difflock

And yet those communities cannot afford to heat their homes, if their community leaders are to be believed! Anyway! That's not a bonfire, and see att. link;

Ah Ha! I just remembered an interesting corollary, after the USSR collapsed, and Germany was reunited, a West German medical researcher decided to look at the incidences of asthma in East Germany, with its terrific levels of air pollution from power stations burning lignite, their poorer diet and poorer access to modern antibiotics compared to the ever so modern wealthy and clean West Germany. He was staggered to find that the East Germans were significently healthier. I cannot remember the "why", but undoubtedly the East Germans were healthier, particularily in respect of asthma. Hmmmm?

And yet nature is absolutely thriving in the cordoned off nuclear-hot Chernobyl zone, it appears not only is mankind susceptible to pollution(incl totally natural kinds), but mankind is of itself the biggest pollution on Earth.

Us woodburners had better watch out; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-46823309 First find somebody to blame . . . Or, like if air pollution caused this girls death, why is everbody else not dead, or at least seriously ill/somewhat ill at least? I hasten to add, that I can only imagine what it would be like to lose a child, but illness and death are an unfortunate part of life, and finding someone to blame is not helpful. Are "they" going to attempt to prevent pollen and natural air borne dust particles, etc etc. Marcus

I am looking for another smooth haired Bastard Mastiff Dog, the last one Max, had had a Neopolitan sire and a Banddog mother, as healthy as a trout, and with a wonderful calm demeanor, though woe betide any dog that got in his face, on his patch. But any violence was strictly business and did not in the least affect his temperament towards humans. Hybrid vigour is everything, stuff these sickley short lived sib-bred/line-bred pedigrees. Marcus

I found I was bombarded by endless Russian Bride offers (incl some rental models) on the internet, when searching for 2nd hand tractors. I did wonder whether someone had developed an algorithm that identified that anyone searching for a 2nd hand tractor was likely to be an older bachelor farmer and therefore susceptible to such big-titted blonde blandishments. Or at least that is what I explained to the Wife.

As an absolutely untrained person, I bought a forestry winch, hooked it on the old DB1490, and commenced using it. Without watching YouTube. Despite it being the faster line speed model it all happens in slow motion, as in the front wheels will lift, and lift, and lift, giving anyone 1/2 competent more than adequate time to react. And since the "winch in" button must be depressed to winch, all rather fail-safe in operation. As for sideways pulls etc etc, this should be an obvious no-no, or rather approached with suitable trepidation. Ditto for staying out of the way or reach of a broken wire, though it should be impossible to break the wire, as it is simply so easy to run a way over-specced (i.e. in tensile strength) wire, so that failure mode is the winch or tractor stalling. And damage to the wire should be easy to discern, when pulling it out. So I experienced a few "learning experiences" but all with zero risk or fuss But one cannot fix stupid, and I understand your reservations with respect to employee safety. Marcus EDIT Dammit, I saw that very clip earlier today, but see my "cannot fix stupid" comment. Like no lower pully, all simple leverage stuff(to me at least)

My wife, while a University student, attempted to persuade her grandmother to buy their council house in Greenock, for very very little money, her grandparents being very longstanding tenants. Despite both still working and running 2 cars and 2 caravans(we never could understand the 2 caravans btw), i.e. they could well have afforded the purchase, they would not countenance the idea. But spent stupid amounts fitting double glazing etc etc etc, generally just before the Council did the same for the other tenants. Plumb pig-headed daft. Lovely people though. But still daft.

Someone mentioned being mortgage free at retirement, I have reason to imagine that is key to financial freedom, and retirement to whatever extent. In part courtesy of the(then, before the property BOOM) relatively lower NI house prices, in part due to our relatively modest extra TA earnings(but at least the TA kept us from weekend consumer spending and left no time for other money-burning hobbies) we worked our way up the property ladder mortgage free, while driving a very ordinary car(singular, one car only, between 2 wage earners ). Oddly we did not make money "flipping" or selling on properties,(and we only owned 2 before this final self-built home) beyond what would have accrued from investing the money with a Building Society. BUT The key is to have a clearly defined goal to focus on and work towards. And, where possible avoid subsidizing Bankers or Car dealers lifestyles, by avoiding finance on either of their products. Cash(N.B. honestly earned and taxes paid) is King. Marcus

Has to be better than a Transit sized Fiat, where the passenger kept a big Saxo plastic salt container, and of necessity lying on its side( one the size of a small flask) in the glovebox, for his daily portion of chips. Unfortunately he was less than particular about ensuring the top was properly secured.(And Ditto for 20l petrol Jerry Cans! etc etc, a proper walking disaster area) Anyway furthur to this, Mr.Fiat had thoughtlessly located the fusebox directly under the glovebox. A proper unfixable bag-of-shite by the time it was discovered, after sommat electrical stopped working.

Oddly, or not, I do not denigrate hard working migrants sending money home to their families, after all many British breadwinners have worked abroad and sent their earning home, down through the years, however just how much some of, what percentage of, these young male migrants contribute to the British economy, if or since they are living in little more than Doss houses and spending as little as possible in the local economy, in order to maximize their exported earnings, is questionable, especially if they are working in the black economy, like our car wash Romanians. And an unfortunate percentage of these Romanians are of very doubtful morality, known to be running brothels and other criminal enterprises in parts of Belfast, and taking jobs from them now unemployed local paramilitaries in the process! That said a local family owned steel fabricator took on some Russian welders after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they, or more likely their sons or nephews are still working there, with a very high work ethic, and being provided with decent housing, some also invited the boss out to family weddings in Russia. So they are highly respected workers in the local community. I understand the young males work long enough and hard enough to provide for a family back home, and perhaps set themselves up with a house and business. Again such has been working life from time immemorial. Anyway What I was trying to say was I rather believe such local empirical evidence rather than conjured up statistics from some possibly/probably biased organisation with an axe to grind. marcus

The third machine was the blue one producing 1.0m long beech billets, being strapped into(I am reasonably certain) very tight 1.0m3 billet bundles. I thought productivity was high, with the rate the billets were coming off the conveyor, and the twin billet set-up to allow for strapping and removal of one , while output continued on the other. But yes the highly automated factory set up, in the first clip, with 4 blokes then hand picking the bigger blocks and hand feeding 4 separate splitters, puzzled me, & not a little, but the sophistication (and £ cost) of the rest of the set-up led me to conclude that it must make financial sense. marcus

Well then, why do Labour MP'S devote so much time and energy on behalf of the non contributing, (if not downright sponging), population, including vigorously defending illegal economic migrants and dishonest asylum seekers. I am aware their are genuine cases, but my 40 years of listening to the debates in the Commons, have caused me to form a particular opinion, in respect of Labour's espoused values, which may be a trifle biased, but not overmuch. Like why did they appoint/annoint Comrade Corbyn as their leader, nevermind keeping that cognitively challenged and downright liability to Party credibility Diane Abbot in a senior position. marcus edited in bold italics, and still failing to properly describe the types of clearly undesirable immigrants I mean

Bugger me, a F1 Valtra, with carbon fibre dash trimmings!

We could have purchased several houses to rent out, but choose not to, (we invested in some farmland, with much much, much lower annual income instead) Why? Because financially savvy as the wife and myself are, we are both incapable of dealing with poor, or indeed downright bad tenants, or indeed just the every month/every week/every day potential hassle. Unfortunately there is some truth in the notion that the landlords best placed to make a profit, are the unscrupulous types, perhaps with "heavy" friends to enforce matters. So, essentially decent tenants get screwed by tough unscrupulous landlords, and Decent Landlords get screwed by unscrupulous non-rent paying or destructive tenants. However The bulk of rented properties lie in the uncontentious middle ground, but the 2 extremes get all the publicity Such is the human condition. marcus

That edict, staying pretty after dying young is likely to get tougher too, with the proposed ban on the use of formaldehyde in embalming.

One of the most useful trucks I specced and bought was a 6.5t Iveco downplated to 5750Kg, so as to legally tow a 3500Kg trailer, Truck fitted with a lovely lightweight aluminium bodied dropside tipper. Probably an element of serendipity in my specification, but for whatever reason I got thatun just right, and it proved to be a popular vehicle, and still is. Then a nutter of an Operations manager decided that to tow 3500Kg required a 4*4 pickup, despite a reasonable number of years of safe and proven operation of my wee Iveco. Scheesh!

I would be exceptionally pleased with myself, if could manage such perfect hinges, every time (well, to be honest, maybe anytime)and, like! I am working on the ground. Seriously impressive skills. marcus

Has to be Ex LA/Council ownership, they need a lot of seats for the staff, but only a small capacity body to accommodate their day's arisings.

Hmm, I recalled wood to have a calorific value of 4.xx kW, I just checked and got 4.44kW, so where does this site get 5kW, presumably for bone dry = zero % moisture content wood. A tad offputting in respect of the likely veracity of the rest of this sites info imho.

I especially like the 3rd outfit, the Bindenberger? billet production, a proper slick setup.

Well with our latest Morso, (and the previous 2 are still installed in living room and dining room, and 100% functional) , despite the never yet cleaned glass being slightly hazy(and 2nd winter of use) but not in any way black, shows absolutely zero "smoke", even immediately after lighting, and the flue from this stove is discharging into the same clay liner lined flue the other Morso used for 20 years.(back to back with the living room stove) Which has honestly never yet been cleaned, and continues to pull like a train. (And when or if it starts to struggle I shall consider cleaning the flue). Which is to say it must be burning very very efficiently indeed. marcus EDIT Our bedroom is directly above the living room and it is noticeable how much heat is given off by the 18" square chimney breast running up through the ensuite, which was exactly as I had planned/hoped. The builder wondered why I wanted the chimney breast inside the cavity wall, when he thought it would be tidier outside thus leaving the ensuite uncluttered!

OK Since mineziz is up for renewal March this year, fingers crossed then?

for each foot . . .

An absolutely bona fida mechanic I knew, and RUC Reserve too, was spitting blood, when he absently mindedly put his old blue NI licence in for renewal, sans photocopying same, and lost his proper big motorbike entitlement, and despite busting a gasket trying to get redress, he made zilch of it. marcus