Munter

Not sure where people get the idea that fiat currency is backed by anything physical. For example the dollar hasn’t been backed by gold since the gold standard was abandoned in 1933. Gold only has value because we as humans have ascribed value to it. No different to Bitcoin. In many ways Bitcoin has more advantages. I’d suggest anyone looking to take a punt on crypto reads up on it (cryptocurrency the future of money is a good book - random tweets from crypto Bros are not) . I also suggest learning about how money really works - I’m staggered at how many friends/family members are shocked to learn that only around 5% of money in circulation exists as cash for example!

If you don’t care about REALLY listening to music and just want some tunes for your phone/background music then a basic Spotify/tidal/Amazon Music account is going to suit you just fine. Unlimited access to as much music as you’ll ever need at a reasonable price. Like the App Store 99% of stuff is pish or not going to be to your tastes though. If you’re more into music and want to sit and listen closely where sound quality really does make a difference then using a streaming service for discovery and then buying albums on vinyl/cd makes a lot of sense. I don’t think digital will ever replace the awesome imperfect sound of well mastered and pressed vinyl playing on a good setup, but it does have its merits. Doesn’t have to be either/or. Use both, find the music you like, pay for it, listen to it.

Clearly nonsense. Tidal offers (as one example) “master” recordings at better than CD sample rates if you are prepared to pay for the top monthly subscription.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/we-know-everything-and-nothing-about-covid Excellent article from the spectator which goes some way to explaining how important testing is in all of this and why countries that got an early grip on testing are experiencing a much more positive outcome. The summary for those that can’t be bothered reading the full article is that the virus is mainly transmitted in hospital and care home environments where the most vulnerable are situated. Get a grip on those environments and the virus is likely to die out itself. Explains why the infection/death charts all have the same shape even though scales are obviously different. Possibly lockdown and social distancing have minimal impact outside these environments anyway. I guess we will soon see if these insights are correct or not. If so then the govts complete failure to sort out testing and PPE supplies (especially for the NHS and care homes) is going to reflect very badly on them.

Is the big house still open?

Barely out of our own half. Absolutely brutal game. Will be only one winner unless a total change of shape, attitude and players at the half.

Unless you go for a fantastic NAS like Nikka From the Barrel.

A bit of a weird bunch on my drinking shelf at the moment. Quite peat heavy and no Speysiders to mention. Not a bad bottle amongst them though. Ardbeg Drum - Committee release Ardbeg Uigeadail Buffalo Trace - Single Oak Project 101 Hakushu 12 Highland Park Sigurd Kilkerran 8 CS Kilkerran 12 Kilkerran Peat in Progress Batch 1 Ledaig 12 Single Cask for Whisky Show 2018 Port Charlotte 10 Springbank 12 CS 2018 Talisker 57 north plus of course my Infinity Bottle which is sat about 1/3 full and isn’t too bad at the moment! Would like to add a couple of Speysiders soon. Any recommendations?

Neither of these teams is going up and the players are playing like they know it.

Steakngravy I remember the terraces and the ash clouds/asbestos cladding at the rear of the sheds! Biggest thing I miss at the football is standing. Would love to see the area in front of the main stand, or the in the railway stand used for "safe standing". Anyway if Simm is taking over and wants to make Starks sustainable for the long term I'd suggest replacing the main stand and including facilities such as a conference room, couple of hospitality suites/corporate boxes, a bar etc would be the way to go. The Pars have done this to good effect and many other smaller clubs around the UK. The biggest hindrance to the club is the ground, it's just no use for generating revenue away from football every two weeks. Btw Good to see a woman's game tomorrow night, hopefully a good earner for the club.

Can't agree with this. Society is a good venue for this type of event. A mostly empty stadium wouldn't have had any atmosphere. I personally thought the event tonight was pretty good. Some fizz and food put on, good timing, just the right size venue to feel busy and have a bit of a buzz. Players and manager in good form etc Not being funny but the Raith Suite / 200 Club and all of the main stand "facilities" are like something out of the dark ages. I say knock it down and build something purpose built with a few bars/suites, one of which could be open and generating revenue all day, everyday.

Grantie is right. I remember there was a skydiver landing on the pitch before the game for some reason. That was the day I fell in love with the Rovers. More of the same this season please.

Yep with Puma next season. Due to the company I work for sponsoring the rovers I have seen one of the mock ups and it's pretty classy. Maybe not as memorable as the Remember top, but quality all the same.

Now that is the truth.

Ha! Every cloud has a silver lining and all that. Could you take Davidson as well now please?

