Genuine Question for you all. Would you rather be treated by a highly skilled, highly dedicated, highly experienced nurse who is unvaccinated but has Covid antibodies in their system, and therefore no different to a vaccinated nurse, or a fully vaccinated but green as hell nurse straight out of training? Which would you prefer to see treating your family members?

What material is it? I hate the plastic materials, they seem to ‘etch’ with the vileness associated with sports kit, either that or I have weapons grade sweat.
On my kits, mostly cotton or polycotton, get it as hot as you can, and use cheese gratered soap bars as the detergent. Works much better if you give the drum a boil wash out with the same if possible beforehand .Leave out to dry in the air. Works a treat for my stuff.

@Ambrose.
Yep, thats the one, good shout fella.

Are you talking timber framed conventional house or a log cabin type affair? I looked into this about 12 years ago, so am not much help, but the best cabins were made in a hangar in Lithuania iirc then disassembled and re erected on your prepared site.
The prices then were about £60k for a very impressive (to me) three bedroomed cabin with a verandah. It was only obtaining planning permission which put the brakes on it.
Worth a look, if you havent already.

It was similar to this, but not from this company.
https://www.newforestlogcabins.co.uk/log_houses.html#

I think there was a thread on here last year about some site or app whereby you had an animated globe or something similar, which you could rotate with your finger and select a radio station from whichever country you pressed on the globe. I remember playing with it for days, it was fantastic fun, but I cant remember if it was on here or elsewhere.

I had about 3 years working as a cycle mechanic on and off, and I loved it, but the things the general public try and pull on you is unreal. How confident and steadfast can you be? I had people ( not customers, cos they buy things) come in demanding a refund on bikes theyd just pulled out of the sea, literally found it on a beach and demanding money back. Proved they were lying by taking the bottom bracket out in front of them and showing them the bracket tube rammed solid with sand.
Also had people come in claiming previous managers had promised them a bike for charity rides, that kind of thing. The brass neck on these **** is unbelievable.
Also, christmas was mental, I think one year we as a shop built something like 700 + bikes between October and Christmas Eve. It was a quiet day if I wasnt building and PDI ‘ ing less than 30 bikes a day, this included climbing over the racks to get at them, disposing of cardboard, etc. One very popular kids model had a manufacturing fault whereby they had forgotten to thread the fixing bosses for the rear doll carrier, so they all had to be done by hand. That kind of thing takes extra time you dont have. And this was all for minimum wage. I once saw the workshop manager put in a 30+ hour shift in order to get them all built in time. If you take into account how much he got paid , he was working for less than minimum wage, which was about £6 iirc at the time.
Basically, yes, playing with bikes all day is fun, one of the best jobs i had ,but its definitely not worth the hassle or the pay. Stick to spannering for you and your mates.
PS both of the shops I worked in were in Wales.

How much light do you think you’ll need? If it not much, that Niteize Inova is perfect, as was a maglite Solitaire I had for years.
For a bit more, and by that I mean a lot more power, i use my Moon Meteor C3 bike light. Usually way too bright for things like dog walking, where you might not want to light up the whole woods and screw your eyes for a bit, but if you think you may need the extra power its pefect. Also has a nifty Morse code SOS mode if you think you might ever need it, like breaking your leg on top of a mountain or something. Battery lasts for ages in a low, though still bright enough, mode, its tough as they come, and I’ve never had a problem with mine.

I used to have something like an Innova Microlight which lived clipped to a jacket zipper or to the button hole of a smock. Weighed nothing, always to hand, and enough light to read a map, tie your laces, etc with. Great bit of kit, no idea where it is now though.

Aerosmith -Permanent Vacation.

Jane’s Addiction – Been Caught Stealing
Kanye West- Black skinhead
Dinosaur Pileup – Stupid Heavy Metal broken hearted loser punk

I used to work with a Mike Christmas, who apparently had a wife called Mary.

@BenjiM
Thank you for taking the time to answer all my questions, very helpful indeed.

