Info and forum posts by 'Mark Turner'

RE: Monitoring Internet Usage At Work

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Then they renamed as AMICUS a few years ago (not even quite sure what it stands for now)

I don`t think it stands for anything - it`s the Latin word for friend rather than an acronym.

RE: Thinking of emigrating to U.S.........any advice?

How do you propose getting a work visa? Is an employer going to sponsor your application? You`re limited to 90 days on a tourist visa.

RE: Firefly-15.99 at CD Wow!

Arse! I ordered this on Christmas Day from Tesco Jersey. And I could have got an extra 5% off via Egg from cdwow. Aaargh.

Oh well, I`ve been waiting long enough for Firefly to be on offer, so I`m not going to worry too much about another couple of quid......

RE: Opinions on Mondeo warranty dispute

I moderate on a Honda S2000 owners forum. From memory, something similar occurred to one of the members there - problem reported before the expiry of the 3 year warranty but not diagnosed and repaired until just after it expired because the dealer wasn`t able to offer an appointment before then. I seem to remember that Honda agreed to cover the work on the basis that it had been reported in time. I`d guess it`s one of those discretion things.

RE: Special Edition Sky+ Boxes

If by Sky World you mean a normal non-Sky+ subscription, it`s not going to work, I`m afraid. Sky+ takes two feeds from the dish, so it`s not just a case of swapping the boxes. You need to run a second cable from the dish to the Sky+ box (and I think maybe swap the LNB on the dish to accommodate the second feed).

This item was edited on Monday, 5th December 2005, 20:37

RE: Cult TV 2005 28th to 31st October, Solihull

How come Solihull is too far but Birmingham isn`t.....? :/ Solihull is about 8 miles from Birmingham!

:p

RE: Tv footage from Bazzra. The burning tanks one.

The reason the AK47 is so popular and so successful is precisely because it is (a) very durable, (b) easy to maintain and (c) easy to operate. Your average squaddie isn`t a rocket scientist so they need something which is easy to use and maintain.

And that, as I understand it, is the major problem with the SA80. It may well be the most accurate assault rifle on the market, Adam - but that`s not much use if it constantly jams because sand gets into its mechanism too readily, or the plastic bits drop off in Arctic conditions, or one of the whole host of other problems which afflicted the SA80 (or at least the A1 - not sure about the A2, but I get the impression that its still pretty fragile and hard to maintain).

Anyway, back on topic, the guy in the turret showed a lot more self-control than I suspect I would have done. A quick blast from the chain gun mounted on the Warrior would have made short work out of the crowd which was trying to torch them :o

This item was edited on Tuesday, 20th September 2005, 15:34

RE: Tv footage from Bazzra. The burning tanks one.

They weren`t actually tanks, to be pedantic ;)

They were Warrior armoured personnel carriers. Or, as they`re known these days, infantry fighting vehicles.

As for why the crew had to dismount, I`m not sure. I wouldn`t have thought the petrol could get in - but that wouldn`t stop it getting bloody hot in there as a result.

(A friend of mine is an infantry Major, Adam. I think he might disagree with you about the SA80..... The A2 version is a lot better than the original one, but it`s still very far from perfect. And the LSW machine gun version is seemingly worse than useless. A lot of regiments are hanging onto their GPMGs, which the LSW was supposed to replace, because they`re so much more reliable.)

RE: Cheap PSP memory

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someone selling on eBay says they will have 1GB Pro Duo for £49 this week. Looks like a good price to me.

It is - but watch out for the P&P and mandatory postal insurance. The norm seems to be to ramp them up so that total cost is in the region of £65-70. I bought one from an ebay seller in Hong Kong at a similar price and then ended up paying £16 or £17 in P&P and insurance.

When it arrived, it had been sent standard first class with no evidence of it having been insured..... I HATE ebayers who inflate their P&P charges to bolster their low prices >:(

RE: Legal Advice Needed

I`m a solicitor but it`s not really my field.

One bit of practical advice I can give you is to check your home contents insurance and see whether it offers legal expenses insurance. If it does, there should be a helpline number - call that and you can usually discuss the claim in general terms with a legally-qualified advisor. They can then tell you how to go formally got about making a claim if need be.

RE: How much is a second-hand Lotus Espirit...?

And there are 23 Esprits up for sale in the PH classifieds here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/list.asp?p=1&s=11

RE: How much is a second-hand Lotus Espirit...?

Hulk, have a look at PistonHeads - there is a forum on there for Lotus stuff in general and one (link below) for the Esprit in particular.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/forum.asp?f=17&h=0

PH is full of real petrol heads who will be able to guide you on the potential pitfalls of owning an older Esprit.

(I`m thinking about swapping my Honda S2000 for a TVR Tamora and have been picking the brains of the TVR owners on there about the legendary reputation which TVRs in general have for exploding engines and monumental unreliability. It`s a mine of useful information.)

RE: How do you know what Year a car is?

Google is your friend!

RE: HUSTLE ON BBC1 - DOES ANYBODY WATCH IT? - OPINIONS PLEASE!

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i have to say this is by far the best programme i have ever seen on itv!!

But it`s on BBC1, not on ITV!!

:/

RE: Battlestar Galactica Season 2..

Having just discovered the delights of Bit Torrent, I can confirm that the new series of BG (at least so far) maintains the very high standards of the last.

Anyone know when it hits Sky One over here? I`m wondering whether the fact that it aired first in the US this season means that Sky didn`t co-fund the second series.

RE: Free Cd Wow Vouchers/Amazon Vouchers

And presumably, the more people who follow that link, the more referrals you get and the more credit you accumulate.....?

I`m guessing that the "GMB4" bit at the end of the URL is your personal code, yes?

RE: Rain, Wonderful Rain!

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not have to endure car radios from open- top smart-a***d car owners

Smart-arsed? What`s your beef with convertible drivers? (Other than some have their music too loud for your tastes, by the sounds of things).

Agreed that it`s a relief that it`s a bit cooler - I`ve found it quite hard to sleep over the past few nights with it being so oppressively warm.

Us British - we`re never happy with the weather! :D In the winter we complain about it being too cold and wet and yearn for the summer. In the summer, we whinge that it`s too hot and dry and long for cooler wetter climes. Doh! :p

RE: What do you do for a living then?

Commercial litigation solicitor (in between lurking on here and reading and posting on a car forum I frequent!)

RE: anyone work in marketing?

My brother recently moved (within the same company) from sales into marketing - he has just completed the first chunk of the qualification for the Chartered Institute of Marketing - might be worth checking out whether they offer any kind of qualification other than those done whilst actually working in the field?

RE: Live 8 - 5 Concerts, Five Countries, Amazing Artists - Tkts will be given away in competition.

Am I interested? Not really. I honestly can`t see it accomplishing much. Whereas Live Aid was pretty straightforward in what it wanted (i.e. your money), this is a rather different, altogether more politicised, proposition - the message is much more complex and far harder to sell.

Can you honestly see the leaders of the G8 nations changing their policies because Bono, Chris Martin, Michael Stipe et al tell them they should do? Naive in the extreme, if you ask me.

(I`d like to be proved wrong, but I suspect I won`t.)

I`m getting married on the day it takes place. I`ll probably enter the lottery anyway - I can always stick the tickets on ebay if I win! ;)

RE: Pipex Upgrade - Finally got mine!

Cheers Miles - I suspected that was the case. Ho hum - I`ll have to make do with my 1 Mb/s connection. (Although in all honesty, for what tend to use it for, that`s probably plenty - just greed on my part wanting a faster connection! :p )

RE: Pipex Upgrade - Finally got mine!

I`m a bit confused by this talk of exchanges being upgraded - I wonder if anyone here can clarify a bit for me?

I`m an existing Pipex customer. When I had ADSL installed last December, a line test showed that I was limited to 1 Mb/s as a result of the distance from the exchange. I`ve had a look at the blurb on Pipex`s website about the upgrade and see that it refers to BT upgrading the whole of the Wholesale network.

