A bit of fun for a damp Monday morning: guide to biker slang and terminology

So you’ve just joined a motorcycle club or bought your first motorbike and you’ve had a rude awakening: you don’t understand what your peers are saying. We don’t blame you. There’s plenty of biker slang that often finds its way into everyday conversations among motorcyclists.

We’re digging into biker lingo as part of Bikesure’s ‘Ride On’ campaign, which aims to get people on the road and celebrate their freedom, whether they’re getting back into biking after a break or taking up two wheels for the first time.

So if you’re feeling a little lost, take a look at our guide to biker slang. FIND OUT MORE HERE.

I'm a member of Waterlooville MCC, The 59 club, IAM RoadSmart Solent, and others - but deffo not one of those dodgy 1% outfits LOL! BTW - the pic above is my brother Dave & me on my dad's old moped! My very 1st MC club?... Hope you keep the shiny side up :0)

www.bikesure.co.uk

All Honda CB1000 Hornets to be recalled in the UK following investigation into oil consumption

 

All standard and SP versions of Honda’s CB1000 Hornet naked are to be recalled in the UK, following reports of excessive oil consumption by owners.

The announcement impacts all of the four-cylinder naked machines sold since their inception in late 2024, with customers now set to be contacted directly for the work.

“We are aware that concerns have been raised by a number of customers relating to excessive oil consumption in the CB1000 Hornet,” a statement from Honda UK read.

“Following a thorough investigation in collaboration with Honda Motor Co., Ltd (Japan), we are now instigating a safety recall. Customers will be contacted by direct mail with all relevant information.”

A spokesperson for the UK arm of the business went on to say that the cause of the problem was still under investigation however is believed to be related to the piston rings and piston specifications – potentially resulting in oil entering the combustion chamber.

www.motorcyclenews.com

Microsoft says uninstall Windows 11 KB5074109 to fix Outlook POP, PST hang, as 2026’s first update causes havoc

If your Outlook Classic freezes or hangs when you use POP accounts or deal with PST files, you’ll need to remove Windows 11 KB5074109 or use webmail. In some cases, third-party apps can also become unresponsive if they save files to cloud storage, such as OneDrive. These two issues are apparently related to a single core problem.

It’s very rare for Microsoft to admit that it messed up, but the January 2026 Update is a disaster, as it continues to break features in Windows 11, including something as basic as Sleep mode (S3) on older PCs. In our tests, Windows Latest found that the update causes a black screen, resets the desktop background, breaks File Explorer customization, among other problems.

KB5074109 is a mandatory update that began rolling out on January 13, 2026 and it installed automatically on our PCs. Your PC is using this update if you see OS Build 26200.7623 / 26100.7623 / in Settings > System > About or winver.

Meanwhile in other news: Windows 11 continues to lose market share to Windows 10. Oh dear Microsoft - when you go for a cash grab, and your code is garbage - you reap what you sow!

UPDATE TheRegister 260126: Microsoft probes Windows 11 boot failures tied to January security updates. Some machines are failing to start after security updates, prompting yet another Microsoft investigation

www.windowslatest.com

Hang on, is it 1st April? Sony and TCL join forces!

Sony Corporation ("Sony") and TCL Electronics Holdings Limited ("TCL") today announced that the two companies have agreed to move forward with discussions and consideration for a strategic partnership in the home entertainment field.

Specifically, the two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to confirm their intentions to establish a joint venture that will assume Sony's home entertainment business, with TCL holding 51% and Sony holding 49% of its shares. The joint venture will operate globally, handling the full process from product development and design to manufacturing, sales, logistics, and customer service for products including televisions and home audio equipment. Sony and TCL will proceed with discussions toward executing definitive binding agreements by the end of March 2026. Subject to execution of the definitive agreements and relevant regulatory approvals and other conditions, the new company is expected to commence its operations in April 2027.

You couldn't make this stuff up: Sony one of the biggest & best electronics companies on the planet - partnering up with & handing the reins to TCL of all folks!!! I honestly wouldn't use TCL if they were giving their kit away. What a crazy world we live in... 

www.sony.co.jp

There’s an exclusive offer that’s just up your street:

 

In partnership with CityFibre, UW is offering 6 months of free lightning-fast Full-Fibre broadband to homeowners in a few postcodes nationwide. Switch to UW and - subject to availability in your area - you can unlock free Full Fibre broadband as well as saving on energy or mobile.

