Artificial Photosynthesis Offers Clean Source Of Hydrogen
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Engineer.
This is the first paragraph.
Devices made using conventional semiconductor technologies could make hydrogen using just fresh or saltwater and sunlight.
It would appear to be an interesting concept, but after reading the article, there is still a lot of research and development to be done before it is an affordable proposition.
But I do feel, it could be one of those technologies that are commonplace in a few decades.
Will TSB Exist In A Couple Of Months?
I am seventy and I have been programming computers and using them since I was eighteen.
I also worked for Lloyds Bank in the 1970s, although not on their computing side, but as a high level consultant, where I was using data extracted from the main computer system to calculate bank costs, through a program I had written that was effectively a giant spreadsheet.
So I have heard a lot of stories from the 1960s, of when banks were first computerised, over drinks with bank e,employees.
One was about an absolutely brilliant fraud, that would make a good film.
None were as horrific as what TSB have inflicted on their customers over the last few weeks.
I like to check my bank account every morning, as in my view, that is the best way to pick up any fraud.
So if I had been a TSB customer, I would already have long ago moved my account.
It would be in everybody’s interest, if all TSB account holders moved to other banks.
As that would hopefully, close TSB!
This would surely mean, all banks and other financial institutions made sure they got their computing right.
From my computing knowledge, I do wonder whether the TSB problems are being caused by an evil programmer!
The chaos undoubtedly, could have been created deliberately.
But for what purpose?
- There is always a rogue state or organisation, wanting to create mischief.
- Banco Sabadell, who are TSB’s parent, are a publicly-quoted company. Their share price appears to have been falling recently. Could someone have placed a big bet on the share price?
- Chaos is a good smokescreen for fraud.
Hopefully, the truth will come out in the end!
The Resignation Of Amber Rudd
In the almost forty-six years from 18th October 1964 to the 11th May 2010, there have been several Governments of both sides and twenty Home Secretaries.
Which means the average tenure is under two and a half years.
Incidentally, how many of the twenty can you name?
So Amber Rudd‘s tenure is just under the average.
The remarkable thing about the list of Home Secretaries is how few last more than four years, so Theresa May‘s tenure of six years, must show a certain something.
In the same period, there have only been twelve Chancellors of the Exchequer.
I have seen it said by respectable commentators, that if a company has a large turnover of CEOs, then there is something fundamentally wrong with the company.
So is there something fundamentally wrong with the Home Office?
It is a large department with a budget of nearly £9billion and around 30,000 employees.
The Home Office web site, these are the department’s responsibilities.
- working on the problems caused by illegal drug use
- shaping the alcohol strategy, policy and licensing conditions
- keeping the United Kingdom safe from the threat of terrorism
- reducing and preventing crime, and ensuring people feel safe in their homes and communities
- securing the UK border and controlling immigration
- considering applications to enter and stay in the UK
- issuing passports and visas
- supporting visible, responsible and accountable policing by empowering the public and freeing up the police to fight crime
- fire prevention and rescue
Would Sainsburys put such diverse responsibilities together?
I’m certain, that some of these responsibilities need to be reorganised.
Perhaps, then Home Secretaries will find it easier to stay in the job.
L&G To Build 3,000 Affordable Homes By 2022
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Construction News.
This is said.
Legal & General is to start building affordable homes with the aim of delivering 3,000 a year by 2022.
The firm said it will target affordable housing due to underinvestment in the sector.
L&G is aiming to become the “leading affordable housing provider in the UK” by drawing on its £15bn investment programme, according to chief executive Nigel Wilson.
It looks like the story could be better than the headline.
FOBT Stakes Should Be Limited To £2
This is the title on The Thunderer column in The Times today.
If you don’t know, FOBTs are Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, which have been described as the crack-cocaine of gambling.
I have never seen, let alone used one, as when I have a bet, it’s usually on a horse or an event like I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! using the Internet.
The odd thing about this Thunderer comment is not the comment itself, with which I agree totally.
It’s just that it is joint comment, written by.
- Carolyn Harris, who is the Labour MP for Swansea East.
- Iain Douglas smith, who is the Conservative MP for Chingford Green
East and West, Left and Right have met in a good cause.
Surely, we should have more cooperation like this!
Britain Powers On Without Coal For Three Days
The title of this post, as the same as that on this article on the BBC.
This is the first paragraph.
Britain has not generated electricity from coal for more than three days – the longest streak since the 1880s.
Let’s hope we keep out our commitment to phase out coal completely by 2025!
Barratt To Pay For Fire Safety Cladding Upgrade On Croydon Block
The title of this post is the same of that on this article on ITV.com.
This is the first couple of paragrphs.
