[South Sheilds Ride Oooop North]

Just got back and was about to make a topic. Still, it saved me a job

Was a good ride apart from me smashing my pedal off a wall!

[Derren Brown.]

so he took 5 grand off someone without them knowing? and now they are watching? if they dont know he took it how did derren know he was watching? also who the fook wouldnt know 5grand went missing?

What I don't get is how the guy could just walk into the branch and get 5k out there and then? I always thought for that kind of amount you'd have to notify them in advance...

Unless of course, it's all staged

[Paying Back Student Loans]

So they take it from your PAYE as part of income tax without you knowing pretty much?

Dunno if they still do it this way, but when I graduated a couple of years ago they said that they'd start taking repayments off your pay when you reach April in the year after you graduate. Pretty sure they don't actually tell you like just before they're gonna take repayments, but it probably would've been in the stuff when you got the loan. Quite a few people I know should've started paying theirs back but haven't had anything taken off them. It seems a bit hit or miss whether they actually take money off you or not.

[Danny Macaskill - April 2009]

:o

I can't believe I just watched that!!

Definately the best video I've ever seen!

[Button Injured In F1 Accident!]

Hahahaha it got me!

[Google Street View]

Can see my house, my old car and inside the office where I used to work! Not too bothered about the invasion of privacy thing - guess some people will though

[Snow Meek]

Awesome! Wish we had snow up here.

[Has Google Been Hacked?]

Just been wondering about this for the last few mins... not just me then!

Edit: Seems to be ok now.

[Calling All Web Developers]

You've pretty much sussed it yourself from what you said - the autopopulating was screwing things up. I changed this

// fills in the input box w/the first match (assumed to be the best match)
    function autoFill(sValue){
        // if the last user key pressed was backspace, don't autofill
        if( lastKeyPressCode != 8 ){
            // fill in the value (keep the case the user has typed)
            $input.val($input.val() + sValue.substring(prev.length));
            // select the portion of the value not typed by the user (so the next character will erase)
            createSelection(prev.length, sValue.length);
        }
    }

to

// fills in the input box w/the first match (assumed to be the best match)
    function autoFill(sValue){
        // if the last user key pressed was backspace, don't autofill
        if( lastKeyPressCode != 8 ){
            //$input.val(sValue);
            // select the portion of the value not typed by the user (so the next character will erase)
            //createSelection(prev.length, sValue.length);
        }
    };

I should've removed these lines, but was lazy and just commented it out instead . What it does is stop the text field from getting automatically populated with the closest match - this was causing problems narrowing down the results when you typed the next character. and this

function matchSubset(s, sub) {
        if (!options.matchCase) s = s.toLowerCase();
        var i = s.indexOf(sub);
        if (i == -1) return false;
        return i == 0 || options.matchContains;
    };

to

function matchSubset(s, sub) {
        if (!options.matchCase) s = s.toLowerCase();
        var i = s.indexOf(sub);
        if (i == -1) return false;
        //return i == 0 || options.matchContains;
        return true;
    };

This is called everytime you type a 2nd/3rd/4th letter and it narrows down the original list of matches that were shown. Before it was only returning true where i = 0, (i.e. if "ab" was a substring of "aberdeen" but not if "de" was a substring of "aberdeen", as i would be 4 in that case. Now it returns true if there's a match anywhere in the string.

[Calling All Web Developers]

Ok, think I've got it now...

jQuery.autocomplete = function(input, options) {
    // Create a link to self
    var me = this;

    // Create jQuery object for input element
    var $input = $(input).attr("autocomplete", "off");

    // Apply inputClass if necessary
    if (options.inputClass) $input.addClass(options.inputClass);

    // Create results
    var results = document.createElement("div");
    // Create jQuery object for results
    var $results = $(results);
    $results.hide().addClass(options.resultsClass).css("position", "absolute");
    if( options.width > 0 ) $results.css("width", options.width);

    // Add to body element
    $("body").append(results);

    input.autocompleter = me;

    var timeout = null;
    var prev = "";
    var active = -1;
    var cache = {};
    var keyb = false;
    var hasFocus = false;
    var lastKeyPressCode = null;

    // flush cache
    function flushCache(){
        cache = {};
        cache.data = {};
        cache.length = 0;
    };

