>>Apropos the recent thread on "Prat Plates",
Or even better, find the recent thread youself and post your note there saving me the bother of moving it.
>>when a REAL mentally retarded buffoon coughs up that kind of money to adorn his motorcar with another example of this excruciating dross
Presumably translating to you either not having that kind of money, or not wishing to spend it in that way, compared to someone who does have that money, and would like to spend it that way, who is therfore a prat, mostly for doing something you either can't do or don't want to do.
Its their money, where's the harm ?
M.
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I'm afraid that John Davis's "Prat Plates" posting displays the kind of negative, intolerant and pedantic attitude that saddens me and just occasionally makes me wonder why I read public forums like this. If you have an opinion why don't you try putting it over with wit and/or humanity, you may get more people on side that way..
Boff
My wife says I don't listen to her, or something like that
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If you have an opinion why don't you try putting it over with wit and/or humanity, you may get more people on side that way.. Boff
"Like wot I just did", eh, Boff?
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"John Davis" opened his mouth and muttered:
<< >>
What anyone spends their money on is their business, not yours.
I detect a large dose of envy here.
Why not get a life, instead of insulting people on this board?
Or perhaps you are merely a troll?
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I thought '130LOX' (on a london cab?) was a much better way of saying it, if you absolutely have to.
I still don't understand why people buy them - especially the person who spent thousands on 'B1MBO'.
'SAD1' would be more appropriate.
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I can't understand why John Davis has been selected out for insults. Growler, SjB, Volvoman and myself were just as critical as John was regarding prat plates and the people who spend good money on them.
In fact, John was targeting only those who spend around 100K on prat plates whereas I think that they indicate a personality disorder whatever the cost.
I now await the hate mail!
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I don't believe I was insulting, and IIRC, neither do you use phrases such as "when a REAL mentally retarded buffoon".
If you did, then I apologise for not "insulting" you also.
There is a type of conversation that happens in this world, and its essentially around "someone else is a prat for spending their money in a way that I choose not to spend mine". Be that referring to people who choose to drive new cars, large 4wd cars, or use personalised number plates.
And since I fall into two of those three categories, it irritates me.
And when you have an 11 month old with flu, virtually anything irritates.
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"someone else is a prat for spending their money in a way that I choose not to spend mine".
Absolutely. I'm sure if we dig around the interests of those criticising cherished numbers I'm sure we can find plenty that others may find "sad" etc.
Surely the whole deal should be "if it hurts nobody else" what am I worrying about?
It's good that we don't like the same things.
This culture of sneering that Mark describes is more "sad" than any individual's hobby or interest.
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John Davis a troll? Hardly. He's a long term poster to this site who uses his real name and has a wealth of worthwhile contributions behind him.
He was a bit hard on the no. plate guys though. Now if he'd added a Toad type signature at the end that might have helped...
MM
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Just an indication of how some people's minds work, there are two notable plates local to me in Bournemouth/Poole:
A11 NOB on a Renault Alpine (as if the length of the bonnet wasn't a big enough clue)
P177 OFF on a black Ferrari driven everywhere at maximum volume (i.e. keeps it in first at 60 cos he likes the noise) the driver of which can only be described as a ((I'm censoring this myself)).
Had to laugh when the latter got thrashed by a local biker on his "hot" fireblade on the Holes Bay relief road.
:o)
Now if only I could get a plate that read "please don't scratch my car in Tescos Car Park or I will hunt you down and do unmentionable things to you in front of your family"
No Dosh - but then who has?
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Oh dear. No, I was not endeavouring to be insulting but, just to point out the absurdity and sheer vulgarity of the advertisement
"a prat for spending their money in a way that I choose not to spend mine and it's implications."
No, this is just a wrong assumption and you cannot "read" anything in my posting which even hinted at that aspect.
Neither is anyone, after reading my posting,able to "presumably" assess my financial position and my ability, or otherwise, of paying out £100K. Another spurios comment if ever I saw one.
And thanks Dizzy,for, obviously seeing the point I was trying make.
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>>Neither is anyone, after reading my posting,able to "presumably" assess my financial position and my ability, or otherwise, of paying out £100K. Another spurios comment if ever I saw one.