@BenjiM,
Are you genuinely some kind of cheese maker, merchant, or otherwise involved in the trade? You sound like you might be, youre certainly very knowledgeable about it. If so, can you explain what makes a cheddar a cheddar? The taste variation is extreme, from bland Crayola crayon up to almost pungent, and every variation inbetween. How can they all be cheddar? Also, does the number which grades cheese strength mean anything, is it standardised, or do cheesemakers just stick whatever they like on the packet?
Also, last question; I do like Snowdonia cheese, especially the green one, but Im also partial to the black one. They all come covered in wax. The wax taste on the black one is very noticeable sometimes.And yes, I am taking it off before eating it. Is there any way to avoid this, maybe letting it breathe or something? Will those oils/waxes dissipate like this? If anyone knows the answer I would love to hear it, btw.

“Billet CNC’d”
Turned from a bit of barstock by a computer then. Luxurious.
Now if it was hand forged from meteorite and clad in reclaimed bog oak, you might be able to justify the price premium, but they are literally making it the cheapest, quickest way possible. Anyway, the quality will be in tbe quality checks, CNC needs to be set up properly. If the finishing tool offset is wrong and nobody noticed, guess what? You just made a pallet full of shit. I’ve had to fix pallets and pallets of CNC machined stuff by hand. It aint all that, its only as good as the setter and the quality checking, same as anything.

@rockhopper70,
I absolutely agree with you, engineering , as it is, is something I actively steer young people away from these days. In my area, if you work in engineering, you are currently working in a plant which is threatened to close, and from there you will leave to get a new job in another plant which is threatened to close. Employers moan they cant get the skills , why would anybody volunteer for a lifetime of overtime bans, work to rule, sudden change of shift notices, pay arguments, etc, coupled with the constant threat of closure?
I would probably advise practically minded youngsters to follow a construction trade path, from what I have seen. The amount of young people in their mid 20s and late 20s,locally, with their own succesful companies is nice to see.
For the non-practically minded, im sorry I cannot advise anyone, the world seems to have moved on and left me behind in the age of hitting things with hammers.
Oh, and unless things have changed dramatically, the best apprenticeships used to be released around July, when that years school leavers had had their exam results and therefore knew which paths were open to them. The start of the apprenticeships coincided with the beginning of the College autumn term, unless you were lucky enough to get into somewhere who had their own training school, which is always the best apprenticeship to accept in my experience. Old sweats with 35+ years experience happy as Larry to be taken off shifts and pass a bit of knowledge onto the young ‘uns. You cannot beat that level of mentorship.

My view is apprenticeship all the way, if he shows any sort of decent work ethic. I had a really well regarded apprenticeship and the expectation to hit a goal ( phase test every week) made a man of me and made me grow up instantly.
Only thing I would advise is stay away from any kind of niche engineering subject, like toolmaking or aeronautical, as , in my experience, what used to be a license to pick your job is now somewhat of a dead and redundant trade. If I had enough time left to make it worthwhile, I would retrain as a carpenter or blacksmith, that way I would enjoy whats left of my working life rather than endure it, which seems to be the prognosis for me.
Overall though, if anybody is thinking of a career in any kind of manual engineering subject is to get out of the UK, unless things change drastically soon. Countries like Canada are crying out for the skills which we treat so poorly in this country. Following two failed attempts to emigrate, both of which went tits up due to factors outside my control, I am now too old ,plus factors like grandchildren have shifted the focus. But overall, I would say my biggest regrets when I look back at my life will be not emigrating , followed by the career path I took.

Anyone got any experience of the Arktis C111 combats? Yes I could buy 3 pairs of issue combats for the price of one of these, but they look a similar design and fit to my favourite, sadly deceased Maharishi snow trousers from a million years ago.

Edit* as long as we ‘re all being civil to each other!

