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

[T42]

This forum began on 28th March 2008. I would have been 53.

I had received my first stent two days earlier.

[andrewc]

My sister asked me to get her a long shackle padlock for the garden gate, as the current one is stiff & keeps jamming.   I selected something suitably chunky.    I should really have watched the Lockpicking Lawyer first.......     He picked the lock on a similar model in seconds,  but did need hydraulic bolt cutters to break the shackle.  I don't think I'll send sis the link.... 

[MattH]

To be honest, I wouldn't beat yourself up about it. All lock picking lawyer tells you is that all locks are pretty rubbish. Almost anything you chose can be opened by him and his tools faster than you can manage it with your key.

Obviously some are better than others, but in general that's true. Locks keep the honest honest, and are a mild deterrent.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I think it's rare that thieves pick locks anyway, as opposed to breaking them.

[Beardy]

It’s more upsetting when he opens the lock with various household rubbish or hits it gently in just the right position.

[andrewc]

The local scallies are more likely to give the gate a firm kick,  at which point I'd expect the crumbling brick wall it's set in to collapse.   

[T42]

For ~20 years we 'padlocked' our barn without shoving the shackle home. From the street it looked like a locked long-shackle lock.  Never had anyone take advantage of it.

A couple of years ago I took it into the house to try picking, and the barn has been completely unlocked since. Nobody's taken advantage of it.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I bought some second hand kayaking gear, cheap, for MrsC.

It's hanging up in my office, which now smells of weed. Definitely the jackets.

[meddyg]

Aren't 'modern' shoelaces rubbish?
Trainers/ fashion / sensible shoes, they all start loosening after 200 yards down the road.
(With or without a sensible scout's double knot).

I look like a Stasi spy, bending down to re-tie a knot every 1/4 mile!

I spose they're made of nylon/ synthetics and so the knot has little sliding friction.
When we were  young they were made of cotton / waxed thread.

Whaddya think ?

[Cudzoziemiec]

I've always put it down to my crap shoelacing skills, so it's nice to have something else to blame it on! I find most shoes have laces which are far too long – but just occasionally they're too short.

[rafletcher]

Aren't 'modern' shoelaces rubbish?
Trainers/ fashion / sensible shoes, they all start loosening after 200 yards down the road.
(With or without a sensible scout's double knot).

I look like a Stasi spy, bending down to re-tie a knot every 1/4 mile!

I spose they're made of nylon/ synthetics and so the knot has little sliding friction.
When we were  young they were made of cotton / waxed thread.

Whaddya think ?

More likely because they're a flat weave that stretches under tension.  I've replaced most of mine with elastic ones.

[Jurek]

^
This.
I use 3mmØ bungee on my boots.

[Flite]

I wind rubber bands round my boot laces after tying to stop them coming undone,it's a pita.
For orienteering, I wind electrican's tape round them.
Years/decades ago I had trainers (prob New Balance) that had laces like a string of mini sausages, and they were good, so of course I've never seen anything similar again.
New trainers etc are pumped full of tech but they can't solve a simple thing like tying laces.

[Regulator]

Double the crossover (left over right) and then use a clockwise loop around the right 'bunny ear' and push through. 

[Kim]

It's The Future, and for some reason we're still tying shoes on with string.

[Mr Larrington]

If you can do it with string then you should do it with string — Mike Burrows

[Feanor]

New trainers etc are pumped full of tech but they can't solve a simple thing like tying laces.

I now use Lock laces on all my trainers and running shoes.
Originally, this was to speed up my transitions at Duathlons, but I now prefer them generally.

My trail shoes (Salomon Speedcross, various generations of..) come with their own smaller version of the Lock system, where the toggle and spare lace tucks up into an elasticated pouch at the top of the tongue.  This means there's nothing flapping about to get caught on roots or branches.

[mrcharly-YHT]

It's The Future, and for some reason we're still tying shoes on with string.

Boa

[Regulator]

It's The Future, and for some reason we're still tying shoes on with string.

Boa

Funnily enough, I've never got on with Boas on cycling shoes - but I got a pair of Altra Mont Blanc Boa and I'm gradually getting used to them.  Only problem is they only had the Golden Hour when I got mine...

[citoyen]

It's The Future, and for some reason we're still tying shoes on with string.

Boa

Still string though, innit.

I had a pair of Asics Dynamis running shoes with boa laces. They were the best running shoes I've ever owned. Super lightweight and extremely comfortable. And of course the laces never came undone.

No idea why Asics no longer make these.

[Giraffe]

My method, using standard, round, laces is to tie a granny knot down hard then put a bow on top and really heave on that. Even if the boow comes undone the granny stops complete loosening.
A reef knot is easier to undo but, with a bow on top it tends to slacken.
BTW, a granny knot is left-over-right - R-o-L; a reef knot is L-o-L - L-o-L. The end retains its identity wherever it is.

[rogerzilla]

Watching bigclivedotcom on YouTube taking Chinese shite apart (generally sourced from eBay, Poundland or Lidl), heaping scorn on its dangerous electronics, then trying to make it explode.  I think he must be related to Kim.

[Kim]

Watching bigclivedotcom on YouTube taking Chinese shite apart (generally sourced from eBay, Poundland or Lidl), heaping scorn on its dangerous electronics, then trying to make it explode.  I think he must be related to Kim.

We're both rec.arts.theatre.stagecraft alumni.  He, along with his esteemed colleague Davie Dimmers, taught me everything I know about electrical safety.

[sam]

How to pick a post at random? It's the 21st, so off to page 21:

Rather than being lost, 'borrowed' by a colleague or leaking in a jacket pocket my Bic crystal ballpoint pen has run out of ink.  I never thought I'd live to see the day.

Time to hie me to the stationery cupboard (which fortuitously also happens to be stationary) and obtain a new one!

I'm always up for some stationery/stationary wordplay.

[rogerzilla]

Watching bigclivedotcom on YouTube taking Chinese shite apart (generally sourced from eBay, Poundland or Lidl), heaping scorn on its dangerous electronics, then trying to make it explode.  I think he must be related to Kim.

We're both rec.arts.theatre.stagecraft alumni.  He, along with his esteemed colleague Davie Dimmers, taught me everything I know about electrical safety.

When he puts on rubber gloves or (worse) goes outside, you know it's serious.