Post a bad thing that happened in your life today

[Harry Harrison]

10 minutes ago, Steve Hyde said:

 

I’ve used the Fuji repair centre several times and found them to be very good.

Thanks Steve, that's good to know. I'll have another go at asking them if this problem is fixable, it may be that it needs some assembly that they don't have any more, or on the other hand it could be just an adjustment. If it is fixable then I may go for it despite the cost, especially after hearing about your good experience. I'm assuming, since you haven't mentioned it, that your X-Pro2 is OK in the OVF department, or don't you use it?

 

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Harry Harrison

[Ed Rooney]

46 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

My experience with statins didn’t go well. Within a week it caused incredible muscle & joint pain. I take flush-free Niacin morning and night at the suggestion of my doctor. This was 20 years ago, and I’m still here. My sister could only stand a half dose of her statin. My other sister? It doesn’t bother her at all. Weird, yes?

 

Me too with the muscle pains. I stopped taking my statin about two years ago. 

 

Had my fall '22 booster jab yesterday. My arm is a bit tender. Otherwise, I'm fine.

 

Had my annual checkup this morning. So . . . almost done for a while. The nurse drew blood and told me the NHS will phone me in 2 weeks with the latest results. So like always, it's almost done. 

 

Now the TV license people are bugging me with another questionnaire. Am I paranoid? Yes! But just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean people are not plotting against me. 
 

[sb photos]

1 hour ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Me too with the muscle pains. I stopped taking my statin about two years ago. 

 

Had my fall '22 booster jab yesterday. My arm is a bit tender. Otherwise, I'm fine.
 

 

I was told by my doctor that it's recommended that all diabetics over 70 should take statins. I picked them up from the pharmacy I used and read the enclosed product data sheet. It said my doctor should have gone through the risks from side effects with me, she hadn't. I tried to contact her but could only make a telephone consultation appointment in 4 weeks time.  Needless to say I didn't start taking them. Of the many potential side effects the one that horrified me the most was the potential of muscle wasting. The muscle wasting would continue even if you stopped taking the statins. My cholesterol levels have always been very low, so we agreed I would not take and would only reconsider if my cholesterol levels were to dangerously rise. The over prescribing of statins is a controversial issue.

 

I'm booked in early Sunday morning for my Covid booster. If it was only as easy to book a flu vaccination at a pharmacy. At the pharmacy I use I was told there was national shortage of the flu vaccine used for 65's and older they had none, nor any lead-times for supply. The closest I could get vaccinated was 25 miles away. The pharmacist said keep checking for appointments, some might come through. Unlike the past when doctors surgeries had production line flu vaccination days, as from last year they say contact your pharmacy. What a terrible state of affairs.

Edited September 14, 2022 by sb photos

[sb photos]

2 hours ago, Steve Hyde said:

The XPro2 blew a fuse on the main circuit board. Both repairs were just under £200. A lot of money for a fuse but there you go. I think it’s quite a time consuming job from a You Tube video I’ve since watched in relation to replacing it yourself. Having watched that I’d still send it in rather than try it myself. 

 

You are right assuming accessing a circuit board in a camera is time consuming. Additionally, usually the fuses are very tiny surface mount devices encapsulated in white ceramic.

[Bryan]

3 hours ago, Steve Hyde said:

Brian, My RX100 my vi has been back to the repair shop twice since May after being dropped on two separate occasions. The first repair required a complete new lens assembly and the second repair was a new pop up viewfinder and EVF. Both repairs cost the same price in the region of £320. 
 

I can’t remember the name of the place I used but they were very good. I gave up on Sony Repair Centre after they were slow to respond to emails and never answered their phones

 

We’re on holiday at the moment so I can’t go and look up who I used

 

Edit - I just checked our banking app. It was a company called Camera Repair Direct

Thanks Steve, I expected a hefty bill. I paid around £500 for the camera so probably just about worth paying £320 to have it fixed. I had considered just letting it fester, but I don't like waste. I sent mine to DK Audio Visual Services in Surrey, fingers crossed they sort the problem.

