Bluemarlin

Here you go Eric, I've started it for you, and copied my previous post below: I assume Putin is in on the gig then, with governments and the WEF, to create the energy crisis. Nor are the WEF promoting the goal of people owning nothing. That was a quote, taken out of context, reflecting the trend towards rental and subscriptions. Has it not accured to you that the WEF are simply looking at existing trends, and then brainstorming them to see where they might lead, and how to address them. Rather than cherry pick out of context quotes, in order to fabricate an agenda, why not look at what they actually state as an aim, which is: “By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance.” That doesn't sound anything like what you're suggesting at all, in fact it's the opposite, and seems pretty reasonable to me.

My understanding is that leather seats, even if real leather, have some kind of plastic coating, and so dedicated leather treatments aren't necessary. A damp cloth, with mild soap and water would probably do for cleaning, after brushing off any loose dirt/dust. I then use 303 protectant on the seats and any other plastics/vinyl. Where I've had cracks or discolouration in the past, I've found that the colour matched leather colourant from Furniture Clinic to be very good on the previous ivory/cream seats I had, and my current pale grey ones.

I assume Putin is in on the gig then, with governments and the WEF, to create the energy crisis. Nor are the WEF promoting the goal of people owning nothing. That was a quote, taken out of context, reflecting the trend towards rental and subscriptions. Has it not accured to you that the WEF are simply looking at existing trends, and then brainstorming them to see where they might lead, and how to address them. Rather than cherry pick out of context quotes, in order to fabricate an agenda, why not look at what they actually state as an aim, which is: “By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance.” That doesn't sound anything like what you're suggesting at all, in fact it's the opposite, and seems pretty reasonable to me. For the record, I saw petrol at £1.69 at a Shell station in Richmond today. Please, just start a WEF thread, or something. Edited to add: I've started one for you, in the Lounge, I'm kind like that 🙂 and copied my above reply there

The BBC would probably tell you it was meaningless without knowing how many people in total took each of these things. It would be a bit like showing how many people died driving ICE cars, compared to EV's, and then claiming that EV's were safer, purely because of a lower death toll 😉

15 minutes of Google search threw up enough articles to raise questions. That said Phil, I will admit that there's "evidence" which supports claims for Ivermectin, but not conclusive enough at this time to be "proof". So, whilst I think it's wrong to say it's a cure, I also think it's just as wrong to say it definitely isn't. The jury's still out and so, at least for now, the fence is probably the most appropriate place to be sitting. Bit like God, bigfoot and aliens really. I can't say say definitively that they don't exist, but I haven't yet seen proof that they do.

That is interesting Phil. I had seen another study, by the same doctor, which claimed good results from a prostate cancer drug, but don't know how reliable it was. I've had a quick look at the study you refer to, and found a number of articles that state that the study was methodologically flawed, and that its results didn't match the official data. One comment referred to the fact that it was voluntary, and that the majority had stopped taking Ivermectin a third of the way into the trial. Even the study itself stated "Being a prospective observational study that allowed subjects to self-select between treatment vs. non-treatment instead of relying on randomization, important confounders may have been differentially present, which could otherwise explain the differences observed." As well as "Also, there was no strict control on whether infected subjects used any specific drug in case of COVID-19 infection, and this allows the possibility that the differences may be explained by differences in the use of ivermectin or other medications as treatment." So, there appear to be some interpretational gaps. It's also worth noting that Dr Cadegiani and one other author are paid consultants for Vitamedic, an Ivermectin manufacturer. Two others work for FLCCC, which has been opposed to vaccines and has also been promoting Ivermectin, along with other unproven treatments. Cureus, who published the article, later added a correction, stating that the authors failed to mention these conflicts of interest when they submitted the article. That's not to say that Ivermectin isn't effective, only that the trials claiming success have to date had numerous flaws and limitations in their methodology, and the authors have often been linked to Ivermectin manufacturers, which seems to muddy the waters. I have no idea what the reality is, and my point to Eric was that conspiracy theorist were claiming that Ivermectin was being suppressed by big pharma for financial reasons, when conversely many trials were being funded by others for financial gain from the sale of Ivermectin. Currently it's a minefield, but I believe studies are still being carried out, and that eventually we'll know whether Ivermectin is an effective treatment or not.

Whilst I'm tempted to reply to some of these points, it would be preferable/easier if you started a Great Reset, Conspiracy Theories, or similar type thread, rather than batting it back and forth on a petrol price thread.

In my defence, I was just visiting for an MOT & Service

Not really, the tin foilers said Ivermectin was a cure that was being suppressed by the mainstream media. Turns out it was bollocks, being promoted with false data by highly paid consultants for drug companies. As for the the WEF and the Great Reset. What are they saying? They're saying it's a secret plan, only it's so secret that the WEF publish it on the internet for the whole world to see. They're not revealing any secrets, or hidden agendas, just publishing publicly available information, and then try to spin it into a scare story. As a matter of interest, given your distrust of the regulated media, which media do you trust? What are your sources of information that are immune to manipulation and falsehoods? Perhaps you could start a Great Reset thread as, whilst it's an interesting subject, worthy of debate, it's a little off topic for this thread. So, on a more relevant note, unleaded is still around £1.71 and upwards here but, on a visit to Lexus Guildford this morning, prices in most petrol stations seemed to be around the £1.66 mark.

