Popped in to the Uni the other day, and found that I have passed three of the four courses that I had to re-sit in August. One of those essays just didn't make the grade, the Mechatronics one in fact. In principle, I could re-take the course next year, although I doubt I will. Wish I'd taken the Machine Vision course instead now.
Anyway, I've had a minor success with FreeCycle and acquired a Black & Decker drill stand that fits my B&D power drill just fine. My dad's old Stanley-Bridges drill and stand were all very fine, but the B&D one has a bigger chuck and electronic speed control. Of course, Stanley-Bridges drills won't fit B&D accessories, and vice versa. That, and Stanley-Bridges stopped making power drills in the 1970s, shortly after my dad bought one.
Made another Farnell order today, including parts for
aminorjourney's plug-in hybrid conversion project. Also some parts for another Atmel AVR PCB and a 0.8mm PCB drill. I have two PCB designs ready to etch now, both with AVR chips on them.