Agree with the glasses. Was convinced my new fitness watch had a shite screen until I nipped into boots with the boss and was ordered to try on reading glasses……ah yes, the screen is actually impressively sharp.
Now also don’t have to hold everything at arm’s length to read…..
Still haven’t got used to taking them everywhere.
Went to b and q and had to manually type in the barcode at the self service tills, felt like a right old Kent having to ask the young woman on the till next to me to read the code for me…if only I’d had my new glasses!

I’m no expert in this sort of thing but…. I’d imagine if there are to be any guaranteed redundancies they would be delighted for people to offer themselves up. Rather that than make the horrible decisions of who to get rid of.

Had the same, did all the usual stuff, creams, painting stuff on, sanding , tea tree oil etc….all of them did bugger all.
Went to docs, put me straight on terbinafen once they found out I’d tried everything else, also sent a nail sample away for testing.
Took about 5 or 6 months for it to completely clear because the nail had to grow out whilst at the same time the fungal infection was being treated.
Tests came back to confirm it was indeed a fungus and that I wasn’t wasting time with the medicine.
Not come back in 2 years so whatever it was is gone thank god as it was bogging and made me surprisingly self conscious.

B tension screw needing adjusted? Top jockey wheel might be so close that it’s not allowing the chain to get up and over the top of the cassette tooth?

Another firefighter here. No extinguishers here either as they are useless on all but the smallest fires. Most important thing is to close all doors at night, have an escape route, key in door to get out and once all that is done and you are out…..insurance.
Boggles my mind the amount of fires I’ve been at with a gutted house and the occupiers standing outside saying they have no insurance.

Did hear a story, possibly urban myth, about a fire in a data storage facility in the US where since it was electrical a dry powder extinguisher did the job of putting it out but in the process wrecked every other computer in the room with the powder particles.

Check your online order page guys. Looks like all the pre sale orders have been cancelled. No sign of the money though!!
Great way to get free funding for your product. Offer the product for a reduced price, use all that money to develop it, get a load of full price sales on the back of it then cancel the reduced price orders because you won’t stand by your offer.

Edit: and they don’t even bother to email you to say you’ve had the order cancelled.

It does seem to read that if you are outwith those few markets geographically then you can go swivel. Good idea, terrible management. To then try and blame people for negative social media posts when they have been absolutely shocking at missing deadlines and making false promises with no communication is a bit rich aswell.

djflexure, how do you like the Outbound Detour? I’ve been looking at it but the £100 of postage and import taxes sticks in my throat a bit!!
They are one of the only high power stvzo style lights around. My commuting roads are all pitch black country ones so loads of light without having to constantly switch to low power for cars seems ideal.

We have a 2014 grand c4 picasso. It’s good for long drives with 3 kids but that’s where it ends. The semi automatic gearbox is god awful, spends most of its time between gears figuring out what gear it actually wants to be in. Both CV joints have just gone and the mechanic announced that there was also “movement” in the gear box, joy. He also said when he ordered the drive shaft it arrived and didn’t fit. He phoned around and eventually discovered that when Citroen built cars they regularly went off spec with parts when they ran out so the databases from eurocarparts etc would say one part should “officially fit” when in fact your car had a totally different part that was never recorded anywhere!
The big digital screens are known for faults, which Citroen knew about, but decided to not bother doing a recall on them so if you get the large black blobs on the screen you have to either live with it like me or fork out 800 quid for the screen and then whatever labour is involved swapping it out.

I just swapped a knackered 12v socket out for a double usb outlet and the wires were beige and yellow which according to every Google search I did shouldn’t happen. Luckily it was only 2 wires so was easy to figure out, poor auto electrician figuring out the rest of the car.
Like I said it’s great for a large family but when it gets old the repair bills can be stupid due to the fact it’s been built to be as bloody awkward as possible to work on, IE, to access the suspension top struts requires removing both wiper motors because they are directly above the mounts so becomes a pain in the hoop for a simple task.

