On Sun, 15 Feb 2009 09:36:53 +0000, Stephen wrote:

> On 14 Feb 2009 16:49:58 -0500, Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> 
>>> I bought a Wacom on ebay cheaply to try it out. (There was a lot of
>>> discussion here at the time) I found that I liked using it so much I
>>> bought two cheep ones from Maplins (£17) to use at work and to carry
>>> around with my laptop.) I really only use them as a mouse substitute.
>>> I find that they reduce my RSI a lot especially if I swap between the
>>> tablet, mouse and touch pad.
>>
>>Cool, I don't usually think of eBay for stuff like this, will have to
>>have a look.
>>
> Nor do I but my wife was buying a lot of HiFi accessories on ebay, at
> the time.

Ah.  Well, I've found one up there and am keeping an eye on the bidding; 
it's another 4 days before it's done, but current bid is only $1.25.  
Meantime, I'm going to see if our marketing department has someone who 
has one I could take a look at. :-)

>>Yeah.  There's a local pub that does a good battered fish and chips, but
>>it's one of many things they do.  I find that for *really* good ones,
>>you gotta go somewhere that that's all they do.
>>
>>We've decided to go to the pub tomorrow, though, and I think that's what
>>I may have.  Thing is, they have other things that I like far better.
>>
> Pub, fish and chips? Better than nothing, I suppose.

Well, yeah, thing is like I said, they have many things that I like a lot 
better.  But their fish is battered with their own beer (it's a pub and 
brewery), a very good Hefeweisen.  But I usually end up getting the 
jambalaya because it's really good.  Or I could just sit and eat wings 
all night. :-)

>>He was *very* confused as a result.  It probably didn't help that we
>>were dressed like locals as well, rather than as stereotypical American
>>tourists in loud Hawaiian shirts and whatnot. ;-)
> 
> Sometimes you need to live up to people's expectations and speak as if
> you are off the telly, to be understood. :)

LOL, unfortunately (or fortunately, more appropriately) for us that's 
just not gonna happen. ;-)

> Harking back to my time in Jamaica. I found it quite disconcerting
> speaking to white Jamaicans (actually called island-born "Jamaican
> whites"). My ears were saying that they were black but my eyes told a
> different story. A little rider to that for others reading it. It is not
> like saying someone sounds "urban". In countries that the people are
> predominantly not white there is a more matter of fact way of speaking
> about colour and race than in our first world countries. I've been taken
> aback a few times.

It can be surprising when that happens, have had that happen once or 
twice myself. :-)

Jim

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>> I do that (downshifting 2-3 gears at once) every day while slowing down
>> from the motorway - either 6-5-3-2, 6-4-2 or 6-3-2, depending on place,
>> traffic etc.
>
> Ah, I've never driven a 6-speed vehicle.  From higher gears it would
> probably be less of an issue, but dropping from 3 to 1 can redline the
> engine, at least IME.

I never put the car into 1st gear unless I'm stopped or moving along at a 
constant very slow speed in traffic, the ratio is usually so high that by 5 
km/hr you need to change to 2nd unless you are in a race or something.

On my old 5-speed car I would usually do 5-3-2 when coming to a stop from a 
high speed, in my current 6-speed I would definitely do 6-4-3-2 or even 
6-3-2 sometimes if slowing down relatively quickly.  The only time I use 5th 
gear while slowing down is if traffic is bad and say the speed has dropped 
from 120 km/hr to 80 km/hr, 80 is a bit slow for 6th gear if you are 
expecting to accelerate again soon, but I can do without the high RPM that 
4th gear would offer (both because of the noise and the fuel consumption).

You won't redline the engine if you wait until the revs are down near idle 
before changing down, but doing 3rd-1st is going to cause problems because 
the ratios are so far apart.

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> Ahh, Audi takes more time, it lets the slide start but then crunches the
> car back to line.

I would estimate that mine lets the rear wheels slide about 30-50 cm 
sideways, then it pulls it back in line, it usually happens so fast on 
snow/ice that it's hard to tell what's going on.

> BMW?

Yep 120d so the turbo makes the power a bit on/off with the throttle, a 
petrol would be better for controlling the power IMO.  Also if I just tap 
the ESP-disable button (rather than hold it down for a few seconds) it puts 
it into some kind of 50% help mode, maybe that will let you have more fun 
but still stop you from losing control completely, IDK, maybe I will try it 
again when we have some more snow on the roads.

> I don't even need to brake with the engine - if I have too much speed
> for a corner, keep the throttle steady and turn quickly, car goes
> straight ahead and ESP does nothing.

