If you’d like some great reading about the Tour Divide and to help the college fund of the daughter of the late Dave Blumenthal who died on last year’s TD, please head over to

http://bit.ly/l9QugX

Cool, thanks for the link. Bought a copy.

Portal 2: was great fun, still not got around to doing co-op yet, but definitely recommended.
Gears of War2: Spent so much time with buddies online, looking forward to the next instalment.
Oblivion: Just started playing through again, but it’s showing it’s age and I’m already getting bored of listening to the same 6 character voices!
Dirt 2: Ace game for just picking up and playing.
Fallout 3: Enjoyable overall, but keep getting my butt kicked out in the wastelands and it’s just a bit too brown for my liking!
Trials HD: Brilliant game on xbox arcade. Even better if you keep nudging in front of your mates on leaderboards. Never long before they’re trying to outdo you 😉
Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Massive fan of the first 2 games, so really looking forward to this one. Looks amazing…

Awesome! 😀

Bushwacked – Two things I found incredibly helpful when I was having issues not unlike yours were low doses of antidepressants (amitriptyline) and swimming.

If you can get your arse down to a local pool a few times a week and are physically able to stay afloat then I would recommend swimming above all else. You can work on strength, cardio vascular fitness and stamina without having to push yourself too hard.

If you can only manage 1 length or just float about and splash a bit, then no problem. Next time just set your goal a tiny bit higher. Before you know it 2 months down the line you will feel so much better. Just don’t overdo it.

Combined with a low dose of antidepressants I think it’s a good way of getting back on track.

Best of luck mate.

Guy at work has an Abarth Esseesse. Looks very nice and has a lovely exhaust note. Although I think the Cooper S is rated more highly for handling. The Esseesse is definitely not a hairdresser’s car imho!

nice job with the shadows there

ta muchly 🙂

Here you go… 😆

And one day ‘off’ a week for a ‘normal healthy menu’ with carbs/treats as you like

Sounds a bit like the Butterfield Diet… 😆

Can’t really help with your questions, other than to say that I bought and unlocked a San Francisco last weekend and it’s bloody ace! I can’t believe how good the screen and the quality of phone actually is, regardless of price.

Android app market will no doubt be your new best friend… enjoy!

Quake3 is a very good call. In fact, it’s now free via Quake Live…and it runs in your browser…doesn’t get much better than that

http://www.quakelive.com/#!home

Be prepared for it to affect your renewal premium whatever even if your no claims are protected.

Exactly. I was in the identical scenario mentioned above. Slow moving traffic, end of a queue. Postie in his van was late on his round, concentrating on something on his lap and comes steaming up behind at about 30+mph. I still have 8 years no claims, no points, no actual claims to my own insurer, but my premium went up by about 5%.

I would personally try to avoid dealing with insurance companies if the other party is willing.

It’s all very well clicking a few buttons for an online petition (which I’ve done and also encouraged others to do), but realistically where is that really going to get us?

I would urge anyone with not just a personal interest, but also with an interest in protecting access for our children and grandchildren, to write to their local MP. If apathy reigns then we will likely lose the access we currently enjoy. A few online clicks for a petition is unlikely to change that. But write to your local MP and we stand a better chance. This page puts together some useful points about half way down.

It needs more than just a few people going ‘oh someone else will do it’. No. It needs ALL OF US. 😐

Christowkid – Cheers. Not seen this particular link, so will check it out later.

druidh – Rather pointless response, no?

I’ve used Sound Juicer for the last couple of years and find it works really well. You should be able to change to mp3 in the preferences.

I’ve never played WoW, for the simple reason that it looks like pure gamer crack!

Battle for Wesnoth is a fun, free and surprisingly addictive strategy game that will run on just about anything. Probably won’t push your new computer tbh!

http://www.wesnoth.org/

No worries Binners 😆

Don’t feather it. It looks crap. Always.

Sorry mate, but disagree. Feather is exactly the ticket here for smoke imho.

Do your cutout, either manually with the lasso or auto with the magic wand and fine tune the edges with the Refine Edge option. The feather option will be useful in this instance.

There will no doubt be some jiggery pokery required, you might also have to use and mask several layers to get the effect you are after. Using ‘Screen’ as a transparency effect on the smoke layer may help it when it sits on your new background.

