My New Shopping Bag
For some years, I’ve used some shopping bags, that were free with Waitrose’s Quick Check system. I no longer use the system and I don’t think it is available, in any of the branches near me. My last bag is on its last legs, but they do seem to work on the dreadful self-service tills at the Angel.They also are an easy one hand carry for my left hand and can generally cope with the biggest daily shop I do.
Yesterday, I was doing some shopping at their Canary Wharf branch and needed to carry it home on the Underground. As I didn’t have a bag with me, I didn’t fancy using a plastic carrier, as they aren’t good when they are full and I’m always frightened, that I’ll end up with shopping all over the tube or the bus. So I asked if they had any bags like the ones I used to use with Quick Check and they found this one at the back of a store.
My New Shopping Bag
I was charged two pounds, but I did get it home safely.
The trouble is it’s not trendy and modern. But it does have a large capacity and it does work well!
Siemens’ View Of The Future Of The Underground
This mock-up of an Underground train is being shown at The Crystal by the Royal Victoria station on the Emirates Air Line.
If they ever build these trains, what will be much more significant is the technical specification of the new trains.
If you look at these pictures, you’ll see that the cross section appears taller and wider than the current deep-level trains. It has been designed so that someone of 2.6 metres can stand without stooping.
The trains are designed to be articulated with a walk-through gangway, like the new S Stock on the sub-surface lines. I think Siemens hope that air-conditioning could be squeezed in.
It is a pity that most of London’s Underground was built to such a small size, but that is one of the problems you get by being first. The technical problems of London though, are probably minor compared to building new trains for the Glasgow Subway, which is even smaller and totally unique.
I doubt London will ever see a new Underground line built to the current tube standard, developed by the Victorians!
Crossrail is effectively a main line railway and other lines across London will probably use that standard, with the possible exception of some lines built to the standard used on the Docklands Light Railway.
Edinburgh’s Tram Infrastructure Goes In
The infrastructure for the new Edinburgh tram line appears to be substantially installed.
I still have doubts that the design of the lines isn’t the best.
Edinburgh is an important city architecturally and I do wonder if the trams should be like they are in Seville; without overhead wires. I can see the day, when all city centre trams will be like those Spanish ones. it would certainly make building the systems a lot simpler.
It does strike me too, that now I can see where the tram route goes, does it go close enough to the main station at Waverley? I asked in an earlier post, why the trams don’t go over the North Bridge in front of the station. It would appear that the original Edinburgh trams did, from a map I’ve seen. These days too, modern trams are much better at climbing hills, as they do regularly in cities like Geneva.
Perhaps Edinburgh’s biggest mistake with the trams was to start them when they did. If you were designing a system now, it would be much simpler and less disruptive to install and probably a lot cheaper too!
My Hotel In Geneva
I didn’t have a hotel, when I arrived in Geneva, so I just walked out of the station and tried the first I saw.
It was a design hotel, called the Hotel Christal.
There were the usual small design glitches, but I’d certainly stay there again, as it was so convenient for the station.
The thing that annoyed me was that the socket, didn’t take my standard European adaptor. It was a new French design, which looks to be incompatible with the rest of the continent. In one excellent hotel I stayed in, there was a panel which accepted every possible plug.
I also found the coffee machine too clever for me. When will designers realise that those who buy their products have money. And many who have money are retired with the odd health issue.
Do They Use These Doors In Pyramids?
I saw this door opening method in several places in Italy.
Do They Use These Doors In Pyramids?
They seemed to work well, so they could be described as a good Ponzi system.
This web site explains all about the company.
And this one explains about Ponzi schemes.
It’s Not A New Train
This may look like a new train, but it’s just a well refurbished one!
The story of the refurbishment of these Class 455 trains is detailed here in Wikipedia. It includes this comment.
This refurbishment was so comprehensive that many passengers thought the refurbished units were new trains.
But refurbishment of trains is something we do well in this country. And there are lots of similar trains built like these Class 455, running all over the UK. Some like the Class 317 are already being earmarked for full refurbishment and upgrading.
So don’t despair that the old rattletraps on your line are beyond improvement. Some designer or engineer has ideas for your trains. Whether they will get done is up to the Treasury, which is not a real bastion of hard core engineering and design.
My New Stacking Chairs
My old dining chairs have had it and one has even collapsed. So I ordered two Castor stacking chairs from twentytwentyone.
As you can see I brought the two of them back on a number 30 bus.
The weirdest thing is that the size of the seat on the chairs and my old stools is virtually exactly the same. The new chairs are 36 cm. and the stools are 35.6 cm. It actually looks like the old stools, which were made in the 1970s are probably fourteen inches. They are also the same height, as you can see in the picture, which shows the end of my table.
Voyager Has Boldly Gone
In the past week or so, the Voyager-1 space probe has left the solar system. The story is reported here on the BBC.
The probe is expected to still be transmitting data back to earth until possibly 2025.
Who said that 1960s technology wasn’t any good and thoroughly unreliable?
My New Thermometer and Hygrometer
I like to carry one around with me and I bought this new one from Maplins.
My New Thermometer and Hygrometer
I took it to Wigan on Sunday and it measured the temperature and humidity in the Pendelino as 23°C and 49% respectively.
Annoying Smart Phone
Are smart phones all they are cracked up to be?
I’ve recently bought myself a Samsung S3 Mini smart phone, so how do I like it?
It does the three things that I want it to do, which is make and receive calls, send and receive text messages and check the weather, news and sport on the Internet to a good standard.
I quite like the text message interface, as it enables me to do things, like send long texts to Radio 5 Live with ease, by typing them on my computer and then sending them to the phone for forwarding.
I don’t use any Apps, as the sort of App-like applications I need, I do on my computer.
But it has two main faults.
Starting it up is a nightmare and usually takes more than a few seconds.
And then there is of course battery life.
It also tries to lead me to use applications and things I don’t want. I bought a phone not an advertising medium!
Touch the wrong place and you can get lost.
If I’d designed something as poor as that, I’d be disgusted with myself.
At least though, it’s better than a Junkberry.
But as has been said often about people. Must try harder!
I still keep swapping my sim into my Nokia 6310i, when that would be a better phone for the day.
The Anonymous Widower 