Reports, Nuclear Power and Scare Mongering

The Story

This is the kind of story that gets the media dancing round the room in glee. They can scare everybody into thinking they will be glowing in the dark shortly. More about that later, firstly what are the facts behind the story.

According to the BBC article as part of the continuing begrudging acceptance that nuclear power will continue to have a place in electricity generation at least until renewable or other energy sources can take over a list has been drawn up of potentially suitable sites.

All of the sites are at existing nuclear generation sites to take advantage of existing infrastructure.

Now in my opinion it looks like nuclear will continue to be an important electricity source for the next 50-100 years so utilising existing sites seems like the best way forward.

The media view

For the media the story just isn't scary enough. Replace existing nuclear stations with nuclear stations. A report that lists 14 sites but freely admits that it will be up to the nuclear industry to build them and they may actually build none.

There has to be something we can scare people with in this report.

The Result

The Oxford mail kicks off with one of the worst examples of scaremongering:

County could get nuclear station (Oxford Mail)

(For those who like a bit of background the Oxford Mail is a red top local paper who are anti everything and allegedly pro-consumer)

Myth Busting

Myth: "Didcot area emerged as likely site"

Truth: It does not appear on the top 14 sites list.

The fact is Didcot appears once in the whole report to illustrate a power station with cooling towers. It was probably chosen as they are very visible to the general population or anyone that has ever travelled through Didcot.

The actual quote from the report is:

"It would be possible to site reactors inland and construct cooling towers as used by conventional coal and gas fired generating stations such as Didcot-A and Didcot-B in Oxfordshire, although cooling towers are very large structures which substantially damage the local amenity value from visual intrusion, causing significant difficulties with local public acceptance and obtaining planning consents, as well as adding to the cost of construction of the nuclear power station and reducing the station's power output by around 3-5%36."
Footnote 36 just refers to a foot note on the 5% energy loss.

The report does suggest a hierarchy of sites for further use which starts with nuclear facilities at the top, going to other nuclear facilities such as Harwell, then to conventional power stations site like Didcot (still not specifically mentioned and would be one of 60 sites identified) and then finally greenfield sites.

The report only considers existing nuclear power stations and their suitability for development, no development considerations are made for existing non nuclear power station sites or other nuclear sites such as Harwell.

It would be a tenuous link indeed to suggest that at this stage anyone in Didcot should be concerned. The quote above would suggest that an inland power station is infeasible due to the power loss and especially one sited in an area which suffers from drought.


Myth: "Harwell "a key opportunity for nuclear development""
"Harwell best available location"

Truth: Still not on the top 14 sites list but is in the second rank of the hierarchy of potential sites but again this site is probably even behind Didcot which has better infrastructure.

The report only considers existing nuclear power generation sites for future development, Harwell is mentioned as being an other nuclear site, it is included in some of the statistics or figures but no serious discussion of the sites suitability takes place.

It should be noted that perhaps the best location quote actually refers to it being the best location in the 1940's or that it has the best grid connection given its location in the south-east.

The reason the Oxford mail can include it is because the report mentions that it is an existing nuclear site which is already licensed and government owned. The report itself has included it in calculations as an other nuclear site.

The Summary

So comparing the two articles, the BBC wins with responsible reporting where the Oxford mail goes for a sensationalist story and then loosely arranges the facts around the angle.

What I also like about the Oxford Mail is they then door step local people to gather opinions. The questions are always clearly loaded and the responses predictable but the editors feel the need to get people to add support to their tall tales.

Special mention should go to Craig Simmonds, leader of the green party who clearly has not read the report and is quoted as saying.

"This suggests that Oxfordshire is the most likely inland site for a nuclear power station."

-Craig Simmonds, Leader of the Green Party,
Oxfordshire County Council.

There is nothing in the report to substantiate that fact. Yes, Didcot would be a suitable site but it is inland, Harwell is an other nuclear suitable site with good grid connectivity and is also inland, but importantly no sites in the UK are mentioned as being a suitable inland site for a new power station. The report only considers existing nuclear power generating sites, only the 14 sites are listed by suitability and Didcot and Harwell are not on the list.

