Haironyourchest

Slapped myself on the back today after fixing my windscreen washer pump. There was no water coming out and reckoned it was time to sort it out - so I took the plastics surrounds off (Renault Kangoo) and stripped all the pipes etc, blew them through, removed the jets, blew them as well, no blockages. Unpiped, the pump unit was working, but only dribbling water. I just presumed the motor was tired, or maybe gunk in the impeller or something, and had resigned myself to buying a new pump. I couldn't see any easy way to open the pump housing without breaking it, but just for kicks, consulted the Net to see if there was a hack. The pump actually can be taken apart. And the culprit is a wee rubber widget that swells with age. The fix is to take a blade and slice off a bit of the rubber...so simple, and now my washers are better than ever before. No doubt mechanically minded folks would already know this from experience and chatting with other mechanically minded folks in the pub, but for ordinary people the Youtube is such a boon. Saved myself 20 off Euros.

FS460 here too. Maybe the problem was the mulcher blade - the resistance of brambles wouldn't be anything close to thick grass, so maybe it was close to "no load" some of the time. Thats not good, same as running it with the string too short.

I looked at the Jimney, had a drive if a friend's one, great fun but very cramped cabin, horrible on the road at speed, and not really fuel efficient. Very little cargo room, even with the back seats removed. Got a Kangoo instead. The deciding factor was my mechanic, who I always grill before buying a new old car. He said he hated to work on Jimneys. Asked him why, but he just shrugged and said "it's just the way they're put together, hard to work on...".

True, but surely the people who never use antibiotics will have stronger immune systems - being as they have had to fight off everything going, on their own - be in a better position to survive the latest superbug?

Agree with not giving a ****! Not in every case but certainly in some cases depression finds fertile soil in a worried mind - and in our ever more complicated lives there's plenty to worry about, and some of our worries are illusions. I've experienced this, worrying about the state if the world etc. you can lose perspective and not realise it untill it's too late and you're miserable. Just stop giving a **** about certain things, it's quite liberating. The thing is to identify what not to care about, sort the wheat from the chaff, as it were.

Its such a complicated thing, everyone affected presents a different picture. Can be dietary, real-world problem related, unconscious suppression related, chemical, genetic, sunlight/vitamin induced - or a combination. I was depressed as a kid, and think homeopathic treatment helped me, but it may have been just naturally growing up and change of circumstances. Theres also a type of depression where the sufferer doesn't really feel "sad" as such - rather just totally empty, no energy or motivation. That's what gets me from time to time, not seasonal or weather related. Its a mystery. I generally just ride it out, but then I don't have rent to pay so its easy to slack off. In former times depression was called melancholia. It must have always been with us, think of all the stories of people dying of a broken heart and so on. I would suggest finding a reputable homeopath and asking for your "constitutional remedy" - many will scoff but those who have experienced the benefits don't. Do you use tobacco Eggs? If not, you could also try an experiment - chew half a 2mg nicorette gum and see what happens. Nicotine is a powerful mood stabiliser in small doses, and not harmful in its pharmaceutical from, unlike cigs. Its going down the same road as doctors pills, but at least you know where you stand with nicotine. Best wishes.

The Art And Science Of Practical Rigging by Donzelli and Lilly. Workbook and DVD, workbook alone was twenty something euros. For abstract forces US Army field manuals, Vehicle Recovery is good, principles are universal.

Just to sidetrack from the death threats and nazi accusations for a minute - check this out - an English couple buy a beautiful old forest property in France, make a dodgy deal with a local guy, and end up with a lunar-landscape! Sad. British couple's fury at 'over-zealous' tree surgeon | Daily Mail Online

Ha!! - and the Peak Oil thing proved to be a dud as well - we found loads more of it! And the Mayan calendar thing was a load of nonsense as well!

The more I hear about the Swedes, the more I shake my head in disappointment......But I hear in Finland, they do rodeos with a saddle strapped to a spruce tree flung around in the air by a harvester. My kind of people....

Small Stihl one, use it every time - I like it. Thumbscrew but it tightens up really well. Easy to make as well, just weld a couple of spikes onto an old g-clamp.

They start around 30 grand and run to half a million for the big models! Pretty darn cool though, in fairness....

Holy mackerel. Pretty grusome, I hope he was up to no good.... Yeah the boards I got were well beefier than those.

True, I wouldn't lend klimbing kit either - too much liability and moral issues. But some people are fine jumping in the deep end - watch a few vids and just go for it, that's how I learned. Can't say it's the best way, but sometimes the only realistic way depending on the situation. But then again, I'm very physically cautious, have ample free time to mess around and generally have gotten into things for which I already had transferable skills and muscle memory. If a guy is compenant at roofing, let's say, it's not a million miles away from tree surgery. The variables being the site is random, moving, and the wood it green and subject to unpredictable (at first) forces. But an experienced roofer would be able to adapt much more quickly than eg. a plumber. Just rambling thoughts..

Cool. Are we talking about the same thing? By morticed do you mean grooved like shiplap or log-cabin style timbers, where the baords mate, or does the mortice refer to the post? The posts I got were morticed, about 5x5 inch with four rebars and two inch deep mortice grooves the length of the post. Posts came 8 foot long.

Just what I was going to suggest. I think it's very good advice, really don't understand the negativity. While kit is certainly expensive, there are bound to be ways and means. Second hand, borrow, rent, buy and re-sell, whatever, where there's a will there's a way. If you can get some informal coaching great, but even if you can, be sure to watch loads of YouTube tutorials as well. You might get hooked, and even if climbing trees turns out to not be your thing, you could go sideways into industrial rope access work.

By "gravel boards" we're talking about ferrocement 2x12 six-foot planks right? I made some raised beds with them last year, they weigh 70kg apiece, three rebars in each one. No way could they be damaged, only with a sledgehammer maybe. The ones I used were wood imprint on one side, look really nice when they're painted with water based stain, hard to tell they're not wood.

Depends very much on the locality. The more rural, the more laid back, generally, but not always. Proximity to certain "problem" towns, or communities on mojor roads, and vigilance goes up. Rural Ireland, bicycles - yes, cars running - yes, chainsaws - no, houses unlocked - no. Farm produce honesty boxes - yes, but uncommon.

Not a joke guys, and it happens more than you'd think. Double deckers are especially at risk of hitting sagging branches. A few decades ago no cars had air bags, crumple zones, ABS or seat belts. Nothing wrong with progress. Better to have the protection and not need it than the other. I bet the driver would agree with me.

BBC (!!!) and The Guardian were denied entry to Trump's press "gaggle" the other day. Apparently they loitered in the hallway with the tabloids, the Sun, Mirror etc. until secret service moved them away.

Maybe consider forgetting about an off-the-shelf arb helmet and try mountaineering helmets instead, there's bound to be more options. Then retrofit a mesh visor and just use earplugs, or forgo the visor altogether and use mesh goggles with it?

Can someone please repost the post where Mark J (alledgedly) threatened to kill Matelot? I can't find it. Thanks in advance.

My 2 cents - its your duty to clear the tree, if only to buck the culture of passivity that seems to be growing all the time. You could call the police and tell them whats going on. Maybe keep a couple of LED road beacons in the van for you safety. One would have to consult a lawyer to find out who the wood really belonged to, the land owner from whence it originated or the roads authority - but thats another matter.

Wouldn't the simple thing be, to build public transport vehicles a bit tougher? You'd think with the materials available today one could retrofit a low profile reinforcement over the cab. All kinds of crumple zones to protect against front and side impacts but nothing on top?

Yeah the "why" matters. Are the other guys undercutting you? What kind of work exactly do you do on site, and how much is your rate?