This my not be the most popular or shared view on this forum but we have Wave system. Got the singe CD player / Radio jobbie with the DAB unit. And to be honest, for the size and for what we use it for it sounds very good. Is it perfect? No, it isn’t, but when I was looking around there was nothing that came close. The Denon had recently been released and the snobby hi fi dealers were claiming it was the dogs dangly bits and awesome sound quality. I listened to it and it was utter gash. And it was the same price as the Bose. And it’s all very well pointing out the Qute but that’s 3 times the price of the Bose and doesn’t even come wth any speakers. For me, I wanted a compact unit for the kitchen where needed radio and CD. Although the Wave was a bit pricy, it fitted the bill and sounds very good – way better than anything ese listened to at the time. Would definitely gree with criticisms of their home cinema kit though. Not impressed with that.

However, if you are wanting something that is for your main listening room and it is a decent size I wouldn’t bother with a Wave but get decent separates system with decent speakers. Notwithstanding what I have said above I would expect a separates system of modest quality to sound much better than the Wave in that bigger space.

For what it’s worth – 3.

And Alp_girl’s comment up there ^^ was most excellent and I think summed up the situation perfectly. As others have said, mostly this is a pretty welcoming and entertaining place. There are some threads / comments etc that are brilliantly funny and help to create sunshine on a cloudy day. Other threads are really helpful and informative. And sometimes, usually on one of “those topics” get a bit heated and out of hand. But, as is the common answer on “the state of TV” type threads you have a choice not to look. So, if you find a thread offensive, just move on. If things are getting a bit personal it’s easy enough to just let it go and not visit the thread again. No big deal.

Alfas are fantastic bargains second hand. Had 2 and both were great as long as you maintain them well.

Indeed are nice cars to drive. But seem to have a propensity to mangle gearboxes at relatively low mileages and possibly other bits and pieces

no that was before that big crash thing in banking which , given tyour excellent reasoning so far, you blame on labour

Not quite sure where you are getting my apparent reasoning from on that one JY. I don’t recall pinning the banking / sub prime issue on GB. And I don’t. But his general fiscal managemnt of the UK economy was spectacularly bad. Although, as ATP says, he did get rid of boom and bust, so maybe he did do something useful. 8O

I can only think you are not looking in the right places for your insurance. You are clearly at least 29 so out of the main danger age. Lost my full no claims earlier in the year after getting a couple of scrapes tidied up on the car but even with that, business coverage and fully comp my insurance on a 1.9 Vectra estate SRi is less than half that.

Have you tried looking at people like Swiftcover, Hastings Direct, brokers?

The tories pledged to match Labour’s spending plans before the crash, and were demanding even lighter regulation!

Presumably that was before they realised that there wasn’t actually any money left to spend by the previous “prudent” government. A somewhat helpful nmessage left by the then outgoing chancellor.

And returning to a previous point, while there may be individual links between various party members and private individuals (on all sides of the house)I think it shows a lack of reasoning if anyone seriously believes that all the Tories want to do is line their own pockets. And their mates pockets. And that that is all they want to do.

But no he isn’t TJ. A blanket statement that the Tories are solely in power to line their pockets, look after themselves and not actually give a toss about the country they are in is not really a statement rooted in truth or fact. However much you may hate them I think anyone with even a modicum of intelligence would understand that is not the case. Which is why I suspect he is, at the very least, exaggerating a bit. Or at least I hope he is.

And given the poor state the nations finances were in when this new lot came into power I am not surprised they keep referring to the mess they found and pinning the blame on the last government because that’s who was to blame. Gordon Brown will forever be one of, if not the, worst chancellor we ever had. I don’t see George Osborne as ever ranking as one of the best but so far he is still better than Gordon.

Sweet Baby Jesus and all the orphans; what on Earth makes you think Dave and his chums actually give two hoots about this country and it’s people? Is it not patently obvious that all they are doing is setting themselves and their corporate cronies up for life?? How in the name of all that is holy can you not see that??????

