I don’t think there was anything glamourous about the whole sorry saga. Or anything worthy of some of the venom that’s poured in her direction – if I had months to live and the opportunity to make sure my kids were cared for by selling some pics I know I’d do the same and hang those who don’t like it. If anyone’s due some vitriol it’s the hypocrisy of the press and their treatment of her from the moment she appeared on BB.

But, AFAIK there are far more important things to get upset and angry about – I think it’s sad for her children and I’m sure the coverage will be blanket but it’s not difficult to not read a paper / watch a tv program. I’m off into the garden to enjoy the sunshine…

is it on your drive? If so write a letter to them saying you’re going to be charging them £150 a day ‘storage / parking’ fees…

For top quality IMO it’s really worth shelling out – I had a heap of slides, medium format and 35mm films (and about 10 APS films from an old Ixus) that had been sitting around for years so I just kept an eye on ebay and picked up the top-of-the-range Canon Canoscan for about £300. I downloaded a trial version of Vuescan (? I think) and spent a weekend busily converting them all to huge, pin-sharp digital pics at something like 4000dpi before selling the week after for about £75 more than I paid for it.

I had a cheapo Epson and there really was a significant different between the two. Mind you, this was in 2006 so maybe technology has caught up with itself by now and evened out the disparity…

I’ve just booked myself in for my 2nd tattoo later this year – off down to Nine in Brighton to get tattooed by one of their guest artists. There’s some really good work on the site galleries…

Can’t wait.

can’t go wrong with the Park one above – it’s done me fine thus far on a variety of HTs, folding bikes and children’s bikes.

Sounds like we got a bargain – think we paid £400 + all the LR fees etc on top. This was in the summer of 2007 and it was all pretty simple (no chain, 2 bedroom house, no complications etc).

for my Mum’s 50th my Dad rented a cottage on the coast and invited all my siblings, grandkids and significant others up for a long weekend. Just spent the time fishing, messing about on the beach, in the pub and generally knocking about in the house. I don’t think it was particularly expensive – no more than the cost of a couple of nights away in a hotel as it was out of the main holiday season.

I think the proposal idea sounds like the best chance of redemption, especially after 34 years…

Fatsimon’s marital comings-and-goings…

I’ve been running HS33’s on and off a variety of bikes since the 1990’s.

I’ve got an anniversary set on my Airnimal commuter and I’d rate them above every other pair of rim brakes I’ve tried. Don’t have Disk mounts so they’re the best I can get. As it’s a folding bike I also get the advantage of no cable stretch – just have to be careful I don’t pinch the cables anywhere.

Recommended (but if you can run disks you’re probably better off doing so)

I had a Dahon MU XL – came in around £300 with the bike-to-work scheme. Was ‘average’ in just about every way; I certainly wouldn’t recommend one if you’re paying full RRP.

The Strida I had previously was better put together and more fun to ride. if all you’re going to be doing is pottling a couple of miles then check out them out. They’re cheap enough and (if it’s of importance) hold their 2nd hand value well. I sold mine for £190, I bought it for less than £300.

I’m using an Airnimal Joey at the moment and it’s fantastic. Way over your budget though.

Yes. We’ve got a fair few original oils, watercolours, charcoal drawings etc as well as a number of limited edition etchings and prints. Most expensive was a fair wack for a large oil seascape – a wedding present from my wife – going on the artist’s current prices it’s since tripled in value (not that I’d ever sell it). I guess I inherited the habit from my parents who are both art mad – I’ve always bought stuff I loved – started from when I had money from a paper-round and saved for an old pen and ink of a harbour scene.

(And I paint myself – had stuff selling in galleries etc too though since my daughters arrived I’ve had less time to get things onto canvas)

Not 100% it’ll work on the D40 but you can pick up a used Nikon AF-D 35-70mm f/2.8 for around £120 if you hunt about through online 2nd hand lists. It’s an older lens, since discontinued but it’s built like a tank, tack sharp and is great value for money

For what it’s worth I sold my old D50 with 2 lenses and a bag on for £250 which was about on the money 3 months ago. I’d try and go for the D50 upwards if you can as it opens up more possibilities of using older lenses – one of the bonuses of using Nikon over Canon is that you can use any lens from the 1960’s onwards on pretty much every DSLR except some base models (ie. the D40). This older kit is often built far better than modern plastic mounted lenses and can be had for next to nothing.

