Google analytics

Thursday 31 March 2011

Why?

I started this blog about two years ago. What I can’t understand is why I write the drivel that I come up with. More interesting is that people actually read it and come back for more.

My ghast is truly flabbered.

Do come back and make suggestions, abuse me, in the comments. I will try to reply. (Honest).

If anyone who reads this has a particular issue that they feel needs to be addressed, them do E mail me at Niklowe[at]gmail.com.

That includes you Huw.

I’m truly humbled to have a loyal following. *Especially those from Kent County Council*

It’s difficult to blog every day, but your support makes it worth it. You’re the true heroes, and I salute you for taking hard earned time to follow this blog.  But hey, why don’t you give it a go. You might find it as fun, as this blogger does.

Egging you on.

Fancy bombing the Houses of Parliament, Tripoli, Your next door neighbour, or whatever floats your boat. Here you can do it with a ballistic Cadbury’s creme egg. You need patience as it takes a while for the page to load.

image

H/T to Max

Shopping

sausage

A customer asked, "In what aisle could I find the Irish sausage?"

The shop assistant asks, "Are you Irish?"

The guy, clearly offended, says, "Yes I am.  But let me ask you something.

If I had asked for Italian sausage, would you ask me if I was Italian?

Or if I had asked for German Bratwurst, would you ask me if I was German?

Or if I asked for a kosher hot dog would you ask me if I was Jewish?

Or if I had asked for a Taco, would you ask if I was Mexican?

Or if I asked for Polish sausage, would you ask if I was Polish?"

The clerk says, "No, I probably wouldn't."

The guy says, "Well then, because I asked for Irish sausage, why did you ask me if I'm Irish?"

The clerk replied, "Because you're in Halfords."

(For overseas readers. Halfords is a car accessory shop).

Wednesday 30 March 2011

The Census

Just in case you are having a little trouble with your census form, here are a few tips to help.

1.First and most important, your census form will be scanned by a machine. Of course, the machine will only be able to handle your form if it is in good physical condition. If the sheets (which will be automatically cut apart from their binding) are sullied in any way which might gum up the machine, the job will have to be done by an actual person, which will cost more and be very slow although it will have the benefit of providing temporary employment for someone. So be very careful with your form, and do not, repeat NOT, spill coffee over it or smear some of the sheets with marmalade.

 
2.The machine will know which page it's on, and whose form it is reading, by scanning the little barcodes in the bottom right hand corner of each page. So don't, whatever you do, sit idly there filling in the spaces in the barcode with a black pen. You know how it is when your attention wanders and you start doodling. Don't do it.

3.Likewise, the machine will only look for information in the little boxes provided for you to write in. If you make a mistake, and have to cross it out and then put the correct answer outside the box, the machine will be stumped. Nevertheless, we all make mistakes, and if this is what you have to do in order to comply with your legal responsibility, you have little choice. Remember, anything written outside the box will have to be read by a human.

4.Something else that will confuse the scanner is if you absent-mindedly turn the page and write in the boxes upside down, or if you use any peculiar symbols of your own that it can't recognise. So don't do it – unless, of course, your religion requires you to. In this case you probably ought to answer the voluntary question about religion, and add a detailed account of the responsibilities attaching to that particular belief. The census is all about collecting information, after all, so I’m sure they'll be pleased if you give them plenty of it!

5.No doubt when all your personal information is entered into the computer, it will be cross-matched against other information already held by the Stasi thought police kindly and helpful authorities who have only your best interests at heart. If you have made any small errors in the information you have given, this won't work. You know how easy it is to leave a letter out of your name, or get one figure of your telephone number wrong, that sort of thing. To err is human, of course, but I urge you to be very careful and not make any mistakes. And if you do, see previous paragraph.

6.There are one or two questions that cannot be answered honestly and accurately. None of us know with certainty what our ethnic group is, unless we are fanatical family historians and have researched our genealogy for generations past. Even then, if we went far enough back most Europeans would probably have to conclude that their original ethnic group was Aryan, and I believe the Aryans originally came from Northern India, so can they accurately be described as “white” on the form? Really the only honest answer to this question has to be “Don't know”.

7.The form has a big barcode on the front page, and is arranged so that when you put it in the pre-paid envelope, the barcode can be read through the transparent window. If for any reason the barcode can't be read, the package will have to be sorted by hand which will take more time and cost more money, so do make sure the barcode is visible and that you haven't doodled on it. One disastrous scenario which you must avoid is that if the front page of the form became detached (say, by the dog getting it, or your infant child) and you put that in the envelope provided and posted it, the system would log you as having completed the whole questionnaire. But then you would realise your mistake, collect together the remaining sheets, put them in another envelope and send them off. Do make sure you put the right address, and that you don't send a lot of envelopes each with one sheet in, and that you remember to put a stamp on each one. You can imagine the mess it would cause if you made any of these silly mistakes!

I hope you have found these notes helpful, and that we can all play our part in making a mess success of this ridiculously expensive intrusive worthwhile exercise which will be vital to this and future governments in deciding which services we can do without and how much space there is for poor deserving immigrants who need a place to live. I'd like to stress that the reason the form asks how many bedrooms you have and whether you have central heating is NOT because they're planning to billet a couple of Somali families with you.
That would be ridiculous, of course.