Just had my annual MOT & service done. Passed and everything good on both the hybrid battery and car free healthchecks, so pretty pleased given that the car is 13 years old and 105k miles. Service at Lexus Guildford was very good too.

It's hardly a secret, The Great Reset is on the WEF's website. Nor does it appear to be insidous. It seems to be a reasonable set of suggestions to address changes and opportunities for the benefit of most people. If anything, it seems to be saying that we could utilize capitalism, and both public and private investment, in ways that might benefit the wider society, rather than just a handful of individuals and corporations. Now, people may agree or disagree with it's proposals and principles, but it doesn't seem any more nefarious than any other socio-political worldview or set of goals. It's just ideas and suggestions, based on present and future realities and challenges. The kind of thing think tanks are supposed to do.

Good idea. What did Alexa say? Edited to add: UAE exports 66% of it's oil, whilst still being able to manage zero income tax, free healthcare, and free university education for its citizens. Under those conditions I don't think people mind a bit of profit taking by Emirs and shareholders 😉

With regards to privatised essential public services/utilities, such as railways, water, gas and electricity, which of these could be said to be working in reality? Regardless of the pros and cons of nationalisation, there's an argument that the natural resources of a country should belong to the people of the country, and used primarily for their benefit, rather than for profit and the benefit of shareholders. The private sector is by far the most appropriate option for many things, and the public sector for others. In a functioning society they both have a place.

I must admit, I've been tempted, but agree with "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", and that hopefully regular oil changes will keep it "unbroke". Would possibly consider this, or something similar, if I had problems though.

There's a difference between crossclimates and crossclimate suv's, so I imagine the same applies to crossclimate 2's, so make sure you're looking at the same thing and getting what you want.

You're going to start second guessing yourself again, aren't you? 😉

I can remember coming home from school in the winter months and jostling to get closest to the single burner paraffin heater in the kitchen. "They asked me how I knew it was Esso Blue. I of course replied, with lower grades one buys, smoke gets in your eyes." The old days were terrible, and central heating seemed like a gift from the gods when we moved.

Indeed. There's a Chinese restaurant that recently got hit with a £10k electricity bill. The owner's trying to reduce his costs and said that he can't turn all the lights off, but he can dim sum.

I used to use one of the plastic step stools, which took my weight (15st), until one day it didn't. Fortunately I landed on my feet. I now use a wooden one I picked up used off ebay, which I like because it's less likely to cause scratches, and its height exactly matches that of the bottom trim pieces, so I can get it right up against the car. I did have to re-glue the joints though as some were beginnning to loosen, so would probably go metal if I had to buy again.

I guess it depends on cost and how many scratches/dents you get. I had my previous car for 10 years and, although I had the odd ding, it wasn't £1000 worth, so £100 a year insurance would have been a waste. As Piers says though, it's not a fortune and if it makes you feel better then why not. Some of us pay for extended warranties we may never need, but the peace of mind against a possibly costly repair makes it seem worthwhile. My own feeling is that I'd insure against anything I'd find difficult to pay out of my own pocket, and take the risk myself on things I could more easily cover. Incidentally, if you claim on this type of insurance, do you have to notify your main insurer at renewal time?

I have a small battery compressor with a digital gauge which I bought for my bike. It seems to match the readings I get with my other pumps, so I'm happy with it. It's good for inflating the bike tyres, and fine for topping up 1 or 2 psi if the car needs it, but takes a while to do much more than that on a big car tyre. Mostly it just lets me check that all the tyre pressures are the same. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Xiaomi-Portable-Electric-Compressor-Operated/dp/B09JZWJ2QY/ref=sr_1_40?crid=RSZ055XDIPJC&keywords=battery+tyre+pump&qid=1661791535&sprefix=battery+tyre+pump%2Caps%2C1932&sr=8-40

Never say never, but probably not in the lifetime of most (if not all) on here.

My previous car was 20 years old when I sold it, but the last few years was a case of playing whack a mole with various bits of rust that needed welding. I sold it last year and bought my Lexus, but wish I'd sold and replaced it sooner. Once it gets to a few grand in rust repairs there's a danger of it becoming a money pit, with new bits to patch up each year. After nearly twenty years it's probably better to bite the bullet while it doesn't owe you anything, unless you can be sure that any fix will solve the issues for a few years.

This place in Erith came up first in a google search. They appear to do rebuilds at the kind of price you're looking for. I have no personal experience of them, but it gives you a starting point regarding cost. https://www.automatic-gearbox.co.uk/exus-rx300/ Whether it's worth it depends on how long you think you'd get out of the car once fixed, against what it would cost to buy a replacement in today's market. If I thought I'd get another 2 or 3 years without major expense then I'd probably get it fixed if it can be done for under a couple of grand.

That's probably what I'll do Herbie, but would have been happy for Lexus to do it at £299.