Steven P

'idealistic stance'.. if you don't start your negotiations with your ideal, or better, you are always going to get shafted. Don't start with realistic in case your opposition won't budge unless you do, and then you are getting double shafted. Never start with their ideal position in the hope they will just say "OK" - they will use that as a starting position to gain more concessions. "Roll over and surrender" gets negotiated as "Roll over, surrender, give up the territory and also pay reparations for the invaders losses" after negotiations.

Not sure about the soil type - an area I know a bit - Yarm centre is in the U of a river bed though suspect this house is above the flood plain. Locally there are clay soils... but not sure about this estate. Cracks in the wall but not the garage... could all be due to foundations, lesser foundations on the wall. I'd also consider removing the trees - they will grow higher over time, for a fairly small garden will block the light. If the garage is sound and the clay is shrinkable, and affected by the trees, letting them grow larger will only make any future problems worse, or create problems with the garage.

Also look to the tip sites if you haven't done that (link above)

Exactly!! Protesting shouldn't be illegal! (however criminal acts alongside a protest, vandalism, assaults, and so on should still be punished of course) Edit: To reiterate a point. If I protest, I'll take time off to do so (paid time off), a government employee, also takes (paid) time off to do so, Students, with no fixed 'hours of work' take time off to protest, no difference. If I take time off, the job still needs to be done, I accommodate that, if a government employee takes times off then likewise, and if a student takes time off, then they make accommodations to make up the the work not done that day - with no fixed work, the working on a Sunday is no big deal (with me, maybe a bit of an ordeal, travel to work, open up and so on), but assignments still need to be completed.

Did a similar thing with the boys at the local museum, 50mm pipe I think, screw in car valve, foot pump and a paper rocket weighted at the end, flew a good 15 to 20m - still rising as it hit the far wall. Actuator was a 12V shower valve and launch pipe 15mm plumbing - think that's the difference between the 2 is that the stored energy can be released quicker through a 32mm launcher. Good fun, so in the garage, still be to be built is a nerf-gun rocket launcher, I reckon it should have enough energy in for 20 nerf bullets. I'm assuming here an electrical actuated valve, looks like they are £200+ ? Do you reckon you could get a quick enough opening speed with a manual valve?

Ahh, but I am not funded by the tax payer, so can do what I want, nothing illegal for me. My views are not being repressed by Trumps ego.

However, as mentioned before "look over there, that guy is also bad so ignore this guy"... topic of the question in the POTUS thread is Trump and his ego isn't it? Topic of conversation in the Labour thread might be Starmer... who hasn't just banned protests at his leadership. Big Ego Trump has. Remember his strop last week that Zelensky didn't fall at his feet fawning, offended his ego, strop.

'On the clock' which is the point of Students, they don't study in a traditional 9 to 5 way, might be a couple of hours lectures in the day, some library work, evening study and back in the library at the weekend... so who is to know if the time they spend protesting is actually eating into their study time? However it is another of Trumps clamp down on anyone who criticises the egotist.

Ahhh, smoke and mirrors again..... Ignore Trumpy.... look over there..... However Trump is pertinent in the POTUS thread I think?

errrr... so following that logical conclusion then, any government employee who protests also lives from government money? Noting that 'illegal' protests gave woman and black people the votes. Also got Chinese students having a stand-off against tanks in Tiananmen Square... before they were shot by way of extreme example. Also noting that Trump has been banning press that don't paint a favourable picture of him from the white house. And gets in a major strop if any world leader criticises him I suspect the problem isn't protests, it is the 'Leader of the Free World' with such a fragile ego he cannot hack any critics.

He wants to stop deaths in The Ukraine.... and withdrawing support and any decent defence capability, I think has just condemned many many more Ukrainians.

Anyway, back to the man in question, I see that Zelensky is heading to the Ukraine to be in the firing line of Russian Missiles. I see that JD Vance in in hiding this weekend to avoid -some- Americans saying bad words at the 'big man' I see that Trump flew to Mar a Lago, which coincedentally is also where the accused Rapist (with a hint of child trafiking) Tate is visiting, but mostly after a month in the job he wants a nice weeked holiday I see that the Americans are protesting about Trump and Vances behaviour, and a hinting pretty strongly thet they didn't vote for Trump to sid with Putin (These are repubcan voters) I see that the other conflict Trump is 'dealing with', Gaza, and Hamas still has captives all hell still hasn't broken loose Also see that Zelensky popped in to see the King on his way home, bet that pleases Trump that he was beaten to it (and there is a petition of about 200,000 signatures in Scotland to refuse Trump a visit - they did that before and his visit to Scotland was paid for by the US and not the UK as would be customary) I see that Putin is keeping very quiet about his pal, Trump. Thinking of those that Trump thinks are great men... Farage! "The spat in the white house is regrettable and will make Putin feel like the winner"... Even Farage can see it and he can barely see past the beach at Dover. Just to keep up to date.