With some effort it is no doubt possible to do exactly what you want.

If you’re looking online, the imuso bunch are really helpful and they do some really good deals on guitars and musical instruments
Acoustic Guitars

Is it just me that views wheels as disposable?

Whats the point in ‘futureproofing’ your hubs when in all likelyhood the forks will outlast the rims.

Yes, good wheels, especially hubs, should as long as a pair of forks if not longer. Fork technology moves on quickly, whereas wheel technology, save for incorporating disc brakes, has not changed a great deal in the last 10 years.

b r mentions axle options which are the only significant area of change afaik.

Big Dummy and Badly Wired Dog have had me in stitches on numerous occasions…

Mr Nutt and Elfin also very worthy of a pat on the back…

It’s quite nice. I guess the concept is a hybrid that’s not boring. So it pretty much ticks the boxes.

However, if the combined economy is 56mpg, with lukewarm performance, it doesn’t seem particularly earth shattering …

I went and looked at the mtb course a couple of years ago. Struck me as very pro cyclo-cross, basically a few tracks around some fields and a bit of woodland.

It also looked as if it got very muddy, although was drying out when I visited.

Not sure about the family element.

I really enjoyed the film, but it’s a shame that they didn’t get more of Alan et al. They seem like they had a blast and would have added value. The budget wasn’t available for the extra film crew at the time afaik.

Otherwise an excellent documentary.

FYI – I think it is only available on Youtube for a short period. Mary Collier tweeted that it is being taken down tomorrow…

I think it looks stunning. If it drives well then sales will be good, I’m sure.

lol@IanMunro very true! On reflection I’m not sure I like the interior a great deal compared to the exterior lines.

I had a look over the pics at lunchtime. Definitely a trip I would like to do before long.

Sorry to hear about your partner having to head back early, but i guess she got a taster.

Jeez, talk about making a mountain out of a molehill here!

You’d know if there were structural issues with a badly worn fork, due to play, sloppiness and no doubt creaking or similar audible indication.

I think some of the posters need to tame their overactive imagination, heed their own advice and ‘get a grip’.

OP- Best thing you can do is take them apart and see how they have fared.

My ex-partner used to keep rats – I can only echo what has been mentioned above…

Great characters, highly amusing and they get very attached to owners.

Life expectancy is about 2-3 years as they invariably succumb to tumors of one type or another.

Best to buy at least 2, 3 is better as they are sociable animals. They do need interaction with owners, pretty much on a daily basis to get the most from them. I think 20-30 minutes per day is a good amount of time for them to be playing or be handled.

EDIT – Double post…

IMB has a useful swinley guide with a few gpx routes at the end of the article, although you will need a 1:25k gps to get the best out of it.

http://www.imbikemag.com/issue4/

Go and speak to the Pedal On boys who will give you some pointers on some local stuff.

If you want a decent ride then cycle out to the Kingsclere downs (about 5 miles away). Here’s one route after a quick check online: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/cycling/cycling-route-finder/cycling-watership-down.htm

I probably have a gpx of a good ride I did a couple of years ago taking in the downs and surrounding area when staying at my parents place. Drop me a line if you want it and I will have a look.

Otherwise Swinley is the nearest place if you are averse to (albeit good) bridleway type riding.

He can use this… http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/logo/rockshox-pike

It's a vector format similar to a pdf… 🙂

Ta! 😆

The Foehn & Hirsch TV's on ebuyer get good feedback. They come with 3 years warranty so might be worth a look? Good on value too.

Giant XTC Advanced 3 is another.

Those Orbeas look really tasty too…

6 Weeks

Although mine took 4 months to get sorted due the dyslexic salesman at the dealership 🙁

Wow… what a stunning shot! 🙂

Stumpy – Sorted – Big Thanks!

Slider – Cheers for the tip. Hopefully we'll have some energy left after exploring the Brandon side for at least the black!

Cheers Stumpy, would appreciate that – YGM.

Thanks guys.

Come to think of it, I believe the routes I rode were back in 06 and mostly over the Brandon Country Park side.

I seem to remember it covered a surprisingly large area, with trails going off left, right and centre… some exploring seems to be in order, but if anyone has some gps routes then that would really help me out.

Cheers.