Remember, if it doesn’t exist in 3 different physical places,
It doesn’t exist at all.

What do you mean it doesn’t exist?! I stubbed my little toe on the shelves only last night. It bloody hurt too – definitely real and not imagined!

Shelves mainly.

If I pick up a record or CD I haven’t listened to for a while, I pop it onto the NAS.

Concrete. Fill the holes in.

I am not a doctor

I spent a year in Saudia Arabia in the early 90s. That was a similar eye opener too…

In town at traffic lights. Two lanes. Five cars abreast including mounting the pavement was a common occurance.

Five cars abreast on a three lane motorway (between Alkhobar and Ras Tanura if you know the area) was also common. Equivalent to undertaking on the hard shoulder while another driver overtakes at 90mph on the gravel between lane three and the armco barrier!!

Morning all…. Still here then?

Molly, have you enroled on the IAM/RoSPA course yet? :wink:

If you want sporty, an old CBR600 will see you right. Bulletproof engines and great fun to ride.

Other than that, as posted above SV650’s are plentiful and the V-twin motor is entertaining.

EDIT: ooooooooo… supermoto – good shout!

Its also clear that the vast majority of drivers don’t think I should be allowed to ride on chevrons.

There is nothing wrong with this move if the chevrons are bounded by a broken line. 8)

There needs to be better driver education in how to drive a car, not just how to pass the test, maybe even another driving test after 10 years or so.

My missus has an ipad2. I bought both my kids 7″ Samsung Galaxy tab 2’s for Christmas. I have an Android phone and loads of other kit (iOS stuff, Linux, Micro$oft etc, etc).

My Dad (aged 72) wanted a “device” to take with him on his recent month-long trip to visit family in Oz, so came to me for advice. I took him to PC world to have a look at the vast array of “stuff” on offer. He had a play with them all (tablets, netbooks, notebooks etc) and bought the Nexus 7.

Aside from a small charging problem when he was on The Ghan, it’s been brilliant. All the apps he could ever want and skype worked like a dream.

Now, now Zokes. Play nicely. :-)

JAG, what on earth were you searching for to find this??

Looks like it could be interesting. Mike Brewer does make me a bit cross though. Dunno why – maybe I should add him to the list on the other thread?

johnellison – Member
Is Lancaster what used to be Forton??

Yes.

You forgot to quote my comment in whole, therefore losing some context. Here’s the rest:

Unless he’s taken a ridiculous risk (and there’s no mitigating for that)

If he has, then so be it. He’s a nobber.

However, the scenario has changed a number of times over the last 3 (three!!!) days. Sometimes it was a dangerous manoeuvre, sometimes it was a move only a faster car could carry out.

The best argument seems to be get some advanced training.

Are you serious? This has nothing to do with my overtaking ability, it’s about courtesy. That’s what I’ve been trying to say for the last 18 **** pages.

Or are you trying to say I should buy a faster car and learn to take risks like speedy man does?

Am I serious? Yes. Given your scenario, that you’ve described a number of people here have all pointed out that the overtaking opportunity could have been approached differently with better planning.

it’s about courtesy

Agreed. Courtesy on the road is important. However, when another road user spots an opportunity sooner than you did, let them get on with it.

the other driver was able to overtake safely where you couldn’t…or where you may have been able to but failed to recognise the opportunity quickly enough.

Yes, he was able to overtake ME not the lorry. And in doing so, he’s scuppered me for the next opportunity I could have taken. Over and over again I tell you the same things, but you don’t listen.

When the other driver was overtaking you, if the opportunity was there and safe, while he was doing this you could have already been ahead of him, overtaking the lorry. Unless he’s taken a ridiculous risk (and there’s no mitigating for that) you should have had a couple of seconds head-start to begin your manoeuvre. If you didn’t recognise the opportunity, then please accept you may need some assistance in doing so. There is no shame in this. Observation and planning.

just so you can be first to overtake whatever is holding you both up?

Yes I ought to be first, because I was there first. It’s a queue.

No it isn’t. Hang on, is this the five minute argument or the full half hour? :-)

The best argument most people seem to be able to summon against me is ‘tough shit’. Which just proves my argument really, that people are arseholes.

