Recent content by Michael P

Yep - father in law is a (self-employed) roofer, got pulled over by the police and turned back as they said his work is "non-essential" - completely overstepping their remit there given the government position is it is fine "travelling for work purposes, but only where you cannot work from...

Those do look great, and not as heavy as I thought they'd be given the wooden handle. Do it, you won't regret it - well, unless you don't bother with any safety gear, in which case the possibility of regret increases a fair bit.

It's definitely a good workout - hits the back and legs too. Like the old saying goes: "wood is the only thing that warms you twice - once when you split it, and again when you burn it"!

After reading up, I bought a Fiskar X25 - not cheap, but really impressed with it, and would highly recommend (way better than my heavy maul for splitting, and under half the weight). Might get the X27 at some point. Still use the chainsaw or - if I'm feeling energetic - sledgehammer and log...

I've been avoiding Polar because the reviews for it have been ... uncharitable. Will give it a try now though.

... and the character was Northern Irish. Imagine Michael Caine playing a Glaswegian and you'll be in the right ballpark.

He is absolutely a world-class troll. He openly admitted to it in one post and no one even noticed: There is no way on earth or LV-426 that anyone prefers the last two Alien movies ... :)

I've a number of friends who are vegetarian, and they all have one thing in common - they were never big fans of the taste of meat to begin with. I'm unfortunately the opposite, and every time I try to stay vegetarian I never manage to last longer than a week or two. Really wish I could stick...

Yeah that is a good point. I think of the highway code as the rules, but some of it is advisory - I assume contravening the highway code would mean you could be charged with reckless driving, but is that actually the case? I'm personally wary of overtaking on the inside in case I'm unlucky...

To the best of my knowledge you can pass on the left ... if you are in a traffic jam and the outside lane is going slower, otherwise it isn't legal. Happy to be proved wrong though!

Can't speak for everyone, but I'd personally rather someone flash their lights than hover millimetres from my rear bumper. I usually get out of the way before that though - I've never understood why some people think they should be the road police, like deliberately obstructing someone is going...

Audi drivers seem to have lost their touch these days - it is the Mercedes symbol that fills me with dread when my rear view mirror does a horror movie "dolly zoom" on it. Not sure why they can't indicate their wish to overtake by flashing their headlights instead of attempting to mount my car...

Interesting article in the Guardian by a palliative care doctor: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/26/nhs-palliative-care-alfie-evans-die-with-dignity.

I thought Whiplash was fantastic. If I remember correctly, the writer/director (Damien Chazelle) was an aspiring jazz drummer and based the movie on his experience, including with a similar teacher. His follow up film, La La Land, is even better.