Other What Makes Your Life, Meh?

A huge list of reg numbers to pick from for the new truck came through, and not once amongst them is "UTE"

My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

That said I ask less to pick something I particularly "like" and more to avoid things like MMA and MVP which are both on the list.

 

Person : I have a problem in the system, can you help?
Me: Sure, what's the issue?
Person: Better if we do a call
Me: I've a diary full of calls, message me and I can review whilst on calls
Person: Better if we call, when are you free?
Me: Not sure, multiple project calls, give me a summary and I can look at same time.
Person: A call would be better

I also have a Teams message from another Person asking to call them when I'm free

 

Just tell them you're not free (but are reasonably priced)

 

Both were basic requests
Person 1 was just not looking correctly.
Person 2 finally emailed and it was a 14 word sentence.

 

No "UTE"?

There should be a law against that.

Any variation of "BOGAN"?

 

Not really ruining as such so thought that my goings on would fit better in here:

1) left my phone at home, not too much of a hardship as I still had my wallet and it is not a work phone, but still meh
2) mandatory environmental training course... Overly simplified to the point of almost condescending with several questions on the final test being far too simple to give the true or false answer that they want.
3) mandatory energy awareness training... Again, horribly simplified to the point of frustration. OK, so maybe I am a little more versed in things like this than most having a degree in electrical and electronic engineering with a specialisation in renewable energy as well as dealing with lightning and power earthing on all sorts of infrastructure products, but even allowing for that this training was painful.

A big part of my job is dealing with people who are in need of advice and are of all levels of comprehension and it is an essential skill to be able to tailor your advice to their "level" whilst not sounding like you are presenting Playschool. Whoever wrote the scripts for these sessions (that you could visibly see the presenters reading - their eyes were darting left and right all the time - most distracting) really needs some better training on how to give a presentation and training session.

But hey, at least with those two sessions out of the way (that managed to take up half my day), I can now get back onto something more productive that will have more of an environmental impact than something telling me which colour bin to put a plastic bottle into...

 

Dont mind the rain but am getting a little tired of it now, and somehow it always seems to land on my sodding rest days.

 

Know that feeling. Every time I need to go somewhere on the motorbike (which is a lot with my other half out of action) it’s bloody raining.

Weekly visit to help out the mother-in-law* who has limited mobility: bloody raining.
Going to visit my mother ~20 miles away: bloody raining.
Picking up stuff from a supermarket because the shopping delivery was missing stuff: bloody raining.
Picking up bits and pieces from B&Q to sort stuff that’s been on the list for months: bloody raining.
Going to work: bloody raining.

Absolutely bollocking down yesterday morning; normally if I get a taxi to work then it’s my idea, but even my other half suggested it yesterday. Took a look out the window: “ehhh, I’ve ridden in worse, it’s only 20-odd minutes, I should be fine if actually bother to put on my waterproofs”. It would have been a quick trip… if it weren’t for temporary ****ing traffic lights . Took me 45 minutes in the end, despite filtering when I could.

Still bone-dry under the waterproofs, but right as I’m walking in the building the ****ing rain stops…

* OH and I aren’t actually married, but we might as well be and “mother-in-law” is easier than “other half’s mother”

 

Was undertaken by a utter plank on a Motorbike this morning on existing Podimore onto the A303 (whole roundabout is covered in cones so its single file with only one lane - exist being on the inside lane). Luckily I had spotted movement in my passenger mirror (and they appeared in my blind spot camera) otherwise I would have turned directly into them - you know because I am going left in the inside lane and not expecting anything to be there....

Just.... why?!

 

Put simply: because the rider was a pillock.

The only time you’re supposed to get between the kerb and a vehicle’s nearside is if the vehicle is making a right turn into a side road.

What he did wasn’t “filtering”, it was putting himself in an extremely risky position. If you didn’t have blind-spot cameras, or weren’t paying attention to your mirrors, he’d have been off. Best case: he’d be able to get up on his feet afterwards, maybe the bike is a write off. Worst case: he’d have gone under your wheels and wouldn’t be getting up again - ever.

