Bough the oven on Tuesday night. It arrived on Thursday and we used it straight away. First pizza was a disaster due to sticky dough that we left hanging around for too long. Got the hang of it in the end though.

Used it again last night and now have it totally dialled – even when we drop an egg on the top.

Lady Ga Ga can will not be the Super Bowl half time entertainment in our house on Sunday night. We’ll be making pizzas and drinking beer!

Thanks DMORTS!

Currently own an E-Class E220CDi. Great for munching miles and fairly frugal for it’s size… Roof bars and roof box and 40mpg to the Alps.
No cup holders though – drives me nuts!

Miss my A6 2.0TDi. I preferred the interior (cockpit). A4 wasn’t big enough for all our stuff (owned a 2.5 V6).

Drove my mums Mazda6 (Saloon) and hated it. Visibility out the back was pants and there are SO many buttons.

Passats are good at what they do, but the interior isn’t quite as refined – You get what you pay…

A6 for me.

If running costs and mpg can be ignored and you just want ‘lug-a-bility’ my Discovery3 takes some beating… But Volvo XC owners will probably disagree. (However the Volvo will only tow 2400kg and is useless off road – I digress and this should probably be on another thread!)

What ever fits you well…
Salomon Quest fit me and are ace.
Bridgedale cool fusion light hiker socks too.

I think Land Rover introduced side facing belts in the mid nineties. I’m basing this on the fact that we had a 200Tdi that didn’t have them, then a 300Tdi and a TD5 that did have them. They were only lap belts though.

We had two 110s for work and eventually got scared of the whole side facing seat belts / passenger safety issue and swapped them for a Discovery and a minibus. We need to tow a big trailer with a hot air balloon on it and shift 16 passengers and 4 staff, just in case you were wondering!

Their “own brand” wood chips are very expensive compared to the bulk stuff used for things like biomass boilers. Have you experimented with other types? I see their own brand are German Beech…

Others on the UUNI website have said “Get two pizza peels” so you can keep trucking at high speed!

It looks like the perfect thing for the beach in the summer!

Watched the video and are in the process of ordering one!
What extras would you recommend?

The Apps on my Fenix3HR are fun too. I use a windsurf one to track my sailing and top speed when I’m being an idiot out on the water.
You can track how many beers you’ve earned when you’re out on a ride.

You can also change the strap and face so it looks like a dress watch for evening activities if you like too.

Possibly all things to all people…

…if you can get over the size issue that some people have.

Love my Fenix3 HR.
Connect App is good to.
Auto Synchs after every ride.
Logs my strokes when I’m paddle boarding.
Tells me altitude and direction when I’m flying.
You can change the face to suit your mood/taste/occasion.

Waterproof, rugged and comfortable.

Our first slept through.
The second was awful for 18 months.
Keep it on the boob and soundproof the spare room.

It’s boring on a turbo.

You’ll look at your watch expecting it to say 45 minutes and it’ll break your heart when you read 16…

As above, use distractions, even if it’s only iPlayer otherwise it’ll just be another unused thing cluttering up your garage.

I have a friend who has just bought the Tacx Halfords bobbie and he’s getting on with it really well.

Does this handkerchief smell of chloroform?

Kryton57 – How’s your head?

If it’s fitted poorly you’ll still be able to kick it in…

Express Bifolding doors.
Ours are the SHIZZLE.

After receiving a quote from Everest a few years ago for windows, that started at £20 000 and ended up nearer £8000 we told the guy “No”. He did all the usual things, like calling his manager to get more discount etc, but we weren’t fooled. We simply told the salesman that by going through that process he’d devalued his product and we wouldn’t touch them with a proverbial stick.

Express bifold are awesome. We have 3 x 1.2m bifolds, a 3m x 5m roof lantern plus two the window and 2 fitters were in and out in a day. They were clean and tidy and the after sales service has been exemplary.
Our bifolds and one window in the kitchen have solar powered internal blinds. £250 a panel, but worth every penny.

