Today I'll mainly be moaning about ...

[PeteTP]

1 hour ago, Lmafudd said:

Today I will be moaning about the fact that my UX is the first car, that I have owned, where one cannot leave the wipers off the windscreen when cleaning! The bonnet prevents them from levering up and away!

Used to be one of the first things I did when car cleaning.

If you look in the manual, does it not show explain how to put them (vertical) ie in the service position?

 

sorry if I’m wrong.

 

pete

[LenT]

37 minutes ago, PeteTP said:

If you look in the manual, does it not show explain how to put them (vertical) ie in the service position?

🤔

[PeteTP]

YouTube has this…

 

Putting Your Lexus wiper blades in "Winter Mode"

1.1K views · 6 months ago...more

[Rabbers]

2 hours ago, Phil xxkr said:

😅.

"One of the best temporary cures for pride and affectation is seasickness; a man who wants to vomit never puts on airs. - Josh Billings, 😎

???

[First_Lexus]

59 minutes ago, PeteTP said:

If you look in the manual, does it not show explain how to put them (vertical) ie in the service position?

 

sorry if I’m wrong.

 

pete

If it’s the same as my RX you hold the wiper stalk in the ‘up’ (single sweep) position while turning off the power button. The wipers then park vertically so you can lift them for cleaning the screen.

[Lmafudd]

1 hour ago, First_Lexus said:

If it’s the same as my RX you hold the wiper stalk in the ‘up’ (single sweep) position while turning off the power button. The wipers then park vertically so you can lift them for cleaning the screen.

I did realise that one could 'stop' them by turning the power button off but it's a bit phaffy! This is not a major issue and does not spoil my enjoyment of the UX in any way, not like the extremely noisy Bridgestone tyres do!

[Bluemarlin]

On 7/18/2023 at 7:36 AM, First_Lexus said:

Smoking at desks was commonplace. Alcohol in the office at the end of the day (or for any occasion really at pretty much any time after 14.00) was also common, provided by the company on trollies with cakes and snacks. Different times.

Reminds me of one of my other school holiday jobs, working in customer service for Philip Morris. Each morning we were taken to a locked room and given a free packet of cigarettes for the day 🙂

[Phil xxkr]

2 hours ago, Bluemarlin said:

Reminds me of one of my other school holiday jobs, working in customer service for Philip Morris. Each morning we were taken to a locked room and given a free packet of cigarettes for the day 🙂

Yes Bill, but you wouldn't exchange them for today's environment would you? It's astonishing we achieved anything some afternoons but the fact is that we did. Because we understood that work/targets/kpi's etc were a by-product of play time and naturally the harder you worked and got that out the way more honey. No money no honey 😎

[Bluemarlin]

24 minutes ago, Phil xxkr said:

Yes Bill, but you wouldn't exchange them for today's environment would you? It's astonishing we achieved anything some afternoons but the fact is that we did. Because we understood that work/targets/kpi's etc were a by-product of play time and naturally the harder you worked and got that out the way more honey. No money no honey 😎

Swings and roundabouts Phil. The technology behind global communications and information provision has resulted in a far more competetive world. The ability to rapidly analyse and exploit that information has resulted in companies demanding greater and  greater efficiencies, usually at the expense of the employees, and often the customer too.

In my day businesses were largely commercially driven, where money was made by selling things, and the other areas of the business were there to support that. It's been some time now that busineses have been finance LED, driven by accountants, who think that the best way to make money is to not spend it; resulting in less play time, honey, and all the other fun stuff. Staff and customers are the losers, all in favour of the shareholders.

Perhaps that's capitalism at its purest, but I know which I preferrred.

To tag a moan onto it, I spent over an hour on hold to Virgin Money this afternoon, just to try and speak to someone. Despite the technology, neither the website, app, or automatic chatbot could handle my issue.

 

[Cotswold Pete]

Indicators the size of a gnats crotchet, this is my moan. 

Why do more and more car designers think that having a large LED array on the rear with blaring red lights is acceptable when the indicators are so small as to be naffing useless.

I am not aware that the Highway code is about to change to say 'indicate if you can be bothered, but do not worry as your indicators will only be visible if the person behind is actually hanging off the bumper'.

I know in theory you should be far enough away to anticipate, but more and more my old eyes have no clue as to what the modern EV or hybrid in front is thinking of doing.

