Look at how Corbyn handled stuff, the opposite of that.

Increased party membership to its highest ever levels, making Labour the largest political party in Europe. Managed to engage many younger people with politics and activism. Helped shift the political focus onto corruption and greed amongst elites. Helped expose most of the UK media being under the control of said elites. Helped expose the fact we don’t really have real democracy. And shown that what the UK needs is a viable left wing alternative to right wing politics.

What’s Starmer done so far? Oh…

My old Stumpjumper was from about the same era. The original owner had replaced the standard rear shock with a Fox Float RP I think, can’t remember exactly. It had a switch to help eliminate pedal bob, but I can’t say I ever felt that working. I’m sorry I can’t remember the exact size, but I do know it wasn’t quite exactly what the original shock was, because of the aforementioned issue with the weird sizing. So it was a couple of mm different, but I can tell you it worked absolutely fine. So I would say, if you can find a basic air shock that will fit, then go for it. A new equivalent bike will be expensive, and not necessarily any ‘better’, although many on here will tell you otherwise. It really is all down to trying out different things and seeing what suits you best. It may well be that you actually prefer the older design; I’ve tried a few different bikes over the last few years, and I still prefer a 26″ wheel for some of the riding I do, and larger wheels for other stuff. Horses for courses. But for the cost of a replacement shock, you will at least have a bike that you can enjoy riding. And that’s the most important bit.

I’m torn between not caring about your obsession with Israeli in this thread… and wanting scream at you for being such a useful example of the UK Left’s problems… but carry on.

So; you think that people who care about the lives of others, who suffer at the hands of a racist, fascistic regime, are a ‘problem’? No; Starmer expressing support for such a regime, is a problem. Starmer being told what to do by a lobbying organisation which acts in the interests of that racist regime, is a problem. Because you can’t claim to be anti-racist etc, if you support a racist regime. Fact is; Starmer isn’t an anti-racist anyway. He’s never actively done anything to actually help combat racism, other than express a few carefully scripted platitudes. Unlike his predecessor. So Starmer being at the head of a party which professes to stand against racism, just doesn’t work. As Director of Public Prosecutions during the 2011 riots, Starmer pushed a policy of fast-tracking prosecutions against those arrested, which impacted disproportionately against people of colour. It’s important to note that many of the convictions that resulted, were either overturned or had sentences reduced on appeal. Starmer isn’t someone who will stand up for minorities. I’m struggling to think of who he actually would stand up for, to be honest; he needed his bodyguard to manhandle that pub landlord away from him. He just doesn’t possess any real courage or guts; he’s a weak Yes man who will do exactly as he’s told to, by his puppeteers. And I know that’s hard for the Starmerists to take, but it’s just the truth, sadly. Your Lord and Saviour has no balls.

I feel that I’ve learnt a lot about you.

Well, then your time on here hasn’t been a complete waste, after all! :D

If you’d said you just wanted to ride in Epping Forest

I didn’t.

Except, you sort of did. As I said; easy mistake to make. But at least now, you know. And can move on , having learned something. Hopefully. Try not to get too drunk.

Lol, **** hand planing. 😀 You’ll be bored shitless after a few minutes.

True, but you will at least learn how to use a plane to smooth wood. An experience which you would find invaluable later on down the line, should you get anywhere serious about woodworking. And I’m talking about proper woodworking, not using pocket hole jigs and Festool Dominos. ;)

I was doing some rough work with pallets and wanted to smooth them. I found an electric hand plane…

Do not listen to this person. :D

Most pallet wood is kiln dried so relatively stable.

Yes, but it invariably warps, twists and splits etc, regardless. Plus, it often contains lots of resin. Mmm, resin. Gets **** everywhere, all over your tools, hands, clothes furniture, pets, everywhere. Horrible nasty stuff. It’s the tree’s revenge for being felled too soon.

We can go to my local for a chat with the racists 🙂

Now that, is funny. :D

I’m sure Starmer and his team can cope with engaging with British Muslim communities, without having to ignore British Jewish communities for fear of being called “a corporate Yes man; a puppet in a stuffed suit” for doing so.

Who said anything about him ignoring Jews? This is about him acting at the behest of a particular influential right wing lobbying group. Oh, you’re not making the mistake of assuming all Jews are the same, are you? Oh dear. What a trap to fall into. Perhaps that beer’s gone to your head. Still; many people make that mistake about Muslims, so I’m sure you can be forgiven. Enjoy your pint.

