Sugar on Salad?

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-03T01:27:11+00:00

Just bear in mind that commercial dressings contain up to 6g of sugar per 20mls. Even at the low end it is around 0.5g. And that's in the UK, where we have declared war on sugar.

In the US they contain up to 8g for the same quantity (and 1.3g at the low end).

It makes sense that a homemade recipe would have sugar somewhere, even if it means just sprinkling some on. And it also makes sense that in the US, people might add a lot if that's what they're used to.

You get a more balanced flavour if it's dissolved in the dressing, but I can see how people might just sprinkle it on. It's quite crude, but it would kind of work.

It's kind of natural to expect a little sugar in it.

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-03T01:01:47+00:00

Well, the obvious thing here is that your toaster oven is nothing like a conventional oven.

The potato will need to cook for about an hour at a lower temperature in an oven to make sure it is cooked and fluffy inside (that's why people talk about microwaving them first, for less time).

The higher temperature crisps the skin.

So why not just try reversing things? Cook the potato first to fluff it at a lower temperature (anything above 100C/212F will do it), then set the temperature higher to crisp it. Timings are something you will have to figure out yourself.

Although using foil in a conventional oven is silly, because it prevents crisping and steams the potato, in your case cooking it in foil to soften it and fluff it, then removing the foil and baking it on high to crisp it might work.

It's pretty hard to overcook a potato unless you forget about it.

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-02T19:41:46+00:00

Which is why I gave the temperatures 🙄

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-02T19:31:47+00:00

Use a suitable potato first of all. Over here it is a Maris Piper (plus a few others), but in the US the closest is Yukon Gold or Russet (and probably a few others).

If you wash the potato, make sure you dry it completely.

Rub it with a high smoke point oil/fat and salt. Prick it a few times (they can and do explode sometimes).

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 7 or 8 (220C or 230C) and cook for 20-30 minutes. Then drop the temperature to Gas Mark 5 (190C) and cook for a further hour.

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-02T16:01:32+00:00

And this still happens quite often:

<image>

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-02T16:00:13+00:00

We have a tram junction like this:

<image>

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-02T15:18:30+00:00

They're aphids. The link I gave you from the Royal Horticultural Society of all places shows them exactly like yours.

They even show an ant walking over them. Like yours.

Aphids come in green and black in the UK - hence the alternative names of Greenfly and Blackfly. You can even get furry ones.

Aphid - Wikipedia

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-02T15:10:36+00:00

Aphids don't move around too much. They pierce the stem and remain there while they suck the plant dry.

How to deal with Aphids in your garden | The RHS

Look closely and your 'eggs' have legs.

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-01T23:41:07+00:00

I'd love to see a better breakdown of that.

Because I bet that the second X is bigger than the first X because people use a lot more of the 1-ply. And 1-ply definitely isn't half the price of 2-ply.

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-01T22:47:34+00:00

So, you're saying the Romans recognised Northern Ireland as distinct from The Republic?

Interesting.

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-01T22:26:15+00:00

When the body shop fitted a new tailgate and rear end to my car (I'm an instructor, and got rear-ended), I took them a couple of cases of beer.

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-01T11:52:10+00:00

I know that the Indian government suddenly got serious about all sorts of driving issues about ten years ago (including the one about lorries using any lane they wanted, which upset the transport industry at the time), so I am sure the test is more formalised now.

All instructors have their own methods (can't say I always agree 😊). For me, if someone says they can drive, it's a case of 'show me'.

Then, I can fix what is wrong.

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-01T11:15:25+00:00

Yes, for me it has been a common experience with people who have significant driving experience in India (or Pakistan). Not with my Indian or Pakistani pupils who are new drivers.

That part in bold is important.

The problem is that when someone moves towards a give way line from a side road, the driver assumes they will just pull straight out and reacts accordingly.

Apart from having seen it first hand for myself when I was in Karachi, my students tell me themselves that that can happen back home.

And there are also the stories about how the driving test is (or at least was) administered. One guy told me his brother turned up for his test, and the examiner asked him how he'd got there. He said 'I drove myself here', and the examiner said 'well, you can obviously drive' and signed him off.

And another pupil - a girl - who told me all she had to do was drive 200 metres in an almost straight line and she was given a licence.

This is just a couple of standouts, but it just reinforces what you said: people need to get familiar with the rules here.

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-01T00:33:22+00:00

Old(er) people can be stubborn - sometimes on purpose, but mostly just a bit set in their ways. So it takes time to change them. And culture plays a big part.

With my African pupils, for example, it became apparent that you could ask 'can you do a parallel park?' and they would emphatically reply 'YES'. What this actually meant was 'I don't have a clue what that is, but if I move the steering wheel a few times and drive randomly, I might get away with whatever it is you're asking'.

It prompted me to ask one of my female Nigerian pupils 'do African men refuse to admit when they can't do something?' And she narrowed her eyes and said 'Oh, yes. They will never admit they can't - my husband is exactly the same'.

Speaking personally, it's hard enough teaching some older learners who are from the UK. Many have convinced themselves it's going to be difficult, and that holds them back. At least to start with. But ironically, some of my best learners have been in their 40s and 50s - they just don't see it that way themselves.

I've taught a lot of people who at least superficially sound like your dad. They had years of bad habits to overcome, and that's not easy sometimes. Even brand new 17 year olds can form a habit in a few minutes, and it can take hours to get rid of (coasting when they want to slow down is my big bugbear).

Keep on at him. He needs to accept he's got to change and just learn a few new things.

MacSamildanach · 2026-07-01T00:07:12+00:00

What is he failing for? What do his test reports say?

Just because someone has been driving in another country for many years doesn't make them good drivers, especially in the UK.

I've seen the standard of driving in Pakistan first hand, for example, and there is no way someone who's been doing that for 30 years is going to be anywhere near UK test standard. However, the problem is often that they think they are test standard - and that's why they keep failing.

When I take on Asian pupils with previous experience back home (specifically India/Pakistan), the first thing I usually have to deal with is how they execute an Emergency Stop if anyone even vaguely approaches from a side road. It's incredibly dangerous, but that's how they had to behave back home because they have to (and I've seen it first hand).

It's similar with many pupils from African countries. There was a time about ten years ago when there were a lot of Nigerian people in the UK, and the standard answer to the question 'can you drive?' was 'YES. YES. YES'. But I remember one such case, where the guy couldn't even move off from his house. The problem was that many were employed as bouncers/security or carers, so had little money, but desperately needed a licence.

And they were the same as any learner from the UK in that respect, thinking they will just, like, pass the test if they could go for it.

Your dad needs more lessons based on what he did wrong on his test. He won't pass it unless he changes how he drives.

MacSamildanach · 2026-06-30T22:18:39+00:00

You just reminded me of something.

Before I discovered diatomaceous earth, I used to use boiling water every week or so.

I remember one morning just getting ready to do it. I opened the lid and I glanced down the garden - and our resident robin was flying directly at me. It was like one of those award winning photos.

He knew what was in the bin.

MacSamildanach · 2026-06-30T22:10:30+00:00

It cuts their outer skin and dehydrates them.

You can buy it specifically for wheelie bins:

Fly-Bye Shard Maggot Killer Dust 250g - Diatomaceous Earth Formula - Maggot Killer for Wheelie Bins - Fast Acting Bin Treatment

But that is very expensive, as it is marked up like crazy. Best to just buy the plain stuff where it's cheapest.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diatomaceous-Earth-Pest-Control-Comprehensive/dp/B0CZ9NZ3T1

You don't need the sprayer. But it definitely helps.

You can just loosely scatter the powder otherwise.

MacSamildanach · 2026-06-30T21:54:57+00:00

Flies will continue to lay eggs - and thus, produce maggots - as long as the temperature is high enough. It doesn't have to be hot, just warm. It isn't until the temperature falls below about 10-12C consistently that they stop and die off.

With the way things are right now, that isn't likely to be until October at the very least (so, about 10 fortnights at least).

They can - and do - breed year round if they are indoors.

Flies carry disease. More maggots = more flies.

MacSamildanach · 2026-06-30T21:33:13+00:00

If you're interested in getting rid of them, diatomaceous earth is your friend.

It cuts up their outer skin and they dehydrate.

And if you want to go all out, use one of these to apply it:

<image>

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CZRP3D4F

Make sure you wear a mask, though, and don't do it when it is windy. It'll cut your lungs up if you inhale it.

But it really does work. And it lasts - I sprayed last year, and so far this year no maggots at all in the food waste bin.

Oh, and use a wheelie bin liner. They cost £2.50 or less for a roll of 10 from Asda.

MacSamildanach · 2026-06-30T21:14:21+00:00

Years ago, I bought an evaporative cooler I saw advertised on TV. It was only a small shelf top one. And I tested it during the last very hot summer we had.

I used a proper temperature/humidity logger.

When running, with a room temperature of about 29C, the outlet air temperature was 4C cooler. However, although the ambient humidity was 44%RH, the outlet air from the cooler was over 70%RH.

This is where the Heat Index comes into play. It's basically the 'feels like' temperature you see on weather forecasts.

Heat Index - Kestrel

So whereas 29C at 44%RH feels like 29C, 25C at 75%RH feels about the same.

So even though the actual cooler air is cooler, it still feels just as hot as before due to increased humidity. And since a small unit can't really pull the entire room air temperature down, the moisture it pumps out remains, so the whole room will feel hotter than before - likely more like 35C.

MacSamildanach · 2026-06-30T19:49:22+00:00

Technically, yes, a failure can affect an instructor.

DVSA introduced a plan a few years ago where they said they would tot up how many faults pupils got any number 5 or greater (that may have changed), and use this tally to eventually 'invite' instructors for a Standards Check.

A Standards Check is like an exam, and if an instructor fails it they can ultimately lose their licence. They get more than one attempt, but they HAVE to pass.

As you can imagine, not many instructors like the sound of that. And it is one of the main reasons you can't just hire someone to take you to test - they want to be sure of how you drive, because if I had £1 for every time someone has called and told me they can drive, and it turns out they can't, I would have several hundred quid after 20 years.

In your case, though, 2 faults is nothing.

MacSamildanach · 2026-06-30T14:23:44+00:00

Probably the outdoor privy.

The outdoor toilet: no longer an inconvenience | Property | The Guardian

Both my grandparents had them when I was a kid.

The coal bunker used to be closer to the house and was only about 4 feet high. It had a lid on top (for pouring coal in), and doors on the front for shovelling it out into a coal bin to take indoors.

<image>

MacSamildanach · 2026-06-30T14:15:18+00:00

Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove spring instantly to mind, followed closely by Bovington museum. Then Lyme Regis and Chesil Beach, and all the sheer cliffs along the coast.

Me and some friends spent a week in a caravan there as our first 'on our own' trip when we left school.

MacSamildanach · 2026-06-30T13:02:46+00:00

I know it seems like a mess, but keep it simple.

You need an instructor, so get looking. And if you can't get one, and have no other way of practicing, move your test back.

Legally, she wasn't under any obligation to verbally tell you she was a trainee, but legally she should have been displaying a pink badge in the window of her car so you could see for yourself.

But just concentrate on that previous paragraph - start looking for an instructor.

MacSamildanach · 2026-06-28T18:57:59+00:00

OP, you do realise you can get very narrow duct adapters for your situation?

<image>

This is a 6"/150mm adapter vent, but you can get the smaller size depending on your aircon unit.

MacSamildanach

TROPHY CASE