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eBay Auction Sniper Community eBay Auction Sniper Message Boards eBay, General How about a loan???|
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Sniper Deity |
My hat is off to anyone that can eat a meal using a knife and fork while driving – chopsticks are a close second. I’m a big advocate of driving and putting on makeup, as long as she, or he, is in front of me. It does pucker my sphincter when I see someone in my rearview mirror doing it, especially eyeliner. Mike, I’m uncertain whether all that’s illegal here in the States. I think it’s called hands-free driving. I’ve never seen a tailgater that I couldn’t get a wave from – well, a one finger wave. I’d like to see cars equipped with a horn-govern. Each car is allocated so many honks each year, say 5, and once those are used up one would have to pay a honk-tax to get more honks. It could be included with the annual licensing fee and part of the emissions test; after all, honking is a form of emissions. It’s hormonal. That’s the best age to draft them. There’s never a conscription around when you need it. I got my first camera/radar speeding ticket a couple of weeks ago. I was more fascinated with the technology then bummed out about the fine. I think the city is missing an extra source of revenue by not selling additional copies of the photos – I never get to see myself driving my car. Is that with a manual transmission. Ever tried dipping Chicken McNuggets in a sauce while driving? At least when you arrive, you’re not hungry. But, it does help to have a Dust Buster to remove the lap crumbs. Good thing cars don’t come equipped with driver DVD players (I hope that’s true), although GPS is close. Haven’t seen a hairdryer being used in a car - might be a something car manufactures could install instead of a headrest for the driver. Headrest doesn’t sound like something a driver should have – or pillows. Perhaps cup holders and ashtrays should be eliminated. |
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Sharp Shooter |
Here, Rick, you can actually request a copy of the two pictures!
Can't think there are many of these in USA? Or am I wrong there?
No, nor anywhere else!!
Cup holders are the current fad of the marketroids! I believe that ashtrays are disappearing from cars, not that it matters - the puff 'n' cough brigade usually chuck the dimps out of the window, possibly aiming at a cyclist or bit of tinder-dry forest or moorland for added effect. Those that do use them dump the contents on the nearest supermarket car park.  Cigar lighters are useful to act as handy sockets for 12v supplies for things. |
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Sniper Deity |
Outstanding. I’ll be able to add the picture to this year’s Christmas cards. CAUTION TO ADULTERERS: Either don’t speed or take separate cars. Which one, Mike? Knee steering or manual transmissions? I wonder why they still have them in airplanes. Probably for the mint wrappers. Cigar lighters in British cars? Is that a carry over from Churchill? |
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Sharp Shooter |
Manual trannies, Rick. Cannot understand why all cars are not auto, now, or at least semi-auto, as the DS was in 1955.
For some reason, they have always been so called. IIRC they appeared first in the early 1930s - I had a 1934 Lanchester with one. I presume you call them 'cigaret(te) lighters'? They are just a handy power supply, now. FYI, the gubmint have just said they are going to ban smoking in pubs in England. Republic of Ireland have already done it. |
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Sniper Deity |
Manual transmission advantages:
What are your views on the following:
Yes. Is that good news or bad? |
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Sharp Shooter |
'Ere goes, Rick:  1 - true in earlier autos where the engine was never connected directly to the transmission - most do now, so the continual slip does not happen; the driver of a manual can waste petrol more easily! 2 - mainly true, but only for new. 3 - on our overcrowded islands, not a problem. 4 - probably! 5 - I see many who manage both! 6 - true, for the later ones with electronics in them. Earlier autos are purely mechanical, and more reliable than a manual trans plus clutch. 7 - will negate any better fusl consumption. 8 - autos do this anyhow - doing it on a manual gives a smoother change and causes less work for the synchros. 9 - dunno - cannot wear gloves when I drive. 10 - if you are really agile, you could do (5)  And the rest: (a) more useful in uncrowded roads, maybe, but again, this is something that is one less item for the driver to concentrate on. They are notoriously unreliable as well. (b) no problem, if people need it. In the current blob-shaped cars, they probably do. (c)and d) - minimum - the 17 one we have now, but I think there should be a licence with some restrictions until, say, 21, as this is the age when they tend to write themselves off, and others as well. Maximum - cannot be determined by age - when it is no longer safe to drive a car, but who can know this impartially?
Must be good - bar staff and customers no longer go home smelling like a bonfire, and live longer. There were a few interviews on TV on the subject; the few that were against it were predictably of what I call the Sun reader ilk, "I fink basicly that, like, I should be able to smoke, like, know wot ah mean?" |
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Sniper Deity |
Wow. I did better than I thought I would. I got one “mainly true”. That either means picking one’s left toes instead of one’s nose, or it could mean picking your nose with your toes. Another device that’s waiting for the right market that could be engaged with cruise control – an APD (Automatic Pedicure Device). All right, I know how much you hate having too many automated things in the car, so perhaps it could be a MPD. I would also propose that the driver side vanity mirror be disabled when cruise control is enabled. I still believe that if you can’t see over the steering wheel then you shouldn’t be allowed to drive. Yes, must be good. It’s a pity that another law is passed that supersedes what consenting adults (bar owners, patrons, and staff) should be able to work out on their own. Probably a naïve view. I sure hope that doesn’t make me sound like a Sun reader. |
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Sharp Shooter |
That has got to be so, Rick. I really hope that I do not start to shrink, ever! Maybe I will have to stop eating mushrooms and take heed to Alice. 
Not at all, Rick - you are far too literate. The Sun readers mainly just look at the pictures, precede every sentence with 'basically' and intersperse them with a mixture of 'like' and other four-letter words. |
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Sniper Deity |
Mike, I wonder if it’s call the Sun because if one looks at it too long they lose the ability to see things properly, or to see things in perspective? It might also mean that it burns the reader’s brains out. Or that it takes 8 minutes for the words to get from the eyes to the brain.
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Sharp Shooter |
Probably all of these, Rick.  Are there any papers in the USA that are completely national? Or is it too big for that? A question that I have never considered before! If there are, is there a Sun equivalent? |
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Sniper Deity |
Mike, I’m afraid I’m not very knowledgeable in this area. I’m somewhat confident that The Wall Street Journal is a national newspaper. But, your question probably pertains more to the tabloids. By size, you must be referring to distribution. I doubt that timeliness is a prerequisite for the type of news that the tabloids carry. After all, I think someone on the East Coast could wait a few days to learn that Big Foot married Big Bird on the West Coast. Although learning that Big Bird was going to have Big Foot’s illegitimate baby could have an impact on bills being voted on in Congress.
I think the Inquirer is a U.S. newspaper? There must be more. Don’t forget – we got California as part of this country. And, when all else fails, we have presidential elections every 4 years. |
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Sharp Shooter |
I was thinking about all of them, really, Rick.
We have a whole spectrum from the tabloids at one end and, say, the Times at the other. Furthermore, there are now more tabloid-type mazagines appearing - the sort of celebrity gossip stuff (celebrities are famous for being famous, but otherwise a lesser species) and rubbish about soap operas. |
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Sniper Deity |
Editorial
Mike, I don’t think what an artist does outside of his art should be of any concern or curiosity of mine. Whoever they are married to, or shacking up with, or having illegitimate (such a strange word – does that mean they’ll never be able to vote?) children with has any bearing on the performance of their art. The only impact that an actor, or any artist, has in my life is in their art. In fact, since acting, or art as a whole, is a fantasy, I not only see no value in trying to inform myself of the supposedly “real-life” issues of an artist, I also see it as a negative. If the artist needs the events of their personal lives to be made public to allow them to portray a character, then they aren’t actors. And, there’s always the situation where bringing in something from an actor’s personal life will be detrimental to their current role, in that it might take away from the actual art. Perhaps some people feel a closer bond with someone famous by keeping “current” on the gossip about that person. But, I doubt that one can build a relationship based on that kind of distant and subjective interaction. And, there’s probably the situation where lesser (whatever one wants to use to define lesser) people get enjoyment from seeing the famous have problems. I also extend these views to politicians. As long as a politician isn’t doing something that impacts his effectiveness to carry out the responsibilities of his office (in essence, his art), then more power to him, or her. At least in the States, it seems that anyone that is what is considered morally qualified to be in office, shouldn’t be considered qualified. This not only applies to