cheerios in the US are rank – really salty

I won’t be getting deore hubs again – as soon as they need adjustment they just seem to become a pain.

if it was me I would find a little extra for the wheels – hope hoops are very good for the money

and brakes – SLX are very, very good and can often be picked up cheap from places like Merlin

The problem is I think that Pop/ Rock/ Jazz / Dance music are all now very mature forms – all the big advances happened 40/50/60 years ago

Music continues to evolve – but in small ways year on year. It’s unrealistic to expect big noticable advances from individual artists.

Doesn’t mean we can’t stop listening to new music though – all that matters to me is if I’m enjoying listening to it or not

one thing I find to be useful when talking to a small child is to get down to their level – so you have the same eyeline – and make sure they are looking you in the eye when you speak to them. I make sure I have their full atention by saying “are you listening to me” and waiting until they say yes before I say what I have to say.

I’m not sure if its a conscious thing or not – but kids seem to find it very easy to ignore what an adult is saying to them (if they don’t like what it is you are saying).

or just check their mobile when they’re having a bath….

and if they take their mobile into the bathroom with them, you know they’re having an affair

agree with flat bars if the route is mainly urban, traffic, lots of stopping and starting

drops if its more rural “open roads” where you might benefit from being able to get more “aero” – makes a difference if you are riding home into a headwind

frame that will take proper full length guards (although I have used crud catcher race guards on my road bike for the last couple of years and they are very good)

700cc – tyre choice will depend on route

looking for an ambitious man = looking for someone with lots of money

romantic = you will take me somewhere expensive and you will be paying

“I have a passion for travelling” = I like going on holiday

“looking for a partner in crime” (which is used a stupidly high amount) = the closest I have got to illegal activity is crossing the road when the little man was still red

“I have an amazing group of friends” = my friends are now all married with kids and I’m feeling lonely and desperate

nice – I used to have a fender blues deluxe which was pretty nice, but I got rid of it as it was far too loud for home use (as valve amps need to be cranked really) and I was no longer in a band

I prefer to use digital modelling type stuff at home (used a Line 6 POD for years, but now using Amplitube on the iPhone).

I would like to start another band though – and I very much would like to get a Fender Deluxe Reverb to use with that band

Liz: I don’t want to hear about your job, Dennis.
Dennis: One word: coffee. One problem: where do you get it?
Liz: Anywhere! You get it anywhere!
Dennis: Wrong! You get it at my coffee vending machine. 38th & 6th in the basement of the K-Mart. You just go downstairs, you get the key from David and BOOM! You plug in the machine and…
Liz: You’re done.

sorry – but it makes me laugh

Remember watching VIDEODROME years ago ,anybody else seem it .

yes – great but very odd film

I wish that Alex Cox’s Moviedrome (or something like it) would come back – odd/ cult films but with an introduction to put everything in context. i don’t understand why Film4 don’t have a regular slot like it

i have torn sidewalls in the past – make sure you ride with tyre boots and spare tubes handy

I find the “snakeskin” versions to be tougher in the sidewall

But don’t stress about it – the weight saving will be worth it. And after the tear I have kept the boot in, stuck up the tear with superglue and kept using the tyre

slightly different to your situation in that kids and property are involved in my case

but we agreed a financial (and childcare) agreement between us – and got a “Deed Of Sepration” (which outlines what we have agreed) drawn up for a couple of hundred quid.

When two years have passed I intyend to attempt a DIY divorce. I understand the cruical part is getting a document which ties up all the financial stuff completely – and leaves no room for eigher party to come back and ask for more after the divorce. I won’t consider myslef divorced until this has happened.

I went to see a regular solicitor first – who advised divorce on grounds of unreasonable behaviour. TBH her attitude terrified me – I just saw a long future of stress, fighting, upset children and huge amounts of money going to solicitors.

I decided to just suck it up – make her a (probably way over) generous offer (so she wouldn’t have to sell the house, and the kids wouldn’t be disrupted too much), and move on. Its only money after all, and my kids and my happiness are worth more than that.

If after talking to her though – if she won’t get rid of her lawyer, you have no choice but to get your own

I dabble with screenplays – but I am lazy

my workrate is currently one per decade (sort of)

90s tick
00s fail
10s working on it

I loved Blue Valentine

this is an interesting piece on it, I agree with him

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/feb/06/blue-valentine-modern-marriage?INTCMP=SRCH

i’m going to go and see Source Code on Friday – which is the new film by the Director of “Moon”, Duncan Jones (or Zowie Bowie as I prefer to call him)

Based on something I read I am going to see it having avoided all reviews and synopsis – so I have no idea what it is about. I am told this will enhance my enjoyment of the film, so I’m looking forward to it.

if you want to have lots of music/ films/ photos etc on them then as much as possible – my 32gig itouch and iphone are now pretty much full and I have to limit how much music I put on

if you just want to use it for the apps – and accessing content stored on your network via wi-fi then not very much

mine is built up as a town bike

hand me down part, flat bars, single speed, full guards, flats – head badge removed and “roadrat” text covered with an old inner tube so it hopefully doesn’t stand out when left locked up

one day I might make it more of a utilitarian all rounder by adding a hub gear and a few lighter/ nicer parts.

