FlyingGecko

What, Jack about his mum's singing, or Herbie writing it? If the latter, he's only got himself to blame!

Oh, yes, pragmatix. Over 110, around half since he died. Mind you, some are much, much better than others. And with respect to vegit8, I've never bought a bootleg, neither Zappa's nor anyone else.

Thanks vegit8, I'll pick up Jack's podcast later. Your post deserves a wider audience. Admittedly though I'm speaking as an industry outsider, I've been aware for years of the difficulties experienced by the men (and women) working unseen or unnamed to support the "headline acts" and barely making a decent living, regardless of their own talents as musicians. I've also been aware for many years of the iniquities within the industry - all too often it's the artists actually making the music who are at the end of the queue when the money's being discussed. Sorry, I know you know that. (Although Covid has had its own effects unnoticed by the general public, as witnessed by Nadine Shah's problems reported in the press because of the inability to peform - and there'll be thousands like her. I personally know a former music teacher and like many he also worked independently, he's sung with the Spooky Men's Chorale on their UK tours as well as being a multi-instrumentalist. He left teaching to be a full time musician some five years back and of course Covid brought that to a full stop. I don't play or sing, but there are few things in life as good as watching and hearing people perform live.) I remember Herbie Flowers from whe he formed Sky with John Williams. Their first LP was part of my collection when I sold it all a couple of years ago.

Speaking as a fan, or from your stepson's income angle? (Or both.)

Cheers vegit8. I thought it'd be something like that. (On a separate but related note, I've never been in the habit of copying every CD I come across. For instance, me and a pal both have originals of over 90 Zappa CDs in our collections.)

Yep, try that. I think I've got the same thing.

Hi barbus, have you tried playing any of the unknown tracks, to see if they actually are yours? I've got a few like that on my Amundsen system, but when I look at the SD card via my computer they are actually ones with names on the card, which I've added myself to the folders Usually copies of CDs burnt from an original. The tracks' names usually show when I play them, but there's no consistency. I'm probably doing something not quite right (burning CDs apart!) as I rip/copy the files to the card from the source. (The same applies to a USB stick, as mentioned above.) (Who can remember when a 32Mb - yes, Mb - card would cost about a pound a Mb? I can remeber upgrading my PC HD from 4.2 Gb to 10 Gb. )

Very true, smipx, I have the greatest respect for the work you've done there. No offence intended!

Michael Collins didn't have to chuck a couple of gallons of AdBlue into the command module tanks for the return journey while Armstrong and Aldrin went down to the moon, though.

I reckon that's the understatement of the year!

Humidity's the killer, metaphorically, most of the time. My first trip to Australia - Perth, WA - was in early 1988. We walked out of the cool air-conditioned terminal at 6.45 AM and as the doors swooshed open we were hit by a wall of heat, over 80 degrees F, 28 C. Before 7 AM. No time to acclimatise, just bang! They were in a run of something like 30 days with temperatures over 30 C. But it was very dry, so while I won't say "comfortable" it was eventually bearable. After six weeks of that we went to Bangkok for a week, and while the temperature was around 7 deg C. lower, the humidity was much higher and it was definitely very uncomfortable. There's an offshore wind called the Fremantle Doctor that cools the Perth area by several degrees, when it doesn't blow the temperature hits the 40s daily. It doesn't make the international weather news like Sydney does.

I'm too busy with these flippin' angels.

Yes, but apart from the compressor any fan will still be running in a manual system until turned off by a human whereas in an auto/CC system the fan speed will be modulated according to the need to push more or less air through the pipes to maintain the pre-set temperature, and therefore will only be an intermittent not a constant drain on power reserves. My OH's VW Up requires the fan to be running before the (manual) aircon has any effect, regardless of whether the aircon button is on or off. In the cars I've driven over the past 18 years with CC the fan always controls its own speed, including complete or near switch-off. The original discussion was the effect of aircon (manual or auto) on fuel consumption compared with opening a window and thus effecting aerodynamics. All we're really doing is counting angels dancing on pinheads here, and the difference is whether they've got their wings open or folded. The little beggars are too small to count anyway!

To keep it simple, the following relates only to petrol and diesel powered vehicles, not hybrids or pure electric powered ones. What's being missed here is the difference between manual air conditioning and climate control, otherwise known as automatic air conditioning. The former (manual AC) keeps the aircon running all the time while the latter (CC) turns it on and off (adjusting fan speed, interior vent positions and compressor operation) as necessary to maintain the pre-set temperature (or temperatures, where there is a multi-zone system with separate temperature controls. True, this is a simplistic explanation of the operational differences. In practice, manual AC is a permanent drain on power and thus causes an increase in fuel consumption. Climate Control systems, not being permanently running even when permanently switched on, do not have such a deleterious affect on fuel consumption. Their on/off switching is encouraged by the manufacturers recommending that the car's temperature control is set to within a couple of degrees of the ambient temparature. Hence the CC has only a fairly easy target to reach before turning itself off or reducing its fan and/or compressor useage. Another way to put it is the CC just ticks over rather than running at full throttle as would manual AC be doing. I've had a long conversation with a local independent service garage who've been doing aircon work for years. One of the first to be awarded "trusted trader" by Which magazine, and also a national independent garage award winner, they know their stuff. They said apart from minor adjustments to vent direction and screen demisting on cold mornings, etc, or opening every window for a couple of minutes if the car's been standing in open hot temperatures for a while, then most suitable operation of CC whatever the maker or model of car is to have all vents open, including any for the rear cabin, dial in your preferred temperature (again, within few degrees of ambient temperature), set the master control to "auto", and just leave it do do its job. Suggestions to open a window below an arbitrary road speed but not above will make no material difference to fuel consumption - maybe just a few pounds over several thousand miles. Again, I stress this all relates to automatic Climate Control. Manual aircon WILL cost more because it's running constantly when swiched on.

vegit8, won't this just play random tracks, or are you suggesting it as a cure for unlabelled albums? (I've just seen the typos in my post. Very embarrassing. If theres' one thign I can't stadn, it's poor typnig. I usuallly proofread every thting befor epostinng.)

There are posts all over the forum on different topics. Probably a dozen on Dashcams alone. Y ou just need to wade through or ask a brief question on a specific upgrade you're interested in. Good hunting!

Ah, that's an entirely different kettle of fish. I'd suffer from range paranoia, never mind anxiety, if (or rather when) I drove electric! Most road tests of electric cars seem to spend half their time trying to eke out every last half-mile. At least with petrol and diesel the consumption doesn't differ by maybe 20% when the temperature drops.

Blimey!

...and how comfortable was that? Did you open a window for fresh air, and hence disrupt the airflow dynamics and increase consumption? Fair enough if you're seeing how much you can get out of a gallon, but these days cars are so aerodynamic that there's virtually no "ram-air" effect for ventilation and the system really has to be used. My previous saab 9-5, a design dating back to the late 90s, was like a greenhouse if the Climate Controlwas out of action. If you were trying for a peloton effect you were driving dangerously and illegally close to the car in front. Yes, standard cruise control just maintains a set speed, and is overridden by brake or throttle. I use mine like a secondary accelerator. TBH I prefer it to ACC - Active Cruise Control - having tried a few different versions. I prefer to be alert to driving conditions that let the car decide if the driver in front is aware of conditions ahead. If you're thinking of adding Cruise Control to your Octavia, it should cost arould £350. I had it done to my own SE in late 2014. It needs a column stalk, wiring, and some electronic work. I don't think ACC would be feasible on your car, and if so would cost an arm and a leg.

Leave the aircon on auto all the time. It uses very little fuel. I've never noticed any real difference over the past 18 years of different cars and accurately recording fule consumption. Mind you, manual aircon might show different results, but auto is fine. And it's far more comfortable with it on. Set it and forget it, that's what it's for. I don't have a light right foot, but my 63 plate DSG 1.4 Octavia frequently gave well over 50 mpg. On a round trip from Cheshire to Kent, with four up and luggage for a week, it averaged 54.6, and that included a lot of pottering about down there. And that's the DSG gearbox.

Hi HMR - is that for me? It was just an awkward nozzle on the container and the filler on the minibus. The nozzle wouldn't go down enough to open the little flap down the tube. The charity people had been ignoring the Adblue low warning for several hundred miles, they'd never done it before... so I said I'd do it when I filled it up with diesel. I find it surprising that they use such a clunky system to reduce pollution. Reminds me of the days when I had to put two-stroke oil in the petrol tank of my BSA Bantam. But that was causing pollution.

I suspect that the TomTom files are a different format from that needed by the car, apart from any way to get them from the phone into the car's system. But you can use TomTom via Android Auto (and I expect Apple Car Play) through the infotainment screen. You can also set favourites etc directly into the car's own navigation system. I'm a long-time TomTom user and still miss it after a year using the car's system. I've tried using TomTom through AA and it's a bit clunky, apart from having to have my phone plugged in - mine doesn't have wireless connection except Bluetooth and that can't be used for the TomTom app. If I had't sold my TomTom on Fleabay I'd seriously consider using it in the car instead of the one fitted. The only advantage the car system has is the bigger screen.

I found out the hard way that you shouldn't let the stuff spill or splash on clothes or shoes. I also suspect any paintwork spills shoul be cleaned immediately. (Not my car, a minibus I drive for a local charity.)