jeffneil69

I want a Philips Pronto....Pronto!!

Sat, 08 Oct 2005 06:57:42 GMT

I thought it about time I reprogrammed my Onkyo Recievers "Learning" Remote Control (RC-480M) to include all the new stuff we have and replace the old stuff that was in it.

It is a fantastic remote, but it appears to have run out of memory now and I haven't finished!

It is meant to have 6 x 53 memories for full control of 6 different devices (well 5 including the actual Reciever). I put in the DVD Player, TV and Digital Set Top Box, XBOX, Optus Cable TV and can only put in about 8 of the VCR/DVD Recorder before it spits the dummy. Now this shouldn't happen as I fully cleared the unit and each of the 6 device modes. It says in the book that if one of the memories is full, use a different device mode, so they should be fully independent of each other with 53 memories in each mode. It appears to not really be the case.

I have looked and looked and can't find any useful info about it. I wiped the unit and tried again, same thing. I suspect that one of the memory chips maybe stuffed inside the unit. I tried to pull it to bits, but gave up after 5 minutes as I couldn't get it open and didn't want to break anything.

So now I think I need a new Universal Remote....of course I want the best (or almost the best!) so the Philips Pronto is the only real choice. It is expensive though and if anyone knows how I can obtain one via a huge discount, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!

There are two models the TSU7500 for the US market and the SBCRU990 for the UK market. I think the UK version is the one that would be best for Australia, but if I can get a great deal on the US version, that will do quite nicely.

The Oscar report: Episode 2.

Sat, 08 Oct 2005 06:35:09 GMT

He is such a funny little bugger!

He will wander along looking at me or something else and keep walking and just slam into stuff, like walls and stuff!

He will also be running around playing, the stop and look at something for a second, then just take off full pelt again only to be interupted by a wall or solid object because his direction changed when he stopped for that second. You can't help but to laugh and feel sorry for him at the same time.

He has also figured out that HE CAN jump up onto the couch...well sometimes! Occasionally he will just hit the cushions, bounce off and land back on the floor.

Today he tried to jump up into my arms (he was only about 1 meter short!)...only he almost did a backflip and landed upside down just looking up at us.

He is doing the sit, stay, drop & "give me five" (Bek taught him that) stuff and his toilet training is getting better although he just lets it go occasionally. What really annoys is you open the door, say toilet and he wants nothing to do with it, then 5 minutes later, he's let it go on the floor or carpet/mats. Most often you open the door, say toilet and he'll go.

He still is a very whiney biatch when you leave the room or go to the toilet or something and he can't get to you. He just yelps and whinges.

He keeps biting his doodle too. He did it months ago and made it bleed, then it healed, now he has done it again and it takes ages to heal because he keeps licking it. Silly boy!

I've also skittled his feet and tail a few times with the computer chair. It has wheels and Oscar will sleep between or very near the wheels. I can't get out unless I move the chair and occasionally I forget he is there and roll back or forward....I soon know I've done it as there is this all mighty YEEELLPPP!

He is a constant source of entertainment. There is a few more pics up here

hmmm....they may have found the problem??

Mon, 08 Aug 2005 03:38:58 GMT

My nephew has been getting into trouble at school the past few months (mostly for fighting). He is 12 and has always had trouble with learning/reading and has a learning aid and special classes to help him catch up to the rest of the class.

Anyway he may have Dyslexia! My sister had been doing some research on the net and it seems to point to Dyslexia. His teachers and school principal are getting fed up with him now and think that he is a lost cause.

It is not that he doesn't want to learn, he wants to do computers and is doing quite well with them (he was burning mp3's to make music cd's WITHOUT any training or help...he just was trying things and wham, out comes a cd that he can play on his portable cd player!).

I think his issue is that he just gets frustrated and agro and starts hitting other kids.

Anyway, does anyone know much about Dyslexia, my sister wants to send him here but it is $2500 and I don't want her to pay some dude heaps of money THAT SHE DOESN'T HAVE. She got a more expensive quote from Melbourne, but Adelaide is 2 hours closer to her also.

odd stuff today!

