:) no worries dude, just taken back a bit by the reaction lol! Logic isnt the point, it was more the use of a handy image i saw on the web a while back about what its like when you try and discuss religion at times….

we had an incredibly strict and religious RE teacher at school, she was a dragon on a woman and unfortunately due to our headteacher being very very christian too, most of the complaints about her teaching christian stuff as fact fell on deaf ears :( this however wasnt a problem as we'd have competitions to see how quickly we could get asked to leave the classroom….

any assembly with the headteacher however was just a painful load of preaching and unfortunately for him (as a really nice guy and very helpful + motivating headteacher) he lost the respect of the pupils everytime he opened up his bible :(

oh and i do know what faith means/is…. comparative religion has been an area of interest for me for the past couple of years, the world would be a better place if everyone had some of the morals that most religions try and promote… thats a whole different debate though

molgrips was that aimed at me?

its very hard to sensibly debate such subjects.

agreed with Tiger….

MrNutt, you're awesome…. get down your local zoo and deck a couple of baboons and you'd be twice as awesome as tiger!

IMO the whole teaching of RE needs to be changed to an intensive joseph cambell session. shame he died, he'd be a better ambassador for atheism than dawkins…. (if i could i'd have carl sagan pitch up to the party too)

i like dawkins, shame he comes across as a bit preachy… but anyone making a point will come across as preachy! i see the whole atheism movement as a pretty important step in the human races development at the moment, i prefer the Humanist movement though and hopefully this will prevail.

the biggest problem atheism has at the moment i think, is people who call others stupid for having different beliefs, a lot of young athiests (especially online) are very quick to tear into anyone religous and this creates a bad impression of atheism, when i think it should just create a bad impression of the individuals who are dismissive of others.

to me religion is a cultures response to its surroundings and the limits of its scientific knowledge, as scientific knowledge has increased and global communication has made it very accesible, i think new generations are going to naturally be less attracted to religion.

mmmm heavy rain outside when you're extra comfortable in a warm bed with a loved one… watching something you both enjoy. excellent :mrgreen:

do it, if you get on then make sure you comment about shiney teeth or short presenters everytime there's a camera pointing at you

*awaits "surf-matt" post*

ahh the daily fail

anyone seen the youtube video of the daily mail song?

good luck, hope its magical and no problems!

remember to call the kid "ladies and gentlemen"…. try shouting it in anger, or pretending to call your kid in a park… or indeed just giving them instructions. its genius.

tescos do a 1.5litre one for 11.99, its got two pockets and i've easily fit a tube, puncture repait kit, couple of tools, 3 lights, chewing gum, sweets etc etc, still room to cram a thin jacket in (as the girlfriend has)

i know its not a camelback and wont have the kudos, but its spot on for our 2-3 hour rides in the woods :)

Barnsleymitch… they definately dont replace broken watches :( no longer in the nhs, work in a much more relaxed setting now but never got back into the habit of wearing a watch

used to love watches, dad travelled so would randomly bring back weird watches, had a backwards one that went anti-clockwise :) but i haven't worn a watch for years… the moment i started working in mental health and had to be involved in restraining patients it became very obvious wearing a watch that can be ripped off/broken was a waste of watches :( since then i've always used my mobile

*awaits the stream of comments from roadies saying that you're a bad person for enjoying such simple pleasures and they must have let you overtake out of pity*

good work dude!! i love those little things that make you smile when you're out on a bike, even if its as simple as getting past the wall and finally catching up with mates who appear to be much fitter than me :)

If Mark from CRC is reading this thread….

Hey Mark,

I've recently bought 2 front lights from a super-bargain-bin section (2 pounds each) and well to be honest mate… they're only really worth 2 pounds!

The bit that fits into the handlebars is too small for my awesome bike and therefor isnt fit for purpose… I could mount the light at a weird angle but this would clash with my other light… plus the light was only 2pounds so I've decided to give it to my girlfriend who knows nothing about cycling other than what i tell her.

I know that if you've spent time reading this you're probably thinking "what the f*** is this guy on about, is he complaining or what?!" and the answer is: nahhh i'm not complaining, its a 2pound front light! The batteries it came with are probably worth more than 2pounds and worse case scenario I could rig up the lights with some kind of sensor to scare the neighbours cat, or throw the batteries at the neighbours cat… everyones a winner*.

Hope you dont get in too much trouble dude with this whole bar-tape mess and it's all sorted out with everyone getting what they want (new bar tape for Adam, a tasty slice of cake for you and a healthy profit at the end of the year for your boss).

Regards,
Phil

*everyone's a winner except the bloody cat.

P.S Send me some free stuff, you know you want to ;)

is you're water pretty "hard"? sounds exactly like a problem i've got with the electric showers here at work… hard water = crudded up heating elements = slow to heat up, poor power output and lower temperatures :(

my MD not calling me to say he's going away to Africa for a week, me finding out when i pop into head office that he's gone and as normal i'm expected to be on call for the whole time he's away cos he's my only superior… and the fact i dont get paid for being on call… or indeed dont get paid for the job i do, just the job i was meant to be doing 3 years ago :(

plus side though is that i'm in the process of arranging an afternoon at swinley with one of my patients as a "therapeutic activity" :D

halfords dont make carerra clothes, i'm safe ;)

in the end anyone judging you for what your wearing should be concentrating on riding their own bike and enjoying themselves, not worrying about what anybody is wearing or indeed riding!

