If two things go wrong people will say they always happen in threes. How about six or even more?
What is it with electrical appliances? Or have I just been unlucky recently?
In chronological order in 2009:
1. Push button door switch and unlock fails on microwave. Fixed mechanically.
2. Push button mains switch on dishwasher fails. Fixed with a new one but not the same as the original as it was so old.
3. Micro-switch on oven fails -again. Sick of replacing it every few months, so a new oven.
4. Freezer suddenly stops cooling anything, though motor is still, noisily running. After farming out its contents to neighbours and ordering a replacement, I test it one last time. It works perfectly. Still working.
5. Flat battery in car; very embarrassing. Use jump start, take it for a drive. Still flat. Price up new one while putting it on charge. Ever since: no problems.
6. Wall clock stops. Take it down, check battery – seems OK. Try new one anyway; still no good. Put it to one side, check it later; nothing. Check it even later; it’s working!
7. Oscar is trapped outside in today’s awful weather. The electromagnetic cat-flap has stopped working; try a new battery. No good. Logic suggests rain might have been the problem, though it doesn’t look wet inside. Ten minutes with a hair dryer and it works again.
About six weeks of 2009 left. What else can go wrong? Or am I tempting fate?
Electrical woes November 14, 2009
Non-stick pans November 13, 2009
More of a scientific query than a rant but have you noticed how there’s one thing that actually does stick to these surfaces, and better than it does to any other kitchen utensil?
Water.
However well our dishwasher cleans and dries every glass, plate and all-metal saucepan, any pans with a non-stick surface are still dripping wet inside and have to be wiped dry.
Why is that?
Two minutes of silence today? November 11, 2009
So, at the car auction, the announcements were clear. At eleven o’clock staff stopped what they were doing and so did most of the customers; but far from all. I had expected this so I had locked my car to stand at its side.
Through the whole two minutes there were still many punters wandering around, getting in to cars, even re-starting the engines we’d switched off, making and taking phone calls and joking and talking. In the canteen some tried to insist on being served during this time.
They should be ashamed of themselves, but I don’t suppose they will be.
Festival Place, Basingstoke November 5, 2009
This will only be of interest to people, like me, who live within reach of the town, I imagine.
However, ……….
After my first visit today I have to vote it the very worst indoor shopping centre and car park I have ever visited.
Finding it was easy; off the A30, one junction up the ring road, follow the signs into the centre and we’re there in a couple of minutes. Parking was OK. Finding our way out was not. Are there any routes that don’t through Debenhams? When we found an exit (and they don’t make it easy by putting up signs, say) we had no idea where we were. The hundreds of shops in there seemed to have been deliberately mixed up so every section looked similar. At the exit there were a few signs pointing to places we didn’t want but no map. By luck we had come out on the South side, near to the place we’d come to visit. So far so good.
Later, back inside, there were very few places from where you could see the outside and so judge where you were on the inside. The malls ran straight, curved, up and down slopes, had junctions but very few signs and no maps that I could see. Eventually I found lifts back up to the 4th floor and our car.
Now the worst bit, getting out. Have you done it? Isn’t it appalling? It took 5 minutes of continual driving; left, right, left, left, right, right, ……. On and on it went. Down a level then left, right, right ….. following temporary add-on yellow exit signs. How the hell did anyone get out without them ????????
Finally the exit. Where were we? No idea. Did I want to go to Reading or Alton or Winchester or any of the places on the road signs? Of course not. I want the A30, London bound. By luck and inspiration we didn’t take any wrong turnings and so, about 3 miles later, we were approaching the A30 and home.
Arghhhhhhhhhhh
Rant over. Just don’t ever ask me to go there again.
UK postal workers’ strikes October 22, 2009
Sometimes I despair at the lack of logic of some groups of workers and the blinkered view of their unions.
Any group of workers whose jobs are threatened have my sympathy. Some (notably in the last 12 months) have agreed to work more flexibly, take pay cuts or longer unpaid leave to help save jobs. Not the postal workers.
Someone once said “The only thing we learn from history is that we never learn anything from history.” So true here.
Every time they strike or disrupt deliveries more companies seek out alternative ways of continuing their business. Competition to Royal Mail letter delivery grows and grows. At Christmas Scout groups deliver cards locally to raise funds around Farnham and Ipswich, a one man operator delivers mail in Plymouth and a plethora of larger companies offer courier services in the uk and delivery world-wide.
Do these workers genuinely believe their actions will achieve anything positive for their jobs and their future?
Aren’t search engines like Google wonderful? October 11, 2009
It’s amazing how search engines manage to make sense of users’ search terms which are vague or mis-spelled.
Well, today, one of them managed to send someone to my site, searching for crop circles with the phrase “cearkels in feald” !
I chalk this up as one more piece of evidence that some people are too stupid to be allowed to own or use computers.
Egypt cleric ‘to ban full veils’ October 5, 2009
“Egypt’s highest Muslim authority has said he will issue a religious edict against the growing trend for full women’s veils, known as the niqab.
Sheikh Mohamed Tantawi, dean of al-Azhar university, called full-face veiling a custom that has nothing to do with the Islamic faith.”
Read the full story: here
At last, some truth and common sense. Perhaps the rest of the world can follow his lead.
Swine flu’ strikes again July 27, 2009
I’m mourning the loss of an ancient British tradition.
I went to my local NHS surgery today. Everyone is asked to use the alcohol antiseptic handrub before entering the waiting room – fair enough.
When I got in there, looking forward to browsing through 6 month old copies of Woman, Belle and, if I was lucky, PCWorld, what did I see? Empty desks.
Does this mean all GPs will now see patients on time so they’re not sitting waiting for 30 minutes? Nope. So we still have at least one ancient tradition intact, thank goodness.
MPs’ expenses May 14, 2009
If it weren’t so serious, it would be a farce.
How dare these public employees defraud the British taxpayer so systematically of thousands of pounds? Because it clearly is fraud in many of the cases revealed so far. The auditors may unearth more.
In what other employment could a person hope to get away with it and then, when discovered, plead ‘oversight’ or ‘carelessness’ , and offer to pay the money back so that the whole matter can be forgotten?
No way. The CPS should prosecute all such fraudsters – and not just for large amounts. If you or I were to defraud, say, the DSS out of just one pound they would persue us with the full might of the law. All such MPs should be sacked.
After a general election I suspect we’d have 600-odd much more honest representatives in Parliament.
So, what to do about enabling these MPs to maintain a place to stay in London for about 30 weeks a year? How about just increasing their pay by about £20,000 p.a. (taxed!!) and let each of them decide how best to spend it on accomodation. I think that’s fair.
Why doesn’t Gordon Brown say ’sorry’? April 14, 2009
This is the big UK story at the moment.
His adviser, Damian McBride, did something daft/inappropriate/unprofessional and has been sacked. Brown has clearly expressed his regret at McBride’s actions but he’s not saying ’sorry’.
Why should he?
If a neighbour’s kid trampled on my flowers it would be nice if the parent came round and apologised but it would be even better if he/she brought the kid round to make an apology.
Brown didn’t send or condone or even know about the silly email. He can’t control what every employee does every minute of the day, nor should he; adults should take responsibility for their own actions.
As for the leader of the opposition jumping on the bandwagon (a specialism of his) and demanding that not saying ’sorry’ means it’s time for a change of government ! Join the real world, Cameron. When you are after votes you like to think your policies are the most important consideration. Why should it not be the same for Labour?
