30 March 2015, 10:38:44 AM
I agree, but was OFSTED not set up because of a general lack of quality management in schools?

A general perceived lack of quality.

When it was set up it was needed,  now,  not so much.

Additionally,  there's a massive teacher recruitment crisis looming,  remember that from the late 90's?  If the current language of failure and criticism keeps spewing out of Whitehall,  with an ever more aggressive inspection regime,  we are creating a perfect storm.

Additionally,  even OFSTED themselves recognise that the system is unsustainable in it's current form: I heard this first hand from Mike Tomlinson.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 30 March 2015, 10:54:25 AM
And there is an, unreported, staff shortage in nearly all schools. So many teachers have had enough.
Means I'm always busy though! ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 30 March 2015, 10:56:09 AM
Quote from: mad lemmey on 30 March 2015, 10:54:25 AM
And there is an, unreported, staff shortage in nearly all schools. So many teachers have had enough.
Means I'm always busy though! ;D

Yep,  suits me ; makes me far more valuable  :)

I don't think the current administration realise the impact their rhetoric is going to have!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Orcs on 30 March 2015, 11:11:44 AM
This is very interesting.

I thought  I was almost out of using schools as my youngest is 16. so only two more years.  then Youngest Stepdaughter decided to do PGCE this year.

She is working very very hard and still only just keeping her head above water. We have had it all almost every week.

Cross Jess
Grumpy Jess
Shouty Jess
Tearful Jess
Exhasted Jess
Bouncy Jess
Excited Jess
Moany Jess
I want to give Up Jess
Its such a rewarding job Jess.

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Matt J on 30 March 2015, 11:20:02 AM
I run a business, I have an audit. You have a school you have an OFSTED. Both a pain in the arse, but both necessary.

Some of the teachers that teach my kids are frankly muppets or utterly devoid of any care of duty for the job. Others are brilliant. Unfortunately the muppets seem to outnumber the brilliant.

The answer, pay teachers more (alot more) but make the job full time (ie work through school holidays) and more accountable. At the moment the teaching profession is trying to attract middle management standard entrants on junior management pay.

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 30 March 2015, 11:42:56 AM
Quote from: Matt of Munslow on 30 March 2015, 11:20:02 AM
I run a business, I have an audit. You have a school you have an OFSTED. Both a pain in the arse, but both necessary.

Some of the teachers that teach my kids are frankly muppets or utterly devoid of any care of duty for the job. Others are brilliant. Unfortunately the muppets seem to outnumber the brilliant.

The answer, pay teachers more (alot more) but make the job full time (ie work through school holidays) and more accountable. At the moment the teaching profession is trying to attract middle management standard entrants on junior management pay.



Fair point  ;)

Quote from: Just a few Orcs on 30 March 2015, 11:11:44 AM
This is very interesting.

I thought  I was almost out of using schools as my youngest is 16. so only two more years.  then Youngest Stepdaughter decided to do PGCE this year.

She is working very very hard and still only just keeping her head above water. We have had it all almost every week.

Cross Jess
Grumpy Jess
Shouty Jess
Tearful Jess
Exhasted Jess
Bouncy Jess
Excited Jess
Moany Jess
I want to give Up Jess
Its such a rewarding job Jess.


Tell her to stay with it; things do get easier  ;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Westmarcher on 30 March 2015, 12:59:11 PM
My wife is a retired Head Teacher and is now a union rep. If you don't give the teachers long breaks from the kids (and some of their parents), I guarantee you will have more nervous breakdowns, more leaving the profession and either less teachers or a lower overall standard.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 30 March 2015, 01:17:45 PM
Quote from: Westmarcher on 30 March 2015, 12:59:11 PM
My wife is a retired Head Teacher and is now a union rep. If you don't give the teachers long breaks from the kids (and some of their parents), I guarantee you will have more nervous breakdowns, more leaving the profession and either less teachers or a lower overall standard.

This is true; I've done "proper" jobs and teaching.  My last proper job I found I had accrued 3.5 weeks holiday and had to fit them in quickly before year's end.  The point was that I didn't need the holidays anywhere near as much as I do now.

Still, gives Joe Public something to rant about ;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 30 March 2015, 04:17:41 PM
I worked in schools as part of my "proper job" on and off and I don't see an audit as anything like an OFSTED inspection, unless you work on a call centre Hell Desk.

Good teachers are not only educators but also social workers, child psychologists, crowd control, admin staff, holiday reps and so much more.

I wouldn't do the job for considerably more than they are paid and I actually like both children and teaching and have run training courses for adults.   
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 30 March 2015, 04:24:17 PM
Shame the government doesn't share your views Ith ;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 30 March 2015, 04:28:18 PM
Have to agree with that Ithoriel, and I taught 36 years full time in Bootle and Litherland, finally to see my school put under the ball and chain by OFSTED. Went through four OFSTEDS - good, good, good, special measures. Mostly the same staff and certainly the same sort of kids - and the numbers passing exams had gone UP! Go figure (as our chums across the pond say).
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: getagrip on 30 March 2015, 04:32:24 PM
Quote from: Leman on 30 March 2015, 04:28:18 PM
Have to agree with that Ithoriel, and I taught 36 years full time in Bootle and Litherland, finally to see my school put under the ball and chain by OFSTED. Went through four OFSTEDS - good, good, good, special measures. Mostly the same staff and certainly the same sort of kids - and the numbers passing exams had gone UP! Go figure (as our chums across the pond say).

It's too hit and miss under the current regime.  It's also too expensive.  It also doesn't make any difference to kids' results.

Waste of money: £168 million a year as it stands; that'd buy a few text books now wouldn't it? :-\
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Tawa on 30 July 2015, 08:55:17 PM
Motorists!  >:(


My mother never worked for Ofsted......
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 31 July 2015, 02:02:44 AM
Quote from: Leman on 30 March 2015, 04:28:18 PM
Have to agree with that Ithoriel....

