things that really p** you off

[Webby]

Humax are a really good brand easy to use and set up with regular over the air updates if the are any issues with firmware or software we have the PVR-9150T and it is great the PVR-9300T is a bit more money but you get a bigger hard drive (320GB rather than 160GB) and has more connectivity options the main one being HDMI (with upscaling) you can see the range download manuals etc from their website http://www.humaxdigital.com/global/products/product_stb_uk.asp and you can buy from them direct (new or reconditioned/refurbished) here http://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/prodCat2.asp?cat=Factory

Hope that helps any specific questions about them let me know and I will answer the best I can

[libertee]

**RANT ALERT**  **LAST CHANCE TO EXIT NOW**

change of direction................something that really mega pi**es me off is not being credited for something/ taken for granted.

Well-behaved/well-mannered children are the result of amongst other things
1) years of structure and nurturing
2) years of boundaries/discipline/routines
3) considerate parents who put their childrens needs ahead of their own in an effort to produce valuable socialised members of society who feel comfortable in new situations, who know how to behave and be respectful, realise the value of education for their future and make their parents proud.
4) Dont give in to their every demand for every new material possession but instead let them earn things so they know the value of money and hard work
5) Be responsible for showing the child direction/available paths and helping them decide which way to go...giving them controlled choices not just letting them do whatever they want.
6) Sometimes being the 'bad guy'...not everything in life will always go their way ( tears, manipulation and tantrums arent good!)


What really annoys me is being told for years that i am too strict, too disciplined, too 'traditional' in my values...that they shouldnt be aware of the consequences of their behaviour, that they should be allowed to do whatever they want whenever they want to do it and let them find their own way in life ...going to bed when they want, eating what they want etc.......and then in the next breath them telling the child how wonderful they are to be around because of their good manners and how everyone they meet tells them what a delight the child is.   How the hell do they think the child got like that? ... blooming hard work and sacrifice on our part is how they got like that but all we get is moaned at and undermined at every turn because they dont agree with how we raise them.

You cant make an omelette without breaking eggs and you cant raise responsible children without setting routines and boundaries.  A bit of acknowledgement might be nice as the kids didnt get that way on their own.  By all means tell the kid how wonderful they are but remember who made them that way in the first place.


**RANT OVER**  **PLEASE CLEAR THE BUILDING, NOTHING ELSE TO SEE**

[MightyAl]

Reminds me somewhat of one of Isaac Asimov's stories that featured a robot nanny. The Laws of Robotics meant it was unable to discipline a child even verbally, or even say 'no', as these things resulted in the child crying, which the Robot interpreted as 'harm', and then caved in.

[libertee]

I could understand if we regularly beat them into submission, sent them to bed without dinner, deprived them of basics like food, warmth, attention, sleep etc and were generally abusive neglectful paents.  But we dont and we arent.  Our kids are emotionally well-balanced, healthy, high achievers at school, secure in themselves and who they are, well looked after.  Okay they dont get all of the latest gadgets but stuff like mortgages or food usually comes first.  Things they need rather than things they want take priority.

 There are so many abused neglected children here in the UK with no stability at all, who suffer violence daily.  Compared to these children ours are priviledged

Okay rant part 2 over!

[Citizen Sade]

I have learnt, through bitter experience, that people don't tend to appreciate getting parenting advice. This is unfortunate as some parents, like the spawners of the little soul on holiday who delighted in squirting his victims in the face with his water pistol, get it anyway. So, let's add unruly children with middle class names and entitlement issues plus overly liberal parents to the p*** me off list.

[gi6ers]

That doesn't sound like a rant to me Sally, sounds like good parenting. Totally agree, we have folks round with their kids quite often and the differences we see are massive.  My little boy (2 yrs old) will eat anything, sit at the table, say please and thankyou, go to bed at his alloted time, tidy his toys and not throw tantrums.  I wish I could say the same about every other child that he meets and is often bemused by.

Gina Ford and supernanny 

[Bodhi]

Meh. My oldest son got that way through autism and ADHD. Works to 

[Bodhi]

I think I'm a pretty good parent. But I credit my children for it, not me.

[libertee]

I think I'm a pretty good parent. But I credit my children for it, not me.

but who taught the children how they should behave in the first place?  By all means credit them with being able to choose how to behave and respond in situations but they werent born with good social skills...they were taught, so shouldnt you get some of the credit for that?

[Chris_M]

It's Nature vs nurture.

There probably is a genetic "behaviour" part in there somewhere - no matter how well brought up, some people are just nasty pieces of work, and some people come out of dreadful homes and are totally kind and considerate. There's two sisters I used to know, one was great, the other (the elder of the two) had a real attitude.

