Sagitar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_hand_drive

As far as I know, left hand drive has been started by Napoleon Bonaparte during the war against the British Empire but Wikipedia says it is only a legend

I have heard it said that we Brits stick to the left as a leftover from more violent times when many carried a sword and wanted to keep the right arm closest to passing danger. I am a bit sceptical, because earlier, fully armed warriors would have carried a shield in the left hand and I would have thought they wanted the shield arm closest to passing danger. If you look at pictures of jousting knights, they always pass left side to left side i.e. they would have been driving on the right.

It's true that most of the countries that drive on the left (in my experience) have connections with the old British empire, but not all. The Japanese drive on the left, and I have heard that ascribed to the need for Samurai to keep their right hand free (that sword thing again). Japanese railways run on the left too, but I think that is because British engineers were more successful than the yanks and others at selling British rolling stock to the Japanese in the early days of their railways.

At least some of the Scandinavians drove on the left until fairly recently. I think the Swedes were the last to change (in the 1960s) and I can remember the superb way in which they organised the changeover day when they shifted from left to right to comply with the rest of mainland Europe. Bearing in mind the extent to which England was conquered by the Danes and other Norsemen, pehaps we picked up the habit from them? I am sure I read somewhere, that the Romans kept to the left, so they too might have had something to do with it.

I doubt if there is any simple answer.

Anyone had this?

I had a "sorry we missed you" red card in the post yesterday, appeared to have been from the Royal Mail

It said to arrange redelivery call this number, so i rang it and quoted the ref.

The lady said asked me to confirm Name and Address which i did, then she said for DPA purposes could i please give my DOB.

I paused for a minute and then asked why she would need that and she said for dpa purposes? so i asked how the royal mail would have my DOB to check against in the first place? she said she couldnt discuss it with out my dob, i told her i would give it to her until i got an explanation, then she said "fine" and hung up!!!

Sounds a little dodgy to me!!

Did you check whether the number you were asked to call was a premium rate number? If it was and you talked to them, you may be about to get a bill.

Leaving a "you were out when we called" card and asking you to call a premium rate number to re-arrange delivery is a common scam.

Thinking of getting it done but dont know who 2 go 2

Dont want 2 mess up & make them worse than they are

Cheers 4 any help :)

It depends what you mean by "lasered". Laser treatment is used for a variety of conditions.

I believe the right way to go is to determine what the problem is before jumping into consideration of treatment.

If you have a serious eye condition, get your GP to refer you to a specialist eye clinic. There is almost certain to be one at your local hospital. They will set out for you the range of available options for the treatment of your condition.

If your problem is "normal" sight correction, I would start with a qualified optometrist. Again, your GP should be able to give you a list.

I had laser treatment to burn away an opaque film that formed behind the lens of my left eye after a plastics implant to cure cataracts, but I somehow doubt whether that is what you want?

My only tip on motorway driving

STAY OUT OF THE F**KING MIDDLE LANE! IF THE LEFT LANE IS EMPTY NEXT TO YOU MOVE INTO IT FFS!

Sorry it just really annoys me! esp when traffic doing 70/75 then has to move to the fast lane to overtake them causing everyone else to slow down. leading to tail backs.

Driving in the middle lane when the inside lane is clear is nearly as bad as driving nose to tail at high speed and making it impossible for those courteous enough to move into the inside lane to get out again . . .

That's minor. Last weekend someone threw a can of gloss paint over my son's car. All over radiator matrix, bonnet, windscreen and roof. Made the car undriveable. He has full insurance including the cost of a courtesy car, but will still have to find £120 excess.

What gets into people that they can be so senselessly vindictive?

I had a couple of PETS and an Acorn (we did some of the education oriented development work with the BBC), but my first serious PC was an Apricot. It was small enough to carry around (with the monitor in a separate bag) but it was never used for gaming. It ran programs such as WordPerfect and a spreadsheet that preceded Lotus 123.

I can't remember how much RAM but it had two 3.5 inch floppies and a 10 Mb hard drive (wow!)

I dont does it help ?

OK, Michelin link

www.michelin.co.uk/uk/auto/auto_cons_http://www.michelin.co.uk/michelinuk/en/car-van-4x4/inflating-tyres-winter/20070319171414.htmlbib_gof_pne_hvr.jsp

They are not saying "run your tyres at a higher pressure in the winter".

They are saying - Be aware that tyres inflated at summer temperatures, will appear to lose pressure as the ambient temperature gets lower and will need to be re-inflated to account for this.

For normal road use, if you check your tyre pressures weekly - as you should - with the tyres cold - i.e. at the current ambient temperature, you should use exactly the same gauge pressure as you always do.

