Grant

Happy Birthday. I'd thought you had run away, then you made a come back yesterday. Have a great day!! Cheers Grant

A big Happy Birthday from Brook, the kids and I. Have a great day!!

They seem to be pretty terrible. They are even making headline news over here (quite possibly the only international news that actually gets mentioned). Cheers Grant

I have a Garmin Nuvi 765T in the US. It was damned expensive, but worth every cent. I did a lot of research before buying my GPS unit, because as you can imagine driving in the US is a little more daunting than it is in NZ. I got the 765T because it has lane assist (which has saved my bacon a few times in San Francisco). It also has lifetime traffic, so lets me know when there are delays, and then will re-route me around them. Also I use the "points on interest" function to find things like the nearest gas station, coffee shop, restaurant etc when I need them. Also in California, it is illegal to use your cellphone while driving (unless it is handsfree). The 765 has bluetooth, and connects to my iPhone so I can use it hands free in the car. Another cool feature is the custom routing, you put in a heap of destinations and it sorts them into the most efficient route, which was very handy to me when looking at places to live. Garmin is always ranked the top of the heap in the US Consumer Reports magazine. In saying that though, Garmin do put out some cheap units, that will probably do the trick for simple directions, but without any additional functionality. The one thing that did annoy me is that the 2009 maps for the US have just come out, and they are not a free download, Garmin want US$69 to download them (which I am not worried about as the 2008 version has been accurate so far). Cheers Grant

I'll make this the last installment

What the heck, here are a few more.

But wait, there's more...

Hi All Thought I'd share a few of the photos I took while waddling around the Sacramento Autorama this morning. This is the 2nd biggest indoor custom car show in the world, and I didn't manage to get around the whole thing in a morning. There were no BMW's there (why this is in off topic), and it was made up primarily of heavily customised American Muscle. I am just putting photos up at random, tbh half the time I'm not sure what the cars actually were that I was taking photos of, I just liked the look of them, or the work on them was amazing. Also, I apologise for the quality of the pics, both our digital cameras had flat batteries, so I used my cellphone. The first two photos are of one of James Hetfield's (of Metallica) entries. He was wandering around admiring the cars. The good thing was he was able to wander around and I did not see one person bother him - he was just another enthusiast. The third photo is of the the General Lee with the original Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach). Enjoy!! Cheers Grant

The chances are I will be gainfully employed by the end of today.Will PM you my number anyway, but meeting up may be unlikely. Why are you not flying into San Francisco - beats LA hands down? Cheers Grant

Check Gull's website, I think they used to have a list of cars that were fine to use their bio-fuel. Cheers Grant

My patience gland is now the size of your JC.That give you some idea of its size?? In saying that the flight here was by far the longest 12 hours of my life!! Cheers Grant

No - no luck sorry, I obviously threw them out prior to coming over here.

I have some awesome pills that work a treat. They are meant for arthritis (I think), but my doc in Auckland said he gives them to people when they have a severe headcold but need to press on without stopping. I'll have a look at see if I brought them with me here, and let you know what they are called, but they work like magic. Will get back to you if can find the name. BTW a screaming headcold on the flight has got to be better than a screaming 22 month old. Boy did we have the rest of Business Class pissed off at us by the time we landed at SFO. Cheers Grant

what was it?

2002

I'm with Bravo, the bad language sums them up in one simple word!!

Hi Guys I am looking around for a second car over here, and my searching has shown one thing, the bargain of the century seems to be 740's. They are for sale everywhere. A mid 90's one, with moderate miles on the clock, and in pretty good condition can be had for anything, between US$2,500 to US$4,000. Anything I should know about them that warrants them being so cheap (Certainly not the cost of gas!!) I have quickly learned that when using the freeways here having plenty of power is a big plus. Also while a 7'er may seem a big car in NZ, they are just an average sized car here. Cheers Grant

I'm a big fan of warning other drivers. I'm also a big fan of generally being friendly and courteous on the road to other users and let cars into my lane if they want, let cars in from side streets if appropriate etc. I like to think that others will do likewise for me. Cheers Grant

Merry Xmas from a rather cold California I might get to see my first ever white Christmas, 80% chance of snow on Xmas day here. It does also seem a bit weird to have Xmas day a day later than you guys!!

I love these threads.

No Saab for me, it is one of my father in laws cars. I will buy my toy car once I get off my ass and find a job (in the new year). Cheers Grant

Hi All Woke up to this this morning, very uncommon here this time of year, they are used to getting some snow in may be late Jan or Feb, but in December is almost unheard of. It is hard to believe that only 6 weeks ago we had temperatures in the 30's Celsius. Sorry about crap pictures, they were taken at 7am with my phone. Cheers Grant

Yup - they are huge, pretty hard to comprehend. They are nowhere near where I am though (although this area is prone to the large fire from time to time). Cheers Grant

Well here in the US, petrol is now under US$2 a gallon. My wife filled our 3l Outback up from empty for US$28, and I just filled up my Chevy rental car from 1/8 full for US$18. When I finally get my CA drivers licence and buy a car for me I am going to buy the biggest thirstiest V8 I can. Prices are dropping here up to 0.5c a gallon every day. In the month I have been here prices have gone from around US$3.20 a gallon to the US$1.95 I paid just before. Cheers Grant

Nice post, I agree.