St Landrew

Everyone's in an edgy mood. I'm a bit iffy myself today. See what happens when you put the clocks back..? I already miss British Summer Time badly.

It's OK, I've just found the necessary info. QE2 leaves Southampton for the final time on 11th November. Ta, all. http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/content/articles/2008/10/10/qe2_farewell_info_feature.shtml

Just checked the bridge webcam, expecting QE2 to be somewhere in the Med, and found her here in Southampton. If anyone can see her from a window, can they confirm this..? If so, what's she doing back here..? Homesick already..?

I had a lousy weekend, but even mine was better than that. 4/10.

Why..? What do you think might have changed that is significant..? All we do nowadays is eat more, exercise less, and consume more utilities than back in the 70's. As for proper evidence, go and find it. I'm not here to link people to every piece of information and entertainment that happens to be worth looking at. I know about the reports from that time. If you're interested you'll find some, if you're not, you won't. My winter depression has already set in.

Did Redknapp really get away from Pompey to join a big club, or was it just so he doesn't have to hear that infernal bell clanging regularly more than twice a season..?

How about one of these for the back garden..? Jeremy Clarkson used to have one, I believe: http://www.petergoodearl.co.uk/airdays/raf50/lightning.jpg

Procol Harum - Pandora's Box.

That's OK, I quite understand. It certainly wasn't my intention to post pornographic pictures. I read that this has happened to other posters of pics. Well that was most certainly the first time it has happened to me. Next time I will post a pic the old fashioned way. Down off the internet, through my filter [me] and then uploaded to here.

OK, you find an image. : http://www.legendsofhorror.org/pages/bates.html

Oh my god, now here's a person who has determindly missunderstood.

I posted the picture. It wasn't a picture of a man receiving anal sex, at least, not on my PC. It was actually this pic: http://www.legendsofhorror.org/images/bates/pimg7.jpg Now if that is not Bates standing beside the old house in the film Psycho, then perhaps your PC has a problem. I also suggested the picture that Jillyanne has offered. For my money, that is the one to use.

Nice to know I have a readership..!

Yes.

Go watch the race on iPlayer.

Well it wasn't a brilliant race today. That's a few this season in amongst the rest of the 18. Rossi played his part as usual, to make the race as good as possible, starting way down the grid in 10th, but coming through the field to 3rd. In fact, he did his passing in very few laps, and only settled for 3rd when his pace against Pedrosa was too slow for even him to maintain the momentum. Out in front, Stoner did as I predicted he might, and buggered off in style, wringing every last drop of performance out of the wriggling, twisting Ducati. For the purist, it was good to watch, in the absence of real cut and thrust racing. Pedrosa smoothly kept up his pace in 2nd, but Stoner kept responding. Nicky Hayden promised a great performance, but he suddenly lost loads of grip, and kept going wide through the corners. This sometimes happens, and it may have been that his tyres had started to shred, or that he just had too much heat in them. He recovered his composure, but never threatened again. His apparent nemesis, that is Dovizioso, caught him and eventually passed him to finish 4th. James Toseland's race was a huge disappointment. Starting on the 2nd row in 5th, he baulked his getaway, and got swallowed up, ending up in 12th position at the end of the 1st lap. He finished 11th, after some dicing with Dovizioso, Lorenzo, Hopkins, etc.. and even Melandri on the other factory Ducati. In fact, Melandri turned out to be a bit of a surprise, as all season his head has been elsewhere, as he has been unable to get the speed into the same Ducati that Stoner wrings the neck off practically every race. But in Valencia, although he qualified last, at half distance, he suddenly found the way to ride the bike, and started passing people left, right and centre. It was quite fun to see his return to form, although he still finished outside the top 10. Here's hoping he can do something for his new team, Kawasaki, next season. Frankly, I doubt it. They are actually slower this season than last, and they were slow then, so they've very much gone backward. Their engine is slow and underpowered, the bike has no grip, and they look foolish as satellite teams from other manufacturers blast past them. I think it says enough that there are no Kawasaki satellite teams..! Melandri is a 5-time MotoGP race winning rider, and was short odds to be a future World Champion only a season ago, and so IMO it's completely the wrong move for him to go to Kwacker. But then again, it's still probably better for him than staying at Ducati. How things can change in so short a time. But there was no change of circumstances for Valentino. It was a day for records, and most of them were captured by Rossi. He scored the most points anyone has in one season; something he'd previously shared with Stoner, and he also scored the most podiums anyone has had during a season. No doubt, next season he'll resume improving his number of wins record in the Premier Class as, according to his interview with Suzi on TV, he still has the same hunger as he had when he first started. Which kind of bodes ill for his competitors, but improves things enormously for us spectators. The sport will be immensely the poorer when he eventually retires. Valencia MotoGP result: 1. Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati 46 mins 46.114 secs 2. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 46:49.504 3. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 46:58.308 4. Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda 47:10.273 5. Nicky Hayden (U.S.) Honda 47:12.346 6. Colin Edwards (U.S.) Yamaha 47:18.323 7. Shinya Nakano (Japan) Honda 47:20.685 8. Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 47:21.775 9. Loris Capirossi (Italy) Suzuki 47:24.342 10. Alex de Angelis (San Marino) Honda 47:33.697 World Championship standings: 1 V Rossi (Ita) Yamaha 373 points - world champion 2 C Stoner (Aus) Ducati 280 3 D Pedrosa (Spn) Honda 249 4 J Lorenzo (Spn) Yamaha 190 5 A Dovizioso (Ita) Honda 175 6 N Hayden (US) Honda 155 7 C Edwards (US) Yamaha 144 8 C Vermeulen (Aus) Suzuki 128 9 S Nakano (Jpn) Honda 126 10 L Capirossi (Ita) Suzuki 118 Thank you Beeb.

