Sorry Don, but I really fail to see your arguments here. What you’re saying is that you have the same rights as any other person. Correct.

And therefore you have the right not to be intimidated by another persons animal, that is supposed to be under their absolute control in a shared usage area. As do I.

I do not have an irrational fear of dogs, I have a healthy fear of dogs. Riding along a trail I will slow down and leave a respectful space between myself and any animal, make my presence known either verbally or with a bell, to intentionally make sure it remains unspooked, unaggressive and is aware of my presence. That is as much as I need to do to demonstrate reasonable behaviour on my part. What I will not do is ride up to the owner, tap them on their shoulder and say “excuse me, just letting you know that I do have a fear of dogs due to having being bitten by them twice as a child. I would therefore be appreciative if you did not let your dog run at me as I ride along this trail.”

The reason I wouldn’t, and do not need to do this is that it’s implicit in the law that it is not my responsibility to control someone elses dog. It is the owners responsibility. It is also not my responsibility to inform other trail users of my fear of dogs, again, it is the dog owners responsibility to be aware that others may not realise their gentle dog is not necessarily viewed like that by others.

Sure, you don’t take your dog to trail centres and races. But it’s your responsibility to control your dog at all times when in the presence of others. I’m afraid if you can’t do that, you have even fewer legs to stand on that heather mills.

yeah, there’s some stuff there. Best bet is to hook up with other riders if you want to know the trails. I know them but won’t post them on the internet.

I’m pretty much the same, I have opinions I’ll defend, but equally i can be swayed by a convincing opposing argument. If someone pisses me off, they know about it, and I will take the piss out of anything, regardless of whether it’s considered politically correct or offensive.

erm, I’m not basing it on israeli government claims at all, I’m sitting in an office, and therefore specifically saying that I cannot form a formal opinion one way or the other. And the OP equally so.

If the UN is aware of war crimes perpetrated by Israel I would fully expect them to prosecute however necessary.

And I will happily read the article when I’m not in the office. However, I would like to suggest, regardless of who writes an article, that that is merely another media, and i could probably provide you with any number of conflicting media, which I could then use to support any point I was making. Whether you or I give more credence to one or another is entirely subjective.

So, therefore I refer you back to the point I made earlier – we, on here, are all reliant on secondary information, media, and it is human nature to read selectively and with generosity to something they inherently believe in. That is as much what I am challenging as anything else.

I would also draw your attention to the fundamental rule of justice. Israel stands accused of war crimes, which as you’ve so clearly suggested the UN is able to progress and try against. As yet they have not admitted any, have not been tried for any, and no prosecution or defence has been laid open for scrutiny by both parties, so at the present time, the only reachable verdict can be “not guilty”, surely?

Big Dummy’s post is by far the most measured and objective on here. Emotions seem to rule quite high in the rest.

I’ve seen the cracks in djg’s – I wouldn’t be riding it!

I think I registered some interest previously too – maybe with a “yorkshire” in my name then…

Oh, and red anodised for me! 😀

The war crime thing is there to bring to justice those who commit war crimes. And that will happen if they are adjudged to have been committed.

However, the comment I was making is that any war will have collaterol damage. Some significantly more than most, and when you’re dealing with terrorist operations rather than military operations, the strength of intelligence is the key to limiting collaterol damage. It’s a well known and documented tactic of isolated terrorist cells to insinuate and exist within “safe” society and attack at opportune and unsuspecting moments. What should be the case is that those “safe” areas the terrorists insinuate to are adequately cleared prior to any military operation, or those harboring them should eject them on the basis of their own safety and innocence.

However, the latter generally doesn’t happen, and the former cannot be 100% accurate. So, civilians get hurt. That’s a standard on the rules of engagement of pretty much any military operation.

To my mind, the Israelis have not specifically targeted civilians, as they know better than to do that. Equally they have probably one of the best secret services around, with huge investment in it, purely as they are aware of their precarious position both politically and geographically, and seek to protect themselves, as any right thinking nation would. Equally, Hamas feel they are 100% right in what they’re doing, and potentially they are.

