L00b

Ghost rider goes crazy in europe.

This one trumps it, I think. If Carlsberg made car chases...

 

Unfortunately, neither are part of a movie, so off-competition in this thread.

Joining motorways or dual carriageways in France is a bit of a nightmare as the slip roads are usually all of 20 yards long and French drivers rarely move out of the inside lane for merging traffic.

The correct manner of merging on a M'way (according to French road rules) is for the car coming onto the M'way to adjust its speed and 'slot in' with cars already on the inside lane. Doesn't matter how long the slip road is, the onus is on merging car not to make itself a nuisance. Forcing cars already on the inside to take any form of evasive action (braking, getting onto the overtaking lane) when merging is a cardinal sin (garanteed test fail).

When overtaking they usually pull in front of you far sharper than over here - often just a couple of car lengths in front- totally unneccessary given their motorways carry far less traffic than ours.

Perhaps because over there, people are taught to drive on a M'way (compulsory training and, where the exam centre is near enough to a M'way, the test must include a small section of M'way driving - mine did) and that (i) the overtaking lane is, well, an overtaking lane, and (ii) you are not supposed to cruise or spend any more time in it than is necessary to complete the manoeuvre.

 

BTW, did you know it is an offense there, not to maintain your indicator whilever you are in the overtaking lane? I know a few people who got done for it at month end

In practice how can it be enfored.

Traffic officer (of which there are now few in the UK) stood on a road with a 70 limit. Is he going to pull random cars that are doing between 60 and 70 just to check when the driver got their license. That would be a big waste of police time and annoy of lot of people who are allowed to travel at that speed.

In practice, speed limit enforcement in France is usually a two-locations affair: first squad speedtraps, second squad a few hundred yards down the road stops (or bike cop intercepts) the car if radio'd by the first squad. First squad can check the presence or not of relevant newly-qualified driver stickers on front and back (mandatory) as the car approaches nearer/passes.

 

Within the specific contex, of course it's not 100% foolproof (no system is). But the penalties are now sufficiently hefty (in case they do get caught: standard penalties are dramatically increased for "less-than-3-year-old" licenses) that young drivers in France toe the line, rather than give in to "youth exuberance at the wheel".

 

The 'system', as such, is not designed so much for pragmatism (what you query/advocate, Cyclone) as for dissuasion.

Don't break without reason might be a better way to state that. The car in front of me breaking isn't an emergency, but I'll still have to break if I want to maintain my separation.

Not necessarily, if you know how to read the road ahead of you, know of to use deceleration (...and know your car's deceleration dynamics well enough). But let's not digress, so for the sake of semantics, fine, re-state away

In the UK this is impossible as driving on the motorway on a learner license is illegal.

Can I ask what do you call a 'learner license'? Someone still in training, or someone who recently passed?

 

There's no such thing as a provisional (learner?) license in France, never has been (well, there is -after a fashion- but not quite the same system as here, by a long shot...however, motorway driving is allowed in that system, but limited to 110 km/h max, same as for recently-qualified).

 

EDIT after facts check: Recently-qualified drivers are limited to 80 km/h on A roads (limit is 90), 110 km/h on m'ways (limit is 130) for 3 years

What's the point of the speed limitation, it's impossible to enforce, and just causes additional congestion on the motorway or dual carriageway.

It is perfectly possible to enforce it - in exactly the same way as it's enforced here and everywhere else: a French cop speed-checks you, and if you do over 90 km/h and have qualified less than 12 months ago, bang goes your license (minimum of 3 months suspension and 4, 5 or 6 points depending on speed excess - recently qualified drivers can only have a max of 6 points before license is fully revoked (with obligation to resit everything: theory and practical)).

 

For recently-qualified drivers, with the system entirely geared to come down on you like the proverbial ton of bricks in case of any violation, it kinda self-motivates to stick to the applicable limitation.

 

The point of speed limitation is that, as a slower car, it forces you to pay attention to what is going on around you and to anticipate your manoeuvers. Along with giving greater time to process info. I.e. exactly what inexperienced drivers need to learn fastest, before they need to process info faster at higher speeds (which acquired experience helps to do, to no end).

Some suggestions based on what I was tested 23 years ago, when I passed my test in France:

• Security distance estimation (and maintaining it while under way)
  
• Motorway merging and driving, including lane usage (never brake unless an emergency, constantly adjust your speed, drive left/overtake right, etc.)
  
