My Dad is an Old Git

Ok, I have been thinking of starting this thread for a long time. Pretty much as long as I have been a member of A2K and had a father. So here it goes:

Currently my dad is up the loft. He is swearing and shouting because he is trying to make a model train run all the way around the attic, and is having problems with the wiring. Don't get me wrong, he can be a nice person, but right now I don't care because he just stormed into my room and said flat out 'Ah!!!! I wish I had a son, and then maybe I might get some help around this place!' This made me pretty cross, because I had no idea he even wanted help, and so I replied saying that maybe if he'd asked me nicely, then I would have helped and that he needn't have got so cross.

Anyway, this isn't what this thread is about, because I know he doesn't mean all the stuff he says, and he always apologises afterwards, but I don't really want an apology, I just want him to stop being such a miserable git and having a go at everyone all the time.

My dad has plenty of reasons to be an old git, he is over 60, and has had quite a hard working life as an engineer, until he almost went bankrupt a couple of years ago, and now has a job he hates, working in a factory as a handyman.
As I grew up all I ever heard was how bad his business was doing, and no doubt there were bad times, but there were good times too and I never get to hear about those. I wont tell you what product my dad made, as it would be pretty easy for you to then find out who I am, because in certain circles, his product was very very famous, his label is (or was) considered the 'Rolls Royce' of the product's world. Far superior to all other makes. I have even been witness to people calling him god, or asking if they could touch his arm. No joke. Yet still he always focuses on the bad things, only ever tells me really depressing stories of apprentices who stole out of his tool box, or when he and my mum had to spend years getting up at 6 and working to 11. And of course when the americans and Taiwanese put him out of business.

My mother always plays the saint, and either ignores his tantrums, or tries to help him, whilst getting sworn at etc. This irritates me in a way, because she always appeases him, and all i want to do is to stand up to him. However, I have learned that its actually a lot easier to just hide until whatever he is fixing is working again, or whatever.

I just wanna know, how do men get like this? I don't suppose he was like this when my mum married him. We can have a joke with him occasionally.
Its just a blatant character disorder. His favorite phrase is 'this is what the problem is.' And it's always a different problem every time. It's never a problem with him, always something else. When he is cross I always say 'Dad, it's not fair that you take this out on me and mum like this.' and he always says 'yeah, well life's not fair.' or 'It's not fair that I cant find the right spanner to crank this nut up, either' Or something ridiculous.
Just now I said, 'Dad, do you mind keeping the noise down, because you will give mum a headache' and he said 'Yeah? Well I've got a headache.'
How can anyone be so blatantly cruel and unkind and not realise what effect they have on other people? And then when he has found his spanner, or wired his train or what the f*ck, just go back to normal without even really realising that he's upset everyone.
He is so selfish.

Apart from this, he is a lovely person, and I do feel quite mean posting this thread, because he can be quite generous.
But the rest of the time he's a bugger. He's hobbling around wearing a farmers-style cap, carrying this massive radio around with him, blaring out radio 4 because he doesn't like wearing ear phones, shouting, falling asleep in an arm chair and snoring, flicking channels on the TV even if your watching a programme, and trying to find a warrantee on a camera that is 30 years old and has finally packed up or explaining to me how a gear-box works whilst getting oil all over the carpet.

I don't really know the purpose of this thread. An insight into my family life I suppose. And my stereotypical old-man-father. But it would be interesting to hear anyones thoughts anyway.

Does anyone have any personality-morphing potions?