I’m really bored of this now

Posted on January 24, 2026 by james

Apparently this weekend Trump is threatening to place a 100% tariff on all Canadian goods if they sign a trade deal with China.

I’m just so tired of hearing these threats from him. It’s got to the point now that whenever he does it, in my head I just hear some whiny six year old squealing “I’m going to tell my daddy on you!” every time he doesn’t get his way. Canada exports a huge amount of crude oil to the USA and about 10% of their natural gas. If he whacks 100% on those I shall laugh until I shit. Perhaps he’s thinking that he can source it all from Venezuela instead?

I hope Carney calls his bluff. TACO, and we all know it. Because Sleepy Don is just a bully and you don’t handle a bully by giving in.

In turn I shall look even more closely at what else that comes from the USA that I can avoid having to pay for.

Posted in Random | Tagged | Leave a comment

No dig diary, 24th January 2026 (part 2)

Posted on January 24, 2026 by james

Given the success of my late new potatoes last year, I’m going to try for some very early ones this year. I’ve saved all the inedible green potatoes from last year’s harvest and today, in the torrential rain, filled six compost sacks with the last of my 2024 food waste compost and put one potato in each. They were already starting to shoot, so I didn’t see any reason to chit them.

Then I covered them up and transferred the bags to a greenhouse to try to protect them from frost damage before watering them in.

Posted in Smallholding, Veg plot | Tagged | Leave a comment

No dig diary, 24th January 2026

Posted on January 24, 2026 by james

I’ve just been out watering the polytunnel. Not something I’d usually do much of during Winter, but having seen how dry the soil was when the rabbit tried to excavate it, I shall be watering every day for a while just to get a bit of moisture back in. It’s not like we’re short of the stuff at the moment 😀

The Winter salads don’t appear to be moving much. I guess that’s testament to how dull the weather has been over the last week. However in more promising news I’d say that at least half the garlic is now above ground. Only just, but it still counts…

Posted in Polytunnel, Smallholding | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Talking of leaks…

Posted on January 23, 2026 by james

it appears that I have another one. Fortunately this one shouldn’t be a hard one to fix and hopefully won’t cost that much money.

I’m fairly sure the tyre has an inner tube, but I think it may have been damaged around the valve as when I push the valve to the side. air starts leaking out.

Too late for attention today though. I shall have a look at it tomorrow assuming I can fight my way through Ingrid’s rain.

Posted in Smallholding | Tagged , | Leave a comment

I wonder how much water we have lost?

Posted on January 23, 2026 by james

In the aftermath of the leak in our mains water supply, I’ve been comparing our current consumption with our historic use and come to the conclusion that the leak has been present in some form or other since at least 2014! I didn’t spot it because the incremental changes in consumption were not that large and because there was absolutely no sign of a leak on the ground.

I dread to think how much that has cost us over ten years or more. Easily several thousand pounds, I would have thought 🙁

Posted in Random | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Octavia of Doom returns home

Posted on January 23, 2026 by james

Turns out that the reason it was emptying itself of coolant was not a radiator failure at all. Apparently there’s a steel pipe that carries coolant from somewhere at the back of the engine to the front. That had corroded and split, spraying coolant through the radiator body from behind. It was a big split, too: about 50mm long

All fixed now and whilst a certain amount of stuff under the bonnet had to be removed, at least the front of the car didn’t have to come off as was the case when the alternator needed replacing (and I was fairly sure would be the case if the radiator had to be replaced).

Slightly concerning that a pipe carrying coolant is in a position where it can corrode all the way through, but I guess if it takes another 180,000 miles before it happens again, I shan’t be worrying about it.

Posted in Random | Tagged | Leave a comment

So what is it you actually do?

Posted on January 23, 2026 by james

we’re shaping the future of intelligent operations through secure, scalable technology that drives real impact for clients

Oh, right. Thanks. That makes it so much clearer. Pretty much the same bullshit that everyone else comes out with.

Do the people who write this content-free drivel do so because their brains are also content-free? Or is it because they know the job is shit and can’t find anything genuinely positive and informative to say about it?

The world is in such desperate need of a ‘B’ Ark these days. I wonder if Musk could be persuaded to build one, and then leave with it?

Posted in Random | Tagged | Leave a comment

Storm Ingrid

Posted on January 23, 2026 by james

Appears to be rather dark and foreboding, at least so far. The sky was so dark at 10am this morning that it felt like twilight. According to the forecast it’s likely to get even worse over the next few days, too.

Posted in Environment | Tagged , | Leave a comment

It must be time to read “Going Postal” again

Posted on January 22, 2026 by james

Prompted by this quote:

“What kind of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.”

Posted in Books | Tagged | Leave a comment

Sorry, not sorry

Posted on January 22, 2026 by james

Man died in fall tying Union flags to lampposts

Posted in Random | Tagged | Leave a comment