Monkeyboyjc
I’m staring to wonder if the video of the rear derailleur working was just a archer components one rebadged and packaged in a 3d printed case as there was nothing showing the buttons controlling it so all we saw was one bit of the whole set up.
Cheesed off as it looked like the perfect set up for my winter commuter!!

Anyone else getting fed up with the lack of updates about this. Still no proof the front derailleur even exists. No updates on the website like they promised (videos etc) and their Facebook page just has the same generic “we have run into delays” without ever answering any of the questions asked.

Yesterday,
Trying to track down the source of creaking steering in the car. Thought I’d put some oil in the suspension coil spring bearings. To access this required removing wipers, bloody Citroen.
Put it all back correctly or so I thought and the wiper jumped it’s mount and gouged the windscreen. You wouldn’t believe the power in a wiper motor, nothing was stopping it!!

Now waiting on insurance getting back to me about windscreen repair which despite being covered will still cost me 250 quid.

Worst bit is I hate the car but to replace it just isn’t possible due to the absolutely mental second hand car prices. Wanted hybrid, not at those prices!!

I ended up buying the 2x system for my winter commuter. Should hopefully cut down on cable servicing and cleaning. I do like a gadget.
Anyone recieved their 1x system yet as they were meant to be shipping July 1st. 2x not until 1st August.

Had been planning on upgrading the winter bike to 105 DI2 until I saw its price!!

We have this in our house. Due to the litations of the site we had to build over a manhole cover.
Key thing was it is serving our property only. We had to specify a double sealed manhole cover which we set into the concrete slab above the old manhole cover.

If however it is a public sewer then you need permission and have to leave access for them. That lid you are looking at looks easily accessible if required.

I’m lucky that I have a other manhole cover downstream in the driveway so every couple of weeks I lift it and run water through the drain that goes through the internal cover to ensure it is all flowing properly.

If it serves that property only then it shouldn’t be a problem as you know what’s going into it. If it serves someone else then you have the problem that they may flush nappies etc down the toilet blocking the pipe and you only find out about it when you are ankle deep in sewage.

Yeah, I’d assume the velux ones that kind of fold out to create a balcony would be fine as the actual seating area would be within current house. Then when the window is folded up and closed it just looks like a normal velux window. Creating an actual balcony would need permission I’d assume.

In fact, if I remember correctly I emailed the council asking for clarification on velux windows and got a reply saying it was fine and if I wanted it in writing I could give them a hundred quid….. I just saved the email.

Edit: this was the reply to my email asking if velux were fine under permitted development if the didn’t extend 150mm beyond the current roof profile.

Dear Sir

I can confirm that from the information provided you are correct. If you need this confirmed in writing you should
apply for a Certificate of Lawfulness (Proposed) Application which is a legal document confirming that planning permission was not required. The fee for this type of application is £101. You can apply online at http://www.fife.gov.uk/planning Please note that this is not mandatory.

Regards

Phil5556,
Yeah the charts are a bit vague where you wonder whether it falls under roof alterations or exterior appearance. My experience of planning was a nightmare with the officer making decisions based on conservation area and listed building rules despite the property being neither. Hence, velux windows as we would have had a fight on our hands to get dormers accepted.

I think velux windows fall under permitted development in Scotland as long as the don’t take up a certain percentage of the roof space. When they are fitted they don’t stick out further than the existing roof profile so I think that’s why they are okay. On the Scottish government website (I think) there are flow charts for permitted developments.
Let’s just say I fitted huge velux windows into my roof space with no planning, just building control to make sure they are strengthened correctly

Edit: https://www.gov.scot/publications/permitted-development-guidance-flowcharts/

I’ve just finished my extension and it was probably 60% me and 40% trades.

Things like foundations are easy to do but require a lot of effort physically if access for diggers isn’t possible. It’s also amazing how much concrete you need. You look at the hole and think it’s small, then 3 hours later you are still mixing concrete and the hole only looks half full.