 

And either way, it would've been Xaser04's fault according to the insurance companies, for not being psychic!

 

I don’t know tbh… Maybe if it had been a multi-lane roundabout and the biker was clipped by someone coming into their lane without looking. But in the scenario described - a single lane roundabout where you should have no expectation that someone else might be alongside you - the biker was clearly in the wrong. I can’t see how it could be twisted into being the car driver’s fault - I’d certainly argue the hell out of it if it were me.

TBH even in the former scenario, where the biker isn’t at fault at all, there’s still things the biker can do to help avoid being in an accident. Mainly: observations (mirrors, blindspot “lifesaver” checks, etc) and avoiding sitting alongside other traffic on a roundabout.

 

And incidents like this are exactly why I bought my dashcam a while ago...

 

Just for Context this was on a roundabout with two lanes but one is completely closed to "funnel" traffic into the correct exit lanes due to the Dual carriageway only being down to one lane on exit. In this scenario I would expect all traffic to follow in a single file.

Luckily I was in the Model 3 so it has cameras all around that can be exported (if clips saved) and reviewed at a later date. If I was in the MG4 then it wouldn't be as cut and dry and despite having cameras all round they can't be used for recording.... for reasons....

At least in this instance no one was hurt. Fingers crossed they don't do the same thing to someone else who doesn't seem them in time (thinking lorries / large vans / vehicles with bigger blind spots)....

 

Moved our mobiles over to EE, as Plusnet mobile is closing. Got a great deal - loads more data for less money.

Four envelopes arrived and I immediately thought that this could be very easy to screw up, so I opened them one by one as I replaced the SIM in each phone. No danger of mixing them up and causing additional pain - me big smart.

It turns out all that effort was unnecessary because EE mixed up the SIMs in the envelopes. So I ended up with sprog2's number and he had mine. Of course, we didn't know it at the time because it took a couple of days for the number transfers to take effect; and he had returned to university by then.

Just spent an hour and a half in the local EE shop after wasting two hours on the phone with EE support while they tried to figure out why they couldn't fix the issue with their magic e-SIMs.

I have my number back but my nipper is without his until his SIM arrives tomorrow morning. Naturally, that's only happening this quickly because I shelled out for guaranteed Saturday morning delivery.

Thanks, EE. No, you REALLY shouldn't text me a satisfaction survey.

 

Despite the potential problems with eSIMs, this is one of the reasons I really like them. It’s so easy to transfer the SIM to a new phone. All I have to do is put my old phone next to my new one and I’m prompted to automatically transfer the eSIM during the setup process. Of course I know this particular scenario is slightly different to a phone upgrade…

And of course eSIMs present a problem if you want to take a cheap old phone somewhere that might put your shiny expensive flagship phone at risk - camping, festivals, holidays, etc.

 

eSIMs have another benefit.
Most phones can hold at least 2, so instead of hoping your provider does roaming for wherever your hols are, you can buy a local "unlimited data for 30 days" one from somewhere like esims.net and just use that for data, leaving calls and texts on your regular number.

 

Pain in my armpit and under my arm, going down into my fingers with a loss of sensation/pins and needles. Had it for almost a month, thinking it was a trapped nerve or a pulled muscle.

Finally decided to go to the drs with it on Thursday after I could no longer feel any sensation under my arm or in my hand.

Consultant was brief and got sent home with some naproxen.

Then got a phone call a few hours later to say they had reviewed my consult and suggested I be fast tracked for an MRI.

MRI booked for tomorrow evening then depending on the outcome of that, a possible biopsy.

Fingers crossed it’s not the big C

 

Crossing fingers for you mate, let us know how it goes.

Been too much of the big C of late around here, hoping for the best.

 

Let us know how it goes, hopefully you're the type of fella that doesn't get bothered much by having an MRI.