Life is riddled with a procession of minor impediments

[staticgirl]

I quite like footie.  I often have the final scores on or Match of The Day in the background because the gossiping and bitching makes me laugh. I will also often have a match on in the background as the crowd roar sends me off to sleep - it's like the sea..

I 'support' Grimsby Town - they are so rubbish that their own fans seriously take the mick out of them.

My minor impediment of the last few months is probably trying to find a decent pair of in-ear headphones*. For some reason everyone is putting bigger housings on them so no matter what size ear bud you try they fall out of my ears. I have wasted a lot of money trying to find a comfortable replacement (because you have to destroy the packaging in order to get them out and try them on) and given up and have some old fashioned headphones (which the websites call 'DJ style' on the way.

* I used to love them because they blocked the sounds of my fellow commuters on their bloody phones without leaking too much/any noise to annoy them in return.

[Dandontdare]

My minor impediment of the last few months is probably trying to find a decent pair of in-ear headphones*. For some reason everyone is putting bigger housings on them so no matter what size ear bud you try they fall out of my ears. I have wasted a lot of money trying to find a comfortable replacement (because you have to destroy the packaging in order to get them out and try them on) and given up and have some old fashioned headphones (which the websites call 'DJ style' on the way.

The only kind I've ever found that are comfortable, non-leaky and compact are these philips ones, but I think they may be discontinued as they are becoming increasingly difficult to find - the price quoted on that link is much more than they used to be in Dixons/Currys - about £19.99 I think. They've got soft detachable rubber ends (3 sizes) and ear hooks so they don't fall out.

[SmallBlueThing]

...because, after tomorrow morning, im not going to see my wife until Wednesday teatime. She's up in that London all day tomorrow, teaching, then doing a show, staying overnight. She comes back after i go to work on Tuesday- and i dont get home til 3 on Wednesday, when she will be out at a meeting about a number of shows she's putting on in Hastings and London.
On the plus side, after she goes tomorrow, i have seven whole hours to myself- which is the longest 'me-time' i've had in seven years- thanks to afterschool film club.
SBT

[radiator]

The only kind I've ever found that are comfortable, non-leaky and compact are these philips ones, but I think they may be discontinued as they are becoming increasingly difficult to find - the price quoted on that link is much more than they used to be in Dixons/Currys - about £19.99 I think. They've got soft detachable rubber ends (3 sizes) and ear hooks so they don't fall out.

I use Sennheiser CX300 ear canal headphones - they are a bit pricey on the high street so order them online if you can. They also come with three different sized 'bungs' or whatever they're called so they should fit. Searched for years for headphones that wouldn't fall out every five minutes and these ones are great.

One thing about them, though is (and apologies if this is a bit disgusting) the meshes inside the earbuds tend to get gunked up with earwax from time to time, to the extent that I eventually had to cut them out with a scalpel - they've worked perfectly ever since, though.

Oh, and as I learned, counterfeit headphones are a big problem and it can be hard to guarantee that you are buying the real deal (avoid eBay!) - think I got my (genuine) ones from Play.com for about £20.

[Dandontdare]

They also come with three different sized 'bungs' or whatever they're called so they should fit.

After constantly losing one when carrying my headphones around in my pocket wrapped round my I-pod, I've taken to selecting the best size and supergluing them on to the actual earphone! And you must have very productive ears if it's getting right in to bung up the mesh - I find any small bits in there can usually be removed with a toothpick

[Dandontdare]

They also come with three different sized 'bungs' or whatever they're called so they should fit.

After constantly losing one when carrying my headphones around in my pocket wrapped round my I-pod, I've taken to selecting the best size and supergluing them on to the actual earphone! And you must have very productive ears if it's getting right in to bung up the mesh - I find any small bits of earwax in there can usually be removed with a toothpick

[TordelBack]

Well if no-one else is going to suggest cheese...

[Dandontdare]

oops - hit quote isntead of edit there! 
Not sure why I felt the need to Edit in the word "earwax" - as if there could be anything else gunking up his... err.. let's just leave it there shall we?