Apologies if this topic is already covered in this moan, but if it was, I suspect that back then the indicator was the size of 2 gnats crotchet (not one)

[Moleman]

57 minutes ago, Cotswold Pete said:

Indicators the size of a gnats crotchet, this is my moan. 

Why do more and more car designers think that having a large LED array on the rear with blaring red lights is acceptable when the indicators are so small as to be naffing useless.

I am not aware that the Highway code is about to change to say 'indicate if you can be bothered, but do not worry as your indicators will only be visible if the person behind is actually hanging off the bumper'.

I know in theory you should be far enough away to anticipate, but more and more my old eyes have no clue as to what the modern EV or hybrid in front is thinking of doing.

Apologies if this topic is already covered in this moan, but if it was, I suspect that back then the indicator was the size of 2 gnats crotchet (not one)

Same with the front, lights so bright you would never know if they were using the indicators.

[Malc1]

bright lights coming at us might of course be a phantom of our imagination coupled with aged and other eyesight issues .............. just simply believing they are tooooooo ultra bright ..  which of course modern headlights are 😥.............  or are they  !

Malc

[Gary H]

A good point on indicators earlier. One of the things which very much puts me off the more recent crop of Hyundai/Kia cars are that their SUV’s have a habit of putting the indicators low down in the rear bumper. Why do they do this? It makes no sense to put them in a place where they have a higher chance of getting damaged, a higher chance of getting covered in dirt and getting obscured with road spray on the likes of motorways and dual carriageways. I suppose the argument for this is they can be driven with their tailgates open. However, on my old Audi Q5, the indicators where you’d expect them to be (i.e - in the light cluster), then an ‘emergency’ set in the bumpers which only operate if the tailgate is open. If that costs too much to do for them, then surely it’s best to design their lights properly in the first place? 

On a similar note as @Cotswold Pete put earlier, I have also need that the sizes of indicators themselves, most notably on the rear, seem to be reducing in size. They seem to be nothing more than bright, little twinkle-lights on Teslas. 

I haven’t quite reached the age where modern, bright car headlamps have started affecting me when it comes to driving at night (the odd one does - granted), it’s very much put my father off driving in the dark, now. Whilst he will still drive in the dark if he has to, it’s something he’s actively avoided for at least the last five, maybe six years.

[Mincey]

I'm currently on-site at a client's.  It's stuffy in here so I have the window open. A bloke is "working" about 100m away with some kind of petrol powered device, constantly revving it. I am having to fight the temptation to go out there and shove it up his Aristotle.

[Spacewagon52]

53 minutes ago, Mincey said:

I'm currently on-site at a client's.  It's stuffy in here so I have the window open. A bloke is "working" about 100m away with some kind of petrol powered device, constantly revving it. I am having to fight the temptation to go out there and shove it up his Aristotle.

I can just imagine if he is using a large disc cutter - revving it up! I feel your pain James!

[First_Lexus]

Today I’d like to moan about Royal Mail. In the last week I’ve received a letter from HMRC (only a coding notice) dated February, and a reminder letter for a membership dated May. I never received my road tax reminder - due 1st August - at all, but sure it’ll turn up in a few months.

Last year I posted my Christmas cards all at the same time. One of my Sisters never received hers, but received her birthday card posted at the same time. The Christmas card eventually turned up, looking perfect, the following June…

It’s a shambles. Speaking to others I’m certainly not alone with these issues. Bah!

[DavidCM]

Similar experiences to you Ed.I suspect it may be down to your local delivery office.I think you are somewhere near me and if your deliveries come via Thatcham,then the problem is there.For the last few months ,I seem to get only one delivery a week and part of that is often other neighbours post.The only exception is any form of tracked or special delivery which turns up fairly promptly.

[Dells]

13 minutes ago, DavidCM said:

Similar experiences to you Ed.I suspect it may be down to your local delivery office.I think you are somewhere near me and if your deliveries come via Thatcham,then the problem is there.For the last few months ,I seem to get only one delivery a week and part of that is often other neighbours post.The only exception is any form of tracked or special delivery which turns up fairly promptly.

I send repaired clocks back to customers via Royal Mail special next day delivery because less chance of damage because it doesn’t go through the normal post system and it’s insured but I agree normal post is a joke, my pet hate is people that don’t indicate, and people that tailgate.