Mun, I cant believe you lot.
By far the most common reasons I hear for people going to a plant based diet is animal ethics, followed by health consciousness. I assume anyone doing it for religious reasons have been doing it since becoming spiritually awakened or birth.
I have since learned some people do it because they are disgusted by the sight, taste and thought of eating flesh. I kind of get that, seeing a rare steak makes me think what on earth that must feel like in the mouth, and the coppery taste of blood going down my throat would make me heave.It seems so unnecessary in a world of cooked food, but who am I to judge?
But the point I was trying to get at wasnt to wind anyone up or watch any of you lot go for each other, in fact some of the behaviour here on both sides has been disgraceful. I was hoping to find out a few things
a) vegetarians. If you are one of those who do so for animal ethics reasons, how would a blurring of the line between animal and vegetable (hypothetically, before the argumentative start again) shake any of your beliefs? Would science be able to change your views which are, at least to me, based on emotion over fact? I count myself as one of these, as thats the reason I wont eat mammals,I see them as sentient and equally deserving of life. I see no point in supporting the meat trade when pain and suffering -free alternatives exist. However I also admit that I did feel healthier when I ate red meat, obviously Im doing it wrong . I am also aware I am able to digest meat so it must be evolutionarily important to my species, which means it must be a benefit historically. Despite all the evidence that eating meat is good for me , I choose not to because I dont want to hurt the cows , pigs and sheep. I notice I dont care about the suffering and pain of fish, which I eat a lot of. I dont know how Id react if science demonstrated the ability of fish to suffer pain and suffering at a level equivalent to that of mammals. Maybe they have already I just dont know about it. I find my hypocrisy thought provoking and I wanted to hear others opinions.

b) meat eaters. I already know that you are not all cut from the same cloth. Some are fastidious about where your meat comes from, some couldnt care less and price is the deciding factor, and every shade in between, plus more. My entire family eat meat and I dont judge them for it, I dont judge you for it either, its just not for me. I’m looking at the way some meat eaters have described vegetarians as aggressive fanatics,etc. You have a point in some cases, but in others you are the arsehole. I was wondering whether , in a world where the ethical difference between taking an animal life and plant life had become blurred, whether you would double down on meat eating as you were now no longer the barbarous primitives eating the poor sentient animals, that in fact the vegetarians were now just as culpable as yourselves in causing suffering. Or, whether the the new view that all life is connected and sentient would make you reconsider your whole stance on eating meat. In the same hypothetical world as above, obviously.

C) everybody. I was wondering what other sources of nutrition might people reconsider , given that plant and animal life are now ethically equivalent. Bacterial? Algae? Would palatability win over ethics at this point? That kind of thing.

What I hoped would be obviously intelligent and articulate people on both sides of the argument presenting fact and counter facts , maybe with links to interesting research I hadnt heard of, turned into a slagfest and pissing contest. I didnt care about people putting the boot into me for my contributions, they were abstract, daft and unresearched, but for a forum which has such intelligent people contributing, it was a disappointment to see the way it degenerated since.

@big_scott_nanny,
It’s all good mate, this is a public forum, as with any thread I start, I want the conversation to go wherever it goes, it belongs to everyone.

For cheap, useful, and equally unwaterproof jackets, I had a couple of SAS windproofs for mucking about in. One general one with no wire in the hood, and the Arctic spec one with thicker material and a wired hood.
Pockets everywhere, hood rolled up nicely out of the way, was actually windproof, cotton so silent in use if youre looking for that and repairable if you snagged it on thorns or barbed wire. Always thought to get one and wax it, might still one day. Anyway, about £25 each they were, and I think I ‘ll have a look for another now.

Yeah, cheers for all that cash, not our problem any more mate.
Like I said, I would never buy another.
Contrast it with Paramo, my jackets been watertight and warm for over 20 years, still looks like new, and when I sent it away for a strip and reproof ( before I knew how to do it), they replaced the main zip for free, they didnt even mention it to me, I noticed it one day.
I will never buy Goretex or any of these tech fabrics again, as the only good goretex i ever had was my issue DPM rain suit back in ’96, the one with the zips that went uo to the knee, i seem to remember. Heavy but solid and dry.

