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33391

General Discussion Area / Re: Insurance Renewal quote Grrrrr

« on: 05 January 2008, 13:03:42 »

Got quoted 300 fully comp by Elephant this year. Then told them about the unresolved claim that was in progress and it went up to 400.

Claim now resolved in my favour so we'll see if they give me a refund. I'm not holding my breath

That's at 37, 20 yrs driving, full NCD.

Shopping around and moving regularly is the key, IMHO. Long waits on the phone, gimmicks and the like are across the board nowadays so may as well just go for the lowest premium.

Kevin

33392

General Discussion Area / Re: windows vista problems

« on: 06 January 2008, 22:22:52 »

Dont understand why , Norton is a very old firm and have enough money to get the best programmers..Or is it a company politics..

My thoughts exactly. It's not exactly hard to keep a track of what you've mullered in the registry so the uninstaller can reverse it - if you can be bothered.

Kevin

33393

General Discussion Area / Re: The other side of speed enforcement

« on: 05 January 2008, 00:46:02 »

I guess they were so worried by her lack of confidence that they decided a re-test was required - and conviction and a ban was the only mechanism open to them?

Kevin

33394

General Discussion Area / Re: The other side of speed enforcement

« on: 05 January 2008, 00:30:31 »

Madness.

i know the woman is not well but if she has that little confidence driving she should not be on the road.......

a sign on the back of the car is no excuse

My thoughts exactly. She has my deepest sympathy. Unfortunately, if she can't muster more than 10 MPH on a motorway, and thinks a sign in the back of the car will make any difference, she hasn't got a sufficient grasp on what driving, or at least motorways, are about.  

Kevin

33395

General Discussion Area / The other side of speed enforcement

« on: 05 January 2008, 00:04:15 »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/7171154.stm

 

Kevin

33396

General Discussion Area / Re: we thought energy saving bulbs saved the planet

« on: 05 January 2008, 19:50:04 »

... but it's a good way to learn a bit of common sense, which is sadly lacking today. A bit harsh on those wh don't pick up the common sense as quickly, perhaps...

Kevin

33397

General Discussion Area / Re: we thought energy saving bulbs saved the planet

« on: 05 January 2008, 19:39:47 »

I shudder to think what the H&S guys would think about my school days.

At one point there was a plan for us to set up a radio station and the head of science was quite happy for us to climb up a flue shaft from the boiler room to the roof of the 4 storey building (while the boilers were running) and have a wander around up there looking for places where we could attach an antenna. I remember standing at the very corner of the flat roof and thinking how disorientating it was to look down.

And yes, we used to play with mercury too.

Kevin

33398

General Discussion Area / Re: we thought energy saving bulbs saved the planet

« on: 05 January 2008, 15:09:15 »

The new House Hold LED blubs are quite impressive, 60watt brightness from a 3watt comsumption.

Mrs. KW gets the blubs every time there's a sad film on TV

I wonder what the light temperature is like? That's the biggest thing in favour of conventional bulbs, IMHO. The light is at a more "natural" colour temperature.

Kevin

33399

General Discussion Area / Re: we thought energy saving bulbs saved the planet

« on: 05 January 2008, 13:20:35 »

Get recycling then Kevin

Actually the major things do get recycled. The council here are pretty good. Separate collections of waste for recycling, non-recycling waste and glass. Does make me wonder how much extra diesel they burn in the process.

The point is, people don't give a second thought about how to dispose of small, infrequently discarded items like light bulbs, and markings on the packaging won't help.

Kevin

33400

General Discussion Area / Re: we thought energy saving bulbs saved the planet

« on: 05 January 2008, 13:15:12 »

Absolutely. You improve one aspect of a product's environmental impact and something much worse pops up somewhere else. That's why the whole picture needs to be considered, not just whatever target the government happens to be trying to meet this week.

Kevin

33401

General Discussion Area / Re: we thought energy saving bulbs saved the planet

« on: 05 January 2008, 13:10:02 »

It's probably hysteria about nothing, but goes to show how promoting mass adoption of these things without looking at the full picture can be harmful.

.. and how many people, when a product has reached then end of its' life, go and dig up the original packaging to find out how to dispose of it / clear it up? It's straight in the bin with everything in this house, I'm afraid to say. Batteries, bulbs, old oil filters...  

Kevin

33402

General Discussion Area / Re: The alfa is going......

« on: 04 January 2008, 19:15:53 »

Did you know that the engine in the Astra is  from FIAT??

Really?

That's about the only Fiat bit I'd want in any car. They seem to be unburstable, while the rest of the car rots and shorts out around them.

Kevin

33403

General Discussion Area / Re: The alfa is going......

« on: 04 January 2008, 18:58:55 »

I have seriously considered a V8 ZT, they come with a 6 speed box and are apparently really good fun to drive. Just after Rover went under there were nearly new ones going for less than half list price, due to fears over warranties being worthless. Power output is a little disappointing though at 260 BHP, it's not bad for the kind of car it is, but for a modern V8 it's pretty poor. The same year BMW 545i was putting out around 340 BHP.

Still, a bit of a bargain considering the price they can be had for. I saw one pulling into a petrol station once with what looked like oil smoke coming from the 4 pipes at first I thought the engine must have blown but the guy just filled up, paid, and drove off as normal! Didn't sound anything unusual for a V8 so no idea what was going on there :-?

I guess that's the difference between a low-tech US engine and a high-tech european engine. I wonder which one's the sod to work on though?

A mate of mine's got one (had one a couple of years ago when I last saw him). They do sound lovely and it went nicely. I'm just not a fan of the retro styling though, TBH.

Kevin

33404

General Discussion Area / Re: The alfa is going......

« on: 04 January 2008, 09:10:39 »

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/MG+ZT/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146,N-4294966766-4294967087/search.action

Need i say more?  

The ones that are cheap are in need of the cambelts doing, £800-£1000. Easy to forget that one.

Aye....all 4 cambelts at that....

4 cambelts?  

Still you know you want V8 power  

Yep. I would. V8's got one timing chain and RWD  

Kevin

33405

General Discussion Area / Re: Had to get new battery

« on: 04 January 2008, 23:12:07 »

While doing the cam belt, check the condition of the aux belt components as it could also be a dodgy bearing on one of the pullies (may as well change the water pump and coolant while you're there as they will probably be at least as old as the cam belt)

Kevin