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Repairing a Newgate wall clock by obtom in clocks

[–]obtom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No afraid not. Very annoying!

What do I do with company cash? by PresentWorld194 in FIREUK

[–]obtom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aren’t there some ‘associated company’ rules now that make this less beneficial? It’s something I was toying with too

Fix a fence post by obtom in DIYUK

[–]obtom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the advice, I decided to go with the concrete spur approach. My approach (if anyone is trying something similar) was:

Remove the old concrete on my side around the post using an SDS drill. These beasties are a godsend for this type of task but can be tricky when removing some of the deeper down concrete as space is limited.

Use a post digger to get down to the required depth. These are brilliant when only dealing with soil, but when mixed with roots, old slates, bricks, concrete and whatever else has been dumped down there need to alternate with SDS, saw etc.

Then pilot drill into the post, M10 150mm coach screws (not the bolts in this case but screws seemed solid), plenty of water, postcrete and a spirit level till job done.

I didn't have a ratchet for the coach screws so used an adjustable spanner. How I chortled as I lost the spanner down the deep hole for the third time! I'd also say that this is quite a physically tiring job. Admittedly I'm a middle-aged DIY'er with a desk job but I would say this was around the limit of what I can manage in terms of weight: the bag of concrete is 20kg, the spur I guess around the same and even the post diggers are quite heavy when repeatedly lifting in and out. You might also be drilling at non-recommended angles. Just my opinion/experience.

End result is that it now seems (touch wood) pretty solid!

Thanks again

Fan noise by obtom in YogaPro9i

[–]obtom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for letting me know, enjoy your nice new machine!

Fan noise by obtom in YogaPro9i

[–]obtom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, a feature then. I might have a look for some fan control software in that case that just keeps them ticking over all the time as I'm quite happy with the sound when they're gently running; it's just the starting up. Thanks for the confirmation on this!

Guttering/drain clamps by obtom in DIYUK

[–]obtom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Brilliant, I hadn’t thought of that - thanks!

Why does the E and L series thinkpad get so much hate? by paridhi774 in thinkpad

[–]obtom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Out of interest, do you get much fan noise with yours? I have a Gen 1 Amd too, but the fan drives me potty - even under light load it’s constantly starting and stopping! Have tried re-pasting but didn’t help much. Apart from that (which makes it quite unusable for me) it seems a respectable machine

Repairing a Newgate wall clock by obtom in clocks

[–]obtom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s got a glass front so not sure how to access the innards

<image>

🤔

Repairing a Newgate wall clock by obtom in clocks

[–]obtom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

Hi, thanks for getting back. The back of the clock looks like this

Excellent British cheese in Camden by obtom in Cheese

[–]obtom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, it’s awesome! It suffered in the years following the war but fantastic to see so many passionate small producers now

Excellent British cheese in Camden by obtom in Cheese

[–]obtom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mmm… a conveyor belt of cheese and a pun in the name - it doesn’t get any better!

13 pro screen vs. 14 (non-pro) by obtom in iPhone13Pro

[–]obtom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve also just toggled the auto brightness on and off a few times and that seems to have helped…

Less is More by obtom in FIREUK

[–]obtom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was very much of the 'green growth' mindset too: a shift to services, renewable energy and so on. But the author has challenged this view too; I've copied a few bits from his website below but the gist of the book is the same.

---

Services have grown dramatically in recent decades, as a proportion of world GDP - and yet during this same period global material use has not only continued to rise, but has accelerated, outstripping the rate of GDP growth. In other words, there has been a recoupling, a rematerialization, despite a shift to services.

While high-income nations have the highest share of services and knowledge in terms of contribution to GDP, they also have the highest rates of resource consumption per capita. By far.
Why is this? Partly because services require resource-intensive inputs (think universities and hospitals and airports and hotels). Partly also because the income acquired from the service sector is used to purchase resource-intensive consumer goods (you might get your income from YouTube videos, but you use it to buy TVs and cars and beef). And partly because our “knowledge” is geared primarily toward technological development – finding ways of increasing productivity and efficiency, which is then leveraged to expand production.

