I wonder if anyone else has noticed that the countries all now in the bankruptcy court of the EU Monetary Commission, are all governed by 'socialist' politicians? Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Ireland (to a lesser extent) are all governed by socialists of varying shades of Pink to Red. The Irish government banked on the EU subsidies and, unfortunately for the populace, chose to spend furiously on all manner of social handouts and job creation on a round of spend it as fast as you can boys exercises. Greece has one of the most generous social security packages in Europe, with retirement at an age most people are just getting to the top of their careers. Italy hasn't managed to make up its mind about anything much except to play the old Roman game of throwing money to the 'plebians' - most of which winds up in the hands of the Mafia Bosses.
Spain lurched into socialism around the same time Britain elected that disaster Blair/Brown and with much the same outcome. Spend, spend, spend some more. When you run out, borrow, borrow again and then start printing money (This is what Wilson and Callaghan did in the 1970s) and then blame the rich for not paying enough. At least the UK is still afloat - just -but I have no great hopes of sense or even fiscal responsibility prevailing for long. As soon as the socialists get their hands on power again, the country will plunge even further into debt. Portugal is currently being bailed out by the EU Fund and Spain is in the waiting room so this will cost the more sensible peoples in Europe a lot before it gets any better.
Unfortunately it looks as if the only way to prevent us all winding up as economic basket cases is either to remove control of spending and borrowing from individual governments, but that is likely to be as popular with voters as the proverbial Pole Cat walking into a cocktail party. Alternatively, as Mrs Merkel has proposed (Interestingly she grew up in the former Democratic Republic of Germany - the 'Socialist Paradise' that needed the Stasi to spy on everyone and a wall to stop its citizens from running away from it, and has more fiscal nous in her little finger than the majority of Chancellors of the Exchequer of the last several UK Governments) that all national borrowing should be approved by the Monetary Committee of the EU or should be limited to a percentage of GNP.
Far to sensible I suspect for all socialists who think the money in everyone else's Bank Account is theirs to spend ...
Friday, 8 April 2011
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Windfarm Efficiency
Oh dear, the Department for the Environment caught by its own numbers...
The report by the John Muir Trust recently published and now widely circulated shows that, as usual, the Civil Servants running the government have been economical with the truth. So have any number of "Green" groups and the Windfarm industry. It seems all those windfarms built at vast expense (The Taxpayer's, of course!) have been generating only around 20% of the capacity various people claim for only 50% of the time. Worse for a third of the time, they are turning out less than 10% and even worse, they aren't reliable at times of peak demand.
And the supreme irony? This report was compiled from publically available data, by a group with "Green" credentials ...
It would make me laugh, if it wasn't for the vast amount of money Blair and his socialist apparatchiks have wasted on this - our money, part of that £1.4 TRILLION blackhole they created.
The report by the John Muir Trust recently published and now widely circulated shows that, as usual, the Civil Servants running the government have been economical with the truth. So have any number of "Green" groups and the Windfarm industry. It seems all those windfarms built at vast expense (The Taxpayer's, of course!) have been generating only around 20% of the capacity various people claim for only 50% of the time. Worse for a third of the time, they are turning out less than 10% and even worse, they aren't reliable at times of peak demand.
And the supreme irony? This report was compiled from publically available data, by a group with "Green" credentials ...
It would make me laugh, if it wasn't for the vast amount of money Blair and his socialist apparatchiks have wasted on this - our money, part of that £1.4 TRILLION blackhole they created.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Anniversary thoughts ...
Today marks my father's birth. He died at the age of 57 from a mix of health problems, many having their origins in the experiences he had in WW2. I cannot claim to have ever been 'close' to him, though he taught me my seamanship and a range of other things, most, I suspect, almost by accident. Born in 1923 on this day, he served in the Royal Navy 1940 - 46 and then took a discharge which brought him back to South Africa. He'd contracted malaria while serving in the Cheong War in Burma and suffered from this or the complications that brought with it for the rest of his life. He contracted TB somewhere along the way and my early years at school were marked by his constant visits and sometimes extended stays in the hospital. A chronic alcoholic (It has taken me years to discover what drove him to that!) he died in 1982.
