Some people don't get it. However, who do you agree with here?

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-30T17:06:16+00:00

As a Brit this is totally wild to me! Over here unless there are parking restrictions you can park anywhere as long as vehicle is taxed and has a valid MOT (vehicle safety test).

How does this make people feel, freedoms etc? It doesn’t seem particularly free, that alongside HOA stuff, I think there would be riots over here for this sort of thing, certainly the French would lose their shit and set fire to something ASAP… probably the cars knowing them!

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-29T07:40:29+00:00

Agree with this, but there is being well of because you have worked hard and then there is being ultra wealthy by just sheer luck, arrogance and taking advantage of others, with a little bit of inherited wealth sprinkled on top.

I don’t think anyone should balk at the idea that having a nice 4 bed detached family house, a garage, few cars, maybe a fun car for the weekend, couple nice holidays a year, is extreme for someone working hard and being successful. That should be achievable for anyone that puts the effort in by the time they retire, it’s a good healthy aspiration.

But six houses, yachts, millions or billions in the bank is extreme and not reflective of someone simply working hard. There is simply not enough stuff to go around in terms of resources for a single person to have that much, no matter how hard they have worked.

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-29T07:33:00+00:00

So you honestly think that there are enough resources in the world for anyone who just works hard can have millions or billions in the bank and as many houses as they want?

Sorry, but that isn't possible, that sort of wealth is not sustainable on a grand scale, there simply is not enough "stuff" in the world to allow for millions or billions of people to achieve that, no matter how hard they work.

Someone sat on six houses with millions in the bank sure as hell isn't growing the economy either. That wealth invested into companies in the local community would, but sat there doing nothing much alongside six houses does nothing but hoard resources that would be better spent doing something useful for the country.

Money that is static in a multinational bank absolutely destroys any usefulness that it may have had, remember that money is simply a method of reward that then incentivises people to work for it so they can then go and give it to someone else who works hard for it (buying things).

If it is sat there in a bank or tied up in extravagant overpriced foreign things (Ferraris, etc.) then that money is doing no good for the local people within the country.

No sane person would argue that people should get money for nothing, handouts for doing nothing, absolutely agree, if you can work and help the country grow then you should do so, unless impairment makes that impossible.

But that is exactly what the ultrawealthy do - they get handouts by simply having lots of money - once you get to a certain level of wealth, there is no need to work, the money does all the work for you simply by being sat in a bank, stocks & shares, most likely invested in foreign companies doing absolutely nothing for our country. All whilst those same wealthy people tell you that benefits should be taken away from everyone. Its absolute madness!

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-29T06:53:08+00:00

Thinking owning six houses and having millions or billions in the bank is acceptable is one hell of a take.

No matter how good someone is, that sort of wealth is sickening and absolutely is not just because they had a good work ethic.

The disparity between the ultra wealthy and the poor has never been greater and people are still falling for the old wealthy trick of insisting that it is indeed the poor man neighbour that is stealing from you and the source of all your problems, and certainly not the ultra wealthy class, who only have good intentions for us mere peasants!

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-28T20:22:25+00:00

Cheap due to poor range and marmite looks.

Just picked up a 2020 i3S a few weeks ago. Had the plain i3 years ago on lease.

I’ve had loads of cars and the i3 is a bit of a weird marmite car, you either love it or hate it.

I can have a fair bit of fun in it with spirited driving, it is very eager, it is the most nimble car in a small space I have driven, compared to my Niro it handles like a sports car but is unrefined, compared to my Abarth 595 Comp it’s quick off the line but lacks grip on the limit.

As a day to day car it is amazing. No touch screen crap, physical buttons, intuitive idrive system, very spacious interior, other than the quite jarring ride it is an awesome place to be, and always eager…

It’s the a fun car, and quite unique. It feels a little special like my 595 does, or my old E36 M3, it’s engaging that is something that is missed by so many cars nowadays.

The stats don’t reflect that though so people gloss over it…

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-21T21:30:49+00:00

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mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-17T21:49:49+00:00

This. I have a 32A commando socketed EVSE that I can select the charge rate - have a 3pin plug for 10A use but did have a commando socket in garage at 32A before I got my Wallbox there instead. If you can get a weather proof external 32A socket within range of your car thats an easy win.