I did the timber framing myself, insulating, flooring, some small brickwork etc. Then got trades in for electrics, large brick wall (which would have probably fallen down by now if I’d done it if my small wall is anything to go by) and the roof.
Windows were put in by the joiner but after seeing it done could probably do it myself.
Roofer also happened to be a fantastic plasterer so he did that too and a couple of the other trades mentioned how it was some of the best plastering they’d seen.

Buying the materials yourself is easier to keep track of and prevents any random mark ups from anyone.

I basically just then paid an hourly rate to the trades.

Materials are crazy expensive at the moment, timber especially. In the end B and Q was just as cheap as the timber merchants and I should have taken shares out in screwfix I’ve spent that much there.

Total cost for an attic conversion (bedroom and bathroom), extension and garage conversion (home office and spare room/kids room) has come in just north of 80k.

I spent about 18 months of my spare time being spent on the project but it’s quite satisfying and I’ve learnt loads along the way and increased my tool collection massively?!

EDIT: just make sure any plans you get for building control etc are easy to read and understand. Also there is a place in Wales I think that does factory seconds Kingspan insulation for about 2/3 the price.
Also take photos all the time for building control so they don’t come along wanting proof of the timber sizes or something later on.

Edit 2: turbo II screws with torx heads are a revelation, no more jumping drill bits on a cross headed screw.

That’s Octopus energy rolled out the email of price rises. Flamin’ heck, going up about 150 quid a month, it’s okay though, we have done something to save you 50 quid a year, erm, thanks….
Never thought I’d see the time when the basics like heating and electricity were becoming luxuries.

I have a pair of specialized defrosters (couple of years old now) that feel a lot wider than all my other shoes in the same size (including a pair of 45 nrth japanther winter boots), might be worth trying some on?

Are they linked by actual wires or using the bluetooth function? With the bluetooth ones you programme them all at the same time to link them together but there is every chance a builder just did both houses at the same time to save time or accidentally put a detector up in the property that is actually set up to be linked next door.
I’m sure you could reprogramme them if required.

Edit, would mean if your neighbour burns toast and sets the alarm off it could also set yours off and it would look like it’s going off for no reason in your property.

I currently live in Balmullo and it’s ideally placed for cycling to St Andrews, about 7 miles with all of it on either quiet country roads or the cycle path. You might be able to rent in Leuchars easily as the housing situation is quite fluid there due to the army base with people always coming and going every few years. I cycle to Dundee from Balmullo, about 13 miles, for work and it’s the perfect distance for commuting. St Andrews itself is a really nice town, nice pubs and places to eat. Good ice cream and chippies too.

i think joining the wires would be easier as i’m not sure how accessible the plugs would be, would be harder to make them waterproof again possibly. A split in the middle of the cable however could be hidden somewhere in the downtube away from the elements so not as susceptible to water ingress.

yeah, it can be done, there are a few videos on you tube with people extending wires etc for triathlon bar shifters..
just needs shrink wrap to reseal everything afterwards, seems to just be 2 wires, maybe four depending on setup.

Is the stop screw on the front mech possibly not screwed in enough meaning the front derailleur sits too far to the left?

I did the same route with a hire car and hotels about 13 years ago on my honeymoon. The route is spectacular and Banff and jasper are both nice places. Jasper is quite small though. We stayed at a place called “beckers roaring River chalets” in jasper and I’m sure they had pitches for rv’s. The sound of the river at night was so relaxing.
There were a load of mtb loops around jasper and Banff and things like bear sightseeing trips etc… We just happened to stumble across one at the edge of a road eating berries one day, thankfully we were in a car!
There is the big glacier on the route to jasper and places like lake Louise have boat and canoe hire, it will probably be beautiful weather in July too.
Wish I could do it again.

Edit. If you get the chance to go to vancouver then I’d take it, really nice city to wander around with Stanley Park and Granville Island etc…

if its AA batteries you are after then this deal from hope is incredible,
4 rechargeable batteries for less than 2 quid.

https://shop.hopetech.com/11121/products/aa-2500-mah-cell-4off.aspx

Good luck mate, fitness test isn’t too bad as far as I know, more to weed out the people who do zero exercise but somehow manage to not look like it.