    // flush cache
    flushCache();

    // if there is a data array supplied
    if( options.data != null ){
        var sFirstChar = "", stMatchSets = {}, row = [];

        // no url was specified, we need to adjust the cache length to make sure it fits the local data store
        if( typeof options.url != "string" ) options.cacheLength = 1;

        // loop through the array and create a lookup structure
        for( var i=0; i < options.data.length; i++ ){
            // if row is a string, make an array otherwise just reference the array
            row = ((typeof options.data[i] == "string") ? [options.data[i]] : options.data[i]);

            /*// if the length is zero, don't add to list
            if( row[0].length > 0 ){
                // get the first character
                sFirstChar = row[0].substring(0, 1).toLowerCase();
                // if no lookup array for this character exists, look it up now
                if( !stMatchSets[sFirstChar] ) stMatchSets[sFirstChar] = [];
                // if the match is a string
                stMatchSets[sFirstChar].push(row);
            }*/
            
            // if the length is zero, don't add to list
            if( row[0].length > 0 ){
                // Go through each character in the data string and index a match
                var tmpArray = [];
                for (var j = 1; j <= row[0].length; j++) {
                    // get the next character
                    sNextChar = row[0].substring(j-1, j).toLowerCase();
                    // Check whether this character already exists in the temp array.
                    // If it does, we skip it to ensure the phrase is not added twice 
                    // to the cache
                    var alreadyIndexed = false;
                    for (var k = 0; k < tmpArray.length; k++){
                      if(tmpArray[k] == sNextChar) {
                        alreadyIndexed =  true;
                      }
                    }
                    // Character has not been skipped so index the match 
                    if (!alreadyIndexed) {
                       tmpArray.push(sNextChar);
                       // if no lookup array for this character exists, look it up now
                        if( !stMatchSets[sNextChar] ) stMatchSets[sNextChar] = [];
                        // if the match is a string
                        stMatchSets[sNextChar].push(row);
                    }
                }
            }
            
            
        }

        // add the data items to the cache
        for( var k in stMatchSets ){
            // increase the cache size
            options.cacheLength++;
            // add to the cache
            addToCache(k, stMatchSets[k]);
        }
    }

    $input
    .keydown(function(e) {
        // track last key pressed
        lastKeyPressCode = e.keyCode;
        switch(e.keyCode) {
            case 38: // up
                e.preventDefault();
                moveSelect(-1);
                break;
            case 40: // down
                e.preventDefault();
                moveSelect(1);
                break;
            case 9:  // tab
            case 13: // return
                if( selectCurrent() ){
                    // make sure to blur off the current field
                    $input.get(0).blur();
                    e.preventDefault();
                }
                break;
            default:
                active = -1;
                if (timeout) clearTimeout(timeout);
                timeout = setTimeout(function(){onChange();}, options.delay);
                break;
        }
    })
    .focus(function(){
        // track whether the field has focus, we shouldn't process any results if the field no longer has focus
        hasFocus = true;
    })
    .blur(function() {
        // track whether the field has focus
        hasFocus = false;
        hideResults();
    });

    hideResultsNow();

    function onChange() {
        // ignore if the following keys are pressed: [del] [shift] [capslock]
        if( lastKeyPressCode == 46 || (lastKeyPressCode > 8 && lastKeyPressCode < 32) ) return $results.hide();
        var v = $input.val();
        if (v == prev) return;
        prev = v;
        if (v.length >= options.minChars) {
            $input.addClass(options.loadingClass);
            requestData(v);
        } else {
            $input.removeClass(options.loadingClass);
            $results.hide();
        }
    };

     function moveSelect(step) {

        var lis = $("li", results);
        if (!lis) return;

        active += step;

        if (active < 0) {
            active = 0;
        } else if (active >= lis.size()) {
            active = lis.size() - 1;
        }

        lis.removeClass("ac_over");

        $(lis[active]).addClass("ac_over");

        // Weird behaviour in IE
        // if (lis[active] && lis[active].scrollIntoView) {
        //     lis[active].scrollIntoView(false);
        // }

