kevinjohnsonmbe

Think about it though Mr E - less than is already left to log the drains and certainly less adverse environmental impact. Lessr of 2 weevils??

That's already taken care of by the flail cutting of hedgerows which is left to clog the drains Khriss.... Happens every year just the same. Last year I brought it to the Highways manager's attention. His response was that in rural areas it's risk assessed and not worth the effort - he was rather surprised when I pointed out this area which is EA Flood Zone 3. Apparently that 'trivial detail' hadn't featured in his risk assessment.... Same again this year. 1 week after the flail comes the heavy rain, then Cormac are out clearing the drains.... Too little too late as usual. The 1 plus side is that since he's not interested in his contractors clearing the highways, I have no issue leaving my debris everywhere now....

I've posted these before, but just to illustrate the abject, casual disdain attached to the use of road salt, and the ambivalence of Local Authorities and major government departs to the resultant damaging environmental effect, the following pictures were taken at Derriford Hospital. These trees are subject to Tree Preservation Orders too.

Picked up from a FB post, I thought this was really interesting.... Great to see new trends and progressive environmental protection measures being trialled. Thankfully we don't suffer from too much frost in Cornwall, but it would be interesting to know how many tons are dumped on the roads of Cornwall (and more broadly the UK) each year and what the environmental impact is. This quote is taken from the Smithsonian (Jan 2014 followed up in May 17) so it's certainly not a new line of development: "...Road salt pollution is generally a bigger issue for the surrounding environment and the organisms that live in it. It’s estimated that chloride concentrations above 800 ppm are harmful to most freshwater aquatic organisms - because these high levels interfere with how animals regulate the uptake of salt into their bodies - and for short periods after a snow melt, wetlands nearby highways can surpass these levels. A range of studies has found that chloride from road salt can negatively impact the survival rates of crustaceans, amphibians such as salamanders and frogs, fish, plants and other organisms. There’s even some evidence that it could hasten invasions of non-native plant species..." Since Cornwall Council has a statutory duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 it will be interesting to understand how this activity is not in breach of that Act. It may be that the upfront cost of pellet is more expensive than salt, but that excludes any consideration of the associated environmental harm caused by salt. A true understanding of costs and liabilities would doubtless provide evidence of a cost saving if we were served by any form of open thinking and imagination by our Local Authority.

Picked up from a FB post, I thought this was really interesting.... Great to see new trends and progressive environmental protection measures being trialled. Thankfully we don't suffer from too much frost in Cornwall, but it would be interesting to know how many tons are dumped on the roads of Cornwall (and more broadly the UK) each year and what the environmental impact is. This quote is taken from the Smithsonian (Jan 2014 followed up in May 17) so it's certainly not a new line of development: "...Road salt pollution is generally a bigger issue for the surrounding environment and the organisms that live in it. It’s estimated that chloride concentrations above 800 ppm are harmful to most freshwater aquatic organisms - because these high levels interfere with how animals regulate the uptake of salt into their bodies - and for short periods after a snow melt, wetlands nearby highways can surpass these levels. A range of studies has found that chloride from road salt can negatively impact the survival rates of crustaceans, amphibians such as salamanders and frogs, fish, plants and other organisms. There’s even some evidence that it could hasten invasions of non-native plant species..." Since Cornwall Council has a statutory duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 it will be interesting to understand how this activity is not in breach of that Act. It may be that the upfront cost of pellet is more expensive than salt, but that excludes any consideration of the associated environmental harm caused by salt. A true understanding of costs and liabilities would doubtless provide evidence of a cost saving if we were served by any form of open thinking and imagination by our Local Authority.

You have a cunning mind Gary! There was an observable attempt to mildly subdue the burning rage of vesuvian contempt that was obviously simmering just below the surface as I casually announced "...didn't have time for shopping, but there's a card there..." on Christmas morning. It was a sufficiently volatile and finely balanced a situation as you might imagine, so I subdued the urge to follow up with "be January sales before you know it, I'll bag us a bargain...!" It was a numbers game, I knew she couldn't go full psycho (is that even an "allowed" phrase these days? I'm confused) since we had the in-laws staying.... It was just a case of seeing if I could bluff it out 'til the sales started

Talks a lot of sense.... Good man!

Apparently, there are 2 Dyson hoovers in the hoose, one hand held and one upright - I wouldn't know exactly 'cause I wouldn't use the 'king appliance while married! I've got a Henry for the boiler and the fire places, everything else is "if she says she needs it, who am I to argue" sort of scenario... She just got a new washing machine, I'm guessing it's got more RAM than an early space shuttle, it 'adjusts' it's cycle time according to the weight of the load apparently.... I can't even 'look' at it, scary beast of a thing! Back on subject, the Dyson upright did go TU, but apparently, they have a life-time guarantee. She phoned up, they talked, it was replaced - bosh! (no, that's the washing machine...) The Dyson hoover sends text messages to her phone telling her when to clean the filter apparently.... How lazy is that? Seriously, I don't know how they fill their days in the modern era. Anyone got a mangle for sale....?

Surf boards and some leggy blondes in the back, roll up a phat one... Happy daze!

