Now and Then (Part2) (Luddites are advised not to enter)

In a previous post I wrote about how things have changed in the home over the years. Tonight I thought I’d just post about how my work place changed over the years.

Ship’s Engine rooms past and present.

The past

Hot and Noisy

The only main propulsion was either steam powered or large diesel engines such as the one pictured below. A Doxford, opposed piston, trunk engine. Believe it or not, it was fitted with common fuel rail  injection.

Control of main engines and auxiliary machinery were all local control, usually comprising of large levers and hand wheels.

Electrical power was supplied by open commutator, diesel generators generating 115 volt DC power. The switchboards were also open fronted with large, manually operated, circuit breakers.

The manufacture of potable water was by means of flash evaporators which had to be supplied with steam and operated with a vacuum.

My first ship’s steam boiler was a Cochrane upright, fire tube boiler. The automated control of the water level and lighting of the burner was a “Fireman” armed with a steel pole, with the end wrapped in diesel soaked rags, and a box of matches.

Temperature control of all machinery was purely manual and relied on the watchkeeping engineer reading local thermometers and adjusting cooler byepasses as required.

Hours of work: The working day was split up into watches. The 8 –12 (working 8 in the morning to midday and 8 in the evening till midnight. get my drift?), the 12 –4, and the 4 – 8. The 8 – 12 was always considered the junior most watch and the 4 – 8 the senior watch. Why might you ask? Believe it or not it all revolved around the bar hours!

Health and safety. It was left to the individual whether he died or lived. It was up to you to look where you were going.

As an aside. Smoking. Allowed anywhere except on the deck of an oil tanker or in the hold of an ammunition carrying ship.

The present.

Still hot and noisy.

The main propulsion is Diesel Electric. Highly powered generators, driving a large electric motor driving a short shaft attached to the propeller.

Electrical power is now supplied by high powered diesel generators which supply the main propulsion and other large items of machinery with megawatts of power at voltages of 3.3kV AC and above.

My last ship was fitted with Reverse osmosis plants to provide potable water. These rather taxed my brain in it’s dotage. I actually had to open two valves and press “Start” on the touchscreen. Then sneak off for a cup of tea elsewhere.

Boilers. Nah. Electric water heaters.

Control. (Not just temperature) Everything was controlled by a centralised computer system situated in the luxury of an air conditioned control room. If the ship needed to go forwards, a half brain dead deck officer, only had to push a small lever forward and the vessel would go in that direction.

Hours of work became more civilised with automated machinery spaces. The working hours became 8 – 5 for all except one duty engineer of the day, who is on call outwith the working hours. Alarm box in the cabin and a pager. The down side is that they clamped down on the bar hours.

The health and safety committee tells you are safe.

Smoking prohibited in most areas. Interestingly my last ship was an oil tanker and the only smoking area allowed was on a portion of the open deck bereft of lights at night.

 

If there are any marine engineers who disagree or agree with this article, please feel free to comment.

And anyone else. I’m an equal opportunities Blog.

Hi Grandchildren.

I’m afraid this is what Thomas and friends are really thinking.

Sorry.

New Mum? You might think again.

Your holiday flight?

Britain’s airport capacity problem could finally be solved, if an experimental launch of an EasyJet airliner from HMS Prince of Wales proves a success.

Head of defence staff Nicholas Houghton insisted that commercial flights between aircraft carriers would allow runways to be moved if there were complaints, and save everyone the bother of having to drive to London.

“Aircraft carriers can adapt to changes in demand”, insisted Houghton. “You can sail one down to Gibraltar if anyone wants to visit there, or divert them to the Falklands if they fancy having a look at a penguin.”

The General pointed out that building ‘just a dozen or so’ new aircraft carriers would serve as a warning to rogue nations that armies of obnoxious tourists could be deployed anywhere in the world.

Using a modified launch ramp that can handle 300 passengers and up to 15 tonnes of duty-free, HMS Prince of Wales can now launch holiday makers with less than 40 seconds warning.

Houghton admitted that passengers would need to adapt slightly before they use the new facility.

“It’s a simple matter of taking the Queen’s shilling”, he explained. “We’re talking about less than 18 weeks basic training, learning how to hold your rum and then swimming a width wearing pyjamas”, he explained.

A spokesman from EasyJet pointed out that the mobility of aircraft carriers might occasionally mean a last-minute change in destination.

“If that happens we can arrange a transfer through our sister company, EasyPedalo”, said George Otway. “But at least you’ll have half a chance of arriving in the country you chose, which is a lot better than you’d get with Ryanair.”

Passengers on the first trial spoke of some difficulties, particularly as the location of their departure aircraft carrier was a closely guarded secret.