How many Ithoriels are there?  :o
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 31 July 2015, 04:09:25 AM
Quote from: FierceKitty on 31 July 2015, 02:02:44 AM
How many Ithoriels are there?  :o

"My name is Legion and we are many"  :P ;D ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 31 July 2015, 07:51:06 AM
OFSTED exists to make the working teachers life worse....and fell rain forests.

IanS
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 31 July 2015, 08:12:05 AM
Doesn't it fill you with confidence that they have just fired 1600 inspectors who were 'not good enough', since most are heads or ex heads of schools, that kind of makes the last few years results 'interesting'!

Those who can't, teach, those who can't teach become ofsted inspectors...
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 31 July 2015, 08:13:12 AM
Screw the whale - save the apostrophe!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 31 July 2015, 08:46:46 AM
Carrot's £1.20. What about his £1.20? Why do greengrocers never give us the rest of this story?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 31 July 2015, 10:44:18 AM
A fair question.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 31 July 2015, 10:57:29 AM
It could be the punchline of one of Mr Jasper Carrott's jokes, and someone has missed out the second 't'. :-\
(Then again......) ;)
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 02 August 2015, 04:36:32 PM
Here's another one that's really getting up my nose. I see it everywhere particularly in the local chip wrapper, er newspaper - a singular subject with a plural verb. It just reads so wrong I don't know how anyone can write it! Example from this week's rag:

An animal welfare charity (4 words, all singular) have (plural) warned pet owners .........

The next sentence then begins:

Freshfield Animal Rescue Centre have ......... singular, singular, singular, singular, plural.

I feel  certain they would not write, 'Mr. Smith have said he does not like this.' Yet an organisation is treated as a plural, even though it is clearly a singular entity.

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 02 August 2015, 07:04:37 PM
I have never come across an organisation that was a singular entity in any meaningful sense, try getting a single answer to a question about process or procedure from more than one member of an organisation, for example. :) 
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 02 August 2015, 07:16:15 PM
As Ithoriel says: 'ONE member,'  'AN organisation.' I rest my case.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Westmarcher on 02 August 2015, 07:38:25 PM
Quote from: Ithoriel on 02 August 2015, 07:04:37 PM
I have never come across an organisation that was a singular entity in any meaningful sense, try getting a single answer to a question about process or procedure from more than one member of an organisation, for example. :) 

I'm with Bob.

But I know what you mean, Ithoriel.

Except .... on the occasions when different members of an organisation give different answers, isn't it also interesting how some people choose to pick only one answer, ignoring the rest, and attribute that to all of the members.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 03 August 2015, 08:46:32 AM
Westie, see Michael Gove - classic example.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 03 August 2015, 08:57:04 AM
If you meet an organisation with a single united opinion, run for your life. They're coming to kill you for disagreeing.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 03 August 2015, 09:15:16 AM
 ;D ;D ;D ;D    :o
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Roy on 16 May 2016, 07:47:56 PM
Bum.

Reason why I hate painting specific uniform colours and trying to match.

I've just finished painting a figure and found out its collar and epaulettes are meant to be very dark green and not the black I've painting them as.

Hands and fingers are aching, and the brushes have just been soaped, so I'll have to do it tomorrow.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 16 May 2016, 07:51:22 PM
Oh heck!
Will anyone notice?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 17 May 2016, 08:25:24 AM
If very dark green, why not a green wash over the black.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Roy on 17 May 2016, 09:52:02 AM
Luckily it was a very easy job of painting some GW Caliban Green over the black painted areas.
In this case the paint job is part of a display item, so I'm having to go to town on painting detail and trying to get colours correct.
Three more crew figures (for a horse-drawn wagon) to go, and then its varnishing, gluing, basing, thread for reins, photographing and then delivering.
All of it making, one, four figure crewed, two horse pulled, 4 wheeled MDF wooden wagon - painted, which is a ball aching process! All based, varnished and completed with thread reins and traces.
Probably never to be played with!  ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Roy on 18 May 2016, 06:28:56 PM
Balls. Big bouncing footballs!

Just found out I've only gone and painted the hats to match the trousers, when in fact the colour should match the tunic.

:'( :'( :'(

Stupid historical uniform colours!

You don't have this trouble when painting GW stuff  ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Tawa on 20 May 2016, 10:16:45 PM
Quote from: RoyWilliamson on 18 May 2016, 06:28:56 PM
Balls. Big bouncing footballs!

Just found out I've only gone and painted the hats to match the trousers, when in fact the colour should match the tunic.

:'( :'( :'(

Stupid historical uniform colours!

You don't have this trouble when painting GW stuff  ;D


Well there's clever  ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Dr Dave on 15 August 2017, 10:46:18 AM
Has anyone else noticed, when referring to WW2, the media etc invariably substitute "Nazi" for "German"?

The Nazis invaded Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, France, bombed London etc... thankfully the Tory-coalitionists were there with the democrats to drive them back. It's the only war where they do this. The BBC is the worst, but even in the film Dunkirk it starts with "The enemy has surrounded...."

What are these people up to?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 15 August 2017, 11:24:06 AM
Like Casablanca where the Germans always march in. Never drive, go, travel, or enter.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 15 August 2017, 01:38:01 PM
Quote from: FierceKitty on 15 August 2017, 11:24:06 AM
Like Casablanca where the Germans always march in. Never drive, go, travel, or enter.

Sorry, not old enough to remember that.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 15 August 2017, 04:38:32 PM
That boy hasn't lived. In all the fora, in all the world, he has to go and pick this one.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 15 August 2017, 06:55:53 PM
Round up the usual suspects...
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 15 August 2017, 08:17:08 PM
This seems relevant.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 15 August 2017, 08:58:42 PM
Presumably all lost on Ian.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 16 August 2017, 07:23:51 AM
I'm permanently lost.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 16 August 2017, 07:32:37 AM
Probably not a bad way to be in the current climate.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: steve_holmes_11 on 15 June 2018, 09:24:49 PM
Quote from: Upgraydd on 04 March 2015, 09:37:48 PM
It's hard work but we manage...I'd like to thank the English for inventing all these sports that we can dominate them with. It won't be long until we add Football to the list.