Does this mean that people like me who have up until now been limited by distance to 512k/s or 1 Mb/s will be able to receive 2Mb/s and upwards? Or is it just the case that BT are making it possible for ISPs to offer higher speeds to customers who are already within range to receive them? :/

RE: How to get off with 159 mph...

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If stopped by the police they had a card to show them they were allowed to do this and would be left to continue.

Sort of. The card he`s referring to will have been his military ID card. From what I understand from a mate of mine who is a major in an infantry regiment, the civilian police generally can`t be bothered with all of the hassle and paperwork which comes with arresting, charging and handing over a squaddie to the RMPs, and so unless it`s a particularly heinous offence they tend to turn a blind eye. My mate calls it his "get out of jail free" card.....

There are obviously limits to what it lets you get away with before they cease to be able to turn a blind eye, but I`d guess it would probably work with minor traffic offences.

RE: George Galloway?

Libel rather than slander, Dr 42%-er ;) :p

There`s the old saying that there`s no smoke without fire...... But then I`m not too inclined to take what the Yanks say at face value either, at least without knowing more about their evidence to support their conclusion that he was on the take.

RE: Car Question - Spot the Make

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An older Mazda MX5 is the best bet.
Very reliable.

MGF`s are hardly know for their reliability.

Cappucino`s are good fun but aren`t officially imported in the UK,I don`t think.

I would second all of that.

MGFs have a known issue with the head gaskets expensively going pop without any warning.

I drove an MX5 (admittedly a Mk2, but they`re not all that much different to the original Mk1s under the bonnet, as I understand it) for 3 years and around 25,000 miles without any mechanical problems.

The Copen is (IMHO) a bit girly and a 6` plus bloke is going to look a bit daft in it.....

RE: Can A Catholic Be the Prime Minster?

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otherwise the sex would dry up...probably.

I know Cherie is knocking on a bit, but isn`t that what KY jelly is for? ;) :p

RE: Wi-Fi play - PSP

Yup, that`s my understanding - although I gather (at least with some games) that it`s possible to boot up on PSP, eject the UMD and run it in the second and THEN search for others to play against wirelessly - then you can do it with only one game between you. No idea whether it actually works, from personal experience but I`ve seen a number of references to it in different places.

RE: Good day to be a Baggie :-) (spoilers if anyone is interested)

Villa fan here - irritated beyond belief to see them throw it away (again) at the death. Why oh why oh why do I persist with such a frustrating load of muppets? >:(

This item was edited on Sunday, 10th April 2005, 17:19

RE: MG Rover goes into administration. :-(

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what more could the govt. have done?

There`s speculation that the primary reason behind SAIC dropping out of the negotiations (or at least seeking to re-negotiate) was that they became aware of the bloody great big hole in the MG Rover pension fund (in stark contrast to the £16M which the "Phoenix Four" have siphoned off into their own private pension fund over the past 5 years, I might add) which is a direct result of Gordon Brown`s raid on pension fund assets.

This has been on the cards for a long time. The blame doesn`t attach to one person. You have to go all the way back to Red Robbo and his lot in the 1970s to see where the rot first set in then. Since then, things have gone downhill and the writing has been on the wall since the sale by BMW.

If you want to blame anyone, the obvious first target must be the "Phoenix Four" for hiving off the most lucrative part of the business (MGR Finance) into a separate company which they own, granting themselves a £10M loan note, flogging large chunks of the company`s property portfolio and then leaving it until now to try to find a partner to fund R&D into new models.

I pity the workers who will now only get statutory redundancy pay but who might have otherwise got £50-60K payoffs from BMW.

RE: US PSP

UK release has now been pushed back to the end of June (at earliest). Current pricing has the PSP alone at around £180, so I would certainly pick up a Value Pack if you`re in the US.

There`s no issue with games - they`re region free and can be played wi-fi with UK/Jap PSPs. The only downside would be region coding on movies, but whether that puts you off depends on how much you`re going to want to play UMDs, I guess. For me, that`s not an issue.