Saturday, November 22
Wonderful Winter Weather
Snow and hail showers today, with a cutting wind. Took the car to the garage and had to walk home in one of those showers. The snow and hail, no problem, the wind, lethal. Absolutely frozen by the time I got home, but what a joy to see winter come when winter should. Not even out of November and we have some snow. What I want to know now is where else on the planet is it colder than normal?
Friday, November 21
Peverse??
These are strange times. In fifteen months we have gone from a world where we were "living in a new paradigm" where "Boom and Bust have been abolished" to a world where the wheels are falling off.
This, supposedly, is all down to confidence. Commentators who warned that there would be a price to pay when people realised what was happening were called "naysayers" and derided as being old fashioned and out of touch. All of these people, especially Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in the Daily Telegraph and Jeff Randall, also of the Telegraph.
I don't think these commentators are laughing, they realise that times are much too serious for that, but they would be right to say "I told you so".
From my perspective, we live in an age where the amount of information and the amount of knowledge available to the average person is huge compared with previous generations. How many of the people that became so poor that they ended up in Hooverville knew of what was happening around the world. There was radio, television is was in it's infancy, and many were too poor to even own a radio.
That Depression was, perhaps, the first indication that there were too many people to easily support on the planet. However, since that we have increased the global population from just over two billion to over six billion, with the forecasters taking the population over nine billion by 2050. IF the population gets that high, we will either have to live life in a totally different way, as if we don't, we will end up living in a world where all the natural resources will either have been used or are difficult to obtain.
In the meantime we have scientists telling us a pandemic of influenza or some other disease is about 20 years overdue, a pandemic on the scale of the 1918 Spanish flu would kill, if the spread and lethality was similar, in excess of ninety million. Of course, if H5N1 mutated, at current lethality rates, that would be more like one to two billion and finally, if the rumoured smallpox samples escaped, then with the lack of immunity now, it could hit fify percent of the worlds population, so a round three billion.
That would wreck the capitalist paradigm that the world currently operates on. Growth would be unheard of for decades, if not centuries. But perhaps it would move us back to being more responsible with our environment.
So here I am, sitting in my centrally heated house, typing on a computer, connected by ADSL broadband to the wonderful invention the "Web", where I can read information on UK Politics from Guido or Ian Dale, get alternative views on the news from Drudge or Al-Jeezera, or look at what Kondretieff waves are in economics and their consequences
Enjoy it while you can afford it, it may get much more expensive as we move forward
This, supposedly, is all down to confidence. Commentators who warned that there would be a price to pay when people realised what was happening were called "naysayers" and derided as being old fashioned and out of touch. All of these people, especially Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in the Daily Telegraph and Jeff Randall, also of the Telegraph.
I don't think these commentators are laughing, they realise that times are much too serious for that, but they would be right to say "I told you so".
From my perspective, we live in an age where the amount of information and the amount of knowledge available to the average person is huge compared with previous generations. How many of the people that became so poor that they ended up in Hooverville knew of what was happening around the world. There was radio, television is was in it's infancy, and many were too poor to even own a radio.
That Depression was, perhaps, the first indication that there were too many people to easily support on the planet. However, since that we have increased the global population from just over two billion to over six billion, with the forecasters taking the population over nine billion by 2050. IF the population gets that high, we will either have to live life in a totally different way, as if we don't, we will end up living in a world where all the natural resources will either have been used or are difficult to obtain.
In the meantime we have scientists telling us a pandemic of influenza or some other disease is about 20 years overdue, a pandemic on the scale of the 1918 Spanish flu would kill, if the spread and lethality was similar, in excess of ninety million. Of course, if H5N1 mutated, at current lethality rates, that would be more like one to two billion and finally, if the rumoured smallpox samples escaped, then with the lack of immunity now, it could hit fify percent of the worlds population, so a round three billion.
That would wreck the capitalist paradigm that the world currently operates on. Growth would be unheard of for decades, if not centuries. But perhaps it would move us back to being more responsible with our environment.
