nzskater

I'll eventually post the photos Yuka took - there's so damn many of them and I haven't had time to sort through them!

Hope you came out of the earthquake unscathed Macca...

Macca

Thanks mate. We are actually wondering what all the media fuss was about. We felt nothing (the quake was 250km north of us out to sea and 30km deep). The closest we have experienced was a 7.2 8km out and 15km deep, now that was something, but the media seemed to have grabbed this one for some reason - even those closer to the event experienced only moderate shakes. I wonder if it was a slow news day and someone pulled it off the alerts and published it on the international news bulletin board as we have had plenty of emails and messages for our safety - luckily this time unwarranted :-)

My biggest challenge on arrival is my laptop. Was working fine when I closed the lid Sat night and put it in its case - next morning it wont start and the charger wont get power to it (charger light on adapter pack is on but the LED on the laptop that shows when power is connected is not illuminating). Im wondering if it was running still after i closed the lid and had a melt down but I should have thought there was a thermal protection switch? Possible the power pack has failed and the machine ran flat overnight but too many coincidences? Im pretty stuffed without it as Id just loaded up a desktop folder full of SITT stuff and EOFY stuff but only got half way through a back up on the cloud before I left so a few folders not updated. No skill set here to repair a Sony vaio motherboard or powerboard so I have 2 months struggling on a browser and ipad if its not the charger that has failed. Scary think if its a massive melt down I doubt its viable to recover and will have to buy a new machine and start again, just after spending $350 on a new keyboard for it when in NZ. Is it possible do you think that if it were running whilst in a sleeve it could have damaged the machine beyond repair? Very frustrating as all my AIM stuff and settings were on there and a bit lost without it. Will be a very boring 2 months if I cant resurrect it.

In case its a total loss anyone here connected to get discount on Dell machines? Looking at XPS13 with 512 GB SSD i7 as a possible replacement but frankly I dont have the appetite for the price as retail...?

Cheers

nzskater

Glad to hear the quake was non impacting. I ignore the news most days, is 99% nonsense. A minor quake is probably more interesting than the rest of it!

Try removing the battery and attaching the power brick. A faulty battery can sometimes prevent a laptop from powering on. Send me the model number if you would like me to take a closer look.

Don't have a line on Dell, but talking to a CSR will often result in a decent discount, I'm sure you can persuade them

Macca

Thanks mate. Appreciate the clues. The battery is internal unfortunately. Its with the local computer guy today to check if its the power supply. If not may have to open her up, disconnect the battery and try direct to AC like you say. Will keep you posted....

PHG

Hey Jake
Been having some fun, have you..??
Yuka got the race gear clean after that??

nzskater

No cleaning needed. I lack a working self preservation trigger (probably half the reason I ended up in that situation...). I was about to get back on the track, but then realised a tyre was no longer attached to the wheel...

Sierra Mike

Good to learn you're alright Macca but sorry to learn about your laptop woes. I've had issues with the fan on mine but apart from that it's been okay. My first choice would be Lenovo's X1 if I had to change the Vaio.

Macca

Hey Sunil mate. Great to hear from you!! Yes we are alright here, I think a bit of over zealous reporting perhaps but it is the land of fire and storms so anything can happen. Another on here also recommended the X1 as a replacement so if it comes to that I will most certainly consider that...travel well

nzskater

Chipping away at the SITT photos slowly. Deleted a ton, but still have a lot to review/delete. Quite like this one.

Macca

Love that picture Jake. That road reminded me a little of some of those cliff roads between Monaco and San Remo...but kiwi style...

floatingkiwi

And around lake Garda in northern Italy. Now THERES driving spots..

Macca

I love the lakes Matt and have stayed at Como & Maggiore and done plenty of driving there (but it's very congested in summer). I haven't tried Garda but I've heard good things about the lack of traffic on the far side of the lake where it's quieter.

Just on the FB thread on the 991GT3RS. Funny enough Luke had claimed that car was sold last week. Salesmans talk perhaps! I think you guys are on the money with owner and reasons for sale etc. No surprises there I guess. List would have been over $400 with options (list base was $385k + ORC). I don't think NZers will pay premium when it's still possible to still sneak an order in (GT4 too as it turns out - by chanced happened upon this and looks like a Playdays Prestige guy a few of us know has just got on the list!). I think the heat is coming out of the GT3/RS/GT4 market as people finally realise they have made/ are making plenty of them. The urgency money is drying up. The markets have probably not helped give confidence to US & UK/Euro buyers in recent months.

You don't buy these cars to make money. You buy them to enjoy, do a ED, drive some great roads, take to the track and thrash the pants off IMO.

gt38088

agree. Jake is that pic taken out the sunroof/ out the window or through the windscreen?

Macca

I wish I could drive my 993 half as good as this guy. His heel/toe downshifts around 50s mark and indeed throughout are perfect. I'm jealous. Mine aren't half as quick or precise. This is a stock 993 C4 with just under 300 BHP a half cage and gutted of some weight which puts in lap times to keep most GT3 hones. Ziegler is a Ring junkie with quick hands and drives this car with federal R rated street tyres to rival most sub 8 min super cars.

Macca

Oops I should add the suspension and brakes are nor stock lol!