Rant of the Day v2.

[ian16th]

What about the Ford Classic?

A mate of mine bought one of the 1st Classic's, when we were in Cyprus. It had the dreaded Ford 1200cc engine. It really ran out of puff up Troodos.

I didn't take notice and learn, some years later, I bought a Mk1 Cortina with the same engine

[llondel]

I liked the Alegro shape.

The Allegro had the dubious distinction of having a lower drag coefficient when going backwards compared to forwards.

I had one once, it even had the square steering wheel and did about 400 miles on a pint of oil. I could lay down a smokescreen worthy of one of HM destroyers.

[Capetonian]

The Allegro steering wheel was officially called quartic.

It was a truly hideous car, probably the nadir of British automotive engineering

[ExSp33db1rd]

....... would have to be the wooden one. Countryman?

I had the Mini Countryman - liked it. First thing I did was give the wood a decent coat of varnish, built a wooden / wire mesh frame to put across the rear seats to corral the dog, then bought two more sliding window catches and placed them so that the back two windows could be locked in the partially open position to give the dog parked air. ( wide enough for the dog to bite any probing hands, but not wide enough to encourage passing thieves )

Later upgraded it to an Austin Maxi ( from Mini to Maxi ? ) It went and stopped on demand, and carried all the kids crap around, but otherwise not a notably memorable vehicle.

[Rwy in Sight]

Have I mentioned before the .99 $ € GBP rant? My credit card offers x points for each Euro, so when I buy something costing 5.99 I get points for 5 euros not 6 although practically the price is 6 Euros. Over the course of the year the difference of those .99 purchases can mean either accumulating enough points for a new camera or not.

[Krystal n Chips]

....... would have to be the wooden one. Countryman?

I had the Mini Countryman - liked it. First thing I did was give the wood a decent coat of varnish, built a wooden / wire mesh frame to put across the rear seats to corral the dog, then bought two more sliding window catches and placed them so that the back two windows could be locked in the partially open position to give the dog parked air. ( wide enough for the dog to bite any probing hands, but not wide enough to encourage passing thieves )

Later upgraded it to an Austin Maxi ( from Mini to Maxi ? ) It went and stopped on demand, and carried all the kids crap around, but otherwise not a notably memorable vehicle.

We have something in common !...one also had a Mini-Countryman, came complete with moss on the woodwork, indicator stalk that only flashed internally when there was moisture outside and was the ideal vehicle to sleep in overnight during ones ambles around Snowdonia.....could also carry two barrels to the cricket club bar...well ok, this did put a slight load, cough !, on the suspension but it was only a for a short trip around Valley ..thankfully. Great little car..even with the lights dip switch on the floor....aaaaagh !

[Pontius Navigator]

OTOH, I saw a SAAB99 in Boston and ordered one, no test drive, in Cyprus with the Triumph Fillmore 1854 cc engine. £1,045 (UK cheque even - the salesman winced). Kept it for 8 years. When I got it, it was so new the paint in the boot was still wet.

[Capetonian]

Isn't it time that somebody invented an electronic hotel room card that didn't stop working if you put it anywhere near a phone?

The only solution I found so far is to keep them in one of those shielded metal cases.

[ExSp33db1rd]

NZ National newspaper has started charging to read Online after each article's first few "appetiser" sentences. viz. to continue reading this fascinating article about the after effects of the Christchurch massacre, ( ad infinitum ) or how Brexit will affect NZ, or what is the sex of the new offspring that Meaghan is going to produce for the adoration of The World , pay up. Stuff 'em.

I guess they have a right to charge for their work, but after many years free reading each morning it rankles,and I won't be paying, there are plenty of ways of keeping up with World events - should I even care ! Bye! Bye! New Zealand Herald.

Don't subscribe to Farcebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. ( who the hell would be interested in a photo of my poached egg tomorrow morning, anyway?) Am I in danger of becoming a Hermit ? If not one already ?

