WAMT....what annoyed me today!

Amazingly, both my wife and myself were asked to call the surgery to make an appointment for an annual checkup. It's tomorrow morning. I had one last year that was taking a sample of blood only..re sugars and cholesterol. I didn't hear back so it must have been ok. It used to include a BP test and weight taken. . My wife tells me that we each have a 20-minute appointment and can even go to a nearer surgery, affiliated to the main one, which would take a 15 minute drive. The receptionist obviously saw we were much closer to the 'satellite' surgery. Very kind of her. We've been asked to take a pee sample ,too. We'll also take our BP at home before we leave. BP usually increases at the surgery so one at home gives a more accurate normal reading. They are happy to note that on the record but still do one at the surgery. I'll believe it's a 20 minute appointment after I've been but fair play, they are doing their best. I've rarely had a problem getting an appointment. Mind you, I do tell the receptionist that they do a great job etc in trying circumstances. :) I once called and was 33 in the queue so I left the phone on the table and carried on with life returning every 10 minutes or so to see where I was in the queue. By the time they answered I'd either forgotten what it was I was calling about or I was now ok...:D
 
Marks and Spencers staffing. Queues in the cafes with hardly enough staff. However "security" all over the place, looking very bored as there weren't many shoppers, just folks trying to get a cake and a coffee! What has happened to the "good quality" clothing that M&S used to be famous for? I thought that I was in Primark! Not to forget their "lighting" which is more akin to those torture lamps, every time you turn, there is a bright light in your eyes. Lots of folks walking round, shading their eyes. Perhaps it's to hide the shoddy stock?
 
I went to the bank to get cash for staff Xmas bonuses – I know it's easier to do it digitally but it's fun handing people folding stuff!

This was one of those weird banks which consist of some machines, some (generally empty) desks and a bored meber of staff wandering about.

I told her I wanted to withdraw some cash – more than the machine would give to me. She asked me to sit on the uncomfortable sofa and 'someone would be with me in a minute'.

15 minutes later, 'someone' appeared and asked me what I wanted. I repeated my request and was told that this was a 'digital' branch and they didn't have any money. However, if I wanted to spend an hour driving to Luton they would probably be able to help me.

So... a bank with no money annoyed me today.
 
The way things are going the world will not need humans :(
 
Norkie said:
The way things are going the world will not need humans :(
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If the Anthroposcene (spelling) era ends by its own hand.........................I hope that enough of the natural world is left to continue to evolve into something more intelligent than "us"
 
WAMT:

People who start every sentence with 'So'. Horrid speech.

For example:

Interviewer: What do you do for a living?
Responder: So I work at the university [or some such].

WHY? They wouldn't start the sentence with 'therefore' but they effectively have.
 
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ShinySideUp said:
WAMT:

People who start every sentence with 'So'. Horrid speech.

For example:

Interviewer: What do you do for a living?
Responder: So I work at the university [or some such].

WHY? They wouldn't start the sentence with 'therefore' but they effectively have.
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My hate is similar but mine begin with "basically".
A pal of mine some 40 odd years ago used to preface every quote he said. Eg.
"He turned around and said xyz". "Welll I turned around and said abc" etc. Aaarrrggghhhhh!
 
ShinySideUp said:
People who start every sentence with 'So'. Horrid speech.
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I noted that as a pet hate a few years ago, particularly on radio interviews, both the interviewer and interviewee.
As its been around a few years I guess its here to stay :(
 
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Even educated people say somethink :confused:
 
ShinySideUp said:
WAMT:

People who start every sentence with 'So'. Horrid speech.

For example:

Interviewer: What do you do for a living?
Responder: So I work at the university [or some such].

WHY? They wouldn't start the sentence with 'therefore' but they effectively have.
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Mine is 'I personally', 'I' refers to the speaker so how can it be anything but personal?
 
F1.2 said:
Even educated people say somethink :confused:
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Or even somefink! ........... and politicians are now saying ter instead of to. What's all that about? Not forgetting Richard Osmond and his "Arntser Smash!" If it's Arntser, it should me Smarsh or just answer smash! :)
 
"Uptick"!!