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 08:35:50 GMT

Well got my yearly Casino statement (required by Australian Law to show how long you've played and how much won/lost)...turns out in the last year I have played a total of 13 minutes...6 minutes and won $2....7 minutes and lost $3....*crys* down $1!!

2nd thing...at 11:56pm on the 31/5/05 I got an email saying that i'd reached 80% of our monthly download limit...in 4 minutes it will be reset to ZERO!!

A few weeks back I got a refund cheque from my phone company for $0.50!!

That is just crazy!

The correct way to lose a wheel.

Sun, 22 May 2005 07:08:17 GMT

OK, so here is the correct way to lose a wheel while racing in your V8 Supercar!

http://www.big-boys.com/articles/cartire.html

It happened at the GMC400 in Canberra 2001.

Sat, 19 Mar 2005 01:07:41 GMT

And in Australia it is:

Australian Capitol Territory (ACT) / New South Wales / Northern Teritory / Queensland / South Australia / Tasmania / Victoria / Western Australia .... New Zealand (sort of associated with Australia)

I've been put in my place!

Thu, 10 Mar 2005 09:55:25 GMT

I drive a "piece-of-shit family car", yells the "fooly sic" guy in the 3.8L V6 VT 'S' in the lane next to me!

Driving home after doing some shopping tonight along FTG Road, with Bek in the car, minding my own business when a dude pulls up next to us at the lights. He has his arm out the windows signaling Bek to wind her window down, so she does. The guy then said something like "man-wate-til-eye-go-ome-n-git-my-VL-turbo-outta-da-garage-mate", "i-will-beet-u-mate-wid-only-four-pounds-of-boost!". We barly got a word out when the lights changed, so I casually took off, quite easily too I might add, trying to work out what the hell he had just said, both of us were scratching our heads and it took a few moments to decypher it. He was left at the lights with a reaction time of about 5 seconds, even the Camry in the next lane beat him by about 3 car lengths, "fooly sic reaction time mate!"

We turn up Jells Road with him so far up my clacker, that my butt was itchy! I didn't exceed the limit at all so he casually pulls out and cruised past, then pulled in front. Out comes his arm again, so I pull along beside him for another "fooly sic" conversation that went something like "i've-got-ova-400-horsies,-i'll-leave-u-for-dead,-i-do-all-my-racing-in-Dandy-mate,-you-come-race-me-in-Dandy-mate,-dat-is-a-piece-of-shit-family-car-mate". My responses were something like "Is that right", "a-huh", "I See" and "what are you driving then, this is better than that". I then had to turn left so pulled in behind him, turned left and went on our merry way.

Never before in my life have I experienced a dose of "fooly sic turbo mate dribble", it was quite amusing and we couldn't stop imatating and laughing at him for the rest of the trip home. Bek couldn't get over him driving a VT S pack and calling our car a "piece-of-shit family car".

Don't think it occured to him that a "fooly sic VL turbo mate", is also a "piece-of-shit family car" and an old one at that! I too have over 400 horsies (didn't tell him that), the VL does weight a lot less though and I am sure it moves along quite well (if he actually had one of course!).

Ohh, very funny stuff!

PS for those that aren't aware, a VL Turbo is a 3Litre Turbo, 1987 version of my current car (2004 5.7Litre modified version!)

Wed, 23 Feb 2005 08:59:07 GMT

I think the pot is OK, it has some battle damage, but it'll be fine.

The house absolutly stinks though, so off goes the AC and the doors & windows get opened to try and air it out.

Ohh man, you'd think that I would have learnt after the first attempt a few weeks back.

CCRRAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wed, 23 Feb 2005 08:44:28 GMT

Stuffed the bloody eggs up again! Boiled 3 eggs....FOR AN HOUR!

This time there was NO water left in the saucepan and the bottom is all burned, it may scrub off, WITH A LOT OF BLOODY SCRUBBING!

So no more eggs for us...untill we buy more anyways.

Pancakes 101

Tue, 22 Feb 2005 19:56:56 GMT

OK, so the little container of stuff that was left in the fridge, that I poured into a lowly heated frying pan WAS NOT the left over pancake mix that I was going to cook for breakfast for bekscilla yesterday morning!

