Brexit, for once some facts.

[guerney]

I think that's quite enough from me... I'm off to source a laptop I can upgrade and fix at home - possibly an old Thinkpad, because some clever Chinese chaps are making brand new boards and screens for them which support all the latest CPUs, and spare everythings are abundant for Thinkpads. I'm sick of flimsy laptops!

 

[oyster]

If you have had Covid before then you are more likely to catch the new variant.

Is there a proposed reason for this?

(Haven't watched it and find him tedious to watch even when I have some interest in what he says.)

 

[Nev]

Is there a proposed reason for this?

(Haven't watched it and find him tedious to watch even when I have some interest in what he says.)

I think there was a reason but I can't remember what it was. I know what you mean about his videos being tedious they could do with some editing. They could easily be reduced to either a half or even a third of their current duration.

 

[Nev]

The instructions recommend a 12hr initial charge for the batteries, so I'll try them out in the next couple of days and will indeed report back.

Have you had a chance to try them out yet if so what do you think? As mentioned previously I wouldn't be looking to go out in temps below 3 or 4 degrees, so if you have tried them in that kind of temperature it would be good to hear how they functioned.

I had an email from Hermes delivery last night saying they had got my gloves so I am hoping they will drop them off today.

I am slightly concerned that I may have wasted £150 because when I bought them I had read just a handful of the reviews (these persuaded me to go for the XL size).

I have since read all the reviews on their site (over 70) and I'm suffering a little bit of buyers remorse, Quite a lot of the reviews mention that the gloves get your hands warm but your fingers remain really cold, it's cold fingers and thumbs that I struggle with.

What I am hoping is that these reviewers are using them in temperatures well below what I intend doing. I think several of them are from the USA or Canada and I suspect they are going out in temps well below freezing.

 

[oldgroaner]

TAKE THAT BACK!!

It was only the sort of guess that guides government policies

 

[Woosh]

Is there a proposed reason for this?

(Haven't watched it and find him tedious to watch even when I have some interest in what he says.)

I watched him talking about the AZ's blood clotting (reaction of adenovirus on PF4). 442 cases of suspected CVT, 73 deaths in the UK. Old Dr John Campbell veers to the quacky side a bit. I don't think the current way of injection was responsible for it.
The point is we already know for some time that current vaccines don't stop people catching covid. So is Omicron more virulent or more infectious than Delta or Beta? I expect the Omicron variant is neither but time will tell. The key number is hospital admissions.
At the moment, the only essay for Omicron relies on the absence of the S-gene in the samples. Lots of variants have missing S-gene so count Omicron cases seems dodgy to me.
Apparently, people who have had covid then subsequently got vaccinated have higher level of antibodies compared to those who only got vaccinated or got covid and not vaccinated.

 

[flecc]

Apparently, people who have had covid then subsequently got vaccinated have higher level of antibodies compared to those who only got vaccinated or got covid and not vaccinated.

This certainly fits the evidence in London, very high levels of early infection and vaccines later have produced better results than the rest of the country. However a very high proportion of those who haven't vaccinated at all haven't suffered from that either, since there's at least 2.4 million of them, a low death rate and only just over 1500 critical care beds in London, so they aren't in hospital or dead.
.

 

[GLJoe]

<Sealskinz heated gloves>
I have since read all the reviews on their site (over 70) and I'm suffering a little bit of buyers remorse
Have you had a chance to try them out yet if so what do you think?

Ok. So I was going to give them a proper test on Monday when I do my long ride into work, but as you are asking now ...

Its a bit of a mixed bag at the moment. Manufacturers don't usually have buyers reviews directly on their sites, but as it appears Sealskins sell direct, it looks like they do - but I hadn't read those reviews before I purchased! doh!! (I did read reviews from other places, but mostly review mags etc). I have now read the main site reviews though, and I can agree with most of them, especially regarding the sizing.

So like myself, lots of people followed the instructions and find the gloves to be a much tighter fit than expected. It is mostly in the (elasticated ... but not elasticated enough) wrist area. They are VERY tough to get on and off. However once they are on, they follow the contour of my hand very well. Some gloves have baggy sections - not these. They are 'snug' in a good, precise fitting way. However I will have to make sure my nails are trimmed RIGHT down - its that close!
They are not big, voluminous gloves either (not for winter gloves, and certainly not for heated winter ones!) which means they are actually very well designed for more precision work, like changing gears and operating brakes! This is good for cyclists and maybe why the fit is so tight.

I went shopping (on the bike) one evening. Fairly cold but not icy. Maybe an 8mile trip.
I had the gloves on full power and was mildly disappointed as to how moderate the heat was. It was there, but I certainly didn't want to turn it down in power. Doesn't bode well for when there is a bitter, icy wind and I have an hour and a half cycle into work!
That said, I popped into the shop to buy the groceries while my wife stood guard over the bikes. She had normal gloves on and was complaining her hands were freezing! I gave her my Sealskinz to put on while I was in the shop, and when I came out, she was complaining her hands were now TOO hot, so go figure!

