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The grumpy old men's rant thread

19K views 206 replies 26 participants last post by  Reflex 
#1 · (Edited)
There are days when you want to get something off your chest and today is one of these days. In no particular order:

  • Crown guards on watches that don't really need it. Actually, no watch needs crown guards :D
  • Mercedes hands on watches that are not Rolex. Please, come up with something new.
  • 'Innovative' dive watch designs that turn out to be Sub clones with a yellow dial.
  • Watches with a case and bracelet made out of wood. Ha, ha, very funny. Toss them in the fireplace right now!
  • 'Fruit drinks' that contain 0.04% of the fruit so prominently portrayed on the label (the result of clever and consistent lobbying by the food industry). This is an utter and bloody disgrace and can be found all over the products on super market shelves. I know what to do with the b@stards that came up with this :mad:
  • Restaurants that try to pass off orange juice from a carton as 'fresh'. Really? Really?! We consistently send this back. Why? Because of the price they charge for this 'fresh' orange juice and I've heard all the excuses by now. "We squeeze our juice in the morning". DO NOT TRY TO CON ME!
  • Artisanal products at large. In my country 'artisanal' means absolutely nothing, it's not a protected description or something. Look, I make 'artisanal' cheese! Well, you know what you can do with your 'artisanal' cheese! :D

    Edit:
  • The term ‘rare’ used on eBay. The Mona Lisa is rare, not that silly beer bottle that has been made in the hundreds of thousands.
 
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#84 ·
Don't know if this has been covered but...I for one have had an impacted ass-full of "bike share" cycles littered about the city. Seattle, in my case. Fluorescent yellow and lime green bicycles can be seen anywhere at any time (they're an unmistakably ugly, single fat downtube design if you're color-blind).

They're omnipresent laying on their sides in sidewalks, they fall off of curbs and into public streets and get struck by vehicles regularly. They're left on train tracks, they're abandoned on commercial and private property with equal indiscretion, and they can be seen in piles as some sort of vandalistic gag all too often. They're even underwater on Seattle's downtown waterfront area and local lakes. A local scuba instructor interviewed recently said they find a submerged bike share cycle on 3 out every four dives.

Maybe it's working in other cities, maybe we have too many derelicts and jokers to be trusted to treat the bikes with care and respect. Or maybe it's just the fact that Seattle has roughly 25% of the entire US's dock-less bike share cycles and that's simply more than we can handle.
 
#85 ·
Don't know if this has been covered but...I for one have had an impacted ass-full of "bike share" cycles littered about the city. Seattle, in my case. Fluorescent yellow and lime green bicycles can be seen anywhere at any time (they're an unmistakably ugly, single fat downtube design if you're color-blind).

They're omnipresent laying on their sides in sidewalks, they fall off of curbs and into public streets and get struck by vehicles regularly. They're left on train tracks, they're abandoned on commercial and private property with equal indiscretion, and they can be seen in piles as some sort of vandalistic gag all too often. They're even underwater on Seattle's downtown waterfront area and local lakes. A local scuba instructor interviewed recently said they find a submerged bike share cycle on 3 out every four dives.

Maybe it's working in other cities, maybe we have too many derelicts and jokers to be trusted to treat the bikes with care and respect. Or maybe it's just the fact that Seattle has roughly 25% of the entire US's dock-less bike share cycles and that's simply more than we can handle.
Mobike. They have folded here and in many other cities. In a country where so many bikes are stolen the police have given up they still reckoned it would work. So they kept on placing bicycles everywhere. I downloaded their app, made the 5 Euro deposit and tried 'em a couple of times. Horrible clunkers. Heavy in weight and even heavier in pedalling.

And now they have literally abandoned the bikes! Some people remove the electronic lock/GPS trackers and keep the bike. New stock is being auctioned off now. There's another company with similar bikes but better built but I'm afraid they will follow the same path (pun intended :D) and also give up.

The idea in itself is not bad but the execution is. The thing that made it fail is that you can leave the bike anywhere you like after use. With the above mentioned ill effects as a result.
 
#99 ·
I've always enjoyed SB, especially if someone buys it for me:biggrin1:. Wife and kids love the damn thing so I think I'm still screwed:confused2:.

True confession, I've never bought a SB coffee for myself. I find it just too expensive and I guess I'm not a true coffeeholic since I don't crave it every day.
 
#101 ·
Lazy employees, cry baby winers that such the life out of an unpleasant work environment. Slackers that make the worst of a bad situation. If that's You, there's no sunshine and roses metaphysical mumbo jumbo to chant but shut up if you can't be constructive; be positive (not new age hippy +). All works not good work but all work's good, when i see what some people make to do what they do i'm thankful.
 
#105 ·
Here is my beef! Doof Doof Doof, every restaurant, shopping mall and even the cars that go by it's Doof Doof Doof with roofs thumping up and down in rhythm to the Doofs.



One has to be brain dead to have this endless thumping as a substitute for music. Ask them if they have anything else to play, ANYTHING, Blue Grass, Wagner, Folk, Chamber music, Jazz, Frank Sinatra Country and Western - ANYTHING, and they look at you with a blank stare. They know nothing else.
During the small pauses between Doofs, you can hear strangled "vocals". The sound is as if someone is choking the life out of them as they screech their lungs out.

I dream of going to a restaurant with a name like "Quiet Place" where people speak in quiet tones, and Mozart or MJQ plays softly in the background and the noisy kids are locked up somewhere far away.
 
#106 ·
A genuine "watch beef".

Why, of why, do the boxes have to be so large and heavy?
I have a collection of thirteen pieces, which is really small by many people's standards, but I'm having trouble finding sensible places to store boxes already.



I suppose I could throw them away (shock, horror).


Or maybe the future is solely Nomos . . . . . . . . ;)
 
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#108 ·
A genuine "watch beef".

Why, of why, do the boxes have to be so large and heavy?
I have a collection of thirteen pieces, which is really small by many people's standards, but I'm having trouble finding sensible places to store boxes already.



I suppose I could throw them away (shock, horror).


Or maybe the future is solely Nomos . . . . . . . . ;)

They give a watch purchase 'substance' :D It could appear a bit 'cheap' when your $5000 Omega comes in a plastic box. With the watches I have some came in wooden boxes, others in Peli cases. And yes, they take up two shelves now. I have the same 'challenge' :D Like you, I'm not sure what to do with them. Bin 'em?
 
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#110 ·
Is it 'sticky' worthy? :D We all need to blow off steam once in a while :D
 
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#113 ·
IPA

India Pale Ale. Over half a decade ago this beer slowly started to work its way up the beer ladder, first in 'hip and trendy' bars followed by the invasion of supermarkets and the off-licence. At first I was pleasantly surprised by the taste, way different from pilsner. Pilsner became bland and common ;)

But as with any novelty that takes on, more and more micro-breweries started to produce IPA in a zillion different varieties followed by the big guns that also wanted their piece op the IPA pie.

And now it's bloody everywhere! I've switched to stout and nice beers like Newcastle Brown Ale years ago because I can't stand IPA any more. IPA has become the 'poster boy' of hipsters.

Belgian beers are by far my favourite. If you get the chance to visit Beer Central in Antwerp (on the Keizerlei) you will be blown away by the choice of beers. 30 different beers permanent on tap and a stunning 400+ on bottle! The beer menu is not a menu but a well illustrated and documented beer catalogue which you can purchase for 5 Euro. And yes, they serve IPA :D
 
#114 ·
India Pale Ale
They're everywhere alright, I feel like it's been going on for about 15 years over here. It's outta control. They regularly have ratings of 7, 8, even 9% ABV which I'm going to go out on a limb and say is a huge contributing factor. :D

What I'm bracing myself for is the pumpkin ale season. Okay, pumpkin everything actually. Beers, lattes, gelato, teas, breakfast cereals, energy bars, cookies/biscuits/muffins, cream cheese, yogurt, pumpkin spiced organic kale chips for crying out loud.
 
#117 ·
And oh yes, the 'sharing' e-Scooters have arrived here too! :D In stylish racing green. (Get it? Green :D). Because my city is so environmental conscious! That gigantic cruise ships belching out thick black smoke enter here on an almost daily basis is of no concern of course! Money in the bank.
 
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#118 ·
That gigantic cruise ships belching out thick black smoke enter here on an almost daily basis is of no concern of course! Money in the bank.
Our cities aren't as different as we might imagine. We live very close a major port in Seattle. One of the ideas to combat pollution from freighters and cruise ships was to provide nearby neighborhoods with free trees. Seattle's "re-leaf" program!

I planted two. In about 15-20 years they may (or may not) have a discernible impact on air quality. I can hardly wait! :D
 
#126 ·
I'll tell you what, any tree that can hold things for hanging is much appreciated by yours truly over here. That's a great looking tree you got there!

Check this out, this happened about a month ago while hiking on my way to one of my favorite mountain stream...

Clicky the linky...
https://vimeo.com/user17692364/review/280103708/d1d7918e97

Better them up on that tree than on the ground chasing me!
:eek:

~v~
 
#130 ·
I'm now hijacking my own thread. Because of the trees. From trees you get wood and wood, next to leather is one of my favourite materials. It's so pure and simple and yet so beautiful and versatile. I have two deck chairs made out of teak (with traditional striped cotton seats) and boy, are they beautiful. They last a lifetime. I take them apart once a year, wash the seat parts, clean and oil the wood parts and after that light a cigar and relax.
 
#133 ·
Mega rant

Among the many game shows over here there's one hosted by one of our major TV producers' sister, with high impact shows that are syndicated worldwide. The guy's a billionaire, his sister's worth 350 million or so. But she wants to cultivate her 'down to earth and' 'modest' way of life. She desperately wants to be common.

In tonight's show, a three week all inclusive vacation to Zanzibar was of the smaller prizes, the main prize is five million Euro cash. And now the subject of my rant. A member of the audience won that vacation and when she went over to him she said: "wow, what a prize, I wish I won a prize like that!".

Really? Really?! You are not able to afford a trip to Zanzibar from that 350 million you own? This makes me sick! That false sense of modesty is such a show, so phony! I don't watch it, but Anne does so I hear the sound from the TV and that drivel reaches me :mad:

Look at me, the poor TV show host that cannot afford a trip to Zanzibar, boo, hoo, hoo :mad:
 
#138 ·
The lost art of turn signal use.

This one is really starting to annoy me lately because it's also dangerous. More and more motorists find it way too much trouble to use turn signals although it is mandatory. This, combined with a yank on the steering wheel to change lanes, is becoming epidemic. Driving behind them has become a form of Russian roulette. Especially in urban areas. Someone is nearing a corner, does not use a turn signal but instead hits the brakes and suddenly turns right (or worse, left). WTF? And not a patrol car in sight of course :mad:
 
#140 ·
Yeah this is a classic. There's an intersection just down the road, two lanes each way. What I hate are the "secret left-hand turners" you inevitably pull up behind. Only after the light turns green do they flick on their indicator (if at all) and you must then try and get around them or wait out a another light cycle as the oncoming traffic is relentless.

Of course you become jaded after awhile, almost expecting this behavior and thus getting in the right lane. The only trouble is at the next light where you plan to turn left, if they end up heading straight too, you then have to fight your way back in to do so.
 
#152 ·
Dutch Street-language. I'm from Rotterdam so I'm 'gifted' with a very thick accent. Unmistakable and I will never be able to shake that off. Besides that, I use the slur that older Rotterdammers have, making it even more unmistakable. If I hear a recording of my own voice I just cannot believe that this is the way I speak. But I'm not ashamed of it and as I live and work in Rotterdam it's never a problem. When I was in the Army some of my mates were from deep, deep in the province (Drenthe for example) and they don't just have an accent, they speak a different language (based on Lower Saxon) and if they do they are very hard to follow, if not at all. They teased me with my accent but my reply always was: wherever I go people know what I say, you guys need an interpretor :D

But my Dutch is grammatically correct and I can write well. I'm often asked to review papers written by others.

Now the subject of my rant. Street-language. If I hear young people speak nowadays it seems they are from another continent. Because there are about five major population groups in Rotterdam, a new 'language' has emerged. It's a mix of Dutch, Surinamese, Turkish, Arabic and Papiamento (which in itself contains Portuguese and other languages). All this spiked with incorrect used English words.

Now either I have become an old fart or I just don't get it. It's just awful. And the way it is pronounced makes be believe I'm listening to a mute person (no insult intended).

Schools are seemingly not able to curb this and self proclaimed 'experts' tell me that any language will change during the course of time. I call BS. Yes, the Dutch language HAS changed, one only has to listen to news reels from the Twenties. Very, very formal language use and pronounced in a way we don't do any more nowadays. Afrikaans is based on 17th century Dutch and evolved into a separate language (which I can understand).

But this 'new' language spoken by youths and older people who want to appear 'with it' doesn't make me happy at all.

One example: the Dutch word for shoes is schoenen. In street-language this becomes 'patta's'. Which is derived from Surinamese but has it's origins in Portuguese. Sapatos. In Indonesian this is sepatu because the Portuguese had some influence in the early 16th century.

As you can see, the origins of this has my interest because I love language. But the way this is going makes me sad.
 
#154 ·
Speaking about speaking, I also note the deterioration from the old news reels clarity. I can barely understand younger people now. For a start, they speak three times as fast.
They get their phrasing wrong, and don't pause between sense groups, so you havs sentences running into one another, and a pause in the middle of a sentence. This is all capped off by a lazy inarticulate tongue and nasal projection. The women sound like squeaky toys your dog has.
 
#155 ·
Because of exceptional fine weather today, 25 degrees Centigrade, we went out to have some drinks nearby. A 10 minute walk with me behind Anne’s wheelchair. The place is called Bokaal (Challis in English), a very apt name. I usually start with a Newcastle Brown Ale, Anne with ginger beer. The terrace was packed with couples and groups. But that’s not the point of this upcoming rant :D

Not to my amazement I must sadly admit, about half of the people present were constantly gazing at their smartphones :mad: Instead of having a conversation or just making some jokes even couples chose to gaze at them damn things all the time.

Is it because I’m an old fart or is it something that I don’t understand? Life has become too busy as it has, why don’t enjoy each other’s company instead of being busy with whatever you can by busy on your smartphone? Please explain.
 
#156 ·
Hard to explain but would appear that we're fast losing the art of personal conversation. Many people now prefer conversing via their phones - horrible.

One sees families in a restaurant where there is virtually no conversation between them because they're all busy on their phones. Quite sad really
 
#158 ·
There’s even talks about smartphone addiction now. The constant need to get acknowledgement over one’s Facebook or other social media presence. - I receive ‘likes’, therefore I am -. I really don’t give a hoot about that and I don’t do social media. In my youth only the well to do or ‘important’ had a telephone, it only became mainstream in the early Seventies. My parents in 1973, the biggest event that year. We weren’t allowed to use it.
 
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#159 ·
It's also increasingly rare for me to have phone conversations at all. Texting has replaced verbal communication unless I'm talking with my parents or a close friend or two.

Most friends and co-workers won't answer their phones at all, but try texting them and they get right back to you, via text of course.
 
#160 ·
Phone answering anxiety this is called, this was even a topic in our local news. When called, those WhatsAppers don’t know what to do and completely shut down. That’s progress for you :D
 
#161 ·
It’s time for a genuine grumpy old men’s rant again! Too much lovey dovey lately! I have mentioned the following gripes before in other posts but just as small remarks.

Here we go children:

The Sicura – Breitling ‘connection’. On sites like eBay, Sicura peddlers are all too keen to call their offerings ‘Sicura Breitling’, thus pumping up the asking price. Both brands have shared the same owner in the past as Breitling was a struggling brand and was more or less thrown a rope to survive. The watches however share absolutely nothing at all. Sicura was a low cost watch brand, in my country sold by tobacconists as an extra source of income. Hand wound movements made up of stamped parts and chrome plated cases but quite appealing and they had a wide range of models. But still, the sellers keep trying to connect the two brands together. Stop it, you won’t fool anyone!

The label ‘rare’ used on items that are not. I have made a special brace to hang one of my ‘rare’ Bolex 8 mm cameras from a plank in our bedroom. It’s ultra, ultra-rare because there’s only one in existence! And it’s worth squat! But on the same auction site mentioned above the term rare is very over used. A 300,000 issue model car (one of them ‘limited edition' Franklin Mint affairs) becomes ‘rare’. No people, a one-off Ferrari prototype is rare, not that silly toy that was churned out in the hundreds of thousands in China.

And yes, following ‘rare’ we now have ‘vintage’. Dutch auction site Marktplaats (currently owned by eBay) is littered with ‘vintage’ items. Old Dual record players that would have ended up in a landfill 10 years ago are now being advertised as a ‘rare, vintage’ objects. It’s become a plague, every piece of old cr@p is ‘vintage’ now. All them hipsters are gullible ‘vintage’ victims.

And last but certainly not least. Meat eaters are becoming the tomorrow’s smokers. That’s what I’m reading in papers and magazines lately. I do enjoy my steaks, home made meatballs or lamb chops every now and then and I don’t want people telling me that this is a very bad choice and that my behaviour is that akin of Nazi Germany. Yes, I am aware of the alleged fact that animal protein production in the form of meat is not very efficient. And that this has reached an industrial scale with often little respect for animal welfare. That’s why we eat less meat but we buy this from a butchers’ that has a contract with a small, local animal farmer (which you can visit) that treats his animals well. Like it was 100 years ago. This is an ethical discussion, I know. But I like a fine steak and a ham sandwich every now and then. I am not a Nazi!
 
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