I bought a Rab jacket years ago, one of those eVent things, a Neutrino maybe? Thing wasnt cheap at all at just short of £200 iirc, and is the second worst jacket I have ever owned, didnt even pretend to be waterproof, leaked since the very first time I wore it. Would never ever buy another. Binned it within a year.
The absolute worst jacket I ever bought was a Helly Hansen Odin Mountain Jacket, from Helly Hansen. £400 odd , but got it in a sale. Again, never even pretended to be waterproof, absolute shite, and within 10 months the hood fell off.
Got in touch with their UK warranty department, wouldnt touch it. Wouldnt stand behind their £400 jacket. Nagged and nagged until, “as a sign of good will” they offered to pay half the repair cost with their approved repairer , but I had to pay the postage and packing. At this point I just wanted it sorted, expecting the repair bill to be astronomical. But nope. The repair cost £19 i think, postage and packing something like £11, so out of an overall bill of £30, they contributed about £9.50 or something
Up yours, HH, for ever. You suck balls.

Unjabbed, as are all my family.
Was working in a bubble of unjabbed coleagues, no problems at all for the duration of the pandemic so far. Forced, under protest, to work putside of my department (to cover for Covid cases, with Covid sufferers, I later found out.Raging) came down with it within 24hours. Apart from me, 4 cases on t he same cell. Apart from me, all double jabbed.I caught it off someone double jabbed.
Started with extreme sudden exhaustion, as in sat down and passed out. Knew something was up but only hour and half til hometime so stuck ot out. Passed out in my car on my drive.
Raging, ferocious temperature for 12 hours, no sweating though. No mucus of any sort, no sore throat, just tired and on fire.
Following that, instant positive LFT test and positive PCR. No real symptoms other than sore ,aching tendons.Weird.
Day 3, loss of taste and smell, sudden extreme vertigo with terrible nausea. Tendons still sore, cant get comfortable.Appetite destroyed.
Day 4-10 appetite gradually returning, went from 15st to 13st10 though. Very unsteady on my feet, nausea subsiding by day 8. Vertigo still evident but not as severe. Sense of smell and taste a thing of the past it seems. Some coughing, not much though.
Day 11, gradually getting stronger but am not planning on going back to judo , the gym or biking anytime soon. Staying off work as long as possible, despite suggestions by them that I go back.
So, not the worst illness I ever had ( that was meningitis) but not something I want to experience for a while again.

One halfway up a local hill, cut into the rock by someone years ago. Surrounded by woodland on all sides, small lake about 100′ feet below it.
Used to love to sit here late night/early morning when the trees have full canopy and just observe. The owls and foxes you hear and see going about their business is gorgeously meditative.
Was lucky enough to doze off one night, about 3am, to be woken by a family of about 7 badgers snuffling around me. You ever heard a troop of startled badgers run full pelt through the woods? Sounds like a herd of cows.
Anyway, that bench.

I know nothing of IF, only what I have experienced this week, due to Covid.
Basically havent eaten since Monday until tonight, combination of complete loss of taste and wild vertigo which leaves me holding on to the floor for support to avoid falling off it.
What I can tell you is that , after the hunger pangs wear off, I dont feel much different for the lack of food at all. Yes ,Ive lost probably half a stone to a stone, but I dont feel extraordinarily affected by it.
Compare this to when I work afternoon shifts, where my last meal will be at about 11pm, then nothing before gym at 11am or so then nothing unless I grab a sarnie in the car, until break time. I can regularly feel as if Ive just been poisoned , complete energy crash maybe 45 mins in, cold sweats, shallow breaths, rapid weak pulse, basically feel like youre having a cardiac event, but only when working this shift. Hot weather makes it far far worse. Now Ill be interested to see if Im quite as bad next time I go to the gym having pushed the fasting further than I have for years.

Are Walsh still a thing? I have huge square feet and I used to use these. Awesome on the muck, shiter than shite on the road.

So is it the same breed of dog they use trail hunting as drag hunting? Wouldnt it be better to use bloodhounds or beagles? Both arent known to be routinely aggressive to quarry in my experience and I ve had a few hounds.
I did meet a fella in Cornwall who had a Fen Hound? Like a foxhound but slighter.
Any evidence of drag hunts trying to use breeds other than foxhounds?

