XmisterIS

Worse than that is when they see you coming, and still pull out to overtake, because they think their "sports" car is actually faster than a bike. They're the ones who usually floor it when I then go to overtake them, too.

We have a baby daughter; she seems "normal" - cries when something's wrong, otherwise she's happy and smiling mostly! Now ... the opposite neighbours are another case completely. They have twin daughters, 3 years old, who scream (and I mean SCREAM) at the drop of a hat. It rarely seems to be just crying, it's usually full-on meltdown, and it happens several times per day, for about 2 hours each time. For example, the other day, I went round the see the family, one of the twins wanted chocolate ice-cream, the dad told her they'd run out but she could have strawberry instead ... her response was to go into full meltdown! He said "this is normal - and now she'll scream for at least an hour". I have never once seen either twin smile. They always look like they're pissed of and on the verge of angry screaming (which means meltdown). When we first met them, I just looked at one of them, smiled and said, "hello" in a friendly voice - and she had a meltdown and had to be taken away! Both parents look like they are at breaking point - complete exhaustion - the twins are 3 years old and apparently still waking up 4 or 5 times in the night, every night, and raising hell. Does that sound normal?! (I'm hoping our Daughter won't turn into the screaming toddler from hell when she's older!)

NOTD goes to the fuckface who started using the petrol pump while I was paying! Just drove up beside my bike and started using the pump, while my bike was still there. I had a few choice words for him, I didn't hear what he said in reply (full face earplugs + helmet), but he did step away from my bike and waited patiently for me to leave (6ft biker in full gear & helmet, shouting at him, might have had some influence there!)

Firstly, you didn't "fail". You just didn't get the hang of it, but you learnt lots. I'm not sure if the rules have changed, but when I did my CBT, you could do it on either a geared bike or a twist-n-go (automatic, scooter), and then ride anything up to 125cc with no more than 14 bhp, on L-Plates (geared or automatic, regardless of whether you'd done your CBT on a geared or automatic). Like you, I couldn't get the hang of gear changes either, didn't go out on the road, so they gave me a second day free and I ended up going out on a 125cc scooter (automatic - no clutch), which I found easy to ride. I then went and bought myself a geared 125 and just practiced riding up and down my road. It was much easier and more relaxing without an instructor watching me! When I was confident enough, I then rode round the block, then out onto the main road, then further afield, etc.

Thanks all ... it's nice and simple and straightforward then!

Good luck to you! I stopped smoking 14 years ago, that was long before e-cigarettes. I smoked 10-20 per day and one day just went cold turkey. It was pretty awful for 4 weeks solid, but then one day the craving just left me completely (like someone had flicked a switch) and today I don't even like the smell of smoke.

I found that, but it doesn't say anything about single yellows where there are no time plates. That's what I'm trying to work out - what the "default" rule is where there are no time plates.

I thought the law was clear on this, but Google produces confusing and conflicting information! My understanding is that you MAY park on a single yellow line Mon-Sat 6pm-8am and Sun at any time, unless signage states otherwise (e.g. permit holders only, restriction applies 7 days a week, etc). Conversely, you MAY NOT park on a single yellow line Mon-Sat 8am-6pm, unless signage states otherwise. Is that correct?

I hope the 125 rider will be given pause for thought. I once saw a kid on a 50cc 'ped ride up the left-hand side of a bus, while the bus was turning left. I honestly thought he was going to die.

I do sometimes enjoy playing with those idiots who drive some stupid little hot-hatch and automatically think their car is the fastest thing with an engine on Earth. I guess they see a 125 and think, "Yeah! It's only a learner bike! I can bully it!" which they can, but then they make the mistake of thinking, "Yeah, it's a ZZR1400! I can bully it!" And then get their arse handed to them on a plate ...

Very nice! I'm thinking of getting a Z. Incidentally, can you fit the OEM panniers and a top box, like you've got? Or if not, how big is your top box compared to the OEM panniers? I read that the '14 model panniers are slimmer than on the old model, so are easier to filter with.

This to me is the thin end of the wedge - we live in financially frightening times. When I bought my first flat (2 double bedrooms, separate kitchen, allocated parking space) in 1998, it cost me £35K. A single graduate engineer on £16,500 (which was my starting salary) could afford a mortgage on that, plus I had minimal debts from Uni because I was one of the last years for whom Uni was free, and I got a full grant. 17 years later, the same flats in the same block are are selling for £180K. That's roughly a 500% increase in 17 years, while starting salaries in the engineering industry have increased by about 30% in the same period, and Uni is £9000 per year, and you can't get a grant anymore. It's patently insane; and it's not "real" money, because when you're on the housing ladder, you are buying and selling in the same market, so it wouldn't matter if the flats were £1.80 each or £180,000,000 each! It just fuels the debt culture which, one day will go BOOM in a very very big way - it will make the 1927 stock market crash, and the crash we've just had, look like penny bangers.