Turns out that Sweetend Condensed Milk does not a pancake make!!

mattglenn had eaten the left over pancake mix the day before.

The car is running sweet!!

Mon, 03 Jan 2005 07:15:07 GMT

The car (Holden Commodore VYII SS LS1) has 242 kilowatts at the rear wheels (after a recent tune touchup) which is 324 hoursepower at the wheels!! This is around 325 kilowatts at the engine, which is 435 horsepower. It has over 500nm or torque which is about 370 ft-lb's too. It still didn't stop bekscilla from jumping into someone elses car on last weeks cruise...he had 375 kilowatts at the engine or 500 horsepower though!! Mine still sounds like a V8 and is an absolute pleasure to drive, I'd like a turbo or two or a supercharger, but that is only wishfull thinking as we have many other things to spend money on!

I got into a little bit of shit at work about the exhaust and modifications, even though I have the original stuff in perfect condition in the garage ready to put back on when/if I return the car. It wasn't good enough for them though, they said put it back to factory defaults or else. They can say that as technically the car belongs to them on an Operating Lease. I didn't want to drive it stock so I changed the lease over to one fully in my name (Novated Lease) and they are happy again. It will cost slightly more, but still works out a pretty good deal.

The US and US!!

Mon, 03 Jan 2005 06:44:37 GMT

Here is my "updated" US map thingy, still looks a little empty, but not bad for a Skhip from Oztraya!!

create your own visited states map

Sun, 12 Dec 2004 07:46:11 GMT

Congratulations to bekscilla for riding the excercise bike 724.3km!! It took about 37.36 hours, but a bloody good effort I think!

YAY!!

*mwah!*

It's My Birthday!

Sun, 25 Jul 2004 09:32:40 GMT

Well "Hi all", it's been a while!!

Today I got a bit of a surprise, Bek gave me some Pyjamas, which I needed, but had no idea about. I also got PCOTY (Performance Car Of The Year) 2004 DVD - which hasn't arrived yet, and a V8 Supercar 2003 year in review DVD.

She then made me pancakes with honey (we don't have any maple syrup!) and Boisonberry Ice Cream, it was very yummy! We went to a Japanese Reastaurant for lunch, then saw "I, Robot" at the cinema.

It was a fun day, but the weekend seemed to go too quick, and it is work tomorrow.

Anyway, a big THANK YOU to all the well wishes

Oh yeah, the POS is gone!

Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:40:35 GMT

Took the bastard death trap rent-a-bomb back today, with a near full tank of fuel too! When I picked it up it had about a sniff of fuel in it, barely made it the 2 km to a decent servo, put $40 in!

The suspension, brakes, accelerator, gearbox, panels, paint, interior, pretty much the whole car had something busted or missing or faulty in some way.

We took it the 35 km and left it at my work last night, then I took the work 7000km old Commodore Station Wagon home for the night. Drove it back in the morning, picked up the POS, drove it about 500m from the vehicle compound to my office (took about 5 minutes to get the bastard started too - that is 5 minutes of my life i will NEVER get back!).

Took the keys into the Student Admin office (where they hold the keys to the vehicles and the booking folder), looked through the folder and saw that the 2yo Toyota Corolla Accent was available for at least the next week. Soooo, being the shifty bugger that I am, wrote my own details in and booked the car to myself for just under a week!

Got mattglenn to drive the Corolla (with his 'P' plates) to bekscilla's work, then she followed me (still with 'P' plates on) in the POS back to their company. Because it had a full tank he dropped $15 bucks off the price, so the POS cost me $40 all up...instead of the $196 it was going to cost for the 7 days.

Now the only problem with the work Corolla is that if they figure out that it will be ALL private km, I'll probably have to pay $0.40c/km for every km I do...probably about $100 for the 5 days or so....still a bargain compared to the POS.

Geee I want my new car!!