• Theory and practical testing about tyre maintenance (part and parcel of car maintenance, but specific focus: correct pressure for vehicle, thread depth, what happens when one blows/deflate, etc. ...and how to change a wheel of course (blew one last week on the M1 just before Jct31, time to stop and put on the space saver: under 6 minutes )
  
• Limitation on vehicle engine size for a period of time after passing the test (12 months), e.g. 1.2L max
  
• Limitation on maximum speed for a period of time after passing the test (12 months), e.g. 60 MPH max

I haven't seen a single one, I think they're all making it up...

They are all on my scoob's bumper, windscreen, wheel arches, etc, etc. That's why

Yes it is true that they want to scrap I.D cards, as it is also true that they insist on everyone attending Nicks meeting to have photographic I.D

 

Requirements for meeting with Nick

 

"Due to security requirements you must bring photographic ID & your email confirmation ticket with you"

 

Libdem policy

 

"The Liberal Democrats, unlike the Conservatives, have always opposed the introduction of ID cards – for British citizens and for foreign nationals. We would scrap them immediately and spend the money putting more police on the street. The people of this country and our guests should not have to justify themselves to the State when going about their daily law-abiding business. "

I see common sense still escapes your politically-biased rant. How odd.

Randy, Dozy and shaz112 are spot-on.

 

Some general tips I've gathered at the coal face over time:

• check recent completed auctions of a same item for achievable pricing and P&P levels (and set starting price at either £0.99 (no listing fee) or just below average end price, depending on value)
  
• sell to UK only
  
• only ever send recorded delivery/signed for
  
• describe your item in minute details
  
• put at least one actual (not library) photograph of the item with the listing
  
• don't post feedback until the buyer has left his/her own for you

If you want to add some reasonably foolproof "buyer instructions" to your listing, feel free to copy/paste my T&Cs (and edit as relevant - e.g the "10 years' worth of activity" bit, if you haven't been on eBay that long) from one of my auctions (eBayID ambro25), I don't mind No liability implied or accepted though, use at your own risk.

I want it made law that MPs can't make law

Thanks for providing the Chuckle of the Day™

"Due to security requirements you must bring photographic ID & your email confirmation ticket with you."

 

From a Party wanting to repeal Civil Liberty legislation I find this a wee bit contradictory.

Within a jurisdiction of particular importance as a target to militant extremists, I do not find this disturbing (or contradictory) in the least. Nothing to do with "Civil Liberty legislation" as such.

 

Clegg is now very high-level Government, all the more important/significant/symbolic a target (amongst very many others).

 

Like it or not, security needs must. Always have, where high-level Government is concerned, completely regardless of country or Government type.

 

I don't expect it would be any different if it was Cameron, Hague or another now, or even Blair or Brown back in the day.

UK = 7th largest manufacturing nation on the planet

Not much good if a significant proportion of that output is for export purposes (which it is), rather than indigenous consumption. It's the imports that ramp up inflation.

And if that carefully constructed and filtered figure is now at 3.7%, what must real world inflation be running at?

Rule of thumb: the UK makes just about nothing, imports just about everything, and pays for it in Sterling. So grab the drop in Sterling value over a period of time, slap it on goods prices in the same time period, and there's a first rough answer

Sadly I think that this trend is inevitable for a while.

[Cassandra]

 

Are we all ready for some of this?

 

'Been a long time coming, but it looks as if it's finally starting

 

[/Cassandra]

Thanks guys. I am in the process of drawing up the plan for the next academic year. Guest speakers would be great!

I give pro bono guest lectures about intellectual property to University of Sheffield 'entrepreneurship' students and to others, and run IP crash courses under contract from SENTA (among others). Feel free to get in touch (PM) if you think a talk about intellectual property/innovation capitalisation within a startup context could be of benefit

The "...yet again..." is puzzling. Perhaps you could explain.

Phanerothyme just did it in much better form than I would:

The iPad - it's a classic solution waiting for a problem.

 

Too many idiots think it's a big iPhone as that's what other idiots have told them.

So, back to my point: why blame the education system for people listening (rightly or wrongly) to other people, rather than blaming people themselves

Several billions? You've been on the powdered Tiger stuff....1052 million. Or 1 billion & 52 million more like.

We're still a long way up from 450 millions, aren't we $nob?

 

So, did you want to reply on the substantive issue, or just score cheap points?

Why? is Ghana on the up?

Actually, it is

Are you ok?

I'm fine, thanks

Was my logic flawed, or was your post wrong

The point i am making is that England is becoming unhealthy when school pupils in towns like Reading speak 127 different languages between them, and probably not great English.

