What’s a sild, fussels or billy bear?

You can’t do it with a paint brush in the left hand and a pen with the right, otherwise you can’t get the pressure right. It has to be the same media. Pencils are best.
Not that there have been times in my life when I’ve had too much time on my hands, you understand…..

By the way, you need an assistant to hold the 2 sheets of paper down, otherwise it slides all over the place.

Loddrick and Gary_C – different ends of the scale there……

I always considered myself a bit of a gourmet until I let the contents of my mouth dribble back onto the plate when I recognized a cross section of testicle in the “sweetbread roulade” I had at a restaurant in Cardiff Bay one evening (“Woods”, if you know it). It wasn’t sweet (cheesy, on fact), there was no bread in it and thanks to A level biology, a vegetarian Mrs T had to guide me to the gents, heaving all the way, whilst my startled fellow diners looked on before shoving their plates away in disgust.

I decided to switch to flats (V12s) after coming to a wobbling halt on a muddy incline one too many times, back wheel spinning aimlessly before keeling over sideways and cracking my ribs on the ground. Unfortunately, I now ride like I’m negotiating a rock garden when I’m riding along billiard table smooth tarmac, alternately lifting each foot off the pedal on the upstroke, then stomping back down on the pedal again on the downstroke. Sometimes you miss the pedal altogether. Your shins will look like you’ve been running a cheese grater over them. I’ve never resorted to shin pads though – it’s the coward’s way out. Mrs T reckons that I look like I’m suffering from a neurological disorder as I ride down the street on flats. However, for me, the choice is between keeling over while pedalling uphill with SPDs or bouncing off going downhill on flats. Still, makes for an interesting spectator sport for the ramblers and livestock round my way who’ve learned to quickly scrabble out of the way when they see me coming.

A mate has just seen them and reckons I look like a “goddam rock star”. I’m keeping them.

so send them back.

I’m thinking of doing so, but Mrs T is telling me not to be such a tight arse git and enjoy them. She has a point.
They’re the straight jackets, by the way, Clubber. V nice looking etc, but v hyped up, don’t you think? I suppose it’s the same with a lot of things (perfume springs to mind).

Buy her a double whopper with cheese, slip the burgers out and tell her it’s a cheese salad muffin,
Put the burgers on Your double whopper with cheese, and have a quadruple whopper with cheese

Been there, done that. Thanks for the suggestion though. I was looking for something that would “showboat” the culinary skills that I don’t have really. I really like the sound of that Guinness and steak pie. Aside from the fact that Mrs T doesn’t like Guinness or steak, it has to be a front runner. I quite fancy something like a prawn cocktail main course (minus the prawns) because there’s less cooking involved. Mrs T is the most amazing cook so I’d like to make something all from fresh ingredients if possible and as long as she doesn’t know that meat was involved, I should be ok.

Mine arrived today too (ordered late Saturday night). I think it’s worth adding a bit of perspective to these glasses (or should I use the word “plastics” since there’s no glass involved) before we all get a bit “king’s new clothes” about them. The delivery was quick they were cheaper than high street prices and there’s no recognisable defect with them BUT (and it’s a monumental “but”) there is absolutely no way these glasses are worth £120. In absolute terms they were poor value for the £44 I paid and probably cost less than a tenner to produce. I’m fussy about these things, but I reckon my Tifosi glasses (much cheaper) are better quality. Ignoring the bullshitillium hydroponics that coat the lenses, in a straight pepsi challenge in this morning’s sun, they perform no better. I’ll bet that the £3 3D glasses we used at the cinema last weekend are no less durable.
So, cheap for Oakleys (if they are genuine), but you’d be a mug to pay full price and they’re still overpriced for what they are even at bargain prices. Can’t see the hinges lasting long either. Mrs T says I look cool though, so all credit for a minor miracle there. Oakleys now look less cool to my eye, because I have this nagging little voice in my ear whispering “more money than sense”.