So does the training overcome the instinct? Anyone know?

Wait, you cant be bored and wonder something at the same time then 🤔

@cougar, what film is it?
Let us know if its any good, might watch that tomorrow instead of starting bullshit threads on here lol.

@molgrips yes I understand this thanks, this is not what the thread is about.
The second part of your answer is what I wanted.

A gotcha question? Please elaborate, Im not trying to catch anyone out, I’m genuinely just asking people about whether long held beliefs would be shaken by seemingly unbelievable evidence is all.Im interested in how and why people do things which are considered outside of societal norm is all.

Ok @cougar , I would be interested to know your personal reasons for your vegetarian / vegan/ other diet. Health? Palate? Do animal concerns figure at all into your dietary choice? Were you raised vegetarian and know nothing else?

@cougar yes it , like I said Im bored. If anyone wants to remove themselves from a conversation please do so. None of us here, as far as I know are Nobel Prize winning biologists ,and Ive never pretended to be. Wer’e just grown people killing time on a bike riding forum. Nothing about it is serious.

@tjagain, who are ? A bit of context would be nice here if you mention my name?
Are we talking about drag hunters here, which is my last post? Plus i was asking which is stronger, training or instinct?
Apart from that ,yes, I agree with you. I believe , based on the evidence which nobody has disputed or proven otherwise, that drag hunters are out to chase and kill foxes for the vast majority of cases. They take no precautions not too as far as I can see.

Yes I am. I would still like to hear from veggie/vegans or all those pro-kill vegetarians rather than argue minutiae though.

Lottery numbers? Eh? Explain that analogy to me, im afraid Im a bit thick.
To have a tree suddenly evolve a n emitter system at the same time and the same place as a tree which evolved a detector system, in the same general time frame (be no good if the detector tree was dead before the emitter tree, too far away for it to be effectual, etc) seems more than sheer luck to me, unless the emitter and detector are two sides of the same coin and linked, ie the ability to emit is tied directly to the ability to derect as they are the same ‘organ’ so to speak.
However, you still need two trees, an emitter and a detector to make any use of this. It would be like only having one telephone.
Anyway, like I said, im not getting at specific mechanisms, I was asking if people who ,in their eyes , had chosen the more ethical route towards their diet could a) concile themselves with there being no difference between eating plants and animals and b) how far would they go to get nutrition ,in line with their “non-kill” ethics.
Lets try that instead, is it.

@nickc
Yes I am. It does say ‘if’ in the title, yes? I supppose I’m getting at would they then revaluate their choices, given that the demarcating line between animal and plant is now blurred. Omnivores and carnivores, by definition , obviously couldnt give a **** as it is, why would their viewpoint change?
I thought that was pretty clear, myself.

I think we are getting too far engrosed with trying to explain the regulatory systems of plants here, I can read up on all that. What I wanted to get at is:
Plants are way more complicated than we first thought. There are many many more points we could explore here, such as poison production in plants and poison sensitivity in their predators, the production of unique chemicals which serve zero known purpose in plants yet which are highly active in animals.
What if, in time, we definitely prove that they can feel our existence and process that information but just cant act on it due to the way their morphology is. Animals can scurry away or whatever, most plant movement is measured in hours or seasons, not seconds (yeah, mimosa, fly traps,etc).
Would anybody feel any less inclined to eat them knowing this? Im not thinking of carnivores here, Im looking more at the veggie/ vegan crew.

And why develop a warning system that makes absolutely no difference to the attacked tree? The only beneficiary in this instance is any tree in the area which detects the signal before it is attacked, so it gets a heads up and starts to produce bitter tannins before it gets defoliated?
And why develop a sensory system to detect the messenger signal, and what it is it? Yes I know leaves have pores, etc, could it be these? Seems a very elaborate system to the tree to just happen to produce a secondary messenger chemical, which all the local oaks just happen to be able to detect, which just happens to produce bitter tannin. Why would this evolve except to ensure the mutual protection of a species ‘ individuals.
The same can be witnessed in Walnuts, iirc, with juglone in their roots.