Uk forces invaded under UN auspices to remove the taliban

Not quite. After 9/11 the US invaded to clear out Al Qaeda who the Taliban had allowed to set up shop in Afghanistan. Whilst clearing out Al qaeda the Taliban were removed from power and are now trying to regain it. The US then instead of clearing up the mess they'd created then bullied NATO into helping out hence our involvement (however British special forces were involved right from the start)

kicking the shite out of some fuzzy wuzzies

Hope you were being ironic there TJ otherwise not very PC

No point in pushing it now… maybe 20 years ago.

The whole question is actually whether photos should represent what is actually there and whether HDR increases or decreases the connection of the photo to “reality”

Absolutely. In my landscape photos I’m trying not to capture “reality”, whatever that is, but to capture and give the viewer the feeling of what it was like to be there at the time. If that needs HDR, exposure blending, ND grads, B&W, whatever I’ll do it.

Cameras don’t see like people do. You don’t look at a view and take it in all at once, your eyes flit across it adjusting exposure as they go and then you brain puts the whole thing together. That’s why quite often a nice “view” makes a horrible photo. Your brain has filtered out the pleasing bits- cameras don’t do that- that’s where the photographer comes in.

Crevice

Agreed. Depending on the subject sometimes the over processed look can work. I use HDR quite a bit and its possible to make HDR look quite natural by not going over board on the processing. Another thing that can help a natural look is to blend back the original “correctly” exposed image with the HDR image.

Also if your camera takes RAW files then you don’t need to bracket. Just process the same RAW image three times at -1, 0, +1 stop exposure.

Yep just finished watching the gorgeous Julia in a wetsuit. Not sure about the shorts mind. The toilet bowl looked a bit tame. Guess it was a bit choppier when you tried it David.

Now should I switch channels and watch her again on Wainwrights Walks or catch the Chris Boardman hour record programme?

I never got the impression that Ullrich had any hatred and jealousy for Armstrong. Quite the opposite, if he had shown more aggression, dedication and been more motivated to beat Armstrong he might have given him more competition.

One thing Armstrong is very good at is using any criticism, negative press, imagined slight to fuel his persecution complex which feeds his determination to show all those who criticise him who’s the best. He seems to thrive when there’s a bit of friction in his environment. If there is any discord in the Astana camp its probably working for Armstrong and against Contador.

I’ve done coasteering once near South Stack in Anglesey in what the instructor termed “marginal” conditions. It was a bit choppy but was great fun and I’d really like to do it again. Sounds like you had freak conditions/dodgy instructor. Try not to let it put you off.

Marion Jones for one – tested far more than armstrong

I find that hard to believe. Evidence please.

Blood samples are now routinely archived and the riders know that they can be tested retrospectively now. Even if Armstrong had access to using state of the art pharmaceuticals undetectable for the last 10 years he’s too conscious of his legacy to go that route.

TJ there’s plenty of circumstantial evidence that you’re a slacker who spends all his time on this forum. However I prefer to believe you are a fine hard working upstanding member of society.

WTF racism! The French at least as exemplified by their media and judicial system appear to be out to get Armstrong hence my comment.

Come on raise your standards a bit. The one on the left has a face like a horse. Also the lights may be on but no one’s at home.

Well I for one hope Lance stuffs them all once again and give’s the metaphorical finger to all the Frenchies and all the sad b@stard’s on here who can’t stand a winner.

Anything by Sergio Leone especially For a Few Dollars More and The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

Sorry rough as a bear’s ars£

Certainly is an uncomfortable juxtaposition of the brutality of the Spanish civil war and the young girl’s imaginary world.

Saw a recent interview with Guillermo Del Toro where he was asked where he got the ideas for his monsters from. Apparently when he was a child he had lucid dreams i.e. dreams that appear just like reality. He would dream that monsters like in his films were coming out of his closet and through the floorboards. No wonder he wet the bed!

Fermat’s Last Theorem

or

The Code Book

both by Simon Singh

First Picture of Summer- Lotus Eaters

Fair enough.

Ferguson has a history of getting the best out of half knackered strikers- Solskaer won them the European cup so you never know..

I have a bike, well, several bikes, because I like cycling.

In your back garden?

