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#1
11th February 2012, 08:52 AM
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Wow - lots of variety so far!
I'm a qualified manufacturing engineer, by background, but have never used it! Did holiday jobs working on the development of the euroNCAP car crash rating scheme which fuelled my love of all things car related When I left uni I applied for a lot of jobs in manufacturing but competition very fearce even then for the limited jobs available. My 'Desmond' didn't cut It  Ended up changing tack and worked in vehicle safety research for 4 years doing stuff on truck brakes (have both hgv licenses as a result) and accident research (statistical analysis, on the spot accident investigation etc) Then moved into the civil service and started project managing the kind of research I used to do! The research used to influence policy decisions..... Moved around within my dept and did some early work on road pricing (boo) and smart ticketing (all those 'smart' bus passes pensioners now have) before trying to create a database of all speed limits for all uk roads that's updated in real time (more or less) Writing was on the wall about spending cuts in govt, our little boy was getting bigger but we didn't want to put him in nursery full time at 9 months old, so we decided I'd take a 2 year career break to look after him when my wife went back to work. I'm over a year in now and love the time I get to spend with him watching him develop. Don't miss the 3 hours a day I used to spend commuting to not far from oli's office lol Migt yet extend my career break as suspect if I try to go back soon it'll just be for redundancy  not had a job advert emailed to me for months My s8 was an answer to the question 'what's the daftest car I can buy for taking our son to baby groups' and although I sometimes regret my choice, I do love the car Adrian
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===SOLD===2002 Audi S8 D2 Final Edition (yes, really) in Avus Silver with purple extended leather===SOLD=== 2011 S5 Sportback in Phantom Black with black Super Sports leather, 9x20s, tech pack high, adaptive xenon plus, intelligent key, memory seats pack, sunroof, B&O, Audi Drive Select & quattro Sports Diff, DAB, parking system plus 2015 VW Golf GTI Performance Pack in Carbon Grey with black Vienna leather, tech pack (Discovery Pro nav & Dynaudio), DCC, factory towbar and retrofit RVC 
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#2
11th February 2012, 09:26 AM
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Suppose I should add my tuppence worth.
I'm an IT geek (or Lead Technical Architect as my business card claims). Currently working for a small systems integrator specialising in datacentre gear, virtualisation, storage consoliation, data protection, networks, (much the same as Ian really but with EMC kit instead). Apart from the obligatory paper round (and corner shop) job as a teenager, been in IT for the best part of 20 years, started off with big UNIX systems (sold one to RBS with 72 CPUs in it.. yum), eventually got into server virtualisation stuff as the Windows guys struggled to get it initially and wound up working for a large integrator, a systems manufacturer and the job I'm in just now.
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2010 Jag XF 3.0D Portfolio S I know.. I know.. 
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#3
22nd February 2012, 08:46 PM
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Quote:
EMC... Boo hiss... 
