Off Topic Thread 4.0

sydthebeat

irishbucsfan wrote: »

But the problem is that not only are geneticists telling us it doesn’t equalize the field in theory, but in fact the IAAF have evidence that it hasn’t led to any changes in performance in practice. If that’s the case then how can it be a remotely acceptable solution?

Fair enough, I'm not that well informed on the whole situation to be honest.
I just find the whole case very sad for caster.

troyzer

sydthebeat wrote: »

Fair enough, I'm not that well informed on the whole situation to be honest.
I just find the whole case very sad for caster.

Me too. But the rules shouldn't exist to cater for the few exceptions.

It's such a ****ty situation.

stephen_n

irishbucsfan wrote: »

But the problem is that not only are geneticists telling us it doesn’t equalize the field in theory, but in fact the IAAF have evidence that it hasn’t led to any changes in performance in practice. If that’s the case then how can it be a remotely acceptable solution?

Just to clarify, are you saying the IAAF has evidence that testosterone isn’t a PED in general, or just in the case of intersex people?

It's a very difficult situation to manage whilst being equally fair to everyone.

What I hate seeing is this becoming a right wing issue. It's like the 'gays' aren't a safe target anymore and I see an awful lot of anti-trans hysteria and bigotry online and plenty of it being conflated with legitimately challenging situations like Semenya.

irishbucsfan

stephen_n wrote: »

Just to clarify, are you saying the IAAF has evidence that testosterone isn’t a PED in general, or just in the case of intersex people?

Supposedly they have evidence that the suppression of testosterone in intersex athletes resulted in no reduction in performance, but it’s confidential given the nature of those tests which is fair enough

troyzer

irishbucsfan wrote: »

stephen_n wrote: »

Just to clarify, are you saying the IAAF has evidence that testosterone isn’t a PED in general, or just in the case of intersex people?

Supposedly they have evidence that the suppression of testosterone in intersex athletes resulted in no reduction in performance, but it’s confidential given the nature of those tests which is fair enough

The difficulty there of course is that it's not just the testosterone going forward that's the problem. She's had probably 15 years or since the start of puberty to reap the body building benefits of all that testosterone.

Erik Shun

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Supposedly they have evidence that the suppression of testosterone in intersex athletes resulted in no reduction in performance, but it’s confidential given the nature of those tests which is fair enough

This is the thing that I find abhorrent...the tests are confidential... but.. Caster's whole medical history and biological makeup is up for the world to gawk at.
I can't imagine this would happen if Caster was a good old white girl from upstate New York...the South Africans don't carry any weight in the IAAF or within the IOC and this is a huge factor in all this imo

Neil3030

What do other female athletes think about this? I only seem to hear men (Joe Rogan etc) complaining about the unfair advantage afforded to intersex and trans athletes.

mfceiling

So I'm a cyclist now.

I bought a hybrid bike last week and went for a spin round town today. It's a great way to get about the city. I spent a fair bit on the lock and a good helmet.
I'm not going to go all lycra on it but I'm wondering would cycling shorts be an option?

Squidgy Black

mfceiling wrote: »

So I'm a cyclist now.

I bought a hybrid bike last week and went for a spin round town today. It's a great way to get about the city. I spent a fair bit on the lock and a good helmet.
I'm not going to go all lycra on it but I'm wondering would cycling shorts be an option?

If you're doing fairly long spins (20km+) then your arse will thank you for cycling shorts. The padding + less chafing will be a life saver. Throw a pair of normal shorts over them if you don't want the Lance Armstrong look.

b.gud

mfceiling wrote: »

So I'm a cyclist now.

I bought a hybrid bike last week and went for a spin round town today. It's a great way to get about the city. I spent a fair bit on the lock and a good helmet.
I'm not going to go all lycra on it but I'm wondering would cycling shorts be an option?

Aldi have a cycling event this week so you can pick some up there for cheap. I'm getting a bike myself in the next few weeks so will be picking up a few bits

sullivlo

mfceiling wrote: »

So I'm a cyclist now.

I bought a hybrid bike last week and went for a spin round town today. It's a great way to get about the city. I spent a fair bit on the lock and a good helmet.
I'm not going to go all lycra on it but I'm wondering would cycling shorts be an option?

Welcome to the dark side.

Don’t wear underwear under the Lycra. And wear an extra pair of shorts over them if you’re self conscious. Aldi have cycling underwear coming. Don’t know what it’s like comfort wise but their normal shorts are grand!

Enjoy the bike.

CatFromHue

get a good set of lights and never cycle up the inside of a left turning truck or bus.

cycle shorts well make your backside more comfortable, the two things mentioned above will save your life.

Podge_irl

On the lock - ultimately no lock in the world is good enough. Always try to park besides a better bike with a worse lock!