Again, no it isn’t. The best argument seems to be get some advanced training.

Molgrips. Did you have a look at the IAM link I posted yesterday on this thread?

Given the number of people saying the same thing to you, do you not think that at least one of them may have a point?

There’s no shame in getting more training. I acknowledged my driving skills weren’t as good as I would like, so I did something about it.

Aracer. Exactly the same situation here. We’re just friends. We don’t fight, argue, scream at each other. We now sleep in separate rooms and I wonder if this is going to be my lot in life.

I have broached the subject but she seems to put her fingers in her ears while going “lalalalalala”

As mentioned above. Stay away form sick people.

When I did mine, pain levels in order of increasing magnitute were:

Breathing
Sit-up type movement
“Dropping the kids off at the pool”
Laughing
Coughing
Sneezing

I sneezed once and thought I was going to die. It was one of those catch-you-unawares jobs that occurred while I was chopping onions.

Do and see the doc for some stronger pain-killers – Cocodamol (sp?) and Ibruprofen saved the day.

I Feel your pain.

You are indeed lucky bandito. I thought I was too :|

According to the CPS, driving too slowly comes under the category of Driving without reasonable consideration – Section 3 RTA 1988[/url].

Some interesting stuff on that page – e.g. Wanton and Furious Driving.

Hmmmm…. I have recently stepped back from this particular precipice as I just couldn’t leave my children.

Although, I’m not sure how much longer I can keep it up. 23 years married this year – no physical side to our relationship for years and I feel like I’m only tolerated because I provide somewhere nice to live.

With respect, I believe I did everything right in that particular instance.

Fair enough.

Have a read – £139 could make a huge difference. It did with me.

Why are you defending this guy?

I don’t think any one is defending the guy (I believe the word idiot has already been used). I read it that people are offering advice as to how the overtake could have been completed without the need for a high performance car.

Once the car is alongside I signal, and accelerate whilst pulling out. The car behind has accelerated earlier, swings out immediately and by the time I start to move out is alongside me. He’s deliberately forcing me to wait.

Very reckless.

Reckless, possibly. Impatient, possibly.

What could have been done differently? If you can see that far up the road, you should have been in the position to execute the manoeuvre once the oncoming traffic has passed. Not start the manoeuvre as the traffic passes. It is just a case of planning earlier. Drop back a bit. Judge the speed of the oncoming vehicle and begin your acceleration process earlier – imagine there’s a great big elastic band between you and the vehicle you want to pass.

Sorry Mol. A couple of things:
[quotemolgrips – Member
Yeah but I’m first in the queue, so I should be allowed at least a reasonable chance.[/quote]
It sounds like you had the chance, but didn’t take it.

They can see I’m not in a sports car, that I’m looking to overtake, so they should give me fair chance.

Are you sure this has happened more than once? Really? Maybe that tells you something….

If they can get clear of both me and the lorry, then fine, whatever. But if they can’t, they need to force their way between me and the lorry, and then they are first in the queue and not me.

If they need to force their way between you and the slow moving vehicle, that would p*ss me off too – however, there should be a two second gap. I can understand that gap being smaller if you were in the process of beginning the overtake and I’d be a bit frustrated at the idiot for doing so too. However, the highway code (which we have all read recently, haven’t we?) which is the code of conduce for all road users states if we spot someone performing an overtake on us, we should leave them enough room to pull in safely.

Basic queueing etiquette applies everywhere in society, except on the roads. I don’t like this. How many people have said ‘just deal with it’ on here?

See above. You may not like it, but we have a written code of conduct. As soon as potentially lethal equipment is introduced into the equation, etiquette must take a back seat to rules and common sense.

If I pushed in front of you in the supermarket, would you ‘just deal with it’?

It’s a completely different scenario. If I were stood a few metres from the checkout fumbling in my pocket for change, then yes, I would deal with it – unless I had my bag of Michael Douglas-esque toys with me :lol:

EDIT: I don’t actually have a bag of Michael Douglas-esques toys!

But in turn by not taking advantage of, in their eyes, a suitable overtaking opportunity, aren’t you holding them up? Isn’t that selfish and greedy too?

