The Anonymous Widower

Rail Vehicle Dispensation: Great Western Railway Class 230 Fast Charge Unit

The title of this post, is the same as that of this page on the UK Government web site.

The page is an interesting read, but I do feel, that it marks a big step on introducing the Class 230 trains on the Greenford Branch between West Ealing and Greenford stations.

I should say, that I’ve used the Class 230 trains several times and there are trains and platforms with worse passenger access problems on the UK network.

September 26, 2025 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where Have The Special Characters Gone In WordPress?

I have just written Ørsted In Talks To Sell Half Of Huge UK Wind Farm To Apollo, where of necessity I have used Ørsted more than a few times.

There used to be an omega character in WordPress, that you used to access the special characters, but it seems to have disappeared.

Does anybody know where it’s gone?

TIA!

September 26, 2025 Posted by | Computing | | 1 Comment

Ørsted In Talks To Sell Half Of Huge UK Wind Farm To Apollo

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

This is the sub-heading.

The US investment giant is eyeing a 50 per cent stake in the Danish energy company’s £8.5 billion Hornsea 3 project off the Yorkshire coast

These are the first three paragraphs, which add more detail.

An American investment giant is negotiating a deal to buy half of what will be the world’s largest off-shore wind farm off the coast of Yorkshire from the troubled Danish energy company Ørsted.

New York-based Apollo, which oversees assets of about $840 billion, is in talks with Ørsted about acquiring a 50 per cent stake in Hornsea 3, an £8.5 billion project that started construction in 2023 and will be capable of powering more than three million UK homes.

A transaction would be a boost for Orsted, which has come under pressure in recent months from rising costs and a backlash against renewables in the United States by President Trump. Orsted started the process of selling a stake in Hornsea 3 in 2024 and said last month that it had an unnamed preferred bidder for the asset, which the Financial Times first reported was Apollo.

I have written several times about Ørstedregularly building a large wind farm and then selling it, so they must be doing something right.

In World’s Largest Wind Farm Attracts Huge Backing From Insurance Giant, I wrote about how Aviva bought Hornsea 1 from Ørsted.

One of the guys at Aviva explained that these sort of investments gave the right sort of cash flow to fund insurance risks and pensions.

Now that Trump has attempted to give his kiss of death to wind power in the United States, will US funds be looking for quality investments like Hornsea 3 in the UK and other large wind farms in France, Germany, Norway, Japan and Korea?

Already, Blackrock are investing billions to build a massive data centre at Blyth, where there are Gigawatts of offshore wind power and an interconnector to Norway, so that UK and Norwegian wind can be backed up by UK nuclear and Norwegian hydropower.

Highview Power And Ørsted

I wrote Highview Power, Ørsted Find Value In Integrating Offshore Wind With Liquid Air Energy Storage in November 2023.

I would have thought, that by now a battery would have been announced in one of Ørsted’s many projects.

I asked Google AI if Highview Power and Ørsted were still talking about liquid air energy storage and received this reply.

Yes, Highview Power and Ørsted are still actively involved in Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES), having completed a joint study in late 2023 on combining LAES with offshore wind to benefit the UK grid, and the findings were presented to the government for its long-duration energy storage (LDES) consultation. They believe LAES can reduce wind curtailment, increase energy productivity, and support grid resilience, with potential projects aligned with offshore wind farm timelines.

Perhap’s Ørsted are getting their finances aorted first?

Conclusion

The Times They Are A-Changing!

September 26, 2025 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage, Finance | , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Is There A Connection Between Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease And Atrial Fibrilation?

I asked Google AI the question in the title of this post and received this answer.

Yes, there appears to be a potential connection, with some studies suggesting an association between diverticular disease and a higher risk of cardiovascular issues, though the link is not definitively established for uncomplicated pancolonic diverticular disease and atrial fibrillation specifically. Research indicates chronic inflammation in diverticular disease could be a contributing factor, increasing the risk for both cardiovascular disease and potentially atrial fibrillation. A case report noted a higher than expected incidence of vagal atrial fibrillation in patients with diverticular disease, but this association needs more robust study to confirm and understand its clinical implications

Is it relevant that I have both conditions?

Google AI cites this paper on National Institutes Of Heath, which is entitled Association of Diverticular Disease Of The Colon And Vagal Atrial Fibrillation.

I asked Google AI “What is Vagal Atrial Fibrillation?” and received this reply.

Vagal atrial fibrillation (AF) is a form of atrial fibrillation triggered by an overactive vagal nerve, which is part of the parasympathetic nervous system. It typically occurs at rest or during sleep and is associated with high physical activity, such as in athletes, and can be sparked by factors like large meals or alcohol consumption. Diagnosis relies on electrocardiogram (ECG) findings showing vagotonia and clinical context. Treatments include lifestyle changes, medications with anticholinergic properties, and catheter ablation to target the ganglionated plexi responsible for the arrhythmia.

I am not one for high physical activity, large meals and I don’t consume much alcohol.

The original paper cites this second paper on National Institues of Health, which is entitled Diverticular Disease Of The Colon And Gallstones In New Zealand And England.

This is the abstract of that paper.

The clinical presentation and subsequent treatment of 160 consecutive patients with proven diverticular disease of the colon from the Auckland Hospital, New Zealand were compared with 182 consecutive patients admitted to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. There were significant differences in sex incidence, in the ages of the male patients at presentation, patient symptoms, extent of disease and methods of surgical treatment. These probably reflect differences in the types of National Health Services of the two countries, rather than differences in the natural history of diverticular disease of the colon. Overall, the 342 patients studied show a very good correlation with other large series published over the last 10 years. This study confirms the previously reported association between diverticular disease of the colon and gallstones. It confirms that gallstones are more common in female patients with or without diverticular disease. It suggests that Auckland patients with gallstones are more likely to have had a cholecystectomy than London patients. The possible role of dietary fiber in the aetiology of both gallstones and diverticular disease of the colon is discussed.

Note.

  1. I have had gallstones removed by endoscopy.
  2. They were removed in Homerton Hospital, which is linked to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.
  3. I wrote about their removal in Goodbye To My Gallstones.

I was certainly male last time I looked, although I can’t father any children, as I’ve had a vasectomy.

 

September 26, 2025 Posted by | Health | , , , , | Leave a comment