Post a bad thing that happened in your life today

[spacecadet]

9 minutes ago, Bryan said:

Yesterday I travelled back from Leeds in the train, so far so good. I got off at the station nearest to where we live and went to catch a bus - which pulled out as I was arriving.  I checked the timetable only to find that it had departed 3 mins before time.  No worries, a 30 minute wait for the  next one, except that it didn't turn up.  Fortunately, after another 30 mins, another bus did appear.

 

If we are to encourage people to leave their cars at home and make more use of public transport, the bus companies need to get their act together.

Well, if you'd timed your arrival to catch the bus, fair enough, but how do you know it wasn't the previous bus running late😄

There could have been problems on the whole route.

But then I can talk, I live in London where the buses work.

[Allan Bell]

4 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Well, if you'd timed your arrival to catch the bus, fair enough, but how do you know it wasn't the previous bus running late😄

There could have been problems on the whole route.

But then I can talk, I live in London where the buses work.

 

As do the trains/underground?

 

Allan

 

[Allan Bell]

4 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Well, if you'd timed your arrival to catch the bus, fair enough, but how do you know it wasn't the previous bus running late😄

There could have been problems on the whole route.

But then I can talk, I live in London where the buses work.

 

Another blooper for the bus services around Lincoln.  They say on the 2nd and 3rd this week because of holiday due to Q's anniversary celebrations they will be running a Sunday service only.

 

WHAT!  They do not run a Sunday service through our village.😜🤪😵

 

Allan

 

[gvallee]

You want a travel story? Yesterday I had a medical appointment in Darwin. As we cannot park anywhere in town with our bus, the plan was to drive to a suburb, park there and take a taxi to the appointment. 20mn away from our destination, we found out that the police had closed the motorway we were on. Huge detour. Never mind, it will be re-opened on our way back. Wishful thinking. Same. We pondered that it must be a serious incident. Back home, we checked the local news to see what it was all about: a human leg had been found along the motorway... No other body parts located, no person in hospital. Howzat!?

[wiskerke]

2 hours ago, gvallee said:

You want a travel story? Yesterday I had a medical appointment in Darwin. As we cannot park anywhere in town with our bus, the plan was to drive to a suburb, park there and take a taxi to the appointment. 20mn away from our destination, we found out that the police had closed the motorway we were on. Huge detour. Never mind, it will be re-opened on our way back. Wishful thinking. Same. We pondered that it must be a serious incident. Back home, we checked the local news to see what it was all about: a human leg had been found along the motorway... No other body parts located, no person in hospital. Howzat!?

 

Brutus' nephew?

 

wim

[gvallee]

20 minutes ago, wiskerke said:

 

Brutus' nephew?

 

wim

 

Ha ha. We're going to see Brutus again on Friday. Never get tired of seeing those crocs jumping. 

There was an incident last month when a small croc grabbed hold of the guide in the boat. Just a few stitches needed.

Soon those cruises will be forbidden I'm sure.

[Michael Ventura]

2 hours ago, gvallee said:

You want a travel story? Yesterday I had a medical appointment in Darwin. As we cannot park anywhere in town with our bus, the plan was to drive to a suburb, park there and take a taxi to the appointment. 20mn away from our destination, we found out that the police had closed the motorway we were on. Huge detour. Never mind, it will be re-opened on our way back. Wishful thinking. Same. We pondered that it must be a serious incident. Back home, we checked the local news to see what it was all about: a human leg had been found along the motorway... No other body parts located, no person in hospital. Howzat!?

If they find an arm too, you will know just how expensive fuel has gotten there! 😬

[gvallee]

25 minutes ago, Michael Ventura said:

If they find an arm too, you will know just how expensive fuel has gotten there! 😬

 

Very good Michael !!

Since we're aptly in the Bad Things thread, one tank of diesel for our bus costs us around $400. Sometimes more, depending how remote the area is... That's for roughly 800kms if not off-road. Onto baked beans soon...