[Steve Hyde]

3 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

Thanks Steve, that's good to know. I'll have another go at asking them if this problem is fixable, it may be that it needs some assembly that they don't have any more, or on the other hand it could be just an adjustment. If it is fixable then I may go for it despite the cost, especially after hearing about your good experience. I'm assuming, since you haven't mentioned it, that your X-Pro2 is OK in the OVF department, or don't you use it?

 

 

Hi Harry, I never use it. However, I’ll have the X Pro 2 out with me tomorrow so I’ll switch it over, give it a try and let you know 🙂

[Ed Rooney]

1 hour ago, sb photos said:

 

I was told by my doctor that it's recommended that all diabetics over 70 should take statins. Of the many potential side effects the one that horrified me the most was the potential of muscle wasting. The muscle wasting would continue even if you stopped taking the statins.

 

Scary, eh? I'm still getting leg cramps at night, just not as bad. I'm surprised to see the pushing of statins is here in the UK. In the States, it's a disgrace. Big Pharma has been pushing the overuse of statins as they were pushing habit-forming pain killers. 

 

I had developed very bad diabetes 2 but reversed it by taking up intermitent fasting; I stopped eating diner 12 years ago. 

[Harry Harrison]

32 minutes ago, Steve Hyde said:

Hi Harry, I never use it. However, I’ll have the X Pro 2 out with me tomorrow so I’ll switch it over, give it a try and let you know 🙂

That would be great, thanks. I think quite a large percentage of people don't use the OVF, and it does get quite a bit less useful with zooms and very wide or very long lenses, I imagine the person I bought it off didn't use it in fact. If it's not used at all then the XT range starts looking attractive though, larger viewfinder magnification, flip out screen, and cheaper to boot.

 

It's an extraordinary bit of design to cater for all those different focal lengths, and zooms. Holding down the command dial flips it between 2 different magnifications so that the frame can be smaller for ultra wides, or larger for long lenses. The X-Pro3 has to do without that. X-Pro2 s/h prices have held up very well, I suspect a lot of people prefer it to the somewhat radical X-Pro3.

[Bryan]

Took the car in for its annual service and MOT and asked if the cam belt should be replaced. An affirmative answer, indeed it should have been done last year - every 5 years. 

 

£845 for all of the work, which included a new water pump and drive belt, and a new pollen filter. I expected a hefty bill, but not quite that much, but maybe I've yet to catch up with inflation ?  As it transpired the cam belt was living on borrowed time having shifted across on the pulley, so it needed to be done.

 

On to better things, we booked our Covid refresher jabs yesterday, and today I received an email from the NHS suggesting that I should book a jab......

 

 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Bryan

[sb photos]

11 minutes ago, Bryan said:

Took the car in for its annual service and MOT and asked if the cam belt should be replaced. An affirmative answer, indeed it should have been done last year - every 5 years. 

 

£845 for all of the work, which included a new water pump and drive belt, and a new pollen filter. I expected a hefty bill, but not quite that much, but maybe I've yet to catch up with inflation ?  As it transpired the cam belt was living on borrowed time having shifted across on the pulley, so it needed to be done.

 

On to better things, we booked our Covid refresher jabs yesterday, and today I received an email from the NHS suggesting that I should book a jab......

The work on the car sounded expensive. My previous car used a cam chain, and when I checked it’s replacement cost I decided to leave it as I knew I would likely be scrapping it  in a year or two, which I did. 

[spacecadet]

24 minutes ago, Bryan said:

the cam belt was living on borrowed time having shifted across on the pulley

It is expensive but not stratospheric, after all you could have asked for a quote, but more imorrtantly, if that's exactly what you were told and you're not paraphrasing, it's not a garage I would be going back to. That happens on auxiliary belts- the belt slips a groove- but not to cambelts. It can't go anywhere else. It's very rare to be able to see any damage on a cambelt before it fails, or to predict failure in any way, hence the quoted interval, mileage or age, though 5 years seems short these days- usually 6 or 7. I've replaced two.

[Bryan]

2 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

It is expensive but not stratospheric, after all you could have asked for a quote, but more imorrtantly, if that's exactly what you were told and you're not paraphrasing, it's not a garage I would be going back to. That happens on auxiliary belts- the belt slips a groove- but not to cambelts. It can't go anywhere else. It's very rare to be able to see any damage on a cambelt before it fails, or to predict failure in any way, hence the quoted interval, mileage or age, though 5 years seems short these days- usually 6 or 7. I've replaced two.

