On Fri, 29 Nov 2019 16:29:45 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:


I watch the fireworks on telly, not sure I'll even do that this year.

I can help think of all the money going up in flames, the stress
suffered by all sorts of animals and the risk to person and property.

And for what? What adult hasn't seen fireworks before and what kid
wouldn't prefer getting a new game for their console (where the
graphics are far more amazing). ;-)

Working New Years Eve and New Years Day and will be up around 0600
both days. Also working Boxing Day, up about 0445 unless I travel
Christmas Day. The weather will play a part in that decision.

When you have the option to work and aren't 'into' the whole thing, I
quite like working when there is peace and quiet around (I'm talking
IT Support here). Not sure I'd want to be on Public Transport or any
of the Emergency services though, having to deal with people who
aren't responsible for themselves and / or don't respect anyone else.

This could be the new fireworks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhDEEN4gcpI

Cheers, T i m

On Fri, 29 Nov 2019 08:46:42 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

On Friday, 29 November 2019 11:48:34 UTC, T i m wrote:
So we go from buying each other gifts that neither wants, to getting
the gift ourselves to some agreed value to giving each other the money
to get their own gift to agreeing how much we should spend on
ourselves in some sort of mutual agreement?


I've outdone last year's four-for-a-pound christmas presents from the charity shop.

Go on ...

This year there are 10-for-a-pound DVDs,

That's good. They were 4(5?) for a pound the last time I looked?

and a free calendar from the Open University,

Oooh, I wonder if daughter will get one of those?

getting packaged up.

Newspaper I hope. ;-)

Secret Santa for a fiver; I'm not chuffing spending that much!

They would walk up to me with their collection box and luck dip names,
pause and then 'jog on'. ;-)

And I found it funny when the thickos / gullible / brainwashed called
me a 'spoilsport' (I didn't know Xmas was 'a sport') or that I was
'miserable' when I was probably one of the happiest people there. At
least I wasn't moaning and groaning about how I still had to get
presents for x, y and z (and didn't know what to get of have the spare
cash to get it) and hadn't got the food in or decorations up! ;-)

Cheers, T i m

On Fri, 29 Nov 2019 12:45:12 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

snip

Ah yes, another thing. Trying to get any sense or anything done that
involves an office for three weeks from mid Dcember.

Offices or many companies or getting important stuff ordered delivered
etc. ;-(

"Sorry mate, we can't get that (critical) part in till after Xmas now
.... ".

And we have had the Internet and email / phones for years now ... why
to people still insist on sending each other bits of folded cardboard
(that are often heavily inked or covered in glitter and so not easy to
recycle)? ;-(

I used to find it interesting, being I was often in work over Xmas
doing IT stuff (and getting away from the crazies) to see all the
cards up on the desks owned by women and all the unopened cards in a
heap on the desks of men. ;-)

I think last year we got two Xmas cards. One was from the local Kebab
shop and the other a regular we get for someone who has never lived
here (but with no return address so we can inform them of their error
(from the writing it looks like they are quite old)).

It took quite a while and some effort to get people to stop wasting
their time and money on them for us and requested they put the money
for the card and postage into a charity instead (if they insisted on
doing *something*).

Some of the so called charity cards earn very little for the charity
(and none of the postage cost etc) and still use up valuable trees
etc. ;-(

Cheers, T i m

On Fri, 29 Nov 2019 12:32:43 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Fri, 29 Nov 2019 09:53:00 +0000, T i m wrote:

I get annoyed that when I want to go and do my regular shopping I have
to go without stuff that they have put away to make room for Xmas
stock or that I'm having to battle for space / goods with people who
are obviously going to be feeding 1000 people. ;-(

Especially the latter as these hordes don't know the store, what it
carries and at what prices.

Yup.

More often than not more than one person
so they keep blocking the asiles while they have discussion about
wether that branded jar of Cranberry Sauce is cheaper in Waitrose or
Sainsbury's or is it better quality than the own brand in Tesco or
Morrisons or is an unknown brand in Aldi/Lidl better value.

LOL ... yup. Or about their Xmas plans in general ... "Ohh, sorry, did
my trolley hit you in the back ..."?

My loaf had Christmas Greetings and snow on it

It's a loaf FFS, what on earth has that got to do with religious
event,

Quite SFA.

