pgkevet

I'll second using a spreadsheet..simpler than databases if only talking a couple of hundred clients but I wouldn't tend to use tabs for alphabetic names so much.. harder to run sorts for stuff pending or overdue. I'd probably use the tabs for quarters and new spreadsheets for your years. Most important is to keep backups..and more backups: a copy on the prime machine, another across a simple network to a second PC, a backup on a usb drive and another on some free cyberspace. And burn a disc every 1-3 months. OK I'm paranoid but I've seen what can happen.

If memory serves the Leeds Royal Infirmary has the National Poisons Information service... they provide info for medics (and vets) on poisonings and how to treat them and request feedback on each case...so a good chance that they would have some data on human cases per year. Whether they'll part with that info for a non registered user I can't say but this cause is worthwhile and they might.

A tree?

Playing devil's advocate: I have an older, doubtless innefficient multifuel stove running on logs and with it's back boiler it can heat the living room well but only just take the chill off the rest of the house and I'm guessing we got through some 12 tons of timber this mild 6mths. And guessing again I'd reckon we'ld have used £2K of oil if running that all the time instead...but would have been toasty. If I scale up those figures (more guesses) then 3-3.5K for a year here..so on your larger property and 2 cottages and a new efficient oil boiler...say 7K oil at current prices OR 40? 50? tons of wood for a year? That's a lot of timber..don't forget to factor in the capital costs and running/replacement costs of saws, chains, tractor, storage, PPE to get that timber...let alone your time And the differences in cleaning/maintaining wood stoves compared to oil stoves and the amount of brash and chip waste you'll be handling. Finally consider what happens from the viewpoint of risks to yourself in processing the timber and what happens if you get unlucky and unfit to go cutting it (age etc) especially if you say you can't accept external bulk loads. Could you earn more money doing something else with the time you'll spent cutting and carting?

This amateur just put 20 posts in using that type knocker..with a friend on 'tother side of post and workign together it wasn't too bad. If I'd used a sledge or mallet then i'd have had to cart something to stand on (and probably missed the post a few times too). A pilot hole makes is easier

..they'll nick those too..

The lines of the hare and the shading on the tree reminded me of this guy's work 100 years ago : Urânia - José Galisi Filho: The Genius of Josef Lada It does have a cosy feel to it although it'd be interesting to see the same logo 'modernised' - in the sense of losing shading colours and styalising the lines with an italic flow. That's not a criticism - I'd be intrigued to see it and if it came out as I envisage then no foul in having two logos: simple and detailed.

World cup then..wherethe Octopus God foretells...

..just like the cup final: which also ends up with the odd sacrifice:biggrin:

Religeons, like politics, start with good intentions and then become a way of elevating thier leadership or priests above the common man - an alternative model that can pull power from hereditary land-owing/kingship and impose itself on society. Any such 'organisation' depends on the suffering and down-tredding of it's followers to keep them in line, limit their ability to see the flaws inherent in the organisation and suppress those who speak against it. Whether you achieve that by brute force or by psychological tactics - from the wrath of a superior being, horrors in the afterlife or other brain-washing techniques is immaterial. It's the same thing. It happens to be cheaper to use natural occurences to support ones imposed viewpoint - thunderstorms, floods, freezes and other phenomena than depend purely on tales and miracles and create them and it's good practice to bond your subjugates together in a workign unity. Now whether that working unity is the building of a huge monument or a war again is academic...it's just that it'd easier to keep a 100year project going that new battles and battlefield casualties. look again and the simple acts of Thatcher and the Falklands opportunity and the fervour with which goverments rush to host the Olympics. the latter costs about the same, has less downside risk on casualties and is closer to home so folk can 'see the results'. The only real problems there are that both modern acts don't engage enough of the populace. By all means celebrate the facts of nature and it's seasons and interactions and accept it's beauty where you see it but don't go making up fairy tales and then believing them. i get the local zealots recruiting drive round regularly - a car-load of women whose spokeswoman always starts with the same lines "Isn't this valley beautiful? Doesn't it make you realise there had to be a divine hand behind the design?" To which i reply "If there was then it's the same guy who flooded New Orleans, Whose Tornadoes rip the heart out of the midwest, who burns the south of France and shakes Christchurch apart and drowned Boscastle and regularly starves Africa."

I find it amusing that when an unusual occurence happens folk shot for the bizarre explankations instead of the more likely. A rocking chair..well settlement in a house, expansion, draughts, it being on an area where passing heavy traffic resonates the floor..even TV sounds could cause resonance.. A laundry basket's strength will vary hugely with heat..steam from the bath? or a chemical leak from the make-up contents or a nearby radiator coming on for a time..even settlement of it's contents will change the strength of it's sides. ..just thoughts..

The organic nature (pun intended) of this profession and it's charges and surroundings means there cannot be a perfect system. A GPS location backed up with a 360deg picture and a Transponder in the target tree would be about as good as it gets...but nothing is infallible if someone wants to beat the system.

For those folk that believe in the quantum multiverse theory where reality is a matter of the subset of reality quanta that the mass of population can perceive then one can suggest that ghosts, fairies and the like are due to a bleed-through of other reality quanta and/or a change in the subset used to define the current reality - due to environmental, mass hysterical or chemically induced cerebral changes. ...or i'm just full of BS :-)

I doubt for the moment that the matter of legality is relevant here unless there was an insurance claim as a result of the work when in any event the matter would be a minefield between the farmers own cover and the chainsaw operators. Since safe working practices apply in both instances the simple answer is to make sure that no person or object can be hared during the works...as in be well clear of everything and anyone and watch out for stray walkers and animals.

