Nataly

Someone mentioned it was a nice race - which it is, because it's along the sea-front, starts off in Italy, goes through France and ends in Monaco... And as I have done way longer distances, I went online, paid the €20 to enter without much of a thought. Back in the day, when I was running 60-ish km per week, I would have *loved* this race... But I am now only a casual runner (like 15 km per week) and yesterday, as I was running through the wind and rain... Not so fun!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

*Finally* someone took the time to explain rugby in a way that makes sense!! http://youtu.be/5s8t_nxtkIc "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Hahahahahahaha!!! *Love it* "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Having completed (and sometimes won) numerous races (including full marathons) - I have nothing to prove to myself either "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Cats do all kinds of things out of contentment and affection... Even sometimes hug/tackle. Who knows if it's intentional or if they are "aware" of their feelings... But they definitely have moods, emotions and feelings and they absolutely do demonstrate these through their behaviour. (Even though we sometimes make more of it than we really should.) Anyway, it's super cute regardless!

Today I learnt an important lesson... If you have nothing to prove (and you are not doing it for charity), running 23.8 km is an absolutely useless thing to do!!! You can (and I *did*) just stop at 12 km, hitchike to the finish line, pick up your shit and fuck off!! (Without actually crossing the finish line - that would be wrong!!) I was making good time and not in any kind of pain and would have finished it alright... Just suddenly thought "why the fuck am I doing this??" And could not come up with any kind of good reason!! That beer I had when I got home was AWESOME!!!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I looooooooove my morning cuddles!!

Great tip

I use PayPal extensively for the protection it affords me both as buyer and as seller... That being said, for a motorcycle, I would only accept cash or a cashier's/certified cheque. If a cheque, I would do the transaction during business hours and phone up their bank to verify it's real. Basically, if the person is serious, they can test ride it, go to their bank, prepare the cheque, give you their bank info in advance (you can double-check the bank phone number from home)... Heck, you could even go to the bank with them. If they are in a hurry, too bad for them. Also, I would agree a meeting place that is not your home or anywhere near where you normally park your bike. But you know that already "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Both. Just bought this house and I have a dampness issue. It's the first thing I will fix when I attack the renovations (in the process of getting quotes). temporally kill the mold by mixing 30cl of bleach with 5 liters of water and washing down the walls, those spores will get in the cats and your lungs and cause havoc. I had done that when I moved in and did it again this morning - thanks to you guys who made me realise how bad it has gotten again!! (I almost stopped seeing it!) "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

While 3 isn't necessarily excessive, to a number of guys it might be a big red flag. Just sayin'. Yep. I remember having that exact reaction when I was chatting with a guy on a dating site a few years back - but that was *before* I became a member of the crazy club!!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Holy crap!!! Really?? Wow. Must smell of cat piss with so many of them - eeeeeeeeww!! Yes. 3 cats is a long way from 60 but this time last year I had zero cats!! So 3 is plenty and I won't be getting more. Besides, they are so purrrfectly happy together I wouldn't want to risk introducing another into the mix. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

For the record, I do not look like that in leathers... ... ...My hair is longer!!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Both. Just bought this house and I have a dampness issue. It's the first thing I will fix when I attack the renovations (in the process of getting quotes). "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Dammit... I am now kicking myself... Been on anti-biotics for a week now due to a very infected (albeit tiny) wound on my finger... It was so MASSIVELY swollen... Cannot believe I never thought to take a picture... I think this entire debate could have gone an entirely dofferent direction whilst we all tried to hypothesize on what a THICK finger says about one's character!!!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

So... I have 3 cats, I am learning to knit, I have my groceries delivered every week, I complain about neighbours making noise after 9pm... I reckon I merely wise beyond my years!!!!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

It's the most stolen bike so I did some research to see what else would be appropriate for me... And still came to the conclusion that the Street Triple was a good buy. I now have a disk lock with alarm and insurance against fire and theft. The insurance alone is killing me but since this one is a 2010 (the other was 2012) it's almost worth it. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

So let's see the pic of the new bike! See pic below.

Bump!! Guess who cashed in a cheque for €3,000 today?? Me!

