WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Thomo]

Many of these people had little more than their faith to begin with, and now they are questioning that. Now they have truly hit the bottom and I believe that they have lost much of their will and natural resilience. You only have to look closely at the scale of destruction to ask "where do they begin". Clearing away the debris with heavy machinery to allow access would appear to be a start, but there is a strong possibility that there are people trapped and injured underneath. These people have had their lives shattered, and at a time when others are paying out hundreds of millions of pounds/dollars for the most crap pieces of "art" I have ever seen, they probably haven't even given this a thought, but it is a fact nonetheless. This country chucks massive amounts of money at countries that would never return the favour if the boot were on the other foot, and where it is spent is never truly revealed. But I do not think that this is about money, that is not what they are asking for, the kind of help that they need is to get them motivated, these people are capable of doing things themselves but are tired, hungry, thirsty and bewildered.

[Tardis]

Heat your home office for 8p a day

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... a-day.html

Youtube viral!

[Stanley]

I agree with Peter in that it's not a good thing to sit in the warm and dry and criticise the Filipinos. One wonders what would happen in the UK if a catastrophe of this size hit us.

[Tardis]

Last night at the Station Hotel for their acoustic night. Free food!

[Thomo]

"Snowflakes" very small. but snowflakes nonetheless, not a good sign with 4" possible next Tuesday/Wednesday. But then according to the TV ads, "Christmas is here"!!!!!! Hundreds of kids have already been to see Santa, and have made up their lists of "must have" presents. Think of a Gadget and multiply it by 10 to the power of 10 and you should find something for everyone! "Humbug"

[Pluggy]

Heat your home office for 8p a day

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... a-day.html

Youtube viral!

4 tealights at circa 25 watts heat output each is circa 100 watts. 100watts of electric for 8 hours is 0.8 kWh which is around 9-10p at todays prices.

Just use a 100 watt incandescent lamp which will give off a similar amount of heat and lights the home office as a by product.

Makes a lot more sense in a boat which probably doesn't have mains electric.

Maybe theres a gap in the market for a tiny gas fire that will give off a luxuriant 300 watts of heat (12 tealights) for 8p per 8 hour office day.

[Pluggy]

Small gas ring turned down provides 373 watts of heat (12 - 15 tealights) using 1 cubic metre of gas every 30 hours at 10.2p per 8 hour office day.

No free lunches......

[plaques]

Burning paraffin wax will also create water vapour. The old paraffin heaters using a wick were very common at one time. The down side was the room had to be well ventilated. The real danger was that the flame didn't burn correctly and started to smouldered producing large quantities of soot. My neighbour had to have her house completely redecorated after such a mishap.

[Stanley]

Confirmation from Susan that she is free to take me for my second lens replacement. Can't wait!

[Cathy]

getting excited for you Stanley

[Tizer]

Burning paraffin wax will also create water vapour.

That's also a side effect of the gas fires which the manufacturers claim you can use in your lounge without having them ventilated to the outdoors. They use a catalyst to get rid of carbon monoxide and that's how they claim they're safe. But it doesn't stop the fire dampening your room - no problem if your house is low humidity but a potential problem if you already suffer from damp. (And they don't mention what happens to the safety from carbon monoxide when the catalyst fails.)

[Tripps]

A gas fitter who gave me a quote for heating, said he would not fit one of them, under any circumstances, as he didnt think they were safe.

[Stanley]

And I would agree. However, it has always puzzled me that open flames on gas cookers are allowed without dedicated ventilation. Just think of the upset that would cause!
Cathy and Liz, thanks and you're right, isn't it amazing that a) It can be done and b) That thanks to the NHS it is free. Life is totally different now with just one good eye, I can't imagine what it's going to be like with two pilot grade eyes! Roll on the 26th! I remember once talking to a man about very high quality sound equipment and he told me that before deciding to buy a high end system, people should get their hearing tested first to make sure it was up to a standard high enough to get the benefit. One treat I shall allow myself is to get a pocket sized pair of binoculars. I had some good ones but gave them away to my daughter Janet because I couldn't use them, or rather, I couldn't get the benefit from them.

[PostmanPete]

One treat I shall allow myself is to get a pocket sized pair of binoculars.

Stanley, i've been immersed (read obsessed) with reading about binoculars for the past 6 months and have bought 5 pairs of the heavier porro prism types (much to the wifes displeasure......)

If I were to buy a pair of pocket sized roof prism ones (maybe for Christmas...?) these are the ones I would go for -



I find that an 8x is perfect to hold without the shake you sometimes get with a 10x. They also do a 8x42 model but unless you are wanting to use them in low light situations I would choose the 8x32 for their lighter weight.

