Irritations - dump here thread

[artme]

I think the reason for the wrinkly hose on the Dyson and other vacuum cleaners has some thing to do with airflow and preventing the clogging of the hose. Little point to that, however, when the hose kinks and clogs because of it!

[RossM]

Stickers on apples. .

Stickers on any bl00dy fruit (or vegetables for that matter) Who the hell wants to pay god knows how much more for the privilege of seeing some obscure name or number on the fruit!! Then it gets in the compost, does not break down & you get little bits of plastic confetti all over the garden.

And while we are at it, BASEBALL SIZED apples & oranges. Wife: "Can you get six apples & six oranges while you are out?" Me: "Sure" ... A bit later on - Wife (Struggling to lift 10kg bag): "What on EARTH did you buy? I'm sure I didn't ask for watermelons" This is part of the Woolworths evil empire - they know most people buy fruit by the piece, not by weight & thus maximize each sale by only stocking giant, TASTELESS, genetically modified fruit substitutes.

[kiwigeo]

I ditch the stickers at the supermarket....I leave 'em stuck to those nice big mirrors at the back of the fruit and vege displays.

[Woodwould]

I ditch the stickers at the supermarket....I leave 'em stuck to those nice big mirrors at the back of the fruit and vege displays.

I've seen your work!

[underfoot]

I ditch the stickers at the supermarket....I leave 'em stuck to those nice big mirrors at the back of the fruit and vege displays.

I prefer the deli display glass as my fruit sticker repository,
it's amazing how many people follow suit, maybe if enough do it the big supermarkets may take the hint....
However.... on the downside, sometimes the stickers are needed to recognise the difference between the granny smith apples and those insipid unripe tomatoes they sell

[RossM]

Oh - here's another -

Service stations that stock everything EXCEPT for things you need for your car. Tried to buy a fuse at BP, Shell & Mobil (and tried 7-11 in the folorn hope they might have what I needed). Attendant at two (can't remember which ones) responded with inane comments about going to an electrician. The other 2 had a miniscule selection of auto fuses in pre-packaged lots. And don't bother to try & buy a headlight, tail lamp bulb or interior light bulb.

And then there is OfficeWorks - the biggest shop for the smallest range of products known to mankind. Aisles and aisles filled with the same junky stuff, but no real choice or variety. I asked for blotting paper on the weekend. BIG mistake to have the audacity to assume that this might in fact be a stationary item. The know-nothing gits didn't even know what blotting paper was .

When I explained what blotting paper was used for, they said (no kidding) "We don't really sell things here for business use"

[AlexS]

So, RossM, have you tried to by ink at Officeworks? I suspect no one there would know what it was.

[kiwigeo]

Oh - here's another -

Service stations that stock everything EXCEPT for things you need for your car.

You fool.......you thought when you went into a service station you'd get service?????

[RossM]

So, RossM, have you tried to by ink at Officeworks? I suspect no one there would know what it was.

ink? INK!! We ain't got no stinkin' INK!!!!

[kiwigeo]

Okay here's something else that irritates me. When Im flying economy class with Qantas and I'm sitting right behind business class and I want to have a slash...... I go to the nearest toilet at the pointy end of the plane and after getting the "get back to the back of the plane" stare from the knobs in business class the hostie then tells me I should be using the loos at the back of the plane.

Theres nothing in the terms and conditions on my ticket or any signs on the plane to the effect that I can't use the toilets at the front of the plane.

Of course when I'M flying business class its a totally different matter......any pleb from the back of the plane gets the snotty stare if he/she dares to venture into Bizzo Class!!!

[RossM]

You fool.......you thought when you went into a service station you'd get service?????

No, no - I've given up on the notion of service from service stations (and most other places) long ago. And I have sadly watched as the options for buying bits & pieces for the car have been whittled away. These are now relegated to part of a small shelf at the very back corner of the shop in most cases - behind the aisles of potato crisps, chocolates, lollies, various day-glo items masquerading as food, sundry groceries, magazines and far, far away from the wall to wall bottled idiocy called "drinks". Of course all these other things are ESSENTIAL for operating a modern motor vehicle! We don't need oil, coolant or replacement lights etc in this modern age. And when we do need these, we go to Auto Bhan or UltraCheapAuto or some such and get a huge choice of extraordianrily high quality items (the same huge choice of high quality items we get for hardware at Bunnings)

So here's to WesFarmers, Woolworths and all the other faceless corporations whose marketing geniuses think that quantity substitutes for real choice, price trumps quality and whose predatory practices drive both the small competitor (who offered real quality, service & choice) and their suppliers to the wall - their slogan seems to be "scr3w the customer."

[rsser]

Once I got upgraded to 1st class from Kathmandu to Singapore and the food and wines were something else!

Only wrinkle was that I was in my slightly malodorous trekking attire: shorts, heavy boots, 3 day old T-shirt.

[rsser]

Speaking of motor oil, my mechanic was saying that he's seeing an increasing number of clapped out motors when cars clock up over 100k km. He puts it down the increased service intervals which haven't been matched by improvements in oil or filters.

My 08 model Forester has an interval of 12,500 km, 2.5l displacement and uses 4.5l of oil with a filter 2/3rds of the size of std soup tin. My 03 model motorbike is 1l displacement, uses 3.5l of oil, has approx the same size filter but the change interval is 6000 km. Go figure.

[Woodwould]

Speaking of motor oil, my mechanic was saying that he's seeing an increasing number of clapped out motors when cars clock up over 100k km. He puts it down the increased service intervals which haven't been matched by improvements in oil or filters.

My 08 model Forester has an interval of 12,500 km, 2.5l displacement and uses 4.5l of oil with a filter 2/3rds of the size of std soup tin. My 03 model motorbike is 1l displacement, uses 3.5l of oil, has approx the same size filter but the change interval is 6000 km. Go figure.

The bike engine is built to much higher tolerances and therefore requires more regular maintenance. Your Forester won't rev to 11,000+ RPM and its compression ration won't be in the 10:1 region.

Edit: Oils have come on in leaps and bounds which, in conjunction with improved metallurgy, has prompted the longer service intervals.

[rsser]

A mate with the same model motorbike used ordinary engine oil, changed it when he remembered, and sold the bike with 196,000km on it still with good compression.

As for oils, yes, if I could afford synthetics I'd use them but I've just dropped to half the interval on the Forester on the advice of the mechanic.