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And this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVjEhqKANTo

Mmm, those were the other option. I just love the idea of having really toasty toes as I take the dog for a walk on a frosty morning.

Might be a tad overkill though.

I've been looking at a pair of winter boots - and found these:

Loake 'wolf' brogue boots - with fur lining and a winter-ready rubber sole. Should be nice and toasty for winter (and slightly cheaper than the awesome cordovan boots, which you should totally get).

Before I bite the bullet - has anyone got a pair? I can't find anywhere in London that stocks them, so would have to buy online.

Jeremy Hunt is a bell end, etc.

After displaying the usual newbie error (spending money on machine, not grinder) I've stumped up several pounds for one of these:

http://www.orphanespresso.com/OE-Pharos-Hand-Coffee-Grinder_c_392.html

Needless to say it will get stuck at customs and require bailing out, but I'm really quite excited. The reviews on Home-Barista etc. are gushing - although it seems there is a bit of adjustment time needed.

I dunno - it's a bit gruesome - and the infographic they made is flouro nodder hell - but it's a pretty big indication of how mainstream cyclist (in London) has gone when the Paper of Record (tm) sets out its front page to fight for cyclists' protection.

(As an aside, papers generally only take up campaigns they know they can win, so I wonder whether there's some upcoming announcement... isn't DfT more than halfway through a review of cycle safety?)

Has anyone been following / getting confused by the new DC Comics reboot?

Picked up the last Flashpoint yesterday and am getting excited by the idea of loads of new stuff mixed with a little bit of 'oh god, another reboot'.

Then again: Grant Morrison writing Action Comics? Yes please.

I don't think they wake up each morning, rubbing their hands at the prospect of evil :)

From what we've been able to work out, the real profit is in the luxury add-ons and the 'executive' end of the spectrum. So they develop technologies (BlueMotion) knowing that eventually the time to use it will come.

None of the companies are prepared to step up and make it available as standard, in case the rest of the industry doesn't follow suit and leaves them on a limb. But unlike other companies, they're lobbying against proposals which would require the industry as a whole to move.

The development costs are one thing, and they clearly exist. But they've already developed the tech, so its a fixed cost, and one which would fall as a unit cost (i.e. the cost of one vehicle's tech). It's all done in the same factories too, so it' s not like they've got to go adding loads of expensive gear to their production lines.

At the risk of opening a can of worms, I'm one of the people working on this for GP (both the film challenge and the VW campaign). We're going after VW precisely because of the disconnect between what they say and what they do.

Sure, they've developed BlueMotion, but it's only on 6% of the cars they sell. "But that's just consumer demand, right?" Thankfully not: we've been analysing the mark ups, and VW charge about 1,000 euros above the production costs for the full BlueMotion setup. In other words, they're deliberately keeping cleaner vehicles out of the reach of people.

Secondly, they dominate the car industry's EU lobbying group. This lobbying group - called ACEA - is desperately trying to unpick some pretty crappy 2020 CO2 limits for new cars. They're also trying to stop proposals that the EU should cut its CO2 emissions by 30% (from 1990 levels) by 2020.

I think people expect us to go after the worst companies - the Essos of this world. But one thing we've learned over the years is that the absolutely worst companies rarely change. The ones that move are those with the most to lose. VW, which markets itself as green but spends its profits lobbying against laws to cut CO2 emissions, has an awful lot to lose.

Latest Guardian photo of the Brum kick off.

Seems someone's got proper carried away with the photochop...

His twitter photo makes him look like a second rate Danny Dyer. Although at least he's managed to open his eyes properly for that photo.

hash tag #dangarfieldisacunt

Apologies if it's a repost. Basically TfL is considering altering the northern end of Blackfriars Bridge, adding a lane of traffic and getting rid of the cycle lane.

This is a dreadful idea - the area itself is notoriously dangerous to cyclists, and was only just modified to reduce road danger after a couple of fatalities.

Covered in detail by Cyclists in the City: http://cyclelondoncity.blogspot.com/2011/02/object-to-new-blackfriars-bridge-scheme.html and update: http://cyclelondoncity.blogspot.com/2011/02/blackfriars-bridge-tfl-is-turning-it.html

Also on Londonist: http://londonist.com/2011/02/tfl-planning-to-remove-blackfriars-bridge-approach-cycle-lane.php and Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bike-blog/2011/feb/21/bike-lane-blackfriars-bridge

The deadline for bitching at TFL is today. Email Jamila.Barrett@tfl.gov.uk to politely suggest that this is a bloody stupid idea. CiTC also suggested cc'ing in john.biggs@london.gov.uk , jenny.jones@london.gov.uk and valerie.shawcross@london.gov.uk and BoJo's pretend email address: mayor@london.gov.uk

Here ya go:

Hadn't spotted that, so thanks for pointing out. Bikes are now equal to motorcycles and taxis combined!

Man walks into a bar.

Ouch.

Howies sample sale down at Truman Brewery has a decent supply of merino. Got a nice Waffler hoody for £40. Also got two pairs of the fancy selvage jeans for £30 a pop... but that's for another thread.

SLF playing the Forum next year:

http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Stiff-Little-Fingers-tickets/artist/921761

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfOQ9b4GiyM

So going to that :)

(p.s. am at work, so assume that video is what I think it is... )

OK, so they look like dickheads but they've just busted into Tory party HQ through the window.

I thought they look pretty funny - just young lads posing for their mates.

Seriously though, yesterday was awesome. It's about time someone got annoyed at our new overlords. I'm just annoyed that I went 'A to B march, not worth bothering with' and then had to leg it down once I saw it on tv :(

One last bump to remind people that this is out there. If Hackney is planning to work on this gyratory, it would be a major benefit to cyclists, both reducing the speed and volume of traffic, but also opening up access to Church Street from the north.

Torm website has gone down... Has Rapha hacked them?

I do indeed... coming south from the north.

I've UTFS, so apologies if it's a repost. Hackney are consulting on getting rid of the Stokey Gyratory, and want people's views.

http://www.hackney.gov.uk/sn-gyratory.htm

Not quite sure how they plan to achieve it, given that the roads are almost all TRLN, and thus run by Transport for London. But regardless, that gyratory is, in my opinion anyway, a proper disincentive to cycle, particularly coming north down Stokey Road trying to get to Church Street.

Survey is here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/sn-gyratoryresidents
Residents' leaflet is here: http://www.hackney.gov.uk/Assets/Documents/SN-Gyratory-Residents-Questionnaire.pdf

I'd love one of these.

Milliner cycling

www.comparethepixies.com

Annoying 50s super-partners? FIGHT!!!!