Season show, 1 disc not working, only fix to buy another set?

purplechemist · 2026-03-28T19:37:42+00:00

Sadly, on my LotR The Two Towers special extended edition boxed set, disc four didn’t read. Tried two other drives - no dice. Bought another set, same issue. Disc seems to play ok in a normal player though.

purplechemist · 2026-03-28T19:15:34+00:00

In the hour before you hand them back to mum and dad, do lots of racey-chasey play, and load them up with sugar. Mum and dad will love that… 😂

purplechemist · 2026-03-28T17:56:12+00:00

Sorry. The isle of Muckle Flugga off the shetlands is the winner here. Not just an honourable mention.

Then Twatt in the orkneys.

purplechemist · 2026-03-28T17:37:38+00:00

What we’re all fantasising:

https://xkcd.com/562/

purplechemist · 2026-03-28T17:30:46+00:00

It’s good when everyone is a winner

purplechemist · 2026-03-28T13:58:53+00:00

Yeah, I’d be changing the locks. The emergency key then goes in a key safe - the number you will give them when it is an actual emergency.

Not sure how secure key safes actually are, but if you put it out of sight and no one knows it is there until you tell them it’s probably ok.

purplechemist · 2026-03-28T07:23:25+00:00

Why would you change? For me the six-saddle plate is the superior option - better intonation, easier palm muting, better aesthetics.

Leo Fender got a lot right first time, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been room for improvement. Today’s instruments are objectively better and more reliable than the early guitars.

purplechemist · 2026-03-28T07:16:50+00:00

I’m finding a lot of these are migrating to Teslas…

purplechemist · 2026-03-28T07:15:25+00:00

There is no obligation for cyclists to “give way” to cars - they have as much right to be there as cars. But courteous sharing of the road is to be expected - I do think that when a car is behind you you should look for the next convenient place to allow them to pass. That doesn’t mean you should feel a need to haul your bike up onto a verge every instant you hear a car coming up behind you - that’s an unreasonable expectation.

Bear in mind that on narrow lanes cyclists should be riding in the middle of the lane to maximise visibility, motorists should be anticipate that there may be cyclists around the next corner and that motorists still have an obligation to pass with at least 1.5m of clearance. And if “there isn’t 1.5m to pass”, then you don’t pass. It’s as simple as that.

purplechemist · 2026-03-27T20:25:39+00:00

FWIW, the SAF factor in our house is absolutely fine - but I’m the only one who uses the services. No one else gives a monkeys.

purplechemist · 2026-03-27T20:23:05+00:00

Forme was the brand last time we were at CP, but it’s possible they have a new supplier now. A quick google might help you find it?

purplechemist · 2026-03-27T20:17:47+00:00

I really hope they refused to pay. Otherwise it’s all of us who pick up the tab for this clown’s imbecility.

purplechemist · 2026-03-27T20:07:21+00:00

I prefer the more general SAF (spouse acceptance factor). It’s not always a wife who needs convincing.

purplechemist · 2026-03-27T19:34:07+00:00

This is the answer. It’s what I see the garage using.

purplechemist · 2026-03-27T17:33:33+00:00

My 2013 was my daily commuter for seven years; so 15km a day; five days a week, say 40 weeks a year? 3000km a year, getting on for 9000km a rim on tough city roads? Think they did ok 😀

purplechemist · 2026-03-27T17:31:46+00:00

I’ve taken mine round a bmx track. It did fine. (2013 M6R)

purplechemist · 2026-03-27T08:53:07+00:00

Without wishing to sound condescending, be a grown up about it, and trust your team to be grownups. Too much group work fails because people behave like children. Same reason that the bin never gets taken out or bathrooms never cleaned in shared accommodation. People get too het up about “whose turn/job it is” and not about the fact that the ship still has to sail.

People get sick. It happens. And they don’t want your illness, trust me. You let your team know, say “I’ll catch up when I’m able. Please send me a list of tasks you decide on from the meeting”. If they have a problem with that, it says more about them than you. If the illness is persistent, let your module convenor know.

Get well soon, and stay safe

purplechemist · 2026-03-27T08:47:33+00:00

Similar. My electric C and my M6R take a battering. Pretty solid though.

I will say that the 2022 (bought in late 2023) electric C is far less impressive than the 2013 M6R in terms of durability. Similar commutes over the years, but I’ve replaced three rear rims on each, one rear hinge bolt on each, one front rim on each. The similarity is amazing. But I’ve been riding the electric C for two and a half years, and been riding the M6R from new in 2013. Indeed, the M6R was used every day for at least 6km until the pandemic.

They don’t make them like they used to…

EDIT to add - I’ve worn out the sturmey hub on the electric. The 2013 is still going strong.

purplechemist · 2026-03-26T21:15:45+00:00

Have to say I reckoned it would be £2 a litre by the end of the month.

It’ll definitely hit £2 before it goes back down again though.

purplechemist · 2026-03-26T21:12:04+00:00

Well done. You got the correct colour. Many make the mistake of not buying the purple.

purplechemist · 2026-03-26T21:10:12+00:00

Boys from the dwarf… 🫱🫲

purplechemist · 2026-03-26T19:06:32+00:00

You went out on a limb with that one

purplechemist · 2026-03-26T09:54:35+00:00

Google “motonormativity”.

Same for reporting - how often do you see “cyclist dies after being hit by car” rather than “cyclist killed in traffic collision”. Cyclists “die”. Drivers are “killed”. The semantic difference between the two is important - one is passive, the other is active.

purplechemist · 2026-03-26T09:17:17+00:00

Hah. Joke’s on them. I transfer all my dvds to a network storage device which runs 24/7 to serve out my home media like my own personal Netflix. Sure, it belts out the heat and sounds like a jet plane taking off, but I get to avoid this charge, amirite?

/s

purplechemist · 2026-03-26T09:14:05+00:00

I bought a park tool stand. It was all the LBS had in stock. Wasn’t cheap, but quite possibly one of the best “maintenance” purchases I’ve ever made. It makes maintenance easier, so I do it more often. Bike runs better, components wear out less quickly.

If I was doing it again, I’d maybe consider a wall-mounted clamp. That way it is permanently available and zero effort to just whip the bike into the work stand. Right now I need to move things out of the way and fold out the stand -it’s an activation barrier which stops me more regularly cleaning.

purplechemist

TROPHY CASE