Mrs Ming is a teacher(at a Primary), I reckon I have my real wife for about 3 weeks over summer, and maybe a week over Christmas and Easter; the rest of the time is filled with planning, reports, meetings, monitoring the kids performance(levels), dealing with stroppy parents who see school as a baby sitting facility or getting a severly understaffed social services to save a kid in danger, oh and a little bit of teaching.

Also every change of teaching minister/government means a complete re-write on the way kids are taught either reverting to tried and tested old-skool methods or the latest scientific education breakthrough. It’s shite, they keep fiddling with the system, leave it alone and let the teachers teach. And precisely when in the teaching day are some of these new ideas supposed to be fitted in? is another hour in the day being created specially for the latest citizenship/social awareness/big society fad.

Don’t get me started about Ofsted, if they had an insignia and badge it would be a gold skull & crossbones and lightning bolts.

Seriously; TEACHING = DEATH by inches.

The only real perk was good pension but I see the government is screwing that over, as my wife says she wants to go at 60 because by then she’ll be totally burnt out.

Good grief, I’ve had a rant!

Got some POC knee/shin pads, I have to say not very impressed with comfort as they tend to wear bits of me away with chaffing on long rides.

According to our vet a lot of the time it depends on how poorly and or bloody minded/”will to live” the animal is, we’ve had really ill ferrets that have taken two hefty doses of drug and taken 10 minutes + to go and others appear to look like they’ve had enough that have taken seconds.

But that does seem like an excessive amount of time and poor technique.

Sorely tempted, will probably get the last train to winchester and start there and then. You’ll probably overtake me about lunch time.

Chapel Porth, even does Hedgehog Icecream!

Been there, VERY painful, still get palpitations if I ever do a “warm” wee. Ended up getting an ultrasound of the bladder and a prostate check(owww)as a precaution. Turns out it was just an infection.

Cranberry juice helps.

Leave a bowl of fresh water out at this time of year as well. Dry cat food is good too.

That’s completely unnecessary DrJ, 400 peacekeepers outnumbered 3 to 1 (by conservative estimates) in a “vulnerable island amid Serb-controlled territory” trying to protect 25,000 civillians? What could they have done?

Gone out fighting!

Rear Haven starting to play up again. 3 months of use since new bearings fitted last year.

More bog than puddle………

I got a bit carried away and had to have 3 goes at getting across. :D

Keeping carpet sharks this unfortunate event comes round too often, personally having coming home to a distressed animal I feel it’s better for them too go a week to early than a day to late.

Hard to judge but if the animal is old and had a good run is it worth giving them another month or two with medication when thay are possibly/probably in pain and not enjoying life.

Haven review

Crazy light!

Keep it going Mr T you genius mad engineer. I have visions of you going into your shed and as the door closes you the floor drops tens of storeys into a secret facility with Tesla Coils and other such things crackling in the background!

Mrs Ming may well be interested in one come winter time. Keep us updated as to progress.

Loving my GF2 at the moment.

Hmm a few bikes, some training, a house on a beach, a house on a moor, a big 4X4 to freight all the bikes and family about with, some to animal charities, some to armed forces/ex servicemen charities, a bit to family and friends.

oh and I’d have a huge Imperial secret bunker somewhere (and crossbows for when the zombie apocalypse arrives).

Nope on my second set, first set died in just over two years, second set now 2 years old and still going strong, looking very battered but “pedal strike” is my middle name. Stock grubbies are rubbish so bought a load from my local boat shop and locked them in with stud lock. Still lose the occasional grub screw but I love em, I’ll be buying another pair when the prices drop when the MK2’s hit the market.

Our Dysons 11 years old, getting a bit tatty and one of the hoses needs replacing but other than a new motor in the first month it’s been faultless.

The Sith Hound

but surely if you’re incompetent you deserve to get stiffed by management?
or do we live in a world of responsibility without accountability?

I’m not saying that, but every incident I’ve seen and had the misfortune to be involved in the attitude in our “blame free” culture is to find a suitable minion to take the fall so that cause and fault can be apportioned and corrected. Sometimes it is someones fault for being lazy or incompetant BUT just as often it’s a failure of the system and then pressure from on high to get the job done to prevent BACKLOG.

Accountability starts at the top; Captain of the Ship and all that, something our Captain’s of Industry quickly forget when they run to the Corporate lawyers when the “get the job done or else” attitude cause injury, death or heaven forbid – POSSESSION OVERRUN!

Yes, I am a bit bias but the sucking-on-lemons-faces I see when pulling a job due to bad/poor safety paperwork, cutting work back because I don’t want to risk compromising the morning service or moaning about poor quality project work, go some way to justifying my attitude.

As a Rail Industry worker, much as though I detest Brother Crow’s 1970’s rhetoric he is a necessary evil to thwart managements desire to run rough shod over T’s & C’s and safety.

I pay my RMT dues because should I ever get “stiffed” by mangement after an incident the union lawyers will do their best to keep me in a job and/or get me fair compensation.

1 min of tarmac and I’m on the South Downs!

Atera from The Roof box company

I’ve got an 8500 as my ahem (do less badly at) race bike. I love it, the only problem is I break myself by over doing it everytime I use it. Last group ride we did the comment was passed that I was probably on EPO! (I usually ride a 140mm travel 31 lb full susser)

The stock tyres are only good on bone dry, dust free surfaces but that’s my only gripe.

Bonty FR3 at the mo, just had a fantastic couple of rides on Dartmoor.

Kin’ell HOW did you manage to flat spot it!? I’ve got a pair and I’m yet to put any sort of mark on them in 2 years riding (goes off to touch wooden cabinet)

More photo’s here[/url]

5 month old crampons, rubbish IMO

203F, 160R, for ultimate 1 finger stopping power up front.

Love my Liberator (flat out DH at night ohhh yes…….), Mrs Ming now wants one.

I love the “made in the shed by a crazy english boffin” individuality of them.

Probably Polecat though maybe Mink, ferrets struggle to go feral (too much domestication) and get picked off by predators or thirst.

Another +vote for Almax

Another +vote for a Marin Quake, bit heavy at 43lbs but it will go up hill if you spin, however you do notice the weight on anything but downhill.

My i900 went back twice over the last 19 months and was fixed and returned with no problems.

Another +vote for Big Earl Wets, however Bonty FR3’s (2.35)are even better as a South Downs late spring, summer, early autumn tyre, they have low rolling resistance, are a bit sketchy on turn in before huge amounts of grip fully leant over.

Mussels, never again…………

We have a Staff, very fit, needs lots of exercise, loves kids (can get a bit too bouncy, we are working on that at the moment). We both work so have a dog walker come in too take him out in the mornings + it socialises him with other dogs.

Dog and Bikes

By the end of the video we had got him a bit too hyper but that was my fault for egging him on.

Cane Creek 110, 100 years more guarantee than CK.

Because I am Supreme Overlord of all the known sheds in my garden.

Also the original had cool looking rocketships and a harem.

:D

Friston

Chewie (aka the Sith Hound)

A singletrack demon and very good trail behaviour, apart from when I’ve been winding him up!