You'll be pleasaed to see Minibits new range of small, easily concealed sanding pads  :>
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: paulr on 16 June 2018, 01:22:38 AM
Well played, that man ;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 30 November 2019, 08:33:28 AM
I sincerely trust that the folk that took on the knife wielding barsteward on London Bridge yesterday, get put forward for some sort of gallantry award. (George Medal ?)

Hats off to them !!

Cheers - Phil

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 30 November 2019, 08:57:58 AM
Agreed Phil !
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: steve_holmes_11 on 01 December 2019, 09:18:41 PM
Quote from: Techno on 30 November 2019, 08:33:28 AM
I sincerely trust that the folk that took on the knife wielding barsteward on London Bridge yesterday, get put forward for some sort of gallantry award. (George Medal ?)

Hats off to them !!

Cheers - Phil



How many plusses would the forum award for a narwhal horn?


Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: industrialtrousers on 01 December 2019, 09:57:36 PM
Ever so slightly miffed about pilots who do not respond when the controllers want to have a matter as this causes BIG BANGS that interrupt beauty sleep for needy, nerdy, balding, ever-so over weight, forty-something blokes who desperately need the beauty sleep in order to remain a shadow of their former selves.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno on 02 December 2019, 07:05:49 AM
Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 01 December 2019, 09:18:41 PM
How many plusses would the forum award for a narwhal horn?

Lots.....The chap with the fire extinguisher did well too, as far as quick thinking was concerned, Steve !

Quote from: industrialtrousers on 01 December 2019, 09:57:36 PM
Ever so slightly miffed about pilots who do not respond when the controllers want to have a matter as this causes BIG BANGS that interrupt beauty sleep for needy, nerdy, balding, ever-so over weight, forty-something blokes who desperately need the beauty sleep in order to remain a shadow of their former selves.

Well the pilot of the aircraft that didn't respond, shouldn't have been trying to tune into radio four extra.

Cheers - Phil

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 02 December 2019, 08:51:01 AM
Quote from: industrialtrousers on 01 December 2019, 09:57:36 PM
Ever so slightly miffed about pilots who do not respond when the controllers want to have a matter as this causes BIG BANGS that interrupt beauty sleep for needy, nerdy, balding, ever-so over weight, forty-something blokes who desperately need the beauty sleep in order to remain a shadow of their former selves.

Should live down SARTH den !! ;)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: steve_holmes_11 on 02 December 2019, 08:51:27 AM
Quote from: Techno on 02 December 2019, 07:05:49 AM
Lots.....The chap with the fire extinguisher did well too, as far as quick thinking was concerned, Steve !


2 suggestions:
o Pendraken modern range: Add a Chef equipped with narwahl horn.
o RPGs I'll try to include a Narwahl horn of +2 berk* smiting.


* It's rhyming slang.


Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 02 December 2019, 09:26:37 AM
+1
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Heedless Horseman on 17 September 2021, 01:16:56 PM
TIME! Just 'popped up to the shops'... then it hit. FIFTY YEARS AGO,.. same shops... Ma would have got me  'Victor!' and 'Look And Learn' comics... then we would have popped into 'Carousel' Gift Shop for an Airfix kit to keep me quiet while she bought a scarfe or something.
Now, Ma, pretty much 'cabbage' and me, not far off...  'surviving' on booze and tabs... if you can call tit that.
DEAR GOD!  :( :( :(

So... peeps... treasure little memories... and enjoy what there still is. And, if you have little Kids / Grandkids... indulge...they will be here. too someday.  :o :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 17 September 2021, 01:49:26 PM
An ex-colleague had a wooden block, with the following inscription or something very similar, on her desk. 

Sing like noone is listening, dance like noone is watching, love like your heart has never been broken .... and live like this day is your last because sooner than you'd like that will be true!

Advice to live by ... if only I could manage it! :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 17 September 2021, 02:07:18 PM
I hate that "live this day as if it were your last" one. Nobody would ever start a book, learn to play an instrument, fall in love, lay down a bottle of wine....
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 17 September 2021, 02:41:06 PM
The full verson, according to my maternal grandfather, is

Plan to live forever but live each day as though it was your last.

Better, FK?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 17 September 2021, 02:41:58 PM
Schizophrenic, but answers the objections.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Heedless Horseman on 17 September 2021, 03:56:39 PM
Not Poetic, or profuond... but just F*****g enjoy it, while it lasts!  ;)
"Went The Day, Well?"
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Steve J on 17 September 2021, 05:47:16 PM
I try and make the most of my day, no matter what I do. Since retirement/redundancy, I certainly haven't been short of things to do!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: steve_holmes_11 on 17 September 2021, 11:40:16 PM
But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men
          Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
          For promis'd joy!

Still, thou art blest, compar'd wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e'e,
          On prospects drear!
An' forward tho' I canna see,
          I guess an' fear!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 18 September 2021, 05:26:44 AM
Quote from: Steve J on 17 September 2021, 05:47:16 PM
I try and make the most of my day, no matter what I do. Since retirement/redundancy, I certainly haven't been short of things to do!

Got to agree - retired and got more work than I was getting whilst on UC cest la vie....
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: hammurabi70 on 18 September 2021, 03:28:34 PM
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 18 September 2021, 05:26:44 AM
Got to agree - retired and got more work than I was getting whilst on UC cest la vie....