Wow. Try not to let a narrow minded and irrational dogma get in the way of the truth there Elf.

But of course, silly me, you don’t really believe that at all, you’re just playing to the house and having fun. Aren’t you?

but thought it was a little too slow in some places

But isn’t that really just a symptom of le Carre’s books anyway. The film looks interesting and worth seeing but having read The Constant Gardener (not seen the film) I can’t say I am in any rush to read any more of his books. All seemed a bit slow and ploddy and ultimately not an awful lot to get excited about.

So much to choose from really. Quite a few of Brad Paisleys songs are quite amusing if you want a fairly trad country style with a modern twist. Videos to the songs are usually quite amusing. For example:

Toby Keith as mentioned earlier has some lighter moments including songs like As good as I once was or I wanna talk about me

Shooter Jennings did a cover of walk of life but this was the better song for me

For something a bit more mellow I love this song although her (Jennifer Nettles) voice takes a bit of getting used to. She also did a duet with Bon Jovi on Who says you can’t go home.

[videlo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPG1n1B0Ydw&ob=av2e[/video]

A bit mnore bluegrass stylee but lovely delicate vocal from Alison Krauss and Lucky One

And if you want an X-Factor back story American Stylee it would be hard to top Kellie Pickler :-)

I suppose I’m quite fortunate that in the sizing department I am distinctly average. Went to the local LBS that I ended up buying the bike from and did the whole “sizing session” thing. Result is that I have a bike that feels just right so I felt it was worth it. With the sizing session it was a case of now knowing the sort of dimensions that would suit me it became a bit easier to scan through the bikes that were most likely to fit best and work from that list. It’s probable that being of average dimensions I could have felt quite at home on almost any bike but I’ll happily delude myself that the sizing exercise worked and produced the perfect match. 8)

iPads, I described them as a solution looking for a problem…

I tend to agree with this still. However, you have to hand it to Apple that either they have had a genius idea (and execution) and saw what none of us could see or they got quite lucky and their “brand” saw people adopting it as a device without really thinking about what they were going to use it for vs how much they were paying.

I guess the problem you are finding is that you are both quite selfish where your own preferences determines the direction of the relationship. Given such polar views on children I’m wondering why you stayed in the relationship for so long. Unless there was something genuinely great about it. What I’m reading in your post is that you are worried she may have turned out to be your ideal / perfect partner and that by splitting up you are going to have to settle for second best. I was never that drawn to having kids but knew that it was inevitable that I would have them one day and was prepared for that. Our first arrived a little unexpectedly and a little earlier than “planned”. At the time it felt a bit early in life (I was 28) but looking on it now I am so glad we had them then. I feel for couples in their late 30s and early 40s who are now only just having kids as the physical demands look many times worse than they are when you are in your late 20s. Sure, we have struggled at times but having kids has been a truly life enriching experience and I wouldn’t change them for anything.

If you are convinced that you will never want kids then you need to man up and accept that the girl you have just split with deserves a partner who shares her desire and leave her alone. Let her move on and stop complicating her head and heart.

I knew a bloke once who had an unreliable TV.

He ended up with four children, last I heard.

I guess he didn’t quite get the hang of this looting malarky then did he. :-)

Boot camp/working in the community – Get them doing stuff, cleaning parks, cleaning up graffiti, picking up rubbish, building stuff etc etc, helping with care in the community. Gives them skills, gets them out of bed in the morning, gives them purpose, gives them sense of achieveing some thing.

Part of me agrees with this but the problem is that so many of the people who would be in that position are so unmotivated / unqualified that it would probably take too much effort and administration that it will cost even more and the work would still not get done. I think there is a place to say that even if you are not working that you can be contributing to the local community in a positive way rather than just sitting around hoovering up the benefits. The problem with anything like this is we usually end up talking in generalisations which doesn’t really help. There are a lot of people who I’m sure are genuinely frustrated at being unemployed and for some of those there will be a percentage who have been dealt a pretty rough hand. Conversely there will also be a percentage who are thick, lazy and ignorant and who have no intention at all of doing anything other than waiting for others to pay, feed and clothe them while they do precisely nothing. And this is the most frustrating group of all and the one that probably angers most of us and leads to the stronger views on what should be done with them.

