What's made you grumpy today?

[pxr5]

Jesus Fishy that's some story - sounds awful. I'm seeing more and more complaints from people online who get home and find a pole stuck outside their house. It'd be tempting to just knock it down, but I imagine the consequences would be severe. Luckily (or not) all our cabling in underground here - we've still got the OR problems to come yet after finally (hopefully) getting an order in.

[Fishy]

Blimey... he sounds like a keeper...

[David L]

As a company that provides an (essential) service using overhead distribution, I believe BT/Openreach do have certain rights to provide overhead wires across private property. This was sometimes referred to as 'flying rights'. The same rights would be afforded to electricity supply companies. However, it seems that the company have always been reluctant to enforce this. Probably, in this age of social media, they have one-eye on negative press.
Other companies now have permission to use Openreach poles to supply customers (at a cost) so even if you decide to be supplied by another company you may still be fed with an overhead feed.
The reason is cost, full stop. They used to say that underground cable was six-times the cost of overhead. When I built my place, I laid duct out to the buried cable that fed the poles in the street. The cable was intercepted in a small footway box and this meant I avoided an overhead feed fixed to the gable-end of the bungalow. I had the neatest phone feed in the street. It helped that I worked for BT though! 

[pxr5]

Here are few moaners from the subreddit compoface - it's a laugh looking at https://www.reddit.com/r/compoface/ , there are some great ones, but here are a few comms-type ones:

https://www.reddit.com/r/compoface/comments/1dmmt4i/they_should_never_have_erected_this_pole_compoface/#
https://www.reddit.com/r/compoface/comments/1er0xky/5g_mast_compoface/
https://www.reddit.com/r/compoface/comments/1ewtvt6/street_in_bath_ruined_by_eyesore_virgin_media/

[Fishy]

Hope the police find  other non dead wrongdoers involved with this Mohamed Al Fayed bastard

[Slim]

I located my old box of cassette tapes, unopened for many years, and found this (among a few other gems):



I'm hoping that the "G.LEE INT" is an interview with Geddy by Metro Radio's John Coulson, in which Geddy expresses his appreciation that the Newcastle crowd sang along to Closer To The Heart, a new experience for the band. I think the "N.PEART INT" is probably an interview with Neil by Radio One's Richard Skinner. 1979 I think.

I do have a cassette deck in the loft somewhere, so perhaps we'll find out.

I also found a cassette with Alice in Chains' Dirt on one side, and Sinatra's Songs For Swingin' Lovers on the other. Catholic tastes, even 30-odd years ago.

So I brought my old Aiwa separates cassette deck down out of the loft, cleaned the heads and the rollers with a bit of isopropyl alcohol, switched it on, put a tape in, pressed REWIND. It made a sort of rattling noise, but the tape didn't budge. Tried a different tape, same thing. Play, rewind or fast-forward just make the same noise. Apart from that they don't do anything. Tried squirting some lubricant in there as a sort of desperation measure, but nope - no good.

Proper tape decks are improbably expensive now. I think I'll buy a little tape player off Amazon. Some of them have a USB connector so you can transfer direct to a PC. Some of them record directly to an SD card socket. Hopefully AI speech enhancement / noise reduction will help to overcome any aural deficiencies.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Sounds like a good subject for The Repair Shop. I've never had much success over the years attempting to bring electrical equipment back to life after they've been stored for a long time. Imagine if Jay Blades pressed play and Geddy's voice sounded across the nation. You'd be a hero.😀

[Fishy]

Went to a garden centre for some bulbs and the fucking Christmas shit is out already.. just fuck right off with that..

[Fishy]

Why can't Schofield just fuck off..

[Slim]

I had a very fun and useful bookmark, a site with zoomable maps that showed the old "historic" county boundaries alongside the "ceremonial ones". Went there a few minutes ago and now it's asking me to sign in to the "Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government".

I suppose it was never intended for public use. Bum

[The Picnic Wasp]

Three weeks ago I phoned the  company which installed my wood burners requesting their flue cleaning service. Usual response from the type who lives in a society without pens, pencils or any inclination to help, "you'll need to email us with your name and address and a contact number and we'll get back to you with an appointment date, but we're looking at a few weeks". Sent the email on 13/9 so phoned this morning for an update. Couldn't find my email. They sent me an email to respond to in case I'd used the wrong address, but it was the same one as in my sent box. Enquired when they might be able to sweep the flue as were now heading into the colder weather. "In a few weeks, can't give you an exact date". Exasperating, but just what I expected before I dialled their number today.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Part 2

My heart rhythm has been a bit unstable this past week. This despite not having any alcohol for a couple of months and keeping myself quite busy around the place and getting exercise. So, probably not the best idea but I decided I'll have a couple of beers tonight as this healthy living obviously isn't doing the trick. I fancied Miller Genuine Draft which I can now only find at a convenience store about a mile away. It has a really small car park but there was one space left between two vans. I noticed how good my recently polished car looked for its age as I walked away. Got served quickly in the shop with the van driver and his tattooed lady the customers in front of me. Got back to the car and there's those two chatting to the driver of the other van who was sitting on the wing of my car. I tried to remain as expressionless as possible given their thirty year advantage and the fact they looked as hard as nails. He got off the car as I approached but my blood was boiling. What is it with people nowadays? They don't seem capable of standing anymore. If they're not perched on some stationery object they're slouched across a supermarket trolley or sprawling over shop or waiting area counters. I am aware that this kind of getting annoyed about such things is definitely age related but it does burst my knitting. On close inspection at a safe distance my shiny paintwork was fine despite his manky plaster coated work trousers. Looking forward to those Millers.

[Nickslikk2112]

What is it with people nowadays? They don't seem capable of standing anymore. If they're not perched on some stationery object they're slouched across a supermarket trolley or sprawling over shop or waiting area counters.

They're scum, that's what. Pure scum.

On our local TV news the other day there was a report on the huge amount of kids starting school who aren't toilet trained and who can't speak. The bloody teachers are trying to make excuses for it saying that parents have been having difficult times in the past few years. Bollocks. The parents are feckless scum who care about their next tattoo and next quick shag rather than bringing up kids.

[Matt2112]

What is it with people nowadays? They don't seem capable of standing anymore. If they're not perched on some stationery object they're slouched across a supermarket trolley or sprawling over shop or waiting area counters.

They're scum, that's what. Pure scum.

On our local TV news the other day there was a report on the huge amount of kids starting school who aren't toilet trained and who can't speak. The bloody teachers are trying to make excuses for it saying that parents have been having difficult times in the past few years. Bollocks. The parents are feckless scum who care about their next tattoo and next quick shag rather than bringing up kids.

Quite; even during the very first and harshest lockdown, when our young 'un was in Reception, schools provided lessons over Zoom and set homework. There's no excuse not to have your child educated properly and there never has been.

[R6GYY]

Fecking Royal Mail putting their prices up by over 20%. 2nd time this year. Grrr.. 

250g large letter yesterday: £2.70
250g large letter today: £3.30

Increase of 60p which is 22.2%

Thieving bastards.