More work or less energy?  I thought so too until I realised that when I was younger I had a much greater work rate.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Heedless Horseman on 19 September 2021, 06:38:58 AM
LOL. When working...when younger... used to try to get 'work' done, out of the way... and THEN 'coast' ... unless something else happened. Got annoyed when others would 'spin things out'... and then, when s**t happened, it would be a BIG pile.  >:(
But... I had this 'weird' idea that, when You got older... there would be 'young 'uns' to do the heavy graft. However, By Then...there weren't. Just You. And more of it.  :o

Think I would still have been 'ploughing through'... though, at 59, getting tired... but Job cuts meant VR 5 years ago. Then... carer for Ma. Be warned... if there is 'just You'... it's a Killer.  :o :(

Booze and Tabs... get you through... but NOT a 'long term solution'. lol. Pretty much 'knackered' now. 'Strange' thing is... there 'can ' be a 'plateau'... (Often in the 'early hours'!), when you can  'GET OFF YOUR A**E''... and DO Things!  :) But... it Does Not Last... so NOT a viable 'Work Plan'.  :(

If You and Yours have the chance for retirement with 'Roses round the door'... just, maybe, take it?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno II on 19 September 2021, 07:00:22 AM
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 19 September 2021, 06:38:58 AM
Then... carer for Ma. Be warned... if there is 'just You'... it's a Killer.  :o :(

For Von's Mum......There were the two of us, Keith...and it was still bloomin' hard !!...What it's like for just one person on his or her own ......! X_X

Cheers - Phil. :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Steve J on 19 September 2021, 07:17:06 AM
My Dad tried to look after Mum when her dementia got really bad, but just couldn't cope on so many levels, with her condition so bad she ended up in a home. Not ideal by any means but it comes to a point where you cannot manage, both mentally and physically anymore.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Heedless Horseman on 19 September 2021, 07:54:56 AM
Yeah. Thanks for thoughts, guys. BUT... it's 'Hold The Line'... until there is Nothing left to Hold anymore. Ain't there yet! just, things ain't Good. :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno II on 19 September 2021, 08:58:38 AM
Best of luck, Keith.

Cheers - Phil.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: DecemDave on 19 September 2021, 10:02:59 AM
At the risk of depressing everyone further, I happen to live in a block of 32 flats that appeals to retired downsizers and so we have 1 serious disability, 3 dementia and 5 cancer cases each with a partner doing their best to cope/care .  The local NHS Hospital does well when stuff gets acute but the GP experience is very variable and the social care side is non existent unless you pay ££ for private nurse help.  Being able to easily chat with people in similar situations does help the carers.   The upside is that being in the flat so much means I can get some painting of the little guys done. 

I know nobody likes paying taxes but I would support NI being levied on pensioners income and council tax doubled on properties over £0.25m. (both would hit me).  It wouldn't hit those relying on state pension and could even out this lottery between those caring and those who used to pack the cruise ships and the winter sunshine holidays. (also me!)  Of course, even when there was funding, there might not be the staff.   There are only 1m "unemployed" and 2m "furloughed" and another 2m not "economically active" so something needs to be done urgently to make working more attractive and adding taxes on the working population isn't it.   
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Heedless Horseman on 21 September 2021, 10:42:36 AM
POLITICAL RANT... BE WARNED! DON't LIKE... Don'T READ!
You have got to laugh, really... but it is not funny. From mid 80s, it was PRIVATISE! Encourgage competition! Drive prices down! Bring up Small Business! Foreign Investment!
BUT, when the S**t builds up...  'Help!'... 'Bale out'... State take Over 'not an option'...'protection for consumers'... 'Incentivisation'...
WE HAD... Definitely NOT PERFECT... (I remember Power cuts, Strikes, etc.)...but Services that were not 'on the brink of disaster'. |Pretty avearge , (Old Jokes about BR Cheese Sandwiches?)... but THERE.
No-one had to 'F**k About, looking for a 'Better Deal' from an alternative Service Provider... what was there was ok.. and it WOULD STILL BE THERE.

You also had LOTS of staff... also 'TAXPAYERS'... on 'decent' wages...(though everyone needs more!).. with good pension prospects for the later years.
Also... trainees... NOT just the couple of old guys still left... but young'uns to learn the job WELL... and be experienced staff in their time and actually capable of doing the task, without having to call in  another van ' cos they needed a part... which should have been there.... just didn't know.

In my old work... call in 'The Engineers'... and they would perform 'Anything' ... from plumbing to alarm systems... and go around changing lights as a plus! Privatised... 'Job Cards' So... maybe 3 days later! For Job on Card. Not their fault.

I could go on... and on... and on... (is that onanism?)  ;D   But, maybe should not have started.. just you read the news... and it shouldn't be there.
Apologies for Rant!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Big Insect on 21 September 2021, 01:19:19 PM
TBF - IMHO etc. etc. etc ... the whole thing need a proper 'brain' to come up with a lasting holistic solution, not this 'band-aid' of a policy.

I don't mind paying extra taxes, as long as the money is used wisely and effectively. So adding a few % points to NI - which does also mean that Business pays its fair share of the new levy, seems to me to be OK. Plus NI is a proportionate tax - the more you earn the more you pay - right up to the top of the earnings ladder.

However .... and here come the but!
Putting more money into an already failing system is not a great idea, without first addressing the systemic problems that cause the issues.
It has been proven time & time again, that the more money you put into the NHS, the more inefficient it gets. Whilst the whole concept of the NHS is great (& I think that Bevan was inspired with his vision), that doesn't mean it is still 100% fit for purpose all these years later.
Don't get me wrong the staff work hard, they are on the most part dedicated (& I'll come back to that) but the whole structure is creaking at the seams - and Covid and the 2015 Pension Reforms have finally tipped it over the edge.
I saw a report a while back were some great business mind (I forget who) was asked to go into the NHS and come back with solutions and ideas. In the end he was left frustrated and totally disillusioned that there was much hope of radicle transformation.

He was asked if there was one thing that he'd change that would make a massive difference, what would that be? His answer was quick and simple - change completely the way that Consultants work. He was adamant that the attitude and working practices of the vast majority of Consultants was crippling the NHS. He saw them as protectionist, arrogant, self-interested and in many cases actually very aggressive towards the whole NHS structure. He stated the case of why many NHS operating theatres are empty on a Friday afternoon - the answer was simple. One word - Golf! These valuable resources were left idle because many Surgeons were not prepared to schedule long of complex operations that might mean a cancelled game of golf, if there were complications. This issue was further exacerbated by the issues with the Life Times Earnings Cap on NHS Pensions - that meant that extra overtime for middle-ranking theatre staff was actually punitive. More overtime actually led to a tax bill on those earnings, as they generated additional pensions contributions that took the earner over the 'Cap' and so made doing the overtime actually mean the employee had to pay for the privilege of doing the overtime. More lack of 'systems thinking' and just common sense!
Also - if we look at France (for example) - which has a great health care system - Consultants or the equivalent can earn no more than 1/3rd of their total income (from any source) from outside the state health service. Or they are 100% private and cannot work in or use any state medical facilities. And if they are 100% private they have to pay back a very high % of their otherwise government funded training costs.
When a Consultants representative was asked why Consults were (by & large) so uncooperative his answer was "well what do you expect - my members often have 3 degrees and are being ordered about by NHS managers often who only have 3 GCEs at best ... "

So where is this all going ? ... I hear you ask.

