When I used to go out to client it was a case by case decision whether to take my company car (BMW 320, nothing super fancy) or borrow one of my teams older/cheaper/smaller cars.

When negotiating fees, some clients would say “well that’s why you’re driving a BMW” whilst others would think you’re unsuccessful and small fry if you turned up in a 10 year old Ka. Superficial, but it *could* be a factor with certain businesses.

Personally I don’t give a stuff. Transactions like paying for a car wash are a value call. If it’s too much I’ll go somewhere else. Car choice of owners is not on the list.

A full re-test every 5-10 years? Good in theory, but expensive and intrusive.

I think there should be a two stage process.

1st stage: Eye test, reaction test, maybe some kind of hazard perception test. 5 mins tops, in, out, done.

If you fail this, then 2nd stage: Full re-test.

As the the schedule, maybe every 10 years up until 60, then 5 years, then 3 years, etc, etc. Once I’m 95 years old, I think a five min test every year to carry on driving is accetable.

The on your own part of it is part of the buzz.

Tell a mate/partner that you’re going and drop them a text when you get back. The first part might sound a bit wussy at first, but becomes second nature very quickly.

“going on a night ride round xxx tonight mate, I’ll text you at 10pm to say I’m not dead!”

“cheers, no probs”

“I’m not dead”

Helps if it’s a fellow rider, and in my experience people enjoy being the go-to trusted guy in such a thing.

Done!

This is a tough one having worked recently in Saudi.

Quite frankly he’s been unlucky/made a stupid mistake. The reason being is that the general consensus is to leave western expats to have some freedom when it comes to alcohol. Many compounds have bars in them and alcohol is brewed and drank freely. Don’t do it in public, don’t be drunk in public, don’t flaunt it (Facebook, etc). Out of sight, out of mind.

His mistake was to stick it in his car as car checkpoints are common. He will know this. Most of the time having a white face means you’re just waved through. They don’t usually search your car, but large containers easily seen in the boot/backseat are going to be looked at for obvious reasons. Then with 20 other police officers milling around, it’s very hard for Saudi PC Plod to show leniency.

A big issue, with locals and immigrants, is the huge hypocrisy when it comes to drinking, especially from the House of Saud.

There also may be other factors which is why he’s being treated how he is. Spouting off on social media, crossed the wrong person, etc. Also, his behaviour on arrest is a big thing, as is the outlook of the police captain he ended up in front of. I’m honestly not casting aspersions, but other things can come into play, and this case stands out. It’s a strange place – the truth is often hard to come by.

Did she supplement propely with B12? Deficiency in that vitamin can cause skin pigmentation changes iirc, although some vegans muppets claim it’s unnecessary and a conspiracy.

No of course not. Her diet could provide her with everything that she needed (apart from the bits she needed) and anyone who suggested otherwise was to be sent memes telling them why.

Everyone should, and hopefully can, eat what they want. However, if your diet (whatever it is) is potentially causing you to have medical symptoms then it’s vital that a sensible discussion is had about this. Specifically with people on a vegan diet this seems to be more of a challenging concept than others. Beliefs > logic in many situations and this causes the friction with the non believers/converted.

The reason people are often vegan is because of their beliefs when it comes to the use/killing of animals, and I can see the thinking.

Unfortunately these beliefs can become very dogmatic and a sensible discussion on the merits/drawbacks can be hard.

I had a neighbour who has been a vegan for 20+ years and is very militant about it. She also suffers from a long term skin pigmentation disorder. She commented once that she believed her condition was caused by an immunisation jab, again around 20 years ago. I gave the analogy of “it’s like you filling a petrol car with diesel for 20 years and then blaming the fact it’s gone wrong on the fragrance of the air freshener”.

It didn’t go well. Refusing to talk to me for a year. Posting completely non science based scare stories and tagging me on social media. I just ignored it all, and then had to block her account in the end. This from a neighbour. I enjoy the evidence based discussion around the benefits/downsides of different diet choices, but this was more religious fervour than anything.

Great shout.