I think you are asking a lot for the Sat-Nav to read minds as it were. With roads not on the map my TomTom

will get just as confused in the same situation. I believe it was quite accurate on the IS200 Navigator, plus it

would show the correct direction the car was pointed in before you started moving.

If the map was out of date, any Sat Nav will struggle.

I don't disagree with any of that, but it isn't what the discussion was about.

I was seeking clarification in regard to what appeared to be a claim that the IS has some kind of "dead reckoning" navigation system that takes over when the GPS signal is not available. I was making the point that GPS software places the car on a convenient mapped road rather than at the actual position indicated by the GPS and uses predictive algorithms to make judgements about distance travelled when the signal is lost. I was quoting the behaviour of the GPS in my own car - leaping about between two roads when it is not on either of them, as an indication that it does indeed use it's software to place the car on the nearest mapped road.

I have not, in any of the Lexus literature that I have read, found any reference to the kind of additional technology that is being claimed in this thread and I was hoping that someone could have pointed me at such a reference. During my working life I actually played a part in designing ships inertial navigation systems and I would be really very interested to know how Lexus do it, if they do?

On the other hand, if someone is assuming that because the screen indicator goes on following a sharply curving road in the absence of a GPS signal there must be some alternative navigation device present, that could be a totally false assumption.

I have no reference, but it has an internal giro and is linked to the speed pulse.

It is obviously only software prediction based on the turning, speed and road shape but does it remarkably well.

When I go through the Mersey tunnel (just over 2miles), it keeps it perfect with the bends and distance. Even as I go past the Wirral/Liverpool marker it is spot on. Its strange because You can see the exit on the map before you see the light as it is quite a tight curve in the queensway tunnel.

Amazingly accurate.

Forgive me if I remain sceptical. The software in all modern GPS road following devices overides the actual indicated position to place the car on the "nearest" mapped road and includes predictive algorithms to cope with temporary loss of signal.

The road that gives access to the M1 near my home has been altered recently and it is great fun to watch the Lexus GPS leaping about between the position of the old road and the position of the M1 when it is not on either of them, but is actually travelling on a road between them that is not yet included in its mapping data.

Hi ya guys,

Currently all the Lexus SE-L models have front parking sensors like mine, but they are only located on the corners and are missing the 2 that you normally would find either side of the licience plate. Now has anyone ever got these fitted by lexus? Only i used to have them on my previous car and do miss them as there really handy.

Thanks guys.

I too would be interested in the answer to this one. At Christmas I parked squarely behind my daughter's BMW. I got to within 3 centimetres of the rear of her car without any indication whatsoever from the parking sensors on my car.

It keeps up with your movments far better than an after market one because it not only uses gps but also other information from the car like the position of the steering wheel and speed. As a result she knows where you are.

I'm fascinated to know how it does that. Can you explain further, or do you have a reference that I can consult?

It keeps up with your movments far better than an after market one because it not only uses gps but also other information from the car like the position of the steering wheel and speed. As a result she knows where you are.

I'm fascinated to know how it does that. Can you explain further, or do you have a reference that I can consult?

Can anyone tell me how the engine cover is removed? I'm referring to the engine cover that has the Lexus Logo emblem on it.

it is seated on three locating pins,just tug it upwards and it will pop off.

But be careful putting it back, the locating sockets are easy to break if you don't align them perfectly before pushing them down onto the fixing pegs.

From Etyres site

New Road Could Generate Power

The search for environmentally friendly solutions to our transport problems continues. Engineers in Israel have developed a road surface that actually generates power when a car drives over it. The Israelis claim that one kilometre of the new road can generate 400 kilowatts of power, enough to run eight small vehicles.

Andrew Davis, director of the Environmental Transport Association (ETA), explains the potential of the new road surface, “The government predicts a massive shift to electric cars, and it may be that roads themselves will provide some of the new fuel. Certain vehicles could be powered entirely by the roads on which they drive”.

The new road surface contains piezoelectric cells that generate electricity when squeezed. When a tyre rolls over the asphalt the cells emit an electrical charge. The ETA, which is a British charity dedicated to transport and the environment, claims that if the system was installed throughout the British motorway system it would generate sufficient power to fuel 34,500 cars. Davis concluded, “If these electric roads can be put in place without harm to the environment they would be a silver lining to the problem of heavy traffic”.

The new road surface will be trialed by engineers from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in January.

Fascinating idea, but it appears to be fraught with practical difficulties. It is many years since I last work with piezo electric crystals. We used them in telemetry applications. The ones that we used were capable of generating a considerable e.m.f. i.e. voltage, but not much current. The output went to a high impedence load and they were excellent for measuring pressure change etc.

They were brittle and needed to be supported very carefully, but their nature could have changed. However, a road surface is a pretty inhospitable place, so keeping them intact, maintaining connections etc must present some major problems even if there are now devices that generate significant current.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has more recent knowledge of the development of these devices.