[Capetonian]

It rankles me that although I pay a subscription for the Daily Telegraph online they still keep asking me to turn off my adblocker.

Bastards want their bread buttered on both sides.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

who the hell would be interested in a photo of my poached egg tomorrow morning, anyway?

Just to reassure you that you have the right kind of online acquaintances, not one of us would

[Woody]

So nobody’s disappointed

[llondel]

It rankles me that although I pay a subscription for the Daily Telegraph online they still keep asking me to turn off my adblocker.

Bastards want their bread buttered on both sides.

My response to those who tell me to turn off my ad blocker is to ask them if they are prepared, in writing, to indemnify me against any losses caused by catching a case of malware from the ads served up by their site.

If these sites would serve ads as images and have all the ad scripting stuff server-side then they'd be able to dish out ads that most blockers would find difficult to block and there wouldn't be any dubious scripts running on user machines.

[CharlieOneSix]

For 20 years I had a firearms certificate for a .22 rifle solely so I could do my bit in an area of cereal farming and help keep the rabbit population down in my fields. In the end I got fed up being treated like a potential criminal by the Police firearms inspector who came round every 5 years to renew the licence. He really was obnoxious.

I sold the .22, and didn't need a firearms licence when I bought a standard air rifle to dispatch the odd rabbit. Not as effective of course. Some little kid then sadly gets shot and killed in an accident at home with an air rifle somewhere in Scotland and the Sturgeon woman decrees all air rifle owners must have a licence to own one - back to paying £70 odd quid every 5 years as before! Are little kiddies safe from air rifle accidents in future? Of course not!

A couple of years ago I bought a DJI Phantom quadcopter - I refuse to call it a drone. I now see that I'm going to have to take an online test and may have to pay the CAA £16.50 annually for a licence. Will it stop the unlicensed crims flying drugs into prisons and those who want to fly close to aircraft at airfields? Of course not.

From the BBC:

The number of drone users in the UK is unknown, but the CAA estimates 170,000 people will register.

Hmm, 170,000 x £16.50 = £2,805,000 per annum. Not a bad scam, boys!

I've got the grumps tonight.....and another rant....perhaps not.....

[Slasher]

You should never've surrendered your arms no matter how snotty and **** those in authority are. Criminals and government are armed. And now you're not when both knock on your door to rob you of your property and freedom.

[Krystal n Chips]

It rankles me that although I pay a subscription for the Daily Telegraph online they still keep asking me to turn off my adblocker.

Bastards want their bread buttered on both sides.

Yep, that's capitalism for you ! which, given you have nothing but praise for, seems to have come as a surprise when the ideology affects you.....the Guardian is free by the way, but it's nice to subscribe in support of a quality newspaper.

[OFSO]

That would be the 'quality' paper that in contrast with every other paper misrepresented the Spanish general elections which took place as devastating for the Catalan separatists, who actually increased their majority. Oh, sorry wrong thread. K&C, get back over to where you normally prowl and pounce.

[Krystal n Chips]

That would be the 'quality' paper that in contrast with every other paper misrepresented the Spanish general elections which took place as devastating for the Catalan separatists, who actually increased their majority. Oh, sorry wrong thread. K&C, get back over to where you normally prowl and pounce.

As we are still in the EU, one is merely exercising FOM old boy !

Now to the serious bit. I am not a violent person and never have been, however, I would cheerfully bury the scumbag who did this to a poor defenceless dog up to its neck and thereafter kick seven shades out of its gob and head, before leaving it to fester and die..slowly.

I don't like humans who maliciously hurt other humans................I utterly detest those who hurt animals !!!!!!!!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-l ... e-48131738

[OFSO]

We agree. I'd support the death penalty for maltreatment of animals.

[Capetonian]

Another one:

https://mol.im/a/6984721

Police are hunting a young man who thew a dog into the sea near Falmouth.
The man can be heard laughing as the animal desperately tries to swim to safety.

Death penalty in Spain for animal cruelty would bring a huge drop in the population.