Dell

[Gary H]

Speaking of Christmas cards, that reminds me that the Christmas before last, I did have a card turn up at the end of the following February. I was quite taken aback by that, but as for that one in June - crikey! I wonder where that one was lurking away for six months?! 😳

I recently found out that the warehouse which my father worked at for over 30 years has not long been demolished. It’s being replaced by another very similar warehouse on the same footprint (answers on a postcard as to why the old one had to come down). It was quite a characterful building, as far as warehouses go and I believe dated back to around the 1930s. The reason I’m sad to see it go is because I spent countless Saturday mornings there as a child - opening the place up with my father (he was the manager there for about 12 of those 30-odd years) so we often were there alone. I used to enjoy walking around, looking at all the odd individual rooms within it, the tools, the lorry parked up e.t.c... Some proper characters worked there over the years too - a few of which my father still knows to this day (and he left there circa 1997/8). Now it’s all gone and another remaining fragment of my childhood with it . Despite most of those years being quite positive there for my father, and he too is a little reminiscent about the old place, he’s not been anywhere near as bothered about it as me! Obviously, I’m seeing it through childhood rose-tinted spectacles and I'm just too soft for my own good!

[dutchie01]

Todays moan is about people gluing themselves to something in order to create havoc and disturbe events or traffic in order to generate publicity. Just a bunch of selfish spoilt brats pushing their worldview on to the majority. I was a student once and demonstrated against nuclear and even Franco would you believe. Still remember the slogan Their struggle Our struggle International solidarity!!. Franco died one year later so i guess it worked..

it was all with a bit of tongue in cheek and a drink or two but today is just sheer agression and without any respect whatsoever. 

 

[Malc1]

2 hours ago, dutchie01 said:

is about people gluing themselves to something in order to create havoc and disturbe events or traffic in order to generate publicity. Just a bunch of selfish spoilt brats pushing their worldview on to the majority.

those 2 who glued themselves to the upper parts of the Dartford Bridge that day eventually got 3 years inside . ... should have been 30 !

I was caught up in that chaos along with many 000s of others too AND if I had seen them I'd have jeered NOT cheered

Malc

[LenT]

34 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

 

I was caught up in that chaos along with many 000s of others too AND if I had seen them I'd have jeered NOT cheered

I would suspect that any sympathisers caught up in that extensive delay would be tempted to reconsider their view.

It never seems to occur to the mighty intellects of these ‘Protestors‘  that winning the support of the Public has never yet been achieved by inconveniencing the Public!

[Cotswold Pete]

IMHO I kind of agree with their stance not their actions.

It for sure does not make sense to have large polluting traffic jams as a result of their actions, so they are kind of making matters worse, and alienating people, and I am sure I would be spitting nails if I was caught up in one.

I do recall many moons ago being caught in a tailback from some demo along Regents Street London on a Sunday when I was keen to get out of the smoke after a day being a tourist, and even then thinking how naff the fumes were as we inched along (and we did not have AC in cars in them days)

Not sure how any government is going to notice of anything unless protest are allowed, and having just watched Paul Whitehouse and his programs about water pollution at least Londoners will benefit from a £4.2B upgrade to the sewers while the rest of us can enjoy more sh*t in our rivers.

I feel the militant in me rising!!!

[dutchie01]

Oil has brought us decades of prosperity just look at the rise of the western world in the last century. It created possibilities to travel by car boat plane is the basis for numerous products and was the driving force of many economies. The dark side is the drilling can be a pretty horrible story with human rights issues and slave labour and wars have started because of oil. The slogan Stop Oil is naive as we just cant. Looking for alternatives yes fine great idea nobody will debate this but it is not as simple as it sounds. 

[First_Lexus]

Today is the final day of the ‘consultation’ on the closure of railway ticket offices. You can find the relevant email address to object as part of the consultation here:

https://www.rmt.org.uk/campaigns/rail/save-ticket-offices/

There is also a Parliamentary petition, currently on almost 87,000 names. You can sign that here:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/636542

I know this is a motoring forum, and I know many people won’t care, but for me this is a terrible idea. The strap line that this is to make “…buying tickets easier…” and “…modernisation and efficiency…” just isn’t true imho. What a shock. This is all about saving money, but will disadvantage some of the most vulnerable in society. Why do we suddenly need to go online or download an ‘app’ for everything? How is buying online and then collecting a ticket from an unreliable machine ‘easier’ than turning up, speaking to a human being and buying a ticket?

For younger viewers reading this and thinking it’s ridiculous, I will say only this. One day this sort of thing will happen to you. Technology will continue to advance, and you’ll be impacted by changes that you don’t like and don’t want. That’s my rant for the day!