This thread is interesting to me; I'd like to buy a brand spankers z1000sx with panniers, full akrapovic, etc. I could get one on 0% from my local kwaker dealer and pay it off with the right money at the right time. BUT, I never use my credit card, we have no mortgage (haven't done for years) and have never borrowed before (haven't needed to - just worked hard for overtime pay when i needed money). In a nutshell, I've worked incredibly hard, always been in the black, and over the course of 20 years built a solid financial base and never taken out credit. What will that mean for my credit score?

We live round the corner from a primary school, the Soccer Mums are the scourge of the area! There's a cul-de-sac right by the school; they double-park at the top of it, therefore nobody can get in or out. I know someone who lives there and he says they get very uppity and rude if you politely ask them to move (because they're completely blocking access to about 30 houses).

Just go in your birthday suit. It's suitable for all occasions and will be well received. Last time I wore mine, one of the wedding guests started clapping.

I'm going to take my bike in to the shop on Tues to get the rear valve replaced because it has a split in the rubber. For the future, what do you think of this? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgDzZIop_uw

Not NOTD, more COTD (Clown Of The Day) ... I filtered up to the traffic lights in front of some tricked-out BMW Tractor (you know, one those stupid BMW 4x4 things) with blacked-out windows and a vanity plate. The dick face driver started beeping at me and revving the engine. Next thing I knew, he'd gone round the left-hand side of me (The lanes are particularly wide), and was suddenly squeezed in beside me, staring at me and mouthing off. I couldn't hear him, I had earplugs in and a helmet on with the visor down. Anyway, I looked at him long enough to see that not only does he drive a dickmobile, but he was also dressed like a giant shiny cock, wearing shades with designer baseball cap at a fashionable angle, gold necklace, etc. I thought, "Clown of the day!" then I ignored him and looked back at the road. Cue the lights changing and he *floored* it. I pretended I couldn't keep up - then just opened the throttle, and waved at him in a friendly manner once I'd gone past. He caught me up at the next set of lights and sat beside me again (he was in the left lane, I was in the right hand lane - he didn't squeeze in this time, we each had a lane to ourselves). He said nothing, didn't even look in my direction, just stared straight ahead. I felt I should ask him what it's like to know that his multi-thousand-£££££ dickmobile is slower than a ratty-looking SV650, but I decided to just let him stew in his own juices instead.

It is interesting to see how varied and complex the years are ... and completely pointless!! Surely it would be best to have years numbered chronologically from birth. That would make things dead simple and seamlessly link the years from birth to 18. So in the first year of your life, you'd been in Year 1, etc. So Kindergarten would cover years 1 to 4, Junior School would be years 5 to 11, Senior school years 12 to 16 and college would be years 17 and 18. Simples!

Pah! Whippersnapper! I started kindergarten in the 1970s. Things aren't what they used to be when I were a lad, I tell thee. Aye.

I say "new" because I know they've been around a while now, but they're new to me. When I went to school, Senior School started at 1st Form (age 11-12), all the way up to 5th Form (GCSE, age 15-16), then Lower 6th and Upper 6th were the A-level years. Our daughter will be going to school in a few years, and the naming conventions of the new system seem crazy! (not that the old system was any less bizarre). You would think that they would label the school years by chronological age - i.e. Year 1 for first year of life, etc. Therefore Kindergarten would cover years 1-4, Junior School would be years 5-11, Senior School would be years 12-18. But ooooooh no, that would be tooooo simple! So, now we have "Reception" (apparently that's what it's called) for kids starting school at 4 or 5, then year 1, etc. Is anyone here a teacher, and do you know why the Department for Education decided to go for such a crazy naming system, particularly when they had the opportunity to make it simple?!

You have two choices: 1) Eat less. 2) Buy a new suit. I went for option 2. It is more expensive and more satisfying.

Lol! Yes. It was a good number of years ago no, and I would imaging speed guns have improved! So have my skills of observation and politeness! I was much younger in those days (funny how time works like that!)

Change your GP. I speak from experience! For years, I was with a GP who was as awful as you describe. Then, I sold up, moved town and bought a house with XmrsIS, and changed GP - the new ones are so good - they bend over backwards to help you! We chose them based on their website - what came across was their positive attitude. I'd recommend visiting a few surgeries and changing to one that has a good attitude. Admittedly, I moved from a rural town to an inner-city and I think city GPs are more on the ball than those in Hicksville.

Ah yes. The ablutions of a small child ... Our daughter is capable of ruining three or more outfits in a single nappy change ... 1. Remove nappy and clothes. 2. Clean nether regions. 3. Put new clothes on. 4. Start putting new nappy on. 5. Child pees/poos/vomits all over herself. 6. Return to step 1. :bang:

Some years back there was a copper with a speed gun on a stretch of road which had been reduced from 40 to 30 a few days beforehand. I was doing 40 on my 125; forgot it was a 30 zone, I saw the copper and thought, "Good job I'm doing the speed limit!", then "Oh shit, it's now a 30!" then, "Oh well, here comes a tug" - because I was almost on top of him by that point. I slowed to 30; he kept his gun on me the whole time, never gave me a tug, then as I went past, he gave me a very, very evil look. In that moment, I figured he probably couldn't get a lock on me because I was presenting a small target, or because the gun had malfunctioned, or something like that. So I nodded at him and gave him a thumbs up.