Are You Eating Smuggled Garlic?
I hadn’t realised that the EU puts a limit and an import tax on garlic, ostensibly to protect farmers in the Community.
But then I read this story on the BBC web site.
I suppose that smuggling garlic is not as morally offensive as smuggling drugs or tobacco!
I don’t think too, that even eating garlic to excess will kill you!
Puppies Will Be Puppies
Another story from the BBC web site, shows that puppies love to chew anything they can get their teeth into.
The worst dog, we ever had for chewing was a dachshund, that really liked C’s expensive shoes.
But then so many of these short-legged German terriers, are itching to start World War 3. She was also very racist and would immediately take on any black dog, who walked past her. Even a friend’s Doberman was frightened of her. Luckily, she didn’t have the same feelings for black people.
Fatal Blow For John Lewis Store At Sprucefield
This is the headline over a report on the BBC web site. It concerns the political arguments about John Lewis opening a department store in Northern Ireland.
Personally, I think they would be very brave to do it, given the stupid fuss being created by so-called Loyalists about the flying of flags.
The article does suggest John Lewis might open in the Republic. Now that would probably be a sounder business decision, as the only organised violence there generally happens at places like Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium.
Americans Like To Live Dangerously
Two stories from the United States on the BBC’s web site have caught my eye.
The first concerns the upcoming python hunt in the Everglades in Florida. Apparently most of the snakes are the offspring of Burmese pythons released into the sensitive wildlife area. How stupid to do that in the first place, as after all there are so many examples around the world from the damage done by introduced species from over a hundred years ago, like rabbits and camels in Australia and grey squirrels in the UK.
The second isn’t possibly so dangerous and concerns porn actors being made to wear condoms in Los Angeles. I can’t possibly comment as I don’t watch those sort of tacky films and I haven’t tried to use a condom for many decades.
What’s Wrong With Snooker?
The news from Pakistan just seems to get worse.
The latest was this bombing of a snooker hall in Quetta.
I doubt that any religion or sect could be against such an innocent game of snooker and it looks like Sunni Muslims were attacking Shias.
I just can’t understand anybody wanting to kill anybody, except in exceptional circumstances!
One Of London’s Step-Free Bus Stops
The picture shows one of London’s new step-free bus stops.
One Of London’s Step-Free Bus Stops
The stop was also changed from a Request stop to a Compulsory one.
They may make it easier to get on and off a bus, but in some ways because they stick out, it does seem that getting a clear view round the parked cars to see approaching buses is more difficult.
The Onward March of ARM
I’ve always kept a watching brief for ARM Holdings. Partly because it was local to where I lived, but mainly because one of the founders was Robin Saxby, who was in my year at Liverpool University.
I have just read this report in Forbes. There are some facts in that report, that will shape the world. Consider this abstract.
East (The ARM CEO) notes that by some estimates IT equipment now suck down 10% of the world electric power already; he also notes that there are estimates that in the next few years that the amount of data creates could increase 100x, or maybe 1000x. Even at 10x, he notes, we’re going to run out of power at the current consumption rates. “They are going to switch to ARM because it is all about the power,” he says. “The digital world is not going to become a reality unless servers and network infrastructure is designed in a different way….ARM is a tool in the toolbox for making this stuff more sustainable.”
Generation of electricity is one of the causes of global warming, as so much is generated by fossil fuels. So a small company in Cambridge will become a major player in the fight, just because its chip designs are so much more efficient.
Reading the Forbes article, says to me, that ARM can only get an awful lot bigger. But it is all about brain power and not about manufacturing in the traditional sense. On the other hand, ARM has been and will continue to be a company, whose technology enables other companies to start up in innumerable fields.
The Mpemba Effect
I was alerted to this tale of a scientific curiosity by The Times.
A Tanzanian student; Erasto Mpemba, found that hot water freezes quicker than cold water, contrary to what would be expected. It is now called the Mpemba effect.
I don’t find it surprising that no-one has fully explained the phenomenon, despite it apparently being known to such as Aristotle.
I think it does show though, that sometimes anybody can make a scientific discovery with the most basic of equipment. And in most cases, to be taken seriously by the establishment.
There are some curious phenomena out there in the real world.
One is that when water freezes it expands and thus ice always floats on ponds. If it didn’t you wouldn’t get any fish in water that could freeze.
And then there is the odd property of the speed of sound in air and water. In the former it is 343.2 metres/second and in water it is 4.3 times as fast at 1484 metres/second. Now I know my physics and when asked what the speed of sound in a bubbly mixture of air and water is, I did what I thought was obvious and said somewhere in between.
I was of course wrong, as surprisingly it is less than 50 metres/second. There’s an interactive display here.
I have used this phenomenon to mix oil and water. They do mix, if you get the parameters right.
The Engineers Get To Grips With Food
This report from the BBC, would seem to suggest that the Institute of Mechanical Engineers are venturing into areas that are none of their business. This is two key paragraphs.
The report found that between 30% and 50% of the four billion tonnes of food produced around the world each year went to waste.
It suggested that half the food bought in Europe and the US was thrown away.
I don’t think it is a surprising set of findings, but what are governments doing about it. Nothing! Which is a total scandal.
Perhaps, it’s about time we had more engineers at all levels in Government, all over the world. Waste is anathema to every engineer I’ve ever met!
I wonder if there has ever been a President or Prime Minister anywhere, who has had an engineering qualification? Even an O Level or equivalent in Technical Drawing would be rare. The nearest I can think of is Jimmy Carter, who was deeply involved in the clearing up of this nuclear incident in Canada. After his presidency he has shown himself to be a very practical man.
The Anonymous Widower 