Honest Gaza

Just bought the Panasonic FZ-20 (not an SLR though ). Allows for some "manual" control. Might have to get some pointers off you.

I hate the word NO My wife uses it all the time

Just noticed this thread for the first time today LC. UNBELIEVABLE !!! Never even crossed my mind that there would be issues taking a camera to the ground. I think you showed great constraint and if not for your ability to retrieve the deleted photos, a man would feel mighty unhappy once the CA reversed their directive. Out of interest....what size is the lens that you used ?

Firstly, get some new friends. Having a pet is like having a kid ???? Let me tell you about my last dog. Lucky they called it. bas*ard was lucky to live as long as he did. Little white terrier. Boy did it and I have fun running around the backyard at 2 in the morning playing chasie games. A good thing there were no water restrictions back then. Anyway, it was a special dog. Could fly, perform summersaults, breakdance on command. Got in the way one two many times while we were having our pool built so when we ran short on mesh....spread eagled the dog and poured the concrete. The kids still get to say hello to it as I like them to wipe their feet before hopping in the pool. Kids....that's another thing. I have 3 that I am prepared to own up to....even then DNA may be on the cards in the future. All three are completely different and I love each of them dearly. Comparing my 3 kids to the pool mat......strange friends you have.

yep....the only thing worse than a male chauvinist pig is a woman that doesn't know her place :o

This was merely to advise the fellow "how we can afford it". Didn't want him to think I am happy to sacrifice $20,00 a year just to have a nice car. My other option would have been to take a standard company car at no cost at all to me.

....but it makes you feel sorry for the bloke who was trying to clean your window

In my case, my employer pays a "Vehicle Allowance" which covers most of the cost. Anything above the allowance value is what comes out of my "pre-tax" pay. I assume that others may be in a similar situation. Therefore, it is not the full cost of the repayments that becomes a "salary sacrifice".

Hmmmm....mental note.....never invite Cro over for a swim in my pool. Drinks a lot of beer but never takes time out for a piss.

This is also open to debate....depending on what the ulitmate goal is. If you intend to keep the vehicle after paying the residual at the end of the lease....who wants a car that has travelled 160,000k's after 4 years. In addition to this, resale value will be on the low side should you chose to sell it at a later time.

Congratulations Trumpy, First the Engagement ring Then the Wedding Ring ...and now, the Suffering All the best.

No. You are referring to a VHS-C tape which can be played on a VHS Video Recorder. With the new cameras, you will have to play from your Video Camera unless it is the type that records to DVD. ....and like Digital "Still" cameras....ignore the value of Digital Zoom. Only Optical Zoom is relevant.

This is somewhat disturbing. It seems that after only 3 years of driving you know several Police Officers on a first name basis. I sense a pattern here. Perhaps you are doing something wrong.

DAMN STRAIGHT !!!!!

Frequently parking my car on the M2 while driving from South-West Sydney to Frenchs Forest. You have to try and join in the cruises....great fun and usually well organised.

Hope to join in on this one.....been a long time.