Monday 28 March 2011

Too difficult, Mr Met Plod?

petrol

Repeat after me.

Use the Green one for petrol, and the Black one for diesel.

FFS read it. I would make the Officers concerned pay for the repairs out of  their own pockets. No wonder that they can’t even handle a couple of  hundred anarchists.

Oh Dear

I think I may have buggered up filling in my Census form on line.

If you see someone wandering the streets muttering that he has been kicked out of his 12 bedroom home by his white hindu wife, whilst chanting the religious mantra “Smokers will ascend to heaven”, in Albanian. That might be me. Of course the main reason for the wandering is, that in my old age, I’ve forgotten where my 10 company cars are parked.

Oh well, Ho Hum.

Saturday 26 March 2011

Guess?

If you’re that sure of the effects of climate change, then you might think about singing from the same Hymn sheet.

Climate scientist and warmist Andy Pitman on Thursday:

If we could stop emissions tomorrow we would still have 20 to 30 years of warming ahead of us because of inertia of the system.


Climate Commissioner and warmist Tim Flannery on Friday:

If the world as a whole cut all emissions tomorrow the average temperature of the planet is not going to drop in several hundred years, perhaps as much as a thousand years

Nicked from Andrew Bolt over at the Herald Sun.

Friday 25 March 2011

Hah.

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen.

The debate about global warming has reached ridiculous proportions and is full of micro thin half-truths and misunderstandings. I am a scientist who was on the carbon gravy train, understands the evidence,  was once an alarmist, but am now a skeptic. Watching this issue unfold has been amusing but, lately, worrying. This issue is tearing society apart, making fools and liars out of our politicians.

Do and read the whole article at Jo Nova’s blog

Thursday 24 March 2011

Alert.

”An Earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale hit the new city of Milton Keynes on Wednesday morning.

”Casualties were seen wandering aimlessly saying ”bang out of order”, ”mental” and ”sorted”.

”Some are still confused that something interesting actually happened in Newport Pagnell!

”Some residents of Fishermead were woken before their ‘giros’ arrived and it caused quite a panic!

”The earthquake decimated half of the Fullers Slade area causing in excess of £17.55 worth of damage.

”Several priceless collections of mementos from Ibiza, Corfu, Rhyl and Blackpool were damaged beyond repair including a cute little donkey that ‘broke wind’ when you clapped your hands.

”Preserved areas of historic importance were destroyed and many piles of scientifically significant litter were disturbed.

”One resident of Netherfield, Miss Kylie Davies a 15 year old mother of four said ”It was such a shock, little Chardonnay-Destiny came running into my bedroom crying; my hands were shaking that much I could hardly concentrate on Jeremy Kyle”.

”The British Red Cross has so far managed to send 4,000 crates of Red Bull to the area to help with the crisis.

”Rescue workers are still searching through the rubble and have found numerous ”Elizabeth Duke” sovereign rings, benefit books and Poundstretcher ornaments.

”How can you help?

”This appeal hopes to raise money for food and clothing parcels for those unfortunate enough to be caught up in the disaster.

”Clothing is most sought after. Urgently needed are Lacoste tracksuits, white socks, Burberry caps, Beanie hats and Rockports.

Spoof news report on Shameless style estate angers residents

”Food parcels are also needed. They include McCain oven chips, Aldi Beans, Monster Munch, Hollands pies and Iceland pizza.

”Alcohol is also in short supply, especially White Lightening Cider and Special Brew.

”Cash donations are also needed. 22p buys a ‘signing-on’ biro, £2.50 buys a pie and chips, £20.00 buys a fake MOT and £16.00 buys 200 Regal ciggies from the back of Tomo’s lorry. Your help is appreciated.”

Will the Plod be after me now?

SOURCE

Bloody greenery

From the Evening Standard

Households will be hit by an average £17 rise in electricity bills as a result of green measures in the Budget, it emerged today.

Official documents predict bills will be four per cent higher by 2016 because of George Osborne's decision to drive investment in renewable energy by charging fossil-fuel burning power suppliers a minimum price for carbon emissions from 2013.

The Budget "red book" said 40 per cent of the cost would fall on households, leading to an immediate one per cent rise in electricity bills that will grow by 2016.

It said the pain would be felt hardest by the poor, single parents and the elderly with a risk that fuel poverty will get worse.

The "red book" claims energy prices will start to fall by the 2020s, but a Taxpayers Alliance spokesman said: "This is a Budget which will substantially raise energy prices."

Green nonsense. I’m even too annoyed to swear.

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Really Green

In the line at the shop, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing  back in my day.”

That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the shop. The shop sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But they didn’t have the green thing back her day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every shop and office building.

They walked to the supermarket and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two hundred yards. But she’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s nappies because they didn’t have the disposable kind.

They dried clothes on a washing line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 3000 watts per hour – wind and solar power really did dry the clothes.

Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a pizza dish, not a screen the size of France.

In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you.

When they packaged a fragile item to send in the post, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t start up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power.

They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right, they didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty, instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water.

They refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got blunt. But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the bus and children rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus, instead of turning their mothers into a 24-hour taxi service.

They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. 
And they didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza hut.

But that old lady is right. They didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Tuesday 22 March 2011

Wind Turbines are Crap

bent wind turbine

I had to laugh when I had my weekly E-mail from “Wind Energy Update”. (They think that I’m a wind contractor or some such).

