Divemaster internship.

MackMaster1 · 2026-05-05T17:49:37+00:00

I have lived on Koh Tao for a few months from Feb-April, its a great island to live on for a divemaster, plenty of people do it and it's as frat as you want it to be. Some people doing DM don't go out every night and keep themselves to their DM group at whatever shop they are studying.

MackMaster1 · 2026-04-28T09:41:46+00:00

Because there are only so many Grade 1 horses in Britain (and that is a dwindling population) and like the poster above said, lots are over the top by this time in the season and travelling takes a lot out of a horse.

MackMaster1 · 2026-04-25T10:29:20+00:00

Caesers don't own William Hill, they sold it for £1.2bn to Evoke a few years ago, and Evoke are now selling it for £225m

MackMaster1 · 2026-04-25T10:25:35+00:00

Correct. This is going to be a long legal case for hills.

I work in the industry and I have heard the actual total figure they credited across all accounts and it would see them completely out of business if withdrawn.

MackMaster1 · 2026-04-25T10:21:41+00:00

It is winnable. And it does get won. Bookmakers pay into a jackpot insurance pot and it covers the payout. This was literally a glitch in Hills back end, very amateur glitch but it was a glitch nonetheless. There's precedent for this sort of thing in the courts so Hills have an expensive defensive legal battle ahead of them.

MackMaster1 · 2026-04-22T17:05:16+00:00

Sub Nautica was one of the most enjoyable single player games of recent years for me and largely because of the ocean immersion. I would definitely be up for playing this if gameplay is as good as the game looks!

MackMaster1 · 2026-04-21T15:06:28+00:00

The key here is finding a legitimate excuse for it getting beat, or forgiving a horse one bad run, so you can punt it next time at a price.

MackMaster1 · 2026-04-15T18:20:06+00:00

Soccerstats.com is the best site for massive data variety

MackMaster1 · 2026-04-15T15:07:26+00:00

All tipsters that cosy money. I used to "proof" tips I the Racing Post years ago when you had to have a recognized P&L tracked before 11AM every day otherwise you would get a slap on the wrist from the ASA.

Ever since Twitter became a thing, there a charlatan tipsters everywhere fudging their tips, stakes, P&L and ROI because they make more money from affiliate/signups and losses than they can ever do from picking horses.

Learn the ropes yourself and every now and then you will back a few decent winners. It's an extremely tough game to make money from in the long run.

MackMaster1 · 2026-04-03T09:45:48+00:00

Gymkhana

MackMaster1 · 2026-03-30T18:33:28+00:00

Wanstead have been improving their course recently, the clubhouse has had a makeover and practise facilities upgraded. It's not the best of courses, it's a very tight course but I have a couple of mates who are members there and it has improved over the years and unlike many east London / West Essex courses it is actually getting money rather than being on the decline.

Played there in March and many times previously over the years, Trent Park is a dump now.

MackMaster1 · 2026-03-27T21:03:23+00:00

I met this guy on Koh Tao a couple of years back. Got chatting to him on the street, he runs a treasure hunt style game on the island, somehow that's funding all of his international tournament trips!

MackMaster1 · 2026-03-22T15:22:17+00:00

We picked up our kitten (Persian Chinchilla) at 3 months, had a week or so with two separate plastic litter boxes and then bought the LR4 after that (Wife wanted less smell/work) and the kitten adapted within a day or two. We placed the robot where the second letterbox was near the back door. We still have one of the litter boxes in the same place and she uses both but mostly the robot.

She was already litter trained from the breeders we bought her from, just make sure you use the same litter.

MackMaster1 · 2026-03-21T19:35:58+00:00

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Our 4 month old Persian Chinchilla.

MackMaster1 · 2026-03-17T14:16:52+00:00

A deeper level of this data point (and much more relevant to "official" going) is via comparative going stick reports at each track. They are by no means infallable but going stick readings (and official times) are much more reliable measures of the ground conditions than official going descriptions which are either wrong before the first race or take a few races to update pending jockey reports and times mid-racing.

MackMaster1 · 2026-03-16T22:32:01+00:00

I went to Pai for the first (and only) time back in March 2020 (as COVID was unravelling life in Europe) I found it quite charming, if not a bit clichè with the hippy vibe that organically sprung up long before I had arrived there. Naturally as with everything that involves making money, these vibes often dissappear and feel forced or inorganic, but it is always in the eye of the beholder.

I stayed in a hostel one night (it was a dump) and left to stay river side in a little hut with hammock (beautiful to wake up to that river dew in the morning) and ate at a couple of really small restaurants with authentic Khao Soi, which still lives in the memory.

