The moaning old git thread

[Brockett]

@TLP No, not exactly, but she didn't say I couldn't.
@ Martin W.   A good parent will never give up on a child. No matter what the odds are. A brave lady who has come in for some very poor comments in local social media.

[MartinW]

Agreed Dave - There is no need to vilify the family. That's out of order.

[Brockett]

I've been watching Youtube video bike reviews.
Most are just awful. I don't need to have the bike described because I am looking at it on my PC screen. The word C_O_O_L is used to death to describe everything. Much like NICE the aforementioned C word provides zero information other than it hints at blacked out, chopped down ruinations that appeal to certain of the USA market and folks wrecking bikes in sheds.
For a particular bike I am interested in the question " does it have a fuel guage remains unanswered. What's under the seat? What are the service intervals? Is a main stand an option?
Are the mudguards any good at keeping road filth off the bike and the rider? Many UK youtubers are just as hopeless, maybe in the hope of attracting clicks and likes from accross the pond.  Reviewers who borrow bikes from dealers will not pass negative comments in case they don't get future rides. Owners who have just spent sqillions on a bike are really not going to say they made a mistake.  Others give opinions based on nothing as in "the seat looks great and should be comfortable for many miles".  Youtube reviews are, mostly, no better that watching the shopping channel. 

[mr_diver]

At the risk of a deformation case against me... that pillock the Missendon Flyer used to do some pretty tidy thorough reviews in the early days.

These days he compares Bike A to Bike B, Bike B to Bike C and Bike C to Bike A and says nothing to actually describe the bike. A list of stats and the price does nothing unless you're making a home made top trumps set.

[TLPower]

That tosser lost all semblance of credibility with the Interceptor "build".

[Brockett]

Or maybe TMF is a really nice decent bloke who cannot imagine that anyone would treat him that way.
Just a thought.:-
Journalism:-  a means of gaining income through writing what other people will pay to read and what Publishers can use ( see below)
Publishing:- A means of gaining income through selling adverising space to people who want to read what Journalists write.
In effect this means the Publisher restricts the voice of the Journalist so that a positive light is cast on the products that are currently advertised because it is the income from adverting revenue that pay their wages.  Youtubers are both Publisher and Journalist in that they can derive income from advertising and quite separately promote a product as they "Review" it.  These "reviewers" can be offered freebie samples to promote and loan vehicles to display on their channel and of course they sell their own branded bric-a-brac. 
Meanwhile the truth about anything becomes more obscure and sadly, less popular.

[TLPower]

I could agree with you Dave.

But then we'd both be wrong.

[Brockett]

yes that's true

[Brockett]

A friends son is moving home and is selling the stuff he doesn't need
He advertised a fridge on gumtree
A caller from coventry offered to pay his asking price and asked to pay by bank transfer
The seller got out his card and read the sort code and account number etc and the caller arranged to collect.
About 10 minutes later he had a thought, Why would someone in Coventry buy a second had fridge from someone in Brighton?
And then he realised he had given, without thinking, those three numbers from the back.......
He phoned his bank and just in time they managed to stop the transfer of £500 from his acccount.
So easily done I suppose.

 

[Brockett]

Once again I tried to purchase speed camera data from TomTom and again their payment system asks me for a house number. It won't move on or allow a transaction without it. I tried their "HELP" / "SUPPPORT" with the same No bloody help or support whatsoever is available for that topic.

[TLPower]

Just tell them you live at number 66 and all shall be well Dave.

[kwackboy]

Dave, maybe I'm missing something..?
what speed camera data are you purchasing..?

Speedcamera updates are free on my Tom Tom ... 

[Keith60]

Yes Kwackboy, but not on Brockets 1973 TomTom!!  🤣🤣

[Fat Rat]

Dave, I have worked out your problem. TomTom don't sell maps of the underground!!!

[Brockett]

  Very funny FR

I think I have my address in my TomTom profile for map updates although these are free
They ask for my house number in order to process payments via a bank card and or PayPal.
No other business has ever insisted I have a number in my address. 
As for the TomTom Sat Nav, it was the cheapest they sell, I bought it 2019 and it is in my car.

I use a Garmin on my bikes.

[Brockett]

Yesterday, I followed  car for over 20 miles. The rear window wiper was working back and forth all the way. It was not raining and the road was dry. The thought struck me that the driver had not looked in the rear view mirror for over twenty miles. After a couple of miles I thought the wiper blade would wear out or at least make a loud noise on the window. The car kept on going at about 52mph all the while the wiper was dry wiping a dry window.  Strange eh?

[2112]

Vehicle tax - how can they justify the cost ? I've just taxed my bike for another year for the ever increasing £101 and I'm OK with that. I've also just taxed my car (leccy) for £0. It's really odd and even though I'm benefitting from it, it can't be right that a bike is £101 and a leccy car is free 

[kwackboy]

Enjoy the zero tax while it lasts , the more electric vehicles on the road the less the government get, its coming ... 

[Hugo Magnus]

I have seven taxed vehicles (albeit 4 are zero rated). I can only drive/ride one on the road at any one time. Why not have one tax for whatever I ride/drive?

[MartinW]

My Wife and I have two cars, from the same manufacturer.

Mine is £630 and hers is £0 - Crazy system.