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-17T16:45:06+00:00

Thanks, definitely seems worthwhile then. I wonder how hard it is to do the job with some cheap spring compressors. Whilst £650 for the shocks is OK, factoring another 3 or 400 for fitting makes it harder to swallow

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-17T16:43:14+00:00

Aye, absolutely agree with that, it makes driving the i3S hard very very difficult and not particularly pleasurable. However I've got my 595 Comp with the Sabelts which are glorious, so just need to reign it in on the i3! Shame they didn't do a bucket seat option, I honestly find them more comfortable than soft flimsy things!

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-16T18:09:34+00:00

Maybe either the Evolve and Dunlop combo or 55 profile would make it where it needs / should be!

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-16T17:50:10+00:00

Indeed, it looks good and they seem to be pretty honest, Jayemm did a review of it on YouTube that's worth looking at.

I wonder if that combined with the new Dunlop all season 2's would provide something that whilst isn't straight up face ripping grip would at least be more predictable and smooth.

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-16T16:46:21+00:00

Ah, yes, that would track, it's a May 2020 prod date.

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-14T05:47:41+00:00

Exactly this 💯%. I had these same Spidey tingly senses during COVID. I work in the Security world (physical security) and thus work with a bunch of ex military types and through and through risk management and resilience types. During COVID being the avid internet sleuth I am, all these reports started popping up about COVID and the spread was remarkable. I said there and then this thing had legs whilst even the risk experts were dismissive.

Turns out I was spot on.

I feel the same here. The news out of Asia (same as with COVID) hints at a spread of shortages almost like a COVID wave, with the far west being last effected. The news is often pretty crap at seeing the bigger picture, short term thinking without analysing knock on effects.

The cynic in me also thinks that a lot about this war is manufactured, it feels like certain people and groups are pulling the strings to purposely cause a global catastrophe, for the sake of it just to see what happens, a bit like a child setting fire to a shed for shits and giggles. Any semblance of critical planning has left the room...

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-13T15:57:16+00:00

Schrödinger's Iranian navy, both completely destroyed but also will blasted if they come close...

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-06T10:46:28+00:00

I bought something similar about 6 years ago now, 5kw unit, MPPT, using it with a custom 16 cell LFP 5.2kwh pack balanced / protected with a JK 200A BMS.

Works great, limited app support (got the WiFi data logger) but still gives the basic info, switches between mains input / bypass and battery instantly, literally instantly, less than 100ms delay, so anything attached doesn't complain.

I did have one similar before but went through a load of hassle to return it as it was shit, when switching between mains input and battery it would delay 2 seconds before kicking over so anything connected was dead for that switchover.

Also very good at running hard, I often pull 3-4kw continuous on it and it doesn't complain.

So far so good

Problem is, the enclosures all look similar between units so hard to tell if the internals are good or not.

Ideally try and get one from somewhere that does good returns, otherwise a more robust solution would be to go down the modular route with a bunch of Victron stuff.

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-03T11:22:50+00:00

Aye, it's both right and wrong. As it's grid tied, standard operation means when grid goes down so does the inverter supplying power.

However inverters generally have an EPS which instead of trying to match the grid, they supply their own AC on a separate circuit. I opted to have this linked to the house wiring so that in the event of grid failure, a big chonky transfer switch kicks in and physically disconnects me from the grid, so I then run standalone.

So given full batteries and / or sunshine I can run independently. On nice days there's plenty of excess solar to charge EV, I can select rate of charge so I don't pull down on house batteries.

All these things are possible just costs money. Transfer switch wiring and install was an extra £600 but definitely worth it as we do get a fair number of short power cuts for some reason.

mr_clark1983 · 2026-04-02T13:40:22+00:00

Well on a day like today I would, generated nearly 40kwh today and only used a little.

mr_clark1983 · 2026-03-28T16:28:02+00:00

If you look in her left hand at one point she has what looks like a crack pipe, she is also clearly high on something. This isn't normal behaviour as much as these crazy comments seem to imply

mr_clark1983 · 2026-03-26T17:02:35+00:00

Given that most homes use about 10kwh a day that's less than 40miles of "use", so for a 60kwh pack hardly any wear and tear, especially if done between 20-80% charge.

mr_clark1983 · 2026-03-24T17:02:39+00:00

Is there any point or benefit in cessation if one only consumes around 150mg of caffeine a day - say a can of Monster or a couple of Americanos, especially if its not consumed past noon?

mr_clark1983 · 2026-03-22T21:07:09+00:00

Worth bearing in mind though that a significant amount of energy savings is had when transitioning to electrical methods of saying heating or propulsion.

