Paul

it's amazing how standards, or perhaps more accurately perceptions and expectations have changed over the past twenty years or so. I remember as kids the greatest fun around was being towed around Oulton Broad on an inflated inner tube behind any boat we could beg, borrow or, well maybe not quite steal! OK, it is perhaps a few more than twenty years since we were kids, twice that in fact but the attitude then was much more "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" or in Ransome terms better drowned than duffers etc. Now we lambaste someone for the mortal sin of towing a passenger in a dinghy. Yes, it is dangerous, but would unsuspecting holidaymakers appreciate that? I can tell you now I have done worse over the years, and if I asked everyone here if they had too, I doubt I would be in the minority.

The problem you have is that GMC don't sell in the UK market because of the left / right hand drive issue so you will not find genuine dealer support. Most decent mechanics should be able to do any general work, the mechanicals on GMC trucks are fairly basic. If you need engine diagnostic works then a Vauxhall main dealer should be able to help as the Diagnostic System used is common across the General Motors group. You may also find the system at some independent garages as it is distributed by Bosch as part of their multi manufacturer diagnostic systems. Parts can be a problem, as the platform (chassis, brakes, steering, suspension etc) and Engine are both US based and never came to the UK, unlike many US vehicles that share components with other manufacturers sold in the UK. Most of the parts for my old Yukon came from The Netherlands.

"The character of this forum" When I read the topic I thought this was going to be one of those TV style voting competitions, you know the style of thing "For the tone deaf woman who screeched out the power of love phone 0345 101 0001, for the chap who thought he was Freddie Mercury but sang more like Freddie Starr ring 0345 101 0002, for Gracie call 0898 ..... (OK, I'll get my coat!). Indeed I was worried that I may have to nominate a candidate for "Character of the Forum". Would there be an award I thought? Could i engage Alistair Campbell maybe to run my own campaign? And who should I vote for? Janet Anne would be a likely contender for telling us about her renovation, I have enjoyed the literary tour of her beams, planks and transom. Robin maybe for creating the longest posts an internet forum has ever seen. If I'm at a loose end for half an hour (or sometimes half a day) I know one of his posts will keep me entertained. Should I be chivalrous and nominate Gracie, a bit of chivalry nowadays gets you almost anywhere! Or should I go mercenary and nominate Clive for all those wonderful insights he shares with us from his most excellent boatyard in Stalham? Plug .... Plug Plug Plug! Actually you could nominate almost any of the contributors here because each and everyone is most important to the character of the forum. even Poppy . After all, what would the day be without a bad joke now and then. By the way, I was going to post a Joke about three boxers, and English boxer, a Scottish boxer and an Irish boxer but I'm sorry I've forgotten the punch line. On a more serious note, and taking the title of this thread as the OP intended then yes, I have to agree there has been more confrontation on the forum recently but you Know what, I have started taking some of my own advice. Shock Horror! Where as in the past I might have got a bit hot under the collar and waded in with a Boatboy broadside nowadays i tend to ignore it, leave the agitants to sort it out between themselves. After all, I have always held the opinion that if someone has to get personal, or aggressive to make a point then that point is not really worth making in the first place. Such outbursts are only detrimental to the person who posted them, not to anyone else or even the forum itself, in my opinion of course. I believe the moderators do an excellent job, simply by not doing much. Moderators after all should moderate, not censor and the balance here is about right I reckon. I guess the odd word might be had behind the scenes now and again but well done for generally letting things blow themselves out. The one thing i would say, going back to Jonzo's comments about editing and locking posts, is that to me it has exactly the opposite impact to that suggested. Most people at some point will post something they later wish they hadn't. I know I have (you will understand that such admission doesn't mean i was wrong! just that the interjection of my wisdom at the time was perhaps not always entirely appropriate ) The lack of ability here to append such posts removes the opportunity to redact comments we might decide the forum was not quite ready for. After all, not everyone has my impeccable infallibility for knowing quote what to post, and when!

only the content of the bottles, and modern preference for them to be full ......

