[Archived] Rant (4?)

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Drivers who trundled up to green lights at a snail's pace when you just know they're about to switch to red. Then they do switch to red and you think "grrr, oh well at least that gormless muppet didn't get through either", then said muppet floors it and goes through the red light!

That to me is the cramp of motoring offences. There's plenty of other aches and pains but for sheer short-term rage that gets me every time!

[oldjamfan1]

i find Indesit and Beko make the most reliable white goods at the cheaper end of the market

I'm sure I'm lining myself up to be the butt of a thousand jokes here, but I bought a Siemens 4403 some 23 years ago for about 300 quid, and it has had some amount of hammer but still works perfectly. (Hope I haven't jinxed it now!).

You can rely on Siemens to come good.

[Jock]

The Hotpoint engineer on the first call out tried to say I'd got water over the circuit board which meant he shouldn't repair it. What a load of rubbish he was talking. He then proceeded to tell me that he'll over look it and replace the control circuit board as a goodwill gesture. Then as he'd been such a great guy surely I'd buy a descaler product off him for £20. Cheeky sod.

[Mike Graham]

Don't buy a Hotpoint washing machine, fecking crap made out of monkey metal. Forever breaking down. 3 repairs in the 12 month guarantee. Then the cheeky sods bombard you with emails and calls about extending the warranty.

Buy cheap, buy twice. (wasn't that cheap)

Bit like men's shoes. I always buy Loakes shoes from Northampton. The longest lasting ones I have had for 7 years; they have been back to the factory once for a new sole and heel and work out better value than cheaper shoes. 6 pairs of them at present and every one fit like a glove....lovely shoes ☺️

I'm sure I'm lining myself up to be the butt of a thousand jokes here, but I bought a Siemens 4403 some 23 years ago for about 300 quid, and it has had some amount of hammer but still works perfectly. (Hope I haven't jinxed it now!).

You can rely on Siemens to come good.

Yep, buy quality and you will generally save.

[Jock]

Bit like men's shoes. I always buy Loakes shoes from Northampton. The longest lasting ones I have had for 7 years; they have been back to the factory once for a new sole and heel and work out better value than cheaper shoes. 6 pairs of them at present and every one fit like a glove....lovely shoes ☺️

Yep, buy quality and you will generally save.

Your right. Buy cheap buy twice or thrice.

[ABBEY]

Can't believe someone was walking up the inside lane of the dual carriage way and didn't give a Venky about moving for cars ... Pitch black at 6am

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

The Hotpoint engineer on the first call out tried to say I'd got water over the circuit board which meant he shouldn't repair it. What a load of rubbish he was talking. He then proceeded to tell me that he'll over look it and replace the control circuit board as a goodwill gesture. Then as he'd been such a great guy surely I'd buy a descaler product off him for £20. Cheeky sod.

I bought a " Hotpoint " integrated machine about 15 years ago. It was a new model that had just come out. After about 6 months the programmer went haywire and there was water on the floor underneath it.

The service guy came out, had a good look at it and said " water on the circuit board ". That was obviously the case. He had it specially parcelled to go back to the development department for a thorough examination. They replaced it FOC but this was in the run up to Xmas so we were about 4 weeks without a washing machine !

The replacement machine was fine and it lasted whilst the middle of last year when the programmer died again. I've replaced it with another " Hotpont ".

Any more info about the fire risk ?

On another tack at the same time we bought a " Bosch " integrated condenser tumble drier. £ 650 fifteen years ago !

After about 10 years the programmer went and the facia push button panel needed replacing. I thought I'll phone " Bosch " and see how much a new machine is compared with a repair job.

The guy on the other end of the phone said " Sorry sir but we no longer produce integrated condenser tumble driers " ! When I looked around the only people that made them was " Miele " at about £1100 !

When I eventually had the service guy out he replaced the programmer no problem but the push button facia was no longer being made ! After ten years ! Between us we managed to bodge the facia and the machine is still running. Fingers crossed.

[T J Hooker]

Your right. Buy cheap buy twice or thrice.

Unless its a crappy iphone in which case pay thrice the price and pay twice/thrice

[K-Hod]

Unless its a crappy iphone in which case pay thrice the price and pay twice/thrice

As long as you look after it/have insurance there's no reason it won't last the length of the contract!