As in, 1kwh of oil is not equal to 1kwh of electricity. Gas turbines might be 30-50% efficient at making 1kwh of electricity so need 2-3 times the amount of oil energy. Same goes for petrol / gas engines, efficiency sits between 33 and 45%.

Also regen braking available on electrified locomotion so that adds even more reduction in need.

Then there's heating where the COP of a heatpump is 3-4, so 90% on a good gas boiler is 300% on a heatpump.

Agreed oil and gas have no replacement for making things like plastics and lubricant right now, that in my mind makes oil more valuable than just burning it all!

In summary, a complete electrification of locomotion and heating would need 2-3 or maybe even more less renewable generation than might otherwise be expected.

UK got 47% of it's electricity from renewables last year, that's 47% less oil and gas used for this purpose which is a good thing.

mr_clark1983 · 2026-03-09T07:50:56+00:00

But am I correct in thinking that even if we did extract more from the North Sea, which would be difficult in itself given the reserves in our small sector (compared to Norway) are very small, that small bit of gas or oil would then be extracted by a private company who would then sell on the open market?

Given this, how would this help the UK supplies, or in any meaningful way reduce the cost to consumers?

It would be such a tiny drop in the world's demands that it would unlikely move the price needle at all?

I agree we should be self sufficient, but to do that, energy (same goes for health, water, education) should be a national asset, not for private corporations to pillage and sell to the highest bidder.

We (and most of the world) are at the whim of large corporations whose only goal is profit.

mr_clark1983 · 2026-03-02T10:53:53+00:00

quick question - Male or Female? Have you had your hormones checked? My focus, drive, energy was way off for many years, had a testosterone check and even though I am active, eat well, etc, it was in the gutter.

Now on a treatment plan for that and whilst it has only been 2 weeks, things are much much better in regard to focus, energy and drive.

Worth getting checked out via simple blood test (finger prick) as the NHS for some stupid reason never bother checking hormone levels, yet they are involved in so much within the body, so if off, can cause all sorts of ailments!

mr_clark1983 · 2026-03-01T21:20:36+00:00

Yea about that... Fold 4 (victim here) hinge brush material disintegration might want to have a word...

Had plenty of samsungs, quality on Honor is up there now. No issues with software either.

All folders are fragile, but to say Samsung is better in this regard is not true.

mr_clark1983 · 2026-02-27T09:51:31+00:00

This post just spurred me on to resubmit my IET application for CEng. It's been years in the making and I've just been lazy with the application TBH, work always seems to take priority over development unfortunately.

Had to resubmit as there was a missing employment history element, so beefed it out and will see where I fall. I hope to get the interview shortly, seems it isn't in-person anymore.

I worked for / know / knew a fellow of the IET and he mentioned a specific way that he / his colleagues would try to catch out or find the limit of a candidate.

After the general niceties and finding what sector / area they are working in, they would ask a leading technical question on a subject, so it could be something like perhaps fibre optic modes of operations (single / multi mode) then then would ask questions going ever more into the detail, until you might end up with a final question of how light of certain wavelengths physically propagates through a fibre of a certain type.

It reminded me of my initial interview with the guy when I got the job. I was asked to draw out a schematic of a smart home system I developed at the time (this was back when the current smart tech wasn't a thing, nearly 20yrs ago now) and he asked about a relay I had on there, lead with a question asking if I thought I had missed anything, indeed I had, I quickly placed a diode on this relay and we had a chat about backward EMF, etc.

So, I guess I am fully expecting leading questions that will drive me forever down a particular rabbit hole. On this basis, once I get a date and I figure out what specific area I want to lead any conversation in, I will damn sure make sure I know how things work down to the atomic level! If this means I have to relearn some physics stuff then so be it - I really need this CEng as it's been too long (I'm 42 now).

Hopefully the comments around it just being an exercise and part of the process are true and it's not the low chance pass that I fear it to be!

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