As bruneep said, turn up smart with gear to change into. When I did mine 14 year ago it was an interview / fitness test day and some people turned up in trackies with no smart outfit for the interview! Be punctual too, I saw people turned away 2 seconds after the door closed to start the day.

Edit, and be clean shaven, you’ll be expected to be clean shaven at work every day so they will want to see you make the effort on the day too.

I’ve just bought a tv for the kids to watch, needed Netflix and Amazon as that’s what they like. Not all tv’s will allow Amazon to be installed for some reason but LG and hisense do both. So based on it not having to be a fantastic quality telly (As they wouldn’t know any different) i got the hisense. What i liked best was the fact the remote has its own buttons for netflix, amazon and you tube so they can easily change between them. Picture quality is not bad either and sound seems ok. The main tv goes through an av receiver so I’m usually not too bothered about that.

has anyone had a problem with the light stopping working with the remote. Got on the bike this morning to come home from work and the remote wouldnt do anything. Have a second remote at home so tried that and it still doesnt work. Buttons on the light all work correctly.

Think its the micro usb, has a lot of movement. Anyone found a cable extender that plugs in and allows the charging and remote to work through it to stop having to constantly use the rubbish light connection?

Andy: did the cable you got work correctly or like mine would it not allow the remote functions to work?

no probs andy, its a shame they didnt think of the water tight aspect when they designed the remote. I’d have happily paid a tenner for something with a waterproof plug on it.

I’ve been using this for my commute for the last couple of months.

I echo what Andy says about the micro usb port, its a bit fiddly and i really think micro usb’s are too fragile to be constantly plugged and unplugged.

I used the remote and some sugru to make a cover for the usb port when using the remote as i expect water to get into it easily when its pointing up using the go pro mount. Seems to work so far, time will tell though.

Using it is great. The first 5 miles of my commute are pitch black country roads and on 1600 lumens the road is lit up really well, no angry drivers because i can dip it using the remote and they see you doing that so hopefully that prevents rage! The remote is what makes it a perfect commuting light, i just wish i didnt have to cycle through the flashing modes to get back to high beam.

A mixture of max power, low power and constant/flashing mode (in town) does the 2 hour commute without any battery level warnings or powering down.

I used a metal go pro mount I had lying around to mount it as the out front garmin mount supplied with it was a bit wobbly and the roads around here are terrible so it vibrated quite a lot. Metal mount is solid though.

I got mine for £55 (inc remote) and i think that was a good price so at £35 it seems to be a steal.

EDIT: Andy, careful with the usb extender lead. I tried it and for some reason the remote wouldnt operate with it in place, even though the lead was advertised as having all pins connected. Was only 2 quid on ebay so no tragedy.

I’ve been to gran canaria loads.

You’re right about the north / south weather divide. It can be overcast and cloudy up at the capital Las Palmas but roasting hot down in the south of the island where you are going to be.

Maspalomas and Playa del Ingles are right next to each other, about a 4 or 5 euro taxi journey between them.

Maspalomas is quite nice for a wander and bite to eat / drink / relax.

Playa del ingles has loads of restaurants, pubs, clubs.

We were there a couple of months ago and found that one of the restaurants we used to go to all the time on the shoreline in maspalomas (grill faro) had changed hands and gone from brilliant to awful, genuinly, dont waste your money in it. All the recent reviews on tripadvisor are 1 star.

Just behind the nice hotels in maspalomas are a line of shops and restaurants / cafes that are also quite nice too.

In playa del ingles there are a good few nice places to eat, El Rancho being our favourite for steaks, ribs etc… but there is also a fantastic Greek restaurant called “Greek Village” that I would also highly recommend.

We hired a car once, just from one of the places advertised around the area and used it to go into the mountains which are stunning. As long as you dont mind twisty roads with stomach churning drops at times! Bearing in mind though you can also get bus tours that will take you around the same roads for about 30 euros you might just want to do that, we did that last time just for something different.