[T J Hooker]

Do as well as paying twice as much for the contract and also having to pay hundreds for this actual phone itself you also have to pay for insurance on top of that!!

But initially i was refering to the reliabilty of the phone(which is pretty poor when you take into account all the costs of owning it compared to android based phones(motorola, htc, sony...) Which are far more reliable(and easier to fix yourself if there is ever a problem)

But hey! Iphones do have an apple logo on them if braggings your thing😉

[K-Hod]

Do as well as paying twice as much for the contract and also having to pay hundreds for this actual phone itself you also have to pay for insurance on top of that!!

But initially i was refering to the reliabilty of the phone(which is pretty poor when you take into account all the costs of owning it compared to android based phones(motorola, htc, sony...) Which are far more reliable(and easier to fix yourself if there is ever a problem)

But hey! Iphones do have an apple logo on them if braggings your thing

The cost of the phone was free, I usually just do a year, then trade my phone in against the cost of the rest of the contract. I've had different makes and models of phones for years, I'm not bothered about which it is, just whichever takes my fancy at the time! My contract expiry is September which is the release date for the iPhone, so it worked out well this year.

Insurance is via my bank account which is £6.50 a month and is for breakdown cover, travel insurance and gadget insurance, so I'm paying that out each month anyway!

Bragging isn't my thing at all, trust me, if you knew me, you'd know I despise bragging and showing off!

[adopted scouser]

Do as well as paying twice as much for the contract and also having to pay hundreds for this actual phone itself you also have to pay for insurance on top of that!!

But initially i was refering to the reliabilty of the phone(which is pretty poor when you take into account all the costs of owning it compared to android based phones(motorola, htc, sony...) Which are far more reliable(and easier to fix yourself if there is ever a problem)

But hey! Iphones do have an apple logo on them if braggings your thing

So in your opinion (because you can't factually support your claim) the iPhone is less reliable than it's android equivalent. Absolute garbage.

'Crappy' iphone sales have averaged 7.8 million units a month, ahem, for the last eight years.

[donnermeat]

Still outsold by Samsung year on year though to be fair.

[adopted scouser]

Still outsold by Samsung year on year though to be fair.

It's not that straight forward though. Total sales of Samsung smartphones are higher than apple, but many of the phones are 'entry level' and do not match the specification of the iPhone.

apple maintain customer loyalty every two years by improving the features on a design that everyone's familiar with. By comparison the Koreans release a new smartphone about every ten minutes.

Samsung make superb smartphones but it's the boys from Cupertino for me.

[donnermeat]

They do cater for more, I'm aware of that, and all the power to them for doing it. Apple have tried dabbling a little bit in that I believe with the 5C. Not entry level like the Samsung I know but certainly a model that heads in that direction.

Having never owned and iPhone I won't venture into this debate, just never fancied them myself, though I certainly can concede they are a nice piece of kit. Though from what I've seen and friends have experienced, their screens seem to crack more frequently than the other manufacturers.

[T J Hooker]

So in your opinion (because you can't factually support your claim) the iPhone is less reliable than it's android equivalent. Absolute garbage.

'Crappy' iphone sales have averaged 7.8 million units a month, ahem, for the last eight years.

it's substantiated to me by the people i know that have bought one, got into a contract and the regretted it a few months later after realising how buggy they can be and how easily damaged they are, there's a lucky few that have no problems and don't mind paying the extra money simply because of the branding and styling and then there's those types that just follow the herd and are in plain denial about there being anything at all negative about iphones because they're so blinded by the brand name.

I never said they where inferior to android phones functionality, style and quality wise on a like for like basis, Its when you take into account the inflated price you pay for the iphone and the contract even though they are no better or worst than other makes of phones that they become a poor do in my eyes.

the majority of the "improved features" that apple add every time they want the sheep to buy a new phone(whether they need one or not) are just gimmicks that rarely get used once the novelty where's off

[Mike E]

What puts me off apple is that everything else has to be apple.

If the charger breaks for my Samsung, I'll use my mum's kindle charger while a new one arrives. I can store my music PROPERLY on a Toshiba hard drive, while also allowing my mate to copy it to his HTC. Android just seems less fiddly to me, but more versatile.

[Paul]

Such is the cyclist's awareness of the road around him, I reckon the majority are actually much better drivers.

We get cheaper insurance as well!

