Craig Sawyers

The normal time for a fuse to blow is at switch-on. Depending on where the mains is on its cycle, there can be a huge inrush current to build up core mangetisation, or capacitor charge up. Big power amps with 500VA - 2000VA transformers often have a soft-start circuit. A relay with N/O contacts and a several watt power resistor in parallel in the live. A timer circuit wakes up after a second or two, energises the relay and shorts out the series resistor. Clearly not necessary wit the T2.

I'm sure that is the right decision - awful though it is when it finally comes down to it, you do get a real 6th sense of when it reaches the end of the road. And that is not where either of you are at this point. Take care - tough times.

I recall a fast pulsed laser, where the storage capacitor was made of parallel plates in DI water charged to many kV. The idea was that it behaved like a matched transmission line and politely dumped its energy quickly into the laser plasma.

Luckily it was I that took the fraud call - triggered by buying the casework from KG! But that just put off the evil moment when that card bill arrived.

No - but his shunt regulators are amazing - I'm using one on a KG Dynalo. I've actually mailed him to find out what sort of deal he wants to acquire his designs; no answer yet.

It's often the bright ones that get the worst of times in school - he'll be much happier with peers in the same mental league.

That is because practically noone in Britain knows anything about firearms. Military, police, the shooting birds brigade, and a handful of crooks.

No-one needs that sort of shit. I've chased SOB's that gave me the finger from the safety of their car before now - but we don't have easy access to guns in the UK, so the risk is not high. One guy ended up so worried after I chased him for 5 miles he drove into his open garage and closed the door before I got out my car to confront him. Bet he was reluctant to poke a gratuitous finger after that. The bastard. Feisty, me?

Sherlock. Each episode gets better - but this first series is only three, so that'll be the last for a while. Was also listening today to Benedict Cumberbatch on Radio 4 in a series damatisation of John Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey, with Timothy West playing the older Rumpole and Cumberbatch the younger. And very very good Cumberbatch is in the role.

OK - I've talked myself into buying the uncut miniseries version of Das Boot - 2 DVD's worth - from Amazon.

What I didn't realise, but now do, is that there are several cuts of the movie and *two* miniseries (a 3 x 100 minute one from a 1984 BBC screening, and a 6 x 50 minute version from 1988 - that is the one I recall seeing). I watched the 3h29m directors cut last year. Any and all are well worth watching.

That is really shitty Brent - hope things settle down real quick and you can move on.

How about Das Boot? The German movie, not the series. Absolutely gripping - and long - the Director's cut is well over 3 hours. Watch it in German with subtitles (athough there is a version dubbed in English using the real actors to dub themselves).

Bloody hell - there is no way I'm paying that much. More than the cost of a chicken and a can of beer together. You're damned right about rip-off Britain. I'll keep balancing the bird without the help of a piece of welded wire framework. It was delicious, by the way.

OK beefy - tell me more. Is this a Weber gizmo, or a third party thing that fits a Weber, or.... I definitely need one.

Cooking beer can chicken. Recipe: Procure a Weber kettle BBQ, with side charcoal baskets and drip tray. Procure a chicken and a beer can. Open can and shove chicken onto can. Brush with olive oil. Balance (easier than it sounds) chicken on griddle and put on lid. 1 1/2 hours later golden chicken internally basted with beer steam. Beer rendered undrinkable...

Looking at the world's biggest structures (well, I just got curious, and Naaman is refuelling close by on the way back to Oz), and found that Burj Khalifa in Dubai is heftily the biggest by quite a way. 828m, or over 2,700 feet. Astonishing structure, with all sorts of records - like how about an open air viewing platform at 1400 feet. Plans are afoot (apparently) for a mile high building, so over twice the height of Burj Khalifa.

Way to go! Good luck to you both with the delivery

Wife opened the credit card bill with the casework and a bunch of other stuff to finish the BH.

On 19th June, Inu said he had a ton of them spare at 15 cents each plus postage.

Bet his fee is less than Rathbone's (corrected for the odd 60 years) by the odd couple of orders of magnitude. Daughter is just starting a year at at East15 acting school in "MA Acting for TV, Film and Theatre" East 15 Acting School at the University of Essex, MA Acting for TV . 6000 applicants for 16 places, so were all seriously happy bunnies.

It is just about my all time favourite, and the only cask strength that I drink without water - straight out of the bottle it is outstanding. But I was going through a list of distilleries earlier today, and was quite suprised how many I had drunk over the years. My wife's auny Jeannie and her husband are lifelong whisky enthusiasts, but the consequence of age has put paid to their tippling. I'm holding out for the hoard of 500 bottles.... Several times in years past I have tried to go drink for drink with Jeannie. That was always a mistake - she had an iron constitution for whisky. I always fell over before she was even tipsy.

I've fortunately got none in my Glenfarclas 105 cask strength I'm just drinking. But I like Laphroaig too...

Well that is truly great news! And so very like the chaos at every anodiser I've known.