Stutopia

1, The a/an consonant/vowel rule is all about the sound, not the actual leading letter. We can demonstrate this with 'h' words, where you would only ever say "see you in an hour" (vowel sound) but you would also say "this book is a history of rubber" (consonant sound).

Been fascinating to follow, looking forward to the next one!

1. SuperStu (2 wall and 1 desk) 2. GMballistic (1 desk top) 3. Veeg33 (1 wall and 1 desk) 4. Andy_Muxlow (1 Wall and 1 Desktop) 5. rothers2901 (2 wall) 6. Kev T ( 1 wall ) 7. Mattross1313 (1 wall) 8. Vik54 (1 Desk) 9. eatonm90 (1 wall) 10. Varley16 (1 wall) 11. buster(1 wall) 12. The Big Miester (1 wall) 13. -G- (2 wall 1 Desk) 14. andyjames (1wall) 15. Brummiestormer ( 1 wall) 16. Paddy (1 wall + 1 desk) 17. Paul K ( 1 wall + 1 desk) 18. Stuggerz ( 1 Wall ) 19. KyleR (1 Wall) 20. Ebized (1 desk) 21. MBS (2 x wall + 1 desk) 22. Stevod (1 x wall+ 1 x Desk) 23. Rob350 (1 wall & 1 desk) 24. Stoker11 (1 wall)

Thanks Dave

Malwarebytes Anti Malware do an OSX version for free and I sometimes use ClamXav, also free.

I too am confused by the polish (the paint product?) or Polish (the people?). Anyway. Today was 370z day, yay! A trip to Chorley brought me to this blue, rag top, manual on 32k. I must say the blue is much nicer in the metal than in pictures, more vibrant. Being in a foreign town and also having a chaperone I didn't get to play as much as the '86, also traffic was doing its best to ruin my run out. That said, it felt like home. It's an updated 350 isn't it? Similar driving position, similar feel to the cabin space, pulls quite a bit harder, rides a bit harder, smarter interior. I wasn't that keen on the orange display in the left of the binnacle, or the plastics (but it's part of the jap thing) so those two aside I liked it. I was pleasantly surprised by the way it didn't feel like a rag top with the roof up, it wasn't especially noisey or noticeable (far too cold to drop it sadly) the boot probably will take a set of clubs, with the woods out. It felt really nicely planted, again like my 50, nowhere near as nimble as the '86 or as lively, but in a solid and sure footed way - not in a lardy way. Can't bang on too long, off to see Vic & Bob tonight.

That's brave with kilos of vinyl and those lead spacers

Yeah, shame they look like, every other 1er I was surprised that the Jaaaaag came out "top".

It's the latest thing, the last 3 PS4 games I've bought on disc have demanded 10GB+ downloads at first use. Remember when Sonic just worked, straight off the cartridge?

I think thats the nub of it, you can bring as much science to the party as you want, but its the above that counts and probably what driving you intend to do, or if you just want to look back as you walk away and think, shes a beauty I want all of that! The fizz, reliability, performance, rarity, looks when I'm in it, and to look back at it when I get out. May as well stick with the 350!

<rant> Anyone using office for Mac? Every single time I launch excel' it wants to do an update, and not just little 5mb security patches, giant multi 100mb updates? How is this possible, my whole OS doesn't update that much let alone a spreadsheet, word processor and mail client. </rant>

Imgur is much friendlier since PBS gone ad mental. I might update the guides to change to imgur during Winterval.

I totally understand what you're saying and I certainly wasn't expecting a big number (if it had been I'd have jumped in ) just the gap between the two number was bigger than I expected. Indeed, also there's plenty of them about and I have plenty of time, so it's not like there aren't many, many options. This somewhat dries up though if I were looking for a BRZ in WRC blue, they're like rocking horse shizzle. Anywho, worth of the Zed aside. I did some math earlier to try and bring some science into it, but mainly because I'm not working right now, so I have plenty of time on my hands In minimum curb weight order, in the red corner, coming out of... BRZ86 - 1240 kg - 162 bhp/tonne - 122 lbs/ft/tonne Cayman - 1350 kg - 218 bhp/tonne - 186 lbs/ft/tonne BMW M135 - 1425 kg - 225 bhp/tonne - 232 lbs/ft/tonne 370z Coupe - 1496 kg - 218 bhp/tonne - 178 lbs/ft/tonne My 350z Coupe - 1550 kg - 188 bhp/tonne - 170 lbs/ft/tonne XKR Coupe - 1665 kg - 252 bhp/tonne - 248 lbs/ft/tonne BMW 645i Coupe - 1690 kg - 197 bhp/tonne - 196 lbs/ft/tonne VXR8 - 1831 kg - 226 bhp/tonne - 221 lbs/ft/tonne I know I'm comparing apples and oranges, no pseudo science will be involved in the final decision, it'll be all about the tingle in my tummy stick behind the wheel.

Well I certainly wasn't expecting a fortune, but something closer to comparable spec, age, colour and miles already out there.

It's still very much on my radar, it just wasn't love at first drive. Hopefully trying a manual 370z today, there's both a roadster and coupe relatively nearby.

I'm surprised no ones commented on the £3000 part ex Toyota offered me

GT86 / BRZ / FR-S is too slow from what I've heard. Maybe if they ever do an STI... I'm looking at the same alternatives as you though, with the XKR being the current favourite (won't be for a couple of years at least though). Go try all those and report back with which is best I'm not certain it's too slow, you're comfortably playing around at 50-70 depending on the road, same as I would in the Zed. If I was tracking it at speeds above this, then I imagine it would feel a bit short, but I took my speed awareness course as a message from above about my road behaviour Edit: I'll happily report back on any others

At least I'm not going mad! New rubber and wheels would defo be on my list, plus an exhaust. I had a play with the VSC button but it made the same light as turning off the TC, so I was a bit nervous (wasn't mine after all!) about what it did. What's the difference between the VSC and the TC buttons?

