>>Have tried asking on the UK Fat Bike forum?

Nope… first stop is always here! :o)

I’ll track it down.

Cheers – just dropped them a line. :o)

Poopscoop. How old are you? You genuinely sound like you’re about 14.

Your jumped up posts are fast becoming the things I’m looking forward to most about this thread.

Yip, that’s how I read the situation. Cheers for the insight.

I’ve also just dug out the particulars for the unit, that they sent me back in October 2013 while I was negotiating a move in date etc…

The monthly rent collected by direct debit is inclusive of rates, water rates, heating, lighting, building insurance, maintenance, management and cleaning costs. This is designed to minimise the administrative burden on small businesses.

“Minimise the burden”?! Jeez.

To be honest, it now looks likely that they will be increasing the rent to double what I’m currently paying to cover these additional ‘service charge costs’ which would make it unaffordable for me, so unfortunately I’ll be ending the tenancy myself which means insecurity isn’t really an issue.

I’m not sure I can trust them any more anyway.

it looks like your tenancy agreement was formed from a compilation of standard terms, resulting in a contradiction within the document.

Yep, it certainly does. I’m not sure whether this will ever reach a court, as if necessary I will take it through the council’s own complaints procedure and then to the local government ombudsmen as first steps.

What they’ve done is bloody immoral, if nothing else. So much for supporting local, small businesses.

Yep, happened pretty suddenly I guess.

I have no idea what I’m doing with engines (I was under the impression they worked by magic) so one for the RAC in the morning I reckon.

Ta.

Not sure I’m qualified for all that! ;o)

This is the Ford Transit engine, if it helps?

Thanks. Are these things major? Can they be repaired roadside?

Miami?

Cheers dudes – loads of ideas there.

Not especially into carbon though, so I’ll give them a swerve.

@jambalaya – might be interested in that 2007 Reign as I’m dipping into my my parts box for most of this build so an older frame would be great as an experiment. What size is it, and would you be prepared to bag it up and post if I chucked a few beer tokens your way? I’m up in the NE so picking it up would be an issue! :o)

456 – nope, sos, meant to say full sus. :o)

The vast majority of git users most likely use (or prefer) the command line tool for most stuff anyway, and that’s part of the reason why there has historically been so few good gui clients.

Command line functionality will always stay ahead of gui client functionality, with the github web client perennially trailing – because so few users will ever use the web client for this kind of stuff, which means building that functionality out isn’t going to be a priority.

For the record, I use Git Tower[/url] daily. Mac only, though.

http://youtu.be/lsIBui2smSU

Oh, you said *cable*.

Actually, hmmmmm.

Yeah, I think by the time I’ve bought a hacksaw and a vice, and a decent workbench to attach the vice to, and, er, some metal, then I might as well just buy the bleedin’ things ready made. :o)

I had thought about using that L shaped drilled angle iron stuff (or whatever it’s called) but with the bottom parts of the L overlapping to make a ‘U’ shape. But on second thoughts I guess the holes either side of the U then won’t properly line up, right?

Oh well, £80 it is. Bah.

Yeah, that’s kinda what I was expecting, cheers.

(And nope, I don’t know anyone who can do this.)

Nah, that upper kit is for a different rack.

Both the upper and lower kits for mine (200D) look virtually identical.

Thing is I have no idea where to start looking for someone who might be able to make them, or whether it would even be cost effective for them to just make 4 units as a one off.

TBH, I’ll probably end up buying them… once I’ve made a **** of myself on the phone to some metal fabricators, of course.

He absolutely loves his diving, no pushing required from us.

That did make me laugh.

I’ve had a Lifeproof on my 5S from day one. It’s withstood drops in the sea, drops in the bath, drops onto concrete, etc. Only thing that beat it was my teething 1yo chewing through the seal. Hmph.

Had a Lifeproof on my 4S before that, and that went the distance too.

It was to do with pudding, wasn’t it?

I think you can now cache Google maps before you leave but I havnt done this.

Yep, you can cache areas of Google maps, but without a data connection you can’t have turn-by-turn directions as they’re calculated on a remote server.

Look into Nokia’s Here Maps which are free and have offline (no data usage) maps and navigation. Good reviews, too.

We have a 1yo and have had this system from the beginning.

It’s not quite as ‘cool’ or as light as some of those newer styles (that look like ridiculous office chairs with little castors on the bottom) but if you’re ever going to use it off a pavement then you’ll appreciate something like this.

We take it down the beach regularly, pushed it through forests, round the lakes and it’s never missed a beat, apart from one flat (which was due to a knackered valve).

And how’s the cooker?

The Massaman Curry we’ve just had says it’s pretty damned good.

(I’d still prefer gas though.)

So… I didn’t die.

I was watching a fishing boat on the horizon a few weeks ago that looked like it was on fire with plumes of smoke coming from it.

As it got closer that ‘smoke’ turned out to be about 5 million seagulls.

Does that help?

The thing that is being lost in the headlines is that she has only won the right to bring the action.

She has been told she won’t get what she asked for, and may get nothing at all.

^^This, absolutely.

It’s headlines like this that demonstrate either journalists don’t really have a clue about what they’re reporting on, or they aren’t reporting on it for the right reasons.

