tockmal

When someone asks me to top their tree or reduce it by more than 20% I just say, "Sorry but my standards don't allow for me to do this, I'm a Certified Arborist and someone could come out and look at my work at any time and if they see a poor pruning job I will lose my accreditation, I also have my reputation to protect" Then I tell them what I can do. And if they don't like it I walk away.

I've been trying a new protein shake for the last month. I'm getting really angry and frustrated in the mornings at work after drinking this particular brand. It wears off around lunchtime. I've never had this problem before with protein shakes (Designer Whey, Whey FX etc). Anyone else suffered bouts of anger after taking protein shakes? This is the brand I've been using.

You really should write a book or have a website detailing the story of your experiences. I think many people would find it very interesting and helpful.

Very inspiring story. You should write a book about it. Sounds like having faith in some non-western healing/medition helped a great deal. Most people just assume that 'alternative' remedies/holistic medicine is mumbo jumbo. I guess you have to find what works for you? Unfortunatley, I think there are just as many fraudsters in the alternative medicine scene as there are in conventional medical care. As usual market forces have helped turn alternative remedies/holistic medicine into a money making racket and its now very difficult to decide who and what methods are genuine or right for your illness/ailment. I believe the most important thing is having the right frame of mind to confront it. If you dont have that its crucial to have people around you who can provide the support and encouragement you need. Very few people have had the experience you have had of a successful combination of conventional western medicine and other less known methods of treatment, so its interesting to hear your story. Thanks for telling it here.

Absolutley brilliant video Reg, the follow through on the branches being lowered was excellent. That tree looked totalled at the base, you 100% sure it was safe to rig from? Could you guarantee that the tree wasn't going to fail during the rigging operations? Why didn't you guys use a crane what with your crane expertise - surprising.

Incedible story Oakwilt. Glad your here to tell us all. and having these therapies done by doctors other than American were principle The above statement - Do you mean holistic medicine? alternative therapies? Why the questioning of American doctor's abilities? Sorry for the questions but it is important. Thanks

Do the chestnuts you see have any cankers? the old pruning wounds on this tree look pretty bad. Probably helping with those branch failures?

Ok, lets just leave it at that then. I'm sorry for interpreting you words wrongly. Peace?

Live in fear like the news channels and tabloids tell you to Ed. I grew up and live in Glasgow, a couple of years ago it had the highest murder rate per head of capita in Europe, I go to pubs, clubs, gigs and restaurants and although I do see the occasional fight I dont have a problem living here. Its all in the mind. There are places you dont go, things you dont do, people you dont associate with, feeling safe is a state of mind and no matter how bad the news is it just isnt as bad as they want you to believe. You worry too much man. If it really is bothering you that much maybe its time to move to another country?

No apparently it was Butlins, Minehead where he and the wife spent the entire family savings playing hook a duck.

In that case then there must be hardly any cowboys in our industry as Montana was largely unpopulated in the 1840s, the fur trade was in steep decline due to the lack of beaver, the Cowboys didn't arrive until the 1860s Roller!!! Read this..... The Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806 was the first group of white explorers to cross Montana. Hard on the heels of the expedition arrived the fur trappers and traders. Trappers brought alcohol, disease and a new economic system to native populations. The fur trade was mostly over by the 1840's due to dwindling supplies of beaver, and the loss of popularity of the beaver hat. The discovery of gold brought many prospectors into the area in the 1860's, and Montana became a territory in 1864. Miners weren't the only early settlers in Montana. Cattle ranches began flourishing in western valleys during the 1860's as demand for beef in the new mining communities increased. After 1870 open-range cattle operations spread across the high plains, taking advantage of the free public-domain land. So there you have it! Whooohahahahah

Thats good as I am interested to hear what he says.

C'mon Bogie! guns are designed to kill things! Knives have a thousand different uses other than killing people. Maybe our laws on being in possession of a knife without good reason need changing to include harsher punishment. But to trawl out the same old 'knives kill people too man' argument is beyond stupidity. As for the cricket bats and bottles comparison, your really getting desperate now.

Very good mb, I was wondering if Oakwilt thought it was Lycopene. Maybe he'll let us know?

Lycopene?

