Grump of the day

[Keithj]

Likewise elsewhere on the continent. In Germany, if you're an Engineer, you put Dipl.Ing (or whatever) on everything.

Somewhere in the depths of my filing system, I have the comparison table of degrees from different countries. It's surprisingly complex. One I remember is that a UK MA is equivalent to an Italian "dottore" (except Oxbridge MAs, which are BAs with seniority and count as BAs).

My grump for today is that this pesky cough has now been with me for 5 weeks and I'm heartily sick of it. Got an appointment to see the Doc (UK, not Italian) on Wednesday.

 

[Flyfisher]

The formal title of 'Eur. Ing' is often seen on business cards throughout Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Engineer

In the UK, the Engineering Council can confer the title of Chartered Engineer (C.Eng) to those suitably qualified. They are unlikely to be found in many garage workshops.

 

[MatthewC]

The formal title of 'Eur. Ing' is often seen on business cards throughout Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Engineer

In the UK, the Engineering Council can confer the title of Chartered Engineer (C.Eng) to those suitably qualified. They are unlikely to be found in many garage workshops.

I'm a Chartered Engineer and I wish I had a garage workshop!

Over the years, I've watched the various efforts to improve the professional connotations of "Engineer" (like "Eur. Ing") but I think it's a lost cause, just like the unwanted apostrophe in plural's [sic] or the possessive form of "it" which is "its", NOT "it's"!!!!!!

 

[malcolm]

I often write to the BBC about their use of the word 'Engineer'. I'm fairly happy really. I am respected by my peers and I can use the word to evade questions about what is it exactly that I do for a living. I would dread some new rule which forbids me from doing what I do without box ticking and paperwork.

This engineer has a house to fix and didn't really want to spend this last week ticking pointless EU boxes on another matter.

 

[Penners]

I think it's a lost cause, just like the unwanted apostrophe in plural's [sic] or the possessive form of "it" which is "its", NOT "it's"!!!!!!

That's music to my ears (eyes?), Matthew, but I fear that we Knights of the Grammar Round Table are a dying breed.

 

[88v8]

Oh no were not!

 

[malcolm]

Reminds me of a pub sign "Education is important but beer is more importanter".

 

[Me!]

Engineer

 

[88v8]

 

[Penners]

That's a bit like BT's helpline for people whose phones aren't working.

 

[TheRoost]

Engineer

During the French Revolution, three men were condemned to the guillotine. One was a preacher, one was a doctor, and the third was an engineer. When the preacher approached the deadly machine, he requested to be beheaded while lying on his back so that he could die while looking into Heaven. The doctor and the engineer thought that to be a good idea and requested the same. As the knife plunged down the track toward the preacher, it suddenly jammed just short of the man's neck. The executioner declared it an Act of God and let the man go free. The same thing happened to the doctor. As the engineer laid his head back in place he suddenly said, "Wait! I see the problem! Look up there where the rope has jumped out of the pulley groove!"

 

[Penners]

To a pessimist, the glass is half empty.
To an optimist, the glass is half full.
To an engineer, the glass is twice as large as it needs to be.

 

[DJH]

:lol:

My tiny little Grump, which in the big scheme of things seems trivial , is that there are very few guesses for the Whatsit topic and until someone guesses what the last two are I can't post pictures of the other things I have. Perhaps I'm missing something...

Anyway, I'll put up some clues...

Doug

 

[jocelyn plummer]

My grump of the day is feeling aggrieved at being called a 'Londoner' by a local builder-------the only trouble with living so close to Chelsea by the Sea is that all the local builders assume that one is either a second home owner or a London downsizer. This arose because our lovely neighbour has kindly agreed to have her enormous 20ft plus cherry tree, which grows against her side of our boundary fence, removed, the roots of which are running right across our garden to the other side. She called in a real ooo arrr NN local to cut it down and he suggested, quite sensibly, that we could then do our fencing at the same time. He asked me how high I would want the panels and said 'all you Londoners usually want to build high fences all around .' I bit my tongue and sweetly said, 'well our gun dog can clear a 4ft fence with no trouble at all, so perhaps we will just have 5 ft panels.' sniff.

 

[a twig]

Argh - Toilets!

We have a very nice old Armitage Shanks bathroom - we are keeping the "suite" as it were, (although adding a freestanding bath) but mainly focussing on re-doing the room itself.

Good progress has been made, walls stripped back and re-plastered where necessary, dodgy wall lights next to sink / bath replaced with proper IP rated ones etc.

Along the way, the wife (she who is in charge of "making things pretty" as opposed to "brute force and ignorance" which is my speciality) wants to change to silver/chrome fittings.

No problemo! Taps, bath, bath feet, flush handle etc all ordered and delivered. Then I notice the flush pipe from the separate cistern is brass.

"That's alright, I'll nip out and get a replacement," thinks I.

"Sure mate, got one of those, here ya go, 16" by 14", only a fiver," says Mr Helpful at the plumber's merchant, waving the item in my face.

"But that's plastic, and will look terrible," I say.

"I'll 'av a look" he says, while sucking on his teeth.

No chance, apparently no manufacturer these days can conceive of the possibility of the pan being greater that 200mm forward from the bottom outlet of the cistern, and ours is 250mm...

So while I can get beautifully made chrome flush pipes, with an upright of up to 400mm ("just trim it daaahn wiv an angle grinda guv"), the horizontal max is 200mm (and they want £50 for the privilege!). And of course, the height of the cistern above the pan is too great to use it the "wrong" way round.

So my search continues, but it's looking like I may have to get a section made up (expensive) or lower the cistern by 125mm (a lot of effort and will look odd)

Gaaaah!

 

[Penners]

No problemo!

:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[88v8]

Replacing brass with chrome. Arrgh indeed. I think your prettifier should be sent to North Korea for a period re-indoctrination programme.

If the suite is really old, the basin taps may have been put in properly with putty. The scope for breaking the basin whilst removing said taps is considerable.

Ivor

 

[a twig]

I agree and personally prefer brass, but it's not my bathroom, so I'm not too bothered. There's no shower and I'm too tall to fit in a bath with any degree of comfort. As the other bathroom is a lot more accessible, I intend never to be in there!

It's the art of picking battles, by letting her have "her bathroom" (which is an anachronism anyway as we still have our outdoor privy in the garden which is now a coal shed) I can then make sure the important rooms have what I want! I don't see the point in having a pastiche "ye olde" bathroom to be honest when originally there never was one.

What's wrong with saying "no problemo"?

 

[a twig]

To add another grump, booked the whole of next week off to work on the outside of the house, stripping paint and repairing stonework.

Weather forecast all next week? Rain... Grrrrr :evil:

 

[Flyfisher]

It's the art of picking battles, by letting her have "her bathroom" (which is an anachronism anyway as we still have our outdoor privy in the garden which is now a coal shed) I can then make sure the important rooms have what I want! I don't see the point in having a pastiche "ye olde" bathroom to be honest when originally there never was one.

Interesting point. I sometimes feel that much of this whole 'period' thing is more to do with modern lifestyle and decorative choices than anything to do with historical accuracy. As you rightly say, go back a couple of hundred years (maybe less?) and few properties would have indoor bathrooms at all, never mind the worry about choosing between different styles of pipework. Kitchens would also be very primitive affairs in comparison with their central role in modern households. Unless one was fortunate to be hugely wealthy and have the benefit of a large household staff complement, then truly authentic period living would be very uncomfortable and undesirable by almost any modern standards.