Sirbendy

Sergeant Major Zero FTW.

I should point out that we're a secondary...heh. It's a good way to get the kids engaged in History though! It's one teachers idea too. Quite impressive, and it uses the entire Year 7, so it's no small undertaking. Parents have been helping with the costumes. I'm sure a Jedi just went past..! Ah well, *grin*

It's been a fair while since I've seen a Perkins Prima, thinking on...heh. Friend of mine had a Maestro, ex plod with a 2.0td diddled with prima in it..went like hot snot, even funnier since the shell was a compete base metal bumper spec.

Our year 7s are all going out on our (very foggy) sports field, to do a re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings. I've got hordes of small barbarian warriors going past my office in homemade helmets, shields the size of the bearer or bigger, and swords ranging from the homemade, to a FunFayre special that lights up.. And us? We're filming it. Me with a handycam, video tech with the big BBC-esque camera, and others with departmental ones.

Pfft. Coming from 2 rovers and 3 Vauxhalls, they'll take it without drama. I've had plenty of "no shows" on the dipstick, with no red light. The Z16SE does like oil though. The X16SZR and C16SE in my previous and current second car are equally ignored until they rattle. Z16SE is rattling now, but that could just be the hydro tappets. Heyho. I always go for the indestructible 8 valvers though.. Lovely little engines. Oil wise, I bung in any old cheap tat. 5/40, 10/40, 15/50, it's all good. I ran the X16SZR for a few miles on a mix of oil and..might have been parafin. I forget. Flushed the engine out a treat, that did.

not quite a garage, but I came home one night and found a tit in a TT parked in my allocated, numbered parking spot in a communal carpark. Big park, 1 corner had 8 allocated spots for 8 flats, and a BIG "Private parking for residents of Yorke House" sign. Not the first time it happened, but I was tired and quite miffed. So I parked the Astra sideways behind him blocking him in, took my blow-up flashing traffic cone out of the boot, inflated it and put it on my roof with a cardboard sign saying "TIT" and an arrow pointing to the TT, put a note under his wiper saying "Never heard of PRIVATE parking? Call Flat 6 to move your car" and went in for a cuppa. My neighbours thought it was hysterical as it happened to them as well. About an hour later, one knocked and said "He's just left.". He'd replied to my note, and manouvered his car out forward, through the undergrowth and rubble and left a few bits of it behind in the process. Never saw the TT again. I was chatting to some local Vauxhall enthusiasts on the net, and one had offered to pop over if it hadn't gone in an hour, and drag it off with a rangerover. The river was just past the end of the carpark...it was very tempting indeed. I put it on either mine or the missus' site, and hey presto, it was all over TT/Audi forums, and we got flamed..hehe. http://sirbendy.co.uk/images/flat6/parking/audi1.jpg that's not going far.. http://sirbendy.co.uk/images/flat6/parking/audi4.jpg My spot.. http://sirbendy.co.uk/images/flat6/parking/funnynote.jpg My note and his reply (NSFW possibly) I'd have done the same as the old chap too. When we lived at mums, we came home one day and found a car in her driveway - some cheeky git who didn't want to pay the parking fee at the point to point races up the road. Locked the gate, parked my spare car behind it. He wasn't impressed. Our property, finders keepers. He paid to get it back.

I'd agree there - that's not a SMART error, it's a projector only message that states your signal is either not getting out of the laptop to the projector, or the signal is in a form incompatible with the projector (refresh rate/resolution etc). Check the settings for the other users, and maybe try the hotkey to enable the external display port?

I'd go with "It's ruddy clever, it can save a potfull of cash, uses less electric, less aircon, is less expensive to fix, and is easier and safer".

Anyone on here play "Bullsh1t Bingo"? It's rather funny, and along these lines..

I run neither on my desktop. Well, not in the main use environments. Not much point as they're VMs with snapshots! The Host OS has AV. Incoming router has SPI. Virtuals get nothing at all, as it's pretty pointless..

We're looking at MDT now (and thankyou all so much for the Deployment Fundamentals book recommendation) to deploy Vista/7 across our site. Currently we use Zen. In Zen, we used to copy the Administrator account over the top of default user to apply to all new users things like the reg/software settings etc. Now we know it's not recommended. So I've used the CopyProfile option in the XML when deploying a test PC..it works quite well. HOWEVER, even if I run up WMP11 as Administrator and select all my prefs etc before I run the capture task, once it's redeployed with the admin profile copied etc by the task, all new users still get this preferences screen on initial start of WMP11. How can I stop this, as our users are all "limited" users, and don't get the splash/options, instead just getting a "WMP can't start" error. If I log in as an admin, run it up and answer the prefs options, it becomes about a 40% success rate for the end user being able to run videos etc. Is there anything to set in the image, any regmerge, or is it a GP thing? It's happening with our old Zen images now too...