No, but he is one of the few guys who has done a lot of research into treeclimber's health in relation to their workplace environment. You said this, 'I've often read posts about tree health, machine maintanence, best kit and so on. Here's another thought. Best Kit? the body. Machine maintanence? body care. Tree Health? what about yours!' What about yours? Well if there was anything positive to take from your original post it is how there are people like Paulo who are trying to help us understand how our job affects our health. Some other people may be interested which is why I posted a link to his site. You made your post on a public forum, your words are open to interpretation from the viewers of this forum. I hope you make a full recovery from your problem. I'm sorry if you thought I was being insensitive.

Much like trees and tree related problems, guns and gun laws can be a very emotive issue. I was only responding to Ed's stupid cartoon of the British guy and his pro-American 2nd amendment comment. I'll leave it now.......maybe.

If you are genuinly interested in your health as a treeclimber then there is only one guy to consult in the UK - Paulo Bavaresco. This is his site - http://www.treemettlenexus.com/article10.html

Guns are cheap, so what? pro-gun people are united by their fear of other people, be they criminal or otherwise, you guys look at life through cynical eyes and are sh*t scared of everything and everyone. Many a time, used a rifle and shotgun regularly when I worked on a farm in the outer hebrides. I also visited a shooting range whilst living in America and fired every type of gun imaginable. Once is enough, dont you think? Yes, but private gun ownership will not solve these issues. To think that you can solve the problems of crime in society with a gun is mindblowingly idiotic. The cultural factors that have led us to where we are today are complex and difficult to solve, only a desperate loser would reach for a gun in times like this. Stop being so afraid, and get on with your life. If you really want to help society change then become a teacher. Your pro-gun approach is worthless in this country. If you want to copy other people's slogans then thats fine, but sooner or later you are going to have to start thinking about the kind of world you want your children to grow up in and decide what your response is going to be. I believe that gun ownership is not the way forward for a civilised society, and so do the vast majority of people living in the UK. If you dont like the laws you can lobby government to change them, otherwise leave because we can easily do without pro-gun people in Britain.

Seeing as your from Texas, I'll agree.

How very true.

Dagmar, Yours is the classic flawed argument for gun ownership, you seriously sound like you've been brainwashed by the NRA or spent the last five years reading pro-gun blogs on the internet. Its total crap, its like you want to live in a constant state of fear, fear of government, fear of people, fear of your neighbours and fear of community. Your deluded fantasy that the government or EU is planning a quasi-fascist blitzkrieg is laughable and betrays all the symptoms of the classic gun freak - perpetually nervous, anxious, neurotic, paranoid and above all fearful of people. Owning a gun is the goal in every misantropes life. Pro gun people have a common trait, a red thread which runs through their negative diatribes - they're always whining about central government, liberals, immigrants, ethnic minorities, the unemployed, gays, abortion. They hate and distrust people so much that they are willing to ruin any chance of living a reasonably peaceful and civilised existence by owning a gun. From my cold dead hands, right? I'm so glad I dont live in 'your' world. Must be so bloody depressing.

Calm down man, you sound like you live in Beirut!

I can't accept this argument as a reason for public gun ownership. What you are advocating means creating a climate of fear and distrust of your government. Cynical political questioning is fine but suspecting your government will attempt to viciously oppress you at any moment undermines trust in the community at the most basic level, your reducing democratic government to a worthless system of hollow gestures. Dont forget how hard we've had to strive to live in the relatively civilised society we live in today. And now you want everyone armed? The Nazi analogy is redundant as Hitler had huge support amongst the German population, he actually told the people what he planned to do. Regardless of public gun ownership nobody was really that bothered about the Jews. I just can't accept that the way forward for a civilised society is public gun ownership. Our level of violent crime is a lot lower than the US, I'd like to keep it that way.

Well, treebogan quoted him in the first place, so he would obviously agree with everything Freud said. Ed, 'There were 21,521 reported crimes involving firearms in England and Wales in 2005/6, according to the Home Office. That's a 55 per cent increase on a decade earlier, when there were 13,876 gun-related offences. It averages 414 gun crimes every week. 50 of the total firearm crimes were murders. 7,248 were for other violent incidents against another person. Gun-related incidents hit their peak in 2003/04 when there were 24,094 recorded offences.' Nearly all of these stats are related to crimes within the the criminal fraternity, so they're really of little or no relevance. Like I said before, and what you fail so miserably to understand, criminals have always had the upperhand and live outwith the rules of a civilised society.