I don’t work for them or have anything to do with them – I’m just REALLY happy with what we got for the money.

I bought a long board in December after having a go on my kids penny boards. They were just having so much fun, so I thought for £20 on eBay, what could go wrong?

We live on a hill and can zig zag our way down to the town on some shallow-ish slopes. Often we skate/scoot and meet the wife down at the shops.

An old friend saw me and asked “Aren’t you a bit old for that?”, to which my reply came “What? To old to have fun?”.

Get out on it!

We have also travelled 5 miles along the seafront with me on my longboard and my daughter on her scooter, using two plastic garden canes and an old tarpaulin in the wind! Great fun…

From the last thread…

I STILL maintain that knowledge is power. I’m not sure if airlines will do this (post 9/11 security), but if you can talk to the pilot and crew before take off would that help?

Since the last thread have you taken anyone up on their offers of actually helming something that flies?

Doctors will give you pills and to my (simple) mind, that’s not the answer. I’m sceptical about shrinks too. I go to the engineering side of things and that convinces me I’ll be fine. The weak link is the humans, so if you can talk to the crew pre-take off, then surely that’s the way forward?

Speaking as a pilot, if I have passengers that are nervous I tell them that if I start to look worried then so should they, but if I’m alright then so are they! I try to pay them special attention as a panicking passenger could put themselves, the other passengers and more importantly ME in danger. By talking and explaining things to them, such as my decision making and what’s going on, it helps them to relax. I’ve had nervous passengers but none that have gone full blown mental and made a “pathetic scene”!!! (only joking!)

Knowledge IS power. You are putting your life into someone else’s hands – if you can trust them, surely that would help?

I can think of other “Money saving tips”, which also double up as Birthday/Christmas gifts…

Thanks CraigW. I’ll try that, but I have already used the “Search All” option. Fingers crossed.
Software is the latest 11.20.

I’ve got the heart rate monitor to connect – by doing a reset and then trying several times to pair. I still can’t get the speed/cadence sensor to work though. Might have to sit on the turbo while I’m doing it so that I’m not completely wasting my time…

Well it’s definitely ANT+ AND Bluetooth – It has it stamped on the back.
I’ve just replaced the battery just in case.

Whilst searching for the TICKR with the Edge, I turned the Bluetooth on my iPhone6 and Fenix3 off and still the Edge 1000 did not find it.
I began the search process again. Whilst the Edge was still searching (and not finding the TICKR), I turned the Bluetooth back on the Fenix and the iPhone6. Guess what? They both found it straight away…

I’ve followed the online and paper manual to the letter. I’ve also asked Garmin for ideas, but as usual I’ll have to wait for them to get back to me…

System reset next.

Hot Glue gun was saved for a birthday – you can spoil them too much…
Oh, and a staple gun – she loved that.

Panaracer tyres – which are now on my bike.
Dual compost tumbler.

My very first gift to her 14 years ago was an electric toothbrush!

I actually bought my wife THIS Makita vacuum for Christmas in 2015.
We’re still married! After the initial silent treatment she realised that it was the thought that counts. I obviously did a lot of market research and I already have a couple of 5A/Hr 18v batteries, so the savings meant I could lavish her with other stuff (like a hot glue gun).
Great little vac and designed for a building site, so won’t have any trouble cleaning up kids debris.

Who’s there?

Thanks smudget666!
It’s a bit like,
What winks and shags like a tiger?

Thanks drlex. Kind of what I was looking for, if a little harsh…

One snowman says to his friend, “Can you smell carrots?”.
Not really what I’m looking for…

Why did Humpty Dumpty push his girlfriend off the wall? Because he wanted to see her crack.

Basically anything that will leave a boring old aunt grasping for her inhaler is what I’m after.