I'm guessing sawdust with epoxy resin would be OK since epoxy grouts were used on tiled kitchen work surfaces. It'd probably be Ok to use a silicone sealant in there if you don't mind the rubbery feel and it's only small cracks but if you have a wife like mine who chucks everything into the dishwasher then that's your biggest challenge..... ..her next chopping board has to be a sheet of titanuim and a knife sharpener!

In my profession I found that some travellers were fair but most took the attitude that stitching you up was part of their lifestyle and they would if they could. Equally, though, they were realists and would respect being told that 'you were happy to do the job but had been stitched up by their brothers before and wanted paying in advance.' Heck why trust them more than they trust you? And I wouldn't turn my back on my drugs case either..

A lot will depend on local areas as to whether they are conservation areas, whether the pump-house has architectural merit etc. I'd be inclined to stay legit and ring the local planners and ask for an informal and preliminary meeting regarding what they might or might not allow and why. That shouldn't cost anything and at least gives you the right 'dope' on their reasons.

..and just to make it hurt less, always remember it's a tax deduction..

Let's call this one 'A packet of three' It was a comment by a member regarding log sales at 7.30am on a Sunday that triggered these memories. In my day night duty was an extra. We worked all day and covered night emergencies ona rota as well. This was one of 'those calls'.: It's 2.30 am and I was asleep. The phone rings. 'Parkside emergency' I answer. 'My cat needs to be seen at once. It's got fleas!' 'I'm sorry, madam, but fleas really aren't an emergency situation." 'But he's got fleas really badly' She shouted, insistent and angry. 'Well I'm sorry to hear that but really flea problems don't justify an emergency response. If you are that worried then ring my receptionist at 8.am and tell her to fit you in at ten to nine and I'll sort it out then.' 'But you don't understand', She shouted. 'They're biting me!' 'Ah.Well that's entirely different. I suggest you ring your GP immediately.' 'I couldn't ring a Doctor at this time of night! He's a busy man' 'Exactly, madam. I'll see you in the morning." Next snippet. Another night dity and it's about 9.30 pm. A client rings up very angry that a staff member hadn't called he back with the cat's blood results. I spoke to her at length about the reason for sampling and it was no emergency. I pointed this out and explained that i wasn't going to drive back to the clinic just to look up non-urgent blood results but i was sorry my staff had let the Practice and her down and I would personally look at the results first thing and ring her back. That wasn't good enough for this lady who got terribly abusive and difficult. I finally had to hang up on her. As good or bad luck would have it I ended up with a road accident emergency later that night and attended and sorted the victim out as best i could. During a lull in dealing with that patient i remmebered the earlier call and looked up the blood results. The cat's problem was trivial enough and as it happened the blood results were totally normal. it was now about 4am and i couldn't resist ringing up the owner and sweetly explaining that i knew how concerned she was over the results so i'd called her at the first opportunity. And the results were normal. She was too sleepy to react much.... But it made me feel better. After that triumph it seemed a very good time to call all my current bad debtors and remind them of their bills too! Lastly. The other foot and shoe. As a student I once went on a date to visit the current girl-friends parents. She was gorgeous and they were nice but thr whole saturday was ruined by an acute attack of gut pain on my part and the need tor ush to the loo every few minutes. After a sad and sweaty afetrnoon i went home to bed. aroudn 5am i had need for the loo again and to my horror passed a ten inch ascaris suum. It's wasn't helped by being a vet student and being able to accurately identify that worm and now that I'd have a further gut-full of the things wriggling inside me. It's now 5.30 am on a wet Sunday Morning and I've 'lost it'. I'm out there on my moped driving around Swiss Cottage looking for a doctor. I actually and genuinely woke one architect and a lawyer before finding a doctor. It was panic and their brass plates on their doors that i didn't read before ringing bells, i blame. The doc was very sympathetic and gave me the name of the drug to buy and an all night pharmacy. But it has taught me to be a tad more understanding of folks concerns. The architect and lawer were less sympathetic.

I was stunned by how much the woodburner in this house we moved to gets through.. a good wheelbarrow-full a day and i'd estimate some 10 cube+ since october. If I wasn't retired with free wood then i could earn more in the time spent cutting/splitting than it'd cost to buy oil and save the hassle, mess and dust..

You can pick up good seed from ebay so long as you read the vendors feedback, do a little research from other purchasers on on the web. Evidently some local trees that are reliable. I've just taken delivery of 3 dozen 4 yr old trees at a bargain price from one ebay seller I contacted. I'll give them a couple of weeks in a cold greenhouse then repot them on into way bigger pots for another couple of years outdoors before moving them to their final positions...then wait another 25 years or so for a crop....not that the math on my age looks too promising like that :-)

Goats: Whether you keep one animal as a pet or a commercial flock/herd you need to register your sheep and goats. Before moving livestock to your holding you need to apply for a County Parish Holding (CPH) number for the land where the livestock will be kept from:

Is it stupid to ask if it could have been anything apart from sugar? As in something crystallised out in the frozen temps from contaminated fuel cans or garage tank washings etc? There are other things that taste sweet.. According to web searches less than 1 teaspoon sugar dissolves in 15US gallons petrol and filters should deal with any 'sludge' so the engine remains protected. Theoretically all you would need to do to correct the issue is syphon/fill the tank with water a few times to dissolve out the sugar and then rinse with fresh petrol +/- a filter change. When i had my pilot's licence it was routine to check the tanks for condensed water as part of the pre-flight..suprising how much forms in there if the plane is left with empty wings for any length of time but I never saw ice crystals as such.

..mistletoe sales ..too big for the orangery ..plum heavy ..keep the wasps away ..fit the net over it ..it's that or the garden shed Or in the case if the farm I bought ...there's an orchard in here somewhere! <s>

..this amateur wears them in case of a 'clumsy moment'...