tjagain – Member
Personally Id legalise cannabis and mdma, decriminalise pretty much everything else bar cocaine

But why stop there? We know for a matter of fact that it’s crack and heroin addiction which cause the greatest injury to society. They’re going to take it anyway, so why not hand it over in a controlled fashion and provide rehab for those who choose to take it?

Chest, well, yes. Lets you experiment (if you wish) with a safe, pure substance. If it **** you up, you’ll probably stop. If it proves benevolent, you might continue.

Most of us who tried all the above make sensible decisions. There will always be the odd few who continue down a self-destructive path but why should that inhibit the general population who can enjoy the benefit of a nice alcohol-free buzz?

Sunderland suddenly seems quite civilised (for once). Went out with the four year old and met lots of lovely people on our street. He couldn’t quite believe that folk would give him sweeties in return for telling his (frankly crap) knock knock joke. He was literally jumping up and down in excitement.

Further to my previous post, and echoing a few before and after, I stopped smoking the stuff when it became impossible to get a nice but of resin. Suddenly, all that was available was punch-in-the-face weed.

Didn’t agree with me at all so I just stopped seeking it out. This was maybe 15 years ago. The new breed is definitely not very good for ones’ mental health.

Total non-argument. Why is it illegal? I’ve yet to see a convincing argument. I’ve had mates with bipolar parents go mad on the stuff (pre-existing latent psychosis) but on the whole, it’s a shitload better than a half bottle of spirits and a four pack of Stella.

Pretty sure the US states which have legalised it are making a pretty penny from taxing the stuff and as TJ has pointed out, the Portuguese method has worked out well for all concerned. I’ve banged on about this before so won’t dig out all the stats about reduced crime and lives saved again.

My mum had a series of R4s with huge “Nuclear Power? No Thanks!” stickers. The last one was left to rot in the small lane next to our house so me and my 12 year old mate used to joy drive it into the countryside. Got a few odd looks from garage owners but never reported…

Honestly, these days you’re spoilt for choice. The Nikon AW (all weather) range is very, very good. Had one and sold it because I couldn’t bear to leave the big camera at home. Here’s a decent roundup from my favourite photo forum: https://www.ephotozine.com/article/top-10-best-waterproof-tough-cameras-2016-17302

FWIW, if I were to buy another, the Ricoh would be top of the list but a Nikon would be close behind due to your zoom requirements.

Extend the patio by 12 feet.

Well, we bought it anyway – looks brand new, weighs less than my bike and it sparkles in the sun, which is all a child could ask for.

Everything is loose and ungreased so I have a good excuse to spend a few hours in the shed.

I grew up riding a Raleigh Pavemaster which was genuinely heavier than me so I think we’ll be ok.

Massive, ginormous plus one for Back Country Navigator (although I paid the one off fee of about a fiver for the pro version). It’s got me out of so many scrapes. On and offline zoomable OS 1:25000 mapping – if you’re heading out of phone range you just download the maps before you set off – the compass is accurate and reliable, works purely through gps signal, doesn’t chew through your batteries and is basically brilliant.

All that said, I will certainly be having a look at OS’s own app given the comments above. Can’t imagine what it could offer over and above BCN though tbh.

All kinds of hilarity in this thread! OP, my mum lives on Skye so pretty much can’t leave the house for four months over Winter, so she makes interesting jam, pickles and chutnies. Just came back from a visit there with another four jars to add to the collection at the back of the cupboard. No hardship to pretend they’re relished (ha!).

And for gloves, silk liners. Cheap, cheerful and utilitarian at a sensible price. Available in all unicorn fart colours.

Berghaus. Berghaus and Berghaus again.

Obvs, all common sense but when your plaster’s coming away in strips and your whole family is coughing, you call in the “experts” and they’ll empty your bank balance in a snap and leave you sitting in a puddle. Fortunately, I had you lot, a modicum of common sense and a friendly tradesman with arms the size of my neck.

Druidh has it. Guising has been a (Scots at least) tradition for generations. Nothing to do with failed gunpowder plots. Trick or treating is a different animal – back in my day, if you didn’t at least tell a half decent joke you’d leave with a flea in yer ear.

Much as I expected then. He’s already on a cheapy balance bike and there’s just no way we can afford a Frog / Islabike right now. Really want to get him learning how to pedal so we may be stuck with this or similar. Just don’t want to put him off cycling for life!

As a former supermarket checkout operator, I guarantee the shortest shift is six hours. She should be leaving them at home and asking a neighbour to let them out, or paying a dog walker. At the very least.

Took the wee man out on the bike on a Halfords seat as soon as he was allowed by the guidwife. He had a helmet and could hold his head up. Needed a wee bit of fettling / pad movement and removemal.

Trailers are a pain in the neck if you’re on cyclepaths – the local council will usually have installed motorbike stoppers – those triangular gates.

Whenever you go through one of these, be sure to tell your infant to pull his arms in.

Fuxake. I’m one of the few here who follows posts from start to finish.

Point #1 I’m confident in my abilities as a photographer with a few specialist abilities, and recognise those fields where I am better off passing jobs to other pros.

