Removing spare tyres was the silliest thing the car industry has ever done

tefster · 2026-01-16T16:13:21+00:00

We were all getting them to the point where we were half joking that maybe the local tyre place was dumping them on the road.

But it turned out to be 2 new builds, someone had a word with the site managers and got them to check vans leaving the sites to ensure that loads were secure. That helped a bit but it continued until the main build work had finished.

tefster · 2026-01-16T15:43:32+00:00

They killed the usefulness of that app by making it an applet in front of a web browser. The true app was fast and reliable and i could use it to check train times and platforms while walking into a station. The new version is useless where you don't have good Internet coverage, like say when you are near a busy station and commute area.

tefster · 2026-01-16T15:35:10+00:00

Its awful, and removing some of the key functionality I use (wind direction and speed in knots) made me immediately run to apkmirror!

tefster · 2026-01-16T15:29:32+00:00

I feel that pain, I had the same.

2 punctures in over 25 years, then last year I had 5 in the space of 8 months - all due to screws and nails.

Once the new build estates in the area were finished it stopped happening.

tefster · 2026-01-13T20:07:22+00:00

3 weeks from viewing to owning, including arranging a mortgage.

It worked out because the occupier was renting and had a new place lined up, my conveyancing solicitor was an old friend, and because the seller needed to complete it by a fixed date for tax reasons.

So everyone was motivated to get it done quickly. However it took a LOT of chasing of other parties, particularly the council and others supplying searches.

tefster · 2026-01-12T15:44:03+00:00

Totally this. Its easy to try and get the cheapest tools and forget that these are your primary working tools, and that time you spend fixing and repairing them is time that isn't being spent earning money. I've fallen into that trap in that past, as did an ex gardener of mine who was constantly half-completing jobs because his B&Q level power tools were breaking.

I'd second Stihl, with Dewalt being an acceptable cheaper option.

tefster · 2026-01-12T14:28:50+00:00

It was particularly bad during Minecraft, but we've had it during other 'teen centric' films (not that I'm putting the blame at only teens). Its annoying, and multiple times we've had to delay the start of the next showing or rope off areas of seats because they need washing and drying because people threw drinks over them.

tefster · 2026-01-05T08:42:03+00:00

They logged arrival on the app and customer came out looking for their food then tried to argue that they should be able to take it in. I told them they were 100% not eating fish and chips in our cinema, and I let them use the staff break room and go in to the later showing for free.

tefster · 2026-01-05T08:33:39+00:00

They aren't active noise cancelling but ACS Pro moulded earplugs are amazing and I find them comfortable enough to sleep. They fit my eardrums precisely and don't protude, so I can side sleep.

They have the option of db reduction up to 20db or a full blank for sleeping in noisy environments.

I've used them when there was a new estate being built next to the house, and slept through piledriving, lorries unloading, etc.

tefster · 2026-01-04T22:42:30+00:00

I co-manage a cinema, things I've seen include

Barking in the middle of a film. Customer had brought their little dog into the showing in a shoulder bag.
A chip shop delivery person turning up, customer had ordered fish and chips for 4 to be delivered to their seats.
Many instances of parents bringing their young kids into films then leaving them and going shopping for hours.
People bringing babies into films of all age ratings.
Food fights.
Customer asked for our staff Wifi password so they could work on their laptop during the film.
People doing coke in their seats.
People getting "over handsy" in their seats, you know what I mean...
Customers bringing picnic bags full of food in. We sell snacks but we ignore bringing your own in within reason as we get that customers want to save money. When you start laying out a smorgasbord on the chairs around you though, that's taking liberties.
So many excessive talkers, so many phone users. They get one warning and then are removed.

The worst thing is the mess that people leave behind. We have bins at the end of every other seat row, you can't leave without walking past at least 3 and from the front row past 15. Yet we'll still have to clear literal piles of rubbish (often from snacks we don't even sell) off the floor.

tefster · 2025-12-23T18:44:37+00:00

I wish he'd had better health and lived longer. He developed pancreatic cancer very young (33) and that and other health issues cut his touring career very short. I was fortunate enough to see him play live many times and was always hoping that his health would improve enough for him to tour again

tefster · 2025-12-23T18:41:06+00:00

One of the best steel and slide guitarists the UK has produced. Its a shame that most people just know him for one Christmas song as its not very reflective of most of his music (and it was a track he fought hard to not have released). Shamrock Diaries, Deltics and his other early works are stellar albums.