    };

    function selectCurrent() {
        var li = $("li.ac_over", results)[0];
        if (!li) {
            var $li = $("li", results);
            if (options.selectOnly) {
                if ($li.length == 1) li = $li[0];
            } else if (options.selectFirst) {
                li = $li[0];
            }
        }
        if (li) {
            selectItem(li);
            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    };

    function selectItem(li) {
        if (!li) {
            li = document.createElement("li");
            li.extra = [];
            li.selectValue = "";
        }
        var v = $.trim(li.selectValue ? li.selectValue : li.innerHTML);
        input.lastSelected = v;
        prev = v;
        $results.html("");
        $input.val(v);
        hideResultsNow();
        if (options.onItemSelect) setTimeout(function() { options.onItemSelect(li) }, 1);
    };

    // selects a portion of the input string
    function createSelection(start, end){
        // get a reference to the input element
        var field = $input.get(0);
        if( field.createTextRange ){
            var selRange = field.createTextRange();
            selRange.collapse(true);
            selRange.moveStart("character", start);
            selRange.moveEnd("character", end);
            selRange.select();
        } else if( field.setSelectionRange ){
            field.setSelectionRange(start, end);
        } else {
            if( field.selectionStart ){
                field.selectionStart = start;
                field.selectionEnd = end;
            }
        }
        field.focus();
    };

    // fills in the input box w/the first match (assumed to be the best match)
    function autoFill(sValue){
        // if the last user key pressed was backspace, don't autofill
        if( lastKeyPressCode != 8 ){
            //$input.val(sValue);
            // select the portion of the value not typed by the user (so the next character will erase)
            //createSelection(prev.length, sValue.length);
        }
    };
    /*
    // fills in the input box w/the first match (assumed to be the best match)
    function autoFill(sValue){
        // if the last user key pressed was backspace, don't autofill
        if( lastKeyPressCode != 8 ){
            // fill in the value (keep the case the user has typed)
            $input.val($input.val() + sValue.substring(prev.length));
            // select the portion of the value not typed by the user (so the next character will erase)
            createSelection(prev.length, sValue.length);
        }
    };*/

    function showResults() {
        // get the position of the input field right now (in case the DOM is shifted)
        var pos = findPos(input);
        // either use the specified width, or autocalculate based on form element
        var iWidth = (options.width > 0) ? options.width : $input.width();
        // reposition
        $results.css({
            width: parseInt(iWidth) + "px",
            top: (pos.y + input.offsetHeight) + "px",
            left: pos.x + "px"
        }).show();
    };

    function hideResults() {
        if (timeout) clearTimeout(timeout);
        timeout = setTimeout(hideResultsNow, 200);
    };

    function hideResultsNow() {
        if (timeout) clearTimeout(timeout);
        $input.removeClass(options.loadingClass);
        if ($results.is(":visible")) {
            $results.hide();
        }
        if (options.mustMatch) {
            var v = $input.val();
            if (v != input.lastSelected) {
                selectItem(null);
            }
        }
    };

    function receiveData(q, data) {
        if (data) {
            $input.removeClass(options.loadingClass);
            results.innerHTML = "";

            // if the field no longer has focus or if there are no matches, do not display the drop down
            if( !hasFocus || data.length == 0 ) return hideResultsNow();

            if ($.browser.msie) {
                // we put a styled iframe behind the calendar so HTML SELECT elements don't show through
                $results.append(document.createElement('iframe'));
            }
            results.appendChild(dataToDom(data));
            // autofill in the complete box w/the first match as long as the user hasn't entered in more data
            if( options.autoFill && ($input.val().toLowerCase() == q.toLowerCase()) ) autoFill(data[0][0]);
            showResults();
        } else {
            hideResultsNow();
        }
    };

    function parseData(data) {
        if (!data) return null;
        var parsed = [];
        var rows = data.split(options.lineSeparator);
        for (var i=0; i < rows.length; i++) {
            var row = $.trim(rows[i]);
            if (row) {
                parsed[parsed.length] = row.split(options.cellSeparator);
            }
        }
        return parsed;
    };

    function dataToDom(data) {
        var ul = document.createElement("ul");
        var num = data.length;