I must admit to checking the date when I first read the item . . . . .

You can search by post code in the RX350 if it has the multimedia system.

Unless the more recent ones have changed, you cannot do a full post code search. You can enter the first part of the post code but then you have to enter at least the street number. And if there isn't a street number, you are up a gum tree.

I keep a Tom Tom stored in the car to deal with the more difficult addresses that the Lexus can't find . . . . .

I have a range of Canon equipment, but I wouldn't push it just because I use it.

I think any of the established stuff is capable of giving excellent results and it is really a question deciding what suits you personally and learning to use it properly.

If there is a camera club near you, it might help to make contact, to talk to members about their kit and maybe get your hands on it.

The AP site has a lot of basic stuff that will help you to decide what you really want and need. My advice is to make haste slowly - it is expensive stuff so you don't want to be back tracking.

Good luck.

I know there's a few keen photographers on here so I'm thinking this is a good place as any to ask, I'm thinking of getting a DSLR and have settled on the Nikon D90.

Don't really know a lot about photography, more of a point and shoot kind so far, but I think it will be fun learning how to use a camera properly! Basically is this a decent choice? We have a film Nikon SLR from years ago we were happy with so that's the reason for sticking with the Nikon brand but reviews seem to suggest they still are at the head of the field.

I was thinking originally to get the body only and buy an 18-200mm lens separately, but hadn't realised how damn expensive these lenses are.........the alternative is to buy the D90 kit which comes with an 18-105mm lens - will this be enough for normal use?

Also all the photo stores seem to be trying to push expensive high speed SD cards, does it make a difference?

You might find a wider range of views here Amateur Photographer Forum

... do tell about your link to this rock

I lived in Peel (in the Central Hotel in Castle Street) as a small boy and went to Peel Clothworkers School.

We had a holiday on the island recently - driving a hired Nissan Micra . . . . .

Welcome to the forum.

The dish is installed and the Humax PVR worked straight out of the box - excellent reception - good pictures, but as someone remarked earlier, not much in HD.

First impression is that some aspects of its operation (recording, replaying and deleting programmes) are a good deal more complicated that with our Freeview PVR - whether this is necessary to deal with High Definition or satellite reception or is just them trying to be clever I don't know, but it really is much less intuitive than with the Freeview box and I have yet to get comfortable with it.

One of the silly disadvantages that I had not anticipated is that the channel numbers start from 100 upwards which means that to change the standard channels you have to enter three digits on the remote rather than one or two i.e. BBC One is 101; BBC Two is 102; ITV is 103 etc.

Finally, I cannot find the UK History channel and that's a pain because I like it a lot.

We have Freeview but our terrestrial reception is not too good (we are in the "shadow" of a hill). We bought an HD ready TV some time ago but have put off buying a freesat box until one is available with twin channels and recording facilities. We have just taken delivery of a Humax Foxsat - HDR box with twin channels and a 320Gb hard drive and are literally waiting for the installation guy to come along this morning to put up the dish etc.

I hope I haven't jumped the gun. Will let you know how we get on . . . . . . .

Thanks everyone for your welcoming words.

I have managed to get two michellin sport contact 3 tyres for £250 inc fitting and balanced. Got them at farmers(kwik fit) the sales bloke made a bit of a blunder as he made a loss on the deal(happy days) he showed me all his details that he purchased them for, had my new recall alloys on and made it clear that i didnt want a scratch on them, young fitter took the hint and left them unscathed.

Had some snow the other day, and was preparing to leave my work in the morning and did not make it up the hill from work and was stranded for 2hrs, boy was i cursing my first rear wheeled drive car, i felt a bit of a plonker as the car happened to be the poshist in the lot, i was referingduring this time of how the old golf would have made it up the hill. I have now since fallen back in love with the car, until wintery showers return.

Had to be pushed off a field the other day - firmish surface but the grass was wet - tried the snow button and rocking it on the gearbox but the nearside rear wheel just spun. I am concluding that the IS 250 auto is not very good on a slippery surface.

'fraid I don't understand why we are all getting so excited about it.

Lots of comparative information is based upon tests carried out under standardised conditions. It provides a useful basis for comparison, but it does not guarantee that the product will always behave in the way that it does in the laboratory.

Petrol consumption figures - engine power output figures - cabin noise levels - crash impact resistance etc. all vary with the environment and the mode of use. It doesn't mean that the figures are useless. It just means that you have to understand the conditions under which the data were produced and relate them sensibly to your conditions and your mode of use.

I doubt if the production of standardised noise level (and traction?) figures for all tyres will stop arguments about "which is the quietest" any more than the existing standardised fuel consumption data stops the arguments about fuel consumption levels. But they should at least have the effect of causing manufacturers to pay attention to reducing noise levels overall.

