Member postings for Peter G. Shaw

But just wait until your ev is permanently connected to the internet and can be switched off by the government whenever it feels like! 🤫🤣🫣

Been talked about for a long number of years. Indeed, there was once a serious proposal that all new cars would be fitted with such a device from a certain date, 2019 I believe. The idea was called Intelligent Speed Adaptor and would limit the car's maximum speed to the prevailing road speed limit. Or whatever someone remote decided!

Actually, I think it might have been an EU requirement.

Peter G. Shaw

NDIY,

Agreed that I don't need to run everything at once, but, what you are forgetting is that Economy 7 switches on everything at the same time. Therefore the worst case would be an instantaneous load of about 80A. Fortunately, the washer is switched on when we remember, and we don't use our spare bedroom heater.

The immersion heater runs for, if I remember correctly, about 3/4 of an hour, so could be deferred with a delay switch of some description, but that costs money - see last paragraph.

Mileage. You have no idea about our mileage. Currently, we are averaging about 10K p.a which is actually less than the 13K p.a before Covid, however, a lot of those miles are anything up to 60m return. Plus, there are a few hills of varying steepness around here.

Solar power? Not unless I'm forced into it by government decree. And even then I would leave it as long as possible.

As already said, I'm on Economy 7, not Economy 10.

I accept that next door most likely will not be on the same phase, but what about the heating effect of taking large amounts of current albeit on two phases through the same cable. Stewart Smith 5 makes a good point about the cables.

Agreed that a 100A fuse will not fail at 100A. When I was studying these things, a goodly number of years ago, I, and others in the same course were told that the fuse should carry its rated current for ever, fail instantly at double its rated current, and fail at some indeterminate point between the two values. Now these were small fuses, 0.5A, 1.0A, 1.5A, that sort of order. Large 100A fuses may well be different, but that I do not know.

Final comment.

As I see it, from your post, you don’t really want to help yourself with your future energy needs?

True.

As someone who is 3 months off 79, and has cancer, fitting solar panels, backup/storage batteries/fancy controllers or indeed anything else of that nature, frankly is not worthwhile for me as I will never get the money back and I'm simply not prepared to spend good money on something I will not get the benefit from - unless as is currently happening to my windows, I need to have some repairs done. I don't particularly care about the next owners of this property - what they do is up to them, they can spend as many thousands as they wish - I'm not. And before you say it, yes, the house won't fetch as much. And indeed there could be problems with the EPC. So be it.

Regards,

Peter G. Shaw

Just one point. I have a 100A supply. I also have storage heaters and a 3kw immersion heater running on the off peak. If, and it's a largish if, I were to use all of the heaters, plus the immersion heater, I would draw something like 67A leaving 33A for normal usage. Now bear in mind that we also run our washing machine at night, and you can see that there isn't that much headroom for a high power EV charger. Even running a "standard" 7kW charger could take me perilously close to 100A. All figures are approximate and worst case, but even so, taking the best case it would still be a very high loading. What's more, I've a sneaky suspicion that we may be sharing a feed with our next door neighbour even though we are all detached.

Frankly, it's a nonsense.

Peter G. Shaw

David,

"draftc" or "Draft Choice"? I started with Draft Choice from Trius Inc about 25 years ago. Trius, at that time, also produced AsEasyAs, a Lotus123 spreadsheet clone. Both programs are still available via the internet along with free licences.

Draft Choice was available for either DOS or Windows, but I found that as Windows "progressed" - haha - so Draft Choice became more and more unreliable until I was forced into upgrading, my eventual choice being DesignCAD 2000. DesignCad is still available, but is not easy to find, especially in the UK. The reason for my choice of DesignCad was that it appeared to be the nearest to Draft Choice. I did try TurboCad v. 4, then v.6 & v.7 but could not get on with them after the simplicity and ease of use of Draft Choice, the final straw being when TurboCad crashed my computer requiring a complete re-setup as if it was a new install. Having said that, I am aware that plenty of people do find TurboCad very usable.

Peter G. Shaw

A bit like Nick above, I want to be able to twiddle knobs and create something, effectively by hand. I am not interested in CNC, CAM etc, and only interested in CAD in so much as it enables me to produce readable drawings. The idea of using Gcode, or whatever, on a computer, to tell a tool which way to move absolutely does not appeal. I have done a small amount of computer programming, found that I can do it - and promptly lost interest. Yet, using my machines to shape a piece of metal still absorbs my interest, probably because I still can't do it to a high enough standard.