A Quinn/Saul spin off in the style of a Mitch Rapp type character could be very interesting, if a little dark.

It might need a bit more colour than him just coldly shooting people in the forehead though!

With the amount of pricing information and options online these days means the market is more efficient and the price closer reflects reality. You can normally get a bit just to make the sale go through and get it off their hands, but not looking too much.

If you do want to negotiate then don’t just ask “what’s your best price?”. You need to say something along the lines of, “I’m looking at a couple of cars and want to get it sorted today. I’m very much interested in this one because the spec/age/mileage is closer to what I’m looking at, but the price is holding me back as I’m looking at a higher spec/newer/less miles one elsewhere at the same price. Both are over budget….” Hopefully your reasoning is based on some kind of reality!

Cross check your price online. If it’s seems good, smells good, and you like them, go for it.

PX and new car negotiation very much excepted from the above.

That exact % is classified

He’s the man who won a steep hill climb on his BMX bike and the roadies were so upset they haven’t run the event since…

I’ve searched the forum but not come up with anything. I want details!

People with tattoos are treated differently by many people – as this thread has demonstrated.

It doesn’t “prevent” anything, but it can hinder things depending on life/job circumstances if they’re 100% visible.

Go for a 3/4 sleeve. Choose something you love. Make sure you’re close to your ideal weight when having it done! Good luck.

Looks decent.

For all the messing around of looking for different options you may as well get that, I’m not sure there are many better offers out there for new and shiny in an amazon box. It will do the job you want, and you can stick an SSD in a year or twos time when they tank in price to make it good for a few years after that.

Typing this on a work Acer i5, 8GB RAM, blah blah boring that is doing very nicely thank you very much!

First season – Excellent
Second season – story tailing off but still good
Third – nonsense – the whole story arc has just lost it
Fourth – totally rebooted and 90% of the baggage dumped. Good again.
Fifth – So far so good.

If you don’t like Carrie’s character it’s not for you as she is the star of the show. Personally I think Danes is superb in it.

Just watched CITIZENFOUR and really enjoyed it. Definitely worth a view pre/during Season 5 of Homeland to give things a bit of real world context.

prejudice

Bloody hell, talk about escalating language. A little less Single Malt STW juice for you. I think the OP has taken the consensus on board with good grace and humour.

I’ve got a pair of Bolle’s and they’re decent. Tend to be dark when they’re worn anyway!

At a beginner level just pick the ones that fit the best.

This!

Ignore the chat about shoes *having* to hurt to be snug enough. If you’re hobbling about it shoes causing you pain it takes the fun out of it. Try some on and pick the ones that are snug AND comfortable enough.

To pick an analogy, it’s like recommending an ultra stiff, saddle up your bum, high tyre pressure XC bike to a newbie mountain biker.

For the record I’ve got these. Very happy with them.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/scarpa-reflex-mens-climbing-shoe-p212015

With this kind of thing some copies are good, some are less good, some are in between. For a very similar cost you may as well take the luck out of it.

Agreed, for something like an X2 you’re not going to go far wrong, but I count Gearbest as a “proper” retailer with a reputation to uphold.

Going to the wrist makes it always visible, even with long sleeves.

Whether this bothers you is another matter, but for some people, and in some jobs, it isn’t ideal. See posts above for evidence. Personally I don’t care, but that’s not how the world works.

If you’re not bothered, then whatever inspires you from photos of others. My wife got a lot of inspiration, and made some great choices, from Pintrest. She went with what she loved, and funnily enough she loves it.

I’ve not bought a X2 from Gearbest, but I can’t recommend them enough as a company.

Bought an action camera (M10) and dashcam from them because the reputation for selling genuine versions of much copied tech is excellent. A far better option than rolling the dice on Ebay sellers.

They are at the whim and mercy of international shipping, although everything I’ve had has arrived in under 2 weeks.

Others may have a different experience…

Car insurance here is a flat 4% of the calculated cost of the car. No shopping around, no massive advertising spend, you just go into your bank and pay it.

Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, I’m undecided. Probably a more efficient system overall because there’s no money spent trying to attract customers, but the 4% is a bit finger in the air! Also no disincentive to committing large amount of road offences – which funnily enough happen.

It works a treat, and is a great advert, but a specialist product is a bit of a tough sell.

Plastic tub from a pound shop doing the business here.

Leaning forward is not the same thing.

Also hip mobility can be an issue for some. I was extremely grateful for time spent working on my squat in the gym when it came to some very dodgy toilets in Nepal over the summer… Sluiced out superbly though.

There’s not been a massive (none) amount of technical development in forged aluminium in the last 6 years.

It’s a crank arm. It’s a piece of metal. The scope for improvement is fairly narrow.

In fact, I’m trying to think of something that’s less of a “rip-off” than a Deore chainset and I’m struggling!

I’ve driven a rental Renault Duster for 3 weeks and it’s ok. Couldn’t see myself buying one above other options out there.

I was gutted that I could only get £1500 for a BMW 316ti with 70k miles on the clock that I had to sell last year. There are some great bargains out there.

I own a Kia Mohave so not sure what that says about me.

Not much more to add I’m afraid!

Go and talk to the person face to face. No other first option. Be polite, don’t make assumptions, see what happens, just explain what’s happening.

Your next step will be dictated by what happens during your chat.

You will find yourself without a frame, and with Paypal refunding your chap in Mexico for non-delivery if you go ahead with this.

Gumtree is great, but it leads to cash only transactions for me.

The RAM thing is a shocker! Yes, I’m sure you’re still chasing the retailer, but you did the right thing in just getting it sorted so you can use it.

removed all the awful bloatware

installed Malwarebytes, Spybot S&D, CCleaner and Avast

Little bit of a contradiction. Avast especially, but also Spybot, etc, running in the background can slow things down. For antivirus just stick with the Microsoft Security Essentials. If you want the spyware stuff on top, just make sure you set it to only run it when you run it, no “teatimer” stuff to slow you down.

A clean install with an i3 and 8GB RAM on Windows 10 should run perfectly well.

As an upgrade down the line, look at an SSD drive. The prices are going through the floor, and it will keep your machine looking rapid in a year or twos time.

Good luck!

shoes are like saddles, you’re going to have to try some.

Absolutely. I had my eyes on a pair of asics trail shoes as asics have already fitted me well. I tried them on in the shop and they just didn’t feel right. The arch dug in a bit, the outside toe pinched slightly, so rejected.

Tried on another pair of asics trail shoes next to them that I hadn’t considered, and they fitted like a glove. Walked the Annapurna Circuit (180km with a 5400m+ pass) with no real breaking in and they were perfect.

I think all decent brand, £50+ shoes are very competent. Pick some that feel right. Recommendations and the like are good, and will point you in the right direction, but fit is everything.

Other half ended up with a pair of Salomon X Ultra. Also excellent, because the fit was perfect.

If the govt doesn’t pay for it to be done, individuals do. That’s kind of the point.

Yes, I’d be happy with that, sounds good to me. For example, If I want a university education, then I should pay for it. Expecting people who don’t go to pay for me is the thing that strikes me as greedy.

Anyway, work in the morning. Goodnight everybody. It’s kept me amused.

TOP TIP: Dont contradict your own point in a debate

TOP TIP: Don’t selectively quote when the original forum post is above for all to see. Leaving out “and that rubbish needs to be sorted asap” does kind of change the meaning of the sentence. I’m for Starbucks paying the tax they owe, clearly. I’m for businesses paying tax. I think the personal tax burden should be lower, and so did lots of other people.

How does that work, exactly?

By doing things like increasing the minimum wage so people are paid more by companies, and reducing Working Tax Credits so we’re not subsidising companies who don’t pay people a living wage.

I read your post, but it made no sense. You can’t give people more money and keep the govt in the black. It doesn’t work like that. But don’t believe me – havd a little read …

You can if you spend less. That’s kind of the point. As I said, I believe in small government. Others don’t. There was a big vote to decide about it a while ago.