Anyhoo. It seems that all is not well for monopile wind turbines situated off our shore. It’s all to do with stuff like the material you put between your bathroom tiles.

Grout.

Gaze at an offshore wind farm and it is hard not to be moved by the might and power of it all. Unfortunately for the industry, however, at least one element of many offshore installations does not have all the might and power it should… and its effect is moving in a more worrying way.

In a September 2010 Europe wind energy advisory note, IHS Emerging Energy Research alerted: “At approximately 600 of Europe’s installed 948 offshore turbines, dissolved grouting has shifted turbines within monopile foundations.

“Retrofitting these could cost developers as much as EUR€120,000 per turbine, equalling up to €9.6 million at larger projects such as Horns Rev, although future projects using monopiles are not assumed to be affected.”

But then I read this.

“These supports are not designed to transfer bending moment from wind loading. Due to the dynamic loading from the wind, fatigue cracks can initiate and propagate into the main steel structure. How severe it is depends on loading and utilisation with respect to capacity.”

Why design something that is unsuitable for the force of the very element that you’re trying to harness? Really. Shear force and bending moments are Applied Mechanics 101.

Lost your luggage

The other day I was just looking at my Blog stats and found heavy traffic coming from an air line forum. The particular article of mine was this one. But that’s by the by. Scrolling down the thread on that forum I came upon this gem.

"The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage."

Made me smile.

Monday 21 March 2011

The Arab League

There is talk about the Arab League imploring the UN to enforce a No fly zone over Libya. As far as I’m concerned all I can see is, one member of the Arab league, has offered four aircraft. I see Arab duplicity at work here. If all goes well then they can boast that they had a hand in liberating Libya. If it all goes horribly wrong then they can blame it all on the Evil western powers.

I’m not sure why we needed to get involved in the first place.

Saudi Arabia:

For Middle Eastern standards the armed forces of Saudi Arabia are relatively small. Its strength however is derived from advanced technology and not from numerical superiority. This is why the armed forces are under a continuing modernization program. The backbone of the fighter force is formed by 134 Tornados from which a batch of 48 Tornado IDS was ordered in 1993 under the al-Yamamah II program and 72 F-15S aircraft delivered from the mid-90s that operate besides the 41 F-15C/D aircraft delivered in the early 90s. Aircraft training is executed on the Pilatus PC-9, BAe Hawk, Boeing F-15D Eagle and the Northrop F-5F Tiger II. Like in many other countries the C-130 is the mainstay of the Transport fleet and the Hercules is assisted by CASA CN-235s. Reconnaissance is performed by 17sq with their RF-5E and the Boeing E-3A is the Airborne Early Warning platform operated by 18sq.

UAE:

The fighter fleet of the Western Air Command of Abu Dhabi can be found on Al Dhafra Air Force Base, just east of the capital of Abu Dhabi. The remaining 34 Mirage 2000s are stationed here as well as the AH-64A Apache helicopters. The transport core is formed by Lockheed Hercules and Indonesian (IPTN/IAe) built CN-235 aircraft, all flying from Bateen Air Force Base. The UAE Air Force will be reinforced soon now the approval of the US congress enables the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company to deliver eighty new Block 60 F-16s that are officially designated F-16E/F. These Fighting Falcons are scheduled for delivery from 2004 through 2007. The UAE has an outstanding order for 30 Mirage 2000-9 aircraft, a customized version of the 2000-5 with additional air to ground capabilities. First deliveries have taken place in 2003. The United Arab Emirates Air Force & Air Defence also planned to upgrade its current fleet of 33 Mirage 2000s to the -9 standard and the first retrofitted Mirage 2000s are already active. Other recent development is the request for US Congress approval for delivery of two E-2C Hawkeye 2000 AEW platforms.

Egypt:

Currently the EAF has over 438 combat aircraft and 155 armed helicopters. The backbone of the Egyptian Air Force are 220 F-16 fighters. The Egyptian Air Force is the 4th largest operator of F-16's in the world, after the United States, Israel, and Turkey.

In other words the west is yet again going to be demonised for something the Arab world are incapable of doing. The trouble is we have a political class that seems that it must be seen do be doing something. 

Well now that the West has done the difficult bit, lets hand it over to the Arab League.

Just saying like. Maybe I’m just stupid.

SeaBay

Fancy a ship, one lady owner (HM The Queen), never raced or rallied, & only five years old. Complete with dynamic positioning. Comes with a full service history.

OIRO of £63M

largs bay

RFA Largs Bay pictured here in her docked down condition. This allows landing craft to drive into her dock. (Helicopter not included)

Sunday 20 March 2011

Iconic “Health and safety “, get stuffed.

Just a couple of pics taken during the building of the Empire State Building.

H&s1

The days when men were men.

Incidentally only five men died on the building project. One of which died from being run down

Saturday 19 March 2011

Hyper Injunctions

Anna Raccoon has an extremely important post on a debate which took place last Thursday in Westminster Hall, to which Charonqc links in his post on the same subject, the subject of which was people who have lost their liberty in the UK behind closed doors. (Do please read both posts and also the links contained therein).

Friday 18 March 2011

We are so screwed.