Mrs T does a wicked home made pizza – all from basic ingredients – throwing the pastry bit in the air and everything. I don’t think I could begin to improve on the one she does for us. Great suggestion though.

Steak and ale pie sounds good but I’d want to make a really good one and I’d need to make pastry and the gravy (which I’ve never done before, but willing to give it a go if it can be done). Do you have any instructions for making a really good one?

All of my rides are solo too. Spokelight on the bars and a Diablo on the helmet – does the job for me. I still feel uneasy every time, though – thousands of years of evolution telling you that you’re in an unsafe environment. I actually miss seeing the scenery around me and I don’t really like riding into a tunnel of light when I’m in dense woodland. It’s much better by moonlight on open moorland. The worst bit for me is a 100 yard steep section where I have to get off and push uphill (Tynycoed woods, if anyone knows it). It’s eerie enough during the day (a very strange feeling that somebody’s hovering over your shoulder) but at night I feel a compelling urge to shout out and swear loudly. One crack of a twig nearby and I’d drop the bike and swing a few punches into the air…..(nothing like a nice relaxing ride after work, eh?)
On the way back down, I have an owl who always follows me (or at least seems to, because the “tyrwit-tyrwoo” seems to follow me). Sometimes I get a pair of eyes shining back at “big dog” height.

I’m probably going to regret it, but I’ve also ordered a pair with their pretentiolite lenses and bullsitilium frames. As long as I don’t look nobtastic when I put them on, I’ll be happy.

What a great thread.

W. H. Davies

Leisure

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Do you want the bad news first?
Next time you buy a saddle and they start talking about a “pudendal groove” in the more expensive model, just think of all the money you’ll save not having to buy Viagra. It’s said that you notice it more on a turbo because you spend more time sat in the saddle than you do on the road.
The pudendal nerve – the best friend you never knew you had and Mrs Mrmchammer will be gutted if you break it.

There are surely lots of things that contribute to your risk of clogging up and narrowing your arteries and your overall risk is the most important thing. If you have 2 men with a total cholesterol level of 6, if one is 18, normal blood pressure, non smoker, better HDL levels, non diabetic and the other is 60, smoker, high blood pressure, poor HDL profile, then you don’t need to be a Macavity to work out who’s at greatest risk. Secondly, as others have said, your cholesterol level is also influenced by your genes – put 2 people on the same diet and they’ll have different total cholesterol levels. Thirdly, if you already have evidence of narrowing (in that you’ve already had a heart attack or stroke – and I appreciate that doesn’t apply to Chapaking), then the evidence for getting you cholesterol down was, I thought, overwhelming?
So back to our guys who both have a cholesterol of 6. The risk of taking a statin foe Mr 18 year old probably outweighs the benefit in terms of taking it because of his low overall risk. Mr 60 year old with eye popping levels of blood pressure, on the other hand, would possibly be considered a bit of a dumdum if he didn’t. There are lots of ways of calculating the overall risk and some will overestimate risk, others underestimate it. There will be lots of people who fall in the “grey” area. A good doctor should be able to work out your own individual risk and talk you through your options so that you can decide what’s best for you. It sounds like that’s what’s happening. Smoking and things like high blood pressure may be even more dangerous for you than most people if your running higher levels of cholesterol, but you may be able to offset this by keeping your other risk factors under control.
Good luck with you diet and don’t neglect the exercise.

It seems that most go with food/drink. I do the same. Assuming they’re genuine (and I appreciate that a few may not be), is it that they’re exempt from the benefits system? Are there people for whom this is the only source of income? (Not a troll. Genuine question).

Any chance of posting the pics, Ton? It was an amazing sight, wasn’t it?
Great pics, Andrew. It looked much bigger in the sky in Wales than it appears in your photos.