 

Edited June 1, 2022 by gvallee

[Bryan]

7 hours ago, gvallee said:

You want a travel story? Yesterday I had a medical appointment in Darwin. As we cannot park anywhere in town with our bus, the plan was to drive to a suburb, park there and take a taxi to the appointment. 20mn away from our destination, we found out that the police had closed the motorway we were on. Huge detour. Never mind, it will be re-opened on our way back. Wishful thinking. Same. We pondered that it must be a serious incident. Back home, we checked the local news to see what it was all about: a human leg had been found along the motorway... No other body parts located, no person in hospital. Howzat!?

I've a rather more sobering take on this. Our younger son and his partner were driving along the M62 motorway when a man fell or jumped from an overbridge onto the hard shoulder. They stopped and our son's partner, who is a doctor, tried to comfort the man and held the his head until the emergency services arrived, maybe 40 minutes. Her prognosis, he had very little chance. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Bryan

[gvallee]

9 minutes ago, Bryan said:

I've a rather more sobering take on this. Our younger son and his partner were driving along the M62 motorway when a man fell or jumped from an overbridge onto the hard shoulder. They stopped and our son's partner, who is a doctor, tried to comfort the man and held the his head until the emergency services arrived, maybe 40 minutes. Her prognosis, he had very little chance. 

 

This is terrible! I always think of the poor train drivers when someone jumps in, how traumatic. 

[aphperspective]

2 hours ago, Bryan said:

I've a rather more sobering take on this. Our younger son and his partner were driving along the M62 motorway when a man fell or jumped from an overbridge onto the hard shoulder. They stopped and our son's partner, who is a doctor, tried to comfort the man and held the his head until the emergency services arrived, maybe 40 minutes. Her prognosis, he had very little chance. 

I used to drive the M62  between Leeds and Rochdale every day Bryan, all of the footbridges had wire guarding put over them to stop just such incidents. There was a very well recorded case of a student jumping off aiming to land in front of an approaching HGV. He mis calculated and landed in the lorries trailer instead. Ended up in Hull docks with a broken leg.

Andy.

[Bryan]

I seem to posting a lot in this bad thing thread, actually my life is fine indeed we have two of the grandbairns staying with us at present.

 

However, today I noticed the corpse of a tiny blue tit within a water container on the allotment, a perfectly formed specimen, but tiny.  I guess that it had tried to get a drink, but couldn't get out.   Rather sad.   The family had been raised using a bird box that is attached to a fence post in the garden.

 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Bryan

[Bryan]

10 hours ago, aphperspective said:

I used to drive the M62  between Leeds and Rochdale every day Bryan, all of the footbridges had wire guarding put over them to stop just such incidents. There was a very well recorded case of a student jumping off aiming to land in front of an approaching HGV. He mis calculated and landed in the lorries trailer instead. Ended up in Hull docks with a broken leg.

Andy.

I wouldn't envy you that, I hate that road, it seems to attract all kinds of antisocial drivers, and it's often very busy. 

 

Worked out well for the student though !

[Betty LaRue]

3 hours ago, Bryan said:

I seem to posting a lot in this bad thing thread, actually my life is fine indeed we have two of the grandbairns staying with us at present.

 

However, today I noticed the corpse of a tiny blue tit within a water container on the allotment, a perfectly formed specimen, but tiny.  I guess that it had tried to get a drink, but couldn't get out.   Rather sad.   The family had been raised using a bird box that is attached to a fence post in the garden.

 

I went out to get my newspaper which is usually near the street on my driveway. A baby robin, not sure if it was old enough to fledge, dead on my driveway. We had some pretty intense thunderstorms in the evening and through the night. It probably died of drowning/hypothermia from the three + inches of rain we received.

[aphperspective]

13 hours ago, Bryan said:

I wouldn't envy you that, I hate that road, it seems to attract all kinds of antisocial drivers, and it's often very busy. 