I’d also echo the fact that the life expectancy on dslr shutters should exceed 50,000 without any problems and prosumer/pro bodies are said to go 100,000+ without issues. I’ve had an Nikon F5 based Kodak DCS digital camera that had 150K+ and was still going strong.

my commute to work takes me through ‘Brock Wood’ I presume named as there’s a couple of setts (sp?) in it – my current record is seeing 8 badgers in less than 1/2 a mile. It’d wouldn’t be so bad if one community weren’t at the bottom of a big hill where I’m usually doing about 25mph – they run up and down the sides of the road like eejits and you’ve no idea what direction they’re going to go in.

not hit one yet though I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

A while back I spent an informative hour’s train journey chatting to one of the guys who’s involved in the consultation process for the London Crossrail (? I think that’s what it’s called) and who’s a major lobbyist for cycling and ‘green’ transport. Apparently the Government’s position on bikes-on-trains is that we should adopt the Dutch model of improving cycle parks at either end of your train journey – so, more lockers, ‘secure’ places to lock up etc, rather than making space on the trains themselves. That way they can argue that they’re pro-cycling and doing their bit whilst not having to waste valuable real-estate in the carriages that could be taken up with more season ticket holding commuters without bikes.

They are apparently purposefully oblivious to the fact that this runs completely against how the majority of people commute on a daily basis using bike / train. Personally I have zero desire to leave one bike chained up overnight in London and another throughout the day at a very deserted country train station. Given cars have a tendency to disappear from the latter I’d give a bike, however cruddy, about 2 days before it’s ‘vanished’…

I’m not looking forward to July when I have to swallow the whopping 8% hike in the cost of my annual season ticket. It’s not far off being cheaper for me to buy a car and drive up to London and back every day and sod the environment, if it comes down to putting food on the table and paying Southeastern their 3K a year I know who’s going to lose out.

Get the Wii Fit and the Raymans Raving Rabbits TV Party (my wife also swears by the yoga on the Wii Fit). Mario Cart’s cool as is Tiger Woods 08..

a dyson hoover.

I’d echo the above – look after yourself and get selfish. I’d get yourself armed with as much advice as you can afford – you want to make sure you’re all safe and sound financially. Then get her out of the house and your life then speak to a solicitor about starting divorce proceedings.

I take there aren’t kids involved?

Not been there myself (AFAIK, touch wood) but had a close friend go through something similar. Not only did she rip his heart out she also managed to rip the heart out of his bank accounts too.

Good luck

You can send it Airsure which requires a signature. If you’ve got all the tracking info and it’s fully insured then you should be covered – just make sure that the P&P charges are enough to ensure you’re not out of pocket.

My official title is Backoffice Software Developer – working for a trading house in the City. People tend to glaze over when I tell them what I do but I enjoy it (I’m coming up for my 9th year in the role) – my employer is absolutely fantastic and I’m very lucky TBH.

Business is alright; 2008 was a good year, 2009 may be ‘interesting’…

The nutritionist at work (don’t ask) recommends taking large doses of Vitamin C either as soon as you think you’re getting a cold / flu and afterwards to speed recovery.

He’s a proper doctor and everything (and not of the McKeith variety) as well as being the nutritionist / diet advisor for a number of England sports teams amongst other things so I tend to take his advice.

It works for me.

41? Good grief – looks like I’ve got a way to go before I’m fit again; currently my resting is 50-52. Maximum I’ve seen cycling in the last 6 months – 184. This is down from 200 odd when I was at my fittest in my early twenties. Now I’m in my early thirties, about a 3/4 stone overweight but getting myself back in shape slowly…

IHN is right, but as any parent will tell you, it is so much easier said than done. But he/she is still right.

he is indeedy, at least in my experience. We’re going through the exactly the same thing with our 4 year old and 2.5yr old girls. They never used to be too bad – used to wake once in the night and would go off again with a little reassurance after 10 minutes or so – but the family going down with the flu, xmas festivities and all that disruption meant that they were waking and moaning until we came in and gave them cuddles until they wen back off, or were getting out of bed and coming into ours – 4 in a bed doesn’t work anyway you try it, neither does trying to keep warm and comfortable whilst cudding a toddler in a kiddie bed thing.

Now they’re both back in their usual routine (nursery for the eldest etc) and we’re struggling to get them to stay in their own beds – the only thing that looks to work is the above approach. They wake, we go in and put them back into bed without a work – a kiss on the head and tuck them back in. Rinse and repeat until the little feckers get the message / fall asleep with exhaustion. We had a nightmare night on Sunday, better Monday and last night we were only awake twice (11pm and 3am) which is a real improvement.

Every now and again we have to go through this hell when their routines get out of kilter and their night / sleep gets messed up, usually after we/they have been ill or we’ve been on holiday etc. It’s SOOOOO hard but my wife and I are splitting it into a one-on, one-off routine so at least one parent is functional the next day and night.

Good luck.

I’ve stopped the evening snacks – if I get the munchies then I’ve started having a bowl of cereal instead. We’ve also got a family blanket ban on buying chocolate or crisps – if they’re not in the house then I can’t eat them.

