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The grand prize
  • Possible but the expense ruined my plans in the end… I did consider collecting broken tungsten end mills and inserts from machine shops and throwing them in molten lead, like croutons in a lead soup.

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    The grand prize
  • I really wanted to use Tungsten as the base ballast for a custom narrowboat, for better headroom. Other than the cost you also have the problem of tungsten’s melting point being so high you can’t pour it into a boat hull without melting through.

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    I can imagine the "will you be using the mobile app?" question to get cheaper food is going to devolve into the Mark of the Beast and someday no one will be able to buy anything without using the apps
  • Credit card companies know where you are spending your money, but not what you are buying.

    They have been selling your data but it’s less valuable in the world of store apps and online stores where every search and purchase is linked to your email. Still worth opting out of any “data sharing” options your Credit Card company has though.

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    I can imagine the "will you be using the mobile app?" question to get cheaper food is going to devolve into the Mark of the Beast and someday no one will be able to buy anything without using the apps
  • It’s not “a set of people” anymore it’s you, and there is always more data.

    Buy some doughnuts for the office… your health insurance just went up.

    You buy a new car which has fancy connected features, but now it sells your driving safety score to your car insurance company.

    Buy a vegan ready meal, both vegan food companies and the meat industry compete for your business, you might get a few discounts, but your free will is being influenced.

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    I can imagine the "will you be using the mobile app?" question to get cheaper food is going to devolve into the Mark of the Beast and someday no one will be able to buy anything without using the apps
  • The difference is when credit cards were introduced their business model was charging customers interest and businesses fees.

    Now the business model is making customer profiles to sell to advertisers, insurance companies and anyone else who is willing to buy the data. I don’t want every business I use to be collecting all this information.

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    Apple Leads Smartphone Industry Into Anti-Consumer, Environmental Hell
  • This article is over 2 years old, so not exactly new news.

    Just keep your phone for as long as possible and only upgrade when you absolutely have to.

    There are no environmentally friendly options, but making sure your device is recycled at EOL, replacing your battery rather than your phone, and keeping it for as long as possible is the best you can do while still having the luxury of owning a phone.

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    Is it as bad as I think it is?
  • In which case slightly thicker oil may reduce your oil burning but it’s not that bad.

    Change your oil every 6k and it will probably last to 250k.

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    Is it as bad as I think it is?
  • What is the problem with running it as-is? Does it smoke, burn oil, not turn over etc?

    That image is not good enough to see what that mark on the wall is, but there is certainly some vertical scoring.

    At 162k on a Toyota, unless you have a real running problem, i’d put thicker oil in and let that motor live for another 100k.

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    'Botched insulation means mushrooms grow on my walls'
  • I’m not aware of any insulation and rendering options that allow breathability of the sub structure. This is why any internal leaks need to be fixed and rising damp needs to be mitigated with DryRods.

    Pretty much the only buildings that cannot be insulated without a massive amount of work is where the floor of the building is sitting in groundwater without a waterproofing membrane.

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    'Botched insulation means mushrooms grow on my walls'
  • I agree, but then articles like this are the reason these people are so annoyed at the installers, they make it sound like there are mysterious procedures and practices which are not being followed, while failing to detail any of them and making the problem worse.

    Anyone reading this will only ever come to the conclusion that they had a bad installer and won’t want their help, all while their house is turning into a stroganoff.

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    'Botched insulation means mushrooms grow on my walls'
  • I know a lot about building and insulation. The most likely cause of this is pre-existing damp that was just exasperated by the insulation making it warm on top of the damp.

    If there is any sign of “rising damp” the modern way of dealing with it is by installing a layer of DryRods, however if the insulation was installed during a particularly dry period there might not have been evidence of a pre-existing problem.

    Other than that possibility it could be an unrelated pipe leak, physical damage to the insulation and render, or an issue with the guttering.

    Finally cold-bridging where a portion of the envelope of the house is uninsulated and forms condensation, this is pretty much the only issue which could be a mistake on behalf of installer, but even then it should be obvious and made worse by failing to open windows or turn on extractors when showering, drying washing or cooking.

    Any of this information could have been in the article, it’s absence is suspicious. Whatever the reason the first thing you need to do is let the contractor investigate.

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    'Botched insulation means mushrooms grow on my walls'
  • It sounds like the company is offering to come back and fix whatever problem is causing the damp but the homeowner is refusing to let them fix it. Sounds like they’re just idiots.

    The article doesn’t say what installation standards are not being adhered to. It’s not rocket science, you take insulation boards, you glue or screw or both to the house and you mesh ad render over the top. It sounds like whoever wrote this didn’t do much investigation.

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    Government pledges nearly £22bn for carbon capture projects
  • What a waste of money, ask any independent climate scientist what you could could spend £22bn on, carbon capture and storage wouldn’t even be in the top 100 suggestions.

