What's in the news today?

[alp]

Yes, we're covered with a bit of snow.

Colin - I hope she pays for the parking as it is very expensive and one can't be late for consultation. I hope she is a grateful person.

One more day of plasterer and I will be very busy painting.

 

[alp]

Even we have a bit

Good or bad news - some jobs are secured.

House of Fraser: Four stores saved from closure after Sports Direct agrees last-minute deal with landlord

source

Hope more people go out shopping, even staying for a cup of tea will bring employment. Bought something online from Next and will never use it again. A pair of trousers labelled 30 turned out too big. Another pair of trousers couldn't be folded properly it was sewn twisted. They sent me £15 voucher even though I had never complained. They just said we missed you. I wasn't tempted. They can sell you a lot of poor quality stuff online.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks alp. I'm unsure whether the private hospital has car parking charges but it won't bother us; we'll not spoil a good deed just for a few quid but I agree hospital car parking charges are just a rip off.

Good luck with your painting alp; not exactly the best time of the year to be doing it but then here in the UK it's seldom a good time to do painting.

Like most towns here in the UK Huddersfield has many shops closed down but this is caused mostly by our local council doing their best to treat car owners like criminals; who will go into any town where car parking is abysmal ending up with a £60 fine; if Huddersfield Town suddenly had lots of FREE parking we wouldn't bother going there because the harm has already been done and the nearest I get is the ring road and even this is too near.

I buy lots of items online and I've had a couple of problems but generally I'm pleased because it's so convenient and as already said I don't face a fine. I ordered an ex-police riot helmet these being top class protection whilst woodturning; I received two large size ex-police white shirts instead; once it was sorted out I had the helmet and was kindly given the shirts free of charge. I also ordered something else ages ago and received a lobster keep net; again when the correct item arrived I was kindly given the net free of charge which I gave to a chum. I buy lots through eBay but I don't sell through eBay I use Gumtree for selling because there are no fees and I've saved lots of money doing this; I've sold machines at around £1,200 through Gumtree not paying a penny in fees; occasionally I encounter a time waster but usually things work out well.

The hardest part in doing anything on a day as cold as today is getting off my backside but I'll now wander down to the workshop; I can always oil my machines or do a bit of tidying up; anything is better than sitting around moaning about the weather.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[alp]

Hehe! Well done! £1200 is a good return. I sold some garden chairs and the man said it was a bargain as one chair cost £30 and I gave him 4 for £15 and they were in very good condition. Grrrrrrrrr!

Don't get good exposure in gumtree for my stuff, so have to pay through the nose for my plants and seeds. What annoys me most is they talk to you in imperative mode, for example, lower your price by £1 ... Or encourage me to accept offer and offer offer! I tweeted them that I would like to make offers when they billed me!

I remember this cruel man's joke - his wife got a Cliff Richard's VHS tape via the letter box for 99p and he riled that it was a bargain. Cruelty par excellence! The seller lost a lot of money as she/he hadn't engaged the brain.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks alp. I don't mess around on Gumtree whilst selling items; I put on a fixed price saying no offers please and must be collected from my home address; inexpensive items get dumped because they aren't worth the hassle of selling.

I've just defrosted the car and done a bit more tidying in the workshop but it's very cold and not worth putting the heating on for an hour so i've just knocked off. My workshop is continually evolving and I'm now delighted to have a number of bench tops clear after my recent coach lamp project.

It would be nice to have a warmer climate then I could do some really serious pottering around but it's a case of making the most of what we have.

Kind regards, Colin.

Clear benches at last. My circular saw bench is very handy whilst I'm woodturning or metal spinning to rest tools on; the MDF cover ensures tooltips don't become damaged.

A place for everything and everything in its place; I can't work if its untidy.

