The Anonymous Widower

It Looks Like Greece Will Vote for Grexit

Things look difficult for Greece as it looks like they are going to have another vote according to this report.  Signs are they will reject the austerity plan and thus vote for Grexit.

May 15, 2012 Posted by | Finance & Investment | | 4 Comments

A Bin of Wet Tissues a Day

It seems that every day, I throw away a bin-full of wet tissues, as my nose is running so much.

I’ve never had hay fever like this before! It just goes on and on!

May 15, 2012 Posted by | Health, World | | Leave a comment

An Appropriate Punishment for Mr. Brooks

There has been a straw poll of horses in Lambourn about what would be an appropriate punishment for Mr. Brooks, if he should be found guilty.

Ninety percent said he should be gelded.  The rest said neigh.

May 15, 2012 Posted by | News, Sport | , | 3 Comments

The Bus Games People Play

The behaviour of most people on London’s buses is generally immaculate, but it is sometimes treated like a serious game.

Obviously, kids like to travel in the front seats on the top. But so do adults and people generally move about to get the best seats as they become available. Perhaps, we all never grow up. Unless of course, we’re someone like Gordon Brown or Angela Merkel.

And then there’s how you choose, who you sit next to! It’s not just men, who like to sit next to nice-looking ladies and I can’t deny it doesn’t happen.  But today, an elderly lady deliberately moved over so that I sat next to her, so she could have a chat.  Most of the other passengers at the time were in their twenties at their eldest. In some ways, it’s only being friendly and no-one bothers.

And then there’s the game of judging what is the best time to descend from the top deck, just before you get off, as obviously walking down into an empty lobby is easiest. This game will get even more fun on a New Bus for London, as you have two staircases.

The New Bus for London also allows you to get on and off at convenient places, so this is yet another game, which at some time will come under the realm of the Health and Safety Police.  But until then, let’s enjoy it.

May 15, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Plague of 38 Buses

Perhaps plague is the wrong word, but they were swarming round the Angel, when I came home.  I was part of a convoy of six, led by a New Bus for London. Does the fact that it was in front, show that they are faster at both loading and unloading and between the stops? I also saw all three of the new buses today, so they are getting more common, with a fourth example expected for next week.

May 15, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , | Leave a comment

Are Young Girls More Difficult Than Young Boys?

This has never occurred to me before, as C and myself, just had the three boys. But on the bus back from the Angel a few minutes ago, there was a girl of about six really pushing the limits with her mother, who had another in a buggy. Thinking about ir, when I see bad behaviour on these buses, it possibly is more often that it’s girls being a bit raucous and naughty.  I’ve also been on buses with a load of twelve year old boys and this can be a nightmare too.

So when they are young, are girls worse than boys? Or do they play advantage of what they are expected to be like?

May 15, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel, World | , , | Leave a comment

In Search of the Camberwell Beauty

The Camberwell Beauty butterfly is so-called because it was first found in Coldharbour Lane in Camberwell in 1748.

As I have said many times here, my father was a printer and he used to print at times, using gummed paper from Samuel Jones and Company. Their trademark was Butterfly Brand and they used to give out lots of stick-on Camberwell Beauties to show their products at their best.  I had thousands of these butterflies.

So today, I’m going to Camberwell to see what I can find of the history of a company, that occupies a part of my memory.

May 15, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel, World | , , | Leave a comment

A Man Who Got More Than He Wanted at Wal-Mart

This story about a man, who got bitten by a snake in Wal-Mart, looks like a beanfeast for American lawyers. Incidentally, in all of my travels, I can’t remember seeing a snake in the wild. I did have a taste of rattlesnake once in Texas. The old joke is it is like chicken with bite.

C also was very brave when it came to handling snakes and there are several pictures of her with them round her neck. The only animals she had a phobia of was chickens, turkeys and large ducks.

May 15, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

The Cambridge Guided Duckway

I found this report about the Cambridge Busway.

May 14, 2012 Posted by | News, Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

Peter Hain Resigns to Back Severn Barrage

Peter Hain has resigned from the Shadow Cabinet to back the Severn Barrage according to this report on the BBC.

I have always been in favour of the barrage ever since I worked for Frederick Snow and Partners in the early 1970. In fact, I had a letter published in The Times in 2008 on the subject, under the headline,  The Severn Barrage Needs Bolder Plans. It is reproduced here with some comments.

Time has moved on and we now have electrification of the train to Wales on the political and engineering agendas.  We also have an airport capacity crisis in London.

Electrification to Wales has one major problem; the Severn Tunnel. Building the barrage would solve that, albeit at quite a cost. In the meantime, I’m sure that some solution could be found like using the dreaded bi-mode  version of the IEP trains that everybody in the Rail Industry seems to hate. The barage would provide an effective bypass to allow electric trains all the way from London to West Wales.

Fredrick Snow’s original plans always envisaged a high and low lake, split by a central spine. This could work in either two modes.

  1. Energy generation, where water ran from the high to low lakes through reversible turbines, which can both gnerate power or pump water.
  2. Energy storage, where the turbines are reversed to pump water from the low to the high lake.

Th energy strorage technique is known as pumped storage and the biggest such station in the United Kingdom is Dinorwig.

Some reputable authorities reckon that pumped storage is an effective way to store excess electricity generated by wind power or large nuclear stations.

 

May 14, 2012 Posted by | News | , , , , , | 1 Comment