What's made you grumpy today?

[DaveMcT]

I pay about £6 month for an electronic subscription to the Telegraph. I also use the Daily Mail website. Both are pretty good for advert handling. Mail is at least 50% Love Island or Meghan so not a lot of interest.

I would like to see a balanced left leaning news but it's all too PC and dismissive of anything outside their narrow world view.

Express has intrusive adverts. Grudian is too hard Remain for me. I gave up with BBC news years ago. I cant stand their so called balance which puts the political centre between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn. Anyone on the reasonable right is treated like a nutter. Peter Hitchens and Katie Hopkins are off the scale by their measure.

 

[SB1500]

Quote : Thank god conventional journalism is dying. There's no place for it in a world where a great user experience and more balanced insight can be delivered with much less hassle, less bias and less advertising.

If conventional journalism was a person, it'd have a reputation for being a sh*t stirrer and conman. Good riddance. End Quote

Agree with all of your comments except this one. Proper old fashioned investigative and intelligent journalism has an important role to play in society, think of how they are often suppressed or even murdered by a state. While the overall editorial has always been biased individual journalists did and should have the nous to find and honestly report, having asked pertinent questions and fact checked before publishing. Editors might suppress information but professional ones will rarely have knowingly lied.

The issue these days is click bait and citizen journalism, well meaning or not, without the professional integrity, combined with restraint free publication on any and all platforms.

Good journalism is a profession /expert role. We don't need them any more, or any other professional expert, do we?

The good thing about today's world is that every person has the resources through technology to investigate / communicate / share their knowledge via the internet whether the government likes it or not essentially. Even when the government tries to block stuff, there'll always be a workaround. Only thing we would need to fear, is if our government tried to take a China like approach but we're far off that thankfully.

If they could do a good job as you say, we'd be fine but then some of these big name age old establishments would surely be the ones doing the good job and other sources the ones I speak of?

These car publications are as crooked as anything too, if the non generic media are to be looked at. It's clear when they've been sponsored by big car companies to show their products at Best Buys etc. Sad times for impartial media

 

[DaveMcT]

"unconcious racism" as espoused by a certain royal. What he means is we should all be race obsessed. It's now verging on illegal to ask where someone comes from - especially if they have an accent. A genuine interest in someone's heritage (whether that's Birmingham or Mumbai) is not racist.

PC is all about limiting what people think by crushing all nuance out of the language. To see where that leads read Orwell's 1984. That and Animal Farm should both be on the school curriculum.

 

[Eklipze3k]

To the absolute rocket on the Harley Davidson who brake checked me on the A64.
I saw you.
I saw you indicate.
I saw you check your mirrors.
I saw you realise there was traffic coming.
I saw you cancel your indicator.
I saw you pull out right f'ing next to me anyway, causing me to have to move over onto the verge.
I saw you speed in front of me and slam your brakes on.
I saw you acting like a complete *****, showing why bikers get a bad rep.
I f'ing saw you, and I'll be looking out for you.

 

[StevenRB45]

Always nice when vulnerable road users take an interest in their own personal safety.

One thing that will make me rage...cyclist coming the wrong way down a 1 way street flipping you the bird cos they nearly went over the bonnet cos you looked in the direction traffic is meant to be coming from while pulling out.

 

[DaveMcT]

Lycra lout cyclists two abreast on roads just about wide enough for two lanes of cars but more than enough for one bike and one car. GITS.

Motor cyclists who can't wait to overtake that "slow" Panda who then get in your way at every bend in the road because they are too incompetent to steer the thing properly.
I made a great play of embarrassing a 100HP Honda 600 rider while I was on a MZ250 with 20HP on a good day. Waited for a long bend with enough view and went around the outside. In a car you are stuck watching the crash waiting to happen as there wont be enough space.

 

[portland_bill]

Lycra lout cyclists two abreast on roads just about wide enough for two lanes of cars but more than enough for one bike and one car. GITS.

Motor cyclists who can't wait to overtake that "slow" Panda who then get in your way at every bend in the road because they are too incompetent to steer the thing properly.
I made a great play of embarrassing a 100HP Honda 600 rider while I was on a MZ250 with 20HP on a good day. Waited for a long bend with enough view and went around the outside. In a car you are stuck watching the crash waiting to happen as there wont be enough space.

I never went bigger than my 400 Yamaha, but was never the slowest in our ride-out groups.
A few years ago, exiting a local village, a motorcycle overtook me whilst still in the 30 limit. With the 125hp Fiesta I then accelerated to 60, gently catching him! As we approached a notorious bend, tight, but good for 60mph (bike or car) if set up right, he braked so hard I nearly hit him up the rear. He did the same at the next, milder bend, but being ready now, I got close enough to frighten him again and nearly went for the overtake. A long straight stretch and away he went. 4 miles later, aftger a few bends, I entered the next village just behind him again, all without exceedng any limits. I thought the cornering was one of the best bits of biking.

 

[jimboy]

It's that time of year up here in the Highlands when motor bikers descend in large numbers & unfortunately for some it's there last holiday period. Been a number of deaths this year so far, ranging from single bike crashes, to head on crashes. Now I can't attribute all accidents to motorcyclists but I've witnessed some crazy driving & speed you would not believe.

Some great roads up here & of course the scenery. Some years ago the wife & I were driving to Oban. En route on a drivers road shall we say, we were overtaken by a lot of bikers, my wife commented that's ridiculous overtaking like that at speed far in excess than should be, the engines were deafening. Round the next bend here two lying on the road & others toppled over on the grass verge. No surprises there. We stopped, but were told it's OK.

