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Showing content with the highest reputation on 18/11/19 in Posts
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That's a great photo Jude! One to cherish I am sure Glad you are finding ways to manage at the moment - I too find it hard with less light (as does my partner), but as you've said just trying to do *anything* really helps. It can be tough to remember though, especially when you are tired and have little motivation. I've had a tough, up and down, but generally positive few weeks. A few big things have happened which would normally completely sink me - slightly cryptic examples but something serious that wasn't meant to happen has, and something important that took a lot of work and was meant to happen didn't (both through no fault of my own) - but have managed to keep my head above water and see things in a different way to how I have in the past. The exception to this was Saturday morning when I got myself in a real mess. Symptoms of that carried over to Sunday but I kept going (via distractions!) and finally had a decent sleep last night, so I feel human again today! I've been using a mix of distraction and reflection to keep going recently, rather than pure distraction that was my previous go-to. This seems to be less draining so despite little sleep, I'm not ruined by tea time each day Perhaps this was because distraction techniques used to make me feel guilty. Sounds odd but I saw it as being 'selfish' and spending time on myself, when I should / could have been doing something else more 'useful' or helping someone out. But I'd still feel totally drawn and compelled to carring out said techniques because it was pretty much the only way I could find focus in a brain that would otherwise be overwhelmingly buzzing with a huge number of thoughts. My partner, Jane, has been really supportive of this. Her family have always employed a 'I need some of my own time sometimes' mantra (completely the opposite to how I was brought up!) so that has released my guilt for spending this time 'on myself'. I've also realised that, while it doesn't always have to be about doing something that gives an end result (eg. just reading a book is a good selfish distraction), a lot of my 'end results' are fairly special. In the last 18 months - amongst other things - I've transformed two gardens (to the point where we now have loads of visiting wildlife in one and grow enough fruit and veg in the other to noticeable reduce what we have to buy, especially during the summer), researched, designed and fitted a wood burner to the correct standards, trained for and completed a triathlon, ridden coast to coast for charity, designed and built a bed that folds up against our spare room wall, taught myself to TIG weld, built a car (a few of you will know about that one ), and more recently built myself a bike frame (using the same mantra as with the car, do things a bit differently) and this last week bought a 2nd hand keyboard and proceeded to learn to play at a rate which has astounded other pianists. Yet while all this has gone on, I've still managed to build and hold down a healthy relationship, got myself into the best physical shape I've ever been in, kept my business going despite tricky times, and fended off all the crap a seriously complicated divroce could throw at me (though this is still a work in progress, sadly, and it may be about to get even more crap). My point in all of this is that despite any troubles or how 'crazy' you feel sometimes, I absolutely guarantee that each and every one of you out there has a special talent or skill, which is something to be proud of. Never forget that and use it to your advantage! I ended up writing a lot more than expected - but perhaps, hopefully, someone else will read this and think 'oh, it's not just me who feels like this' and that will be a small positive step...7 points
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Nice to see lewis come out and admit a mistake rather than the usual bulls*** excuses a-la Vettel.4 points
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@Quinten @wizzer @Wowblaauw @LoneWolf all bits have been posted today. Should be with you In a few days.3 points
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@AdamR OMG you're a bl**** super hero!!! I thought I was doing OK but now I feel I need to accomplish more!!! One think I have mastered.. Sitting and being at one with myself. I have started reading!! No one says life has to be hard... You are an awesome human! I relate to nearly everything you have said.. Except for the numerous accomplishments. Well you've inspired me... I just found a ukele I bought Brian.. Might give you a tune at Stoneleigh!!!3 points
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Don't take @AdamRas example to set your bar... as you say, he is a super hero. He is one of this annoying gits that can do anything he wants... he just needs to want, and he will do it better than a full team of experts after 20 years of research!! He will just go for it, do some research, throw some educated guesses on the process and will come out with a result that will leave speechless to anyone. Shame he needs to be reminded so often how so bl**** awesome and capable he is. In the other side, us, the normal human beings have to feel accomplished when in a bad day, we still force ourselves to go out of bed, try to do something productive (even if it ends being a waste) and don't spend way too much time thinking about how **** the life is at that precise moment.2 points