I hired a nice cannondale road bike from freemotion in playa del ingles last time there (they also have a pick up point in maspalomas) and took a trip up into the mountains with a route i’d downloaded onto my GPS. About 40-50 miles will get you a nice loop with about 7500 feet of climbing and views / downhills to reward you. The insurance you take out with freemotion lasts a week so it was expensive for my 1 day hire but i thought it worth it just incase i cycled it off a cliff. I found the climbs to be a lot nicer than expected and I can only assume the nice weather made a difference!

In the main resorts you will struggle for tapas but if you go up to the capital las palmas you should get it there as its for the locals and not really geared around tourists. Its a nice city for a wander around, has las canteras beach with its walkway etc. Costs about 8-10 euros for a return ticket from Maspalomas on the bus (45 min journey approx).

You’ll get Paella from most restaurants, i’m not a fish eater so couldn’t recommend a decent one.

Puerto Mogan (south west coast)  is also a nice wee place, has a weekly market that is 50/50 nice stuff and tourist junk. Id actually avoid the market day as it was just too busy unless that doesn’t bother you.

Edit: bring your own cycling shoes, freemotion will fit various pedals to your bikes, spd sl etc… but don’t supply shoes.

I bought one of these after seeing this thread, thanks flatpat.

Initial thoughts are it’s well made, not too big and has a decent amount of modes. I was drawn to it by the GPS on top light on bottom out front mount because it looks a lot neater than my current set up with cables to batteries everywhere.

Also got the remote lever (which at only a fiver was a steal) and that will make changing settings on the go a lot easier. Seems bright from my testing it in a dark room test.

For 55 quid in total it really seems like a good deal and I hope I don’t end up disappointed in the end.

The out front mount comes with a Garmin mount, I have a Wahoo but was able to turn the computer mount 90 degrees and fix it in place with a couple of small bolts threaded into the plastic body of the mount.

I still do this although its not as easy to make as much money now, the bookies caught on to it and suddenly the decent free bets dried up.

Have made about £1500 this year, mainly through the bet365 place a £50 pre match bet for £50 free in play one, usually make about £35 guaranteed each time.

You just have to make sure you place lots of non offer related bets aswell to keep in their good books or you get banned. This is quite easy with oddsmatching software so you place a bet with bet365 / lay it with smarkets or betfair and you come out either no worse off or a couple of quid up and just look like a normal punter to the bookie.

The wife does all the free spin offers with the casinos and regularly makes £50 from 5 or 10 free spins at various places. Ive no idea how she does it, the computer must know because everytime i touch the keyboard i win hee haw. This for zero spending, usually new games trying to draw new people in.

So, yeah, its worth doing but the big money isnt as easy to get as before.

I’ve got the slightly smaller version you mentioned for 12 plants but have put a few extra drippers on which it seems to cope fine with. Cost about 80 quid on Amazon.

Draws water from a water butt (210 litre one picked up last month in Lidl) using a priming pump every 3 hours or so. Just drips water so you don’t end up with a deluge every 3 hours.

Seems to work well, none of my plants are dead yet. I got this after a request to the in-laws to water plants when we were away fell on deaf ears and we returned to a pile of dried stumps last year.

Makes a wee bit of noise but not too intrusive.

I’m gonna dilute some plant feeder into the water soon to try and maximise chilli yield!!

I have these shifters too and the di2 ultegra versions on my nice bike. These are far more uncomfy in my opinion and I agree with joebristol that the shifting doesn’t feel great. I am constantly fettling with cable tensions etc and I find that after a couple of weeks they are shifting not too great and require some work. They do brake well though but could do with more lever throw as they bite a bit too quick for my liking, even with the hope rx4 calipers recently fitted. They do make me realise I should have saved longer and just gone di2 on the winter bike too!!

Will be 68mm.

As far as I can remember specialized were one of the very few to use 73mm at that time.

I remember getting a car on fire parked at the top of a hill. Just as we arrived the fuel tank ruptured and burning fuel proceeded to light up the 5 cars parked behind it. I thought that was bad, 1400, **** that!!