The more you use it, the more fun it gets

Maybe with some things but not a turbo.

I’ve used a turbo for years regularly during the winter and it never got to be fun. Last winter I didn’t use the turbo once- I’d now rather suffer any amount of cold and wet outside rather than turbo.

If you must use one then go for threshold/interval training then you can at least limitthe amount of time you spend on it.

Using mine in the garden in this weather. Lovely

Why do you have a bike in that case?

IIRC if you take the road from the mast to Ponderosa after 200-300 metres or so there’s a sharpish right turn. If you leave the road at that point on the LHS there’s grassy singletrack all the way down to the left of the road.

Foxy chick’s argument is that drinking five oranges worth of juice is a lot easier than having to eat five whole (or pulped) oranges to get that same amount of juice. Like sfb says just don’t drink five oranges worth of juice or stick to eating the whole fruit.

Depends how you look at it. The sugars in the juice aren’t any more concentrated in terms of grams per ml of liquid but they are if you measure their concentration as a weight percent of the total plant matter because you’ve removed the weight of the fibre. However unless you are going to take advantage of that lack of bulk by drinking more juice than you would if the plant was just pulped then I don’t think your calorie intake will be increased.

Give them a time limit for completion or you walk away.

Alternatively start looking for somewhere else- you’re not legally committed until contracts are exchanged. If they decide to move before you find something else then fine.

Whew I’m agreeing with TJ and Jack Straw on the same day. I’m obviously not well.

Spanish armada likely?

Germany poised to invade?

No but probably loss of seat at the UN security council for a start- you may or may not think that that’s important.

Apparently Aston Martin watches sell for more than £20k.

Aston Martin’s current average fleet fuel consumption probably around 20 mpg. If they give one of these away free with every proper Aston Martin their average fleet fuel consumption is (20+60)/2= 40 mpg. Therefore they cunningly avoid hefty EU fleet emmission fines come 2015.

Randy Crawford has the purest voice I have ever heard. Hearing her sing Rainy Night in Georgia made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

Of more recent artists I’d say Corinne Bailey-Rae will stand the test of time if she can get over her husbands death and start making great music again.

Speaking of more bands people have probably never heard of I was most impressed by Braebach, the Peatbog Faeries and The Demon Barbers at the Big Session last weekend.

Just spotted your other thread further down about engineering. Much better idea if you ask me.

Apparently the UK produces more photography graduates than there are photography jobs in the whole of Western Europe so you’ll need to be damn good and business literate. I’m not a pro just a keen amateur but very often you’ll hear a pro complain in an interview that they only spend about 20% of their time taking photographs and the rest is marketing and post processing.

Its marketing nonsense by Fender trying to squeeze a bit more margin from the Strat brand. Why pay £700 for a guitar that’s the same spec as a MIM strat which you can get for £300? May as well buy a MIM strat and take a bit of sandpaper and wire wool to it. Personally I think the worn finish looks crap as I like my guitars to look like proper instruments and not something that’s been left in the yard over the winter.

The W figure refers to the low temperature viscosity and the other figure refers to the viscosity at 100°C. The lower the figures the thinner the oil. Best to use the correct grade for the engine but if you can’t get the correct grade then probably safer to go up in grade to a thicker oil. Using a thin oil in an engine not designed for it will give you wear problems particularly in journal bearings. The 30W50 would have been OK to use as a top up.

Its a no brainer. As you get older you’ll regret the chances you never took rather than the ones you took which didn’t work out.

To those of you who espouse using subsidies to support uneconomic industries I’d be interested to know if this applies to all industry or just specially selected cases.e.g If Kwik Fit were suddenly to get into trouble would they be supported or, Vodafone perhaps (can’t have the whole of Newbury relocating can we)? Just where do you draw the line?

Dog owner here so I know what you’re feeling. They do get under your skin don’t they. Main thing is its sounds like she enjoyed life.

There never seems to be a middle ground between cynical and naive does there?

Given what we know about our politicians I think being on the cynical side is being more realistic.

not exactly breaking the bank. 50p per month on an annual contract.

£6 isn’t going to break the bank is it ?

Once this tax is in place do you honestly think that its going to stay at £6 and all be spent on broadband expansion? If so I think you’re being naïve