The Silver Fern

Terrible news
My condolences, thoughts, hugs and love go to his family and friends.
I too believe the stigmatism around suicide needs to be brushed aside so we can talk openly about this tragic subject.
I like to believe that if people considering suicide could see the devastation suicide leaves behind, they'd maybe feel differently about it as an option.

Congrats to the Irish by the way - so happy for you guys, long overdue and well deserved win. Enjoy the festivities!

@Pot-Hale said in Ireland v NZ - Chicago Showdown:

Instead I picked Ireland to win by more than 5 at 25/1.

€650!

Nice! I had a tenner on a draw at 90:1 which was looking amazingly good for a while there. Ended up with 25 quid at 14:1 on ireland coming in...
Am I a bad person for betting against the ABs? I just cant help myself when the odds are so long in a two horse race.

How much time left on the clock?

@Tim said in Aaron Smith naughty boy?:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/85015214/aaron-smith-star-halfback-leaves-all-blacks-tour-in-disgrace

The woman said the more she thought about it the angrier she became.

"We want to convey the fact that we're not narking or gossiping."

"They are kings and treated like absolute royalty...We hold these people so high in regard.

"They get paid more money than any other athlete, they're household names, and they're on the Weetbix boxes for God's sake."

The woman's husband also made a recording on his phone from outside the cubicle after he realised what was taking place.```

What a fluffybunny.

I concur.

Fking in toilets aint my scene. Too much shit and piss for my liking but what ever floats your boat.

dupe post

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-time="1472426592" data-cid="610344" data-author="taniwharugby"><p>I see a clip about of Phipps chucking Fekitoa's boot away is doing the rounds! :mocking:<br> <br>Thought was funny! :good1:</p></blockquote>Saw that this morning - kinda funny in a "petulant little man child" way.<br>The message from Cheika was probably "Rip their fking heads off and throw em to the stands". I doubt theres any accolades for boots.<br><br><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-time="1472427352" data-cid="610348" data-author="MajorRage"><p>Frank's should have been cited and shld be out for a few weeks. It's as simple as that.<br><br>The north are going nuts, and rightly.</p></blockquote>Agree - annoyingly, it not only feeds into that "ABs get preferential treatment" narrative which the North constantly bang on about, it gives it some credibility (more so than spear-gate I'd say). I reckon that clip will get airtime the next time we front up against the English.

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-time="1472077882" data-cid="608745" data-author="Unco"><p>Stoked for ALB, it was really impressive the way he stepped in for Ngatai and filled that hole. The man has a huge future (pity about his old man-like music tastes though, UB40? Really?).<br> <br>Not sure about the Dagg/Smith swap. Dagg was alright on the wing back in the day but I dunno how he'd go now. I guess we'll see though.</p></blockquote>Food for thought - It's hardly a labour of love, ALB has many rivers to cross but if it happens again, I'm sure we'll get over it.<br>That's my way of thinking anyway.

Score pls kapow<br><br><br>
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Appreciate the updates <br><br><br>
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Score update please, I'm at a fking trivia night dressed as fking 60s batman<br><br><br>
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<p>Its almost been a week yet Im still waking up in the morning, shaking my clenched fists in the air mouthing the same four words I screamed as Beaudy went over "WE FKING DID IT!!!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>On the way into the office, I had a closer listen to the video I took at the 80th minute. Rough transcript from the kiwis sitting in front of me:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"We were there, you were there, this is awesome!"</p>
<p>"Bro this is the best day of my life !"</p>
<p>"AND I GOT A BJ THIS MORNING TOO, BEST DAY EVER!!!!"</p>

All Blacks dominated right from the start. It wasn't as clinical as the French test, but it was certainly more aggressive. <br>
Smith going off was the only real glimmer of hope for the Aussies - one wonders what the score line might have been had it been just a penalty.<br>
I was sat next to a rather annoying kiwi who berated everything from the TMO to DCs kicking tactics. <br>
On the other side was Steve, the Aussie from Kansas. Good bloke. <br>
I sang Tutira Mai Nga Iwi with the kiwis in front of me and shared celebratory high fives as our score board ticked up.<br><br>
What an amazing experience! To think, two weeks ago I hadn't even entertained the idea of going to the final. <br>
Typically I struggle to enjoy watching the All Blacks as my nerves are typically frayed but I loved every minute of that test. Even when the Aussies were mounting a comeback, it always seemed like we had control of the situation. <br>
One of the best days of my life, I'll never forget it and can't wait to watch the test again when I get home.<br>
If you've never been to a final before, I recommend that you try to do it going forward because it's freaking amazing and the feeling is just unbelievable.<br><br><br><br>
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Flying Qantas wearing my all blacks kit, feeling a bit outnumbered but it's all high fives and smiles. Cliffy Palu / Skelton were in the lounge but I didn't see them because I was too busy relishing that I had snatched the last office just as Joe Hockey arrived (even got a dirty look! [emoji3])<br><br><br>
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Im flying out to London tomorrow from Sydney. Just packed my bag. I think thats everything...<br>Not sure where Im drinking on Saturday. Dont care. Have barely slept since the semi final.<br>Good times.<br><img src="http://i.imgur.com/h4y5PWp.jpg?1" alt="h4y5PWp.jpg?1">

