Police brutality

Police pulled over Robert Whatley, 70, for not wearing a seat belt as he drove through country lanes in South Wales. The 8-mile chase started after officers tried to give Mr Whatley a fixed penalty notice but he drove off.

Fair enough he was breaking the law. However it doesn’t justify what happened next. Look at the speed in the bottom right of the clip. Nowhere does he break the national speed limit. (Unless overnight it has been reduced to 40 MPH). He certainly doesn’t appear to be trying to escape.

 

 

 

Read the rest of the account here. Tell me what you think.

Quote of the day

The British Constitution
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours?

It was drawn up by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for centuries and we're not using it any more.

Well blow me down with a wind turbine.

 

This blog normally has between 100 to 200 hits per day.

I write an article on the cost of maintenance of offshore Bird Mincers  wind turbines and see my visitor count approach 1,000.

Thanks to all of you that read my ramblings, and thanks to Richard at EU Referendum for giving this humble blogger a mention.

Yoga and Drinking.

Now I’m an expert at the drinking bit. Not sure if I want to try  Yoga. Looks decidedly painful.

 

Savasana
Position of total relaxation.

Balasana
Position that brings the sensation of peace and calm. 

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
This position calms the brain and heals tired legs.

Marjayasana
Position stimulates the midriff area and the spinal column.  

Halasana
Excellent for back pain and insomnia.  

Dolphin
Excellent for the shoulder area, thorax, legs, and arms. 

Salambhasana
Great exercise to stimulate the lumbar area, legs, and arms.

Ananda Balasana
This position is great for massaging the hip area.

Malasana
This position, for ankles and back muscles. 

Bird Mincers part 2

Further to my investigation into the maintenance and lifespan of offshore wind turbines I find some disturbing information revealing that all is not as is publicised in the MSM.

The Media has been regurgitating that the lifespan of a turbine will be 20 years. Perhaps not, going by this statement.

Recently, Sandy Butterfield, a former chief wind turbine engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado, was quoted as stating that the wind industry expects today's gearboxes to last 7–11 years. This markedly contrasts with the 20-year design lifetime of the wind turbines. And the implications for the industry are huge, since changing a gearbox is typically a lengthy and extremely costly exercise.

Replacing a wind turbine gearbox involves primarily the gearbox cost itself, which typically represents around 10% of the total wind turbine cost. On top of this expense, must be added its transportation to site, crane rental and mobilisation cost, and the man-hours spent on the replacement. It means that the value can quickly reach about €200,000 – €500,000, depending on the turbine size and the wind farm's location.

Not quite what we are led to believe. Of course they are now attempting to build direct drive turbines in order to do away with a gearbox completely.

However.

Some manufacturers have chosen to move to direct drive to reduce the number of moving parts in the wind turbine more exposed to wear. But this has led to wind turbine specific generator designs that are usually more expensive and often come together with a long-term maintenance contract with the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), which does not necessarily meet the operations and maintenance (O&M) concept of flexibility expected by customers.

So now they are going to be even more expensive to build. Though at least one manufacturer is trying a different tack to the conventional thinking on turbine design. Alstom Pure Torque system

SOURCE

Problems problems

I'm having problems with Windows Live Writer at the moment. Blogging will be light.

Greek smoking ban

There is no way the Greeks will be able to control their economy and meet the terms of the bailout by the EEC and the IMF. They can't even enforce the No Smoking regulations ! 
The  new law bans smoking in eateries since 7/1/09.
Look  how many cigarettes are in the ashtray in  this restaurant ... 

Hey! 
Look  in the ashtray, the ashtray - the ashtray!

Offshore wind turbines revisited.

Further to my post about these bird mincers, nowhere can I find actual costs of maintenance. All I find is statements such as this:

6.5.3    Serviceability

The service demand of the present generation of offshore wind turbines in terms of man-hours is in the order of 40 to 80 hours [7].� Service visits are paid regularly, (except in the more demanding first year) about every six months.� A more major overhaul will be undertaken every five years, and will take around 100 man hours to complete. [1].

100 man hours after 5 years of operation in a salt water environment. Utter Hogwash. It will take more than 100 man hours just to reach the turbine in question.

 

Their Scenario and assessment

Note: No hard and fast methods, just theoretical assessments.

My Scenario

Firstly you will have to open up the casing to gain access to the operating machinery. No small task if the covers are not secured by stainless steel fastenings and even then working several hundred feet above sea level has it's own risks.

Once the casing has been opened, the inspection has to be carried out.

What do you find? Oh dear, one of the main rotor shaft bearings has become damaged and requires replacing. Just by chance you have the exact spare lying around on your support vessel. Remember now you have budgeted for 100 hrs. Oh dear and now it's raining. All that water is now filling up inside the casing which houses the  machinery which comprises of a 6.6KV generator (6,600V) which abhors water. Better try and rig up a cover to protect it. Must have one in the boat somewhere. (If anyone of you have seen what a 6.6kv discharge is like, it comprises  a plasma arc at the same temperatures as the surface of the sun.)

So far we have the crew of the vessel, probably 4, at an hourly rate of say £50 per hour. A maintenance crew of 4 on average of £100 per hour. Trip to the turbine 3 hours. opening the casing 1 hour. Inspection 1 hour. Locating and lifting the bearing onto the turbine 1 hour. Securing the turbine from the effects of the weather, 1 hour. Probable time to renew bearing 24 hours. (Wildly optimistic). Insulation testing and closure 2 hours. Return to port 3 hours.

This of course does not address the problem of why the bearing failed in the first place.

And all this is in the summer months. Almost impossible for 6 months of the year.

I'm just an ex marine engineer. So what do I know?

Aaaaaaargh

The demon drink. Oh bugger my maths.

 

It is Friday after all.