John Keyes

In my opinion, every recent war the US have instigated has been for financial gain (by private entities), and nothing to do with freedom and/or the protection of such.

The Iranians undoubtedly watched the US treatment of two dictators who gave up their quest for nuclear weapons – Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi – and drew the only reasoned lesson: the only way a country can protect itself from US attack, other than full-scale obeisance, is to acquire nuclear weapons. That is precisely why the US and Israel are so eager to ensure they do not.

Via The Guardian.

I had a good chat with Peter Donegan about removing the ash trees. The short version is remove as much of the taproot, as you can without driving yourself mad. The taproot is the main root of the tree, from which lateral roots sprout.

Don’t go chasing the lateral (or surface) roots as the benefit may be minimal. The lateral roots are the ones that fan out to provide support for the tree. These are unlikely to result in new growth so you can leave them in the ground and they should decompose eventually.

If new growth does occur, it won’t matter as the trees I’ve removed were in an area that will be mowed regularly. Any new shoots that appear will be removed before they have a chance to gain much mass.

Don’t take any of this as gospel, it’s what I interpreted/remembered from the chat. All I know is that I’m happy to have them removed.

Lady luck was sitting on my shoulder recently when I won a Kindle 3. Like a new parent worrying about all the awful mishaps that could befall my child, I immediately started looking at cases to provide some protection for the svelte device.

I narrowed the choices down to an Otterbox or a DODOcase.

When it comes to wrapping up electronics in a protective outer-garment I usually chose protection over aesthetics. In this case though I’ve decided to plump for a DODOcase.

Sensible John is saying “Cop on lad will ya!”, but book-lover John doesn’t want to make reading a cold robotic experience. By using a DODOcase I am introducing a level of warmth that will hopefully allow me to better connect with my reading.

Another reason for this choice is the fact that DODOcases are handmade. I’m a great admirer of craftsmanship, and a handmade cover like this, appeals to me. I know that each time I pick it up, my hands will appreciate this fact.

DODOcase

There are some ash trees that are growing in some unwanted places. I asked Peter Donegan about the best way for me to remove these (in the case of the smaller ones I might be able to move them).

To better inform Peter of the problem at hand he asked I send him some photos of the trees in question.

The first one here is the biggest one which I needed to remove. I tackled it with the gruffán tonight and removed most of it (I think).

This is the biggest root and I’ve removed most of this. The remaining roots are probably less than ⅛" thick.

There are numerous saplings I need to (re)move too. These are much smaller than the one above.

So Peter, how much of the root system do I need to remove to prevent regrowth? Is it even possible with ash that it would regrow?

I’ll update this post with Peter’s advice.

Knees creak like great gates made fast.
Weekly domestic bazaar trade cease.
Embers orange blinking sleep at last.
No light remains dark table peace.

Recollect no pure faculty habit.
Tarnished garment taunting abut.
Never before now rudimentary facet.
Humiliation and shame cannot chance it.

Peace and heaving silence woven pact.
Younglings wrapped up wardshipped.
Elders lay in content cogitation.
Doubts drowned up smothered.