Special mention also to Ed Vaizey who needs to read the report:

"It does not surprise me that Didcot and Harwell have been put in the frame for the next generation of nuclear power stations."

-Ed Vaizey, Conservative MP for Didcot and Wantage.

The report does not mention Didcot or Harwell as a potential development site. It only considers the 14 sites where nuclear energy is already used to generate electricity. Harwell falls into one of five secondary sites and Didcot falls into one of 60 tertiary sites. Harwell is also one of the least suitable secondary sites.

The report also specifically states there are large infrastructure and economic barriers to building an inland nuclear power station.

Sources: Jackson consulting report

Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy is a clean energy source that doesn't often get a mention yet it has the capacity to power the world and unlike other renewable energy sources like wind and solar power is "always on".

MIT experts reported in January 2007 that there was enough hydrothermal energy available in the US to generate the entire 27 trillion kilowatt-hours of energy consumed in the US in 2005 [1].

Like Solar power geothermal energy can either be used as a direct heat source for hot water systems or to generate electricity.

In the UK there is no electrical generation but some direct application of geothermal energy amounting to some 3 MW capacity[2]. This is mainly due to the economics of geothermal in the UK.

Other countries in the world are better situated to take advantage of geothermal energy. The US has over 2228 MW of installed generating capacity and 5366 MW of direct use[2].

Maybe this could be another plank in an overall energy strategy and boost renewable energy percentages. Even the UK government freely admits there is greater potential for the technology.

"Future development

It has been estimated that there are 1,550 large industrial sites in the UK where heat-pump systems could be installed, with an average size of 800 kilowatts of thermal power. There is more limited potential for further geothermal plants in the UK as sites need hot rock relatively near to the surface and which is sufficiently fractured to allow the passage of (heated) water. There are areas of hot rocks in the North Pennines, parts of southern England and Derbyshire."

-Geothermal -Current use in the UK

By my calculations based on the heat pump figures quoted above, if all sites were fitted out that would be 1240 MW of thermal power. If the government further invested in electricity generation in areas mentioned above then geothermal can really improve the renewable energy capacity in the UK. For information we currently have one geothermal plant - which provides heating and chilling to businesses and buildings in the Southampton area.

Of course this is just the major projects, liker other renewable technology it is also suitable for home and business use.

I believe that the real future of energy generation is distributed generation where large power stations are merely reserves. Each household or business will have its own locally suitable blend of generation technologies with a grid connection for backup. In order to get to this future we need to develop all these technologies especially the ones that can be "always on" like geothermal. Coupled with a battery system which could be charged over night you can move further away from dependence on a grid connection.

Come on UK government how about some investment in developing UK geothermal energy. After all once the north sea oil starts to run out we have all this drilling expertise and a drilling industry to redeploy.


[1] New Scientist, "Clean Power Under Our Feet" 27 January 2007, p. 4.
[2] World Energy Council - Survey of Energy Resources 2001. All figures from 1999.

Party packs of ice cubes

Whilst stuck behind a man at the supermarket buying his party pack of ice cubes, a thought struck me. How environmentally friendly are the party ice packs?

I am guessing not very. First you have a big factory making the packs, hopefully although not certainly they make them with water filling up lots of little ice bags (just like the ones you can buy in the supermarket to make your own without the need of an ice tray). If they freeze them at the factory and then transport them to the supermarket in temperature controlled lorries it would be a highly irresponsible act.

Then once you have your 100 little bags of water inside the big bag they have to be transported to the supermarket. Here they are put in the freezer to freeze over night and then you buy it in the shop and take it home.

This almost seems like a criminal waste of energy and effort not to mention the environmental impact. Perhaps selling ice in the supermarket should be banned, although obviously large trade sales would be allowed to continue.

