We should follow the Yanks.

This is one thing they have got right.

Republicans kill global warming committee

The kick-off of the 112th Congress on Wednesday also marked the end of an era in the House – the demise of a committee devoted solely to climate change and energy issues. The Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming, created by Nancy Pelosi in 2006, has been shuttered under the new Republican leadership.

It’s about time some of our useless politicians came to their senses and questioned this whole quackery of AGW. 

The only problem is that I found this in the Guardian. I feel unclean.

Common sense prevails

Mind you it should never have had to come to this in the first place.

A primary school dinner lady sacked after telling a couple their seven-year-old daughter was being bullied today won her claim for unfair dismissal.

Carol Hill, 61, had dragged four boys away from Chloe David after finding her tied to a chain-link fence and being whipped with a skipping rope.

She lost her job at Great Tey Primary School in Essex after telling her parents about the incident.

And of course the Headmistress had another version to cover up the bullying.

Headmistress Deborah Crabb had written to Claire and Scott David claiming their daughter had been 'hurt in a skipping rope incident'.

And the sacking offense was.

Mrs Crabb told the panel that Mrs Hill was sacked for committing the 'offence' of 'going to the press'.

Let that be a warning to you all. Just shut up and do as you’re told. Don’t you know we’re part of the “Big Society” now.

Time to break out the long johns

The last solar minimum should have ended last year, but something peculiar has been happening. Although solar minimums normally last about 16 months, the current one has stretched over 26 months—the longest in a century. One reason, according to a paper submitted to the International Astronomical Union Symposium No. 273, an online colloquium, is that the magnetic field strength of sunspots appears to be waning.

…

Scientists studying sunspots for the past 2 decades have concluded that the magnetic field that triggers their formation has been steadily declining. If the current trend continues, by 2016 the sun’s face may become spotless and remain that way for decades—a phenomenon that in the 17th century coincided with a prolonged period of cooling on Earth.

Shamelessly nicked from WUWT

Who sues who?

In light of the revelation purported yesterday by Roger Harrabin, that the MET office knew we were in for a bad winter, but only told central government. Who takes the can?

If the MET office tells the government, and the government holds the information back from the public, local government,  and industry, can the aforementioned seek redress from the government?  Surely if central government had passed the information on, then the likes of Heathrow could have planned ahead for snow clearance. Instead there was chaos.

My second point I would like to address is why didn’t the Met Office publicly disseminate this information? After all it is the public that owns the Met Office through it’s taxes.

Here are the Weasel words from the Met office.

"We withdrew from making public our forecasts for the season because the public said they didn't want them.

"We always said they're useful for other people - obviously that includes the Cabinet Office and contingency planners.

"We did research at the start of last year and the public said a monthly forecast was far more useful than seasonal forecasts."

They kept that research quiet didn’t they? Too busy banging on about AGW I suppose.

I feel so old.

How many do you remember of these?

Headlight  dip-switches on the floor of the  car.
Ignition  switches on the  dashboard.
Trouser  leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.  
Soldering  irons you heated on a gas burner.
Using  hand signals for cars without turn indicators.  
  
Older  Than Dirt Quiz:

Count  all the ones that you remember, not the ones you  were told about.
Ratings  at the bottom.

1. Sweet  cigarettes
2.  Coffee shops with juke   boxes
3. Home milk  delivery in glass bottles. (Istill get this item) 
4.  Party lines on the  telephone
5. Newsreels before  the movie
6.  TV test patterns that came on at night after the  last show and were there until TV shows started  again in the afternoon (There were only 2  channels [if you were  fortunate])
7.  Peashooters  
8. 33 rpm  records
9.  45 RPM records
10.78  RPM records
11.  Hi-fi's
12. Metal ice trays with  levers
13.  Blue flashbulb
14.  Cork popguns
15.  Wash  tub wringers

If  you remembered 0-3 = You’re still young
If  you remembered 3-6 = You are getting older
If  you remembered 7-11 = Don't tell your age
If  you remembered 12-15 = You're positively  ancient!

