GOGS...Grumpy Old Gits Society..

333320 Views 8283 Replies 133 Participants Last post by Gripping Pneus, 2 d ago

gordonzz

Discussion Starter · Apr 30, 2016

after all the years of suffering being called a miserable old bar-steward by mrs zz , I am finally rejoicing that she has come round to my way of thinking. the source of this wonderment?... a newly found joint loathing of the foul phenomenon of otherwise seemingly intelligent individuals starting a sentence with the word "so"!!!! if you have been asked , "how do you propose to re-attach that button"? , or , "what method would you use to distribute seed in your garden" , fair enough but otherwise , nooooooooooo! other current hot favourites are "yoofs" with their kecks hanging out the top of their trousers and newly qualified drivers with a green p plate (clearly designating pillock) who refuse to commit to crossing a roundabout without having received a written invitation at least a fortnight in advance! what gets your hackles up?

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StuBeeDoo

· #1,321 · Nov 25, 2018

2

OK, it's time for me to have a decent grump.

I had our 20-odd year old up-and-over garage door replaced, less than a month ago, with a motorised roller shutter. It was mint! I use the word "was" because this evening it's packed-up.

In the course of trying to find-out online what the problem is and if I could sort it myself by pushing some buttons on the control box or one of the remotes, I find that the particular brand of shutter has some decidedly poor reviews. Here and now I will admit I didn't check sooner for 2 reasons - several of my wife's extended family have them, and the company are only just down the road. I don't know if I'm more annoyed at myself, or the door...............

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JasonB

· #1,322 · Nov 25, 2018

I know that feeling Stuart.

When we had our new house built, I wanted to buy myself a chair. Having studied, and worked as a furniture deigner maker I had something special in mind, a particular designer whose work I particularly admired, and eventually I found one at a reasonable price.

It took 18 months before it was delivered. Yes 18 blooming months. I'd almost given up on it. It wasn't until about 3 months of waiting that I read all the awful reviews of the company, and kicked myself for being so stupid.

Dopamine

· #1,323 · Nov 25, 2018

Stupidity seems to be a human condition nourished by over-optimism, but at least with furniture and garage doors you have reviews to look at. Not so with 3D printed slot car chassis.

I have three 3D chassis sitting at home that are pretty awful and which will never be used. One simply doesn't fit, the other two are arguably worse than the original chassis which they were bought to replace. £20+ wasted.

As yet, Shapeways' product pages don't have review sections. I wish they did.

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Ecurie Martini

· #1,324 · Nov 26, 2018

"Interesting that the hull would be faster after sanding. Such things wouldn't normally cross my consciousness"

The explanation is simple and, in a sense, related to race car aerodynamics. If the surface "wets" - water sheets rather than beads - the boat is moving through the water on a water/water interface which is less likely to create turbulence (> drag) than a paint/water interface. Among other things this led to an experiment, now banned I believe, involving hanging a device at the bow to release detergent as the boat was moving.

You probably now have more information on this topic than you wanted but, full disclosure, my thesis involved the hydrodynamic properties of very large polymers (DNA) in aqueous solution so it's something to which I gave some thought.

EM

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Wobble

· #1,325 · Nov 26, 2018

Dopamine said:
Stupidity seems to be a human condition nourished by over-optimism, but at least with furniture and garage doors you have reviews to look at. Not so with 3D printed slot car chassis.

I have three 3D chassis sitting at home that are pretty awful and which will never be used. One simply doesn't fit, the other two are arguably worse than the original chassis which they were bought to replace. £20+ wasted.

As yet, Shapeways' product pages don't have review sections. I wish they did.

That in itself is enough of a review to make me more than a bit hesitant to buy 3D chassis'. Besides, I get a certain amount of pleasure from attempting to turn 'a silk purse into a sows ear'.

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gus3049

· #1,326 · Nov 26, 2018

Ecurie Martini said:
"Interesting that the hull would be faster after sanding. Such things wouldn't normally cross my consciousness"

The explanation is simple and, in a sense, related to race car aerodynamics. If the surface "wets" - water sheets rather than beads - the boat is moving through the water on a water/water interface which is less likely to create turbulence (> drag) than a paint/water interface. Among other things this led to an experiment, now banned I believe, involving hanging a device at the bow to release detergent as the boat was moving.

You probably now have more information on this topic than you wanted but, full disclosure, my thesis involved the hydrodynamic properties of very large polymers (DNA) in aqueous solution so it's something to which I gave some thought.

EM

All these big words you scientists use.... I'm just a simple artiste!

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StuBeeDoo

· #1,327 · Nov 26, 2018

Dopamine said:
I have three 3D chassis sitting at home that are pretty awful and which will never be used. One simply doesn't fit, the other two are arguably worse than the original chassis which they were bought to replace. £20+ wasted.

I had a similar experience with 2x 3DP chassis. At least, so it would seem from the 3DP thread, we're not the only ones David.

Ecurie Martini said:
hanging a device at the bow to release detergent as the boat was moving.

Gotta love ingenuity!

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Dopamine

· #1,328 · Nov 26, 2018

Wobble said:
That in itself is enough of a review to make me more than a bit hesitant to buy 3D chassis'. Besides, I get a certain amount of pleasure from attempting to turn 'a silk purse into a sows ear'.

StuBeeDoo said:
I had a similar experience with 2x 3DP chassis. At least, so it would seem from the 3DP thread, we're not the only ones David.

Gotta love ingenuity!

Yes, the perils of 3D designers. I used to think that eBay was the worst place for rubbish being sold as excellent, but Shapeways has trumped it. Anyone who can create the print files seems at liberty to sell their stuff there and we're the over-optimistic fools who buy it.

Don't get me wrong, there are some excellent designers producing high quality chassis that vastly improve slot cars, but there are several whose products are best described as sh*te. Until Shapeways acknowledges that and implements a review system, the site is more akin to online gambling. Some you win, some you lose.

StuBeeDoo

· #1,329 · Nov 27, 2018

StuBeeDoo said:
...................... I don't know if I'm more annoyed at myself, or the door...............

Turns out I need to be more annoyed at myself. The door is working, and always has been. Yes, it does have a fault - but it is still working. You know what they say... "A little knowledge is dangerous". But TBF I'm sure I can't be the only person who doesn't read instruction manuals until things go wrong.

They're supposed to be here to correct the fault tomorrow lunchtime.

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gus3049

· #1,330 · Nov 27, 2018

I'm definitely grumpy about the effects of ageing this morning

Firstly because I'm starting to feel the cold. Something that has never worried me before. When I was younger, this sort of weather would see me still in T shirts. It's still only 3 degrees out, not even freezing and we have lit both woodburners AND I'm wearing the thinner of my sets of thermals already. What happens when it gets really cold?

Plus it looks as though the trigeminal neuralgia is on the way back. I had the major operation for it in 2009 (see Micro Vascular Decompression on YouTube to have an idea of the fun involved) but knew it can't be cured, merely fixed temporarily. I've got so used to not having constant pain that it's a bit of a shock to find the symptoms stepping up again. Ho hum...more drugs and surgery in due course. Blurry boring.

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Ecurie Martini

· #1,331 · Nov 27, 2018

gus3049 said:
I'm definitely grumpy about the effects of ageing this morning

Firstly because I'm starting to feel the cold. Something that has never worried me before. When I was younger, this sort of weather would see me still in T shirts. It's still only 3 degrees out, not even freezing and we have lit both woodburners AND I'm wearing the thinner of my sets of thermals already. What happens when it gets really cold?

I offer my understanding and sincere sympathies. I lived in the mid-west, Chicago and northern Indiana, for many years, 25o of frost (-13o F) was common and often lasted for days. When the cold spell broke and the temperature rose to 20-25oF, it felt spring-like and one was tempted to go out sans coat. Thirty five years later, I keep my flat at 76o F (25o C) year round and still favor heavy zip-up pullovers in winter.

An observation that I may have made previously: Aging is typically described as a process of decline. This is incorrect. It is a series of plateaus linked by unpredictable (in both timing and depth) precipitous drops.

EM

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StuBeeDoo

· #1,332 · Nov 27, 2018

Ecurie Martini said:
An observation that I may have made previously: Aging is typically described as a process of decline. This is incorrect. It is a series of plateaus linked by unpredictable (in both timing and depth) precipitous drops.

Very apt description, Sir.

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gus3049

· #1,333 · Nov 27, 2018

Ecurie Martini said:
Thirty five years later, I keep my flat at 76o F (25o C) year round and still favor heavy zip-up pullovers in winter.

EM

I would find that stifling

As we are both quite happy to walk around outside with just a jumper on when the temperature is 10 or 11 degrees, I can't see why we shouldn't also be comfortable at that temperature indoors. Three degrees is a bit different though. This house has the great advantage of very thick stone walls. It takes a long time to heat up and cool down so once comfortable, it takes very little to maintain that temperature.