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/cyclists-to-get-cheaper-car-insurance/018747

The firm explained the thinking behind offering cycle club members cheaper car insurance: "We have been able to demonstrate to motor underwriters that cyclists, who are part of a club, are better car insurance risks than the average driver due to their enhanced spatial awareness, road alertness and healthy lifestyle.

[Pedro]

We get cheaper insurance as well!

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/cyclists-to-get-cheaper-car-insurance/018747

The firm explained the thinking behind offering cycle club members cheaper car insurance: "We have been able to demonstrate to motor underwriters that cyclists, who are part of a club, are better car insurance risks than the average driver due to their enhanced spatial awareness, road alertness and healthy lifestyle.

What a load of bobbins. In general they aren't very spatially aware near me. Zigzagging erratically, running red lights and slowly riding side by side chatting the day away whilst backing traffic up...I can only guess they aren't club members.

As an off-shoot of this, it's amazing how the insurance industry can legally sexually discriminate, generalise and stereotype.

[Mike E]

What a load of bobbins. In general they aren't very spatially aware near me. Zigzagging erratically, running red lights and slowly riding side by side chatting the day away whilst backing traffic up...I can only guess they aren't club members.

As an off-shoot of this, it's amazing how the insurance industry can legally sexually discriminate, generalise and stereotype.

Just on the bit in bold:

When overtaking a cyclist, the driver must pass into the other lane as if overtaking a car. As such, if you drive correctly and follow the highway code, cyclists even riding 3 abreast are breaking no rules and the overtaking procedure remains identical.

[otto man]

Just on the bit in bold:

When overtaking a cyclist, the driver must pass into the other lane as if overtaking a car. As such, if you drive correctly and follow the highway code, cyclists even riding 3 abreast are breaking no rules and the overtaking procedure remains identical.

But what you are conveniently ignoring Mike is that cyclists tend to cycle way below the speed limit and if an overtaking opportunity is denied the following vehicles two and three abreast riders cause congestion and frustration.

[ABBEY]

they cant even be bothered with lights

[Paul]

What a load of bobbins. In general they aren't very spatially aware near me. Zigzagging erratically, running red lights and slowly riding side by side chatting the day away whilst backing traffic up...I can only guess they aren't club members.

As an off-shoot of this, it's amazing how the insurance industry can legally sexually discriminate, generalise and stereotype.

There is, and this is a distinction which those who rant about cyclists need to take on board, a significant difference between people on bikes and club cyclists or others who take their sport very seriously. It doesn't surprise me some people take this view but it is highly inaccurate.

I 100% agree there are idiots who endanger themselves and other road users through attricious riding behaviour. These tend to be, but not exclusively, people on bikes. My club, Chorley Cycling Club, and others I have belonged to has very strict rules attached to membership in regard to cycling behaviour.

I can guarantee you a serious cyclist, or motorcyclist, has far better spacial awareness and road craft than the average driver. It's simply a survival instinct.

You've presumed all cyclists are men. Why? I know many very good, very skilled female riders.

As for discrimination and stereotypes this happens at every stage of insurance. Simply your post code will stereotype you and influence your premium. As will your age. I don't work in insurance but it's clear to me this is risk assessment, pure and simple.

Mike I think you'll find the Highway Code says two abreast not three. That aside you are quite correct a cyclist should be treated as any other vehicle.

In regard to overtaking one should allow a cyclist 1.5 metres of space. Any driver not doing so is breaking the Highway Code. Equally when a cyclists passes parked cars the safe road position means riding a door width from the parked vehicle - meaning the cyclist is entitled to effectively take the entire lane.

I strongly suggest people read the Highway Code before ranting about some aspects of cyclists behaviour. It's always better to speak from a position of knowledge.

[Mike E]

But what you are conveniently ignoring Mike is that cyclists tend to cycle way below the speed limit and if an overtaking opportunity is denied the following vehicles two and three abreast riders cause congestion and frustration.

Take it up with the highway code, not me

Anyone who overtakes a cyclist w/o passing into the next lane is putting a life at risk.

Although perhaps as a means of tackling your problem, it may be that cyclists could be stopped from travelling on roads where the limit is 50 or higher? That way, the 'slow cyclist' isn't affecting your own speed for as long?

[T J Hooker]

bolloooocks.if nobody overtook cyclists during rush hour traffic then the roads would pretty much come to a stand still.