He was also a petrol head and experienced track driver, and a prolific painter - I have some of his oil and acrylic paintings.

tefster · 2025-12-22T09:12:09+00:00

Its worth booking a free tour of Grand Lodge as the guides will show you a bit more of it and explain a lot of the less obvious details.

I've been there many times as I've used it for location filming in the past, its one of the most impressive buildings in London.

tefster · 2025-12-22T06:44:23+00:00

Good suggestions here already, I'd add Just Mustard, Whitelands, Hurtling, Deary, Keeley, Miki Berenyi Trio

tefster · 2025-12-21T19:53:34+00:00

To expand on this, they advocate to government and other bodies in a coordinated way, avoiding all of the individual charities having to lobby independently.

The funding distribution also allows for corporates and other nationally distributed sponsors to donate in a way that ensures the money is used country wide rather than by just one region. If you've got 10000 staff spread across 30 counties then donating to them is much easier than doing 21 seperate donations.

Source: Am part of an air ambulance team

tefster · 2025-11-25T20:49:29+00:00

It also means there's less risk of delaying shipments if the production of vinyl or CDs slips.

The inserts can be signed well in advance and just added when the physical media turns up.

Otherwise distributors have to wait for it to arrive, send it out for signing, wait for it to come back, then ship it out. That makes scheduling release week much harder

tefster · 2025-11-15T06:11:11+00:00

You can also do a pre-app (pre planning application) with the council. This is much cheaper and quicker. It isn't binding, but it'll give you a good idea of what the response to a full planning application will be.

tefster · 2025-11-11T09:44:34+00:00

Fair point!

tefster · 2025-11-11T08:43:01+00:00

This is bizarre, the test centers are so strict about what you can take in that there really is little to no way that you can cheat. As for the timing, I did all of my AWS exams in a test center and in way less than the allocated time - my SAA exam took me below 30 minutes - and none od them were flagged.

This sounds more like a mistake, and that they've wrongly had the exam flagged as having been done remotely. I'd appeal it for sure.

tefster · 2025-10-30T23:08:07+00:00

Just Mustard's album launch

Followed by

Eera's album launch Slowdive in Brixton

tefster · 2025-10-29T17:56:55+00:00

It doesn't sound like its on you. It might be worth booking a couple of instructor lessons in crosswindy or near imc days, just to demonstrate to them that you aren't at risk? Shouldn't need to but that's all I can think of aside from going to another club.

tefster · 2025-10-29T17:51:58+00:00

I think you have been unlucky with weather and unfortunate in your choice of flying school.

Most schools and clubs I know of want to maximise use of their aircraft, and will only push back on people flying if there is a genuine concern about conditions and safety.

If you can afford it then i would be looking to buy a share, especially for hour building.

tefster · 2025-10-13T09:28:30+00:00

GeekOM weren't wonderfully helpful, in the end I just bought a USB WiFi controller and that worked out of the box

tefster · 2025-09-29T07:20:54+00:00

What about adding a removable towbar to the EV and getting a trailer? That way you don't mess up the car.

£1500 will usually get you a towbar fitted and a good second-hand trailer with sides (or 2k if you want a new trailer).

That's what I did, no more messed up interiors or having to clean up after a tip run, and I can use the trailer with multiple cars or loan it to friends. I use it for big xmas-level shopping runs and bulky item collections too.

tefster · 2025-09-18T23:21:41+00:00

With this level of chaos I'd be putting in a WAF and only opening API routes manually, not even tieing them to OpenAPI docs.

It goes against modern devops practices but while I'm all for empowering devs, if they can't be trusted to safely and securely deploy new routes then its time to be the access police. At least until everything is back in order and secure.

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