10 Bears

Well, I have to disagree with this point on the grounds that my experience was different - but perhaps its the way you look at the problem of working out the price. So, I was taught how to calculate pace over distance, flow rate, application rate, how to calibrate my sprayer and the effects of swath width and height from ground. So, all in you know how much chemical you are going to put down over a specific area. Knowing the area allows you to know how many times you will have to walk it gives you a time factor (Quant 1), knowing the calibration, flow and application rates allows you to know how much chemical you need to purchase (Quant 2), and with all the information, you can workout how many tank changes/refills/cleaning/breaks etc. you will need to add in to make it a sensible days work (Quant 3) So, Quant 1 + Quant 2 + Quant 3 = Cost. Then, Cost + Buggeration Factor and/or Profit + Tax = Price for the job. Its straightforward really, but probably feels more difficult then it needs to be the first couple of times you try to work it out. I'm sure if the OP sat down and tried to work this out broadly as I describe above, they would not go far wrong...

Yes, it relies on crowd GPS - but certainly as more people use/become aware of the service then the crowd web would expand exponentially, meaning that you have a good chance of recovering your kit. Perhaps as this is reasonably new, then yes you are right there may not be so much coverage in rural areas with fewer people, but certainly if your kit ends up in a town you have a reasonable chance of getting a location. At only £20, personally I think it is worth the investment for a little piece of mind. You could always contact the UK section of the company to find out if there is 'crowd coverage' in your area before you buy?

Gary's bookshelf looks a lot like mine does at the moment ie its all over the floor. As you can see in the picture, one of my home office bookshelves decided to suffer a sudden on set of gravity whilst I was sat under it on the PC! It was my own fault in any case. A lot of those books are double parked, so there was a massive amount of weight on 6 x 5" screws that were not even in a brick wall, but were only in the limestone backfill of the 2'6" walls, as the limestone wont even take a screw even when I've tried to drill with my SDS! I had my back to the other shelves taking this picture. Once I have my room back together, and I have a new floor based shelving unit, I take another picture to show a little better what I have.

After reading yet another of the many threads on here about equipment that gets stolen, it seems there are ways of recovering your equipment that I thought I would share. I'm not connected to this company or will benefit in any way from 'advertising' them here - but I thought what they have to offer would be really useful to a lot of you that have been the victims of having your yards turned over. I have not got one of these (yet) but I have to say it looks very useful. Take a look at this website and watch the video about how they recovered a stolen bike. As its a small 'sticker' type token, it made me think it could be hidden inside saw covers, at the bottom of a climbing bag or inside the A frame on the chipper and no-one would be the wiser until you turn up at their door with a van load of police/mates/shotgun! etc. to recover your kit. They appear to be cheap too (£20) so worth it for the small investment. I hope it helps some of you who have been regular victims of the same thieving toe-rags time and again...

Yes, it was quite interesting - especially after such a short inoculation time! We used Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus) in the study, and found results after only/less than 3 months. I thought the same - the potential for other fungi colonisation cross-contaminating at different rates, but we didn't have the time/funds to look into it further.

Well, really yes you should if you are using the same saw on an infected/decayed tree that you are just intending to fell, and then going to the next job where you are lightly pruning a tree that you are intending to keep. A simple observation is that between each job there would have to be a notable passage of time for the fungal inoculation to occur, and simply, it could just be put down to the natural onset of nature rather than the result of cross contamination from a tree surgeon. What I didn't study in the original investigation was the period of activity potential between each phase eg if I left it a day between using the same saw/borer, then what is the effect then? or if I left it 2 days then... etc. Perhaps this is another area for investigation... but I am on with other investigations at the moment (and at least for another year!). so perhaps this thread could form the basis of a study for an interested undergrad or masters student should they happen to stumble across it...

Yes perhaps it could be said of all other similar techniques, but my intuition is that as the increment borer goes significantly deeper into the area of decay then say a simple nail through the bark as used with a Picus, then the increment borer is actually an appreciably more detrimental weapon. Our experiment was intended to show what effect going through an infected compartmental wall would have on subsequent trees. We did not apply the correct field sterilisation technique intentionally (roughly requiring boiling or direct flame heat for 15 minutes at over 100deg between each use - not absolutely certain of the exact figures right now without checking), in order to find out how far we could carry the contamination. After an ingestion period over various trees in our sample - we detected on average 8 trees were secondarily infected, and a DNA sample confirmed this was from the original fungal source. So, ultimately, for the increment borer it appears it can be said to be problematic for cross-contamination issues and on that basis alone I would not recommend its use (unless it was single use only and then sterilised). I cannot comment on other less invasive methods as I have not tested them.