 

Worked out well for the student though !

It was a brutal drive Bryan, HGV three abreast across the lanes when it's busy, the Winter was often down to 1 lane with snow and ice blocking the others, many the time a lorry would be blown over by the cross winds, made for an "interesting commute".

Andy

[gvallee]

Got insect repellent smeared over my lens filter... Didn't notice it. Quite a few pics of a croc cruise to bin. 😱

I googled and apparently the best way to remove it is white vinegar mixed with water. Will give it a go.

 

Edit: I managed to get it off with lens cleaner. Phew!!

Edited June 3, 2022 by gvallee

[sb photos]

My wife was around 50 miles from home and her engine management light came on. She had recently heard the fan on, which has never happened before. Then the same happened before the warning light came on. She checked all she could and then called out the RAC. They attached an OBD2 diagnostic device and it produced an error code. Worst it could be was the ECU, not good. It was ok to drive carefully. Her usual garage was shut over the holiday, but can get it looked at tomorrow. More expense. This months $93 Alamy payment can go towards the bill. She has a newer C1 than me, and mine so far has had no major issues.

 

Late last night I was sitting in my car in a car park having to get good images from RAW files shot at iso 6400. All went well until upload time. I was using my phone hotspot and had 4G on my phone but was it so so slow. Eventually after thinking about it for over a minute they slowly started to upload, so different from being at home. I was dreading upload failures.

 

 

 

 

[Allan Bell]

9 minutes ago, sb photos said:

My wife was around 50 miles from home and her engine management light came on. She had recently heard the fan on, which has never happened before. Then the same happened before the warning light came on. She checked all she could and then called out the RAC. They attached an OBD2 diagnostic device and it produced an error code. Worst it could be was the ECU, not good. It was ok to drive carefully. Her usual garage was shut over the holiday, but can get it looked at tomorrow. More expense. This months $93 Alamy payment can go towards the bill. She has a newer C1 than me, and mine so far has had no major issues.

 

Late last night I was sitting in my car in a car park having to get good images from RAW files shot at iso 6400. All went well until upload time. I was using my phone hotspot and had 4G on my phone but was it so so slow. Eventually after thinking about it for over a minute they slowly started to upload, so different from being at home. I was dreading upload failures.

 

 

 

 

 

Do either of your cars have the dreaded "Start/Stop" system?

 

Allan

 

Can't help, just interested.

 

ITMA

 

Edited June 3, 2022 by Allan Bell

[sb photos]

16 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Do either of your cars have the dreaded "Start/Stop" system?

 

Allan

 

Can't help, just interested.

 

ITMA

 

 

No. I have driven one though, wasn't keen on it.

[spacecadet]

42 minutes ago, sb photos said:

My wife was around 50 miles from home and her engine management light came on. She had recently heard the fan on, which has never happened before. Then the same happened before the warning light came on. She checked all she could and then called out the RAC. They attached an OBD2 diagnostic device and it produced an error code. Worst it could be was the ECU, not good. It was ok to drive carefully. Her usual garage was shut over the holiday, but can get it looked at tomorrow. More expense. This months $93 Alamy payment can go towards the bill. She has a newer C1 than me, and mine so far has had no major issues.

 

Late last night I was sitting in my car in a car park having to get good images from RAW files shot at iso 6400. All went well until upload time. I was using my phone hotspot and had 4G on my phone but was it so so slow. Eventually after thinking about it for over a minute they slowly started to upload, so different from being at home. I was dreading upload failures.

 

 

 

 

Hopefully a sensor problem- if the fan is on the obviously the computer thinks the coolant is too hot. I would probably just have replaced the coolant temperature sensor or whatever for a few pounds- you can afford to play "parts darts" with cheap items but if you're not handy, not so much. We also don't rely on the car much so can wait a few days for parts.