Bek's car update

Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:06:39 GMT

They look sooo happy together

but got the call today, and the repair list goes on:

new Head Gasket
at least two new Valve Springs (two were broken)
new Cam Belt
new/reconditioned Radiator
new/reconditioned Brake Master Cylinder

Also required are 15" mags and new tyres (or use the tyres that come on the 2nd hand mags if they are OK). The reason: there is a blister on one of the tyres and you can feel it through the steering and it probably could burst at any time. We wanted to get some bigger mags and tyres anyway, it has factory 13" on it at present. Just would have been nice to do it in a few months time! It has got worse so we really should get it fixed soon. We should be able to get 4 x 15" mags and 60%+ tyres for less than $500.

Hopefully all this will make the little thing last for a few more years until she steps up to a new or near new model.

The biggest POS under the sun!

Tue, 30 Mar 2004 10:22:05 GMT

Well, it turns out that bekscilla's car has caught a virus and spewed all over the place in Ballarat (about 2 hours (130km) away in country-ish Victoria). I am referring to the head gasket that we now have to get replaced in it. The poor little car got a little hot a few weeks back and is now demanding some attention. Gonna be in the shop for about 4 days and gonna cost about two gorillas!!

We are also going to get the Brake Master Cylinder replaced/fixed also...this is probably faulty due to the brake fluid boiling a few more weeks back when we got the new exhaust put on - The shop thought they would do the right thing and adjust the handbrake for us, it didn't go any where near as well as they had planned!

And we'll probably chuck in a new Cam Belt as well. Dunno when it had one last, but it is meant to have one every 80000km....it has done about 230000km! We got it at about 210000km, so who knows when it was changed, so while it is in bits, we'll do it.

SO, the rent-a-bomb that I just hired, What a hunk of junk!! It's a 85 Toyota Corolla Seca auto. Every panel has at least one dent and the paint has flaked off the bonnet. I wish I had of looked at it BEFORE we paid them the money. You go in and do the deal, then they show you the car.

Only got it for 2 and a half more trips to/from work via Bek's work and believe me I AM COUNTING THE TRIPS...the less I am in it the better....this is assuming that we get Bek's car back on Friday.

Somehow I just knew that things were gonna get a little worse....I guess I should phone nd check on my new car in case they swap the LS1 VY II SS 6 Speed Manual for a 3 cyl Lada Niki Auto or somehting

He is really pissing me off now!

Tue, 23 Mar 2004 09:04:38 GMT

One of my coworkers that is, or I should say one of my "co..."! He has been with me and the other guy in my team for just over a year. I am the manager and the other two are under my supervision. I have know him since he started, and I didn't want him as I knew there would be problems with him....didn't have much choice really. He just doesn't listen, has to always be right, takes shortcuts that come back and bite us on the arse and has an extremely bad work ethic/attitude.

He was playing games while the other guy was fixing 2 MAC's and I was sorting out network related issues, I had been on the phone for like 2 hours, trying this and that and getting really frustrated. I asked him about a job he did 2 hours earlier...it needs a call put in to fix the HD... my mistake, obviously the call will make itself and the HD will be fixed automatically! If I hadn't questioned him on it, it would probably be still sitting in the queue a week later! We have a program that tells us what jobs require doing, recently there have been at least 10 jobs sitting in the queue. The lazy barstard had a go at me for not doing as many jobs as him!! I don't think it ever occured to him that I have bugger all lunch break (they'll be gone for almost an hour every day) as there is never enough time in the day as it is, get 10 times the email and at least 10 times the phone calls, desk and mobile!! I told him that with that attitude he could go home now! He was a nicer toward me for the rest of the arvo and wanted to help me with 4 jobs that I needed to do...I asked him to do this other vegi job instead. I didn't really want to be around him!

He will go look at a job, it's either too hard, or he only half-arsed fixed it in the first place, so I am stuck with all the follow up's and trying to keep the customers (which are other staff we have to deal with daily) happy. This on top of all the other shit I have to deal with....like....meetings (sometimes an hours drive away), there is this new building and this and that needs to happen, there is no software in a student classroom and they need it ASAP, they need the 4 new photo copiers plugged into the network and configured correctly, all our new PC's on a certain network segment randomly reboot when ever a network printer is added (I know, hard to believe, but true), we are getting 100 new PC's next week and the replacements need to be changed over swiftly and without loosing any of their data, blah, blah, blah!