        // limited results to a max number
        if( (options.maxItemsToShow > 0) && (options.maxItemsToShow < num) ) num = options.maxItemsToShow;

        for (var i=0; i < num; i++) {
            var row = data[i];
            if (!row) continue;
            var li = document.createElement("li");
            if (options.formatItem) {
                li.innerHTML = options.formatItem(row, i, num);
                li.selectValue = row[0];
            } else {
                li.innerHTML = row[0];
                li.selectValue = row[0];
            }
            var extra = null;
            if (row.length > 1) {
                extra = [];
                for (var j=1; j < row.length; j++) {
                    extra[extra.length] = row[j];
                }
            }
            li.extra = extra;
            ul.appendChild(li);
            $(li).hover(
                function() { $("li", ul).removeClass("ac_over"); $(this).addClass("ac_over"); active = $("li", ul).indexOf($(this).get(0)); },
                function() { $(this).removeClass("ac_over"); }
            ).click(function(e) { e.preventDefault(); e.stopPropagation(); selectItem(this) });
        }
        return ul;
    };

    function requestData(q) {
        if (!options.matchCase) q = q.toLowerCase();
        var data = options.cacheLength ? loadFromCache(q) : null;
        // recieve the cached data
        if (data) {
            receiveData(q, data);
        // if an AJAX url has been supplied, try loading the data now
        } else if( (typeof options.url == "string") && (options.url.length > 0) ){
            $.get(makeUrl(q), function(data) {
                data = parseData(data);
                addToCache(q, data);
                receiveData(q, data);
            });
        // if there's been no data found, remove the loading class
        } else {
            $input.removeClass(options.loadingClass);
        }
    };

    function makeUrl(q) {
        var url = options.url + "?q=" + encodeURI(q);
        for (var i in options.extraParams) {
            url += "&" + i + "=" + encodeURI(options.extraParams[i]);
        }
        return url;
    };

    function loadFromCache(q) {
        if (!q) return null;
        if (cache.data[q]) return cache.data[q];
        if (options.matchSubset) {
            for (var i = q.length - 1; i >= options.minChars; i--) {
                var qs = q.substr(0, i);
                var c = cache.data[qs];
                if (c) {
                    var csub = [];
                    for (var j = 0; j < c.length; j++) {
                        var x = c[j];
                        var x0 = x[0];
                        if (matchSubset(x0, q)) {
                            csub[csub.length] = x;
                        }
                    }
                    return csub;
                }
            }
        }
        return null;
    };

    function matchSubset(s, sub) {
        if (!options.matchCase) s = s.toLowerCase();
        var i = s.indexOf(sub);
        if (i == -1) return false;
        //return i == 0 || options.matchContains;
        return true;
    };

    this.flushCache = function() {
        flushCache();
    };

    this.setExtraParams = function(p) {
        options.extraParams = p;
    };

    this.findValue = function(){
        var q = $input.val();

        if (!options.matchCase) q = q.toLowerCase();
        var data = options.cacheLength ? loadFromCache(q) : null;
        if (data) {
            findValueCallback(q, data);
        } else if( (typeof options.url == "string") && (options.url.length > 0) ){
            $.get(makeUrl(q), function(data) {
                data = parseData(data)
                addToCache(q, data);
                findValueCallback(q, data);
            });
        } else {
            // no matches
            findValueCallback(q, null);
        }
    }

    function findValueCallback(q, data){
        if (data) $input.removeClass(options.loadingClass);

        var num = (data) ? data.length : 0;
        var li = null;

        for (var i=0; i < num; i++) {
            var row = data[i];

            if( row[0].toLowerCase() == q.toLowerCase() ){
                li = document.createElement("li");
                if (options.formatItem) {
                    li.innerHTML = options.formatItem(row, i, num);
                    li.selectValue = row[0];
                } else {
                    li.innerHTML = row[0];
                    li.selectValue = row[0];
                }
                var extra = null;
                if( row.length > 1 ){
                    extra = [];
                    for (var j=1; j < row.length; j++) {
                        extra[extra.length] = row[j];
                    }
                }
                li.extra = extra;
            }
        }

        if( options.onFindValue ) setTimeout(function() { options.onFindValue(li) }, 1);
    }

    function addToCache(q, data) {
        if (!data || !q || !options.cacheLength) return;
        if (!cache.length || cache.length > options.cacheLength) {
            flushCache();
            cache.length++;
        } else if (!cache[q]) {
            cache.length++;
        }
        cache.data[q] = data;
    };

    function findPos(obj) {
        var curleft = obj.offsetLeft || 0;
        var curtop = obj.offsetTop || 0;
        while (obj = obj.offsetParent) {
            curleft += obj.offsetLeft
            curtop += obj.offsetTop
        }
        return {x:curleft,y:curtop};
    }
}

jQuery.fn.autocomplete = function(url, options, data) {
    // Make sure options exists
    options = options || {};
    // Set url as option
    options.url = url;
    // set some bulk local data
    options.data = ((typeof data == "object") && (data.constructor == Array)) ? data : null;