It's all this 'piggybacking' of Xmas merchandising on everyday stuff
that is crazy. Does *anyone* buy a loaf of bread for what 'bling'
there is on the wrapper? Wholemeal, small loaf, medium cut, cheapest
price, done.

I 'get' that it's a holiday and that it allows some people to get
together who otherwise wouldn't but I'm sure that could / can / does
happen without all the other (often expensive / wasteful) stuff.

Aye, a time to quietly get together with those closest (heart not
physical), have a decent meal, maybe exchange some small gifts.

Sure ... and if Xmas is the only time *everyone* is available then so
be it. I just question if that is the case for most people though?

Like, I might get a call from, a mate I haven't seen or heard from for
months to say he is passing and can we meet up. Nice to catch up over
some food and I prefer the informality of that.

[1] We aren't religious, don't have small kids, won't be suckered into
the commercialisation of the event

The last bit really ****es me off, all this bull**** about how you
*MUST* do this or that or the opposite other to ensure a "perfect
Christmas". **** OFF! Don't tell me what I MUST or SHOULD be doing.

Quite. Basically, they are trying to bully you into doing what they do
because they think what they do is what everyone does or should do ...
and it plainly isn't. It's funny how they get it when you invite them
to come seal clubbing with you. ;-)

and aren't uplifted by little flashing lights

I like the small (5 foot ish) trees that are fitted into the
premenant sockets on the shops along Front Street in town, lit with
static multicoloured lights.

As long as they are artificial and used year on year ...

Looks so dark and dull when they get
taken down. It's dark by 1600 up here mid winter.

Sounds like they might need to upgrade the lighting all year round
then? ;-)

Cheers, T i m

On Fri, 29 Nov 2019 20:09:43 +0000, Richard
wrote:

snip

FFS, do you ever stop whining?


Did you know you aren't obliged to hang onto my every word (honoured
though I am to hear it).

Go and live somewhere like Saudi Arabia
if Christmas troubles you so much.

It's not Xmas that 'troubles' me, it's people who go overboard for the
wrong reasons. Again, I wouldn't expect you to even start to
comprehend the real spirit of anything, let alone Xmas!

Like people that don't get the idea of a discussion in a discussion
group, 'Dicky'.

Cheers, T i m

On Fri, 29 Nov 2019 11:33:58 +0000, Broadback
wrote:

On 29/11/2019 10:01, Brian Gaff (Sofa 2) wrote:
It plays havoc with assistive tech for the blind as well, as any additional
graphics makes OCR more hit and miss.
Brian

If you think stores are bad just try to get plants from garden centres.

I even try to avoid any retail outlet on the weekend ... and in fact,
I think all retired people should be banned from driving and shopping
on the weekend as they can much easier do that during the week when
all the other poor bast*rds are at work. ;-(

Cheers, T i m

"Richard" wrote in message
...
On 29/11/2019 09:53, T i m wrote:
On Fri, 29 Nov 2019 09:10:28 GMT, John
wrote:

I get annoyed that food manufacturers feel the need to change the
wrapping
for Xmas.

I get annoyed that when I want to go and do my regular shopping I have
to go without stuff that they have put away to make room for Xmas
stock or that I'm having to battle for space / goods with people who
are obviously going to be feeding 1000 people. ;-(

My loaf had Christmas Greetings and snow on it

It's a loaf FFS, what on earth has that got to do with religious
event, unless you were going to feed a multitude with it?

- the Lurpak is
now branded Christmastime.

I'd buy something else. They might notice the change in routine via
your loyalty card.

I don't need it.

Nor us (and we don't do any of it [1]).

It must play havock with stock management as well.

The whole (extended event) plays havoc with all sorts of things.

I 'get' that it's a holiday and that it allows some people to get
together who otherwise wouldn't but I'm sure that could / can / does
happen without all the other (often expensive / wasteful) stuff.

Cheers, T i m

[1] We aren't religious, don't have small kids, won't be suckered into
the commercialisation of the event and aren't uplifted by little
flashing lights [2] or the idea of bringing a tree into the house. ;-)

[2] I could put my 16 port switch in the window. ;-)


FFS, do you ever stop whining? Go and live somewhere like Saudi Arabia if
Christmas troubles you so much.

