What Irked You Today?

[TonyK]

Took my dog to the emergency vet this morning. Yesterday he keeled over and laid there for about 20 minutes not able to move. Freaked me out. Then the rest of the day he was back to normal. This morning he woke up puking and just laid there breathing fast and short.

Waiting for the diagnosis and I don't handle this type of thing well. My other dog knows something ain't right.

[stavanzer]

Tony, I'm so sorry to hear about the dog.

I hope he is okay.

[A modeler named mike]

Pets can be one of the family to some of us and to others it's just a pet. Glad that yours are family and I hope all turns out well! 🙏 Hang in there buddy!!

[TonyK]

Thanks for your comments. Finally got him home and after a blood test, x-rays, and other assorted things they determined he has an infection in his guts. I'm still in the "irked" section because it might've happened on a walk and I try very hard to watch every move they make so as not to nibble on something they shouldn't. I was told it could be anything out there that was licked or whatever. Our yard is free of any toxins and I'm always out with them when they go out.

I am pleased this is treatable with a couple of pills for the next week and I hope it will be fine. Just a tough thing to deal with.

[HomerS]

That's great news!  I know when I take furry kids to the vet, I'm worse than a parent.

If you have trees in your yard, watch for anything squirrels bring in or birds drop in the yard.

[PierreR89]

I have noticed for a few days that the right front wheel have been warmer then the rest on my volvo v50. So I decided to find out why and thats when the irks started.... First the jack sunk in the the ground while trying to jack up the car.. once that was dealt with by using a piece of wood under it as support i removed the wheel and found out why almost instantly. The dustseal from the piston was gone and piston had alot of rust and complelty stuck, also noticed marks from a plier on the surface of the piston that did not have any rust on it. Then came trying to find a new caliper and found out every wheel exept right front was in stock... so I ordered one and are waiting for it to show up. When putting it back toghether i found out that the previous owner had destroyed the threads for one of the sliding pins for the caliper... So I had to find a temporary solution for that problem and stripped a piece of wire to wind the copper around the threads of the pin and then force it in the caliper carrier... So I have to find a new caliper carrier also. I thought since I live in the land of volvo that would be easy as you can basiacally kick a random bush and a part for a volvo will fall out from it.  Nope how wrong i was... everything but the carrier are you able to buy... not even junkyars had them in stock.. after being almost everywhere on the internet i finally found one but it comes with a caliper. So I will end up with 2 right front calipers for a volvo v50 when I get them..  As a final irk one of the headlight bulbs gave up and service required light came on and at almost 300 000kms its time for the timingbelt and all other "not fun and not very cheap" parts to be replaced... 

Next irk: Now when it is warmer out people are bugging me to fix their ac to (in sweden you have to be certified to be allowed to work on ac systems) and people somehow found out that i am certified for that.. T⁸hen they get mad when I say i dont have time or the equippment for that at home. I dont want the tools for ac work at home for exactly this reason.. 

 

Edited April 16 by PierreR89
A word

[Ace-Garageguy]

Not an irk so much as a profound sadness and sense of loss.

Another old friend that served me faithfully for 20 years bit the dust.

I'll salvage his magnetron and transformer to live anew in something else.

EDIT: Third kitchen appliance to check out in the last six months or so.

Wonder if they know something I don't.

Cue Twilight Zone music...

Edited April 16 by Ace-Garageguy

[peteski]

You have my condolences Bill.  The new appliances sold today are not very well made, and often too "feature-rich" for me.

If the magnetron and transformer are good, what kicked the bucket?  Relay? The controller board?  Not fixable?

My microwave developed a display problem few years back (during a really humid summer).  I determined that the problem was a flat plastic ribbon connecting the display to the main board.  It was a very thin plastic ribbon with carbon-based traces.  It was "connected" the traces on the controller board by pressure sensitive adhesive.  I ended up removing it and making my own ribbon cable using actual wires soldering each wire to the pad on the display and on the controller board.

[DaveB]

7 minutes ago, peteski said:

You have my condolences Bill.  The new appliances sold today are not very well made, and often too "feature-rich" for me.

We bought a matched set of GE appliance 5 years ago, so far the dish washer and stove have been fine but the plastics on the fridge and microwave seem to be breaking down. The bottom shelf of the fridge that holds the crisper drawers broke twice. Replaced it the first time for $80, 2nd time I just created some brackets out of flat metal stock and bolted the broken plastic back together.