But yes, a lot of children's behaviour comes from seeing what their parents do (as the people they spend most time around) and copying them.

Again IMO, we all have our own core personality, and as we spend time with other people, we absorb a little piece of their personality and give back a little piece of our own.

But if it helps, well done Sally and Kev.

[libertee]

thanks Chris!....loL!!

on a completely separate rant altogether.......i really really really hate people who drive around a car park at 2mph looking for that 'perfect space' and i always get stuck behind them.  You cant go past as they are taking up 2 lanes trying to decide which space to either go forward into or reverse into and 99% of the spaces are the same blooming size!

[Penfold]

Sounds like you've been following my sister in law see drives past parking spaces i could get a van into and open both doors

[beefcake]

or when you are driving down the road and someone really old pulls out blindly in front of you and then goes at a snails pace in the 100k zone and then in the 50k zone they maintain a speed higher than the speed limit.

[Bodhi]

I think I'm a pretty good parent. But I credit my children for it, not me.

but who taught the children how they should behave in the first place?  By all means credit them with being able to choose how to behave and respond in situations but they werent born with good social skills...they were taught, so shouldnt you get some of the credit for that?

Oh yes. It's a good circle. If my children behave good I become a better parent and my children thus behave even better. That's what I meant. They bring out the good parent in me . I'm very grateful for that. They educate me as much as I educate them, daily.

[carsjr]

**RANT ALERT**  **LAST CHANCE TO EXIT NOW**

change of direction................something that really mega pi**es me off is not being credited for something/ taken for granted.

Well-behaved/well-mannered children are the result of amongst other things
1) years of structure and nurturing
2) years of boundaries/discipline/routines
3) considerate parents who put their childrens needs ahead of their own in an effort to produce valuable socialised members of society who feel comfortable in new situations, who know how to behave and be respectful, realise the value of education for their future and make their parents proud.
4) Dont give in to their every demand for every new material possession but instead let them earn things so they know the value of money and hard work
5) Be responsible for showing the child direction/available paths and helping them decide which way to go...giving them controlled choices not just letting them do whatever they want.
6) Sometimes being the 'bad guy'...not everything in life will always go their way ( tears, manipulation and tantrums arent good!)


What really annoys me is being told for years that i am too strict, too disciplined, too 'traditional' in my values...that they shouldnt be aware of the consequences of their behaviour, that they should be allowed to do whatever they want whenever they want to do it and let them find their own way in life ...going to bed when they want, eating what they want etc.......and then in the next breath them telling the child how wonderful they are to be around because of their good manners and how everyone they meet tells them what a delight the child is.   How the hell do they think the child got like that? ... blooming hard work and sacrifice on our part is how they got like that but all we get is moaned at and undermined at every turn because they dont agree with how we raise them.

You cant make an omelette without breaking eggs and you cant raise responsible children without setting routines and boundaries.  A bit of acknowledgement might be nice as the kids didnt get that way on their own.  By all means tell the kid how wonderful they are but remember who made them that way in the first place.


**RANT OVER**  **PLEASE CLEAR THE BUILDING, NOTHING ELSE TO SEE**

Where is my Facebook-esque "LIKE" button?

[DRAGON]

I could understand if we regularly beat them into submission, sent them to bed without dinner, deprived them of basics like food, warmth, attention, sleep etc

I thought that was what you were supposed to do............  - Good job I haven't got any kids then ! 
My best mate always says I would make a good dad as his kids like me - but then they are like Sal's kids polite and well adjusted !

[Vermis]

or when you are driving down the road and someone really old pulls out blindly in front of you and then goes at a snails pace in the 100k zone and then in the 50k zone they maintain a speed higher than the speed limit.

Ha.  I know the type.  I dunno about them being old, but I know the type.

There's the cautionary slogan that "a speed limit is a maximum, not a target", but to some people it's a thing to be avoided at all costs.  Round my neck of the woods, slow queues of traffic on the main roads are the norm.  There are a few new, straighter roads with double carriageways and overtaking lanes and things being put in - most of them aren't finished yet so the roadworks at the intersections obviously and reasonably (and still irritatingly) slow things down, but on the shiny new parts that are completed you've still got a fair chance of being trapped behind someone tootling along at 40 - even 30! - mph.  It's gotten so ingrained that when I'm on a clear stretch, I sometimes have to readjust to maintaining speed above 50mph.  I go to 60, take my eyes off the speedometer, and it somehow creeps back down.

