The Anonymous Widower

Charge Passengers Higher Fares For Carrying Large Bags, Says Rail Chief

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Telegraph.

This is the sub-heading.

Managing director of Lumo suggests that only those travelling with a laptop or a rucksack deserve cheaper tickets

These are two paragraphs from the article.

In an interview with the Evening Standard, he said: “We are all about getting our customers the lowest possible fares.

“Why should somebody who is getting on the train with a ginormous suitcase pay the same fare as somebody just bringing on a small laptop or rucksack?”

Note.

  1. Martijn Gilbert is the managing director of Lumo.
  2. I do wonder what people put in their cases.
  3. I usually travel with a carry-on bag without wheels, that fits under the seat on most reputable airlines and Ryanair.
  4. My late wife was the same and we could have a weekend away using one small wheeled case, that went in the overhead lockers.

But then bless her, hair was too short for rollers and she only carried the minimal amount of make-up. She also never wore high heels and she was a genuine size 8 with small feet. She also never felt underdressed.

So let’s hope Martijn Gilbert puts his fares, where his mouth is!

February 25, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , | 3 Comments

A Trip To Kyiv Road

This article on the BBC is entitled Ukraine War: Road Outside Russian Embassy Renamed ‘Kyiv Road’.

This is the sub-heading.

 

Under a picture of a guy holding the new Kyiv Road sign, there are these three paragraphs.

The new address will cover a stretch of Bayswater Road that is only a short distance from the Russian embassy.

It comes after protest group Led by Donkeys turned the same street blue and yellow on Thursday.

The Kyiv Road sign will be installed on Friday afternoon by Westminster City Council.

I just had to go and take a few pictures before the Russians, some vandals or some political sympathisers cover it in paint.

Note.

  1. The road had been painted blue and yellow by pro-Ukraine protestors a couple of days ago.
  2. There were two groups of protestors; Ukrainians and Russians opposed to Putin.
  3. The Ukrainian protestors have Ukrainian flags.
  4. The anti-Putin protestors have white-blue-white flags, which are the Russian flag, with the red replaced by white.

It was all very light-hearted and the main job of the Police was to gently urge protestors out of the way of traffic.

February 25, 2023 Posted by | World | , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Skegness Wind Turbine Trial To Light Up Pier In UK First

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

A Lincolnshire seaside pier is being lit up at night with the help of a new mini wind turbine.

These are the first three paragraphs.

One of the 6ft (2m) vertical turbines has been installed on Skegness Pier with another fitted on a factory roof in Spalding.

They are able to capture wind from all directions without turning, making them low maintenance.

Both are made by Norwegian company Ventum Dynamics, which is testing the technology with local councils.

I believe it is one of those ideas, that proves the Sliced-Bread Theory of Innovation.

I have a few thoughts.

Design

The design looks clean, modern and unobtrusive.

I don’t know what the noise level is like, but I suspect good design means, it could be fairly low.

I’ll just have to visit Skegness on a windy day, which won’t be a difficult thing to arrange.

Easy To Add To An Existing Or New Building

The Ventum web site has some good pictures.

From my flying experience, I suspect that the higher a turbine is mounted, the more power will be generated.

The only problem would be the heritage lobby.

This picture shows Oakwood station on the Piccadilly Line.

Note.

  1. The station is the second most Northerly on the line.
  2. It opened in 1933.
  3. It is a classic Charles Holden design.
  4. It is a Grade II* Listed building.
  5. The station is on top of a hill and has an elevation of 71 metres above sea level.

It might be the ideal place to put perhaps six turbines on the roof.

But would the heritage lobby allow it?

Remote Power

Teamed with a battery, they would be the ideal remote power solution for buildings and locations without a mains supply.

Finance

I used to part-own a finance company and feel that these turbines would be attractive to a finance company, if ethically sold.

Conclusion

I like them!

February 25, 2023 Posted by | Design, Energy | , , , , | 11 Comments

Plans To Turn Czech Coal Mine Into Storage, Hydrogen And Solar Hub

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Power Engineering International.

This is the sub-heading.

Mine is also going to be the site of an experimental greenhouse project called Eden Silesia

This paragraph outlines Eden Silesia.

The site will also be home to an experimental greenhouse project called EDEN Silesia, managed by the Silesian University of Technology and based on the concept of the Eden Project in Cornwall, England.

It does seem that the Czechs are creating a comprehensive facility around a Gravitricity energy store.

This Gravitricity system is only a 4MW/2 MWh system, but there is also this quote from the company.

Future multi-weight systems could have a capacity of 25MWh or more.

If the concept works, this could be imitated in several countries around the world?

February 25, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , | Leave a comment

Entrion Wind Wins ScotWind Feasibility Deal For Its 100-Metre Depth Foundation Tech

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

Entrion Wind has been awarded a project to evaluate the feasibility of its patent-pending fully restrained platform (FRP) offshore wind foundation technology by a Scotwind developer.

Having worked on similar structures for reusable oil platforms in the 1970s, I reckon these FRP monopoles can be made to work.

The structures, I mathematically-modelled were for a company called Balaena Structures, that had been started by two Cambridge University engineering professors. The structures were about a hundred metres high and perhaps thirty metres in diameter.

They would have been built horizontally in the sort of dock, where you would build a supertanker and would have been floated into position horizontally. Water would then be let in to the cylinder and they would turn to the vertical.  From that position, they would be lowered to the sea-bed by adjusting the water in the cylinder. They had a method of holding the Balaena to the seabed, which relied mainly on the weight of the structure and what they called the gum-boot principle.

Sadly, they never sold any platforms and the company folded.

Until recently, you could find the expired patents on the Internet.

There’s more on Entrion Wind’s technology on this page on their web site.

February 25, 2023 Posted by | Energy | , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments