Boris And Trump
I like this poster.
Boris And Trump
Let’s face it, if you’re stupid enough to vote for Trump as United States President, you’re probably stupid enough to vote for Brexit in the UK.
Trump and Brexit together would be a perfect storm!
A Design Crime – The Forthside Bridge In Stirling
I first wrote about the Forthside Bridge in Stirling in Stirling, when I thought it was impressive.
But on my second visit to the City, I realise that practically, it isn’t as good as you’d expect.
It’s biggest problem, is that it was not properly integrated with the station, the main road through the city and the shopping centre.
I was staying on the wrong side of the tracks and to get to my train, I needed to cross the bridge, enter the station and then walk back across the tracks on another bridge.
In a sensible station design the bridge in the station would lead to a second ticket gate on the other side. One guy told me, it used to and he thought about buying a flat on the other side, until the ticket gate was removed.
Note.
- When I arrived on Friday night, I went to the Shopping Centre to buy a jumper at the Marks and Spencer there! It closed at 18:00. On a Frioday night! Ridiculous!
- On Saturday, I went to Pizza Express at about 21:00. Staff probably outnumbered the patrons.
- It was certainly a lot busier on the other side of the tracks.
So was one guy about eighteen right, when he said the bridge was all bullshit.
I’m nominating the Forthside Bridge in Stirling as a design crime.
When Will The United States Realise That Guns Kill People?
On the wall of my office, there used to be a picture of my wife presenting a racing trophy to a racehorse trainer.
Both are now dead.
- My wife died from a squamous cell carcinoma of the heart.
- The trainer died because of an argument and a gun was available and used to settle it.
We fight cancer with common sense and all the tools that science has given us.
Isn’t it about time, that common sense is applied to the problem of guns in the United States and other countries where they are responsible for a high murder rate?
Are Sainsburys Winning The Bag War?
Since the five pence charge was introduced for plastic bags in England, there has been very little innovative thinking by shops about how they could use the bags to drag people into their shops.
Summing up the shops I use and the comments of others, I would say this.
- Waitrose – Thin and useless
- Tesco – Thin and useless
- Marks and Spencer – Not too bad!
And then there’s Sainsburys!
A Reuseable Orange Plastic Bag From Sainsburys
They are surely the best, as you can fold them flat and then into a size to fit in a coat pocket or bag.
The one in the picture is probably six or seven weeks old.
One day last week, I needed a few items to complete my supper like some strawberries and I hadn’t got a bag with me. So I walked past Marks and Spencer and Waitrose to Sainsburys and bought them there together with a 5p. bag.
Do you think that Sainsburys have deliberately made a 5p. bag that lasts to attract shoppers to their stores?
Judging by the number of orange bags, I see on the streets of London, I certainly think Sainsburys have been thinking this one through.
- Orange bags are easy to spot, so you always take one.
- As they’re easy to fold, some might fold them and put them in their pocket or bag after putting the shopping away.
- Seeing lots of orange bags on the street, reminds shoppers to get what they need at Sainsburys.
- Because of the quality of the bag, it makes you think well of Sainsburys and their products.
On the other hand, IKEA deliberately make their blue bags impossible to fold, so you leave them behind, when you go shopping.
Vinnie Jones On Lotteries
In today’s Sunday Times, Vinnie Jones is asked about life and money.
One question was “What would you do if you won the lottery jackpot?”
He replied. “I’ve won the lottery of life, which is bigger than any financial lottery.”
I’ll go along with that!
I always feel, I’ve had some very good luck and some extremely crap luck too!
Phince Philip On Crossrail
Matthew Parris , who admits he is no royalist, has an article in today’s Times entitled The Debt We Owe To A Thoroughly Modern Philip, in which he praises Prince Philip’s attitude to engineering, science and technology amongst other things.
He finishes the article like this..
Earlier this year, at 94, Prince Philip descended into the main tunnel of London’s Crossrail project to see more. They told him it would open in 2018.
“Too late foe me,” he said. Then he thought again. “Or perhaps not.”
I hope not.
I would agree with Matthew.