About a year ago the plastic vent cover behind the microwave door fell apart, still worked without it. Then the display lost a couple segments. Then it blew its internal fuse, replaced that (clips on plastic control panel broke apart while removing the 2 screws holding it on) and it started tripping the breaker. The interwebs said it was likely 1 or more bad door switches.

We're trying whirlpool this time around, no more GE for us.

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 minutes ago, peteski said:

You have my condolences Bill.  The new appliances sold today are not very well made, and often too "feature-rich" for me.

If the magnetron and transformer are good, what kicked the bucket?  Relay? The controller board?  Not fixable?

My microwave developed a display problem few years back (during a really humid summer).  I determined that the problem was a flat plastic ribbon connecting the display to the main board.  It was a very thin plastic ribbon with carbon-based traces.  It was "connected" the traces on the controller board by pressure sensitive adhesive.  I ended up removing it and making my own ribbon cable using actual wires soldering each wire to the pad on the display and on the controller board.

Cool fix. Applause. Really.  

Mine was a really simple one. No display, just a timer knob.

A friend brought it to me, got it at a thrift store for $15 way, way back when my whiz-bangy one dumped.

Clean one-owner, looked new. I figgered I'd replace it with a nicer one, but it's worked like a a champ for years, so I just kept using it.

It's been feeling its age for a while, though.

Not too far back, the door interlock failed, easy enough to repair.

Last few days the turntable drive has been rattling, sounding like gravel in the bearings...and then it got better.

But when I went to heat a cup of coffee this PM, it would start and stop when the turntable apparently bound up, then finally started smoking from where the turntable motor apparently is.

Anything's fixable, within reason, but at this point I need to stay focused on paying work and just get a cheapo for the interim.

The house out west has a nice one.

 

 

[peteski]

4 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Anything's fixable, within reason, but at this point I need to stay focused on paying work and just get a cheapo for the interim.

Yup.

R.I.P. Bill's microwave.

[Ace-Garageguy]

3 minutes ago, DaveB said:

We're trying whirlpool this time around, no more GE for us.

Yeah...sad state of affairs with most "American" brands having devolved into cheapo offshore junk.

The plastic-parts-failing-early issue is common across the board with just about everything now, too.

[MrMiles]

Kind of a funny story. My wife got me 3x 10 dollar gift cards to McDonald's as a gift. 

 

Today I decided to use it, so I got food and it came out to 14 dollars, so I gave the lady two of the gift cards and after swiping both she said the cards are both empty and tried to take them. I said wat. One of them should hav like ,6 dollars more, so she looked at me and then gave them to me me. On the receipt it even showed a balance. I'm pretty sure she was trying to steal it. She looked at the receipt before saying it and it was very clear there was balance on the cards

[DaveB]

10 hours ago, MrMiles said:

Kind of a funny story. My wife got me 3x 10 dollar gift cards to McDonald's as a gift. 

 

Today I decided to use it, so I got food and it came out to 14 dollars, so I gave the lady two of the gift cards and after swiping both she said the cards are both empty and tried to take them. I said wat. One of them should hav like ,6 dollars more, so she looked at me and then gave them to me me. On the receipt it even showed a balance. I'm pretty sure she was trying to steal it. She looked at the receipt before saying it and it was very clear there was balance on the cards

Damn scammers are everywhere nowadays (even at McD's it seems), gotta always be on your toes.

[TonyK]

Our microwave gave up after 20 years also. One day started to make a bad noise and there was a smell so it was time. Decided to replace the other kitchen appliances after that because they were all 20 years old too. Didn't want to wait until they broke down, especially the refrigerator.

[DaveB]

6 minutes ago, TonyK said:

Our microwave gave up after 20 years also. One day started to make a bad noise and there was a smell so it was time. Decided to replace the other kitchen appliances after that because they were all 20 years old too. Didn't want to wait until they broke down, especially the refrigerator.

Those 20 year old appliances would have probably outlasted the new ones!

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, TonyK said:

Our microwave gave up after 20 years also. One day started to make a bad noise and there was a smell so it was time. Decided to replace the other kitchen appliances after that because they were all 20 years old too. Didn't want to wait until they broke down, especially the refrigerator.

Last new fridge I bought quit after two years, just out of warranty. Opened it up, pathetic tiny components inside, sized for a small office fridge. Lotsa insulation was its only advantage over an old one with big fat clunky last-forever guts.

Cheaper to buy another one than pay someone to fix it, and I didn't want to take it to the car shop to evac/recharge or bring the equipment home, then probably have it die again after another 2 years.

Bought an older creampuff used, and it's still running fine 12 years later.

A friend of mine has a fridge from the late '40s, still running on its original freon.

Edited April 17 by Ace-Garageguy

[NYLIBUD]

Three words…”Brown paper bags”.🤬I go into my friendly,over priced Target yesterday.I bought some groceries.I usually don’t go food shopping at Target,but I had to get a couple of other things.Anyway,I normally bring my own plastic bags,but this time I forgot them.So I go to check out,& walk to my car,holding the bags from the bottom.But it didn’t matter,as soon as I stepped out side,all hell broke loose,and the bags ripped to shreds,pouring my food all over the place,including some glass jars that broke..I go back into the store to let them know.They told me there’s nothing they could do,and that I shouldn’t have filled the bags so much.I told them I didn’t over fill them,and that I held them from the bottom..But nope,they refused to replace the glass items,which added up to about $60..I definitely won’t be going to Target any time soon.Oh and they charged me for the bags as well.

[A modeler named mike]

54 minutes ago, DaveB said:

Those 20 year old appliances would have probably outlasted the new ones!

Out of all the original avocado green appliances that came with the house my dad purchased in 1972 only the wall oven and the electric coil burner cooktop are still in use and work as intended. Not bad for 56 year old products. The original Dishwasher is still in place but was disconnected years ago after It when up. Mom and dad favored washing the dishes by hand so the DW became a storage cabinet for unused dishes. The kitchen even has a countertop mounted mixer unit which works but I disabled the electric since its not used. Someday this appliances will pass too and the new will be ushered in.  

[DaveB]

35 minutes ago, NYLIBUD said:

Three words…”Brown paper bags”.🤬I go into my friendly,over priced Target yesterday.I bought some groceries.I usually don’t go food shopping at Target,but I had to get a couple of other things.Anyway,I normally bring my own plastic bags,but this time I forgot them.So I go to check out,& walk to my car,holding the bags from the bottom.But it didn’t matter,as soon as I stepped out side,all hell broke loose,and the bags ripped to shreds,pouring my food all over the place,including some glass jars that broke..I go back into the store to let them know.They told me there’s nothing they could do,and that I shouldn’t have filled the bags so much.I told them I didn’t over fill them,and that I held them from the bottom..But nope,they refused to replace the glass items,which added up to about $60..I definitely won’t be going to Target any time soon.Oh and they charged me for the bags as well.

I'd be going to corporate with that, charge you for bags, bags break and you lose $60 in groceries, they'd be getting an earful.

Edited April 17 by DaveB

[NYLIBUD]

13 minutes ago, DaveB said:

I'd be going to corporate with that, charge you for bags, bags break and you lose $60 in groceries, they'd be getting an earful.

Oh trust me,I went “Karen”🤣so to speak,on them.No,just never gonna step one foot in another Target again.👋And I thought Walmart sucked.

[MrMiles]

4 hours ago, DaveB said:

Those 20 year old appliances would have probably outlasted the new ones!

i will never forget when i first moved out on my own in 1999. my family had a really, really old microwave, from when they first came out, so when i moved out, i bought my own microwave. i didnt realize how much more powerful the new ones were vs the ones my family had. the first time i cooked popcorn i put it on for 5 minutes, which was what my families microwave would take, after a few minutes, i smelled it burning and saw it was on fire in the microwave. i put the next one in and did like 2 minutes and they were completely burned. then i noticed there was a button labeled popcorn. i hit it and it was like 45 seconds or something like that. 

 

[1930fordpickup]

When the boss lies to your face so bad you cant look at them. 

 I understand more and more every day. 

[espo]

1 minute ago, 1930fordpickup said:

When the boss lies to your face so bad you cant look at them. 

 I understand more and more every day. 

A story from when my wife ran the business office in a car dealership. The dealer was given to exaggerate if not outright lie about things in the managers meetings with the managers of all the departments. The managers devised a way to alert the other managers when he would start talking about something that they knew was not true. Whenever this happened, they would alert each other by lightly tapping the end of their pencil or pen on the table. He never found out what was going on if he ever even noticed.  

[Bugatti Fan]

Not a lot!