I think the reason behind Scottish success in Tennis lies more with the attitude of clubs north of the border, which is much less elitist than remains the case in England. It was hoped that Tim Henman's success would encourage a new generation of players but that only seems to be the case in certain parts of the Union.

30.

sadly not local (yet) Jill, one day hopefully. We do have a good local PC repair shop the problem is this laptop has broken hinges, damaged chassis, keyboard bezel, screen bezel and lid. The plastics on this model are notoriously bad and so undamaged spares are rare and demand high prices.It's about three years old and had a very tough life. The techy bits are very good though, and replacing it like for like would cost the best part of £1000. I could really do without that right now I guess tomorrow I will have to strip it and get the test meter on it, find out exactly where the power is being lost.

I had considered that, but the connection to the mobo is nowhere near the power jack and there is no way it is being effected by moving the charger plug. the issue has to be between the plug, the power jack and how it sits in the laptop.

Any laptop experts out there? I'm having problems with mine charging. You have to wiggle the charger plug in the socket until eventually it begins to charge, but move it and it stops. Having gotten totally fed up with the situation I ordered a new charger and a new DC power socket for the laptop, which on my laptop has a two strand cable about 7 inches long to a plug which connects to a socket on the mobo. Having fitted the new jack, and using the new charger nothing has changed, still the same problem. The question is, does the laptop earth to it's case? It's plastic of course, but inside it's sprayed with a gold paint like finish. Is that a conductor? If so it has worn away around the jack socket, and the case is damaged in that corner so doesn't close up completely. It's the only thing I can think of.

I'm sorry, but this statement negates any respect I might have for their endeavour. "we have the right to the services as much as anybody else." "The volunteer organisations volunteered to come out, it was their decision."

maybe it would if it went anywhere, a golden opportunity turned white elephant

they're not bidding, they have the contract already. The Chinese will build it, the French are paying for it. Ever wonder why this country is stuffed

4 years ago I bought a cheap petrol rotovator imported from China. It cost £379. The closest equivalent from any other manufacturer was a Husqvarner at £899. I have back problems and needed a particular type, and this fitted the bill. Previously I had hired one at £60 per weekend twice a year. My thinking was if the chinese import lasted three years I would then be in credit. The first use was fine, second time out a tine hit a stone and snapped. There was no spare available in the UK and no other brand i could find would fit. A local blacksmith made me four spares at a cost of £60 In the second year it began to stall, the problem was the carburettor. The manufacture was so poor that a hole had formed in it. The engine was a honda copy so I ordered a Honda carb but it would not fit. Although it looked similar the ports were in different places. A local engineering company made me an adaptor plate. The new carb was £45 and the adaptor plate £60. The engine ran, though would still stall occasionally. Last year it ground to a halt. The gearbox which transferred drive to the tine shaft was stripped. No spare is available and making a new one from scratch is impractical. I sold it as spares or repair for £50. The cheap rotovator was not so cheap in the end. I drive a Honda, CRV. It was built in Japan in 2004. it will be twelve years old in a couple of months. It has travelled 207,000 miles. In that time it has been recalled once for a water seal on the headlamp to be replaced and except for tyres and brake pads until last years MOT it had been in for repair once. for a VTEC oil valve at 140k. For last years MOT it had new ball joints, plus their were advisories on the track rod ends and anti roll bar bushes. I replaced them all myself plus fitted new brake discs and service kits to the calipers whilst they were off the car. our neighbour, two doors up bought a Great Wall Steed in February 2014. The first problem was rainwater getting inside the hard top for the load bed. It had new seals fitted which made no difference. Eventually they supplied a new hard top which solved the problem. Half way back from france with the caravan that summer the car broke down. The breakdown company identified a failed differential and towed him home from Dover. The diff was replaced under warranty. No sooner than that being sorted it started flashing a warning light and losing power. It went to the garage who replaced a sensor, reset the engine management and sent it back. A week later the problem recurred. The problem was a failed fuel injector pump. It was replaced under warranty. The car was still less then six months old and had only 5k miles on it. Last year it started losing power again. after a number of unsuccessful repair attempts the dealership found cracks in the cylinder liners of three cylinders. They agreed to replace the engine under warranty. Just before Christmas it arrived home on the back of an AA van. The replacement rear differential had failed. It has been replaced under warranty again. He has just traded it in at less than half what he paid for it against a Nissan Navarra. I very much doubt that car will see 200,000 miles. Whilst there may be exceptions cheap chinese stuff is usually cheap for a reason. You get what you pay for.

