SteamyTea

How many of us that have worked 'on a bench', which is the same as a desk really, did not misplace things at work. But do a few DIY jobs at home and things go missing. I suspect it is the unfamiliar situation that is the problem. It is similar to walking upstairs and forgetting why you went there, so have to take a trip downstairs to remember (and found you have wet yourself). This is a 'boundary' problem and is innate. It stops us getting killed when we get to junctions, or when we change from one environment to another i.e. forest to plain. Now I suspect that those on here that work in many different places, on different jobs, are much better of keeping track of their tools, their work environment may well be centred around their tools, rather than the task. But that is one for social studies rather than engineers. And we all know that social studies is bollocks, and we all know that we loose tools.

I seem to remember that the only 'proper' study was a NASA one done several decades ago. And has been misquoted and distorted ever since. I think there was a bit about it in my comic last year. May have been this one: https://ia800300.us.archive.org/35/items/nasa_techdoc_19930072988/19930072988.pdf

At least with ten tape measures, you can show that something really is the right length.

It can take me years to train people at work to put things back in the right place. Had a student a couple of summers back, she insisted that she knew best. Took me a while to break her, but I managed it. There is an old joke about the forgetful secretary and her pencil. Had the plug unwired from an extension lead once. I am with Nick, don't nick others tools and if you find them, find the owner. It is not the expense of them, it is the utility value.

I just wish cafes understood that people that drink black coffee don't want it so strong that it is painful. Generally if I see the Lavazza sign I know I can get something drinkable. See the Origin sign and I know it is going to be dreadful. The worse place for coffee is the Cornish Hen. They may as well just give me a cup of boiling water and charge me £2.50. The best is the cafe in Tehidy Wood. Disclaimer. I cannot comment on anything with milk, froth, syrups, soya, bubbles etc

Mikee's thread is still ongoing. He had a partial resolution. http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/newforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=9305&page=1 You can go to last page here: http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/newforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=9305&page=51 Just for reference, the multifoil thread had 32 pages.

Can you sell your eBay heat pumps to an MCS installer?

That last picture shows a right mess of pipe and cabling. And are those fridge magnets behind the door.

It may make sense for old rural housing that is currently using solid fuel. I seem to remember that if you had gas you could not get RHI. May have dreamt that.

Readable https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/29/air-pollution-sadiq-khan-calls-for-ban-on-wood-burning-stoves

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8AvfXar9zs

That is in everyone's best interest though. No good developers going bankrupt by building houses that no one is willing to buy.

It may be hidden in here: http://www.uk-ncm.org.uk/

I feel a case of Boolean is called for. "Doctor, Doctor, we have a case of dysentery on the ward" "Make a change for Chablis"

That is a different conversation I think, as in my experience of builders, is that everything comes as a surprise to them.

You can start a conversational or statement sentence with 'Or'. Or maybe not. I am an observer that that will dish out advice, without taking any personal risk at all.

I find the trouble with most workplace psychology, and sociology in general, is that people expect a binary result. I think a lot of this is down to our 'Hollywood' culture in the arts. We see films and TV shows that create a very complex situation and the hero, against all odds, solves it. Life is just not like that. Knowing when to walk away is possibly a more important lesson to learn. The other things that struck me, apart from you self builders are all bonkers, is why we get hung up on small detail. Small things don't have to be right first time. I painted my bathroom green, was so vile, I repainted it the next week. So maybe get a cheap kitchen worktop first, then, if the kitchen layout is not to your liking, shuffle the base units about. I saw a very interesting documentary about the first moon landings. The main thing that I remember was the design/thought process of the Saturn 5. They made the big decision first i.e. how to get into earth orbit. They the rest tended to fall into place. Not perfect, but did the job several times.

Seems a good thing to try out first. Someone, and I think it may have been @joe90, fitted some pipes with a venturi on the top of them to draw out damp. That seemed to be a good idea.

Some of you may remember Ben, over at the other place. His project went totally pear shaped and he was looking to pull out. http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/newforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=8401 In hindsight, there was probably a lot that 'the community' could have done to help, even if just meeting him for a cuppa. He did have the balls to put up his problems, which was a good thing I think. I still wonder what happened to him.

Basic economics. It is the manufacturers job to maximise profit, the consumers job to minimise it. These are really basic bits of kit, a food blender is more complicated. It is easy to get sucked in to a few 'special' features. Mine has a power setting (hardly ever use it), a temperature setting (use it all the time) and a timer (very useful).

To reduce condensation by ventilation quickly and, initially, cheaply, could you not stick a fan in the underfloor void?

A reluctant oven can contact JustEat to get you a pizza. Can't do that on a gas on.

Try this app and see what it shows. https://opensignal.com/ Several years ago I read in my weekly comic about some rural Indians that cobbled together a couple of old satellite dishes and wifi transceivers. They used them for line of sight communication. Seem to remember that they could cover a distance of 30 km. Anyone tried this?

I pulled my old one apart (was a £20 one from Maplins). There really is not much to them. A bit of copper wire in a coil, and temperature sensor, some magic circuitry on a tiny board and, on the one I had, two push buttons and a variable resistor.

Have you looked at crowdsourcing, not the same, but some guy was trying to raise money for this: https://www.gofundme.com/9wvxt9-replacement-window