RIP Neville Gray Cox 1923 - 1982
I can't help but wonder what he would make of the world he gave a large part of his sanity, his health and his youth to preserve. He rejected socialism utterly and fought against the very sort of dictatorship that is now being stealthily introduced by the descendants of those who so blithely sent his generation off to war. I seriously doubt he would consider his sacrifice worthwhile if he could see the Britain the descendants of his fellows in arms have created.
He was proud of the fact that his family had been among those that built the roads, railways and harbours and even some of the towns and cities that South Africa now boasts. The family were never 'officially' settlers, we were military - Royal Engineers and Navy - and somehow always seemed to end up there in the run up to it becoming first the Union and Dominion of the Empire and then when it became a Republic we had roots there and in the UK. He was among the many who felt betrayed by the British when they turned their backs on us - as they were already doing to other 'white' colonists they had planted and used around the world. And they certainly used us all. These were the colonists who volunteered to defend the Empire and Britain, in two World Wars, our dead lie in fields and graves far from their homes and families. Our efforts in the lands, in the mines and in commerce sent wealth pouring back into Britain and into the pockets of these same people who then turned their backs and sold their own kith and kin on the market of political expediency.
I watch the slow sovietisation of Britain, the strangulation of its commerce and industry by the combination of socialist misanthropes and Union prejudice and wonder why my father, his brothers and cousins, my grandfathers and great-grandfathers even bothered.
RIP Neville Gray Cox 1923 - 1982
I can't help but wonder what he would make of the world he gave a large part of his sanity, his health and his youth to preserve. He rejected socialism utterly and fought against the very sort of dictatorship that is now being stealthily introduced by the descendants of those who so blithely sent his generation off to war. I seriously doubt he would consider his sacrifice worthwhile if he could see the Britain the descendants of his fellows in arms have created.
He was proud of the fact that his family had been among those that built the roads, railways and harbours and even some of the towns and cities that South Africa now boasts. The family were never 'officially' settlers, we were military - Royal Engineers and Navy - and somehow always seemed to end up there in the run up to it becoming first the Union and Dominion of the Empire and then when it became a Republic we had roots there and in the UK. He was among the many who felt betrayed by the British when they turned their backs on us - as they were already doing to other 'white' colonists they had planted and used around the world. And they certainly used us all. These were the colonists who volunteered to defend the Empire and Britain, in two World Wars, our dead lie in fields and graves far from their homes and families. Our efforts in the lands, in the mines and in commerce sent wealth pouring back into Britain and into the pockets of these same people who then turned their backs and sold their own kith and kin on the market of political expediency.
I watch the slow sovietisation of Britain, the strangulation of its commerce and industry by the combination of socialist misanthropes and Union prejudice and wonder why my father, his brothers and cousins, my grandfathers and great-grandfathers even bothered.
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Fukushima and beyond ...
Interesting following the reportage of the Fukushima Nuclear problem in the press over the last weeks, the hysteria whipping reports grew in intensity for the first few, but now seems to have tailed off. I think the clincher in this came with the BBC reporting in their usual "Oh my Gosh! We're on the edge of our seats tones!" that radioactive iodine from the plant had been detected in Oxfordshire. The actuality programme an hour or so later put it into perspective, with the scientist almost unable to contain his amusement during the interview as he explained, calmly and very sensibly that, yes, some isotopes had been detected, but the radiation they offered did not, in fact, approach anything like the levels of the normal background radiation from the Oxfordshire landscape. Unfortunately, this wasn't relayed on their "Oh gosh Oh Golly, What are we going to do ..." News Programmes.
A day or two later I read something else on a site I frequent when I have time. This time a poem written by someone with obvious fear of anything nuclear, but utterly lacking in any knowledge of the realities. Her poem went off about the "nuclear blasts" at the Fukushima facility and how the landscape had been turned into a nuclear desert where plants will never grow again and birds drop out of the sky from radioactivity. Yes, I did have to read it, and yes, I had to go and take a long walk and cool down before responding ...