Developers of a high-rise block that failed fire safety tests will pay for safety measures estimated to run into the millions of pounds, including replacing its Grenfell-style cladding, the Government has said.
Barratt Developments has said it will pay for backdated and future fire safety costs to make the Citiscape housing complex in Croydon, south London, safe, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.
The ITV article has a video report.
I feel that they are in a difficult place, as their architects probably thought the cladding was safe to use. So I don’t think there has been too much malfeasance on the part of Barratt.
But to hold up their hand and say we’ll fix it, probably means everyone will be a winner.
- Barratt get to fix the block for the cost of two or three of their more expensive houses.
- If Barratt get an agreement on the deal, they should avoid complex and expensive legal wrangles.
- Replacing the cladding now, will probably be a lot easier on a new building, that was probably built to a high standard in the last couple of years.
- The Government should be pleased as there appears that the hand of Sajid Javid has applied some pressure.
- Croydon Council should be pleased, as it is unlikely many owners will need to be moved to emeergency accommodation.
- Hopefully, the owners will be pleased, as it appears they should get the value of their properties back.
The ITV article quotes a Barratt’s spokesman as saying.
Following the recent ruling that the costs for necessary recladding at Citiscape will fall on the individual apartment owners, many of whom were originally Barratt customers when it was built in 2002, we have decided that we will pay for the work. “Citiscape was built in line with all building regulations in place at the time of construction. While we don’t own the building or have any liability for the cladding, we are committed to putting our customers first. “The important thing now is ensuring that owners and residents have peace of mind.
I suppose Barratt could be accused of spinning a good line, but it is all good publicity for the houses they are building.
Whether other developers, who used the same cladding, as that involved in the tragedy of Grenfell, will follow Barratt’s example is another manner!
OVO Energy Drops 4 Product Bombshells, Including New Vehicle-to-Grid Charger
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Clean Technica.
This is the first paragraph.
n London yesterday, OVO Energy took to the stage and dropped not one new product but four product bombshells that are aimed at creating a new energy ecosystem that is accessible to residential energy consumers.
The products are.
- A Vehicle-to-Grid Charger for the Masses
- 7kW Smart Charger
- One Ring To Rule Them All
- Residential Energy Stoage
The article discusses them in detail.
If I still drove, I’d be very interested in the vehicle-to-grid charger, as I’d fit one in my garage.
The amount of car use, I would have would probably be fairly minimal, so most of the time the car would be sitting in the garage, acting as a storage battery for the National Grid.
Suppose ten million homes in the UK, had a vehicle-to-grid charger and an electric car with a 30 kWh battery. that would be 300 MWh of energy storage, which would be ideal for storing wind energy generated at night.
Does President Putin Speak English?
I’ve wondered this for a few months and this article on Newsweek, which is entitled Does Putin Speak English? After Trump Meeting, The Kremlin Weighs in.
This is the first paragraph.
Russian President Vladimir Putin may have been praising Donald Trump’s listening skills last week but on Monday, his own abilities as a good speaker were receiving plaudits. Putin’s English, seldom heard by western audiences, is good enough to correct his translators, according to the man hired to speak on Putin’s behalf.
I think we can take the answer as yes!
Twisted Mind That Gave Us Chemical Warfare
The title of this post is the same as that of an article by Ben Macintyre, in today’s copy of The Times.
It is subtitled.
Fritz Haber’s pacifist wife killed herself as he plotted Great War carnage…and he picked up a Nobel price.
Fritz Haber was a brilliant chemist, described in the first paragraph of his Wikipedia entrry.
Fritz Haber ( 9 December 1868 – 29 January 1934) was a German chemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his invention of the Haber–Bosch process, a method used in industry to synthesise ammonia from nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas. This invention is of importance for the large-scale synthesis of fertilisers and explosives. The food production for half the world’s current population depends on this method for producing nitrogen fertilisers. Haber, along with Max Born, proposed the Born–Haber cycle as a method for evaluating the lattice energy of an ionic solid.
This description is rather stained by the second paragraph.
Haber is also considered the “father of chemical warfare” for his years of pioneering work developing and weaponizing chlorine and other poisonous gases during World War I, especially his actions during the Second Battle of Ypres.
Ben Macintyre feels strongly about Haber and finishes with this paragraph.
Rescinding Haber’s Nobel prize will not stop Assad from killing his own people with poison bombsbut it would be a profound symbolic expression of the moral revulsion over the misuse of science so dramatically demonstrated by Haber’s wife a century ago.
I don’t know whether Nobel prizes can be rescinded, but the article is a very informative read about the origins of chemical weapons.
The Anonymous Widower 