Ok, but the people who are talking about "parenting-related issues" are off topic. The topic is not about raising children but about how many hours people put into their jobs as childless vs non-childless people. And the argument put forth by the OP (which you may or may not agree with) is that people without children work more hours at their jobs. Whilst I do agree with this, again this is not what we are talking about. Mothers ARE discriminated against... Lower salaries, part-time work (which really turns out to be full-time responsibilities on a reduced salary), fewer promotions, the list goes on. But it's nothing to do with "working more hours." In fact, working moms often find their career prospects are limited/reduced so it indirectly supports the OP's argument - childless people work more. Again, I don't have kids, but I *can* understand the concept that raising kids takes a lot of time and effort and energy... No one is saying parents are slackers... But when you divide your time between the office and raising your kids, it seems pretty obvious (to me) that since there are only so many hours in a day, there is a limit to how many hours they can put in at the office. And childless people may "work less" overall (as they don't have a "second job" when they come home), but they work more at the office. Is that fair?? Well, like I said, life is not fair any way you look at it (in many ways it's not fair on parents either)... But part of what makes a society work is that some people contribute where others cannot. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Nothing is fair in life and the fact is that for every person who works/pays less there are people working harder/paying more to compensate. If everyone paid only their "fair share" for what was directly applicable to them, few people would be able to afford having kids, becoming ill, losing their partner, et cetera, et cetera. I don't think that would be a better system than the current (albeit flawed) redistribution of wealth... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

It is something I have consistently encountered in the 19 years I have been working (in several very different jobs/companies). I even read a study on it once - if I find it I will post it on here. Single/childless people work more. It's not that parents are slackers - I'm sure having kids is like having two jobs... But child-free people work more hours at their paid job. It's not even debatable - it's fact. Like anything, there are always exceptions - but they are the exception. And of course as you rightly said, there are actual slackers out there on both sides - kids or no kids - but that's not what we are talking about here. ETA - part of it is learning to say no, but even when you do, parents naturally have the priority when it comes to time off, et cetera. In a way it's right because raising kids *is* important... It's just that they often don't realise their work-place is flexible on the back of single people. It's not me going waaaaa waaaaaah... It's just the way it is. Kinda like John said: sick/disabled people work less on the back of healthy/abled people. It's called a "society" - not everyone contributes the same but there are overall benefits to the setup... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

People who have kids often assume that those without kids have nothing "important" to do... I'm not even sure they realise just how many extra hours we put in so they can fuck off early to be with their families... How many holiday we have to cancel because clearly it's more important for them to take all the bank holidays and long weekends and school holidays et cetera... And whilst they are leaving early and taking sick days and going on holidays, who is picking up the slack?? We are. Yep... Life's not fair. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Now, if I could only find the bike that got stolen... Is someone out there trying to tell me I shouldn't be riding crotch-rockets??! Nah!!! Is this it? >http://www.roadratroberts1.bravepages.com/ULTIMATE%20CROTCH%20ROCKET%20CRASH.htm Huh? Maybe in reference to the term "crotch-rocket"?? Anyway, no, not my bike. (!) And for the record: speed limits don't exist to make you late and waste your time - they exist to give you sufficient time to react to other people/things you share the road with... I know plenty of people who enjoy speeding but frankly I think it's criminal to put other people's lives at risk just for your selfish entertainment. I've said it before and I stand by my statement - humans were not designed to travel at speeds exceeding something like 20 km/hour and I don't care how good of a driver/rider you *think* you are, basic maths will tell you that even at speeds as low as 50 km/hour (roughly 30 mph) you cannot react in time to avoid most unexpected obstacles. The huh was in reference to the car in the link. Which is obviously not your bike. The car in the link was hit by a bike going at retarded speeds (rocket)... Not strictly speaking related to the topic of this thread, but probably a reference to my term "crotch rocket". Read the article and look closely at the car - there is a bike in there... (Ie: actually *inside* the wrecked car.) I don't think he was actually thinking it was my bike "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Now, if I could only find the bike that got stolen... Is someone out there trying to tell me I shouldn't be riding crotch-rockets??! Nah!!! Is this it? >http://www.roadratroberts1.bravepages.com/ULTIMATE%20CROTCH%20ROCKET%20CRASH.htm Huh? Maybe in reference to the term "crotch-rocket"?? Anyway, no, not my bike. (!) And for the record: speed limits don't exist to make you late and waste your time - they exist to give you sufficient time to react to other people/things you share the road with... I know plenty of people who enjoy speeding but frankly I think it's criminal to put other people's lives at risk just for your selfish entertainment. I've said it before and I stand by my statement - humans were not designed to travel at speeds exceeding something like 20 km/hour and I don't care how good of a driver/rider you *think* you are, basic maths will tell you that even at speeds as low as 50 km/hour (roughly 30 mph) you cannot react in time to avoid most unexpected obstacles. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss