Seemingly trivial things that cheer you up

pblakeney

morstar said:

TheBigBean said:

morstar said:

dennisn said:

What cheers me up? Whenever I get down in the dumps and think the world is going to hell I simply flip through a bike mag or a golf mag. After looking at some of the new products being offered and touted as the "greatest", I sit back and smile , realizing that the world hasn't changed at all. There is still a sucker born every minute.

I'm with you there. I don't dispute that technology has moved on in all sports but some of the claims are plain nonsense.

If I were to add up all the time savings a modern helmet, wheels etc. supposedly give me, I'd be an elite rider. Err, no!

Funnily enough, I've done quite a few triathlons and have debated this many times with triathletes. They really are an equipment obsessed bunch.

Biggest issue I have with modern stuff is built in obsolescence. I think avoiding that is my primary objective these days. A few seconds here or there is irrelevant to me as a mid pack participant in sport. Any future bike I buy will use established standards in all areas if possible.

How do you do that? I never thought 26 inch wheels on my MTB would become obsolete.

There’s no guarantees but it’s easy to avoid anything with word integrated as a good starting point.
I read, irreplaceable in about 3 years.

Not quite your meaning but my first experience of obsolescence was with a surround sound integrated amplifier.
"Due to the modular design this amplifier is future proof".
Obsolete within 2 years.

Stevo_666

TheBigBean said:

morstar said:

dennisn said:

What cheers me up? Whenever I get down in the dumps and think the world is going to hell I simply flip through a bike mag or a golf mag. After looking at some of the new products being offered and touted as the "greatest", I sit back and smile , realizing that the world hasn't changed at all. There is still a sucker born every minute.

I'm with you there. I don't dispute that technology has moved on in all sports but some of the claims are plain nonsense.

If I were to add up all the time savings a modern helmet, wheels etc. supposedly give me, I'd be an elite rider. Err, no!

Funnily enough, I've done quite a few triathlons and have debated this many times with triathletes. They really are an equipment obsessed bunch.

Biggest issue I have with modern stuff is built in obsolescence. I think avoiding that is my primary objective these days. A few seconds here or there is irrelevant to me as a mid pack participant in sport. Any future bike I buy will use established standards in all areas if possible.

How do you do that? I never thought 26 inch wheels on my MTB would become obsolete.

Wait long enough and they'll come back, branded by bike marketing departments as 'lighter, more agile wheels - the new standard!'

That's my strategy anyway.

Charlie_Croker

Stevo_666 said:

TheBigBean said:

morstar said:

dennisn said:

What cheers me up? Whenever I get down in the dumps and think the world is going to hell I simply flip through a bike mag or a golf mag. After looking at some of the new products being offered and touted as the "greatest", I sit back and smile , realizing that the world hasn't changed at all. There is still a sucker born every minute.

I'm with you there. I don't dispute that technology has moved on in all sports but some of the claims are plain nonsense.

If I were to add up all the time savings a modern helmet, wheels etc. supposedly give me, I'd be an elite rider. Err, no!

Funnily enough, I've done quite a few triathlons and have debated this many times with triathletes. They really are an equipment obsessed bunch.

Biggest issue I have with modern stuff is built in obsolescence. I think avoiding that is my primary objective these days. A few seconds here or there is irrelevant to me as a mid pack participant in sport. Any future bike I buy will use established standards in all areas if possible.

How do you do that? I never thought 26 inch wheels on my MTB would become obsolete.

Wait long enough and they'll come back, branded by bike marketing departments as 'lighter, more agile wheels - the new standard!'

That's my strategy anyway.

They get re-invented as a brand-new idea from time to time...

morstar

pblakeney said:

morstar said:

TheBigBean said:

morstar said:

dennisn said:

What cheers me up? Whenever I get down in the dumps and think the world is going to hell I simply flip through a bike mag or a golf mag. After looking at some of the new products being offered and touted as the "greatest", I sit back and smile , realizing that the world hasn't changed at all. There is still a sucker born every minute.

