More Ties!

Brim every two / two and a half weeks after running all the way down to fumes. I refuse to refill before the orange light and ideally down to single flashing digits.

The minor panic when it shoots suddenly down from 8 to 5 and then to 3 and you know you're a good way from the petrol station. Meh, plenty of petrol left, sure I've had it reading zero for a good few miles before finally being broken and having to turn into the station.

Ta muchly.

Bosch retrofit aeros it is.

Anyone have any recommended companies/ websites for new wiper blades?

My blades are effing pathetic in the rain and need replacing.

Ta muchly.

Never signed anything inc worksheets, barring the agreement on the hire car they gave me.

Going to be a fun visit at lunchtime me thinks.

Well, the car went in for the warranty work, and I've just been informed they have done the clutch too.

Not happy. Garage wants to charge me £600 for the works.

We did discuss the clutch, but I certainly did not authorise the clutch works (I came on here asking for comment ffs).

Problem is I need the car this weekend.

Ta muchly for the inputs.

The car has only done 25k miles and doesn't get too thrashed. Think I'll leave the new clutch plates and just have the warranty stuff done for free.

Just had a recent service on my 07 313 version and been informed there are two warranty recalls required for the car including the fables slave cylinder in the clutch.

They've also offered to replace other parts of the clutch for best part of £500, not sure I will go for that - 350zs are I presume rough on clutches and for £500 and get a whole new clutch its probably worth it. Anyone else had that done?

Thoughts welcome. Ta muchly.

Could be a very interesting day on Monday. If S&P has downgraded the US to AA+, they are now going to need to be consistent about the rest of Europe. Lookout PIIGS...and France too....

A fair few pension funds are invested in AAA only bond funds, although the trend in Ireland (and probably other non-US countries) is to invest purely in Eurozone bonds because of the currency risk. There is going to be carnage in the Treasuries market on Monday, just carnage. And if France goes, it'll be carnage over here too.

Same happened to Greece last summer - they got downgraded and fell out of the Merrill Lynch series of bond indices (which are commonly used) and pension funds had to get rid on the spot. So yields kept shooting up. The cleverer investment managers kept the Greeks in a separate subportfolio (with Trustee consent obviously) on behalf of the pension scheme rather than selling off just cause their mandate said they had to and waited for a better exit point which happened a few weeks later.

Just can't get used to cruise control. Just don't like it. Last 4 or 5 cars have had it and I've still never used it.

I was also the gantry cameras are set at just under 100, so maybe its 95.

Never had a problem myself (probably a foolish thing to say admittedly).

Generally gone through them at anything between 70 to 'slightly above 70' and never had a problem. 10 to 16 is heavily covered, but I've done that route many many times.

Mr. Loophole

Caprice Bourret - Freeman claimed the model had a urinary tract infection, and that she was affected by the drugs she was taking. Banned for 12 months.[12]

Lee Bowyer - the Crown Prosecution Service initially alleged that Bowyer had been driving at an average 112mph (180km/h) on the A1, peaking at 132mph (212km/h). Freeman negotiated with the CPS at Northumberland court, following irregularities with the road markings, (which were too short, giving a *lower* speed than expected). The West Ham United midfielder pleaded guilty instead to driving at 99mph (159km/h) on the A1. He was banned (as it was his second speeding offence in 3 years) for 42 days and fined £650. It prompted a furious response from road safety charity Brake.[13]

Jimmy Carr - cleared of using a mobile phone while driving at Harrow Magistrates Court after Freeman argued that Carr had used the dictation setting of his iPhone to record a joke as he drove and that using the phone for such a purpose was not illegal under current law.[14]

Jeremy Clarkson - after being loaned a car by Alfa Romeo, the vehicle was caught doing 82mph (131km/h) in a 50mph (80km/h) zone on the A40 in Ruislip. Alfa Romeo sent the ticket to Clarkson, who was acquitted and awarded costs because the prosecution did not offer evidence as to who the actual driver was at the time of the offence.[15]

Andy Cole[16]

Andrew Flintoff - caught on camera doing 87mph (140km/h) in a temporary 50mph (80km/h) zone, Freeman pointed out that the prosecution notice was sent two days later than the law allows. Flintoff only had to turn up at Liverpool Magistrates Court to confirm his name, age and address to be completely let off.[17]

Claire Ince, the wife of then Wolverhampton Wanderers player Paul Ince. Caught travelling at 100mph in her husband's Mercedes-Benz CL600 along the M56 at Thornton-Le-Moors by Cheshire Police, they sent a Section172 notice to Paul, the registered keeper. Claire filled in the form, and was asked to attend court. Facing an immediate ban, Freeman pointed out that Claire should have been sent her own Section 172, before being charged. She was let off.[18]

Steve McFadden - who "had a remarkable capacity for drink" and was examined by a police surgeon, had drunk the equivalent of nine double vodkas, and was found "for all intents and purposes to be quite sober." McFadden was banned for 18 months, which is a fairly lenient sentence for the amount of alcohol in his blood.[19]

