getting to you in USA - Page 9

With the North Sea at your doorstep I can't even imagine the bone chilling cold that you endure there? You Brits are one tough lot. We have had visitors from the UK and they simply could not believe the temps/humidity here when it was 37C and above. The need for airconditioning systems in cars as well as houses became readily apparent the moment they stepped off the plane. Opposite ends, eh?

Yes, the heat and humidity in the south is something no one will understand until they've been here.  It is insane.  When I was in insurance adjuster's school in Jackson, Mississippi, there were a couple of guys from Plano Texas.  They kept saying: "I thought it was hot in Texas.  Here in Mississippi it is so humid you can't breathe when you go outside!" But I think myself being used to it, I would probably think the dry heat in Texas is worse than the humid heat in Mississippi.  but I don't know.  I need to experience it further.
I can't imagine what it must be like in Alaska or Canada where it gets REALLY cold!  I've heard stories of water freezing before it hit the ground if you threw it outside.  Although they tried to duplicate it on Mythbusters, and claimed it is impossible, I think it could be.  On Mythbusters they poured it in a super cold freezer - that didn't take the wind into account.

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ORIGINAL: 00AccordLX5spd

Hey academic, I remember a while back another guy from the UK was astounded that anyone in the U.S with a regular driver's license can drive a manual trans car with no special type of license.  He said over there you have to have a specific license to drive a manual trans car.

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For an update on me, I can drive a manual today!

Congrats!  You will have fun.  Good luck in all that traffic though.  Your left leg may get sore at first.  Sometimes I worry my left leg will get bigger and stronger than my right one!

Not quite. There are two tests and two types of licence. One is for manuals which also covers autos, the other is for autos only.

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ORIGINAL: 00AccordLX5spd

Will you take a picture of the engine too?  I am interested to see what the F20Z looks like.

That's a heck of a view there.  Is that a golf course I see? 

Not a golf course but if you look closely upper right you can perhaps make out the dry ski slope. The area that perhaps looks golfish is a park with ornamental artificial lakes built on the site of a former coal mine. Loads of water birds - swns, ducks, etc

Jon ..... the wind would have some effect on the cooling of the water, but not much ..... it's not like the wind chill that you feel which is caused by evaporative cooling. 

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Sometimes I worry my left leg will get bigger and stronger than my right one!

Jon, now you can balance having that stronger right hand.

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ORIGINAL: RTexasF

With the North Sea at your doorstep I can't even imagine the bone chilling cold that you endure there? You Brits are one tough lot. We have had visitors from the UK and they simply could not believe the temps/humidity here when it was 37C and above. The need for airconditioning systems in cars as well as houses became readily apparent the moment they stepped off the plane. Opposite ends, eh?

There is a "thing" in The Geordie Republic which even I find weird. The guys and galls on the lash on a saturday night never wear coats even when there is 6 inches of snow and it is -3c. You even sometimes see them with not even a T-shirt on or with shirt open to the waist and the men are just as bad - just joking. The women wear a top made from two bits of tissue and a skirt which just about skims the bum. It is a macho thing to show how tough they are. Or, it could be that if you wear a coat, some bugger will nick it. Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham - they are all the same - must be our Viking ancestry. Even mentioned as a joke on national tv "What do you call someone wearing a top coat in Geordieland" Answer "A southern jessie" or "A tourist". This area is fairly constant in temperature whole year round, its the North Sea which drives our weather and that's always bloody cold.

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ORIGINAL: academic

still learning how to use HAF so just noticed photo gallery and cracked it open. My Accord looks nothing like yours and I'm not just talking about the fact that yours is bright and shiny while mine is muddy and scruffy ALWAYS. They dont seem to be the same car. The first post I put up was asking about differences and now I see it. Mine is much lower on the bonnet line and much higher on the boot - its just a different car. I would like to do shots of it today but weather is grim - rain,fog, the usual. Photo from my window was taken last November. Going to try to get car posted quickly as I would like collective opinion on "What am I driving ?"
I know engine is F20ZE and it is UK built.

academic-

Here are recent pictures of my car, it is four years old now. Since I do auto detailing here at the house I must keep both of our vehicles sharp. If a prospective customer comes here for a consultation/bid I can hardly afford for them to see nasty cars! It would be akin to the mechanic whose car won't start or the plumber that has leaky faucets at his home. Not a good first impression! 

http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/showthread.php?t=14636

That's right ! KicK a man when he's down. You put me to shame with your car. I am almost afraid to post mine now. I can already hear the howls of derision now. Still, there is a bright side. The next time you tell me about your glorious weather, I know which curse to use. Bird Sh.. all over your bonnet. Odin, Odin hear my prayer.
 

(Tell Odin the bird must be able to navigate inside my garage in the dark.)  With the weather you endure trying to keep an automobile clean is akin to pushing back the wind and I understand completely. You'll enjoy this immensely......it's raining today and I couldn't go anywhere because I don't want my car to get dirty!!
 
 

I've put about 15 hours in on my Coventry Bird's new ride that she got on Dec. 24. It looks better than new now without question.........she wouldn't take her car out in the rain today either!

