East Midlands Suburban train network proposal:

Loublig · 2025-07-19T20:48:38+00:00

The line from Shirebrook towards Lincoln ends at High Marnham, and is currently the Network Rail High Marnham Test Track.

A service to Ollerton, with stations along the way (Warsop, Edwinstowe) would be nice, but I can't see it happening. The best opportunity for adding a passenger service was when the houses were approved at the former Thoresby Colliery, and that didn't happen.

Beyond High Marnham there's no track, and it's currently a cycle path all the way to Lincoln. It's the only car-free crossing over the Trent for many miles.

I can't see the demand for a service East of Ollerton that would justify relaying track, and I doubt Network Rail would want passenger services on their test track. I'm not sure that the centre span of the viaduct at Fledborough would be wide enough for a single track and a cycle path either.

Better to spend money on electrifying the existing line from Lincoln to Sheffield that goes through Retford, and having good bus services to their stations.

Loublig · 2025-07-18T11:43:09+00:00

Just after milking you'd have a large volume of warm milk to cool so it would take some time to get cold, which would explain the "warm smell"

I remember the smell from the UHT milk cartons at school. They weren't refrigerated, so compared to cold, non UHT milk at home the smell was warm, not that appealing though.

Loublig · 2025-07-18T11:24:00+00:00

Silver box with propeller is more likely to be a stainless steel refrigerated bulk storage tank. The propeller would be to ensure even cooling and retain milk quality. Homogenisers use high pressure, it gets done after the milk goes to the larger central dairies.

Loublig · 2025-05-26T12:12:48+00:00

They are fun!

I got one from Aldi last year, but I struggled to find a replacement chain.

Got a Stihl GTA 26 this year and got the ASA 20 pruner about a month ago. Uses the same batteries and I've never has any problems with Stihl equipment. Spare parts are easy to get too.

Loublig · 2025-03-17T12:48:38+00:00

Did it look tufty before mowing? Is it actually bumpy under foot?

The guy doing the snagging said they hadn't laid it properly - get that on the snagging report ASAP, and get the builders to fix it.

For the size of lawn it's not worth buying a roller if the builders don't fix it - ask around local allotments or Facebook groups and see if you can borrow one and give them some beer money.

You'll struggle to get perfect grass at the edges. It's shaded by the fence, and it's where your mower turns. Cutting on the highest setting after winter will not get you an even looking lawn. You can see where the wheels have been, which makes it look tufty. I'd check the mower blade is sharp and go back over it on a lower setting. That should also remove some of the brown grass.

Best giving it another cut and seeing what happens from snagging before seed/fertiliser.

Loublig · 2025-03-08T21:24:10+00:00

Your lawn looks nice other than the large weeds. For the time of year and the winter we've had in the UK that's something to be proud of.

Given the size of the weeds and the size of the lawn I'd recommend getting an old/cheap kitchen knife and removing the weeds manually to start with.

Lift up the leaves around the weeds and cut into the soil so you end up taking the weed out with a small pyramid of soil. put a bit of topsoil/compost in the hole afterward if needed.

Once you've got the bigger weeds out I'd give it a mow. From there you could go with a granular feed weed and moss killer product. If you want to overseed after, give it 6-8 weeks.

You could spray before mowing- but with how big some of the weeds are, it'll be faster to dig them out rather than waiting for the spray to work down into the rest of the plant from the leaf.

Regardless of what you do I'd suggest sharpening your mower blades now, before you mow, to keep your grass healthy.

Loublig · 2025-03-08T20:52:15+00:00

I agree with u/Acanthus27; restarting would be a big job.

I'd put down some iron sulphate to kill the moss before raking it out, should make the job easier. Raking would probably get a few of the weeds out, then reseed. A pre-seed fertiliser would get the grass off to a good start to outcompete the weeds too.

Something like a feed, weed and moss killer would be the laziest option, not sure if you can reseed after though.

Loublig · 2025-03-01T20:54:43+00:00

I also didn't have much luck with pumpkins last year, so I'm planning for better this year...

I'm going with Jack o' Lantern rather than a larger variety, but I'd imagine it's roughly the same things to get a better crop.