Well ... if we have an NI levy for Social Care - then lets have it a) allocated to Social Care (not the NHS) and b) let's have a proper Bevan style plan for a holistic Social Care Service - not the current rag-bag of inadequate council based (& funded) provision and private care-homes where profit is the driving force not care. Also - there are millions of unpaid voluntary (& I use that word carefully as most are forced to do the care as the system is so inadequate) who have completely been overlooked by the governments latest so-called 'plan'.

The issues with the NHS & Social Care are not a quick fix - this needs proper thinking and a real deep dive investigation. But I suspect that now that Boris & crew have come up with this NI tax wheeze - that's it - done and dusted - bish bash bosh!!!

Strewth!

Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Steve J on 21 September 2021, 02:23:20 PM
Hmmm, where to start! Based upon personal experiences, I offer you my following observations:

- The NHS is brilliant at emergency level work, as seen in our A&E services. After that it fails frankly. This is not down to the staff who are by and large brilliant, but as an organisation it is dreadfully inefficient. I remember a consultant telling me that at Southmead hospital in Bristol, they had their A4 photocopy paper supplied by four different companies! When diagnosed with prostate cancer, I went private via work as I kept getting delays to my first appointment. In the end I was seen by the same consultant privately as I would have on the NHS, the operation was performed at Southmead, an NHS hospital and I was declared cancer free before I would have seen the same chap on the NHS.

- Social Care is a joke right across the board. The recent NI increase only applies to those over 60 or thereabouts, so misses out anyone younger, such as our son!

- Social Services in South Glos is dreadful really. Too high staff turnover, not enough staff, not enough experienced staff means waits of months at a time for even the most basic of appointments.

- CAMHS. Hard to believe that they are worse than all of the above, most likely for the same reasons.

If we really want to fix things, then we need to start paying more into a system that works, like the French health service. My old boss lives there and they basically pay about 25% of their care, with the state picking up the rest. In short we need to rip everything up and start again, but we know that ain't going to happen.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Gwydion on 21 September 2021, 05:04:58 PM
My concern with NHS funding is how little there is of it, where the extra money goes when it is poured in.

Bevan envisaged an NHS, not a brand name to keep the punters quiet with private companies touting tendering for business to provide services using nursing staff, doctors and consultants trained by the NHS and hived off into private 'providers'.

I don't blame anyone getting treatment for serious conditions done privately given the state of public health care, but therein lies the rub. A two tier system that allows middle class people to buy their way around the blockages and waiting lists means that the people who know how to use the levers of social power to change the system are filtered out. If fund managers, accountants, solicitors etc had to sit in the sinks of despair that NHS hospital waiting rooms have become, there would be a real outcry and real change pdq. Boris' money would have to deliver something meaningful instead of more cash to his mates running private and increasingly American 'health care providers' instead of funding front line services.

When 'markets' became okay in the NHS context we were stuffed. Get them out and go back to a proper formulation of the Welfare State.

There's another reason the NHS looks poor in international comparison tables - the US spends 17% of GDP on healthcare, the French 11%  and UK 10%. If you want top quality care you have to pay for it - and get value for money, not profits for company shareholders.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Orcs on 21 September 2021, 08:53:10 PM
HMMMMM!

First doubling council tax on any property over £250K. I don,t know. Where you live DecemDave, But where I live you cannot get a 2 bed flat anywhere near me for less than £250K . This means that the youngsters have almost no hope. Rent for the same is £1200 a month plus council tax that is already at over £150 aa month. Double the council tax and they loose any chance at all to get a place of their own.

My own council tax on a normal 4 bed semi is already £284 a month, and no I don't live in central London just Buckinghamshire.
NI increases announced will up our household bill by £1000 a year.

While I think the service given by the NHS staff is excellent, it is a huge money pit. My job is maintaining their data services , a couple of years ago I found out they were paying for two 100 meg data connections  for a Hospital minimum cost around £140K a year. The hospital had been closed for over 5 years !!!!!!!
I regularly see similar wastage on smaller sites.


When my father was in hospital they were using elasticated bandages at three times the cost because the staff could not be bothered to get the proper ones from downstairs as the Porter was off sick. My sister in law ( a senior nurse several ranks senior too the ward sister  ) came in an flipped at them . The claimed no time but she had sat and watched them chat for half an hour.


I too saw the program that Big insect saw and  he is absolutely correct. The whole system needs a shake up before they sk the tax payer for more
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Steve J on 21 September 2021, 09:16:59 PM
I remember an article a few years ago that argued, rather convincingly, that the NHS has never worked as envisaged from day one. With an increasing population, people living longer etc has simply brought things to a head. This has been known for years and successive governments on both sides have refused to address the situation head on.

Frankly I despair of a solution as currently getting support for our son is nigh on impossible, ditto my current back problems. The GP had to play the cancer card to get an MRI for me, as the first request was rejected, which is apparently the norm at present. So now I'm on a 3 month waiting list to then find out when I may be seen!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Steve J on 22 September 2021, 06:57:29 AM
Last night just before bed, we received 'spam' text messages via a BT service ad infinitum, to the point we had to disconnect the 'phone >:(.

