Miscellany

If you've visited my website in the past few weeks, you may have seen my note that the site was likely to cease or be suspended. And if you tried to send me an e-mail, there's a good chance that I didn't receive it. This is the explanation.

• they gave me a wrong user name and couldn't or wouldn't change it
• no special offer on the package I wanted
• multiple automatic option selections each time I 'phoned them
• a call centre that, when you finally speak to a reall person, sounds as if it's in India

that I decided to stay with Plus.Net. And all this was just in the set up period!!!

Still within the 10-day 'cooling-off' period, I ordered Tiscali to cancel the switch. They even gave me a cancellation number, but still kept contacting me to say that the switch was going ahead. Eventually, after many more attempts to get the switch-over cancelled, and a week after the 'go live' date they had given me, Tiscali cancelled - not just the switch-over but my whole broadband service. Plus.Net, who were aware of the situation, could only re-connect me as a 'new start', which takes a week to ten days, so for that time I had no internet connection.

However, I'm now safely back with Plus.Net, whom I can strongly recommend to anybody who is looking for a new Internet Service Provider. Their service has been great, and their call centre is in Sheffield. (If you decide to join them, say that ringwoodturner recommended them to you – it will save me 25p per month of my bill.)

Thoughts on wood seasoning; Air-Dried v. Kiln-Dried.

I read somewhere a short time ago that there is no difference between air-dried timber and kiln-dried timber of the same species, if the moisture content is the same. Scientifically, this may be so, but I know that they feel different to me, and I've also read somewhere that air-dried timber is much better for steam-bending than kilned. Kilned wood seems less responsive in some way; more likely to splinter, and dustier when I turn it. And I know I get much longer shavings with air-dried timber. If you have any explanation, please e-mail me