I can’t help with the original issue, but +1 for the mini liking! a car that looks that cool should only ever be driven by someone with a flaming skull for a head.. like ghost rider. :D

I ordered a headset from tredz and although it took just over a week to arrive they did send an email explaining the delay. In my experience the money I saved was worth the wait. I’d say give em a bit longer..

I recently bought a few things from Joe (bowie278), he included some ea50 bars, deore front mech and an unused innertube all for free! Top bloke. As a first timer buying from STW its nice to know there are genuine sellers helping fellow riders.

Gilbert and George have ripped-off my drunk dancing!

I do not have a wood burning stove.. I do not have trees that need cutting down.. my shed is already full of tools that don’t get used… yet I would love to have an axe like that after seeing the work that goes into it. Thanks for sharing that big yim!

I won an auction for a childs specialized helmet for £1, gave the guy £3 on collection because I was going to go to £5 anyway.. I still got a bargain and he got more than the auction.

I bet you had a great day back in the saddle!. Whatever distance you mange today its good that you are back.

scaredypants – Member
too pretty for Barry – no offence, Barries !

none taken :-) i’m more than happy to have my name associated with a fine bike like that.

Cheers,
Barry

Is it “superstition” by Stevie Wonder? like it!

Good point Tymbian, I cant give a close inspection but by using brushes with mixed bristles (soft outer, rigid inner) you can scrub most dirt away from the frames, seals and glass. The important part is doing the rinse afterwards from the top corners downwards. The disadvantage of the pole system is you cant look up close at high windows, but can reach windows over hipped roofs. If there is any doubt that the window is clean I do have ladders for access, the longest pole I have is 35 foot.. I wouldn’t feel comfortable at that hight on a ladder!

..oh and on the topic of how often they should be cleaned ,that’s up to the house owner. In my experience some people want their windows done every month, some once every 3 months – depends on location, budget, personal preference. heck, I don’t do my own windows every month! but if my house was on a main road or near a beach I might do them more often.

oliverd1981 – I’m a window cleaner and I would say just tell them – If they haven’t done a good job they cant have any complaints if you stop using them. I use a water-fed pole system with filtered water, if your cleaners are leaving watermarks then they may not be using purified water, or not doing the frames which means water running off will leave marks. From my experience there are some window cleaners that are professional ( i.e check all windows afterwards for marks, pay all taxes, don’t trample on flowerbeds, etc.) and then there are some that are just cleaning at the weekend for beer money and possibly not declaring everything they earn. I accept bank transfer – saves the hassle of having forged notes (given by customers) taken off me when I pay in cash at the post office :-)

Mrblobby – I had just about forgotten about that sticker collection with a bike attached, now im going to have nightmares..

Jonnyboy – am I right in thinking it was you in the pinstripe suit at mayhem last year? If so you need the moots for carrying the briefcase :-)

Lewis and family, I hope you all managed to get through today with the same strength you have shown so far.
Best wishes.

White tights = Swan Lake.

Hi Lewis, I used a pressure monitor (Tommie Tippie one I think?) with both my kids and the alarm would go off randomly – sometimes it was because of the babies moving off the mat, sometimes for no reason. they also go off when the batteries are getting low or if the batteries come loose. the sensitivity of the sensor mat could be effected by the blanket thickness in the cot – sometimes we found that just using a thicker blanket on cold nights would be enough to activate the alarm.

You and your family are still in my thoughts each day. Barry

Hey Woodlander,
Glad the situation has improved, even if only slightly. As others have said its a tough situation that you are both in – your GF’s health problems and you trying to get out of renting and buy a place by working hard.
If you were not putting in the time and effort at work you could be criticized (by yourself and others) for not doing enough to get on the property ladder! damned if you do, damned if you don’t..
Giving your GF space to work out what she wants is a good plan IMO, but make sure she knows this is what you are doing, otherwise it could be seen by GF as you not fighting for your relationship/cooling off.

Maybe scale things back a bit work-wise (if possible), focus on your family, book a holiday and keep working things out.

Don’t beat yourself up over this and I hope it all works out for you all.

I’m streaming ok to my TV but through the wii, works ok even on my 2mb broadband. I found turnaround of 2-3 days mostly, only problem I have is checking what my wife puts on the list.. got “new years eve” through last week!!

I only expected to watch the first few minutes but sat through the whole 25! thanks for posting unfitgeezer. It must take a lot of adjusting returning to earth, the lady in the vid said she hadn’t sat down for 6 months!?!

bencooper – glad someone else noticed that! also what’s with the wattingers (sp?) and pontipines? two families each with 6+ kids and they decide to live in a semi detached house! there’s a massive forest, they could have built separate cottages miles apart so their kids don’t annoy the neighbours! I don’t think its a real place..

oh and upsy-daisy – ‘inflatable skirt = harlot’ round these streets. consider yrself told.

Yes

I have been using an osprey quasar 30 litre for the last year, its supposed to be a commuting/daypack but I have used if for walking and biking too. I have used it everyday and so far has only lost some graphics on the straps. It takes a 15″ laptop but I have also fitted a hydration pack (its not designed for this but the hose fits through the MP3 cable hole). My last pack was used everyday for 10 years so I wanted one that would last as long, so far its looking good. £50 in most places.
Edit: just re read your comment on the straps, the quasars straps are even more slimline (dont have the pockets near the back section). They have been secure on the bike and walking but might be a problem for scrambling

So sorry Bruders, I feel utterly useless because all I can offer is words. If posting on here can help in anyway then i hope it can help. no one should have to experience what you are going through – supporting (and being supported by) your family is about as much as you can do.