Well we are if you believe in this article:

We've built a flying saucer, boasts Iran (even if it does look like it belongs in a 1950s B-movie)

The hardline Fars news agency illustrated its story with a photo of a flying saucer, akin to one appearing in a 1950s Hollywood B-movie, hovering over an unidentified wooded landscape.

The reports gave no indication of the spaceship’s size. But they indicated it was small by claiming, somewhat bizarrely, that it can also fly indoors.

Of course 4 years ago they tried to tell us that they had stealth technology. However probably not.

American naval forces in the Persian Gulf have yet to come across a 'super-modern' radar-evading flying boat Iran claimed to have tested four years ago.

Here’s a pic if you don’t want to be bothered to follow the link. I wouldn’t.

ufo

It hurts

false teeth

Blogging maybe light. I’ve just come back from some major dentistry and the painkillers are wearing off.

Thursday 17 March 2011

Those MSM Ghouls

It doesn’t matter what TV programme you watch. or which paper you read, all you see is an overwhelming desire by the MSM for an apocalyptic disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Today the news was filled with comments like “A last ditch attempt” and “failed attempts at cooling”.

I’m sorry MSM, but couldn’t you for once support the unsung heroes that are trying to get the overheating cores and spent fuel rod pools from being a hazard.

These reactor workers, fireman, and the military are laying their lives on the line by the hour. And do stop wheeling out your, so called experts, to pedal your green anti nuclear ideology.

The reason that things are not going so well is the lack of electrical power to supply the pumps and allow for a sufficient quantity of coolant to reach the central cores.

FFS they’ve just suffered an horrendous earthquake and a tsunami to boot. It takes time.

As an engineer I would like to point out the following:

1. If they are going to use the backup generators, they will need to remove the water from the cylinders, change the oil, drain the water from the fuel tanks, and much, much more.

2. If the power cables are down, they are going to have to run new ones. These will have to be transported to the area. If they’re 440v, just imagine the size and length that needs to be transported to the area.

3. The pumps themselves will be powered by electric motors that will most likely have been immersed in salt water. They will have to be rinsed with fresh water and then dried till they have a resistance of at least one megohm. Difficult to do, without electric heating lamps.

The MSM and others complain that they are not receiving enough information. I would suspect, that those at the coal face are somewhat too busy to indulge in political spin. They need to be left alone to try and minimise the risk.

I lost count of the number of times in my career as an Engineer in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, when we had a loss of all systems, and  on reaching the control room and finding the bridge talk back buzzing, the inane comment from the bridge  was “what’s  wrong and when will power be resumed?”

FFS did I have a crystal ball in my pocket, or a direct line to some deity. I’m afraid some profanity may have been uttered.

Please MSM. Leave the heroes of the hour to sort it out and stop speculate on something you seem to know nothing about.

Bathing the cat. Be afraid, very afraid

See my last post.

I.
Know that although the cat has the advantage of quickness and lack of concern for human life, you have the advantage of strength. Capitalize on that advantage by selecting the battlefield. Don't try to bathe him in an open area where he can force you to chase him. Pick a very small bathroom. If your bathroom is more than four feet square, I recommend that you get in the bath with the cat and close the sliding -glass doors as if you were about to take a shower. (A simple shower curtain will not do. A berserk cat can shred a three-ply rubber shower curtain quicker than a politician can shift positions.)

II.
Know that a cat has claws and will not hesitate to remove all the skin from your body. Your advantage here is that you are smart and know how to dress to protect yourself. I recommend canvas overalls tucked into high-top construction boots, a pair of steel-mesh gloves, an army helmet, a hockey face-mask, and a long-sleeved flak jacket.

III.
Use the element of surprise. Pick up your cat nonchalantly, as if to simply carry him to his supper dish. (Cats will not usually notice your strange attire. They have little or no interest in fashion as a rule.)

IV.
. Once you are inside the bathroom, speed is essential to survival. In a single liquid motion, shut the bathroom door, step into the bath enclosure, slide the glass door shut, dip the cat in the water and squirt him with shampoo. You have begun one of the wildest 45 seconds of your life.

V.
Cats have no handles. Add the fact that he now has soapy fur, and the problem is radically compounded. Do not expect to hold on to him for more than two or three seconds at a time. When you have him, however, you must remember to give him another squirt of shampoo and rub like crazy. He'll then spring free and fall back into the water, thereby rinsing himself off. (The national record for cats is three latherings, so don't expect too much.)

IV.
Next, the cat must be dried. Novice cat bathers always assume this part will be the most difficult, for humans generally are worn out at this point and the cat is just getting really determined. In fact, the drying is simple compared with what you have just been through. That's because by now the cat is semi-permanently affixed to your right leg. You simply pop the drain plug with your foot, reach for your towel and wait. (Occasionally, however, the cat will end up clinging to the top of your army helmet. If this happens, the best thing you can do is to shake him loose and to encourage him toward your leg.) After all the water is drained from the bath, it is a simple matter to just reach down and dry the cat. In a few days the cat will relax enough to be removed from your leg. He will usually have nothing to say for about three weeks and will spend a lot of time sitting with his back to you. He might even become psychoceramic and develop the fixed stare of a plaster figurine. You will be tempted to assume he is angry. This isn't usually the case. As a rule he is simply plotting ways to get through your defences and injure you for life the next time you decide to give him a bath. But at least now he smells a lot better

*No cats were harmed in the writing of this article. Just the owners*

The Cat wash

Don’t try this unless you are very brave.

cat1'
But You Said You Loved Me!'

cat2
'You will pay, as God is my witness, you will pay.'

cat3'
Holy Crap, you call this water warm???'

cat4'
I don't think I like you anymore.'


cat5'
You Lied !!!!!!'




cat6'
E.T. Phone home......quick!'




cat7
'No, I'm not your Good Little Kitty anymore.'




cat8'
Traction....I'm losing Traction!'




cat9'
I want my Mommmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!'




cat10
'No, no, no, no.....NOOOO!!!!'

