John Russell

That's an impressive story on this thread. Someone of your enthusiasm and stamina is bound to succeed at whatever they turn their mind to. I wish there more around like you. This is coming from someone who started their own business in 1975 and has never been an employee since. I look forward to seeing the 'scope pics! Best wishes, John Russell

The first thing is to make sure make someone close in the family has 'enduring power of attorney' (google it for more info) -- best if it's a couple of his children. If you don't do that it can lead to major problems. My mother has dementia. It's hard to deal with, though luckily she's now in a good home. There are a number of forums for those caring for people with dementia (again, google them) -- I can recommend them. The early stages are in some ways most difficult but it's important to move fast and get everything under control -- don't wait for problems to build up. Best of luck. JR

Hello everyone; my first post. A litre of water (at 4 degrees C) weighs one kilo. One 10cm x10cm x 10cm cube of water weighs a kilo. A metric tonne (1000 kilos) is the same weight as 1000 litres or a cubic metre of water. One cubic metre of a dense wood that would float level with the surface of the water would weigh one tonne (because it weighs the same as the water it displaces). A cubic metre of a wood that floats higher in water would weigh a lot less than one tonne. Also bear in mind that a cubic metre of a wood that loses a lot of water as it dries out would therefore weigh a lot less than one tonne. So the weight of one cubic metre of wood will vary considerably depending on the type of wood, how dry it is (and, if in logs, how tightly it's packed). There's also the fact that weight, rather than volume, has got a lot more to do with how long wood will burn. I'm sure that's not helped a lot -- but I hope it's interesting? John Russell