Utility Warehouse (UW) – supply energy, broadband and mobile. Over the last 25 years, they’ve won over 70 awards and helped over a million people save on bills.

If you’d like to learn more about how UW can save you some cash, get in touch by CLICKING HERE TO EMAIL ME.

Who are Utility Warehouse? You can call us UW – much easier. In a nutshell, we can give you energy, broadband, mobile and insurance, all wrapped up in one simple bill. Saving you time, cash, and boring admin.

We’ve been at this for nearly 30 years and we’re now trusted by over a million customers. That’s a lot of people we’ve helped shrink their bills!

The secret ingredient? Our team of UW Partners – like Don. They’re the local experts who’ll help you find the best deal for your household, without the jargon or the faff.

Fancy discovering the best UW deal in Portsmouth or how to become a UW Partner yourself? Have a chat with Don – they’ll talk you through everything.

www.uw.co.uk

Phishing: Spot and report scam emails, texts, websites and calls

 

'Phishing' is when criminals use scam emails, text messages or phone calls to trick their victims. The aim is often to make you visit a website, which may download a virus onto your computer, or steal bank details or other personal information.

This page explains how to report phishing attempts, and protect yourself from scammers.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is a UK government organisation that has the power to investigate and take down scam email addresses and websites.

Reporting a scam is free and only takes a minute. By reporting phishing attempts, you can:
reduce the amount of scam communications you receive
make yourself a harder target for scammers
protect others from cyber crime online

Please CLICK HERE to read more, understand the risks & stay safe. 
Need more help or further advice? Contact Donline.

www.ncsc.gov.uk

More than half of all crypto tokens have failed — and most died in 2025

More than half of all cryptocurrencies ever launched are now defunct, with most failures occurring in 2025, according to a new analysis by CoinGecko.

The study looked at token listings on GeckoTerminal between mid-2021 and the end of 2025. Of the nearly 20.2 million tokens that entered the market during that period, 53.2% are no longer actively traded. A staggering 11.6 million of those failures happened in 2025 alone — accounting for 86.3% of all token deaths over the past five years.

One key driver behind the surge in dead tokens was the rise of low-effort memecoins and experimental projects launched via crypto launchpads like pump.fun, CoinGecko analyst Shaun Paul Lee said. These platforms lowered the barrier to entry for token creation, leading to a wave of speculative assets with little or no development backing. Many of these tokens never made it past a handful of trades before disappearing.

Meanwhile in other news: Fear that quantum computing is on the cusp of cracking cryptocurrency's encryption spurs a global investment firm to remove Bitcoin from recommendations.

www.coindesk.com

Microsoft forced to issue emergency out of band updates for Windows 11 after latest security patches broke PC shutdowns and sign-ins

The latest OS updates for Windows 11 introduces two major bugs that caused issues with shutting down your PC or signing into your PC using Remote Desktop.

Microsoft's first update for Windows 11 in 2026 has already caused two major issues that saw users unable to fully shutdown their PCs or sign-in into a device when using Remote Desktop. These are two serious issues that were not spotted by Microsoft during testing, and are so severe that the company has now issued an emergency fix to address the problems.

This isn't the first time Microsoft's lack of quality control has impacted Windows 11 PCs in a major way. Being unable to shut down your PC due to a recent OS update is a huge oversight on Microsoft's part, but this is the latest in a long list of updates over the last year to cause a major issue like this.

The out of band updates, KB5077744 and KB5077797, are available now via Windows Update and is rolling out to everybody. Once installed, your PC should go back to being able to shut down successfully, and signing-in via Remote Desktop should work again.

UPDATED - www.neowin.net: Microsoft has also confirmed problems on classic Outlook as many users claim that the new Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 update, KB5074109, made the app "completely unusable" as there are random hangs and freezes, unsaved email progresses, and more.

www.windowscentral.com

Online petition calling for use of green lights on Blood Bike motorcycles passes 20,000 responses

 

An online petition calling for Blood Bike charity riders to be able to use green lights during their delivery runs has netted more than 20,000 signatures since January 2, 2026.

