David, I do hope your tongue is firmly in your cheek because that really is one helluva collection of chavmobiles.

THIS CAR SOUNDS LIKE THUNDER!! AND IT ATTRACTS MORE ATTENTION THAN A FERRARI ENZO.

Yeah – from people laughing at how big a cock you look.

Comparing any of those with an RS4 is plainly infantile.

It revved like a motorbike, gripped well and in tiptronic form you could just plant your right foot and take off – but that was on the A413 ‘racetrack’. And you’d get a bike in the back

I wouldn’t disagree … it’s just that I felt detached when pushing it. Not in the same way you can in an Evo though. Like I say, I wanted to like it but it somehow left me cold.

A Noble
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3255702.htm
Cayman S
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3221916.htm
Exige
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3558626.htm

Noble – get one that doesn’t break. That’s the tricky part. Some are known to chew gearboxes.

Cayman S – not that impressed with those IMO. A mate bought one 2-3 yrs ago (as his first car!). Really wanted to like it but felt sterile and unengaging.

Exige – like the Noble, get one with full history and not broken. Quite decent on a good day, but a bag of rattly bolts on a bad one.

Vauxhall VX220 Turbo – cracking little go-kart that’s quick enough and fun enough for weekend driving. I used mine daily at times, but I wouldn’t recommend it, especially in shit weather (prone to misting and moments of bad visibility). The only electrics you’ll get are heater, stereo and C/L. Brilliant on the track too. Check out the best best VX forum here[/url] – which I think they relaunched a year or so ago, so may not have all the history dating back to when it was proper busy. Defo go for the Turbo as opposed to the NA. Easy to tune too (engine, zorst and handling).

E46 M3 – extremely capable point-to-point car with everyday abilities. Proper rapid for its size. Does come with an attitude on the road though – that didn’t bother me though. Check out Tyresmoke among other forums.

Maserati 3200GT – nearly bought one of these instead of the VX. Very weird steering (because of the “can’t remember what it’s called) that makes you twitchy and prone to over-steer for quite some time. Lovely cockpit with all the stitching and dials etc. Typically Italian. Plenty of things to look out for though, so I’d recommend checking out the forums. Can’t remember which I used – but I do remember some users offering to do viewings with me. They were a nice bunch.

Skylines – pah, bit old hat now. Avoid IMO.

iPhone app still works.

A key point to remember is this: as soon as you put words on a slide, your audience will most likely start reading them – and that means they’re not listening to you. So keep your slide matter simple so as to improve your chance of engaging with the audience.

You could also takes tips from the likes of the excellent “Beyond Bullet Points”, e.g. work out the issues you’re addressing up front … because people identify with problems/challenges etc. That way you sometimes have more chance of gaining their attention because they want to listen to how the ‘fix’.

Ignore people that say PPT is bollocks etc. PPT is not bollocks. In fact it’s a very powerful tool provided it’s used thoughtfully and effectively. It’s just a shame most PPT shows are full of;

– mis-aligned/non-uniform titles, fonts and text
– irrelevant photos and shoddy clip-art
– dull content

Steer clear of that lot and you’re another few steps there.

Have a word with the eternal **** this is Stephen Ireland … he knows how to spunk a few quid on **** motors.

INTERNATIONAL WITHHELD

^^^^
THIS

I know who might be calling me/us from abroad, so any other call with this showing up doesn’t get answered. End of. If you don’t have Caller ID capacity, then get it.

I take it the route doesn’t take in much (or any) of the Downs Link then? Does it cut across Surrey and then head south toward Ditchling Beacon or something? Would be interested in this.

Have used TPS for years. Cold calls reduced from quite a few to 1 or 2 per year max.

How the hell do the “poor” survive???!?

Rest assured, TJ will be along soon to set you straight on that one.

What an unusual STW thread?

Not when you’ve been here the best part of 10 years.

Breakdown of:
Mortgage:
Council tax:
Utility bills:
Food:
Transport costs:
Clothes:
Insurances:
Etc…
C’mon TJ.