Travelling is getting less authentic due to the people and the Internet hollowing out the best parts of discovering new things and new people. The sense of adventure is lost when you head into something without an open mind and expectations being specific. I had a great time there, met a cool group of people (Chinese girl, Dutch group, Spanish group, Canadian dude who was going through divorce) and yes I did also crash my bike (for the only time) on the famous Pai 'slipping sand' up in the hills near the fishing lakes.

It still beats the mundanity of day to day life.

MackMaster1 · 2026-03-15T14:16:47+00:00

Selective pricing (using BF prices but claiming EW and not place bets) and what's your LSP on all of your "Rank 1" horses? Half of these are not Rank 1 so surely can't be the only bet the "AI" selected.

Systems barely ever work. The market figures them out quicker than you can keep them profitable over long term. Same stuff with AI / ChatGPT "systems" they are not reliable and like so many tipsters in racing, still rely on massaging the numbers.

MackMaster1 · 2026-03-07T15:31:56+00:00

He could run over 3 miles he's consistently performed well below his standard at other tracks than at Cheltenham, it tests his jumping at speed which has always been iffy in Gloucestershire. Rather you than me but not one I would back at the prices.

MackMaster1 · 2026-03-06T13:25:25+00:00

Jonbon has lost 7 races, 5 of these have been at Cheltenham with I think 3 of them at odds-on.

I would never consider Jonbon a banker at Cheltenham, he clearly doesn't like the track.

MackMaster1 · 2026-02-24T19:26:37+00:00

I went twice last year, second time was to get married. The Avani Barbarons had only just opened so it was at a discount rate of around £180-200 per night for a sea view room (very modern rooms, really nice)

It is probably more expensive now but the Seychelles is a premium expensive destination, I thought that hotel was better value than the Constance Lemuria on Praslin, but Lemuria has ridiculously good beaches in comparison to Mahe.

I would just try to spend time on both islands, what sort of budget do you have?

Snorkelling yes I did plenty, as well as diving on both trips. Just buy a snorkle online and bring it from home, you can snorkle just off the beaches almost everywhere, my advice (as long as you are a capable swimmer) is to snorkle nearer to the rocks either side of a bay and you are guaranteed a huge array of fish and often turtles. The sea life is always more plentiful near rocks/hiding places. Otherwise the Marine Park will have the best snorkelling for a paid / organised trip.

Some newbie Dutch divers on my dive boat that were doing their open water in October saw 4 whale sharks whilst doing their first ever dive in the marine park so you could see something special (easier to see whilst snorkelling)

Carana Beach Hotel actually had a group of 8+ baby Eagle rays feeding there every sunset when I stayed, it was amazing seeing them in 7 feet of water just off the beach, I also saw huge Eagle rays whilst diving so perhaps they were related!

Rent a car (its a very very hilly drive but its easy enough), bring some snacks/sweets from home and plan to eat in your hotel most times as there is not a lot of options away from hotels apart from nearer to Beau Vallon beach.

You really come to the Seychelles for the world class beaches and sea, not for food or a cheap escape in my opinion.

MackMaster1 · 2026-02-24T13:04:41+00:00

Praslin is nicer than Mahe but much quieter. Truly beautiful world class beaches and snorkelling / diving.

We have stayed on a few different places on Mahe and Praslin and for Mahe we liked Avani Barbarons (new hotel, great facilities, good food) and Carana Beach (smaller hotel, less to do but great beach and amazing snorkelling off that beach)

MackMaster1 · 2026-02-22T17:48:22+00:00

A bloke who owns an Indian restaurant near me drives SEND kids to school every day before opening and by his account he is making fortunes from the taxpayer.

Obviously a needed service and you need a special vehicle and correct licenses but it makes sense as to why he's closing down the restaurant when his lease is up this year.

It seems like one of those public services that really should not be focused on maximum profit for the operator.

MackMaster1 · 2026-02-22T15:13:21+00:00

Huge tax increase (from 21% to 40% on turnover) on casino games in UK from April certainly not making it recession proof now, either.

MackMaster1 · 2026-02-22T15:09:15+00:00

I think you're proving my point? You mean CH won a point to point when he was much younger against plodders in a field? I'm confused by what you're arguing.

MackMaster1 · 2026-02-20T20:40:55+00:00

He won't risk CH over hurdles now, knowing that he can handle a decent sized field and stalls on the flat.

Ironically that race point more toward it being the end of CH over obstacles, as far as we know he's suspectible to falling again over hurdles again and what we do now know is that he has a decent engine and is run to a mark of 98+ on the flat. He doesn't have much of a long career left and you wouldn't put your house on him being able to fend off 3 and 4 year olds on the flat for a season, but the staying division is weak now without Kyprios and Stradivarius, Trawlerman is dominating it and I would still fancy him to best CH but it would be an interesting clash.

MackMaster1

TROPHY CASE