I've inherited a chainsaw :)

I repaired a computer belonging to a friend and I don't charge friends for my time...(although in these hard times I'm seriously considering it !!!) I only charge them for any parts I might have to change.... Anyway she felt bad not paying anything and after I asked her if she knew anybody who had a chainsaw to chop up the fallen tree next to our decking she mentioned she had three chainsaws but one needed a bit of TLC and if I wanted I could have it.....

Now it's always useful to have a chainsaw there is no quicker way to chop up a large amount of wood, or to dispose of a body efficiently...... but I've always been very wary of them, they are after all a quickly rotating razor sharp barbed wire fence .... but way sharper and would do considerable damage to any body part which came into contact with the teeth...... so maintaining them is very important and vital if you don't want to end up like the bloke in the picture above....

Anyway after giving it the once over and finding it impossible to start I resorted to a liberal spraying of "Damp Start" that I've found will start a anything providing there is either a weak spark or enough compression.... after a few attempts it did start but stopped as soon as the "Damp Start" had run out.... so I consulted the "Oracle" of all things mechanical .... my Dad...

"Not a problem.... you'll find two screws on the side of the chainsaw .....just screw both screws in one should be labelled "Fast" the other "Slow" ... start the chainsaw and undo the "Slow" screw until it ticks over nicely......then rev the chainsaw and then turn the "Fast" screw until it starts screaming at full revs.... then adjust the tick over until the chain stops running when the clutch disengages.....then stop the chainsaw (obviously) and adjust the chain tension ......job done !!

so after about 10 minutes I had a perfectly running chainsaw :)

I sharpened it (correctly) and it cuts wood like it's dropping through butter now ......

Well I've seen it all now

Apparently for those of you who remember Peter Norton, of Norton Utilities fame, who sold his business to Symantec in 1990..... well it just goes to show you can patent anything these days

This is taken from the Symantec Website......(of whom Mr Peter Norton is the vice president)

"Peter Norton, Peter Norton's stylized signature, and Peter Norton's crossed-arm pose are U.S. registered trademarks of Peter Norton."

Does this mean that you can't have your picture taken in a cross armed pose a la "Peter Norton" style ? or in fact did Peter Norton invent the cross armed pose ? who knows maybe he did ? I think they are trying to say the image of Peter Norton in his famous cross armed pose is a patent ... but then again when you read it back a few times, I think they are actually saying the cross armed pose is trademarked...comments welcome

you can view the magnificent pose here

Judge for yourself unique enough to be patented ??????

Correction it's a trademark not a patent.... oooops

Other news.... 75% of the kids have gone to see their Dad down in darkest Dartmoor.... no news yet so we assume they are having a good time.... and we are actually enjoying the peace and quiet :)

Spring is upon us :)

Although the weather has been far from spring like, but I remain hopeful. The job situation is more than dire and unless I get one soon, we are going to be up a tree without a paddle, but other than banging away at all the agencies and of course the really interestingly laid out Jobcentre Plus website there isn't a lot I can do really..

Freya is coming along with leaps and bounds, she bimbles around the house like one of the lost tribes of Israel, and unless you keep a very sharp eye on her she is gone in a flash..... and takes great delight in not answering you when you call her name....good game.... "terrify the parent"

I can't be cross with her though she is a good as gold and always has a smile for her Dad ... and anyone else come to think of it ... The other kids are ok, the Xbox recluse is still having girlfriend problems (I use the term Girlfriend loosely) and he has considered joining the Army so I took him to Army Careers, he seems interested but that's this week, next week is a whole different ball game, he wanted to go into the Marines, but I told him straight that he very probably wouldn't make it through selection, his thumbs would because of his Xbox intensive training but alas the rest of his body would snap.... the Army Careers bod steered him towards the Royal Signals, stating that if he really wanted to be a grunt then he could ask for a transfer after he had finished his basic training..... he seemed to go off the idea of being a Marine when I told him the majority of soldiers killed in Afghanistan were actually Marines.... but I don't think he even knew they were front line troops... he does now....besides if he does go into the Royal Signals he'll come out with qualifications which he can use in civvy street... so it's all good.

Anyway he's off to his Dad's next weekend and the other kids are going a day after, so a week of relative peace will descend on Chez Brabrook :)