I’m also planning on upping the cycling even more. July last year I started doing 50 miles a week commuting and this has gradually increased – I want to be averaging 100-120 miles in Jan/Feb as well as increasing the intensity. Best thing I bought to help motivate me was a Garmin – I can see the improvement in HR, speed etc and the training functionality gives me tangible target. It wasn’t cheap but I’d recommend one if you’re planning on putting in more miles to try and get fit / lose weight.

So far: in six months, performance wise I’ve gone from 7 (very hilly :wink:) miles in 25+ minutes when I started, to the same 7 miles in 19 minutes. I’ve gone from a 35″ waist to a 31″ and I’ve lost about 2.5 stone.

The aim: I’ve still got a small belly I want to get rid of, I reckon I should be about 12 stone something and a 30″ waist and I’m way off where I want to be fitness wise – ideally I’m aiming to start doing some (semi) competitive cycling in the summer, something I’ve not done for about 10 years…

I’ve got a Maxx-D (bought at the end of November) and use it daily, mostly flipping between high and medium settings, dependent on traffic, for about an hour and a half a day. Usually I get two full days commuting out of it before I see anything other than the green light. It’s been silly cold here down in Sussex too and I had one day where the indicator went orange after just after an hours use. Took it home and gave it a full charge and, fingers crossed, it seems to be back to it’s usual long-lasting self – I put it down to the sub-zero temperatures.

I’d give USE a call if battery life is that bad. I’m also looking to get a Red Eye as I like the idea but I’m going to keep a close eye on it’s impact on battery performance before I do so…

CRC is up just really slooowwwww

did they decide they should not revive him? or did they decide they couldn’t revive him is the real issue

IMO the fact that the control center passed the matter over to the police seems to point to the latter being the case – in my experience the services are pretty supportive /protective of their own (sometimes too much so) and it’d take something out of the ordinary for action like this to be taken…

kettles just boiled thanks.

How does forming an opinion on that article make me judge, jury and executioner? If it’s true then yes, I hope they get everything that the law can throw at them. This is pretty local to me and a close friend is an ambulance paramedic and he’s **** livid about it – it’s a hard job at the best of times and difficult decisions have to be made all the time but this doesn’t even come close to being a ‘judgement call’ IMO (or his, for that matter and he’s far more qualified to be angry about it)

did you read the article – doesn’t sound like there was very much judgement involved to me…

“up its offer of compensation for the level of stress he had been put under in trying to resolve the situation.”

FFS. If my bank made a cock-up like that I’d be laughing about it – it’s certainly not something I’d be losing sleep over…

Generally I’m a size 8 and find Shimano size 8’s are too small for me – I’d go up one size at least. It’s all a complete lottery though – my shoes, cycling or otherwise, range from size 7 to size 10, dependent on maker and design. It’s a right royal PITA.

As mentioned ^^ if you can, I’d really recommend trying to find a pair locally to try on first. It’s the only way you’re going to guarantee not having to go through the rigamarole of returning them for a refund / different size.

Couldn’t get a babysitter this year so we’re all going round to the in-laws where the kids’ll run themselves ragged by 8pm and then collapse so that us adults can all play stupid games and get legless. Should be fun watching the Mother-in-law trying to do Raymans Raving Rabbits TV Party games after one too many.

I’ve been banned from doing fireworks this year after I made the mistake of drunkenly sticking the largest rocket straight into the ground, rather than placing in a bottle. Lit the fuse, stepped back – fffizzzzzzzzz and then BOOOOOMMMM! in an enclosed back garden. Cue assorted neighbouring pets going ape, burglar alarms, car alarms all going off, a ruined lawn and temporary deafness. Very funny though.

The last two mornings it’s been -4 and -5 when I’ve set out to work on my commute and that’s in Sussex FFS! The frost is getting thicker day-on-day and it makes for an amazing, if hairy, downhill when absolutely everything is glittering in my lights. Mind you they don’t grit the majority of the roads I cycle into work on and they were getting a bit slippery by the time I was cycling home last night.

…could we have who is the author of the thread in the main heading, rather than the last poster? I think most people would rather know who started a thread than who posted on it last.

Seconded. Pretty-please?

I wouldn’t be riding that too far with that rear tyre…

There was one running up until a couple of weeks before xmas when it was put on hold for the seasonal festivities – not sure what the plan is for 2009 though…

last I heard it sounded like the Police were only interested in everyone waiting until mid-Jan and then getting refunds from Paypal who in turn would write the whole thing off. Ta-daaa! No unsolved crime statistic…

By the sounds of things the old one won’t be returning in any shape, size or manner as they’ve decided to junk the 31,000 compromised accounts. So we’ll be welcoming back all and sundry and looking forward to a whole new site in the New year apparently!

at least it’ll mean less people get banned after typing something offensive without thinking it through

last year I was cycling to work at 4:45am on Boxing day and there was a queue of people outside the local Next waiting for the doors to open at 6:30. Bunch of nutters IMO.