 

[The Panda Nut]

People driving big cars on my side of the road as if I was not there. I feel quintuple tone air horns coming on! BMW and Nissan drivers PLEASE note.

 

[DaveMcT]

Cornering and accelerating out ARE the best things about motorbiking. The trouble is most muppet riders don't have a clue how the things actually steer so they wobble around bends like the bike has no tyres and pin it on the straights. They hit the anchors at first signs of trouble and end up on their ears.

 

[StevenRB45]

And **** like this is why I black my plates out in on photos.


Apparently my car has been nicked..



Pictures out of the members motors thread on here..

 

[Schumi2001]

Looks like they didn't have photos of their actual car and just picked some they found on a Google image search. Nothing sinister about it at all.

 

[StevenRB45]

Yeah I know now having looked a bit more closely, it was late and I was post drinkies. Its clearly a screen shot of a google image search.

My first thought was why has my car apparently been stolen in Manchester though?

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Some great roads up here & of course the scenery. Some years ago the wife & I were driving to Oban. En route on a drivers road shall we say, we were overtaken by a lot of bikers, my wife commented that's ridiculous overtaking like that at speed far in excess than should be, the engines were deafening. Round the next bend here two lying on the road & others toppled over on the grass verge.

Cornering and accelerating out ARE the best things about motorbiking. The trouble is most muppet riders don't have a clue how the things actually steer so they wobble around bends like the bike has no tyres and pin it on the straights. They hit the anchors at first signs of trouble and end up on their ears.

My interest in bikes has always been for the old stuff from my first, a Villiers engined James, through BSA Bantams, a much loved "trials" AJS 350 single with a "trendy" high level exhaust but it was an absolute bugger to start, My brother's "Goldie" which frightened me a few times, a Triumph 350 twin and a whole gaggle of various makes of moped (I just sold the last one, a 1950's NSU Quickly, last week). Now I have none - I've promised Mrs Jock not to buy another as she's worried sick about me getting knocked off which, at my age, could only have a poor outcome.

I've never been into big engines, although it's surprising how fast you can go on these smaller lighter machines. They are much more nimble too and you can chuck them about on the twisty stuff more easily. But for me biking has always been about making smooth flowing progress. Sweeping through a series of flowing turns at reasonable speeds, banking first one way then the other but still having time to look at the scenery and listen to the motor plugging away under you - almost as good as what I remember sex was - The AJS had a particularly satisfying note especially when you fed it some juice as you came out of a corner onto a straight and opened her up, although nothing sounds quite like an old British twin, be it Triumph, BSA, or whatever. Those 180 degree cranks gave such a beautifully even pulse even if they were a bit "vibratey" a regular check up for loose nuts and bolts was always a good idea! - I was never into ultimate cornering speeds or "frightening" myself. Being on a 'bike is just so liberating it's easy to understand why young, testosterone fuel, men get into so much trouble with them. Wonder if I could hide a wee one in the shed? She (who must be obeyed), never goes in there!

 

[AndyRKett]

The isle of Mann TT Every year goes to show that it doesn’t matter how good your skill or how well you know a route, you can still come a serious cropper and can land you at best in hospital or at worst in the morgue.

Bikes can be safe if you drive them along with the traffic like a normal person, not hurtling past everything on the road like your own the road.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Here's an example of that lovely noise. I particularly like the "stuttery" sound when he holds it briefly at constant revs. Typical of a "cammy" engine running methanol/alcohol.



Mind you these beasts are utterly terrifying



Enjoy
Jock

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

PS I just love this clip. Watch the fellow walking up towards the start line. If he's not fallen off a few bikes I'd be very surprised? Mind you, having just primed those intakes with a good slug of fuel I don't think I'd be standing with my "nether regions" in line with them when it's cranked up - one good backfire and it'll be toasted kn----rs!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Just to "nail my flag to the mast" There's nothing quite like AA/Fuel Altereds. Supercharged humongous V8s running on exotic blends of Methanol laced with Nitromethane and producing umpty tumpty thousands of horsepower. Just look at some of the elapse times and terminal velocities which these guys are doing! What's missing is the sheer violence of the experience of being there in person and the smell of the racing fuels and oils and the burnt rubber. If you've never been to a drag race where the really big hitters are running I can thoroughly recommend it as an experience not to be missed.



Ps Comp Altereds are notoriously difficult to control due to their short wheel base. "Wild" Willie Borsch was probably the most famous driver ever who was famous for driving with one hand whilst hanging on to the bodywork with the other.



Somewhere I think I have that copy of Hot Rod Magazine.
Here's the "Winged Express" in action. It's still racing today



I just can't get enough of that idle!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

One last one, then I'll go away and stop bothering you all



Watch the "Christmas Tree" lights. I'm sure he red lighted (went too early)

By the way best ever "lining up" assistant had to be "Jungle Jim" Liberman's partner "Jungle Pam" Try a you tube search - it's worth the effort!

 

[StevenRB45]

Very long day today.

Edited highlights, Built a set of shelves, converted car into van mode (this involves taking child seat out which weighs a tonne), delivered two chairs from my house two different locations, bought two more (heavy) arm chairs and was vaguely amazed to fit both in the car at the same time. Tip run, built the two chairs another tip run to get rid of the boxes for the chairs. Found 3 litres of deionised water to fill a bubble tube in the 4th shop I went to...have an argument about placement of bubble tube.

Of course did all this on my bill..as taking my OH for help involves taking munchkin who had no seat on board.

I have beer in the fridge and a pizza on order...also sitting in my new armchair.