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Wasn't sure where this should go... Stuff? Yeah I guess so. Nonsense? Not a bit of it! Anyway, perhaps I'm a day late with this as Mental Health Awareness week was last week, but here goes I've recently (almost) finished building my car, and all along the way this has had me dancing along a psychological tightrope. Due to various factors I have a tendency to strive for perfection, and this can get me into a lot of self-inflicted trouble (and has done in the past!). In a recent post I decided to 'come out' and share a bit of my story, in the hope that it would help others to be more open about any sort of mental struggles they have had, or are currently dealing with: https://forum.wscc.co.uk/forum/topic/130867-the-lobster-88-se-rebuild/page/41/?tab=comments#comment-1422129 This can be anything from suicidal thoughts, right through to relatively-harmless-but-totally-draining overthinking (something I still do too much - mentally composing email replies at 3am while I'm lying awake, or practicing phone calls in advance!). If this describes you then you're not alone - even within this club - and I have always found the support that comes from all angles when I 'break cover' to be overwhelming, completely the opposite to my original fear of being seen as 'crazy', or being ridiculed, or even excluded. In fact it kinda makes you feel like you're in some sort of exclusive club when people pop up (both 'publicly' and privately) offering similar stories or support and understanding. It's extremely heartwarming. So, I guess the over-riding message is that it is perfectly normal to feel like cr@p sometimes, and that it's absolutely OK when that happens. There is support available all around if you allow it to come into your life. I will personally offer myself as one of these support mechanisms if I'm able to at the time, I'm only a PM away Feel free to share any stories here, you won't be judged and as I said, we'll be part of a (relatively) exclusive club, haha. And don't forget that whatever happens, there's always a fun and engaging toy with a shouty engine sat in / on your garage / shed / drive to allow you to clear your head at the end of a bad day Take care everyone, x1 point
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So you want to go on a road trip around Europe for a couple of months. You have 3 vehicles: A nice, comfortable lexus IS200 estate. Mazda bongo campervan with full interior conversion and pop up roof. Westfield that's just passed its IVA after nearly 5 years of building. Let's be honest, despite the lack of heater, questionable weather resistance, and general noisiness, would it ever be anything but the Westfield? Doors and half hood on, my new steering wheel with quick release boss fitted, and a little practical storage added. Found a neat place to mount my jack in the engine bay. Very simply a strap riveted to the panel over the gearbox: I unfortunately didn't realise until after I'd cut chunks out of it that my boot box was for a short range tank, whereas I've got a long range one so I don't currently have a boot box. Only a plastic top which looks like it doesn't come off. This actually works out quite well, because it means I've got a place to secure my tools when road tripping. I made up a little frame from some aluminium box and angle section and riveted it in in front of the fuel tank. This holds an aluminium case which is good for the basic tools. Then my big socket set sits nicely on top of that. Other than fitting number plates when I get some post from the DVLA, the car is ready to go on a big road trip... And go on a big road trip it will. I've been keeping a little quiet about this as I was terrified of anything going wrong, but at this point, I've done everything I can. Pretty much as soon as I have registration plates on the car, I'll be hopping on a ferry to Holland, before driving to Germany, then Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and off down to Eastern Europe for a few weeks before coming back across the Alps at the end of October. The initial plan was for this to be a 3 month trip with me in the westie and my friend in his MX5, but unfortunately my build took longer than I had expected, so I've missed the first leg up through Norway to the Arctic circle. Once I hit the road, I'll be covering some pretty big miles every day to try to catch my friend up in Finland. Once I've got registration plates, it will literally be a case of finding somewhere to get my ride height sorted and wheels aligned, and then I'll be off on the ferry the next day. I'm hoping to get NMS to sort my alignment as they're not that far away from me and know Westfields, but if anyone has any other garage recommendations for alignment around the Midlands/Warwickshire, let me know!1 point
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Parcelforce is what I use for overseas and i’ve Posted bodywork to Canada in the past. Plenty of bubble wrap and a double skinned corrugated box and it made it there fine. Italy is zone8 so for their global value service it looks like £45-£60 to send a nose cone or similar from the UK.1 point
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Hell of a race! .. its a shame the Ferraris weren't in the mix at the end. Either way, Max looked pretty much un stoppable.1 point
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Well no doubt about it , Max took him on fair and square in Brazil and for once was able to show his class . Hamilton will have to work a lot harder for another WC if Max Red Bull & Honda keep improving . Looking forward to the next round1 point
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The top of the range type 9 based 'boxes made by Steve Perks have been put onto Cosworth Ford engines producing as much as 350 bhp, and corresponding torque, by some of the rally boys.1 point
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Somehow made it to Kiev! Border crossing from Poland ended up taking the best part of 7 hours just to get to the polish checkpoint, then another couple of hours to get to the Ukrainian one. The Ukrainian police thought my car was hilarious - not sure how many times the word "crazy" was said! They let us through eventually though. Chris had to buy some insurance for his car on the far side. With none of the Ukrainians speaking English, and us having no Ukrainian, we have no idea what he actually ended up with but it cost the equivalent of about €11! By the time we got all that sorted, it was nearly midnight, so we found a spot to camp on the far side of the border, cooked some dinner and went to bed. Google said it would be 6 hours to Kiev from where we camped so we got up at 6:30, packed the tents and hit the road as soon as it was light. For all the worries that we had for the road quality, it's really not as bad as people made out. Probably on par with Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, with the exception being any bridges. They really seem to be the weak point in the road surfaces. One of them that we crossed, (on the main road to Kiev), you could actually see the river through the holes in the tarmac which was quite concerning! Also, when