F-Stop Junkie

Youtube Video -> Original Video

A system of belief can exist in any context. For example, every day you believe that gravity exists, that people will obey traffic lights, and a tomato tastes a certain way. Each of those is an act of faith. Every time I drive through a green light, I believe that no-one will disobey a red light and hit me. It's no big leap to have someone saying "If you live a good life, you will go to heaven."

I see Rowlands circling...

Yep, that group are extremists in the worst sense. I doubt very much they are representative of 99.999999999% of the Christian population. I saw a programme once - and I don't think it was Theroux - about a Jesus camp for kids. It had them ministering, supposedly speaking in tongues, all sorts. At one point one of the adult leaders came out with something like "This is why abortion is wrong, and now go and tell everyone." There was no debate, no 'This is what the bible says, what do you think?' It was pretty much brainwashing young children. For the record I have no issue with Christianity - having been baptised before I became morally bankrupt - but it's easy for us to lump all Christians in with the WI, raising funds for the church roof and harvest festival collections, when there are some really messed up groups crusading personal opinions and agendas under a generally socially accepted banner. There's no excuse, IMHO of course, for what these people do, but if you have a belief which you held absolutely, wouldn't you hold it despite what other non-believers may say? It's flippant to say, but take Canon Vs Nikon in the camera world. If you're a Nikon user, you have your justification for following that path. If someone tries to argue for Canon, you'll take a contrary view based on your belief, and it's only when you no longer believe you're taking the best option, you convert.

Why would you take your bike? Is there going to be stuff set up you can ride?

Wow... There's an offer I've never had before. Well, I have, but I was young and wild and... that's a different story...

That couldn't actually happen as they are in fact one and the same. Think about it, when did you last see JT! and a giant erect cock in the same room?

International play boy and gentleman racer...

Girls drinks...

Civics are cracking cars... Really clever back seats are great for bikes!

The thing is, the original video was special because of the song and the general vibe. What you've done is re-edited it to put a completely generic metal track on it, and hence removed part of what made the video special. You haven't killed it, you've just made it average.

Stop being helpful OD404, you're spoiling a good argument thread

I love how you take on a lawyer-y tone when trying to make a point 4.6 seconds is quick for 15 year old car, but these days it's about the same as any 4x4 rally saloon. It's not exceptional. 163mph is also excessive for UK roads, ergo pointless. The defense rests... Let's have a look, shall we? Audi RS2. 0-60 4.8 secs according to Audi, and onto 163mph Porsche Boxster S 5.6 secs 0-60 and onto 164mph On the drag strip then, the RS2 might have an advantage due to higher grip. However the Porsche counters with lower weight (1356Kg vs 1595Kg) and a weight distribution where the engine is in the optimum place. As we're looking for first hand evidence here, let's turn to the boys at Evo magazine who reviewed an RS2 recently: "In these wet conditions the RS2 is still a hugely effective ground-coverer. Manage the understeer, use the power wisely and it feels neat, tidy and devastatingly effective. However, this car’s dampers haven’t stood the test of time as well as some of the others here (having said that, it has covered 109,000 miles) and the constant jiggling and occasional crash sets the whole structure on edge, like a huge tuning-fork. Barker was an RS2 advocate, but even he feels the big estate may be slightly out of its depth here: ‘The odo shows 109K, and disappointingly it feels it, with clonky suspension in particular. The clutch is heavy, the gearshift slightly vague, but underneath there’s a very secure all-wheel-drive chassis.’ Green feels the same. ‘No problem in terms of what it does, but it’s the least exciting car here, the least involving I suppose.’ Hayman, a man who hates understeer as much as no-smoking zones, is less charitable: ‘It’s a great tow car, isn’t it? Horribly dull, though.’ "

Fifteen grand for a 15 year old estate? The performance was outstanding for the time. They're not infintely upgradable - you can't upgrade it to become a battleship for example - and you only get 'instant respect' from motoring geeks who don't look at a fifteen year old estate and think it's someone in £800 worth of Audi 80. Oh, and Quattros never really handled that well. They only cleaned up on the rally stages because they were the only ones who had four wheel drive. Got fifteen grand to spend? Want Porsche engine, suspension and brakes? Buy a Porsche?

Though they do handle very, very well indeed and are a bargain these days!

I'm all for tailoring cars... A tweak and a fiddle here and there to make it fit your purposes better. It's when you see a Skyline with a massive engine and standard brakes and dampers, or a huge body kit with a lawn mower engine underneath. If you're going for the big saloon option, the E39 M5 is a cracking buy at the moment. So cheap in fact that they're not depreciating at the moment, and some prices are actually going up! Plus you can get a facelifted pre-Sept 2001 (I think) car so you've got a 400bhp V8, and £180 a year tax... Expect to pay £12k. So there's money left over for uprated front brakes, and a holiday.

Poor or not, isn't a cracked rim bad?

Easy tiger. I've been involved with a lot of different cars for a long time, and I know what I'm talking about too. That wasn't aimed at you specifically. I know for the R32 you can buy kits like that, though I think £5k is a *little* on the light side... I've also seen enough cars have wonder maps that either don't deliver the power they promise (mostly because they can't without breathing changes or more fuelling) or make the car worse for the sake of peak dyno figures. Plus you get people suggesting silly mods, like a 400bhp FWD car which physics says can't be handled. You also get entirely hyperbolic statements about a car being faster cross country than <list of fast cars>, which again is just stupid to claim. I've been faster on normal rounds in a 130bhp MX-5 than I have in some more powerful cars because it depends on the road and the situation. Oh, the MX-5 was awesome on the Nurburgring too! On a forum like TF where a lot (though, as I pointed out to Muel, not all) of people don't have experience of fast cars or the engineering there in. They see headline figures, and they don't realise they're silly tuner specials that are actually rubbish cars. They also pick up second hand facts off friends and forums and they're convinced that their particular favourite is unbeatable, despite the fact that a similar priced M3 or 911 would leave them for dead in the real world. I don't believe anyone's comparisons unless they've actually got the experience to back it up. Cars feel fast when you're not used to them, but if you've never sat in an Impreza at full chat, how do you know?

It always makes me laugh in threads like this. "Mate, get a <car I've always wanted>. My mate says you can get a remap/turbo kit/magic exhaust and 500bhp easy for £1.50" If you want a fast car, buy a fast car. Don't buy a slow car and silly modifications which either don't deliver what they claim, cause your fuel consumption to rocket, or leave you in a smoking heap by the side of the road every time you go for a spirited drive. Not to mention the insurance problems.

I'd go for a late model E46 M3. Full BMW service history, 300+bhp and real world useability. Not as costly to run as a Porsche, far better handling and performance than the modified shopping Golf. Or a nearly new RX-8 and a holiday.

A friend at uni wanted to do it, as he'd read you get 'loads' in the states for it. Turns out in the UK you get naff all. IIRC you get £5 up front, then £5 in six months once they've thawed it and it's still good. As it would barely cover his bus fare and a bacon sandwich, he decided against it. Google 'assisted fertility unit' to find your nearest...

I bet it's rubbish for sidehops, and that's what really matters...

+1