For anyone wanting an orange GT3 RS I have one complete with box and instructions that I keep thinking about putting on eBay to fund more bike parts.

Way back at my last place I used to get 18p per mile which was comfortably enough to cover my fuel costs. We got bought and merged and moved onto rates (set by the government) based on engine type and size in cc. So my 2.0D rate went from 18p down to 11p. It’s supposed to be a level that flexes with rising and falling fuel costs but ultimately unless you are a super economical driver or have cheaper fuel then it’s barely enough to cover the mileage. Also obviously depends on where your driving is – motorway miles are fine but crawling around towns not so much.

It’s stingy but perfectly allowable.

At the end of the day, prosecution have to prove ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that she committed the crime.

We have no visibility of what evidence was provided so while it’s entirely possible she’s got away with it, it’s also entirely possible she didn’t do it. We have absolutely no way of telling.

I did our lawn – approx 64 sqm in the spring. Similar sounding soil makeup, seems ok until it’s quite dry then it’s like rock. Had an area that hadn’t been turf before, maybe 15 sqm. I stuck a tonne bag of topsoil onto there, and mixed 2T of topsoil across the rest of it. Probably should have done another 1T if not more. But it’s grown incredibly well across the summer. Bit patchy in a couple of place but that’s only noticeable when it’s really short.

I bought an electric rotavator off Amazon to break up what was there and then rotavated the new stuff through a little bit.

@konagirl epic response thanks! Where we are now is super flat with clay that turns from rock to glue after 5 mins rain so used to that. I typically have to drive for halfway decent riding off road and my local is closed for the foreseeable so good there are several options in a day! Looking far enough to the east that flood from the Dee won’t be an issue.

I generally consider myself a pretty capable driver and very aware of the width of my car (mazda 6). Those bollards are terrifyingly narrow. When I’ve had to go through them I crawl through but you lose sight of them as you go through so a little left or right and goodbye to your door panels.

And if someone wants to use it as a rat run in an HGV there’s a sodding great bus lane gap that you can go through that as far as I’m aware has no cameras on it.

I’d go Mazda 3. Think it ticks all the boxes. They are decent to drive, though not necessarily a pocket rocket (though you didn’t specify quick, just good to drive)

I got a smart turbo earlier in the year and tried Zwift but the Sufferfest won in the end as I much prefer the structured training.

If I wanted to hop on the bike and go for a ride, I’d go outside.

I built a teeny tiny laptop shelf on the wall in the garage and use laptop out there for riding, inside I use tablet or phone to airplay to the tv for yoga videos. Been doing the yoga on and off all year (not so much the turbo)

I wouldn’t be too concerned about big jumps and drops at chicksands – there are plenty of trails there that are relatively straightforward and quite good fun. If you want a couple of hours of fun going downhill and a fire road climb back up I’d go there. If you want a trail ride I’d go to Woburn.

We are about to use Evolve Law in Milton Keynes. They’re not far away from us but we have no need to actually go see them. Come highly recommended by our EA and have excellent trustpilot reviews.

If you go down the Canon DSLR route and pick up a used body, I have an unused EF-S 18-55mm kit lens you’re welcome to have for postage.

Could you not just buy some different tails for the new tap?

I actually quite like the park and ride (madingley road normally as it’s where I reach Cambridge).

I can tell you the grand arcade car park (near the college) is rather expensive. Have used grafton road car park the other side of town which wasn’t too bad but it’s not big.

My Atera Giros also have a lot of movement, even with a road bike up there. It’s just the levering action at work. If you wanted to stop it you’d have to make the bike holder much wider at the base. They’re obviously designed with the best compromise of width and strength. So far I’ve not had any issues.

TBH being accidentally locked out is way down my list of concerns. It’s happened once, about 15 years ago.

We’ve got one of the more expensive night latches that auto deadlocks with a little pin that pushes in as the door closes (to stop the latch being pushed back without a key) so tend to only use the mortice lock when out for the day etc (rather than nipping round the shops). I figure someone kicking in my front door is likely to be quite noticeable.

I’d not considered getting a 5 lever lock with a handle, the only question then is what do you do with the sodding great hole the night latch leaves in the door?

Out of interest, for those saying the night latch is a bad design.. what is the alternative for a door with an existing night latch and mortise lock? Short of replacing the door that is…

Check your tariff and find out what the standing charge is. Then subtract that from your morning reading and what’s left is what’s actually been used overnight.

My gas usage shows 13p every morning because that’s what I’m charged before even using anything.

@MrPottatoHead maybe try a different store? Mine was simply checked for physical damage and that it turned on to the factory reset ‘hello’ screen, nothing further.

@Jakester that charitable service is admirable! I do have a £4 charity shop acoustic guitar that might be suitable ;)

Phil Jones headphones sound interesting… Maybe what I really need though is a new bass (I did always hanker after a proper Jazz)

I have a delightful Musicman Sterling that hasn’t come out of its case in the last 2 years and hasn’t really been played since my last band broke up 6+ years ago. Now I have two children and a house with paper thin walls I don’t really get time to even think about playing :(

Picked up a mini amp a couple of years ago to replace my ashdown stack that got sold and I’m not sure I’ve ever actually used it.

@ElShalimo yep did the reset at home and left it at the welcome screen you get afterwards. Store just visually checked it over and then made sure it turned on and that was it.

Porting apps from an older iPad to the new is just a case of taking a backup before wiping the old one and then restoring. I didn’t do that because my old one is so out of date. Could have restored a backup from my phone though.

Super glad I spotted this thread. Have been thinking about a new ipad recently. Just took my 9 year old ipad 3 16GB to currys for the full £150 off a 2020 air 64GB.