Ethical fuel

pump

Don’t make me larf.

A single full tank of bio-ethanol uses up as much grain as an adult can eat in a whole year. In order to cover the German requirement for biofuel, an arable area of around one million hectares would be needed (Ed: That’s 3,861 square miles if you are British like me). That is four times the size of the south-western German state of Saarland, which would need to be fertilized, treated with pesticides and intensively farmed.

And of course we have no say in the matter. And of course another government quango sprang into life in order to bring this into being.

THE RENEWABLE TRANSPORT FUEL OBLIGATIONS ORDER 2007

The Order imposes an obligation on fuel suppliers to ensure that, by 2010, renewable fuels make up 5% of their UK road fuel sales.

And why are we doing it? You’ve guessed.

The EU has set a target that by 2020 at least 10 per cent of transport fuel should come from biofuels.

Can we leave yet?

Wednesday 16 March 2011

The wind merry go round

wind turbine

Coming to the UK if Caroline Lucas has her way.

Denmark has built a lot of windpower. Denmark has got a high carbon tax as well as the EU emission trading system and feed-in subsidies for windmills. Some days the wind blows too hard, so the electricity generators have to pay to get rid of the surplus. Fortunately for Denmark, they can export electricity to Norway, that can store it in hydropower dams. The Norwegians can then stop their own production to sell the Danish electricity to their captive customers with a hefty profit. If it blows harder than a gale, the windmills must all suddenly stop in order not to overrev. Then Denmark buys back electricity from Norway for a very high price. Fortunately, Denmark has almost no manufacturing left. Even the windmill manufacturer Vestas Wind has moved most production abroad, because of high manufacturing costs. But Denmark has got one of the biggest public sectors in the world. They are indeed doing well!

Nicked from here

That Census form

what’s to stop me sending it back in the envelope as the video below would suggest? I would of course fill it in first. I’m like that.

After all I’m just encrypting it for safety.

H/T to Captain Swing

Tuesday 15 March 2011

The BBC’s disaster

I watched the BBC today with disgust. Because of the Japanese reactor problems, (I won’t call them a disaster, as I’m amazed that the power plant could withstand simultaneously, an 8.9 Richter scale earthquake and a tsunami at the same time,), their green credentials were shining through like a world war two searchlight. They were in a state of near hysteria in trying to get the message across that Nuclear, was the spawn of the devil. However it was  their own choice of nuclear experts that did much to scupper their aim at taking us back to the stone age. Twice I saw experts calmly state that the radiation releases were what was to expected when you prevent a dangerous over pressurising of the containment vessel, by releasing gases to the atmosphere. And more so that the levels were no cause for alarm. The presenters hated that.

When I consider that the 50 or so plant operatives and the local emergency services must be working in such hard and dangerous circumstances, I’m amazed at what they’ve accomplished.

Of course you hear nothing from the BBC of the heroism that is going on by the minute.

Then again the BBC only has one agenda. It doesn’t do normal.

And before you tell me that I don’t know what I’m talking about. I passed,  first in my class in NBCD (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical warfare, and damage Control). And I held a Nuclear Secret vetting until I retired.

Oops

Disaster:

Amazing photos show great detail. The pilot at low level had no control over his aircraft. It narrowly misses a crowd gathered for the air show and slams into four buildings.

One can only imagine the horror of the occupants inside those buildings.

balloon

Probably scared the shit out of them.

UK Uprising

Just a test to make sure it still works. Thanks Max

Monday 14 March 2011

I’ve been perpetually scared.

scary

One of the reasons why I’m sceptical over the current obsession with Global warming, Climate Change, Climate disruption, is that I’ve heard it all before.

In the 1950’s (Yes I’m that old), we were being scared silly because we were all going to be nuked by those evil Ruskies.

In 1962 a stupid bint called Rachel Carson wrote a book called “The silent Spring” about the danger of DDT. In a knee jerk reaction, Governments banned the use of DDT. A most effective malaria mosquito killer. Oh well Rachel, only 780,000 people died of malaria last year.

In 1970 we were all going to fry from a hole in the Ozone layer caused by CFCs. I still don’t understand the fact that  if  the majority of CFC’s were emitted by the prosperous northern hemisphere, why is the hole over the South pole? Incidentally it has closed up a bit since then.

Global cooling into the next ice age? Anyone remember that from the mid 1970’s?

1976. What a pig of a year. We were in danger of dying from an outbreak of swine flue. Predictions were for thousands to die. Nope, they didn’t.

1979. Topical at the moment. The nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island was going to Melt down. They even made a suitably alarmist film called “The China Syndrome”. The title refers to the concept that, if an American nuclear plant melts down, the core will melt through the Earth until it reaches China. I’m sure, that there are watermelons that still believe that crap.