As I am going on leave, I have to formally nominate my replacement for the two months I will be away. This person will assume my role and responsibilities, have to attend my meetings and get 2 months of higher duties to my wage (an extra $500pm before tax)! There is no way that "co..." will be getting it, even though he has been at my work for over 10 years (I am at 15 years!!!) compaired to the other guy. I am a bit worried for the other guy, as he is a lot younger (been there 5 years) and probably won't have the guts to confront "Co..." and tell him to do stuff. Actually I think "Co..." has had a bit of a negative impact on the other worker as he has started to become a little slack also, they talk and go fishing and camping sometimes.

"Co..." is more focused on what he will get (praise/reward) or what others are doing/thinking, than actually doing the job and fixing the problems. And if he does fix something that I couldn't devote all my attention to, he makes a big song and dance and rings people telling them that HE fixed it, and that he is the best, even though I had to hold his hand and TELL him what to do and what to try.

I have told him many, many times to stop with the derogatory comments (towards other staff and students) and keep his voice down if he does happen to say something about them.

Last week he mentioned that he had a 650mhz CPU that he'd like to swap with one of the 100 PC's we had to return and asked if he could do it. No problem there, but I said, better not, we don't have the time to be stuffing around with swaps etc. just put it in it's box and get it ready for shipping. Next morning the PC was on the bench, so I started prep'ing it (remove OS, clear CMOS etc.). The PC kept locking up after about 1 minute. Opened the lid, checked the ram, then CPU....there was that much crap between the cpu and the heatsink/fan that there was about a 2mm gap between the two, CRAPPIEST WORK I HAVE EVER SEEN!, the heatsink clip was broken AND the CPU happened to be a 650mhz...I asked had he swapped it..."NO!"...asked the other guy..."NO!"....there is no way that the shop would have sent it out like that....spent a good while asking around and finding out the history of the PC (you can't return a PC that doesn't work!!!)....spoke to the other guy and he said that it sounds very fishy and that he probably swapped it...grilled "Co..." some more, HE DID SWAP IT, but apparently couldn't remember. I told him to not bull shit me around and don't start lying to me...he said he honestly forgot about doing it, THE DAY BEFORE!!!!!! Dodgy prick! I don't mind doing a little bit of a dodgy here and there, but when you do it and the machine doesn't work and then you deny doing it, THAT IS NOT ON! When the warrenty guy came out, I had to say that "the CPU overheated and fried the thermal tape and thermal grease into a hard clump and I broke the heatsink/fan getting it off/unstuck" - I am a good lyer, so it was replaced a week later, but the PC missed the shipping deadline and has now been written off, costing us several hundred dollars in fees etc.

My manager knows about his problems (from now and before) and I am going to put all my issues with him into his performance review!! That'll fuck him! Probably not, he'll probably just ignore it and do his own thing anyway! Unfortunately it is quite difficult to get fired from a government University, although he can get formal warnings and after 3 strikes.....they give more formal warnings.... :(

I'm a Scooter!!!

Tue, 09 Mar 2004 08:23:12 GMT

Well, did the test thingy and the best I can be is Scooter - kinda nerdy, but it's probably all me!!

You are Scooter.
You are a loyal, hardworking person, better known
as a doormat.

SPECIAL TALENTS:
Going for stuff.
LEAST FAVORITE MOVIE:
"Go For Broke!"

QUOTE:
"15 seconds to showtime."

LAST BOOK READ:
"300 New Ways to Get Your Uncle to Get You a
Better Job "

NEVER LEAVES HOME WITHOUT:
Coffee, clipboard, and Very Special Guest Stars.

What Muppet are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I am scared about my my new car....which I don't get until after the USA trip

Sat, 06 Mar 2004 09:22:18 GMT

I don't think that it'll be able to have the same sound and power as the old (dead) one did.

