Try calling Spesh 0208 3913517.

Same here Fuzzy – I’ll put maybe 10-15hrs (these days) into what I think is a good game and then that’s it. Tis a good thing though.

I reckon SR could easily pull a lot of people into it though. If I had absolutely nothing to do for a week I could play it a lot. But thankfully I have a life.

I’ve also gone off exploring a bit rather than doing the main quest and started bumping into dragons, giants, skeletons and mammoths that kill me quite quickly.

There’s your problem. You’re gonna get your arse kicked if you mainly pick on big guys like these. Do some quests, up some powers and start kicking arse.

I take it you’re now talking?

I don’t do the ‘no talking’ stance. Always better IMHO to get it out in the open and start addressing it.

Yes, they are life stealers. Thankfully I’m full on with everything else in my life right now so only get to play the odd session late at night. Twas different in my 20s.

FW, I’ll probably get bored of it in a few days/weeks too. I’m kind of expecting to, but at the same time the non-linearity does mean you have huge variety in what you do and how you do it. Everyone playing the game is probably taking an entirely different path. And it does look damn fine. A much better experience that the Fallout series and other RPGs.

Anyone been checking out the latest PC mods?[/url]

Worth using the Mod Manager and already seeing improvements in textures etc.

We live in the sticks just down the road. Pretty much as TG describes, with trains taking 30-35 mins from Redhill. But with the right timing you only need to add a few mins from Reigate.

Shame that a couple of good restaurants have had to pack in; Westerley and Parador. A sign of the times maybe – but loads of other eateries around; Indian, Italian, Nepalese, Thai, French, Chinese, etc.

Local park much improved since the refurb – great for kids/families.

Great for biking IMO. I often ride from home and take in any combo of > Redlands > Leith Hill > Holmbury > Pitch > WF > Ranmore > Boxhill > Headley as well the trails along the NDW east of Merstham.

Property bloody inflated though. And don’t even get me started on the cost of childcare 👿

Nope. My body is the proverbial temple when it comes to post-exercise alcohol. Easy to avoid the stuff when on my own, but usually different with mates.

My VX220T was ex-demo – only had one issue and that was nothing to do with its history.

And our Focus was ex-demo – no probs whatsoever.

One of my mechanic mates says the riskiest motors are ex-hire cars. Possibly being a bit broad there because no doubt some look after them better than others (regardless of how badly the cars are treated by hirees).

On average, people with household incomes similar to you have an annual balance of… £-27,221
So I assume this means I’m a giver?

That’s the exact same figure I got.

Me, the missus and a little monkey = tenth decile. Nice to know this calculation deems us having the highest amount of disposable income … that’ll be without taking into account the £13k/pa we pay in childcare for 4 days a week! Yeah, we have loads of spare cash – not.

Check out the folk at Chillblast. Loads of their machines get excellent reviews and they do custom builds – mine rocks 🙂

I have a kit in a saddlebag of everything I need that lives on the bike, I do check it over – takes 30 seconds.

Same here.

Have to admit there are days when getting everything sorted pre-ride is a bind, but once I’m out then all is well. Packing/driving/unpacking does sometimes do my head in too. Hence why I usually ride to the trails – 45 mins each way (into the Surrey Hills) offers a good warm up and more miles in the saddle. Other than that there are plenty of decent enough routes (road and off-road) on the doorstep.

Would get a CX and road bike if I could justify it. Could be a while though.

Has Anthony just finished rehearsing at the Blue Oyster Bar?

Can’t sing though. Awful voice.

^^^^
THIS

Hmm, looks like Chrome (typically 10-20 tabs) and Outlook are the memory hoggers, and the usual work-related apps are actually not demanding as much as I expected.

Tend to work a lot with very media rich PowerPoint files (easily 75_ slides, 100+ images + videos + Flash), GIMP, CS4 and various online/offline authoring/editing tools that seem to be more CPU intensive.

CPUs not really being stretched beyond 25% even under load (bar the occasional spike). And memory rarely more than 50%.

SSD used only for the ‘main’ apps and work files – have 2 other HDDs for other stuff plus an external jobby.

Not really bothered about gaming because Crysis, Skyrim and BF3 are running proper quick and without issues.

Might go for it, or might hold back – especially if I end up going for a Sandybridge in 12-18 months time (which will require a mobo swap and therefore most likely sticks as well).

My old LBS would only let me take a bike out around the industrial park. One (sunny/dry) day I thought “**** that, especially if I’m gonna spend £1500+” and headed off down the old railway line to some woods. Had a good 20 min spin and then returned. Decided I didn’t like the suspension and wouldn’t be buying it. They had a rant about me getting dust/dry mud on the tyres to which I said “If I’d bought the bike off the back of a 5 min tarmac spin then I’d have a rant about how it didn’t feel right off-road, i.e where I’m gonna use it.”