Electric Skateboard

+1 for buy Good Stuff, buy once.
John Lewis do decent ones.
Ikea ones are OK… An IKEA large fying pan is our most used induction item.
We also have a Le Creuset set of pans which are ace and I’d highly recommend.

Sounds daft but the better ones do induce more heat. i.e. if you heat two similar amounts of water, one in a cheap pan and one in a better quality pan, the cheap one will need to be on a higher setting to maintain a simmer, rolling boil etc. All pans are not the same
I guess over the 10 years + that you’ll have these items you’ll spend the difference in electricity? That’s how I’d justify it to the wife!

BenP1
They’re tough little blighters!
The more silly things I want to do the more I think of them as an excuse to do it! A couple of weeks ago, we went 4 miles along the seafront (me on a skateboard, my eldest on a scooter) with two sticks and a tarpaulin. Stopped at the chip shop and waited for Mother to pick us up. The sort of daft things that I never did as a kid (or at least not with my parents)!

We took our girls up there at the ages of 4 and 5. They are used to long walks along the Downs, so we went for it. I carried ski jackets up there and all the other stuff we needed which was a total ball ache as it was sunny and warm (in October).

Then the weather closed in…

We got 20 minutes from the top and people were coming down saying the snow was going sideways at the top. We were already in our winter kit at this point, with plenty of water and supplies to spare. We all really wanted to get to the top, but we did the sensible thing and turned around. My youngest was then fed a handful of Skittles and proceeded to skip the whole way down. When she stopped skipping we fed her a few more to keep her topped up. WE chatted with another family on the way down and their dog kept my girls distracted too.
We all had a well earned ice cream and look forward to doing it again. A great day out.

My advice – go for it, but be sensible and take the kit for any eventuality. GPS, torch, phone, foil blanket, first aid kit, etc etc. Cold wet and lost and hearing “are we nearly home yet?” will ruin your day/marriage etc

What clearance you have in the garage is not necessarily what you’ll have when pushing hard out of the saddle with everything flexing.
Tape it (as mentioned above) and ride hard out of the saddle in a gear too high up a steep hill.

Risk v Hazard = Adrenaline!

He clearly has some sense of self-preservation and if he’s a friend and knows you, he’d hopefully take into account you new version of getting high!

Normalisation. F1 drivers think that cornering at 4G is normal. I’d soil myself. I guess it what you’re used to and how you understand it. Knowing the engineering side probably helps a lot as does repeated exposure to the same danger.

I have to say, I do find this thread very interesting! I’m a hot air balloon pilot and so often I hear “You wouldn’t get me up in one of these things”! I can’t understand why, but perhaps that’s down to experience, or knowledge?

I understand that going over a mile high in a picnic basket suspended below a bag of air is an unusual idea and one that could make people nervous. The fear of flying in a balloon might not be the same as the fear of flying in a plane or a helicopter, so this may not help you, but here goes.

The fear of flying (in a balloon) is often mistaken for a fear of falling or vertigo.

“I get vertigo…”
Vertigo is when a person feels as if they or the objects around them are moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties walking. It is typically worsened when the head is moved. Vertigo is the most common type of dizziness.
So that’s something they’ve heard and misdiagnosed themselves…

2) “Balloons aren’t safe”. Depending on how you massage the statistics, aviation is the safest form of transport and ballooning is the safest form of aviation. You’re more at risk in your car on the journey to the launch site than you are in the air. Travelling on an ‘A-road’ you may have a closing speed of 140mph+ with a bit of paint separating you with the oncoming traffic. 2000 deaths a year on UK roads doesn’t stop 3/4 of the population holding drivers licences and I’ll wager most of the rest using the roads at some point…

The balloon itself is a registered aircraft and is treated to the same 100hour our annual system checks. My 16 passenger balloon basket is not just wicker, there’s a steel frame in there and supporting cables too. There are 4 burners. Burner failures are very rare (I’ve only ever had one minor failure and it was still operational) so the chance of all 4 failing is very very rare and you can easily fly on just one. The envelope is fairly simple and failures are very rare. Most failures involve the control ropes inside and this doesn’t mean that the ballon will collapse or will be impossible to land safely. Tank failures are rare too, and most leaks are due to people not taking care of connection hoses or seals.
So that’s the kit taken care of!!!