The mechanic showed me a photo of the cam belt Mark, it had slipped across on the pulley, very odd, maybe one of the pulleys had moved?  While still a tad unhappy about the total bill I was pleased that the garage used their initiative and replaced the water pump and auxiliary drive etc. something I should have asked them to do.  Years ago I would have done it all myself, but I'm getting to be a tad too long in the tooth, while I would prefer to spend my time in the garden or out with the bike/ camera etc.

[Harry Harrison]

40 minutes ago, Bryan said:

As it transpired the cam belt was living on borrowed time having shifted across on the pulley

I'd agree with spacecadet, that can't happen in my opinion.

[spacecadet]

15 minutes ago, Bryan said:

The mechanic showed me a photo of the cam belt Mark, it had slipped across on the pulley, very odd, maybe one of the pulleys had moved?  While still a tad unhappy about the total bill I was pleased that the garage used their initiative and replaced the water pump and auxiliary drive etc. something I should have asked them to do.  Years ago I would have done it all myself, but I'm getting to be a tad too long in the tooth, while I would prefer to spend my time in the garden or out with the bike/ camera etc.

The belt goes around pulley, camshaft sprockets and idler, and had it been wrongly positioned on any of them it would certainly have failed. The crankshaft pulley is the same width as the belt and has a retaining plate to stop the belt riding off, and there are similar guides at the sprockets.

Are you sure you weren't shown the auxiliary belt? 

Anyway, they're much cheaper to replace before they break.

[Bryan]

4 hours ago, spacecadet said:

The belt goes around pulley, camshaft sprockets and idler, and had it been wrongly positioned on any of them it would certainly have failed. The crankshaft pulley is the same width as the belt and has a retaining plate to stop the belt riding off, and there are similar guides at the sprockets.

Are you sure you weren't shown the auxiliary belt? 

Anyway, they're much cheaper to replace before they break.

I've checked other photos, there is no guide or retaining plate at the cam end. The garage was of the opinion that one of the sprockets had been incorrectly fitted or had moved in service. The garage had no motivation for lying about this, they had been instructed to do the work, they didn't need to justify their actions. Whatever, it's fixed now, time to forget it !

Edited September 15, 2022 by Bryan

[John Mitchell]

49 minutes ago, Bryan said:

I've checked other photos, there is no guide or retaining plate at the cam end. The garage was of the opinion that one of the sprockets had been incorrectly fitted or had moved in service. The garage had no motivation for lying about this, they had been instructed to do the work, they didn't need to justify their actions. Whatever, it's fixed now, time to forget it !

 

Sounds like you have the wrong make of vehicle. Our gas-sipping, 2007 Toyota has cost us almost nothing to maintain. I hope to be driving it for another ten years unless by some miracle I can afford to go electric or decide to give up wheels altogether. When I lived in Montreal during the late 60's and early 70's, I owned a series of British cars (totally inappropriate for the climate) before Japanese ones became available. They were fun to drive but basically lived in the garage. Something always seemed to need replacing, and the electrical systems were a disaster. Most American cars weren't any better back then.

 

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by John Mitchell

[Bryan]

12 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Sounds like you have the wrong make of vehicle. Our gas-sipping, 2007 Toyota has cost us almost nothing to maintain. I hope to be driving it for another ten years unless by some miracle I can afford to go electric or decide to give up wheels altogether. When I lived in Montreal during the late 60's and early 70's, I owned a series of British cars (totally inappropriate for the climate) before Japanese ones became available. They were fun to drive but basically lived in the garage. Something always seemed to need replacing, and the electrical systems were a disaster. Most American cars weren't any better back then.

 

 

We're in two minds about whether or not to continue to run a car, we've good public transport here and can have groceries delivered.  We both prefer to cycle rather than drive.

 

Originally bought as a tractor to tow a caravan, It is now most useful for moving heavy stuff around in connection with my allotment, and for visiting the family, but there are ways around this.  Our vehicle is a Skoda Yeti, that has a VW engine. It has been reliable despite two major prangs which, fortunately, didn't result in injury and were paid for by other folk's insurance companies. I just wish people would drive more carefully, I guess it has put me off driving ! 

