No win situation for the bloke there really – he either lies or gets shouted at for giving his honest opinion… 😯

I’m single so I’ve no solution to offer her other than if I was repeatedly put in that situation I’d be reconsidering if I wanted to spend my life being made to choose between lying to my girlfriend/wife or getting shouted at…

I suspect she knew full well the dress was tight and actually just wanted evidence that her man still fancied her. However she asked him a different question. If she’d said ‘I know I’ve put on a bit of weight but you still fancy me, don’t you?” I suspect she’d have got the answer she wanted…

It’s like a bloody rollercoaster ride![/url]

Haven’t heard much about this issue recently did they change their minds?
They whole thing was made up in the first place, if there was a genuine movement up there you’d of heard about it.

Worth reading what the leaders of Shetland and Orkney have already publicly said about the matter…

Their residents have traditionally been extremely hostile to Scottish independence and preferred Westminster government to that from Holyrood. They were part of Norway, not Scotland, until the late 15th century.
The SNP has previously recognised the islands’ right to decide their own future but Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minister, recently angered residents by stating this was wrong because they are “not a nation”.
Asked whether Shetlanders and Orcadians would accept a vote for separation in the referendum, Mr Scott told the BBC’s Sunday Politics show: “Who knows?”
The former Scottish Lib Dem leader highlighted Mr Salmond’s claim over North Sea oil, adding: “If it’s a geographical share of oil and gas you’re after, I think Orkney and Shetland have a pretty big stake in that debate too.
“I think we have some pretty good (bargaining) chips to play and those are the ones the people of the islands should decide how they want to play in these coming years.”
Sullom Voe, one of the largest oil and liquefied gas terminals in Europe, lies off Shetland’s coastline and a 1974 legislative settlement provides it with a nest egg called the Reserve Fund, which is now worth around £650 million.
The paper, written by Mr Scott and Liam McArthur, his Orkney counterpart, said the islands “have always been and remain sceptical of Scottish central belt rule”.
The risk posed by the referendum is that the wishes of around 42,500 Shetlanders and Orcadians are drowned out by the millions of people living in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh, it argued.
Among their options is to seek “enhanced powers or independence from Scotland if Scotland were to vote for independence but the northern isles voted no,” it said, citing the SNP’s previous support for self-determination.
Another is to give the islanders “enhanced constitutional and tax status” within the UK, along the lines of the Faroes, a self-governing dependency of Denmark.
Referring to Miss Sturgeon’s comments, it said the islands’ claim on North Sea oil “certainly cannot be dismissed as irrelevant by the Deputy First Minister simply because it is an inconvenience to the case that nationalists wish to prosecute.”

Another vote for not accepting their 50/50 offer! Sounds like a ‘hope he’ll stop digging now’ strategy – keep pushing

Spotify’s great for getting to listen to stuff you haven’t got but you’re curious about, or new stuff, and iTunes is great from an accessibility point of view and playlists – but for absolute quality – my CDs and vinyl are way better than plugging my PC into my hi-fi.

Diff services for diff purposes for me. As a music lover it’s great to have the choice (and not have to spend £12 on a CD to find out you don’t like it!)

Anyways, uploaded my ride to stava and to my surprise I got 4 KOM’s and 9 top 10 place cups as well as a few PR’s

This is your problem. Just ride for the sheer pleasure of it… sod all that measurement and competition stuff – just pedal and enjoy the view, the fresh air and the endorphins!

The canti’s that came with mid-90’s bikes, pre-V-brakes
Elastomer suspension and/or RST forks
Tesco’s tea towels
McDonalds ‘food’
Most of the really cheap stuff from Ikea that was acceptable when you were a student

Sounds to me like you’ve overdone it. That’s a pretty manic milage.

Take a rest and ride again as and when you feel like it – riding’s something you do for fun, it’s not compulsory and you are allowed to fall out of love with it if you want to!

I often have to make myself go out. I never regret it, but don’t think for a second that every cyclist is some kind of ‘mad for it, can’t ever get enough’ enthusiast…

Just remember to eat less whilst you’re off the bike – you don’t need as many calories when you’re not riding every day.

My thoughts:
1. Could well be a scam
2. I wouldn’t have refunded until I’d spoken to RM and got their side of the story.
3. I always send signed for to make sure I can prove I’ve sent stuff and its arrived, and that I have something to leverage against RM if needs be – protects me and genuine buyers

People might think that they have more control over their lives. Fairly basic tenant of psychology.