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For parts enquiries and Forum User Administration please contact customer services directly, not me  - enquiry@a8parts.co.uk, www.a8parts.co.uk, or call 01642 783537The Daily Town Car - 2023 Tesla Model Y Performance. Black with Black. Giant ipad screen, huge sunroof, 4 wheel drive, Tow bar, lots of ooomph and made in China, so actually built properly unlike the Californian ones. The Family Wagon - 2018 Tesla Model X. Black, 7 Seats, Towbar, Homelink, Enhanced Auto pilot with Summon and self park, Heated front seats, CCS Charger upgrade, MCU2 Upgrade, Falconwing Doors, Self opening / closing doors, Netflix, Spotify, toys, Air suspension, alcantara roof + lots of other stuff...... The 17 year old Driver Wagon 2015 Skoda Citigo Monte Carlo. Alloys, Power steering, Aircon, Leccy windows, Sat Nav, bluetooth, central locking, cup holders, 59 whole bhp. Million times better than my first car. Well jealous..... The First 20 Audis: 2001 D2 4.2 QS Silver, 1997 D2 S8 Silver, 1999 D2 4.2 Silver, 2002 D2 S8 Dolphin Grey, 2003 C5 RS6 Blue, 1998 D2 S8 Black, 2000 D2 4.2 QS/S8 Ming Blue, 2003 D3 4.2 Ming Blue, 2005 B7 S4 Blue, 2006 D3 3.0 Tdi Black, 1999 D2 4.2 Silver, 2003 D3 4.2 LPG Crystal Blue, 2000 D2 S8 Silver, 2007 3.0 Tdi Q7 Black, 2009 B8 S4 Black, 1998 D2 S8 Agate Grey, 2006 D3 4.2 Tdi Blue, 2006 D3 S8, 2007 Q7 3.0 Tdi, 2006 C6 S6, The Second 20 Audis: 2011 A7 Sline, 2001 A2 1.4 Tdi Black, 2002 A2 1.4 Tdi Silver, 2006 A8 4.2 Tdi Blue, 2007 4.2 Tdi Q7, 2006 S4 Cab Silver, 2010 RS6 Saloon Black  , 2007 TT Roadster, 2010 A8 D4 4.2 Silver, 2006 C6 A6 2.7 Tdi Quattro, 2000 D2 4.2 QS/S8 Ming Blue (again), 2008 Q7 4.2 Black, 2009 C6 RS6 Saloon Daytona Grey, 2001 Fully Loaded A2 Tdi, 2006 Avant S6 Black, 2007 VW Caravelle Exec Black (almost an Audi) 2009 TT Roadster Daytona, 2015 Q7 4.2 tdi lava grey, 2002 GmbH D2 demonstrator, 2006 D3 A8 LWB 4.2 Tdi Black Most Recent Audis: 2001 A2 1.4 Tdi Black, 2007 4.2 FSi Q7 ABT Blue, 2016 S5 Coupe Launch model, 2004 S4 B6 Cabriolet, 2016 Q7 Sline White, 2006 Q7 4.2 FSi Black, 2012 Q7 Sline+ 4.2Tdi White, 2008 Blue Audi S8 Everything Else 1989 Subaru Justy, 1986 Vauxhall Cartlton 2.0 GL, 1985 Vauxhall Carlton 2.2 CDi, 1987 Ford Sierra XR4x4, 1983 Vauxhall Senator, 1985 Vauxhall Senator 3.0i, 1997 Polo Saloon, 1997 Peugeot 306 1.9 TDi, Ford Sierra Sapphire 2000E, 1990 Subaru Justy, 2000 Subaru Impreza, 2000 Subaru Impreza RB5, 1993 Range Rover LSE, 2005 VW Bora, 2003 Skoda Superb, 2003 VW Passat V6 4 Motion, 1996 Peugeot 106, 2000 Range Rover 4.0, 2019 Tesla Model 3 Performance
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#4
22nd February 2012, 10:29 PM
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Quote:
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Confidence is the feeling you have before you know better . . . . Audi A8 D2 3.7 Quattro Sport 1999 FL - Melange 2nd Place Winner - A8-Freunde Annual German Meet 2012 at Edersee 20" x 9" Bentley GTC Wheels with 385mm W12 Front Discs & Bentley Caliper Covers, Front Lowered on Coilovers, Xenons, Combined DRLs and LED Foglights to modified OEM front fog lamp position, Alcantara/Leather, Full Black Alcantara headlining + pillars and blind shelf, Bespoke Flat Bottomed Sports Steering Wheel, Dark Myrtle Wood, Autodim Mirrors, Bose, Blinds, Digital TV, Ski Hatch, Modified rear exhaust section for extra V8 Burble  Audi S8 D2 Final Edition 2002, Avus Silver with Red Leather Interior Tiptronic with Sport mode button, Sony rear entertainment package, Bose sound system, Audi Navigation Plus, 20 inch Final Edition alloys, Full Cat Back Stainless Milltek exhaust, giving a great V8 burble Audi A8L D2 4.2 Petrol with LPG - Ebony Black Audi A8L D4 FL 4.0T Petrol twin turbo - Havana Black Audi A2 1.6 FSi Sport - Dolphin Grey with Votex body kit and Red Leather Interior and some other A8's A8L's and Mercs
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#7
23rd February 2012, 06:52 AM
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I'd hazard a guess at Electro-Magnetic Compatibility - but maybe there's another IT-geeky field (no pun intended) with the same acronym.....