    // Set default values for required options
    options.inputClass = options.inputClass || "ac_input";
    options.resultsClass = options.resultsClass || "ac_results";
    options.lineSeparator = options.lineSeparator || "\n";
    options.cellSeparator = options.cellSeparator || "|";
    options.minChars = options.minChars || 1;
    options.delay = options.delay || 400;
    options.matchCase = options.matchCase || 0;
    options.matchSubset = options.matchSubset || 1;
    options.matchContains = options.matchContains || 0;
    options.cacheLength = options.cacheLength || 1;
    options.mustMatch = options.mustMatch || 0;
    options.extraParams = options.extraParams || {};
    options.loadingClass = options.loadingClass || "ac_loading";
    options.selectFirst = options.selectFirst || false;
    options.selectOnly = options.selectOnly || false;
    options.maxItemsToShow = options.maxItemsToShow || -1;
    options.autoFill = options.autoFill || false;
    options.width = parseInt(options.width, 10) || 0;

    this.each(function() {
        var input = this;
        new jQuery.autocomplete(input, options);
    });

    // Don't break the chain
    return this;
}

jQuery.fn.autocompleteArray = function(data, options) {
    return this.autocomplete(null, options, data);
}

jQuery.fn.indexOf = function(e){
    for( var i=0; i<this.length; i++ ){
        if( this[i] == e ) return i;
    }
    return -1;
};

Only thing is, if your using the matchContains options, it'll probably no longer work.

[Calling All Web Developers]

Tried to edit the js file, but is harder than i thought. Managed to get this far...

Replace

if( row[0].length > 0 ){
    // get the first character
    sFirstChar = row[0].substring(0, 1).toLowerCase();
    // if no lookup array for this character exists, look it up now
    if( !stMatchSets[sFirstChar] ) stMatchSets[sFirstChar] = [];
    // if the match is a string
    stMatchSets[sFirstChar].push(row);
}

with

// if the length is zero, don't add to list
if( row[0].length > 0 ){
    var tmpArray = [];
    for (var j = 1; j <= row[0].length; j++) {
        // get the next character
        sNextChar = row[0].substring(j-1, j).toLowerCase();
        // Needed to stop duplicate matches appearing in results
        var alreadyIndexed = false;
        for (var k = 0; k < tmpArray.length; k++){
            if(tmpArray[k] == sNextChar) {
                alreadyIndexed =  true;
            }
        }
        // Character has not been skipped
        if (!alreadyIndexed) {
            tmpArray.push(sNextChar);
            // if no lookup array for this character exists, look it up now
            if( !stMatchSets[sNextChar] ) stMatchSets[sNextChar] = [];
                // if the match is a string
                stMatchSets[sNextChar].push(row);
            }
        }
    }
}

^^ That looks at the whole word rather than just the first character and

if( lastKeyPressCode != 8 ){
    // fill in the value (keep the case the user has typed)
    $input.val($input.val() + sValue.substring(prev.length));

with

if( lastKeyPressCode != 8 ){
    // fill in the value
    $input.val(sValue);

^^ That ignores the character what was typed and shows the 'proper' match. Hard to explain, but take it out and you'll see what I mean.

That will match things halfway through the word/phrase but only on the first character. I'm not too sure how you can make the rest of what the user types match as well.

Like if you type "d" it would match "aberdeen" and "denmark", but then "de" would only match "denmark" whereas it should match aberdeen. Not sue how to get past this bit either, sorry.

[Calling All Web Developers]

I'd say you're probably best off with the jquery one you found as it seems to do most of what you want, then modify the search code to look at any matches in all of the text. I'm not familiar with how it works, but I reckon it's worth a look to see if it's do-able rather than starting from scratch.

