Any question answered...

I need a cardboard box a bike frame will fit in. I've found that tv boxes, probably about 42 inch, work best. Usually someone is slinging one out in my block, but not this week.

Does anyone have one flattened and ready to be binned they don't want? AND WHO LIVES NEAR ME?
(SE26)

I need to travel to Sydney to go to one meeting and sign some agreements for work. I have no need to be there for anything other than this one meeting and can't really afford to be out of the UK for any more than a few days.

To those of you who have flown to Australia from the UK before, would I die if I tried to do this trip over three or four days? At a pinch I could extend the trip to a week but then I'd just be killing time for the sake of it and I can't imagine that I'd be any better off jet lag wise.

Am I going to die?

Can't they meet you vaguely halfway, say Dubai?

It's doable, I wouldn't bother trying to change your body clock from UK time. If it's possible to fly business then it will be a lot easier.

People react differently to jetlag though. I can generally reset myself within a day, others I know will take a week upwards.

I tend to agree that it is doable too, albeit torturous. I don't handle long haul well now days.

Work is paying for 1st class so at least I'll be set up with the best chance of success.

That’s 2 13 hour flights. Each way. Doable in 3 days, not in 2 and pretty hellish either way.
I got caught by delays and cancellations on the way back once and from stepping foot in the airport Aus side, it was 42 hours until stepping out at Heathrow.

Imagine how much it would suck if I was on the plane and knew that I wouldn't be able to make the meeting. Thanks mate, i'm going to try to avoid doing it altogether but if I can't do that at least I know its possible.

We had to deliver cryptographic source code to a customer office in Australia once. The law at the time meant it couldn’t be transferred by file, so a colleague volunteered to fly to Sydney to deliver the CD-ROM with it on. He got a taxi from the airport to the customer office, handed over the CD, waited for them to confirm they could read it, then got a taxi back to the airport and flew home. He lived.

He was odd though.

I was going to say, it seems to be a massive waste of fuel, time and money. Definitely try to get the whole trip scrapped (documents via courier, meeting over Skype etc.?). Maybe make something up about having to watch a sick child or something.

Edit: apparently one return flight to Australia is about equivalent to 50,000 miles in your average car in terms of Co2.

I wish I had a job that would send me to Australia for meetings

First class would be pretty doable. The difference that a lie flat bed and a bit of space makes is huge

Are there any other parents of small children that are reading this and thinking "52 hours in first class on a plane, on my own, sound like a holiday"?

I’m going to Oz, for work, for a week, in April- in economy.

Yarp.

Its quite a big deal that one of the senior team are there to sign this thing for publicity purposes.

I totally agree that it would be a massive waste of resources though.

That's one of the reasons why I haven been careful not to complain about this.

are you going to be photographed signing giant novelty contract with a giant novelty pen?

no job can be worth this.

You joke...

poidh

When mine was three months old, I had to go to SF for a conference for 4 days. I was secretly delighted, but when I got back - literally that night - he went into his four-month sleep regression and never came out of it.

Karma

Its the new 'working from home ' status jetsetters .

You are very important.

What grease can I use to stop seat post sticking?

Are there any no nos?

coppaslip

Copper grease or carbon paste (if carbon post/frame).