MikeTheThinker

Rodent retailing ... PG [mildly suggestive]

TFTD Friday: Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people - W.C. Fields

The parts catalogue page for the front door locks is HERE. The main body of the lock is item 1.

TFTD Thursday: Parents were invented to make children happy by giving them something to ignore - Ogden Nash

Some (possibly questionable) ailurophile bling ...

TFTD Wednesday: It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.- Isaac Asimov

My first suspect would be the solenoid that opens the lock getting tired, or perhaps the electrical connections corroding and reducing the available current.

Deliberate, yes, but that's what they're trained to do in the event of a potential threat to their protectees. Is it certain that the 'pedestrian' was actually a person and not a dummy? The way its legs flap after the bump doesn't look entirely natural.

A little military humour ... A new general was posted to an army base. After some time in the base he realised how there were two soldiers guarding an empty bench all the time, and so he enquired of his colleagues and juniors what it was all about. A colleague advised him “I don’t know why but it’s been happening since I joined 35 years ago.” The general, confused as he was, went through the past base commanders till he found the one that was in charge 35 years ago. He was found to have retired and lived in the countryside now, so the general contacted him and requested to meet. When they met, and after the usual pleasantries were exchanged, the general asked the retired commander "why was that bench guarded so much". The commander was shocked, replying .......... “So you’re telling me the paint on that bench hasn’t dried yet ?!”

Looks like the flying car ambition could be this year, but seems Alexa got there last year ... PG [mature content]

Perhaps it's intake 'roar' as normally the intake is external to the cabin.

From a trawl of the interwebs and the OED it seems "gasses" is valid but deprecated in British English but quite prevalent in American and Australian English. I've been doing a lot of proofreading for American authors so it seems I have become contaminated by immersion. Time for a stiff upper lip

All the candidates standing in Lancashire local elections 2024 This is the headline for an article in the Lancashire newswire where it talks up the various aspirants for the forthcoming elections. The article contains the obligatory picture - a larger-than-life sculpture, set high above the landscape, and which makes harmonious noises when the wind blows through its substantially empty structure. Quite appropriate for an article on politicians ... Original article if of interest - but watch out for the ads and popups.

Snap!

Octavias (and I presume Fabias too) switch to internally recirculated air when reversing so as not to suck in exhaust gasses. When they do it sounds like the fan rate has increased.