What Irked You Today?

[cobraman]

Water heater went out this morning. And we have guests. Ain't that the way ? On the plus side thanks to our home warranty it will be 85.00 bucks. There is of course the 85 we pay every month. Just about everything in the house/garage is covered so it has been working out ok. Peace of mind is worth something , at least to us.

[Ace-Garageguy]

23 hours ago, Mark said:

Pay for productivity seldom applies in offices, or in places where there's a union...

Which goes a long way to explain the commonly bloated ranks of do-nothing middle management.

On the other hand, productivity drives lots of businesses. Lawyers bill hourly, and associates are judged on how effective they are at generating billables. Doctors in their own practices bill for services performed on an individual basis, as do hospitals. Competent architectural and engineering firms rarely tolerate deadwood.

My own old engineering-consulting and product-prototyping company billed by the hour, as our "consulting" work evolved primarily into patent research for law firms who hadn't the technical expertise on-staff to get it right the first time...and they had no problem with me billing for hours actually burned. I paid my people based on hours they worked and results, as having done a fair bit of technical research and writing myself, I pretty well knew when a timesheet was being padded. We never did product development or prototyping to contract or bid; we billed for hours burned, and made it clear up front there was simply no way to know what it would take to do something that had never been done (exactly) before...and my people on that work were paid an industry-leading rate per hour in the shop. Again, as I'd done similar work, I had a good idea of what one element of a project should take, and slackers were shown the door. Of course, I was almost always on-site, and had my fingers in every pie, so I knew who was doing what, when, and why.

But a company where the upper management isn't actively involved (and competent) in the daily operations isn't much of a company in my opinion, tends to lard-up in the middle with people who do more "delegating" than actual work, and is, unfortunately, more the rule now than the exception.

Edited November 27, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy
TYPO

[Dave Ambrose]

Went shopping for 1/4" SAE washers at "home improvement" center. Look at the ones in the bag. Those are labeled 1/4", but they're a bit bigger. (I'm guessing 8mm) Open the box because when you have British cars, you need washers. Same thing. Wrong size. The bonehead buyers never realize they're getting ripped off by their suppliers. Will be going to the real hardware store where they know the right sizes. 

[stitchdup]

3d printing . I feel like i've wasted 1200 quid on an expensive ornament for my living room. 5 bottles of resin and only one set of wheels turned out good. I'm following the instructions but it just dont work for me. I cant find any help locally for resin printers and most online help is garbage or trolls. I dont mind the fails if they were getting close to being right but they seem to fail in different ways in just one damn print. print the top half, print the bottom half, stick to the tank all in the same print. And i have to work with the guy that just wants to antagonise me and leave half his jobs unfinished so i cant do my job, and who i caught sneaking through my cabin last time we were on the boat, so the next week is going to be just as bad as this week has been, but in a different way. Wont something go right?

[Joe Handley]

I was messing around with the Slammerz Concord I’m making into a phantom 2 Door and went to grind out the “plastic triangles” in what were the back doors and make it look like a full windows by the back seat, but chose the wrong Dremel bit🤬

what I did

vs what was intended

 

I am already fixing it with Bondic UV Resin though.

 

just need to sand it down to match the window trim

[Snake45]

Darn, Joe, that's some fine work right there. I'm hoping/planning to do pretty much the same thing to the new Charger when it appears, and will refer back to your work for inspiration. Model on! 

[Joe Handley]

3 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Darn, Joe, that's some fine work right there. I'm hoping/planning to do pretty much the same thing to the new Charger when it appears, and will refer back to your work for inspiration. Model on! 

Thanks! All I did was cut out the center posts, sand them down, then cement them on the wrong sides just behind where the forward part of the window opening is. I’m also using Bondic for most of the filler on the door openings, handles, gas door, and gaps between these pillars and window openings………plus my screw up tonight😡

[FLHCAHZ]

Leaving a Dr appt yesterday for an easy afternoon, then stepped on the brake pedal and heard that grinding sound...  My truck is due for PA inspection, so I did all 4 rotors, and pads.  The inside pad would not fit in the caliper on any of the 4 calipers.  I had to grind the ends of the backing plates of the pads down to for them to slide in.  So much for an easy afternoon!

[stavanzer]

2 hours ago, FLHCAHZ said:

Leaving a Dr appt yesterday for an easy afternoon, then stepped on the brake pedal and heard that grinding sound...  My truck is due for PA inspection, so I did all 4 rotors, and pads.  The inside pad would not fit in the caliper on any of the 4 calipers.  I had to grind the ends of the backing plates of the pads down to for them to slide in.  So much for an easy afternoon!

I'd have been back at the Auto Parts store right now exchanging the box, for a pad that didn't fit. I've done too many brake jobs, to use a pad that did not drop right in. Brakes just too important to monkey with grinding anything to fit. 

[FLHCAHZ]

16 minutes ago, stavanzer said:

I'd have been back at the Auto Parts store right now exchanging the box, for a pad that didn't fit. I've done too many brake jobs, to use a pad that did not drop right in. Brakes just too important to monkey with grinding anything to fit. 

I just had the same thing happen on my daughters Malibu -  took that one back.   I have no issues making them fit correctly though, just a PITA 

[Pete J.]