@midlifecrashes you’re my hero (at least for today)

Write left handed. Dress to the left. Use a mouse right handed. Play racket sports right handed. Cricket left handed. Right handed scissors. Football left foot. Lead off on the bike with my right.

Bit weird really. I’ve always considered that I’m a bit ambidextrous but really something things have always just felt right with the hand or foot I use.

I really like the idea of an ASHP from the perspective of moving away from gas. Had a quote for ~ £6500 after the 7 years worth of payments from the gov incentive scheme. Was £11k or so up front I think.

On the flip side, I could get a combi boiler fitted in the loft (freeing up space in the kitchen) and ditch the hot water tank (to gain another cupboard) for ~£3k give or take £500.

I’m pretty much in the same position, that my 25 year old boiler may give up completely at any minute, if it lasts another few years a heat pump might be a better choice but for now I think a replacement boiler is best for the wallet by a long way.

1m is pretty deep for a desk. You could get three sets of IKEA Alex drawer units and sit a couple of panels on them with some little rubber feet as standoffs (assuming the panels are super heavy they won’t move).

You can get quite a nice desk with the Alex drawer/ cupboard units and a big piece of worktop. We have a comfortable space for two of us with 4 legs, one drawer unit in the middle and a 2.4m x 600mm white worktop. Complete with monitor/ laptop stands it’s got loads of space to work.

That sounds slightly weird. So you have:

ASA
|
PC
|
Switch
|
Router

?

The ASA has only one cable connected? And this works with one of the routers?

What IP addresses does the home hub give out compared to the TP link ? EG 192.168.0.x vs 192.168.100.x

Obviously I have no clue how the kit has been set up by the trust, but it sounds like a strange solution, or connected wrong.

@dickyhepburn may well be onto something.

Are your two different routers using two different IP ranges inside? That could be the problem for either of your issues.

If she’s got an ASA then find out what IP your router assigns it, then port forward everything to that IP. Some routers call this DMZ.

Why don’t you just buy a separate AP to go with the router you have? Something like a Ubiquiti Unifi will give you the wireless control you are looking for at least.

What is the ‘WFH setup’? Is there any physical hardware or is it just a VPN on the laptop?

Consumer routers rarely block anything outbound and most remote access solutions don’t require inbound to the end user.

Her IT dept should be able to advise/ fix.

Blinds down and curtains shut does stop the house from getting hotter than the outside, but in a house where the rooms are all relatively small it gets stuffy very quickly. My office room is about 2.5m x 1.8m and if I work in there when it’s 30c outside it will easily get up to 35c.

I can bear that though. What’s hard is putting a 2 year old and 2 month old to bed when it’s 28-30c inside.

Another humanscale Liberty here. It’s not small in terms of floor space used but it’s super comfortable (and adjustable). The arms are adjustable up and down (no point in them if they are fixed) and unless I’m sat up straight typing I do use them.

Grab some of the grass and give it a gentle tug. If it doesn’t immediately lift up then mow it on the highest setting you can.

I had the same problem recently, laid it and it grew like crazy. I’ve had trouble keeping it short enough that all of it grows properly..

@weeksy how about you post me some, and I’ll post some back to you when mine arrives on the 47th julember?

Mines even worse!

shipped via Parcelforce on 15th July 2021

Got a tracking number and everything.

You’re most welcome. I’ve been poking about with a few recently. I think the interface to hifiberry OS is better but unless you custom build it, it won’t output to the built in audio outs (these things are all really designed for 3rd party DACs). Moode seems to have the best of everything and I can put up with the interface.

Alexa control sounds interesting, something like this might work: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lawrence-Thorpe-Connect-Control-Spotify/dp/B074KFNWFD

I know you can install Alexa onto a pi, but I don’t know if you could then directly control the Moode Spotify from there. As you can ask Alexa to play x on Spotify, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to also say ‘connect spotify to moode’.

If you have a raspberry pi lying around then Moode Audio is great. Spotify connect, AirPlay, chrome cast, internet radio, local usb storage, NAS, tidal via upnp etc. The web interface isn’t amazing but it’s not terrible, I find it perfectly usable. And if you are mostly using Spotify then you bypass all that and use the Spotify app.

Easy enough to set up, and if you want really good sound then you can get a DAC hat for about £60.

I have shadow foam in mine (original, not easy peel as stock was limited). It’s great, but a bit of a long PITA if you have lots of drawers/tools to cut out.

I have a 2015 6 saloon with the 2.2 diesel. For low mileage I would go petrol – the fuel consumption figures are not remotely accurate (something to do with being able to quote figures for a lower PS engine because it’s the same displacement – mine is the higher power 2.2 and I get 8-10mpg less than quoted in normal motorway driving).

I will probably run into the service history issue when it comes to sell. My first three services were done by Mazda and are on the digital record. The rest I have just kept invoices for in the hope that is enough. Does the seller of car 1 not have paperwork to show services completed?

It’s a great car regardless. In nearly 6 years of ownership I have only had 1 issue with the infotainment. Not actually sure what the problem is as I’m barely driving it right now but I doubt it will be too expensive a fix as parts seem fairly cheaply available.

@ajantom does that pergola fix to the floor at all? Have been looking at a similar one but no information on whether you fix it to the floor or if it’s just heavy enough that it won’t move.

I would highly recommend splashing out on this book:

River Cottage Veg Every Day! https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1408888521/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_G28ABSNCM31KN0E467HB

As a meat eater, I don’t want veggie food that tries to replace meat, I want things that showcase actual vegetables. The recipes in this book are fab. There is a whole ‘tapas style’ section which the author recommends throwing a bunch of together for entertaining or feeding larger numbers of people.