The Off Topic Topic

[Admiral Yi]

Today was the day the cleaning guy came, so headed with mom to the mall to kill time and get out of his way.  This mall has a skating rink, and the girl practicing her figure skating had the most perfect butt I have ever seen in person.

[Syt]

So that was 8 days without a shooting at tourists by jihadists. How did 2015 compare?

Not a shooting, but 3 tourists were injured in a terrorist knife attack on a hotel in the popular Egyptian resort of Hurghada.

[mongers]

This is cool. Traffic camera in Montreal catches Owl in mid-flight:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/08/montreal-traffic-camera-captures-stunning-images-of-snowy-owl-in-flight

This happens quite often to me when I'm out in the forest on a bike, a bird of prey will swoop down from a perch or modify it's flight and come past me, cross my path or keep pace with me for a while on a parallel line like a hedge line. I'm obviously not edible, maybe they're just checking me out, thought I do get the probably incorrect impression that sometimes it's playfulness?

On my way home on Wednesday a buzzard silently dropped out of the air and flew over my head within touching distance and slowly flew in front of me for 50-100 yards, I don't know how they do that as I'm only doing 15-16 mph so it must take some effort to only be doing about 20 mph for a while.

[mongers]

Something for Maladict or Liep, saw one of these in the local bike shop, didn't see what it was at first and gave it little attention as it was apparently a mountain bike.

But low and behold it's an electric 27.5 mountain bike, from it's geometry, the components and the confidence my friend had in it's technology, it seems to be the first really useful mass market off-road electric bike, impressive:



I think the price was a bit under 2000 GBP so say 2,900 USD.

[Admiral Yi]

Good Lord, has Sterling really dropped that low?

[mongers]

Good Lord, has Sterling really dropped that low?

No I'm just recalling what I off-hand notice on the news ticker last night or today, iirc it was $1.46something, though the conversion is of limited use in this context as it's a US company and I bet I'll retail in the US for around $2000.

edit:
heh, what difference a few hours makes, MSN is saying 1.45, some decline since last I looked it was in the 1.54-56 range for a good few months.

[Eddie Teach]

If the bike is running on electricity, it's not really a bike but just a weenie motorcycle.

[mongers]

If the bike is running on electricity, it's not really a bike but just a weenie motorcycle.

By EU law all of these electric bikes are pedelecs, which is electric drive assist, so you have to be pedalling at some rate in order for the motor to assist you. Generally if you don't need to peddle, or it's fast or too powerful then it'll be classed as a type of motor vehicle.

IIRC until recently the UK regulations allowed you to use pure electric drive, as do most East Asian bikes, though those and these pedelecs are still limited to 15mph.

[Admiral Yi]

No I'm just recalling what I off-hand notice on the news ticker last night or today, iirc it was $1.46something, though the conversion is of limited use in this context as it's a US company and I bet I'll retail in the US for around $2000.

edit:
heh, what difference a few hours makes, MSN is saying 1.45, some decline since last I looked it was in the 1.54-56 range for a good few months.

I thought it was around 2/1.

[mongers]

No I'm just recalling what I off-hand notice on the news ticker last night or today, iirc it was $1.46something, though the conversion is of limited use in this context as it's a US company and I bet I'll retail in the US for around $2000.

edit:
heh, what difference a few hours makes, MSN is saying 1.45, some decline since last I looked it was in the 1.54-56 range for a good few months.

I thought it was around 2/1.

You're a keen market player, but don't much notice of the currency rates. 

Maybe my knowledge is force of habit as I used to regularly dispose of US currency in my possession.   

[garbon]

No I'm just recalling what I off-hand notice on the news ticker last night or today, iirc it was $1.46something, though the conversion is of limited use in this context as it's a US company and I bet I'll retail in the US for around $2000.

edit:
heh, what difference a few hours makes, MSN is saying 1.45, some decline since last I looked it was in the 1.54-56 range for a good few months.

I thought it was around 2/1.

A long time ago.

[Liep]

I'd like to try that bike, but i wonder just how much more forgiving it'll be when I start a climb in a wrong gear.

[mongers]

I'd like to try that bike, but i wonder just how much more forgiving it'll be when I start a climb in a wrong gear.

Yeah, I'd be interested in giving it a go.

What is this 'climb' you refer to.  (flatlands)

[Syt]

[celedhring]

Ah, language