Colin Montgomerie - acquitted when the policeman who was said to have caught him travelling at 96mph (154km/h) on the A3 near Esher, Surrey (a 70mph (112km/h) road) at 12:50am failed to attend court, making it impossible to prove that he was driving. Got him off a second time from a 56 day ban in November 2008, after caught driving his Bentley Continental Flying Spur and failing to pay the fine. Freeman revealed that Montgomerie hated flying, and drove 55,000 miles (89,000 km) per annum in part to see his Surrey based children from his Scottish base.[20] In 2010, Freeman had Montgomerie's points-tot-up ban quashed after revealing the indiscriminate way in which the civilian speed gun operator at Corby Hill, Carlisle had 'zapped' 390 cars in 73 minutes, one every 11 seconds, including Montgomerie's BMW X5 as well as a jogger. The case resulted in over 100 drivers having their points also quashed, and the tax payer with a £30,000 legal bill.[21]

Tiff Needell - cleared of failing to supply details in relation to a speeding ticket, and the speeding offence by Pontypridd magistrates[22]

Ronnie O'Sullivan - Freeman accused the magistrate of winking at a journalist. The magistrate replied: "Why would I wink at anybody? Do you think I'm gay or something?" Freeman subsequently had the trial stopped. At the retrial, the court accepted the explanation that O'Sullivan was "too depressed" to provide a urine sample.[19]

Wayne Rooney - cleared of driving without insurance when Freeman said that a requested adjournment had not been granted and the hearing had been conducted in absentia.[13]

William Stobart - the driver of a car allegedly doing 116 mph (185km/h) on the M6 claimed he was William Stobart: but was he the same William Stobart who exercised his right not to attend the hearing at Penrith Magistrates? The court decided the prosecution had not proved the driver was Mr Freeman’s client, Cumbrian haulage tycoon William Stobart [23]

Matthew Vaughn[24]

Jonathan Woodgate - banned from driving and since convicted of affray.[25] Freeman defended Woodgate successfully in August 2008, after the footballer was allegedly caught doing 85mph (135km/h) in a restricted zone in his Mercedes Benz S65 AMG on the A66 near Stockton-on-Tees. The judge dismissed the case as the police said the measurement was taken over a distance of 519 metres, while Freeman showed that the road section was only 405 metres long.[26]

Dwight Yorke - acquitted when a Home Office-approved speed gun could not be shown to have been used under the correct conditions of approval.[13] Freeman defended Yorke again in January 2008, whereby Yorke refused to sign police documentation to confirm he accepted he was speeding at 95mph (152km/h). Freeman advised Yorke to plead guilty to a charge of 85mph (135km/h), which resulted in a fine of £315 and 3points - keeping Yorke below 12 points, and an automatic ban.[27]

The husband of Coronation Street actress Vicky Entwistle, Andrew Chapman, was represented by Nick Freeman against an allegation that he punched a fan who approached his wife on a train and asked her for a photo. Chapman pleaded not guilty at Salford magistrates' court, but was convicted of common assault and fined

Outch! Although similarly damaged ones have been repaired back to standard by the factory, albeit for a hefty ransom I would suspect!

With a car like that and with Rowans finances, I expect it can and indeed will be repaired.

Still, a fair old shunt to separate the engine. No doubt the plod will be asking a few questions.

To note the camera on the gantry can be activated at ANY time even if the are not warning you of the advised speed limit. Quite a few years ago I was heading anti clockwise heading towards the A3 turn off. The back then last camera before open roads. I was heading at 95mph when the darn camera took a photo of me. I recorded a speed of 89mph. It turns out that whilst they are watching via their CCTV if they see someone trying to get a lap record they will turn the camera on.

 

So be warned!

Can they actually amend the speed limit cameras automatically to reflect a change in the motorway speed now?

I was always under the impression the cameras had to be altered physically, hence none of the cameras would ever catch you when the speed limit reduced to 50 or 40 (unless you were driving through the variable speed limit areas).

Done a fair bit of M25 driving and never had a problem.

Thats more than just a T-Cut.

Engine and car separated.

May well have been arranged setting up the GRS shore based antennas for the London Array.

Mines done about 24k and has loads. Does look good when I can be arsed to clean it.

I have no idea whether he is dead now. Loads of places writing obituaries, few places saying he's still alive.

Appears it was a prank.....

http://www.redditpics.com/ryan-dunn-not-dead,160806/

GT3, possibly RS.

Can't make that out of the photos.

45 out of 50 and a bottle and a half of wine down.

Much like my normal driving.

I prefer lifts.

Not a chance I am clicking that.

I shall leave this as a bookmark as I have a few reports to do and have this very problem.

Openoffice seems a good shout.

I don't think it'll be missed and I get the feeling that it won't get slotted in later this year.

+1 - the schedule is pretty busy already

Rumours are it'll be the season finale, which this year would have to be in December due to the full calendar.

Considering there are 'tens of thousands' protesting on the streets today, who knows what will happen. I would be personally doubtful it will ever see the light of day again.

Lego Planet Hoth awesomeness.

The Painstaking amount of work and detail that went into this amazing Lego Diorama is just insane. Mark Borlase created a 5 foot by 10 foot Star Wars Hoth diorama using LEGO. The display took over 4 years and $3000 to create, and consists of over 55,000 pieces, 50 real LED lights and a remote controled mechanism which deploys troops from the AT-ATs. All the lights are controlled by 1-9v train regulator and the doors are controlled by a second 9v regulator. The diorama won the recent Star Wars LEGO creation challenge and will be featured in the official LEGO magazine. The photos below show the Sick bay with custom medical droid and bacta tank, a complete interior view of Echo base. You can see Chewie is doing some last minute welding work on the Millennium Falcon, as well as a custom gantry for the mechanics to work on the X-wings, complete with overhead and runway lighting.