Hmm. Personally, I’d be steering clear of any such machines at the budget end; not to say they won’t work, but they probably won’t stand up to heavy use, and may not give reliably consistent results over time. A thicknesser is one of those machines I’m happy for someone else to own and maintain. My friendly local timber supplier will machine most material down to specific dimensions, and they have machines that cost many tens of thousands of pounds, which will invariably do a much better job than anything you can buy in Screwfix. So I just order whatever I need, give them instructions as to dimensions needed etc, and then just pick up/ have the finished product delivered.

As for pallet wood; I’d burn it long before I made anything from it, but I appreciate many people enjoy making more ‘rustic’ style stuff with it. It’s the cheapest, crappest wood you can get, pretty much. In my opinion, it’s not worth the effort cleaning it up etc. It will warp, twist, split and crack at some point, as it dries out inside. It will need treating if used outside. Whereas for not that much money, you can buy far better materials.

If you really want to use it, then I’d suggest getting a hand plane, and getting experience planing wood down for use. Slow, laborious and very uneconomical in terms of time, but quite satisfying. A jack plane, No.7, is a good tool for quickly getting rid of the rough stuff, then a smaller general purpose No.4 plane for smoothing. I wouldn’t spend the time getting pallet wood perfectly smooth and square, as it’ll warp, as above. But personally, I wouldn’t bother putting much time and effort, and definitely not much money, into pallet wood.

Is Islamophobia going to be Starmer’s Achilles heel?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/01/keir-starmer-urged-to-return-donations-from-islamophobic-property-developer

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-party-islamophobia-muslims-keir-starmer-b1722747.html

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/nov/14/over-half-muslim-labour-members-do-not-trust-party-to-tackle-islamophobia

Poor Keir. With an estimated 3 million or so British Muslims, and 85% of them voting for Labour, if he loses their votes, he’s really in trouble. Not attending a Muslim event at the orders, sorry, ‘advice’ of a right wing pressure group, can’t be doing him any favours. Still; at least he’ll be able to eat a bacon sandwich in peace…

I’m not only going to be riding in Epping Forest…

Are you going to keep the hardtail once you have bought the new bike?

Not sure. I may sell it or give it away. I don’t really want multiple bikes (been there, done that, fallen over them too many times).

The Capra will definitely be shite in Epping, it’s not at all made for that. You would probably have a different view on your test riding if you’d been to some rocky Welsh mountains. As I’m sure you appreciate.

I think it would be great for the ‘uplift’ type of riding that the owner bought it for. It’s definitely not a great bike for all day riding in varied terrain. Somewhere like the Pyrenees would involve riding perhaps along a dirt track for a while, then following goat tracks etc, before getting into the really chunky stuff. Big, long climbs, in hot weather. Sure, the Capra would probably be more ‘fun’ on the descents, but it’s getting up there in the first place. A 8+lb weight difference is significant in such situations. So I’d be happy to compromise on descending ability for better climbing. Another factor, is weight allowances on airlines; an extra 8lbs could well push things over limits, and involve extra charges (and we all know just how reasonable airlines are when you’re stuck in check-in, with no options…). Not the biggest consideration, but one to think about nonetheless. I do need a new bike bag as well.

I don’t really see how you could interpret what I said as in any way ‘justifying’ it.

Yet you suggested that those who committed the 9-11 attacks were responsible for the demonisation of an entire religion and its followers? Why would you do that, unless you were actually conflating the actions of a few with an entire religion? To deflect blame away from your Chosen One? Backpedal all you want; you were suckered in. And now you’re too afraid to admit it.

So to say that increased tensions with the muslim community in the UK was purely the fault of Tony Blair is ludicrous

Now that, right there, is a ‘straw man’. Take note, Kelvin. ;)

Don’t be ridiculous. I wasn’t doing anything of the sort.

Except you were.

but the small matter of 9/11 wasn’t a contributory factor in that.

Q.E.D. So; the actions of a few individuals justifies the demonisation of an entire religion and all its followers? Ok.

Oh sure, but unlike, say the BoD who’s members haven’t been on R.T. supporting the implementation of Shirai law in a Caliphate or to refusing to condemn stoning to death for adultery, or calling Jihadi John “A beautiful young man” or had Gita Sahgal call their leader, “Britain’s foremost apologist for the Taliban”. There comes a point at which you have to regard a group’s action as not appropriate for a main stream political involvement, and especially not the Leader of her Majesties Opposition.

So you chose to ignore this bit?

