The Motleyfool stuff is as good a starting place as any other. Plus the Alvin Hall stuff is (mostly common sense) OK.

Book: Make Your Child a Millionaire, by Alan Oscroft (MotleyFool)

Just do what bike manufacurers do and put a few strands of carbon fibre in the bakelite ( Phenol Formaldehyde ) and then make some claims about the handling properties etc.

http://tarckbike.com/node/5259?page=284
http://www.cycleexif.com/vanilla-speedvagen-cx

In the picture from vorsprung it is interesting to see the difference in appearance between the same crack on one tube and on the other tube. On the right (of the picture) it is fairly / relatively direct / straight (as cracks go), but on the left it is more erratic and meandering.
Different thicknesses of tube? Maybe, maybe not.

In the photo from StirlingCrispin the horrible cut-finish suggests a laser-cut surface.
http://www.thefabricator.com/article/lasercutting/the-challenges-of-laser-cutting-overcoming-some-common-obstacles

“Laser cutting can leave a recast layer on the surface. Because lasers melt and burn some of the metal, remelted materials are deposited on the side of the cut edges and on the bottom of the cut. This layer of deposited materials is highly stressed and may crack, especially if it is an oxide. Although these cracks are small, they can propagate into the material, creating larger cracks. This is especially true of inside corners with small radii, where stresses are higher.

Cracks can be eliminated in certain cases with high-pressure nitrogen cutting. For example, titanium is extremely reactive to oxygen. Oxygen embrittlement can lead to micro-cracks, which are an important safety concern for users of titanium such as the aerospace and medical industries, in which long-term strength and avoiding fatigue cracks is critical. Using high-pressure nitrogen is often the solution. This method effectively turns the laser into a controlled welding machine, blowing molten material away with 160 pounds per square inch (PSI) gas.
”

In the OP there is a picture of a cold cracking toe crack at the edge of a concave weld.
In the Elliptic picture (good picture) there is not just a crack but the edges of the crack can be seen to have been deformed outwards.
This looks very much like the result of movement (resulting from the crack) / impacting of the two side of the crack together and, a very thin wall thickness crumpling / deforming on contact with the opposing side of the crack.

“So this cutting off of the butt is extremely unlikely to be the case or norm”

Sorry, its only the medical profession that makes basic errors.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1267451/Surgeon-cut-patients-testicle-mistake.html
http://www.nursingtimes.net/whats-new-in-nursing/news-topics/ethics-and-law-in-nursing/nurse-switched-off-life-support/5020874.article

Convetional wisdom (or the must never be questioned, just do it bike dogma)is that the ball of the foot must be over the pedal axle.
Why?
http://www.perfectcondition.ltd.uk/Articles/Pedalling/LFC%20ideas/LFC%20Notes.htm

Everybody has their own opinion,
http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2009/03/thomson-elite-seatpost-failure.html

Titanium (titanium Alloys) can be subject to stress corrosion cracking (SCC)when exposed to alcohol (propanol).
This is similar to the effects of hydrogen embrittlement, and the effect of SCC from ammonia on brass, chlorine-ions on some stainless-steels.

Might be of interest:
http://bikefitkit.com/
http://www.lookcycle.com/en/uk/look-cycle/technologies/techno-keo-fit.html

Some libraries have them.

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/

“All the examples of butted ti I’ve seen are the same thickness as PG frames at the end, and *even thinner* in the middle. Not thicker at the ends (as it were). “
Until some one cuts too much off the end of a butted tube (to make a smaller frame) and then, they are onto the thinner middle section of the tube. Which it looks very much like in the picture from Elliptic.

“no end of knee pain while cycling for several years “
cranks too long?

For the bike fitting there are sites like:
http://www2.bsn.com/cycling/ergobike.html
http://www.frameforum.org/downloads/measurelength.pdf

A 23 mile section of the A1 was closed this morning.
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/east-central/204055-body-found-behind-pub-in-east-lothian/

http://www.bicyclebooks.co.uk/search.asp?types=Cycle+Racing

For cleaning metal acetone is more effective at removing oils etc, but it will damage plastics.

Wide Eyed and Legless, Jeff Connor.

Looks a lot like the sort of thing that happens with very thin (too thin a) wall thickness. The reason for butted tubes is to have enough thickness of metal to avoid this type of failure.

“poppa, are you suggesting that a grade of aluminium, say 7075-T6, is different if its made for an aerospace as opposed to any other application? It either is that grade or it isnt.”
Is 7075 a grade?

http://asm.matweb.com/search/SpecificMaterial.asp?bassnum=MA7075T6
“Agreement may be indicated, for example, by reference to a standard, by letter, by order note, or other means which allow the Zr + Ti limit.
Aluminum content reported is calculated as remainder.
Composition information provided by the Aluminum Association and is not for design.”

An aerospace grade material will have an agreed specification for where in the original melt / ingot it will come from (the middle, the rest will be sold to bike companies) plus the NDT protocol to be used on the NDT of the billet (test for occlusions and inclussions etc) and whateverelse they buyer specifies eg grain refinement etc. The top of an ingot usually has some contamination and defects in it (flaws, cracks which develop during the cooling of the ingot.
So even if it comes out of the same melt (mix) it can be the rejects (dross) from the aluminium manufacturing process.

Another reason to move back to Cornwall:
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/mountain-bike-development-officer-937004452?src=search
“This post is to develop the economic value of downhill mountain bike facilities in the Tamar Valley by: establishing a new social enterprise to manage site facilities; developing income streams for the social enterprise; working with local businesses to promote and develop business opportunities, products and services; increasing use by underrepresented groups; procuring the development of a new cabin and associated facilities; procuring the design and development of one new downhill trail.