Another thing that got my ire, was on a walk yesterday, I could smell what I thought was wood smoke, only to discover the someone had once again burnt the farmer's hay bales in the field. Why oh why do they do this?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno II on 22 September 2021, 07:33:26 AM
I assume they think it's 'fun' or 'big'.....Or maybe they hope a fire engine will come and put it out. =)

Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Heedless Horseman on 22 September 2021, 08:37:58 AM
Similar vein.. to last. 'Uprighted' TWO 'Waste',  Dog S**t bins, yesterday. WTF!!!
At least not set on fire!
Any of the little t***s even know how much 'Sh*t Can' Burning was a VERY hated 'Fatigue' for many?

Can think of 'Community Service'...
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: DecemDave on 22 September 2021, 10:13:36 AM
Quote from: Orcs on 21 September 2021, 08:53:10 PM
HMMMMM!

Agree your points. I had not considered the pass through of council tax to renters from wealthy landlords. I do stick to my main point that we need to get the relatively wealthy and not the working young to contribute more.  As to housing, I live in one of the many relatively cheap housing areas in the south east. We sold one flat in 2019 for £240k and another in 2020 for £215k.  [To buy the "palace" we now live in].  Zoopla right now has 854 properties under £250k in the BN postcode.    They mostly wont be bought by first time buyers though, they will be bought by buy to let landlords adding to their portfolio to charge more youngsters rent.  As to the NHS yes it needs reform, I've seen lots of attempts to do so in the last 6 decades.  What is more likely to actually happen is that a growing clamour over the growing waiting lists encourages politicians of all parties to put more money in. 
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Steve J on 22 September 2021, 12:13:24 PM
Well it turns out that the texts were our son sending them to our house 'phone by mistake, rather than his sisters mobile :'( :'( :'(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno II on 22 September 2021, 12:34:27 PM
Oops !

At least you shouldn't be bombarded again, Steve !

Cheers - Phil.  :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fred. on 22 September 2021, 12:49:36 PM
Quote from: Steve J on 22 September 2021, 12:13:24 PM
Well it turns out that the texts were our son sending them to our house 'phone by mistake, rather than his sisters mobile :'( :'( :'(

LOL  ;D >:( ;D

The BT text to voice service is very odd in the way it reads the messages at the best of times. Can't imagine what messages from one teenager to another might come across as!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 22 September 2021, 01:17:39 PM
Quote from: fred. on 22 September 2021, 12:49:36 PM
LOL  ;D >:( ;D

The BT text to voice service is very odd in the way it reads the messages at the best of times. Can't imagine what messages from one teenager to another might come across as!

Don't think I want to know...
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Steve J on 22 September 2021, 03:53:24 PM
Well the first message was reading out the web address, hence my immediate suspicion! Only when listening to one later on did I realise that it was most likely him sending said messages. When I got him to check he realised that he was sending it to the wrong number. At least I can sleep in peace tonight...
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Heedless Horseman on 22 September 2021, 08:39:42 PM
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 22 September 2021, 01:17:39 PM
Don't think I want to know...

Think WTF? is most common txt !  ;D
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno II on 23 September 2021, 10:21:44 AM
Is it just me........ :-\

Or is it somewhat ironic that we are trying to cut down on CO2 emissions to stop Global warming......(a good thing. )......and there's a shortage of CO2 for the food/drinks industry ! :o :o :o
I'm giving up making toy soldiers and working on a way to 'scrub' Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere.

Hey !!! I got chemistry at 'O' level......I'm going to make more money than Bill Gates. ;)

(There must be someone who's actually trying to do this ?...Isn't there ?)

Cheers - Phil. :P (I've given up trying to stop posts like this....It's a waste of my time.)



Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 23 September 2021, 10:58:51 AM
Quote from: Techno II on 23 September 2021, 10:21:44 AM
(I've given up trying to stop posts like this....It's a waste of my time.)
But you have lots of time to waste Phil....
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: steve_holmes_11 on 23 September 2021, 11:02:56 AM
Quote from: Techno II on 23 September 2021, 10:21:44 AM
Is it just me........ :-

Or is it somewhat ironic that we are trying to cut down on CO2 emissions to stop Global warming......(a good thing. )......and there's a shortage of CO2 for the food/drinks industry ! :o :o :o
I'm giving up making toy soldiers and working on a way to 'scrub' Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere.

Hey !!! I got chemistry at 'O' level......I'm going to make more money than Bill Gates. ;)

(There must be someone who's actually trying to do this ?...Isn't there ?)

Cheers - Phil. :P (I've given up trying to stop posts like this....It's a waste of my time.


It isn't Ironic:

The CO2 that ought to be in your club soda is floating about the upper layers of the atmosphere.
It's a tricky one for "common sense" because a small quantity of solid or liquid can release a comparatively huge volume of gas.

I've not looked into solutions in any great detail because.
* I assume the big brains are looking into it.
* I can't even produce a club standard set of Napoleonic wargame rules.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Big Insect on 23 September 2021, 11:18:54 AM
Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 23 September 2021, 11:02:56 AM
* I can't even produce a club standard set of Napoleonic wargame rules.

That is no great surprise there Steve.

A set of truly workable Napoleonic rules are the Holy Grail of wargaming - I have Napoleonic armies that have not seen the light of day for decades as I refuse to rebase them (yet again) for yet another set of "Here it is folks ... we've finally cracked it!" set of Napoleonic rules!

Getting a club set that can actually allow a game to be played in a day (let alone an evening) and that everybody actually agrees on would be a true miracle - puts solving Global Warming or the Brexit conundrum or global peace or even the NHS shambles truly into perspective.