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Had a bloke knock on the door to read the gas & electricity today at about 10:00, the thing is I was asleep (I've not been able to get back to sleep yet).
I told him that I had sent the readings off last week and that the electricity one was buggered and that they are coming out to sort it out on the 21st. I also reminded him that I keep telling every twat that comes to the door that I work frigging nights and I've also told every twat to come after 16:00 and then I'll let them in (none have ever returned to read the numbers). They all tap this info into their handheld device but obviously they can't be arsed to follow this advice, as they keep coming in the bloody morning.

No stranger will go down that cellar without me (Carolyn has been told) as I treat everyone as a potential perp (not counting Judge Palmer in that, as he was the perfect guest and obviously not a stranger).

[radiator]

Went to see 127 Hours last night. Good film but throughout there was clearly some sort of problem with the cinema speakers which made the treble distort and sound all wonky during the music - an effect that sounded like someone playing with the 'pitch bend' dial on a keyboard. It obviously wasn't intentional as it happened during the trailers too.

Though it wasn't initially irritating enough to warrant complaining about, it did somewhat spoil the last five minutes of the movie - [spoiler]a very intense and moving sequence with no dialogue, only music[/spoiler] - so much so that we decided to complain to the staff (and maybe get some compensation for the whopping £16.70 we spent on two tickets).

After waiting for 15 minutes, we got to see the manager, who dismissed our complaints outright, smugly telling us that "the projectionist" said there was no problem, they had received no complaints (my suggestion that they had TWO complaints - me and my girlfriend - fell on deaf ears) and most patronisingly, that we "must have heard it wrong".

Bollocks to Odeon - you would think that these days where it is so easy to see films elsewhere they would treat their customers a bit better than that. I can actually envisage a time where all the big multiplexes close down due to piracy/home cinemas and the only remaining cinemas are small, serve a sophisticated clientele, and are run by dedicated people who know what they're doing!

[SuperSurfer]

Companies have perfected methods to take our money swiftly but screw the customer regarding when they get what they paid for.

I bought some software off Amazon. According to their tracking info I should've received it Wednesday. I didn't see any daylight for Wednesday and Thursday while I waited for the package. Saturday I had a delivery note – while I was in. I'm not convinced the postman actually rang our buzzer so I lost an hour or so to go to the local sorting office but at least I got my package. So what the hell is the point of those tracking numbers and delivery dates?

Saturday my Mrs and me ordered new mobiles. We both had text messages saying the phones would arrive Tuesday, then messages saying today. Delivery had to be at another address – my Mrs is the account holder and she never updated her bank details (long story) so I was hanging around where we used to live from 8-11am until someone else came in. The tracking numbers are not recognised by the delivery company website. After a few back and forth phone calls it turns out the phone company hasn't even despatched the mobiles to the courier company. So why give us the damn tracking numbers and bullcrap delivery date?

The only (minor) consolation is that as I am not doing paid work right now, I haven't lost three days income to hang around for nothing. We ordered the mobiles by phone as that was cheaper than the high street but that could have proved very costly if I was working.

[vzzbux]

Radiator, Complain on line and via written letter. This normally does the trick when the wife complains. Go back and get the manager and the attendants name.





V

[staticgirl]

I've just got my new headphones and they are lovely ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-SHO8801-10-Headband-Headphones/dp/B003YFIU50/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_0_2 )

However, I'm not sure the sound doesn't leak a bit too much. I don't like annoying people on the train especially given my tastes in music.  I might well buy another pair for travelling in the future and will follow up on your recommendations then.

[Richmond Clements]

Radiator, Complain on line and via written letter. This normally does the trick when the wife complains. Go back and get the manager and the attendants name.





V

Yup. I find asking the manager for his name at the time sometimes does the trick.

[radiator]

We got the manager's name (which he happily told us with a big fat grin on his face) - tbh it was his attitiude that pissed us off more than the sound issue - he basically all but accused us of lying to try and blag some free tickets rather than actually investigating the problem himself.