It follows the tragic death of volunteer rider Andrew Rogers of Blood Bikes Wales, who passed away in hospital on January 1, following a collision near Llanddarog on December 29, 2025.

The appeal was established by Merseyside and Cheshire Blood Bikes volunteer, Louise Burns-Lunt, who hopes to raise awareness of the issue and increase rider safety moving forward.

“I was just asking ‘what more could be done?,’” Burns-Lunt told MCN. “How did they miss somebody who’s so visible on the road when the bikes are mostly massive, they’re luminous, the guys are all in luminous gear, but it’s still not enough.”

Blood Bike charities operate across the UK and Ireland, with volunteer riders transporting life-saving blood, platelets, samples, surgical instruments, human donor milk, and more.

Please CLICK HERE to sign this petition.

www.motorcyclenews.com

Reading for today: Psalm 8

Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory

in the heavens.

Through the praise of children and infants

you have established a stronghold against your enemies,

to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you care for them?

You have made them a little lower than the angels

and crowned them with glory and honour.

You made them rulers over the works of your hands;

you put everything under their feet:

all flocks and herds,

and the animals of the wild,

the birds in the sky,

and the fish in the sea,

    all that swim the paths of the seas.

Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

www.biblegateway.com

Scott Adams, Creator of the ‘Dilbert’ Comic Strip, Dies at 68

Scott Adams, who kept cubicle denizens laughing for more than three decades with Dilbert, the bitingly funny comic strip that poked fun at the absurdity of corporate life, before racist remarks got him pink-slipped, died Tuesday. He was 68.

His death was tearfully revealed by his first ex-wife, Shelly Miles, at the start of Real Coffee With Scott Adams. In May, he said on the podcast that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which had spread to his bones. “I expect to be checking out from this domain this summer,” he said.

In a statement he wrote that was read by Miles over six minutes, he said, “Things did not go well for me … my body fell before my brain.”

Sprung from Adams’ days as a Pacific Bell applications engineer in San Ramon, California, Dilbert debuted in 1989 and at the height of its popularity appeared in more than 2,000 newspapers across 65 countries and in 25 languages with an estimated worldwide readership of more than 150 million.

Though it had the appropriate level of cartoon exaggeration, the strip keenly captured office life and struck a nerve with the white-collar class.

I've been a massive Dilbert fan for ~25 years. Scott - thanks for all the laughs. Rest in God's peace bud. x

www.yahoo.com

Bible sales soar to record high in UK

 

Sales of the Bible in Britain soared to record levels in the last year, according to new research from Christian publisher SPCK Group.

The total sales of UK Bible sales reached £6.3 million, more than doubling in value since 2019. The overall number of physical copies sold has risen by 106 per cent since before the pandemic; the highest rise since records began.

Annual sales climbed from £2.69 million in 2019 to £6.3 million in 2025 - an increase of £3.61 million in just five years. To put this growth in perspective, between 2008 and 2019, annual sales grew by only £277,188.

Between 2024 and 2025 alone, Bible sales surged by 27.7 per cent, in terms of the number of copies sold. READ MORE...

Although the Bible is the World's best selling book - there is no need for you to buy a copy. Request a FREE Bible! If you would like a free Bible for yourself or someone you know: CONTACT DONLINE.

www.premierchristian.news

Microsoft Publisher user? Not for much longer...

Microsoft has decided to retire Publisher as part of a shift toward reducing overlap and focusing innovation within Microsoft 365. Many of Publisher’s key features, such as template-based layouts, printing envelopes or labels and creating calendars or business cards are now available in other apps like Word and PowerPoint. This strategic move allows Microsoft to simplify support and development across its suite. 

You’ll still be able to open, edit, and save your existing Publisher files until October 2026: 

During this time, Publisher will continue to work as usual, and all your existing files will remain accessible.

After October 1, 2026, Publisher will no longer be supported and it will be removed from Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Perpetual versions (like Office LTSC 2021) also lose support at that time. Unfortunately, there’s no option to revert or re-enable Publisher once it’s retired. 

