Pete's Write

Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 – movie review Ensemble movies are all the rage now, and so are comic book based ones. If you look at the top ten movies of last year, you will see that short list dominated by movies that combine these elements. The first franchise was also the movie that propelled Chris Pratt from a relatively unknown and rather pudgy TV actor into an A list action actor, who is moving from one blockbuster to the next. Guardians Of The Galaxy (GOTG) itself was itself a sleeper super hit. Coming out of nowhere to blast into the stratosphere of awesomeness in the middle of much larger comic franchises, which were also hitting their stride. So what does the second movie in this franchise have to offer? Well it does subscribe to the bigger, badder and louder style that bears some similarity to the Fast and Furious series, but one big difference is how you can tease out a reasonable story amidst the mayhem and like the best of the action movies it...

I have grouped my suggestions into four price ranges. These are just some ideas, covering sedans, MPVs, SUVs and hatchbacks that you want. 100k The new Kia K3 will come in under 100k and has a solid conti feel. The Mazda 3 is a fine car, although the outgoing Corolla is the epitome of reliability. However you may feel that after the Volvo it will be very hard to return to a Jap or Thai made car. The interior feel, the level of safety etc is quite different. 110-120k The Honda HRV from Kah Motors is a very dependable, spacious car, and being made in Japan, it offers a lot for not too much money. 5 star safety rating too. However it's still a Jap car and once more the feel is different. You can also wait for the 2017 Corolla. Only the Mazda brand offers a conti feel, and likewise, Kia actually feels very solid too.  120-130k Now at this budget, there are much more choices of cars with a nicer feel. The outgoing Camry is spacious and dependable. The...

In days gone by, one could truly hope into a new car, gun the motor, and make tire tracks into the sunset.  However in the modern day and age, even the most basic cars come with some electronics, some form of gadgets and even the most haughty salesman from Toyota will need to spend a few minutes tell you about the basic functions. ( I recall going to the yard to pick up my Corolla myself, the man tossed me my keys, and that was it - good luck and good bye)  However that would be missing out on a significant part of the car driving experience. Yes, you can put the car into auto, press on the pedal and go, but these days there are so many more functions, and you will get a lot more out of the car if you spend a little time to learn some of these functions.  Of course, you could pick up the phone call or text your rep, or ask in a forum and get some replies, but IMO, part of the joy of owning a car is to explore the functions and pick up one nice surprise after ...

A little reminder on the balance we have to face in our domestic settings. The best surround effects we can achieve is dependant on the balance between WAF at one end of the spectrum, and the best position / speakers that money can buy. So once we have decided on what our wallets can afford, followed by what our wives can tolerate, (especially those using living rooms as a HT setup), then we work within those parameters. We will then need to understand that the sound will be compromised, and that we can live with that, and no Audyssey or other auto-eq magic can fix that. So for example, if a sofa MUST be located dead centre or right against the wall, we need to understand what we can achieve. Or if the rear surround speaker Must be in the ceiling, then again, the sound will travel from the top to the sides to the fronts in an uneven fashion. In planning for a new system, either spend money hiring a pro, or save and plan on some elbow grease. Which means that you need to do the c...