3) Fear of falling…
I rationalise this thus. Imagine a normal pavement. One that you walk upon every day. You can fall over on it, you can dance or run on it and it’s simple to stay on it. You can send on the kerbstones on one leg like “Singing in the rain” and the world is fine.
Now imagine that the road isn’t there. Instead it’s a 200ft vertical cliff edge. Would you stand on one leg on the kerbstone now? Probably not and neither would I. I’m not a fan of ladders, the edges of tall buildings, cliffs etc. It’s that stomach wrenching feeling that you get when you over balance and you know it’s not going to end well. Like reaching the tipping point on your bike and then going over the bars in slow motion! The basket is around the same height as a bar. I’ve never felt like I’m going to fall over the top of a bar from a standing start, so you won’t get the fear of falling in the basket.

I still get nervous passengers though and why wouldn’t people be nervous. They’re putting their trust (and lives) in my hands and they don’t know me from Adam. As a company we try to be as professional as possible whilst still making it fun! It’s a difficult combination to get right. Make customers feel like your friend… A friend that you trust. Aaaaannnddd relax. I don’t want nervous passengers. They’re the loose cannons that don’t do as they’re told or adopt the correct landing position and put myself in danger or distract me. People that panic are the worst, so I drill the info that people need into them. I give them all the information that they need so that there are no surprises for them and therefore they all react exactly as I want them to.

Accidents are caused by human error, wether that’s in the design of the aircraft through to the guy that flies it. Unfortunately there’s only one pilot in a balloon, so if he or she isn’t concentrating or is under the influence, then you may have problems. Flying into power lines with the envelope normally results in people nearby not having electricity for a few hours, whereas hitting power lines with the basket normally results in all on board perishing. The electricity tends to arc between the tanks and the explode. I take off with around 400 litres of propane (BBQ cylinders typically have 20), hence why when the tanks rupture things become terminal very quickly.
Planes and helicopters are more complex and they have more (different) people involved with servicing and flying them. My balloons are serviced by one person and only flown by me, so I know them inside and out. The potential for something going wrong on a plane could be greater as more people work on more complex and numerous systems. But all of this has been thought of and as a general rule of thumb, even major system failures can be overcome or negotiated around. These still come under the heading of human error though… More and more systems are checked and double checked by humans and minor errors are picked up more often than ever because computers and sensors are doing more checks than we could cope with. So lets say that the ‘system element’ of the equation of fear can be negated to the point that it’s in the territory of lottery wins.

So now we’ve negated the ground crew, now you’re looking a the pilot himself. To be honest the Virgin pilots who got on board after drinking in the club lounge were idiots. It just goes to show how advanced modern aviation equipment is that an air crew can fly something so big pi55ed. More checks are required to stop this from happening rather than reissuing guidance about “No alcohol within 8 hours of flying” or ‘Bottle to Throttle’. I’d wager that the amount of hours spent on simulators mean that landing a plane is a motor function that could still be carried out when slightly over the drink drive limit – like if you decide to drive home after 2 or 3 pints. I do not condone this – obviously!
In ballooning, a UK Commercial licence (CPL(B) as opposed to PPL(B)), is the hardest to obtain compared to others worldwide. Other countries, Egypt for example don’t have such high standards… However the airline industry has worldwide standards and you have to assume that if you’re flying BA, Emirates etc, rather than ‘butt-fudge-nowhere-airlines’ that you’re in safe hands.

It’s normally a string of minor events that cascade that make a disaster. Something where any one of those things wouldn’t normally matter but together, stuff hits the fan. These things are becoming rarer as H&S / machine tolerances / computer safety systems become more stringent. So the potential is there, but it’s getting smaller ever year. We are always learning from experience and the AAIB (Air Accidents Investigation Branch) are nothing if not thorough.

