Cycling UK Forum

pwa

My main obstacle to believing in alien sightings is that any visitors would have an impossibly long journey, and when they get to Earth they seem content to just muck about over New Mexico.

pwa

reohn2 wrote: ↑11 Feb 2025, 11:25am
[XAP]Bob wrote: ↑11 Feb 2025, 11:05am The universe isn't infinitely old...
That's only due to current theoretic understanding of the universe.The big bang theory?

And my own definition of time does not require the existence of stuff. So if the Universe had a begining, there was time before the Universe. Admittedly, a rather boring and uneventful time. With no begining.

pwa

There is a deep and possibly impenetrable mystery at the heart of things. Where did matter and energy come from, and why? Could something come from nothing? And no matter how far back in time you look, there is always a million times further you could look. The infinity of time forwards I can comprehend, but the infinity of time going back into the past...... Something in my brain pops when I try to get that concept to sit down and behave itself. And the infinity of space! It has to be, but how can it be? If I wanted to believe in a God I would ponder those thoughts, because within them are puzzling conflicts of logic.

None of which budges my belief that ghosts are imaginary.

pwa

reohn2 wrote: ↑11 Feb 2025, 8:28am
pwa wrote: ↑11 Feb 2025, 7:32am The basic thought that guides me when trying to interpret mysterious happenings is that being unable to explain something through normal humdrum natural causation is not a reason to reach out to the supernatural or fanciful, The explanation, if it is ever found, will lie in the realms of the laws of physics, and probably with very close-to-home origins. It is just that we haven't got enough information to pin down the explanation.

A few months ago I slept in a room said to be haunted. I know someone who had difficulty getting a photo of that room, as the image kept coming out black. People have said they feel a presence in there. Well I slept well, in spite of a mattress that didn't quite match my requirements for comfort.
The physics we know and understand or the physics we partially know presently?

The laws of physics (according to my own definition) are those dictated by the Universe, some of which we have within the realm of human knowledge, and some which still elude us. There would be no science if we knew everything.

pwa

The basic thought that guides me when trying to interpret mysterious happenings is that being unable to explain something through normal humdrum natural causation is not a reason to reach out to the supernatural or fanciful, The explanation, if it is ever found, will lie in the realms of the laws of physics, and probably with very close-to-home origins. It is just that we haven't got enough information to pin down the explanation.

A few months ago I slept in a room said to be haunted. I know someone who had difficulty getting a photo of that room, as the image kept coming out black. People have said they feel a presence in there. Well I slept well, in spite of a mattress that didn't quite match my requirements for comfort.

pwa

Richard Fairhurst wrote: ↑10 Feb 2025, 12:47pm I do think the way Oxfordshire County Council has done it has been brilliant. They said "we'll fund 20mph limits where it's requested by the parish council and supported by the county councillor". Surprise surprise, it turns out almost everyone wants a 20mph limit past their house, and county councillors (largely) don't want to jeopardise their chances of re-election by opposing it. So OCC has achieved 20mph in almost all built-up areas without any significant opposition.

Clever.

pwa

cycle tramp wrote: ↑7 Feb 2025, 10:43pm
Mike Sales wrote: ↑7 Feb 2025, 9:15pm In spite of many 'scientific' investigations the whole subject remains incoherent and without any solid progress.
Witnesses are unreliable, and interpret the unexplained with any preconception which lurks in their mind. We are quite suggestible.
I'm not going to disagree. However due to the amount of cctv cameras around, some strange footage is being uploaded to the net. Here's one where a wheel chair manages to wheel itself up an inclined plane. Normally I would view such clips as prank.. however the hospital staff seem genuinely perplexed at the whole thing. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6hu5ClrztEQ

I don't know how that happened. But supernatural explanations would be very low on my list of possibilities. Wind would be top. Possibly followed by a prank. And if I were in any doubt at all, I would dismiss the ghostly wheelchair user on the grounds that the movement did not resemble someone sat in the chair and propelling it with their hands. The movement was too smooth for that.

pwa

VinceLedge wrote: ↑9 Feb 2025, 3:20am I vote for a free vote on candidates - might throw up someone interesting!

