sea bands actually work.
no idea how
wife used them for morning sickness

I was in the mobile and memory card "herd" till I got an iphone 12 months ago. The argument was that my camera phone with 5MP camera, video camera, 3G, mobile internet, email, 8Gig memory card, etc did everything an iphone did for a lot less money. I have now changed my tune and am a member of the iphone "herd". It doesn't play any more songs or sound any better, its just nicer to use. Therefore you make more use of it. Yes you can get better VFM mp3 players than apple make, in terms of £/GB but apple does ergonomics/intuitivity (is that a word?) better than anyone else. Worth the premium.
Those fm transmitter things are ok but a car stereo with aux-in is much better.

hope legendary CS replied in 3 mins and here is the said item

Thanks for that think I'll email hope.

Recent reviews of the hope 4 have mentioned headtorch mount now included.
Can anyone confirm this. tried google no help? Will it be available aftermarket. Have often though it would make a good head torch for camping/nocturnal al fresco fettling

d'oh- both
post is "DH" bars and stem are "AM"
So a £53 post for £31.47
sorry too late to edit I think

Personally I thought the lad with a tash was probably a stooge.
The whole thing looked scripted to me. The way he put is arm around/over May's shoulder, just looked fake. All 3 presenters looked like cocks in that section.
You have to accept TG for what it is. Playground humour with a loosely car based theme.
No such thing as bad publicity of course though is there

Square taper BBs seem to last longer for me, and I'm running meagre LX cranks. Problem is sourcing chainrings when they wear out. Just transpanted the whole drivetrain to a new frame and it's still running smooth. I've had to replace 2 or 3 square taper BBs since 1994 I think
Since 2006 I had an ISIS that lasted 2 years (but was really really **** when replaced- huge play in the bearings) , a HT2 (shimano) that lasted 6 months (seized after one winter) and have now got a hope ceramic HT2 that is still very smooth but hasn't done a winter yet.
Like so many things in life "progress" isn't necessarily better for joe public, it's just a way of flogging more stuff.

The idea of holistic practice is not something that is the sole preserve of alternative therapists. Trainee GPs are marked in their exams and continuous assessments on several "competencies" eg clinical management, decision making, working as a team etc etc. The first one on the list is "Practising Holistically", which is why it irks the medical profession so much that people set themselves up as "holistic therapists" as if this is some separate speciality that isn't practised in mainstream medicine. GPs are holistic practitioners, it's just the type of "holism" is different- concentrating on psychological/social factors rather than meridians. It's still holistic.

On the other hand, you'd be a fool to think there wasn't a placebo affect at play in traditional "scientific" treatments.

A popular premium brand of strong pain killer comes as a red and white capsule. Why does the drug company choose that formulation? Red and white capsules are more likely to ease pain than a plain white tablet. Patients ask for the branded tabs because they genuinely feel they work better than the same drug in a different form. No science at all to explain it, pure placebo.
The placebo can be the doctor, we all like a good bedside manner yeah?
That's placebo/alt therapy etc at work. A nice chat cheers people up as much as a lot of pills.

If you applied the same sort of rigorous scientific study to lots of other areas of established medical/conventional therapy, you would probably get similar conclusions. It is surprising how little evidence there is sometimes.
The key thing is that people take on board the evidence and practice changes as a result of it.

Never said it was Dick.
Behavioural, cultural, genetic, medical, all sorts of reasons.
They key thing is avoidance of obesity (lovely phrase!) is really important in prevention of lots of health problems.
I remember a talk I attended about 18/12 ago on obesity given by the local spokesperson for the national obesity forum, a local GP who I have known for 20yrs since medical school. He made a very good point against the argument that we shouldn't treat obesity medically as it is a "social problem". He simply pointed out that I had just had 12 weeks off from a mountain bike accident and that this was also clearly a "social problem" caused by my own poor decision making (night ride, crap lights) and that if the medical profession stopped treating "social problems" we would soon have not much to do…

