Supermarket Logs

We have three supermarkets next to each other who sell logs within easy distance.  namely ALDI, B&M, and Tesco.  I decided to compare their offering for firewood and do a practical test.

Lidl

Lidl advertise log bags of 8Kg for £5 in their leaflet. This is a good price. BUT they never have them actually for sale in our store.

 

Our Log burner

 

We decided to keep our multi fuel stove for another year and run it on logs.We have been running it on smokless fuel up until now.

Music Balance

We were listening to Boom Radio this morning but we finally had to turn it off.  All we could hear was the rhythm tracks.  The vocals were completely swamped.  Now this is on recordings we had heard many times before so we know how they are supposed to sound.  

I guess the problem is that the DJ, or whoever controls the sound has set his "balance" or "pan" control way off centre.  Accidents happen, but not checking what is being broadcast is just a case of NGAS (Not Giving A Shit).

The US Election

Americans were voting as started to write this.  

Coincidentally this was the day in the UK where we traditionally burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament.  The bonfire is usually accompanied by fireworks.

In America, folk who try to overturn an election and march on the Capitol, get invited to stand at the next election. In the UK, Guy Fawkes was hung.

I thought there might be fireworks in the UK and the USA over the next few days.

Which Magazine

I have just cancelled my Which subscription.  I have been a member for around five years,  and have found their reviews fairly useful but they tended to be aimed at higher end products than the ones I buy. (For example:- best buy toaster £77.99) I would probably still be a member if not for the recent episode.

The Future of Artificial Intelligence

The Logical Destiny of AI

Let’s do a little extrapolating from the present to the next few hundred years based on developments over the last few years.

The Earth in Perspective

Our planet

Usually when the statistics of the earth are described, diagrams are used. Somewhere in the description is the disclaimer “Not to scale”. There is a reason for this, it’s almost impossible to show the relative dimensions on a paper diagram.

Climate - Hitting the Fan

We were warned

“Enjoy life while you can. Because if you’re lucky it’s going to be 20 years before it hits the fan.”

James Ephraim Lovelock CH CBE FRS (26 July 1919 – 26 July 2022)

Open Mic Etiquette

Not be a minute. I’ll just tune up.

Can I have the music stand please. It’s a bit low for me, can you raise it please?

Now what will I sing? I Oh I know. It’s in my book here. Now let me find it. Sorry about this I had it a few minutes ago.

Right, here we go (Strums a chord) Hang on that’s in a different tuning, not be a minute. Has anyone a tuner I could borrow?

(Spends two minutes tuning his guitar)

The Housing Trap

Why aren't we building more houses?

Well, let us start off by imagining the situation if we were building lots of council houses. These would have restrictions of course. Firstly they would NOT be for sale, neither would they be available to anyone as a second home.  So what are the consequences?

Good old South West Water

Drought??

Cornwall has been under a hosepipe ban since August 2022.

In November 2022, SW water said:-

Reservoir levels across the South West are now very low and, in particular, are extremely low in Cornwall, following one of the driest periods in the region for over 130 years. Levels continue to fall and will remain low for the foreseeable future, without a sustained and substantial period of rainfall this Autumn, which is not currently forecasted.

They seem to have removed this paragraph from their website now!

I thought I'd check with an independent rainfall monitoring site.  I chose Newquay Weather station.

Fining Pieces of Paper

What Harm have these poor pieces of paper done you?

The government has just fined Southern water £90,000,000 for pouring sewage into the sea.

The Health and Safety Executive site is filled with instances of companies being fined for breaking regulations.

We have fined banks;  we have  fined hospitals;  we have fined network rail

This is ludicrous beyond belief.

Amazon’s AI (Artificial Idiot)

Our shower switch broke.  So I ordered another on Amazon Prime for next day delivery.  I got an email saying it had ben dispatched.

It didn't arrive, nor the next day, not the next day.  So I tried to contact Amazon.

The NHS War zone

Is "War Zone" a strong word here?

• Vladamir Putin and the Russian government are waging war on Ukraine, and civilian deaths are currently running at 188 per month (December 2022)
• Jeremy Hunt and the UK government are waging war on the NHS and civilian deaths are estimated to be running at around 2000 per month.

A Universal Truth

There can only be one Universe - simply because "uni" means one.

In the Multiverse there are not Universes - only Verses.

Only a Fraction

“Only a fraction“. It’s a phrase that is in very common use. What does it mean?

A quarter, an eighth, fifteen sixteenths or maybe seven sevenths?  Or is it even vulgar, like twelve tenths?  

After a long investigation, taking only a fraction of the time, and using only a fraction of the resources that a prestigious university would use, I have found the answer.

The Liz Truss Plan

In a nutshell:-

We have to keep we rich getting richer at the rate to which we have become accustomed.  So that means that distractions like climate change, levelling up, and reducing inequality will have to take a back seat.  
I, and probably my party, will be booted out at the next election, so we will milk the public for as much as we can for the next two years while creating the biggest mess we can for the next government.

Everyone's a Liar

Why does everyone Lie?

This post was originally posted on 2nd April 2020, but todays events are simply staggering.

Boris Johnson, a consumate liar to the core, is now in danger of losing his job after been proven to have lied and to parliament which breaks the ministerial code. This IS a resignation matter.

Education.

The Education Gravy Train

This is a follow on from a post three years ago “Education education education” Not much has changed.

This caught my eye. David Willets, a former Tory MP and a current Tory Lord says that we need to increase the number of places at University to avoid our children getting low paid jobs.

Now, is he an idiot?  

DATA

 I was an electronic engineer for most of my working life.  During all of that time I used the word “data” lots of times, every day.

It was never a plural word as it seems to be used now. Neither was it a singular word.  It was used in a similar way to “water” or “hay” or “air”.  As in:-