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I was thinking about joining a dating site for people my age. It's called Carbon Dating.

There’s a safety requirement for a gap between the bonnet and the engine. In older cars, when pedestrians were struck, their heads often hit the bonnet. The gap acts as a cushioning zone to reduce the force of impact before the head reaches the engine. Many modern cars reduce this gap for aerodynamic reasons, so they use dynamic bonnet systems to meet safety standards.

I can still carry my iPhone as a camera, it just won't have a sim card to make calls. I've looked at one of those phone repair centres which sells secondhand phones. The cheapest they had was an iPhone 11 for $350. For serious photography I have my Panasonic Lumix SLR.

Day 7 of ownership.. (Sunday). Met Andy from the village on his Ducati. The rain gods were holding back so we decided to head off. Apparently, some bright engineer at Ducati decided for his model, that the wiring harness would be best positioned right behind the front wheel. What could possibly go wong? Hence, Andy only rides it on dry days. We departed the village and took a slight deviation from the map as he wanted to attak some twisties (not of the epicurean type). Am I am coming off a fairly long break, I was wondering if it was a good idea to get a bigger bike than I have ever had as I saw he and his bike's posterior diminish in my vision as he pulled away. I did catch up with him a few times, but I was takign things easy and getting to know the bike. I think that's what I will name "her" (can I use that metaphorical term in today's politically correct age?). Yep, something imaginative like "the bike" rings well with me. Anyway, as I looked down to check all things were OK, I realise I had forgotten that these things called motorbikes need this thing called fuel to go.. I had almost totally forgotten as I spied this white needle nudging the red area of the fuekl gauge to tell me it was hitting the reserves. Ship! We were a fair way from the nearest garage that was open and I had no idea how many litres or miles I had. I have read the owner's manual, but had a total blank of what I had left. As it turned out, we made it to Minehead without the needle moving much intot he red and bee-lined it to the Tescos (think Coles, but a little better), which had a "forecourt" (i.e. petrol station/garage). Why the English need to call teh same thing something different because of where it is located has escaped me to this day. Anyway, I digress. I realise, of the 19 litre tank, I can only put is almost 13 litres, so I feel the reserve is uite sufficient to get me home, but I am relieved that I have filled up the bike with much needed fuel. The ride home was slightly different. We went along the originally planned route, which has more cars (the other route had more bikes than cars. The rain started, so Andy was in a hurry to get home. But, as I followed him, my confidence grew and I was leaning into the turns better, trusting my rubbers (oi! front and rear tyres - not what you're thinking - although one has to trust those, too). Andy and his bike's posterior never reduced to a dot on the horizon as they did previously.. In fact, I had to will hom to overtake once.. I guess he was worried about those Ducati electrics. We arrive back at my place, and Andy and I had a chin wag for wa while, as the light rain had well and truly subsided. He was providing me good advice and we were already planning a) the next ride out, and b) maybe starting the Halse Angels (@Marty_d, you will be an honurary patron for coming up with the name in the first place). Day 8 (Monday), and I realise, ship, despite there not being terriblyy much riding, as some of it is down counry lanes, the bike dirty.. And I don't have a) cleaning kit, not b) chain/brake cleaning/degreasing (chain) and lube kit, But, the bike sits under covers all day. Day 9 and it is under covers all day. But I buy from a local shop the chain degreaser and lube, but they have no chain cleaning brushes. Day 10 (today), there is a 5th rider I know of from Halse who can join the Halse Angels. Son's CBT training is done. Day 11 (tomorrow): The weather, though slightly raining, is going to be warmish - 10 - 11 degrees. Plan is here to Oxford (Near RAF Benson) for a Class 2 CAA and CASA medical. And I am taking the bike! Notice, it is called the bike.. not the town bike, for a reason. Loves to be ridden, but only by one guy.

Dang.. tired everythign I know... Bloomberg must know I am a previous terminal user and refuses to allow me to read the article until I subscribe.

Sadly, most rules or safety features are designed for the idiots, and the rest of us just have to endure them.

Alternatively, we could possibly improve the driving culture. If motorists respected the safety of others, there would not be a need for these speed bumps. Basically when we get behind the wheel, we suddenly act like we are ALL great drivers, and we ALL know better than the experts who put up speed limits for proven good reasons. I know because I AM a great driver (not like youse cretins).