NB: the best Napoleonic set I did once play was a 20mm game using 'Muskets & Marshalls' - very interesting combat/firing mechanism. However, it is fought at a highly abstract level. But we did finish the game in a day.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Heedless Horseman on 13 October 2021, 10:27:54 AM
BBC News site. Now being asked to register and sign in, This is the BBC... which broadcast to anyone in occupied Europe WW2 ! WTF!  >:( >:( >:(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Steve J on 13 October 2021, 11:13:16 AM
I think it's to do with the TV Licence, which now covers the BBC News website as well. Could be wrong of course.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Elliesdad on 13 October 2021, 05:08:55 PM
We logged on (via both my iPad and my wife's) if only so we can vote on BBCs Saturday Kitchen.
Does the celebrity guest get to eat their food heaven (something they really, really like) or their food he'll (unsurprisingly something they really, really do NOT like)?
The website and the show itself asks you to vote whether you want to see the celeb eat their food heaven or their food hell.
Unless it is a celebrity I actually like then invariably I vote "hell" - or as I tend to call it "eat sh*t and die".
Dear Marge - does that make me a bad person? 😈

Geoff
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leon on 13 October 2021, 07:00:52 PM
I've noticed that I can't use the BBC Sport app anymore as it requires me to register. I'll just use the SkySports one instead.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Orcs on 13 October 2021, 07:01:54 PM
Quote from: Elliesdad on 13 October 2021, 05:08:55 PM
We logged on (via both my iPad and my wife's) if only so we can vote on BBCs Saturday Kitchen.
Does the celebrity guest get to eat their food heaven (something they really, really like) or their food he'll (unsurprisingly something they really, really do NOT like)?
The website and the show itself asks you to vote whether you want to see the celeb eat their food heaven or their food hell.
Unless it is a celebrity I actually like then invariably I vote "hell" - or as I tend to call it "eat sh*t and die".
Dear Marge - does that make me a bad person? 😈

Geoff

No , because most celebs are so full of themselves they deserve it.  :d
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Techno II on 14 October 2021, 10:29:21 AM
Quote from: Steve J on 13 October 2021, 11:13:16 AM
I think it's to do with the TV Licence, which now covers the BBC News website as well. Could be wrong of course.

Yep...I believe it's something to do with that, Steve.

I've had a BBC a/c for years...and still I get asked to register when I click on some news stories (seems to be totally random).......Fekk off !  ;)
I just click "Later"..and it's fine.

Have to admit I deleted my BBC News App..and the BBC Sport App from the tablet about a week ago.
The Beeb's News app is cr*p...And the sport app is a pain in the posterior, with the number of 'updates' it keeps throwing out.

If I want to find something out, I'll take the 'long way around'.....In the long run...It saves more time than dealing with spurious updates that are of no interest, at all.

Cheers - Phil. :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Heedless Horseman on 18 December 2021, 05:15:47 AM
Why is Santa in Red ? Would have thought Val913 Yellow Ochre more appropriate for cured Reindeer Skin?  :o

Still time to repaint and educate kids in the values of a sustainable use of renewable, natural resources.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 18 December 2021, 06:46:22 AM
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 18 December 2021, 05:15:47 AMWhy is Santa in Red ? Would have thought Val913 Yellow Ochre more appropriate for cured Reindeer Skin?  :o 

Eveyone knows that - CocaCola Corperation in the Early 30's - prior to that it were green. Da*nd colonials again.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 18 December 2021, 09:25:15 AM
It hides the blood stains!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: steve_holmes_11 on 18 December 2021, 11:56:19 AM
QuoteWhy is Santa in Red ? Would have thought Val913 Yellow Ochre more appropriate for cured Reindeer Skin?  :o

Still time to repaint and educate kids in the values of a sustainable use of renewable, natural resources.
Modern Answer: Coca Cola branding.

Antiquarian Answer: He's the Bishop of Myra: Quite an angry bishop by all accounts.


Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: howayman on 18 December 2021, 12:55:52 PM
I thought the coca cola rebranding story was just an urban myth .
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 18 December 2021, 01:09:25 PM
From https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/dec/21/coca-cola-didnt-invent-santa-the-10-biggest-christmas-myths-debunked

"1 Coca-Cola designed the modern Santa Claus as part of an advertising campaign

This is one you always hear at dinner parties. It makes the speaker sound rather clever and cynical. Except it's tosh. Coca-Cola did start using Santa in advertising in 1933. But Santa had been portrayed almost exclusively in red from the early 19th century and most of his modern image was put together by cartoonist Thomas Nast in the 1870s. Even if you were to confine your search to Santa in American soft drinks adverts, you would find a thoroughly modern Santa Claus in the posters for White Rock that came out in 1923."
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Gwydion on 18 December 2021, 01:19:04 PM
Coca Cola did appropriate the idea of Santa Claus (dressed in red) in 1931 (or 33?), but...

yes, a Father Christmas type figure had been around for years in the US in different coloured robes.
Louis Prang (should have been a fighter pilot) had a set of Christmas cards with Santa in a red costume in 1875, predating Coca Cola's appropriation by 56 years (and he probably wasn't the first person to have a 'red' Santa).

(Nast's Santa was in a brown bristly fur job)

In Europe he'd been around under various names for centuries in different costumes.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: FierceKitty on 18 December 2021, 01:28:35 PM
A reminder that he's in white in some countries.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: DecemDave on 18 December 2021, 02:54:59 PM
And in Moscow , he can be in blue.
And to prove it here is a pic from when I was there on business one Christmas.  I took the pic so you will need to check the glass for reflections to see me.  :D
(https://i.imgur.com/i5GJ85X.jpg)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leman on 07 January 2022, 10:25:02 AM
Another theory I have come across is the accessibility of those red and white mushrooms up in Lapland. You'll believe a reindeer can fly!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Last Hussar on 27 July 2022, 11:20:45 PM
Just out of interest...

Who has kids of 8, 6 and 3 years old?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leon on 27 July 2022, 11:58:44 PM
Quote from: Last Hussar on 27 July 2022, 11:20:45 PMWho has kids of 8, 6 and 3 years old?

 :-\

People who visit the new Pendraken shop...!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Last Hussar on 28 July 2022, 09:18:05 PM
I was wondering who was failing to out himself on twatter, but seems to be keeping quiet!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leon on 28 July 2022, 11:34:07 PM
Quote from: Last Hussar on 28 July 2022, 09:18:05 PMI was wondering who was failing to out himself on twatter, but seems to be keeping quiet!

I'm not sure what you mean, that the person on Twitter is also on the Forum here?  I'm not sure if he's got a Forum account, I'd need to check on that.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Raider4 on 29 July 2022, 08:36:35 AM
QuoteI'm not sure what you mean, that the person on Twitter is also on the Forum here?  I'm not sure if he's got a Forum account, I'd need to check on that.
Years of living with the GDPR regulations, and before that the Data Protection Act, means this post is raising all sort of red flags with me.

