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Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46007]

Thu, 03 November 2011 20:21

Black Bear
Messages: 3216
Registered: September 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Robin's grumbly.

_{"The time is always right to do what's right."--MLK Jr.}

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46011 is a reply to message #46007 ]

Thu, 03 November 2011 21:09

Catlady
Messages: 230
Registered: December 2008
Location: Aurora, Colorado

Senior Member

I'm very sorry! I hate days(s) like that!

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46013 is a reply to message #46011 ]

Thu, 03 November 2011 21:37

EMoon
Messages: 664
Registered: March 2009

Senior Member

Grumbles, grumbles, mutters, mutters...
When anathemas she mutters,
Duck your head and stand aside:
Hellgoddess' wrath is tall and wide.

Duck your head and stand aside
Or quickly in the bushes hide,
Before Hellgoddess with a glare
Peels your skin and leaves you bare.

Before Hellgoddess, with a glare
At Hellhounds gamboling here and there,
Sees you with your terror plain
And with her fury you are slain.

She sees you with your terror plain
And since it's pouring down with rain
Her fury dies at once and she
Most courteously asks if you'd like tea.

(It was not I. It was my Verse Daemon. Unfortunately he gets his mail at my address.)

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46015 is a reply to message #46007 ]

Thu, 03 November 2011 22:47

katinseattle
Messages: 374
Registered: November 2008
Location: Seattle

Senior Member

Quote:

ironmonger’s^^
^^ drugstore. Hardware store.

Drugstore? Really? I've always wondered what an ironmonger was. It sounds like a blacksmith. I can sort of see hardware coming from that. But drugstore!

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46016 is a reply to message #46015 ]

Thu, 03 November 2011 22:56

Black Bear
Messages: 3216
Registered: September 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Chemist = drugstore. Ironmonger = hardware store. Smile

_{"The time is always right to do what's right."--MLK Jr.}

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46020 is a reply to message #46007 ]

Fri, 04 November 2011 03:13

Diane in MN
Messages: 2732
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

Wolfgang’s Erratic Fault, which is that he occasionally . . . doesn’t start.

This is a seriously evil Erratic Fault to have. I was thinking that it's too bad you don't have Car Talk to call, so I went to the web site (www.cartalk.com) to see if Tom and Ray do e-mail, and they have an Ask a Mechanic Online feature on the homepage. It said, a few minutes ago, "There are 29 auto mechanics online. Ask your question and get an answer ASAP." Might be worth a shot.

_{"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich}

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46023 is a reply to message #46020 ]

Fri, 04 November 2011 10:56

rachel
Messages: 65
Registered: November 2008

Member

My diesel Ford had the same problem. I can remember it refusing to start after I'd been out for a ten minute drive or thereabouts and parked it facing uphill.

Sadly some time later I had to get a whole new starter motor. Then a new fuel injection system.

That was when the glow lights (for the fuel heating for the injection) started to come on in mid-drive. And then it started stalling in mid-drive.

But that was about a year later... I do hope it's not that. And if it is, that Wolfgang lasts until you can afford an Amadeus

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46024 is a reply to message #46007 ]

Fri, 04 November 2011 10:57

BurgandyIce
Messages: 73
Registered: May 2010
Location: Damascus

Member

I am not feeling sanguine about Gemma’s future as a handbell ringer. You have to be kind of a geek, and I think she may be too normal and well-adjusted. She has sensible priorities, you know? This doesn’t work if you want to learn to ring, especially handbells.

*chuckle* This is like silver lining hidden in thunder clouds... a benefit of not being sensible = Ringing!

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46025 is a reply to message #46007 ]

Fri, 04 November 2011 11:47

harpergray
Messages: 87
Registered: March 2011
Location: Sweden

Member

*Hands copious amounts of chocolate* Oh no! I do hope things calm down soon.

...the idea being that I go through first and make sure we aren’t about to hurtle straight into the local hunt pretending to follow a drag trail,

Might it be worthwhile to ask the local masters for a fixture card? Of course, if you go for impromptu walks around the countryside I can see that this might not be practical. Thought it might be worth suggesting though. Smile

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46028 is a reply to message #46007 ]

Fri, 04 November 2011 17:27

Ithilien
Messages: 703
Registered: September 2008

Senior Member
[Moderator]

I don’t know what it is about the English and their petrol stations. They close at 5, 5:30 pm, like dentists or accountants.

It's not only the UK. Rural bits of Australia do this as well. The story of the five girls who found this out at 6 pm in the middle of Tasmania involves a pub, a crying baby, a slab of beer and a siphon...

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46029 is a reply to message #46028 ]

Fri, 04 November 2011 17:56

GraceNotes
Messages: 173
Registered: October 2008

Senior Member

See following entry. I am nearly computer illiterate today.