So here I am, sitting in my centrally heated house, typing on a computer, connected by ADSL broadband to the wonderful invention the "Web", where I can read information on UK Politics from Guido or Ian Dale, get alternative views on the news from Drudge or Al-Jeezera, or look at what Kondretieff waves are in economics and their consequences
Enjoy it while you can afford it, it may get much more expensive as we move forward
Winter Arrives
British weather, it's just magic. Today the weather can best be
described as awful, switching within minutes between sunshine and heavy
showers, predicted to turn wintry as the day goes on. Add to this the
wind, a cold northerly that gusts hugely during these showers, and you
have a day where it is best to stay indoors and watch.
Update: It's cold and blowing a hooley, but so far at least no snow. Currently have some blue sky, but the excellent Netweather suggests on it's radar that we may get something later.
described as awful, switching within minutes between sunshine and heavy
showers, predicted to turn wintry as the day goes on. Add to this the
wind, a cold northerly that gusts hugely during these showers, and you
have a day where it is best to stay indoors and watch.
Update: It's cold and blowing a hooley, but so far at least no snow. Currently have some blue sky, but the excellent Netweather suggests on it's radar that we may get something later.
Wednesday, November 19
Cars, Gas Guzzlers and Eco Warriors
So General Motors, Ford and Chrysler want to follow the banks lead and beg for money from the American Government.
First they were sent packing, now they come back needing smaller sums of money, but I have a feeling that the real reason is that they will wait until the new President is installed and then say they need more.
Meanwhile here in the UK we have people camping near the runway at Stansted because we must all stop flying. Hmmm maybe, maybe not
First they were sent packing, now they come back needing smaller sums of money, but I have a feeling that the real reason is that they will wait until the new President is installed and then say they need more.
Meanwhile here in the UK we have people camping near the runway at Stansted because we must all stop flying. Hmmm maybe, maybe not
Tuesday, November 18
Travelling
I travelled today from Stansted to Hannover and have something to say of the Airport, the journey and the Dutch.
Travelling at 20:40 means that Stansted is usually quite quiet, tonight it was very quiet, reminded me of what it was like 10 years ago. A joy to travel through, no real delays, the staff themselves under less pressure were polite and helpful. But, why, when I was quizzed by a policeman as to where I was going did I feel slightly disconcerted when, on being asked what the reason for my travel was, my reply of “Business” was not enough. The next question was “What’s the nature of your business?” I felt like saying “None of your business”, but instead told the truth “Helping to implement a computer system”. Why do they need to know? Makes no difference to them at all, and I have never been asked, when in any country in Europe, “Why are you here?”
I, and my co worker, needed a bite to eat, and it was during that time that the comment on the Dutch came up. Sitting on a table next to us was a Dutch guy who, having eaten, asked for his bill, so far so good. He decided to pay for it by card, again, normally not a problem. He put the card in, the waitress started to ask him to put in his PIN when his mobile rang. He then kept the waitress waiting while he dealt with the phone call, by the time he’d finished the machine had timed out and the whole transaction had to be repeated. Why couldn’t he just have asked the person on the phone to wait 10 seconds instead on making the waitress wait for minutes? The Dutch are some of the most rude people I have met. The Germans, on the other hand are some of the most gracious, they can be full of righteous wrath if you cross them, but if you behave in a normal fashion, the Germans put us Brits to shame for courteousness.
Finally the journey with the ever reliable Air Berlin. Ryanair could learn lessons in how to run an airline from this lot. The plane was on time, the cabin staff were very good, we arrived slightly early and the baggage appeared within 10 minutes. Totally brilliant.
Travelling at 20:40 means that Stansted is usually quite quiet, tonight it was very quiet, reminded me of what it was like 10 years ago. A joy to travel through, no real delays, the staff themselves under less pressure were polite and helpful. But, why, when I was quizzed by a policeman as to where I was going did I feel slightly disconcerted when, on being asked what the reason for my travel was, my reply of “Business” was not enough. The next question was “What’s the nature of your business?” I felt like saying “None of your business”, but instead told the truth “Helping to implement a computer system”. Why do they need to know? Makes no difference to them at all, and I have never been asked, when in any country in Europe, “Why are you here?”