 

[roadrunner]

Interesting article on a possible problem presented by the ocean plastic clean up machine. The author makes a recommendation similar to my thinking on this issue. Clean up the plastics before they make it to the deep ocean. I believe this clean up operation in the middle of the ocean is problematic....

https://www.theatlantic.com/science...cleanup-project-could-destroy-neuston/580693/


Excerpt:

Just like reefs on the seafloor, this ecosystem does not stand apart from the open ocean around it. The neuston is a nursery for multiple species of larval fish and a hunting ground for paper nautilus octopuses. It supports sunfish, leatherback turtles, and diverse ocean grazers, which frequent these islands, relying on them as a food source. At night, soft-bodied jellies rise up to join the neuston, sparkling like fireflies. But all of this, from the blue sea dragons to the by-the-wind sailors, is in peril.


When I learned about the Ocean Cleanup project’s 600-meter-long barrier with a three-meter-deep net, a wall being placed in the open ocean, ostensibly to collect plastic passively as the currents push water through the net, I thought immediately of the neuston. How will it be impacted? But in the 146 pages of the Ocean Cleanup’s environmental-impact assessment, this ecosystem isn’t mentioned once.

I was disturbed by this omission. Though the neuston isn’t known to many people, it is certainly known to marine biologists. Evidence that the Ocean Cleanup knows about the neuston is clear from a table reporting animals in the vicinity of the Ocean Cleanup deployment area, where both blue buttons and by-the-wind sailors are listed. But the ecosystem itself is never discussed. By omitting the neuston from its assessment, the project is overlooking the habitat it could be impacting most, and there is no sense of what the damage might be. Because the impact report didn’t provide any answers, I went looking for my own.

 

[alp]

Hi,

Thanks alp. I don't mess around on Gumtree whilst selling items; I put on a fixed price saying no offers please and must be collected from my home address; inexpensive items get dumped because they aren't worth the hassle of selling.

I've just defrosted the car and done a bit more tidying in the workshop but it's very cold and not worth putting the heating on for an hour so i've just knocked off. My workshop is continually evolving and I'm now delighted to have a number of bench tops clear after my recent coach lamp project.

It would be nice to have a warmer climate then I could do some really serious pottering around but it's a case of making the most of what we have.

Kind regards, Colin.

View attachment 48885

Clear benches at last. My circular saw bench is very handy whilst I'm woodturning or metal spinning to rest tools on; the MDF cover ensures tooltips don't become damaged.

View attachment 48886

A place for everything and everything in its place; I can't work if its untidy.

So neat - you put me to shame.

 

[alp]

@roadrunner Best is not to overpackage, so that plastic bags wouldn't be everywhere. Neuston is a new word to me. Thanks for the info. Hopefully, this clean up only disturbs their habitat for a while and they will regrow after the initial disruption.

 

[roadrunner]

@roadrunner Best is not to overpackage, so that plastic bags wouldn't be everywhere. Neuston is a new word to me. Thanks for the info. Hopefully, this clean up only disturbs their habitat for a while and they will regrow after the initial disruption.

That's probably the best strategy as of now...Reduce, Reduce, Reduce....use of plastics.

 

[alp]

That's probably the best strategy as of now...Reduce, Reduce, Reduce....use of plastics.

Fancy you should say that as I just now opened a very stiff non-recyclable plastic bag of salad. I'm sure it defies recycling. Salad needs that kind of bag or the leaves will be bruised or crushed on arrival. Another solution is buy local.

 

[alp]

Source

A man well worth his place in history. Makes my hair stand up with respect!

 

[DirtMechanic]

@alp this reminded me of this thread you started!

 

[alp]

@alp this reminded me of this thread you started!
View attachment 49025

I have to admit that I'm a bit slow. Don't quite get the message, @DirtMechanic ! I started this thread because there are news articles which I like to share.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I have to admit that I'm a bit slow. Don't quite get the message, @DirtMechanic ! I started this thread because there are news articles which I like to share.

Maybe I see you as the neighborhood psychiatrist and myself as Charlie Brown who cannot do much about the news but maybe can make you smile?

 

[alp]

Maybe I see you as the neighborhood psychiatrist and myself as Charlie Brown who cannot do much about the news but maybe can make you smile?

umm.... That's nice! See, I'm a bit slow and you're like an enigma to me! LOL! There's one thing I know about you. No, 2! 1) You love Becky 2) You hate socialists.. who probably feel entitled and like to spend someone else's money! Ooops 2nd one might be wrong.