Advantage for STW: less load on the hamsters because everyone's pics are held on the gravatar servers.
Fair enough. So why not allow linking to an offsite avatar on Flickr or wherever ?

No, I still don't get it.
Why not just upload an avatar like any other forum ?

Without scientific evidence it's no better than homeopathy.

Don't forget the White Coat Effect when looking at those feedback comments.
If someone who appears to know more about the subject than you tells you it's better, most people will agree with them.
Most people will be reluctant to admit they have wasted £125 as well, so will convince themselves that it is better.

Most TV programmes are. That's why I haven't got one.

I don't understand this at all.
Every other forum I use I can either upload an avatar or link to one hosted elsewhere.
Why is this one different ?
What's Gravatar ?
Why do they want my email address ?

That wikipedia article mentions stuff like orbital resonance and the planets "shepherding" the rings without going in to the mechanics of how that actually works.
Oh well, I've got about 1/4 of that BBC programme downloaded so far…

The Metro is a free paper handed out on public transport.

Thanks lowey. It'll take a couple of hours to download that with my internet connection.
I'm not very hopeful that it will explain everything though.
I can remember when we had proper science programmes with Raymond Baxter and Michael Burke. Everything seems to be aimed at 10 year olds these days.
I'll watch it anyway and see if I've still got any questions afterwards.

No, I missed that, I read a couple of Cosm articles in The Metro.
It's the idea that the rings are there because of the moons that I don't get.
I can't see how they are there despite the moons.

It sounds good, but I'd like to see some proper scientific research rather than the anecdotes on their customer feedback page.
Take a large number of riders of various abilities, measure their power output, divide them in to three groups without their knowledge, alter one groups position for a "better" fit, one for a "worse" fit and leave one the same. Measure their power output again and see who has improved or not.
Come to think of it, I'd like to see some proper scientific research on everything from carbon handlebars to driveline efficiency of hub gears compared to derailleurs.

The Severn Bridge.
The bridge itself is famous enough, but it's not so well known that there's a cycle path along both sides of the motorway.

So … how about a bike ride to visit these? Can it be done as a Forum Ride? Would be awesome

I've tried to persuade people on group rides in the Wyre Forest to explore a bit more, but most people are reluctant to leave the main part of the forest and ride as far as the river.
If anyone's interested, I'd be prepared to lead a forum ride from Bewdley to Bridgnorth and back, about 35-40km round trip.
Only problem is, most of the river bank path is a footpath if you worry about that sort of thing. :wink:
We could take in…
Bewdley flood defences
The Pipeline Bridge
Victoria Bridge
…which I have already mentioned, plus…
Hampton Loade Ferry. I think it's the only current driven ferry in the country. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tivedshambo_2004-07-24_Hampton_Loade_Ferry.jpg
Hampton Loade waterworks bridge. Unusual in that the pipes form the arches to support the deck. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1417969
Bridgnorth Cliff Railway. The UK's only inland funicular railway. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BridgnorthCliffRailway-looking-down.jpg
Most of the route is within sight of the Severn Valley Railway, so there'll be steam trains too. :-)

Shooting starving people ?
So who is sorting out the traffic then ?
You can't have people thinking they can get away with parking in disabled bays just because there's a war on.

Armed traffic wardens ?
You'd think with the threat of a Russian invasion they'd have better things to do than shoot people for parking on double yellow lines.

It's one of the films I've always wanted to see.
I've seen Threads and thought it was very good.
I saw When the Wind Blows as a play once. Very moving to see Jim Bloggs' trusting naivety at close quarters.

There are Peugot forums ? 8O
I go on mountain bike, Land Rover and vintage truck forums because there is a sort of shared enthusiasm amongst owners.
It never occurred to me there might be a Peugeot 206 forum.
It's just a car.
That would be like having a washing machine or vacuum cleaner forum.

Got the Haynes manual from Halfords, only £16 with my trade card.
Lists all the various service items at 6k, 12k, 24k miles etc.
Gives the oil specifications.
Everything I needed really.
I like the little 1-5 spanner difficulty ratings. :)

Thanks.
Only problem is, I need to measure the rim first, I was hoping to buy the rim and spokes all in one go, otherwise I'll just use the same type of rims as I have already got.

Good point about the service stamp.
I just asked and Mrs Militant intends to keep the car until it dies, so resale value isn't so important as it would be if she was planning on trading it soon.
I won't be able to turn the service light off when it comes on. We can just take it to an independent garage for that, or I can stick a bit of black tape over it.

Bewdley flood defences.
Not on the same scale as some of the other examples, but an impressive engineering solution to a local problem.

The black railings poking out of the water mark the edge of the quayside.
The aluminium barrier mounts in holes in the ground and is only erected when floods are likely.
It's a strange feeling standing behind the barrier looking over the top at all that fast flowing water level with your waste.
Worth a look if your in the Wyre Forest during a flood.

Haynes manaul details the manufacturers service list for my rover perfectly

Thanks, that's the sort of information I wanted.
When I service the buses, someone in the office works out if it's due and A,B,C or whatever service. I get a service sheet and just work down the list doing all the items under the appropriate letter.
As long as there's a similar list in the Haynes manual based on mileage and specifications for oils, I can work from that.