AIDS. Be scared, very scared. Well no actually. Although 2,ooo,ooo died of HIV in 2009,  the percentage chance of dying from it is 0.0002% . Bearing in mind the population of the Globe is 9 Billion approximately.

1988. Put down that loaded Egg, and step away now. The great salmonella in eggs story by that master story teller, Edwina Curry, a junior health secretary.

1996 Mad cow disease. Mad to think that we were all going to die. Well we didn’t, but 4.4 million cattle were slaughtered.

1999. There's a bug going round. This one was going to invade our computers at the turn of the millennium. Funny that.

2003. Watch that Birdie. This time we were going to be slaughtered by rampaging fowl. Well actually a virus carried within them.

2007. “Bartenders dying in their thousands”. OK, I made that up. The year that the smoking ban came into force,

2009. Bloody swine flue is back.

This morning. Fake charities complaining that the Gubbermint is protecting the drinks industry. We’re supposedly dying from the demon drink. Strange that, as the government’s own figures show that alcohol sales are declining.

Phew. Made it.

Sunday 13 March 2011

3TW of Green power?

Here’s a number you need to keep in mind: 3 Terawatts. That’s about how much power They’re using in the USA right now.

If that were used for 100W incandescent bulbs you’d need 30 billion bulbs.

There’s no way renewable energy is going to come close to that.

That would require over 2 billion square meters of 100% efficient solar panels: that’s about the same area as all the land in Rhode Island (real solar panels are about 25% efficient so you’d need to pave Delaware’s land as well). And of course solar panels don’t do too well at night, so you’d need to at least double that area, that brings us to the land area of Hawaii, plus you’d need a way to store around 40 TWh’s which simply doesn’t exist. And all that ignores factors such as clouds, dirt, animals, etc.

So what about wind? The most powerful wind turbine today is ~7 MW, so you’d need around 500,000 of them. They have a rotor diameter of 126m, so they’d have to be at least 65m apart. That means they’d take up 6 billion square meters, about the same as all of Delaware. I can’t imagine it would be good for anything flying. Now this is the peak power, so we’d have to factor in all the time that the wind isn’t blowing hard enough, or when it’s blowing too hard. Again we need a storage system for mind-boggling amounts of energy. Also, has anyone looked at the climatological effects of taking 3TW of convective energy out of the atmosphere?

Both solar and wind suffer from a fatal flaw: They can’t be controlled. Grid operators can’t dial supply up (They can somewhat do down) to meet demand, and when you’re talking about the electric grid either you balance it or it balances itself…usually in some exciting manner.

Hydro’s pretty much tapped out in that country, not to mention ecomentalists flip their shit whenever someone mentions building dams. Same thing with geothermal, unless we want to start drilling in Yellowstone.

Nuclear could do it, but whenever you mention it the ecomentalists set a record in going from zero to stupid.

That leaves fossil fuels. There’s nothing else. Especially when it comes to moving stuff. We have nothing that comes close to the power density of hydrocarbons when it comes to mobile applications, and hydrocarbons are the only energy source that’s suitable for mobile applications. Everything else (e.g. hydrogen and ethanol) are just ways to make electricity mobile.

Oi! You’re supposed to be dying out.

3 bears

Just thought the pic looked cute.

Saturday 12 March 2011

Green fail.

 

solar panel

L.A. community colleges' green energy plan proves wildly impractical. The blunders cost taxpayers $10 million.

The Los Angeles Community College District would become a paragon of clean energy. By generating solar, wind and geothermal power, the district would supply all its electricity needs. Not only would the nine colleges sever ties to the grid, saving millions of dollars a year, they would make money by selling surplus power. Thanks to state and federal subsidies, construction of the green energy projects would cost nothing upfront.

Sounds too good to be true.

Oh Noes it is.

He overestimated how much power the colleges could generate. He underestimated the cost. And he poured millions of dollars into designs for projects that proved so impractical or unpopular they were never built.
These and other blunders cost nearly $10 million that could have paid for new classrooms, laboratories and other college facilities, a Times investigation found.
The problems with Eisenberg's energy vision were fundamental. For starters, there simply wasn't room on the campuses for all the generating equipment required to become self-sufficient. Some of the colleges wouldn't come close to that goal even if solar panels, wind turbines and other devices were wedged into every available space.

and

Weather and geology also refused to cooperate.
Three solar power arrays had to be scrapped because the intended locations were atop seismic faults.

And all you out there advocating Wind Turbines Bird Mincers.

Plans for large-scale wind power collided with the reality that prevailing winds at nearly all the campuses are too weak to generate much electricity. To date, a single wind turbine has been installed, as a demonstration project. It spins too slowly in average winds to power a 60-watt light bulb.

Do read about the whole sorry saga over THERE.

Friday 11 March 2011

I must beware of my cats.

For Katharine.

Where's this then?

Have a guess

Armies of insects once crawled through lush forests in a region of xxxxxxxxx now covered by more than 2,000m of ice.

DNA extracted from ice cores shows that moths and butterflies were living in forests of spruce and pine in the area between 450,000 and 800,000 years ago.

Researchers writing in Science magazine say the specimens could represent the oldest pure DNA samples ever obtained.

The ice cores also suggest that the ice sheet is more resistant to warming than previously thought, the scientists say.