In a similar manner, in the mid '70's,I taught myself basic transistor circuit design in order to achieve something I had been tasked to do. Back then I was using + & -50V supplies, something which 5V TTL wasn't happy with (can't think why!). Today, those selfsame circuits would have been created by a dedicated integrated circuit, a black box with many legs and little or no information about what was inside. Now OK, probably a better design that what I could do, but where is the interest? At least my transistor designs were easy to understand and easy to repair.

A few years later, my then manager authorised me to buy the Sinclair Mk14 kit so that I could learn how microcomputers worked. A simple system, with a limited set of machine code commands, but it gave me a basic understanding of how computers worked. And indeed, I learned how to interconnect the system to the outside world, although I never actually did so. But the point was that I understood how to do it.

And there lies an important point. I suspect that there are a lot of people like me who want to know how the thing works, not just "do this" and it will work. And this is why I think that a basic, low level, magazine which covers the techniques of using machine tools, and how to use them is a necessity. Otherwise, and this to an extent is already happening, we will be heading down a path where only a select few will know how things work: everyone else will just use it.

As an example of this, I will finish by relating another aspect of my life. Back in the early '70's I attended an adult recreation class and learnt how B&W televisions worked. Quite simple really, basically just an extension to AM radios. But the came along colour TV. Actually, it was already here, but the internal works started to get a bit more complicated, eg the use of Lecher lines for tuning purposes. Plus stereo sound. And what of today? Multiplexes combining a number of channels onto one carrier frequency and using fancy techniques to extract the information. Really, I don't know how it now works. And so we have the situation when 50 years ago I, and anyone else could reasonably easily understand how TV works, but not today.

Whether or not MEW is due for a change I cannot say, but I do think that there is, and will always be, a need for basic level information.

Regards,

Peter G. Shaw

Dave,

As I have implied, I used to work for the GPO/BT and wrt modern(ish) analogue exchanges, in their early days they used to have a minimum of 24 hour backup purely by battery and charged from the mains supply. But as exchanges grew, so did the battery requirements with the result that it became cheaper to provide a smaller battery and a diesel generator, but still with mains charging as the normal method of working. The exchange I did my Strowger training in had two sets of main batteries, ie 2 x 24 cells, each cell being about 4 x 3 x 2 feet. These normally ran in parallel, and were kept charged by three automatically controlled 400 Amp rectifiers. There was also a diesel generator which was tested once a month. This was some beast. When starting, there was initially a large clunk, then the complete engine set would start to lean to one side, perhaps by as much as 20 degrees, then the engine would start to turn over, fire up, and the engine set would gradually return to the vertical. A bit larger than your average car battery/alternator system! (The noise from that engine set may possibly have contributed to my present hearing loss.)

Now imagine just how many amps that setup could supply. And I, as a 21 year old was once tasked with wiring up a fuse alarm circuit for one of the 100 Amp Subsection fuses. (The installation contractor had somehow missed wiring up that particular circuit.) As you might expect, I was keenly aware of just how much power there was available on those bus bars.

Some years later, I was in charge of a small rural exchange. I went on leave, and nobody visited that exchange. Exactly one week later, I visited the exchange and discovered that the power supply controller had failed. I discovered that the battery voltage was well below the lower design limit, yet the exchange was still, somehow managing to work. Manually switching on the rectifier produced a loud bang and a deep, very deep, hum as the rectifier pushed its maximum output (of 5A) into a nearly flat battery.

In respect of power cuts, our village is lucky. When we first moved in, the majority of houses were on overhead feed, indeed I believe the actual supply to the village was overhead. Our first winter, 1995 if anyone cares to remember that winter, we had a 19 hour power cut. Since then everything has been put underground, and power cuts are now few and far between, and usually of a short duration.

With my background, providing a battery backup will be fairly easy, after all, I have a caravan leisure battery not doing a great deal during the winter months. But the problem will be where to put it, and how to install the wiring necessary to get the power to the new router. Which is OK for me, but, I do have lung cancer, so my life expectancy is, er, well, possibly shortened. Which leaves my wife who will not be able to maintain such a system. So maybe a lithium battery system might be indicated.

Anyway, it's goodnight from me.

Peter G. Shaw

Dave,

I fully understand that "most" people have mobile 'phones. But what about those who do not? Or find them confusing? Are they to be refused the support of the emergency services? Because that's the inevitable end result.

And your comment about your mobile 'phone not working in your home, but it's ok just down the road. How does that work for Mrs Smith, 80+ years old, widowed, living on her own, and stuck using one of those mobility aids?

In respect of usage of 'phone boxes. As someone whose early working life was spent helping to keep them working, yes they were abused. But they were there and available for emergency use. Given what happened in Storm Arwen, it surely makes sense to keep them working, even if only for emergency use. Agreed, that if fed by overhead, then they are liable for wind damage, but often it is quite easy to feed them underground. In my village, although the vast majority of people are fed by single span overhead, the local 'phone box was fed underground, therefore provided the feed through to the exchange was maintained, then there was a possible lifeline. With the proposed system, whether fed overhead or underground, it would not work during a power cut.

In general though, I feel that we are losing something that was deemed extremely important 90 or so years ago. I feel that it is not impossible to devise a simple emergency system that is not dependant on the mains supply, but whether or not it will happen, I really do have my doubts.

It's also worth remembering that it's ok relying on mobile 'phones as long as the base systems have some form of UPS available to keep the base stations working in a prolonged power cut. Do they have such a system? I don't know, but I have seen some suggestions that they don't. At least with the old landline system, there was a minimum of 24 hours backup in each exchange.

Peter G. Shaw

Hopper,

My wife & I differ in the types of music we like, the result being that we don't inflict our personal rubbish on the other. Furthermore, as someone with poor hearing, probably caused by self-inflicted damage during my youth, I'm not now that bothered about music anyway. But I do have a fair number of CD's which occasionally I used to listen to whilst using the computer. But guess what - the current computers don't have a CD port!

Metrication. Yes, here in good old Blighty we still have boards measured in 1.2 x 2.8 metres. But as someone who used to struggle somewhat with inches/feet/yards etc, I find metrication so much easier.

I agree about rising prices though.

Tim,

I used to be a believer, I think, although I'm not too sure about that. Today though, I'm firmly on the side of just look what all these different faith systems have done, and are still doing today. Also, I would ask the question, "Which one of the many different varieties of faith systems is correct? They can't all be correct!" And yet, surely, their reason for existing is just that - follow this system, and you will be rewarded with everlasting life!

Peter G. Shaw

I remember the change to decimalisation of our money, and certainly the new system was easier doing away, as it did, with all the convoluted mathematics required. Who today can remember shillings, sixpences, florins etc?

Unfortunately I cannot say the same for digital TV. For a start, in my area, Cumbria, there was a lot of misleading information put out with people saying that new aerials are required, new leadins, new F type plugs & sockets etc. In fact, no change at all was required - anyone who already had either a Gp.A aerial or a wideband aerial and who was prepared to wait until the changeover was complete didn't need to change anything. We were also promised all sorts of wonderful new channels - what did we eventually get? Channels repeated 1 hr later, blatent advertising channels, and channels of USA junk!

I also note that when CD's were first brought out, they were pushed as being the best thing since sliced bread, and indeed some people went as far as spreading jam on them, and then showing that they would still work - I assume after they had removed the jam! What do we now have? Pre-recorded CD's/DVD's which actively prevent you, the user, from skipping over certain sections that you don't want to watch. I'm referring to the FAST warning here as much as anything. Is it any wonder that if you dig deeply enough, you can find that some people have shown how to disable that "feature".

And so onto telephones. Now, I quite understand BT's position here, but unfortunately instead of going forwards, we are going backwards. Telling people that if they want continuity of service during a power cut, then they will need a battery backup system. Takes me right back to Magneto and CBS telephone systems where each and every customer, or subscriber as they were then called, had to have a box containing a number of rather large standard Leclanche dry cells otherwise they could not make or receive calls. Telling people that it's not BT's problem if power supply lines fail because of high winds blowing down trees. Mind you, high winds also causes problems to BT's lines, or perhaps I should say Openreach's lines. But we used to have strange red coloured boxes available from which calls could be made in the event that your individual line was damaged by high wind. Not any more we don't. Indeed it seems to me that Openreach is deliberatley washing it's collective hands about providing an emergency service.

So, my rather negative thoughts are that digitalisation is not the panacea it is claimed to be, rather it is an excuse to foist a poorer service upon the poor bemused public. Unfortunately, we are "ruled" by a set of nincompoops who have been thoroughly taken in by the constant barrage of "digital good, analogue bad", and who between them apparently cannot raise one brain cell to see beyond this hype.

Now, ok, people will now rail at me and tell me I don't know what I am talking about, that I am a luddite, etc. But there are people around who cannot, will not, whatever, take to digitalisation and cannot understand why something that worked, and has worked satisfactorily for many decades, has to be changed. Yes, I am old, and therefore "past it". Yes, I remember magneto and CBS telephone exchanges (I started work when some of these were still existing), and no, I do not want them back. Yes, I remember the simplicity and ease of understanding of four or five television channels. No, I do not want to go back to LSD. Similarly, I would wish that we dropped the imperial system of measurements, metric being so much easier. But do we actually need 147, or whatever the figure is, television channels? Is it right that the 999 service should be downgraded as appears to be happening? And don't forget, despite my advanced years, I am quite happy using internet, computers & other digital equipment.

One final thought. Suppose, just suppose, there was a large area power cut such as happened in Storm Arwen. And, as happened to me some seven years ago, I had what was described as a mild (is there such a thing?) heart attack and was unable to call for assistance, and as a result I died. Would BT, Openreach etc be liable for my death on the grounds of death by corporate manslaughter?

Peter G. Shaw

Many years ago, there was an article by Alex Weiss in ME dated 07 Apr 1995 in which he extended his NuTool DIY13 drill by means of a piece of scaffold tube.

I attempted to do the same with my NuTool CH10 drill (MEW243 Jul 2016) and ran into a number of problems. For a start, I couldn't turn the scaffold tube. And second, in reality it was much too large a diameter. In the end I used a 150mm long piece of solid EN1A, turned down to more or less match the existing tube OD, and a 50mm section further turned down to fit inside the tube. Unfortunately, I found that my tube ID was not concentric with the OD, neither was it circular, with the result that I made a clamp to hold the extension piece in line with the existing tube, and lathered Araldite Super Steel all over the spigot. 24 hours later the Araldite had set and the extension piece was solid.

HTH,

Peter G. Shaw

I don't consider myself to be a "machinist". Rather I am someone learning by experimenting to see what works. Or does not work as the case may be. What follows then, is as a result of my experimenting and may not be applicable to others.

For steel I use Neatcut which I obtained from Warco some years ago. I did some experimental deep & high rate cutting using tools made from old files: these produced lots of smoke, but the tools did work. However, as a matter of course, I do prefer light cuts so much less smoke.

I also have some Rocol fluid dilutable 1:1 with water. It makes a mess, and leaves a green sticky mess behind. As a result I now only use it for parting off, mainly because it will fill the cut.

For aluminium I use a concoction of oily dregs & paraffin. Proportions, I have no idea but I suspect probably 1:1. It does give a reasonable finish to the ali although I suspect pure paraffin would be just as good.

To apply the fluids I use a small paintbrush dipped into a small container of whatever fluid I'm using. Sometimes, such as parting off, I use a small plastic bottle supplied, I think, by Millers. These have a flexible spout with a sealing end and can inject the fluid into a hole up say 50mm deep. Unfortunately, the Rocal fluid causes the sealing end to seize up and block, so I have had to make a new tube out of brass. Ok, I've lost the flexibility, but at least I can still get the fluid into the cut.

Just to expand slightly: I use Trefolex for threading, and ordinary (presumably) engine oil dregs both on my hacksaw blades (makes hacksawing much easier) and on the drilling machine which does make for easier drilling albeit with a little bit of smoke.

One snag with the Trefolex is that the oily liquid in which the solid compounds are presumably suspended has separated out such that I now have to dip well down to get the solids. Is there any way of recombining the two parts?

Cheers,

Peter G. Shaw

Our "back" room in the house is dark so we have tried 3 x 60W incandescents (not really bright enough), 3 x CFLs (reasonable brightness but for some reason very shortlived) and 3 x 15W LED's possibly made by Bell.These gave a really bright light, but eventually started flickering on & off. Replaced under warranty. Eventually the shop closed down so we went elsewhere and found another local shop selling Crompton 15W LED lamps. These are working satisfactorily.

The (possibly) Bell lamps had I think, a 5 year warranty. The Crompton's have a 3 year warranty - not that it's much use as the shop has gone out of business, a casualty of the high street demise. Fortunately, I did buy a spare lamp!

Peter G. Shaw

Robert Butler,

Yes it was, but, as I remember it, the GPO went straight from 803cc to 1098cc. I've a sneaky recollection that the 803cc might have ended up as a GPO special until BMC decided to stop making them by which time it was 1098cc or nothing.

I also seem to recall that the 803cc Minors also had a low ratio set of gears, certainly 1st & 2nd were very low indeed. But, this is all hazyish memories dating back between 50 & 60 years and was a time when I ended up being promoted, and changing jobs, and changing locations, all within the GPO.

Whatever it was, the restrictor plates were definitely fitted because of the accident rate.

Cheers,

Peter G. Shaw

An anecdote. Apropro StevieGTR, Nick & Bernard's comments above.

In the period up to the mid-1960's, the GPO as it was then used to always buy Morris vehicles. And always with the smallest engine possible, eg Minor vans were fitted with an 803cc engine. This continued until BMC stopped producing the 803 cc engine which meant that the Minor vans were fitted with the then standard engine - 1098cc. Now a lot of the staff, especially on the engineering side, were young men, and we all know what young men are like especially when it came to vehicles that they did not own.The inevitable result was accidents, and so the GPO decided to fit a restrictor plate between the carburettor and the inlet manifold thus reducing the amount of fuel/air flow. This plate reduced the throat size from I think about 1 1/8" down to 3/4" thus reducing both the acceleration and the maximum speed available. Needless to say, there were complaints, usually along the lines of being passed by doubledecker buses when going up hill, but to no avail. A select few did have the plate removed but only for those technicians that the mechanics trusted.

Mind you, there were some idiots driving for the GPO back then, me included, but for me it was only 3 years and then promotion called.

Cheers,

Peter G. Shaw

Ok. I'm 78 and a lot. Three children, one single, 4 grandchildren - 2 boys early to mid-20's and 2 girls, one 15 and one 6. I doubt very much that I'll see the 6 year old get married. I might see the 15 year old get married, after all say another 5 years is possible. The older of the two boys is getting married next year so maybe there is a chance of a great grandchild - now that would be an event to celebrate, whilst the younger boy is looking, and saving, for a house for him & his girlfriend. And please don't tell me that marriage today is outdated, otherwise why is the elder grandson keen on it? (They've been living together for 2 years so it isn't the obvious reason!!!)

No. 6 is, I feel, a very important point, especially as before I adopted it, I used to get into trouble through it.

And a bit like Howi, I can afford to reasonably do what I want, and yes that includes pottering! But another thing, in a way I've stopped bothering about things - I do what I want to do.

SOD/Dave, (why are there so many Dave's around? Similarly, why so many Peter's) Anyway, where were we? Oh, yes, ok, statins. That's an interesting point. Although I've been on them for 6 years now and yes I do have intestinal or maybe bowel problems, but I actually put it down to the cancer drug I've been on for 2 1/2 years. So, dunno, but it's an interesting thought Dave. And by the way, you speak for yourself when you talk about unhealthy pensioners, even if it is true!

Naps, yes I do.

Falls. So far I've had two. One when I tripped up coming in via the backdoor up a couple of steps. Fortunately a relatively gentle rolling type fall. The second was altogether nastier, and I think the effects are still on-going 10 months later. I fell off my bicycle on holiday, fortunately on grass, but even so my lower back was very painfull. I'm no longer cycling, not that I was particularly keen, but falling off isn't an experience I wish to repeat.

There is one other thing about which I am extremely grateful. And that is that mental facilities appear relatively undiminished. What happened was that as a say 6 to 11 year old, I watched my maternal grandfather change from a fully functioning 65 year old adult, to a 70 year old who had to be told every little thing he had to do. Not a pleasant experience and one which has stayed with me over the next 70 years. I've also known two very clever people who have both deteriorated in a similar way and even my mother at age 85 had definite signs of memory loss - my father other than the results of a stroke or two, was mentally fine right up to his death aged 91.

So, keep on metal mangling, or in my case learning about the the origins of our families (genealogical research) and working out how to use a DOS based database under Linux when the existing interface programme doesn't work with the latest issue of my chosen Linux OS. In other words keepon truckin'.

Cheers everyone,

Peter G. Shaw

Come on Howi. If you are the person I think you are, then you know darn well what I can be like. One clue, Seymour. And not the one in the early LOSW programmes.

Peter G. Shaw

David,

I have had cancer now for something like 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 years, probably longer if you include the pre-discovery period. It turned out that there was a specific drug targetted at my type of cancer and which has had the effect of shrinking it down to a static state, but I'm told that the drug will eventually stop working at which point I will be changed onto another drug. I therefore assume that I'm likely to have cancer and the concommitent pill until I die. Oh well!

Fortunately, I am still completely intact - well, that's my opinion, but others may well disagree, especially after the headscan that said there was nothing there, thus proving that all those people who called me empty-head were correct! Unfortunately, I do suffer from cold which may be due to a side effect of one of the pills I'm on following a mild heart attack. Which means that workshop time comes to a halt in winter, my workshop being my garage. I do have some small heaters on the lathe and milling machine so they never achieve that bone chilling cold that the vice does, but even so ..... Still, it gives me chance to delve into the family genealogy.

As far as disposing of my workshop goes, it will be over my dead body - I hope. But in any case, I doubt very much that it will make much money as the main items are all out of production and were not particularly expensive to start with, and, it turns out were somewhat poor quality, so there is no incentive to try and sell it.

So, there we are, old, failing slowly, with a wife who thinks it her bounded duty to spend what she can, and so on and so forth. And with that,

Tootle-pip,

Peter G. Shaw

p.s. As some of you may have gathered, I can be very facetious, these days deliberately so. In fact, it's one way of keeping my spirits up. And these days, I no longer care - lets be daft, lets be happy.

Thankyou Neil for your comments above, and please get well soon.

For myself, on leaving full time work some 26 years ago, I lost a valuable resource - the ability to go and find someone who had knowledge about whatever it was I was struggling with, not necessarily work related. To that extent, this forum, and another I frequent, have become substitutes for that lost resource, which is why I like to see disparate threads, especially those in the Tea Room. Incidently, I wonder how many readers would have their memories jogged if I said "Tea Bar"?

Being now in my very late 70's, and having cancer and hence being classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, I seldom leave home so another reason for threads such as the Tea Room, is to gain exposure to other people's thoughts. After all, if I think that the views of Joe Soap (apologies if there is such a person) are the best thoughts going, yet everyone else thinks he is utter rubbish, then without such a thread, I won't get to know.

Interestingly, Neil says that he is distressed by the Ukraine problem. I'm not, not because I don't care, but because whatever happens, it's outside my control. My wife is similar to Neil, (sorry about that Neil - I wouldn't wish her on anyone!), and she does not accept that I will not allow myself to get uptight about events over which I have no control. Ok, that makes me appear hard hearted, but unless someone allows me to have my say, and then acts upon what I have said, then what is the point of me becoming uptight - I've enough problems dealing with those events that I can control.

FWIW, one of the other forums I frequent is indeed strict. The mods are forever telling people off if they have crossed their guidelines, and in one instance this lead to the person concerned being banned, although I could not see what was wrong. (Actually I could see what was supposed to be wrong, but as far as I was concerned, it was mildly interesting but nothing to get hot under the collar about. But then perhaps that's just me.) Sometimes as well, posts just disappear with no reason given, although I understand that this may be due to the way the software works.

Cheerybye,

Peter G. Shaw

Further to my post above, I have now read br's thread about Philosophical maxims - and cracked out laughing.

Thankyou br, just what we need these days,

Peter G. Shaw

I have to say that I am with those people such as Hollowpoint and Howi above. In fact I would go further and say to those people who want to shut down topics they don't agree with, "Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot read or discuss - I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions in this respect."

In fact, although I have not read the particular thread to any great depth, I did find some comments about rifling to be of interest.

Tomato plants, financial surnames, philosophical maxims (whatever they are). The first has no interest for me, yet I was surprised somewhat all the different varieties so maybe I have learned something. The second, was just for fun, and I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. The third, well, I can't remember reading it, and doubt if I would understand anyway.

But, may I say that from what br has said, or rather what his good lady has said on his behalf, he is confined to a wheelchair and possibly physically helpless as well, yet his brain appears to be functioning satisfactorily. Now, I can't imagine being in that situation myself, or rather, I would find it extremely frustrating to be dependant on my wife as br appears to be. May I therefore request that we cut br a lot of slack, and accept that this may be the only way that he can prevent himself sinking into that dark pit of despair. I don't care if the topics he introduces are only vaguely engineering related - it's more important that we assist him to keep his spirits up.

Cheers,

Peter G. Shaw