Norris

Obvious innit?

Chuck

Maps are fab. Compasses are simple. GPS are really handy, especially for the route recording abilities. I love knowing how far, how fast etc.

On the whole maps vs GPS debate?? I work on a ship (you guessed from the user name right?). I drive the thing, so have seen the gradual change from paper charts to Electronic Charts. Despite having the usefulness of ECDIS fitted to all ships I’ve been on in the last 10 years, we still use the good old paper chart too. Big reliable and easy to read.

Here’s mine:

This is the view from the office verandah…

Hi chaps,

I’ve been using a Bialetti and an Aeropress for espresso for a while now, buying my coffee from Hasbean….

Thinking of getting an Aeropress for at work. Any good??

Sorry, no photo.

Friend was replacing their kitchen. Helped them out by taking all their old cabinets and a bit of work surface. Wasn’t a perfect solution, but helped with garage storage no end.

I’m not an anti dog person. Honest. But the sh!t I wash out of my tyres really hacks me off. Mud washes off easy, why is dog dung so sticky?

Also, nice ride out with Seadog The Younger. Somebodies mutt appeared out of nowhere, no owner in sight of course. Scared the poor lad witless with its growling, snapping and chasing. Needed a swift boot from me to make it go away.

The one reason I have stuck with my Nokia, rather than Android or Apple is the totally free satnav that comes with them. Offline maps, native GPS (ie no need for network assisted positioning).

cheekyboy – Member
I cannot understand the amount of adoration for these monstrosities, not even combat proven!

Maybe a bit of stuff in the Falklands.

However, if you’ve never been combat proven it probably means that you’ve done your job, ie – scared off the opposition.

Both my bikes are 26″ XC hardtails. Both have 100mm forks. They are as so different it’s beyond belief. One is cozy and smooth for all day jaunts, the other is a vicious monster that wants me dead.

Changing to bigger wheels? I’m not convinced.

PS, I work with lots of Canadians. Generally great work mates, and I don’t hear too many complaints about the place from them. Also none of them I know have ever felt/mentioned/wanted the need to live in another country.

And that with weather that wants to kill you for 8 months of the year!!??!

Lived in NZ for 7.5 years

It’s a lovely place to be, and you can make a lot of it if you wish/can. It ain’t cheap when comparing what you get for your dollar.

We came back home for a number of reasons. Chief among them was the opportunities the kids would (not) have. There is a lot to offer there, but if it isn’t there, you’re scuppered. They all have to have the Big OE (Overseas Experience) to be considered complete people.

It is also extremely competative at all levels of life. We hated the question “Where are you then?” = What street do you live on? Is it posher than mine? I will/won’t be a friend on that basis. Sad but true. :(

Try this too: Google Maps > Put NZ in the middle and zoom out all the way to space > What else to you see? Consider it, this has a very real effect on life there.

Globalti –

The Tiv people in Nigeria even talk about first sleep and second sleep. The biggest problem is the obsession with a good solid night’s uninterrupted sleep, which gives everyone a hangup if they happen to wake up.

Agreed, I work away from home on a ship. Getting out of bed during that mid (non)sleep gap, faff about a bit, then get back to sleep for a second slot. Not fool proof, but can help. Hacks off Mrs Seadog when I’m home though….

Work buddy loves his posh watches (£1000+) but will not take up the challenge of using his like a hammer, or standing on it, dropping it off the top of the stairs etc.., unlike my £50 G-Shock.

Best value for money at any price. Much like old Nokia phones…

I had a once Nokia phone that survived a full wash AND dry cycle in industrial sized machines. No life when it came out all hot, but was right as rain when it cooled down.

Some stuff is ment not to die. There is hope yet for the Garmin.

I was stunned when I called BT to move up to a better broadband package.

Moved from 10 to 40Gb/month, all the same stuff as before (deals on international calls etc etc..), plus the BT Vision kit, for the grand sum of an extra £4 a month over the next year…

Work patterns bugger me up. Day shifts/night shifts, time off…

Routine is all that works for me, and keeping off Caffiene for the 6 hours before bed.

All the above bikes do fit well with the budget, but often sizing can be a snag when buying online. Fallen foul of tasty offers myself on this front. Try them out locally, and buy nationally (ie online) if possible, and cheaper naturally.

