Did anyone get news of the hydrogen fuel station fire just outside Oslo in Norway? It happened about a week ago. Norway has shut down all of its hydrogen fuel stations, so people with hydrogen fuel-cell cars [yes, there are a few] had nowhere to fuel up. They have been supplied with loaner cars until an investigation is finished into the fire. In all reports outside of Norway, the news says that nobody was hurt. Yet several people went to hospital. Reason being that the ball of flame caused such a pressure wave that passing motorists had airbags go off in their cars and they either crashed or received minor injuries because of that. Toyota and Hyundai stopped selling HFC cars too. So, did you hear about it? Because I heard nothing until it appeared in EV news outlets. This is the power of the fossil fuel industry in action. Hydrogen isn't inherently dangerous, provided it is controlled, [don't think about airships fires from the 1930's as that's not representative], but the FF industry are so scared that a negative conclusion will get out that the word has gone round not to report this globally in any big way. All you have to do is suggest you might pull advertising from a news station's budget and Bob's your Uncle. Kind of gives a decent reason for maintaining news independence, doesn't it? https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/new...mean-the-fuel-is-inherently-unsafe/ar-AACPZMz Oh, and if this had been an EV battery fire you'd certainly have heard about it.
Eastbourne : BBC News - Eastbourne sees 1,000 lightning strikes in one hour https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-48688194
A friend was confronted by a tornado on the Downs crossing the Island a week ago and no one believed her till it appeared in all the papers.
Two Australians in the outback come across a hole in the ground and can't see the bottom one said I wonder how deep it is? They find a cinder block and decide to throw it down the hole and they hear nothing. About a minute later a goat comes trotting along tries to jump the hole misses and goes down the hole and still the hear nothing. A couple of minutes later a farmer asks have you seen my goat.? They say yes it jumped down this hole. The farmer replies how the bloody hell did he manage that? He was chained to a cinder block
I have just been to a talk by Adam Kay - author of “This Is Going To Hurt - the diaries of a junior doctor”. Very interesting - I didn’t realise that the term “junior doctor” covers ALL doctors from as soon as they graduate until they reach the level of Consultant. So, a “junior doctor” may have 20 years experience, a PhD in a specialist subject and many years of working in increasingly difficult conditions. The NHS currently is understaffed by around 7% of its workforce (about 100,000 people he estimates) and the “investment” by the current government has been less than 1% p.a. for the last 5+ years (he reckons you need 3% to keep the service at its existing level). He applauds the services of ALL NHS frontline staff from porters, through physios, etc to medical staff, but abhors the lack of counselling for what he considers “awful tragedies” (he talks about the one which made him quit being a doctor and it’s so unbelievable that it made many people cry - and he says he was told to “get over it”) - wfich, on average, will happen to any doctor at least once every 5 years. The other thing I learned was that “junior doctors” are moved between hospitals every year in order to increase their experience. Sounds good, except the areas are massive (there is one for Scotland for example) which means they can rarely settle. More pressure. Anyway, it’s made me even more grateful for the wonderful service they all give, regardless and he says the best thing you can do if you have a friend or relation who works in the NHS is to be there to listen, help and support in the hard times. Oh - and he really really hates Jeremy Hunt for what he said and did as Health Minister .....
I know someone who is a junior doctor in her 2nd year of ‘placement’ after all the years of study. She has often found herself on her own on specialist wards that she’s never worked in before. They’re just so understaffed! The pressure that you’re already under is immense, the 14 hour shifts with barely a break, let alone without anyone to consult and the fear that if you make a mistake you could be sued or end up facing a prison sentence. They really do do an amazing job, especially considering they’re stretched so thin. The NHS really needs investment.
So I'm trying to get home from work on the train during this strike. I use south western's journey tracker to do the full Eastleigh sholing journey. Only option is says is 2 hours which is insane. So I'm like **** it, I'll take the train to Southampton and get the bus home. So I look at trains leaving Eastleigh. And then I see one that's going to Fareham. And I know that the connection through fareham running because took that train in the morning and that should only take 50 minutes which is fair enough. Checked fareham and it is. But the full journey doesnt show on the website. So I don't trust as theres an error somewhere so I send south western a message which they quickly respond to saying he's checked the schedule and the Fareham train isn't running and I should make alternative arrangements. I respond saying your website says it is and showed a screenshot. He promptly replying saying thanks for letting us know I've reported it. (No apology) So after work I go to the station intending to go via Southampton and bus but then I look at the board and the damn fareham train is on it. But now it says its ****ing delayed with no ETA. Is it coming, isn't it? Its ****ing schrodingers train. I haven't got a ****ing clue if it exists or not. Sent that picture to south western but no reply this time. **** that train I'm taking the bus.
I was on the Isle of Wight yesterday. Went Off-Peak via Soton Central > Fareham > Portsmouth Harbour > Wightlink Cat > Ryde Pier > Shanklin. Stopped at Smallbrook Junction to get on the Steam Railway to Wooten. Came back and finished the journey to Shanklin. At Soton Central I'd asked Train Info about final return trains of the day. I could arrive back as late as gone Midnight. So we had leeway. Well, we had our day, and went to start our return by catching the 18:38 from Shanklin. 18:38 came and went. No train. Several people were waiting. Smartphone out, and checked. I informed several confused older people. They went off in a huff - no 'thanks'. Brexit Britain. My Netherlands buddy remarked that they were as rude as his fellow NLers. I reckoned a lot more. Four trains were cancelled, and the earliest was 20:18. So we dived into a very nice little recommended [Google] Chinese restaurant [we weren't really that hungry actually] and had a couple of delicious meals with beers. About 20:00 we waddled out of the restaurant and up the hill to the station where we sat and rested our bellies [thankfully, being Chinese food, the uncomfortable feeling didn't last too long]. And the whole thing then proceded like clockwork. The Ryde train got in a couple of minutes before the Cat tied up. The Southampton bound train was waiting for us. When it works, it works. By the way, here's an idea of Victorian Third Class - a compartment. A tank loco called Royal Engineer pulled us. I hadn't been on the Ryde Pier Head train since I was a kid, though I've sailed past it loads of times. Both the buddy and I couldn't help remarking how cool it was. And it was. A 1938 London Underground electric train flashing through the countryside. Absolutely perfect for the Island. I understand they are to be replaced by Battery Electric trains in time, which will be re-charged at each Terminus. Even better. Being electric, this little underground train accelerated like a bat out of hell compared to most other trains. Must have been a bit of shock when they were first used.
The sad little London Underground train that obediently flashed through the countryside, on Ryde Pier Head station. If the line and rolling stock was properly maintained it would be excellent. Although my NL mate absolutely loved it, he said that this level of dirt and obvious lack of maintenance just simply wouldn't be allowed inthe Netherlands. They'd close sections of the line and re-open several months later.
Tipping points are being reached: No doubt Trump would say, 'Pfft, only a millimetre?' That's because he's a clueless idiot.
Just making some enquiries on ebay and found what I was looking for really quickly. So I had time to spare. Occasionally I might look for spuirous things on ebay, but the usual problem is - what to look for. Today, I remembered one straight away. My 1960s Apollo 11 moonshot information pack. This is the thing: please log in to view this image The Philips record wasn't in my kit. Maybe there were two versions. Anyway, my first ebay search enquiry was 'Apollo 11 data kit' and bang, first go, top answer: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Touchdow...m1ccb2a1ce8:g:cUEAAOSwRG1cdsyM&frcectupt=true I shall certainly have to find mine to make sure it's in good fettle.