His problem is that they chop the heads off whiners there.

otoh....

On 29/11/2019 12:35, wrote:
On Friday, 29 November 2019 12:02:43 UTC, John wrote:
Especially dreary droning Bing bloody Crosby.

Are we still allowed to dream of a White Christmas?

Isn't that considered a bit racist now?

Not to the KKK

In message , T i m
writes
On Fri, 29 Nov 2019 11:33:58 +0000, Broadback
wrote:

On 29/11/2019 10:01, Brian Gaff (Sofa 2) wrote:
It plays havoc with assistive tech for the blind as well, as any additional
graphics makes OCR more hit and miss.
Brian

If you think stores are bad just try to get plants from garden centres.

I even try to avoid any retail outlet on the weekend ... and in fact,
I think all retired people should be banned from driving and shopping
on the weekend as they can much easier do that during the week when
all the other poor bast*rds are at work. ;-(

They already do that. Have you not noticed how much slower traffic moves
after the 9.00am threshold?

--
Tim Lamb

On Sat, 30 Nov 2019 15:44:16 +1100, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:


FFS, do you ever stop whining? Go and live somewhere like Saudi Arabia if
Christmas troubles you so much.

His problem is that they chop the heads off whiners there.

otoh....

Are you sure it's his problem, you blithering senile idiot?

--
Website (from 2007) dedicated to the 85-year-old trolling senile
cretin from Oz:
https://www.pcreview.co.uk/threads/r...d-faq.2973853/

Broadback wrote:

If you think stores are bad just try to get plants from garden centres.

I'm sure they'll be rammed full of twinkly LEDS and plastic xmas trees
now, but at any time of year the local one has more clothes, furniture,
food and ornaments than plants ... they always seem to have shelf space
for diluted weedkiller at around the same price as the concentrate from
amazon

On Sat, 30 Nov 2019 09:04:16 +0000, Tim Lamb
wrote:

In message , T i m
writes
On Fri, 29 Nov 2019 11:33:58 +0000, Broadback
wrote:

On 29/11/2019 10:01, Brian Gaff (Sofa 2) wrote:
It plays havoc with assistive tech for the blind as well, as any additional
graphics makes OCR more hit and miss.
Brian

If you think stores are bad just try to get plants from garden centres.

I even try to avoid any retail outlet on the weekend ... and in fact,
I think all retired people should be banned from driving and shopping
on the weekend as they can much easier do that during the week when
all the other poor bast*rds are at work. ;-(

They already do that. Have you not noticed how much slower traffic moves
after the 9.00am threshold?

It can, true, but whilst they obviously stand out (holding up a long
queue of traffic) they aren't generally en-masse during the week.

Plus they aren't 'on a mission' as the commuters generally are (so
possibly not a direct comparison), and you have the school dropoff
drivers just after nine who are often clear from 10 on, so that should
really be your comparison time.

Get past one (doing 25 in a 40 limit) on a weekend and you can be sure
to come up behind another doing the same pretty quickly. On a weekday
it tends to be clearer longer. If you can wait till it turns dark,
that tends to filter a few more out (but not all).

You know when you are driving along merrily, generally keeping up with
the speed limits and all of a sudden you come to a comparative halt.
You look ahead up the queue and see that it's a car. Now, it could
also be a horsebox or HGV or tractor and trailer or some other vehicle
that is legally or physically restricted to less that the speed limit
and whilst that's frustrating, you often feel they are doing the best
with their lot.

The same applies if you see it's a learner, but if they are doing way
less than the limit (under good conditions etc) I question their 1)
readiness to be on such a road or 2) how good their instructor is as
they are supposed to encourage their learner up towards the speed
limit to prevent people following from taking unnecessary risks (in
overtaking etc). [1]

Bit it's often it's *just* a Nissan Micra or Kia something (nothing
wrong with the cars of course), driven by old lady (the older men can
sometimes still 'get on with it') who seems to be completely oblivious
to the queue of vehicles behind them who aren't just going for a
coffee at the garden centre and are trying to gets stuff done. ;-(

I have no issue with people just sticking to or close to the speed
limit (eg not going faster than) as there are often cameras in the
most unexpected places that would be known by the locals but not
everyone else.