Of course the road builders also need to be doing the same thing, while balancing issues of traction and noise and I think the Department for Transport and the Transport Research Laboratory (or whatever they call it these days) will say that they are.

OH dont get me started on this again, and now germany have scored im annoyed :(

Did you ever see a more stupid goal?

Hi,

Just parked up my IS250 for the final time having done 25,500 miles in almost two and a half years. First of all I must say the reason for getting rid of it is nothing to do with the car itself, in fact it is probably the best car I have owned/driven to date. I have been offered a very good opportunity to work in the Far East for the next few years (at least) so will be moving with the family but not the car.

Wanted to share a few thoughts on the IS250 with current and potential owners. Overall I have been very pleased with the car and aftersales service from Lexus although there were a few "not so happy" memories during the past two and half years.

Why an IS250? I owned two first generation IS between 2000 and 2005 - an IS200 and an IS300 and love the build quality, reliability and value for money. In 2005 I decided that I wanted a coupe so went for a 330Ci which was very disappointing in many ways. After 10 months, I have had enough and looked to change cars again. So tried an IS250 and decided it was time to come back to Lexus. Order placed the next day but it was a long four and a half month wait for the 250 to arrive.

Car looks great, the build quality is fantastic and the engine/auto gearbox combination makes it very smooth and relaxing to drive. The IS never failed to impress me even today, whether it's on the daily commute in and out of London, shopping trips to Tesco, visiting clients or the occasional 300 mile+ round trip in a day. The arrival of our first child in October last year meant the IS has to cope with the usual extras like the car seat, pushchair, bags etc etc and no complaints there in terms of boot space and comfort. My baby son obviously likes the smooth and quiet ride in the IS - always falling asleep quickly once we are on the move which means nice quiet journeys!

Love the toys and gadgets on board. The reversing camera always grabs passengers attention, even if it's not their first time in the car! With the camera, I can easily park the IS into the small office parking spaces. My wife always asks me what I will do if my next car doesn't have a reverse camera? And it's funny that the front seat passenger will try and go for the "I Agree" prompt on the screen when I turn the car on!

The Sat-Nav I found very easy to use and the re-routing function is very useful. On one journey, it decided to route me onto the M25 THE WRONG WAY for a junction and then back in the right direction on A roads... I thought it was very silly at first but followed it and found out later the my colleague, who was minutes behind me joining the M25, was stuck in traffic for over an hour!

Quite pleased with the economy as well. With the majority being town driving, I have averaged overall 28 MPG and on a long motorway run I can get around 35 MPG. Not bad for a 2.5 V6 auto. In the 330Ci I was getting less than 20 MPG overall doing the same sort of journeys...

So onto the "not so happy" bits of my time with the IS250. Two insurance claims (my first ever, in fact!) - one when a coach ran into the back of my car at low speed which meant a new bumper and the second when an MPV crashed into the back (again) this time causing much more damage. The IS needed "a new rear end" (according to the bodyshop), bumper, parking sensors, bootlid, exhaust system, lights etc etc. I was amazed at how well built and safe the IS is... this heavy rear impact looked no worse than a bad parking accident from the outside and I carried on driving the (damaged) car for a month without any major problems other than a ratttling (broken) exhaust. Even the reversing camera was still in focus after the accident. Lexus and Accident Exchange sorted out the claims and repairs on this one with no complaints from me.

Other expenses over the 25,500 miles are four new tyres, one headlamp bulb, two brake pads and two brake discs.

I was lucky not to encounter any of the well known dashboard rattles during my time with the IS... or so I thought... until yesterday... just a few miles from home the centre speaker on the dash started rattling... perhaps it really is time for it to go?!

Hope my IS250 finds a good home. Not sure what I will be driving next (if anything at all...) once we are settled down in Hong Kong but if I do decide to buy a car then Lexus will obviously be on the top my list again.

Nice story - good luck in Hong Kong . . . . . :)

If you are going to record conversations, and I agree it would be a good idea, you MUST make the other party aware that you are doing so. It is ILLEGAL to record conversations without consent of the other party (consent can be implied, by telling them at the start and then just letting them continue talking).

Unless the law has changed very recently Mike, the situation is a good deal more complex than that - Oftel offers detailed guidance on the recording of telephone calls and there is a wide range of circumstances in which the recording of telephone calls without notice to the other party is allowed.

If I remember aright, there is no requirement to obtain consent if the recording is purely for your own use, but you must inform the other party if it is your intention to pass on the recording to some third party.

In the case of companies, there is quite a list of circumstances in which "covert" recordings may be made.

I do however wholeheartedly agree that if a private individual is going to record a telephone conversation with the intention of using it as evidence, they would be wise to inform the other party.