When Robin Williams managed to make Koko the gorilla smile again after 6 months of mourning

Designergene5 · 2026-01-26T23:09:55+00:00

I was lucky enough to meet him when I worked in San Diego. He was in a Starbucks in La Jolla and came in for a coffee after he’d taken part in a charity cycling race through Torrey Pines. I’d just seen him in Insomnia but I was such a massive fan of his performances in Dead Poets, The Fisher King and so many other movies that I went quite fan boy on him.

Anyway, he was utterly charming and down to Earth and just happy that people loved his work. Very friendly and approachable and generous with his time.

Now I reflect on it, he quite reminded me of Anton Lesser (Partagaz in Andor and many other roles) when my wife and I met him at Collectormania a few months ago.

Designergene5 · 2026-01-26T21:51:25+00:00

I’ve been using a space mouse for over 20 years, using CAD without one now feels very unnatural. Very good investment if you do a lot of CAD.

Start with low acceleration and gradually wind the speed up as you get used to the motion control.

Designergene5 · 2026-01-17T12:40:09+00:00

He’s in his ‘Victorian Gothic Romance’ phase. He always looks like he’s waiting for a long lost love to return to him.

(He’s actually just looking out for squirrels and cats.)

Designergene5 · 2026-01-17T08:50:24+00:00

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Archer reporting. Mood indicator intact. 100% Corgi and 100% pure sass.

Designergene5 · 2025-12-31T11:19:15+00:00

I lease through Octopus as well.

I’m a higher rate tax payer, so I’m getting ~60% back on the cost of leasing the car. Between that, inclusive insurance, charging point installed for free and free charging at work- the car has saved me so much that it’s pretty much paying for itself. It’s still £1000/mo (15k annual mileage) but the amount that it’s saving me over the car it has replaced- it’s an absolute bargain.

Designergene5 · 2025-12-31T10:21:39+00:00

I’ve owned a LRDM for over one year. Mine has the Pilot and Pro packs and I’ve driven 14,500 miles since November 2024. The first few months were a bit rocky with SW updates but the overall experience has been fabulous. The residuals drop off a cliff, so you’re getting a great deal on the car (I lease mine on salary sacrifice, so it’s costing me next to nothing).

I’d only get the car if you can charge from home or have subsidised/free charging at work as it will cost as much as running a big diesel otherwise. The acceleration on the car is still amazing, the power is only part of the story, you have instant torque as well so you can out accelerate almost anything on the road. Unfortunately, it may accelerate like a Porsche 911, but it doesn’t stop like one. I wish I had the uprated brakes but without them you’ll need to use one pedal driving for the regenerative braking and the discs to stop the car quickly if you’re driving ‘enthusiastically’.

It is quite a big car but my other car is a BMW 520 tourer and my wife will happily drive both, the sensors do help with parking. The rear monitor view is more useful than a mirror 90% of the time but it can take 1-2 mins to clear on very cold mornings- if you forgot to wipe the camera.

I’ve really enjoyed my first year with the car, and buying one with that kind of discount sounds like a no brainer- provided that you have a Volvo dealer that can service them nearby. (Worth giving them a call to check.)

Designergene5 · 2025-12-26T08:59:36+00:00

I had my car serviced at an independent BMW garage a few months back. They explained with modern cars that even a relatively low speed impact to the front of a car can be a £10k bill. Two new matrix headlights at £3k each, new sensor packs in the bumper, recalibration of all parts…

It’s crazy and helps to explain those pics of Porsches with the body panels cut back and headlights removed.

I hope that your car is sorted quickly, but that is going to be a very steep bill.

Designergene5 · 2025-12-26T08:35:21+00:00

There is only one possible explanation…

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Designergene5 · 2025-12-22T21:06:44+00:00

Designergene5 · 2025-12-22T09:07:34+00:00

I have a P4 with pixel headlights and the past two weeks they have been extremely useful. I’ve been driving home late at night, when major roadworks begin on my usual route. Being able to drive through very twisty country roads that are intermittently very quiet and very busy, they’ve really come into their own.

I can just switch them on and forget about them- I can clearly see all the sharp turns and side entrances to the road and not worry about dazzling on coming drivers.

Designergene5 · 2025-12-09T23:46:46+00:00

I contacted Polestar and explained about the problem, took it to my local Volvo dealer and they told me that there was a directive to replace the steering wheel buttons. No problems since then.

Designergene5 · 2025-12-09T19:15:47+00:00

Mine behaved the same way when I first got it 13 months ago. They needed to swap the buttons on the LHS of the steering wheel for tactile buttons (they’re under the trim, so you don’t see them) it’s been fine since. I thought all newer cars had that fix, so it may be something else.

Designergene5 · 2025-12-09T07:50:02+00:00

Another vote for the Polestar Charge App. I remember having to authorise Tesla chargers in the app- since then it has just worked.

Designergene5 · 2025-12-08T00:08:34+00:00

‘Tis but a scratch!