Her new 'Yota' on pgs 1 & 2 here, both before and after.

http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/showthread.php?t=14542

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ORIGINAL: finch13

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Sometimes I worry my left leg will get bigger and stronger than my right one!

Jon, now you can balance having that stronger right hand.

 
Dang that was a good one.  Don't worry, I'll get you back for this later

One Popeye arm eh?

Meant to tell you this before. Sunderland is a seaside town and we have a Boxing Day tradition of swimming in the NORTH SEA. This year, there were 400 nutters who did it. It was in the local paper that the sea was "quite warm" - right, the air temperature was 3c at the time.

academic-
 
I'm warm blooded but not THAT warm blooded. Go back four posts to see pictures of my Coventry gal and her new car on the link provided.

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ORIGINAL: academic

Meant to tell you this before. Sunderland is a seaside town and we have a Boxing Day tradition of swimming in the NORTH SEA. This year, there were 400 nutters who did it. It was in the local paper that the sea was "quite warm" - right, the air temperature was 3c at the time.

I used to live in Milwaukee & there was a group (Polar Bear club) that always went swimming in Lake Michigan on January 1.
 


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yup and they still do. This last year they had a problem with ice on the lake, it was so cold that the lake was freezing over in the bays. Can't recall what they did about that though.

Ive gone for a polar bear swim before, and to tell you the truth its not that bad once you get used to the water. this is because the water is actually warmer than the air, because the ground heats it, so after a few minutes once your body gets used to the now-faster-dropping body temperature you get all warmed up and cant get OUT of the water! because the air feels waaaay colder than the water. and I mean WAY colder than the water. Like a swimming pool times 10.

Not to say it was warm, as altogether it was a very cold experience, but a unique one nonetheless. Bear in mind I didnt do it with the polar bears, doing it during the winter is nuts! i did it in the very early morning in the fall.

And, she makes curry ! How do you get around when it rains ?

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ORIGINAL: nafango2

yup and they still do. This last year they had a problem with ice on the lake, it was so cold that the lake was freezing over in the bays. Can't recall what they did about that though.

Ive gone for a polar bear swim before, and to tell you the truth its not that bad once you get used to the water. this is because the water is actually warmer than the air, because the ground heats it, so after a few minutes once your body gets used to the now-faster-dropping body temperature you get all warmed up and cant get OUT of the water! because the air feels waaaay colder than the water. and I mean WAY colder than the water. Like a swimming pool times 10.

Not to say it was warm, as altogether it was a very cold experience, but a unique one nonetheless. Bear in mind I didnt do it with the polar bears, doing it during the winter is nuts! i did it in the very early morning in the fall.

I am glad to see that the mentality of some of you is as dubious as ours.

Here in NYC (work) we have pigeons that can hit your car doing 50 from a quarter mile up ..... I hear they use satelite targetting like the MOAB ..... it's the next generation called, MOAC (Mother of all Cr@p)

I had a bird fly into the side of my head at 5 times the speed of sound while I was zipping down the road with the windows down. THAT MOTHER HURT!!!! What a mess it made and I damn near wrecked the car......I understand the saying Birdbrain now. To this day I still enjoy eating seeds.

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ORIGINAL: RTexasF

I had a bird fly into the side of my head at 5 times the speed of sound while I was zipping down the road with the windows down. THAT MOTHER HURT!!!! What a mess it made and I damn near wrecked the car......I understand the saying Birdbrain now. To this day I still enjoy eating seeds.

There a seabird sanctuary off the Northumberland coast called the Farne Islands, supposed to be the biggest in population in world [permanent humans - nil]  Access is strictly controlled, it is National Heritage administered with World Heritage status. Got all sorts of birds including Arctic Terns [they nest on the ground]. Their party trick is to scare off bird watchers [called Twitchers here - people with no life, no wife, no friends] by sweeping down and, to be frank, shitting all over you. Given that their diet is exclusively fish and especially oily fish at that, their crap reaks and sticks like, to quote an old English phrase, a turd to a blanket. Once again, pardon my vulgar speech but I am a simple man of low birth and ever so humble.

p.s. Northumberland - Geordie Republic north of Newcastle to the Scottish border exclusively rural and mostly National Park [ Northhumberland = North Humberland also Northumbria - the first Christian kingdom in England from the River Humber [border of South Yorkshire] to the Scottish borders.

About the cold water:

A few months ago I certified for SCUBA diving and that water was 50 deg. F (10 deg. C).  With a 2 piece 7mm wetsuit, it was nice and warm after the first minute.  I'd imagine that with that suit, the North Sea would be tolerable.  I'd do it with a drysuit and fleece undersuit!

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ORIGINAL: falkore24

About the cold water:

A few months ago I certified for SCUBA diving and that water was 50 deg. F (10 deg. C).  With a 2 piece 7mm wetsuit, it was nice and warm after the first minute.  I'd imagine that with that suit, the North Sea would be tolerable.  I'd do it with a drysuit and fleece undersuit!

You are probably right. For some reason Sunderland beach is used by Board and Wind surfers all year round and there is a scuba school here.