You can apply online for both roles by visiting cornwall.gov.uk/vacancies or an application form and further details can be obtained from: Telephone: 01872 322670 ”

“I’ve snapped Steel, now Ti….and I have a carbon road frame. Oh oh! “
Yes, stuff breaks.
Bad design is bad design regardless of the materials used.
Just having a quick look at the picture, I would be curious to know what the inside of the top tube looks like. There may have been insufficient purge / shield gas (argon) in the toptube during welding to prevent the tube absorbing oxygen or nitrogen from the air. In which case there will be visible discolouration of the inside surface of the tube, meaning that it is impossible to do an effective repair.
Once titanium (a weld or parent-metal) absorbs too much oxygen or nitrogen (although commercially pure titanium can rely on tiny amounts of oxygen for some improvement in strength) then it is likely to crack.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/welding-titanium-where

“Not seen the squirrel for a while though so it might have found a better source of food. “

Its been eaten.

http://www.crackerjack.co.uk/bristol/restaurant-news/food-news-squirrel-menu-taste
“It is estimated that there are about five million grey squirrels in the UK.

They are not a protected species and are, in fact, considered a pest. Many of them killed on roads.

But now they are being killed and sold to game dealers as a specialist meat and cropping up on restaurant menus and on the dinner tables of an increasing number of home cooks.

The increased interest in squirrel has been fuelled by endorsements from celebrity chefs Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Fergus Henderson of fashionable London restaurant St John, where squirrel is often on the menu, braised with bacon and dried porcini mushrooms.

As a meat, squirrel has a lot going for it. It’s completely free-range and wild (and therefore low on ‘food miles’) and it’s also low in fat.

Taste-wise, it falls somewhere between free-range chicken and rabbit and it has a sweetness to it because of its diet of berries and nuts. ”

No harm in having a few greytreerats around.

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/8456675.Furry_vandal_drives_police_nuts/
“A spokesman for the RSPCA said: “Squirrels do have a tendency to chew through wires of all sorts.

“It is important however that members of the public do not try to catch the squirrels and take the law into their own hands. Squirrels may well bite if cornered which may result in a hospital visit or at least a tetanus jab.” ”

Why leather?
http://www.arco.co.uk/products/14T4100/382630/Cut%20Gripz%20Leather%20Palm%20Cut-Resistant%20Glove

A Peiper’s Tale, by Allan Peiper.
Champion on Two Wheels, Hugh Porter.
Cycling is My Life , Tom Simpson.
Two Wheels to the Top, by Reg Harris,
Watching the Wheels Go Round, by Barry Hoban.
Bernard Hinault , Memories of the Peloton.
Kelly : A Biography of Sean Kelly by David Walsh.
The Agony and the Ecstasy: Stephen Roche.

Copper grease/ coppa slip (intended for hot parts / high temperature service) is considered old fashioned even for the original purpose of brake calipers.
http://www.mintex.co.uk/en/products-mainmenu-29/product-overview-gg-mainmenu-38/cera-tec-mainmenu-36

http://www.scottishbeavers.org.uk/

http://cycle.shimano-eu.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/nl/index/tech_support/tech_tips.download.-Par50rparsys-0004-downloadFile.html/Brake%20Hose%20Installation.pdf

“I’ve been embedded in FTSE top 5 comms teams FFS! “
did it hurt?
I just typed internal communication into jobsite.co.uk and it does exist, admittedly only 1502 matches though.
What does it involve doing? Do you sit in a darkend room talking to yourself? communicating internally?

http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/bike-manufacture-distribution-936924886?src=search
“Bike sheds and showers”

“70% success rate”
there is something about the way surgeons talk that can, sometimes, do more psychological damage than the original injury.
Some advice from an NHS physiotherapist to me once was “do not listen to (surgeons) what they say… wait until it is a problem (poor success rates) and even then do not worry about it”. It made me feel slightly better , for a moment or two at least.

VAR PE-35500 tool (old version VAR 352 tool)

Recruitment agencies: like all things in life there are the good, the bad and the ones in between.
But, the way that they make money is by either:
1) getting a finders fee paid to them by the employer if it is a permanent job that is filled
or
2) a type of commission / percentage of a persons wage if it is a temporary job that is filled.
Either way it is only by filling job vacancies that recruitment agencies get paid. So in theory they will be working hard to get you an interview, but that is the limit of what they can do for you.
The rest being up to you in having a good CV with all the right buzz-words and relevant recent experience, and crucially having good interview skills to finally get the job.
Books by Patrick Quinn on interview technique (and advertising copy, ultimately a CV is advertising copy) plus books on CV’s by eg Tom Jackson are worth looking at.
A recruitment agency will only be invited to send CV’s in to an employer if that employer believes that they have people with the right experience, skills etc.
Once an employer thinks that they are just being send any old CV (of people who do not have what the employer is really looking for) then they will stop using that agency.

Its coming up to winter and you are buying new tyres for a car that you drive…
tough one..
lets think….
are you keeping the car for a while, planning to do lots of miles, want to live, want try to avoid running that pedestrian down, avoid points on licence for having bald tyres (yes officer I did have cheap tyres fitted not long ago, I can’t understand how they could have worn out so quickly)?

http://www.which.co.uk/cars/driving/sat-navs-tyres-and-accessories/best-car-tyres

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/total_tyre_guide/213186/tyre_guide.html

Betting.
Its called betting for a reason, only gamblers need apply.
http://www.gamblersanonymous.org.uk/

http://www.scottoiler.com/uk/products/scottoiler-bicycle-oiler-active-fluid-system.html

Fitting the thing is the worst bit, but seems to do the job.
Will only work with the right oil.