“We were flown out here on a rendition flight via Libya, and we’ve had nothing to do for 72 hours”, said one couple. “Our hand luggage has been stolen, there’s bullet holes in our suitcase and the scenery is just one depressing sea of grey. So overall, it’s about the same as flying out of Luton.”

Book now.

You want a “smart” meter? Think again.

A well written website report about the shambles of the rollout by DECC.

A couple of choice paragraphs.

Last week the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change announced that the UK’s smart metering deployment was facing another 12 months delay.  That’s 18 months after they announced that the UK’s smart metering deployment was facing another 12 months’ delay.  This is not all bad news.  It means that the growing population of consultants within DECC can look forward to what is fast becoming a never-ending gravy train of consultancy work, public consultations and project reviews.  For the consumer it’s likely to mean even more unnecessary costs heaped onto future energy bills.  But not until after the next election, so nobody in Westminster really cares.

Despite the charade of one step forward, one step backwards, we still don’t know whether the deployment will have any practical value.  There is no EU mandate for it – individual countries need to show that smart metering is cost effective.  The first DECC survey showed it was not, but DECC mandarins then fudged the numbers (not my phrase, but that of an involved MP), since when they’ve spent a considerable amount of time and effort in concealing what’s behind their calculations.  The approach of “DECC knows best” has resulted in the most complex and expensive smart metering scheme in the world, which appears to be beyond the ability of both suppliers and utilities to deliver.

Read the whole post and weep.

Now and then.

Just thought I’d post about the differences in expectations and lifestyle from when I was brought up to the present day.I’m just going to post about household goods and not services.

THEN:

Normal:

freestanding cooker

Sink

coal fires.

Bath

Toilet

valve radio.

Draughty windows and doors.

Luxuries:

Fridge.

Telephone. Often a shared line with your neighbour..

Black and white television.

Unreliable car built by Ford that would rust to scrap in five years or less.

NOW:

Normal:

Range cooker.

Double sink with disposal unit.

Washing machine.

Fridge freezer.

Tumble drier.

Dishwasher.

Electric kettle.

Microwave.

Bathroom suite with shower

Vacuum cleaner.

Central heating.

Double glazing.

Telephone.

Mobile phones.

Computers and the internet.

42 inch colour TV and other smaller ones dotted around the household.

Game console.

Fitted carpets.

One or more cars.

Luxuries:

Yacht.

Private aircraft.

Neither of these lists are extensive. I just thought that I’d show how much we have progressed in the last fifty years.

However we seem to have lost so much in the non materialistic side of things. I could go on at great length about how I miss the way of life in the past where manners were paramount and the individual looked after his own safety. However I’d be likely to bore you to tears, so I won’t.

Then again I might.

 

.

Priceless

I never want to……

hear or see the following:

“It’s for the sake of the Children”

“Lessons will be learnt”. (It should read: The fuckwit in charge, has been hanged sacked immediately).

No smoking.

“Drinkaware” on my booze. ( I’m perfectly aware how much I need to drink before I’m a gibbering wreck).

“It’s the right think to do”. (The head fuckwit politician’s favourite phrase).

“Darling, can you fix the……”(Enter disaster of your choice).

“Ring Ring” We’re just carrying out a short survey. (After twenty boring minutes you finally find out what they’re selling).

I could probably think of many more if I wanted to.

Please add your pet hates in the comments.

How Much!

On Saturday I received a letter from HRMC telling me how much tax I’d paid in the year 2013 – 2014. The table is reproduced below. Naively I’d presumed that the largest proportion would have been spent on the NHS and defence of the realm. I was astounded to see the top item and the sum involved.

Now I’d always considered that welfare was a safety net to help those that had fallen on hard times.

I’d dearly love to have it broken down to where the £16.67/week that I pay is really going.

Which bloody, never had a job, doesn’t want one anyway, Chav, is getting my money. At the very least I expect a Christmas card.

Could you have found the wrong cause?

Antismokers of tobacco control.

If you look at the graph below you’ll note that as all the serious ailments attributed to smoking tobacco have gone up, smoking prevalence has fallen.

I would suggest that they have failed to find the real cause for those illnesses. The problem is that unless someone with some semblance of power questions the figures, more people will needlessly die.

Might they just look at the rise in diesel powered vehicles and wonder if there is any correlation?

Trends in smoking and health in the USA

This is a hand drawn pictorial representation using government data from CDC (Centres for Disease Control) and data from 'The American Cancer Society', 'The American Lung Association', and 'The American Lung Association'. It does not appear that smoking or smoke is 'causing' any of these things, but they all represent 'healthy' profit centres  for the pharmaceutical industry.