Never went back after that.

Yeah, I was thinking about monitoring usage (when under stress) to see if it’s being maxed enough. Will take a butchers for a couple of days and see how it goes. Ta

Cheez, I opted for one of those for my ex a few Xmas’ back … gave me yet more ammo that women don’t alway want what they say they want.

What bike/frame/spec/brakes are you running?

What does your contract say?

“I used to clear it on my old <bike name> … but don’t do so much of that stuff these days” 🙂

saw what I think were 2 policemen on Quad bikes at the bottom of a recently re-built trail up there.

But are they allowed to chase you down footpaths on said quad bikes? 🙂

Re-built trail? Is someone resurrecting the start of MA (or something else)?

+1 Autosock – can also get them via Roofbox.[/url]

Sandals and shorts for me all day today (and much of this week) inc a stretch along the Worthing/Brighton seafront. The missus said we were each dressed for opposing seasons. She had a point. But somehow I tend not to feel the cold like others. Plus it was genuinely bloody warm today.

but it’s really nice to be able to share what I love doing with someone else.

+1

Introduced one of my (you wouldn’t want to meet him in a bad mood) nutter mates to MTBing a few years ago. Spent a few evenings and w/ends out on the trails and he ‘repaid’ me the best way he could by constantly grinning and saying “That was the most fun I’ve had in years.”

Stomach bug and cold have cost me 2 weeks off the bike 🙁 So it’ll be 80/20 road/off-road around Surrey/Sussex tomo morning 🙂

Same here.

Want one, but can’t justify it (at present anyway) 🙁

We used to use Tippex back in the day. Still does the trick now.

Schwalbe Big Apples here – pretty damn rugged on road and casual trails.

Yep, TBBT is proper funny. Very clever in its attention to detail and with excellent dialogue.

Don’t get to watch it as much as I used to though 🙁

Would like to get this but can’t see me playing it for than a week or so. Fall Out 3, Mass Effect 2 and Witcher 2 each grabbed me for about that long before turning into the same old same old.

Sure SR looks super lovely, but isn’t that just glossing over yet another RPG full of incredibly dull NPCs, rinse-n-repeat side quests and an inventory list that forever requires tinkering with?

Am not going to read the whole thread, but I too wanted an Elise back in 04. Took some test drives and found them not nearly as inspiring as expected. A mate said I should check on the VX220s so I did. Bought an 03 Turbo and loved it. More torque and better responsiveness at speed. Great forum (vx220.org), plenty of mods and cracking track days etc.

All IMO of course 🙂

On the back of the other thread about kids on footpaths … has anyone else encountered families (avec children and dogs) walking the ‘wrong’ way along the start to Parklife? I guess they innocently veer onto it where the (parallel-ish) footpath meets the first proper rutty/swampy bit.

Had this happen a couple of times last year and then again a fortnight ago. Even met a rider riding the ‘wrong’ way with this dog recently too – asked him to watch out because of the ‘oncoming’ but he chose not to acknowledge me.

Like others have said, the traffic is there but typically only around the ‘more famous’ trails. BKB and PL are usually sound though and I’ve had slower people let me/us through. TR is pretty dull these days – much better taking the ‘other’ trail.

BTW – what makes you think Drupal is the answer? (I really, really like Drupal but I would want to understand the eventual product before choosing the tool…)

The platform needs to offer a clean/contemporary front-end with CMS functionality + have a very stable forum (that integrates into our db).

Have thought about WP but the techies reckon Drupal is better suited.

We’re hopefully finalising the first brief this week so will be looking at Drupal (and maybe something else) pretty soon after.

When I mentioned “must be pretty slick and intuitive”, I should’ve been more clear. We’re either going to buy in a theme and customise it or start from scratch. Either way, we’re looking for someone who can ‘prettify’ the site, therefore solid design skills are a must … as well as being able to keep everything user friendly etc.

EDIT: Hi Rachel, I’ll drop you an email too – ta.

with doddery walkers, many of which will have a pop at you regardless of how considerate

I’ve been riding the ND/SH (and stopping at the tower) for years and never had one altercation with a walker or horsey-rider.

Thanks for the post Martin. I’ll email you details when we’ve done more on the spec.

An important thing to note is that this is a high-profile project and must be pretty slick and intuitive. It also involves our team integrating parts of the build with our own platform. Long story blah blah.

Cheers

Yep, I always proffer at least a “You alright … need a hand?” if I see someone fettling or walking (avec bike).

Managed to fix a fit bird’s drive train a couple of years back – didn’t get an invite to the party she was cycling too though 🙁