Is that what you say? Your man there is disputing that the Ukraine is a small country - apart from landmass every other metric shows that it is a small country - politically, finanially, population et al. Your man there thinks that it is the largest country in Europe, and apart from land mass it is a small country - politcally, financially, population et al. Your man there I fear shares your fantastic ability to use an internet search, your blindness is if it isn't on social media it is not a fact, his I think is a blindness that Wikkipedia exists.

I'd seen them earlier, a good use of Al at last!

Is that true? Hypersonic bollocks?

... and CDs too!

Not tried the 4301 for comparison but the MS181 does me OK, servicing not done too much apart from spark plugs and filters but it is lasting well enough. Light tree work? 2" up to 6"? I'd go battery. Not sure what Homebase are doing just now but there might be a deal in there (closing down sale) - I got a decent battery saw for half price when my local one closed down a few years ago.

Might find the phone book out also and give some of the local tree surgeons a call. If you are lucky or make the right offer (beer, cake, petrol, cash) you might also get a load of logs delivered if you can take them as well

It is Buckfast down my road, if I had known that is the beverage of choice I would have moved to a better area. Another full carrier bag this morning, just from the end 1/4 mile of my morning walk. Dog poo bags have stopped for now... I think they realised when I dragged them all out the hedges and left them on the road side.... no more poo bags and someone else cleared them up, result!

But in comparison, a small country, holding back a massive country with very limited resources which was my point. But you are only comparing land area though, which to be honest does not represent power, if so that would indicate that after Russia, Khazakstan is a European powerhouse If you are to look at all the other European countries, the Ukraine falls low down the list with almost every ranking.... apart from your land area. So big bully boy invades small nation. Small nation is using its resources wisely to make every Hyrvnia count.

Think the respect thing - Putin has no respect for Trump but is not stupid to fire a nuke into the heart of Europe. No respect though. Trump in a month has got things moving.... so long as 'moving' you mean 'telling The Ukraine to surrender' Biden and Obama.... are you resorting to the old argument of "This guy is bad but look over there, bad guysd too so this bad guy is OK", though I suspect that Biden and Obama weren't accepting that the Ukraine just roll over and let Russia invade at will. That's Trumps playbook.

Russia :Area just over 17,000,000 sq km Ukraine area just over 600,000 sq km (about 3%) Russia GDP $2,000,000,000,000 Ukraine GDP $ 900,000,000,000 (about half) Russia population 143,000,000 Ukraine population 38,000,000 (about 1/4) Russian Army (before Ukraine war) about 1,000,000 Ukraine Army (before Ukraine war) about 200,000 (or 1/5) Yes, it is a little country.

True, perhaps it's because I consider most social media sites like a public bar - you will get everyone in there eventually but the ones in the bar at 5:00 on a Wednesday afternoon (for example) are perhaps the not the ones out there grafting. Ask away but... I'd take a recommendation with a pinch of salt to double check.

A couple of clarifications: Trump: Not good, obviously the words I wrote were confusing. Trump didn't stop the war in 1 day. His involvement particularly with that press conference and cosying up to Putin has condemned many more Ukrainian deaths than if he had done nothing. Putin does not respect Trump. 'Spunking it up the wall'... a small country fighting a military superpower and - get this - mostly holding its own - Putin was a bit surprised that they weren't a walk over. All the military power of Russia is being held off by what little The Ukraine can acquire. The amount at their disposal holding off a multi-multi-billion war machine sounds like they are are making every Hyrvnia count. So what to do? Well, Trump can try his 'day one' master plan. That might help. Failing that he can use that great respect (?) that Putin has for him to agree an immediate ceasefire till negotiations can occur, that would stop many many 'horrible deaths'. Imagine the MAGA public reaction to see a 'communist' leader sitting in the oval office chatting to the president ('Communist' = 'Russian' in their educated eyes in most cases), sure that will go down well!

Well if that is the case, what is Putin giving Trump: Trump doubts that Russia poses a cyber threat? Really? And he thought that Biden was loosing his marbles. Putin has some serious dirt on Trump (reel back a week or 2 on my thoughts on some of Trumps weaknesses). Trump administration retreats in fight against Russian cyber threats UK.YAHOO.COM Recent incidents indicate US is no longer characterizing Russia as a cybersecurity threat, marking a radical departure: ‘Putin is on the inside now’