Mine seems to correct understeer too, which is quite handy when driving a 
bit faster than you should be on snow :-)  - I saw the tyre tracks of where 
someone else had gone off onto the grass and thought I was going there too 
for a moment :-)

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>>> Top on that,
>>> engine braking is more economical than using the brakes.
>>
>> Depends how expensive it is to replace the clutch :-)
>>
>
> Ummm.. no, bad clutch-usage ain't dependent on engine braking. :-)

Hehe yes, I guess if you matched the revs before downshifting to get engine 
braking that would be the most economic way and give least wear to the car - 
but I doubt many people do that as it seems counter-intuitive to rev the 
engine if you are trying to slow down!

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On 15 Feb 2009 12:58:35 -0500, Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:

>
>Ah.  Well, I've found one up there and am keeping an eye on the bidding; 
>it's another 4 days before it's done, but current bid is only $1.25.  
>Meantime, I'm going to see if our marketing department has someone who 
>has one I could take a look at. :-)
>

It took me a couple of days to get used to them. I define the uppermost barrel
button as right click and the lower one as double click. A lot of utilities use
gestures so that if you draw a "W" word will open a "<-" goes back in your
browser, "P", prints etc.

>>>Yeah.  There's a local pub that does a good battered fish and chips, but
>>>it's one of many things they do.  I find that for *really* good ones,
>>>you gotta go somewhere that that's all they do.
>>>
>>>We've decided to go to the pub tomorrow, though, and I think that's what
>>>I may have.  Thing is, they have other things that I like far better.
>>>
>> Pub, fish and chips? Better than nothing, I suppose.
>
>Well, yeah, thing is like I said, they have many things that I like a lot 
>better.  But their fish is battered with their own beer (it's a pub and 
>brewery), a very good Hefeweisen.  But I usually end up getting the 
>jambalaya because it's really good.  Or I could just sit and eat wings 
>all night. :-)
>

I've developed a taste for Hoegaarden over the past couple of years.
I'd not heard of jambalaya before but it sounds nice and as for wings. Isn't
that the bit you throw away or use for stack? :)

>>>He was *very* confused as a result.  It probably didn't help that we
>>>were dressed like locals as well, rather than as stereotypical American
>>>tourists in loud Hawaiian shirts and whatnot. ;-)
>> 
>> Sometimes you need to live up to people's expectations and speak as if
>> you are off the telly, to be understood. :)
>
>LOL, unfortunately (or fortunately, more appropriately) for us that's 
>just not gonna happen. ;-)
>

Keep it up :)

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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On Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:49:48 +0000, Stephen wrote:

> On 15 Feb 2009 12:58:35 -0500, Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> 
>>Ah.  Well, I've found one up there and am keeping an eye on the bidding;
>>it's another 4 days before it's done, but current bid is only $1.25.
>>Meantime, I'm going to see if our marketing department has someone who
>>has one I could take a look at. :-)
>>
>>
> It took me a couple of days to get used to them. I define the uppermost
> barrel button as right click and the lower one as double click. A lot of
> utilities use gestures so that if you draw a "W" word will open a "<-"
> goes back in your browser, "P", prints etc.

Cool. I figure it'll be interesting to get gestures working on Linux - 
but there is support for many of the Wacom devices, so that'll be 
interesting.

>>> Pub, fish and chips? Better than nothing, I suppose.
>>
>>Well, yeah, thing is like I said, they have many things that I like a
>>lot better.  But their fish is battered with their own beer (it's a pub
>>and brewery), a very good Hefeweisen.  But I usually end up getting the
>>jambalaya because it's really good.  Or I could just sit and eat wings
>>all night. :-)
>>
> I've developed a taste for Hoegaarden over the past couple of years. I'd
> not heard of jambalaya before but it sounds nice and as for wings. Isn't
> that the bit you throw away or use for stack? :)

Hoegaarden?  I don't think I've heard of that, will have to google it and 
find out more about what it is.  Hmmm, looks interesting.

Jambalaya is very good when made properly.

A couple of friends of mine from Edinburgh used to think the way you do 
about wings; they're coming to town in March, and I know they're going to 
want to go to Squatter's just for the wings.  Seriously good grub.

Had the fish & chips.  The batter was a little soggy, sadly, so it wasn't 
as good as I'd hoped.

> 
>>>>He was *very* confused as a result.  It probably didn't help that we
>>>>were dressed like locals as well, rather than as stereotypical
>>>>American tourists in loud Hawaiian shirts and whatnot. ;-)
>>> 
>>> Sometimes you need to live up to people's expectations and speak as if
>>> you are off the telly, to be understood. :)
>>
>>LOL, unfortunately (or fortunately, more appropriately) for us that's
>>just not gonna happen. ;-)
>>
> Keep it up :)

But of course. ;-)

Jim

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On Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:15:53 +0100, scott wrote:

>>> I do that (downshifting 2-3 gears at once) every day while slowing
>>> down from the motorway - either 6-5-3-2, 6-4-2 or 6-3-2, depending on
>>> place, traffic etc.
>>
>> Ah, I've never driven a 6-speed vehicle.  From higher gears it would
>> probably be less of an issue, but dropping from 3 to 1 can redline the
>> engine, at least IME.
> 
> I never put the car into 1st gear unless I'm stopped or moving along at
> a constant very slow speed in traffic, the ratio is usually so high that
> by 5 km/hr you need to change to 2nd unless you are in a race or
> something.