In 2018, the BoD were forced to suspend the deputy for Finchley United Synagogue, Roslyn Pine, for six years for referring to Muslims as “the vilest of animals” and Arabs as “so evil” and saying how she “detests the creed of Islam” and believes that killing Jews and “destroying Israel” is a fundamental pillar of Islam. Even more shocking was that Pine claimed that every deputy at BoD held similar views “otherwise what is their purpose there?”. Oddly enough, while the BoD took the view that Pine had brought the Board into disrepute there doesn’t appear to have been a statement from the BoD distancing themselves from her remarks. This suggests they were only concerned about the public’s perception of the BoD and it exposes a weakness in their ability, or even desire, to challenge Islamophobia from certain right wing Jewish groups that they represent.

Seems you did. As I said; crying about hungry dogs is pointless if you haven’t actually done your homework…

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-israel-ambassador-jewish-group-nakba-slammed

That really is the worst strawman I’ve seen in a long time.

Clearly, you don’t actually understand what a ‘straw man’ argument actually is. Binners was displaying the common trait of conflating Islam and Muslims with terrorism. It’s forgivable, because many people were taken in by the carefully orchestrated plan to create the new ‘Goldstein’ in order to be able to justify Imperialist belligerence. And this lack of depth of understanding of issues is demonstrated further in this thread, in the responses of those who think that Starmer being ordered, sorry, ‘advised’ not to attend an event by a particular group, is simple and easily explained. It’s well worth noting that the Board of Deputies is an organisation that has essentially become a lobbying group for Israeli corporate and political interests, and is not without its own flaws:

https://www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/article/expose-who-are-the-board-of-deputies-of-british-jews/

Starmer, in obeying the orders of- sorry; taking the ‘advice’ of this group, has shown that he is little more than a corporate Yes man; a puppet in a stuffed suit. As for Cage; it’s an advocacy group for people affected by xenophobic government policy. Again, like the BoD, it’s not without its own flaws, but comments like this:

Anyone with any ties to The Cage isn’t exactly the sort of folk any normal politician should be seen within 200 yards of

Merely serve to highlight how rampant Islamophobia has become, in our society. And how easily influenced people are. It really does pay to do your own homework, and read between the lines a bit more, rather than crying about a hungry dog.

Whilst this is the way it’s been framed by the media, it’s not completely true or accurate.

Well, you got schooled on that one, so perhaps best to acknowledge your error there. Fact is, that many people are killed by police officers, and a proportion of those are murder, yet there have been woefully few convictions. The same here; Jean Charles DeMenezes was murdered, let’s face it, yet nobody ever faced proper justice for that, because the system protected them. That is wrong. The Chauvin verdict is monumental, because it shows that proper justice can work, has to work, even against those charged with protecting us. This can help to restore faith in the justice system, and send the message that nobody, not even police officers, are above the law.

I’m probably more confused now regarding what type of new bike I need / think I need. Feels like there could be scope for
a decent article in the mag on the topic… maybe there has been one? (lapsed subscriber too!)

Having now ridden at least a couple of different bikes, I do now feel a bit more informed. This advice, given on the first page of this thread, remains the best:

You really should just go ride some bikes and find out.

So I did. But that’s not quite so easy at the moment, to test different bikes (for the benefit of the poster who just doesn’t get why; it’s because the global pandemic has meant test riding bikes from shops, as well as shops actually getting stock in to be tested, has been at least difficult, if not impossible at times). Not quite as simple as just walking into a bike shop, whacking a deposit down and then going for a test ride. My (not at all scientific) test over the weekend, showed me a few things, and reinforced things I already knew/felt. Basically; it all comes down to which compromise will suit YOU best. I now know that something like a YT Capra isn’t the right bike for me (whereas it may well be perfect for others). So I won’t be buying such a machine. I really do still want to try out a few lighter ‘XC’ type FS bikes though, which might not be the easiest thing. But I do now feel that if I were to buy something like a Specialized Epic Evo, without testing it, it would probably suit me pretty well. Our bodies adapt; I’ve ridden all sorts of different bikes, you generally get used to one. The experience companies like Specialized have, means I probably won’t end up with a dog. I think my initial misgivings about larger wheels were reasonable, but the Scott did handle pretty well and was overall the quickest bike, so that’s experience I have gained.

I am buying the 26″ hardtail though. It’s apparently a custom frame that was bought second hand, but fitted well, and has been resprayed. Reynolds 853 so light for a steel frame. And the price means it would be rude not to buy it! So that will at least provide me with a means to have fun, until whatever time I do buy a new bike.

Can I raise a point of order?