I get that as a point of principle but surely if having more control means having significantly lower wealth – to the point of difficulty/discomfort, then the feeling of quality of life is negatively impacted, no?

ie: the principle is likely to only be true to a point and depending on other variables?

Well the risk is that yes will lead to less money for everyone so it’s a good job if the yes voters aren’t worried about money!

I’ll pay a bit more for things at my local bike shop just because it is my local bike shop, and it helps out my local economy, and pays for people’s jobs and mortgages, and families etc.

tis worth remembering this if you expect your LBS to give you something for free or for less than they can really afford – they’re usually small, owner-managed businesses and not likely to be paying huge amounts to their staff.

If you just walk in asking for a discount for nothing or use their stock to showroom and then take your money elsewhere, then you’re putting them that much closer to not being able to pay a living wage or even survive – times are pretty tight…

I’d be put off by ‘offers over’. Comes across as greedy (not saying you are OP, it’s just the impression it gives). As a buyer I’ll offer what I’ll offer and if you don’t like it I may go up… or I may walk away

Don’t know if other buyers feel like that or not.

In London, sentiment has certainly changed in the last few weeks, so maybe that’s spreading wider around the country.
It’s possible that this week people are feeling cautious because they’re scared about the impact of the Scottish thing

The Noers on this thread seem to be raising a lot of important questions that no-one can answer. The Yessers seem to be ignoring them and focusing on hope

This article on the technical matters which will have to be negotiated is interesting: it’s not a short list…

Tbh it’s deeply irresponsible to ask the Scottish people to vote on this when there’s no agreement on exactly what they’re voting for…

Negotiatons after a Scottish Referendum Yes Vote[/url]

for an independent Scotland to start functioning as an independent state, some key top-order issues have to be resolved. Prominent among these are:

the currency the new state will use, and who bears the risks associated with that
the borders of the new state – particularly its maritime borders, which will affect oil and gas reserves unless a distinct arrangement is made for these.
the arrangements for movement of persons between rUK and the new state, both at the border and more generally
whether, when and on what terms the new state will be or become a member of the European Union
the division of the UK’s current National Debt
the division of other UK assets and liabilities – ranging from defence infrastructure to museum and gallery collections
what happens to the existing UK nuclear bases on the Clyde
if rUK is to continue to administer welfare and pensions payments in Scotland for some transitional period, the basis on which it will do so
the means by which outstanding issues are resolved, and what happens if the parties cannot reach agreement by negotiation.

Anything that’s moreish

Testicles. Unless you’re Hitler apparently

Simple rule as a cyclist, the ability to look where you’re going is clearly not a common one…

I saw a bike on display in Halfords in this state once 😯

Getting back on topic it must be obvious whatever the eventual result, the union is deeply divided

I suspect this will be the main social/political legacy whatever the economic outcome.

Scotland is clearly divided over the issue with a 50/50 split as the polls are indicating.
rUK and Scotland appear to be divided over the issue as there’s an expectation in rUK that it will be worse off
rUK may end up more divided if it leads to a greater desire for greater devolution…

If the Union stays together (a ‘no’ vote) I suspect these division may remain minor but if there’s a ‘yes’ vote, more likely to be magnified, leading to all kinds of uncertainty which can only be bad for business (as the markets are already indicating)…

Oh, and getting rid of the WMDs – that’s pretty important too.

Is that a good idea as Putin gets particularly belligerent and China starts to throw its weight around a little more as it gets richer?

Thanks Neil,
This comment below that story is particularly interesting

Carl Jung was one of the initial contenders of the concepts of extroverts and introverts as personality dimensions where an extrovert was someone who preferred an external world of things and people and activities, while an introvert was someone who preferred an internal world of thoughts, feelings, fantasies, dreams and so on. But eventually these words became confused with ideas like shyness and sociability, partly because introverts tend to be shy and extroverts tend to be sociable. But what Jung intended for them was to be referred to whether the ego is more often towards the persona (mask we put on when we socialize) and outer reality, or toward the collective unconscious and its archetypes (basically the individuals connections with the unconscious of his/her ancestors and so on where an individual is a sum of his/her past even before his/her birth which he/she isn’t aware of). And thus an introvert is in a better position to understand the collective unconscious thereby making him/her more mature than an extrovert. At least according to Carl Jung. :p

Voting Yes is about hope for a better future, not fear that things will get worse. Sometimes in life you just have to go with your hopes.