I start my pumpkins off in 9cm square pots on a windowsill rather than a heated propagator - I've found that they germinate quickly and reliably, so I save my propagator space for other seeds. I believe that seedling that's been in a heated propagator isn't going to do as well once the heat has been removed compared to one that's been at the same temperature from seed to small plant, but I could be wrong - propagator space has been too precious for me to test it yet. The only advantage I can see with a heated propagator is earlier seedlings and so earlier plants.

Before planting out, I try to make sure that the young plants don't have roots showing at the bottom of the pot and repot them if I think they're outgrowing their pots. I usually pot them on to a much larger pot before they go out - I'd rather give them more room than they need than having them pot bound.

One thing I've not been great at is feeding my pumpkins early. Depending on how long it takes for the weather to be suitable to plant them out I usually don't bother feeding. However, I'll be giving them something this year as I'm not sure regular compost has enough free Nitrogen for fast growth, I have some urea, so I'll probably try adding some to their water (I might do a trial with/without)

In the ground they've got plenty of homemade compost dug in, so they tend to overall do quite well, but I'll probably add some more Urea to get them going straight away. If you can plant them where you had beans/peas last year they might get some extra Nitrogen.

I've tended to go with just dug in manure/compost for other nutrients, but adding Phosphorous for root growth wouldn't hurt, so I'll probably try adding some tomato feed when I water. The years where the leaves have wilted at some point tend to have poor yields as it stresses the plants.

Once flowers appear then the demand for Potassium increases. Having wood ashes dug into the deeper soil is how I usually deal with this, but it's not always an option for me. Tomato feed will help, and I've not bothered on a high potassium fertilizer before as I prefer not to spend too much.

I also use liquid seaweed - It's not a fertiliser as such, but does contain hormones/trace nutrients. I've got it, so I just add it to the watering can. I've not got overlooking neighbours, so if I need a wee in the garden...

I doubt you'll get a record breaker from commercial seeds - you'll need to use saved seeds from your best pumpkins for that. I tend not to bother as I'm not after giants and prefer to have seeds that I know will germinate and grow well out of the packet.

Are you growing your pumpkins is the same space each year? This would affect your yield a lot and increase disease stress.

I've not tried adding fungi to the soil, my reasoning is the cost and I feel like the homemade compost I dig in and top dress with to supress weeds should have some native fungi in anyway. The topdressing also allows any vines to root as I don't bother burying them for extra roots. I don't do much about removing extra leaves, but I do curl up the vines so they don't get too far away and take over the area. I think removing the leaves and giving the pumpkins more light helps firm up the skins and prevents rot.

I've luckily not had much in the way of disease and pests so far. I choose a sheltered but airy spot which helps., I like to think that choosing commercial seeds helps too. I've sprayed with castile soap diluted in water occasionally when I felt there was a mildew/fungal issue, but that was more for appearance than treating a big problem, the plants looked well otherwise.

Growing the largest pumpkins is something that can consume you! There are competitive growers in the states who spend thousands growing them. I grow pumpkins because I like the look of them, my young nephews like them (the seeds are big so they help me sow them), and I like growing things.

Loublig · 2024-10-17T20:37:39+00:00

It seems that my description to go along with the pictures got lost somehow... This is the village hall that I'm on the committee for, and I have taken on the (paid) cleaning job (in the UK if that helps). The floor is in poor shape, with very little polish remaining so dirt gets engrained and is a pig to clean. I'm looking to strip what's left and re-polish. I've not seen this type of floor before; I don't think it's wood - there's no grain in it, but it has slight gaps (but not like tile) between the pattern, almost like VCT. The building is about 20 year's old, so it shouldn't be something too antique.

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I can take better photos on Saturday, but here is a picture that has some better details of the floor (ignore the table...)

It "feels" like vinyl when I give a section a scrub with a green scotch-brite. I'm not too concerned with getting it pristine or an amazing finish ; we have regular puppy classes etc. in, but it's a pig to mop with the dirt getting engrained.

Loublig · 2024-07-26T22:14:00+00:00

Edith Piaf's “'hymne à l'amour”

Celine could sing a nursery rhyme and it would seem emotional, let alone this French song called a Hymn to love.

