I have to say that I’d be reluctant to suggest talking to a local fish shop, my experiences of all most of the ones around Manchester were that they generally didn’t know what they were talking about, and didn’t really care about the fish they were selling.

As has been said before, making sure the water parameters are good and your nitrogen cycle is properly set up is the key to keeping fish, beyond that, it’s knowing about the fish you’re putting in your tank and making sure you provide the right environment for them.

How big is your tank, and what’s your water changing routine?

and

The thing I don’t get is this…

The majority of the A&A pictures are of ladies or men, going about their athletic activities, and only a few are posed in a modelling sense. So if TandemJeremy wants this sort of thing banned, then perhaps we need to look at banning all sports coverage in all forms of media to ensure that the easily offended never have to come across the sight of a boxer in his shorts, or a runner in a vest.

I’d recommend Alpine quest. You create your own maps for free with another program and stick them on your phone. You can trial it for free, but it’s pretty limited (i.e. it won’t track your route, just tell you where you are) but it’s only a couple of quid if you get on with it.

My girlfriend at the time promised me a birthday I’d never forget.

She was cheating on me at, and dumped me on the day of my 30th birthday.

To be fair to her, she was true to her word, I’m not likely to forget that in a hurry!

Yep, all worked out ok.

Showed them a printout from CRC and all was good.

I’m now wondering if I should have photoshopped it to get an even bigger discount 😉

I don’t think hamsters are good pets at all.

Syrian hamsters (the big ones) are, in my experience, very bitey to start with, and need a lot of patient handling to get them safe to pet. Even then, they’ll still nibble your fingers as they’re thick and poorly sighted, so think your digits are food. The males drag their balls behind them, and it’s pretty grim.

They wee everywhere, and it stinks really badly. The only really suitable enclosures for them are ones without bars (if you get one that gnaws constantly they can hurt themselves on the metalwork) they are a pain to keep clean.

The smaller ones (russian dwarf/chinese) aren’t really handleable as they are small and skittish.

If you are thinking of getting a small furry, I’d recommend a pair of gerbils. I’ve only been bitten my mine once in 3.5 years, and that’s because she is now blind, deaf and partially paralysed, (I think I just freaked her out badly). She didn’t draw blood though.

They don’t really wee, so there’s very little smell. The gerbilarium and general setup costs are about the same as for a hamster. They’re easy to handle, and are generally not that skittish once they get used to you. Lifespan is about 3-4 years with good care.

@Bigbutslimmerbloke: If you aren’t going to read the whole thread, at least read the comment from the person I was replying to. I was responding to anotherdeadheros comment about going to a walk in centre, which I’m not doing because I don’t think that they will be able to prescribe anything, and will re-directed me to my GP.

I went to a walk in centre when I was coughing up blood, and I was diagnosed with a chest infection that needed antibiotics, and was told to go see my GP as they couldn’t prescribe any there. If they can’t do that, I’d be surprised if they would be willing to prescribe a treatment that in the past has involved a heart trace, blood pressure checks, and regular monitoring via blood tests.

@robdan: I’m annoyed that firstly it takes 48hrs to register before you can make an appointment at all, then secondly that they don’t have a facility to make an appointment in the future, and you have to ring up on the day to get one.

Ringing up on the day doesn’t bother me, I’m not that lazy, but it effectively turns it into a lottery as to whether you get an appointment or not for day. It baffles me why they can’t have appointments for non-urgent cases that you can book in advance. I don’t actually mind waiting, I’m just frustrated by the system these people have in place. I’d much rather know I had an appointment next Tuesday than gamble that they have one tomorrow. My boss is fairly understanding, but a large part of my job involves booking people in to visit me, so I can hardly dive off to a Drs appointment if someone has come halfway across the country to see me, or leave my diary empty “just in case” I get an appointment. (My diary is currently empty hence I’m at home, but I have a visitor on Thursday, so come hell or high water I need to be in.)

I have undergone a course of treatment with my last GP/PCT and it took a long time to get anyone to do something that actually worked rather than just give me something that deals with the symptoms. Now I’ve moved, and my problem has returned I’m expecting to have to go through it all again to get appropriate treatment. I may well be surprised but past experience says otherwise….

@Robinbetts: Fortunately, I’m not seriously ill, so I don’t need a hospital. I’m just venting because I’m frustrated and feeling rubbish.

@ Robdob: I love the way you assume that I have man-flu or similar without me actually providing any symptoms at all. You are wrong, but I’m not going to give out my full medical history to you. Suffice to say that this problem has been ongoing for a long time, and doubt I’ll be surprised when I eventually get to see a GP. It’s easier for them to hand out pills like sweets than actually do something about my problem.

@s: No, not anything as serious as Man-flu.

@anotherdeadhero: I don’t think they’d be able to prescribe any suitable treatments.

@FunkyDunc: It’s the fault of the surgery manager that they have a stupid appointments procedure, and I have no idea why it would take 48 hrs to put me on a computer system. They have my NHS number, contact details for my last GP, proof of my address etc. They say it will take over 10 days to get my notes shipped across from the last place, so its not like they’re waiting on them. This 48 hr period doesn’t seem to serve any useful porpoise unless it compensates for slow typing by a secretary.

you need to add the [/ img] tag (but without the space…

so it reads

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc393/steveo48/th_CIMG0526%5B/ img]

The full version of Alpinequest lets you store as many maps as you like, and tracks your routes too. Only the free one has the limitations you’ve stated.