I'm with you there. I don't dispute that technology has moved on in all sports but some of the claims are plain nonsense.

If I were to add up all the time savings a modern helmet, wheels etc. supposedly give me, I'd be an elite rider. Err, no!

Funnily enough, I've done quite a few triathlons and have debated this many times with triathletes. They really are an equipment obsessed bunch.

Biggest issue I have with modern stuff is built in obsolescence. I think avoiding that is my primary objective these days. A few seconds here or there is irrelevant to me as a mid pack participant in sport. Any future bike I buy will use established standards in all areas if possible.

How do you do that? I never thought 26 inch wheels on my MTB would become obsolete.

There’s no guarantees but it’s easy to avoid anything with word integrated as a good starting point.
I read, irreplaceable in about 3 years.

Not quite your meaning but my first experience of obsolescence was with a surround sound integrated amplifier.
"Due to the modular design this amplifier is future proof".
Obsolete within 2 years.

Yep, avoid modular and integrated.

Oh!

Standalone rules!

pinno

surrey_commuter said:

I had my clubs nicked and insurance bought me brand new, so seven years newer and far more expensive. They had a much bigger sweet spot so making me far more consistent.

To non golfists it was more like swapping a mountain bike for an Allez

I was in the day room of a hospital I frequented. In there was a chairperson of a local, renowned golf course.
He was talking about how ball technology has advanced so much made poor golfers look half decent.
He said: 'if you can hit a spud with a blade, you could be a good golfer'.

pblakeney

It is juvenile but this really made me laugh!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-52412655

pinno

When you've ran out of cleaning to do...

mrfpb

Of course every library has at least one member of staff that would love the opportunity of resorting 18.5 bays of books.

orraloon

HOW MANY MORE TIMES?! 2 metres you Tit.

rick_chasey

Probably bad form for posting it here but the leader of the North Carolina anti-lockdown protests has tested positive for Corona.

focuszing723

Having had a real good run of decent Weather.

pblakeney

rick_chasey said:

Probably bad form for posting it here but the leader of the North Carolina anti-lockdown protests has tested positive for Corona.

Could have used the irony thread instead.

orraloon

The Aussie Floyd Top Ten Tuesday, 8pm BST live on that FBook thing, those guys are just so good.

pblakeney

They are good. Apparently sourced the original stage props for their tours.

pblakeney

Hitting post Mallorca form before you were even supposed to be in Mallorca.

rjsterry

Double pudding. The last of the Nutella cheese cake plus bread and butter pudding fresh from the oven. Feeling a bit sleepy now

briantrumpet

Getting a £168 refund from Amazon the same day (yesterday) that I asked for it.

I ordered a Yamaha Silent Brass mute from them for online teaching the day (19 March) I knew we'd be doing remote teaching this term, and only the next day realised it was coming from Japan (D'oh!!). Anyway, patiently waited, eventually asking vendor to update me... no reply within the two working days, so contacted Amazon, and within four hours they'd confirmed the refund.

Even better, I then found I could get next-day delivery from Yamaha in London, for £10 less than the Japan order. Obviously I should have done my homework before ordering from Amazon in the first place...

bompington

Getting a refund that I didn't even ask for from Amazon.
For a package that did get delivered in the end.
£2.44 richer!

briantrumpet

Well, my Yamaha Silent Brass thingy arrived at 9am this morning, ready for my first lesson, and whilst you can hardly hear a thing in my house, apparently it sounds like a real trumpet at the pupil's end, so job done. It's the last piece in the tech-y jigsaw of teaching from home: new midi keyboard, shotgun mic, Silent Brass, and a mini mixing desk, all going through the laptop and Zoom to arrive in pupils' houses. They don't even want a day off for next Friday's Bank Holiday! All most satisfying, while the world outside the front door carries on falling apart a bit.

webboo

I went past a couple on road bike today, as I was coming behind I thought the guy was sat up with his hands off the bars. However he had some sort of extension to his head tube/stem that was at least a foot long, a bit like one of those eBay monsters.
I dread to think what it would like on a descent.

orraloon

Seeing the bluetits in full on feeding mode in and out of the nesting box nearest the house. Hard workers they are.