Also, how many of us have been involved in conflict? I know two on the forum that have, and chatting to them it’s abundantly clear that nothing is clear cut on the ground. It’s very easy to cry “war crime”, “oh my god Nazi-esque regime, bring them down” from our nice comfy offices, based on media reports. I’m not going to do that as there’s little point.

When you’re directly involved in the real time strategic operations and decisions of both perceived aggressor and oppressor, then fair enough, but until then, I cannot agree with statements such as “war criminals” and “israelis are nazis”, and I struggle to see how anyone else can.

Spot on Macca – it’s a war. Bad things happen in wars, and there are casualties both innocent and guilty, and that extends to both sides.

Society, borders, economies both local and global are also based on people believing others are inferior to themselves.

You want a utopia ernie, you go and find one on another planet, as the one you’re on isn’t sociologically constructed to have one.

she’s in celebrity big brother mate.

Not the easiest situation I know, and everyone is different. Personally, if he’s not in pain, then stay with the fella.

The vet advised us a year or so ago that our cat was pretty much on his last legs (he was 18), had all sorts of problems besides being deaf and retarded, and was completely off his food and shedding weight rapidly. he’s now 19, has to be helped on to the sofa but shuffles around the house to find me to have company. He’s a legend, and had we listened to the vet, then he wouldn’t be here right now.

hand the keys to the house to the bank, and liquidate the loan. If the house value is greater than the value of the outstanding loan, then you’re out of the agreement.

HOWEVER, the current projection of a saving of £1500 is based on interest rates at their current level. Depending on the rate it may fall to, you could potentially save sufficiently to warrant the change, but only if you change now as the £2k redemption fee is unlikely to change significantly. That has quite an element of risk (although the reality is that rates are likely to fall to virtually zero over the next 6 months), and the fact that you fixed at 6.9 suggests you are fairly risk averse.

Pike – they absorb more whisky that way. 😀

nope – stop trying to do everything on the cheap! It’s not necessarily a cheap sport if you want decent stuff!

porridge every day for me.

I stand in a field with a kilt on like the Quaker man. I’ll see you Jimmy!

personally I wouldn’t. I’ve done a couple of triathlons and by far a better shop for that is Sigmasport in Kingston.

up to you though really.

A mate of mine (Dangles on here) has a large Banshee Scirocco which could be just the ticket. Have mailed him the link….

nickc – Member
M&S is a business. It will act within the law to maximize it’s profit for it’s shareholders. That is it’s legal responsibility. (there are some swingeing fines and other punishments for NOT acting like this) If you want companies to act differently (i.e. behave in more “social” way) then you have to change quite a few pieces of law, and eventually the basis of how “businesses” are framed, and for who’s benefit they operate.

Not convinced that’s the case. Companies can trade and act as ethically as they want, do not have to operate for profit, and as long as they do not engage in illegal trading, there’s nothing stopping them doing that.

I think what you mean is that the board of directors shouldn’t make decisions and operate in a way that does not have the agreement of the shareholders, and should not knowingly operate in a way that would not maximise profit without the agreement of the shareholders – hence the AGMs / EGMs etc. If you have a bunch of hippy hessian sandallers as shareholders, I’m not sure they’re too fussed by profit.

agreed – liners under any winter glove generally keep you toasty fingered.

I’ve just ordered some from groundeffect – will be interested to see how good they are – on the basis of their other products, I’m hoping brilliant!

Why are you looking at 4″ travel but 140-150mm travel forks? A balanced bike should have about the same travel front and back

what a load of cockrot.

The trance, as many, many people on here will attest to is 4.2″ on the back, but chucking a set of pikes on it turns it from a good bike into a stunning bike.

Hardcore hardtails also come nowhere near your theory.

I tend to put it on one setting, and then use the gears to change the resistance, and doing pyramids on it – i.e. x minutes in low gear, x-1 mins in the next gear, etc, and then back down again. As my fitness / strength improves in the spring / summer I can change the tt resistance and do the same.

On a SS, you could still do that using the settings on the tt resistance.

you could run a ss fine.

I’d recommend the Tacx range – I have a “swing” which is magnetic (therefore quietish), and variable resistance which you set via a lever on the bars. I use a geared road bike on mine.

given that most of these companies report to shareholders, many of which are your and my pension funds, ethics are irrelevant. If you want to be ethical, your shareholders have to share the same viewpoint.

