Grant

Like many others, this is my first post on here for a very long time. I have been glued to the news since Friday morning (here in California), and have been in a state of shock ever since. This morning while reading the Herald online, I saw Atta's name as one of the deceased that is being honoured, and immediately logged in here. Although I never had the privilege to meet him in person, he was always a great contributor in here. This is heartbreaking.

RIP Atta! My thoughts are with his family and friends in this utterly devastating time.

Even though I haven't lived in NZ for a few years, and haven't owned a BMW for the same length of time, it was great to catch up with one of the other original Bimmersporters in San Francisco.

Here is a photo of Ollie and me at the top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco. This ordinarily gives a great view of the city from the top of a hill, but unfortunately the fog rolled in and we saw a sea of white (the second photo shows what the view is actually like on a good day).

Good luck guys!

I just saw this. Very sad news indeed. He was a passionate guy who wore his enthusiasm on his sleeve. The world needs more people like that.

Sorry to hear that. Get well Brian!

I read this the other day in a waiting room. They give the Subaru BRZ a pretty good review:

http://www.motortrend.com/features/perform...st_drivers_car/

I've only ever seen the Subaru version here. I'm not sure if there is a Toyota version on sale here (but then I've never looked either). I think for a small car, they would be pretty good.

Congratulations Greg.

Yea, noticed supermarket food is real cheap, as are name brand shoes, clothes etc.

The balance is in the rent prices and the fact the service workers are on US$ 7 an hour only ( which is why they rely on Tips ! ) No holiday pay, sick days etc either, unless you are management or lucky !

Rent is significantly cheaper than NZ, and most full time salaried employees get paid time off and sick leave (althuogh not as much as NZ).

I struggle to find anything here that is not significantly cheaper than in NZ (at least where I am), although I don't like having to pay for Kiwifruit.

Whoever mentioned Costco. It is awesome, we go about once a month, and you can buy anything you want there for next to nothing.

26/26

Shouldn't the fact that the seller can't even spell Schnitzer be your first clue that they are full of sh*t!

Its not very needly, just feels like dragging a compass across your skin but not really penetrating

And I felt like I had a really mild sunburn for a few days afterwards.

why do you think that is?

The CEO of the company I work with has exceptionally high standards, and deems them to be unprofessional to have exposed in a professional environment. While he rules the roost and pays my wages, I'm happy to comply.

My tattoo is far enough up my forearm that even if my shirt sleeve rides up a bit it does not show.

I am however 100% fully AGAINST gang and racist related tats though. I hate them.

When I got mine, I was talking to the guy doing mine (the owner of Bonehead Tattoo) and asked him what he won't do, and he said anything deemed racist or gang related.

Interestingly enough he also said that they won't tattoo anyone they suspect has been drinking, due to potential liability issues.

Isn't that indicative of the underlying attitude though?

In the company I work for, and in particular the CEO, yes, but not of the people I work with. I'm based on a Government client site, and am expected (by my company) to wear a suit and tie every day, even though the people I work with do not.

I read an opinion piece in the NZ Herald, and then the comments afterwards about people in New Zealands thoughts on tattoos. I was actually pretty shocked to read that, probably, in the majority, the comments were negative and against them.

I am putting this here to see if the Bimmersport community also feels this way. I like to think that there is a pretty good cross section of NZ's society on here.

I have been here in California for nearly 4 years now, and I don't know anyone who would have that negative reaction. I have a large tattoo on my right forearm, and work for a very prestigious boutique IT and project consulting firm. Even my boss, who is pretty old and very conservative really like my tattoo, althuogh I am not allowed to have it exposed at work.

In fact a group of us were sitting around the pool on Saturday (maybe 6 or 7 of us) and only one in the group didn't have a tattoo. We were all professional people too.

Anyway, your thoughts? (I have attached a bad photo of mine - I'm at work and don't have any better ones here)

Nice photos. Let's hope the movie is not as much of a snorefest as the Lord of the Rings were. Each one of them was 3 hours + of torture!

Glenn, I'll check tonight and see if the big jar I have i unopened. If it is, I'll post it to you, free of charge. PM me your address.

That is beautiful!

No matter how much harm it would do to me, I'd be out there trying to cover the car or put it into the garage.

I'd just stay dry and inside and leave it for my insurance company to sort out.

That is seriously cool. The green is awesome.

I have one large unopened jar, and one of the smaller one with 90% left in it here, but shipping from California might be a bit expensive!

This is a very good question, as I have this exact same situation over here everyday. I live on a two way, single lane street in downtown Sacramento. The roads at either end of my block are one way, three lane roads.

I treat it that when I am in your situation, I assume that both car 1 and car 2 can essentially go at the same time. I always go into the closest available lane to me, and then indicate once I am in that lane to get to the one I need to be in. I have never had a problem yet, or any close calls.

I have a 99 VW Passat with the 1.8T engine and 5 speed transmission. I have had it for over 3 years, and it has 150,000+ miles on it. I absolutley neglect this car, outside of required mainenance i.e. servicing every 5,000 miles. The car has been nothing but reliable, and I have not had to do very much to it (outside of normal wear and tear parts). It has the original turbo and transmission (including clutch).

The biggest thing I have been told is to run synthetic oil, and to make sure that the timing belt, tensioner and water pump are changed at the regular intervals.

Mine has been driven all over California is all weather conditions (from sub zero, snow in the winter to 40 degree celcius + in the summer), sometimes with 5 adults and a trunk full of luggage and has performed well. It's no race car, but it has been probably the most reliable car I have ever owned.

Funny thing is, I bought it from a repo yard for next to nothing and expected it to last only a few months (which is all I wanted it for), but it has kept going and going and going, so I keep driving it.

Congratulations!