Conn By Name, Con Artist By Nature
I have just seen the Chief Executive of Centrica; Ian Conn, giving the most unfeasible explanation, why despite the fact that electricity prices are going down, British Gas will be putting them up by 12.5% from September 11th.
This article on the BBC gives more details.
Now is the time to give British Gas a good kicking by moving to an alternative smaller supplier.
I moved to OVO over two years ago and have had no trouble except.
- Changing from my old Bog Six supplier was a pain, due to the original company’s incompetence. Was that real or deliberate?
- OVO have still not fitted me with a smart meter. But I’m not sure I need one!
OVO have also handled my solar panels without trouble.
Could Trump Organise A Piss-Up In A Brewery?
After reading this report on the BBC and seeing it in full on the ten o’clock news, I think the answer is no!
I am old enough to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Six Day War, which were both events that if they’d been handled in an insensitive manner could have led to something a lot more serious.
Can Trump’s judgement be trusted to deal with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un?
The guy is just too inexperienced!
Scotland’s Floating Wind Farm
This article on the BBC is entitled World’s first floating wind farm emerges off coast of Scotland.
In the early 1970s, I worked on a unique concept for a reusable oil platform called a Balaena.
I wrote about using a Balaena for a wind turbine in Could a Balaena-Like Structure Be Used As a Wind Power Platform?.
There is also a brief description of the idea in The Balaena Lives.
I have a strong feeling that revisiting all of the work done for a Balaena over forty years ago, could enable a better way to build a floating wind farm.
I would build my Baleana-based floating wind-power turbine like this.
- A steel cylinder is built, which will form the tower, horizontally in a dry dock.
- It is floated out horizontally to some very deep water perhaps in a fjord.
- It is then raised to a vertical position by letting a calculated amount of sea water into the tank.
- It will float vertically, if the weight profile is right and by adjusting water levels in the tank, the top can be raised on lowered.
- The tower is adjusted to a convenient height and the turbine is placed on the top.
- It would then be towed vertically into position.
Note that Balaenas were designed to sit on the sea-bed using a skirt and a gum-boot principle to hold them to the bottom, with extra anchors and steel ropes.
Grenfell Tower Gas Pipes Left Exposed, Despite Fire Safety Expert’s Orders
The title of this post is that of an article in the Guardian.
Read the article and you’ll see the standard of the work done on the gas system in the tower by National Grid.
This is a paragraph.
In March, three months before the blaze, residents told the London fire brigade (LFB) that people living in the 24-storey tower were so scared by the pipes “that they are having a panic attack”.
There is a lot more like that.
Interestingly, Cadent Gas; the division of National Grid that did the work was spun off and is now owned partly by the Qatari government.
A gas system, when it is installed by nincompoops is a disaster waiting to happen.
Workmanship of the quality shown in the pictures would have been rejected by the inspectors on the chemical plants, I worked on in the 1960s, so why when the consultant rejected the installation, was action not taken by Cadent?
The gas may not have caused the Grenfell House fire, but I wonder if the unprotected gas pipe fractured in the heat of the fire and then just added to the inferno.
Help For Charlie Gard
This article on the BBC is entitled Charlie Gard: Pope and Trump offer parents support.
I think this Pope is a good man, and I suspect his kind words would be welcome.
But whilst Trummkopf does nothing to abolish the death penalty in the United States, his unwanted comments should be treated with the contempt they deserve.
The Spanish Like Their Beer
I took these pictures in Spain
I actually drunk four or possibly five different varieties of gluten-free beer in my week in the country.
I was also surprised to see gluten-free Brewdog and beer from St. Peter’s in El Cortes Ingles.
Fashion Goes Around And Around
This is the front page of today’s Times 2.
Note the bottom line.
(brace yourself for the velvet bikini)
Celia had a bright French orange velvet bikini in the mid-1970s.
Nothing is new.
If I remember Celia liked it, but then she always liked bright colours! Except yellow!
An Interesting Insight Into The Grenfell House Fire
This article on Construction News is a must read.
It describes the experiences of a Morgan Sindall employee, who lived in the tower and was in bed, when the fire started.
He works on Crossrail, so he is obviously fully-trained and actually states that training said to stay put.
He didn’t and got out safely although in very little clothing.
It does appear that the treatment of their employee by Morgan Sindall is exemplary, so it looks to me that as this story gets more well-known, they won’t be short of applicants for permanent positions in the future.
Home To A Kafkaesque Situation
I got back from holiday last night and with great difficulty managed to get in using my key, as the lock was so stiff.
I then found getting the key out was extremely difficult and after about ten minutes of pulling, I was able to get it out by using a screwdriver through the hole in the key.
I dare not go out, as suppose the key broke getting back in, then I would really be in the doodah.
As I’ve just returned from holiday, I’ve got no food in the house at all.
I actually think the problem could be just down to the heat.
The Anonymous Widower 