Point #2 Almost nobody does “people in front of a white backdrop” anymore – that went out with Venture.

Point #3 Yes, you can have Photoshop and Lightroom and Silverephex and a D5 and still be a shite photographer

Point #4 There are good professionals with integrity, learning and experience behind them and there are shysters making a fat buck just as there are in any profession.

If a business model works, it works. You Don’t have to **** like it and you don’t have to partake.

*like* Sounds like a confidence building adventure with added pathos and meaning.

I have found a CD of ghost stories by Shanty Baba

Kids know a cop out when they see it! The facial expressions and the fact that someone is taking the time to sit down in person and tell them a story “from personal experience” are important ingredients in telling a scary tale…

Drac – Moderator
It looks like it has a bit of Wheaton terrier in it . Lovely looking dog mind.

Cheers! Yeah, definitely got terrier in him. It’s just his body shape which gives away the lurcher content – deep chest, small waist, faster than he looks…

Lurcher, lurcher, lurcher :D

If a customer doens’t want what you’re selling, it’s not THEIR fault, it’s yours.

Wrong. If a customer doesn’t want what I’m selling (at the price point I have set), then they’re just not my customer. Simples. There are hundreds of mums-with-a-camera (yes, these are a thing – MWACs) in parks all over the country, every, single weekend, giving away the farm for a tiny fee. Their clients are not my clients.

There are wedding photographers charging eight times what I do – their clients aren’t my clients either. There’s a level for everyone – pick the one you want.

+1 for a rescue lurcher – loads in the rescue centres and if you want a young dog, staffies and lurchers give plenty of choice. Mine’s fine off the lead too, even crossing roads and suchlike but do always have to keep an eye out for cats…

So this business model doesn’t work for the photographer either.

Actually, it mostly does OOB. It gives an “in” to a range of excellent (and less excellent) photographers without a massive initial investment to scare off clients.

High Street companies like Venture *did* used to pretty much blackmail clients after sessions but the average client spend with low / no pressure sales is more than enough to keep me going (far fewer overheads, one man band, no expensive studio etc).

Still get the odd cheapskate but so long as everything is made competely clear before a session, it’s rarely an issue.

A timely thread – had an email from a client this morning who is “very disappointed” that he’s not getting a free set of full sized downloads for his £40 session fee.

Everything included is very clearly set out on the website and printed gift voucher. He bought the session himself ffs.

Oh, and two things that remind me of my childhood – Tea Roses immediately take me back to being a kid in my grandad’s garden. And creosote on a sunny day – whoosh, sensory overload and time travel :-)

CRC – bought a pair of ruinously expensive shorts, stuck them in my wardrobe, forgot about them for over a year, found them, realised they were women’s shorts!

Phoned without much hope and they refunded the day after I sent them back!

The woods at night time – a very specific smell which has always brought out my wild side. I have been known to cut short the daytime dog walk so we’ll both have enough energy to walk through the benighted woods.

I downgraded from a Galaxy S5 to a J5 last week. After a year and a half of never dropping the s5, I dropped the J5 twice within hours of ownership. The thing is like a bar of **** soap! It now has a full silicone case, purely for a bit of grip.

if it’s a static van with camera out the back then yes a sign is needed.

Really? Those vans are rife round here and I’ve never once seen a warning sign.

Lots of dry cleaners offer repair services too. My local place replaced a zip on a Fox hoody for about a tenner.

I thought my (now sold) Minute looked OK…

But the Boardman only ‘dresses up’ for very wet rides

These rants are piss poor. All of them. I was recently unable to sort out my bike’s gear changing issues. New cranks, chain and cassette.

I’ve done this 100s of times and after trying a new mech hanger I gave up and cycled the three miles to my LBS.

Three days later I get the call. Bike’s all ready, come and pick it up.

The whole thing’s still slipping, slopping and generally being crap. I EVEN TOOK **** BISCUITS!

My dad has spent his whole life buying vintage cars. Rileys, Wolsleys and Triumphs all look similar enough that none of us ever knew which was the latest addition. This plan worked right up until he bought a bus.

Feel how they grab your body without hurting you

WTAF?!

There’s a point on my local loop night ride when you either enter the woods or branch off and cycle down the edge of a field. I often go down the field. There’s a quarry to the right of the woodland path where men died in the quest for magnesium and in recent history.

Save your GP’s time for more serious issues please.
DrP

There speaks a man who has never spent years in discomfort, trying everything and anything to alleviate the problem whilst being mugged off by his GP.

My dry skin started just below my armpits and eventually extended half way down my legs. Tried everything. Eventually it disappeared but not before many, many sleepless nights and actual tears of frustration and pain.

Maybe it’s my age (43) but I just don’t care what cars look like. If it starts, drives me and my little family nine hours to Skye to visit my parents to make sure they’re ok, then gets me back again without breaking the bank, I’m happy.

Sure, I still look at middle age crisis cars and feel a stirring in my loins but it’s akin to visiting a nightclub and remembering being 25 again. They look lovely but they’re utterly impractical.