The first rule of buying a house is there is ALWAYS another house.

I don’t know enough about the current state of the economy to comment but I pushed myself right to the limit (101% mortgage as a 1st time buyer) 6 years ago to buy in Edinburgh and it’s something I’ll never do again. I’ve enjoyed living here but we’re just about to put it on the market and will take a 15-20% hit on what I paid, without even factoring the £1000s spent on upgrades and improvements in that time.

We’re moving out of the city where an extra £40k is moving us from a 1 bed flat to a 3 bed house with massive front and back gardens. I’m sure you’ve heard it before but from now on I’ll never consider a house an investment, so long as I think it’s worth paying £x a month to live there I’m happy and if it happens to increase in value so much the better.

Could always just stop going in and see how long they keep paying me for I suppose! And there’s always mobile access to STW! And filth.

I hear what you’re saying, what strikes me as strange is that the new place put me under pressure to hand in my notice and agree a start date for ASAP, then when I arrive it’s like I’m not here.

I’m going to give it a few months to see if it gets on the right track but I’ve never felt so disappointed on starting a new role before. Can’t win em all I guess.

It might sound great to have nothing to do but it’s not how I want to spend 8 hours a day. I actually like what I do!

Plus, pron is blocked at work.

I agree, but I still would have expected some mapping out of the first few weeks to be discussed over the first couple of days, maybe introduce me to the people I’d be working for in other parts of the business. A corporate induction booked, that kind of thing. It feels very odd that there wasn’t any preparation done for my arrival.

Like many my age I knew people who grew up without fathers after that night. Fire In The Night is the most upsetting and compelling book I’ve ever read. I literally read it in one sitting. Should be on the history curriculum.

Thanks, I’ll check talkytoaster out.

More good ideas – particularly amused by the wine rack, although the beer belly on an actual beer belly may not be a good look!

Think I may have answered my own question though – not had a proper one of these in years. Is there a better penknife for £40 than this?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Victorinox-Swiss-Army-Knife-Champ/dp/B0001GS19U/ref=sr_1_4?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1372866436&sr=1-4&keywords=victorinox

Watch and cateye good suggestions but I’m sorted for both just now. Almond M&Ms seem like something I need in my life!

Any more suggestions… maybe something gadgety?

Fatty rolling chassis for £499?

Fatty rolling chassis for £499?

Either way I’d say that as you can’t return it complete you’re stuffed.

Incredible. I was in Chamonix this time two years ago and although it felt a bit limited compared to other resorts it will still brilliant. As busy as they are in the summer I guess they feel they can do without bikers. That’s their prerogative but unless that changes I’ll be going elsewhere. Shame.

Heavy everything so c. 37lb. Veteran of numerous alps trips and occasionally over-biking me at trail centres!

Presumably the Olympics last year were ruined as well then? After all, Dwain Chambers ran…
Pretty weak troll.

Was that a cut and paste daily mail editorial? I think you’re right though, they should ditch the enormously successful format which has been exported around the globe and earned the BBC millions to spend on programming, and go back to a format unchnaged from the 70s that so few people watched it got cancelled.

Top Gear threads = tattoo threads for people who don’t like something but must comment anyway?

See, I have the opposite problem. It’s my birthday soon and seeing as I don’t really consider being born as a particularly big achievement I would be entirely happy to ignore the whole sorry spectacle. The current mrs unknown does not understand this and insists that she can’t get me “nothing” and we simply have to go out to dinner with family to celebrate. Then I get in trouble for not giving her any good ideas of what to get me or where to go! I’ve tried to explain, over the course of many years, that the present I really want is for no mention to be made of the birthday, but it doesn’t compute.

A couple of years ago my car got stolen, it was worth barely anything (as in, the excess was pretty much the full value) so I was never going to make a claim. Stupidly I called the insurance company to tell them it had been stolen, and although I made it very clear I was NOT going to make a claim, they recorded it as such and my premiums went up. Now on new policies I have to list it as a claim, claim amount £0. Still means higher premiums.