Do they want "interesting"? I suspect not. Male, so as not to upset the more conservative side of the Church. Cautious and safe. In short, someone to continue to manage the decline in a quiet way.

pwa

I don't keep up with the Anglican clergy, so can't name any names, but surely they can find someone who doesn't sound so upper middle class and public school, just for once. And possibly not male for a change. Radical, I know, suggesting not male and posh, but I am trying to think outside the box. To be honest, I think it is an impossible job anyway. Trying to look and sound in keeping with modern Britain and Canada whilst not creating a schism with homophobic African dioceses appears to me to be an impasse.

pwa

Nearholmer wrote: ↑7 Feb 2025, 5:39pm Mad as it may seem, I’m convinced that it is possible to very faintly sense something that isn’t sight, touch, hearing, smell, or taste, so a sixth sense, and I wonder whether it might be magnetism, given that quite a number of animal species can very definitely sense the earth’s magnetic field, even down to tiny local variations in it.

This is distinct from sensing electric field strength or potential gradient in air, such as when passing under HV power lines, which is sensible because it agitates the hairs on the skin, so is sensed by touch.

Continuing with this possible madness, whatever sense it is sometimes becomes quite strongly perceptible in particular places, and becomes better tuned if you walk bare-foot on the ground, which might suggest that one is acting like an aerial.

Whatever it is is very faint, and if it is magnetic it is presumably interfered with by man-made sources, although it’s notable that birds, for instance, continue to navigate by geomagnetism, despite our efforts to fill the environment with all sorts of other signals.

So ….. are “ghosts” triggerings a of whatever sense it is, possibly creating false visual images by stimulating the eyes (which is where the magnetic field detectors reside in some animals)?

PS: quite a few serious scientists have conducted experiments which have strongly suggested that humans are faintly magneto-sensitive, so it isn’t just mad old blokes like me who wonder about this!

One mystery power that I have is the ability to awake after hours of sleep, and confidently predict the correct time, to within ten minutes, before checking the time. I seem to have some sort of clock built in. On other occasions I awake without that ability, but when that happens I am instantly aware that my internal clock has failed. Nothing supernatural about it, of course.

Like most people who have lived a bit, I have had a few experiences that defy instant explanation. But I have always looked for answers in the realm of natural things, rather than the supernatural. I remember, many years ago, walking to a pub on a misty evening. And as I passed a street lamp another figure came out of the mist, walking the other way. We passed each other and just carried on walking. I saw his face clearly, and it was my face! Spooky? No, just a trick of my mind. I knew that straight away. I thought it curious, but not disturbing. And my attitude to ghosts has always been like that too, seeing them as creations of the observers' minds.

pwa

It can be done with the bars still on the bike. Obviously stripped of grips and bar ends. And the cut does not have to be perfect. I have done it with a hacksaw, using a wrap of insulation tape as a guide, but if you can find a jubilee clip it would give you a firm edge to keep you on track. Tidy up with a file.

pwa

Nearholmer wrote: ↑6 Feb 2025, 7:07pm IMO, tyres make a great deal more difference to comfort than does the fork material.

+1

pwa

I don't believe in ghosts. No ifs or buts, I just don't believe in them. But recently a family member has been readying their very old house to put on the market, and it was mentioned that we shouldn't tell prospective buyers about the ghost! Absolute tosh, of course, and I said so. I was immediately contradicted by other family members who reported having had strange experiences in the house. This didn't dent my own belief, but it did shut me up.

So here we are in 2025 and the Supernatural is alive and well in the UK. I can't say it bothers me. I find it amusing. Anyone else have thoughts or experiences to share on this?

pwa

One thing I have noticed with club sites (as a motorhome user) is that they tend to be quiet at night. Club members seem to be people who either like the quiet or respect the need of others for quiet.

pwa

Carlton green wrote: ↑4 Feb 2025, 8:48am
deeferdonk wrote: ↑4 Feb 2025, 7:39am It's a bit mind bending to think that some of us may be alive today purely because of the Covid epidemic. The commuter driver that was "destined" to knock us off never made the journey because he was told to work from home.
Quite. Added to that some of us might live longer because we cycled (gaining improved health and healthy habits) during the lockdown periods. Maybe not living in such a dangerous place as Wales is a plus too?

Dangerous in Wales? I must have a look out of the window to see what on earth is going on...

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