They (Holden) have changed the header/exhaust/oxygen sensors/catalytic converter layout and I think that maybe it isn't really worth changing it as it is much better than the old one, but not as good as the after market ones. It you replace the new original headers with an new aftermarket one that fits the car correctly, the O2 and cats will be in the same position, but the headers will only be slightly better, if at all! If you move the O2 sensors and put Tri-y headers (same as my old car) and replace the cats as well, it will be better, but because the O2 sensors have moved you will need to reprogram the computer to tell it the O2's have moved and to NOT retard the engine timing because it will be getting different readings from O2 sensors.

The old car's exhaust made a massive difference to sound and performance once I replaced it ('cause it was CRAP to start with), but the new ones are already pretty good and they have actually have a slight note, so it probably isn't worth the money to replace it with a better one. The old was a 2.25" dual into single half way along, the new is dual 2.25" all the way through. The old one had NO V8 noise (until modified), but the new one has a slight V8 note.

I'll have to wait and see, but I keep thinking i'll be dissapointed! Of cause it can be made better than the old one, but the same "bang for buck" won't be there....it'll just cost more, but I don't wanna spend more!

It's all tooo hard!

Holy Crap!!

Thu, 26 Feb 2004 11:49:24 GMT

Holy Crap!! That was some serious machinery on the LS1 after dinner cruise. About 20 LS1's that have been poked, prodded, cammed, fiddled and tweaked producing some very impressive horsepower.

At the start of the cruise, they all started and it was like a symphony of V8's...SOUNDED AWESOME!!

We were in Bek's Pulsar, as mine is no more.

Had a drag with another guy in his 3litre V6 DOHC, 1 Tonne Rodeo....we lost!! The acceleration on some of the other cars just left us standing still, really makes me appreciate what my old car could do.

I think it is kinda funny comparing the Pulsar to all the other cars because each of there cars had over 200rwkw, but we have ZERO REAR WHEEL KILOWATTS as it's is a front driver.....Wish I still had the SS for the cruise though, it had 237rwkw :(

Oh well, the new one will be new and have more than the old...HOPEFULLY!!!

AND I WON THE FIRST PRIZE IN THE CRUISE FOR A CURE RAFFLE - A SHORT SHIFTER!! (for the new SS when I get it) - it ain't going in the Pulsar!!

As Jimmy B would say "Whoooaaa!!! I feel good.....I new that I would now"

So this is what a 9 day old Monaro looks like....

Fri, 20 Feb 2004 02:36:12 GMT

after it has T-Boned us at around 65km/h!!! Monaro Side Picture

Corner of Queen & Collins Street, Melbourne, going south on Queen, turning Right onto Collins. Heading back from the Solicitors to organise our Wills of all things.

Waited in the intersection until all the cars passed, truck is turning right similar to us but from the opposite direction, partially blocking our view of the road ahead....wait for about 5 seconds with no traffic coming, creep forward (nose of the car is sticking out about a foot past the truck), wait a few seconds, creep forward some more (nose of the car is sticking out over a meter past the truck, wait a few more seconds, still no traffic, I start the turn and SMACKKKKK!!!!!!!!

Obviously the Monaro didn't even see our nose sticking out past the truck (probably on the phone or something). Actually, it is possible that he was behind a few cars behind the truck and booted it to change lanes, then when he looked up, we were in front of him....just made the impact worse! If he was doing the speed limit, or used a little caution, you would not be having this read now.

Passenger Door Picture 1 Passenger Door Picture 2

Smacked the glasses off my bekscilla's face and she was forced to sit in the car unable to move, squished up for 15 minutes for the ambo's/police to arrive. She was quite hysterical and shocked, poor girl. Fortunately we are both OK and no (not yet anyway) neck or spinal injuries.

The SS on the other hand is not so good. Don't know the outcome as yet...possibly a write off, but the cops/tow guys say it could go either way, because the chasis looks twisted. We got pushed about 10meters sideways, so tell me if a 1700kg car could be pushed sideways by another car doing 50km/h....arhhh....no....don't think so!