I can't remember the exact terminology for them but there is a small raft of health issues that are all linked/related and Diabetes is a big player in it – not to say you need diabetes to have the rest but they are all linked in some way or another to do with your immune system – I think!

metabolic syndrome

There is, would you belive, a prof of complimentary medicine at peninsular medical school, exeter
he is medically trained as well
As far as I am aware, he publishes trials that show when there is a lack of benefit of complimentary medicine, as well as positive ones. As you can see from the links, they are busy bods, researching all sorts of potential uses for comp. therapy.
There may be other similarly renowned academics around the world.
I take your point though. Pfizer aren't interested.
Though the french love all that homeopathy stuff. To my shame I paid a french pharmacist several euros for homeopathic nonsense when my daughter broke her thumb skiing last year. Oh how we laughed in the chalet (5 GPs, 2 pharmacists and a paramedic) (prescribed a by a french doctor, luckily it wasn't a suppository for a change)

I know there are skinny diabetics. A mate of mine skinny as a barge pole no family history was diagnosed in his 30s.
But, and no offence is intended here, most diabetologists will tell you there is a definite link between type 2 diabetes and obesity. The link isn't if you are diabetic you are fat, it's if you are fat you have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
They way we are going it is quite a scary thought. 5% of adult population is diabetic and 95% of those are type 2. The fatter we get (as a population) the more diabetics, the bigger the drain on the nhs. My mum and her brother both typical type 2s. over weight, diagnosed in 50s/60s. I need to get rid of my beer gut now!

oh sorry gonefishin I misread your post thought you was saying life expectancy was better before western medicine
And as for nice- well they are principally interested in cost effectiveness are they not. Stuff can be proven effective and not endorsed by nice (ie expensive cancer drugs) but if not effective won't get endorsed by nice.
You have to realise also that the proof of effectiveness is basically is it better than placebo, so nice think acupuncture for low back pain is better than a placebo. Hard to prove with acupuncture- you can't easily do a placebo controlled trial cos people can tell if they have a needle sticking out of them. I believe they have used "sham acupuncture" as a comparison. ie sticking needles in randomly.
That is not saying that it will work for all people in all cases.
Example anti obesity drugs/stop smoking drugs endorsed by nice cos they are better than placebo. Does they work for every person every time? Not in the slightest.

Gonefishin- not sure what point your trying to make but my immediate thought in response to your assertion about life expectancy in china is that maybe with western medicine came western diets and habits.
That's why you need scientific trials, to exclude other likely factors that have caused the effect.
Oh and sorry about the phrase ancient chinese whatever. Just know medical acupuncturists aint the same as chinese acupuncturists
happy now?[/url]

Lay off the doc a bit for saying he didn't think he'd have it- it's called giving reassurance, trying to reduce anxiety! :wink:
Preferable to "my god you're right, don't start reading any long books, have you paid your life insurance premiums" surely?

Bl**dy hell. 48 posts in and nobody has mentioned Spike Island.

I did on the other thread. Stone roses weren't the worst part of the day for me though.

I saw the ting tings last year
talentless hype
I am 25 yrs older than their target audience though

These remain alternative therapies.

I think the preferred phrase is "complimentary therapy".
A GP friend of mine is a medical acupuncturist- 'twas her that needled my shoulder and instantly got rid of the pain. She uses a sound knowledge of anatomy and physiology to treat mostly musculoskeletal symptoms. The ancient chinese model of acupuncture is based on different theories- energy lines in the body, releasing the chi (or is it chai -no that's indian tea) etc. She tells me there are some bits of the chinese system that she uses, but when you look at them it's because it correlates with the anatomy.
What she doesn't do is stop people from smoking or help them lose weight with it. That just doesn't really work, or if it does its through the same methods as the other "therapies", nice bit of relaxation makes you feel all zen and helps you do it yourself.
You could of course argue that because of her western medical training she is incapable of fully taking on board the ancient chinese traditional model and that is a valid viewpoint.

I have also used AVG with no issues for years as well. better than paid for macafee or norton.
Does it run loads quicker without AVG?