16 hours ago, Dave Ambrose said:

Went shopping for 1/4" SAE washers at "home improvement" center. Look at the ones in the bag. Those are labeled 1/4", but they're a bit bigger. (I'm guessing 8mm) Open the box because when you have British cars, you need washers. Same thing. Wrong size. The bonehead buyers never realize they're getting ripped off by their suppliers. Will be going to the real hardware store where they know the right sizes. 

Dave, Ababa Nut and Bolt in San Marcos is great. https://abababolt.com/ They have an absolutely massive stock to pick from.  Only down size is you have to buy large quantities, like 50 or 100.  Found out that that quantity is about the same price as 2 plastic packs from home Depot.  Check them out

[espo]

Popups are getting out of hand again. 

[iamsuperdan]

I'm not really irked by it, but it was flippin' cold this morning.

This is before windchill is factored in. 

Luckily, the truck has a good heater, heated seats, heated steering wheel, and remote start.

 

[cobraman]

And Gas !! 😀

[HomerS]

Grabbed a couple items at Five Below this a.m. including four Hot Wheels and the total seemed kinda high.  I checked the receipt and the Hot Wheels (mainlines) rang up $3.25 each!  Uh HARD no!!  I went back in and returned them.  The manager commented she thought they were recent editions. They were not.  I said they are three times what WalMart sells them for.

[Ace-Garageguy]

What irked me today was the "duh" moment I realized I forgot to get a Replicas and Miniatures catalog from Norm back in November at the show here (though I brought home enough stuff to open a hobby shop, he was out of a few things I really need for ongoing builds).

[Raoul Ross]

8 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

What irked me today was the "duh" moment I realized I forgot to get a Replicas and Miniatures catalog from Norm back in November at the show here (though I brought home enough stuff to open a hobby shop, he was out of a few things I really need for ongoing builds).

I have a PDF of his catalog, PM me and I'll email it to you if you want.

[oldnslow]

Going out to go for a ride in the Jeep and the neutral safety switch on the clutch pedal goes " I quit ". ☹️

[Ace-Garageguy]

Audit Shows Pentagon 'Lost' 61% of Its Assets: Chief Accountant Calls It 'Teachable Moment'

Staggering incompetence. 2.275 TRILLION DOLLARS worth of stuff is just missing.

Kinda makes the $10+ BILLION abandoned in Afghanistan look like pocket change.

Edited December 4, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy
CLARITY

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 12/3/2022 at 6:34 AM, Raoul Ross said:

I have a PDF of his catalog, PM me and I'll email it to you if you want.

Thank you sir. PM incoming.

[Danno]

19 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Audit Shows Pentagon 'Lost' 61% of Its Assets: Chief Accountant Calls It 'Teachable Moment'

Staggering incompetence. 2.275 TRILLION DOLLARS worth of stuff is just missing.

Kinda makes the $10+ BILLION abandoned in Afghanistan look like pocket change.

TEACHABLE MOMENT?   It ought to be a firing-squad moment for those responsible.

 

[stitchdup]

My friend I've been helping look after is now on end of life care. His alzheimers has progressed faster than I've ever seen before to the point you can see massive changes in just a couple of hours. It's like losing a parent again as he was the person i turned to for help when my dad passed. I'm hoping to visit him on weds after my shift is finished if he lasts that long

[Snake45]

28 minutes ago, stitchdup said:

My friend I've been helping look after is now on end of life care. His alzheimers has progressed faster than I've ever seen before to the point you can see massive changes in just a couple of hours. It's like losing a parent again as he was the person i turned to for help when my dad passed. I'm hoping to visit him on weds after my shift is finished if he lasts that long

Sorry to hear this, Les. Been through something similar a couple times and it's not easy at all. May God Bless you and your friend. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

It is increasingly unnerving trying to drive anywhere here when it's raining. It's as though everyone turns his brain off, or goes into panic mode.

Going to the bank this AM, I was almost hit by two dozy witches, one who apparently missed her GPS-instructed turn, pulled over on the RH shoulder and stopped (so far so good), but then abruptly pulled LEFT directly in front of me as she tried a U-turn, completely oblivious of anyone else. Good thing I have good brakes and new front tires, or I would have T-boned her door. She stopped in the middle of the road, rolled her window down to apologize, and her passenger witch let loose with a screaming tirade at ME that would strip the paint from most cars. Nice. I guess I was "manspreading" by being where her friend wanted to go.

The other one was just driving through the lot, looking at her phone, on my side of the line. A long loud blast on my horn woke her up in time to stop literally a couple inches from simply driving into my stopped truck.

 

[imarriedawitch]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

The other one was just driving through the lot, looking at her phone, on my side of the line. A long loud blast on my horn woke her up in time to stop literally a couple inches from simply driving into my stopped truck.

 

I had to do this last week to a UPS truck. He was exiting the condo complex looking down at his phone while taking his half of the road out of the middle. People here can't seem to make a left hand turn from a left hand turn lane without first entering the lane to their right by about five feet. They drive these little econo-boxes like they're driving a semi. I almost lost my Challenger this summer when I had to put two wheels on the gravel at highway speed to avoid gettng body slammed by someone coming to the right while making a left turn.