I know we were both at fault, me for not waiting until ALL the traffic was clear (which I am sure 90% people don't do properly anyway) and him for not paying attention and seeing the front of a car sticking out into traffic and slowing or taking caution to let me see him and he WAS SPEEDING, doing quite a bit over the 50km/h limit.

Police didn't charge either of us....yet!! My director at work had almost the same accident 2 weeks ago and he was charged on the spot for failing to giveway, I guess our situation was such that the police didn't think it was entirely my fault and didn't lay charges, like I said....yet!!

Could have been heaps worse I guess, the car could have exploded like in the movies!

So just be carefull out there, 'cause this type of thing can happen so easily!

Went on a cruise yesterday with my gorgeous wife

Sat, 07 Feb 2004 23:45:48 GMT

It was actually Cruise4ACure - to help support & fight leukaemia.

It was organised by some members of the Australian LS1 & Holden Forums. It was quite good to meet a lot of fellow LS1 owners. Oh yeah, LS1 is the code name for the Chevy 5.7 Alloy V8 engine that powers the last few years Corvettes and Holden Commodores (V8 ones, obviously!). There were about 30 people all up. From memory there were about 8 SS's, 2 Statesman's, 3 Monaro's, 3 HSV's, 3 Utes, a few other Holdens and a handful of ringins, Nissan GTR, Scoobie WRX, Ford XR6, Mazda RX7, Mitsubishi Starion Turbo - with a water spray unit that sprays water forwards by about 15 feet (to spray pedistrians and cars in front?), etc.

2 of the Monaros and 2 of the SS's were supercharged, and one SS was a stroker with around 6.3 litres. One of the Supercharged SS's (6 speed manual) could cruise at 80kmph, plant his foot and still smoke the tires, quite impressive!!

Overall it was a fantastic day, although my right arm is red and sunburnt and my face and neck is a little tender.

A BIG thank you to my lovely wife who came along. I really appreciated it (K)(L)({). She purchased (it was cheap!) and wore a lovely girly dress and put in quite a bit of effort. Sorry you got a little boob burnt though :(

It's all good again!

Wed, 04 Feb 2004 09:32:03 GMT

Had the "bring it back in a few weeks to make sure everything is ok" check on my SS today. They asked if it was OK, and was there any problems. I told them that I thought the power had dropped off a little and that it may be running a little lean. If it running lean, power would be down.

A few dyno runs and they told me that it was running a little RICH! So after a tweak and a reload of the engine management paramaters, power and air/fuel ratio is back to where it should be. The best run was 240+rwkw!

It is only a very slight increase in power, but I noticed it straight away....actually could be the fact that they had to reset the Body Control Module (BCM) and the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) and the car is effictively in learning mode, so i guess it will settle down to what it was before.

I did have a cow when the fuel gauge indicated it was empty and the digital readout said I only had 15km to go, as I had half a tank (200km to go) when I went in there....I took it back and asked what the hell was going on.....It took about 10 minutes to go back up to the 200km mark....they said that a BCM reset will do that as it has to relearn EVERYTHING, apparently including how much juice is in the tank too.

Anyway, it goes like a champ and I want to pack it up and bring it on our USA trip.

ARRRRHHH!!!!!!

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 09:55:16 GMT

Just spent the last 45 minutes stuffing around this really fucked up Health Benefits site that we joined. I joined this through salary sacrafice at work. I went to the seminars and it looked pretty good and with the discounts my University gets, was cheaper than all the others. So we joined up. We find out now that they don't have any branches in our state. No problem as we can do it online. YAY!!

OK, lets pull out the first of the 10 or so receipts.....What is the provider type - Dentistry...Location - Victoria...Do you have the Service Provider Number - Yes...Hmm, not in any of the list...backstep...Do you have the Service Provider Number - NO...Enter Postcode - 3000...Choose Service Provider - NOT THERE...backstep...try next receipt...not there...backstep and repeat until steam comes out ears, much time is wasted and many expletives are used.

The ONLY 2 we found were ones that we had already claimed by swiping our card at the Dentists.

After 45 minutes...print out the claim form and fill the fucker in manually and post it in with our receipts.