Oh, my glove box latch has given up too.

I have an 56 plate 1.6 zafira. Got it for the 7 seats which have proven useful but usually in the scenario when friends/relatives leave their car on our drive and everyone piles into the zafira.

For load space, I felt my old focus estate was better. The rear seats fold under the floor which means you get less height = cant leave wheels on bikes. Ended up with roof bars which was a pain due to the solid rails and a zafira specific foot pack.

Had a few electrical faults which means I no longer trust the car – no mechanical issues though.

I have recently discovered that my wifes idea of living room friendly speakers is not a sub/sat system, but speakers that look good. She is perfectly happy with a pair of floorstanders but they have to look like they belong in a grown up living room, not the retro den of a 40 year old hankering back to his student days.

I put up with a horrible sounding sub/sat system (with cables hidden in the wall) for 5 years before finding this out.

Make sure you are solving the compromise the right way before shelling out on something you might not be happy with 🙂

I paid my local powdercoater £30 to spray my daughters pink hotrock green for my son.

I built a gaming rig for my 70 year old mother about a year ago. I think it came it at about £550 just for the PC but she did insist on an i7 processor and a £170 graphics card 🙂 She plays 3d RPGs.

I had a DX supplied charger melt. Electrics tripped before it caught fire.

Im not buying the cheap stuff again. Using a UK supplier so I know its been tested properly.

Can you feel any airflow in the loft? Check the vents on the soffit boards – mine were clogged with years of muck. Brushed them clean, I could then feel air moving and condensation went away.

£30 on bling or wine is stupid. Get your kids to bake a few cookies or something. Cost next to nothing and keeps the kids occupied for an hour. Teachers like nothing better than bogie flavoured cookies at Christmas anyway.

Got exactly the same problem. I was convinced it was due to oil leaking from the top cap as I store the bike with the front wheel hooked up.

Stung by HP cartridges from ASDA last night. Two out of four were rejected by the printer with a “Cartridge is for older generation printer” error. HP kept the part number the same but changed the programming on the cartridge chip to stop cartridge re-cycling. Microchips? On a plastic tub of ink?

Dear Santa…

DD-WRT firmware allows you to set radio time restrictions so it turns off at certain times of the day.

Great for setting up a “teenager” wifi point which goes silent after 10pm.

Powerlines. You need to google powerlines.

2G/3G/Wifi radio is fine. Worked in labs with this stuff blasting out for years. Never caused a problem.

We did think it strange that everyone at work had female children but science says 45/50 kids is not a valid sample size.

The one true way[/url]

Just returned from a Tour of Islay – visit all distilleries by bike. It rained. It was windy. Bruichladdich served up a generous taster of Dark Magic, which is now on the Christmas list 🙂

Oh, and the Ballygrant Inn had a fair collection…

My roadrat went a couple of weeks ago. Police said road bike theft has gone through the roof since TdF.
Wheelies can supply stuff not on their web site. They couldnt get cotic so suggested another steel sort-of-a-tourer-off-road frame, which isnt on the web site. They seem to be dealing with the claim OK so far. I had to talk to the custom build guy.

Dont understand after market decals on a frame.

Amateurs. You need lessons in winding the missus up while she is away. I just sent her this picture after we had a conversation about speakers in the lounge.

Helped a mate pick them up from a freecycle add, before he took them home I placed them in my lounge to see if this would help with my case to put my B&W 601s on stands.

Kids, if you want a puppy, start by asking for a horse.

18 month old kenesis virsa frame replaced under warranty. Offered full refund or replacement of similar value. Got the virsa 2 with a new hope headset in my hands within a week. Top service.

I splashed out on a Specialized Ronin following bike shop fitting and after 120 miles decided it an instrument of torture. Specialized do a 30 days return thing so swapped it for a Toupe which is much better.

Another lbs carry the fizik demo range which I would have used if I had known at the time.

I think you really need to try before you buy. I dont know if any online retailers will honour a 30 day swap out type thing but that may be worth a try…

I have Time RXS but have terrible problems getting clipped into them. Might just be me.

Most recent picture. At least M&S insurance seem to be paying up. Now to experience Wheelies Direct…

Sparcells.

If you are in the Swindon area I have a 16″ hotrock in good condition.

I read somewhere that the Zafira steering wheel is not centred – its slightly to the left. I never noticed until it was pointed out. Now it annoys the hell out of me. How do you design a car with an off centre steering wheel?

Well, now you have a set of bombers you know what to do…

Pakuma Choroka K1

Had mine for years. Strap got mauled in a car door recently and Pakuma have put a replacement in the post for free. Laptop padded section is fab.

I heard good things about this lot:

A Suit That Fits

Make sure its on the 2.4Ghz band – 5Ghz is no good at going through walls. Also, make sure its on a clean channel which should help. Even though you cant see anything else from your garden, the router itself might. Your ipad still has to get a signal back to the router.

There should be a few wifi analyser apps for the ipad which you can use to test for the best band in your house.

Of course this is all rubbish if your router claims to use the best channel automatically.

MSE is available in a corporate paid for form. The reason home users get it for free is so Microsoft can claim to the corporate market to have the largest user group, and thus most recent data, on anything malicious.

Of all the security products I have tried, its the one that creates the least phone calls from my parents 🙂 I dont understand why anyone would pay for something when MSE is available.

Road ride cut short this morning as the cold worked its way through Specialized sub zero gloves, thermal socks and overshoes. Icicles on the beard were interesting.

I am going to buy a buff.

Well, I can now add myself to the list of unfortunates to suffer charger meltdown. Power tripped in the house last night. Checked all the sockets to see if the kids had poured water in them but no, riding home tonight and my “fully charged” one of these conked out:

bastid T6

Sure enough its charger was plugged into the wall with the insides melted. Third time its been charged.

Anyone recommend a safer charger?

They are stupid creatures. I took my kids for a ride to the local parkland. Cycling past the *massive* and very busy play area full of kids and parents one of the critters decides to run across the path in front of my wheel. I brake in time but as I unclip, it does a u-turn to the back of my front wheel and the bike gently eases itself onto its spine.

Cue convulsing rodent with popped out eyeball.

Now, there I am with my two kids, surrounded by other kids and parents, and twitching road kill at my feet.

– “Its still alive Dad!”
– “Yes, best we throw it into the trees so its mummy can find it.”

In answer to what tyres for squirrel kill – I say 29er bonty XDX.

Learning to snowboard involves a week of pain. Once it clicks its the most fun you can have in snow and you will be hitting the black runs. You can learn to “ski” in three days but progression will be slow and you will spend every holiday mincing it down the green and blues.

The person at 25 meters is safest as the radio goes out the way not directly down.

As aracer says, best way to prevent it is to get everyone complaining to turn off their mobile phone. Masts are not cheap to run and theres obviously an identified demand for more capacity in the area 🙂

Wiggle were doing joysticks for £108 without mounts.

I am getting married. Outside. What is this rain you speak of?

Best, and quietest solution I have used is inner tube. Wrap and zip tie. Currently trying some road bike bar tape but it hasnt been on long enough to judge.

works OK on the Mac. Doesn’t even show up on the ps3 or mobile versions. Bit pants really.