Oh dear…

Did those blokes who hijacked the airliners and flew them into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, killing thousands of people, share any responsibility for this? Or was it entirely Tony Blairs fault?

So, the ‘all Muslims are terrorists’ trope. Great. Thanks for reinforcing my point that Blair’s actions led to the demonisation of Islam and Muslims across the UK, emboldened the far-right and all manner of deluded nutjobs, saw the increase in hate crimes particularly against Muslims (but also against Brown people in general), and contributed to the rise in xenophobia and divisions in our society we see today, though.

Nope. You can judge how successful a government has been for UK society on the number of deaths via war but to me that is nonsense

Of course. Brown lives don’t matter.

Yep, as I said I will be ignoring it because it is nonsense

So, fact = ‘nonsense’ now. Fake news, eh?

Thanks for playing

Don’t mention it. Shame you didn’t turn up though. ;)

Blair (never voted for him) didn’t drag the UK to the right

He really did. The ‘War on Terror’, with it’s systematic demonisation of Islam/Muslims, simply fuelled the flames of xenophobia, and made millions of British people the target of right-wing fear and hatred. You can apologise for/ignore Blair’s failings all you like, but the society we live in today, with its divisions and injustices, is the product of the kind of politics started by Thatcher, and continued by Blair.

That Labour should replace him before we get to a general election, because he doesn’t have the charisma or connection with the public that is needed to win a general election.

Who would you replace him with?

Well that actually referred to the Scott, but the Capra felt like a barge on those sections anyway. The 29er wheels were definitely noticeable when it got tight and twisty. But it’s all about compromises; the speed of the Scott over mixed terrain, more than made up for it’s deficiencies in certain situations. Overall, the Capra was the most heavily compromised bike; it’s designed for riding down chunky stuff, and is probably excellent at that. It was crap at anything more than a 1% upward slope though! I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to have that experience, rather than just taking the word of some on here. The owner only takes that bike to trail centres and abroad on holiday to places like Tenerife, Whistler etc (he’s not poor…), he says himself the bike is a ‘pig’ to ride around most places in the UK. Which is why he’s got the Scott (and probably other bikes!).

Derek Chauvgn guilty on all charges. Good.

I have to say, I couldn’t be more pleased at the way this trial has been concluded. The fear that yet another murderer would walk free simply because they wear a badge, was so much that had Chavin been acquitted, or even just handed down a much lesser conviction, this would set US human rights back so much, and cause so much societal damage, not least in the inevitable violence that would have followed. Good to see the US justice system can, sometimes, work properly. This verdict is monumental; it now shows that serving police officers cannot murder people and escape justice. It paves the way for many, many more successful prosecutions of similar murders at the hands of those who are meant to protect and serve. And on a human level, it means George Floyd’s death will not be in vain. And it shows that Black lives DO matter. Early days, but it’s an important step in the right direction.

I think the real issue with Britain, is that people have become so used to be ‘ruled’, that the idea of taking individual responsibility is just too terrifying. So they keep voting in people who look like they will rule them, regardless of any other negative aspects. Corbyn was definitely not a ruler, and neither is Starmer. But people believe Boris fits that role, so that’s why we are where we are. Waffling on about the intricacies of economic systems is mere obfuscation; we get what the elites choose of us, and that’s that.

I now expect some comments around a Blair Labour government being no better than a Tory government but I will be ignoring that as it is nonsense.

Well, the tories have currently been responsible for less deaths, worldwide, than Blair, but I suspect you’ll be ignoring that fact. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

Completely forgot about this event, only remembered when my Google had an article on it this morning. 24″ iMac!!! Thank you Apple! And so colourful too! I really like them. So thin! I’m wondering if they’ll come with a detachable stand, and if wall mounting is possible (answer: yes!). Colour co-ordinated keyboard, mouse and cables! Bit concerned about the apparent ‘unified memory’, ie, not user configurable, so have to wait to see how much Apple will gouge people on the price of upgrading that, but for my use, I doubt much more than the base spec will be necessary anyway; I’m not rendering huge 3D projects, or encoding loads of high def video etc. No headphone socket is annoying; I regularly use my headphones connected via a lead, because it’s easier than faffing with switching on the bluetooth etc. Best of all, the prices don’t seem to be horrific. Previously, I’d budgeted over £3000 for a 27″ intel model with upgrades, but it looks like I might be happy with a significantly lower outlay. I’ll wait a bit, and see what else might appear (and for major issues to appear, if any), but for now, this looks ideal for my needs.

Airtags? Meh.