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===SOLD===2002 Audi S8 D2 Final Edition (yes, really) in Avus Silver with purple extended leather===SOLD=== 2011 S5 Sportback in Phantom Black with black Super Sports leather, 9x20s, tech pack high, adaptive xenon plus, intelligent key, memory seats pack, sunroof, B&O, Audi Drive Select & quattro Sports Diff, DAB, parking system plus 2015 VW Golf GTI Performance Pack in Carbon Grey with black Vienna leather, tech pack (Discovery Pro nav & Dynaudio), DCC, factory towbar and retrofit RVC
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#8
11th February 2012, 09:40 AM
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Another IT person here, though I've "downsized" a bit in recent years having worked on some of the biggest (at the time) computers in the world.
First programmed a computer (a Deuce) at school and that was in the mid-sixties! Studied Maths at University and really randomly got a Computer job straight after - I just liked the people and it was the only job I applied for even vaguely to do with that. A few years in giant international companies programming on mainframes in London, then I joined one of the "BUNCH" - major manufacturers. Became a support manager and stayed there for a VERY long time in various roles/locations around the South-East. Various "crises" arrived pretty simultaneously so I "bit the bullet" and left them to work as an IT Manager, mostly in mid-sized businesses. Very precarious as companies are grown/shrunk/reorganised/acquired though I did end up in a good role at an international company responsible for all the worldwide IT and Telecoms infrastructure with leading-edge internet involvement. When that ended after about 5 years (owners sold up in stages over a few years then Venture Capitalists moved in) I left the corporate world for good - the market for over-50 IT managers is limited, despite laws on age discrimination!  Set up my own company providing IT support to home users and small businesses which has now been running happily (and locally) for about 8 years. In my early years I had planned to retire before now, but work keeps the brain ticking over, so it's maybe 20 hours a week which is ideal for me.
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2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions and extended leather. Ski hatch retrofit. Aftermarket reversing camera. DVB-T and XCarlink now removed as redundant. 2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation". (Even rarer than a D2 S8!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one!  Finally: gone, but not forgotten..... 1998 D2 PF S8. Agate Grey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, Tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors. e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course.  (internal dimming mirror added later)1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon. Added Auto-dim mirror, Leather seats, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer. And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850! 
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#9
11th February 2012, 01:04 PM
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My earliest job of interest after the almost essential paper round when I was a lad was actually valeting cars at the local Audi & VW dealers which was where I first got interested in Cars. I then progressed to "the art of buying auction cars, doing them up and selling them on for a profit" as soon as I could drive. Other car related activities were Stock Rod racing (3 litre Capri stock cars) and Rallying in such cars as Mk 1 Escorts, Mk2 Escorts and Sunbeam Ti's.