A couple of days ago I heard someone on Radio 4 say there had been an "uptick in the cost of ...."


Dave
 
Pixbarmy said:
Or even somefink! ........... and politicians are now saying ter instead of to. What's all that about? Not forgetting Richard Osmond and his "Arntser Smash!" If it's Arntser, it should me Smarsh or just answer smash! :)
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I suppose the problem (if it even is a problem) is that language changes over time and for many reasons. English, drawn from many sources over such a long time, is more malleable than others.

It's also affected just as many languages as have affected it,
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
I suppose the problem (if it even is a problem) is that language changes over time and for many reasons. English, drawn from many sources over such a long time, is more malleable than others.

It's also affected just as many languages as have affected it,
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I love to hear all the different dialects and am amazed at the number of words that are common between nationalities. I remember chatting to a Flemish speaker, who had heard the phrase " 'ow is ta' " from a Yorkshireman and he knew exactly what he meant as it was the same sound, where he came from in Belgium! There are subtle differences within a few miles of each other in many of the Yorkshire towns and villages where I grew up. Some villagers in North Yorkshire struggle to say their "R" and "L" correctly (or should that be cowwectwy).
 
Also get go ?????
 
I hate so at the start of a sentence as well.

That is why I use alors.

Pretentious?

Moi?
 
Mine is the phrase "two times", as in two times the price. What is wrong with twice it seem to have gone from the language
 
luthy said:
Mine is the phrase "two times", as in two times the price. What is wrong with twice ...
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In my opinion, nothing is wrong with either term - they are different uses of the language for the same purpose.

Unlike some other languages, such as French, there is no official body which defines English. All we have is a constantly changing agreement to disagree about what words mean and how we pronounce and / or spell them. Many members of my generation suffered years of being taught how to use one particular dialect: the so-called "Received Pronunciation", only to find that the concensus we had drummed into us was a myth.

I strongly suspect that radio and television did more to standardise the pronunciation and usage of English, in a hundred years, than the education systems of Britain achieved in the previous 1,000.
 
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Yesterdays annoyance and a worry.

We had a power cut in the afternoon and once power was back up Virgin internet was down and remained down and then sort of up but in effect unusable until bed time. This reminded me of what my poor late mother used to say, that she couldn't manage without me and what do other elderly people do who have no one? Having no one and what to do was something I thought of yesterday with the power cut and Virgin issues and of course this could get worse next year when Virgin take our phone line away and put it on the router.

I think there is a danger that we could be isolating people as we push everything on line and onto what seems to be a quite unreliable system. We probably don't have an issue with Virgin every week but it does feel like we do with almost constant issues of some sort. What do the elderly or even just younger people who for whatever reason can not cope with this sort of / internet issues on their own do? I can only see the increasing push to put just about everything on line as being a bad move when "on line" seems to be so problematic. Or maybe just about constant on line issues is localised to just some areas and other people have a reliable service?
 
woof woof said:
Yesterdays annoyance and a worry.

We had a power cut in the afternoon and once power was back up Virgin internet was down and remained down and then sort of up but in effect unusable until bed time. This reminded me of what my poor late mother used to say, that she couldn't manage without me and what do other elderly people do who have no one? Having no one and what to do was something I thought of yesterday with the power cut and Virgin issues and of course this could get worse next year when Virgin take our phone line away and put it on the router.

I think there is a danger that we could be isolating people as we push everything on line and onto what seems to be a quite unreliable system. We probably don't have an issue with Virgin every week but it does feel like we do with almost constant issues of some sort. What do the elderly or even just younger people who for whatever reason can not cope with this sort of / internet issues on their own do? I can only see the increasing push to put just about everything on line as being a bad move when "on line" seems to be so problematic. Or maybe just about constant on line issues is localised to just some areas and other people have a reliable service?
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Disagree, online is the way forward and IMO makes things a lot easier. Sure its a pain when things go down but its not very often and then most have a smartphone to rely on. Cant remember the last time my internet was down for more than 10 mins

If anything its been getting harder for decades. I remember my grandparents and various aunts and uncles living within a few streets of each other. My nan would take Sunday lunch over the road to two aunts. These days people live further away and seem to have busier lives. When my uncle died my nan was an hour and a half away from me (2hrs+ rushour) until I got her to move up here near me.

