at9

Old proverb: One who does not back up data will verily lose it. I know a couple of people who knew they should have backups lose a lot of important stuff. In one case it was hard disk failure, in the other case it was theft of the laptop. My backups should be sufficient to protect against anything short of an aircraft crashing on the house. Even then, if I'm at home at the time I've no further worries.

Have you ever listened to opera in English (assuming you are a native speaker) and tried to follow the words? For the most part the words are not very intelligible.That's why most opera houses now have surtitles, regardless of whether the opera is in English or a lesser tongue. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. I'll make an exception for Gilbert and Sullivan. You really do need to hear the words so it needs singers with really good diction. I strongly suspect that italian opera is just as hard for italians to follow and so on.

:pulsingheart: From one lover of Searle to another :pulsingheart: I have many of his books including: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tr%C3%A8s-Riches-Heures-Mrs-Mole/dp/0007449100 I saw the exhibit of the "Mrs Mole" originals when it came to London a few years ago.

You look wonderful/marvellous/gorgeous/pretty/stunning/fabulous/superb (delete as appropriate) in/wearing that/those dress/skirt/boots/shoes/hat/necklace (again, delete as appropriate) From the Universal Compliment Generator (UCG). Patents Pending. As against the Ikea Komplement generator which is a large factory somewhere.

Quite right. Always: "You look great in that dress", not: "That dress looks great on you". Remember that however wonderful the dress it's the woman who really looks great.

The Earth's tilt has just shifted as dead biologists around the world are spinning in their graves.

Perhaps that accounts for the lousy weather we've been having.

I find the beads don't slide on the wires unless I oil them occasionally

whether you loved her or whether you hated her,whether you agreed with her policies or not i think the so called 'celebrating' her passing is in bad taste!!!

As is recalling parliament at the taxpayers expense to have a "debate" about her. Could have easily waited until parliament returned from Easter recess next week. As is giving her something close to a state funeral with military honours, again largely at the taxpayers expense. I just hope they don't do the same for Tony Blair or any other prime minister when they join Mrs T.

I think you'd be better off looking on the fetish sites such as Kinklink and Fetlife. Virtually all the events advertised there would welcome HH wearing males. I won't give links here because the sites contain content that would be unacceptable here at HHP.

Megan, I think you put that rather politely. I refrained from commenting since I doubt I would have been so restrained. I live less than half a mile from her old constituency office. There were 4 satellite news trucks outside yesterday. Megan, please remember that in American eyes (well Fox news anyway), socialism is anything even slightly to the left of Ghengis Khan. Yes, Churchill was a dangerous leftie because he was party to the setting up of the welfare state at the end of WW2.

A couple of UK11 items on offer in the HHP classifieds at the moment. I've met tthe vendor and he's a decent guy. Here's one: http://www.hhplace.org/classifieds/item/40-leatherworks-leather-court-shoes-size-11-uk/

This is the sarcastic version of GIYF: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=giyf

The idea of encouraging people to do their own basic research first goes back to well before google existed. The comment "RTM" (with optional F before the M) may go back to the 1950s. Judging by a wikipedia article there's quite a bit of sociological and educational background to this sort of comment. I even discovered some related acronyms that I would have had to google in order to decode.

@Tom-NL, I like your JFGI reference. In the UK we have a dangerous organisation called Ben's Bargain Centre

Thank you, Tom N-L. I don't know what GIYF means either.

GIYF is the polite version. GIYF = Google Is Your Friend

JFGI is the crude alternative.

That sounds like an idea, and I'm all for giving prep school boys a run for their money. Teach them what life is about before they go to Eton and it might stop them from messing all our lives up.

Like sticking a starting handle up their big ends. Oh, sorry, I forgot. That's standard practice at prep schools

Like many members, I look regularly and post when I feel I can contribute.

It reminds me of the thing the clown used to turn the titles at the end of Camberwick Green.

Camberwick Green? Isn't that found at the bottom of the Walworth Road on the way to Herne Hill?

Megan, the battery replaced a wind up clockwork device. It was called a starting handle. I can just about remember my dad starting one of his cars that way when the battery was flat. Here's a photo of one I found online: http://a2.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/123/0d737ce0a3dc328262041cd95a4c7bf7/l.jpg

Could be worse.You could suddenly switch to Russian, or even arabic. Megan, as a special gift to you when you have this problem with german I hereby present you with a matching pair of: öö

There's a problem in that URL. Here's the correct URL: http://www.imakebootsngloves.com/new_products.html

He's jolly strong, and he normally keeps it fixed on a little pole in front of him.

That's racist And sizist. And probably politically incorrect

Megan, what you're describing is an emergency fanbelt repair. Won't help if the battery is flat. It's barely relevant to modern cars as the fan is usually electrically powered. Modern cars usually have at least one belt. One drives the alternator which charges the battery. The engine will run without it but the battery will gradually go flat. A red light will be illuminated on the dashboard to show this fault. I doubt if an improvised belt would actually drive a modern alternator.Another belt (sometimes the same one) usually drives the power steering pump. If that belt fails your steering will be exceeding heavy. Yet another belt may drive the air conditioning compressor. Not essential.

May I commend this book to all those interested in this fascianting subject. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ronald-Searles-Non-sexist-Dictionary-Searle/dp/0285628658

You will probably also need to replace the battery. Car batteries don't like being flattened and usually have a very short life after that, even if they appear to have recovered. You may also think it a good idea to spend £80 or so per year on a comprehensive assistance package including an option that will help you at home. AA and RAC charge rather more than this but there are better value packages, often as an optional extra with your car insurance. The best value I've yet found is here: http://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/

Is there anyone here from MANchester? Sorry, meant PERSONchester. Or was it Kangaroochester? Or Qwlodzjslkjhsdjikgschester? Whoops!

It's the highest mountain in Wales, but I suspect as a Canadian you'd not be that impressed.

Megan, you might need to explain Wales as well

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=snowdon

In the UK there are many stories about daft folk going up mountains with grossly inadequate footwear or clothing. The montain rescue people save their lives despite their stupidity. I wonder if this sort of thing happens in the alps, rockies, or anywhere else where they have rather higher peaks.