“We have shown for the first time that southern xxxxxxxxx, which is currently hidden under more than 2km of ice, was once very different to the xxxxxxxxx we see today,” said Professor Eske Willerslev from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and one of the authors of the paper.

“What we’ve learned is that this part of the world was significantly warmer than most people thought,” added Professor Martin Sharp from the University of Alberta, Canada, and a co-author of the Science paper.

The ancient boreal forests were thought to cover southern xxxxxxxxx during a period of increased global temperatures, known as an interglacial.

Temperatures at the time were probably between 10C in summer and -17C in winter.

When the temperatures dropped again 450,000 years ago, the forests and their inhabitants were covered by the advancing ice, effectively freezing them in time.

Studies suggest that even during the last interglacial (116,000-130,000 years ago), when temperatures were thought to be 5C warmer than today [why didn't this cause Hansen's "tipping point," "arctic amplification," or an "arctic death spiral" from accelerating albedo loss predicted by alarmists today for warming of 3C or less?] , the ice persevered, keeping the delicate samples entombed and free from contamination and decay. 

H/T to the Hockey Schtick

Thursday 10 March 2011

Bloody hell!

As requested an Royal Air Force "Typhoon" pilot flies up to the back door of a C-130 (Hercules) for a photo shoot.

He radios, "How much closer do you want me?"

typhoon1


They radio, "How much closer can you get?"


typhoon2

typhoon3
typhoon4

typhoon5
Pilot Radios, ”Close enough?”


I think that proves that fighter pilots are still as mad as ever they were!!!

This make Midsommer murder plots seem trivial in comparison.

For those who have served on jury...this one is something to think about...Just when you think you have heard everything!!
Do you like to read a good murder mystery?
Not even Law and Order would attempt to capture this mess.
This is an unbelievable twist of fate!!

At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science, (AAFS) President Dr Don Harper Mills astounded his audience with the legal complications of a bizarre death.
Here is the story:

On March 23, 1994 the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opus and concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head.

Mr Opus had jumped from the top of a 10-story building intending to commit suicide.

He left a note to the effect indicating his despondency.
As he fell past the ninth floor, his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast passing through a window, which killed him instantly.

Neither the shooter nor the deceased was aware that a safety net had been installed just below the eighth floor level to protect some building workers and that Ronald Opus would not have been able to complete his suicide the way he had planned.
The room on the ninth floor, where the shotgun blast emanated, was occupied by an elderly man and his wife.

They were arguing vigorously and he was threatening her with a shotgun!

The man was so upset that when he pulled the trigger, he completely missed his wife and the pellets went through the window, striking Mr Opus.

When one intends to kill subject 'A' but kills subject 'B' in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject 'B.'
When confronted with the murder charge, the old man and his wife were both adamant, and both said that they thought the shotgun was not loaded.

The old man said it was a long-standing habit to threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun.

He had no intention to murder her.

Therefore, the killing of Mr Opus appeared to be an accident; that is, assuming the gun had been accidentally loaded.

The continuing investigation turned up a witness who saw the old couple's son loading the shotgun about 6 weeks prior to the fatal accident.

It transpired that the old lady had cut off her son's financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his father would shoot his mother.
Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was guilty of the murder even though he didn't actually pull the trigger.

The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the death of Ronald Opus.
Now for the exquisite twist...

Further investigation revealed that the son was, in fact, Ronald Opus.

He had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to engineer his mother's murder.
This led him to jump off the 10 story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the ninth story window.

The son, Ronald Opus, had actually murdered himself.

So the medical examiner closed the case as a suicide.

A true story from Associated Press.

Wednesday 9 March 2011

MTR1377 Media Player - Andrew Bolt with Steve Price 9th March

MTR1377 Media Player - Andrew Bolt with Steve Price 9th March

There spake a watermelon who doesn't have a clue about economics. has anyone got a wall I can bang my head against? About 2/3rds of the way in.

High fuel prices?

 

Then you need your vehicle to be retrofitted with one of these.

fuel wallet

Happy No Smoking day.

And it is Ash Wednesday after all.

To watch all the ads their you’ll need at least a pack of twenty.

Tuesday 8 March 2011

International women’s day.

Just a short story.

I’m expecting a knock on the door in the early hours.

Lefty failure 101

Or why the Left wing policies doom an economy to destruction. A little example below.

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class.

That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism. All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.

The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.
Could not be any simpler than that.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for,that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

It would seem the last 13 years of Labour rule have re-inforced that statement.

Correction: The paragraph quoted by Dr Adrian Rogers should have been dated 1984. He was born in 1931.

*FE slaps himself round the back of the head*

Thanks for the pointer from Banned

Monday 7 March 2011

Anti Smoking Manual

A little snippet from an Antismoking manual

Keeping a High Profile in the Media

Even if you’ve won all of the bylaw amendments you sought – and you’re absolutely exhausted– your work isn’t over yet. For the next few months, strive to ensure there are positive media stories, letters to the editor, etc., that tout how well the bylaw changes are working. There will no doubt be a backlash from smokers in the beginning until they get used to the changes. In the meantime, you have to counter their negative comments in the media, in comment sections of online news pieces and blogs, on radio call‐in shows, etc. Your job is to make politicians continue to believe that they did the right thing. It is not unheard of for councillors to backtrack on their decision and water down legislation.

