Random thoughts of an ex-biker

[guest7]

"Ex-biker?" I hear you say. Yes, it's true, my insurance lapsed last month and I'm too broke at the minute to renew it. When my CB500 sells (it's on Ebay now) I will be without a taxed and MOT'd bike, but I'm not worried. I've ridden most days for the last 20 years and a little break isn't so bad. This hasn't been an entirely bad thing as it has meant me getting stuck into working on bikes instead of just hooning around on them.

I have been slowly rebuilding my GB500 and that has been a lesson in how low my standards have been. I thought it looked quite nice by the time I wheeled it out for the recent classic show, but in daylight it looked like a bag o'shite. I just don't do clean motorcycles and as I am doing up three bikes to sell I have had to learn sharpish.

I've been pondering what sort of biking I will be doing now that I don't use a bike for work and I have to admit I'm not sure. Part of me wants a red hot sporting single to go sportsbike hunting on, but equally I'd be happy with a nice little single sidecar outfit.I'd also really like a little trials bike... decisions, decisions.

Another thing I've given up on recently is the internet. I first starting using the 'net in 1997 and I must have spent months of my life on it since then. It got to the point where my computer use was affecting my family life so it had to stop. How did we manage before the 'net though eh? I've started to think of email as a millstone and I get stressed when I think of how many emails I must have stacked up in my inbox by now...and frankly I'm too scared to look.

Do you think it's a common trait of middle age that a bloke starts thinking of ripping the phone and broadband connections out of the wall in the (vain) hope that life would be more peaceful?

Anyway, got to go, the kids need their goodnight story: "And yet despite a break of 11 years children, Mike the Bike thought that he would once more attempt the TT races..."

GC

[guest18]

Having no telly for the last month has been a revelation, I'm now switching it on to watch a specific programme then switching the damn thing off again, hopefully that will last.
Internet I suspect will be harder. 
As to bikes on the road, I got the MZ back yesterday and I'm not at all convinced I'll get it mot'd before the weekend, which will see me, temporarily at least, without a bike on the road either 

We're doomed Mr Carrick, doooomed I tell ye... 

[guest7]

Ahhh, no telly, that's the best thing. When my daughter was 3 and she used to spend half the week with me (a result of a very even-handed custody settlement) I found that she just wanted to watch telly. My response was to throw the telly away and life suddenly became much better. I'm a habitual Radio4 listener anyway so I didn't miss out on much stuff, but I got lots more done and, more importantly, my daughter and I had a better time together.

She's 16 and doing her GSCEs at the moment btw.

GC

[guest7]

Thankfully my bikes haven't been laid up as long as this one:



Or this one:



GC

[Mark]

or this one



or better still my latest aquisition



Runs like a dream,

Mark

[Steffan]

Mark drop me an email would you old bean. stephendedwards<at>yahoo<dot>ewekay

Steffan

[Richard]

Blimey Mark, that immaculate Enfield you bought seems to have deteriorated remarkably 

Richard

[Mark]

Blimey Mark, that immaculate Enfield you bought seems to have deteriorated remarkably 

Richard

I put all the used spares back on.

Mark

[guest27]

Ahhh, no telly, that's the best thing. When my daughter was 3 and she used to spend half the week with me (a result of a very even-handed custody settlement) I found that she just wanted to watch telly. My response was to throw the telly away and life suddenly became much better. I'm a habitual Radio4 listener anyway so I didn't miss out on much stuff, but I got lots more done and, more importantly, my daughter and I had a better time together.

She's 16 and doing her GSCEs at the moment btw.

GC

Interesting prog on the World Service the other night, an extensive study has sow that once you account for the usual factors - parents IQ and profession, income etc there is still a strong regression in educational ability of children - and it appears that the ability of children at 14 onwards has been shaped by their telly watching at <3 Years in the main but there on in maintaiing it - and it is an inverse relationship, to the point where the researchers coould assess with a good degree of certainty the number of hours a child had watched before the age of 3.  Yup - TV kills educational ability, and it is not content dependent - the 'educational' programmes do as much damage as the mindless pap.

There is now so muuch evidence on the damage caused that the American Soc of Paediatritians reccomend that children under 2 never see a TV or computer switched on let alone watch it and suggest severly restricting viewing time from there on.  The Canadian researchers feeling was that this was a bit weak, and that the amount of TV an under 5 should see should be close to zero and even at 14 a max of 2 hours in a day and average about 1 would be better.

It is a useful tool - but such a great waster of time - and now it seems a waster of potential in kids

R

[guest7]

That's a tad scary 

GC

[guest868]

That's a tad scary 

GC

A TAD scary?! Bloody scary if you ask me. I hate television, and to an extent, the internet as well. In fact the whole popularisation of freely distributed media has lead to a huge decline in actual quality of content, with little or no thought being given to the validity of the message.

[guest24]

Media? The expression "Why let the truth get in the way of a good story?" seems more true now than ever before. Sorry, that soundbite took more than 10 seconds, so you have probably forgotten what it was all about and are waiting for the next one. Oh here it is, Wendy Hurrell was doing the weather again the other night and I have only just recovered....

[guest18]

Rotter, I just had to google Ms Hurrell to see what you were on about! 

[pete]

Had a feeling you had to unplug for a while.All went quiet on the western front.Nice to see you back.As the saying goes,"Family comes 1st". Kids have a habit of growing older while your backs turned (spanner in hand) we sat down and listened to her boyfriend play live on local radio(Bay FM) last night,followed by a good turn of 80's reggae-scar music.The times are a changing.

[Andy M]

That's a tad scary 

GC

A TAD scary?! Bloody scary if you ask me. I hate television, and to an extent, the internet as well. In fact the whole popularisation of freely distributed media has lead to a huge decline in actual quality of content, with little or no thought being given to the validity of the message.

You think so? I think Coronation Street might be tad more educational than going to a **** fight and getting off your face on meths. The net certainly has better content bike wise that the clowns at MCN ever produced even when they didn't think Jerremy Clarckson was a god. There has always IMHO been a huge demand for mind numbing garbage.

There is more dross out there than ever before and as someone actually watches about three hours of TV a week and has to try and read through three hours a day I guess I can't really comment, but I don't think it's all bad you just have to switch off the rubbish. For every extra ton of rubbish I think we do get some new good writing or telly.

Now kids TV I could go nuclear on. A lot of people I grew up with are starting to have kids. The TV seems to actually be aimed at producing easily managed zombies who semi-communicate in a series of odd noises. It's more socially acceptable than giving your three year old a drop of gin but has the same effect.

Off to Rants now (Sorry, that's Andy Wandy go Shoo Shoo Narky Narky Eh Oh to anyone under 14!) 

Andy