For a party the alternative would be to buy loads of ice cube bags and make your own. I guess many people would argue they just don't have the time. Plus as a society we still don't always think of the environment first in all aspects of our life.

It does seem that we worry so much about the big things in life such as global air travel but then turn a blind eye to the little things like energy efficient light bulbs, recycling and ice cubes simply because it takes a bit more work.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I Laying plans contd...

[Method and Discipline - number five of the five constant factors to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field]

10. By method and discipline are to be understood the marshalling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.

Notes by Zephyrist:

This is about knows the nuts and bolts of your army / team.

Know the structure and the roles of leaders, understand how the army is supplied and control the economics, spending and incomes.

If you have control of all these factors you have control over your army and can use it effectively to gain the winning edge. Lose control of these factors and the army will suffer from infighting and be more interested in fighting amongst themselves than fighting against a common enemy.

More Sperm donor advertisment ideas

I have been thinking about alternative add campaigns to encourage sperm donors. Here are some of my ideas.
Other tag line ideas:

"Get paid for what you enjoy doing, make a deposit today - The Sperm Bank"

"Handy men required? - The Sperm Bank"

"The Sperm bank - satisfaction guaranteed."

"Why pay for your lad's magazine? Make a deposit and borrow ours - The Sperm bank"

"Become a sperm donor, its time your boys joined the swimming team"

"Grab your joystick. The sperm bank now with online banking."

"We would give you a free pen but your not likely to be filling in the cross word in our magazines - The sperm bank."

"Become a sperm donor, lay back and think of England."

"Join the last men only club in the world, become a sperm donor today."

"The sperm bank, the bank that likes to say Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Stand up and be counted... then relax - The Sperm bank."

"Become a sperm donor, take the pledge today and give it a quick polish."

"Age 8: I want to be a merchant banker

Age 30: I am a sperm donor.

Close enough! - the sperm bank."

Sperm donor adverts

I wrote an article yesterday about the chronic shortage of sperm donors. Now according to the article most organisations cant afford an ad campaign.

Now with such a personal male subject really the only way you could go is with humour. I cant draw so I bought out the stick men, added a good strap line and away I went.

Here is the badly drawn stick man with my strap line (Usual disclaimer - it may only be funny in my head)

School reports and planning problems

School report calls pupil 'wally' (BBC)

A confidential school report found lying in the street named some pupils as "wally" or "dingbat"

For a quick refresher the dictionary definitions are:

wally n. a stupid person.

dingbat n. a crazy or stupid person.

Both words are in the dictionary and are valid descriptive terms. After all if the children are slightly stupid or slightly mad you don't call them normal just to protect people's feelings. Yes, it is unfortunate that a teacher should think of a student as a wally but rather than criticising the teacher for injecting a bit of realism the child and its parents should be looking at how to change things. In reality little Tarquin (not the child's real name) wont have done anything wrong he is just a bit hyperactive or perhaps misunderstood.

There is a tendency to protect children from the reality of life, on what is a fine line between encouragement and reality. If you tell kids they are great, when they are clearly not you end up with the drama queens on reality tv who know they will make it one day and pursue a dream while working at a low paid job.

Is this what happens when you are never critical or realistic with a child? They pursue a hopeless dream and end up being desperately unhappy.

If they have people who tell them the truth then they keep the dream as a hobby and find themselves something they are good at. They may even lead happier lives because they are no longer pursuing hopeless dreams. Life is hard enough without being sent down the wrong path by over protective parents.

So please can we have a standing ovation for the teacher who just called a spade a spade, rather than a non-tooth fork. At least one teacher in the UK has managed to keep their sanity and still injects a bit of realism into education.

Planning shake-up for big schemes (BBC)

What is being heralded by the media as a new Brownabour idea is a simplification of the planning process in order to streamline all the red tape. The white paper being put before government proposes an independent planning commission to replace lengthy, costly and complicated planning inquiries. This commission would be made up of independent experts such as planners and lawyers to help decide policy.

There would also be more strategic guidance in terms of a planning framework at a national level which would cover major issues such as transportation and electricity generation.

The opposition have used the usual media buzzword objections of the idea taking decisions away from elected officials and giving them to government quangos.

So I can have a politician making a strategic planning decision who is only worried about whether he will get re-elected and may not have the relevant qualifications or experience to take the decision, let alone the guts to make the right decision.

-Or-

I can have an independent panel of experts with vast qualifications and experience who make the right decision for the country balanced against public opinion.

A panel of experts that's crazy talk, next they will be putting a panel of experts in charge of inflation policy. Oh they already have and it actually works a lot better than when the politicians were in charge.

Bring on the panel of experts they can hardly do a worse job than politicians.

So before you get on your soap box and follow the media crowd and complain about decisions being taken away from the people, think about it for a second and make your own decision.

After all in reality would the media ever agree and say it was a good idea, that just isn't newsworthy.

Zephyrist's sunday night briefs

The week of the office move. In reality I have been too busy with other things to notice what has been going on in the world but here are a few things that you might have missed.

I have been quoted on the BBC.

Whilst checking through my stats which is one of the perks of writing a blog I notice some inbound links form the BBC. Apparently they search the interweb looking for quotes about their new programmes. I have been quoted for my comment on Balderdash and Piffle, yeah me.

"The presenter Victoria Coren is quite cute and she was exploring the origins of words. Fairly interesting stuff for the writers or aspiring writer or those with a healthy interest in what things mean."

Zephyrist, Google Blogs

Ok so out of all the best bits of my blog calling a presenter "quite cute" isn't exactly my finest hour but it is a start.

Quote of the day from the BBC

"I don't really understand what a website is."

-Judge in cyber terror trial at Woolwich crown court.

Good job he does not have to sentence criminals who might use the internet then. Oh dear.

Out for the count (BBC)

An article about the crisis in the drop in number of sperm donors. Apparently there are now only 208 in the UK leading to a big shortfall as the UK need about 500-600 to meet demand.

The main problem is the change in the law which means that children created from the sperm can find out the identity of the father when they turn eighteen. The article states that a donor could end up fathering up to 50 children. You can see why no one would fancy fifty people turning up at your door.

Danny Robbins (comedian) went on tour to try and drum up some trade including asking labour MP's outside the houses of parliament to make a donation.

So would you do it?

I do not think I would have a problem with the children knowing that I was the donor. I am not sure what relationship would occur between the father and the child if any but it wouldn't really freak me out. They would have a right to know who I was and I would be happy to meet them if they wished.

Why would anyone do it, well to help out couples where the father cannot provide the sperm, to give the gift of life and hope.

I was minded of the "police -could you?" tv adverts, "Sperm donors - could you?"

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I Laying plans contd...

[The Commander- number four of the five constant factors to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field]

9. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness.

Notes by Zephyrist:

This could be easily translated into modern language by saying: The five qualities of a good leader are wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.

Wisdom in the sense that you have to be able to make difficult decisions.

Sincerity in that you have compassion and belief in your subordinates, your plan and yourself.

Benevolence in that you you must be inclined to do what is right and good, which will be rewarded with loyalty from your followers.

Courage in order to take risks on decisions to further your cause.

Strictness in order to apply the rules, maintain discipline and respect in your subordinates.

The Office Move

The reason that there has not been much activity on this blog this week is because finally the long talked about office move actually happened. So this week due to a change in routine and all that activity I have been too tired in the evenings to do anything other than check emails and veg in front of the tv.

You work at a company long enough and at some point you will be told to move office. Most of the time it doesn't seem like there is any rhyme or reason to the move it is just a game of musical offices. Everyone packs up and when the music stops you unpack again. I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of moves are down to office politics, who is closer to the centre of power.

For HR office moves always involve vast rooms of personnel files which require specialist storage space and so are sometimes more of a priority than people. Especially as until all the files are correctly stored and alphabetised you cant find anything. People on the other hand can work from a computer and a phone surrounded by boxes.

Such a big change is often disconcerting as well, the loss of familiar surroundings makes people nervous and edgy, we need routine so we can concentrate on the unusual. I have found it difficult to concentrate surrounded by stack of paper and half empty boxes. It didn't help that we could not store all the boxes into our new office, we had to unpack a few and then fetch some more. I have a feeling that we will be re-arranging stuff for weeks.

Change is just something that happens, and is a natural part of life but it does take a lot of energy so some things like this blog have to take a back seat for a while.

Google Earth - Trainspotting goes to Iraq

This week I zoomed over to Iraq to have a look what war, sabotage and neglect does to a nation's railway system. It is all a bit depressing you see empty stations, empty yards, overgrown areas all in the muted browns of the desert. Unlike Russian yards, Iraq yards are generally smaller and overgrown with fewer cars in them. In the whole of my research I only found one train running.

So here are some of the desolate sights of trains in Iraq.

This is a large Baghdad train station. The platforms are empty although they look like they are maintained. Note the bustle of the cars on the road around the station. The extensive yards to the north and west look overgrown and unused.



Iraq yards 8a, part of the Central station yards complex shows what is probably the passenger train yards. Although full of trains it does appear to be better maintained than other areas of the vast yards.




The one small train I found in Western Baghdad.






The missing link, a break in the track where a bridge has gone, was it war, sabotage or just a bridge being rebuilt?






Some kind of oil/chemical store with vast sidings, all empty but look at all the trucks at the plant. Road has taken over from rail.

Balderdash & Piffle

While channel surfing I came across 'Balderdash & Piffle' on BBC2. The presenter Victoria Coren is quite cute and she was exploring the origins of words. Fairly interesting stuff for the writers or aspiring writer or those with a healthy interest in what things mean.

Did I mention she is cute as well, I think I might be developing a small crush on her.

Anyway last night's edition was an exploration of words around madness including 'bananas' 'one sandwich short of a picnic' and 'bonkers'.

One of the interesting segments was when comedian Jo Brand met the organisers of Bonkers Fest ,who not being representative of what might be considered normal, were objecting to the definition of the word normal and wanted it redefined as a person who was unable to display emotions that might not be considered sane. They had a point after all to be human is to at times do crazy things, normal people aren't really normal people at all. The new definition was rejected on the grounds that the definition did not really define how the word was used in society.

Fair enough, time to corrupt the word and create a new word.

Norm: (n) Commonly a derogatory term referring to people (especially in a work environment) who in an attempt to gain favour act in a manner conforming to the social and political norms of the organisation. They do not show or exhibit any behaviour outside of those norms to the extent that they are not exhibiting or are suppressing normal human behaviours such as compassion or a sense of humour.

Variants:

sub-norm: a subordinate colleague who mimics the behaviour of his boss, a norm, in order to gain favour.

uber-norm: a super norm.

ultra-norm: environmental description representing an organisational environment where behaviour is restrictive, forcing employees to conform in order to be promoted or rewarded.

anti-norm: a work colleague who seeks out norms and destroys them

ab-norm: possibly a corruption of 'abstaining norm', an employee who refuses to play political games and does not pretend to be anything other than themselves at work.

The Great Campaigns of Nelson by William O'Connor Morris

[These extracts re-typed from the original book 'The Great Campaigns of Nelson' by William O'Connor Morris]

Preface

This little volume consists of a series of articles on the great campaigns of Nelson, marked by the names of St. Vincent, the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar, which originally appeared in the Pall mall magazine. the favourable reception accorded to them, though only fugitive pieces, has induced me to republish them; I have to thank the Proprietors and the Editor of the Magazine for their permission. The text has been revised and corrected, and some additions have been made to it; but I have avoided any important changes, for this was, I think, due to the publication which gave it its sanction. Captain Mahan has most kindly placed at my disposal the maps and diagrams in his Sea Power contained in the volume; this, at least is some indication that that great authority on naval warfare does not disapprove of it con tents. My thanks are also due to Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd., and to Messrs. Little Brown & Co., for sanctioning the use that has been made of these diagrams.