You forgot childcare (and associated costs) 🙂 Ours is £15k pa for one child.

Nope – it makes you rich regardless of your circumstances.

You’ve spouted some crap in the past TJ, but you’re not getting so far off the mark.

You mean they don’t have a big mortgage on a nice house, a car loan to pay off (for the new Audi), a new bike to buy because the mags say your current one is out of date? Poor you.

I suggest you find a bigger hammer or you’ll keep missing that nail.

Probably by comparing those earning £40k+ to the 90% of the population who earn less but live in the same country with the same expenses?

I sincerely doubt that 90% of the population have the same outgoings as the missus and I.

if you earn £40k then you’re loaded, if you’re having money problems then you’re doing it wrong.

More bollocks.

Only the highest 10% of earners earn over £40 000 per year. wealthy elite.

If you cannot have a very comfortable indeed life on £40 000 per year then you really need to learn how to manage money and to distinguish between want and need

That’s complete bullshit.

40 000+ a year puts you in the very well off indeed category – don’t whinge.

Eh? How do you work that out?

How about cost of living, childcare, and all the other expenses that are ripping us off in the country?

You are probably at far greater risk of attack when you head back into a town/city late at night, on a blingy bike, past all the chavs than you are in some pretty much empty woods at midnight TBH…

Maybe statistically … but it’s the “WTF is that?” that’s attacking you that gets to you …

IME running and cycling only ‘support’ one another’s fitness/development to a degree. I’ve always felt the need to continue doing both if I want to ‘feel good/fit’ at both.

Humax here. Can’t remember if does HD or not – I think so (doubles the file size IIRC). Decent bit of kit but DOES NOT start and stop every recording when the program starts and stops. Don’t mind getting an extra minute of stuff at the beginning, but it’s bloody annoying to have the ending chopped off.

Menus are a bit counter-intuitive at times.

But other than that pretty good.

Mr Tree, you’ve not really touched on what you want to do or why you want to do it. All you’ve done is air some ideas and mention liking the idea of a Kibbutz.

What is it you want to achieve, i.e move toward?

What do you want to stop doing, i.e. move away from?

What are your reasons?

What are your intentions?

What’s in it for you/your wife and others?

How compelling are these factors?

Why not just arrive early early, park on the opposite side of Leith Hill and ride around silent trails taking in Holmbury hill etc etc etc?

Living in the sticks to the east, that’s pretty much what I do 🙂 No need to even take the Audi! Nice little 30-45 min warm-up and I’m into Redlands/Leith and ready to rock! Hard to beat a flowing 4hr loop taking in the finest trails en route to WF and back 🙂

Anyone done similar or am I literally the biggest plonker out here?

I did something similar when viewing a car (Pug 209 GTi) in the early 90s. Popped the bonnet, gave it the “I know what I’m doing” and then proceeded to put the fingers of my right hand against the spinning vanes of the alternator. Cue grinding noise, blood and a ‘Ggrrhrnnnrnhrhh’. Owner was in the house at the time so out he comes (oblivious to my stupidity) and says “Wanna take it for a spin mate?” Couldn’t say ‘No” could I … so there I was doing a 10 min loop while constantly rubbing blood against anything from the steering column to the seat. Finished the drive and made my departure (without buying) pretty sharpish.

I just had a short bread.. that shop does a ripping trade and would be dead without walkers and cyclists..

The bacon quiche is where it’s at … followed by the Bakewell … big noms.

For whatever reason, Leith Hill isn’t trending nearly as much as the likes of Pitch/Winterfold. And like 10pmix says, most ‘visitors’ seem to be looking for the better-known trail, most notably BKB (which IMO isn’t what it used to be regardless of the new ending).

Hence there are loads of other trails and cool little “linky bits” that remain quiet and unaffected.

It’s a comparatively big place and easy to get lost (or at least not have a clue where to find what you’re looking for) if you don’t know the area.

Can see why Peaslake residents ain’t happy though.

I moved off and instantly got a big old bite on the arse. I felt all the dogs teeth, top and bottom

You do know this will be you tomorrow …

Had an E46 320D Sport saloon back in 03/04. Started off using a rack from Halfrauds for a 5 day riding trip round Cornwall. Pads totally scuffed the bumper – resulting in Halfrauds paying BMW £500 for repairs. Having not opted for folding seats, I had to make do with putting the frame on the back seat with accoutrements in the boot. Worked fine, even when taking 2 bikes and a load of gear to Wales. Not ideal though. A roof rack would be much better

Dynamite Dan

I remember reading and re-reading a review of that during a 4hr car journey to see relatives in Hants. Got a copy soon after and, like Cougar says, found it a pretty pants. IMO it tried to be a clever version of JSW but lost the playability.

Isometric, though esoteric is probably apt

Doh. I knew I had the wrong word because it should’ve begun with an ‘I’.

Did you ever map Alien 8? The map was the shape of the space ship; nice touch.

Don’t think we mapped that one – but do recall the shape. Remember buying it in Gamer, Brighton and then hammering it for a few days. Their Speccy games were so much better than their C64 efforts; Underwurlde etc vs Staff of Karnath etc.

Haven’t really got a fav at the mo, but I’ll tell you who I recently saw on DVD and was far funnier that I expected: Sarah Millican. Pretty rude too – not what I was expecting. Dirtier and more clever than the somewhat more homely type she portrays on most shows.

Saw Eddie Izzard 2-3 years ago doing one of his prep shows. Twas more a yawn fest than anything else. used to like him but feel he’s disappeared up his own convoluted arse these days.

And every Infocom game ever.

How sad is this … me and a mate were well into some of their games and on one occasion we even phoned a bloke who put an ad in Zzap 64’s help page. Twas a Saturday afternoon IIRC and the solution involved giving a rose to someone.

I remember really enjoying drawing maps of the games/levels, such as SabermanSabrewulf, knight lore etc.

Same here. Started doing some in 3D/esoteric too, only to find them appear in the likes of Crash/Zzap etc within a couple of weeks.

Ultimate games rocked.

I’ve had plenty of BETD ones in the past and they’ve disintegrated just like the Spesh ones. Having said that, Spesh’s latest bushings seems much more hardy. All IMHE of course.

Not sure I know the difference. I was late with two payments but did pay them a few weeks late and also the fine that came with them. The debt was cleared as normal following these…

You should have been made aware of any default in writing – so I guess you haven’t got one. Worth checking with BC and Experian etc. One of the agencies seems to have disappeared and been replaced with Noddle. Don’t know what’s that about yet.

If anything’s wrong, you can have a Notice of Correction added, but these are generally skimmed over by automatic systems. Better if you can sort out in person.

I was thinking along these lines where it started kicking off.

Sentiments pretty much as above really. Nowt more to add.

CustomerServiceUK AT specialized DOT com

They’ll know.

Have you checked your report to see if it’s just 2 missed payments or an actual default?

Sue, I got back into using a TT just before Xmas. Did a load of research (you can see some of my posts via profile) and decided on a Tacx T2200 + Flow PC upgrade (plus TT tyre and HRM strap). Probably spent around £475 even though I set my budget at nearer £150. But after looking around, i figured the ‘extra capabilities’ of the aforementioned setup would mean I make far more use of it. The long and short of it is:

– 2200 can be used anywhere (although I’m pretty sure it needs mains power to run the flywheel/motor).
– Flow PC upgrade is where’s its at though: TTS software allows you to;
— run Real Life Videos (proper race stages that control the resistance on your TT so as to mimic the terrain as much as possible)
— follow training sessions with the Pro’s (similar to above)
— create your own training session, e.g. build it around intervals, watts, HR, cadence, slope etc
— create a freestyle session and change settings as you go

Loads of potential, but like most things, you need to do some research and then experiment to get the most out of it.

Cracking piece of kit though. Plenty of T1680s (predecessor to 2200) on Ebay. Plus there’s the 2220 combo but that needs the standalone head unit (£130?) to allow the TT to run when not attached to a PC.