For Christmas, my wife gave me a couple of tickets for the 2nd 1-Day Final at the SCG. I was pleasantly surprised at first, until I noticed where the seats were. Bay 14 – Concourse area. Now I’m not exactly a regular at the cricket but I was pretty sure that Bay 14 had to be somewhere near Bay 13….and Bay 13 is infamous in the sporting world. So, giving the wife the benefit of the doubt, I decided that there was probably no malice intended. However, just in case ( call it insurance if you like ), I decided that since she had given me two tickets…I would take her with me. This is not the first time that I have noticed that the difference between the look of ecstasy and horror is somewhat cloudy. Anyway, like it or not, she was coming. So we set off from home around lunchtime and she was initiated into the joys of “parking” in Cleveland St when it is supposed to be illegal. It can be really annoying when you tune into the ABC and they comment on how there doesn’t seem to be a big crowd for the match. “That’s because we’re all parked in Cleveland St you idiot !!!” Eventually we made it to the Fox Studio Car Park and wound our way up to the summit before our oxygen tanks ran out. A quick scramble down the stairs and the option of pre-paying for the carpark seemed a good idea at the time. Some nice gentlemen greeted us at the gates of the SCG and briefly checked our bags. It must have been thirsty work because every once in a while they would keep a sample of whatever the people had in their bags. We had various flavours of diet coke which didn’t seem to interest them so my wife was a little apologetic about that. Making our way to our seats was as much fun as an after Christmas sale but eventually we got there in one piece. Now the fun began. Some idiot in front of my wife was wearing a straw hat the size of Kirstie Alley’s backside and he was under the false impression that by tying up one end of the hat it would be less of a hindrance to others. He was wrong….along with the other 20 thousand people wearing the same kind of hat. My wife was unable to see anything as the stupid hat was casting a dark shadow across both pages of her New Idea magazine. Four rows ahead of us, a group of supporters wearing the old “Oi Oi Oi” t-shirts from the long gone Olympic games kept jumping up on their seats trying to initiate some war cry. Unfortunately, I think that those same Olympic games was also probably the last time they had showered or shaved. They became so annoying that an elderly gentleman next to us started throwing things at them to make them sit down. ( I guess when you think about it, those old chicken bones were only going to start smelling under his seat anyway ). As you are aware, the game was a bit of a fizzer and accordingly, the crowd got more and more restless. Beachballs started flying above the crowd and for the most part, the police chose to ignore them. Unfortunately, one of the SCG crowd controllers took great delight in seizing them and poking them with his ballpoint pen. I thought he went a bit over the top when he chose to perform some crowd surfing in order to get to them. And the most disconcerting part of all is when the “Oi Oi Oi” yobbos decided to make a snake from the empty beer cups. Apparently, this is an invitation for all those around to hurl their cups at those in the general area. It was at this time that my wife and I were treated to free refreshments that appeared to drop from the sky. My wife asked if that was what was referred to as a “Golden Shower”….it’s certainly as close as I ever want to get to one. When the 8th Pakistan wicket fell, and the natives got more and more restless, we decided it was time to leave so that we could beat the exodus. By the time we made it to the Fox Studios carpark, the queues to pay were already building. At least something had gone right for us I thought. We then wound our way down through the carpark and got to the exit gate. To my dismay, these gates were permanently open…..NO NEED TO PAY !!!! My wife asked if we should let the people who were queuing up to pay know that the gates were open. We looked at each other….shook our heads and said Bugger them !

Careful what you wish for Joe....sometimes the kids can be FULLY SICK

I think it would have taken a fluke for the dealer to source a car with the equipment level I ordered and it being a Jan '05 build. Don't be so sure....the only "real" option you have asked for is Premium Brakes. It is my guess that a lot of the cars are ordered with Premium Stereo. As for the other things....the dealer adds them.

I think this alludes to where the real probelm is. You mentioned getting a "fleet discount" In my experience, fleet cars are often grabbed from whichever dealer has one....not made up especially for your order. In 2003 I ordered Mercury Silver with Plexis Red interior. I ordered it about 3 months before my current lease expired. The car turned up 2 months early. I went to view it at the dealer and it had a Plexis Grey interior. I insisted that they find me a Plexis Red interior as I was still in my current lease and therefore not in any hurry for the new car. The dealer then grabbed one from a Toowoomba dealership and had it transferred down to Sydney.... still approx 3 weeks earlier than I needed it. At least it was the right colour this time. Was certainly a long three weeks before I was able to jump in it and take it away. Maybe others find similar experiences with "fleet" purchases ?

Thanks Dazza

Does this include the AU ? Does the previous set of instructions still apply ?

Hewitt would do himself a good service if he took notice of the sportsmanship shown by other players. One of the most entertaining matches so far has been the Federer / Suzuki match. During this match, the Japanese player applauded some of Federer's shots and Federer in turn, acknowledged the applause. This is appreciated by both the players and the fans. During the Blake / Hewitt match, Blake acknowledged one of Hewitt's winning shots and Hewitt chose to turn his back on him and play the "come on" routine. I take offense at Hewitt's cockiness when he is in front and sourness when behind. You don't see the "come on" routines and bouncing on the toes until the point has been won. It is easy to offer the challenge once a point has been completed. ( Much like a person who can't volley for crap, racing to the net after the ball has beaten the other player ) To me, the best thing that Hewitt could learn is a sense of humility.

All this talk about new members. Is that like have a pen*s enlargement or something ?

Gives a new meaning to "Roll your own"