I said; "Either not having that kind of money, or not wishing to spend it in that way"
I strongly suspect that the clue may well be in the word "either".
There is only one further alternative, and that is that you do have the money and do spend it in that way.
Which doesn't alter my statement that;
"There is a type of conversation that happens in this world, and its essentially around 'someone else is a prat for spending their money in a way that I choose not to spend mine'. Be that referring to people who choose to drive new cars, large 4wd cars, or use personalised number plates."
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I have never understood why people buy personal plates either. I always thought that vehicles came with their own unique letters and numbers anyway.
Why would anyone want to draw attention to themselves by driving around with "T05 SER" as a number plate for example?
I would imagine people with "prat plates" would also have to moderate their driving so as not to cut people up or otherwise draw attention to themselves, as their number plates are far easier to remember for later possible revenge.
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"There is a type of conversation that happens in this world, and its essentially around "someone else is a prat for spending their money in a way that I choose not to spend mine". Be that referring to people who choose to drive new cars, large 4wd cars, or use personalised number plates."
Well said Mark. That statement deserves its own thread or trotting out regularly.
It also applies to those who state that motorists obeying manufacture's servicing instructions etc are stupid.
C
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"And when you have an 11 month old with flu, virtually anything irritates."
Mark,
I can sympathise with the above, been there. The little treasures always seem to get colds/flu over Christmas. When they get older they build up more resistance to these bugs.
Cheers
VD5D.
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"When they get older they build up more resistance to these bugs."
That may be true but in the grand scheme of things, they are at their best now!!
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Its up to peeps what they have as a reg' its the well off version of those "I'm a bit nutty me!" bumper stickers and the ilk.
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My plate cost me £250 - which in the scheme of things today is b***** all really. My plate reads P** MLR, which is my initial, the number of the day and month (which are the same) I was born and my sirname abreaveated. This plate will mean nothing to anyone else reading it but means a lot to me. What harm am I doing? Yours, Mr Pratt.
Im a loser baby....so why don't you kill me?!
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I think these plates serve a useful function - if people were forced to put a sticker on their vehicle saying 'I MAY not be a self-obsessed person with a strange set of priorities, who can be expected to drive like that - but don't bank on it' most of them would object - but they're quite happy to pay for the privilege of wearing a badge that says exactly that to a lot of us...while keeping the cost of general taxation merely astronomical - and 'Baby on Board so I've obviously got MUCH more important things than driving on my mind right now' stickers are even more useful still!
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Among the Chinese, number 4 and 7 means death and getting worse respectively. Even as Roman Catholics, my family will not want a number plate with 4 or 7 in it still! The idea numbers are,
3 - alive
8 - rich
Mixed that with the adjectives,
1 - surely
2 - easier
9 - long lasting,
you will get
18 - surely be rich
23 - easy to bring a live (ie. you may have a baby due)
13 - take a guess... (ie. you WILL have a baby due)
My number plate is *189***
Garrison
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With seasonal spirit, I would like to apologise for any insults that I may have directed at those who own personalised plates. I still don't understand the benefits but I accept that it is your choice.
I would also like to admit that I quite liked some of my own number plates which have come with the car in the past. These include:
BBC 919 - my first car, a 1937 Morris 8.
200 AEW - a 'Ford special', i.e. a kit car based on a Ford 10.
MEG 675 - a Morris 1000 Traveller that I restored from 'scrap'.
Here's wishing all backroomers a pleasant Christmas and a trouble-free 2003.
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"if people were forced to put a sticker on their vehicle saying 'I MAY not be a self-obsessed person with a strange set of priorities, who can be expected to drive like that - but don't bank on it' most of them would object - but they're quite happy to pay for the privilege of wearing a badge that says exactly that to a lot of us..."
Not being your priorities doesn't make them strange. Most people are self obsessed. It's called freedom of choice.
Most would not make your choices - strange as that may seem to you.
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"Among the Chinese, number 4 and 7 means death and getting worse respectively. Even as Roman Catholics, my family will not want a number plate with 4 or 7 in it still! "
So, with 777 on my numberplate, I had better take this opportunity to say it has been nice knowing you all!