My object has been to present to the reader in tolerably exact outline, a sketch of the chief operations of Nelson at sea; and, at the same time, to glance at theories as to the impregnability of England, and her absolute security from invasion, which seem to me questionable and dangerous, should the nation rely on its maritime power only. For a full inquiry into the subject, the sources of information, original and secondary, are sufficiently known, it would be mere pedantry to do more than refer to them.

WILLIAM O'CONNOR MORRIS

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I Laying plans contd...

[Earth- number three of the five constant factors to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field]

8. Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.

Notes by Zephyrist:

Where you choose to make a stand can determine a battle. Always force the enemy to choose your battlefield and try not to get stuck with the enemies choice of battlefield. A really simple example is the home turf advantage, make the enemy come to you so they are unfamiliar with your territory.

Tony Blair leaves interest rates go up

Blair will stand down on 27 June (BBC)

UK interest rates raised to 5.5% (BBC)

So Tony Blair has finally named a date, finally the media can stop harping on about it. Although now they get to harp on about the leadership elections for seven weeks. It looks like they are going to be really dull as for leader, only Gordon Brown is standing. No stalking horse to make it slightly interesting. To be honest I understand the need for the long, full process but I am already bored of it and will be completely bored of the media going on about things, probably by tomorrow. After all its one of the things the media does best, go on on and on about something.

The question the media have been asking about Tony is "What is his legacy ?". I think Tony hit the right note in his farewell speech, he was an honest man trying to do what he thought was right and best. He made his mistakes notably on Iraq but he did what he thought was right at the time and right for the country.

Although I could join the hordes and criticise him for his decision to send troops into Iraq, in my heart I feel he made the best decision on the information he had at the time and I would probably have made the same decision myself based on that information at that time. It was with hindsight a mistake and was compounded by the fact that once we got in, there was and still isn't an easy way out. Remember that based on the information available at the time a majority of 310 MP's voted in favour of the case for war (Source: The Public Whip).

Moving on from the Iraq issue what legacy has he? Well the economy is robust and there has been no recession since labour has taken office. Inflation Policy is now an economic rather than a political decision. Public Services have received investment. Taxes have increased in complexity and have not always been designed to support the poor and vulnerable of society.

All In all I think he has done a good job, Tony Blair has been a steady hand on the country and has modernised politics back to a two party system where we do have a choice.

The other story today was the interest rate rise where the Bank of England added another 1/4 point on to the interest rate. This is the fourth in a steady rise since last year but on the upside the Bank of England expects inflation to fall back in the mid to long term so hopefully this will be the last rise for some time. The bank will be watching statistics over the next few months to see whether another 1/4 point rate rise is justified. If inflation still has a bit of short term steam expect another small rise in June /July.

The media are fairly mediocre at predicting the outcome of interest rate meetings mainly because they like to hype it so much, doom and gloom is always better than saying we don't expect anything much to happen. For individuals with debts it will tighten belts further and may push some people over the edge but the average man in the street should not be effected. As far as the housing market goes it will have little effect, as almost nothing effects the housing market any more due to the supply / demand issues.

Zephyrist's sunday night briefs - week 17, 2007

Well this week saw the local elections in the UK, the first of the May three day freakin weekends and tornadoes in the mid US.

Just what was I looking at on the interweb this week:

Spacecraft returns Jupiter images (BBC)

I like stories that look to the stars. This article shows the latest pictures of Jupiter by the NASA New Horizons spacecraft (what is the difference between a spacecraft and a probe?). There are some really fantastic photographs. According to the NASA home page for New Horizons some of the pictures taken are for artistic rather than scientific value.


I quite like this one entitled Two moons over Jupiter (artistic photograph). You can find out more on the picture by clicking on it to go to the NASA page.





