May on MX5

I unearthed this road test of an MX5 the other day.

It’s hosted by a younger-looking James May.

The model is the same as mine – 1800cc motor and six speed gearbox. It was promoted in the UK as a special edition, and never sold here. The specifications are the same as the version sold in Australia as the NB.

What he says is right. It is reliable, doesn’t leak, and is fun to drive.

For me, the best feature is its gearbox. My kids can’t drive manuals.

No Comment

I couldn't resist reblogging this from Crikey.

It's a clever use of actual comments on the Amazon website.

The irony of encouraging abusive and racist comments on a bookseller's website, and calling it an exercise in tolerance for free speech is obviously lost on Blot and his sheeple.

Escaping Smoke

Smoking letter

I know about cars.

I know they run on smoke.

That’s because when the smoke escapes, they stop. This happened to me twice.

With Volkswagens. One in 1968, and one in 1969. After that, I didn’t buy any more Volkswagens.

What I didn’t know until today is that sewers run on smoke also.

I bet you didn’t know that. How do I know?

Well, we got this letter from the Council. They’re going to pump smoke through the sewers. If the smoke escapes, they’ll know the sewer is broken.

Well, there you go.

I’m sure this is the only connection between cars and sewers.

Gorgeous George

We have our share of radio shock jocks in this country.

Some of them even host blogs.

They are almost exclusively of Right wing persuasion.

This is not the case in Blighty. Over there, there is a show hosted by George Galloway, one of the most articulate commentators you're ever likely to hear.

He's an ex-amateur footballer, lifetime teetotaller, and the Canadians don't like him. The third of these by itself makes him noteworthy.

He has his own political party "Respect" and is renowned for making fools of sundry US Senators when they got stuck into him about Oil for Food back when Bush was in the White House.

Even if you don't listen to the radio grab right through, make sure you link to his senate evidence above.

It's great entertainment.

Bolt Bitten on the Bum

Why her? Do an image search under "selling hate" and she pops up every time.

There’s a right old furore going on in the Rightwing blogosphere about Anita Heiss’ “Am I Black Enough for You?”

After all, how dare a woman who identifies as indigenous ask such a question?

How dare she challenge the worn and dishevelled stereotype of a black female?

Shouldn’t she be living in squalor on a remote community somewhere which large chunks of her income quarantined?

How dare she aspire to the same comforts and lifestyle shared by her non-indigenous sisters? How dare she be successful in her chosen field? How dare she inspire young indigenous kids to be writers?

She really doesn’t know her place.

This furore (essentially organised and promoted by the person who was caught out using half-truth, bigotry and slander as a weapon of choice against her and others) exposes the ignorance and envy which hides just below the surface of modern Australia.

The supreme irony is that Anita Heiss is likely to do very well out of it.

Any aspiring author knows that a profile is necessary to ensure healthy sales of any book. She certainly has that profile now.

I doubt the Mouth from the South had that in mind when he put fist to keyboard in 2009.

I guess there are always unintended consequences when you refine and parcel fear and hate, and then set about aggressively marketing it, sheltered by a corporation that thinks ethics is a village in Greece.

I'll let Anita Heiss have the last say.