As you’ve been riding a while I presume that you have all the other clobber one needs to enjoy the sport? If not, knock back the budget on the bike and invest in all those things that help improve the ride:

Good Helmet, gloves, shorts, shoes, backpack, specs, etc. Quality versions of these things ratchet up the cost, but make a lot of difference.

Stuck with my Time ATAC’s. Better the devil you know.

There are flats on my second bike, I ride it about town so want to use ‘normal’ shoes. Off road I’m used to being clipped in, and I like the feel, and the power delivery.

I’d say stick with the SPD’s. But then again I am often wrong.

All was going well until the doc touched something in the sack that hadn’t taken to the local.

It hurt.

A lot. 8O

An afternoon of ice packs, a long lie on the bed reading bike mags and chilling out was well earned. After a day of feeling like there was a bag of sugar hanging off the chaps things improved.

Most of us here are riding off road I presume?

Sheep have more sense than the majority of non-bike road users.

If you are in the city itself there are some good just north of the town, heading up the hill to the Tibidabo fun fair park on the top of the hill.

Just work you way to the north edge of the city, and then find the trails and ride up toward the radio aerials.

Some very nice dark choccie
Some very nice coffee
Mogwai (again and again..)

A decent nights sleep last night after a week of crap ones. :D

Finding out that my post holiday credit card bill was far smaller than I had feared. 8O

Telling a Canadian work college an old and tired joke, but he laughed like a drain anyway. :lol:

I was walking down the road the other day and I saw this TV on sale. It was only £1 because the volume was stuck on full.
I couldn’t it down.

Thanks Paulo. Exit Stage left Credit card in hand…

Mac – They keep you dry when it rains…

Transit Tourneo – Shockingly cheap, in all respects. And will comfortably accomodate a pod of whales, with all their luggage and squid based snacks.

And it’s a transit, which are fab, cos they are transits.

Not sure which end of the spectrum these come in at:

http://www.airnimalfoldingbikes.com/

Soz, failed at adding picture… luddite me I am..

I rarely move with the times, so whatever we get, if it works now will be kept as is, until it dies a lonely death at the back of the garage.. in the pile of stuff kept cos I can’r bear to throw it out.

If somebody wants my identity they must be very sad and desparate.

I tip in the States when it’s warranted/deserved/expected.

Although I was astonished when I was tipping the driver of the shuttle bus from Disneyland to LAX. He was helpful, and made an effort to get our bags on and off, and park close to the doors on a really busy day. I only had a few coins or $50 bills left. I asked him if he could break the fifty for a tip, which he oblighingly did.

He pulled out of his pocket a roll of notes as fat as a coke can; He couldn’t get his hand round it! I cheekily asked if that was todays tips “Oh no Sir, just this afternoon”

Got a D3100 myself but a couple of weeks ago, first DSLR. Still getting to grips with it, but some good shots have happened!

And lots of rubbish one too…All my fault of course.

Save you and Mrs andy lot of trouble – Do you want mine???

Forester. You can pick them up dirt cheap. The only down side is high fuel consumption. But balanced against overall usability and reliability it’s a no brainer.

I’m not convinced yet. It seems to me in my generalised and unquanitified experience that there are an equal amount of riders who praise the 29″ as there are those who sticking with/returning to the 26″.

Personally, they just look too big, and if it doesn’t look right it probably isn’t right. And, I was pleased to see plenty of 26″ wheels going around the track at Hadleigh for the ‘pics.

I’ve also heard it said that 29s don’t go any faster, they just feel that way… You can’t go faster without putting more energy in in the first place.

My lad (now 10) has had two meaty crashes on his bike. He has learned three things from them:

1. Stop before scratching armpit
2. ‘Watch out this bend is all loose’ does mean take it easy; and
3. Get back on and ride as it’s a long way to walk

Yoga – Just exercise for lazy people. Nothing more than glorified stretching and mobility routines.

After getting a few of those things I really want, but can’t justify as there are more important things (bike bits, gadgets, Concept2 rowing machine etc):

The Kitchen and other bits of shabby house
Chunck off mortgage
The cost of moving to the next street along which has much nicer (and costlier) houses.