I’m perfectly happy and genuinely interested to talk to anyone about football IF it’s a conversation about a team they play for and/or a match they actually played in …

copy and paste someone’s text, with no facility to say who said what, is indeed archaic

Can it be ‘archaic’?
I didn’t think the interwebs had been around long enough …

you don’t end up with miles & miles of nested quotes like you do on some sites…..

This is justification enough for keeping it as it is.

But it’s not just drink, the govt seems to take an almost obsessive interest in what you eat as well…

I agree with this to an extent – info/advice is fine and necessary.

Although after a point I’d use the same arguement, considering the implications for society due to the growing obesity problem … if people can’t/won’t take responsibility for themselves, someone’s got to do it.

Or should the Govt just sit back and let people eat/drink themselves into health problems and an early grave?

You could always get a t-shirt printed

“Please Do NOT Talk To Me About:

– Football
– Eastenders
– Coronation Street

Thankyou”

it’s not really the governments business what/how much I drink, wish they would just piss off trying to run my life

This comment is fair enough in relation to responsible people, but there are a (seemingly vast) number of people who appear incapable of treating alcohol responsibly which has (often serious) repercussions – perhaps these people need treating like an adolescent seeing as they’re behaving one.

If you read enough newspapers (and the readers comments where available) one thing you hear over and over again when any issues occur is “the Government should do x, y and z to address this” … and when they do try and do x, y or z everyone complains that they’re interfering too much and it’s becoming a nanny state.

You can’t have it both ways.

Either society takes responsibility for itself (which it is failing to do in many areas), or Government needs to step in like a Parent.

I’m surprised nobody’s yet mentioned that wendyball’s not a sport, just a game

😈

anyway, each to their own… I just politely say something along the lines of “I don’t really follow football”, which usually causes some brain short-circuiting for a few moments whilst they process this information… 🙂

A panel of experts

Experts?!?

I’m sure many STWers were flattered by that, but really you set your expectations far far too high … 😉

this is him doing his homework is it not ?

No, this is him asking everyone else to do his homework for him 🙂

Thanks for the replies all.

Looks like Amazon is the place to go.

Its a good idea to become a vegetarian since you can have a healthy lifestyle by doing this. Its natural and healthy.

Who said eating meat is definitively and unarguably ‘un-natural’?

Nearest stations are Walsden or (slightly further away) Todmorden.

Both these are at least 6 miles from Lee Quarry though.

Just a minute. An advert making a joke out of someones skin colour?

Racists!

😉

Can’t believe Lucas agreed to Vodafone using Yoda.

Desperately awful ad.

What they’re advertising is really really boring too, even with the abuse of Star Wars.

Aha, found the 1997 geometry

Frame geometry will be the deciding factor regarding replicating the ride characteristics.

2004 Explosif geometry here

2006 Explosif:
Frame Sizes 14″ 16″ 18″2 19″ 20″
Head Angle 68.7° 68.7° 69.2° 69.3° 69.3°
Seat Angle 72.2° 72.2° 72.2° 71.3° 71.3°
Top Tube 21.4″ 21.9″ 23.2″ 23.7″ 24.3″
Chainstay 16.7″ 16.7″ 16.7″ 16.7″ 16.7″
Head Tube 3.5″ 3.5″ 4.3″ 5.1″ 5.9″
BB Height 12.2″ 12.2″ 12.3″ 12.4″ 12.4″
Standover 27.7″ 28.9″ 30.3″ 31.2″ 31.6″

2010 Explosif geometry here

anybody got any advice on 160mm and a CCDB on a five

It definitely seems to be horses for courses regarding this setup.

Some love it, others think 160mm up front is too much, especially when you’re back in the UK. Some think 140mm is enought for the Alps, others swear by 160mm.

Personally, I like it. Suits me well.

Never ridden the Alps, but if/when I do I’d go for 160mm as I’d be expecting the big mountains and long downhills to encourage me to go for it a bit more than usual 🙂

Without the chainring there’s a mm or two less depth for the existing bolts, so you’ll probably need shorter bolts, or use washers as spacers.

It might be easiest just to suck it and see. Only takes 5 minutes to take the big ring off and check.

If your previous mech shifted down fine then the hanger’s probably ok.

Is the new mech damaged (bent inwards) possibly?

Take it off the bike and give it a damn good clean and inspection, see if you can identify anything that could be fouling the movement.

With the limit adjuster all the way out a mech should easily shift way past the smallest sprocket.

The last few 2nd-hand cars I’ve bought, my local regular mechanic has checked them over for me for a nominal charge.

Much less than the AA, and he’s well qualified with 20+ years in the business, so I trust him explicitly.