Well countless crap bands that were never going to be big, but if we are talking established stars it has to be another Sheffield Arena gig- Lenny Kravitz probably 1993 ish. Pretended to storm off stage in a huff with the audience (happened samepoint in the set every night ).
Girlfriend managed to actually fall asleep…

I saw Van Morrison by accident at the point dublin in 1999ish. had gone on £5 ryanair flights, while there saw he was playing so got tix from a branch of HMV. decent tickets downstirs near the front. Met some yanks who had come all the way fro the US specially, booked months in advance, and their tickets were way way way up at the back.
Did we fell smug? Only a little bit.
Van the man was underwhelming actually.

this is run by the lady (Julie Colley) that organises the Hope Valley MTB Challenge every year[/url]
so should be Bike friendly.
You won't get a better location but not sure on prices/availablity
Tell her Rob Farmer sent you- it'll probably mean nothing to her!
In Hathersage, round the corner from the george

I too have had definite physical effects from acupuncture. Real pain relief. Unfortunately it didn't last long enough for it to be useful- would have needed daily needling.

One of the things that often amuses me is the "its herbal so it has no side effects" arguement I so often hear. So there are no poisonous herbs and no conventional medicines derived from herbs then? No didn't think so.

Of course this is all anecdote but in response to:

hear from people who've received complementary therapy and found it lacking or mis-sold rather

Read my initial long post on the first page. A patient of mine with terminal disease was sold a "cure" based on carrot juice. Morally bankrupt charlatan making a living off people in dire situations. I guess he gives all the good CAM therapists a bad name.
And I also had a patient who had a stroke caused by chiropractic- the practitioner managed to sever one of his vertebral arteries.

It's not all good and it's not all bad, but it could be either.

As TJ said an open mind is what is needed.

those pikes at merlin say out of stock?

I always thought the punchline was "a nurse"
but then I did have a very bad upbringning :oops:

i never said a thing to sugest that i had turned my back on medical help.

No, but I certainly got the impression you had no conventional treatment at all, sorry if that was a misunderstanding on my part.
I'm really glad that you've found something that you feel helps you keep healthy.
I'm no expert and crohns is still not completely understood but I think there has been some research into the role of probiotics/macrobiotics in crohns disease- conventional medicine may well prove you right on that one.
Will have to agree to diasagree on the other stuff though :wink:

D'oh! Just realised I put down I missed the stones cos I was too young.
Saw them don valley stadium 1993.
Unforgettable, clearly! :oops:

not ever?

so I take it you're on mesalazine or something similar then?

simonm speaks the truth
tptcruiser I take it you are joking right?

nonk- was it M.E?

I had a shiatsu massage once. On honeymoon at the dead sea. The guy was very nice, He dug his elbows into my back quite hard for a bit, then told me I had "weak kidneys".
Clever fella. I had had the usual bought of upset tum so was probably a bit dehydrated, so he was probably right.
Doesn't mean that Shiatsu is a valid evidence based treatment, it just means he knew most Europeans got a bit of dicky tum, and had clocked my dry lips.
But then I went into with a sceptical head on, it was all part of the experience, I had nothing to lose but a bit of cash.
I would worry when someone takes a problem to a complimentary therapist and is given the same sort of confident advice based on nothing more than an educated guess.
"Good" therapists are a bit like Derren Brown really if you ask me. Good people skills, able to spot what people want to hear and tell them that in a way that makes them feel better.

I think one of the differences between complimentary and conventional medicine is the openness of the establishment. Conventional medicine is constantly re-appraising its treatments and is quite happy to change advice in light of new research- lots of examples of drugs that stop being used after years of being "firstline" because new evidence tells us that they aren't as good as we once thought they were. Negative trials are published as well as positive ones, and guidelines look at all the available evidence as a whole.
I don't see that happening in complimentary medicine- or am I wrong?