Things online are so much easier than 'the old ways' for so many things. Calls, video chats, online banking, booking tickets and 10 years ago my uncle in his 80s was doing all this online so I dont see age being a barrier. My dad in his late 70s is more tech savvy than many people a lot younger. Ok, phone lines are 'more reliable' but if you need help after say 8pm online is the only way
 
I'm amazed you can't remember having problems lasting longer than 10 minutes. Lucky you. I agree that some things are made easier for many people but only until they hit a problem and then how easy it is becomes related to how able they are to deal with the problem.

We have regular issue with the internet including slow running or no access at all. Online banking often throws up issues as do online face to face communications with sorting out technical issues being a regular thing for Mrs WW (she does translation work and recently spent longer on an issue than the job.) Sorting out those technical issue or waiting until tomorrow when it might work may be easier than driving 150 miles for a physical face to face but equally some will not be able to sort out tech issues and waiting could cause a problem. Someone on a review site summed this all up pretty much perfectly for me when they said "You shouldn't need programmer level skills to xxxxx" and I agree. You shouldn't need tech skills to do what in realty should be mundane things but your post does I think show how peoples experiences vary and although I'm glad people in your family are tech savvy the fact that you think some are more tech savvy than some younger people must indicate that age isn't the only factor.

I'd be happier with the move to do just about everything on line if the tech was reliable but I don't believe it is reliable enough and whilst it isn't I'd be much happier if an alternative was available. I'm not happy that people are increasingly effectively given no choice but to rely on the internet and smartphones for ever more and if some do hit problems they can't solve who do they turn to?

Oh. One last example. Mrs WW took some picture and vids on her smartphone and it was only when I came to email them to someone else that I found that the pics weren't jpegs and were heic and my PS2023 wouldn't open them. This changes seems to have come about when her phone got an update as the previous pictures she'd taken were still jpegs. It took time for me to work out how to open them. Other people would not have noticed an issue, others would have solved it quicker and some wouldn't have sorted it at all without help. These problems really shouldn't happen.
 
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woof woof said:
I think there is a danger that we could be isolating people as we push everything on line and onto what seems to be a quite unreliable system.
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I fully agree.

If there was an absolute requirement to power the network from a completely independent system, as the PSTN currently is, there would be no problem. However, when I wrote to my MP, who was in agreement that there was too little resilience in the proposed change, he passed on my notes to the "Department for Ignorance, Stupidity and Failure" (AKA the DfSIT). The response was a boilerplate reply signed by John Wittingdale which took a lot of words to say, in effect...

"There, there, foolish little person. Here's a lot of codswallop to pretend we know what we're doing and you shouldn't bother your silly little head about things you don't understand."​

The fact is, most of us do understand that this is just a scam to get all that lovely, saleable metal out of the ground and make money selling it. If a few people die because they can't get through to the emergency services, that's their own fault! Let's face it, electing a tory government is always the personification of a death wish, never more clearly than in this case. :headbang:
 
cambsno said:
Disagree, online is the way forward and IMO makes things a lot easier.
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There is still a lot of people without the knowledge or means to do everything on line.
That's not only the older folk either.

As its been a slow progression since the early 90's when I had to learn, to teach my kids, I've managed to keep up with it.
But if this was all just starting up now, I think I'd be screwed. So give a thought to those in their 70's 80's or even 90's
that got left behind.
 
My mother is in her 90s and lives alone yes people call every day to help her and check on her. Some things shes fine with but others not so. She now has trouble putting a DVD on and playing it. She doesnt have asmart phone shecan just about manage her ordinary mobile. The internet is a complete mystery to her. She could use it a little a few years ago but no longer.
How do they expect her and her peers to manage if everything goes on line???
 
WAMT?
A bloody heron standing on the edge of my pond!
Its netted so the fish are reasonably safe, but I've had a couple of fish speared through the net ( and killed) back in the summer.
A blank starting pistol chased it off, but it was in no hurry to leave.
I'll need to keep a close eye out there until it gets dark.
I've known herons to return after I chased them off.
 
luthy said:
My mother is in her 90s and lives alone yes people call every day to help her and check on her. Some things shes fine with but others not so. She now has trouble putting a DVD on and playing it. She doesnt have asmart phone shecan just about manage her ordinary mobile. The internet is a complete mystery to her. She could use it a little a few years ago but no longer.
How do they expect her and her peers to manage if everything goes on line???
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My 98 year old mum goes ballistic when she hears about "online" and "apps". Every time she gets a "plastic" person on the other end of the phone, she just gives up. She feels more alienated from society every day. Trying to get her health problems sorted is nigh impossible on her own. We are in the process of "Power of Attorney" and I feel really guilty as I know that she is losing her independence, yet her mind is as sharp as a tack! Whatever happened to "Home Help" and "District Nurses". A visit from Nurse Gladys Emmanuel would cheer me up too!
 
Cobra said:
WAMT?
A bloody heron standing on the edge of my pond!
Its netted so the fish are reasonably safe, but I've had a couple of fish speared through the net ( and killed) back in the summer.
A blank starting pistol chased it off, but it was in no hurry to leave.
I'll need to keep a close eye out there until it gets dark.
I've known herons to return after I chased them off.
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we had one last year had to net the pond , have got Rudd not expensive fish but still don’t want to lose them had them for a long time
 
LCPete said:
we had one last year had to net the pond , have got Rudd not expensive fish but still don’t want to lose them had them for a long time
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I get one several times a year. Occasionally 2 at the same time. But tbh this is late in the year for a visit.
 
Tringa said:
"Uptick"!!

A couple of days ago I heard someone on Radio 4 say there had been an "uptick in the cost of ...."


Dave
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Like the term 'hike' when interest rates go up by only 0.25% .

I was hoping to find a lust of terms describing rises and falls of share prices but was unable to do so. If you get a newspaper with share prices shown take a look at how they are described in the write-up for the day's trading.

Rises. "Put on..gained..moved up..advanced ..surged and.....ticked up


Falls. Shed..gave up... slumped....dipped....gave up ..retreated
 
cambsno said:
Disagree, online is the way forward and IMO makes things a lot easier. Sure its a pain when things go down but its not very often and then most have a smartphone to rely on. Cant remember the last time my internet was down for more than 10 mins

If anything its been getting harder for decades. I remember my grandparents and various aunts and uncles living within a few streets of each other. My nan would take Sunday lunch over the road to two aunts. These days people live further away and seem to have busier lives. When my uncle died my nan was an hour and a half away from me (2hrs+ rushour) until I got her to move up here near me.

Things online are so much easier than 'the old ways' for so many things. Calls, video chats, online banking, booking tickets and 10 years ago my uncle in his 80s was doing all this online so I dont see age being a barrier. My dad in his late 70s is more tech savvy than many people a lot younger. Ok, phone lines are 'more reliable' but if you need help after say 8pm online is the only way
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With everything online, no one will actually meet up with people, already mental health is at an all time high which aligns with people having online friends and not real one, it is the younger generations that seems to have the majority of these problems.
 
Cobra said:
I get one several times a year. Occasionally 2 at the same time. But tbh this is late in the year for a visit.
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that’s a nuisance getting one several times a year , we haven’t had one yet this autumn but I’m keeping an eye out as I’m sure you know they tend to visit early morning
I do love wildlife including Heron but having the bloody things taking fish from our garden pond tempers that a bit
 
woof woof said:
I'm amazed you can't remember having problems lasting longer than 10 minutes. Lucky you. I agree that some things are made easier for many people but only until they hit a problem and then how easy it is becomes related to how able they are to deal with the problem.

We have regular issue with the internet including slow running or no access at all. Online banking often throws up issues as do online face to face communications with sorting out technical issues being a regular thing for Mrs WW (she does translation work and recently spent longer on an issue than the job.) Sorting out those technical issue or waiting until tomorrow when it might work may be easier than driving 150 miles for a physical face to face but equally some will not be able to sort out tech issues and waiting could cause a problem. Someone on a review site summed this all up pretty much perfectly for me when they said "You shouldn't need programmer level skills to xxxxx" and I agree. You shouldn't need tech skills to do what in realty should be mundane things but your post does I think show how peoples experiences vary and although I'm glad people in your family are tech savvy the fact that you think some are more tech savvy than some younger people must indicate that age isn't the only factor.

