Any question answered...

When I were a kid this were nowt but FORTRAN on punched cards.

I was in a casino once and punched some cards.

How unsafe/ not recommended is riding this? It's an end off an old skewer sat in between the end of the trainer and the axle bolt. I ideally dont want those ugly tacx nuts if possible.

Is this just for use on the turbo?
And you are bothered what the nuts look like?

Atm yes, but I would like to avoid changing the nuts a couple of times a week.

Bring me beer and wheel tonight, collect wheel tomorrow.

ill bring it you when i have 2 bikes because otherwise I cant get to yours ;)

cheers snotter

What are these removable panels in the soles for?

3 hole cleats bolt right through, the back screw is only short and just to hold the panel on. I thought that underneath would be SPD style holes allowing for different cleats. Underneath though, there isn't anything but the same 4 holes.

ill bring it you when i have 2 bikes because otherwise I cant get to yours ;)

cheers snotter

I kinda wanted beer tonight but OK, another night will do I suppose

I'm off Wednesday to Fridays at the moment so polo drop off on a Tuesday, pick up Thursday would work alright.

Why would they even know? I don't get emails or anything when there's a deposit to any of my accounts and I'd barely check it once a month. Don't assume they're trying to fuck you over.

We didn't stay long in the flat at all due to being messed around on almost all possible fronts. So there's some reasonable basis for my initially negative outlook. Granted you're right for general situations though and I agree.

If it was only a week ago, what makes you think he even knows about it? Plenty of people don't know what transactions have occurred until they get their statement.

A fair point but there's some basis to my skeptical views (see above).

Is it a standing order or direct debit?

If it happens to have been a direct debit (unlikely in the case of private landlords) then you can just get the bank to refund you (as part of the direct debit guarantee makes the bank liable for any mistakes)

Sadly not a direct debit.

An avenue worth exploring then. See if you can find/obtain any logs of online activity. Might be able to see where the process broke down. If it's a bank error then I can guarantee that payment will be reclaimed in no time. They're just being lazy.

Online banking were all shrug we can't do anything.

Don't rely on a text - send a letter, recorded delivery. Give him 14 days, then take him to court.

Cheers, agreed, hopefully it won't come to this though.

If you had a contract, I'm sure you did, with the landlord have a look at the small print they might mention such a scenario and would probably charge you an admin fee for return of the cash. You never know.
There is also the fact that you have paid for something they have not provided so if it gets to it threaten them with legal action regarding unjust enrichment. Two people I know had a very similar thing and it worked then for car insurance and a sofa.

This sounds like sensible advice. Thanks.

What are these removable panels in the soles for?

There are other versions of the insert for different cleats; in those days, it wasn't certain that the Look 3-hole pattern was going to gain world domination. Sidi shoes of that era came with 2-bolt slot cleats and the relevant insert, you had to buy the 3-bolt inserts separately.

e.g. here's the SPD insert:

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks muchly.

Question for designers out there - which font would most resemble that used in a dictionary definition?

A friend at work has asked me to find out for her, based on this image:

From memory, the OED uses Parable. For some diversionary reading check out www.dictionarydesign.org

A quick check on moneysupermarket.com puts an upper average tarrif in central London at £0.15p/kwh which would mean that your 365 units will have cost you £51.10. Based on current usage that would put you at £1000pa for electricity.

If you aren't using electricity for heating or water heating then this is pretty high. It could be a faulty meter but the this is a very rare event.

What sort of heating/water heating do you have going on?

Gas heating both replaced from key meters on the 28th
But no central heating in the loft conversion so an oil rad is on most nights for a couple of hours and I she's been using a fan heater during the day "to take the chill off"

I'm scared to go out and check the gas on.

Is it worth tapping out a French BB to Italian ? I'm guessing availability of Italian will remain higher than French long term, as far as I can tell only Phil Wood, SKF and VO make seal french BB's atm.

Threadless BB perhaps? (VO make them).

SKF last for a pretty long time.

I'm not how much I trust threadless, i'd rather get the VO french one. I'm just thinking further down the road, for example if one wanted to used an external BB, you can get them in Italian, but not french.

Is it worth tapping out a French BB to Italian ?

Is it even possible? The outer diameter of the French thread is bigger than the pilot bore for the Italian.

Ambrosio Excursion?

Good rims. Strong like tank, heavy like tank doe.

What do people do with their old bike chains? Bin?

Flagellate.

I have a question about hats! (no, not me...)

What would be people's recommendations for a thermal hat that covers your ears that will fit under a cycling helmet? I have a merino endura one and it covers my ears, but I have a small head and small ears, and this is for someone with reasonable size head/ears.

A hat like yours, but smaller