Mind you, I am now 71 and Ronnie 66 so no doubt a few more years down the line will see our comfortable temperature reduce further.

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Ecurie Martini

· #1,334 · Nov 27, 2018

gus3049 said:
Mind you, I am now 71 and Ronnie 66 so no doubt a few more years down the line will see our comfortable temperature reduce further.

Well, I am 11 years further down the road and, in addition, due to some steps taken to reduce the stress on aging joints, have shed about 18kg over the past few years - so - less insulation!

EM

gus3049

· #1,335 · Nov 27, 2018

If I lost any weight, I'd disappear

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dvd3500

· #1,336 · Nov 27, 2018

unpredictable (in both timing and depth) precipitous drops.

Just like some trousers...

gus3049

· #1,337 · Dec 1, 2018

I may have mentioned this before but........if I knew who it was invented the stupid, awkward, downright pain in the posterior something that passes as a slot car guide these days, I would go back and murder his grandfather.

I am hedging my bets and have a couple of SlotIt cars in the box along with the proper cars for Bordo next week. Changed the guide to the deeper one for wooden tracks. To start with, I have big hands and fingers and the little screws are only just visible let alone easy to pick up unless you use tweezers. At least the SlotIt ones stay in place. The only other RTRs I have use the small trumpet shaped things and they always come out when guests use them.

I know all about the 'it wasn't like this in my day' but the guides used to be a doddle to use. Why did it go backwards?

gus3049

· #1,338 · Dec 2, 2018

My wife and I have a communication problem

In our household I am the sous chef so basically, Ronnie gives the orders and I do all the work. Naturally, being a loving husband (that is a grovelling barsteward) I ask what she would like for dinner. Today, the message I received was, fish, peppered mushrooms with cream ( a favourite dish of ours) and peppers.

She then went back to her sewing room and I headed for the kitchen and started the culinary experience of a lifetime. Once the magic had been performed, I called her in to eat.

"What is it?" she asked. "What you asked for" I replied. "No it isn't!" Close but no cigar apparently.

One of the big problems with being a deaf old git is that sometimes you think you hear clearly but in fact you hear something else entirely. It does cause the occasional hilarity. Karma really, I used to laugh at my mother when she joined in conversations, talking about stuff totally disconnected with the topic.

Communication? Wunnerful huh?

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StuBeeDoo

· #1,339 · Dec 2, 2018

gus3049 said:
you hear something else entirely

Wor Lass has this problem too. However she's far from deaf. With her it's a cognition thing. She clearly hears a word or phrase and her brain interprets it as something else. It's like she has an aural variant of dyslexia.

gus3049 said:
It does cause the occasional hilarity.

Doesn't it just!

Our house can be much better than any comedy on TV at times.

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Ecurie Martini

· #1,340 · Dec 2, 2018

gus3049 said:
I may have mentioned this before but........if I knew who it was invented the stupid, awkward, downright pain in the posterior something that passes as a slot car guide these days, I would go back and murder his grandfather.

I am hedging my bets and have a couple of SlotIt cars in the box along with the proper cars for Bordo next week. Changed the guide to the deeper one for wooden tracks. To start with, I have big hands and fingers and the little screws are only just visible let alone easy to pick up unless you use tweezers. At least the SlotIt ones stay in place. The only other RTRs I have use the small trumpet shaped things and they always come out when guests use them.

I know all about the 'it wasn't like this in my day' but the guides used to be a doddle to use. Why did it go backwards?

I think the best, or at least easiest guides I ever used were the ones I made myself ca 1960 when there was little to chose among on the market. I started with a piece of square teflon rod and machined it to a "T" cross section. After cutting off an appropriate length, the vertical bit was trimmed and shaped to fit - initially for the old Scalextric rubber track. A hole was drilled down from the top and a 3/4" 2-56 FH machine screw squeezed in from the bottom. 1/8" OD tubing over the screw - voila! a pivot post. Phosphor bronze spring contact strips were secured to the front with 00-90 brass screws and nuts (worked well on Scaly steel rails) Later, when I used the cars on braided tracks , the solid spring pick-ups did not work well. I simply snipped off the phosphor bronze springs and soldered braid (at that time I was using standard "de-soldering" braid) to the stubs. With a hot iron at hand, I could change braids in a matter of seconds. Still doing it? Nah - too lazy

EM

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