Have Google Lost The Plot?
This morning, the BBC is running a story about revamping the West Hackney Burial Ground.
I’m not sure whether you would describe Dalston as West Hackney, but it struck me that it could be near where I live. If it is, then it would be worth a visit for before and after photos.
So I typed West Hackney Burial Ground into Google Maps and got a load of useless information and adverts for places around Hackney including Jury’s Inn Hotel halfway between the Angel and King’s Cross. If I were to score the information I got, to give it zero out of ten would be generous.
Google seems to be getting less useful as the years go by, as it concentrates too much on making money and inventions such as driverless cars. Incidentally, I could probably drive the latter, but here in London, I prefer the big red taxis.
A Man Bites Dog Story
Judging by how many times it has been read, the readers of the BBC web site, find this story, where a cow goes through the roof of a house and kills a man in his bed, funny.
But then anybody who has lived in the country, knows that farming is not a totally safe business.
Trade Unions Living In The Past
I was listening to Radio 5 this morning and a couple of Trade Union leaders said that we should open up the mines again and burn coal using carbon capture technology.
Who do they think they’re kidding?
I have serious doubts about this technology and don’t think I’ll ever see it working in my lifetime on a large scale. I put a few thoughts here. But don’t listen to me. In these two posts, Wikipedia details the limitations and cost. So it looks like an exopensive dead end, if you believe Wikipedia. I definitely agree!
One thing though, if we started deep mining coal, I doubt there would be queues of people wanting to work in the mines. But then we can always get a few thousand willing immigrants to do the work!
Is It Goodbye To Trafford General Hospital?
Trafford General Hospital is going to be downgraded in phases according to this report. Here’s the first three paragraphs.
Campaigners fighting to save a hospital A&E department where the first NHS patient was treated say they will challenge the decision in court.
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday that Trafford General Hospital was to be downgraded in phases.
He said the decision had been taken because there were too few patients using the department.
My son was in that hospital several times, a few months before he died and they had no idea he had pancreatic cancer.
I certainly won’t miss its passing and I suspect as it seems to be suffering from Stafford Syndrome, with a lack of patients, neither will any of the people who live near the hospital.
But then as long as I can remember, NHS patients have always chosen to go to a better hospital a few miles away. When I lived in Suffolk, my local hospital was at Bury St. Edmunds, but I always drove to Addenbrooke’s at Cambridge. I suspect the good people of Trafford, go to somewhere in Central Manchester.
But then the first sentence in the BBC report says it all. It treated the first NHS patient. But we don’t want to keep hospitals as museums!
Is It Potters Bar All Over Again?
When I first read the reports of the French train crash at Bretigny-sur-Orge, it struck me there were some similarities between the crash that happened at Potters Bar in the UK in 2002.
In that accident faulty points were the cause of the train coming off the track just before Potters Bar station, with one coach getting wedged on the platform.
Now this morning the BBC is carrying a report, which says that in France, there are reports saying that a loose rail connector caused the crash.
Poor track checking and maintenance was definitely a cause of the crash at Potter Bar and it is stated in the BBC report, that this could be the cause in France. The BBC quotes this from the respected French newspaper; Le Figaro.
Bertille Bayart in Le Figaro says the accident, which comes days after the government announced investments in the railways, will spark controversy over infrastructure that is “characterised by ‘serious degradation’, in the words of the transport minister”.
I think the moral is that you cut down on checking and maintenance on the railways at your peril.
But just as at Potters Bar, the French train managed to protect a lot of the passengers despite the extremely violent crash. Trains are a lot stronger than you might think.
Good For Maria
Maria Miller won’t be going to the Open Golf next week, due to the fact it’s being held at a men-only venue. The report is in The Times.
Hugh Robertson and Alex Salmond won’t be going either.
Good for them all!
The Death Of A Brave Man
This story from the BBC, tells the story of Masao Yoshida and his fight to get the nuclear reactors at Fukushima under control after the tsunami and his recent death from an unrelated cancer.
It is worth reading, as it shows how people will make a sacrifice for the greater good.
And Ulster Makes It Three!
After the two posts on racism and sexism, there was a story with a pictures in The Times yesterday about the celebration of the Battle of the Boyne in Northern Ireland.
Surely, it’s about time, we were celebrating the passing of this bigoted yearly remembrance of something that most of the residents of the United Kingdom don’t know about and care about even less.
I Thought We Were Past This
You don’t here of too many racist stories these days, but this one from Wakefield in the Independent seems to be a throwback to forty or fifty years ago.
The only things you judge a cafe or restaurant on, are the quality of the premises, the food and the customer service. In fact, in my case, several of the cooks and chefs I’ve met with black African or West Indian origins, have understood my need for gluten-free food better than a lot of others I could name.
It’s just a pity, I have no reason to go to Wakefield, otherwise, I’d pop in fior at least a cup of tea.
The Anonymous Widower 