Ekona

I'm on call that weekend so can't get beered up I'll still stay awake as much as poss and watch the race, and at least I won't be stuck in bed this year and can hog the posh telly downstairs!

I've seen so many people say they won't buy an Xbox because of the once every 24 hour call back, and the not being able to buy used games. Oddly most of these people leave their current console connect 24/7 anyway as well as never buying used games in the first place.

Why?

Wait, the PS4 doesn't come with the Eyetoy?! Well, that's just silly. You sure? Price is about right for a less-featured unit, and the used games thing makes no odds to me as I don't ever buy used nor sell mine. I do like the way Sony handled the info at their conference though Sadly the Sony-exclusive games don't interest me (Infamous/KZ/FF15), but I can see why people are getting excited over the price.

So PS3 was £430 and good value, XB1 is the same price but too expensive despite giving you more? No-one knows which box will be quieter yet, but the 360 Slim is quieter than the PS3 Slim. I can't hear my 360 when on, but the PS3 does hum a fraction.

But it does play games. It just does more too, what's not to like? PS4 and XB1 games will be identical in terms of performance, regardless of higher specs on the 4.

Gendarme took my UK license by the side of the road. I did get it returned, but not before I'd already sent off for a new one when I got back Got a 3 month ban from France too, like that remotely bothered me anywhere near as much as the €750 fine!

It's the future, downloads only. This is the start, might as well get used to it. PS4 will be £380 max, more like £350 I guess. Won't effect XB1 sales much either way, assuming MS get the marketing right and they show it as a premium product.

You missed off the sarcastic smiley from your post. Just to let you know, like.

iOS 7 is much more modern, a very clean look and one that I'm sure Jony Ive is immensely proud of. I'm looking forward to the release, should bring the iPhone bang up to date.

Day one for me. £430 for everything it can do is peanuts, and the main reason it's more over here than the US is import duty and VAT: Remove those and the price is identical. Forza 5 and Quantum Break looked stunning, never mind Titanfall and Dead Rising 3.

If only Android stuff didn't have the input lag, I have to say I'd be tempted as well. iOS7 has to be a radical change, as the market is now demanding it. The fact that even us Apple diehards are saying it is just reinforcing how important this is.

Wow, that's slipped under the radar. I guess most tech folks are more excited by E3 and the two big conferences today than yet-another refresh of stuff from Apple. And that's coming from a true iWhore. iOS7 really needs to be something special, as that's Apple's true strength and always has been. If it's more of the same, or a few tweaks, then I can't help but wonder if people are going to really start jumping ship.

Impressive stuff, look forward to seeing the final results

Last I heard Beavis was in contact to get him back, not sure if we've got any further with that though.

NO NO NO NO NO Do NOT go anywhere near the max tyre pressure! It will be around 55-60 psi, which if you inflate to that will leave you with a tiny grip patch with all the hazards that entails, along with wearing through the centre of the tread in no time! Profile is not related to pressure. Sidewall flex is, as that's where you exert the loads on the tyre under cornering. Yes, lower profile tyre often have stiffer sidewalls and as such may require higher pressures, but tyre construction is far more important than profile size in determining pressure.

Day 11 The end of the trip. As disappointed as I was to have reached the end of my adventure, I couldn't have wished for a better end. My hotel in Caen put me within perfect distance to visit the Normandy D-Day beaches in the morning, a place I'd been before but had always promised myself I'd go back to as there is so much to see and do. Five years ago I managed to see Utah, Omaha and Gold beaches, so I'd already made up my mind to go see Juno and Sword today. First off though, I had to go back to Omaha. The two pics above are from the Omaha Museum and the beach monument respectively. This was another museum, found on the way to American War Cemetery. The cemetery itself. Due to the recent rainfall the plots were closed so I couldn't really get any more decent images, but the scale of the place is immense. I make no apologies for having precious little to say about these beaches, museums and cemeteries, but only because words can never do them justice. The whole area of Normandy encompassing all the varies beaches and visitor spots is one huge monument to the appreciation and gratitude that still exists from the French to the Allies for their efforts and losses on 6th June, 1944. Flags fly everywhere, and wherever there is a Tricolore there is a Union Flag or a Stars And Stripes to accompany it. Forget everything you ever thought you knew about how the three nations have a mocking grudge for each other: That goes all out the window in Normandy. I challenge anyone to visit the area and not feel an incredible emotional attachment to the place, and what happened there. To say I had a lump in my throat at times during both visits is an understatement. It's a very powerful place, and one I would encourage everyone to visit at least once. Anyway, after a brief visit to Omaha and the cemetery I went in search of Juno and Sword. Juno was fairly easy to find, being as it is right on Courseulles-sur-Mer front and well signposted. There's not much there to tell the truth, but again I felt it should be a place I should go to. Sword was a little trickier to find, as it's a massive beach split into various towns. I stumbled across the second most westerly town, Langrune-sur-Mer, by accident. A pleasant enough place, but again not much there. Time was against me at this point, however I decided to press on and see if there was anything at the easterly most village, Ouistreham. I am so very, very glad I did. As I turned down a random street towards the beach, I saw a huge throng of a couple of thousand people in the town square, so I abandoned the car and set back to see what was happening. It turned out that as part of the 69th anniversary celebrations, they had invited all the Scots regiments piper and drumming bands over, along with some Swiss and other nations who I didn't catch. They were playing God Save The Queen as I walked up, then La Marseillaise, and then finally Flower Of Scotland. There were a few veterans milling around too, some in wheelchairs and some still quite nimble of foot, all proudly displaying their medals. After the anthems, and a few words from the organiser, we had this: A Spitfire did a fly-by and looped four times over us. Given the location, and the occasion, truly a lump-in-throat moment for all attending. If at any point I'd got lost in traffic, or stuck around somewhere else for a bit, or even stopped for a quick toilet break, I'd have missed all this. If really did feel like fate was on my side today. The final monument I saw, at Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, where 48th Royal Marines landed first to take the western side of Sword. Really makes you proud to be British, standing there in the footsteps of heroes that have gone before. And so gentle reader, that was the last great event of my trip. I got back home at about 7pm, and have yet to properly unpack or think about washing the car. I also have more footage that needs editing, along with some pictures, into a short 2 min brief of the trip which I'm hoping to do either tomorrow or Monday. I really hope that you've enjoyed reading about this little adventure, warts and all, and I can honestly say that having this place as a sounding board to post up has really kept the loneliness at bay, so thank you. If you've enjoyed reading any of this, I'd really appreciate it if you could 'like' this last entry as it would really mean a lot to me. Hopefully it may inspire someone else to get in a car and do a silly long road trip of their own one day. I'll leave you with one final picture, that says it all.