My "proper job" background (as the name suggests) is Architecture. After I qualified I worked for a few Architects practices both small and large (including working on such varied buildings as Worcester & Gloucester Cathedrals and the restoration and conversion of the Hoover building on the A40 as you come into London from Oxford. I then set up my own practice specialising in residential Architecture and house type/house layout design, we also specialised in thatched properties early on. I still have a business in this area to this day mainly designing house types for National and Luxury House Builders the latter of which gets me involved in some interesting projects! It was Architecture that led me back towards cars when I did some Architectural work for a funeral director who one day offered me his fleet of limos and a rolling contract to hire them back to him to do all his funerals (and his weddings he had booked for the weekends) and so that became an additional business. We did some 3500 funerals over the following 5 years and I really must write a book about that whole adventure sometime! I have a low boredom threshold with work and started up a national loft conversion business whilst doing architecture and at our busiest we were starting 12 new conversions a week so it was a pretty busy time! They were very upmarket hi-spec conversions with many energy saving features and build times/disruption were minimized by making the roof window openings and taking everything in through the roof and only opening up for the stairs at the last possible minute. We also did truss rafter conversions when nobody else was offering this and used "kitchen planner" type 3D software to help show clients what their conversion would actually look like. When I sold that business to a larger building company I made a bit of money so I invested in some property which I now rent out and which will hopefully act as a pension fund in coming years. At that point I had been dealing with Velux roof windows whilst doing loft conversions and they were looking for someone to set up their Architectural binder and CPD program for Architects and Specifiers so I worked for them for 6 years. I think in the busiest year we did 240 seminars and I personally gave 120 of them! I enjoyed the variation/interest of working with a product manufacturer in the Building industry and went on to work for many big names including Knauf Plasterboard (House Builder national agreements), BuildStore (Developing a National Self Builder Offering), and Corus Steel (now Tata) dealing with National Builders Merchant Groups. I also sat on the Exec of the UK Timber Frame Association for a couple of years and spent a couple of years between the UK and Canada involved with that. Nowadays I am running the Architecture business, an Internet B2B and Ticketing business, and am also a Director in a business that provides low energy ventilation and heat recovery systems (design supply and install etc) to residential properties throughout the UK and Ireland. Who knows what the heck I will be doing next . . . . .
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Confidence is the feeling you have before you know better . . . . Audi A8 D2 3.7 Quattro Sport 1999 FL - Melange 2nd Place Winner - A8-Freunde Annual German Meet 2012 at Edersee 20" x 9" Bentley GTC Wheels with 385mm W12 Front Discs & Bentley Caliper Covers, Front Lowered on Coilovers, Xenons, Combined DRLs and LED Foglights to modified OEM front fog lamp position, Alcantara/Leather, Full Black Alcantara headlining + pillars and blind shelf, Bespoke Flat Bottomed Sports Steering Wheel, Dark Myrtle Wood, Autodim Mirrors, Bose, Blinds, Digital TV, Ski Hatch, Modified rear exhaust section for extra V8 Burble Audi S8 D2 Final Edition 2002, Avus Silver with Red Leather Interior Tiptronic with Sport mode button, Sony rear entertainment package, Bose sound system, Audi Navigation Plus, 20 inch Final Edition alloys, Full Cat Back Stainless Milltek exhaust, giving a great V8 burble Audi A8L D2 4.2 Petrol with LPG - Ebony Black Audi A8L D4 FL 4.0T Petrol twin turbo - Havana Black Audi A2 1.6 FSi Sport - Dolphin Grey with Votex body kit and Red Leather Interior and some other A8's A8L's and Mercs
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#10
13th February 2012, 09:02 AM
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Dezzy worked in a local ATS centre as the "boy" left and went to work for a local tyre firm, got laid off form there through lack of business. Done various things to survive here and there but we'll leave that to a pi55y evening at a meet.
Got an apprenticeship as a Shipwright in a Shipbuilders, served my time and am a fully indentured Shipwright and was building ships of various types from pontoons for floating bus stops on the Themes to Super Yachats. I then got an opportunity to go into the design office and learn a very specific 3D design software tool. I took this for a couple of reasons 1, shipbuilding is very hard work and 2, shipbuilders don't seem to live very long. I'm now a director of my own company offering design engineering and Liasion to companies that might need it. Currently building Aircraft Carriers. Any other shipbuilders in da ouse?
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1996 A8 4.2 QS. Bose, Solar roof, um...um... rally sport towbar. Now gone to a new home as the Traders 8. Bright yellow bus o love. Last edited by Dezzy; 13th February 2012 at 09:22 AM.
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