Problem is the garage will charge of the order of £50 just to plug the computer in. If you were prepared to jump in feet-first, there is DDT2000 software that can do much of the routine stuff with a laptop and OBD lead. It would certainly tell you the coolant temperature (or rather what the ECU thought it was).😀

Edit- C1 coolant sensor £15-25. Not a big job so hope it's that.

 

 

 

 

[sb photos]

3 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

Hopefully a sensor problem- if the fan is on the obviously the computer thinks the coolant is too hot. I would probably just have replaced the coolant temperature sensor or whatever for a few pounds- you can afford to play "parts darts" with cheap items but if you're not handy, not so much. We also don't rely on the car much so can wait a few days for parts.

Problem is the garage will charge of the order of £50 just to plug the computer in. If you were prepared to jump in feet-first, there is DDT2000 software that can do much of the routine stuff with a laptop and OBD lead. It would certainly tell you the coolant temperature (or rather what the ECU thought it was).😀

Edit- C1 coolant sensor £15-25. Not a big job so hope it's that.

 

 

 

 

 

The odd thing is the car only had a full service 3 - 4 weeks ago. I do have my own ODB2 diagnostic device, but haven't had time to plug it in yet. I'm out now, likely will connect it later today.

[spacecadet]

12 minutes ago, sb photos said:

the car only had a full service 3 - 4 weeks ago

IMO a service doesn't prevent many things from breaking. It sure wouldn't have detected a soon-to-fail sensor (you need a Hal 9000 for that😀).

In fact we've never had what you'd call a routine service. We (I) do most of the things on the list, eventually😉. I even changed the oil last time because we'd forgotten to have it done at MoT time, and at only about £40 more than the price of the oil and filter it's good value.

If you get a silly temperature reading I'd consider changing the sensor, or getting your garage to do just that, if they will- I hear main dealers will often refuse to do any work without a diagnostic first). But if it were that, the fan would probably be on all the time. Hmm.

Edited June 3, 2022 by spacecadet

[sb photos]

2 hours ago, spacecadet said:

IMO a service doesn't prevent many things from breaking. It sure wouldn't have detected a soon-to-fail sensor (you need a Hal 9000 for that😀).

In fact we've never had what you'd call a routine service. We (I) do most of the things on the list, eventually😉. I even changed the oil last time because we'd forgotten to have it done at MoT time, and at only about £40 more than the price of the oil and filter it's good value.

If you get a silly temperature reading I'd consider changing the sensor, or getting your garage to do just that, if they will- I hear main dealers will often refuse to do any work without a diagnostic first). But if it were that, the fan would probably be on all the time. Hmm.

 

Thanks for your comments.

[Bryan]

Price inflation. Since retiring my wife and I have enjoyed a walk or cycle trip which has included a light lunch bought out. This normally comprises a scone, tea and one shared indulgent cake. For years this cost about £8, then the price hovered around £10, but now it has leaped up to £15 plus. This is occurring at the time when our trusted plumber has informed us that our central heating boiler is beyond salvation, and a new one is arriving tomorrow.

 

Thinking positive, the income from our solar panels has leaped up from around 25p per KWhr 10 years ago to about 62p, it's a pity that my photo sales returns haven't followed suit !

[Allan Bell]

5 hours ago, Bryan said:

Price inflation. Since retiring my wife and I have enjoyed a walk or cycle trip which has included a light lunch bought out. This normally comprises a scone, tea and one shared indulgent cake. For years this cost about £8, then the price hovered around £10, but now it has leaped up to £15 plus. This is occurring at the time when our trusted plumber has informed us that our central heating boiler is beyond salvation, and a new one is arriving tomorrow.

 

Thinking positive, the income from our solar panels has leaped up from around 25p per KWhr 10 years ago to about 62p, it's a pity that my photo sales returns haven't followed suit !

 

Regarding solar panels, and I know they are good for the planet. When I have investigated installation costs and upheaval costs the return is not enough to repay the capital outlay within the estimated stay at the property. I certainly would not do it for the following tenant to gain from my expense.

 

Allan