That’s a great present.

My father decided that what I really needed for Christmas was a radiator key, which he presented to me in a ring box…..

It’s a forecast. Forecasts are a prediction. Not an absolute certainty.

The models used to attempt to predict the weather are hugely complicated, and don’t cover all the potential atmospheric, ground and sea conditions that can affect the outcome.

Thanks.

I was just wanting to avoid bars and liked the idea of having a door I could open to play with the little buggers. I’m not a massive fan of the fish tank type enclosures that seem popular. I guess I’m being to demanding!

Cheers for that.

It doesn’t sound like it’s really suitable. 😥

I think I’m going to have to go with a fish tank type arrangement

I accidentally gave a home made mince pie to a hindu lady at work.

It contained beef suit and beef lard.

I’m think this classifies me in the bad man category, and probably means going to hindu hell to be regularly mutilated by cows…..

August last year to have my heart cooked by a dwarf 😀

I’m fine now

The longer answer, yes, but it only really comes in later in the game

CVG article

They have released a patch for damage in online modes the other day.

What do you put on your description?

I’ve been completly honest

(crap) mountain biker
(crap) climber
6ft 2, carrying a few extra pounds
Face for radio
Nerd
Well read (All the Mr Men books and most of the “Spot the dog” series)
🙂

You won’t need to install any software on your computer for the router.

To start with, if you go to control panel and then into the “Network and Sharing centre” you should see a connection listed for your old modem. If you right click, and disable this.

You may then need to set a new connection, and configure this to use the wireless on the laptop to connect to the router.

Once you’ve set this up, you’ll need to log on to the router using internet explorer, and configure this for your ISP.

Once you’ve done all this, you should have access to the internet again.

It’s long enough for full length front and rear on an 18″ mmmbop frame, with a bit spare.

BigButSlimmerBloke – Member
….
Also, if you have a pacemaker, a 3T MR scanner can rip it out.

Can you show some evidence for this? Pacemakers are non-magnetic.

The reason you should stay out of a magnetic field if you’re fitted with one is that you can generate a current in the leads connecting the pacemaker to the heart as you move about in a field. This can cause a change in the generated heart beat, or heating of the wires leading to tissue damage.

Covalent octahedral Fe(III) Na polymers align in magnetic fields, and have a D that can be measured directly from the aligned spectrum at 96GHz

So far I’ve been growing a full beard, I am now at the point of needing to “Free the ‘tash” as it were…..

I welcome any suggestions of the style in which I should shape my face caterpillar?

I work as as technician to a national scientific service.

It’s amazing how many people assume I’m Dr Dan. About 90% of the stuff that gets sent to me is addressed to Dr Dan.

I have a 3rd class degree to my name (which I struggle to spell correctly most of the time) and can’t do basic maths in my head. Woo!

It makes me wonder how easy it would be to fake being a Dr (not a medical one..)

I had something similar from a bus a while ago.

I emailed the company very politely explaining what happened and got a fairly generic response of :

I am writing in response to your complaint date the 29th October 2010 regarding an incident with one of our buses operating along Palatine Road.

I was extremely shocked to read the details of your e-mail. The safety of our passengers and other road users is Stagecoach’s top priority. To this end all of our drivers receive extensive training and we also undertake regular driving assessments. The driver in question will be seen in line with internal company procedures in order to prevent a reoccurrence.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for bringing the matter to my attention and apologise on behalf of Stagecoach Manchester for any inconvenience and distress that this incident caused you.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. If you do not feel that your concerns have been satisfactorily addressed within this response, we would like you to write to us at the following address and let us know why:

I don’t actually feel any better for having done it, and the driver and “customer service” will probably have had a good laugh at a w**nker of a militant cyclist. The regularity of these things happening makes me wonder if I’m just a crap cyclist, or whether the bus drivers have a game of “how many cyclists can I cause to take evasive action/intimidate”

I wasn’t expecting to see this thread reselected!

In the end I opted for a deore chainset and hub, slx shifters and rear derailure to go with revelation team 120-140, SLX brakes and truvativ Hussefelt finishing kit (40mm stem)

I love this bike, it’s so much fun. Every time I point it downhill I get a silly grin on my face.

Not best picture in the world….

@missingfrontallobe

What makes you belive that your aspartame intake was responsible for your tumour?

I was under the impression that the few studies claiming a link between aspartame and cancer had been largely discredited.

Here’s the link to the original….

It’s off a camera phone, so it’s not the greatest quality
Picture

Minch moor was lovely today 😀

Had a brilliant weekend up at Glentress Saturday, and Innerleithen was “fun” in the snow today.

SLX brakes use less than 50ml for a complete change of juice.
I’ve stopped using the shimano stuff in preference to this

Mineral oil motorcycle clutch fluid

which does exactly the same job, and comes in a more tasteful yellow colour rather than pink (if that sort of thing bothers you!) 😀

BSc in Chemistry at Manchester. 98-2002. Liked it so much I got a job here!

I did pretty badly with my degree because I “discovered” climbing and drinking and found these to be more exciting than my chosen subject.

I don’t regret a second of it though, even though I only have a 3rd despite being much more capable, the friends, and experiences where amazing!

There should be a key combination like “function” and F5 that you need to press to get it to switch outputs. Other than that, just plug in and away you go.