A random thread for small things that don't really warrant a thread of their own

[Cudzoziemiec]

I'd joked before that it cost 6p per step to climb it, as the 'fast track' price was £8.

That seems to have dropped to £6.50, meaning it is a more affordable 5p per step to climb the 130ish steps. (the marketing info describes this as an experience of the 'great outdoors')

Huh? People will pay to walk up the steps to the top of that? Okay, as soon as something has a price, someone will pay for it, but what is the idea here (other than to charge people to walk up steps)? I mean, London is full of parks anyway.

[citoyen]

I'd joked before that it cost 6p per step to climb it, as the 'fast track' price was £8.

That seems to have dropped to £6.50, meaning it is a more affordable 5p per step to climb the 130ish steps. (the marketing info describes this as an experience of the 'great outdoors')

Huh? People will pay to walk up the steps to the top of that? Okay, as soon as something has a price, someone will pay for it, but what is the idea here (other than to charge people to walk up steps)? I mean, London is full of parks anyway.

As one of the comments says, you can get a better view from Parliament Hill, and that's free. It's also not made of scaffolding.

It's completely bizarre. I can only assume it's a money-laundering project, or a means of giving a backhander to some mate of someone in power.

[Mr Larrington]

And why did the marketroids put a nasty diseasel-powered FX4 taxi in their picture instead of a nice clean anbaric one? Tch!

[citoyen]

Today's PR email fail, which landed in my colleague's inbox a little while ago...

Hi [xxx],
I hope you’re well and having a good week. {Insert compliment, refer to a recent feature or common ground if relevant and applicable}...

[Cudzoziemiec]

The sort of compliment which the sender can insert...

[Beardy]

I’m in the process of making myself a novelty (but functional) mask for the weekend’s trip. I’m getting frowns and eye rolls from the ladies of the house!

[Mrs Pingu]

Pingu's just asked me for the tape measure and then gone into the bathroom & shut the door 

[Kim]

Depends what kind of tape measure, I suppose...

Metric: He's probably planning to fettle the door frame.
Imperial: Time to worry.

[Beardy]

Depends what kind of tape measure, I suppose...

Metric: He's probably planning to fettle the door frame.
Imperial: Time to worry.

But you get bigger numbers if you use metric.

[ian]

Just reassure him that it doesn't matter to you.

That's what she told me, anyway.

[citoyen]

Depends what kind of tape measure, I suppose...

Metric: He's probably planning to fettle the door frame.
Imperial: Time to worry.

Adrian Mole used metric.

[Mrs Pingu]

Turns out he was measuring a shelf full of maps to select an appropriate box...

[Mr Larrington]

Pingu.  In the bathroom.  With a shelf full of maps.

Worst. Game. Of. Cluedo. Ever.

[rogerzilla]

My former office wife* (doesn't everyone have an office spouse?) used to complain that the most dangerous thing I did was to cycle to work every day without a magic hat, and that she was worried I would be killed.  I'm beginning to realise this will now never happen.

*She was far more interesting than my actual wife of the time; after she sadly left our place, she left her (by all accounts unpleasant) husband and ran off with her personal trainer.  She was 35 and he was 25.

[Paul]

Just having a potter and looking at new helmets on the Halfords site. The vast majority don't appear to have mesh over the front vents (like my current one) for the stopping of bugglies. That seems a bit daft.

Is that DIY-able?

I expect so.

It's just odd because I'm sure (well, vaguely so) that when I bought this one mesh was pretty much ubiquitous. The mostly likely explanation is faulty memory. And no, I've not banged my head helmeted or otherwise!

As a result of your post I bought some of this stuff. I actually got it because it got too hot to sleep with the windows shut, but we suffer with biting bugs here at night. Anyway, it keeps the bigger biters out.

I've got more than I need. If you want a bit, send me your address and I'll pop some in the post.

[Mrs Pingu]

First day of our holidays and we were booked in at the tip at 1730 on a Friday night.
I know how to show Pingu a good time 

[Beardy]

First day of our holidays and we were booked in at the tip at 1730 on a Friday night.
I know how to show Pingu a good time 

I was trying to work that one out and was about to google ‘the Tip, furryboottoon’ to see if it was some trendy pub or other, then thought trendy pub in furryboottoon¹ followed by the pingu’s at trendy pub² and decided that you probably meant the local rubbish recycling centre.

1. 
2. 

[Mrs Pingu]

Lol 

I miss going to the (not trendy) pub.

[citoyen]

Sea swimming news: went for a swim this morning and it was lovely. Several other swimmers already there, including a few people I know, all felt very jolly and sociable.

While I was in the water, the life guards arrived to open up their little hut on the beach… and put the red flags out.

Apparently, water quality not great after last night’s Weather.

Oh well. At least if I get horribly ill later today, I’ll know why.

I’ve now installed the Safer Seas & Rivers app on my phone so in future I can get alerts *before* I go in the water.

(Wowbagger, in case you’re planning a dip today, the app is also showing pollution warnings for Southend)

[rafletcher]

Is that based on testing, or just probability after heavy rainfall?

[citoyen]

Is that based on testing, or just probability after heavy rainfall?

This is not clear. I checked the Environment Agency website (which I assume to be where they get the info from for the app) and this is what they say:

Pollution risk forecasts are made every day at this bathing water
Forecasts for this location are currently based on measurements of:
Rain, Sunlight (UV), Wind

Which suggests probability rather than actually testing the water.

I’m assuming they err on the side of caution too. At least, I hope they do.

[Pingu]

It'll be probability as the test for E. coli takes a day (at least the one we do does).

[citoyen]

It'll be probability as the test for E. coli takes a day (at least the one we do does).

Useful to know. Thanks.

[citoyen]

Moving on from swimming to running, I’ve got some new laces for my running shoes and was wondering what’s the best way to lace them (I find the configuration of the lacing holes confusing). Googling turned up this, which is fascinating - who knew there was so much to it?

https://runrepeat.com/top-10-running-shoe-lacing-techniques

[Feanor]

Lacing patterns aside, I've taken to using Lock Laces on my running shoes as it greatly speeds up transitions at multi-events versus tying knots. Also they don't come un-done.