PaulAA

Hey, John - I've done that so many times, I'm known as 'Joseph'. Besides, my learning modus is invariably via trial and repeated error and I have long worked on the principle that 'mother is the necessity of invention'. Paul

Thank you, chaps. Silicone for simplicity it is. I've twice had the accursed silicone replenished with mineral. Most recently, it was DOT 4 ("I've never seen brake fluid go purple before, chief" Agghhh!), which seems to maintain a sullen yet non-corrosive relationship with the DOT 5 incumbent. But the first time was with 5.1 ("you're in luck, sir," says the mechanic, "I found something even better than DOT 5"), which proved to be a wildly aggressive mix, ruined all the seals, contaminated the pads, drums & shoes and took a week to flush out of the pipes and dry. Paul

Chaps Clutch slave cylinder failed last weekend and I will be replacing both the slave and master this w/e, if TNT deliver the goods in time... In its previous life, a PO replaced the brake fluid with DOT5 and I'm wondering whether to keep things simple and fill the new clutch hydraulics with the same stuff. Is this a truly stupid idea? Making sure that folk don't mix mineral with silicone in the brake system has been (and continues to be) a pain in the butt, but if it's all silicone... maybe easier..? Cheers Paul

Nick I was being optimistic! The pessimistic outlook is that there is another (dy)nasty in the making - the daughter is being touted as his replacement... Kim Jong Trump. Or, he might have changed the constitution by 2024 to enable the American people to bask in the wisdom of his tweets in perpetuity. Paul

John I think you may have overlooked the wider social/climatic context. These games can be effective at familiarising the young with a future where water is scarce and processing one's waste in a 'non-flush' environment is a necessity. Making light of it now will make daily - ahem - handling in the future less burdensome. An added bonus, of course, is that it may immunise a fresh generation of youngster to the cr@p that emanates daily from Trump. Only another six years to go, eh... Paul Edit: this was supposed to sound witty. I failed.

Remarkable. Thanks for the heads up, John. Paul

He is an enigma. If he could only shut up and let his foresight shine through. That said, anybody with the weight to call out Zuckerberg as an idiot for dabbling in AI is worthy of praise. It seems that when he opens his mouth, little of value comes out - he claims he is a socialist, yet has served Trump and openly despises public transport. His proclamations on twitter are as ridiculous as any that POTUS makes and his publicity stunts invariably backfire horribly, yet when he shuts up and does his job, he demonstrates the potential to deflect the damage that civilisation is hell-bent on doing to itself. And now that Tesla shareholders have had a bellyful of his pranks, he seems likely to be replaced by a spawn of the Dirty Digger. A Murdoch at the helm does not bode well. Paul

You disappoint me, Nick - I was expecting an "over my dead body, officer" euphemism, haha!

Blimey, don't you have cameras and radar in the West Country?? Very nice pics - these and the pictures from John O'Groats and Mallory Park have only increased the greenness of my envy!

D'oh! Thanks, John - it's obvious... when you know the answer. Welded up rear doors to make it a unique series 1 XJC, no? Paul

Roger In your second batch of pictures, what is the blue car in pic no.3, with the six-pot twin cam? Paul

Great pics - how did you get on, John? The stove is not a bad idea, Roger. If I recall correctly, my first car was solid-fuel powered. It certainly seemed to make no difference what went in the Moggie Traveller's tank. Paul

Agreed. Any chance of posting more pictures of it, Pete?

Hi Alec I've not read the whole report and therefore can't comment on whether the disproportionate demand you describe has been accounted for, but bear in mind that renewables (principally hydro, wind & solar) in the UK now account for more than 25% of total electricity production, which is a greater % than coal delivers. By comparison, Portugal now regularly registers days where renewables exceed 100% of their power requirements, so, in response to your second point, it could be argued that the additional load of EVs can be compensated for by adding renewable sources. I'm not arguing in their favour - it's bad enough driving an automatic, but my experience of EVs has been... numbing. But the next generation clearly has a difference perspective and we owe them a responsible analysis of our current actions and inactions. Not something we've been particularly good at this last couple of years. Paul

Hi Alec On page 91 of the report, there is a graph which addresses this difference. It shows (claims?) that the higher fossil-fuel source of UK power impacts on the whole-life carbon footprint of an EV used here. Paul