How much energy does YOUR house use?

A while back, I wrote a piece about the energy ratings on British houses, and I estimated our own house as being at the bottom of Band C, given our double-glazing, low-power lights, and recent condensing boiler.

So, with all that, how much energy do we actually use?

Our electricity usage is fairly constant, but our gas usage shows a seasonal cycle (there is a delay in the usage and the data, as we are billed every three month, so the "Winter Bill" appears in the data just as the weather is warming up.

In order to know whether any energy-saving upgrades are succesful, one has to know what the relative usage over time is.
Of course, as we have "gas" heating, the biggest factor in our usage is the temeratures that a particular winter brings.

That's me.
What about you?
Do you use more or less than us
(we have a "modern", in other words "small", 2-bed semi with a conservatory, and we live in the South of England)

"Dream machines" and "daily drivers" - what's the best bike?

As part of a move away from expensive (bad for the wallet), imported (bad for the national balance of trades - the "national wallet"), polluting (bad for the environment, and the air we ourselves have to breathe) forms of transport, folk tend to think about getting a bicycle.

So, the obvious question is: what bike is the "best"?

Answer: Depends what you want to do with it!

It is easy to flick through web pages of exotic, expensive cycles, and form the impression that the more one pays