beer + hammer + making sure the wife isnt getting home until its too late to repair the damage.

lol yeah i'm new, but that fact was painfully obvious on the first glance at the forum, a few weeks before i decided i needed a username and the ability to chip in with the odd comment :)

WARNING: you are over 40, get off the internet, this is for young people only.

one_veryveryunhappy_hippy….

i feel for you dude, insurance time is the worst time of the year :(

If you've only been mtbing for 5 years or so you won't remember a time when all the little bikey bits of singletrack simply did not exist. The concept of bikers 'developing' a bit of woodland was unheard of. Now almost every bit of accessible woods has little trails snaking all over it.

def agreed on that part! been taking a mate out riding who hasnt stepped on his bike in 8 years but we're heading out to the exact same parts he rode 8 years ago.. its like watching a kid at christmas as he's constantly excited by all the new bits of singletrack etc.

however on the internet part… if you type in a bike name and "review" then chances are in the top few results one of the biking forums will be there and it'll link to a thread of people ripping into someones choice of new bike. most people i know use a simple google search to check something before buying it, especially if its an item that wouldnt normally end up in the trolly on a weekly shop.

one thing that doesnt help is the whole "bike shaped object" thing…. in 2 ways i think….

1) its rubbish wasting the money on one when you're wanting to buy a bike "to get fit and out the house more" not realising its going to be horrible to ride and more trouble than its worth…

2) the fact that you need to spend 300+ to get something which isnt going to be horrible to ride… is enough to put most people off biking. then when you come on the itnernet to research the best value bike (cos you want to get fit and out the house more) you get overwhelmed by people saying you need to spend much more than 300 and ripping into any bike or componants that arent as good as the bike they've got and have invested hundreds into.

as a "newbie" to biking its incredibly daunting, makes you feel like you have to spend hundreds and hundreds, make you feel like nothing you buy for less than 700-800 will be good enough and you'll be mocked by anyone else on a bike.

most people who arent into biking know very little other than what was available when they last cycled as a kid. lightwieght frames, suspension, hardtails vs full suss, the hugely varying quality of companants all makes it pretty scary and you're constantly reminded that you cant trust halfords or your LBS for advice as according to the internet they're all crap.

i think the internet and forums, forgetting that some people just want to get on a bike in their normal clothes and ride for a bit away from the TV… (these people will usually end up then investing in better stuff etc and perhaps getting into a mroe specific style of riding)… is a BIG factor in scaring people off getting into biking.

this is jsut my opinion and obviously there are many many more factors to consider…. jsut thought i'd put it out there next time someone asks "what bike should i buy for 200pounds" and everyone bundles in telling them they're an idiot for even considering buying a bike for less than a grand (obvious exxageration, but intended to hammer the point home).

real men dont carry change…. its notes or nothing.

well to expand on that here's what a real man has in his pockets:

notes
condoms
signed photo of chuck norris

before anyone says "but what about carrying ID"….. you're a real man, you should have a beard.

can definately relate to the stressful job part…. think the trick is finding someone with an equally/more stressful job than you, they dont tend to blabble on about inane stuff all the time, are just as up for chilling and doing nothing and equally understand when you want to get out on your own :)

personal trainers?

mmmm if its trolling it def caught me out! i indeed reacted before engaging my brain… well trolled sir, well trolled.

how are RSI and migraines urban myths? guessing you've never had a migraine or known anyone have to give up a career due to RSI?

wish it had been made a requirement to put your age with your list of things you've done, that would've added a nice touch to the thread IMO

fair play, sounds like a smart kid who despite my assumptions about "gamers"… has spent some time outside the bedroom :)

my bet would be the xbox live and credits idea, or maybe a projector screen for him to go big on!

Imagine the feeling of achievement when he's playing a game on his xbox… that he built himself!

yes thats right, your son can build his own xbox!!! **

**my housemate has a broken xbox, i'm happy to break it into small pieces and include a small screwdriver set and soldering iron.. for no more than the price of postage and packaging, and the screwdriver set, and the soldering iron.

is the zobie on benefits and will it be wearing a hoodie?

have a kid
visit america
visit NZ and australia
buy own house instead of renting
Grow a beard and leave it for more than 1 week before shaving
see the northern lights

if google had access to my bank account all the internet would show me would be adverts for crc and wiggle….. oh hang on….!!

well obviously (this is for those who dont know what a devils advocate is) i think that nobody should be allowed on the roads apart from me! if you've got kids then you shouldnt be at work, let alone driving them to school on the way to work! child abuse i tells ya!

:roll:

anagallis_arvensis …. wasnt a whine, was a topic starter and a couple of people have taken the bait :) lets be friends… *offers cup of tea* cuppa?

anagallis_arvensis …. didnt say i hate traffic ;) thought my first post was quite well ballanced…. oh and do you see the irony in taking the time to moan about moaning?

Grum…. Nonk….. i am disappointed. this is the internet… you're not meant to be grown-up and agree that both are in individual and different situations!!

dont make me resort to parent and child parking spaces… ;)

shhhhh dont type that, google will find out!!!

seriously though….. good are pretty spot on with their ads… but also there's quite a bit that's well off the mark and i can only assume just random advertising… i get a few adverts for loans etc and i'm in a fortunate enough position at the moment not to need a loan.

hope that helps the paranoia dude…. other than that i'd say lay off the green and put some blu-tack over your webcam.. you know… just incase they're watching 8O