Articles

This is a collection of articles, some of which have been published, some of which I've just written for fun.  There are PDF reprints of some magazine articles on the Reprints page.


The Cooking Diary, Pt 1
9 Nov 2010 - 9:18pm

If you don’t eat, you die. That’s primarily why I eat. Of course, if the experience can be pleasurable that’s all the better, but in general I sacrifice pleasure for speed. Left to my own devices, I would purchase a fridge only to keep beer cold, and probably never construct anything more elaborate than toast, or perhaps cereal. And I’d be happy that way, alternating one day between a sandwich so basic as to be barely worthy of the name and the most expensive restaurants in town the next.


The Conversation
24 Jul 2010 - 7:41am

“Hmmmm”.

“No.”

“We’ll be ok”.

“No!”

“It’s not that bad. Bit steep, but it won’t be a drama.”

“No way are you taking that vehicle up there!”

“Why not?”

“Why not? Why not? Because it’s dangerous! Because we don’t need to do it! Becau..”

“It’s not dangerous. It’ll be ok, we'll be fin..”


The 4WD Debate
26 Apr 2011 - 8:30am

You have may noticed 4WDs aren't popular in some quarters. There's a lot of sensationalism, liberally sprinkled with phrases like "vehicle of mass destruction", references to apparent insecurities of the drivers and generally the coverage is more about whipping up a bit of good old tabloid outrage than the facts or reasoned argument. Flung with the muck are a lot of naked statistics, which prove yet again you can demonise anything using the right inflection combined with a suitable selection of facts and quotations.

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The Cooking Diary, Pt 0
9 Nov 2010 - 9:13pm

Many years ago I left home and thus life changed.  I rented a small room in a house, and lived happily there with two brothers as joint landlords.  It was a peaceful existence, with only a few noisy moments when the younger brother entertained his girlfriend, usually a virtuoso performance amplified by the fact our bedrooms shared a wall.  Then the other brother bought what appeared to be an entire herd of Siamese kittens, but in reality may have only been two very active bundles of fur.


7 Seater 4WD Comparison
20 Nov 2010 - 7:36am

Note: This article was originally published in 2006.  It should be useful for anyone considering a vehicle of the 2004-2008 age, although several vehicles in this review have since been updated.

 

Remember when it was just you and your mates?

2

Hyundai Santa Fe CRDi Long Term Test
9 Nov 2010 - 9:24pm

I ran a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe CRDi auto for nearly nine months on a long-term test.  In that time we covered terrain ranging from snow, mud, sand, rocks and even the school run. The car was fitted with Pirelli Scorpion AT tyres, a GME UHF radio and a ECB nudge bar.

Available here are all the monthly updates, starting with Santa Fe 1.  Or use the navigation bar at the bottom of the articles to move to the next one.


Hyundai Santa Fe Test: Pt 1
5 Nov 2010 - 7:17am

Does a 4WD need to have low range? How would a softroader go being used day-in-day out for offroad touring? The rise of the no-low-range 4WD means those questions need answering.


Hyundai Santa Fe Test: Pt 2
5 Nov 2010 - 7:17am

This month’s report is about the Santa Fe as a round-town family car, as we await a new set of all-terrain tyres before we get into the offroading. However, we did run it offroad again at the Land Rover trials where it managed a clean run on the easy first course, unlike some low-rangers.

 


Hyundai Santa Fe Test: Pt 3
5 Nov 2010 - 7:18am

This month Mrs P has used the Santy to learn offroad driving techniques, it’s taken the family sand driving in Robe (see forthcoming travel article) and in between times done the school run and the usual family errands.


Hyundai Santa Fe Test: Pt 4
5 Nov 2010 - 7:18am

Now the Santy is shod with Pirelli all-terrains, sports a nudge bar and has a UHF radio it’s ready for offroading. So far it’s been all over the sand at Robe/Beachport, into the snow in the High Country and all around the Victorian Little Desert.

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