Ingowatch (A Talkback Birthday Thread)

What you on about? I'm saying that if Chicago wants to DM me his mum's bond numbers, I'll check if the win is legit or not, and I'm confirming that neither me nor anyone can do anything with the bond numbers alone.

I also have an inkling that NS&I has to have a bank account in their system for you already, rather than asking you for one to pay some money into. As, I suspect, there's 100s of thousands of people who have the maximum amount of premium bond and therefore bank details are needed to pay the sums out each month. Probably also for tax linkage purposes.

The main question with all this ... How did they contact her? If it was phone it's 99.99% a scam. NS&I don't call you for a sum of £25,000.

I wouldn't ask Jim to check it personally.

Yeah, I missed the point a bit. Obviously my focus is more on the scammers.

I think you might be a bit hasty in ruling Jim out as a scammer.

Perhaps he’s just been playing a really long game all this time, coming across as a loveable buffoon. When in reality, he’ll have Granny Chic’s premium bonds in a flash and be off into the sunset spending Chic’s inheritance quicker than Mrs Chic in a mattress shop

I'm not getting much love from him. Seems to mainly be lycra, hatred, paranoia, ticketing errors and questionable behaviour.

At least there's no kiddie fiddling.

Today is a bittersweet day for me. To make it to 55 is shocking. Unfortunately it is also the anniversary of one of my favourite people’s suicide. Still it upsets me.

My mum is 85 and her best friend just died so it’s a weird week. Also I am working all day (28 clients) because my wife sabotaged my day off.

Sounds like a talkback thing.

Anyway, I am old. Just trying to come to terms with it.

Chicago: Hanging on.

Social Media tells me it's everybody's favourite opinionated Canadian ewoks birthday today.

I expect he'll be quaffing fine liquor in some sort of exclusive hedonistic members club before heading over to a girlfriend's downtown penthouse apartment while snorting class A's off a high class hooker's sculpted ass in the back of a limo or something.

(Steady there, Jim).

Thanks. I'm actually going for a walk on the beach and then to the Fall Harvest Market with a very lovely lady, and then to bed early because I'm getting up at 4am to fly to Boston for work. Somewhat more grown up than you might expect from me, but I'm very much looking forward to it (well, the first bit at least).

We fly out next weekend for a few days over half-term. I've gone from being really excited at the thought a couple of months ago (when we booked the trip) of hiring a car and heading down into Cape Cod one day, to panicking at the prospect of driving a vehicle on the other side of the road.

Yes, that's a little embarrassing but I've never driven abroad before. I also don't want to provoke an American motorist into shooting me if I accidentally cut him off at the lights.

It’s a piece of piss, the roads are massive and the grid system at many places and on freeways means it’s pretty fucking difficult to fuck it up.

Automatic is easy to drive too (I now drive an auto after yankee car hires) - you’ll just have to mentally nail your left foot to the floor or you will hit the brake with your left foot thinking it’s the clutch.

It's honestly really easy. The harder thing to get used to is having all the car on the side you're not used to, but the roads are wider and less congested than you're used to. You'll be fine, just take it easy and don't let yourself get flustered. You'll also be in an automatic - virtually no rentals over here are manual shift - so it's one less thing to have to think about.

The Webmongs are correct. It's pretty easy to drive in the U.S. as all you have to remember (as in the case anywhere in the world) is to make sure that the steering wheel is pointing to the middle of the road not the kerb. If that is the case then you are driving on the correct side even when no other cars are around.

Piss of piss really. Also only cunts drive automatics. Case in point RC.... (although chances are that might be your only choice so you can crash playing with spotify or texting instead of paying attention to the road).

Chicago: Channeling my inner Rainman.

Yep, clearly need to strap on the big-boy pants. I think it's the combination of, as Russ says, the steering wheel and equipment being on the other side of the car, and, more so, I'm currently struggling to visualise the junctions and roundabouts in my head.

I can’t recall seeing a roundabout in the USA. They’re quite rare over there.