A government only gets into the black by taking money from the people, running down their savings or putting them into debt. Is that what you want?

No. You might want to read my posts again. I think I’ve been pretty clear that I want to give people more money, boost their savings or get them out of debt. So exactly the opposite. To be criticised is slightly bizarre!

As to getting out of the black, you can also reduce the cost of government and encourage private businesses (who also pay tax those horrible people). Well except the Starbucks of this world, and that rubbish needs to be sorted asap.

Osborne borrowed more in the last 5 years than Labour did in the 13 before.

Yes, you’re right, even with austerity the deficit is still going up, let’s do the opposite and spend more, that’ll do the trick.

Madness.

The reason the borrowing has gone up is because the economy was in dire straits, a big spending gap appeared, and it’s like turning round a supertanker.

I moved before the election.

You don’t need to iron them.

Totally true. Hang them when they’re drying, and once they’re on your back they’re perfect.

Perhaps people like lower taxes so they get to choose how to spend their money. I know I do.

Don’t dress it up. Money owed in tax isn’t YOUR money, it’s the state’s. So what you’re saying is that you want more money. You want others to suffer because you want more money. That’s the definition of greed, and that’s why they are called the nasty party.

I want others to suffer. I’m greedy. The party I voted for are nasty.

Pretty standard stuff these days to a Conservative voter. Typical approach, no wonder it puts so many people off.

I believe in smaller government. To me Austerity means living within our means, and people who are anti-austerity want to run up the credit card bill again. Naah, you’re right, screw it, spend spend spend. Works a treat every time.

This Sports Life Stories documentary about him is fantastic viewing. The bits about his relationship, including up the present day, with Nigel Benn are great. Worth a watch – as are others in the series.

As a Partridge fan, this, and the story behind it, made me chuckle:

Their non-iron shirts are fantastic. I also got married in one!

Non iron has an understandably bad rap from previous plasticy materials, but the new weaves are excellent.

Hang them up on a hanger straight out of the washing machine and bob’s your uncle. What’s even better is that they are resistant to creasing during wear as well so look good all day.

Not tried the in between iron resistant ones, just the full non-iron ones.

With all the options you can really get them to fit well and spec exactly what you want, eg, eg 17 inch collar, extra slim, 35 inch sleeves, spread collar, button cuff.

Also an interesting alternative is Mizzen & Main.

Made from a technical material rather than cotton so are breathable and wicking, feel like you’re wearing a sports t-shirt with a bit of give, but still look the part. Also the cut is great if you’re more of an athletic build. Pricey, but worth it in the heat or if travelling.

“Is it quite incredible how unpleasant they all are.”

This branding of the nasty party is strange, especially when coming from those outside spitting on them.

They were democratically elected. The outpouring of grief and whinging by the left is staggering.

Perhaps people like lower taxes so they get to choose how to spend their money. I know I do. In fact that’s why I moved abroad.

Swap tyres and contact points.

Snap. OEM tyres were rubbish, peddles were needed anyway, and I wanted wussier grips.

When bits started to fail I replaced. Eg, Avid Elixirs worked well for quite a while, but then started to get sticky and needed a bleed. Couldn’t be bothered getting the kit or LBS on the job. Just bought some Deores.

I do scratch my head when I hear, “I love my new bike and have already upgraded the SLX chainset to XT”!

However, a new fork can transform a bike. If someone has an entry level hardtail with a rubbish fork, then sticking a decent second hard fork can really extend the ability/interest of the bike.

We had an expresso espresso machine where I used to work.

People used to make a long coffee/americano by putting filter coffee, or pods, in and running it until the mug was full. Everyone was happy because even then it tasted better than instant.

The look of horror when I ran a shot of espresso and topped it up with hot water!

The screen is the major power user on such a phone. Turning down the brightness, and reducing screen timeout time really helps.

Also toggling GPS when you don’t need it works well. Bluetooth as well if you want, but on my Samsung bluetooth uses very little power.

Solarstorm X2s are hardly heavy, and pretty cheap.

Why not another one of those? You can always turn it down if it’s too bright.