Bit of an update for anyone actually interested: A friend of a friend is a bike nut, and owns countless bikes, and very kindly lent my a few to try out over the last few days (fortunately he’s about the same height as me so the bikes all fit fine). We went out on Saturday, just over to Epping Forest, and he lent me a couple to try on my own for a few days. Tried a YT Capra on Saturday, a Scott Scale on Sunday, and I’ve currently got an old steel hardtail he had ‘lying around’, on a longer term loan/possible purchase. So here are some thoughts on them:

YT Capra: 27.5″ wheels, XT gears, Fox forks and shock. Lots of fun, but Epping Forest isn’t exactly the best place to really test it out, I admit. Like riding a soft sofa. Epping is currently pretty dry, and the ground is hard, lots of bumps and roots everywhere. Hardly felt anything. Such a comfortable ride! But point it vaguely up, and it suddenly felt like, you know when you ride over a patch of grass and it just robs your forward energy? Like that. Felt sluggish when trying to accelerate out of anything. I’d ridden my hybrid over to his beforehand, and it was a blessing to get back on that after riding the Capra on roads on the way home. 2.4″ or so tyres didn’t help mind. Overall, I can easily see how such a bike would be loads of fun if most of your riding was proper chunky mountainous terrain. But as I’d already suspected, the weight was noticeable and it definitely required a lot more energy to pedal up and along. Not sure of the weight, but the owner thinks it’s somewhere north of 30lbs. Oh, and the dropper post, I used once then forgot about! Again, Epping isn’t the ideal proving ground for such a machine.

Scot Scale: Carbon frame, Rock Shox Sid fork, 12 (!) speed SRAM X-something or other, I’m not familiar with SRAM products. FAST. 29er wheels. Some very light tubeless tyres. Really really fast! And surprisingly not as uncomfortable as I thought it might be. Really zipped up any climbs, and rolled really well over the ground. Was a breeze to ride home on the roads. But it felt a bit too ‘big’ on some of the tight twisty woody bits, clipped the (really wide!) bars a few times. The light weight (he thinks 22lbs or thereabouts) was definitely a boon; this thing climbs so well, and you can skip over stuff so easily. Like a gazelle. Such a nice bike. I think I could probably get used to the wide bars and size, over time.

Steel hardtail: 26″ wheel, a mix of older 9-speed XTR and Hope parts, Rock Shox Reba forks. Approx 24lbs, felt only marginally heavier than the Scott. This ended up my favourite, but it’s closer to what I used to ride, so perhaps familiarity played a part there. Such a nimble, well handling bike. Felt much better through the tight bits, I felt more confident in it’s handling in the more demanding situations. I do get the point of larger wheels rolling over stuff more easily, but the 26″ wheels definitely feel like they accelerate a bit quicker, which to me felt like an advantage. I have a possible option to buy this bike, and my friend reckons I’ll get a really good price on it, so a few hundred quid rather than a few thousand. I think I will end up buying it anyway, if the owner agrees. It was his idea anyway, so I’m hoping he won’t change his mind. I am aware the older parts will be harder to replace like for like, though. But it could be a great bike for using this summer; I have it to use now and beyond, hopefully.

So in all, a great few days of riding bikes. Conclusions? The Scott was probably the ‘fastest’, the steel bike the best ‘fit’, and the YT loads of fun but a bit of a barge if I’m honest. I concede the Capra isn’t the kind of bike I’d be looking to buy anyway, but it was good to try it out. I’m extremely grateful to the owner of the bikes to give me the opportunity to try them out. Top bloke. I think on the back of that experience alone, I want to try some ‘XC Race’ type suspension bikes out even more now. Here’s hoping the shops will have more stock in soon, but I’ll start looking around more now. Be good to have some more test rides!

Does it ever get lonely in that ivory tower?

No; my local pub isn’t full of racists, fortunately. I don’t have to sit in a corner, reading the Guardian on my own.

As for Major, who did he lose to?

A shiny, neoliberal mate of Rupe…

Anyone remember the G4 Cube? Fantastic concept, failed as a genuinely useable machine though. Overheating was a significant issue. But it did show that a powerful computer needn’t be a massive box. I’m not the kind of customer a current MacPro is aimed at; that seems to be for serious high-end video/audio/3D graphics type work. A proper number cruncher. Having one of those would be like having a Bugatti Chiron, and only using it to get to the shops. To be honest, my MacPro was always massively overpowered for my own needs, but the iMacs at that time weren’t great really. The iMac line has evolved massively though, so perfect for someone like me.

you can’t really please both type of customer with one physical design.