Don't give up your day job, yet!
I know quite a few nurses who do this sort of thing- as a way to earn bits of extra cash- often starting off by getting the use of a room for say an hour a week, then building up from there gradually. If there is a local clinic that offers similar already enquire there- they will usually charge a fee for the room but do the appointment booking bits for you. It also helps to be affiliated with other paramedical specialities like physios and podiatrists (though I am concerned by your idea you might do a bit of "basic physio". You are either a trained accredited physiotherapist you are not.)
The problem they have had is that there just isn't enough business to do it as sole source of income.

Regarding the complimentary therapy therapy/placebo/quackery debate, I would recommend this as a good read:
by Nigella's late hubby
I have come across people being completely ripped off by complimentary therapists- one that sticks in the mind being a man in his 40's with an incurable brain tumour, naturally absolutely desperate, found a quack in London that convinced his family to try some sort of high strength carrot juice therapy- went the whole hog and told him he needed to stop all conventional treament and did brain CTs that he read himself and purported to show improvement. Made it difficult for his treating doctors. Naturally he died. Naturally the therapist made a lot of money.
And I see lots of old dears with bad arthritis sending off for magic cures out of the Sunday supplements, magnetic bracelets, etc. If they have already shelled out I tend to say "well if you think it's helping" If they haven't paid out I tell them there is probably no evidence and I wouldn't advice my old mum to spend her pension on one.
On the other hand a bit of soft lighting, nice smells, gentle rubbing, "ooh I can feel the tension", and an hour of me time seems harmless, makes you feel better, and is probably a reasonable experience in exchange for £50 or so if you have the spare cash.

One of the things in the book that I found quite telling is the idea that we do complimentary therapy all the time. When a child falls and grazes their knee you pick them up, rub it better, say there there, give them a hug and put a plaster on. That, my friends is top class grade A holistic complimentary therapy in action, and it generally works.
At least we are honest with kids, but with adults, the complimentary therapy lobby tries to baffle us with pseudoscience. It is what it is, rubbing people better.

I thought the best band at latitude this year were the gossip- by a long way.

I had my 8yr old on my shoulders for the whole of mika and we jumped up and down for an hour my neck hurt!

Almost forgot
Pretenders:
#1: 1987 cardiff arms park supporting U2 (the alarm also on the bill) Chrissie Hynde does things with a microphone that make a 17yr old from the midlands look at her differently…
#2: 2006 Cornbury music festival- radio2-tastic! Pimms tent and all. Went mainly cos a friend's brother now playing bass with pretenders- Chrissie Hynde reminds a 30something dad of 2 that she still has it!
#3: Latitude 2009. Yep she's still hot!
And now my kids like her too!

In roughly chronological order:
before I was born:
Beatles
Stones
etc
I was alive but too young:
Pistols
Clash
Blondie in their prime
The Jam
I was old enough but not cool enough:
The smiths
Joy division

The majority of bands of the last 20 years or so seem to have reformed if enough members still alive, so no excuses now (seen the specials and the beat in the last couple of yrs) although often the memory is tainted by the sight of 40something blokes trying to be 17..
Was lucky enough to have seen the stone roses in their pomp (spike island).
Agreed not exactly the best live band ever but not the worst. Main recollections of the day- gary clail/on u sound system having food thrown at them and going off in a huff. MC/announcer bigging up the scene in leeds/liverpool/sheffield. Me and my mate going – sheffield- its crap., we live there. Great fireworks at the end. nearly missing the bus back to sheff and contemplating kipping on the floor at runcorn station overnight.

Another vote for blue lines. Still listen to it regularly.
Saw massive attack again few weeks ago. Unfinished sympathy as last song?
Of course.
Also for me stone roses "eponymous debut"
Van Morrison Astral weeks
Beach Boys pet sounds
radiohead ok computer and the bends
Human League dare
Portishead dummy
spiritulaized lazer guided melodies
leftfield leftism
tricky maxinquaye and pre-millenium tension
primal scream screamadelica
sundays reading writing arithmetic
aha shake hearbreak kings of leon

i like songs me

carbon rigid forks

or

160mm coil sprung