This was true on my old 3-speed Duster as well.  It was usually going 
from 3rd to 2nd.  In my automatic, which I think is a 4-speed, I can drop 
to 3rd and that's usually sufficient.

> You won't redline the engine if you wait until the revs are down near
> idle before changing down, but doing 3rd-1st is going to cause problems
> because the ratios are so far apart.

Yeah, that's gotta be the important bit.  I do recall going from 3rd to 
1st on occasion with a rapid deceleration, now that you mention it.

Jim

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On 16 Feb 2009 23:28:07 -0500, Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:

>> It took me a couple of days to get used to them. I define the uppermost
>> barrel button as right click and the lower one as double click. A lot of
>> utilities use gestures so that if you draw a "W" word will open a "<-"
>> goes back in your browser, "P", prints etc.
>
>Cool. I figure it'll be interesting to get gestures working on Linux - 
>but there is support for many of the Wacom devices, so that'll be 
>interesting.
>

Well if I can spread the word :)
IIRC It was "Lance from Oz" on this ng that made me want to try one.
Let me know how you get on.

>> I've developed a taste for Hoegaarden over the past couple of years. I'd
>> not heard of jambalaya before but it sounds nice and as for wings. Isn't
>> that the bit you throw away or use for stack? :)
>
>Hoegaarden?  I don't think I've heard of that, will have to google it and 
>find out more about what it is.  Hmmm, looks interesting.
>

It tastes interesting too :)

>Jambalaya is very good when made properly.
>
>A couple of friends of mine from Edinburgh used to think the way you do 
>about wings; they're coming to town in March, and I know they're going to 
>want to go to Squatter's just for the wings.  Seriously good grub.
>

Edinburgh, 'nuff said ;)

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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On Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:49:37 +0000, Stephen wrote:

> On 16 Feb 2009 23:28:07 -0500, Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> 
>>> It took me a couple of days to get used to them. I define the
>>> uppermost barrel button as right click and the lower one as double
>>> click. A lot of utilities use gestures so that if you draw a "W" word
>>> will open a "<-" goes back in your browser, "P", prints etc.
>>
>>Cool. I figure it'll be interesting to get gestures working on Linux -
>>but there is support for many of the Wacom devices, so that'll be
>>interesting.
>>
>>
> Well if I can spread the word :)
> IIRC It was "Lance from Oz" on this ng that made me want to try one. Let
> me know how you get on.

Will do.  Current bids are getting out of my budget, but I'll keep my 
eyes open. :-)

>>> I've developed a taste for Hoegaarden over the past couple of years.
>>> I'd not heard of jambalaya before but it sounds nice and as for wings.
>>> Isn't that the bit you throw away or use for stack? :)
>>
>>Hoegaarden?  I don't think I've heard of that, will have to google it
>>and find out more about what it is.  Hmmm, looks interesting.
>>
>>
> It tastes interesting too :)

I'll bet.

>>Jambalaya is very good when made properly.
>>
>>A couple of friends of mine from Edinburgh used to think the way you do
>>about wings; they're coming to town in March, and I know they're going
>>to want to go to Squatter's just for the wings.  Seriously good grub.
>>
>>
> Edinburgh, 'nuff said ;)

LOL, I'll tell 'em you said that when I see them next month.  My friend 
in Bucks also likes 'em, though. :-)

Jim

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On 18 Feb 2009 12:02:30 -0500, Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:

>> Well if I can spread the word :)
>> IIRC It was "Lance from Oz" on this ng that made me want to try one. Let
>> me know how you get on.
>
>Will do.  Current bids are getting out of my budget, but I'll keep my 
>eyes open. :-)
>

If you wait long enough a suitable one will turn up.

>>>A couple of friends of mine from Edinburgh used to think the way you do
>>>about wings; they're coming to town in March, and I know they're going
>>>to want to go to Squatter's just for the wings.  Seriously good grub.
>>>
>>>
>> Edinburgh, 'nuff said ;)
>
>LOL, I'll tell 'em you said that when I see them next month.  My friend 
>in Bucks also likes 'em, though. :-)

Oooo! Scary :)

I'm talking through a hole in my head as I've never eaten them. It just doesn't
seem right. But then I'd never eaten Wedgies until I tried them. :)
It is probably snobbery on my part.
-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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