Great interview by Davie and Raith TV, the whole service has Improved massively in the past couple of seasons. A big positive for the club, especially in these difficult times when communication between club and the fan base is vital. Keep up the good work! On to the interview and I think there are a number of observations that give cause for concern. However one over whelming positive has to be that the board have clearly decided to not only protect the development team, but to further raise its importance. I'm fed up of the one season mercenary loanees coming into the club looking for a chance to raise their profile. I feel strongly that the need to impress their parent club adds pressure and also takes the focus off working together as a team with their new colleagues. See the Brechin games as a good example of our disjointed, but supposedly more skilled, individuals up against a well drilled team playing to their potential as a team. I'd rather have a couple of seasons down here, but blood the youngsters, than rely on over hyped loanees. Let's have a 5 year plan and stick to it rather than yo-yo-ing from one short term fix to another. Credit to the chairman for doing the interview, but frankly he doesn't have the media savy to be in front of the camera. I'd question if indeed he has the right skills for the role of chair. He clearly admits on numerous occasion the board did not make their employees accountable for their actions. Most clearly with Locke's recruitment policy and Hughes bullying approach, but also in allowing Drysdale free reign to make numerous recruitment, governance and resource gaffs throughout the season. Perhaps as he says the time isn't right, but both chairman and CEO should be considering their positions regardless of how much love they have for the club. We are talking about failing in the most basic of duties. The lack of ability to own their mistakes/failure is concerning as well. Locke wasn't a mistake? Even with the benefit of hindsight? Come on! I disagree with some posters that we don't need the role of CEO as we are likely to be a hybrid of part and full time next season. Now, more than ever, we need strong leadership and someone who can grab all aspects of the day to day running of the club/business and organise them around a long term vision of sustainability and success. We need someone who is more akin to a start up business CEO than a middle manager. A jack of all trades, someone who can inspire and organise and bring back room, office and playing staff together. It's not going to be easy to find that person, but the right one is not only worth paying a salary to, but a good salary. They along with the first team manager need to be the most important leaders at the club and committed long term to what will be a challenging project. Drysdale clearly doesn't seem to be that person, although his commitment and passion for the club cannot be faulted. Time for change from the top down. A final point is that the chairman should never be stating that players who decide to down tools will be allowed to leave the club. We should be stating the opposite, that our prize assets are not for sale and if a player wishes to play hard ball they can sit in the stand and watch their career go south as other exciting young prospects take their place. The Bates situation and now this statement show that we don't have a board that is capable of exploiting these young players we are spending so much time and money developing. Sure we, like most other clubs at this level, need to ultimately sell talent to survive, but that does not mean we need to be a charity for the old firm/Hearts/Hibs etc. TLDR: very frustrating. It looks like a very long road ahead.

No. Avoid despite the price. Dull as dishwater. HP 12 for £25 or a variety of others around that price point are all infinitely more worthy of your money.

Yep! Due to family commitments saturday afternoon is out so I thought I'd check out the hockey for a change. Also the kids have never been to the game but love ice skating so big brownie points for me. Thanks for the info. We'll get there early. Is the food at the rink any good, or for fast junk should we hit McDonalds/Pizza Hut on the way? Editted to add that based on your advice I will stand up at key moments in the play just for the lols ;-)

Unable to make it to the rovers saturday so thinking about taking the kids to the dundee Stars game. Having never been before I'm wondering how long before slap off you need to get there to get reasonable seats? Will it be busy? Also how long do games generally last? Any other tips? Cheers

Quite happy that Fitzmagic is back for another season. The thought of Geno plus two rookies wasn't really filling anyone with confidence. Strong chance Fitz fails to match, or exceed last years efforts, but at least it will be exciting and the good rapport he has with Decker/Marshall will roll on for another year. At $12m and a year I feel both parties will be fairly pleased with the outcome.

Just started watching "All or nothing" to get me in the mood for the forthcoming season. A pretty decent watch. Not all football players are idiots it seems.

What does this even mean? Nikka produce lots of whisky of different styles. Some is by admission fairly bland if you like heavily peated malts, but I'd say they are one of the most consistent whisky producers right now. They own multiple distilleries so perhaps try a Yoichi (peated) rather than a pure malt, or one of the red, black, white blends which I suspect you have had.

Good plan Mozza. i'm looking to buy a couple of daily drams to replace some recently finished bottles. Would like one peaty/Islay/coastal and one lighter, sweeter and more fruity. They need to be under £50 each. What would P&B recommend?

Bang for buck you cannot buy better than Nikka's "From the barrel". In an age of over priced Japanese whisky it remains great value. I saw it for only £31 in Oddbins Glasgow just yesterday! It is a blend, but don't let that put you off as it has aged, Yoichi and Miyagikyo in addition to the grain. Avoid the Suntory NAS Yamazaki and Hakushu that are £45 in Sainsburys - horrible young nonsense. The equivalent Nikka (Yoichi and Miyagikyo) are decent though. The Taketsuru pure malt blend at 21 is stunning if you can find it. The 17 is also good. I've seen the Yamazaki 12 in Luvians at £65 ish which isn't too bad these days. The 18 is cracking but you'll be lucky to find it anywhere, plus it will be £250+ Finally Hibiki 12 in tesco riverside for £40 right now. As you can guess quite like my Japanese whisky me.

Just tried Raasay "While We Wait". Excellent release from a new distillery. Now onto Miyagikyo NAS. Love me a Japanese dram!