philmayfield

You didn't have to go into the back seat to be amorous!

I used to run Microsoft Flight simulator but no longer have a pc. Speaking with a friend who has a full works simulator set up the latest MS stuff is fantastic. I’ve never flown a Jodel in real life but I have got a few hours in on Cessna 172’s. Most of my ‘real’ flying was in PA 28 Cherokees and a Grumman AA5 Traveller plus a bit on Chipmunks. I keep meaning to take it up again if I could pass the medical. It was £9 an hour when I first learnt to fly!

In those post war year very few families were affluent and the treats that we children received at Christmas were very special. Christmas now has turned, for many, into a Bacchanalian orgy of greed and overindulgence. My tastes are still very simple and I don’t want to join in with the display of mass hysteria that the season has become. Our Christmas dinner will consist of turkey breast slices and a modest pudding, both purchased from Lidl, washed down with a glasses of tap water. I don’t want your sympathy, I’m content with my lot.

I learnt in a Vauxhall Victor in 1960. Front bench seat and three speed column change. I'm just teaching my daughter to drive (she's having proper lessons as well) in a Jeep Renegade with a six speed box. It's interesting for me after having autos for years. I'm getting quite good at my racing changes! Who really wants to drive a manual though?

Exactly that. I've always been a Mac user ever since they produced Visicalc, the very first spread sheet program, and I've stuck with them as they are very intuitive. I've toyed with pc's but don't find them as user friendly. As for cars, you name it, I've had it. They're all pretty good now. The days of the lemons are over. My last unreliable car was a Jag but my wife's Jag (different model) has been perfect. I'll lease the next time I change so the problems will be someone else's. I used to enjoy working on cars but there's nothing you can do now other than check tyres, oil and water and eve

I agree PC's are better for hard core gaming if that's your thing. I bet you've got an ipad though. That's all most people need. PC's are better for the computer buffs who like to dabble with the internals. Apples aren't built for meddling with.

When the kids lived at home we didn’t put up the tree until Christmas Eve. I think that made Christmas more special. All the tat was removed by 12th. Night. Last year, when Christmas was banned, we didn’t put up any decorations as nobody came. I’m just now waiting to put the first cards through the shredder.

It’s an excuse to open a bottle of fine malt and I don’t dislike most Scots apart from Nicola Sturgeon.

I only use my computer for serious stuff. Apart from commenting on this forum!

I've used Macs since they first came into the UK both in business and at home. I've dabbled with Microsoft but I prefer computers to be 'user friendly'. What can PC's do that Macs can't for the average user? I do admit MS Flight Simulator was rather good!

.......and there’s always the trouble free Apple Mac!

No, it’s tatty Burn’s Night first where we eat tatty tatties and tatty neaps with our tatty haggis. (Actually I love Burn’s Night!)

As a self confessed arbiter of taste and refinement I would suggest that both Microsoft and Virgin media are tat!

We all have our opinions about Christmas Alpha and are free to express them. I agree there is a proliferation of tat around during this season of goodwill but it helps to keep some people happy. It will be all over soon and Spring will soon be here. Tatty Easter eggs and bunnies next!

I sympathise with you BK. Last year’s cancelled Christmas was my best ever! Being neither a Christian nor a Pagan it doesn’t affect me. I do however think it’s a good boost for business and commerce and it does brighten up the lives of many people at this dark, cold and miserable time of the year. I’m not feeling miserable though, I opened the curtains this morning and watched a beautiful sunrise over the Trent Hills whilst lying cosily in my bed! If only my wife had made me a cooked breakfast my morning would have been perfect!

The kids do love it. That's what it's all about!

I’ve just driven from Norwell, north of Newark, to Bleasby. It was fascinating to see the displays of Christmas lights in the villages and in Southwell. I’ve never seen such a load of tacky rubbish in all my life. Many of them are a serious traffic hazard and distract drivers. For sheer tackiness though, those at a bungalow on Station Rd. at Fiskerton beat them all. The front garden is packed solid with a mass of garish lighting. It really is worth a trip out from Nottingham just to view it. To be fair he is asking for donations to the air ambulance. I was caught in a queue of cars as people w

I know, but I’m not aware of a Renault Leaf.

Renault Leaf? Nissan surely.

Another problem will be where to find the non-CO2 generating power source to run all the electric vehicles. Nuclear, wind, wave, biomass?

I'm sure by 2030 an improved charging infrastructure or an alternative means of powering vehicles will be developed. I can't imagine battery swapping will be involved, that's too low tech. I won't be bothering about it by then anyway!

Wait for the begging letters!

The idea of battery exchange stations ignores the fact that most people will charge at home or streetside and that this will be more than adequate for the needs of the majority. In addition battery technology is rapidly advancing and charging times and storage volumes will improve.

I can’t see it happening. The logistics of storing and moving heavy batteries on a filling station site wouldn’t be feasible. It’s not like offloading fuel into an underground tank.

I think with the inclement weather they were overloaded with call outs. They did keep texting him updates. It wasn’t very satisfactory though. When I had an F Type, Jaguar assistance were always very quick but that was with the AA. I had so many call outs though I was on first name terms with the AA men!