Vindekarr

LOL Some cars don't even need horns. The sound the engine makes is so intimidating that people tend to step aside anyway. The first thirty seconds are the only relevant part, the rest of the vid is useless. If my car made a noise like that, forget the mechanic, I'd call an exorcist! When a car is that loud(108 decibels) shakes that violently and sounds like a demon trying to tear it's way into reality, you don't even need a horn. And besides, look how spiky the front is; it's a 200 MPH fire-spewing guillotine with wheels that screams.

Typically a car's model is "attached" to it's skeleton. The basic chassis of a car usually carries it's model designation as long as it stays intact. Even modifying the frame to fit components from a different manufacturer won't effect the designation. Modified cars are listed as just that under law; a particular car that diverges heavily from the original model, but still has trace mechanical similarities. Replacing the frame with a custom one is typically where a vehicle transitions to a different "model" or more specifically, becomes regarded as a one-off. A vehicle with 95% Aston Martin parts and a Hyundai Accent skeleton is still a Hyundai Accent. A car with 80% Aston Martin parts, 20% Hyundai Accent parts, and a custom-made frame will typically be viewed as a one-off race car-a new model. Most race cars only have tenuous mechanical connections to their "parent" vehicles. Typically speaking only frame remains; nearly all have custom-made power systems and chassis, and ultimately only a handful of parts are compatible with a stock car. NASCAR take this even further; because they all share a single frame, they are all technically one model despite their different bodies and engines.

Finally bit the bullet and started watching Game Of Thrones' TV adaptation today. I'm mightily impressed; the cast is superb and they clearly used the actual book as a script, as the dialogue is literally drawn word-for-word from the books. It's refreshing to see such a faithful adaptation from Hollywood; very little seems to have been "lost in translation" and the film version has a greater "flow" due to it's different medium. Really good. I can't recommend it for everybody because it's extremely sexually explicit and hugely gory, but it's a very faithful re-creation of the books, and the books are brilliant.

I laughed way harder at that than I should have. For the rest of you, this is a clever joke. This car is a Ford Pinto: the Pinto had it's fuel-tank mounted dangerously close to it's rear bumper, and often burst into flames if crashed into from behind. Ford never fixed the problem; an internal memo was leaked that showed Ford executives had tabled the costs, and found paying lawsuits to victim's families were cheaper than re-designing the Pinto.

congratulation!

Went back to EVE Online today, after taking advantage of the offer. I'm deeply deeply impressed by how good the game looks after over a decade of service, and the gameplay is significantly better. And yet for all the technical improvements, it's still got the heart of pure darkness that makes EVE so compelling. There's constant tension because the game allows world PVP with certain restrictions; if you attack a player you lose the ship you attacked them with. That deters but doesn't prevent ganking, and makes running uber-valuable cargo a thrill ride to remember. There's also the capitalism and economic elements, which are still staggering a decade on. EVERYTHING in EVE is player-driven. Every single Titanium plate in a Battlecruiser's hull and missile in it's batteries was made by a player. Every molecule of titanium in those plates was dug from an asteroid by a player, using a ship made by players. The cycle goes on, and the entire economy is "alive". There's taxes, inflation, and market-crashes. You can play EVE purely as an economist and become insanely wealthy without ever entering space. That is why people love EVE; the PVP and Economy exist on a scale no other game in history has ever tried to match. Watching space battles in EVE is a very surreal experience; every single ship is player-piloted, from Titans the size of Manhattan, to individual fighter craft. EVE remains the only video game in the world in which players can form nation-states and then engage in actual wars, let alone do so with permadeath as a feature. It's a truly special experience.

Global Defence Initiative(GDI) from the Command & Conquer games. They're a bit like the UN, but with Ion Cannons and some actual gumption. While the UN ineffectually yells "GUUUUUUYYSS!!! STOP FIIIIGHTING!" the GDI simply fires it's Ion Cannon, and lo and behold, the guys stop fighting. GDI Ion Cannon: now you know how ants feel when you fry them with a magnifying glass! http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130704001223/cnc/images/c/c2/Ion_Cannon_Render.jpg

I recommend magnets/clasps over getting your ears pierced. That way you can experiment a bit with different looks, get an idea of what they feel like and see how people react, without actually inflicting a permanent piercing. Modern clasps are really good, nobody would notice so long as you kept them on. As for actual piercings, Pagafyr is right. They take a while to heal, but they're fine after that. It stings a helluva lot though when they're fresh, and you'll want to get a proper professional to do it. Anybody "can" pierce your ears, but this isn't something you want to do cheaply. Any sort of cut can get infected afterall, and ear infections hurt.

It's not about natural talent, it's about experience. I've been around cars all my life, and I needed four tries to get my road licence. It took me more than a year to get accustomed to driving, and I'm still learning as I go now. Driving a car is a pretty complicated skill to master, it takes a long time, so give yourself a chance. Another story that may or may not help: For most Formula 1 fans, Ayrton Senna was arguably the most "naturally talented" racing driver who ever lived. He was a virtuoso: totally focused and capable of steering a car along the knife-edge of control seemingly without effort. And yet even with his level of talent, he needed decades to become a successful racer. He started at around 12-13, and didn't hit his peak until he was 30. He wasn't perfect, either: he was very much a late-bloomer, and spent a large portion of his career crashing, making embarrassing mistakes and generally not impressing people at all. He didn't pass his first driving exam, either.