Edit. Hah. That one didn't get censored. Double cheer.

dennisn

Not sure why this cheers me up but it does. Saw an advert today that talked about a company that sold "certified pre-owned bicycles". Anyone out there who doesn't or couldn't identify a pre owned bike? Doesn't seem like it would take much. Now, I've heard a few car dealers talk about "certified pre-owned cars" and always thought that sounded just a bit stupid. ...but bicycles? "Certified...."?

rjsterry

dennisn said:

Not sure why this cheers me up but it does. Saw an advert today that talked about a company that sold "certified pre-owned bicycles". Anyone out there who doesn't or couldn't identify a pre owned bike? Doesn't seem like it would take much. Now, I've heard a few car dealers talk about "certified pre-owned cars" and always thought that sounded just a bit stupid. ...but bicycles? "Certified...."?

Do they not mean certified fit to ride?

dennisn

rjsterry said:

dennisn said:

Not sure why this cheers me up but it does. Saw an advert today that talked about a company that sold "certified pre-owned bicycles". Anyone out there who doesn't or couldn't identify a pre owned bike? Doesn't seem like it would take much. Now, I've heard a few car dealers talk about "certified pre-owned cars" and always thought that sounded just a bit stupid. ...but bicycles? "Certified...."?

Do they not mean certified fit to ride?

I'm sure that's the deal. Just sounds dumb to go with "...certified used...".

pinno

Pinno's Covid19 story #3

My cat is a mouse/ratter. He rarely kills birds.
The mice got in my shed and gnawed (amongst other things), 2 screwdriver handles, the chord and plug on my Makita chop saw plus the end of the bag that holds my drainage rods so that they all fell out when I tried to shift them,
So I fitted a cat flap to the shed. Problem solved.
But then on Monday I thought he had killed a collared Dove. I quite like the collared Dove's although there are never more than 2 pairs in the garden because of Sparrow hawks.
Dove's are a bit podgy and slow and all they can really do for their species, is shag.
I saw one being taken out when he/she was sitting on the ladder rack of a pick up truck I had borrowed to concrete the garage floor some time ago. It was swift. I caught it out of the corner of my eye. That thing had no chance.

I couldn't find any remnants of said Dove and the cat was jittery all day and at one point, was staring at the spot (from the security of the house) where the incident took place. I came to the conclusion that it was some bird of prey that had committed the crime.

The above is not what cheered me up, it is what happened between yesterday and today in the aftermath.
I watched birds go back and forth picking up all the feathers to line their nests. There were so many feathers initially, it was quite comical watching them being choosy about the size of the feather they were picking up.
By this morning, they were grabbing any feather. Now there are none left.

rjsterry

The fox cubs bothering their mum every morning as she tries to have a lie down in the sun. Like small children at the playground.

capt_slog

Seeing a hedgehog in my garden the other night, first one I've seen in ages.

It was so surprised that I'd found it, it didn't even ball up but just stayed where it was and looked at me. I went to fetch Mrs Slog to have a look, but it had scarpered by he time we got back.

TheBigBean

rjsterry said:

The fox cubs bothering their mum every morning as she tries to have a lie down in the sun. Like small children at the playground.

That's just a stealth shed post.

surrey_commuter

Schrodinger's immigrant - simultaneously stealing your job and scrounging benefits

rjsterry

TheBigBean said:

rjsterry said:

The fox cubs bothering their mum every morning as she tries to have a lie down in the sun. Like small children at the playground.

That's just a stealth shed post.

It's not even painted matt black 😄

Also a blackbird is building a nest right outside the back door.