Remember - you can only use the data you have for the reason you collected it, and data subjects have the right to privacy.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leon on 29 July 2022, 02:18:20 PM
Quote from: Raider4 on 29 July 2022, 08:36:35 AMYears of living with the GDPR regulations, and before that the Data Protection Act, means this post is raising all sort of red flags with me.

I'm not sure why the red flags, I'm not about to start posting people's details or giving out any info?  I was more curious what Hussar's post was about as it seemed to alude to a chap from Twitter who came to visit the shop yesterday.  If he doesn't have a Forum account then he's not likely to see the query.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Raider4 on 29 July 2022, 03:45:51 PM
QuoteI'm not sure why the red flags, I'm not about to start posting people's details or giving out any info?  I was more curious what Hussar's post was about as it seemed to alude to a chap from Twitter who came to visit the shop yesterday.  If he doesn't have a Forum account then he's not likely to see the query.
Because I'm super, super sensitive about this, and because of your comment "I'm not sure if he's got a Forum account, I'd need to check on that."

I'm absolutely sure you'll do nothing wrong. Like I said, these sort of things get my spidey-sense tingling.

And I have seen people get in very big trouble by doing something they thought was 'helpful' when dealing with personal data.

Mind you, you can hardly fire yourself ;).
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Leon on 29 July 2022, 04:27:58 PM
Quote from: Raider4 on 29 July 2022, 03:45:51 PMI'm absolutely sure you'll do nothing wrong. Like I said, these sort of things get my spidey-sense tingling.

And I have seen people get in very big trouble by doing something they thought was 'helpful' when dealing with personal data.

No worries, I'm always very aware of people's data as we regularly get queries that would fall foul of GDPR.  It's always innocent stuff like 'I think my husband ordered x, y and z so I don't want to order the same thing for his birthday.' or 'My friend has placed a combined order and some of it was for me.' but we're not allowed to confirm/deny things like that.  I always have to get them to ask those questions to the person directly and if needed, get the original person to contact us.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Orcs on 29 July 2022, 10:18:51 PM
I wonder how  "Data" from Startrek the next generation gets on with GPDR?
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 29 July 2022, 11:12:34 PM
GDPR - Great Data Protection Racket :)
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: John Cook on 30 July 2022, 12:32:51 AM
What a strange world we live in these days. 
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: fsn on 30 July 2022, 09:33:40 AM
[rant]
As a Data Protection Officer I have to mildly disagree with Comrade Ithoriel.

Data Protection should be about people knowing what data are being processed about them, and being able to control how that data are being processed.

There are Data Protection extremist organisations that won't process anything in case they get prosecuted, but I was at a conference a few years ago where a speaker said "best way to do data protection: don't be a d@ck". I've never been a duck, but her point was don't do anything with people's data that you wouldn't want done with yours.

[/rant]
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Ithoriel on 30 July 2022, 10:29:40 AM
While I agree with our resident Data Protection Officer that that is how it is supposed to work, in my, admittedly limited experience, it works wonderfully to stop ME doing things but protecting me from rogues and scoundrels ... not so much. :(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Heedless Horseman on 17 March 2023, 10:22:20 PM
Graves.
UK. Mother died last year. Discovered Parents grave had a 50yr lease... expired. Yes Ma 'could' go in with them... BUT NO INSCRIPTION on stone!!!
Paid couple of hundred £ to renew. I will end up there too... but will HAVE to be burnt in a box... (No room for more?)... 3 max 'burials'.
Worth considering, if you have 'Family' plot.

Ma did take out lease on next plot... 30yrs to run... but I Have transferred to 'Family'... know where she wanted, and I, want to go.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Heedless Horseman on 18 March 2023, 11:16:56 PM
RAF Scampton.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-65000047

Humph!!! Best I do NOT comment! :(
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: TheLimey on 26 July 2023, 03:17:17 PM
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 18 March 2023, 11:16:56 PMRAF Scampton.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-65000047

Humph!!! Best I do NOT comment! :(

Currently going to a judicial review. I know James Holland and Al Murray have been on this subject quite a bit on the "We Have Ways...' podcast
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Roy on 28 March 2024, 02:32:45 PM
Waiting for the postman/postwoman

I'm sitting at home, waiting to see if our street will be blessed with a visit by the post person today, and wondered what other people's recent experiences with the Royal Mail is like.

If we're lucky, we'll get a mail delivery service by the Royal Mail 3 days out of 6 (not necessarily every other day). That's mail such as small parcels and letters. Next day delivery will arrive when it should, via a post van devlivering this service only and larger parcels.

Obviously this hit-and-miss service has knock-on effects with letters containing bills, reminders, appointments, and sensitive information, never mind toy soldiers.

If it was official, "post will be delivered every other day" I wouldn't mind. But its the not knowing if a post person will turn up, or not that is so frustrating.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 28 March 2024, 03:06:28 PM
Ours is excellent, and gets the dog in all deliered parcel shots!
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Roy on 28 March 2024, 07:00:40 PM
Did get a visit by the postman, today.

Monday we had a regular post service.

Tuesday the postman arrived in the street, delivered a few parcels to a couple of houses, then left. So no regular service on that day.

Wednesday, today, different postman, but a delivery of letters and small parcels.

We (the street that is) know what the problem is. There's not enough postal staff at the Royal Mail office in Richmond, North Yorkshire; those they do have are swamped with too large a number of rounds and that feature too many addresses. As I said, if it was made official, 'post every-other-day' I'd have no problem. Its the not knowing, when or if, someone is coming that is the frustrating part.
Title: Re: Forum Soapbox
Post by: Steve J on 28 March 2024, 07:04:16 PM
Some weeks we only get 50% visits from the Royal Mail, other than Parcel Force et al. Certainly not a 6 day service and honestly can't remember when  it was. The post van parks opposite our house, so we know when they arrive, or not, as the case may be.