I also was suspicious that they were only heating the back of the hand and not the fingers. So when I got home, I did a little experiment. I left them outside for an hour (switched off) to totally cool down. Put them on. Yup. Freezing all the way through.
I then turned them on, still left them outside for 10min, tried them on again, so now I could tell instantly where the heat was, and bugger me, there DID seem to be heat in the finger areas, not just the back of the hand. However it was certainly less in the finger tips. A comment made by someone in the reviews saying the heating elements went to the knuckles is possibly correct.
We will have to see how this pans out in real life on a long cycle.
I am half tempted to see if I can fit my PlanetX cycling mittens/crab gloves OVER the sealskins. That might work in distributing the heat that does get generated a little better. (those mittens are actually XL, but they're a pretty good fit for me, so I'm not sure I can get thick gloves under them)

So I don't know exactly what to say at the moment.
They are very well made. I like them. They will be perfect for going for a walk with the dog when there is no windchill factor. I am sure my hands will be toasty in that scenario.
I wish I'd gone up a size, or preferably wish the wrists were baggier.
I'll have to see how they work in sub-zero conditions on an extended commute.
They are better than other cheap heated gloves I've got/tried.
There may be even better heated gloves out there (especially ones that heat right to the fingertips and give out even more heat), but I suspect those will be considerably more expensive, might be physically larger and not as targeted to cyclists, and I don't know what models they are and whether you can easily get them in the UK.

I'll know more on Monday after my long ride

 

[Nev]

I'll know more on Monday after my long ride

My gloves have arrived, I'm really glad I went for the XL size they fit just right, I think the large would have been too small, I have very long fingers.

I've put the batteries on to charge but as that takes 12 hours I wont be trying them out today. I have checked the weather forecast (I don't ride in the rain if I can help it), and its supposed to be around 6 degrees here tomorrow morning so if it's dry I will try them out.

This time of the year, I tend to ride for an hour then stop in a cafe then do a slightly longer route back (about hour and a half) so I will report back if the batteries will cope with that.

I read in one of the reviews that someone had bought extra batteries so I might think about that depending on the price of them.

 

[oyster]

My gloves have arrived, I'm really glad I went for the XL size they fit just right, I think the large would have been too small, I have very long fingers.

I've put the batteries on to charge but as that takes 12 hours I wont be trying them out today. I have checked the weather forecast (I don't ride in the rain if I can help it), and its supposed to be around 6 degrees here tomorrow morning so if it's dry I will try them out.

This time of the year, I tend to ride for an hour then stop in a cafe then do a slightly longer route back (about hour and a half) so I will report back if the batteries will cope with that.

I read in one of the reviews that someone had bought extra batteries so I might think about that depending on the price of them.

I have a pretty powerful torch - which gets very warm if used on high brightness for extended periods. Can't help thinking that there should be a way of using the heat from whatever lighting you use to warm your hands - rather than having that dispersing to the environment while needing to have additional batteries to warm your hands.

Have fun working out how that could be done sensibly...

 

[flecc]

I have a pretty powerful torch - which gets very warm if used on high brightness for extended periods. Can't help thinking that there should be a way of using the heat from whatever lighting you use to warm your hands - rather than having that dispersing to the environment while needing to have additional batteries to warm your hands.

Have fun working out how that could be done sensibly...

Maybe a lesson from car history could provide readily transferable heat along the handlebar tube, rather like an oil filled radiator:

The oldest headlamps fueled by acetylene were introduced in the late 1880s. Acetylene lamps were popular because the flame was resistant to wind and rain. Although electric headlights came on the scene in the 1890s the technology wasn't strong enough to unseat the acetylene type lamps.

By 1917 a Corning headlamp could illuminate a road sign up to five-hundred feet away from the automobile.
.

 

[oldgroaner]

By 1917 a Corning headlamp could illuminate a road sign up to five-hundred feet away from the automobile.
.

That's terrible timing! imagine just launching something a Zeppelin could see over twenty miles away!
They found Hull by both following the Rivers Humber and Hull, and from the North the firebox glow and moonlight on railway lines

 

[Danidl]

I have a pretty powerful torch - which gets very warm if used on high brightness for extended periods. Can't help thinking that there should be a way of using the heat from whatever lighting you use to warm your hands - rather than having that dispersing to the environment while needing to have additional batteries to warm your hands.

Have fun working out how that could be done sensibly...

I got such a torch from Halfords of all places and it is exceedingly bright at 1600 lumens focused into bike light beam. . I got it for my daughter who was reduced to travelling by bike the last 3 miles after her 45 minute train journey during the height of the lockdown. One fall justified the purchase. The heating is a by product of the operation , and if Halfords could have reduced it in favour of longer lighting,they would.