I  must be 'positively ancient' but those memories  are some of the best parts of my  life.

Keyhole surgery.

Yesterday a warning appeared on the notification panel on my car’s dashboard, “Dipped Beam Bulb failure”.  A quick trip round to the front of the vehicle quickly determined that the offending item was on the near side.

Simples. A quick trip to Halfords was all it needed and back home ready to fit it today.

Not so Simples, especially with a hangover. The vehicle in question is a Volvo. Now, as many of you may know, in my previous incarnation before I retired, I was a Marine Engineer. Being a Marine Engineer meant that I frequently had to repair some very badly designed pieces of equipment. But nothing like changing a bulb in  a Volvo. Apart from only enough space for a two year old’s hand, why an earth run a wiring loom over the top? Just to make it invisible to the naked it eye I suppose. Is it compulsory for Volvo designers to have a degree in torture and psychological warfare?

So guess what your FE did next?

Answers on a postcard to …………….

Are we there yet?

Why do we have this obsession for seeing the new year in? It’s going to happen whatever we do. About now I’m sick of seeing mediocre acts on Jool’s hollands Hootenanny and would prefer to just disapear up to bed with a cup of horlicks, and jump into bed in my winciette pyjamas and a hot water bottle. (I made that last bit up).

Instead I shall nurse another large drink until midnight, and then slink quietly off to my slough of despond in the hope that I’ll wake in time for lunch.

The End

of 2010.

I’m off for a few scoops so all remains is to wish all my readers:

A happy New Year

And mind how you go, and think of the Cheeeeldren.

A mess

 

I’ve been tagged by Man Widdicombe to describe my *ahem* work station. This was on the instigation of Dick Puddlecote who started this interesting diversion from the mundane pastime of Ranting Blogging.

Now my desk is an Ikea table set against the wall in my Kitchen so as to be out of the way. I’ve been meaning to move it to one of the bedrooms since the kids flew the coop, but never got around to it.

Not to waste any time, here is my description of my blogging pit.

A computer obviously, situated under the table.

A monitor and keyboard.

A portable hard drive

A camera.

Satnav. (To navigate through the junk on the table).

Two debit card readers. Legal, before you ring the Plod.

2009 diary. I must get around to throwing that out.

A pile of paperwork which I must look through someday.

Order of service for Mother’s funeral. She died recently. (Three years ago).

November’s Parish magazine.

A shredder.

A sealed tin. Containing God knows what.

A cylinder of computer wipes.

Three Christmas crackers.

Piles of used and unused CDs, DVDs, and a floppy.

? (Whatever it is, I hope that it’s dead).

Ashtray(Full). Note to self. Must get a bigger one.

Ciggies. Bugger where’s the lighter gone.

One printed picture entitled “Submarine racing,exciting to watch”

A Christmas card from the Indian Takeaway.

That’s about it. I think.

I would like to nominate Fuel Injected Moose and Mummy Long Legs. lets see what they’ve got in their Blogging pits.

The swine are at it again.

Not content with the Debacle of last year’s attempt to frighten us, the politicos are at it again.

A ‘perfect storm’ of winter illness will batter Britain’s health services today.

Hospitals will be pushed to breaking point by a post-Christmas deluge of patients suffering from flu and the winter vomiting bug.*

Accident and emergency departments are bracing themselves for a surge of referrals as GP practices open for the first time after the extended bank holiday weekend.

They are also expecting high numbers of elderly patients to be brought in as they are visited by care workers for the first time in four days.

Soaring levels of both seasonal and swine flu will heap extra strain on hospitals already dealing with cases of the sickness bug norovirus, which usually peak at this time of year.

Remember last year when they predicted that thousands would die from the flue? What was the result? No more than usual.

Look you twats. Give the people the real information rather than “suggest” an outcome. What about some good news. Such as: “The Filthy Engineer has survived another festive season.”

This is scaremongering at it’s worst.

And I have been endowed with this most noble award

*Probably in my case, caused by imbibing too much of the demon drink*