elections, but also to confirmation hearings. To find “anyone” that hasn’t done “something” that would offend “someone” is becoming damn near impossible. I can understand that it’s probably not in a country’s best security interest to have a heroin user/addict as president, or prime minister, or whatever. I can’t understand why anyone gives a hoot if that person smoked a joint 30 years prior, regardless of whether he inhaled or not. And to some extent, someone that hasn’t done some personal experimentation/research may not be qualified to tell the rest of us how to live our lives. As always, there are exceptions and degrees, but to be elected/confirmed for a public office either requires a bunch of lying or someone that hasn’t been exposed to the real world (basically someone dead from the neck down, and perhaps everything above). Maybe in the future the only acceptable politicians will be actors. Actors are use to the gossip, everyone already knows everything about them, and being a politician is just another form of acting – only when a politician does a great job they don’t get an Academy Award, and when an actor does a bad job, he doesn’t get a library built in his honor. P.S. Mike, one other advantage of a manual transmission is that they can be pop-started. I know - that’s why they invented batteries. |
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Sharp Shooter |
Hi Rick
I agree with what you say about someone's job generally having no impact on what they do privately, and that there are exceptions. My view is that those who crave information about such stuff have otherwise very uninteresting lives. As for some of these celebs, 'art' is stretching it a bit! Likewise (at least ours) politicians - maybe the only art is to avoid answering any direct question, and fooling some of the people all of the time. Not bad, I suppose, for a job that requires zero qualifications and gets to run the country. PPS - Quite right about manual transmissions! I think my DS semi-auto (which has a perfectly normal gearbox and clutch) is the best of both worlds. |
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Sniper Deity |
Well, that’s where we beat out you Brits. Over here, the president must be a male (there may even be an exam). Bush (the dad) did introduce jogging as a qualification. Ever since then, Secret Service agents have had to work out someway to look inconspicuous wearing a gun under their sweats. The agents probably miss the good old Reagan days when they could go horseback riding. I didn’t know they, or anyone, made such a thing. |
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Sharp Shooter |
Might be the only one of its sort, Rick. May have been a royalty/patent issue. You just have a 'wand' to change gear - can be operated by your little finger, and performs the entire operation without anything else being done on the part of the driver. The gear selection, accelerator and clutch are operated by a hydraulic 'brain', power coming from a pump running at 2500psi that also operates brakes, steering and suspension. As everything is metal-to-metal and runs in hydraulic oil, no wear or maintenance. Naturally, our Luddite Brits demanded a manual version, so they had to comply to sell the cars here! |
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Sniper Deity |
Mike, it almost sounds as if it weren’t for Citroens, you’d be a full-time pedestrian. Is there any other car you like - perhaps a distant second?
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Sharp Shooter |
There are various different sorts of "likes" I have, Rick. I treat all cars as machines that have to do a job, and do it well, just as a toaster (Dualit), dishwasher (Zanussi) or radio (Roberts/Hacker) does. I do not do the status symbol bit at all! My current fleet (3) is there for those reasons: (1) Is for economical long European camping trips and load-carrying. (2) Is just for pleasure of driving and total comfort on long fast trips. (3) Is for everyday car that requires little maintenance and does what it says on the tin. I would probably rate the Peugeot diesels as a second - same make (PSA) actually. On the down side, no German cars - suspension not suitable for our roads, and service info difficult to obtain. Everyday car has to be a diesel - more economical and less servicing, fewer obsolescent electronics. Petrol is typically 80p per litre here. I like many other cars, many of which I have owned, but are not ones that I would want to buy now. I owned: Lanchester 10 Humber Hawk Jaguar Mk VII 5 Austin 7s - 1927-1937 I have enjoyed driving: Bentley 3 litre Austin Heavy 12 1927 Citroen XM I would like to drive (to see what the fuss is/was about): Any new Jaguar RR Silver Shadow Lexus Two-stroke Trabant NSU Prinz Any big Cadillac from 60s |
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Sniper Deity |
I can’t believe you’d miss an opportunity to plug Teasmade. You’d never make it as a Yank. We take great pride in showing our neighbors how much debt we can get into. Never heard of Trabant and Prinz. Why/where/who the fuss over the Caddys? I’m not familiar with most of the cars in your “I owned” and “I have enjoyed driving” list. But, then, I may not be a typical American. |
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