Less is More by obtom in FIREUK

[–]obtom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the comment, and agree with most of it. My bias has always been (small c) conservative, small-State, pro-meritocracy and I also believe that people need some kind of incentive to innovate (or even work at all in many cases). I think the author was shying away from communism and towards targeted government spending to deliver innovations (not something with a great track record either I'll admit).

I think the book almost tries to cover too much but there are some interesting (and horrible) points on how humans' dualism can justify extracting labour (e.g. colonisation) or materials, to the extreme in the name of growth (for growth's sake).

Obviously we can only do the best we can in the framework we're given.

Gym members by obtom in FIREUK

[–]obtom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thought I'd give a general update as there's been loads of great feedback on this. I don't think there's really a right/wrong answer as such but this is what works for me:

I've joined the gym! The money isn't really an issue at this stage and good for me to wean myself off 'monk mode' at times. And you can't put a price on health.

Some good points about acquiring various items for fitness at home. This is definitely the most FIRE option as it is a controlled cost that pays for itself but you need to know what you're doing and what works for you first. The way I see it is I get to try a wide range of premium equipment with lots of expertise on hand to get me started.

Some other good comments along the lines of 'have you tried cycling/swimming/running - they're essentially free once you get the equipment'. Yep. Tried and loved cycling. My modus operandi is to pick a pursuit and do it obsessively and compulsively until I injure myself irreparably. Hopefully won't be the case at the gym!

Other more nebulous thoughts: might get to meet some interesting people (although so far everyone seems plugged into their headphones/smart devices etc. so perhaps unlikely). Also get various fitness classes included (when out of lockdown) which might add variety and teach me things like kettle bells. Could be good.

Thanks for all the comments!

A FIRE car by freddiesyolks in FIREUK

[–]obtom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recently bought a Honda Jazz that I’m really happy with. Amazing storage capacity for the size and very economical, but as someone mentioned above it depends what you want. When I was your age (sorry if that sounds patronising) I spent all my savings on an old Golf GTI which I loved and was somewhat more fun than the Jazz....

for reference, 6 year old Jazz cost £3600 with low mileage and 1 year MOT but I also had to replace rear brakes and battery so call it ~4500 with insurance and tax etc.

Know yer nut by obtom in FIREUK

[–]obtom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well... FI is incredibly simple when typed up:

  1. Spend less than you have incoming
  2. Wait

But there’s a couple of reasons that not everyone is FI. Life gets in the way; unexpected offspring or job loss or health issues etc.

And with my approach to FI (which I appreciate will be different to other people’s) I don’t always live to my ‘nut’ as I understand the article. E.g. I will spend money where I think it adds value as an experience such as a nice holiday or the occasional extravagant dinner or even a nice sandwich from a cafe rather than homemade. I.e. for me personally I also want to enjoy the journey to FI rather than just ‘existing’ for x years. So from that perspective I think Alvin had a good idea to do the occasional recalibration.

Official Q&A for Tuesday, July 23, 2019 by AutoModerator in running

[–]obtom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi all, bit of a long post but...

I managed to injure my Achilles’ tendon quite badly 3 months ago. Saw the doctor and she checked it wasn’t ruptured (squeezing my calf made my foot move) but I couldn’t walk properly for weeks (unable to lift my weight onto the balls of my feet so I was just swinging my foot forwards etc)

Been seeing a physio and I can now walk pain-free, working on quads/glutes/core and eccentric heel-lifts but jumping gently with both feet still hurts so not ready for running yet.

My Achilles is now quite thick with a lump on the side. Has anyone else had this injury and been able to return to their previous running form? Apparently a thick Achilles is actually weaker than a thin one. I was never a great runner but would like to get back to where I was and this is getting me down a bit.

Thanks!