Today I'm happy about......

[William the White]

Today I'm slightly happy, slightly sad.

I'm changing the car, which is great in terms of lower insurance, less road tax and 80% lower fuel bills, but the new one doesn't have heated seats. I love my heated seats.

I avoided that option on my car, thought it was a bit expensive for a sweaty ass
The electric lumber support on the other hand....

WTF are you doing on the happy thread??? 170 million muslims are plotting to timebomb that lumbar support!

[Hoboh]

Today I'm slightly happy, slightly sad.

I'm changing the car, which is great in terms of lower insurance, less road tax and 80% lower fuel bills, but the new one doesn't have heated seats. I love my heated seats.

I avoided that option on my car, thought it was a bit expensive for a sweaty ass
The electric lumber support on the other hand....

WTF are you doing on the happy thread??? 170 million muslims are plotting to timebomb that lumbar support!

Sorry I never realised this was an elitist thread

[Worthy4England]

Today I'm slightly happy, slightly sad.

I'm changing the car, which is great in terms of lower insurance, less road tax and 80% lower fuel bills, but the new one doesn't have heated seats. I love my heated seats.

I avoided that option on my car, thought it was a bit expensive for a sweaty ass
The electric lumber support on the other hand....

WTF are you doing on the happy thread??? 170 million muslims are plotting to timebomb that lumbar support!

[William the White]

Today I'm slightly happy, slightly sad.

I'm changing the car, which is great in terms of lower insurance, less road tax and 80% lower fuel bills, but the new one doesn't have heated seats. I love my heated seats.

I avoided that option on my car, thought it was a bit expensive for a sweaty ass
The electric lumber support on the other hand....

WTF are you doing on the happy thread??? 170 million muslims are plotting to timebomb that lumbar support!

Sorry I never realised this was an elitist thread

[Hoboh]

Today I'm slightly happy, slightly sad.

I'm changing the car, which is great in terms of lower insurance, less road tax and 80% lower fuel bills, but the new one doesn't have heated seats. I love my heated seats.

I avoided that option on my car, thought it was a bit expensive for a sweaty ass
The electric lumber support on the other hand....

WTF are you doing on the happy thread??? 170 million muslims are plotting to timebomb that lumbar support!

What you doing on here???

[Worthy4England]

Clearly, I'm being happy.

[Bruce Rioja]

Today I'm slightly happy, slightly sad.

I'm changing the car, which is great in terms of lower insurance, less road tax and 80% lower fuel bills, but the new one doesn't have heated seats. I love my heated seats.

Were they leather seats, Bob? My last car had leather seats. Whoever it was that decided that leather seats are some sort of luxury addition to a motor vehicle wants vehemently fecking with a jazz man's trombone. Freezing cold in winter (until the seat heaters eventually kick in) and you could fry eggs on the fecking things in summer. Dreadful business.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Today I'm slightly happy, slightly sad.

I'm changing the car, which is great in terms of lower insurance, less road tax and 80% lower fuel bills, but the new one doesn't have heated seats. I love my heated seats.

Were they leather seats, Bob? My last car had leather seats. Whoever it was that decided that leather seats are some sort of luxury addition to a motor vehicle wants vehemently fecking with a jazz man's trombone. Freezing cold in winter (until the seat heaters eventually kick in) and you could fry eggs on the fecking things in summer. Dreadful business.

Couldn't agree more. Leather car seats, 50c and shorts is no fun. When we got our new car last year we had to go for a base model in order to avoid leather seats. Now what they need to have is heated/cooled steering wheels.

[Prufrock]

Ha yes! Leather seats are one of the world's greatest con-tricks.

[thebish]

Conquest of the Dawn Wall of El Capitan. Looks like Caldwell and Jorgeson are actually going to do it. Having seen it up close and climbed its first 100m (on ropes, with backup) I am utterly stupified that anybody could climb that beast freestyle.

this really deserves more coverage/publicity - they're still at it - having conquered the hardest sections now.

they've been at it since december (27th?) - climbing for 2 weeks - on a vertical cliff face - freestyle (of course - with safety ropes) - basically fingers and feet with finger holes being tiny - many of them only big enough to wedge one finger into and footholds the width of a pound coin. they sleep/rest in vertical artificial ledges - tents hanging vertically on the cliff..

they have spent 8 years preparing for this and learning every single handhold and foothold for the entire ascent by heart so as not to waste a scrap of energy in ascending...

their achievement is almost beyond words amazing and staggering... HUGE respect to them both

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Conquest of the Dawn Wall of El Capitan. Looks like Caldwell and Jorgeson are actually going to do it. Having seen it up close and climbed its first 100m (on ropes, with backup) I am utterly stupified that anybody could climb that beast freestyle.

this really deserves more coverage/publicity - they're still at it - having conquered the hardest sections now.

they've been at it since december (27th?) - climbing for 2 weeks - on a vertical cliff face - freestyle (of course - with safety ropes) - basically fingers and feet with finger holes being tiny - many of them only big enough to wedge one finger into and footholds the width of a pound coin. they sleep/rest in vertical artificial ledges - tents hanging vertically on the cliff..

they have spent 8 years preparing for this and learning every single handhold and foothold for the entire ascent by heart so as not to waste a scrap of energy in ascending...

their achievement is almost beyond words amazing and staggering... HUGE respect to them both

Absolutely. Jorgenson took three days to get over pitch 15 and his last manoeuvre was a leap of a foot and a half to the right to grasp an out of reach hand hold about the equivalent to grabbing a ruler superglued to a smooth wall except the top edge being sharpened to the same degree as a razor. It's stunningly breathtaking. There's thirty five pitches in total. I did a single one of those which took me eight hours on ropes and I was basically hauled up for 99% of that pitch. I didn't complete a single transition without falling off... not one, and they've managed over three thousand.