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That explains a lot.
My plate has the number 47 and my wife is a Catholic.
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"Not being your priorities doesn't make them strange. Most people are self obsessed. It's called freedom of choice."
No, it's called being egotistical! And most people aren't, or there wouldn't be a special word for those who are!
Sure, it's not the fact that they're not MY priorities that makes them strange - mine are probably even stranger! Its the fact that only a tiny minority choose to badge themselves in this way that makes them strange...and the fact that if they added the money to whatever they bought to drive in ANY other way - better model, better radio, almost anything except beaded seatcovers...they would travel in more comfort, style or safety - as opposed to exposing their egotistical tendencies to the ridicule of others!
However, if your theory works as well for you as mine does for me, good luck to you. And a Merry Christmas!
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In the late 60s a friend was trying to sell of his big black Rover for £20 which was fit for nothing more than the scrapyard.
However Jim's main selling pitch was "the registration is worth more than that" I think it was scrapped.
The reg was DEF 1.
Often thought I should have bought it but no-one was interested in personalised reg's at the time.
Please don't spoil my Christmas by telling me the current Chairman of ICI has those initials, or the Sultan of Brunei has been desperate to get this number for years.
Also sold a Purdey for £40.00 in 1960 but I've got over that....
alvin
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"as opposed to exposing their egotistical tendencies to the ridicule of others!"
Only to the "egotistical" self appointed judges of what other people should do!
Happy New Year.
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Well, no actually - if you want to have the bead seat covers, paint your car a strange colour, fit odd accessories (as long as they don't affect visibility) - more or less 'whatever', I'm more than glad you have the freedom to do so. Its just that, well... those strange letters and numbers are supposed to have a function - which isn't made easier by altering them or allowing odd combinations which aren't 'right' in terms of the geographic identifiers etc. If you want to put another sort of sign on your car that says 'hey, look I'm an individualist' - (red nose? ... sticker saying 'you don't have to be mad to drive this... but it helps?...) then fine by me - but 'cherished' plates are a bit like allowing you to replace your issued VEL disc with one drawn in Chinese characters, or just a random series of letters, or one of your kid's drawings rather than the month of expiry - it affects the purpose! So why is it allowed - not by ME, but the state? As a revenue raiser, obviously! As I said, I LIKE you doing this - it not only reduces the financial burden on the rest of us to merely extortionate levels but also allows me to guess the kind of driver you may be!
Have a Happy... Er, No! Have whatever kind of New Year you choose! In fact, why not personalise the date? Have a Happy SteveSday!
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"As I said, I LIKE you doing this - it not only reduces the financial burden on the rest of us to merely extortionate levels but also allows me to guess the kind of driver you may be!"
It gives you no such thing of course - just a set of bigoted opinions.
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I have something of a parody plate on my Rover, it's an NI plate that I transferred from my previous car (long story and I didn't pay for it). Someone asked me once what it meant (it means nothing) so I replied "It's cryptic".
Cue for me to walk away smiling wryly leaving one confused person behind.
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The car you drive, how you drive it, and how you customise it, does give impressions to other drivers whether you like it or not.
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Don't agree.
Whether you "choose" to form an opinion or impression is your own personal choice - nothing at all to do the person/thing you are forming that opinion or view about.
If you feel more comfortable making sweeping assumptions based on small pieces of information - that's your choice.
Fortunately, we not all the same.
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Probably enough, I think. This discussion has gone as far as it needs to.
Thank you.
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I have followed this with some amusement.
My thought on the subject is that while it is difficult to imagine any good coming from a number being remembered, in certain circumstances benefit could accrue from its being misremembered!
I shall be content with unmemorable numbers.
Trust the infant soon recovers, Mark.
Happy New Year to all.
Tomo
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Guys,
Back to number plates - does anyone know (I know it is illegal) where you can get number plates printed that can be tweaked very, very slighlty. No major re-working just slight enhancing?
From a someone who has just got her own number for Christmas,
Cheers,
DiamondTolley
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