I met David Bowie, in the First Class lounge at Heathrow. He sat on one of the sofas opposite where I was seated and for about fifteen minutes we had the most normal conversation. On the flight afterward I thought of a thousand things I would like to have asked him, instead we talked about favourite hotels in Singapore and the fall of the Berlin Wall, he was a great lover of Berlin. this would have been 1990 I won't try and say what a great musician or even nice bloke that he was, any words from me would be totally insufficient.

don't mention the Cricket

doubtful, if they were stupid enough to buy a BMW in the first place

1: the part of the psychic apparatus that experiences and reacts to the outside world and thus mediates between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social and physical environment. 3 letters, e something o

365 days till Christmas. Let me be the first to wish you seasons greetings.

well Viking, this may come as a bomb shell to some but I ain't scared. Like mm, anyone who wants to track me will find another old fart terrorizing internet forums (should that be fora) such as this with my fundamental beliefs. I try not to take it to extremes anymore, I would hate to be labelled as intolerant!

You are confident it isn't?

You can say you were in a Hurricane, you can say you were in a Spitfire or an F15 for that matter (like the lateral link?), saying it doesn't make it true. It was not a hurricane because a hurricane is a tropical storm, the great storm was not a tropical storm, so not a hurricane. That doesn't mean it was any less severe. I appreciate many people suffered damage, in fact IIRC 29 people lost their lives in that storm. for several hours I wished I was one of them, being stranded on a mini cruise in the Bay of Biscay. Twice I was thrown out of bed and hit the cabin ceiling. Several passengers had to be stretchered off the ship when we made port in Brest. I have never been so sick in my life. Still, it was not a Hurricane.

DVBT is the standard format for transmitting free to air digital television, ie Freeview. DVBT-2 is simply the second generation which is capable of carrying more HD TV channels. To watch it all you need is an aerial and a tuner. The tuner is already inside your TV so just plug in an aerial and away you go. The one you linked to is fine. Of course the quality of signal you receive will depend on where you are, distance and line of sight to the transmitter etc. In such matters height is king. The higher you can mount the aerial the better.

We have snowdrops in the front garden, daffs in flower in the back. The front lawn was mowed this morning but the back is just too wet to even walk on. The white geraniums in the front planters are still in full flower as are the patio roses but the hellebores are nowhere to be seen. mad

And whilst I'm in fact mode, not many people appreciate that although we are now passed the shortest day and days are getting longer, mornings will continue to get darker for another two weeks or so. It's normally around the tenth of January that mornings start to get lighter, but is can vary due to the fact that the Lunar day is not precisely 24 hours long, in fact it is slightly different every day

Although winds of hurricane force (12 on the Beaufort scale) blew that night, the strongest recorded at Gorleston at 121mph the event was not a hurricane. it's correct definition was "Great Storm". Hurricane is the name given to a tropical cyclonic storm originating in the North Atlantic or North Pacific and carries considerably greater rain than we saw that night. The Great Storm was a severe extra-tropical cyclone. When Michael Fish said there would not be a hurricane he was absolutely correct. Now, who remembers the Great Freeze of 1963?