Is No News Good News For The New Bus For London?
I have a Google Alert for the New Bus for London.
I haven’t had a story; pro, anti or neutral for about two weeks now.
So is this good news for the New Bus for London?
As to the Hackney Eight, who are now running single-manned, they seem to be performing well without their tail-gunner. I’ve ridden one of them a few times since they changed to driver-only and everything seems to be working well, with the passengers using all three doors to enter and leave the bus.
There has been no reports at all on how they are now performing!
Just Sent A Text From My Landline
A guy rang me and a text was the best way to send him some info. So I used my BT6500 to send him a text.
The Incredible Lee-Duck Hee
On the tennis this afternoon, they were talking about a Korean junior tennis player, who played in the Boys Singles at Wimbledon. There is a report here.
Lee-Duck Hee is completely deaf.
I’m reminded of a story told me by a friend, who went to boarding school. His school had a good football team, but the one they never beat, was a school for the deaf.
Farage Won’t Use An Oyster Card
This article in the Standard shows a lot about how Nigel Farage thinks.
I have both an Oystercard and a Freedom Pass, both of which track me through London. The only reasons, I have the Oyster, is to use it on the cable car and the river boats and also to give to visiting friends, so they don’t have to queue up to buy a ticket.
So I can be tracked, but then so what? Perhaps Nigel has a few secrets that he doesn’t want revealed. Perhaps, he’s even having relations with someone from Uganda?
Roast Cod, New Potatoes And Peas
This is another Lindsey Bareham recipe from The Times. If you have a subscription as I do, it’s here.
I modified it slightly to be for two people, although in the end, I cooked a half quantity for just myself.
Roast Cod, New Potatoes And Peas
I used the following.
- 400g. cod fillet
- 2 tbsp of Carluccio’s olive oil with lemon.
- 200 g. cherry tomatoes.
- 100 g. of frozen peas.
- 100 g. gren beans.
- 200g. small new potatoes
- 3 anchovy fillets in olive oil.
- A few fresh mint leaves.
You just cook the fish with the oil and tomatoes in the oven at 200°C for 6-8 minutes with the olive oil and tomatoes.
Preparing To Cook The Fish
The vegetables are cooked in two saucepans and then everything is combined.
The Combined Vegetables
As the first picture shows, you just make a mound, put the fish on top and then garnish it with the tomatoes.
I Can’t Believe Kia Called A Car A Soul!
Just say Kia Soul and listen to yourself.
I wonder if Clarkson has picked it up!
Should We Ban Chinese Lanterns?
The enormous fire at Smethwick, which appears to have been caused by a Chinese lantern, is getting the authorities to change their attitude to these devices.
We never had any problems on the stud, with Chinese lanterns, but I have read of farmers, who have. And Tim Farron, MP is calling for action, as is reported here.
My worry is that hooligans being hooligans, that after this fire, others might decide what a great way to have a bit of fun!
Perhaps an outright ban would be a bit harsh, but surely, we could insist on some form of insurance, for those who launch them!
It will be interesting to see, if the owners of the Smethwick site, can trace the person, who launched the errant lantern, whether they attempt some form of legal redress.
The Tennis Seems Extremely Boring Today
Usually, Wimbledon hots up in the second week, but today it seems particularly slow and boring.
Or is it just me?
The Trains Are Learning From Formula One
This is message on a BBC report today, but it’s a rather shallow one, as it ignores the way engineers have designed systems for years. They are saying for instance, that trains now report their fault and they’ve learned this from Formula One. But trains have effectively had extensive computerised reporting systems for years. A classic example is the 1995 Stock trains on the Northern Line of the Underground, which were designed with such a system. How good it is, I don’t know!
A lot of improvements in any system, are down to attention to detail and that is probably what Formula One does in spades. But that is just good design! I was on a heavily loaded commuter train yesterday, and the station stops, were very quick, partly because, the train accelerated and stopped quickly, the passenger handholds were all in the right place, the doors were wide and the self-loading cargo, knew how to get on and off quickly.
I suspect this has little to do with Formula One, but some of the parts of the train, may well have been manufactured using advanced techniques developed for motor-racing.
Getting Fed Up With Tax Refund Spam
For the last few days, I had several of that old chestnut the Tax Refund Alert spam message.
Obviously, it must work with idiots out there as why do they persist, but now it is just boring.
It’s a pity, there isn’t a simple way to get back at idiots like this.
For those who phone me trying to scam me, I usually say can you phone me on my alternative number and give them a suitable alternative, like the Fraud Reporting Office of the Metropolitan Police. They never phone back!