I agree with that sentiment but for something so major as splitting the union, I can’t quite understand why there hasn’t been more demand from the electorate for figures, forecasts, some kind of fact-based business case to base those hopes on (and hold your leaders to if they renege on their promises)…

how did you get to move into an apartment with 4 bikes and at no point in the process discuss bike storage?
She must, at some point, given her assent, or by lack of saying it would be a problem, accepted this would be the case?
ie: it’s a bit bloody late to complain about it now! You must have some leverage here? 🙂

if aberdeen and the oil industry wasnt there (it actually wasnt the first choice, think it was hartlepool? – please correct me not 100% sure) this wouldnt be happening.

Give it a couple of years and Aberdeen will be voting for secession!

Go and have a look at interest rates for savings accounts on some of the comparison sites.
ISAs mean you avoid paying tax on the interest but right now the APR on some of the current accounts is much higher – but there are conditions around the amount of money going in every month and setting up direct debits so you’d have to use it as your main account and be disciplined about not spending the 3k.

My parents are in great condition for mid and late 70’s but sooner or later I guess I’m going to have this to deal with… I also saw them go through the same with their own parents, so you have my sympathy…

I would assume a chat with a local hospice, MacMillan or your GP will provide you with some support and ideas?

I do use an LBS when I need to e.g. buying whole bikes, or shoes or gloves where fit is really important. But here’s a scenario:

I was in my LBS yesterday. I know them well – I ride with them too. I was picking up a pair of wheels I’d bought from a clubmate and I said do you have any Campag or Surly QRs for these wheels – they’re stockists of both brands. Answer – no, have a look online.

This isn’t because they’re crap – they’re a very successful and respected LBS but there’s some things they’ve decided they can make a good business from and some things it’s not worth it – fair enough – that;s good business sense.

Sometimes Wiggle is the best place to go…

Not an LBS killer as they don’t sell complete bikes in-store but if I was a local LBS I’d be thinking hard about what it is I offer and to which customer segment, which Wiggle don’t or can’t…

As much as I use Wiggle, it will be a real shame if, on the back of a real revolution in UK cycling, we lose the network of LBS and the culture that goes with them.

Too stupid to realise how obvious it is!

Attempting to keep up a mask can be very tiring, and not always successful for me, I prefer the option of playing up strengths and hiding weaker traits, as you are doing at the moment.

I’m not sure if being a contractor is limiting in your profession, chance of promotion or career development for example, is this a problem for you?

Playing to strengths is working for me too. No-one’s perfect and everyone accepts that – so figure if I make the best of my insightfulness and analytical skills, people will forgive my preference for not talking too much in meetings!

Don’t care about promotion so long as I can spend the day thinking up new ideas… contracting pays better and allows me to behave outside the norms of the organisation but within my own preferences – better all round tbh

^^ Quite.
So, assuming there’s a yes vote, governments on both sides have to work out an agreement (without precedent and with no clear guidance from international law) on how to share the oil – existing reserves and potential new reserves.

Assuming both sides are happy with that agreement, will either side decide to put the agreement to a referendum to give it (the agreement) and themselves legitimacy in the eyes of their respective electorates…? who knows…

Not saying it’s impossible but chance of it being simple, quick and without rancour between the negotiating parties and their respective electorates, well I wish everyone luck!

One of my best mates has just taken a job in Abu Dhabi. I think I might follow him. At least they’re already agreed on which oil belongs to which country in that part of the world 🙂

but Scotland would simply walk away and go it alone.

But with what share of the debt, what share of the oil, with what currency?

None of these things can be unilaterally decided by either Scotland or rUK governments – they’re currently shared resources and will have to be allocated under a formal agreement between both sides…

My point is: Scotland can’t just become independent without a few key things being agreed with rUK – for e.g. Scotland can’t just take all the oil just because they’d like to – any split has to be agreed with rUK first.

So an overall proposal of these key things has to be negotiated. Right now I think we’re all assuming the Scottish parliament and rUK parliament will just agree these between them.

My point is that if rUK electorate feel this isn’t in our best interests, we’ll demand a referendum (or the current government will offer one so they don’t get voted out).

I can’t see how the Scottish parliament could stop the rUK parliament offering a referendum to its electorate.. but if we don’t like the look of the split, we’ll vote against and we’ll be back right where we are, having endured years of stress and uncertainty which will likely have reduced investment and therefore economic growth…

What’s the chance of this scenario:
1. Yes wins
2. The negotiations start. Likely to be messy but eventually come out with an agreement – e.g. currency, division of the debt, division of oil reserves.
3. rUK says, as this impacts the English, Northern Irish and Welsh wealth and prosperity (at a time when the future looks very uncertain), we think it should go to a referendum – as a condition of accepting the deal.

This is quite likely if there’s any doubt rUK will lose out in the deal – as the voters would go mental if Westminster appeared to be giving away more than we felt was fair or reasonable…

We could end up in endless debates and referenda for the next 5 years… massive lack of certainty which in itself could drag us all down the pan…

Does that investmentwatchblog ^^ have a reputation for being bearish or is that negativity unusual for them?

Question is – do I tell Mrs Gob?

Half on a dirty weekend or big pressie for her
Half on a new bike

Sorted

The debate above about who’ll take what share of the oil, the debt, where will companies currently based in Scotland base themselves etc etc is a really fundamental point… it appears that neither the Independence campaign or the Stay Together campaign have, at any time tried to:

a) negotiate a quantified proposition to present to the electorate, other than ‘independence’ e.g. before the vote, they should have agreed on things like Scotland will use xx as it’s currency, current oil reserves will be split x/y%, national debt will be split x/y% and presented this to the electorate as a proper proposal.
b) actually presented their figures/forecasts for things like taxes, interest rates, GDP, GDP per capita (stating the assumptions underlying their forecasts)

Instead, both campaigns seemed to have relied on ideology and emotion, nothing concrete which allows people to make an informed choice (and to hold their leaders to in 5/10 years time if it doesn’t work out well)

This is pretty poor of both sides of the campaign IMO – asking the Scottish people to make a massive, massive decision with an impact for a generation on Scotland and rUK but not actually set out in any detail what they’re actually voting for (or against)… just a vague promise that ‘things will be better…’

Best thing that can happen now IMO is for a No vote followed by massive pressure on both sides to be develop a concrete, quantified proposal, backed up with a detailed business case, to be voted on in a few years time…

Good point. Does anyone have any info on who has the strongest claim on the oil – mainland Scotland, rUK or Shetland?
Well, between Scotland and the rUK it’s relatively simple – there’s a lot of precedent for how the border is set, and if an agreement between the two countries can’t be reached then the decision is based on the principle of equidistance.

This puts the border where it already is – there’s a border for administrative purposes already.

When it comes to Shetland, if the islands do decide they want independence (unlikely) they’d probably be classed as an enclave, so only entitled to a 20-mile limit. But support for independent Shetland isn’t very high, and support for Shetland remaining in the UK when Scotland is independent is basically zero.

Not arguing with your main points, but once again, there’s a real lack of clarity about fundamental technical matters which will be the result of a Yes or a No.

There’s a couple of big ‘if’s and tbc’s’ in there: agreement on the border btw Scotland and rUK; and Shetland independence.

Coupled with the motivator of significant oil wealth at a time when everyone’s suffering from globalisation and feeling rather skint…

It’s hardly a recipe for peace, harmony and stability is it? Oil does have a habit of leading to neighbourly disgruntlement…

It’s really not good for people to be asked to make such a major decision without any clear steer on what the impact of their vote will be

Shetland. Is their status really still uncertain ? I just read in a piece of research about Oil fields (Chevron:Rosebank and Total:Laggan-Tormore and 12 other oil companies) that they where likely to remain with the UK or perhaps even independent of both Scotland and the UK
Yes, I’d heard the same thing from friends in Aberdeen. Shetlanders declaring UDI, becoming a Crown Protectorate and all becoming instant millionaires, A La Kuwait.

Tongue in cheek surely?!

Good point. Does anyone have any info on who has the strongest claim on the oil – mainland Scotland, rUK or Shetland?

A Yes vote is unlikely lead to straightforward agreement on this – with the added complication of Shetland as a separate actor to Scotland and rUK.

Happy days 😯