I have seen pictures of deer, roo or donkey, etc that have gone straight through the windscreen. There are less complicated ways to prevent unwanted pedestrian or animal entry via windscreens. Way back, a friend bought a Citroen ID19. The bonnet didn't match the rest of the car. "Oh," said seller, "I hit a horse, it rolled up the bonnet and went over the roof!" The beast had deformed the bonnet but I think the roof is glassfibre so it just flexed. Personally, I have been hit by a car and my biggest fear at the time was that the driver predictably hit the brakes and as there is nothing on a windscreen to hold onto, I slid off the bonnet and nearly went under the vehicle. All these newfangled mechanisms are unlikely to prevent this.

Sounds very therapeutic Jerry. It's definitely improved your typing. And every time you mention CBT, I am seeing 'Cognitive Behaviour Therapy'.

I only buy second hand phones from dodgy phone shops around town. But, I find they work well. I have a Samsung A52 that was about two years old when I bought it and I have had it three years. Paid £100 for it, and it is fantastic. Doesn't miss a beat. I bought my son a 5g version of it for £140.. goes like the clappers. The camera though, is carp. @red750 - lower end Samsungs may not have the phone uality you want given your photographic skills. See if you can try one before you buy it.. My son ended up saving for himself and bought a one-13 or something - some Chinese "rubbish" Wasn't cheap, but for 1/2 the proice of whatever iphone was the latest when he bought it, and with better chips and camera, it was a steal. He gave me the A52 I bought for him, but I like my older one that is only 4g so much, have never bothered "upgrading".

The VW beetle had a pedestrian friendly bonnet.

I'd say the same about your motocross track..... that you call a driveway.

I know you're a great driver Peter, you wouldn't be able to make it out of your driveway if you weren't!

Many of the streets in our area have divided speed humps as shown below. If you are travelling at or below the speed limit, you can line up so that your wheels pass either side of the hump with no bump, or very little, like running over the cats eyes lane markers. These allow the buses and emergency vehicles to straddle them.

The active hood has been around on European cars since 2005, so not a new feature The Jaguar XK was the first car to feature a deployable bonnet pedestrian safety system in 2005, although the system was first unveiled by Honda in a concept vehicle in 2004 and introduced in a production model in 2008. The system uses pyrotechnic actuators to lift the rear of the bonnet upon impact with a pedestrian, creating a cushioning effect to reduce head injuries. Jaguar XK (2005): This was the first vehicle to publicly unveil the production system, which was designed to meet new European safety legislation. The system automatically "pops" the hood up a few inches to create a cushion between the pedestrian and hard points in the engine compartment. Honda (2008): Honda unveiled its "Pop-up Hood System" technology in 2004 and incorporated it into a production vehicle in 2008. Honda's system uses sensors in the bumper to detect an impact, then an actuator raises the rear of the bonnet by about 10 centimeters. General Motors (2007): GM introduced its active hood system in 2007 in the European market. This system works at speeds between 25 and 48 km/h (16-30 mph) and is designed to reduce pedestrian fatalities. Buick Regal (2017): Buick made the active hood standard in China with the new generation Regal in 2017.

I believe some european vehicles (eg Volvo) have a front bumper bar airbag for this purpose. The plastic bumper drops and the airbag pops up.

Australian (and European) Tesla models have a little-known feature called "active hood" "Tesla has installed a pyrotechnic system that raises the rear portion of the hood (closest to the windshield), if a frontal pedestrian crash is detected. The hood immediately lifts by a few inches so that the pedestrian's impact hits a softer, and more movable surface than that of the solid parts beneath the hood, or even the windshield." https://insideevs.com/news/333820/teslas-active-hood-safety-feature-could-save-lives/ There have been cases of this deploying during a collision with a kangaroo.

I'm a Woolies Everyday Rewards member. They have a Black Friday special of a Samsung Galaxy A17 at $100 off - $249, plus 1000 reward points. I think I'll go with that. Never used an Android before.

A long lost xth cousin of mine had a HQ panelvan (don't think it was a Sandman, but it was hotted up in the old vernacular). He hit a roo at speed (I am guessing c. 100kph), and the roo ended up in the car, hit him and he suffered mild brain damage as a result. I am not sure less aerodynamic cars makes that much of a difference - maybe at lower speeds (say 60kph) it does.