[Updated on: Fri, 04 November 2011 18:00]

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46030 is a reply to message #46029 ]

Fri, 04 November 2011 17:58

GraceNotes
Messages: 173
Registered: October 2008

Senior Member

What, pray tell, is a "slab of beer"?

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46032 is a reply to message #46007 ]

Fri, 04 November 2011 20:54

evie_g
Messages: 2
Registered: November 2011
Location: Syracuse, NY

Junior Member

Sorry your day was grumbly.

And I know exactly how you feel about the driving on fumes thing (except the closing at 5pm thing--EEP! What time do they OPEN?).

As far as needing the new workhorse laptop (was that this post?) my husband is a HUGE computer nerd and always gets awesome deals so I have some tips. He says that for what I said you need it for (internet browsing, word processing, email) you should be able to get something quite nice without spending more than $350-$400 (USD), unless you want a netbook which would be cheaper but not have a full size keyboard and be slower (but Super!Portable). And he says to watch slickdeals.net (don't know if there is a UK equivalent) for cheap stuff. For example just in looking up the web address I found this one for $200. Although again I don't know about the international thing. Egads I've rambled a LOT about computer-y stuff.

Anyway, I'm new here *waves* so Hi, Robin and Robin's blog-forum* people!

*I typo-ed "Robin's borg" the first time. Hee!

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46034 is a reply to message #46030 ]

Fri, 04 November 2011 21:43

Ithilien
Messages: 703
Registered: September 2008

Senior Member
[Moderator]

GraceNotes wrote on Fri, 04 November 2011 17:58

What, pray tell, is a "slab of beer"?

Is this an Australian-only thing? Twenty-four cans (375 mL each) packaged together on a cardboard base with plastic holding them on. Looks like this.

If one looks sufficiently pitiful and helpless, one might be able to persuade random passers-by to siphon petrol out of their car and into yours in exchange for said slab.

We don't need to go into why we had spare slabs of beer handy - I'm sure they were always intended as trade goods. Really.

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46036 is a reply to message #46034 ]

Fri, 04 November 2011 22:26

Black Bear
Messages: 3216
Registered: September 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA

Senior Member
[Moderator]

In the US, we'd just call that a "24-pack." "Slab" is certainly more descriptive!

_{"The time is always right to do what's right."--MLK Jr.}

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46037 is a reply to message #46007 ]

Sat, 05 November 2011 00:07

jennifaraway
Messages: 3
Registered: November 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia

Junior Member

If you're up for some completely unsolicited car advice from a newbie (my husband is a car nut - actually, a Volvo nut, which makes it that much worse). He says, as a suggestion:

The anti-drain-back valve in the fuel pump may be faulty (he corrects - is probably faulty) and the fuel lines empty out when you stop the car. You could try, before cranking the car, hold the key for about 20 seconds in the "run" position (ie where the key is when you're driving. Yes, I had to ask exactly what he meant).

Keeping the tank topped up is also better if this is in fact the problem. Also, the fuel pressure regulator may not be holding fuel, making it worse.

If your mechanic hasn't thought of this already, of course!

- Jen (who, sadly, knows way too much about old Volvos, particularly turbo/supercharged/racing ones. We have a huge orange ("saffron") volvo station wagon - at least it's easy to find in the carpark.)

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Re: luck/car talk [message #46038 is a reply to message #46007 ]

Sat, 05 November 2011 00:56

zanne
Messages: 7
Registered: March 2009
Location: san francisco, ca

Junior Member

yes, car talk is completely, wonderfully legit. i listen to them all the time. i learned what was wrong with my sweet honda element from them--no one else could figure it out, and i just happened to be listening when someone else called in with the same problem.

they are AWESOME. go for it!

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Re: luck/car talk [message #46040 is a reply to message #46038 ]

Sat, 05 November 2011 11:23

Maren
Messages: 1332
Registered: October 2008
Location: Louisiana

Senior Member
[Moderator]

zanne wrote on Sat, 05 November 2011 00:56

Oh yes, Car Talk is great...but the mechanics you can contact through their website are actually on JustAnswer, the site I mentioned above. I don't think the radio program would accept Robin's call from the UK.

ETA: And when I say mentioned "above," I mean "on an entirely different thread where you may not have seen it yet." Sorry! Smile

[Updated on: Sat, 05 November 2011 18:11]

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46043 is a reply to message #46007 ]

Sat, 05 November 2011 17:59

skating librarian
Messages: 571
Registered: October 2008
Location: Vermont

Senior Member

As a regular listener to Car Talk I'm pretty sure the "Ask a Mechanic" thing is a corporate sponsor of the show ... not the real "Car Guys". However, given the gazillion questions they have answered over the years, I think if you go the archives of columns you may find an answer. Its under the Car Talk Tool Box on the right hand side of the home page. They do both newspaper columns and a radio show.