As for the MOT, I’d have no problems trusting the dealer to get the vehicle through the MOT, but there may be things that don’t affect the MOT …

As with pop music & TV, the big blockbuster type films do seem to have become immensely dumbed down and designed just to extract money from 9 year olds.

As I get older there do seem to be few properly original or interesting ideas that appeal to me.

How much of this is because I’m older and therefore have ‘seen it all before’, or has the quality of films genuinely deteriorated over the last 30 years?

Maybe the film studios should concentrate on making fewer better films.

Having said all that, I enjoy watching Top Gear (& the repeats), so clearly I’m not looking for intellectual viewing 🙂

You don’t know what irony is, do you Baldrick?

And I’m not even Americanish. Or Jagger-lipped Canadian warbler Alanis Morissette.

I hate mobile phone users who use them whilst driving

Ditto.

Although to my mind, people who have/cause accidents whilst using their mobiles are the same stupid people who are going to have/cause an accidents anyway. They’re just generally not safe drivers.

I put it in 2nd

Then I can easily moderate the amount depending on how strong the tea is or how milky I want it

My 5yo son’s already telling his friends that Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy aren’t real 8)

do you think it would be against public swimming pool rules to place a camera on the bottom to video my ‘stroke’?

I’m surprised the questions even been asked, considering we live in a society where anyone seen with a camera in a public place is automatically viewed as a raving paedophile or planning a terrorist atrocity …

EDIT: From the highway code:

Lane discipline

264

You should always drive in the left-hand lane when the road ahead is clear. If you are overtaking a number of slower-moving vehicles, you should return to the left-hand lane as soon as you are safely past.

According to some other thread discussing the joys of cycling two abreast …

“Should” in the Highway Code makes it advisory not mandatory. And certainly not legal/illegal.

people are risking serious damage to their expensive cars

That’s their own responsibility. Nobody’s forcing them to drive in the snow/ice …

Plus I don’t think Council’s are obliged to grit the roads anyway?

What REALLY gets my goat with almost all children’s tv is the moralistic stories – all this ‘it’s not the winning, it’s the taking part’ type of rubbish getting force fed to kids

+1 or more to this

Like her or not, she’s a tick in the BBCs ethnic diversity box … all the BBC’s missing now is an Australian Aborigine, an Amazon Indian and an Inuit

Teletubbies is/was immensely irritating to watch as a parent.
In the Night Garden is a close 2nd in the irritating stakes.

Should we add “My bike trails aren’t gritted” to the 1st World Problems thread then?

What we really need is a powerful helmet-mounted lazer to melt the snow/ice & dry the trails as we’re riding along, thus riding on dry dusty trails at any time of year …

Good to see they’ve taken the right approach though.

It’s a well known fact that setting fire to things is guaranteed to resolve every problem in the world today.

If Europe burns enough cars and buildings, African famine will end.
Extensive looting and stealing will end global child slavery.

If we’re serious about improving things we need to be starting more fires and looting more TVs.

Did someone seriously suggest gritting the countryside? 😯 😆

*cough*tool*cough*

Speechless.

You have proof that the ‘crease’ existed when he viewed the vehicle.
You’ve not tried to conceal it from prospective buyers.
They knowingly bought ‘sold as seen’.

Therefore, no longer your responsibility.

He’s just trying it on because he’s pee’d off at not spotting it before buying the car.

Buyer Beware.

You do know a surprisingly large amount of the population think the soap star are real people don’t you?

Yes. I use this fact to separate the “stupid idiots I should avoid” from “people with vaguely more intelligence than my sons goldfish”.

Conceptualize your socks off, but don’t patronise us by talking about them like they’re real.

😈 😉

“We have always imagined House as an enigmatic creature; he should never be the last one to leave the party.

“How much better to disappear before the music stops, while there is still some promise and mystique in the air.”

Someone really should take this person to one side and point out to them that none of it is real

+1 for Doug et al

It’s also worth bearing in mind that the seller will not necessarily accept the highest offer on the property.

When I bought my first house the seller could have accepted higher offers, but took mine because they wanted a quick/smooth sale & I had no chain, plus a good deposit & mortgage agreed in principle.

pop down in a few days when I’ve had time to look

A few days to look ?!?!

Clearly, it is a particularly massive box …

Mahathir Mohamad for the next UK Prime Minister, based on that BBC article.

It’s the most sense I’ve ever heard from a politician (ok, ex-politician).

Our politicians could run the country properly or they can stay elected by telling us what we want to hear

This is one of my biggest bug-bears with UK politics – politicians seem more interested in being popular than actually taking the job by the scruff of the neck and making the tough/unpopular decisions