I've ordered the book now - £26 from "the book depository" IIRC, free delivery....hopefully here next week! It's plain and simple doing my swede. Too much to do, too much to learn, not got the quiet time here to do it and home isn't an option with a bouncy baby girl now. I'm tired, and frankly there are certain parts of my 4 pages of responsibilities in this place I could merrily wash my hands of right now. However, breathe....Can't be that much worse than Zenworks, which really is starting to creak...and at some point it'd be nice to push out 7 instead of Vistargh, which is another Zen limitation.

I also hope not. I hate driving in snow, and this time round I'll be doing the nursery run with daughter..talk about 100x more stress there. Plus last winter cost me £900 in heating.

WDS is being "pushed" by our parent academy... I went back to basics with another guide yesterday, ignored MDT2010, started again with WDS/WSIM. Created the unattend.xml and WDSunattend.XML, and have now succeeded in getting a base vista image to install, set the various bits, create the 2 user accounts for local admin etc, and now I have a VM base sitting at a "ground zero" state with no apps, that I could join to the domain as a flat system. So I've now got a replicated basic ZenWorks equivalent, using some of the data from the original Zen XML files (proprietary, but based on WDS by the looks of it..) Now..on a "normal" flat base, I'd install the apps (office, curriculum bits etc), run them up as admin, acknowledge what needs acknowledging, tweak any bits, then hit it with prepclone, upload it back to Zen, and deploy to workstations. How do I go about that in WDS? Install apps etc, run sysprep, boot capture image and pull it back? Since I'd like the admin profile to become default for all users, I'm guessing I'd need at least an XML file with sysprep to specify the tab and do that, but then I'd also like it to join the domain on the deploy, with a PC name set by MDTs database bit..which is where again I get a tiny bit fried. I'll have to have a scout for that book!

HELP! Background: Workstation OS: Vista Business SP2, soon to hopefully be 7. Imaging Solution Currently: Zenworks Current build method: Boot Vista DVD with USB key holding a predefined (by ENGL contractor) Unattend.xml. Result is a 16gb initial "empty" Vista image with 2 users, Admin and Setup. ZToolkit folder on C:. Install Base apps on there, run prepclone, Zen wrapper runs sysprep equivalent. This gives you a SMARTbuild. On boot, this then runs through stages 1-5 of ENGL "setup", joins to domain etc. Then we install all apps, re-prepclone it. Upload to Zen server. This is then ready to deploy to all workstations. The problem is, Zen is a bit old now. We'd like to move to WDS. I have a VM all set up with 2003, got WDS running, installed MDT2010U1 all fine. Now, can I get my head round it? No. I tried just using WDS, installing Vista from DVD using the unattend.XML, then making a few tweaks, and sysprepping it - it broke. "Reinstall Windows". I've got lost in MDTs XML/config files, and I'm now so darn confused trying to replicate what Zen would do, that I don't know where to start! I'd like to use MDT2010, with the machine DB to handle all the naming etc. Followed a basic guide, got that working. However, it wasn't the most intuitive thing ever..changing the rules back and forth etc fried my head. Are there any absolute idiot guides to it out there? I feel like one! Cheers..

Then I'd insist on a GOOD air-circulation system, maybe water cooled.

By all accounts, in 2011.. They've replaced that odd jackplug for it with a moulding and what looks like an IR LED..optical control coupling..intriguing. The old "Photon Cannon" is now an LED - better idea. Apart from that, the fact that the "gun turret" no longer opens or contains a 9v battery, and more beefy idler axles (hurray!), it's pure 80's retro.

Bless my missus, she went out yesterday to buy some things, when I got home she presented me with a parcel...she said "Come on, open it..I want to see it go!". Wondered what she was on about, then opened the bag... I'm now the happy owner of a brand new, 2010 edition Big Trak!! I had 2 original ones (1 with a broken axle) when I was 8/9, but due to all the time I spent in hospital, I rarely got to play with them towards the end. Then we had a house fire and lost everything, and I never got to play with them after all...it's always nagged at my soul, has that. And now...I have one again, complete with EXTREMELY accurate "drawn from original", apply yourself stickers. Whee!! I kid you not when I say it was just a stand and stare moment..no more than a couple of external differences between them - for a moment I was right back in 1986/7, looking at it under the christmas tree. Now I MUST get batteries. This machine sparked my interest in electronics, taught me logo and "thinking from the perspective of the machine", and made me determined to be damn good at electronics myself so that I could fix it, instead of leaving it to my (well meaning but not techie) family. And yet, I must now remember...I'm a dad myself! I'LL be doing any repairs, on behalf of tiddler when she's older. There's an odd feeling. It's true, you know. It all comes round again. Now all I need is for die-cast transformer toys to come back, the original Millenium Falcon and star wars figures (oh, wait), a resurgence in the VIC-20 market, and dinky toys to stage a comeback..