Sounds to me like Reading kids are going to have one hell of a headstart in the jobs market in a few years' time

 

I'll ask the first question: Is that important given that approx. 450 million people world wide can speak English?

Several billions exclusively speak Chinese. So, no. My daughter -if she pleases- will be learning Chinese, not Italian or Spanish (although she can learn these as well if she wants to, of course ).

 

I'll bait a bit, as it's Friday and I'm feeling facetious: neither myself nor my daughter have English as our first language

Apple's marketing department is sadly lacking in their explanation as to what the device is or, more likely, <cut>

or, more likely, yet again they've come up with another shiny gadget on the iTheme, and are still scratching their heads about how best to create a market for it

<paste> the education system in this country is failing us as no-one seems to be able to read (not least online) anymore.

That's a bit rich, blaming the national curriculum and schools for people being Appl-ostates

The point im making here is that a healthy country is one that has a common language <snip>

Isn't the "common" language of England, English?

 

So, by your logic/point, isn't England "healthy"?

 

Whereby, essentially, there is no point to be made

Just seen your other thread and replied, daftlad.

 

Try the Sheffield Trimming Company in Attercliffe, right next to Don Valley.

 

Vinyl replacement window (clear or green tint) for £70 fitted on a MX-5, and they do other makes/models.

 

EDIT: S9 3TR, Beverley St, 0114 244 8033.

Some scrote has gone around last night and punched two, holes in my back window of my cabriolet. What sort of joy do these retards see in spoiling other peoples property.

T'was the green eyed monster. And it's only going to get worse, mark my words

 

I had mine slit in March. First time in 10 years of ownership. Pure vandalism: there was nothing whatsoever in the car on show or to nick (there never is, save for the stereo without faceplate - you can't get at the tax disc, it's in one of those bolted+superglued holders), and it looks like it was done with a stanley knife (millimeter-wide half-height vertical cut in the middle, from the bottom of the rear window) but the cut/vinyl wasn't "plied" as if someone had tried to push a hand or arm through it.

 

It's a 12 year old MX-5, not as if it's worth much or is particularly flash FFS!

MW2 is the best and most popular multiplayer FPS ever released - fact!! an accomplished arcade shooter

 

BFBC2 is for people who cant play MW2 with any skill an accomplished tactical shooter

Fixed that quote for you

 

They're very different games, really. But don't let critical appraisal get in the way of some good old-fashioned fanboism

what happens when there`s no wind?

Are you familiar with the principle of communicating vessels?

 

Picking easy numbers to illustrate the principle:

 

(i) When there's lots of wind,

* windfarm provides 100% of Grid requirement using 0 resource (wind is free)

* power station provides 0% of Grid requirement, using 1 resource to spool

 

(i) When there's medium wind,

* windfarm provides 50% of Grid requirement using 0 resource (wind is free)

* power station provides 50% of Grid requirement, using 50 resources

 

(ii) When there's no wind,

* windfarm provides 0% of Grid requirement using 0 resource

* power station provides 100% of Grid requirement using 100 resources

 

It's vastly more complicated of course (power stations still provide most of the Grid requirements), and wind energy production is still fraught with problems of Grid integration to this day, but in a nutshell, that's it.

 

I think it's wrong to state that an "equivalent amount of conventional power generation plant has to be built whenever a wind farm is constructed so as to provide back up" and see windfarms as unnecessary capital expenditure because of that, firstly because of the existing conventional power generation structure (it's not as if power generation in this country started with the first "wind farm/power plant backup" tandem) and secondly because the idea is to gradually replace increasing amounts of the conventional power generation infrastructure with renewable energy solutions, so that less and less of the infrastructure requires 1-100 resources (per my example above) over time.

This thing is going to sell like crazy.

I really doubt that. At least in the UK. Wrong socio-economical context, given the devices' price/performance/utility ratios.

 

I've had many slate (Fujitsu, Toshiba) and convertible PCs (Fujitsu, Toshiba, Acer) and touchscreen PMPs (mostly Archos) over the years: the iPad still strikes me as falling between several chairs, due to its size and operability (too big by portable/PMP standards, not fully-fledged/open enough by portable computing standards). Look at what a flop the Archos 700 turned out to be, relative to it's smaller brethren (anecdotal, but I believe the same dynamic will apply with the iPad).

 

Still, I suppose Apple's marketing machine will manage to convince many about this 'jack of all trades', as usual. Pretty much in agreement with Magilla.