If the last year in IT has taught me anything, you MUST have a cloud and you must be Digital. Not like those analogue computers from 2015

It could well be me, rather than the car!

Whilst I still love the Zed, after a few years with just one lady, ardour can cool. I've been considering the GT86/BRZ as a replacement as well as a 370 and an XKR and a Cayman and a 6er, well you know how it is once you start browsing autotrader . Cruising by the Toyota dealership and they had this winking at me outside... I love the look of the Toybaru (particularly in WRC blue) and have been seeking an opportunity to take one for a drive. The Toyota dealer was very friendly and happily sent me off to see what she's like. It was nice to take it out without a chaperone and close to home - i have a little circuit I like to drive in the Zed, perfect for a like for like comparison. It was a 2013 with 33k on the clock, totally stock AFAIK and immaculate apart from a worn knob and a small dent on the rear quarter - just under £15k. As for the drive, I was expecting something pointy, go-karty and stuck to the road, but probably short on grunt. This wasn't quite what I experienced. It's a really eager little thing, the throttle response on this one was desperate to get going, even compared to my uprev'd Z. It's so keen!!! Sadly, as the revs climb you don't get a the baritone of V6, Berks and cobra - just a strange grunting from up front and another noise, perhaps from inside (do they have a noise faker?). This is my first go in a stock boxer with stock exhaust, it's not a noise that stirs the soul is it? Even with the window down, letting in the bitter cold, the exhaust was barely audible, but that is easily fixed with modding - it's not like the Zed sounds beefy in OEM form. Round town and getting on to the motorway I enjoyed the easy drive and it's a much lighter clutch and steering than the Z. Puling on to the motorway it was up to traffic cop non-bothering speeds in good time. It didn't feel much slower than the Z, however, the Zed's power just keeps climbing right up until you shift. The Toybaru just didn't surge at all as the revs climbed. Trying to getting going from 70 in 6th was a waste of time, this car is going to see a lot more shifts than the Z! This was all as expected, but the surprise was on the B roads - it felt a bit floaty compared to the Zed. I know it's about half a ton lighter, but I expected this to make it feel more "connected" to the road, not less. I don't know if it was just the huge difference in weight, or the Nexens on the rear and Michelins on the front or perhaps the springs and shocks I've put on the Z have spoiled me, but it didn't fill me with the confidence like I expected. I saw the TC light more times in 20 minutes of driving this than I have in 6 months with the zed. However, the TC is more friendly than the Zs, it doesn't pull you over for a telling off, it just lets the back shuffle across and then reigns it in before it gets out of hand. I could very easily see how that could be fun and the way it broke away was nice and soft, I'd be turning off the aids fairly soon on one of these and playing around with the limit. In the Zed I've only stepped the back out twice (both unintentionally) and it was't something I particularly wanted to do again without some tuition, the "snap back" on the Zed was very aggressive (for my skill level at least). The GT86 was much friendlier. I wasn't blown away by the brakes, they were fine but they just weren't as sharp as my Z. I was expecting the reduced lard of the GT86 to mean it pulled up more sharply and the brakes to have more initial bite, it didn't. I might be being unfair comparing stock GT86 to modified Zed (DBAs, DS2500s, baited lines). I thoroughly enjoyed the steering, much like the throttle response, it is eager. Applying the same inputs I would in the zed on the motorway, the 'GT86 fairly hops from one lane to the next. Once I got used to it, it's fast turn in was very pleasing and encouraged me to get into the twisties. I loved the seating position and the seats very much, though my arms must be a bit short as the wheel felt far away, even with my little legs. The interior is all round much more modern than the Z - the Japanese love of hard plastic is still very much in place, the checked effect dash was fine, so long as you don't touch it, and how often do you really touch your dash? The back seats are even less of a space than I expected, with me being a short arse, you could just about get another shortie in behind. I'm not sure that would be the case on the passenger side if one of them is topping 5'6". All in all, I liked the interior - it's not going to trouble the German's but neither does its price tag. The boot was decent and deep, albeit with a very narrow aperture. So good for golf clubs, bad for flat packs. All in all, I really enjoyed the drive and at £14,750 I think, for it's age and milage it's a bargain. Sadly, I actually laughed out loud when the salesman offered me £3000 for my extremely tidy 2004 350z GT on 67k. The ICE alone is worth a grand but, in fairness, he was very apologetic about it and said it might do better if I went private with enthusiasts. Apologies for banging on, I realise you will care very little for what I think of the Toybaru, and you'd be right not to I wanted to get my thoughts down now, whilst it's still fresh and I can refer back to this once I test drive the others. Next up, a 370 I think... I do have one question though, any ideas why the GT86 felt "floaty" to me?

It's not losing if you've tried hard to make something work and it doesn't. Losing is giving up without trying.

Good on you. I'm between contracts at the minute, though it ended rather than me doing the honourable thing and quitting, but I was relieved when it did - properly fed up. The feeling of having a bit of breathing room, to climb down from the ledge, before having to find the next bit of work is tremendous. I'm hoping the next opportunity won't be something that makes me rage on a daily basis. There's always opportunities out there if you're prepared to put a shift in, sometimes they pay better, sometimes worse. Good luck.

You're really selling it All entries welcome

Come on peeps, we've nearly got enough for a 52 week desk calendar, at the minute I'm having to do SIX tasteful nudes just to fill it up - and no one wants that