Taupotreeman

Early day Adam?

I seem to remember some warning not so long ago about some of the rope grabs failing but I can't quite remember where or when I read it. Anybody clue me up? Just bought a cinch but yet to use it. It gets its first outing tomorrow but it took me a while to figure out how to use the thing on a strop (me not being the smartest tool in the shed) so if you don't hear back you know I set it up wrong

Bet you've tried to light the odd fart or two though

I've had it in my fire but usually whent he fire has been turned down low for a long while then I crank it back up again. The gases increase in temperature until the point where they combust. All it takes is a small flame. It usually ends up with more of a wumph and a cloud of smoke escaping out of the fire. Not sure if it's the same thing you're on about though.

You should try Googling Lake Taupo. I live on the edge of it but it's actually a super volcano. All you can see is caldera, still acive too. An eruption could quite possibly be an extinction event if it was a biggy. There used to be primo spot at Glen Etive, just off the road. Nice waterfall you could slide down into a pool with good jumping cliffs too. I also loved it out on Rannoch moor. So peacful and isolated.

A couple for the volcano lover in you.

Loved Glen Coe and loved Glen Etive. Spent many times swimming in the river there. Fantastic part of the world.

Agreed with the pain killers but diazepam (not sure on the correct spelling) is a muscle relaxant so it works if your back muscles are in spasm as it relaxes them and allows the spasm to ease off. Not best practice it has to be said but if that is the issue it works a treat. You may as well write the day off though cos you won't be able to do much depending on the dose.

It seems so far that it's different strokes for different folks. You'll have to find what works for you. Physio never worked for me but the eletro acupuncture did. Oestoepaths don't work for everybody. But, everyone seems in general agreement that whatever you do don't spend too long doing nothing. It does depend on the injury but I was sure the long held belief that lying on your back all day was the answer is now long gone.

Then I'll give you some advanced warning when it looks like Ruapehu is going to erupt. I love volcanos myself hence the fact I live underneath three of em and above one monster.

Diazepam

Reckon the telegraph poles actually add some dimension to the photo. They look good there. Cracker of a picture too.

Reading all the threads on here about gear being stolen it only leaves me to believe the UK has gotten worse since I left. That accounts for both the theiving little scrotes and the insurance companies, or are they one and the same? Sometimes we don't realize how good we have it over here. Hope your mate gets something sorted.

Electro acupuncture. Fantastic for a bung back. If you can find a proper acupuncturist give it a go it works wonders.

Don't lie. There's nothing quite like squeezing out septic thorns with a big blob of puss to bring a satisfying end to the day

From my point of view if I was employing? Yes. You can draw more conclusions of a prospective employee from a meeting than from a phone call or an email. Just try not to get there when they are really busy. Show up at the office or yard and if they are flat knacker just see if you can t up a meeting with the boss when he has a spare few minutes that he can actually talk. Dress smart too. Had a guy turn up for an interview with me once, dressed in jogging bottoms that kept falling off, looked like he just got out of bed and spent the whole interview texting. Remember, first impressions are the most important. It's what gets you that foot in the door.

when I was at college but on block release I was sat at home one day when a crew turned up to trim the tree outside our house. I made the guys a cuppa and got talking. The boss was on site and told me when I got out of college if I wanted a job to give him a buzz, which I did. I spent four years with him. Bit of a mickey mouse outfit at the time but it set me up for life. You just have to ask. Too may people these days I reckon rely on email to much. Emails are just so easy to ignore.

Would have to agree with you on your first statement. took a couple of good friends that worked for me (and several breakfast meetings ) to figure out how to get the guys on side with me. Also spent many a day working for guys who expected me to know how to do stuff without bothering to show me how to actually do it. Now I'm working for someone who keeps telling me they employed me because I know what I'm doing but then spend an awful lot of time trying to show me how to do that job even though they have no experience with it. Yeesh. Sometimes you need to have skin 2 feet thick. For a sensible answer (from me) to the original question. I don't think extra quals are the thing. Just word hard, be eager to learn and show keeness in everything you do, even if it is the job from hell. And like Hama said, don't let yourself be bullied or taken advantage of. If you get into that rut you're stuck in that rut.

And yes, I do have a diploma in T making and I always make sure I shout the boys tea and stickys etc. At the last place I worked I shouted the boys a slap up breakfast once every couple of weeks out of my own pocket for a couple of reasons. One, to air any greivances complaints and to discuss new ideas and how we could improve things. Two, to make them feel like they were appreciated. And just one otehr thing I learnt; never be too big to say you are sorry if you know you have cocked up. Even if you do own the company.

It was no more than a joke, hence the tongue face at the end but to be fair, there's nothing worse than taking on a guy who has the been there done that attitude and spends all day telling you so. Fine, if he has valuable comments or ideas and I'm all for listening and learning and having a laugh but when you get one of those that just has a smart mouth and sits around with his thumb up his backside telling you how the job should be done? It grates after a while and some of them need to learn when it's time to button it. Having said that, there are plenty of bosses who I could apply the same argument to. Still, no offense meant.

Seeing some of these pictures you can just imagine both a certain Mr. Tolkien and also Peter Jackson getting inspiration for the Ents while walking through woods etc looking at faces in trees like these.

Dadio, I don't want to get into the aspects of the pruning, cabling etc or even the arguing back and forth, however, I did pick up on your comment about the depth of the notch or face cut. I'm finding more and more young guys in the industry are telling me that a notch should be one third of the tree diameter yet I was always taught to use only one fifth to one quarter in order to leave plenty of wood at the rear to play with. Just curious as to the teachings over there in the US and what the rule of thumb is?

A degree in common sense, higher national diploma in T making and National cert in how not to back chat the boss should see you go a long way

Just think of all those maHOOOOsive Gums waiting for you at the other end.

Strange isn't it. I've been racking my brains trying to think what jobs I am most proud of but when I really think about it not many actually stand out. I'm reasonably proud of most jobs that I do when the finished article looks good or if I get a move on and smash out a 2 day job in a day. I thought back to the days when I worked with a rock climbing harness and no ropes and would be out on the end of a branch with my legs wrapped around hanging on for grim death. Should I be proud of having no safety gear but getting the job done? Or was I an idiot? What about those huge trees that I've taken down and landed on a match stick? or those where we have had the big machinery in to smash bash and crash. It's all subjective and maybe a little too hard for my aging brain to actually put my finger down on any one job. I'm proud of having worked around the 330 and 500,000v lines in Oz without getting fried but then I'm not proud of what I left the trees looking like. I'm proud of having run a large division with over 70 staff but then that's not actually out cutting the trees and making them look pretty.