The calories listed on packaging are a measure of the energy available if the food is dried right out and then blown up in a bomb calorimeter

and the resulting figures then adjusted to take into consideration the efficiency of digestion and absorption using the Atwater system. The raw calorific value of a substance is NOT the same as it’s food energy, even though both are given in the same unit of measurement.

I’ve got a fresh mug of tea

You don’t want tea. You want a mug of water that remembers tea.

Been on spring water for 15 years now. When we moved in we got the water tested by the Local Authority (free of charge, not sure if that is the case now) which indicated that it was illegal under the Geneva convention and would be a danger if terrorists ever got hold of it. Installed a particle filter and UV filter to make it safe.
5 years later the spring dried up during a long drought (pretty rare in Wales) so we installed a bore hole at a cost of £14K. The spring has never dried up since but the bore hole has been well worth the money – no longer need to water the garden, veg plot and livestock by hand and plenty of high pressure water for vehicle washing etc.
Plus the piece of mind knowing that we’ll never run dry as we can top up the spring tanks from the bore hole.
Cost of the bore hole and annual maintenance has worked out much cheaper than getting connected to mains water.
And spring water tastes so much nicer than mains.

Pauls are always worth a look. E.g. GT Zaskar Sport for £519 is a pretty good deal

That’s not a trail dog.
That’s a dog taking its trail human out for a spin (they need the exercise you know).

Do unto others etc.
Do what you’d do if it was the other way round, i.e. you ordered an expensive jacket but received a cheap one.

Ready to work on your winter tan :-)

Mountain biking is ace, where else would one get to practise those vital MRVJDALFTB** skills?

You’re right. CX bikes are a very poor substitue for that sort of thing :-)

do not however you do it use any indicators

I’m pretty sure that using indicators on a roundabout was made illegal some years ago. It would certainly seem to be the case anyway.

I’ve been obsessed with bikes since I was 12 (which was a long time ago) and have riden just about every variety going. Road bike, touring bike, TT bike, track bike, CX bike, mountain bike, tricycle, tandem, tandem tricycle, unicycle, recumbent and even had a go on an vintage ordinary. They were all fun and I’ve met some great people along the way, from a national TT record holder to two old geezers from the RSF who described taking a tandem over the Lairig Ghru as ‘a bit of a lark’.
But I’m only really interested in 26″ hardtails :-)

So you’re suggesting that the state should summarily kill people to show that killing people is wrong?

The jury decided that he wasn’t summarily killed. It does however highlight the risks of acquiring an illegal weapon – you may intend to kill someone else but end up dead yourself.

So summary execution, then? Nice.

What do you think Duggan was going to do with the illegal handgun he’d bought? Wait for a court verdict before he shot someone with it?

Everything behind the head tube looks great. The front, well that’s a different matter entirely.

If not M5 then it could be 2BA (if old and British)

Either their direct mount or their 104mm BCD rings (I forget) aren’t actually narrow/wide

The AB direct mount GXP rings aren’t narrow/wide, something they don’t make very clear on their website.

Saw a link on faceache, the express were again forecasting loads of snow. Utter tosh!

The Express has been forecasting death, doom and destruction for weeks now. They get it from an outfit called ‘Positive Weather Solutions’, which is a guy called Johnathon Powell who is a known rogue and charlatan in meteorological circles.
The Express is so economical with the truth that the Met Office has to put out press releases denying what they claim they said.
Today’s Express says

BBC weatherman Michael Fish declared confidently: “It WILL be a White Christmas.”

whereas what he actually said was

On Christmas Day there will be wintry showers across Scotland.

I’ve no idea what they are.

Not as exciting as they sound I’m afraid. Chainsaw protection – trousers padded with fibres that jam the chain and stop the saw if it cuts them.

Just checked the little leaflet from our local air ambulance and their top 3 reason for call out are :
Road Traffic Collisions
Heart attacks and strokes
Accidents involving farm machinery, power tools and ladders

Today I’ve been out for a short ride with the dogs not wearing a helmet (I did have some stout wellies on), backed a trailer into the yard without a banksman, then cut up some logs without wearing ballistic trousers.

I’m probably pushing my luck but I might just go and put up some Xmas decorations without wearing a hard hat, hi-viz jacket and an arrest harness.

Tell me again why riding without a helmet is a problem?

Because if he falls off the air ambulance will have to rush out and save his life. Apparently.

What exactly is going to happen to you if you cut it indoors.There not cyanide based are they ?.

Carcinogenic, like asbestos. You really don’t want to inhale the dust.