To be honest I can’t really see what your point is here Toys? She did something of her own volition, it went wrong. Although it is a desperately sad situation I think Convert has a point in raising the question about what she thinks she is due and why it is someone elses fault? I don’t see his point being callous or heartless. It is just a sad reflection of life that sometimes the consequences of our actions are pretty minor (bump, bruise, cut, embarrasment) but occasionaly they can be devastating or tragic as in this case. But that doesn’t make it right to expect someone else to pay out a huge wad of cash to you just to make your life a little easier.

It’s actually reasonably straightforward to setup for a small business and there are a few options you have depending on what you are running in your office for identity ie do you run something like Active Directory for user logons etc. If not then Office 365 still allows you to create and manage user accounts on line for access to the various services. It’s not neccessarily “cheap” but it is one way of making services such as email, real time communications and shared document / spaces available to employees from wherever they are and getting them upgarded to the newer versions sooner than you would probably do it yourself. General feedback seems to be pretty positive so far (as an example a friend who works for a charity looking after their IT opted for it and loves it). Just be aware of the limitations and make sure it does all that you want it to. Also worth bearing in mind that Microsoft are in this for the long haul so they are pretty committed to making it work and making it work well. Not so sure about how Google see it as things like Google docs still seem to be more about disruptive technologies and supporting their search business. Worth looking at it as neutrally as possible and not paying too much attention to the various fanbois or haters of each company as their views are, as one would expect, “shaded”.

Hey Samuri, how far had you ridden before you noticed it had fallen out of your camelbak? :D

An amusing watch. Particularly liked the one where he leaps into the back of the lorry. :-)

Got an 08 1.9CDTi estate which we have had from new. Coming up for 80,000 miles and not a single problem yet. Had a company 1.9 CDTi hatch for 3 years before that and no problems at all in its 90,000 miles. Quite economical and pretty cheap to run especially with servicing only being every 20,000 miles. I find it reasonably comfortable as well. Sure, it’s not a “drivers” car but it is perfectly acceptable. For those who think it is the worst car to drive I posit that you have never driven many others as I have found plenty of cars that are much worse to drive. Worst car I think I have ever driven is an Avensis. Hideously uncomfortable (like sitting in your grandmas old bouncy sofa), abysmal handling (I’ve experienced less wallow on a camel) and utterly non existant performance. Truly a dreadful, dreadful car. Seat Leon Cupra was fun to drive but was falling apart after 40,000 miles. Mondeo (new shape) was a nice car but seats were a lot more uncomfortable than the Vectra (seat base was an odd size – couldn’t quite get properly comfy on a long journey).
In general I think the Vectra gets a bit of a hard time as it is not that bad a car at all – certainly in my experience.

Funny – I didn’t think any of the Rowans mentioned in this thread believe in fairies at the bottom of the garden.

Can’t offer any advice on where to buy but worth checking that you have listened to what you are planning to buy and that you like it. Most important thing for me when buying hifi is what it sounds like. Was tempted to go for Marantz a while ago due to the positive reviews etc. Had a listen and was distinctly unimpressed – quite dull and muted sound. But maybe that’s because my ears are a bit shot and I am quite particular about the tone and quality of the sound. Didn’t buy. Just out of curiosity I visited our local AudioT (or whatever they are called now) a few months ago with my son. Listened to a Naim set up (CD and Amp – can’t remember the speakers but they were £1000 jobbies) and was not impressed with that either. Very harsh and clinical and seemed to have all the soul taken out of the music.

So, while it is a good idea to have something in mind you would like to buy I can only recommend you listen to it first and also make sure you audition some other options just to make sure you are happy with what you are getting.