The answer was a blunt no way. So what do you do? Walk away from your kids?

it sounds very much that you are unhappy and this extends beyond the whole money thing. I had a similar situation with my ex – as she started to earn more (after earning little or nothing when the kids were younger) it felt like she was paying for very little, keeping most of her money for herself – whilst I continued to pay for most of the household expenses. It wad very difficult to talk to her about it because she had a “head in the sand” approach to money – and was always overdrawn at the end of the month with very little to show for it.

We didn’t split up because of money – other stuff was far more significant, but I think having a compatible approach to money management is important, because an incompatible approach can lead to resentment. I agree that you and your wife need to try and start communicating more effectively

The thing is though there is far more to it than that. Anyone can knock out a 3 or 4 chord trick. Somehow taking that trick and turning it into “don’t stop believing” is so hard it can’t really be taught. Most songwriters feel that songs are almost delivered to them – IMO if you start applying method to it the whe thing falls apart

You own approximately one tenth of what I do

you own 10x more sofa’s than anyone has any business to though!

does it have to be so black and white?

my kids stay with me 3 nights a week – and with my ex the other 4.

I love my kids – but TBH I’m grateful not to have them every night, I need a “grown-up” life too.

This is obviously not so easy if they want to live a significant distance away from each other

I have noticed that I can get a bit wheezy after drinking red sometimes – think I’m allergic to something in it which is a shame cos I like it

Matt Damon is excellent in True Grit, and The Informant! – I really rate him these days

i jjust got an airstick SL too – just tested it at home so far, but does seem very good

I would have a separate inflator and pump – just feels “safer”.

he is good in Insomnia – seems to be making less films these days. i know he made another film with DeNiro recently (not Heat) – reviews were so bad that I can’t bare to watch it

agree Davil’s Advocate is awful, and Carlito’s way is completly brills

do you have special acme pockets in your racing tops

yes, basically. “proper” jersies have 3 big, really pretty stretchy pockets in which lots of food, waterproofs, tools etc can be stuffed

Personally I prefer to have multi tool and 2x tubes in a small saddle bag, a small pump attached to frame. Pockets for food/ keys/ money/ phone/ CO2 and waterproof/ gilet

Tom Cruise is actually a very good actor – he just gets up people’s noses because he specialises in playing cocky, arogant, alpha male types (this is taken to its logical conclusion with his part in Magnolia).

As for the over actors – this is not always their fault. Al Pacino is more than capable of giving a subtle performance (see Godfather 1 and 2) – it’s just that after Scarface every director decided they wanted “crazy Al”,all the downplayed takes probably get left on the cutting room floor. I expect he’s bored of it too.

Charlie from Casualty doesn’t look anyone in the eye – I can’t work out if he is a good actor playing someone who can’t look anyone in the eye, or a bad actor who can’t look anyone in the eye

And if it’s dry and hardbaked make sure you have the time and the means to fix lots of pinch punctures

presumably only a foot fetishist would get a job as a foot doctor – so as you spend your entire working day getting off on touching grotty feet you are in no position to judge anyone 🙂

thanks for the list – gives me something to aim for, even if the bank balance isn’t up to it right now!

looking lovely John

looks very very nice, I would like to get my soul down to a similar weight (although obviously just under a pound heavier).

Is that a small or a medium?

Could you possibly give us a geeky list of all the components?

stevious – I think there was a new version of office for mac released fairly recently (like last year)

It’s possible some people are commenting on the last version (which seems fine to me, although is slightly “different” – i’m not a heavy enough user to judge though really – it does seem slow to start up).

I would google for reviews of the latest version – someone is bound to have done some proper direct comparisons

Iphone 4 GPS battery life is very good

If I’m doing a long ride I will make sure Wifi and network data are switched off though

having said that I only use it to track miles ridden etc via cyclemater – I don;t use it for navigation. The more you switch the screen on during a ride to check your route, the worse the battery life will be. And I wouldn’t be mounting my phone on my bike

new electrics

but not normal tele ones – make it a “rock” tele with twin humbuckers

Dionne Warwick isn’t motown

nor is midnight train to georgia – just saying like

please mr postman
dancing in the street
you keep me hangin on
when you’re young and in love by the marvelettes is a corker
love child by diana ross is a bit good

got it up and running now – pretty good actually. Only 3 bars on the phone and I’ve got utube going etc. nice

I’m on 3

I’ll try and test it this weekend

Having said that 3G signal to my house is pretty poor (generally fine when out and about). Probably worth borrowing a dongle or something if you can first to see how usable the 3G signal is at your house