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    That's one cool ride
  • I’m going to get my deposit back for the CT, I still think it’s cool but I don’t think it will ever be sold in Europe and Musk has just ruined the reputation of Tesla. I’m also looking for a home battery and although the Powerwall 3 looks great, I’m going to try and find an alternative, just because of Elon.

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    Intel releases one last microcode update to fix high-end desktop CPU crashes
  • If you overclock it and it starts to crash Intel say “sorry warranty void”, if Intel accidentally overclock it and drastically reduce its life “…”

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    Intel releases one last microcode update to fix high-end desktop CPU crashes
  • I’ve not kept up to date with this but wasn’t the problem that as soon as you run these CPUs they are getting permanently damaged? Surely they have to recall them?

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  • This is just a rant… maybe a discussion starter

    Margins on 2nd hand and new electric cars are thin, gone are the days where you could get 25% off a new car, and thin margins mean lower commission.

    Servicing costs are minimal so no kickbacks for selling the servicing plans.

    People are wise to paint protection and alloy wheel cover that cost more than a refurb.

    EV buyers tend to make better decisions and are more likely to be cash buyers or finance elsewhere, so no kickback for selling a finance plan.

    Manufacturers still selling higher margin hybrid and ICE vehicles mean they are the real target for salespeople.

    Manufacturers also want to shift their ICE inventories and new products so they are still pushing the FUD on electric, and myths like “EVs will be obsolete once Hydrogen cars come out, you may as well get an ICE car in the meantime.”

    I’ve had a really bad customer experiences at Toyota, Honda and now Kia dealerships.

    I know people will suggest the Tesla online sales model, but Musk is just ruining the brand to the point where I can’t buy or recommend one.

    So now I’m going to do all my own research, find the exact car I want, and contact the dealer/seller directly while avoiding as much interaction as possible.

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    www.bbc.co.uk UK 'failed citizens' with flawed pandemic plans

    First report from Covid Inquiry says better planning would have saved lives and lessened economic costs.

    Anyone else so used to being gaslit by the government they started to read this thinking ‘Great! Let’s find out how I’m a “failed citizen”, who had rubbish plans during the pandemic’

    I’m finding this transition a little difficult, I’m hopeful but I’m still half expecting the Home Secretary to announce concrete shoes at low tide for all immigrants or something.

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    https:// www.bbc.co.uk /news/articles/cyx0jxrq7y4o

    As a Thames Water “customer” (given the complete lack of competition maybe “hostage” is a better term) who will have a £20 rise per year, and as someone with no money I’m fine with paying an extra £1.65 a month for water, but not to Thames Water who will inevitably use that money to pay shareholders dividends.

    If it stops us from dumping raw sewage into the rivers and oceans I’ll happily pay ten times as much, but it’s clear that Thames Water is just corrupt, and cannot be trusted with any extra money.

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    amp.theguardian.com Dyson to cut more than a quarter of UK workforce | Dyson Ltd | The Guardian

    Vacuum cleaner maker will axe about 1,000 jobs as part of global cost-cutting drive

    James Dyson who famously championed Brexit then moved his company’s head office to Singapore, and finally lost a libel case when papers pointed he was a massive hypocrite, has now announced he is cutting 1/4 of the UK workforce.

    All this while parliament is busy swearing in all the new members.

    In case you needed another reason to avoid his crap vacuum cleaners other than the horrible repairability and quality of failure prone components.

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    Is YouTube actively trying to make their platform as unusable as possible?

    In case you can’t zoom the YouTube definition of ‘latest’, is any time in the last few years.

    My video suggestions are also 50% text posts now for some reason.

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    I need some help finding the simplest but safe small EV for my parents in their 80s. They currently drive a massive old Mercedes E and S-class, but they don’t need such big cars, as sight and reaction times dwindle having such big powerful cars might get them into trouble. I’m looking for a small simple EV with the ability to lock things down and start every drive with consistent user selectable settings. Maybe limit the power, ensure the air conditioning is set appropriately every time and that the radio turns on to their station and with the volume at a good level. Basically so they just have to get in and press the go pedal, without worrying about messing anything up because the next drive will be back to normal again. For size I really like the Honda-E but I have taken them to two garages and both have been terrible experiences, where the salesperson tried to convince my parents that EVs were a dead technology and that they should buy a Hybrid until the Hydrogen cars come out. The longest journey they ever do is 100miles but mostly journeys are <50miles round trip. Anything with 130miles + would be perfect and give some cold weather/degradation buffer.

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    Sorry Darin, not a grass

    On some things the UK is progressive, on other issues, like sustainable transport, they see it as antisocial behaviour.

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    Looks like the Labour Party have finally hired someone under 60 to handle their social media. Excellent, no notes.

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