Depends on tyres. Higher for soft sidewalls, lower for stiff ones. 35 is a good place to start regardless though.

Shocking stuff. Just glad you're alright matey, that could've been seriously nasty.

Day 10 Blimey, day ten already. Seriously, where has the time gone? It was my last day in Spain today, but because of the altered route it took me less than 90mins to leave the country and it was a lot less exciting than entering, on account of having 100% less snow! I do believe someone may have mentioned that I seem have encountered most conditions on this trip. Well, I didn't get a sand storm, but to prove how quickly it can change check this out: Ridiculous, isn't it? I'm not sure if it's me that jinxed, but just as I came out of the tunnel the visibilty was near zero and probably worse in real life than the video makes out. Bizarrely once I'd cleared that little section I had gorgeous sunshine the rest of the way up, and I mean proper 100% sun with zero clouds. It was lovely, temps peaked at 31c which is the hottest I've seen all trip. Sod's law on the last day though. I made good time on the motorways due to being able to cruise at 140kph indicated, so about 135kph in real terms. Limit is 130kph, but you're never going to get flashed or pulled for doing 5kph over the limit and it's surprising just how much that little bit extra makes to good progress and not getting stuck behind things. I know for a fact you won't get a tug for those speeds as I had a Renault 3-up with gendarmes come steaming up behind me as I was mid-overtake, and I'll be damned if I was going to speed up just in case they were looking for an easy Rosbif target so I left my speed as it was, and they flew past me when I pulled in. Didn't sotp my heart rate increasing significantly though, remembering the last time I had a bunch of French police come flying up behind me in France...! (For those unaware, I lost my licence and got fined 750EU almost 4 years ago to the day at Le Mans). Anyway, I pressed on and took a detour to Le Mans itself, coming in via Ecommoy and through Mulsanne. Tour guide video below Managed to sneak a quick photo too, and I do mean quick as there was a tractor doing the grass cutting waiting for me to get out of the way! Left LM and headed straight for the Ibis I'd booked in Caen. Found it first time, rocked up and was promptly told that I had no booking I said I did, and that I'd had the confirmation email from Expedia. I was then told that they don't deal with Expedia, so I showed him the email. Turns out I was trying to check into the Ibis Budget, and that the Ibis Regular was literally right behind the cheaper one Ah well, at least I got the better end of that deal! I'll leave you tonight with a couple of pics I took a couple of days back at the posh spa hotel that I've found that I really like. I may get one of these blown up into a poster for the garage. Final day tomorrow, and my update will be done from my house

Sounds like fun, glad all three of you made it back home safely I love going out when it rains at trackdays, as that's when everyone else comes in and you have the whole track to yourself pretty much. It's also the best time to push the car, as everything happens at far lower speeds.

Unless they're stupid enough to admit to driving the car to the copper, nothing will happen. No proof at all unless someone had a camera Stuff like this really boils my p*ss. New laws for MLM'ing is pointless when this kinda stuff still happens and leaves someone in a financial loss. There has to be a way of sorting this!

Damn right they are. It's called a waftmobile, not a runaround.

Why am I not surprised. Gutting mate, absolutely gutting.

Wasn't sure that was going to be worth waiting for, but it really was! :lol: Cupid stunts.