Monitoring Enforcement Efforts

As with any smoke‐free places legislation, enforcement is a concern of both the public and politicians. Smokers will say that smoke‐free outdoor spaces bylaws cannot be enforced, why should police officers waste their time on them, enforcement will cost a fortune, etc.
In fact, smoke‐free outdoor spaces legislation is, by and large, self‐enforcing. Moreover, other than signage, it won’t cost much. It will take a few months before people get used to having to move away from others to smoke outside, but it will happen. Members of the public will start to ask smokers to butt out because they feel they have the power of the law behind them. No, we will never have 100% smoke‐free outdoor public spaces, but if they can at least be regulated, non‐smokers have a better chance of avoiding second‐hand smoke when they are trying to enjoy the outdoors.
Plant stories in the media about non‐smokers politely asking smokers to move to a designated smoking area or outside the smoke‐free area and smokers complying. Create the impression that the bylaw is working and it will!

That emboldened sentence really takes the biscuit. So lying  to the public is OK then.

Stalin would be proud. And my blood pressure has rocketed.

H/T to Freedom 2 Choose for pointing me to that piece of odious shit.

Don’t forget Drinkers and fatties, now they’ve perfected the method on smokers, you’re next.

Sunday 6 March 2011

What a load of Bollocks

Implausible explanation of British Ambassador to Tripoli to senior Benghazi rebel politician Mustafa Abdel-Jalil.about the presence of up to 8 SAS operatives near Benghazi.
Late Sunday afternoon say SAS men have been released and are now on the HMS Cumberland sailing in the direction of Malta.
This may not be the end of the affair as it is possible that the deal to release the British SAS may backfire on rebel politicians as event may be used by Gaddafi to undermine Benghazi rebels as being in associated to British forces.
Source material from BBC and Al Jazeera.

 

Truly out of his depth.

No shit Sherlock

sherlock

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they were exhausted and went to sleep.

Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend.
"Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."
Watson replied, "I see millions and millions of stars."
"What does that tell you?" Holmes said
Watson pondered for a minute.
"Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Timewise, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that The lord is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have, a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?"


Holmes was silent for a minute, then spoke. "Watson, some fucker has stolen our tent."

Dangerous Dim Bulbs.

dimbulb

Councils across the UK are refusing to pick up low-energy lightbulbs from homes as they contain toxic mercury, which gives off poisonous vapours.

Well tough titty.

I’m putting mine in the bin when they fail. I suggest that you complain to the EU about it, because I don’t care. I never asked for them.

Apart from the fact we used to do experiments with mercury when I was a youngster and I’m still alive. I mean really.

If a bulb is smashed, the UK’s Health Protection Agency advice is for householders to evacuate the room and leave it to ventilate for 15 minutes.

Just get a life.

Saturday 5 March 2011

Shale gas. The way ahead?

Yes I think it is. Certainly we should be researching extraction methods to obtain it. It would obviate our reliance on those volatile Middle Eastern countries.

The world may have twice as much natural gas than previously thought, according to the rich nations' think tank the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The world may have 250 years of gas usage at current levels thanks to "unconventional gas" from shale and coal beds, Anne-Sophie Corbeau, senior gas expert at the IEA told BBC News.

And of course you don’t hear a peep about it from our governing class. All they can think of is impoverishing us further with their total obsession with Bird Mincers and solar panels.

Shale gas from Lancashire and other parts of Britain could contribute between five to 10 per cent of the country's gas needs.

Friday 4 March 2011

Eco Opera

Just something to listen to while you’re making a cup of coffee.

Thursday 3 March 2011

Is Sex pleasure or work?

An RAF Group Captain was about to start the morning briefing to his staff. While waiting for the coffee machine to finish its brewing, the Group Captain decided to pose a question to all assembled.
He explained that his wife had been a bit frisky the night before and he failed to get his usual amount of sound sleep. He posed the question of just how much of sex was "work" and how much of it was "pleasure?"

A Wing Commander chimed in with 75-25% in favour of work.

A Squadron Leader said it was 50-50%.

A Flight Lieutenant responded with 25-75% in favour of pleasure, depending upon his state of inebriation at the time.

There being no consensus, the Group Captain turned to the Corporal who was in charge of making the coffee. What was his opinion?

Without any hesitation, the young Corporal responded, "Sir, it has to be 100% pleasure."
The Group Captain was surprised and, as you might guess, asked why?

"Well, sir, if there was any work involved, the officers would have me doing it for them."

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Johnny Ball. Why he thinks AGW is a false premise.

Johnny Ball speaks out on how the kids of today are being frightened to death about Global warming. It’s interesting that all transport Secretary Philip Hammond and Alastair Darling can do is repeat the same all tripe that has been fed to them by the Green Lobby. I have a feeling that Brillo is more on his side than the AGW position.

Cool

Tuesday 1 March 2011

Resources

Just to remind some of the doom mongers out there. Just watch the vid below. We are nowhere near peak oil, or anything approaching it.

Does that explain it in simple enough terms?

Mad as a box of Frogs

Just a short Vid from Muammar

But this made me laugh Even more>

David Cameron threatened Colonel Gaddafi with military action last night, promising a no-fly zone.

Dave. Have you forgotten? You’ve just got rid of our aircraft carriers, and the harriers that fly from them. You dozy twat.