I dont get involved in.these threads nowadays as all opinions are already strongly held and unchangable.
Howver i left a well paid private sector job aged 33 to train as a nurse as i wanted to make adifference to the livesof others. To this end i workextremely hard wih dwindling resources and support.
It really pisses me off that to many of you on here i am a lazy, greedy, overpaid and useless piece of shit not worthy to exist in the same society as you.
I really should consider heading back into my old trade, ut would certainly be better paid and, of course, polymers and resins are far more important than public service, after all it does contibute to the economy.

We could save a bloody fortune if people educated their own kids, looked after their own relatives when ill, old or infirm, sorted their own bins, maintained the stretch of road outside their own house, stopped wasting doctors time with a cold, stopped turning up at A and E Monday morning cos they don’t want to go to work, tolerated many minor ailments and infirmaties our ancestors had to rather than expecting increased levels of care etc.

To be honest even if someone tried to take me for all my money for stopping to help a two year who had been run over, I still would help. Its the right thing to do.

I suppose the fact is that that is easier to say in a country with reasonable standards of law and legal recourse. Also, being sued in the UK does not mean your children will end up on the streets begging for food or becoming prostitutes (possibly with you pimping them) with no health provision or state assistance until they die prematurely.

The sad fact is that in many nations getting involved could put you in that scenario.

It is harder to understand in our secure western states.

Yep, had cars nearly run my feet over and sound their horns at me to move when i was knelt giving cpr to an old lady who had been hit by a car. Not really that much different here.

Hope so.

Will never buy marzocchi again, was seduced by their claims of improved reliability but the proof is not in the pudding.

LoCo, not fitted them yet, just got them back.

Bought forks about 8 weeks ago, fine for 4 rides then started creaking badly, returned under warranty and uppers replaced. Rode for one short ride and developed loads of play (felt like the front of the bike was falling off), returned again under warranty, lowers found to be faulty and full new set of forks sent.

Just worried I’m gonna fit them, have a couple of rides then have to start the returns process all over again.

Also, how much play is classed as ok?

On the third set of replacement Marzocchi 44’s and brand new out of the box I can hold the lower in one hand and the steerer in the other and get a little movement/knocking. Given that they are brand new and I got them as the bushings seemed to fail totally on the others (one ride after the uppers were replaced under warranty), should they have any play at all?

Compared to a set of 2005 Rockshox Pikes which have only just developed play the new Bombers have more play.

Do you mean you can’t unscrew it? If so it might be the same problem as mine.

Check that the cones which do the expanding are releasing properly and popping loose when you undo the QR bit. If not then fully unscrew the QR and use it to waggle the cones so they release.

HTH

I’m a fair bit older than you (46), and can confirm that riding a hardtail leads to more aches than it used to.

However, you seem to have put a fair bit of work in on the day above, perhaps significantly more than usual?

I have a suss bike now for most rides but still like the rigid once in a while.

So should i get more pay if less people die when i’m working OR less pay if I manage to kill most of them?

Z11

It’s fair to say that unions have not always been paragons of virtue but I reckon that overall the majority of us are much better off because of them.

If I really believed that employers would not slowly march us back to the bad old days of exploitation then I would call for union disbandment tomorrow.

However I am not that trusting.

I’m working on it.

My wife and I are both Nurses and our ‘customers’ must be a lying bunch of *****.

To our faces they tell us how wonderful we are and that we are not paid enough.

Behind our backs they come on STW and say we’re overpaid, overpensioned and underworked. 🙂

On par with Port Erin.

So long as you are the domineering type.

kimbers Nope,

Definately all the fault of socialist ideas and public sector workers.

There seems to be a strong vibe on here that capitalism is wonderful and the ‘cure’ for all ills. As such it is black or white.

I’m not saying it would be my personal choice (it wouldn’t) but everyone calling for cuts so long as its not the bits they use that are cut is a ridiculous.

Either have public services or don’t.

It seems to me that most, if not all, developed nations pay out more than they take in, and economists seem to not have a problem with this most of the time – doesn’t make much sense to me but there you go.

If, as Z11 says, we have reached a point where our total lifestyle and structure are unsustainable, then perhaps we should disband all public services immediately.

You want your bins emptying, do it yourself or pay someone. You want the roads fixed – get on with it. You want a doctor – cough up the cash.

Pure capitalism – job fixed. If it needs doing then it will get done and paid for by those who want it.

I was thinking more about friends of mine who, on the whole, earn significantly more than me but think ‘sod it, I’m enjoying my money now’. I couldn’t speak for others in the public or private sector cos I don’t know them.

Me and my wife are both nurses so will have a double whammy of pay freeze and increased pension contributions.

Given that when we made the contract to enter the pension scheme it was for current terms and not the proposed onces, I think it would be fairest if we were offered the amounts we have put in back and then we could leave the scheme completely.