Fukushima is probably one of the best examples since Chernobyl of where and how not to build a reactor.The design was taken from a typical US facility and apparently the builders/designers, never stopped to consider that placing the emergency generators underground, on a coast regularly hit by tsunami and shaken by earthquakes, might not be the best plan. Despite all the speculation around the source of some of the radiation currently causing problems, there is, as yet, no evidence that the containment surrounding the reactor itself, has failed, though clearly the fuel rods have undergone a meltdown. At least the front page speculations in the newspapers have stopped, it is now a little further down the paper and probably will shortly vanish altogether. I am sorry to say that most of the media reporting I have seen has not been balanced and tended to fuel the "Ban the Bomb" sentiments rather than deal with the facts.
Here in Germany, the government has, sensibly, decided to close down the older reactors on advice from the scientists who advise them. This is a sensible move, not because these reactors are dangerous, but because the design and the technology that controls them is extremely old and updating any part of it simply creates further problems. That leaves us facing the question, of course, of how to replace their capacity to feed the nations needs. Here we find an interesting conundrum. Germany does have the capacity to supply the 30% currently provided by nuclear, with wind power. The problem there is that wind power is, without the government subsidy, the most expensive power available. It costs roughly 10 cents a megawatt compared to 2 cents for almost all other sources.
Nor is wind power 100% reliable. The wind does not always blow, and when it does it may not be within the parameters needed for these generators...
The problem is far more complex than simply nuclear versus coal versus wind versus solar power. The first step has to be to determine how we use power more efficiently so we actually need less, but that also runs into a problem with human nature. If I use less, it costs less, so I save, so I can use more ...
Probably the better way forward is to look at combinations of supply, so that all new buildings are more economical in all their power requirements. An intelligent building could be developed which would include solar panels and possibly wind generators, even piso-electric generators on stairs or passageway floors could be included so that simple movement can generate power. Using new lamps and lighting systems such as LEDs could also reduce the need for power, as could monitoring and shutting off lights in spaces that are not occupied. How about 'Climate Control' systems using natural airflows and humidity generating features to maintain balance and air circulation? Why build all glazed buildings in very hot climates where you then have to run a massive air conditioning plant just to make and keep it habitable?
Solar generators do exist and are viable, so is wind, gas, coal and probably nuclear, in a properly balanced system of supply, but before we can get anywhere near sorting out the solution we have to get rid of some of the hysteria and hype the media and certain pressure groups love to promote. If we can't do this simple thing, we might as well get used to living in mud huts off fruit and berries, without clean water, without modern medicines and without transport.
And, while we're at it - let's stop all the garbage about 'Anthropomorphic Global Warming' being caused by 'Carbon.'
A day or two later I read something else on a site I frequent when I have time. This time a poem written by someone with obvious fear of anything nuclear, but utterly lacking in any knowledge of the realities. Her poem went off about the "nuclear blasts" at the Fukushima facility and how the landscape had been turned into a nuclear desert where plants will never grow again and birds drop out of the sky from radioactivity. Yes, I did have to read it, and yes, I had to go and take a long walk and cool down before responding ...
Fukushima is probably one of the best examples since Chernobyl of where and how not to build a reactor.The design was taken from a typical US facility and apparently the builders/designers, never stopped to consider that placing the emergency generators underground, on a coast regularly hit by tsunami and shaken by earthquakes, might not be the best plan. Despite all the speculation around the source of some of the radiation currently causing problems, there is, as yet, no evidence that the containment surrounding the reactor itself, has failed, though clearly the fuel rods have undergone a meltdown. At least the front page speculations in the newspapers have stopped, it is now a little further down the paper and probably will shortly vanish altogether. I am sorry to say that most of the media reporting I have seen has not been balanced and tended to fuel the "Ban the Bomb" sentiments rather than deal with the facts.
Here in Germany, the government has, sensibly, decided to close down the older reactors on advice from the scientists who advise them. This is a sensible move, not because these reactors are dangerous, but because the design and the technology that controls them is extremely old and updating any part of it simply creates further problems. That leaves us facing the question, of course, of how to replace their capacity to feed the nations needs. Here we find an interesting conundrum. Germany does have the capacity to supply the 30% currently provided by nuclear, with wind power. The problem there is that wind power is, without the government subsidy, the most expensive power available. It costs roughly 10 cents a megawatt compared to 2 cents for almost all other sources.
Nor is wind power 100% reliable. The wind does not always blow, and when it does it may not be within the parameters needed for these generators...
The problem is far more complex than simply nuclear versus coal versus wind versus solar power. The first step has to be to determine how we use power more efficiently so we actually need less, but that also runs into a problem with human nature. If I use less, it costs less, so I save, so I can use more ...
Probably the better way forward is to look at combinations of supply, so that all new buildings are more economical in all their power requirements. An intelligent building could be developed which would include solar panels and possibly wind generators, even piso-electric generators on stairs or passageway floors could be included so that simple movement can generate power. Using new lamps and lighting systems such as LEDs could also reduce the need for power, as could monitoring and shutting off lights in spaces that are not occupied. How about 'Climate Control' systems using natural airflows and humidity generating features to maintain balance and air circulation? Why build all glazed buildings in very hot climates where you then have to run a massive air conditioning plant just to make and keep it habitable?
Solar generators do exist and are viable, so is wind, gas, coal and probably nuclear, in a properly balanced system of supply, but before we can get anywhere near sorting out the solution we have to get rid of some of the hysteria and hype the media and certain pressure groups love to promote. If we can't do this simple thing, we might as well get used to living in mud huts off fruit and berries, without clean water, without modern medicines and without transport.
And, while we're at it - let's stop all the garbage about 'Anthropomorphic Global Warming' being caused by 'Carbon.'
Monday, 4 April 2011
Herb 'Snail'
Our Herb spiral taking shape. In German it is called a 'Kräuter Schnecke' - a Herb Snail - and it first required that we dig out the position, then fill the excavation with pebbles over geodesic cloth. Part of the hole had to be refilled with earth, as the South facing third - the lowest part in the pictures - doesn't require the drainage. Now we are building it up, 'step' by 'step,' with sand over the pebbles, then earth and compost mixture and finally compost. The plants will be added toward the end of the month, when we can be sure the frosty weather is well past.
It will now get some plant pots around it for a bit of colour and 'Herbert,' our water tub Troll and his dragon companions will occupy a space adjoining the tallest part closest the camera. By midsummer it will be looking great, though we have a lot to do still.
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Spiral gardens ...
Our Herb Garden Spiral is now installed, but we are still filling it in accordance with the instructions with the layers of sand, earth and compost. It won't get its herbs installed until later this month - there is a still a risk of frost up here on our little mountain.
We got the construction finished just in time, the promised rain front arrived as we were clearing up and is providing just the right conditions for the sections we have finished to settle properly. Photos tomorrow probably!
We got the construction finished just in time, the promised rain front arrived as we were clearing up and is providing just the right conditions for the sections we have finished to settle properly. Photos tomorrow probably!
Friday, 1 April 2011
Digging holes ...
Earlier this week Mausi and I decided we'd build a herbal spiral in our garden. Good plan, as it makes a nice feature - then I started digging. Did I mention we live near the top of a mountain? Rock you'd expect, but beneath the thin layer of shale-like rock is solid clay ...
Well, by Tuesday, the hole was dug and the layers of gravel begun. Then it rained. Did I mention the clay? ...
Nothing daunted, we laid out the first tier of the spiral border - and discovered I'd been a bit generous with my digging the hole. OK, so that's not hard to fix either, but we're making progress. Now, it's Friday, the hole is full of water and gravel, the spiral will be built tomorrow...
Now, where did we put the plug in here ....
Well, by Tuesday, the hole was dug and the layers of gravel begun. Then it rained. Did I mention the clay? ...
Nothing daunted, we laid out the first tier of the spiral border - and discovered I'd been a bit generous with my digging the hole. OK, so that's not hard to fix either, but we're making progress. Now, it's Friday, the hole is full of water and gravel, the spiral will be built tomorrow...
Now, where did we put the plug in here ....
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