Mind you - if money is no object, there is always these.......

[hartley353]

When I am out and about I usualy carry a pair of 10x25 binoculars, they cover most of my needs, only £12.00. but not upto bird spotting standards where I now use a spotting scope. these have come down in price over recent years where quality binoculars have remained static. A good pair of binoculars are still the best way of quickly getting onto a distant object.

[Tizer]

Stanley, when you choose your new `bins' try to get ones that will also focus close up - see if you can focus on your toecaps. It's a great help for looking at small flowers, insects etc without having to bend down too much. Once you have the facility it's surprising how useful you will find it to be. We've even used them inside National Trust houses or museums. You'll get funny looks from other folk but I suspect that like me you won't let that stop you!

[Stanley]

Pete, thanks for that but I want to replace the brilliant 15X21 binoculars I had but gave them to my daughter. Any recommendations?
Tiz, you're right, the ones I gave away focussed close. I have a good pair of Swift wide angle 8X40 but find that I never use them because they don't slip into your pocket.

[Big Kev]

The water board are coming to connect my new supply, only took them 18 weeks and £1850

Roadname BACK 1-15 PARK STREET
Status About to Start
Location ** Park Street
Description Inst UnMetered Comm Pipe Longside
Dates 18/11/2013 - 22/11/2013
Organisation
Restrictions ROAD CLOSURE

[Stanley]

You have my sympathy Kevin, unfortunately we are all cash cows now and it's a long way back to the days when the water companies regarded it as their job to put the supply in to your stop-cock. They've shifted that nearer to the main of course and told you it's your responsibility. One of these days they'll make us individually liable for the main as well.....
By the way, re the bins. I've asked Janet to have a look and tell me what make the little bins were I gave her, they were brilliant. I did have some made by Sony but Big Jack ate them one day.....

[Big Kev]

I have a pair of Olympus bins, I can't remember the spec but they've been very robust (dropped them a few times).

[PostmanPete]

Pete, thanks for that but I want to replace the brilliant 15X21 binoculars I had but gave them to my daughter. Any recommendations?

Stanley, I would imagine that the ones you gave to your daughter were the Sunagor 15x21 'mini fifteen' pocket binoculars -

http://www.sunagor.com/acatalog/binocul ... ffers.html

Sunagor have now replaced them with a 18x21 pair, at a slightly cheaper price though -

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-suna ... s/p1520069

or

Following Kevs suggestion, a better quality alternative would be the Olympus 12x25 reverse porros and these are the ones that I would choose over the Sunagor ones (if only the missus would let me...!)

[Bodger]

An interesting 1930s film of engine production at Morris motors,
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/power ... ng+machine

[Thomo]

Having been with BT for the past eight years I am finally giving them the goodbye, the main reason being the steady increase in the monthly outgoing, and adding things that I have not asked for. My setup is the phone, option 3 unlimited broadband through a home hub and basic BT Vision which we now hardly ever use. When I queried the increases I was told "You do use the internet quite a lot" this is of course mainly to do with the research for the Memorial Projects and the book, I pointed out that unlimited should mean just that. When it comes to the unwanted items it is possible that the calls from the Asian subcontinent were to ask if I would like to have them, bugger off being taken as yes! So, I am switching to TalkTalk which will go live this Thursday, the modem package arrived at the weekend and the TV setup is scheduled for early December, it will be a saving of £54 per month minus certain calls, and I do not make that many.

[chinatyke]

Having been with BT for the past eight years I am finally giving them the goodbye... My setup is the phone, option 3 unlimited broadband through a home hub and basic BT Vision which we now hardly ever use. ....So, I am switching to TalkTalk which will go live this Thursday, the modem package arrived at the weekend and the TV setup is scheduled for early December, it will be a saving of £54 per month minus certain calls, and I do not make that many.

You will SAVE £54 a month? Wow. I don't pay that for 2 houses.

Nanning: 4Mbps unlimited internet £7.50 a month. Includes landline telephone with I think £4 a month of calls, and it is extremely rare that we have to make any additional payment for excess calls. Cable TV with 2 set top boxes: £3.50 a month

Pingguo: 8Mbps unlimited internet £6.10 per month. We use this for TV also. We don't have a fixed landline for the telephone and rely on our mobile phones.

the calls from the Asian subcontinent were to ask if I would like to have them, bugger off being taken as yes!

Love that remark, it made me burst out laughing. I can imagine some Indian chappie saying "Thank you Sahib, you make me very happy."

[Big Kev]

I use Orange (EE). £19 a month for the phone and 20MB tinternet + £2 to £3 a month for any "extra" calls. I use Freesat for TV, apart from the original cost of the box, now 3 years old, it's free. Suits me.