mercian

Regarding Jessops, I bought my new camera from one of their branches - but almost walked out! I must have got the "Saturday Student" assistant. I asked what I thought were a few simple questions (e.g. on average, how much longer will a Li-Ion battery last compared to an AA NiMh; how many shots will this camera take on one charge; how does this camera lens/feature compare to that one) and the conversation went round in circles for several minutes. Eventually I expressed my impatience at his lack of knowledge (and even understanding of the questions) and the guy left me standing whilst he went to fetch another member of staff. Fresh start, questions answered, camera chosen, loadsamoney spent, couple of freebies thrown in; but it was nearly a no-sale. Moral - make sure you've done some homework before you go in the shop, and make sure you aren't served by a trainee!!

On the few occasions I've called Orange I've also been impressed with their customer service skills. They even called me back once, when they promised to!

Just upgraded from a Sony Cybershot DSC-P72 to a Sony Cybershot W70. Much smaller camera, bigger LCD screen, viewfinder, manual settings, longer battery life, and on special offer at Jessops, within your budget, even with memory card and spare battery! Anyone want to buy my old DSC-P72??

"Did anyone see the Ilmor machine? What a sexy little thing that is!" Only saw it in the garage at the start, the TV cameras (and my) attention was elsewhere during the race. OK they only got the placing 'cos others fell off, but if they can do that first time out, with "only" 800cc, then next year could be very interesting - wonder who'll be on the rider roster?

Just been looking for something similar myself, to protect laptop data. Have you seen TrueCrypt - Free Open-Source On-The-Fly Disk Encryption Software for Windows XP/2000 and Linux ?? Also I seem to remember seeing some software you could load onto a pen drive which turned it into a security dongle - the laptop won't boot until the pen drive is in and a password provided. Anyone know any more?

One on the M6 West Midlands around Junctions 8/9/10 - or so my Talex gadget tells me!

1.6 FSI, Worcester to Suffolk, 180 miles, 64 mph and 42 mpg average, and I stuck to the speed limits. Ditto Worcester to north Devon (far left of), 60 mph and 42 mpg. OK it could use some more torque, but why would I need anything faster? Fast cars are very nice, but you can't really use the poke that often. If I wanted something with poke, I'd buy another motorbike :-)

What's the point? :confused:

Nothing wrong with that, I started with an ER5 after passing my test. Going from learner to ER5 was a similar step to going from the ER5 to the T'cat - a big grin, arms out of sockets and shout WHEEEE!!!!! the first time you open the throttle. You can scare yourself sh*tless with anything if you're not careful - and it's easy to think you know it all just 'cos you've ridden around town at 30 mph and can do a U-turn (argghh the dreaded U-turn )

Used to have a Thundercat, l really enjoyed riding it but life got so full of other things I never seemed to have the time. I then calculated how much each outing was costing on a pence/mile basis and decided it was an very expensive toy, so regretfully sold it. I get a pang of envy everytime I see a nice bike being well-ridden. Still got the kit though, so some day ......

I didn't think this year's championship could get any more exciting. Any bets on Pedrosa's contract being cancelled for next year? Last GP is NOT to be missed - forza Valentino !!

First Direct no problems, use both internet and phone, gave up having paper statements some time ago. Can use HSBC if you want a local cashpoint/paying-in facilities. Lloyds is pretty good for on-line banking, too.

I'm still running XP SP1, which is "out of support" from 10th October. I'm not keen to upgrade to XP2 since a) I've heard horror stories of peeps who've upgraded and been unable to run previously ok software and I run FireFox, Thunderbird, router firewall, McAfee firewall & anti-virus, and anti-spyware stuff. I know I'm paranoid! but who else isn't going to upgrade to XP2?

How big is your tent? :eek:

Ditch Outlook Express and use Thunderbird. It has a Bayesian spam filter - mark messages as junk and it learns fast what to delete for you. Blocking sender is ok if it's from a "genuine" e-tailer who's just sending you stuff you don't want, but most spam comes from "virtual" addresses which change regularly - or even sent from your mate's address if his/her pc has been compromised. As has been said - whatever you do, don't reply, it just confirms your email address is genuine and in use.

11 points in it and two races to go. Go, Vale, go - who will bet against Rossi taking the title again?!

It's on my Ambiente, and works as described :-)

Dealer couldn't seem to identify the cause from the effect, or by diagnostics, so they tackled the obvious (& cheapest) solution first. Whether the dealer knowledge was crap, or the diagnostics tool, who knows? But better to get it fixed than have an engine seizure!

Had a similar issue with my last car (VW Golf). Dealer's first thought was sensor, then they checked the thermostat, by which time the gauge would read either zero or max. Turned out to be a disintegrating water pump impeller, plastic crap which costs little to produce but could have caused major damage if left untended, and necessitated major work (and cost) to replace. Hope your problem is the cheap option!

Had a Talex Lite for three months now, confirmed all the local sites (plus one mobile site I hadn't spotted) and is invaluable on long journeys. Even though I try to keep to limits (most of the time ;-) ) it's good to have a little helper on the dashboard.

Been using FF for about a year now. As said before, the IE "lookalike" extension does for those few awkward sites. I tried Opera, probably would have gone with that if I hadn't already got used to FF. IE can go hang (if it doesn't crash)!

Yep, down from 97.9 to 92.9 around here. Find the lowest prices in your area http://www.petrolprices.com/

Son just getting divorced. He brought house and other assets to marriage, she brought debts, and hasn't worked since she produced first (of two) sprogs. Son had to do a full disclosure, she's walked off with 60% of everything and refusing to go out to work until kids are both at school. That's with minimal legal intervention, it could have been a lot worse - greater emotional mess, more solicitors fees, and possibly same settlement result. Do it amicably if possible, and bear in mind that short term financial loss is worth it if long term emotional stability is at stake.

Fool!

Saw an unmarked silver Skoda (Superb, I think) between Droitwich & Worcester this afternoon, around 5pm. He had all blues blazing & had just pulled over some go-faster person onto the hard shoulder "to have a word". :cop1: