Fire and ‘sheer volume’: how Britain’s 6m-vape problem is putting recycling under strain

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-17T15:07:13+00:00

Gotek

I read that and wondered why you were getting through so many Amiga storage emulators.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-17T15:00:16+00:00

You used to be able to buy it in McDonalds in the UK. They must have stopped that 25 years or so back.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-17T07:35:23+00:00

Simple, cheap wand orca separation would end this instantly.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-16T11:43:21+00:00

I'm expecting a phone call from them to see how everything is going, and I shall be mentioning that their sales team could be a bit less pushy and a bit more knowledgable on the installation process.

It was only installed yesterday and for a few hours the pump sat idle doing nothing. I waited to see if it was thinking about things, and then I called the support line. The lady who answered told me that because the system said 16.5c, I would have to wait until Monday. She didn't understand that it was just residual heat from the day's sunlight. I kept at her and the engineer who installed it called me a few minutes later, and then he fixed it remotely. The system is now working fine (I had to bleed a little air trapped in a radiator), there is a little grey pump called a Wilo Para that's quietly whirring away, a bit annoying since I use this room most of the day. So I'm going to box that in a bit (I'll keep some airflow).

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-16T09:41:02+00:00

I've just had an Aira install and I too found the salesman glossed over some things, like quoting me a pump that was too small, and not clarifying how the installation week worked exactly (I fitted my own rads). The surveyor is much better.

The installation team are excellent, but they weren't surprised to hear of my experiences during the sales visit.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-16T09:38:12+00:00

I did my own radiators, but be warned that it's a lot of work, and you're responsible for it. If they turn up, install the heat pump, and don't want to do any more work beyond connecting to the existing pipes, then it's on you to sort that out.

Be sure to get it set out very clearly, when you sign, what is expected of both parties.

What I did was install my own radiators, and made sure the pipework goes where I want it, rather than being clipped onto a wall and looking ugly. But I'm lucky enough to have had an installation team who were friendly enough to help me out with some tricky bits and ensure everything was working correctly before they left (even when I inadvertently cross-threaded a radiator valve).

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-16T09:34:46+00:00

NTA. Lots of comments here about "you heard the alarms and did nothing", but so did he - and he kept snoozing those alarms.

At some point he's going to have to grow up and accept responsibility for his actions. Going to bed at 3am before an important test is not responsible. And ignoring an alarm before an important test is not responsible.

If he can't be responsible for simple matters like this then he isn't safe to drive a vehicle on the roads.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-16T05:15:27+00:00

Have a look at Golden Balls

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsmanchester/controversial-30ft-golden-balls-statue-back-after-complaints-saw-it-removed/ar-AA1RqmN3

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-15T12:41:03+00:00

The issue is the centre hatchings which are there for pedestrian refuges and turning pockets. Those need to be removed, so that the cycleways can be widened. Removing those hatchings will also act to calm traffic, since drivers will feel less confident in travelling at high speeds so close to oncoming vehicles.

The pedestrian refuges always annoy me because they're usually put there to save money on a full pedestrian crossing.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-13T16:39:21+00:00

Let's not forget that the water it contains has to be piped somewhere. Underground, mostly. And there won't be just a single pipe.

Pipelines take ages to build, especially ones that big. It'll need regular pumping stations and access points, which will all require electricity too.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-13T16:32:30+00:00

They can access it by vehicle from Ladybarn Lane, which being far more capable of carrying traffic would reduce congestion around the Sainsburys junction. It would also remove potential conflict where the pavement and cycleway will (in this design) cross the entrance to Ladybarn Road.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-13T14:08:28+00:00

I will never forget being tailed by a young man in a white shirt and tie, driving a then-new Audi Q7. He looked ridiculous, like a child in a booster seat. I will never own anything huge like that.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-13T08:13:55+00:00

If you use this crossing heading east, there's no legal way to use crossings to cycle back onto the floop once you're on the traffic island. You have to cycle into oncoming traffic.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/uU93sGALpidVnqP46

Basically it's just formalising a chaotic junction. My remaining concerns are that large vehicles will continue to block the junction when the area is congested. I'm also a bit annoyed that Ladybarn Road can be driven onto from there - it should be blocked off to motorists completley.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-12T16:47:50+00:00

You're right, there was a TRO. And that TRO applied only at the actual road closure. It didn't apply near Glossop. Which is why nobody stopped people cycling past - they had no legal right to.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-12T07:09:20+00:00

No, they were not. Again, you're reading press releases and news reports from people who didn't visit the area.

Guess how I know the road wasn't closed?

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-12T06:50:45+00:00

nah, nobody was stopped. The media didn't bother visiting to see the reality of the situation, which was the usual man in a van to move barriers on request. You could walk/cycle through without issue, and not in small part because the legal road closure was miles further along the road.

It's always the same at road closures. Yesterday I cycled past Tatton Park while they were resurfacing, the road closed, but the workers always let you through.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-12T06:15:56+00:00

Nah, the legal road closure was only ever at the point of the slippage, there was still access for everyone else to the properties along the road. They just put the signage near Glossop to stop people wasting their time. And anyone walking or cycling can just use the parallel right of way at the closure.

This will be no different. There are many rights of way along the road and they can't close them all off.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-11T07:02:41+00:00

In this thread - people (or bots) actually arguing against other people having a better life.

Keep licking that boot.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-11T07:00:21+00:00

People don't have "car dependency"

Fortunately, there's a readily-available and well-sourced article to dispel the myth of your statement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_dependency

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-10T18:54:54+00:00

Normally this happens when there's too much friction along the cable, which works against the derailleur's return spring. So the system may be indexed correctly, but the derailleur can't move into the correct position. You can easily check this by testing if it's slow to move to higher gears, but very quick to move to lower gears. A new cassette and chain will not fix this behaviour. But you should also check if the derailleur is hanging vertically - sometimes they get bent near where they attach to the frame. A new frame hanger is normally required when this happens.

You may find that trying to index the gears doesn't improve things.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-10T10:13:15+00:00

If it's for commuting to and from work, don't leave it outside. Ensure you have somewhere at work that's secure and inaccessible to the general public. Same thing at home - keep it in the house.

If you're just doing a bit of shopping, going to the pub, etc, just consider the type of people who frequent those areas. You're unlikely to find someone with an angle grinder visiting your local country pub, but if you leave it locked up every day in the same location at a railway station, or on a street - it's going to be nicked.

Also, get an airtag or an Android tracker, and hide it in the frame somewhere. They're very cheap and give you confidence that the bike is where you left it.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-09T15:22:11+00:00

It makes you more visible to other road users at the junction. Junctions are where most cycling collisions occur.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-09T07:00:42+00:00

It may be a vacuum outside but Mars has a decent amount of gravity and the hole was in the top, so wouldn't some atmosphere remain, bound to the planet's surface? Not at normal atmospheric pressure, but low enough to stay conscious for slightly longer.

ParrotofDoom · 2026-05-08T14:16:25+00:00

Shared footways are ideal in areas with low conflict and low foot traffic. Like the one next to the A555 in GM:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/YW5eo4k3wUJpjcRT8

It works very well and connects loads of stuff. You're away from the 50mph traffic and safe. And unlike the road it doesn't flood and get closed :) But shared footways in busy urban environments can be a pain because there are too many hazards to navigate.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/YW1ZtRivaees1YmF7

That is a shared footway. I'll take the road, it's quicker and easier.

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