A Clever Idea From IKEA
When I was in the kitchen showrooms in IKEA at Tottenham, I noticed that their corner cupboards didn’t have any lights. And we all know that things get lost in corner cupboards.
I have a feeling that our last two designer kitchens didn’t have corner cupboards because lighting them was difficult.
I thought that I’d be able to use IKEA’S OMLOPP LED spotlights, but wiring them can be tricky.
Then I found some IKEA STRIBERG LED strips, so I took one home.
Reading the instructions, when I got home, it appeared they were for wardrobes. But after a bit of experimenting, I found they worked in my corner cupboard. These pictures show it working.
Note that there are two things left to do.
- The door hinges need to be adjusted to get it straight.
- A hole needs to be drilled in the back of the cupboard to pass the wire through.
But it certainly works well!
Note.
- There is no wiring to do, as it just plugs together and into a 13 amp socket.
- Multiple units can be daisy-chained.
- It comes in various lengths with the 67 cm. version being ideal here.
In my view, it is much easier to install than OMLOPP.
Infuriating IKEA
In Sorting Out IKEA, I said this.
Ever since Summer 2015, I’ve been unable to purchase anything on-line from IKEA. It is very difficult trying to build a kitchen in phases to have to go to the store to buy or order everything. Especially, when you can’t drive. I am lucky, that I can get a 341 bus to IKEA from about two hundred metres away and can even catch a bus from closer, that uses the same stop as the 341 at Manor House station. So it might take about an hour, but it’s not an arduous journey.
I think that the reason for non-delivery, is that that don’t like my home address, as they use a system that checks it against a list of ones with a large number of problems in the past. These were long before I bought the house.
Things have not changed, and I still can’t buy anything on-line, despite having high credit scores that show no problems.
As I need one cabinet to fill a space, I went to the store at Tottenham to buy one.
But you can’t pick it up, as it has to be delivered. So I ordered it in the store and then had to walk miles to get out to pay for it.
How was my shopping experience? Unnecessary and f**king awful, would be the best description.
I now have something small to buy and I shall have to repeat the process for something that I can hold in one hand.
The Steptoe Solution
My kitchen is coming on, albeit slowly because of Infuriating IKEA.
These pictures show the current state.
I’m building up to the big finish, where the side by the window gets ripped out and replaced by new units.
Will we find some more of Jerry’s Wonderful Wiring.
Jerry’s Wonderful Wiring
Or even worse, as there is plumbing and water involved.
So I can’t guarantee that, we’ll be able to plan how long the shut-down of my water and washing-up facilities will be.
On the other side of the kitchen, a wall had to be rebuilt, so I suspect that getting the wiring and the plumbing correct to accept the new units will probably take a couple of days.
I haven’t got another big sink upstairs, but I do have a very small one in my bedroom, where I could wash plates and put them in the shower to dry.
As to washing saucepans and other larger utensils, it will be a Steptoe Solution, as used by Harold to wash his clothes, when he had a bath.
We All Go Round In Circles
I am a Control Engineer by training and I have extensively modelled dynamic systems and constantly changing projects, which are updated regularly, if not daily.
My experience tells me that because we are a rich and innovative nation, that we will attract migrants because they know if they work hard here, they will earn enough to look after their families. Which patently many can’t do in the war-ravaged countries they’ve come from.
Most migrants will bring skills and muscle to fuel our growth, whether we like it or not.
So we get richer as a nation and more and more migrants are attracted to come.
One way to stop the migrants is to say, that we will not let them in and stop them coming.
But then the NHS and other industries wouldn’t have the labour they need, as many migrants settled here would move on to places that valued their skills.
An alternative would be to close down our economy, so that migrants are no longer attracted. Control Engineering says you must balance your production to the need and the resources you have available.
I believe that because of the maths, we either accept migrants or reduce our standard of living dramatically. Our Victorian forefathers brought in the migrants and the rest as they say is history!
This evening, the bookies have it that it’s six to one on, that we stay.
I once had a horse start a race at odds of twenty-two-to-one on. The horse came home by almost the length of the straight at Ayr.
The bookies were right as they generally are!
The Anonymous Widower 