zerolight

I took a quick snap of the old car interior before it left last night to compare with the new arrival. Audi certainly know how to do interiors, it’s so much nicer than the Subaru. Click on the pictures to goto the photo gallery for that car.

I can’t quite believe I took delivery of a new car at 2am, outside a Pub. Long story, don’t ask. Thus far, Zee and I have driven it a total of 3 miles all in. Perils of working from home. I’m sure there’s plenty more to come though.

You can tell it’s a diesel, especially from the outside. But once it warms up, it gets much more refined than diesels of old, and at cruising speed its very quiet, at least in comparison to the WRX. It feels pretty quick and torquey, nothing like the Impreza of course, but it’s still got enough grunt to be fun.

It’s got all the usual toys, including dual zone climate control, sports seats, electric lumbar support, and so on. I’m particularly impressed with the 150w stereo which has 10 speakers (including a pair of subs on the rear parcel shelf) and sounds excellent.

I wasn’t looking fwd to losing the WRX’s performance, but the Audi A4 1.9TDi S-Line is a lovely car. I’m very pleased with it.

Whilst it’s true that spyware and viruses are things that you really don’t need to worry about with Mac OS X, and the OS itself is very stable and user friendly, that’s not to say that the Mac is not without issues.

Microsoft Entourage is pretty unstable, locking up on a daily basis, requiring use of the Mac’s Force Quit command. Some would say that’s Microsoft for you, but the thing is, it’s a terrific email client. Firefox too is a bit unstable, prone to crashing, and when it does, taking a few applications with it. Strangely, Camino, a Mac conversion of Firefox, doesn’t seem to have the issues Firefox itself has, despite sharing the same rendering engine.

VLC Media player has issues too.

Fortunately the entire Apple suite, Photoshop, Fireworks, and so on have proven to be as reliable as OS X.

I’ve had a few hrs on this game since it popped through the letterbox on Thursday morning. It’s fantastic. Easily the best graphics in a video game yet. Excellent physics system too. It’s an RPG, so if that’s not your thing, then probably walk away now. Otherwise, get it cause you’ll love it.

It’s huge, it’s likely to last forever, but you can save your progress at any time and start back where you left off when you come back again, even if that’s half way through a dungeon. This lets those of us who only have time for bite-size gaming get a fix.

It plays very well, with seemingly many ways to complete a quest (including thieving for the footpads amongst us). You can jump straight into the main quest (and also instantly warp between locations) should you want to complete the game as quickly as possible. Me? I’ve not even looked at the main quest. Instead I’ve joined a Guild, completed a Guild Quest, and wandered off on my own. I spent a couple of hrs working my way through a rather spooky, gloomy, yet pretty, dungeon today, eventually walking out with the loot. This wasn’t even a side quest, I just needed the money.

I can see this being my goto-game on the 360 for sometime. Even though it’s not online (other than the obligatory Xbox Live Achievements).

I got into the car this afternoon to nip along to my Physio appt. Turned the ignition. Not a peep. Well, actually, it did go peep. Or rather, clink. It should have gone “broom, broom, rattle”. That’s how my friends son describes the sound of my Impreza. Basically, the engine didn’t turn over.

Thankfully Subaru have a 24hr Assistance package as standard with their cars. An hour later and it was up and running. Flat battery being the culprit. We’ve just not been driving much this past few weeks. I think the Impreza knows it’s days are numbered, and that next week it could very well be heading off down south to be replaced by our new car. It’s gone in a huff. I’m half expecting a flat battery again tomorrow.

Is this a sign that now definitely is the right time to change cars? Is this a sign that I really should have listened to Zee and never mentioned that we were changing cars. Is it a Jinx? An Omen? Or just plain bad luck? Who knows… I’m going with it being the right time.

Finally, after years of waiting, Nandos have opened their first restaurant in Scotland. Disappointingly it’s not Halal, but then only around 25% of Nandos are.

That means I get to enjoy that delicious Half Chicken Combo meal, peri peri chips, spicy rice, and Medium strength spices. It also means that poor Zee doesn’t get to savour her favourite meal. Not to worry though, a Halal franchise is opening in September at the Springfield Quay. We’re sure to be regulars.

If you like chicken and chips, with a bit of a kick, you gotta check out Nandos. Just don’t blouse out and order Lemon & Herb flavour (Roy). And under no circumstances should you consider the Hot or Extra Hot. I like hot stuff as much as the next guy, but I’ve discovered there’s hot, then there’s Nandos. Don’t do it unless you line your throat with wax first. You can always spice up the medium strength chicken with a bottle of hot sauce to taste, then wash it all down with a nice bottomless soft drink.

Nandos is open at the Glasgow Fort Shopping Centre. They originate from South Africa, but the cuisine is Portuguese. It’s like a Portuguese TFI Friday’s. I need an excuse to head back over there. Maybe Ali needs something from Mamas & Papas?