Driving skill boils down to experience and mindset. You'll develop both over time, it's just a matter of practising and letting yourself learn. 50 hours isn't a very long time, considering the complexity of the skills you're trying to develop. I don't know if this helps, but a professional racing pilot needs about fifteen years of experience and learning before they can embark on their career. The vast majority of racing sports are what's known as "feeder series" and exist purely to teach drivers. Most spend atleast ten years doing these "feeder" events before they're entrusted with an actual race car.

At least you know what went wrong, and have learned from it. Most people need a few tries to pass, driving is a skill that takes time to build up.

Good luck. And don't crash the car too hard. :tongue: Military was awesome in terms of a driving exam. My racing licence was almost as "fun" :laugh: The car I was tested in was a Lotus Elise. The Elise is a cute little thing; a feisty British sports car with a great reputation. The problem is, it's absolutely tiny. And I'm six-foot something. For somebody my size, the Elise is a clown car. Learning how to get in the bloody thing was the hardest part I swear.

Good luck. And don't do what I did, either. I spilled a coffee all over my instructor while getting into the car.

Usually, it's a sign that you reeeeally like something. I'm in my twenties, I shouldn't be giggling right now... ...but I am. Speaking of giggles, this should give you all few... Australia recently gained a Senator called Clive Palmer. Clive is the absolute living stereotype of a politician: he's white, old, fat, stupid and hideously corrupt. The funny part is, dear Clive has done more for progressive politics BY ACCIDENT since he got elected, than Labour did in an entire term leading the country. The man is a walking(waddling, actually) disaster, everything he says is hysterical, and yet oddly enough he's actually done a lot of good things, and prevented a lot of bad things. He is quite literally "The wrong (fat) man, in the wrong place, at the wrong time" and may he continue to accidentally do good for some time yet.

I'm used to a somewhat different version: "row, row, row your boat, sneakin' up the stream. lock & load in tactical mode, United States Marines!"

Yeah it's got a taste: it tastes like butt. Seriously, potato whisky is disgusting stuff.

A funny story for you all, about arguably the worst promotion in recent history. The German Grand Prix is next weekend: it's a huge spectator event and normally sees crowds of 100,000 or more flock to either Nurburgring or Hockenheimring(got to love German words...) to watch the race. Now, obviously the tickets are pretty expensive. With this in mind, the race organisers decided to do a promotion. For every goal the German Soccer team scored against Brazil at the World Cup, they would knock 11 Euros off the price of a ticket. Afterall, Soccer is a very low-scoring game, so what's the risk? Problem is, Germany scored a ludicrous 7 goals. A first-class ticket to Hockenheim is now 77 Euros cheaper(and thus virtually free), and they're (unsurprisingly) sold out. Thanks Klose!

Don't get too drunk. Those crazy Irish folk have a beverage made from potatoes that's half again stronger than Moonshine. It's like rocket fuel, only it doesn't taste quite as nice.

Hah. I've burned the hair off my arm by accident once: it's arguably the worst smell in the world. TBH I'm surprised it hasn't happened more often. I love cooking and I'm constantly surrounded by really hot things(welders, oxyacetylene torches, a woodburning stove) and yet I've only ever burned myself twice in my life. Maybe I'm actually the Pyro? http://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/thumb/c/c8/Pyro.png/250px-Pyro.png?t=20111210120232 Afterall all, he/she/they/it/them likes to cook, is surrounded by hot things and never seems to get burned...

I've long ago stopped listening to anything Ubisoft say. I would argue that they're as bad as EA, certainly as untrustworthy.

I had an interesting day myself. I met a Quaker at work today; I only found out about them a few days ago, but apparently they're a fairly large sect. Anyway, it was a very interesting conversation: I used to think my world view was incompatible with a religious world view, but this person wasn't that different to myself. I remain resolutely atheist, but it's always enjoyable when you can have a serious, civil discussion about something complex like religion. Tommorow will be fun. No work, the World Cup has reached the pointy-end and there's also the British F1 GP. The British GP is one of my favourite races of the year because it's always chaotic. The track uses an entire airbase runway for a straight, and it's usually pouring rain. Since an F1 car has more power than weight they're like a ballistic missile strapped to a rollerskate on a slippery/wet road.

Sounds like a great day then, all told.

If you ever need any help, just ask. I know things that are so boring they're physically cringe-worthy, and I can happily bombard you with them via Steam if you really need help going cold-turkey. Kind of like a Cigarette that sings Miley Cirus as you smoke it, that kind of cold-turkey.

I get around 1.2 to 1.6 megaBYTES per second download, which is great considering how affordable my plan is and where I live. Overall I know that isn't particularly fast, but I'm still impressed with my ISP. They bill me for 1.5 MB/S and I get ~1.5 MB/S. They even warn me days in advance if there's go to be an outage.

I'm not actually that surprised, your English is perfect-your written English is better than most Australian gamers. In my experience, it seems to be a feature with people who learn a second language: they often have excellent spelling and grammar in that language, relative to a native speaker. I think I think it's because they speak much more deliberately, wheras Australians particularly tend to rush through sentences and cut corners wherever possible(a feature of the Australian dialect).