Didn't you cover how to calculate this in your ticket? I have my PAs too and we certainly did cover this, in fact it was a significant part of the assessment. Why dont you just apply the same methods you were taught on your training?

I'm not on the right PC right now, but when I get a minute I will post an example...

I used to follow the TPP, RPA. AIA route with a long drown out report clearly stating how each element can successfully be met and why etc., and I subsequently learnt that this approach is close to useless on a building site. I then changed this to a single A3 to A0 map (depending on site size and content) which had enough room to host the topo and the RPA, and then a large comment box for the TPP/AIA information that I wanted to include - all on the one document. Basically, planners, architects and designers only want to walk around site with one piece of paper, and if you can do it in such a way that it also suits the LPO then you are laughing as you make the one document and send it to all interested parties. Anyway, this is how I handle things nowadays...

No, you are right Steve, that is how they are meant to be used ie together. IMO, both practices are dated and quite close to useless in the general practitioners view of things. Myself and a colleague undertook a cross contamination experimental study of using an increment borer and on average showed that it was possible to successfully cross-contaminate up to 8 subsequent trees from the same/original fungal infection that the first increment borer went through. On that basis, the fact that the fractometer relies upon cores that potentially are going to infect subsequent trees, unless a massively prohibitive field sterilisation procedure is put in place, makes both of the techniques pretty much useless IMO. I would recommend that no-one uses either for the reasons stated above...

Its difficult as you no doubt know - but the thing to remember is that they don't know as much about your subject as you do. Yes, they are divisive and are trying to trip you up, but, you have knowledge and experience of your subject on your side, and no matter what, you can correct them when they get the wrong end of the stick, which I enjoy and TBH, often it turns out that they don't... Good effort though. I am sure you made a good representation of yourself.

I'd not like to see him come August when the potatoes need harvesting then..

Why do you make your dog wear a crown of tulips?

Lee - just a tip on this. Take each one of the list you have written above and write up to say 50 words on each section ie 50 words each on: general arb practices, growth patterns, CODIT, energy levels, hormone balance etc. By my count thats 14 different sections @ 50 words = roughly 700 words. Then fill in a few of the missing gaps eg the result of the general arb practices is that it affects the growth patterns and general biology by.... etc. This would give you another 400-500 words approx. All of a sudden you are up to 1200 words and you have a good framework for an essay response in front of you and it wont take much effort. You can build upon the 1200 words and easily turn it in to a solid 2500 word essay - its just easier if you break it into several parts first. So, crack on, get some word count down and then come back to us with more specific questions to fill in the gaps as Steve suggests, and the collective we (i.e. arbtalk folk) will try to fill in the gaps. But to be fair, we are not going to write it for you...

Yep - I saw that it was from the TSI in the terms and conditions. Couldn't help myself from making a few folks worry for a few minutes though...

Well, 2 hours later and it seems the site is up and running again. I cant help but be suspicious when a site says enter all your details here - and then promptly disappears. I'm sure your credit card details and online bank account passwords are entirely safe...

I'm not in.... "The ArbPrizes page isn’t working ArbPrizes didn’t send any data. ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE"

I've not had any problems. What browser are you using? I'm on a MS machine with Chrome Version 49.0.2623.110 m. Could just be a browser issue?

What do you mean Gary - there are some bargains to be had!

or use a maul.

This is a good summary of the situation, indeed a tangled web. Gary's review is spot on IMO, particularly the last point regarding trespass/theft etc. I would be hesitant to do the works immediately for the client, just on these grounds alone. It could be that this situation leads to a significant falling out between the neighbours, and the aggrieved tree owner, ends up taking legal recovery measures from the clumsy neighbour, which could include seeking prosecution of the OP for the reasons highlighted above. You have to bear in mind that home-owner insurance often comes with legal dispute fees as part of the policy and this is exactly the sort of situation that they are there for. As stated above - steer clear of the job until the fireworks begin to fly on Friday!

Ah - scratch that. Despite it saying NR - I just noticed the location was Askam Bryam... in York! (must remember to read the small print...)

Newton Rigg College is closer to the OP at JCN 40 M6 http://www.newtonrigg.ac.uk/courses/city-guilds-nptc-award-in-accessing-a-tree-using-a-rope-and-harness-and-cit

Thanks very much for the offer Gary. I will email your business e-address with my details, so you could forward it on to your client. Cheers.