I bung a "tidy" folder in and routinely move stuff to "tidy". If I've not called on it in half a year, bin or zip to USB, take home, dump on NAS

re: driving - which leg? Throttle, or clutch? I've had significant work on both my legs and tendons...I got round #1 by rigging the throttle to the choke lever (pull to speed up), and #2 by driving an automatic. But then, I don't recommend doing it necessarily.

I've got an etch-a-sketch. Oh, wait....

Pazera. He does lots of freeware ones from one format to another. I use it a lot.

I'm getting the following error, trying to add a manufacturer... "Uncaught fProgrammerException ----------------------------- {doc_root}\cartman\manufacturers.php(39): include('{doc_root}\cartman\...') {doc_root}\cartman\views\manufacturers\index.php(30): Manufacturer->countModels() [internal function]: fActiveRecord->__call('countModels', Array) {doc_root}\cartman\inc\flourish\fActiveRecord.php(923): fORMRelated::countRecords('Manufacturer', Array, Array, 'Model') {doc_root}\cartman\inc\flourish\fORMRelated.php(290): fORMSchema::getRouteName(Object(fSchema), 'manufacturers', 'models', NULL, '*-to-many') {doc_root}\cartman\inc\flourish\fORMSchema.php(179) The table manufacturers is not in a *-to-many relationship with the table models" Server is Uniform Portable 4.4, Running on Vistargh, Apache 2.2.13, PHP 5.3.0 DAV/2, SQL version 5.0.5 - DEV - 081106.. Any ideas? Edit: Hang fire, it looks like Uniform 4.4 doesn't support InnoDB.. EDIT: Oh yes it does. Edited My.cnf, enabled InnoDB engine, restarted Apache and MySQL, reran the SQL query, and she runs! YIPPEE!

I both love and hate night driving...it's relaxing, but it hurts my eyes. I think skid control/adverse weater/reduced grip control should be educated as well...I did 2 lots of Skidpan training (and jolly good fun it was), and I've added to that every chance I've had since (such as going out after a "do not drive" has been issued in snow..). However, last time it snowed, SO many idiots came steaming past me, or were sideways, or sliding around revving their nuts off, or losing it on roundabouts and causing issue it was the scariest drive home I've had. I had full faith in MY ability to hold the Astra going the right way, but by gods some of it was timing! In my old Astra I ended up going diagonally down a long, steep hill when people had reached the "abandon cars" point after the school had remained open too long - lots of steering, no braking, gentle use of power to pull the nose in, and just let it slide as I made my peace with the car. Got to the bottom of the hill, give it lock, power on, pull out of the slide and off we went..I got home and I hugged the damn car. If I hadn't done the skidpan and "closed road" practise, I'd have been stuffed. Admittedly, the closed road playing often results in me being bumper deep in snow muttering curses, but..heh. Me and a friend used to do "car ballet"..his Montego, my Maestro, one empty icy carpark, and lots of fun. I used to live down a road that is badly subsided, and almost 45 degrees switching camber all the way down with a sharp hairpin on a hill halfway down. It's a suspension killer, but when icy it's..horrific. The one side is a sheer drop into trees then the severn. I made it round in the snow using large amounts of throttle to stop the car sliding off the road, but the Merc estate behind me was far too heavy and slid gently off the road and ended up sat in the trees/on the cast-iron above ground water/sewage main. Last time it snowed, my Brother phoned me to check how I was coping in my Astra, as his SLK wouldn't go forwards, only sideways. I said "turn on the traction control"..it stopped the sliding, but virtually cut the throttle off and he could only crawl. I'm afraid I called him a wetter and told him to be thankful it wasn't say..a Capri or Sierra. He's getting shot of the SLK now..

Octavia - go VAG. Nice and solid, and not overly french. I had a rather tasty Golf 1.6FSI DSG 6 speeder - economy, and yet still ridiculously rapid and long legged -100 in 4th, not even close to being out of puff. Now back in my 1.6 8v Astra auto. On paper it's lacking in power. In practise? Keep it on the boil, it'll go up nice steep hills at 50+ with sports mode engaged. More than enough. I prefer handling over power, and Astras are EXTREMELY chuckable with most satisfying chassis feedback and lots of warning should you overcook it. Roundabouts with camber make me smile.