The MacMini is a fantastic format; just needs to be a bit more powerful to really appeal to someone like myself. It’s not up to an iMac in terms of spec; perhaps a MacMini that is all the iMac is, minus the screen (therefore offering greater options regarding displays etc) would be a great product. Or not.

Really? He seems to care

Well, then his acting skills work on you then, at least.

rich left wing politicians

Starmer really, really isn’t left wing. And sadly, neither is the son of Tony Benn. These are people who are politically much more in line with John Major. And what happened to John Major? Oh, he lost a general election for being to insipid, grey and boring…

Still clinging on to the usual narrative that everyone who differs in views from your own is an unthinking drone, clearly incapable of independent thought and just slavishly buying whatever Rupert Murdoch spoon-feeds them?

If it looks like a duck and goes ‘quack’…

Come on… you’d miss it if I didn’t.

No; I don’t think we would. I think we’d welcome something intelligent mind, rather than the continuously disparaging and divisive rhetoric you keep churning out. We get that you’ve backed the wrong horse, but there’s no shame in admitting it. Sir Keith has let you down; he doesn’t care, as his nest is well feathered. So perhaps try to think of something more constructive to say, that might help foster better cohesion amongst those of us who oppose tory rule, than continuing to imagine it’s all someone else’s fault. That’s how Farage succeeded, by sowing the seeds of division. Try to think for yourself more.

But if you don’t have significant investment in Olympus, then there may well be better options for you

You mention you have a (slightly faulty) camera, and one lens. Not sure if you have any other kit. But if that’s all you have, I’d recommend selling what you have, and putting the money towards something better, if you want to ‘learn more and refine skills of photography’. APS-C or even ‘full frame’ sensors offer markedly better image quality for a start. But also, one advantage of larger sensors, is that you get less depth of field at larger apertures; that is, you get less of the foreground and background in focus. This can help isolate a subject more, especially desirable with say portraiture.

https://photographylife.com/what-is-depth-of-field

So for a given equivalent focal length, you get less DoF for a given aperture; a 25mm f1.8 lens on your Olympus is only equivalent to f3.6* with a 50mm lens on a full frame camera, or f2.7 with a 35mm lens on APS-C.

(*In terms of DoF)

Of course, the smaller sensor format offers greater ‘reach’ with telephoto lenses; a 200mm lens is equivalent to a 400mm lens on full frame, and roughly 266mm on APS-C. And of course you get a significant size and weight saving over larger formats. This might be important to you. But the increase in AF performance with larger sensors might be important for sports and wildlife. Swings and roundabouts; you choose which compromise suits you best.

As an example, a kit like this would serve you really well for all sorts of photography:

https://www.parkcameras.com/shop/nikon-z-50-mirrorless-body-with-nikkor-z-dx-16-50-vr—50-250-lens_3017493k

With that, you have your existing 12-50mm lens covered, plus all the way to an equivalent of about 180mm on the Olympus, or 24 to 375mm on a full frame camera. A pretty comprehensive range, that should cover pretty much anything.

The Z50 isn’t so much larger than your OMD M5:

https://cameradecision.com/compare/Nikon-Z50-vs-Olympus-OM-D-E-M5

But a lot more capable.

Wish Apple would go back to how they were around 2010. Proper desktop Mac Pros that you could upgrade easily.

I had one (still have it actually). All the lights in the local area would dim, when I turned it on. Uses silly amounts of power compared to today’s machines. Mind you; you can install many HDD/SDDs, double optical disc drives, multiple graphics cards, all sorts, in it. Very powerful machines though. Not sure I’d want the equivalent now though, as things have changed and you don’t need such power to run apps these days. I did like the ‘dustbin’ versions; all stupidly expensive proprietary bits, but much smaller footprint, and looked like nothing else. The new ones, I don’t like so much. Huge.

socialist revolution

comrades

continuity Corbyn

Don’t you get tired banging that same drum?