That way I could enjoy all my money now whilst reasonably healthy and let the state pick up the tab in benefits when I’m too old/ill to work, which seems to be the plan of many in the private sector.

Glad to see you’re wearing a Mleh top on the banner pic.

Make sure the lads don’t drink all that beer Dave’s made before I get there tomorrow.

eating a five-course meal that’s been made entirely from Haribo Tangfastics. And the problem is??

Or indeed if the bed has to be dismantled and stacked against the wall to fit.

Go to the **** doctors

Cheers fellas,

off the the Isle of Man for the End to End using the Revelations I’ve nicked off my sons bike,so will call Merlin after the weekend.

Yeah, bought online and spent less than I’d of liked really but money was tight – looks like a bit of a false economy now. LBS and Rockshox next time, methinks.

That’s the plan but wondered if there was an acceptable level of play. They may just look at them and say it’s within tolerance, although they are much looser than with the original uppers.

Also a bit pee’d off that I am gonna have to post them back again for another £12-15 quid.

Nick, Debs says I’m not allowed a 5 cos of my OCD for a completely silent bike.

I’m off to do the End to End this weekend, visiting in-laws the weekend after, then camping in the Lakes the weekend after that.

How about a tour of the cheeky stuff at Delamere 8th or 9th October, could invite Jonny and his missus and Stu.

I’ve got some Orange 5 stickers, gonna call them and ask for a bike to put them on.

I’m a community nurse and I expect that I would get a longer sentence than that if I defrauded the tax payer out of £14k on my expenses.

And I’ve supported people with diagnosed learning disabilities who have recieved longer sentences for relatively minor crimes.

Jeez, someone’s dumped loads of rubbish outside those nice peoples caravans – surely the council should clear that up.

Wish I was tough enough to not check the weather forecasts and ignore gales when traversing the Lakeland Fells.

Was planning on camping at Torver on Friday night then spending a long day on and around Coniston Old Man and the surrounding hills.

Given that the lady at the campsite has contacted me to say that they are closed due to the waterlogged state of the site, and that MWIS has forecast 80 mph winds at the summit and low cloud, I may give it a miss.

Of course all the tough guys will still be out on the fells.

Wish they hadn’t privatised BP, licence to print money right there.

Fair enough, although it was being touted as a near perfect system but seemed to have areas which concerned me.

I’d still like to know if anyone can tell me:

1.In Singapore does everone get instant access to surgery/procedures once a diagnosis is established.

2. What happens once your allocated pot of money has been exhausted as per the figures I quoted from the Singapore Minisrty of Health eg Lung cancer with complications – you have enough money for 7.7 nights in hospital. What happens once you’ve had your 7.7 nights of treatment?

Many Managers within the NHS tend to think of their organisations agenda and profile first, their next job next, the patients after that, and their employees last.

That sounds more than a little familiar.

* PS – what do you call people who come from Nigg?

Nigglerites

Singapore is not comparative, they have very low unemployment (between 1 and 2% iirc) which is a figure that can be counted as transitory, a large migratory work force that do not have the same entitlements as citizens.

But it was being used as a shining example of best practice compared to the NHS.

I am a Nurse but really don’t care if the whole system is disbanded if what it is replaced with is better, and if that meant everyone paying a bit more then bring it on I say. I work with people with learning disabilities and if you think your access to care is poor you ain’t seen nothing. I spend all day every day fighting the system on behalf of my patients, often with poor results.

I am also, at times, a patient and have seen examples of both excellent and appalling practice. My wife is also a Nurse and sometimes comes home in tears through frustration – she is also ill at the moment and, to date, has recieved good care.

There seems to be a perception that if you work in the NHS you love the system and think it should be protected whatever. On the other hand we have folk who believe that capitalism is king and will solve all ills.

Me, I just want the best cos at some point I may really need healthcare and I don’t want it to be shit.

SO DOES EVERYONE IN SINGAPORE GET THE SURGERY THEY NEED WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF DIAGNOSIS IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR INCOME, SAVINGS, ABILITY TO PAY??

Ah, its getting a bit clearer now I’ve looked on the Singapore Minitry of Health site, it’s tiered system where some is state funded and some via medical insurance.

From the listings they provide it seems that if you had lung cancer with complications then your pot of money would provide 7.7 days of hospital care before it ran out, or use 2/3rds of your allocated pot of money for a 6 day stay for a stroke.

Not sure what happens once this pot of money has gone though.

mcboo,

So how would you set up a system so that everybody got their operation immediately?

I would really buy into that system but can’t see how it would work.

Does everyone under the Singapore system get their operation within a day or two of diagnosis? If so, then hell yes we need their methodolgy and I don’t care if its private or otherwise.