Jeremy

If people are going to FH/HOP for the overground, does that mean they live within walking distance, or using the car/bus?

Ooh... Kings Cross Water Rats, when The Busines were playing, some time in the early/mid 90s. A group of neo-nazis (combat 18?) turned up and smashed the place up, in retaliation for the band playing at a recent anti-racism rally. A friend of ours (who was playing in the support band) got stabbed. We (four teenagers from Hertfordshire) ran to Kings Cross station as fast as we could.

In my (somewhat limited) exposure to the public sector, it does seem rather disorganised and slow-moving compared to most private companies. So I can well believe that privatisation could bring efficiency improvements. But really, there's no reason why it should be the case.

Huguenot Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We live in a globalised eocnomy You can't consider Europe as a single homogeneous economy. We're still a long, long way from that. Differing balances of sectors and levels of "economic maturity" mean that there's a genuine argument for independent economic policies - i.e. setting interest rates and issuing currency. Either that, or the members are going to have to get used to helping each other out. And at the moment, they don't seem too happy about doing that.

On the plus side, the quality of trains/carriages has improved in recent years, and long distance journey times seem to be falling. But on the other hand - ticket prices continue to increase at above-inflation rates, and reliability is still a big issue (not convinced this is entirely down to rail infrastructure). Privatisation has created little competition, and on the few routes where you can choose between providers, customers end up with the wrong tickets, and face disgusting penalties. Ideologically I also have a problem with vital infrastructure being ran as a private business. The priority should be customers, not shareholders. And if the private sector can run it with a profit, why (theoretically) shouldn't the public sector be able provide the same service with lower fares?

Basingstoke Puerto Banus

If (like me) you don't live anywhere near Honor Oak or Forest Hill, you can get the train to London Bridge followed by the Jubilee Line. I wouldn't advocate messing around with buses.

Moos Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Randombloke, how do you do the edges first? > > This thread makes me hungry! Probably holding vertically with a pair of tongs. A useful trick if your steak/chop has a big layer of fat at the side.

Perhaps the OP wants something other than trinket shops and delis.

ad2000 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Taking a polaroid of baby's first shoes is a nice touch. Smart move. Great example of adapting to a changing market.

You need to fry it skin side down first - before putting it in the oven - if you want it nice and crispy. All depends how you like it, I suppose.

StraferJack Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Bands like coldplay have always co-existed with > whatever "big" bands you are alluding to tho MrB That's a good point. 35 years on, what song do you hear more often - God Save The Queen or Hotel California?

More sensible regulation is definitely needed. But the governments of many of the main financial centres (UK, US, China/HK) don't want to risk driving business away. And there's no single organisation who has the power to whip them all into shape.

I'm not so sure about that!

There were/are several problems... large LTV ratios, subprime lending, mechanisms for lenders to offload the mortgages into the markets, unrealistic credit ratings, inadequate risk mangement, highly leveraged banks with insufficient cash reserves... the punters can take joint responsibility for borrowing money, but that doesn't change the fact that there's something rather wrong with the whole system. Saying that, people have to realise that a lot of people working in banking (both "bankers" and the majority who work in support roles) have lost their jobs too. Most of which are no more responsible for this crisis than the proverbial man-on-the-street.

Sure, Nirvana went major, and there was a budget for promotion, music videos, etc... but it wasn't huge. Geffen never expected Nirvana to become household names. There was a $30K-$50K budget for the Teen Spirit video - a tiny fraction of the money spent on Lady Gaga and Rihanna videos these days. But the thing proved popular on MTV, and it just took off... it was the 90s equivalent of "going viral".

StraferJack Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > doubt it will happen anyway - it's not a > generational thing to look at the music business > in 2011 and see that it's highly unlikely an > artist can have the same impact again. Not sure I would agree... I don't think the state of the industry would be a barrier to a band breaking through and capturing the imagination of the public. I don't remember Nirvana getting a huge marketing push.

Kids at lunchtime are fine, but in the evening... no way, it's just not a suitable environment. But fortunately most pubs don't allow kids in the evenings anyway.

I think there will just be a fixed price to a central London station. That line is unusual as both ends are in Central London... but for the purposes of pricing, Peckham Rye is probably considered to be closer to central London.

Something I've wondered about for a long time - lab cultivated "meat". http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15402552 Will we ever be able to produce something as tasty as the real thing? Surely meat without the fat and blood just won't taste of anything. Or will we be able to cultivate perfect flesh, which tastes even better? Perhaps in the future we'll all be eating in-vitro meat, and real meat will be the domain of a wealthy few, or secretive speakeasy-style establishments...

Yes, but I don't think energy savings is the only argument - e.g. noise, draughts, etc. Many houses in the area have solid walls without a cavity, so cavity insulation may not be an option.

First you say that banks lend money in order to make obscene profits, then you criticise banks for not lending money to businesses. Seems like a contradiction to me. And bear in mind that over-leverage has caused banks quite a bit of trouble over the last few years... While I would agree that there are some gaping holes in regulations, to say that the banking system lacks any meaningful regulation at all is a gross exaggeration. You seem to be confusing the roles of central banks and commercial banks. And you also appear to be lumping government debt and private debt into the same bracket. I'd also challenge the assumption that debt is intrinsically a bad thing.

DJKQ, do you want to go into more detail about the role of banks in government debt?

I really don't think a Clash reunion would have made sense. I can understand the Sex Pistols coming back for a pay day, as frankly they never really stood for anything much. But The Clash were different.

I've always had decent food (for the price) at Hisar, but the tinned potatoes did put me off a bit.