With a retail behemoth like M&S, that’s not going to be the case. Personally, I think they are probably overstaffed to the tune of at least double the number they’re laying off, so it’s not too bad really. As has been said, when things are good, companies don’t necessarily run efficiently, and now is the time for them to “rightsize”.

that’s fine, but if you look at the economy and the way the exchange rate is moving and cost of raw materials is rising, then you’ll see that the base cost of new components is higher. Therefore secondhand prices don’t necessarily have to fall as much as they would have previously.

A single 08 Juicy 7 on merlin is currently 109. A pair of 09’s is currently 170. Sure you may have paid cheaper last year, but that’s not necessarily reflective of current pricing, which is behind my valuation figure.

I’d say you should be able to get £100-£120 depending on condition. On here you’ll get the usual bargain hunters trying to knock you down, but hey, that’s my opinion on the price. If you don’t NEED to sell, don’t accept under £100.

I’m tubeless on all my bikes with 819s. i never got punctures with tubes, but the suppleness of the ride convinced me. Having tried with tubes again, the tyres are noticeably stiffer and don’t seem to “flow” with the bike quite as well…

it is, and it isn’t – I have both and whilst the LED is the same, the build quality on the airbike is far higher. I think that’s what’s been failing, rather than the LED itself.

I’m a bluetit apparently. Foodwise, I’d be happy with a Twix.

i quite often get attacked by sloth during the working day.

and i don’t mean him from the Goonies!

cheers for the info folks – have looked at the ones mentioned, and was close to getting the embers one, but then decided to try a Ground Effect one, as I’ve met the guys there and they’re a good bunch. Plus, the stuff of theirs that I have used has been very good…

are you a workshy, inneffective dolt, with delusions of granduer? Do you think you’re funny, have a weight problem that demands special and expensive work equipment, and possibly even an assistant under the equal opportunities policy? Do you approve of the idea of subcontracting out services to companies that charge more, and provide a significantly worse service to that which is already operating? Are you willing to cry foul and work to rule at the drop of a hat, whilst maintaining impeccable job security for life, and retirement?

If yes, the life of local government work is for you.

chewed freehub body will be fine, just get it rebuilt for £60ish (Bromleybike do it by mail, as does Eichler on here, tho not sure what access to spares he has).

It must be all that power you put through it…

sex shop in soho. just take the mechanical bit out. 😀

ow, I think the best training for that is to learn to say “fuckit” and stay in bed.

piedi, it wasn’t the one in Leadenhall market was it? Was fine until about 6 months ago, then it went all DVDs and games, and it’s only going to get worse with more demand for blu-ray – they’re stocking the same films more than once, and the same games in each format.

As has been said, it’s all about margins, and I fear the CD will soon become almost solely an internet shop purchase.

if you’re after an airborne, I’d get one off ebay – same frame from China and when I was looking last summer they were about £350.

bikini wax? glen medeiros album?

But I should say thanks to CG / Aleigh for organising it though – good work, and I hope it’s a great ride.

Aleigh, another time maybe.

lol – and there from radoggair is the reason why I don’t bother.

rado, I agree it’s about the company, which is why in smaller groups you can actually chat to people, about a fair bit of stuff (not just riding, as that’s just one of many things I’m interested in) and actually get to know a bit more about them, all without worrying how many people are around you, whether you’ll clip a wheel if you switch off, whether someone else will trip yours etc. You know, actual chatting, rather than swapping around positions in a larger bunch, saying a cursory “hello, who are you on the forum, whoops, singletrack bit, hopefully catch up with you in a bit”. I wasn’t 100% that I wouldn’t be going, but hey, you’ve just helped me make up my mind.

oh, and bluetit really is a pathetic insult. You could have called me a **** or something, but no, you chose bluetit.

I’m 4real, although not in a Richey Edwards way (do a google images if you don’t know what that refers too…)

I’m thinking there’ll be 40+ people, and whilst i’m sure you’re all really nice and stuff, I hate riding in big groups – it’s a personal preference thing. 15, maybe 20 is a huge group in my opinion, and even then i would probably split it into 2.

Indeed I can, but if I’m riding on my own i’ll choose somewhere other than Swinley.