I primarily use my bike for commuting but I basically never leave it out in public if I'm going to be away from it for any length of time. As above, locks only delay someone stealing it, they don't prevent it.

mfceiling

The bike itself was only 120 quid from adverts (like new to be fair and was about 300 odd new). Didn't want to spend a fortune getting started. Probably will tip into aldi and pick up a pair of shorts. Cheers.

Game of Thrones, it's such a pity.

awec

Sloane Nutritious Ham wrote: »

Game of Thrones, it's such a pity.

Yea I'm frustrated.

bilston

Sloane Nutritious Ham wrote: »

Game of Thrones, it's such a pity.

Why?

My issue with Ep 4 is that a whole series of stuff happened in it! It seems obvious to me that GoT needed a 9th series. It looks like Daenaerys is becoming the Mad Queen (or Mad Wannabe Queen), that should have been done over a longer period of time. I still enjoyed it though, but to be fair I'm easily pleased

bilston

bilston wrote: »

Why?

My issue with Ep 4 is that a whole series of stuff happened in it! It seems obvious to me that GoT needed a 9th series. It looks like Daenaerys is becoming the Mad Queen (or Mad Wannabe Queen), that should have been done over a longer period of time. I still enjoyed it though, but to be fair I'm easily pleased

Why? Because it's absolutely ****e these days imo.

DGRulz

I think by the end of this episode I've crossed over to the other side.

You would have thought with the massively increased budget this season, they'd have hired someone to consult and choreograph battle. What's the point of having dragons if a) you're not going to scout b) you don't fly higher when being attacked and c) you don't see massive ships from a few miles out in the air. I was willing to forgive certain battle tactics in the last episode because it was less two army's fighting and more one army try ok by to survive as long as possible. The show has always had shocking moments but in earlier seasons, they had a point and pushed the story on. We seem to just be getting shock for the sake of it now. I'll still watch it till the end and probably enjoy it to a point but it's kinda disappointing it's ending like this.

Podge_irl

bilston wrote: »

Why?

My issue with Ep 4 is that a whole series of stuff happened in it! It seems obvious to me that GoT needed a 9th series. It looks like Daenaerys is becoming the Mad Queen (or Mad Wannabe Queen), that should have been done over a longer period of time. I still enjoyed it though, but to be fair I'm easily pleased

The magical, mystery fleets are getting fairly irritating. The writing just comes across as pretty lazy - they seem to have identified a couple of key scenes they want and to hell with proper story-telling and progression to get there.

awec

I have defended the show in the past when there have been questionable decisions, but that episode totally jumped the shark for me. Things happening out of nowhere, that don't fit the story at all.

The invisible fleet indeed.

Cersei letting all her enemies live and killing a nobody (who was inexplicably captured in the first place).

D+D have ballsed this up.

bilston

awec wrote: »

I have defended the show in the past when there have been questionable decisions, but that episode totally jumped the shark for me. Things happening out of nowhere, that don't fit the story at all.

The invisible fleet indeed.

Cersei letting all her enemies live and killing a nobody (who was inexplicably captured in the first place).

D+D have ballsed this up.

They are definitely rushing through things and I agree that is a problem. There should have been a 9th series, or more than 6 episodes to the final series

20 minutes into the first episode of season 8 I was pretty concerned about the pacing, writing and overall narrative cohesion. It's gotten worse since then to the point that I'm barely invested in the story anymore and amen't really in any rush to see the last two episodes.

That's a staggering departure from the enthusiasm I had before season 8 even if large parts of season 7 seemed a bit nonsensical and pointless.

Everything bar the visuals has misfired this season, the critics have been slow to round on the show but I can see the final season being absolutely panned unless something dramatic happens the next two weeks.

Dave_The_Sheep

Deleted User wrote: »

20 minutes into the first episode of season 8 I was pretty concerned about the pacing, writing and overall narrative cohesion. It's gotten worse since then to the point that I'm barely invested in the story anymore and amen't really in any rush to see the last two episodes.

This. I'm not even sure if I'm going to bother watching them. They're absolutely shat the bed this season, and that's saying something given how last season was.

For the first time ever I've gone and searched out the leaks for the next two episodes. The payoff isn't there anymore.

Diabhal Beag

If those leaked spoilers are correct even the biggest fanboys will be gutted. It's been an awful season.

Podge_irl

Deleted User wrote: »

Everything bar the visuals has misfired this season, the critics have been slow to round on the show but I can see the final season being absolutely panned unless something dramatic happens the next two weeks.

Alas, I think the current writers of the show's version of dramatic is very different from what you or I think of as dramatic.

OMFG, a dothraki army appeared from nowhere but Cersei suddenly had a horde of actual lions but Jon turned into an actual wolf and Euron had 3 fleets appear from nowhere.

Otherwise it would be too predictable.

I despise that narrative storytelling in general is going in the direction of "always be unexpected" instead.

Podge_irl

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

If those leaked spoilers are correct even the biggest fanboys will be gutted. It's been an awful season.

I feel a bit bad for reading them, but my heart isn't in it anymore.