[Bijou Bob]

Today I'm slightly happy, slightly sad.

I'm changing the car, which is great in terms of lower insurance, less road tax and 80% lower fuel bills, but the new one doesn't have heated seats. I love my heated seats.

Were they leather seats, Bob? My last car had leather seats. Whoever it was that decided that leather seats are some sort of luxury addition to a motor vehicle wants vehemently fecking with a jazz man's trombone. Freezing cold in winter (until the seat heaters eventually kick in) and you could fry eggs on the fecking things in summer. Dreadful business.

They are indeed leather seats, but if I switch the seat heater on as I enter the car, my backside is getting nicely roasted ( ) by the end of the road. The climate control keeps them cool in summer, so never noticed a problem to be honest!

[Bruce Rioja]

Today I'm slightly happy, slightly sad.

I'm changing the car, which is great in terms of lower insurance, less road tax and 80% lower fuel bills, but the new one doesn't have heated seats. I love my heated seats.

Were they leather seats, Bob? My last car had leather seats. Whoever it was that decided that leather seats are some sort of luxury addition to a motor vehicle wants vehemently fecking with a jazz man's trombone. Freezing cold in winter (until the seat heaters eventually kick in) and you could fry eggs on the fecking things in summer. Dreadful business.

They are indeed leather seats, but if I switch the seat heater on as I enter the car, my backside is getting nicely roasted ( ) by the end of the road. The climate control keeps them cool in summer, so never noticed a problem to be honest!

The problem I found was that when the car had been parked outside all day with the sun shining through the windscreen the bastard things were hotter than the hinges of Hell when you got in!

[thebish]

there's a playground in kingsteignton where they installed a "modern" piece of play-equipment called "the wok".. it is basically a metal bowl for kids to roll about in...

except that when the sun shines, it heats up to something approximating the temperature of an actual wok!

[Lost Leopard Spot]

there's a playground in kingsteignton where they installed a "modern" piece of play-equipment called "the wok".. it is basically a metal bowl for kids to roll about in...

except that when the sun shines, it heats up to something approximating the temperature of an actual wok!

My wife bought a wok. a proper Chinese wok, with metal handles welded on the sides, not one of these modern European i-woks with sticky out wooden pan handles. The first time she used it (after boiling oil at the temperature of the sun to seal it, as per the instructions that came with it) I moved it aside to make room for the milk pan. I know what the kids of Kingsteignton suffer I still have the scar across one of my fingers.

[Montreal Wanderer]

Conquest of the Dawn Wall of El Capitan. Looks like Caldwell and Jorgeson are actually going to do it. Having seen it up close and climbed its first 100m (on ropes, with backup) I am utterly stupified that anybody could climb that beast freestyle.

this really deserves more coverage/publicity - they're still at it - having conquered the hardest sections now.

they've been at it since december (27th?) - climbing for 2 weeks - on a vertical cliff face - freestyle (of course - with safety ropes) - basically fingers and feet with finger holes being tiny - many of them only big enough to wedge one finger into and footholds the width of a pound coin. they sleep/rest in vertical artificial ledges - tents hanging vertically on the cliff..

they have spent 8 years preparing for this and learning every single handhold and foothold for the entire ascent by heart so as not to waste a scrap of energy in ascending...

their achievement is almost beyond words amazing and staggering... HUGE respect to them both

Absolutely. Jorgenson took three days to get over pitch 15 and his last manoeuvre was a leap of a foot and a half to the right to grasp an out of reach hand hold about the equivalent to grabbing a ruler superglued to a smooth wall except the top edge being sharpened to the same degree as a razor. It's stunningly breathtaking. There's thirty five pitches in total. I did a single one of those which took me eight hours on ropes and I was basically hauled up for 99% of that pitch. I didn't complete a single transition without falling off... not one, and they've managed over three thousand.

I don't really understand how anyone can climb a vertical face for over two weeks freestyle. Presumably they have to sleep. Yosemite must get pretty cold this time of year. I must be missing something.

[thebish]

I don't really understand how anyone can climb a vertical face for over two weeks freestyle. Presumably they have to sleep. Yosemite must get pretty cold this time of year. I must be missing something.

they sleep in a "vertical ledge" - a frame tent that hangs from the cliff-face.

I heard on t'radio that the vertical edge that they are now on is so high up that it takes 26seconds for a dropped stone to hit the ground below.... that is fecking high and fecking scary!!!



(edit: this isn't actually them - but a picture of what they are sleeping in!)

[Bruce Rioja]

^^ Just looking at that picture had my bollocks in my stomach! Good grief!

[Worthy4England]

^^ Just looking at that picture had my bollocks in my stomach! Good grief!

Sans Nitromors?

[thebish]

actually - my mistake - they are called "portable ledges" or portaledges not "vertical ledges"... I know for one thing I would never nod off in one of them!!!

the climbs can last for weeks and the explorers must set up tents on the edge of monstrous cliff faces to grab some much needed rest. This picture was taken by adventure photographer Gordon Wiltsie, 57, who risks his own life to capture thrill-seeking moments.
He said: 'During this climb it was the Arctic spring so melting snow on both the summit and a ledge midway up the cliff constantly sent rocks and chunks of ice flying down.
'One the size of a car even came crashing down around us. Several times I came within inches of being hit which almost certainly would have been fatal.
'Falling objects are constantly on your mind and if you look carefully at the picture of the hanging tents, or Portaledges, you can see the camp was below an overhang for shelter.