Here are some steps to ensure you won’t lose access to your work: 

Convert .pub files before October 2026: 

PDF: Ideal for finalized designs when editing won’t be needed. 

DOCX (Word): Suitable for documents you plan to edit later, note layouts may adjust.  

www.microsoft.com

UK Government proposes biggest shake-up to motorcycle CBT and licensing in decades

 

According to the announcement, the courses would be delivered by approved training bodies, with existing DAS-qualified instructors able to provide higher-category training. The aim is to give riders more choice while maintaining standards, particularly for younger riders who often find the current system inflexible while they learn to ride.

The biggest proposed changes, however, cover Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) courses, which currently entitle those aged 16 and up to take to the roads while displaying L plates. Bikes can be no more than 125cc if 17 and over, and access to the motorway is forbidden.

At present, someone completing a CBT on an automatic machine can ride both automatic and manual bikes. New rules could change this, making riders who wish to ride a manual two-wheeler – such as Aprilia’s sporty RS50 and RS125 – complete their training on a geared bike.

The consultation also examines the structure and content of the CBT itself, which has remained largely unchanged since its introduction in 1990. Evidence presented by the DVSA shows a significant proportion of riders remain “permanent learners”, repeatedly renewing their CBT without progressing to a full licence.

Have your say on motorcycle training, testing and licencing - CLICK HERE to go to the DVSA consultation. 

www.motorcyclenews.com

A satirical AI corporate website. Or is it?... Replacement.AI

At Replacement.AI, we believe that building AI tools to fix the world's most pressing challenges is an unprofitable waste of time.

It might win you a Nobel Prize, but it's not a sustainable business model. If you cure cancer, who will buy our robo-oncologists?

The problem we actually want to fix is humans themselves. Humans cry, smell, make mistakes and demand "time off". They tell you things you don't want to hear. Worst of all, they're expensive.

Have a look at this website: laugh & cry.
It's not to late to stop this: AI is poised to remake the world - help us ensure it benefits all of us. Remember: If anyone builds it, everyone dies.

www.replacement.ai

Looking for your next book? Try this - change your mind & perhaps the world too...

 

In Against the Machine, “furiously gifted” (The Washington Post) novelist, poet, and essayist Paul Kingsnorth presents a wholly original—and terrifying—account of the technological-cultural matrix enveloping all of us. With insight into the spiritual and economic roots of techno-capitalism, Kingsnorth reveals how the Machine, in the name of progress, has choked Western civilization, is destroying the Earth itself, and is reshaping us in its image. From the First Industrial Revolution to the rise of artificial intelligence, he shows how the hollowing out of humanity has been a long game—and how your very soul is at stake.

It takes effort to remain truly human in the age of the Machine. Here Kingsnorth reminds us what humanity requires: a healthy suspicion of entrenched power; connection to land, nature and heritage; and a deep attention to matters of the spirit. Prophetic and poetic, Against the Machine is a spiritual manual for dissidents in the technological age.

www.penguin.co.uk

Pothole claims soar – but for bikers the cost can be life-changing

New RAC figures reveal tens of thousands of pothole compensation claims, but for motorcyclists the danger goes far beyond repair bills, as a rider paralysed by a road defect explains.

Pothole compensation claims may be soaring across the UK, but behind the statistics are riders, like Richard Cheshire, who was left paralysed after hitting a pothole and crashing. 

New data, unearthed by the RAC via a Freedom of Information Request (FOI), shows claims submitted to local authorities have risen by 91 per cent since 2021. Yet for motorcyclists, the true cost of potholes often never appears on a balance sheet.

One rider who knows that better than most is Richard Cheshire, who, fifteen years ago, hit a pothole on his motorbike. The resulting crash left him paralysed from the chest down. He was 19 at the time of the crash.

“It has been 15 years, and the roads are a massive embarrassment,” he said to the BBC. “Nothing has changed.”

Richard was riding to work as a lifeguard in October 2010 when he struck a pothole on Netherfield Lane in Meden Vale, Mansfield. Thrown from the bike, he hit a fence and sustained catastrophic spinal injuries. He spent six months in hospital and now uses a wheelchair full-time. READ MORE...

www.visordown.com