 

[flecc]

That's terrible timing! imagine just launching something a Zeppelin could see over twenty miles away!

Corning were in the US of A, so not too many rail lines leading there.
.

 

[oyster]

I got such a torch from Halfords of all places and it is exceedingly bright at 1600 lumens focused into bike light beam. . I got it for my daughter who was reduced to travelling by bike the last 3 miles after her 45 minute train journey during the height of the lockdown. One fall justified the purchase. The heating is a by product of the operation , and if Halfords could have reduced it in favour of longer lighting,they would.

Mine is (they claim) 2000 lumens. Which, as you'll be aware, is incredibly bright in a focussed beam.

Impressed as it has a 21700 cell and, unlike my previous bright torch, lasts a long time between charges. Especially if used near half-way in brightness. (That one was quite nice, except the batteries only lasted a few minutes at high settings. And it is a bit bulky.)

I suspect Halfords only cared about the headline number they could claim!

 

[jonathan.agnew]

I watched him talking about the AZ's blood clotting (reaction of adenovirus on PF4). 442 cases of suspected CVT, 73 deaths in the UK. Old Dr John Campbell veers to the quacky side a bit. I don't think the current way of injection was responsible for it.
The point is we already know for some time that current vaccines don't stop people catching covid. So is Omicron more virulent or more infectious than Delta or Beta? I expect the Omicron variant is neither but time will tell. The key number is hospital admissions.
At the moment, the only essay for Omicron relies on the absence of the S-gene in the samples. Lots of variants have missing S-gene so count Omicron cases seems dodgy to me.
Apparently, people who have had covid then subsequently got vaccinated have higher level of antibodies compared to those who only got vaccinated or got covid and not vaccinated.

Except that the omicron wave of infections in their present summer is far steeper than their previous delta wave (in their winter). And that, despite their younger population than say uk, there has been a rapid increase in hospitalisation with covid in gauteng (where most omicron occur). Amongst other media this is reported in sky news

 

[guerney]

I got such a torch from Halfords of all places and it is exceedingly bright at 1600 lumens focused into bike light beam. . I got it for my daughter who was reduced to travelling by bike the last 3 miles after her 45 minute train journey during the height of the lockdown. One fall justified the purchase. The heating is a by product of the operation , and if Halfords could have reduced it in favour of longer lighting,they would.

Mine is (they claim) 2000 lumens. Which, as you'll be aware, is incredibly bright in a focussed beam.

Impressed as it has a 21700 cell and, unlike my previous bright torch, lasts a long time between charges. Especially if used near half-way in brightness. (That one was quite nice, except the batteries only lasted a few minutes at high settings. And it is a bit bulky.)

I suspect Halfords only cared about the headline number they could claim!

To keep my fingers toasty, I was thinking of pulling out ceramic heating elements from two battery powered soldering irons, and putting those inside the handlebar cavities either side, then wiring both to the ebike battery... with a variable resistor inline to control temperature. Filling the handlebars with oil to better conduct heat, might be a touch too impractical - I might try coils of copper wire instead... but oil would radiate more water rich tissue warming far infra-red heat, therefore constructing small oil filled canisters containing the ceramic elements might be a better idea?

 

[guerney]

Except that the omicron wave of infections in their present summer is far steeper than their previous delta wave (in their winter). And that, despite their younger population than say uk, there has been a rapid increase in hospitalisation with covid in gauteng (where most omicron occur). Amongst other media this is reported in sky news

Are the mild cases reported in SA due to a younger population, and mild cases here due to higher levels of vaccination? Whether rational or not, I'm starting to hope that Omicron is nearer the end of this virus's evolutionary (generalising here) exponential curve, tending toward a form progressively less problematic to human hosts.

 

[oyster]

Are the mild cases reported in SA due to a younger population, and mild cases here due to higher levels of vaccination? Whether rational or not, I'm starting to hope that Omicron is nearer the end of this virus's evolutionary (generalising here) exponential curve, tending toward a form progressively less problematic to human hosts.

I can't see any reason to agree that it is progressing in any particular direction. Could get better or worse at each step.

 

[guerney]

I can't see any reason to agree that it is progressing in any particular direction. Could get better or worse at each step.

Even the virus which causes AIDS, is less deadly than it used to be, typically taking about 10 years now to kill the host instead of 12. Highly infectious coronaviruses have a much higher probability of random mutations occurring, I think it's likely that the deadlier ones will mostly die with their hosts. From news I've seen thus far - Omicron at least, doesn't seem to be deadlier, merely more infectious. But you're right... anything can happen - I was being hopeful, which is why I said "Whether rational or not", and "generalising here". Progessions of various elements of pandemics, look like (or are represented later as) differential equations... and those can look very bizarre indeed.