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So im literally just home from the hospital after having a mastoidectomy, which is basically an operation to remove an infection from the mastoid bone in the ear. I perforated my ear drum a few years ago and it ended up getting infected and not healing properly. The surgeon mentioned that some side affects of the surgery can possibly include hearing loss and vertigo. As you can imagine this didnt sit too well with me as i need good hearing and can do without the vertigo whilst climbing. He also mentioned that with the use of hearing aids i could end up with at least 80% hearing in both sides. Again that didnt go down too well. Didnt really have a choice about the operation as if it was left untreated it can lead to abscess in the brain deafness vertigo (dizziness) damage to the facial nerve (causing facial paralysis) meningitis (swelling of the brain) labyrinthitis (inflammation of the inner ear) ongoing ear drainage spread of cyst into the brain. Basically im just wondering if any of you have hearing aids and how do they affect your working life? Can you still wear ear defenders, climb, use saws etc Might sound a bit stupid but im actually a bit scared and just need some reassurance i guess. Cheers guys and gals

Ok so i know there are hundreds of threads on SRT but none seem to answer my question. As a hitch climber with vt user i am wondering what is the easiest progression setup for SRT. The same way as the Distel or Knut are a good progression from a simple prussik setup to a prussik and pulley setup if get what i mean. Also what are the main advantages and disadvantages of using SRT to Drt. All info welcome. Cheers.

Myself and my colleague work a lot over in the churchill area of Helensburgh. Got a huge ongoing contract there. We have a load of alder to take down on Friday so will have a few loads of chippings free to a good home. Plus as much as you want really. We passed the camp only yesterday on our way back from Coulport base so i know exactly where it is. We would be happy to offer advice on whatever you are looking for.

Ok so when it comes to storing my climbing kit i have to admit i have slight ocd. I like everything to have its place and be easily accessible. The problem i have is that my current bag doesnt cater for my strange obsession. Im thinking of getting a bag that can open right out into a mat type of thing. With loops and pockets for my krabs, prussiks, slings etc. Basically im sick of having all my stuff sitting loose in the bottom of my bag. On a practical note. Such a bag/mat would be great for drying your kit, simply unfold it and hang it up allowing air to get to everything. Does anyone know if such a thing exists and if so where to get one. Cheers guys and gals.

Hmmmmmm board or kayak? That is the question! Seriously though speaking from a beach lifeguard and white water rescue technician, if anybody does venture out please be careful and dont go alone.

Had this one 2 weeks ago. Bit of a tricky bugger. 1.Root plate still partially attached to the ground. 2.All the weight leaning on the roof making it too risky to start cutting in case it slid down the front of the house. 3. No trees big enough to get a good enough anchor to climb from or winch off etc. 4. No access to the rear of property to get MEWP or machinery in. Solution, get a big ass crane courtesy of Scottish enterprise who own the woodland. The crane reached over the house, lifted the tree and sat it back into its hole. I then put a felling cut in the base. We then had the crane lower it down on the woodland side of the fence using the felling cut to steer it in safely. Not the biggest tree but interesting all the same.

But thats just it you see, i am also swift water rescue trained (river rescue) and mountain first aid trained and have been involved in and coordinated quite a few major rescues. Some with fatalities. So i knew it wasnt safe to go in and had to stop a few others trying. But you still get that feeling of "what if i did this or that" its a fairly common thing to feel after a horrible incident like this. Going back tomorrow to pay my respects.

Im not usually down that end of town so i was in the wrong place at the right time i guess. Did what i hope anyone would have done in that situation. I have to commend the emergency services though as they responded extremely quickly and set to work straight away.

As im sure many of you know there was a terrible accident last night in Glasgow where a police helicopter crashed into a crowded pub in the town centre. I myself was only round the block from the accident at the time. Group of us ran over to try and help but couldnt get into the pub due to debris. All we could do was grab people within reach. Times like this you wonder weather you could have done more to help. Thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and families involved. Not a nice way to start St Andrews day. https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=newssearch&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDsQqQIoADAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk%2Fhome-news%2Fmajor-rescue-operation-under-way-after-police-helicopter-crashes-into-packed-clutha-vaults-pub-in-glasgow-8974061.html&ei=ZuGZUrnFII6M7AaO0oCQCA&usg=AFQjCNFtW9LXA0T6vka9OZKLjEJLP7gvDA&sig2=bzvZ1ZS0bc8GB2HtmoiadA

Nice one bud! I was a bit sceptical before i first tried it but to my amazement it worked. Just another trick to add to your repertoire. Was it the soft dutchman you used or just the normal one? Be interested to see any pictures you get. Cheers.

Valid point. I think its one of those cuts that is intended for speed in a logging setting, for example if you get paid by the tree you dont want to be having to wedge over every tree if you can avoid it. As a practice and experimental cut its good to try out if you have the room and no obstacles to hit. I have to say that the success i have had has been with mainly spruce that can only be felled one way and have a slight side lean to them away from the target area and had to try and avoid the unmarked trees/ younger trees etc growing near by. Good luck experimenting with it and let us know how you get on.

There are a few good videos on youtube showing it. I have had quite a bit of success with it but was just wondering how many of you have used it and in what situations?

So been out felling for the last 2 weeks clearing a large site of about 50 large ash, oak and alder and was explaining the mechanics/ applications of a Dutchman/soft Dutchman cut to a colleague of mine as there were a few tall skinny ones that would have been ideal candidates to demo it but they werent marked to come out. Showed him the cut on a high stump but its hard to describe how it works without showing. Just curious as to how many of you have ever had to use one in anger and what percentage are successful as i know it can be a bit hit and miss with these cuts (holding wood quality, species, frozen, lie of the land etc etc) Any pictures or videos would be interesting to see. Cheers guys and gals:thumbup:

Hi all, working the rest of the week in Erskine and was wondering if anybody knew any places that will take chippings as we will have a lot and will have to do quite a few trips. Cheers in advance.

So after we took down a 300+ year old Sycamore from a walled off burial garden for the Tait family, which currently holds the bodies of some very high profile individuals (bishop of London in the early 1800`s etc). I took home a disc which i thought would make a nice table top, cut it in two as it was pretty heavy. I have never made a table top/ coffee table before so i was wondering if anybody could lend me some advice. Such as how to prep the discs, what oils/varnish to use, any treatment required, do i need to let them dry first etc? Also trying to figure out what sort of legs to put on. Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks man that makes a lot of sense. It was very confusing as i can see the VSC light in the display which wasnt coming on. Strange though as there is no evidence of a beacon ever being fitted. Plus the dealer never said anything about it. Dont suppose he had any reason to tell me anyway.

Thanks man, i know what vehicle stability control is but the reason im asking what it is is the fact that there is no light that comes on in the display to indicate it has engaged. Plus the stability control is supposed to disengage when you switch to H4 or L4 gear. Which it doesnt. Cheers anyway bro.

Now a coffee maker is an awesome idea! Nope no tipper. Or if does then all my kit is scattered throughout Glasgow now

This is driving me nuts trying to figure out what this switch does! I have just bought a 2010 Hilux HL3 and beside the cigarette lighter is a small round switch with a red light on it. It is in place of where the manual says should be the "VSC OFF" switch but when i turn it on/off there is no "VSC OFF" light on my display. Does anybody know what it is and what it does?

Weather you are working or playing at heights i think its healthy to have a certain amount of fear/ respect for it. Used to do competition rock climbing and whilst training in an old quarry in Cornwall i had a fall and broke my back. I had a nice warm up route i used to do before attempting much harder routes, was only about 30 foot and i had climbed it so much i was comfortable enough to free climb it. That was until i had a break from training at that location for a few weeks. Came back and didnt reccy the top out (stupid!). Got to the top only to find that moss and algae had covered the top. I took two handfuls of moss and off i went. Lucky i passed out before i hit the ground (overload of adrenalin apparently is the bodies defence mechanism). That was 4 years ago and i still struggle from time to time with the height issue. Guess what im trying to say is never get complacent and double check everything and you should be golden. Sorry for the long winded story.

Cheers dude, like i said any advice is greatly appreciated. I was told that by either lifting the suspension a bit or changing the springs etc you can add a few kilos to your pay load. The only reason i really want to know is due to possibly putting a protipper in. I know thats going to reduce the pay load quite a bit due to its weight. Thanks for your feedback mate.

Been thinking about getting a protipper for it. Anybody else done this with the HL3? Also looking into getting a lift kit to enable me to carry heavier loads. Any advice for this would be greatly appreciated.

Nah dude, managed to find a manual.

Bump*

So Just put down a deposit on this HL3 . Picking it up on tuesday! excited doesnt cover it!