Best to just let them get on with it.

5 seconds is definitely dithering.

If the person in-front of me hasn’t committed to their overtake manoeuvre in 2 or 3 seconds, and it was safe for me to do so, I’d have committed.

This does change significantly depending upon which vehicle I’m driving, but then I adjust my expectations accordingly. In the little Seat, overtaking opportunities rarely present themselves as I’m not comfortable with the amount of power available to get me out/past/back in quickly. The BMW is much easier and I find myself overtaking at least once or twice on my 90 mile round trip commute. On the bike it is a breeze. I can be out, past and back in in a couple of seconds without opening the bike up too much.

So it’s much better to just chill the **** out.

In that case, put some sounds on, sit back and let those who want to ‘make progress’ do so 8)

EDIT:

Your emphasis is interesting. The penalty for not making a quick decision is a slightly slower journey. The penalty for making a quick decision and getting it wrong could be death.

Indeed it could.

Conversely, the penalty for not making a quick decision could result in the person (or ‘queue’) behind becoming increasingly frustrated and prepared to take risks they would otherwise not do (red mist descending).

I have to disagree on that. I always try to be fair and decent, even in a car.

Which is highly commendable (I try to be as courteous as I possibly can too – manners maketh the man and all that jazz) and should be positively encouraged. But decisions must be made quickly – being decisive and committed, does not make you a bad person. Being indecisive, on the modern test, will result in a fail.

Being indecisive on the open road will lead to the increased frustration of other drivers who may subsequently take additional risks to get past. Leading to errors, excessive speed, aggressive behaviour and potentially worse.

For those of us who passed the test many years ago, it really is worth investing a few pounds in some advanced driver training.

I do not believe this is fair.

Unfortunately, fairness has little to do with it.

When on one of my IAM observed rides (pre passing the test). I was on the receiving end of a right bollocking for not filtering to the very front of a “queue” at some traffic lights. When asked why I had stopped behind the front two cars, I mumbled something along the lines of “it didn’t feel polite, they were at the front first.”

What then happened, was that they moved away from the lights very slowly and I was stuck behind them for a good few miles. If I’d have moved to the front of the line of cars, I’d have been away in a flash and out of everyone’s way.

For the 100th time, what I object to is people taking my turn away from me WHEN I AM INTENDING TO OVERTAKE MYSELF

Then do it.

If “they” have commenced their overtaking manoeuvre and are already along-site you, preventing you from taking your opportunity, you have waited too long.

When you mention earlier that you have had this happen on numerous occasions, were you exaggerating? Serious question – not trying to stir things up further.

I’ve had it happen to me only once or twice in my driving years (I’ve been driving regularly since 1985). I drive 20k+ miles a year. Recent vehicles have been a Seat Ibiza, Honda CRV, BMW 320D and a couple of bikes.

I like to “make progress”; I have paid for advanced training in both the car and on motorcycles. I do not consider myself particularly fast/reckless. My licence is clean and I’ve never had an accident (touch wood).

EDIT: That may read like I am implying I am a driving god. I am not. What I guess I’m saying is that I realised/acknowledged my own driving skills weren’t as good as I thought they were, so I did something about it. £130 ish will see you right on an IAM course. It’s money well spent IMHO.

Bakelite steering wheel in a classic car with no heating, then yes. Anything else, no. Unless you like people to point at you and laugh.

Okay, it doesn’t have built-in wifi capabilities. There are three ways of doing it
1. connect directly to one of your linux boxes, set-up a print queue and share it. Read this.
2. splurge on a wireless print server. Like this one.
3. buy a new printer. Like this one for £45 delivered. Or any of these

Cheers!

If it’s vacuum packed, pop it in a sink of cold water. It’ll be done in a few minutes.

The printer though is a cheapy HP thing.

Which model?

Spods (when I were a lad) were specky, swotty, geeky types. A bit like wot I were.

Edit: I haven’t heard of Mono Cougar. I might look at it when I get home.

Is he dead yet?

Aren’t you an overweight middle aged IT type then DezB? I thought it was a pre-requisite on the entry form?

<high-fives thepurist>

Edit: Removed – second thoughts about my puerile attempt at humour.