We applied for around £2k worth of tickets (family of 4) hoping we would at least get some of them. Looks like we got 1 hockey session. Disappointed in some ways as either the cycling or athletics would have been great to be there to sample the atmosphere but also quietly relieved as it means I have saved £1900 and will get a better view of many of those sports on tele. Will also geta proper summer holiday next year now as well so not so bad after all.

Nothing yet…..

I only hope he learns a big lesson from that experience. And yes, in this case he got away without seriously injuring himself or anybody else. However I suspect that there is some fallout from this in that one or both vehicles will surely have been scratched at the very least. I hope the idiot had the decency to exchange some details and be prepared to pay for the repairs.

Not sure, as others have said, that there is a solution as such. It’s down to people. More education may help cyclists when they are younger with their technique and to teach them the right road etiquette. But then it will still boil down to how individuals ride. Given the club I have recently joined and cycle with some seem to have no issue with batting down the footpaths, jumping red lights and generally riding as if they are the most important thing on the road / path / bridleway.

Given that all car drivers have been through (or should have been through) a formal test and a percentage of them drive in an inappropriate manner it would suggest that education won’t work. Perhaps all we can do is ride in what we see is the right way and lead by example. If no one pays any attention then at least you can be comfortable (or unbearably smug) that you are “in the right”

Doh!

Not sure I can add much qualifiedd advice here but if it was me I would be thinking about extending the mortgage and instead of throwing money down the toilet at the endowment I would probably do something dull like convert the mortgage to part repayment and the balance on interest only and see how quickly you can cover the deficit off. Is that how much you have been paying into the endowment for the life of it or were you persuaded to top up the payments once it looked as though it wasn’t going to mature?

It’s nice to know that all those who are happy to regularly take their kids out “know what’s best for their kids”. Probably also goes along with “I’m alright jack, I’ll do what I want and screw the rest of you”. It can be a pain epsecially as the holiday costs are significant when you have to go during school holidays. Part of the price I suppose of having kids. But schools need to have some sort of structure and agreement with parents to try and ensure that most pupils are in school at the same time. There are plenty of holidays during the year and I would imagine it could get pretty frustrating to the teachers, and disruptive the whole class if kids are off willy nilly throughout term time. You may think your kids are only missing a few days / a week or so. Fair enough, but what if all the parents of all the other kids in the class thought the same as you – but took off on their holidays at different times? Although the implementation of these papers and fines looks like big brother how about taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, try and understand why they are there and consider other people as well, not just yourselves.

ps. Not a teacher. And yes I have kids.

I would agree with others that she comes across very much as Madonna-esque in so much as the hit singles are generally quite catchy and good pop music. Not particularly ground breaking but that’s not a bad thing – not everything has to be ground breaking. Where it appears she is trying to be ground breaking is in her fashion style which is certainly “out there”. Given most of it is hugely impractical it is then clearly about publicity and making a statement.

She’s not a particularly attractive woman – but who cares about that? The trouble with pop is that it is very image conscious and the truth is she just aint that pretty. Perhaps some of the outrageous dressing and make up is in part her way of deflecting from the fact that she is not that pretty?

The records make her voice sound ok but listening to her live she is quite nasaly and there are definitely off pitch moments. Which suggests perhaps the use of autotune on the records. Again, is that such a problem provided she doesn’t get sold as a great singer because she isn’t.

Only time will tell how talented she is and whether she develops her writing and pens good songs. At the moment she is just another pop singer with a few catchy songs to her name and a reputation for being wild.

Probably the age when you realise that it takes longer to do what you used to, bits are falling off / out, it takes longer to recover / repair after accidents, your body screams at you when you try to do something physical that your head tells you is easy and you start panicing that you are running out of time to try all those things you somehow wished you had when you were young but didn’t have the funds or cohones. So, best to try and cram them all in before you really get old and lose any chance.

