Mercedes SL500. Phwoooaaar.

Reading about Julian Assange, imprisoned, effectively, in the Ecuadorean embassy in London.

How odd that his lawyer is Aussie Jennifer Robinson, and the other prominent Aussie lawyer is Geoffrey Robertson. Such similar sounding names.

What a rotten thing the UK is doing. That’s Britain as always, dirty, cruel, arrogant, lying bastards.

As for Sweden, they go to the bottom of the pile as far as I’m concerned. Utter bastards, a rotten country. I’ll never go there. They can’t be trusted – there’s no guarantee I’d get out of Sweden if I went in. Sweden, go away!

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I  talked to HBF about insurance if I changed my car to the Mercedes CLK550. Aaaarrrgh. At present I pay $35 per month for $5,000 worth of comprehensive cover for the Magna.

But if I bought the Mercedes, the cover has to be for $38,800 (that’s their agreed value amount), and the monthly premium jumps to $116 per month – $1392 per year. That’s just about the deal breaker for me. I don’t think I can afford that. I don’t want to, anyway.

I suppose the alternative is to go for the Mercedes CLK350 at the same dealer. That’s the same body, just a 3.5L V6 instead of the big V8. Advertised price $21,660. That would drop the insurance premium considerably.

Another alternative which someone suggested, and has some appeal, is to go for a Honda Legend. There’s one for sale at a dealer in Bunbury – 2007 model, 114,000Km, $19,990.

But what boring, bland styling. Frankly, I don’t like the looks. This is what I’m trying to get away from, styling which dates, and this is dated already. They are not made any more – production stopped in 2010, I think.

Compare it with this:

2006 model and to me, it will never date. I like it. Hard decision. Luckily, I have all the time in the world. I don’t have to make a decision at all. The 2001 Magna is still a pleasure to drive – smooth, quiet, powerful, no rattles or squeaks. Even at 14 years old it still feels good. Maybe I should just get a paint and panel job done and keep it.

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Another alternative might be a Ford Territory Ghia. I’ve always liked them, but the old original styling, not the new look. Hmmm. The question is, would the seating be too high for me to get in and out easily? One way to find out, try it.

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LATER 1pm:  I’m told I’m hypersensitive.

I’ve just been in a cafe and noticed a particularly pretty, sweet Italian looking girl, about 20 or 22 I’d guess. Then she turned her head towards me and she had a big ring pierced through her right nostril. Ugh! Ugh! I had to look away. I can’t look at piercings like that. Too sensitive?

Then a guy came in and started talking to the guy in front of me. Every third word was fuck or fucken. A torrent of them, into my left ear. I’d guess he used it 30 times in two minutes or less. He didn’t seem to be able to make a sentence without starting, including and finishing with those words. I wanted to ask him to tone it down, but I doubt he would have understood what I meant. To him it was normal speech. Am I too sensitive?

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I’ve made an appointment with my GP for a new prescription and a couple of other things. But the earliest I can get in is the 14th, Monday week! This is wrong. Not happy. Too sensitive, I suppose.

OTOH, I phoned for an appointment with my cardiologist, and I’m in next Tuesday at 0815. Quick service on that one. Unusual.

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Two days running I’ve gone to the pharmacy to get a script filled, only to find I’ve left my prescriptions at home. Twice in two days! Getting old, I think.

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I went to the Thirsty Camel grog shop to buy beer. Their price for a 6 pack of Guiness stubbies – $22.99. They say they will not be beaten on price. I pulled out my IGA Liquor till receipt to show that IGA’s price is $17.99. “Oh, no mate, we only price match with Dan Murphy’s.”  What??!!  I said no thanks, I’ll buy at IGA and walked out. What do they think they’re doing?

Likewise, Woolies supermarkets have done their dash with me. I’ve said many times that they cheat the customer. There’s a pricing/scanning error nearly every time, always in their favour.

Yesterday I was going to do some grocery shopping at Woolies and Burgen bread was on my list. Coles normal price is $4.90. But at Woolies, it’s $5.67, or $4.97 if you’ve got a Woolies Rewards card. NO! I’m not putting up with that. Therefore I stopped my shopping and left – they lost my entire purchase. Too sensitive?

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Thinking about that Mercedes – bloody hell, just do it. Live a little. Enjoy buying a car for a change. Sell it again after a couple of years if it’s too expensive to maintain.

AND! Wot about this?

It’s a convertible, 2006 SL350 V6. It’s in Melbourne. Price $49,888. More than I ever4 bargained for, but no more daring than buying a Toyota Land Cruiser 4WD. Just thinkin’.

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Too sensitive? I’ve just been asked to open my bag at IGA! I’m a shop stealing suspect, in other words. From now on, I’m going to refuse. Call the manager, call the cops if you want to, or lose my business entirely. I’m not putting up with this.

Yes, sensitive to false suspicions by juvenile checkout chicks.

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I frequent a web site called Red Shark, about professional video production. A few days ago they ran a maker’s news release about a new device, and it included this line: “… will ship with a bright red Amour Bumper for added ruggedness.”  It means it has a rubber sleeve to protect it.

But Amour bumper?

I submitted the following to the comments section: “Ah, amour, amour. Love will penetrate armour, no?”

They’ve censored my comment! They won’t run it, and the spelling error is still there. Huh!