If 7 miles a day sounds a bit much for a start, can you do the classic "Get off the bus a few stops earlier" trick ?
Do a combined Walk-Bus-Walk trip and gradually cut down the bus bit.

If you're looking for less well known landmarks, there's two only a short walk from my house.

Victoria Bridge on the Severn Valley Railway.

Probably one of the most photographed bridges in the country, but only accessible by footpath, so there's not that many people have seen it for real from that angle..

A couple of miles further down stream, and far less well known, is the pipeline bridge carrying water from the Elan Valley to Birmingham.

The water falls by gravity, there are no pumps, so, as this is the lowest point, it is also the point of highest pressure.
Again, it's only accessible by footpath or a tiny dead end lane.

So Hope have it wrong with their bolt in hubs then?

I've not seen those type of hubs before.
I was just going on general mechanics practice.
Whenever bolting a thin plate to a thicker casting, for example, it's always best to put the non threaded end of of the bolt through the thinner component to give a greater load bearing surface.
Those serrations on the Hope hub and washers look like they would do a good job of holding everything in place and preventing the threads from taking the load directly.

I think the lesson to be learned here is that if you hit a pedestrian, get back up and ride off quick.

Interesting to note that when a car kills someone we are reassured that "The driver of the car was unhurt." as if it was likely that they might be, but there is no mention of whether the cyclist was injured or not.

Veggie food is inherently low in protein, unless you eat eggs all day

Row 1, column 3

Example: One boy, 3 doors up from me…

Row 5, column 5

Linda McCartney foods were lambasted for their high fat content…

Row 4, column 3

I ran a regular QR skewer in a Rohloff hub and horizontal dropout Blur frame, even though Rohloff don't recommend it.
I managed to break, bend or wear out all sorts of other components, but I never had the wheel move.

I wouldn't worry too much about the tolerance. If it's a little bit undersize it will just sit a bit off centre. It's not like it will be floating around once it's clamped up tight.
I can't see the thread pitch being a problem either. You'll get far more clamping force with an M10 bolt than you ever will with a QR.
I think the biggest problem will be getting just the right length of thread. If the thread is too long, so it goes through the drop out, you will have a reduced load bearing area. the threads will cut in to the drop out and the drop out will hammer the threads flat.
If the thread is too short, the nut won't tighten fully.
You'll need to carry two 17mm spanners out on the trail too.

Not nights, but I just finished late shift keeping the wheels on the buses going round and round and locking up the depot after the last one comes in.

That was mainly my original point.
I hadn't thought about gliders, I just assumed they always made it back to where they started.
Taking the extreme case from another thread of a landowner who used force to prevent a cyclist carrying his bike along a footpath, what happens if he takes the same attitude to someone trying to collect their balloon with a Land Rover & trailer ?

A balloon landed within sight of my house once.
There's a track through a farmyard and across the field to a house.
Both the farmer and the house owner are pretty easy going and saw the whole thing as a bit of a novelty.
But what if they had refused access though ?
Or what if they had gone on holiday for a week and locked the gate ?

It's a relic of natural selection.
Young males are expendable. Females have to survive to reproduce.
Joining a warband and raiding the neighbouring tribe has been largely replaced by sport, so it's inevitable that most people who take part in competitive, adventurous or risky activities are male.

[sweeping generalisation]Women see cycling as a way to lose weight. Men see losing weight as a way to cycle faster.[/sweeping generalisation]

In my defence, it is a proposed Sustrans route.
North out of Bewdley on the West bank, or heading upstream with the river on your right, if you prefer.
It's a far safer route from Bewdley in to the Wyre Forest than the official Route 45 up Welch Gate, but I think the Sustrans argument is that a long ride up a steep narrow hill between houses in a 30mph limit is safer than crossing a road with a 60mph limit. It isn't.

I regularly ride along a footpath in Bewdley on my commute.
It's through a park, so for most of its length, there is plenty of room on one side or the other to do a wide loop round any pedestrians I might meet.
Riding home one day last week, the two oncoming pedestrians were wearing police uniforms. :?
A wide sweep to the right while maintaining the same pace and I was gone before they had time to think about Rights of Way. :D

I was wrecking Race Face BBs in under two months.
Hope ceramic BBs cost about 4 times as much, but it has lasted well over 4 times as long so far.

OK, to try to give a more serious reply, why try to understand anything ?
If a band chooses a name with a meaning, then why not try to understand that meaning ?
If the name was inspired by another band or a book, then maybe, if you like one, you will also like the other.

Anyway, I found this…
http://library.thinkquest.org/4626/rock.htm
…which kind of makes this thread redundant.

The Corrs = Maybe an urban legend, but the band were being interviewed on the radio and the interviewer must have been working from a stock list of questions because he asked "Where did you all first meet ?"

Why do we have to 'understand' anyway? Can't we just listen to the music, or is that just too mainstream?

Why can't we just have a thread without asking why we have to have a thread ?

Led Zeppelin = Some sort of pun on going down like a lead balloon, however, as "The Who Live at Leeds", meaning a live performance, not recorded, often got mispronounced as if the Who lived in Leeds, they deliberately misspelled lead.