Actually I'm pretty sure that I have heard a similar question.

If you want to try to talk to them personally on the air read the FAQs on how the callers are chosen. And I do believe they sometimes do take questions from folks calling from abroad, generally if the person/car problem sounds interesting.

Because it is a program which plays it for laughs, as well as giving good car advice, I think you may want to listen to a few shows first to see if you can see yourself as a
"caller". They might find your imaginative language/point of view refreshingly different. One of them is, I think a professor at MIT, and the other actually runs a garage.

Good luck.

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46044 is a reply to message #46043 ]

Sat, 05 November 2011 20:12

Black Bear
Messages: 3216
Registered: September 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA

Senior Member
[Moderator]

I think Maren's right that they likely don't accept calls from overseas. I think Justanswer's probably a better solution than trying to ask the Car Talk guys directly. As a many-years listener to Click n' Clack myself, I love the program! But they're not ones for a succinct answer to a problem, for sure. Smile

_{"The time is always right to do what's right."--MLK Jr.}

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46056 is a reply to message #46037 ]

Sun, 06 November 2011 09:36

Robin
Messages: 6006
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

Thanks. I will certainly try the key thing--even I have assumed that the fact that it's at a particular nose-up-tail-down angle has to mean *something*, and that something is draining away from something else is the logical leap. The keeping it topped up, groan. I'm ten minutes (in the wrong direction) from my petrol station--and the only nearer one is in even a *wronger* direction, and the nearest right-direction one (ie toward Mauncester and Zigguraton) gives you diesel that smells funny and makes the engine sound funny.

But I will certainly try to notice if this tends to happen when the tank is low--it was certainly low this latest incident. THANK YOU. The garage is an all-purposes garage--it doesn't know its VW from its Daimler. Smile

But it's independent, local, reliable, and *won't* leave you in the lurch--and the nearest *VW* garage is half the planet away, and rude.

Is there a PHOTO of the huge saffron Volvo station wagon? Smile

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46057 is a reply to message #46044 ]

Sun, 06 November 2011 09:44

Robin
Messages: 6006
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

Believe it or not, I *remember* Car Talk. I think it was new full stop, but it was certainly new to Maine shortly before I emigrated. The big problem with it from my perspective was that it was about *cars.* Smile

I wouldn't DREAM of trying to call in, even if they did take overseas calls, and since you can hang around in a queue forever waiting to go on a radio call-in I can't imagine they get too many. Also I'd feel like a jerk. Especially after they asked me a lot of stuff I don't know. (What is the gruzump ratio of the drafflewick doowhammy?)

The guy who popped up to answer my question the other night had a sheet of qualifications with a speciality in VWs and several hundred happy customers (and two unhappy). I would guess he's legit, and if they used PayPal I'd've given him a try. It's that I don't know the Just Answer admin from a broken laptop, and I have no idea how good their data protection is.

But I think I'll try the archive. Thanks!

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46061 is a reply to message #46056 ]

Mon, 07 November 2011 04:25

jennifaraway
Messages: 3
Registered: November 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia

Junior Member

Glad to help, even a little bit Smile

. A lot of European car dealer/mechanic places affiliated with the brands are a bit rude, in my family's experience Sad

My husband takes our car to the other side of Sydney (from the Blacktown area to Liverpool, for those familiar with the place) to a non-affiliated specialist Volvo mechanic.

Nor sure how to post pics, but I did an image search. It has had a bit of a cult following (there are about 4 in Australia, the US got about 113 ever of this model according to hubby).

Here's an example http://volvoforums.com/forum/members/the2nortons-36153-album s-volvo-v70-r-saffron-612-picture-dscf0128-2303/

Or the image search at http://bit.ly/v19tHj

(note to those who have actual giant four wheel drives or other enormous cars - "giant orange station wagon" to me means I was driving a lovely Mazda hatchback for 10 years. Now we have a station wagon that's wide and looooong. It's scary!).

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46094 is a reply to message #46061 ]

Tue, 08 November 2011 01:22

Diane in MN
Messages: 2732
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

I believe I've seen a few of these--to me, they hark back to the Volvo wagons of the 70s. They are long. (Which wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have to park. I gave up parallel parking when I swapped my VW wagon for a minivan. Smile

)

_{"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich}

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Re: Grumble grumble mutter mutter [message #46098 is a reply to message #46094 ]

Tue, 08 November 2011 03:37

jennifaraway
Messages: 3
Registered: November 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia

Junior Member

They also came in black, white, and (I think) dark blue. The normal V70s from 1998-ish are similar too.

I don't reverse park big cars so if I had to I'd be in trouble. Luckily I don't have to drive very often - and I'm getting better at this car Smile

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