Then I get stuck behind people who can't make up their minds whether to go at 40mph or 60mph.  They suddenly roar ahead at full speed, unexpectedly leaving me at the head of the slow queue and feeling like a right 'nana for a second or two.  I accelerate myself, then have to stand on the brakes a minute later because the first car suddenly decides it prefers 40 again.  Repeat ad nauseum.
With some the accelerating and braking seems random.  With others they slow way down at a bend in the road, which makes a little more sense but is usually unneccessary.  You get the feeling the curvature of the Earth's surface would be a dangerously sharp corner to these people.

I've mentioned these before, but they keep coming: people who don't follow the rules and laws of the road, put there to keep traffic moving smoothly and to prevent you turning into a fine pink paste spread over a couple hundred yards of asphalt or what have you.  People who never indicate, especially when they're getting in or out of your way.  That's caused a few stand-on-brakes moments in the last week alone.  People who decide your adherence to the speed limit is entirely unsatisfactory and take the first slim chance they have to roar past you - and on down the road - at 80-90mph.  Sometimes over turn-off chevrons or overtaking lanes (that is, over the double solid lines into the right side's overtaking lane) and into oncoming traffic.  Sometimes boy racers but usually Merc/BMW drivers.
In a nutshell, people who think they're exempt because "I already passed my driving test/own an expensive status symbol/need to overcompensate."

And TRACTORS

And add another vote for Sally's big purple post.

Boy, this is a lot better than 140-character tweet...

[Chris_M]

Vermis - as I like to say, beware the Berk in the Merc...

Personally, I drive to the speed limit and conditions - I want to get where I'm going, but equally, I want my car, my driving license and especially my life tomorrow. But there's been plenty of occasions where I've had to slow down, to give myself space to the car in front, because some moron's come right up behind me and has no way of stopping in time if I have to brake suddenly.

But they're minor compared to some - every time I think I've seen it all whilst driving, someone goes out and achieves a new world record for idiocy.

For instance, the other day, I was taking a different route into work (there was an event on which clogs traffic up for miles around), which takes me past an infant school, which is on a narrow country road, where the parents park on one side (which was the side for the direction is was going), so you have to hop the spaces to allow traffic coming the other way to get past, else it's gridlock (and is the main reason I don't go that way normally).

I managed to get enough space to hop into a gap, but I couldn't get further without blocking off oncoming traffic, pulled in, put the handbrake on, and watched the car behind me go sailing past, all the way down to where traffic was queuing and oncoming traffic was just about to come through. Cue people having to go up the kerb just to get past this dimwit.

Also, there's a roundabout on the way home from work that has a garage and a mini roundabout fairly close that causes traffic to stack back onto the main roaundabout, and if someone doesn't come all the way around on the inside and then try and jump in the queue at the exit at least once a week it's unusual. I almost want to ask them if they're carrying an organ for transplant or a pregnant woman who needs to go to hospital now, and when they say no to both, tell them they can queue up like everyone else then.

I've even been overtaken on a mini-roundabout near my home - it's at a t-junction to a motorway sliproad, I was going straight on and was in the correct lane, some woman in a small people carrier went into the other lane as though she was going to go down the motorway, then dived straight in front of me.

[weareblind]

Fire Brigade Officers. For the third time I took an appointment and... he's busy 

[Lorbaat]

Expecting to receive a check from my client, only instead to receive an email asking if I was going to send the invoice.  I *did* send the invoice.  A week and a half ago.   

Dear brother,
I would give my left arm to obtain a payment after 10 days...

Well apparently I have been spoiled by previous clients, as I still have no check from this one.  And now it is seriously starting to irk me.

I billed one of my speedier clients yesterday, I wonder which check will reach me first.  Theoretically they are coming from the same Accounts Payable department....

[Bodhi]

or when you are driving down the road and someone really old pulls out blindly in front of you and then goes at a snails pace in the 100k zone and then in the 50k zone they maintain a speed higher than the speed limit.

I don't drive but what really really nags me is when you go up with the escalator (especially if you have a big heavy bag or something) and the person in front of you - on stepping of the escalator - stops to ponder what he's going to do next leaving you the choice of knocking him down or falling head over heels down the escalator again. I'm against capitol punishment but I'm willing to make an exception 

[beefcake]

yes yes yes yes yes!!! even worse when someone is behind you too who then hits into the back of you, escalator sandwich

[Hasslefriesian]

Sounds like it could be a good thing if you're going up to "2nd floor, Lingerie"

[weareblind]

My daughter this night has awakened 8 times.... sleeeeeepppppp sleeeepppppppp.....

[Bodhi]

Threats! Especially when they are thinly veiled as nonthreats.
Getting told that "I have friends who are relly relly dangerous who want to hurt you (yugoslavian mob) but I've told them not to"
What kind of a feckin chicken thing is that to say to someone?

Guess I should view it positivey as an extra spice in life

So if I don't show up for a while it's just me bein dead not to worry