I’ve tried Lewin, Marks and Spencer and Tyrwhitt and I’m convinced that Tyrwhitt are the best. They’re so good that I no longer bother going anywhere else to be honest. Great company to deal with as well, quick delivery, no quibble returns (in fact the whole return business is v v simple). Take a look here for the sizing and you won’t go wrong. Their standard poplin shirts are the best for the money. I’ve bought their most expensive sea island cotton shirts and, although they have a very luxurious – almost silk like – feel to them, they are more “see through” and not worth the extra, in my opinion. The other thing to point out (and this applies to the other brands too) is that cotton shirts shrink a little after a few washes, so don’t worry if they feel a little generous in fit when you first put them on (and Tyrwhitt take this into account). They also have nice long tails, so don’t keep riding out of the back of your trousers like a lot of other shirts. Some good deals at the moment too. However,

you’re certainly not getting an £80 shirt for £20 like they make out

I agree

If you had a thread all about hoovering, ironing and pink frilly objects, you wouldn’t want to add a discussion about beer and farting to make any male readers feel more welcome would you? No….hang on….that doesn’t sound right…..

I’ll second what Valleydaddy says. I bought a Diablo for joystick money from Rutland last year (I ordered the previous model and it wasn’t available so they sent the new one at the old price). Handy running on high when you need it and then on lower setting for the rest. I later shelled out for a single piggyback battery, but can’t say I need it on my regular route (mainly got it if I broke down and wanted it on high for doing repairs!). Don’t notice the weight of both on helmet either. It’s pricey but very good.

I love my Specialized Argali jersey, even though it’s bright red – and I mean BRIGHT RED (Mrs T, who bought it as a gift, wanted me seen when I’m cycling through the lanes). I just pray it doesn’t turn pink with successive washes (hasn’t happened yet). One one looks good though and tempted to get one, especially when they’re on offer.
Edit: Doesn’t have any fancy washing procedure either – just gets chucked in with the other things in the wash irrespective of what’s on the label. No ill effects and still going strong a year after she bought it

We bought a Jack Wolfskin Watchtower from a hiking shop in Brecon for around £100. Highly recommended, but it was more of an impulse buy and we didn’t test any others, so I can’t comment on other brands. Either way, it’s been the best “baby” related thing we ever bought. Had loads of use out of it and it has seen us through 4 children, lots of walking on beaches etc. I even found it better to use walking around the city rather than try to manouvre a buggy. It also doubled up as a makeshift highchair at feeding time. When they were older (as a family we do lots of walking), I’d often take it for the outbound walk empty and they could then hitch a ride back for the return journey. The JW was comfortable enought to wear all day long. It may be worth doing a search for baby carriers on here because I think that there was a thread on it back in the Summer.
We got more use out of it than a pram, but that was probably more down to our lifestyle than anything else. If you spend lots of time outdoors, you’ll use it. Just remember to keep the baby wrapped up warm at this time of the year because they don’t generate the heat that you will when you’re carrying them around.

I thought this thread was going to start with something along the lines of “Came home early to find my wife’s boss testing out the tog rating of our duvet while she took a quick shower, should I be worried?”…..

I think you owe us a rundown…

I would, but……10 of them would be moderated on the grounds of common decency, 5 of them would not be allowed because of sub judice laws and I can’t really tell you about the other 4 because I’m afraid I was veey, veey drunk.

You shoot frogs out of the sky for the freezer, Monsieur Flashheart? There’s a law against that, surely?

I was once in Nottingham when it started raining frogs (I swear that I haven’t been drinking). I was walking my girlfriend back to her house when, all of a sudden, there was a plopping of slimy green tennis ball sized blobs all around us. We stopped to see what it was and there were tens of frogs all around and they appeared to be dropping from the sky. None actually splatted flat though on landing, smothering us in a sticky greeny yellow goo, which was odd. It was certainly up there with the top 20 wierdest things I’ve ever experienced.

I did. My eyes started bulging and then steam started tooting out of my ears. Now I’ve got the shakes.
Must have been the jab.

In answer to your original question, Topangarider’s wife does, apparently.