Sorry. You are right. I read through the posts that prompted my message, and almost as soon as I posted it, I was regretting it. At the time I wasn't able to change it, as I was called away. Now it's up there. We all get tired of reading the same old things, and 5 years of seeing what you love just dying on its feet gets too much at times. Let's not lose sight of the fact that the innocents here are the staff, JP and the coaches, and the squad of players. I believe Jan Poortvliet is a very capable coach, but his hands are being tied behind him. He is doing all he can with a young bunch of players who have had a huge responsibility thrust on their shoulders by people who should think less of their own investment, and start making SFC properly attractive to people who would like to come in. Over the last few seasons, we've heard the twaddle that suggests the club are looking for investment, but just can't find any. Well if that is the case, why is it that other similarly unattractive clubs can do it..? Perhaps they are actually trying without overly considering the money they can make out of the deal..? Perhaps our lot ought to consider that they themselves are the barrier to new money..? Perhaps our lot ought to consider their future elsewhere..?

Green 2-seater Sofa Bed and 3-seater Sofa. You can have either or both. They're going to Oxfam, or the tip. Condition wise, the Sofa Bed has hardly ever been slept on, but generally, it's all a bit used. However, there are no proper rips or stains; they're just a bit faded in places. Should suit a student in digs who has the odd person to come over to stay. If you're really local, i.e. just as close to me as the nearest Oxfam [shirley] then I might even bring them round when I have a moment. PM me - just don't take forever doing it.

Not another one of these threads. Can't we just say that the last 5 years have been an unmitigated disaster and a salutary lesson to any football club how not to do things, and then leave it at that..? Perhaps this should be the new chant in the Northam: We haven't done a Leeds..!

Last race of the season, and very little to play for except pride. Vale has won his Championship and Stoner has captured second over Pedrosa. Now for the minor placings. In qualifying earleir Casey took his Ducati to pole position, with Pedrosa, finding new confidence in his Bridgestone tyres on the front row, with Nicky Hayden in 3rd spot. Ok, you might say, predictable and boring... but as this is MotoGP, it's almost certainly not going to be so. For example: Nicky Hayden posted the fastest times in drier conditions. So ultimately, he's possibly the quickest rider out there. And Colin Edwards and his teammate, our James Toseland are just behind in 4th and 5th. Lorenzo is in 7th, Dovizioso 9th, and Rossi is in 10th spot. This means the mix of usually fast and slow are completely turned upside down, with only Stoner being in a predictable position. So, either Stoner is going to shoot off and eventually lose everyone, or this is going to be one hell of a race. And because nobody has anything to lose, they can all go for it wth complete adandon. Is Rossi going to carve his way from 10th to win..? If anyone can do it, he can, and has done before. Can't wait to find out..! Here's the line up: Valencia MotoGP qualifying: 1 Casey Stoner (Aus) Ducati 1:31.502 2 Dani Pedrosa (Spn) Honda 1:31.555 3 Nicky Hayden (US) Honda 1:31.703 4 Colin Edwards (US) Yamaha 1:32.212 5 James Toseland (GB) Yamaha 1:32.518 6 Randy de Puniet (Fr) Honda 1:32.572 7 Jorge Lorenzo (Spn) Yamaha 1:32.594 8 Loris Capirossi (Ita) Suzuki 1:32.614 9 Andrea Dovizioso (Ita) Honda 1:32.734 10 Valentino Rossi (Ita) Yamaha 1:32.962

I have several friends who run Linux, and they would say the same about your Mac. Horses for courses, eh..?

Ghey bundle avatar it is for INS then.

Not for people with £300 limits, but I thought an attention post wouldn't go amiss. The Medion Akoya 6612 laptop for £579: http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/58_7660.htm http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computeractive/hardware/2228901/review-medion-p6612-notebook Just in case someone is after a laptop with a little more poke.

Someone with a fine and dry sense of humour. You could take note, SS.

I have Saints TV too, and all the interviews I have seen of JP makes me realise that this is a man of real intelligence and tactical know how. It isn't JP who isn't up to the task. It's the team he has to pick from a squad that isn't up to the task. He has financial constraints laid upon him that any manager would have severe trouble dealing with. I'm no fan of Lowe in the slightest, and I'd like to see the back of him ASAP, but I don't see anyone really doing a better job than JP at present, and remember, the dutchman has never failed at anything he has done in management. This is almost certainly the toughest task he's had to face, but I think he is capable of bringing the club through it. And it won't be because Rupert has picked him, backed him, picked the team [because he doesn't, JP does] or whatever little combination anyone can think of. It's because JP will find a way - he has to. Nobody else is going to. I don't suppose it's a mere coincidence that one of the few times Stern John was picked to play [sheff Utd], he promptly got loaned out afterwards. As a manager, that's the kind of backing nobody needs.