That's tax policy driving manufacturing for you right there.... Lower the emissions, lower the tax class. Keep it 'commercial' and appeal to the self employed builder set... Bought as a commercial, used as a family car - just like the majority of vans driving around Cornwall, beds, cookers and cupboards in the back - jobs a guid 'un!

Heretic! Dyson will get us through Brexit! Great British engineering (direct from Malaysia!)

Snows Plymouth? You may have dodged a bullet there too! 2 months late on delivery date. Refused to accept defect with forward facing camera, until Toyota issued an upgrade. Rear cab lock defect - then in for fix - then back in for complete cab replacement. First service which should have included and was charged for adblu top-up. 200m later, adblu warning light comes on because they hadn't topped it up. Jet washed after first service (Nov 17) noticed paint stripped off under body. Row with service manager (who was a Richard), spoke to manager, got it recognised and rework agreed, STILL waiting for them to call me to arrange. I'll leave in a while longer then Mr Angry is going into the showroom.... Truly dreadful service..... Best thing I can say, at least it's not a DMAX!

Good piece that....

Is that a viable option with the evolution of Wix etc? I didn't have a website for ages but whilst down with man-flu Nov last year had a tinker and put together something that I'm quite happy with. As recent as a few years ago perhaps you'd have to be a proper geek to build your own website and it might have been worth paying out some bunce to have it done for you... But it incurred the usual upselling and tie-in costs of having to pay for amendments, not owning the copyright etc. Now, as I found, you can find and buy the web name for peanuts (123 reg), build a page on Wix and amend / update at your leisure. That kind of leaves only the big corporate entities that want an IT geek or the knuckle dragging saw monkeys (I include myself in that category) who don't want the faff of doing it themselves as a market share.... and if you focus on the arb sector, wouldn't your natural design tendencies / preferences result in all the arb sites you create being vaguely similar rather than uniquely individual? PS if anyone looks at 123 reg.com and is thinking about a web name they might like, don't keep going back to look at the same one many times because it causes the price to go up since they think it is desirable. Think about it first, look once, then buy.... Some are even free for first year if you sign up for 2 years If of a devious nature for example, that has to be of concern to legitimate organisations who might have unscrupulous bandits piggy backing on their good name.

On reflection, it was quite boring (data mining RFID after the point of sale) No hysterical ranting.... i think the LBC catch-up is a pay to subscribe service - not worth parting with the pennies Mr E

That clown on LBC (James O'Brien) was withering on about it this morning.... Shame really, I quite like LBC but find him increasingly unbearable. Got a phone in slot myself on Nick Fararri show this morning!

Some of the hostesses have been interviewed under caution for the charge of receiving swollen goods! Dunno if i should have said that last bit..

That'll be on my epitaph!!

It was 24 years ago! I was young and impetuous with a tendency to over indulge leading to irresponsible and out of control behaviour..... Not so young anymore....

Been out tonight so catching up on the thread (I know I should read to the end before jumping in) but can't help myself... The bit in red.... could I propose an amend / addition? "and that people shouldn't necessarily be judged by 'today's standards' for yesterday's behaviour..... (I'm not suggesting that which was illegal then, shouldn't be addressed now, rather that as awareness and attitudes change with time that we don't seek to crucify people for what today might be judged as heinous social gaffs which, back in the day, might have been viewed with slightly less hysterical zeal?) I also confess to a degree of ulteria motive here.... I may, in a not too distant future, stand accused of being ejected from the 1993 Devonport Field Gun Crew dinner for assaulting the stripper with a rather large dildo, cast out into the night by my contemporaries dressed in nought but flip-flops, a grass skirt and a flower garland since said girl, having been assaulted with a friendly weapon, refused to return to the stage..... And I'm not even going to think about the donkey incident in a strip joint in Panama City!

They are living in a bubble that is populated only by other joyless sanctimonious plonkers. Meanwhile, in the real world..... the ability to laugh in the face of adversity goes from strength to strength with every joyless sanctimonious plonker that seeks to inflict their views upon us! (maniacal laugh....)

The Kernish method, regularly seen around Gunnislake which seems to have a disproportionate number of zipper-heads, is to stack the brash in the road. Granted it'll likely be a single track road with goats and an occasional car, but none the less, bloody funny when you happen across them!

My memory astounds me sometimes! Can't remember the wife's birthday but can remember DL number, bank acc number NI number, and I just thought, was it page 72 of the red book? Kaboom!!

Interested in people's thoughts on "Stop Works" boards. Been a while since I've read the book, but from memory, I recall the potential for Stop Works boards to be a useful alternative (where suitable and the prerequisites are satisfied.) The ability to stop traffic for (I think) 3 mins without going through the full TM procedure. If I understand / recall correctly, the intention is to allow a short, un-scheduled traffic block - for example to reverse a wagon out onto the road or the like. So it has always occurred to me that this might suit the dismantle of a limb or 2 over a road. Climb, face cut, rig, stop traffic, back cut, lower, ground crew collect and walk off the road, traffic proceeds - the stop traffic bit is all achieved within the 3 minutes allowed. Never used it but have bought Stop Works boards just in case. Any thoughts???? Just seen Gary's post..... This could be embarrassing!