You can’t catch flu from the jab. It will protect you against the strains covered by the current year’s jab (the ones considered most likely to infect you that given year). It won’t protect you against the common cold, but the common cold is prevalent around the time the flu jabs are administered, so not a suprise if you get a cold not long after having the jab (you would have had it anyway). If you think that the common reactions are bad, you need to MTFU. A mild ache in the arm is common – I’ve had worse when Mrs T has inadvertantly brushed my arm with a feather duster on her way to swiping a spider’s web. OK, you may feel mildly off colour when you’re immune system kicks into action (as it should) and there’s nothing wrong with that, but MTFU. If you really think that’s bad, then maybe a dose of proper flu will help to remind you what being ill is all about. Uncommon reactions are exceptionally rare. And as for

Linked to Guillain Barre, Erm, no thanks, I’ll chance the flu

You’re kidding, right? Get a grip and a sense of perspective. If you’re eligible for the flu jab, then you’re MUCH more likely to fare badly having sustained the flu that you ever are from the jab.
We haven’t had a really serous outbreak of influenza for a long time and there is a lot of ignorance. Worth reading about the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak on Wikipedia. When we get a very serious form of influenza again – and we will – you’ll be queuing up at the door of your local surgery to demand immunisation and not worrying about obscure and rare side effects. Trouble is, when there are false alarms and “swine flu doesn’t seem to be as bad as we thought it might be”, it tends to breed complacency.
I haven’t got time to elaborate, but you may want to look into the Guillan Barre link in more detail. It’s by no means clear cut either.
Oh, and I’ll take my chances with the jab, thank you.

We’ve got 20 x 50W downlighters in our kitchen (it’s a big kitchen), divided into 3 dimmable zones. The main issues I’ve had (besides effectively running at, I assume, levels of energy consumption matching our microwave when they’re all burning at full 1000W) are that the bulbs don’t seem to last long and the 3 switch dimmer control unit blows a lot. I replace a bulb at least once a week and I gather that there are issues if you try to control them with a dimmer (in that the switches often blow). There is a floor above our kitchen, so no lagging directly above the bulbs and I would assume that any heat inefficiencies given off by the bulbs would be offset by reduced output from trv controlled rads?
They work well and Mrs T likes them, but I doubt that they’re cheap to run or very ecological. Still, looking on the bright (!) side, there’s not a lot of chance of getting seasonal affective disorder when they’re all switched on at breakfast……

An idiot’s guide to diagnosing the flu:
If you can man up and get to work, you’ve got a cold not the flu.
Here endeth the lesson.

Great. Thanks for that, chaps.

Thanks, chaps. I might try the WD40 tonight. It’s funny, I wondered about vaseline – for no technical reason other than it seemed like a good idea! (and there’s a sentence I never thought I’d be typing on the Internet…)

Does anyone know how I can stop my doors freezing to the bodywork, stopping me from getting in? Door handles are the lift up type, so can’t even give them a good pull to open them. Looks like the rubber seals freeze to the door frame (Audi).

Of late I’ve found I get huge bruises

pains in my joints especially after alcohol

Take this as good advice, Coffeeking. Make an appointment with your GP. He’ll want to get more details from you and he’ll want to examine you. He will also arrange a few blood tests. The above symptoms are significant and I would mention them to your doctor. Nobody can give you an Internet diagnosis but it’s important that you follow this up with your doctor.

The things you learn on STW. I thought that this was going to be a thread about medicine for aliens……

McMoonter you are one hell of a talented man. That painting is phenomenal. No offence to the other contributors, but everything else on this thread pales into insignificance. You have a rare talent, that’s for sure. Massive respect.

If I’m sat in the kitchen with my laptop (sitting approx 15ft away from the microwave) I lose wireless connectivity as soon as Mrs T switches on the microwave. This happens with every laptop/netbook we have. Wireless returns as soon as the microwave stops.
Should I be worried?