I went to the butchers the other day and I bet him 50 quid that he couldn’t reach the meat off the top shelf.
He said, “No, the steaks are too high.”

I don’t know. The “I need CCTV to film the postman biting my mail and blaming it on the dog” thread comes close.

Love a bit of middle class confrontation.

No you don’t. Your’e just saying that to cover up your pathetic male inadequacies.

(See, you don’t need mumsnet, you can get it all here)

Two blondes walk into a bar. You’d have thought that at least one of them would have seen it

Two Eskimos sitting in a canoe were cold, so they lit a fire. It sank, proving that you can’t have your kayak and heat it.

A man woke up in a hospital after a serious accident and shouted “Doctor, doctor, I can’t feel my legs!”
“I know”, said the doctor, “I’ve cut off your arms!”

Does that make them Wide Narrow rings then?

If you use the fishing tube, make sure you get the size right. 1.5mm will just fit on gear cables, 2mm is easier and 3mm for brake cables (from memory)

Straw, it’s generally called, from your local LBS.
Or if you want to be more sophisticated look for silicone rig tubing from a sea fishing shop, which you can get in a variety of colours and doesn’t rattle like straw sometimes can.

So am I understanding it right

Yep, that’s about it. Although for ‘sections’ probably read ‘a lot of it’ (as far as I can see from the map of the construction area).

The climb, 16.2 km of fireroad, 760m of new single track and the final descent?

Not quite sure how the figures add up, or where they get the 17km bit from; the whole Gorlech trail is only 19km now, and they’re going to take 8km out.
No date for when the work will start (planning was only approved yesterday). Estimated time for felling and construction is 22 months I think.

The planning document is at http://online.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/agendas/eng/PLAC20131217/REP03.HTM
The relevant bit is :

Mountain Biking

13.10 During the construction and felling phase of the development the section of the Gorlech trail which runs through the PAM area (4km) will be temporarily closed for health and safety reasons. In addition an extra 4km of this route will be temporarily inaccessible as riders would need to travel through the PAM area in order to access these parts of the route. A diverted route which will include section of the Gorlech route and forest tracks amounting to 17km in length will be provided temporarily. To address the Council’s concerns that elements of technical single track of the Gorlech trail will be lost during the build stage, a new section of 760m will be built in to the temporary Gorlech trail. Only 19% of the length of the Gorlech trail and only 7% of the designated mountain bike routes in Brechfa Forest will be temporarily inaccessible. This section of single track will remain open following construction.

13.11 The local mountain bike group have expressed concern regarding the proposed mitigation being insufficient. The loss and closure of part of the Gorlech trail will be for a temporary period and not the lifetime of the wind farm. On this basis it is considered that the mitigation and alternative route proposed by the developer is proportionate for the time period. Furthermore the 760m of downhill single track will remain during the operational stage and is therefore seen as a positive enhancement measure that will increase the desirability of using this trail and possibly more mountain bikers accessing the forest and the area. Although what that actually means in practice is anyone’s guess. My reading of it is that you’ll be able to do the first climb, then a new bit of singletrack, then the final descent.

In my opinion they have just chosen to turn their backs on an unscrupulous and grossly unfair society

So if someone hit you over the head and stole your money you wouldn’t have a problem with that?

“Dave Hinde wins retailer of the year award”

“Why are roadies so cheerful and friendly?”

“I think I’ll just use whatever tyres I happen to have on”

The tables are turned – the lone breakaway prepares to catch the bunch.

Been thrashing my scale for over 3 years with lots of enthusiasm, a minimum of skill and several spectacular involuntary dismounts, and it now has a bit of heel rub on one of the chainstays. I’m totally gutted.

Bike waffle waffle, red light waffle waffle, lycra waffle waffle.
Can I have my cheque now please?

Damn, feel for you mate. Seen a few dogs come and go over the years, but never lost a pup like that. You must be gutted.
There’s always next year though. Things will get better.

Apart from some sniping situations camo isn’t that significant a factor in military use anyway. I was taught that concealment depends on the 7 S’s :
Shape
Shine
Shadow
Silhouette
Sound
Smell
Sudden movement
(If I remember that correctly after all these years)

why it is not in the interests of the military to replicate such precise camo.

Because it’s very specific to the environment it’s used in. There are various Realtree patterns based on the environment they’re intended to be used in and they work well (as shown in the photos) when they exactly match the background. Hunters generally know in advance exactly where they’ll be using it, the military don’t.

I’ve got a Realtree Xtra Green jacket that works well in the mixed woodland I usually shoot in, if I go somewhere else it really doesn’t work as well.

Plus it’s not exactly cheap!