Soop Dogg

I'm no expert on the science of any of this, but working amongst many scientists, what I have heard is sentiment that computer 'modelling' is taking the place of science these days. It is NOT a science. Forecasts made by computer models are wholly dependent on the parameters that someone gives the model to run with. A small change in any one of these parameters can make massive changes in the results of the 'forecast'. I'd be much more likely to support the thoeries of MMGW if they were based on actual SCIENCE and not results of computer models being presented as science. Added to that, the fact that on more than one occasion, GW conferences have excluded input from scientists whose research doesn't support their point of view, all makes me think that we're being preached to by people who are not actually interested in a balanced debate - the truth doesn't matter - they simply want us to swallow what we are told regardless of the existence of scientific evidence to the contrary.

The points system is 'similar' to that used in MotoGP and Superbikes. Seems to work just fine for them...

Yeah - I looked at those that too!

I like the comment on that facebook groups wall by Jessica 'Whale' Wik: "Choo Choo, all aboard the fail train"

I have no problem with 20 mph areas. I live in one and have to travel about 1/2 a mile before I reach a 30 limit. There are lots of driveways out of which kids regularly emerge on bikes/trikes especially in the summer. It'd be all too easy to find one stuck in the front of the car! At 20mph, there is a lot more time to react to the unexpected and I don't think it's a particularly high price to pay. I don't have kids, but I understand how difficult it is to be able to keep them in sight and under control at all times. Accidents happen - people aren't machines and where they are involved, accidents will happen. What pi$$es me off is the mums with the kids in the back driving round here at 30 to 35mph on the school run! They're the ones that should know better and would scream the loudest if a child was hit by a speeding driver round here.

I would expect that at least some Irish would object to you associating them with being British! The Republic of Ireland has it's own government, uses the Euro etc etc. It's not part of the United Kingdom. (Northern Ireland is, but that's a whole other story...)

No - the question is regarding Nationality. Someone born in Wales is 'regionally speaking' Welsh, but their Nationality is British. England/Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland can be considered countries/provinces/regions of the UK, but individually are not each Nations in their own right. (Edited to add: ibtl)

I know of that happening a few years back in the Norwich Mercedes dealership. Wasn't you, was it?

Eh?? In a vacuum it won't have a terminal velocity! Freefalling objects in air reach a terminal velocity when the drag produced by the air exerts a decerative force equal and opposite to the accelerative force produced by gravity. Therefore in a vacuum, the falling body will continue to accelerate @ 9.81m/s/s ad infinitum because there is no decelrative force acting against gravity. In such a situation, the bucket, the water and the cork will all stay static relative to each other - whether one is contained within the other or they are falling side by side. The fact that the cork is in the water which is in the bucket is a red herring that's just meant to confuse you.

Really? I thought since THIS was announced that there wasn't going to be any more series of Fifth Gear. Or perhaps your username alludes to the TV Channel you watch the most? They do a lot of re-runs don't they?

Don't watch much 'Friends', but I have been known to spell 'Centre' as 'Center' because I spend half my time reminding myself that's how it's spelt in html. (Spent ages figuring out why my alignments wouldn't work the first time I made that mistake!)

Juts stop texting her. She's said she doesn't want to be friends etc, so just leave it at that, you drip!

Last nights TG was utter rubbish. About 20 mins before the end (I think it was when they were bumping a Lancia into a Marina with a piano on top of it) I was thinking to myself that this would probably end up as 60 minutes of my life that I'd like to have made better use of. Then at the finish, Angie turned to me and said 'Well - that's an hour of my life I'd like back!' We're both nuts about cars and for years have loved watching TG, but it's heading the way of 5th Gear in that it'll probably not be around for too much longer if it keeps this up. Same old cr@p week after week.

Get yourself into the owners club - they get some good discounts. Give me a shout if you need any tips on where to buy stuff. Those weather strips are bloody expensive, but I know somewhere that sells original GM ones and gets them quickly. The Bose stereos always have had the amp in the speakers. You can find aftermarket control units to power them. Have fun with it!

He doesn't fancy a nice number plate for that, does he?? I'll do him a deal if he's interested!

Agreed - the C5 was as easy as the Supe around town and the C6 is no different. (Although it is VERY different on the twisties!! ) The interior may be 'cheap' when compared to some other cars of similar 'out of the box' performance, but then I didn't pay the sort fo money that those cars are. When put alongside the interior of cars in the same cost bracket, it's just fine. Totally comfortable and more than functional. Having travelled 3,000 miles around Europe a few weeks back, I wouldn't have wanted to do it in anything else. Didn''t miss a beat and totally addictive to drive.

I've owned a C3 Corvette, 1975. (the one with the flat rear deck - not the dome rear screen which came in on the 25th Anniversary models in 1978) I always regretted getting rid of it as I really loved the style of the thing. That was until I spent a couple of years driving a Supra, but telling my mate nostalgic stories about my C3 and how I loved it and never should have sold it. Without realising it, I'd convinced him that he needed one, so one day he called me to go and have a look at one he was interested in buying. So off we went to look at this car which , to be fair was in great condition. We took it up the road and as he put his foot down, I heard a slight chuff from the exhaust manifold. 'Ha - mine used to do that' I thought. Then I started checking out things like the electric windows which went 'CLUNK' when you worked the switch because the first couple of teeth in the metal gears had stripped off. 'Mine used to do that too' I thought. Then there were the funny little windscreen wipers and the vacuum controlled headlight doors that come up at different speeds making the car look like it had one lazy eye, and the rattly heater blower (that wouldn't work on max speed 'cos there's a separate fuse for that which was blown) and the manual locking that can get a bit stiff and will eventually cause you to break your only key, and the heater vents that flap about because they're old and have gone all loose and....and....and....well, you know what? My old Corvette probably wasn't that good after all! Having said all that, if you can put up with fixing little things on a regular basis (never anything major in my experience) then go for it. If you aren't looking for something lightning fast or that handles or brakes particularly well (especially in the wet ) then go for it. If you want classic styling that'll still turn plenty of heads and a soundtrack to die for, go for it. For me, I couldn't live with one anymore without a modern, fast, comfortable car to sit alongside it on the driveway. I love the C3, but I'll keep with my C6 for now.

Cheating b@stard!

Yep - was it you that posted this one a while back? Looks amazing, but like you, I can't bring myself to pay for an app quite yet. I've been spoiled with the Android Market!

That's the one! Yep - my phone actually saves me money now!

Are those amps all 'current'? And I prefer to use the imperial meter in preference to the decimal one. lol Anyway, in Italy recently, returning to the hotel from the Stelvio pass, we stopped the cars on a little mountain road near Lake Garda for my mate to have a smoke. We stood in the dark at the side of the road watching the 'Stelvio Pass' episode of Top Gear on my Android phone - which incidentally also has a sound meter on it - which can be fully calibrated. (I would guess there's a lot of phones out there now that can do this stuff?) None of the apps that I have downloaded so far have cost me a penny. I also downloaded a nice little bar-code reader that finds you the cheapest prices both on line and locally. I was in Waterstones recently, I checked the barcode on a book that was selling for £19.95 The phone told me that it was available in WH Smith just around the corner for £12.95 - again a free app. Something similar is available for iphone, but with it you have to actually take a picture of the barcode. The phone also plays adobe flash on websites - something that the iphone doesn't. (apparently) Plus I can expand the memory if I need to and change the battery in a couple of years - things I couldn't do with an iphone if I had bought one. I'm also an Android fan.

Good to hear! I was looking for any updates just before you posted. I'm sure he'll recover now.

Sorry to hear this mate. Knowing how much we think of our cats, you must be going through hell at the moment. Be sure to post back here as soon as you get news. Angie and myself have everything crossed for him here.

damn....beat me to it.

Funny - I was just reading about this. http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8359004.stm