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Sorry the topic hasn't been a joy for everyone.

This week's voting is here.

And the results will be here.

Let me know if I've done anything wrong.

Miscegenation, we'll sort that out amongst ourselves. No need for the authorities to get involved.

I've heard several people say that racism is over. So I don't think you even can be racist now, you're just saying it how it is.

I would have been disappointed if my cynical attempt to frame my choice as a response to current political discourse hadn't been revealed for what it is: a desperate need to push others to the same dark place where a grotesque, naked selfie is as good as it gets when it comes to self expression.

New Topic

Despite this week's big Brexit push I'm going to need a fair bit more persuasion, so go on, prove to me that in general it's Better Out than In.

#better_out_than_in

Cheers!

First idea was for an amusing picture of a person trapped in a twisted hammock. Brought the hammock inside to get more control over lighting and a cleaner background and realised suspending someone from a wooden beam is quite twisted in itself. So I wanted something grotesque. Done stuff before with snooted lights and long exposures that does the job. Trouble is all my lighting kit is in storage in another country and I don't have anyone to model. Cable tied a pair of Ay-ups to an armchair to give two cross light spots that I kept off the back wall but bounced off a wall to the right, used the hammock to get a test shot for levels and then tied a belt to the rope to make a wrist loop, set up the radio trigger for the camera and got naked apart from two cords lightly looped around my ankles. I had three or four shots to experiment with - hang from wrist, place ankles in front of wrists to hide strap, little bit of swing good, rotation bad, move hands and feet a fair amount, one big move of head and shoulders. The lights were overheating and cutting out so I had to get down and turn them off, wait and turn them back on between shots. Gave up after eight shots. Picked one where the shape was good and the details were intriguing without being too distinct.

ISO-100
f 13
6 secs exposure
54mm

Minor colour correction (Ay-ups are cool and quite pleasing)
Standard sharpening (to pick out rope detail)
Partially desaturated yellow channel
Heal ruddy great dust spot right in the middle of the image.
Curves adjustment to boost contrast

Posted the image and when I saw it scrolling on the page thought it worked much better without the beam and rope telling the story so cropped it tighter.

Would have liked to get a shot with the same general shape but with more distinct feet and hands sprouting like petals. Would be nice to get a smear of teeth and redness from the face but that would need someone aiming an incandescent source at my head for the last two seconds of the exposure.

Took about forty minutes all in.

Sorry, saw it on the page and prefer the crop...
Twisted
#twisted
02.10.16

Twisted
#twisted
02.10.16

#new_topographics

Warning: Trigger.

Next time you'll know to include a trigger warning.

And also Vine didn't slam on the brakes.

Coming to a controlled stop and keeping control of the situation before the road opens up can be preferable when you have someone behaving unpredictably. I've been in a similar situation where I have pulled to the left only to find that the idiot behind is attempting to undertake. I've also been seriously injured by a tailgating motorist as I've pulled left out of their way, I wish that had happened at a slower speed.

OK. Smith's team either can't be arsed or are completely clueless.

At the beginning every appearance seemed to have him flanked by bored teenagers resentfully holding placards with his name and/or was staged to look as unimpressive as possible. Any campaign manager worth their salt wouldn't allow such pathetic scenes to take place in front of a camera, not once, let alone repeatedly for the start of the campaign.

Now someone's lent him a battlebus. They've stuck his picture on the back. He is not the largest figure in the image, a seam runs right through his face (accentuating a likeness he has to a resident of Royston Vasey), the next most prominent figure is giving him an odd look, there are two figures with their heads disconcertingly bisected and there is a disembodied hand giving him a wank. It's embarrassingly badly executed.

Are they trying to make him look bad?

Take a look at @owensmith2016's Tweet: https://twitter.com/owensmith2016/status/770541863979913216?s=09

Ummm, but the markings (single, white, dashed line) that the driver crossed to enter the roundabout are still classified as give way markings and indicate that they should give way to traffic already circulating the roundabout (which can be to their left). I don't think that there is any substantial regulatory difference between the two forms. The double give way line is often used to provide visual reinforcement where the need to cede priority may be confused by sightlines, layout, historic use etc.