Which makes it a variable age. Isn’t always accompanied by a crisis…

First time I ever saw Blazing Saddles the campfire scene brought tears to my eyes. Shoulders shaking, struggling to breathe. Funniest thing I think I had seen in a film up to that point.

TandemJeremy – Member

I do most of it – but I work lessfewer hours thatn Mrs TJ

There. FTFY :D

And just to return to the point of the post – unless I’m mistaken, the removal of free flights for staff was for those who took part in the strike and was not a general removal of the perk for all staff. It was their “punishment” for going on strike.

Trouble will usually follow when you get two opposing people trying to take a hard line and at the end of the day neither side has come out of it looking very good. Nice quick win for the new CEO though.

Well, don’t dismiss the OP too quickly. Let’s have a quick look shall we?

2 eyes – check
1 nose – check
1 mouth – check
hair – check

So yes, there is a resemblance. Do they look like each other, then no, not in the least and Gary_C’s post is probably the most helpful for you. :D

Don’t take them very often but will do on a long ride if I feel like an energy top up. Yet to find anything that tastes anywhere near as yummy as Torq gels – they are the tops. However, I do tend towards a sweet tooth. Wifey doesn’t like them. The kids love them.

Bars is, again, Torq for me. Great flavours, great taste and moist as well. Love ’em.

Yep, applied for a bunch of tickets. Hopeful that we get half of them. Gone for a few of the track sessions and athletics. Reflecting on it we cut back on some of the sessions we wanted to go to as realised that for the most part you will get a better view (and associated commentary) on the tele but still worth trying to get to some of the events for the atmosphere and to know that at least “we were there” when it all happened. Even if we need to watch the recorded version when we get back to see exactly what did happen! 8O

I guess this all just highlights how challenging it is to bring kids up these days. Soem of my earlier experiences at one place I worked was that the kids were seen almost as a social accessory with the parents not really wanting to be involved the in the whole “parenting” bit of it. Farmed out to a nanny while they went to work (not specifically because they needed the money from both of them working, but more that neither of them could bear the idea of being at home all day looking after them). Haven’t seen them for a long time now but those were not the ingredients for a happy childhood. Jamie’s Dream School was an interesting observation on some “difficult” children, many of whom were from very middle class backgrounds. Out of control kids are not a pretty sight at all adn you can’t help feeling sorry for them that unless anything dramatic happens post teenage years they are destined for very unhappy adult lives, which is pretty tragic.

I feel very fortunate that so far my kids are pretty well adjusted, well behaved and a pleasure to be with. This is largely thanks to a fantastic wife being a brilliant mother and as a family being firm on discipline and boundary setting. Have we got everything right? No, of course not, not by a long way. As a parent you always live with the concern about whether you are doing the right thing for them both now and in the long term. The evidence for us so far is that perhaps we have probably just about managed to enough of the good things to outweigh the mistakes.

Not much help with the OP but perhaps as others have suggested either limit the time you do spend with the spoiled “princess” or, for those times when you do have to be together as families, make sure your two know that the boundaries have not changed and you still expect them to behave in the way they know you expect them to. Any change to that and they will be disciplined and will reap the consequences – whatever they tend to be in your family.

You don’t say if they are any good though. Trouble with trying to flog them to local traders etc is that they may already be able to get the same thing at a better price from their trade centre. Seems a good idea to try and use eBay and offer a mix of single units and job lots of 5 or 10.

Check your numbers – it is not that high in absolute terms, relative to previous or in comparison to similar counties. don’t buy the tory propaganda

So, to use the same argument, those on a low income / complaining about the cuts etc they’re not actually all that big in absolute terms either. Wow, so you can’t afford the latest flat screen plasma telly. Oh, my heart bleeds for you. In absolute terms you are still rich compared to a significant percentage of the world population. Does it not seem like a colossal waste of money to be paying interest on a vast sum (in actual, real numbers) and getting precisely nothing for it or is better to try and cut that waster money so that it can be invested in national infrastructure, services etc?