calvan

For a somewhat disturbing analysis of the effects of tribalism, and other factors, in the affairs of nations read this book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/624156/how-civil-wars-start-by-barbara-f-walter/ Like much of popularised academia it tends to lay it on a bit thick but is still thought provoking,

My family left Scotland for Canada when I was three years old - Harold Macmillan was the PM of the day. Maybe I should get @C8RKHto sponsor me for my birth entitlement of a UK pension . I'm sure the taxpayers there won't notice the difference😜

The damage on my V8 is to the left rear wheel arch extension. A woman backed an Audi Q5 into it in a parking lot and hit the arch extension absolutely square on, which in a way was fortunate. The main bodywork was untouched and when the arch extension was stressed the urethane adhesive holding the mounting bolts to the extension let go and didn't pull the fasteners out through the bodywork. I sourced a replacement wheel arch extension from Dave Bean Engineering. They have (or had in July) a right rear extension in stock and managed to find the left side in the UK. It should arrive at their place today and will cost me US$550 plus shipping to me from California. SJ Sportscars didn't have the extension I wanted in stock but can make them. As I recall the cost of the part was similar but I didn't check shipping from the UK to the west coast. I checked with JAE but didn't hear back so I don't know what availability is like from them. In fairness, I made the mistake of using the "contact us" feature on their website instead of a direct call and I'm never confident that those enquiries get through. I didn't ask about front arch extensions but Dave Bean, SJ and JAE will be the usual suspects to check with.

Thanks, Bill. This seems to be the summer of the invisible Lotus. Back in July a woman in an SUV "didn't see" my Esprit in a parking lot and backed into it. The ironic part is that when I took my phone out this evening to take pictures of the damage to the Elise I saw that I had an email saying that a replacement wheel arch for the Esprit has just arrived at Dave Bean. It will need to be prepped and painted so maybe I can ask for a two-for-one deal on fibreglass work.

Now I'm unhappy myself. About half an hour after making the previous post, my wife and I got in the Elise and drove down to the beachfront for fish & chips. I parked on the street, leaving at least 3 feet between us and the pickup truck already parked in front of us. We got out of the car and had walked about 20 feet when we heard a "crunch". The driver of the pickup had decided to back up before leaving his space and put his trailer hitch into the nose of the Elise. He apparently didn't see it because it is too low. Mow I have the joys of dealing with insurance and arranging the repair.

It might be worthwhile to spend a few pounds and consult with a solicitor to clarify just what your legal position is as against the X5 driver. I know that Scots law has its own idiosyncrasies and won't presume to say what your situation there is. But in other jurisdictions there is a significant difference in the degree of proof that the police would need to proceed with charges and what you would need in a civil action to recover damages from the X5 driver. Yes, the police will need to be able to establish fault "beyond a reasonable doubt" in order to make charges stick. That can be a tall order. But in many other jurisdictions you would only have to establish the X5 driver's fault on a "balance of probabilities", i.e more likely than not, in order to claim financial recovery for the damages caused. In an extreme position, you might be able to drop your insurance claim, pay for the costs out of pocket and then claim the money back from Mr. (or Ms.) X5. I'm not recommending that, of course, but I think you will be in a better position to decide on a course of action if you get professional confirmation of your legal rights and the required standard of proof where you are.

I haven't had lens replacement for cataracts but I did have Lasik vision correction back in '99, when I was 45. Prior to the surgery the correction factor for my "better" eye was -12.5 but the laser magic brought me to uncorrected vision. I still don't need glasses today, other than some mild reading glasses when looking at a computer screen. Technology can be great!

The illegitimate love child of a Bricklin and a Concorde.

Back in the period of 2000 - 2006 when I was working in Calgary I would quite regularly do the drive from my home base in White Rock BC, in the outer 'burbs of Vancouver, to where I was staying in Calgary. The door to door distance was about 990 km with a personal best time of a little under 9 1/2 hours. I couldn't do it non-stop due to fuel supply so it would be a 1, 2, or 3 stop drive depending on traffic, available time or how hungry I was. The longest stretch I did literally non-stop was on one westbound trip where I brimmed the Europa tanks in Golden BC and didn't stop again until I was sputtering into a gas station in Langley BC. Google Maps shows the road distance between the two stations as 664 km with an estimated time of roughly 7 hr 50 min. I don't recall my time from that trip but it was somewhat quicker than the Google estimate. That was back in the good old days when my bladder fill rate was still more or less the same as the fuel tank drain rate.

Thanks for the suggestion, it's not a bad idea. On the other hand, I tend to put myself in situations where my enthusiasm exceeds my skill level so I would probably find a way to half-kill myself anyway. 😵

This is just my opportunity to vent a bit over a real First World problem for which I have noone to blame but myself. Went out this morning for the second of my twice-weekly hockey games. All went well until I had to really hustle back to cover on defence, got my skates tangled up, took a fall and bounced my fool head on the ice. Even with a helmet on, four inches of ice on a concrete base is an unforgiving surface to smack one's head on so I now have some concussion symptoms. That is bad enough but I did the same thing in January so two concussions (albeit mild) in a little over two months is something to think about. And I know that I won't get far in this world if I have to rely on my looks or athletic prowess. My plan has been to keep playing where I am for a couple of more years until I hit 70 and then evaluate whether to quit playing or look for a slower league to play in. Now I'm pissed that I might have put myself in that situation ahead of schedule. Like I said, just venting.

Restoration of seized or frozen assets would be nice, but I suspect that throwing in immunity from prosecution would seal the deal if it comes to that point.

The mods might consider moving this to the "Fuel Prices" thread. It often seems to be the main reason why the oil companies jack up fuel prices. DBE 101 - Dog Balls Economics

Wise man. I'm exhausted just thinking of the other alternative.

Ideally,it would be a menage a trois with the Corps d' Esprit. It appears that neither of us can count. That Corps d' Esprit could provide a menage a quatre.