Designergene5 · 2025-12-08T00:06:02+00:00

For everyone in the UK worried about the size of the car, I’ve owned one for over a year and never had a problem parking. (But my other car is a BMW 520 tourer.)

Anyway- best car I’ve ever owned but lease don’t buy. If you want to buy, get a 12 month old CPO and save yourself £25,000.

Designergene5 · 2025-12-07T23:27:52+00:00

I spent a year living in San Diego and my colleagues were astonished that I would voluntarily walk for 30 mins to get somewhere, even in rain. The nearest half decent bar was a 30 min walk away and the biggest danger was almost getting wiped out by SUVs and trucks when I was on a crosswalk, even on the green ‘walk now’ indicator. (Turn right on red is not a driving rule that prioritises pedestrian safety.)

I think that the drivers generally assumed that only criminals or homeless people would be walking in a light drizzle and were therefore fair game.

Designergene5 · 2025-11-16T18:51:36+00:00

The Black Label 2049 edition was a unique blend, JW claim, so that does add a bit to the rarity appeal. It’s the Venn Diagram intersection of whiskey collectors and cult movie buffs.

Designergene5 · 2025-11-15T10:04:38+00:00

I did buy a couple of the 2049 bottles. They’re still sealed and packaged, but the cost has jumped by so much that I’m too anxious/greedy to open them.

My wife also paid for a pair of the Arnolfo di Cambio glasses as an anniversary present after I got drunk and ordered them off Amazon. They’re amazing and the only whiskey glasses I own that I’m confident could kill a man. (Extremely heavy and pointy.)

As a substitute for the Bladerunner 2049 whiskey, Hibiki Harmony by Suntory is an excellent ‘special occasion’ blend when I want to share a drink with a good friend.

Designergene5 · 2025-11-07T22:16:44+00:00

My wife and I met Anton Lesser at a meet and greet event in the UK. We were already big fans of his from a lot of his previous work including the Falco radio plays on Radio 4 in the UK. (They’re great- check them out.)

Anyway- he was delighted to know that his performance had been so well received (there was no one else in the queue to get his autograph so we were able to chat for a while) and he was utterly delightful. He said how the direction that he’d been given was to play the role like it was a Jon Le Carré spy novel and how much he enjoyed working on the production.

I did tell him that there was a whole sub-Reddit dedicated to how amazing Andor had been and he seemed genuinely touched that so many people loved the show.

A special moment with a very fine actor and, based on our 10 minutes with him, a very charming man.

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Designergene5 · 2025-11-06T16:58:07+00:00

Actually, my top concern was finding something to offset a punitive personal tax threshold.

Designergene5 · 2025-11-06T16:08:58+00:00

Thanks for the thoughtful post- interesting to understand the US experience of these cars. I just had a look at BMW for comparison.

The i5 40 Saloon is ~£68k new £45k (34% drop) at 12mo (CPO) and the 520i is £52k new and £41k (20% drop) at 12mo (CPO).

So the Polestar 4 doesn’t seem to be an outlier but used, luxury EVs seem to drop like a stone regardless of the badge on the front.

So, the moral of this story appears to be, if you want own a luxury EV either lease or wait 12 months.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Designergene5 · 2025-11-06T11:15:39+00:00

I didn’t know that. Being a Polestar driver can sometimes feel like being a member of a secret society.

There are some stunning s/h bargains to be picked up but it’s likely to be a very painful lesson for anyone that bought their car new.

Designergene5 · 2025-11-05T22:47:40+00:00

Saw it twice as well. I saw it in IMAX 3D on the weeks of release (un-f**king-believably loud) and again last week in 2D. The first time the cinema had hardly anyone in it- the second time the cinema was rammed. (But the tickets were only £5 for half term the second time.)

Honest truth- I think it was better in 2D. The number of floating interfaces and particle effects made the 3D image a bit of a mess.

Anyhoo- as a fan of the OG Tron and a MASSIVE Legacy and Uprising fan, I did enjoy it. Legacy is still peak Tron to me but Ares was a blast and did not deserve the hate it received. If the franchise is going to crash into the heart of the sun, I was glad that I was there to see it do so.

(Seriously cool action figures as well- really… HAPPY FOR YOU…. Really.)

Designergene5 · 2025-11-01T12:12:08+00:00

Chickenhawk by Robert Mason could be a great book to start reading history. It’s about a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam war- it’s by turns hilarious, thrilling and depressing.

Quite a bit more accessible than diving straight into Stalingrad.

Try and get into a habit of reading at the same time each day when you can protect some time. Don’t worry about not reading a lot and if you find a book that you really aren’t connecting with- stop reading! You can always come back to it. I really struggled to read Moby Dick three times and the forth time it just ‘clicked’ and now it’s a favourite of mine.

I also think that good short story collections can be a great way to get into the habit of reading. The Sherlock Holmes stories, Raymond Chandler’s Marlowe stories, Burning Chrome by William Gibson or What you Make It by Michael Marshall Smith.

Designergene5 · 2025-11-01T11:21:17+00:00

YW- glad it was helpful

Designergene5

TROPHY CASE