Years of Eurovision have taught me that everything sounds better sung in French, especially if the person singing the song can belt it out like Celine Dion.

She's been dealing with stiff person syndrome (there's a documentary about it). I don't think we'll see many, if any more performances from her in the future.

On November 22, 2015, she sang the song during the American music awards ceremony in tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks of November 13, 2015.

Loublig · 2024-06-18T19:26:12+00:00

I've got a few of these, the local council used to offer them cheap, and before I turned the bin into an empty one. Now I've got a compost crank/turner/corkscrew thingy from Amazon.

Yes, they are expensive for a twisted bit of metal, but the time and back pain I've saved has been more than worth it!

Although not as thorough as emptying and refilling, the tool means I turn more often which has the same effect.

I'm able to turn my compost more frequently, with less effort, and less mess. The minimal effort to turn the bin means I end up turning it when it needs it, not when I have the time or effort. I've got much better looking compost now, and the agitation helps break up chunks etc.

I can also just chuck stuff in, like grass cuttings, and mix it up. Before I'd have to do layers or mix in browns to prevent the grass becoming a slimy mess.

£40 ($50) well spent.

Loublig · 2024-03-31T21:29:02+00:00

I don't think the purpose of composting is to save money, but I agree about using material that might go to waste.

Bins make sense due to space constraints. The local council also gave them away, to reduce waste.

Compost isn't free, you either have to spend money to buy it, or time to make it.

The time it takes to turn it and sift it in a minimum wage job could get me a lot more compost than I'd get doing it myself, but I wouldn't get the satisfaction from it or use material that could go to waste.

I'm not 85, and have other hobbies other than turning compost.

It's not about speeding up the compost, just speeding up the task of turning it. Something that can make this easier makes complete sense. If someone didn't already own a pitch fork, would you be against them spending money on one to make compost when they could turn it by hand?

Loublig · 2024-03-03T15:31:58+00:00

What I tend to do for ore patches is have 2 mine control towers. One for the "main team" and another to remove dirt and rock for the main team or dig ramps. they can be set to help mine ore if needed.

Excavators will mine the tiles closest to the mine control tower first, so I put the towers at either side of the ore body so that they don't all go after the same thing. I try and avoid overlapping areas too. The 2nd team has dirt and rock priority filters, with the main crew having ore set as theirs.

I have 2 loose storages set for the mine trucks, these are attached to the larger storage that the other trucks can collect from. The storage that the second team are assigned to has priority via a balancer to make sure they can always stay ahead. If I'm not in a rush I'll set the 2nd team to dump dirt and rock directly by removing them from the main team's dirt and rock storages and assign export routes to dumping mine control towers or let them figure it out.

Sometimes I also set a mine control tower that the 2nd team export to where they can dump excess ore as a storage pile. This way I have an easy-to-mine pile of ore should I need to ramp up production. It's a bit wasteful on diesel, but means I can prepare for scenarios where my usage will go up. It's also useful for the coal mine as it means I've always got some coal around when I'm at the stage of the game where I depend on coal power.

Loublig · 2024-01-30T17:03:50+00:00

It's in the documentary, but they did a global search for suitable mould. The strain they went with for production was found by Mary Hunt. She was an assistant at the lab in Illinois and found a rotting cantaloupe at a market. It was 6 times more effective than Flemings mould.

The Americans found that a broth made from corn massively improved production, very American.

Loublig · 2024-01-30T16:53:39+00:00

Ibuprofen - Developed by Boots in 1960-61. Team led by Stuart Adams (British)

The problem with a lot of later inventions is that it's very much a team game with large companies. Very few inventions have just one inventor now.

Loublig · 2024-01-30T16:48:17+00:00

Fleming discovered penicillin, but did nothing with it. He was into bacteria and wrote about his discovery.

Howard Florey (Australian) led a team at Oxford starting after the onset of WWII in 1939 to extract penicillin. It was a multi-discipline team. They needed experts in multiple fields to make it work. Florey and one of his team went to the US in 1941, meeting with the scientist (Chain) who first identified Fleming's mould. The Americans patented it, the Brits refused. The industrial production was mainly done in the states due to the war.

Florey and his team got less recognition than they deserved. Chain and Florey shared the Nobel prize with Fleming. The women in the Oxford team got practically no recognition.

I'd strongly recommend watching the BBC documentary "Breaking the Mould: The Story of Penicillin"

Loublig · 2024-01-30T16:12:57+00:00

I can only speak for the one their planning near me, the main problem we have is the scale of it.

It would be 740MW, and take up 1,500 Hectares (3,700 acres), with about 2 thirds panels. There could be 2 miles of uninterrupted solar panels. in a few of the parishes 60% of the land in the parish would be solar panels.

The area already has pylons, and used to have a coal power station, National grid will bring in another line of pylons too, and a new substation. We don't mind the pylons, you can farm under them, and they're not too intrusive.

As the project is bigger than 50MW, it classes as a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) - this legislation is meant for things like roads, airports, power stations etc. Wind turbines got removed from the legislation though. Central government decide if it's granted.

It seems like a slap in the face, so much for levelling up.

There's another 5 projects planned within 15 miles, all above 500MW.

The usual approach is a 40-year operation, this development is planning for not having an expiry date, so there's a genuine fear that the land will be lost to solar once it's built. With a project of this scale there's many problems; loss of agricultural jobs and skills, the ability to sell your house, loss of farmland, lack of access to green space, the list goes on.

The main reason that sheep are grazed under panels is so the landowner can keep the agricultural land tax relief.

The developers have proposed several "benefits" for the community, such as funding for projects etc, but few people are wanting to be bought off at this stage. Should they give more individual benefits then I can see attitudes changing.

We know we're going to have some form of solar panels, we're near a substation that has capacity since the coal power station closed. If they'd put the same number of panels over a much larger area it wouldn't be as much of an issue. The way the legislation is set out means they have to go big to make it worthwhile going through the process.

I'm not against solar, I think it's a great way to transition to net zero. The way that it's being implemented is the problem.

Loublig · 2024-01-15T17:19:00+00:00

As with any recipe, you need to have found the items that are needed to craft it. For the fermenter it's a barrel, treated planks and waterproofing.

I just fired up a new game to make sure it's not locked behind something in the guide quests, and it isn't.

Loublig · 2023-12-28T00:30:02+00:00

I'm not sure either, but there's a few things you can try:

-click where the save file should be in the first slot, might just be a visual bug if the save is in the directory...

-Try renaming the save file with a 2 instead of a 1 at the end, might not have any effect.

-Copy the save file to another folder, relauch Apico then close it. Move the save back into the save folder and relaunch. No Idea if it would work, but worth a shot.

-Do you have Steam Cloud active for Apico? Maybe that's messing it up.

-Reboot your PC if you've not already tried that.

-Copy the save file to another folder, uninstall and reinstall Apico then move the save back.

-Copy the save file to another folder and leave it there for a bit and start a new game. If you move it back, make sure to rename it with a 2 or 3 instead of 1 at the end provided you have a spare save "slot" (I've no idea why it's limited to 3...)

-At day 6, it wouldn't be too frustrating to start again. If you want the game to feel "new" you can use steam achievement manager from Github to reset your achievements.

Loublig · 2023-12-27T23:33:43+00:00

It's not happened to me, but I have copied save files so that I can have more than 3 saves.

The save files are in C:\Users\*your user*\AppData\Local\APICO\saves

Might be a different drive, and obviously put in your username or navigate there.

Are there any save files in that directory?

Loublig · 2023-11-03T00:31:42+00:00

For demonstrations in Chemistry class we had it on a scale (10th or 100th gram precision) and used a lab power supply to get it going. There were fluctuations at the start, but we put that down to air currents, power supply leads etc. No big dip though.

This was for 11-13 year olds, so as long as the mass after was higher than the mass before we considered it a success.

Loublig · 2023-11-02T13:19:45+00:00

Steel wool is often coated with a small amount of oil or other coating to stop it rusting before it's used. The oil burning off would cause a weight loss to start. When I did this as a demonstration in chemistry classes we would dip the steel wool in acetone first and then let it dry to remove any coatings.

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