It’s well made and it’s sought after in the sense that anyone would look at it and think it’s lovely

Well, the average punter might think so, but as someone who makes furniture, I know that the really nicely made stuff generally doesn’t sell for cheap. You’ve got to remember that even 100 years ago and more, there was still the high end stuff and the more ‘mass produced’ furniture, so even though things are hand made, there’s different levels of craftmanship. And the top end pieces still go for good money. It’s all about provenance. Think, Aston Martin vs Austin. Less Astons ended up in scrapyards…

I totally get what you’re saying about people not wanting stuff; a friend was recently trying to get rid of a lovely old kitchen dresser; 100+ years old, possibly Danish, but that style isn’t at all popular, so no takers. I think it did go, ultimately, but I think it’s a combination of lack of space in modern homes, and that style being out of fashion. On the flip side, Mid Century stuff is (was, maybe the fad has died down a bit now) all the rage, so mass-produced G-plan stuff was selling for silly money. G-Plan is nice enough, but it’s not ‘high end’. Those popular ‘Astro’ coffee tables were fetching £400+! I think prices have calmed down a bit now though. And as for space; we turned down a set of proper original Cadovious Royal shelves simply because we had nowhere really to put them; these were genuine 50s items, go for £2-3000 upwards now. Shame.

Speaking of planes, there seems to be a dearth of good ones these days

Ooh I’d argue the opposite; the recent renaissance in woodworking has led to some fantastic quality tools being produced, from Canada to China. Older English Record tools are pretty good, but the stuff being produced by the likes of Lie Nielson, Veritas, Clifton etc, is just incredible. And don’t go anywhere near Bridge City tools… Quangsheng tools have a very good reputation and are somewhat cheaper, and Axminster do a ‘Rider’ range which looks pretty good too. I love getting hold of old English tools for cheap/free, nothing like using something that’s 60, 70 year sold or more, but some of the new stuff is in another league, quality wise. That said, I still regularly use a couple of cheap MachineMart ‘Irwin Record’ planes for the odd rough job. If you’re on a budget, even cheap tools, sharpened up and used properly, can give decent results.

Like pianos (which would be another source of good wood) there are more big bits of furniture – sideboards, dressers and wardrobes- than there are homes big enough to house them.

I’ve no problem with recycling materials, if the piece has reached the ‘end’ of it’s useful life. And some large pieces can indeed yield some useable timber. Quite often though, time means frames are often warped and twisted, panels can be damaged (panels are often base wood with fancy veneers), and you can have issues such as rot and woodworm. Introduce untreated
wormy wood to your workshop, and you can almost guarantee misery. So you need to learn how to spot signs of woodworm and other potential issues. Even if the wood is ok, you’d probably have to spend some time cleaning it up and getting it to a condition that’s useable. That can be very time and labour intensive in itself. Getting a large piece with some useable material for cheap, would be great, but chances are you could well end up with a piece of crap that becomes an utter nightmare to dispose of. Furniture that really is well made and sought after, won’t be selling for a tenner. If you find such a piece locally, and the logistics aren’t a pain to deal with, and it’s problem free, then yes you can end up with some good ‘raw’ materials. It takes some experience to be able to assess old wood for reuse though. Far better to find a good reclaim yard, where you can find stuff that’s been salvaged from old railway carriages, buildings and ships etc. Genuine Teak and Mahogany are getting increasingly difficult to get in decent sized pieces, and prices are going up (due to the international ban on the harvesting and sale of ‘new’ timbers, so all there is is old stuff), but you can find lots of old Oak, Beech, Cherry and Sapele for example. Old church pews, school science benches and PE equipment, stuff like that.

As mentioned, wood recycling project, Facebook marketplace, skips, talk to local furniture makers/joiners to ask if they might keep you back some offcuts for practise.

Excellent advice. You may end up with small, practically useless triangular pieces though, so don’t be expecting big chunks of gorgeous Black Walnut or something! But small pieces can be invaluable for practicing sawing, planing etc, and also for testing different types of finish. There’s a whole world of bewilderment and confusion awaiting, just in the finishing of wood! But for example you might want to test how a range of different finishes affects the colour of a piece of very light Ash, of what offers a tough durable finish for a table top, etc. It’s not fun to spend ages on a project, simply to ruin it by applying the wrong type of finish.

‘Basic woodworking’ is really about learning about the simple stuff; materials, tools and how to maintain them, and basic joinery. You only need a couple of tools really; a handsaw, chisel and ‘plane, maybe, to get started. Ok, a few more bits and pieces, but not loads. Box joint is a reasonable place to start, but things like lap, butt and mitre joints, dovetails, mortice and tenons are the foundation to so many possible projects. And you don’t need many tools to get started here.

I’d echo suggestions of a Japanese/Gents type pull saw. Really good for fine cuts, especially in smaller pieces. Flexible blade, so you have to go easy and slowly, and as with all hand saws, let the saw do the work. Tenon and dovetail saws are reinforced along the back, to stiffen the blade to cut on the push stroke. Finer/greater number of teeth per inch means finer cuts are possible, but take more work/are slower. A bit of ordinary candlewax on the teeth and side of blade help with gliding through wood and lubricating things a bit; overheating a blade can cause the teeth to become brittle and wear more quickly.

