Alex Murray › Comments

Voices from Egyptian protesters on the anniversary of #Jan25 Revolution - Alex Murray

Spectacular gallery of pictures from across the UK showing the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) on 22/01/2012 - Alex Murray

"submitted by reddit to blog." - Alex Murray

"Hi Glen, I'm 5ft 6 inches or so (171cm), My inseam is about 29-30 inches (73-76cm) and on that frame my height from centre bottom bracket to top saddle is 69-70cm (depending on which shoes I'm using). I'm averagely flexible, in that I can touch my toes when warmed up but not get my palms flat on the floor.  I've got 40mm of spacers under the stem and the stem is a -6 degree, 120mm one from Velo Orange.Hope that info helps." - Alex Murray

"Yes, would have liked to have had classic chrome/alu look throughout, like Athena, but as all other bikes are SRAM, made sense. And I'd acquired a parts bin that is almost entirely SRAM. Lucky to have some old Rival in silver from my old cross bike as I hate the plain black ones they do now. Athena is lovely but I love SRAM." - Alex Murray

"What Todd said. Redact and publish the letter, then it's much harder for them to say you're making it up." - Alex Murray

"Yes, Europcar are a pan-European brand but when you look at their investment in the team, it's very much a single market sponsorship in my opinion: Smallish budget, focus on a "French" team (in terms of riders and staff), Pro Continental licence with no guarantee of appearing in markets outside of France.  The late stage at which they came to the table also suggests it's not as much of a broad strategy as an opportunity to see what ROI they'd get for ultimately not very much and J-R Bernardeau being able to guarantee them a Tour ride.Their investment in the Tour de France/ASO as a partner is a more pan-European/globalised effort, but I see them as two separate things.  I don't think the marketing team had any grand plan to get the level of exposure they have across all markets." - Alex Murray

"Yes, Europcar are a pan-European brand but when you look at their investment in the team, it's very much a single market sponsorship in my opinion: Smallish budget, focus on a "French" team (in terms of riders and staff), Pro Continental licence with no guarantee of appearing in markets outside of France.  The late stage at which they came to the table also suggests it's not as much of a broad strategy as an opportunity to see what ROI they'd get for ultimately not very much and J-R Bernardeau being able to guarantee them a Tour ride.Their investment in the Tour de France/ASO as a partner is a more pan-European/globalised effort, but I see them as two separate things.  I don't think the marketing team had any grand plan to get the level of exposure they have across all markets." - Alex Murray

"Seemed to work pretty well for T-Mobile with Zabel and Ullrich when you tot up the combined podium, yellow and green jerseys." - Alex Murray

"Seemed to work pretty well for T-Mobile with Zabel and Ullrich when you tot up the combined podium, yellow and green jerseys." - Alex Murray

"Hayman and Gerrans on way to Green Edge (both at end of contract), Arvesen already intimated he's retiring. That's three berths on the good ship Sky freed up. I suspect you're right about Henderson looking elsewhere as well given his tweeted frustration at not making the Tour squad.  Don't forget though that part of the Team Sky motivation is attaching Sky to British Olympic success by proxy ("we've supported these athletes to make them the best") as Sky is not a rights holder for the Games. Pinning their brand to a potential Cav win at the Olympics fits with that, not forgetting that he was the original "big british name" they pursued." - Alex Murray

"Hayman and Gerrans on way to Green Edge (both at end of contract), Arvesen already intimated he's retiring. That's three berths on the good ship Sky freed up. I suspect you're right about Henderson looking elsewhere as well given his tweeted frustration at not making the Tour squad.  Don't forget though that part of the Team Sky motivation is attaching Sky to British Olympic success by proxy ("we've supported these athletes to make them the best") as Sky is not a rights holder for the Games. Pinning their brand to a potential Cav win at the Olympics fits with that, not forgetting that he was the original "big british name" they pursued." - Alex Murray

"Hi George, very interesting article. It certainly chimes with what we do on a daily basis in the BBC News User Generated Content Hub. I wrote a piece about it for the BBC's College of Journalism blog: http://www.bbc.co.uk/journalis... You might be interested to note the information that appears at the top of this map which is perhaps along the lines of what you are suggesting: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worl... It's a developing area and I agree that big media has a role to play in assessing and informing the wider audience on what is genuine and what is not. In a sense if we allow something to be published/go to air with a qualification that should indicate our level of confidence in the material. One of the problems with Amina was that there was a fairly evolved trail of information from what I've read that didn't immediately ring any of the usual alarm bells. Coupled with people vouching for her existence, but not in a consistent and clear way, that meant it spiralled out of control..." - Alex Murray

"Hi George, very interesting article. It certainly chimes with what we do on a daily basis in the BBC News User Generated Content Hub. I wrote a piece about it for the BBC's College of Journalism blog: http://www.bbc.co.uk/journalis... You might be interested to note the information that appears at the top of this map which is perhaps along the lines of what you are suggesting: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worl... It's a developing area and I agree that big media has a role to play in assessing and informing the wider audience on what is genuine and what is not. In a sense if we allow something to be published/go to air with a qualification that should indicate our level of confidence in the material. One of the problems with Amina was that there was a fairly evolved trail of information from what I've read that didn't immediately ring any of the usual alarm bells. Coupled with people vouching for her existence, but not in a consistent and clear way, that meant it spiralled out of control..." - Alex Murray

"Switch it round: if Contador had been guaranteed to be going to the Tour, how many GC riders might have taken a punt on winning the Giro celebrating 150 years of Italian reunification, one of the most high profile editions of the race in recent years? OK, in the case of Basso, Vinokourov or Evans, opportunities to win Le Tour are getting sparser as the years go by, but you look down the start line and only Scarponi and Nibali stood out as challengers for me. Why would Basso, an Italian, and Evans, with strong connections to Italy not want a piece of the action? It can't just be that others have decided to focus on the Tour, surely? The whole mess around it is another concern perhaps? Not having the podium shots, the rider in the jersey, all those things that make it worth a sponsor's investment. Perhaps that's why so many stayed away.  I think a number of riders were happier to skip the Giro rather than become collateral in the whole sorry finazzle." - Alex Murray

"Switch it round: if Contador had been guaranteed to be going to the Tour, how many GC riders might have taken a punt on winning the Giro celebrating 150 years of Italian reunification, one of the most high profile editions of the race in recent years? OK, in the case of Basso, Vinokourov or Evans, opportunities to win Le Tour are getting sparser as the years go by, but you look down the start line and only Scarponi and Nibali stood out as challengers for me. Why would Basso, an Italian, and Evans, with strong connections to Italy not want a piece of the action? It can't just be that others have decided to focus on the Tour, surely? The whole mess around it is another concern perhaps? Not having the podium shots, the rider in the jersey, all those things that make it worth a sponsor's investment. Perhaps that's why so many stayed away.  I think a number of riders were happier to skip the Giro rather than become collateral in the whole sorry finazzle." - Alex Murray

"Really? 10 seconds of searching: http://www.garfieldweston.org/... http://www.garfieldweston.org/... - "Structure The operation of the Foundation is governed by a Trust Deed dated 10 October 1958. At 5 April 2009, the Foundation owned 79.2 percent of Wittington Investments Limited, a company registered in England. Wittington Investments is the ultimate holding company of Associated British Foods plc, which is listed on the International Stock Exchange, and Fortnum and Mason plc and Heal’s plc. Under the terms of the Trust Deed, the investment in the Wittington Investments Limited group of companies forms the permanent capital endowment of the Foundation and the trustees may not dispose of those investments except by a unanimous vote of all the trustees."" - Alex Murray

"Really? 10 seconds of searching: http://www.garfieldweston.org/... http://www.garfieldweston.org/... - "Structure The operation of the Foundation is governed by a Trust Deed dated 10 October 1958. At 5 April 2009, the Foundation owned 79.2 percent of Wittington Investments Limited, a company registered in England. Wittington Investments is the ultimate holding company of Associated British Foods plc, which is listed on the International Stock Exchange, and Fortnum and Mason plc and Heal’s plc. Under the terms of the Trust Deed, the investment in the Wittington Investments Limited group of companies forms the permanent capital endowment of the Foundation and the trustees may not dispose of those investments except by a unanimous vote of all the trustees."" - Alex Murray

"I've ridden up it too. Utter killer. Used to live in Vichy so visited there plenty. Let's face it, Auvergnats are tight, that's why the Tour doesn't go up it any more. And they've built a stupid bloody funicular railway up it now so the race can never go up it properly." - Alex Murray

"I've ridden up it too. Utter killer. Used to live in Vichy so visited there plenty. Let's face it, Auvergnats are tight, that's why the Tour doesn't go up it any more. And they've built a stupid bloody funicular railway up it now so the race can never go up it properly." - Alex Murray

"Thanks for confirming Andy. I think getting the story out like you have done is putting down a huge marker to other publications and journalists to challenge the status quo. As I say, it's a brave move for such a big name journalist to put it out there in the way he has done. I hasten to add that I'm not as brave or knowledgeable as Kimmage as yet." - Alex Murray

"Thanks for confirming Andy. I think getting the story out like you have done is putting down a huge marker to other publications and journalists to challenge the status quo. As I say, it's a brave move for such a big name journalist to put it out there in the way he has done." - Alex Murray

"Thanks for confirming Andy. I think getting the story out like you have done is putting down a huge marker to other publications and journalists to challenge the status quo. As I say, it's a brave move for such a big name journalist to put it out there in the way he has done. I hasten to add that I'm not as brave or knowledgeable as Kimmage as yet." - Alex Murray

"So I've had firm offers from Perry and Peta which means we're halfway there already. Now we just need five more to get the ball rolling." - Alex Murray

"So I've had firm offers from Perry and Peta which means we're halfway there already. Now we just need five more to get the ball rolling." - Alex Murray

"So I've had firm offers from Perry and Peta which means we're halfway there already. Now we just need five more to get the ball rolling." - Alex Murray

"Hi Dave, Thanks for commenting. I agree the significant change is the more realistic fair value. The problem with the new guidance on fair market value, as I see it, is that it takes no account of the salary sacrifice payments which all but pay the full cost of the bicycle as new from gross salary. Yes the old system might have been flawed but, relative to the actual cost of purchasing the bicycle, it seemed to more fairly reflected the combined cost to employer and employee over the 12 month period. Evidently, there are ways to avoid such high valuations by extending the loan period (to a point where the value is negligible) while keeping the salary sacrifice period to a manageable 12 months, but employers seem to have been slow to offer this. In my case, they are still putting a weak offer on the table in that their proposed extension would still leave me with a 12% valuation. One thing that occurs to me is that the new "fair value" might suggest that HMRC believe people are buying..." - Alex Murray

"Hi Dave, Thanks for commenting. I agree the significant change is the more realistic fair value. The problem with the new guidance on fair market value, as I see it, is that it takes no account of the salary sacrifice payments which all but pay the full cost of the bicycle as new from gross salary. Yes the old system might have been flawed but, relative to the actual cost of purchasing the bicycle, it seemed to more fairly reflected the combined cost to employer and employee over the 12 month period. Evidently, there are ways to avoid such high valuations by extending the loan period (to a point where the value is negligible) while keeping the salary sacrifice period to a manageable 12 months, but employers seem to have been slow to offer this. In my case, they are still putting a weak offer on the table in that their proposed extension would still leave me with a 12% valuation. One thing that occurs to me is that the new "fair value" might suggest that HMRC believe people are buying..." - Alex Murray

"Hi Dave, Thanks for commenting. I agree the significant change is the more realistic fair value. The problem with the new guidance on fair market value, as I see it, is that it takes no account of the salary sacrifice payments which all but pay the full cost of the bicycle as new from gross salary. Yes the old system might have been flawed but, relative to the actual cost of purchasing the bicycle, it seemed to more fairly reflected the combined cost to employer and employee over the 12 month period. Evidently, there are ways to avoid such high valuations by extending the loan period (to a point where the value is negligible) while keeping the salary sacrifice period to a manageable 12 months, but employers seem to have been slow to offer this. In my case, they are still putting a weak offer on the table in that their proposed extension would still leave me with a 12% valuation. One thing that occurs to me is that the new "fair value" might suggest that HMRC believe people are buying..." - Alex Murray

"Pumpkins are definitely in this Autumn/Winter *nods*" - Alex Murray