Posts by keithreeder@newsie.social
(DIR) Post #ARkHwb0pKNk9rZgMk4 by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-17T18:48:19Z
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@timsmalley @AndiPopp Got to agree, Tim. I'm a wildlife photographer, and an angler: I can't (God knows I've tried) rely on public transport for either of these in my part of the world - SE Northumberland, England. I've lived in 5 large towns (not in-the-sticks hamlets) in my 62 years, and NOT ONE of them was on the UK rail network.Buses? Desperately unreliable, and none go anywhere I'd want to.I ride an e-bike, but it can't get me and my kit ANYWHERE NEAR places I want to visit.
(DIR) Post #ARkIYBML9ZOhJ1fRlA by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-17T20:54:03Z
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@otyugh @timsmalley @AndiPopp I spent 40-odd years working my arse off - I'm entitled to, and have earned, some "me time".Besides, I'm not talking about "distant" places - I'm talking less than 30 miles in a lot of cases.
(DIR) Post #ARkJoso1UJYcdl8wme by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-17T21:08:13Z
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@otyugh @xjix @timsmalley @AndiPopp "But I think what one is entitled to do with one's time should be limited to what society accept to produce."And *when* society decides that some modest occasional travel for recreation is a sin, I'll agree with you. But it doesn't, and it isn't.
(DIR) Post #ARkKFfGRwWdgSdD5Ye by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-17T21:13:06Z
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@otyugh @xjix @timsmalley @AndiPopp But you *are* suggesting that some things - innocent, benign things - might warrant restriction on completely subjective, arbitrary grounds.Nope.
(DIR) Post #ARkPQHLNibkBEGOi0G by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-17T22:11:01Z
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@otyugh @timsmalley @AndiPopp "To me the solution to this is... More of all theses trades, more locally."Even a few hundred meters would be unrealistically far to schlep all the gear some tradesmen need to carry: I'm getting a new gas fire installed in a week or so, and although the business is local (less than 5 miles away), the engineer will still be arriving at my door in a van - the fire alone weighs nearly as much as I do!
(DIR) Post #ARkQ8wATITJAaHaavo by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-17T22:19:06Z
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@otyugh @timsmalley @AndiPopp "To me the solution to this is... More of all theses trades, more locally."Oh - and lets not forget the economics of this idea: either too many tradesmen chasing the same limited amount of work = lots of out-of-business businesses.There's a reason why tradesmen are prepared to travel to where the work is...
(DIR) Post #ARkR5pbfKrQBJtOMhk by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-17T22:29:45Z
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@otyugh @timsmalley @AndiPopp "I don't think that's such a deep issue. The tools would only have to be adapted ; more modular, built on the spot, miniaturized.."OK, but that still doesn't help the gas engineer who has to get a 100kg gas fire to my front door.
(DIR) Post #ARkRWvUfYU3FOh2V2e by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-17T22:34:39Z
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@otyugh @timsmalley @AndiPopp Adapting is great - I'm all for it, and have always tried to be creative and imaginative in my life decisions - but as of right now (at the risk of sounding like a stuck record) we have to make the best of world *as it is*.When I can have a fusion reactor that fits in the palm of my hand and powers/heats my whole house, I'll jump at the chance: but as of today, it's a new gas fire or potential hypothermia; idealism doesn't keep you very warm...
(DIR) Post #ARkRs0gZRlATa5exY8 by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-17T22:38:27Z
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@otyugh @timsmalley @AndiPopp "I actually think 100kg isn't much of a challenge for a small motorized bike and a trailer."And two engineers.And tools.And additional metal piping and fittings.And testing equipment.And a new fireplace.And cement/bricks to set the fireplace up properly.And a new marble hearth.And the fact that they have a van, not a bike and trailer...
(DIR) Post #ARkS7LU2P3D6Qc6sXw by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-17T22:41:15Z
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@otyugh @timsmalley @AndiPopp "most of your objection seem to be about how "no car" would be the end of the world"*A* of my "objection" is that right now, in 2023, we have to live with what we've got; but that you seem to think doing so is entirely optional.
(DIR) Post #ARkSuMekpaVGFtUqfY by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-17T22:50:05Z
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@otyugh @timsmalley @AndiPopp The point is that it can't be a binary choice: we can't just say "OK, as of tomorrow, no more ICE vehicles".We have to *get there*, but it can't happen unless we're smart and methodical about it - and that means, *big time*, getting The Man In The Street engaged.That doesn't happen by diktat, so it *must* be an ongoing work in progress, or it will never happen.
(DIR) Post #ARlY4Jk5DKtJ2gVwlE by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-18T10:49:28Z
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@PixElyseeReclus @timsmalley @otyugh @AndiPopp It's not hard to come up with edge case "proofs" that something can be done a different way, but they actually *prove* nothing.Lets say my gas engineer rocked up at my house on that: I can *guarantee* that by the time he was ready to leave, somebody would have stolen the bike and trailer, along with any tools, supplies and equipment left on it, which there would necessarily be.Pesky Real World practicalities, eh?
(DIR) Post #ARlY4KMitfncyWanzM by keithreeder@newsie.social
2023-01-18T11:03:04Z
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@PixElyseeReclus @timsmalley @otyugh @AndiPopp Another inconvenient Real World truth is that tradesmen don't just load for *the next job*:.They're generally out all day, going straight from one piece of work to the next - no going back to home-base after each completed job - which means they need to carry everything they *might* require for a full day's business, across multiple locations.Not doing *that* from the back of a pushbike.