So let’s assume;
1) The chance of the kit failing is so small it’s irrational to consider it as a factor. The wings wobble during turbulent conditions, but they’re designed to do that rather than snap or transfer that energy to the smart tube that you’re sitting in. etc etc.
2) Human factors have been negated to such an extent that where humanly possible all precautions have been taken. However the you’re talking about big passenger carrying planes that have a crew (ie not just one person who knows whats going on) so even if factors overtake the pilots ability, there’s a group of people to get you down in one piece and a computer and sensors that can do it remotely too!

What’s left. Well the weather is definitely an issue for balloons, not so much for planes and helicopters as they can divert up and over or around potential hazards. For me, if the weather looks unsuitable, I don’t fly. Simples. Forecasting is getting better every year, so the potential for the weather to be an issue is becoming ever smaller. Again simulators come in to their own here, by giving pilots the ability to land in the harshest conditions they’ll ever encounter. You might be cacking it as you’re coming in sideways in a hurricane force sidewind and the tyres won’t like it a bit, but you’ll all walk away.

Knowledge is power. I once got the jitters up in a balloon (that I was piloting!). So I rationalised it. I’d checked everything, which was all fine. The kit is over engineered for what I was doing and my skills were high. Relax.

What should the OP do?
I’d suggest doing a flight where you’re in control, either in a balloon, helicopter or plane as you feel appropriate. Get a feel for it. You may even go on to get your PPL!
Chat to a pilot, an engineer, even a crash investigator. Go to your local aerodrome. Chat to as many people as you can. No doubt you’ll meet pilots who are happy to wax lyrical about what Sky-Gods they are and how many great landings they’ve done, but you’ll also meet the people that fix the things that people break and see a plane stripped down. Don’t forget that there’s a big difference between a private and a commercial pilot!
Knowledge IS power and will hopefully help you get over your fear of flying.
PM me if I can help (I’m based in Kent)

+1 for Chapel Down. We use it at work and it’s been consistently good since 1995.
A couple of years ago we asked all the vineyards in the South East for a bottle to test as we get through 300-400 bottles a year. A hard life I know! We compared 12 different English Sparkling Wines to Chapel Down and only Nye Timber beat it. Unfortunately it’s another £10 a bottle and we couldn’t justify it.
If you’re looking at spending a little more (£35) then a friend bought round some Taittinger which was nice.

Discovery 3 – Best cup holders I’ve seen. Remove the insert and they will hold a bottle of champagne too.
Disclaimer – don’t drink and drive.

30….

….Weeks

I use Quadlock for my phone and I’ve just bought an “Out Front” mount which you can attach a GoPro to. Simple and neat.

I love Quadlock!

Alternatively buy the cheap Chinese mounts from eBay. The GoPro ones are so overpriced.

Cycling – Out Front Mount

Mrs S has a VivosmartHR+
It does most of the things that my Fenix3HR does, but it’s much better looking on a smaller wrist!
She loves it. Uses it for step count, body pump, bootcamp stuff sleep time, etc.
She looked at the FitBit, but that wasn’t waterproof.
Garmin Express and Connect are pretty good tools too.

A cheaper option would be Memory Map on a phone/tablet. You can import/export tracks waypoints etc and then there’s no need for a separate unit.

Advantages of a Oregon etc is that the battery life is much greater and you can save your phone for things that you need it for – like calling someone in an emergency.

I use an ancient iPad2 with Memory Map for work (hot air ballooning) and an old Garmin GPSMAP60S. They’ve never failed me yet, but I still carry a map and compass.

I’d still like an Oregon so that I could use it for walking/biking etc as it’s more rugged than a phone…

Thanks for all that information.
I’m going to pop it on the top shelf of my thought fridge and snack on it later.

Feel free to circle back to me ASAP.