I'd be happier with the move to do just about everything on line if the tech was reliable but I don't believe it is reliable enough and whilst it isn't I'd be much happier if an alternative was available. I'm not happy that people are increasingly effectively given no choice but to rely on the internet and smartphones for ever more and if some do hit problems they can't solve who do they turn to?

Oh. One last example. Mrs WW took some picture and vids on her smartphone and it was only when I came to email them to someone else that I found that the pics weren't jpegs and were heic and my PS2023 wouldn't open them. This changes seems to have come about when her phone got an update as the previous pictures she'd taken were still jpegs. It took time for me to work out how to open them. Other people would not have noticed an issue, others would have solved it quicker and some wouldn't have sorted it at all without help. These problems really shouldn't happen.
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Surely just use 4g if internet is down?
 
cambsno said:
Surely just use 4g if internet is down?
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That depends on what power source the local towers are using. If they're relying on the grid, then they'll go down with everything else.

The generally accepted useable range from handset to tower appears to be 25 miles in open country, 1 ~ 3 miles in suburbs and as little as 500 yards in dense urban areas. Hence, if the towers covering an area lack a backup power source, a major outage will blank the area, unlike the current system where the totally independent power source will continue to supply basic communication.
 
LCPete said:
but I’m keeping an eye out as I’m sure you know they tend to visit early morning
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TBH I haven't seen it / them early morning, but then again, I don't see a lot early morning.
These seem to be early to late afternoon.
What is even more annoying there are a few lakes and a river just a few wing beats away :(
 
seaodyssey said:
With everything online, no one will actually meet up with people, already mental health is at an all time high which aligns with people having online friends and not real one, it is the younger generations that seems to have the majority of these problems.
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That's a very good point and not one many people give thought to.

I wanted a Pukka notebook a couple of days ago and normally I'd have gone into town on the bus..it's easier.. to WH Smiths but I found them on Amazon and sent the link to my wife. We're not separated, she has her own study ...lol..but she has Amazon Prime. I got three in a pack which was fine ..per book they were half the the price of those at WH Smith.. and they were here the next day. Same with ball point pens I got in the week. I found what I wanted and sent her the link and they arrived the next day. I've got all Christmas presents for her online . Btw..the 4-5 day delivery RM is out of the window as Christmas approaches and they've all arrived within 48 hours. No need to pay for 'next day delivery' No wonder the High street is in decline. Also, with self-service payment in the supermarkets there's no personal interaction

An associated issue. Each day, I see school kids on their way to and from school..usually three or four together and they aren't chatting to each other but engrossed in their mobiles. Kids cycle by, no hands on the handlebars but engaged with their mobile phones.
 
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Cobra said:
There is still a lot of people without the knowledge or means to do everything on line.
That's not only the older folk either.

As its been a slow progression since the early 90's when I had to learn, to teach my kids, I've managed to keep up with it.
But if this was all just starting up now, I think I'd be screwed. So give a thought to those in their 70's 80's or even 90's
that got left behind.
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Our 64 year old neighbour died of cancer in the summer. He had never shown his wife how to use the computer. We've helped her with all sorts including my wife spending a couple of hours setting up FB for her so she can keep in touch with her friends, how to use Google and she had to go to their bank and sort things out and one of the personal bankers put the banking app on her phone and showed her how to use it. Shhe didn't know how to buy anything online,either. Even now, if my wife sends her a text she will call my wife on her phone as she has a problem texting. I will say this, though. He was given three months to live at the outset but managed another 18 months and it was remiss of him not to show her all this.
 
Relatives.

After my mothers death my sister created utter hell and just when I thought everything was sorted with her my niece is now creating utter hell. These two people had no contact with my mother in the last years of her life, they did not comfort or help her in any way but now... Hell from the two of them.

I honestly do not know if I can live through this. It seems never ending.

People... Make a will and if at all possible make it water tight and very very clear so that it can not be open to interpretation or challenged.
 
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