Waking Up In Cloud-Cuckoo World
I woke at about five this morning and put the radio on to listen to the news. One of my favourite books is The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy
I felt that I’d woken up in a world where everyting was being run by idiots, who had lost their sense of where they were supposed to be, but were still of course getting all of their perks and salaries. Or in the case of various dictators were still milking all their subjects for ever cent they’d got.
The first story was the problems in Syria, where all sane people agree that President Assad must go. The president used to be an opthalmologist, which in my book is a sort of doctor, so why is he blinding some of his people and killing others in an effort to cling to power? And why were we still supporting this despot until recently?
Then there was the story about Greece having a referendum on cuts. Turkeys and Christmas come to mind. Of course they’ll vote yes to the cuts!
The Germans are supposed to be efficient. But they can’t seem to find the source of their e-coli outbreak. So what does the EU do about it, have a meeting?
I could add other stories, where those in charge are going one way and doing their utmost to keep their high-salaried jobs.
Don’t get me going on the NHS, where at present I just need a repeat prescription and it seems to take days at my GP. At the previous one, I sent in an e-mail and either collected the drugs or the signed prescription on the next working day. How many highly-paid civil servants does it take to not impliment that very simple policy?
And now to cap it all, BBC Breakfast is talking about the lack of cuckoos this year. They’re all alive and well and living in politics and government, all over the world!
What Should We Call the Cycle Path by the Cambridge Busway?
It would appear that the long-suffering cyclists of Cambridge, have decided to give a name to the cycle path by the much delayed Cambridge Busway.
Help them choose in this poll.
As this is a very serious matter, those that spoil their papers will be banned from using the cycle way.
Waiting For Beckett
For those who love the work of Samuel Beckett, this news must be very heartwarming.
The E-Type is Fifty!
That amazing style icon of the 1960’s, the E-Type Jaguar is now 50. There a report here.
The Odd Physical Properties of Mixtures of Air and Water
Richard Hammond today, in his program called Engineering Connections about the Space Shuttle, showed how NASA use a wall of water droplets to protect the shuttle and the launch platform from the immense sound waves created by the rocket engines on lift off. I have seen a shuttle launch and even some miles away the noise was awesome and in some ways the most unexpected part of the event.
If I ask an averagely serious engineer or physicist to tell me the speed of sound in air and also that in water, they will give answers of 343.2 and 1497 metres per second respectvely with various conditions like dry air and pure water. So sound travels a lot faster in water than air.
So if you have a mixture of bubbles of air in water or vice-versa, a logical person would think it lies somewhere between the two.
But they would be wrong! According to this paper from 1969, by D. McWilliam and R. K. Duggins, it can be as low as 18.2 metres per second. This creates all sorts of problems and benefits. NASA’s engineers used it in one way and I invested in a company that used it to make an aerosol valve.
But it is a property that hasn’t been used to the full.
They say that oil and water do not mix.
But I have seen an experiment where bubbles of air was introduced into a mixture of water and oil and the resulting mixture was passed through a choke or restriction. A creamy liquid emerged, because the air bubbles in the restriction in trying to get into some form of steady state, mixed evetrything up.
I know that explanation isn’t very good, but who cares as the technique works.
In places like Saudi Arabia, there are large lakes of tar, that are just dumped in the desert. Perhaps by using natural gas as the gas, could this pollution be burned, whilst it is still hot?
I don’t know! But I do know that this abnormal property of mixtures of gases and liquids is not used for all the applications it can be.
Has HMRC Moved To Brazil?
This spam e-mail wasn’t written by the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Tax Refund Notification
After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity, we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of 973.90 GBP. Please submit the refund request and allow 5-7 days for processing.
Click Here To Claim Your Refund http://ocenomato.com.br/pantanal/galeria/xxxxx.xxx
Best Regards,
HM Revenue & Customs
But it might fool someone. Let’s hope it’s not you! After all, they’d stop sending them, if they didn’t find a mug in each batch they send.
But do note the Brazilian web site! The xxxx’s hide a dangerous web page, so don’t try and access it.
Is This How To Educate Teachers About Gluten-Free?
Adam’s Gluten-Free Surprise is a book written about a coeliac child by a teacher.
I hadn’t been diagnosed as a coeliac when I was at school, so it couldn’t have helped me, but it might help all of those gluten-free children, who suffer in an unsympathetic school.
Ryan Giggs Again!
According to the Daily Mail, Ryan Giggs is good at playing away.
I always remember meeting a First Division star in about 1990, at a lunch at Newmarket Races, where we were all guests of a company, who transported racehorses to races abroad. He was with an attractive lady, who was a few years younger than himself, but the name cards showed that they shared a surname. He explained to C, who was sitting next to him, that his wife was ill and that he’d brought his younger sister instead. But he also told her, that he hoped the photographers didn’t get a picture of him and his sister, that they used inappropriately. C jokingly said she was a divorce barrister and he joked that if he ever needed one, he’d give her a call. A few years ago, we met them again at Newmarket and they were good enough to recommend us to a friend, who needed a stud to board a mare.
This footballer played before the high salaries of today, but it does show how worried some are about getting ensnared by those who want to make a quick killing.
The Only Way is Essex!
I bought some Tiptree Barbecue Sauce today and notice that each is individually stamped.
Tiptree Barbecue Sauce as Finished by Linda
Obviously, Essex has different ways of doing things.
It doesn’t say so, but I think the sauce is gluten free. As it’s not for me, I’m not bothered, but none of the ingredients seem dodgy. This page gives all the ingredients of the various Tiptree sauces.
The Candwich
I couldn’t believe that such disgusting food existed, when I saw it on HIGNFY last night. I thought it was a joke.
But never underestimate the Americans, when it comes to creating things that the stupid might eat and make even more obese.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/864889-finally-a-sandwich-in-a-can-check-out-the-candwich
I can only think of one use for it. Unopened cans might just be the right height to stop some furniture rocking. Or you could use four and a scaffold board to create a cheap shelf in a shed or garage.
The Anonymous Widower 