waze warns you of a pothole on the road ahead in Ukraine, be prepared to take a detour around a crater. It was pouring down with rain for most of the drive. The car was fine for it other than one or two points where there was standing water in the ruts in the road which made it a little twitchy! Ukrainians have been really polite and friendly any time we've talked to them so far (or tried to!). Everyone has been asking permission before taking any pictures of the car. I really want to get a photo of the westie next to one of the old ladas here but haven't seen an owner around when I've been parked up to ask! Once we got to the city, the driving seemed to change. Its a sort of chaos that everyone here seems to understand. The lane boundaries (and even driving versus pedestrian boundaries) are really not very clear which doesn't make for a fun drive. When we eventually made it to the hotel, reception said we could use the underground car park. After scraping the gearbox hoop on the way in, the security guard told us otherwise. More scraping on the way out, and had to use the outdoor car park around the back of the hotel instead! All OK though - while they all want the photo, nobody here would want a Westfield, it's too low and wet for their tastes! Besides, between the pretty well hidden ignition, the immobiliser, and the lack of a steering wheel, it's pretty well protected! With the weather being pretty horrible, and the amount of distance we had to cover, I didn't get a chance to take any decent photos yesterday, but when we leave on Sunday, I'll try to get something as a little evidence of how far east we've driven! I wonder what's the longest distance from home anyone's ever driven their Westfield? Might have achieved a random record with it!1 point
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That sounds like a good idea. I'll be spending most of Friday in Helsinki so I'll find a camping shop then. Carried on to Stockholm yesterday. Decided to forgo the 3.5 hour motorway drive in favour of a 5 hour non motorway drive - which turned out to be 2 hours of non motorway followed by 3 hours of a different motorway. Still a good trade in my eyes! The views were beautiful, although the speed limits too low for any entertaining driving. Once I got to Stockholm, I parked up the car and checked into my hostel. It was nice to have a hot shower after two days sleeping in a tent! Then went and met up with my friends - one originally from Finland and the other from a bit further north in Sweden. In my head it was only 2 or 3 years since I'd seen them, but the reality was more like 8 or 9 when we worked it out! That's one really important point about this car that could be so easily overlooked - it's a fantastic conversation starter, both with old friends and new ones. My housemates lived in my old house for 4 years before I moved in without knowing the neighbour's names properly. Once I started working outside on the car, everyone would stop for little chats here and there, or ask for a little advice if they were having some car trouble. The result was that I got to know them really well, to the point where I know a good chunk of their backgrounds now too! It's so easy these days to live without building these relationships, that's what makes it so fantastic to have something that facilitates them! Anyway, I'm now on the ferry to Finland, where I'll be meeting up with my friend and his mk1 MX5, and the rest of the trip then we'll be doing together. I quickly changed my speedo back to mph this morning to check the mileage reading. 1 week today since the reg plates went on, and the car has covered over 2000 miles and driven in 5 countries (that'll be 6 in about 11 hours time)! That's some pretty decent progress I think!1 point
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Alarm set for 4:30 this morning, loaded the car and set off at 5:06. Nicely heavily laden with tent, sleeping bag, air mattress, hiking gear etc. The drive down was cold and noisy, but it didn't stop me smiling like an absolute muppet the whole way! Had to resist the urge to wave at random cars as I passed them a few times! (before anyone worries, the below photo was taken using my phone in a mount, with a timer and the shutter pressed while stationary) The car is absolutely fantastic. I'm so happy with the little changes I made to deviate from the standard car - Freewheel is so good for night driving, being able to switch between dip and main beam mid corner without taking your hands off the wheel. The quantum suspension is just incredible too. I took my friend who drives an M3 for a spin yesterday and he said the Westfield soaks up the bumps better than his car. When I take it on a track too, I can just dial up the damping to wherever I want it. Very glad I asked JK composites to put heater pads in the seats as well. They really make a massive difference and they're so comfortable. A heater in the car would be nice, but wrapped up as I was and with heated seats, I don't see any reason I couldn't drive this car in the middle of winter. When I arrived down at the port, the security guard at checkin directed me into the lane to have my car searched, although I think he did it just to confuse his colleague who was carrying out the searches! "eh... Eh... Can we have a look under the bonnet?". He then proceeded to ask me a few details about the build rather than anything security related! All safely boarded on the ferry now. Car is up to 798 miles now, less than half way through its 4th day with registration plates, although, granted more than half of those miles are from the trip up to Carlisle for the IVA test! I've taken a couple of pictures but the WiFi on the ferry is pants and there's no signal in my cabin so I'll have to edit those into the post later tonight when I get to Düsseldorf! Edit: managed to upload them eventually!1 point
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That sounds epic the run to the IVA test and back should at least give you some confidence in the reliability of the car and build. When I was building mine I'd always said that when it was finished I would drive it to LeMans, so sure enough a month after it was completed I set off on the 1200 mile drive across france.1 point
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@AdamR top marks for this thread it’s closer to a lot more of us than we think 😎1 point