<p>Agree with all the above comments. I remember when he first came onto the scene, complete with eyeliner and everything.</p>
<p>He was quite one dimenstional back then, crash and bash and not much else from recollection.</p>
<p>I remember when he started kicking the ball and we were all like "hey what gives? Nonu can kick?". It wasnt all good to begin with, but it got better and better. </p>
<p>And then he honed his ability to straighten, draw players and create space for those outside him.</p>
<p>I never would have thought he would become the player he is today, so dramatic has his transformation been.</p>
<p>Big boots to fill.</p>

what has worked for me is raw veg and meat... every day i take a big box of easy to eat raw veges to work including<br />

• baby carrots<br />
• baby corn<br />
• mangetouts<br />
• beans<br />
• chopped pepper<br />
• baby tomatoes<br />
• celery stalks<br />
  <br />
  every 3 hours, i'll eat a poached chicken breast and follow it up by a shitload of raw vegies. <br />
  we also stopped eating carb rich foods with dinner too.

My fave arnie quotes are "Milk is for babies" and "Eating isnt cheating"<br />
Agree totally on belts and gloves, no need for them.

Just thought Id share something with everyone here, hopefully someone finds it useful<br />
<br />
Id been a regular gym goer for 3 years and had mixed results. Id tried alternating days of weights and cardio with 2/3/4 day splits, Id used low reps high sets, diminishing sets, pyramids, super sets, high reps low sets, standard 3x10, mixture of free weights and machines and whilst I was in great shape, I wasnt getting any stronger. <br />
<br />
About a year ago i started doing 5 x 5 as per the stronglifts.com site. Its based on Mark Rippetoes Starting Strength programme (if you havent read his Starting Strength book, I highly recommend it. For me, its more significant than Arnies Encyclopadeia which I havent picked up in over a year).<br />
The basic premise is extremely simple.<br />
<br />

• Squats everyday in a 2 day split programme<br />
• Compound Exercises only (say goodbye to curls / tri extensions / calf raises etc - they have no place in this programme)<br />
• Increase weights by 2kg every time you visit the gym. <br />
• When you have 3 consecutive failed attempts, you deload by 10% and tackle it again<br />
• Strict form (when I say strict, I mean strict as Rippetoe suggests. His book has approx 60 pages on squatting technique alone and has been a fantastic source of information. He also has alot of vids up on youtube).<br />
  <br />
  When I started 5x5, i deloaded weights right back to novice and focused on form. After 2 months, I was getting new PBs and after 9 months, started to plateau. I didnt know what to do so I went back to my old routine and 2bh, it sucked. I never got anywhere near the intensity of 5x5, some days Id walkout after doing squats feeling like my body was going to explode but the routines where I had isolation exercises just never did fk all for me. After 2 weeks , I switched to the Texas Method (stronglifts.com again, based on Mark Rippetoes writings in Practical Programming, another fantastic book) .<br />
  <br />
  The Texas Method can be thought of as a 2 day split over a 3 day variable intensity routine...<br />
  Day 1 = Volume - 5 x 5<br />
  Day 2 = Intensity - (this is the day to get 1RMs)<br />
  Day 3 = Recovery (approx 80-90% of day 1 weights)<br />
  <br />
  The idea is to get new PBs on days 1 and 2 only on a weekly basis rather than making gains every day.<br />
  <br />
  Since following this routine, I have blasted through my plateau and have made steady progress on all my exercises. I've made considerably more progress in the past year than I had done over the previous 3 years. <br />
  <br />
  A growing number of guys who Ive never spoken to at my gym have approached me and asked about my routine and I've got them all following this - everyone loves it. [B]Everyone [/B]constantly gets results, and even on the days where you dread hitting the squats, you some how manage to get through it and claim a new PB. Its incredibly motivating. <br />
  Oh another thing - if you dont have a workout partner, get one. You cant do this programme safely without one.<br />
  Being a stickler for form, I find it best to give my iPhone to someone to record me doing my exercises so I can critique myself afterwards (I find most people are either too nice to give constructive advice OR they just dont know what to look for).<br />
  Something to motivate you all for when those squats get really heavy :<br />
  [url]http://www.wannabebig.com/forums/showthread.php?64545-how-much-should-i-squat&p=1085648&viewfull=1#post1085648[/url]<br />
  <br />
  Anyhoo to summarise - if I could turn back time, Id have done this right from the start. I hope someone finds this useful !