As for material; forget the DIY sheds. As mentioned, it’s mainly cheap crap, but also poor value. Find a good local timber merchants; mine has a huge range of materials and services such as planing, machining and jointing (they supply a lot of raw and part-finished materials for high end restorations and renovation projects, as well as bespoke furniture makers). But the trick here is to persevere with the crap wood you have; if you can make something decent out of that, you can make something decent with most other woods. A good practice is to knife your lines; a few strokes with a decent sharp marking knife (a Stanley knife is a bit ‘agricultural’ and the blades aren’t really fine enough for good marking, but can be used at a pinch) will create a nice clean sharp edge, so when you then cut on the waste side, you don’t get that ‘mushy’ cut you describe (always cut to your lines, as well as marking your face and edge sides!). Sawing takes practice, and you’ll build up muscle memory, so it will get easier and easier to make clean, accurate cuts. I tend to use hand tools mostly, as getting powertools out, setting them up etc, often take longer and for no real benefit.

Buy a sideboard from a charity shop and cut that up

Don’t do this. Either you’ll get some unusable cheap laminated/veneered chipboard shite, or if it’s actual decent solid wood, might be something quite nice, so you’ll simply destroy a decent bit of furniture. And it would be an extremely expensive way to obtain some not particularly usable pieces of wood. Reclaimed wood yards are getting scarcer, as materials become scarcer, but Ebay can yield some decent results if you’re after a particular thing. Expensive, but easy. Look out for skips outside posh houses as well.

Maintaining tools is vital if you want to have consistently good results. Learn how to sharpen a chisel and plane blade. A few quick strokes on a water or diamond stone, regularly, is much better than hacking away until a blade is dull, then trying to bring it back again.

Get some decent marking up tools such as a speed square, steel rule and a nice pencil to mark things up with

Take time to mark up properly and accurately. Measure at least 3 or 4 times. Then measure again. A good exercise is to get a piece of wood all square and flat; so if you have two sides that are perfectly square to each other, your marking etc will be much more accurate. Takes quite a bit of practice with a plane to achieve this, but practice is the most important thing of all; you won’t be making really high end stuff for some time, maybe even a decade or more. Seriously. Don’t be put off or demoralised by projects that don’t go perfectly; finish it off, put it aside and start again. A simple lap or mitre jointed picture frame is a really good project to start off with; it’s surprisingly not so easy to do that and get it nice and square. Start slow, keep it simple, build up momentum gradually.

Then go to the V+A and look at Grinling Gibbons’ work, and give it all up because you’re never going to be anywhere near that level. ;)

Yes, I understand that some applications benefit from having more screen space, but then you can only look at one part of the screen at a time. I just feel a bit overwhelmed by massive screens. I use the separate desktops feature if I need to have more than one ‘screen’ for separate apps. I’ve tried having a second physical screen, but you end up with either one screen set off to the side, which becomes uncomfortable for me (I don’t have the space to have a big wheelie chair to move around), or two side by side, so again, ergonomics is compromised. To be able to just swipe left and right to bring up the other desktops, that’s marvellous. I often also screen share with another machine, and just having the one screen to do it all on, is great. Saves on physical space, expense and energy usage. Mission Control, that’s what it’s called. I don’t do much video or audio, but I get that having big screens is good for timelines and multiple tracks etc. But I’m talking more about the average user; people just don’t need massive screens. More materials used, more energy used to run them, more packaging and shipping costs, etc. Less is more.

I imagine some of you lot are like this:

My first iMac had a 15″ screen. I remember moving to a MacPro and 19″ CRT monitor; wow. So much screen space. Then came a 19″ flat screen, followed by a 21″, then 24″, then a massive 28″ monster. But I found myself trying to move back away from it too much, so downsized to a 24″. Then got a 21.5″ iMac really cheap. I’ve sat in front of 27″ iMacs, but on smaller desks like mine, it’s like the 28″ all over again; I’m pushing my chair back. 24″ seems to be my personal optimal size for a screen. Apple could make an iMac with near enough the same dimensions as the 21.5″ version, but by narrowing the bezel, could fit a larger screen into it. That would be perfect for me. I am revising my little ‘home office’ corner though, so could end up with a larger desk. 32″ would still be way too big though. Some of you lot sit right in the front row in cinemas, I bet.