But when they slow for *every* corner, *every* oncoming vehicle (even
just a car and in the daylight!) *every* sign and *every* undulation
in the road, it does get frustrating, especially so when you are on a
deadline yourself.

The Mrs isn't as confident driving as she once was and so won't
actually drive at night or in traffic / unknown places if at all
possible because she doesn't want to be one of those people described
above.

And 'getting on with it' isn't just about speed is it, it's about
judging gaps, it's about not being in the way yourself (not stopping
across junctions etc), getting right off the road and *then* deciding
where to park in the garden centre ...

We had one the other day and this time it was what can be another
rolling roadblock, a Mum in an SUV with kids.

They pulled into the very busy trading estate car park and into the
equally busy drive-through lane at McDonalds, only to stop, back up a
bit (trapping the car behind halfway across the road) and sit there
waiting for a car to leave because she saw the owners walking back
towards it (and there were plenty of spaces elsewhere)! Now, if you
are going to do that, at least pull over to let people past so they
can clear what became a logjam in all directions behind her, not stop
in the *middle* of the drive though lane! Even several people hooting
at her didn't seem to make any difference. ;-(

Cheers, T i m

[1] Daughter failed her first driving test (in Scotland) for not
getting up to and keeping close to the speed limit, even though
driving conditions weren't very good.

On my first lesson my instructor picked me up from College and at the
end of the lesson we stopped outside my (Mum and Dad's) house. I asked
what we were doing stopped there and he replied, 'This is where you
live' (he worked a few doors along at a local petrol station so we had
known him for years). I replied that my moped was at college and I
needed it for the next morning so he told me to drive us back to
college and 'put my foot down'. ;-)

We kept to the speed limits but a bit of it was an A road so we were
making the most of that. ;-)

T i m wrote in news:0033ue1ejkl0aaqsg9mssjdiv1pg8k6765@
4ax.com:

On Fri, 29 Nov 2019 20:09:43 +0000, Richard
wrote:

snip

FFS, do you ever stop whining?


Did you know you aren't obliged to hang onto my every word (honoured
though I am to hear it).

Go and live somewhere like Saudi Arabia
if Christmas troubles you so much.

It's not Xmas that 'troubles' me, it's people who go overboard for the
wrong reasons. Again, I wouldn't expect you to even start to
comprehend the real spirit of anything, let alone Xmas!

Like people that don't get the idea of a discussion in a discussion
group, 'Dicky'.

Cheers, T i m



Totally agree!

On Friday, 29 November 2019 20:28:13 UTC, T i m wrote:


Especially dreary droning Bing bloody Crosby.

Don't get me wrong, in the right place at the right time some of the
Xmas songs are 'ok'. Just not when repeated over and over and over ...
;-(

Cheers, T i m

I guess you only listen to right songs too and at the right time, a typical right brainer through and through, right enough.

In article ,
says...

"Sorry mate, we can't get that (critical) part in till after Xmas now
... ".


Makes a change from blaming the three day week ...

--

Terry

On Mon, 2 Dec 2019 16:33:20 +0000, Max Demian
wrote:

On 02/12/2019 15:01, Terry Casey wrote:
In article ,
says...

"Sorry mate, we can't get that (critical) part in till after Xmas now
... ".

Makes a change from blaming the three day week ...

"Don't you know there's a war on?"

"Earthquake at the production plant ..." ;-)

Cheers, T i m

On 02/12/2019 16:51, T i m wrote:
On Mon, 2 Dec 2019 16:33:20 +0000, Max Demian
wrote:

On 02/12/2019 15:01, Terry Casey wrote:
In article ,
says...

"Sorry mate, we can't get that (critical) part in till after Xmas now
... ".

Makes a change from blaming the three day week ...

"Don't you know there's a war on?"

"Earthquake at the production plant ..." ;-)

Cheers, T i m

I once had three control panels being built in Uxbridge delayed, because
"The truck carrying the relays was hijacked in Mexico." It was such a
daft excuse that it just had to true!

SteveW

On Mon, 2 Dec 2019 17:40:04 +0000, Steve Walker
wrote:

snip

"Earthquake at the production plant ..." ;-)


I once had three control panels being built in Uxbridge delayed, because
"The truck carrying the relays was hijacked in Mexico." It was such a
daft excuse that it just had to true!

I agree (and not unlikely I'm guessing).

Cheers, T i m