Bush honours Queen at White House (BBC)

Two notable parts to this story, one is the customary bit where Bush puts his size 12's straight in it. Apparently the Queen was not amused although from what was said not surprisingly.

The other bit of note is the Queen is now doing her bit for the environment. With each of these state visits the carbon emissions of the air miles will now be offset as a cash donation to an environmental charity.

That is it for this week, obviously all the news this week was rather mundane and not worth clipping because that is the end of the file for Zephyrist's Sunday night briefs.

Interesting links: Free Hugs

The interweb, every now and again can turn up some heart warming story that can quickly circumnavigate the world as people take a look and feel slightly better about themselves.

One man, Juan Mann, arrived back in his home country of Australia where he felt like a stranger. In arrivals he saw all the people welcoming home fellow travellers but there was no one there to give him a hug and make his day a little better.

All he wanted was a hug, so he got a piece of card and wrote on it "Free Hugs". After 15 minutes of strange looks he got his first hug from a women who was having a bad day and just like Juan needed a hug.

City officials took a dim view of all this free hugging and banned him, but then he got a petition together to get the decision over turned.

The story of his 'free hugs' campaign then took on a life of its own and went round the world, if you don't believe me just google or youtube it.

Make sure you check out the video which tells Juan's story with a good backing track as well, it is doing the rounds of the viral charts.

So have a free virtual hug from me.

Google Earth -Trainspotting goes to Russia

Well continuing visiting different countries I thought I would pop over to Moscow and see what I could find. What I found was absolutely marshalling yards, so here are some of the choice pictures (note the yard numbers are mine, not some Russian bureaucratic innovative naming system).

Moscow area yard 11. Not a goods yard but either an engine or passenger train shed. No trains visible but a nice track pattern into the large building. Interesting motorway junction pattern to the south-east too.





Moscow area yard 10. A huge Marshalling area and workshop area. Just look at all those wagons lined up.






Moscow area yard 7. A passenger train yard just outside one of the main railway stations.






Three of Moscow's main train stations.

Second wave of tornadoes rakes Plains (CNN)

Sometimes when reading news articles on destructive weather systems I am thankful that the UK has such a benign climate. We rarely have any violent weather at all.

The Mid-US on the other hand has tornado alley and this weekend has seen some horrific destruction including 90% destruction of the town of Greensburg, Kansas. In the central business district only the court house and the town's one bar was left standing.

On Saturday there were over 75 tornado touchdowns and in the wake of such destruction several areas have been declared major disaster areas by the federal government.

It is also clear from the CNN article that the political fallout from Hurricane Katrina has not been forgotten:

"We're not going to let a disaster happen here like what happened with Katrina. We're going to take care of people first and then help this city rebuild."

- Todd Tiahrt, Republican member of the US House of Representatives

With Tornadoes come the storm chasers a mix of scientists and amateurs who chase storms getting footage and carrying out research. One such group posts up the footage on tornadovideos.net. They also post on YouTube so have a look at this post taken over the week end where they have a close encounter with a tornado.

The Great Campaigns of Nelson by William O'Connor Morris

One of my many ideas for a project was to find a book which was out of copyright and then add the text to the web. A sort of public service to enrich the knowledge on the web.

The book is about Lord Nelson describing four of his great battles.

In this article I will do a bit of a historical introduction to the book. The plate to the left is from the front of the book and reads "Horatio Viscount Nelson - After the Picture in the council chamber of the City of London".

It would be interesting to find out if this original picture still exists and where it is now.

The Book itself has a prize inscription from the Eastham Education Committee to Archie Ryan for "Progress, conduct and Attendance 1910-1911". If you search the 1901 UK there is an Archie Ryan born at Essex Forest Gate, Eash Ham , Essex. If it is the same Archie then when he received this book he was 11.

The book is written by William O'Connor Morris who describes himself as a sometime scholar of Oriel College, Oxford and may well be this man described on the Offaly History website.

