Fitted a new seat post to the Cannondale yesterday so naturally, with a bit of time for cycling this afternoon, I was keen to try it. Had to make a minor adjustment after setting off (the saddle was a touch too high) but after that, it was very comfy indeed. I fitted a similar carbon seat post to the X and wasn't sure if it made a difference to the ride, but on the X it definitely did feel smoother.

It always amused me that the Cannondale didn't have a stitch of carbon fibre on it despite being my favourite bike, but I guess that's why it makes more of a difference now that it does.

Anyway I wanted to do about 40 miles and I did a longer version of the Twycross Bypasser. Along Fenn Lanes and through Shenton and Bosworth, then up through the villages. Hadn't done that for quite a while, a few months I think. Just checked, not since September according to Strava. Took this pic along Atterton Lane.



Noticed more small birds around than of late - is that a Spring phenomenon? Curious how they like to fly across the road at an altitude of a few inches, sometimes. Catching insects, perhaps? I wonder if they ever like to see how high they can go? Wouldn't you?

The weather was almost perfect; nearly warm and very dry. A bit windy but not overly bothersome. Really a lovely run out.

39.20 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/6982439975

Hi all - would be grateful if you'd keep contentious political comment out of the General Discussion (and other) sections, apologies if it wasn't clear that this was the whole point of setting up the Politics board in the first place. Thanks! Everyone's views are welcome but I feel it's better to keep the more contentious discourse separate.

Sea Power last night, O2 Institute, Brum. I've seen them at least ten times over the last few years but that was possibly the best one so far. Wonderful atmosphere, terrific set.

Found a piece on that here:

https://askanastronomer.org/bhc/faq/2015/11/09/is-space-expanding-faster-than-light/

Nothing in the Universe can travel faster than light, relative to another object. But because the space between them is expanding, they nonetheless become further apart than their speed would permit if space were static.

It's a belter, isn't it?

Wordle 299 3/6

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All over very quickly this morning. Lucky with the second word.

So I was at a BSP gig last night, I took earplugs but I was slightly concerned to find that they didn't diminish the volume very much once I'd put them in. They did seem to attenuate some of the higher frequencies.

My ears are hissing a bit now but I hope that will did down a bit over the next 24 hrs.

I do have more powerful earplugs, the ones I used to use for shooting years ago. But they would have cut out a lot of the sound. They actually make you virtually deaf for most intents and purposes.

I think it's seriously damaged anyway. I feel simultaneously hearted and disheartened, somehow. Might only be a matter of time before Putin blames NATO and then things might escalate a bit.

The Internet really opened my eyes to the way (some) people feel about their favourite bands and TV shows and the old rushmessageboard.com site was a venue for some of the worst excesses of this, in the noughties. It did seem to improve in later years.

But back then it was like a piranha tank. All you had to do to receive a torrent of impassioned indignation, often expressed wholly in capital letters, was to post something mildly critical about the band. I remember posting that there was too much new material in the set on one tour and getting "this tour is NOT about YOU!!!" from one contributor.

Another time I commented that I wish Geddy hadn't spoiled Lakeside Park with the Taurus pedals on the AFTK tour, which by this time had taken place over twenty years earlier. This provoked someone to comment "LAST TIME I CHECKED YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER OF RUSH!", with a reminder that these things were up to the musicians, not the audience and if I remember correctly they used an increased font size as well as capital letters to press home their point.

But as well as being extremely defensive about the work of their idols there's an odd tendency for the worst sort of fan, especially of TV shows, to inhabit a fantasy universe in which their favourite actors or artists love their fans, and each other, fiercely. I once read a post by a young woman who insisted that Alex, Geddy and Neil didn't tour for the money, but only because they cared about their fans.

I suppose everyone here is familiar with the bizarre phenomenon of "slash? A minority of female fans are especially fond of this. It's a genre of erotic fan-fiction in which the principal characters of films and TV shows are imagined to be in homosexual relationships - Kirk and Spock, Crockett and Tubbs, Bodie and Doyle. The old UFO mailing list which I participated in years ago had a few enthusiasts. Straker and Foster were usually the main characters in their writings, although someone wrote a crossover story once in which Straker got down and dirty with Taylor (the Charlton Heston character) from Planet of the Apes.

I like Quorn, not even a vegetarian any more but I often eat it.

Wordle 298 4/6

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Interesting that one, in that the second and third letters of the third row solved themselves - the second letter was the only possible letter that would fit after the first, and the third was the only one of the available letters that would work after the first two.

I just wish I'd thought of the actual solution word before the one I tried; it should have been more obvious.

A Tequila Epiphany, I must try one of those.

Quote from: Matt2112 on April 12, 2022, 06:03:54 PM

Quote from: pxr5 on April 11, 2022, 07:49:04 PMLatest Series of Killing Eve - still great

I'm not so sure in all honesty.  I've watched 6 of 8 and haven't found this season half as gripping as those before.

I loved the first two but the third became a chore about halfway through. Never finished it.

That's an interesting point Jonners, a lot of Rush tunes had a beginning, middle and end and most reached a natural conclusion, even if they faded out.

Quote from: Nickslikk2112 on April 11, 2022, 09:43:34 PM

Quote from: Pudders on April 11, 2022, 06:02:25 PMOk, this was almost a week ago but, becoming a first time Grandparent has been particularly amazing. The fact that mum, dad and baby are now back living with us has made it very hands on but, nevertheless, wonderful

Wow! Would never have thought you were that old!!! Comgratulions 

One day about ten years ago a guy I worked with brought cakes into the office to celebrate becoming a grandad. He was 39!

Wordle 297 4/6

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Frustrating, but didn't take too long.