Edinburgh, I thought everyone on STW was?

Unfortunately no CCTV. First action was to examine the bumpers of every car in the street (and the next one over) for traces of red paint. Alas, nothing.

There’s a friendly specialist in town – I’ll probably ask him for a quote to repair the damage. He might make me an offer to take it off my hands – would be cheaper for him to fix and then he can sell at a decent profit.

Live in a flat, car’s parked round the corner, wife was away for a week and the car wasn’t being driven. It’s barely been driven since she got her new car, which is why it’s definitely a parking shunt.

Real world answer, she can either:

A: Do the new shifts
B: Ask her manager for alternative shifts
C: Get another job

If neither A or B are possible then C is her only option.

Best wishes Murray. Hearing his voice instantly transports me back to my childhood watching F1 with my old man. “Damon Hill’s going to win the British Grand Prix…. and I’m going to have to stop because I’ve got a lump in my throat”. Never heard emotion like that from a commentator before or since.

Had this a couple of years ago. My wife made me go, didn’t know anyone before and didn’t like anyone when I got there! Had a rubbish time, it all went very Jeremy Kyle, and it’s a weekend of my life I’ll never get back. Having said that, I being it up all the time when I don’t want to do something family related and I am still getting passes issued because of it.

Go for something truly unfashionable. I’m currently driving a G reg Peugeot 205 Automatic that cost me £280. Go base model for less things to go wrong and my golden rule is be prepared to leave it at the side of the road when it breaks. That said if you want to keep it for a while have a look on eBay for availability of spares.

Brand new Dacia Duster. My Mrs has one and for the money it’s brilliant. Think you’d get a mid range one for £12k.

I have a tattoo.

Take the all mountain bike. I did Chamonix on my cannondale Gemini and it was perfect. You wouldn’t enjoy it as much on a dh bike IMO.

I ran 160mm 302s in Chamonix a couple of years ago and they were really good. I’m not fussy about setting up forks and fortunately for me I really like the feel right out of the box.

Reserved shorts online but store can’t find them- BOO!

I leave home at 6, bus at 6.30 gets me into work in time for my 8.30 start. Same in reverse, leave at 5 and home at 7.30. Not for long though – just handed in my notice and soon I’ll have a c. 8 mile cycle commute!

I had this problem once. Used a clamp on the frame on the downtube to give the bolt something to fix to. From memory the clamp came from one of those wee pulley/roller things to reverse the pull of a front mech.

Fair enough, expected as much. Only reason to bodge would have been son I can go riding tomorrow. Never mind, there’s always the road bike.

Maybe I can explain this a bit better. What I have is a new shock with “top hat” style bushings. What I want to know is can I use washers as spacers on the mounting bolt to fill in the gaps between those bushings and the shock mount on the frame.

Nothing in that game to suggest Farrell should be anywhere near a test team. Sexton better not get injured! Lots of positives elsewhere though, most of the other backs, solid from the back row and there looks to be great competition at 4 and 5. Gonna be an interesting few weeks…

Slash
Zappa
Omar Rodriguez Lopez
Smith/Murray/Gers
Tom Morello

Ask me again in an hour and I might have a completely different 5.

We’ve got one at work, drove it last week. Nice idea but seriously uncomfortable, a real boneshaker. Also pretty useless if you want to move more than the driver and a single bag of shopping. Women seemed to love it though!

You’re all kidding yourselves. A real survival plan takes into account that early in a zombie situation chances are humans are your biggest problem. Think about it, given that the entire population is involved if you’ve had an idea so have thousands of others. Got a fast car to escape? Forget it, all the roads are blocked by every last car in the country. Break into the gun shop? Too late, everyone’s there already. If you don’t already know where you’re going, how, with who and what you’re taking then you’re as good as food. Yes, I’ve given this a LOT of thought.