I often can’t decide either way.

I also suspect that given the way the law works on stuff like this, that it’s not possible to make a full and final settlement and any payment he did make would be setting himself up to be pursued for more.

It can be final if it’s ordered by a court, or if it’s mutually agreed in what’s called a Consent Order, with some wording that dismisses all future claims.

A court can also order a nominal award that can be varied upwards or downwards – but only via another set of court hearings.

Usually though, there will be a trigger written into any financial order at which point payments will cease with no provision for future claims.

The latter comment still effectively applies.

And is a perfect example of how the only real winners in a lot of divorces are the lawyers!

Easy.

Obviously I’m not doing the work so this is guidance only.

Yip. Appreciated.

Ta!

Its about as difficult as putting a plug on.

Aces. Even I can do that.

If it’s an old house, there’s a chance it’s been bodged off an existing power circuit when it should have it’s own supply.

It’s definitely got its own supply, and it’s fed by a cooker control switch further along the wall. I’m assuming all I need to do is connect some cable from the cooker to some terminals behind the blanking plate, but it’s not something I’ve ever had to do before.

Do cookers generally come with cable, or will I need to grab some? Anyone know.

my only career regret is a job in scandinavia that i never took (bottled it) and it still winds me up. Go for it, sounds like you want to anyway.

I’ve got a similar one. I went through a full process at a global ad agency with a Euro HQ in Brussels a few years ago. Was offered a good role that would have taken me places but gave it a swerve for a couple of reasons (one of which was the silly tax thresholds in Belgium, another was the big salary rise my current employer offered me in response). That decision still really winds me up too. I don’t want another one on my conscience that I’ll regret every day!

I used to be a contractor – self employed, and I was briefly pretty depressed about taking a job with a huge company. Best thing I ever did though – I really love being part of something, where really good stuff is happening. Even though there is still a lot of the same shit I had when contracting, there is a lot of brilliant stuff too.

^ This makes a lot of sense.

Maybe see if you can hook up with some people who work there on some kind of IT professional site – anonymously of course – and see what it’s like working there.

Already done that as part of the trial – I’ve been working with the team as if I’m in the role. I’ve also had unfettered access to all of their internal comms channels and plenty of opportunities to speak to people (off the record) who’ve been through the process and are now working there. All seems good to me. I’m just a tad nervous about swapping what I have now for something else. :o)

Weird – all the way you are downbeat on your chances etc yet this company are bending over.

Yeah, fair point. Completely kosher. Part of the problem is confidence. I’m completely self-taught in this area and still can’t believe I’ve gotten this far. I keep thinking they’ll discover that I’m a fraud.

It’s a bit of this, I think: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome

If they are as keen to have you as they sound, then might you be able to give them all you ‘self-employed’ time for a while, but keep your safe job too?

That’s pretty much what the trial is all about. I keep trying to swerve client work to fit it in, but urgent jobs keep cropping up.

tech companies are flexible as long as you can complete projects, work properly with others and get the job done,

Yip, they’re very much ‘output-oriented’ rather than a company who measures performance by clocking time spent sitting at a desk. The division I’d be in would mean constantly speaking to their clients, so there would be a large degree of ‘being available’.

I think I’ll give it a crack – you’re right, I’ll only regret it if I don’t. There’s still a chance I’ll not be successful after completing the full trial, but I think I’ve done pretty well to get this far at least!

wife? kids? how would your personal life be affected? less leisure time?

Yip, Mrs and 3 kids.

I’d be based at home – apart from the few weeks across the year when I’d be travelling. It would actually be easier all round on home life, and the Mrs is right behind it!

I just wouldn’t have that flexibility in the week where I can take a full day off and go for a surf if there were waves. I’d be tied to a desk/terminal/Skype/Slack/confcall/whatever, albeit at home.

Tough one.

Sounds like you’ll fit in perfectly well…

I’ve been self employed for 15 years or so, and the industry I work in has been through some pretty tough times (especially between 2007-2010 ish). I’ve only been in the ‘super-secure’ job for about 3 years and to be honest, getting a regular salary paid into my bank account every month has been a bit of a novelty for me – and one that I’ve gotten used to!

And when I can combine that with the higher paying – but not guaranteed – self employment that I’ve been doing for the last 15 years, then I think I’ve finally got the right mix of stability and fun/interesting stuff, plus I’ve got half the week where I can do other things than work if I want/need to, like getting in the water or getting out on my bike.

It’s that mix that I’m not entirely sure I want to give up.

I assume you could always get your job back if you left or something similar and you will not lose your client base immediately so easy to return after say 3 months ?

Yeah, that’s a fairly realistic way of looking at it. I suppose there’s always a way back.

its not webcam work for one of the online smut pedallers is it ?

Ha! How’d you guess?

“One second a prostitute is nibbling on my ear, then boom! The door is kicked in by two men wearing green fatigues and smelling of the jungle and contempt, and I end up but-ass-naked in the trunk of a car, on a one-way trip to the local FARC outpost.”

http://gearward.com/products/a-k-band

I believe the game you’re looking for is Colour Zen.

Does that Sony (or the Kenwood) work with Spotify via USB?