Edited September 16, 2022 by Bryan

[spacecadet]

13 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Sounds like you have the wrong make of vehicle. Our gas-sipping, 2007 Toyota has cost us almost nothing to maintain. I hope to be driving it for another ten years unless by some miracle I can afford to go electric or decide to give up wheels altogether. When I lived in Montreal during the late 60's and early 70's, I owned a series of British cars (totally inappropriate for the climate) before Japanese ones became available. They were fun to drive but basically lived in the garage. Something always seemed to need replacing, and the electrical systems were a disaster. Most American cars weren't any better back then.

 

 

You can't make comparisons like that now- cars are very different. They're far more durable and they don't rust anymore. They're even better than the 90s- even British ones- so 1970 is ancient history. I hope our 2001 one has some few years left as it's LEZ compliant  throughout the EU, so we can visit our favourite cities for at least another 5 years. When we can get to them

Edited September 16, 2022 by spacecadet

[Allan Bell]

1 hour ago, Bryan said:

We're in two minds about whether or not to continue to run a car, we've good public transport here and can have groceries delivered.  We both prefer to cycle rather than drive.

 

Originally bought as a tractor to tow a caravan, It is now most useful for moving heavy stuff around in connection with my allotment, and for visiting the family, but there are ways around this.  Our vehicle is a Skoda Yeti, that has a VW engine. It has been reliable despite two major prangs which, fortunately, didn't result in injury and were paid for by other folk's insurance companies. I just wish people would drive more carefully, I guess it has put me off driving ! 

 

I had my cambelt replaced in 2021 which totalled £549. This included water pump replacement as standard. They do this as if the water pump were to fail it would cost about the same to replace it. In effect a possible saving of dosh.  This was done at the regular service period for my VW Passat so the total was £941 including air con service and brake fluid change.

 

Allan

 

[spacecadet]

If anyone needs to save the money, it's about £250 in parts and all the special tools assuming you have sockets and so on. A lot of those you can re-use on other jobs. Depends on the car but the timing belt kit and water pump alone may be under £100. It's a big job but manageable and it doesn't work unless you can be without the car for a week or so (in case you have to order other stuff on the go). Best if you have a maker's forum to hold your hand. 

[Harry Harrison]

On my VW Passat you have to put the car into the 'Service Position' which means jacking it up both sides and pulling the entire front of the car away from the engine by about 10 inches, not particularly trivial though I've done it already when I had to replace the sump after whacking it on a speed hump at about 10 miles an hour. That job was tricky, in all it took me about 6 weeks, my local MOT chap said he wouldn't be offering me a job.

 

I have to do my timing belt, in October in fact, I have the kit, I have the tools. In August it was going to be September, in July I was going to do it in August. Last November it was going to be April....

[Bryan]

1 hour ago, Allan Bell said:

 

I had my cambelt replaced in 2021 which totalled £549. This included water pump replacement as standard. They do this as if the water pump were to fail it would cost about the same to replace it. In effect a possible saving of dosh.  This was done at the regular service period for my VW Passat so the total was £941 including air con service and brake fluid change.

 

Allan

 

Thanks Allan, that puts my spend into perspective, as it also included a full service and MOT. I guess that inflation has put up the prices somewhat.

[Jansos]

Had to call the plumber to fix a non-functioning thermostat 😞

[Allan Bell]

4 hours ago, Bryan said:

Thanks Allan, that puts my spend into perspective, as it also included a full service and MOT. I guess that inflation has put up the prices somewhat.

 

Thanks I forgot to add that the MOT was included in my service too.

 

Allan

 

[John Mitchell]

7 hours ago, spacecadet said:

You can't make comparisons like that now- cars are very different. They're far more durable and they don't rust anymore. They're even better than the 90s- even British ones- so 1970 is ancient history. I hope our 2001 one has some few years left as it's LEZ compliant  throughout the EU, so we can visit our favourite cities for at least another 5 years. When we can get to them

 

Very true. Tune-ups, rust, and new spark plugs all see to be things of the past.