I've ridden down to the south west of France a couple of times and live there now. The network of minor roads is really good and a direct route is pretty easy to plan. I've managed navigation with no more than a list of town and village names.

'N' roads are national trunk routes and equivalent to major 'A' roads in the UK and best steering clear of (most have been upgraded to the point where cycling is not permitted anyway).

'D' roads are regional and can vary from single track to dual carriageway. Using Google maps, it is worth avoiding spending too much time on any 'D' road shown in yellow as eventually someone is going to be blasting along it at 140 kph and they may or may not move out as they pass. The rest are in general pretty pleasant to use as direct routes from town to town but they can be busy by the coast or during rush hour (which generally lasts twenty minutes). The drivers treat cyclists very well and are more likely to terrify oncoming traffic rather than pass close.

The remaining 'C' roads often provide the best cycling. The two problems are that they may not be particularly direct and they may not be much more than gravel paths, however if you navigate from village to village the signs will point you down the best roads. If you are planning a route, using the most direct road shown on a map between any two villages will be pretty reliable. You can cover some big distances very efficiently and at a good speed on these minor roads. Beware 'priorité à droite' on these roads.

As the years have gone by it has become more difficult to get in and out of the larger towns by bike - more and more roads have been upgraded which are now either unpleasant to ride on or where cycling is prohibited. The alternative cycle routes can be as shoddy as anything in the UK with poor continuity and signage. Maintenance has been a problem in the last few years and a couple of the cycle routes around here are now impassable. If you need to get into a large town it will be worth doing some homework to make sure you have some accurate turn by turn directions that tally with whatever infrastructure is on the ground and avoids the main roads and by-passes.

In general it's worth staying twenty or thirty kilometres in from the coast to avoid heavier traffic and being quite so exposed to the weather. Accommodation is likely to be cheaper as well. If it's hot then I'd recommend travelling through the Marais Poitevin.

Honestly, Taiwan is a small island and the extra cost and time of getting out of Taipei will be paid back within a day of staying a little further out where the cycling is amazing. The east coast is within cycling distance of the airport. It would be an epic ride though.

Those comments from the collision investigator...

I spent some time in Taiwan during the nineties. I lived in Taichung and the riding was incredible, out of the door through the city and into the mountains in minutes. Wide, smooth highways or single track mountain roads with a nice variety of destinations and scenery. Being able to bail to the coastal plain was useful on occasion. The few times that I visited Taipei I didn't feel I was missing anything by not taking my bike - that corner of the island was just that bit more urban with less variety and more traffic.
I had good cycling times in Pingtung and Kenting and would love to have been able to spend a few days with a bike around Taitung on the east coast.
I'd describe Taiwan as a cycling paradise and that is before cycling took off there in the way it did.

Glad that's worked out for you!

Also that the FTSE 100 is flattered by the devaluation of Sterling. i.e. the index stands at nominally the same value but Sterling by which it's measured is now worth considerably less.

Last major outbreak of plague in London was in 1665. There were regular outbreaks that preceded it.

On a positive note the black death played a huge role in improving the social and economic health of the general population. Well, those that lived anyway.

Did you factor in the devaluation of Sterling? If not then the FTSE 250 is down almost bang on 24%.

It suggests a small Brexit boost for the Tories, who are on 36%, up two from the last ICM online survey reported in the Guardian a fortnight ago. Labour, meanwhile, slip back one from 33% to 32%. Ukip climbs one point, to 15%, while the pro-European Liberal Democrats slip back two to 7%. The SNP, which campaigned successfully for the strong remain vote in Scotland, climbs one to 5%. The Greens are unchanged on 5%, Plaid Cymru unchanged on 1%.

From the Guardian Brexit live blog. The ICM website isn't letting me play at the moment.

A new Guardian/ICM poll released. Polling took place after the referendum result and initial financial shock and before the complete shadow cabinet implosion - Tory lead up two points to four percent. That makes sense.

Harsh. It wasn't even his donkey.