My Kingdom for a Mattock

I was reminded this weekend about the value of having the right tool for the right job. The trigger was another day of physical exercise trying to remove a 17 metre rose hedge. My wife has decided that after 13 years it is time for a change so the "twigs" we planted so long ago that have long become a two metre high barrier have had to be excised.

Cutting off the parts above ground was fraught with its own dangers, but was child's play compared with trying to lift the roots. If you have never attempted this then please be aware that they are the twisted iceberg of the plant world. A small shoot above ground is no indication of what you will find below ground. The roots are often surprising bulbous; they twist and turn entangling with adjacent plants; and they seem uncommonly strong.

Did I say they go deep as well?

I have ruined a good garden fork trying to prise them from the ground, The steel shaft is now bent like a crescent moon.

So the answer is........

......a mattock. Five pounds of steel head with cutting edges both ends. Put this on a pickaxe handle and you have my new weapon of choice.

It was still hard work, but so much easier and all for the princely sum of £10 (US$16).

Thinking while I worked, my mind returned to the iPad. Another tool that works, at least for me in my nomadic existence. In the weeks I have had it I have largely become paper-free, at least while travelling. The light weight, instant on and long battery life, just work! That and the plethora of apps.

I use a micro sim from 3 costing £15 pm for 10 gig of data - more than enough. It does all my emails and browsing. With one of the file handling apps ( I use the free ones for now ) I can take virtual papers into meetings. The size and orientation allow for the sensible reading and review of documents on screen.

I have said at times that it was not great at creating content, but rather at consuming it. This is changing and I am sure will get better. As well as apps to access Twitter, Blogger etc, I have just bought Pages as a word processor and it seems very capable as a drafting tool.

I think I will still prefer a desk top for heavy duty content production, but see little place now for a laptop. Where would I go that I could not a) use the iPad and/or b) get access to a desktop?


Marmite Update

I did promise an update on Marmite Gold, the premium version I found a few weeks back. Well, in my opinion it is not worth it. Marmite is not a subtle product, so I feel that trying to sell some premium feel is at best hopeful. For me I could not taste the difference and certainly not enough to justify paying more.

I will stick with the original in this case.