Goodbye Old Girl

Goodbye old girl. The house isn't the same without you here, snoring, watching the world go by or wanting to steal my food. There's no wagging tail to greet me at the sliding or garage door anymore, no shadow in the kitchen waiting for milk or chicken bones.

And while the two of us left in your pack have to deal with the pain of your absence, I'm glad that you don't have any anymore.

You are already missed, but will never be forgotten. The amount of photos taken throughout your life will make sure of that.

I hope that wherever you have gone, there's plenty of sun, bones, milk, and most of all, pats.

Old vs new

I didn't buy two pairs of beachcombers from the get go. But found another exact pair for sale 7 years later at a slightly more expensive price.

I cracked the new ones out as rain was forecast and I needed the extra traction.

Round 2

The retro game shop that I frequent extended their sale. This was what I walked out with..

Merry Christmas to me!

Fiesta ST - One Year In

I've just hit one year in my Fiesta ST, I picked it up with 17km on the clock. I checked this morning and the odometer now reads just over 38000km, an average of 731km a week. My thoughts after one year of ownership.

It's a car where you can have your cake and eat it too. It's moderately quick (or should I say, quick enough most of the time), but because it's light and the engine is fairly small, also is quite economical. It drinks about 6L/100km compared to my old car which used 8L/100km in the same conditions. It can be driven sedately but get on the throttle and it perks right up. It needs a lot of throttle to get going fast, as it is a small engine, but it's rewarding. Blasting through the hills is a fantastic experience.

It's got a fair amount of fruit. Auto headlights, climate control, auto dimming rear vision mirror. Even cruise control.

Negatives? Cheap plastics. You can tell where they spent money (engine, seats, suspension setup) and where they scrimped (interior). There's also not much headroom in tuning. The car doesn't gain a lot from exhaust/intake upgrades like usual turbocharged cars. And the suspension is stiff, like really stiff. It's OK when blasting through the hills, but pottering up/down the freeway can be a bit tiresome.

Driving my old car whilst CB was recently away was like driving on a cloud. And that car is not known for it's lush ride (also a hot hatch). But compared to the back breaking stiffness of the Fiesta's shocks, it was lush. When due for a replacement, I'll be getting some aftermarket Konis which are reportedly make the ride a lot more compliant without sacrificing handling.

I have 4 years left to drive this car before I can get something new, and my opinion may change as I get closer to the time. But at the moment, I'm not sure what I'd replace it with (or if I would).

No Sympathy

So I was in a traffic jam just then and as it turns out it appears a motorcyclist was injured. Ambos were there to scrape him off the road. It was a straight bit of road, but always congested. I'd put money on the rider filtering through traffic and coming up against a car changing lanes.

Instead of wondering if the person was OK, the first thought I had was it served him right. Am I a bad person for having no sympathy?

I felt bad after thinking about it but after coming across so many self entitled riders on the roads who filter when highways are at 100km/h, I don't know. They are called temporary Australians for a reason.

Hopefully the guy is OK and maybe this'll be a lesson of why filtering may be a bad idea, despite it being supposedly legal.

Perth Fucktard Drivers

Sometimes I wish I drove a piece of shit car so I wouldn't have to give in to fuckers who think they have right of way in the roads.