According to the biblio.com website where a copy of the book is being sold the book was published in 1898, although my copy may be a later printing given that it was not presented until 1911 .

The publisher is Blackie and Son Ltd who only ceased publishing books in 1991, you can find a historical description of the company provided by Glasgow University Archive Services on the archive hub website.

Little Theories: About being the best

It is not always possible to be the best, there is almost always someone better but there is one thing that you will always be the best at.

Your the best at being you in the world ever and always will be. No one else even comes close.

My vote counted, did yours?

Well there is nothing like being proved right for a change. Yesterday I posted an article telling everyone to vote because every vote matters.

Well in my district area their were two candidates and the winner won by one vote and even better I voted for the winner. It wasn't a small turn out either around 1400 people voted, so if you were in my area and didn't vote shame on you because your vote would have counted.

Every vote matters which I have now proved. So next time make sure you vote you never know when your vote might matter.

Of course over all the vote doesn't make any different to the overall control of the council, like most Oxfordshire councils it remains a Tory bastion.

When I say bastion I mean the strongest ever castle you have ever seen with 1 mile thick walls an impenetrable energy shield and an army numbering the population of China. Any general that has ever looked upon this castle suddenly remembers they left the oven on at home, I'm talking that kind of Tory stronghold.

Local Election Day

According to the media it is 'Super' Thursday. Whoever came up with that idea really needs to get out more, there is nothing 'Super' about it.

Anyway here in the UK its time to cast your vote for the district / town council. You have just over one hour left to go and vote, so do it. Its your only democratic obligation.

For all those who just started complaining there is no point they are always the same, it is then your democratic right to go and spoil your vote. You may favour writing the words ' None of the above' across the paper.

"Oh but spoilt ballots don't count" said a right whinger. Not yet they don't but just think if there was ever a vote where the spoiled ballot papers outnumbered the votes for the winning candidate. Somebody would bring a legal challenge after all technically to win you have to get the most votes. So if everybody spoiled their vote politics would have to change whether in a trial by law or trial by media.

So vote or spoil your paper, you have to go collect your ballot paper, its a democratic obligation.

People have died in the past and continue to die for the right for one vote in a democratic election. The least you can do is switch off your computer and go vote.

Go now! Really I'm not joking. Now! Vote for me if you want.

ICC issues Darfur arrest warrants (BBC)

I wrote previously that the international criminal court in February had named two suspects for 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, rape, torture of civilians.

The ICC have now issued warrants for the arrest of the two individuals Ahmed Haroun (Humanitarian Affairs minister) and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman (Janjaweed leader).

The ICC court is the court of last resort where a nations state is unwilling or incapable of prosecuting war criminals. The expected issuing of the arrest warrants is a damning indictment of the Sudanese government.

The ICC has no police officials and relies on member countries to detain and arrest criminals. Sudan is not a signatory of the ICC but it does have a moral duty to arrest these men. The Sudanese government has given no indication that they will and does not recognise the ICC's jurisdiction over any Sudanese citizen.

So now the world waits for the arrests...waits... and waits...

"Nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all
The needle returns to the start of the song
And we all sing along like before
And well all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow"

-Nothing Ever Happens, Del Amitri.

You have to wonder what exactly the world is waiting for. On the BBC the story does not even merit a top story on world news, only a top story in Africa, this truly is the hidden war.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I Laying plans contd...

[Heaven - number two of the five constant factors to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field]

7. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

Notes by Zephyrist:

Night and day considerations are obviously considerations of light. Small groups have the element of surprise in the dark while large groups may have trouble co-coordinating the battle in the dark.

Cold and heat, consider the extremes of desert and snow, even modern armies have difficulty with temperature extremes with equipment and men breaking down.

Times: attacks at dawn are quite popular especially if you are the side attacking out of the sun and if the enemy is sleepy.

Seasons: relates to cold and heat, some countries get so cold in winter you wouldn't want to fight at all while other countries can be wet in summer with major flooding, again best to give that battle a miss.