I’m so very sorry.

Loving the stuff so far.. some of the pictures I knew but I’m being introduced to some great artists too

John Atkinson Grimshaw
have always been drawn to this since seeing his work in Leeds Art gallery

Henrique Oliviera sculpture

My untrained brain doesn’t always “get” the message behind sculpture but I think this is interesting.

My wife is listening to Portishead, but as I’m in the other room I’m only getting the disturbing low bass sounds. Unsettling but in a good way..

Although I work with autistic people it is more support than diagnosis so can’t add anything better than others have so far, however on a slightly related matter I just saw this article: Telegraph

Psychologists in the US identified 34 children and young people who they say appeared to recover from the developmental disorder.
Tests on the individuals, aged eight to 21, concluded that they no longer suffered symptoms of the autism, which makes it difficult to communicate and socialise.
Writing in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, the authors said the study “documents a group of individuals with clear early histories of autism who currently show normal language, face recognition, communication and social interaction, and no autism symptoms”.
They suggested that “moving off the autism spectrum into normal functioning” was “a possibility”.

although a study of 34 people seems low to make a conclusion IMO.

Totally normal and (as said above) don’t beat yourself up about it. Your strengths are in the adventure stuff (swimming, hide and seek etc) so its not like you are saying you don’t enjoy ANY activity with your daughter. Maybe look at playgroups nearby.. I have taken my two year old daughter to a “little fishes” group that has loads of props (kitchens, pushchairs, hats), the kids can either amuse themselves or you can join in. I found the interaction awkward at first but then got into it. Maybe get some puppets and act out some STW arguments!(“Lance is guilty”, “oh no he isn’t!” should take up a few hours :lol: ) kids don’t seem to mind what you are saying so long as it is with a funny voice.

Wow, this puts my purchase of £11 worth of apps for my daughters Innotab in perspective!. Is there anyway you can prove that the downloads have not been used? occasionally I see similar incidents (but with mobiles) reported in ‘consumer champion’ articles in the papers, the bill usually gets reduced or even cancelled but only after the reporters get involved.
could be worth putting it to Consumer champions

I’m pretty please with myself for being completely smoke free

So you should be yoshimi (..and anyone that has managed to quit). Big respect to anyone breaking the spell. From watching colleagues trying to quit and failing several times its clearly not an easy thing for most. I suppose putting the money you would have spent on fags into a jar (and then spending on a gold plated torque wrench :-) ) would help against getting complacent.

Hi baggies, welcome to STW! Do you know what year the bike is, what type of shock is it? (if it is the Brain shock then is it the ‘Fox’ or ‘Specialized’ version?. I have a 2003 epic and the rear suspension wont activate by pressing down, it needs the rear to be lifted then pushed down to get movement. Have you tried changing the preload dial? Im on my mobile but when I get home I will find the setup manual archive.

Well thats a fairly good result Mog – all the better that you didn’t let them make the meeting go as they wanted!. Now you know what your employers are like you can use it as motivation to get a better role. Well done – you should be proud of how you handled this.

Sorry to hear that Mog, another way of looking at this situation is that maybe the whole company isn’t doing well and they need to let someone go – you just happen to be the newest employee? if that’s the case then whatever reason they give you is difficult to contest. Chin up and I hope it is not as bad as you are expecting. I have similar experience (but from a redundancy angle) and something always comes up. Good luck!

more to the point, why do they think its a good idea to show a kid running around with a basketball and football on a plane? I reckon I would be mightily annoyed if I had paid business class and saw that!

Good shout kimbers – top film and soundtrack

I used to give blood but got fed up with the long waiting times (even with an appointment)so switched to platelet donation. I can make an appointment that is convenient and it takes 1.5-2 hours. It doesnt hurt anymore than pricking your finger. If you donate in the morning the nurses bring a sausage and bacon bun with your coffee/tea !. I donate as my wife needed transfusions during the birth of both my daughters. I also dont have any reason not to, its easy karma points :-)

28″ wheels – niche tastic!. Plus the saddle looks like a sheep skull

CG – I dont use one but my wife does as she has been diagnosed with SAD by the doctor. She uses a Lumie Aribica and it does have positive results. As Milkie said, you have to remember to use it during the day as it can alter your sleep patterns if used in the evening. I was a bit sceptical at first as the cost is quite high, I think it is the cost of the bulbs that make them expensive (judging from looking at replacement bulbs). the rule is the higher the number of bulbs (and total output) the less time you need to sit in front of them. my wife doesn’t have to look directly at it but can just have it nearby while reading, working etc. found this a good resource SAD

Blimey! Either thats a very ripe brie or your custard tart has formed one hell of a crust :-). Your Christmas dinner must be epic..

..There goes a substantial part of my evening! (its turned into a ‘where’s wally’ picture, I haven’t found anyone climbing yet).
I like the way some of the tents are in neat rows and others look like the climbers turned up, pitched anywhere and went looking for the pub :-)
Great link xcgb. cheers

Edit: found them!

Junkyard – Member
Find her favourite pair of shoes …..

….and wee in them? or give them to charity? :-)