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Does movement on a workbench really matter. For fine furniture with drawers, doors, etc where design, appearance, finish often dominates function it is important. OTOH workbenches are/should be abused with hammer, chisel, plane, etc and may carry substantial loads from any direction...

Has there been a time post WW2 (and possibly even before) when one could buy a new house, secure in the knowledge that it had been properly constructed with quality materials, and could be expected to last (say) 60+ years before any significant remedial work would be required? We seem to be...

Considering changing the family size hatch I currently drive. Sadly I have reached the age where a car seat at roughly the same level as my rear (when standing) makes entry and exit far less of a trial of increasingly defective knee joints. SUV here I come! Over the years I have owned several...

A friend of mine has a Porsche Cayenne probably ~15years old. The principal impression is the quality of engineering. In every other respect - either unnecessary, unusable or both. The brand has bragging rights - but would I buy one (funds permitting) - no. New - outrageously expensive for...

The proposition that taxation should be used to limit extreme wealth (eg: over £10m) may be superficially appealing, but in reality is unlikely to be achievable. those with extreme wealth will seek to protect it that which motivates the pursuit of ever greater wealth is not mainly the capacity...

Cheap Lidl sourced digital callipers. 10 years old and I don't recall ever changing a battery. Whether it is accurate to 3 decimal places I don't know - but it does provide consistent measurement. For serious engineering it would probably fail the "confidence" test but for general...

There is a science to it, but I suspect most forum members would have some sort of intuitive grasp of size and type of timber for different applications. From the above I would make a few observations: make the workbench on the tough side - it will get stressed with hammers and weight. I...

Apparently approx 96% of a wind turbine is made of recyclable materials - National Grid. Even accepting they may be putting a somewhat positive slant on things, I doubt it is any more polluting than fossil fuel generation. Total UK electricity consumption was 275TWhrs/year in 2022. It is...

The carbon consumed in the construction of a wind turbine is estimated at 3-8 months. The design life of a wind turbine is 20-30 years. So not carbon free - but (as a broad assumption) ~5% of the lifetime emissions of electricity generated with fossil fuels.

The Kings Fund has produced a recent comparison of healthcare in the UK vs ~18 other developed nations Report. In summary: the UK does some things better than most - eg: controlling admin and drug costs. it is under-resourced in some areas - doctors and nurses, scanning equipment and beds...

Apparently a pilot light will consume ~14,400 BTU per day. At 3414 BTU per kwh, consumption is ~4kwh. A kwh of gas costs ~7p - so about 30p per day. About £100pa. This probably works for a central heating boiler where a demand may be placed upon it to fire up anytime 24x7 depending on...

Tax is often used to change behaviours, as well as raise revenues for public services. That the more rapid adoption of EV as a cleaner technology has been subsidised makes complete sense. Although some of the benefits are now coming to an end, the key remaining is that tax on electricity is...

Facts are tedious: Labour increased NHS spend significantly - mainly due to PFI (privatisation??) deals. These apparently totalled £80bn - £55bn still remains to be paid! Borrowing money, albeit to fund better services, still needs to be repaid. The Post Office is a legacy business. Ofcom...

Is the warp in the back panel a result of the thicker moulding being warped or the back panel itself.

Having become completely fed up with the high cost of ink for an HP, I invested ~£100 extra in an Epson ink tank printer. Still some hassle in getting it to talk to laptop and desktop - but a year on the ink tanks are still half full. A new ink refill tube (4 colours) can each be bought for...

At their extremes politics could be characterised as follows: LEFT - state ownership and control, from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs, equality of opportunity and outcomes. Has not worked anywhere AFAIK RIGHT - free enterprise, very low taxation, personal...

PO may not have had the skills to develop their own software, but given the frequency with which losses were occurring they should have realised something was amiss. A small post office is not a £m business with 10,000s of transactions per day. It is a small business serving possibly 200-1000...

There is a difference between an employer who has some duty of care towards employees (moral and/or legal) and should ensure that basic well established H&S regimes are adhered to. Folk working for themselves are at liberty to do as they choose. In some cases they may be aware of good practice...

I understand the police investigation is not expected to generate a prosecution (if any) until 2026. Both the victims and society more generally has been failed by the PO, public enquiry (3 years on and still no result) and will now be failed by the police. Justice delayed is justice denied.

It is not just the cost of wheels, tyres, fitting (2 x pa) and storage. Almost every time the car is changed you sell the part worn set used for the last few winters, and buy a brand new set for the new motor. In Alpine territory this may be justified - in temperate UK (hill dwellers aside) it...