Rant of the Day v2.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

The solution is to move more often.
I have moved home over 50 times, across 3 continents. Any moving box that hasn't been opened for 2 moves gets binned.

For school trips, I would always find a stealthy way to make it necessary to shift one's luggage by hand for a fair distance, and include this in the briefing. Amazing how this reduced the average bag size!

[Hydromet]

Grrr. Two years ago my lovely daughter bought me a very upmarket camera as a belated Christmas present - more upmarket than one I'd looked at and decided not to buy for myself. So far, so good.

This morning, on an early morning camera club excursion, I missed my footing in the dark, went base over apex and broke the lens off the camera, separating the mounting of each from the bodies. I am now waiting to see if the camera is repairable.

No one's fault but my own, but I just needed to rant.

[Rwy in Sight]

The solution is to move more often.
I have moved home over 50 times, across 3 continents. Any moving box that hasn't been opened for 2 moves gets binned.

And Slasher,

I was given a box of merchandising bier glasses. I didn't use it in my previous place - actually I didn't open it at all. So I binned it on the way out. As I moved to the new place earlier this year, I come to miss them as often I have guests and I only have one suitable glass.

[OFSO]

Hydro - pardon me for suggesting the obvious, but epoxy ? Every broken item reused in my household owes its life to epoxy or silicone....

[Ex-Ascot]

the "Keep That 'Cos It Might Be Needed One Day" syndrome

Guilty yer Honour.

But as soon as one dumps the lot, sure as hell within a week one will need a tall thin carboard box similar to the one you’ve been hoarding for the past two years, and out of the blue a month later some aviation enthusiast advertises he’ll offer 200 bucks cash for anyone who has the complete set of B747-200 manuals.

That is annoying Hydro. Suppose having my expensive camera stolen is slightly better but that definately can't be repaired.

Yes Capt and me. Off cuts of wood old bits of plumbing and electrics you name it. However living here in the way we do it is amazing how often you can find something there to bodge it. Larger broken items go to the staff who will accept anything. Plumbing section below. We also have an electrics section and a massive wood section.

[Pontius Navigator]

In Malaysia we were issued with Jungle Boots. As things for in the jungle I acquired a spare set of jungle boot laces. Remember, back in the 60s laces broke before shoes were discarded.

Fast forward 25 years, I managed to lock my car keys in the boot of my Fiesta. I borrowed a GS screwdriver and popped the rear side window. Back home I retrieved said lace, put it in the rubber trim, 30 seconds later window refitted.

No idea where the laces are now and anyway, no use on today's cars.

And on disposal. Moving to a new home my hedge trimmer and strimmer were surplus to requirements. Sold them on eBay and our house move fell through. New house has lots of lawn edges to be strimmer and a thorn hedge. Grrrr. At least the battery ones from China work very well.

[Hydromet]

Hydro - pardon me for suggesting the obvious, but epoxy ? Every broken item reused in my household owes its life to epoxy or silicone....

I suspect it would take more than epoxy to repair the electrics in the lens, but it looks like there's a 'weak link' between the lens mount and the camera body, designed to break and (hopefully) prevent damage to the camera body. I'm hoping that it did its job, and that all the body needs is a replacement mounting plate and perhaps, some adjustments...I hope.

The top ring in the photo is the one I'm talking about.

[k3k3]

Is it covered by your household insurance?

[Hydromet]

Is it covered by your household insurance?

Sadly, no. First thing I checked. Rest assured, its replacement or repared version will be!

[ian16th]

Grrr. Two years ago my lovely daughter bought me a very upmarket camera as a belated Christmas present - more upmarket than one I'd looked at and decided not to buy for myself. So far, so good.

This morning, on an early morning camera club excursion, I missed my footing in the dark, went base over apex and broke the lens off the camera, separating the mounting of each from the bodies. I am now waiting to see if the camera is repairable.

No one's fault but my own, but I just needed to rant.

Many moons ago, Norwich Union Insurance Co. used to advertise 'Camera Insurance' in the Amateur Photographer.

How about that for a useless piece of trivia?

Commiserations for your accident.

[Rwy in Sight]

Is it covered by your household insurance?

Sadly, no. First thing I checked. Rest assured, its replacement or repared version will be!

I would only bought this insurance just for beating Murphy.

[Sisemen]

Shortly after moving to Oz after I left the RAF the topic of the can opener in a ration pack came up in TOP. When in I had access to hundreds of the bloody things but, having been reminded how useful they are, realised I didn’t have a single one! That was remedied on my next visit to the UK and I put it on my key ring.

Never used the thing since, but at least I’ve got one!

1120ABDA-3C28-4A0C-9434-34585D79FBB0.jpeg (388.61 KiB) Viewed 327 times

[Pontius Navigator]

Wait until some jobsworth spots it.

Also on TOP, a retired crew chief was asked "what's that"?

" A Zeus key, it's used for opening aircraft panels"

GONE

[izod tester]

Being in Australia you could have had no problems in getting a FRED (field ration eating device) which incorporates a spoon and bottle opener as well as the can opener.

[Sisemen]

But would not be the same as a British rat pack can opener which conjures up memories of the entire contents of a Menu D 10-man box (including sweets, boiled and cake, fruit) being used to produce a “grand curry” on an upcountry RAF Sharjah Mountain Rescue exercise or opening cans of bacon grill and hamburgers to make a “rock stew” on a bivvy above Loch Avon in the Cairngorms with a party of Officer cadets from Cranwell to show them what “haute cuisine” in the hills really was.

[ian16th]

Wait until some jobsworth spots it.

Also on TOP, a retired crew chief was asked "what's that"?

" A Zeus key, it's used for opening aircraft panels"

GONE

Everyone that worked on the line had a Zeus key on their keyring.

I kept mine for years after I last used it, then binned it.

Haven't missed it.

The other thing I kept was my B/E 'wheel'. Still got it 67 years later.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

One item many of us had for the flying suit pocket was a small teaspoon with the other end filed to make a flathead screwdriver - saved carrying both.
I had a Shell fuel credit card given to me during the Gulf War. Like everything else handed out, I didn't have to sign for it, so I kept it. I had occasion to need it 2 years later at a civvy airport, and it still worked. I handed it on to a junior pilot when I left.

[Pontius Navigator]

I had a pair of H2S crystals in my pencil box, never had to use them.

[Ex-Ascot]

DM:

Green, 57, a jet fighter pilot for Britain's Royal Air Force

I am sure that Wg Cdr Green has retired from flying now. But what is this 'Britain's Royal Air Force'. There is only one straight: 'Royal Air Force'. It is not The British Royal Air Force. Had to explain this to a local here last week but he doesn't read the DM.

[603DX]

Puzzled by the references above to the "Zeus" fasteners, my fuzzy memory offered up "Dzus" fasteners for securing aircraft panels, so I looked it up. Thinking that Zeus was a Greek god living on Mount Olympus, or something like that, it was a relief to find that it was an obvious simplification of the awkward surname of the bloke who invented it in 1930.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzus_fastener