Edit: I'll have a quick look at the code and see if I can figure it out.

[Hartlepool Natural Sesh]

Where abouts are the rocks at Hartlepool? - never ridden down that way before.

Might try and make it down depending on the weather like.

[Bit Of Help Trying For A Work Placment.]

I'd start off with a bit explaining what you actually want (like you're looking for work experience/a job whatever with XYZ) then a bit about what you're studying, your interests in that area etc - basically why you're interested in what you're doing and what you hope to gain from the placement. Then try and make it specific to the actual company - show you've done a bit of research into them, know their market, what they do etc and why you've chosen them over another company.

You're right about the economy, a lot of companies aren't hiring at the minute and are actually laying people off (I've been applying for job recently lol), so if I was you I'd consider maybe settling for an unpaid/voluntary placement if you can't find a paid placement. It might sound bad at the minute, but when you're applying for jobs later on, it'll make you stand out if you've got up of your own back and got a bit of experience in the industry. It might also lead to a job with the company if they like you.

[Whats With Sony Ericssons]

Mines been fine so far (touch wood). Had it over 4 years now (T610 I think), only thing wrong is the battery loses charges pretty quick - but that's probably gonna happen with a lot of old phonse anyways.

[Dmr Zip Grips Problem]

Not had a problem with the DMRs moving around the bars before - mind you they were only on for a few rides .

Try double sided sticky tape and whitespirit - put a bit of double sided sticky tape on the bars, then use white spirit instead of hairspray to fit the grips. Has worked quite well for me with other grips.

[Mp3 Player]

Hahaha, yeah might not be such a bad idea!

I don't really have a problem with ipods as such, (as I said, I have a 3rd (I think!) gen Nano) I just think they're more of a fashion item than a music player! I had actually looked into the Sony players, and the Creatives. The Zen looked quite nice, and was reasonably cheap. Anybody got any info on these?

Dunno about the Creative Zens, but I've got a 1gig Creative Muvo. Had it 2 years I think now, and it's still working fine (touch wood). Think they might do them larger than 1gig now, but dunno if they do them over 4gig.

[Wear Your Helmets!]

Gapping from 1 rock to another, back wheel must've got stuck somehow as I went to gap, sending me over the bars head first into the rock I was going for. Helmet ended up with a nice big scratch along the side. Dread to think what might have happened if I wasn't wearing it.

[Chain Reacton Cycles]

Unless I'm missing something - or being completely stupid...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=13263

Flood damaged one is £12, whereas the normal one (same size) is reduced to £9.99

[F1]

Awesome race, especially the last 8 laps or so. First race of the season I've actually watched all the way through - and pleased I did!

[Vehicle Mot]

No allowance as far as I know. After the MOT's expired you're only able to drive to a pre-booked MOT appointment (and I think to a place of repair if it fails).

[Interview Tomorrow...]

I'm struggling for a weakness though (Not being big headed, I really can't think of anything that won't cripple the interview!)

Can't really think of any of the top of my head - but whatever you choose make sure you can say what you're doing to get around them, as they'll probably be looking for someone who can realise their own faults/weaknesses and can take actions to overcome them.

[Interview Tomorrow...]

I'd do a bit of research into the company (if you haven't already) - who the competitors are, the market, their future plans etc and think about how you could fit in with this.

Also, I'd try and backup your answers to questions with examples, as they'll probably be looking for situations in other jobs/college/uni/any thing else you've done where you can demonstrate you're good enough and you have they skills they're after.

I wouldn't say it was wrong to talk about climbing the ladder (or mentioning progressingin your answers) as it shows you've got drive and ambition and want to stay with the company for a while.

I'd try and think of some questions to ask them as they'll probably ask if you have any, but if they've covered everything then I'd tell them - I wouldn't ask a question for the sake of asking one.

Good luck!

[What Do You Hate About Trials?]

Those days you get when it feels like you're going backwards (not literally, as in you can't do half the things you could on the last few rides).

[Tea]

Drink both, probably about 2-3 cups of coffee a day and 4 cups of tea. Couldn't stand the stuff till maybe about 4 years ago - now just can't stop drinking it .