I, and my co worker, needed a bite to eat, and it was during that time that the comment on the Dutch came up. Sitting on a table next to us was a Dutch guy who, having eaten, asked for his bill, so far so good. He decided to pay for it by card, again, normally not a problem. He put the card in, the waitress started to ask him to put in his PIN when his mobile rang. He then kept the waitress waiting while he dealt with the phone call, by the time he’d finished the machine had timed out and the whole transaction had to be repeated. Why couldn’t he just have asked the person on the phone to wait 10 seconds instead on making the waitress wait for minutes? The Dutch are some of the most rude people I have met. The Germans, on the other hand are some of the most gracious, they can be full of righteous wrath if you cross them, but if you behave in a normal fashion, the Germans put us Brits to shame for courteousness.
Finally the journey with the ever reliable Air Berlin. Ryanair could learn lessons in how to run an airline from this lot. The plane was on time, the cabin staff were very good, we arrived slightly early and the baggage appeared within 10 minutes. Totally brilliant.
Money Money Money
Niall Ferguson's series, "The Ascent of Money" looks like it could be good. Did you know that the root of credit is "Credo" Latin for I believe? What do you believe to loan money? That someone will repay the money that they have borrowed.
Why has it all gone wrong now? Because the heirs of the Moneylenders mantle became too greedy, not content with being able to make money by making the borrower pay back what was borrowed plus a bit more. The "bit more" is the important bit, how much that bit is, depends on many things, how long it's to be borrowed for, how "Credit Worthy" the person is and whether the money is "underwritten" or guaranteed. Credit worthy? Then you will be offered a low interest rate. Questionable Credit Rating? You pay more!!
Loan sharks are the direct decendents of Shylock from The Merchant of Venice. In fact, there may be many of our bankers that will, if Dante is correct, end up in their own circle of hell.where usurers are interned to suffer eternal damnation, so there may be some justice after all.
Why has it all gone wrong now? Because the heirs of the Moneylenders mantle became too greedy, not content with being able to make money by making the borrower pay back what was borrowed plus a bit more. The "bit more" is the important bit, how much that bit is, depends on many things, how long it's to be borrowed for, how "Credit Worthy" the person is and whether the money is "underwritten" or guaranteed. Credit worthy? Then you will be offered a low interest rate. Questionable Credit Rating? You pay more!!
Loan sharks are the direct decendents of Shylock from The Merchant of Venice. In fact, there may be many of our bankers that will, if Dante is correct, end up in their own circle of hell.where usurers are interned to suffer eternal damnation, so there may be some justice after all.
Sunday, November 16
GM Crops. Why??
A multi generational study of mice conducted in Austria appears to have reignited the debate as to whether GM crops cause long term changes in fertility and the health of offspring. The report (which can be read in full Here) was commissioned to discover whether there were any statistically significant changes over several generations of mice when the control group were fed non GM crops and the test group had a diet that included 33% GM modified maize. From the report it appears that this was much less a "Force Feed" regime, it was much more a "we'll let the mice live a normal life" if life can be normal in a lab.
The important part is that there were differences in litter size and offspring size, with smaller litters and lower birth weights.
Now the important question. Why do we need GM crops? I've heard people say that if we don't have them we will not be able to feed the number of people on the planet. Perhaps having LESS people on the planet wouldn't be a bad idea. The other point I've heard made is that we would "return" to much more labour intensive methods of weed control. So what if we do? Even in my area, rural North Norfolk, I've seen crops for the last 20 years grown without any GM manipulation increase yields thanks to better husbandry.
The driving force for GM is money, certain companies see it as a way that they can make large amounts of money, and when there was, at some point an idea of introducing a "Sterility Gene", producing a crop that cannot be used as seed is totally unethical. We have farmers everywhere having, for countless generations, using their harvest as their seed for the following year. These companies, if they have their way, would stop that dead in it's tracks -- literally. After the harvest, you want to grow something, you BUY new seed. Who provides that? They do!! And as a result they make more money. What happens if you don't buy seed, whether GM or not, you cannot grow anything.
I only have one question, where are the ethics in this?
The important part is that there were differences in litter size and offspring size, with smaller litters and lower birth weights.
Now the important question. Why do we need GM crops? I've heard people say that if we don't have them we will not be able to feed the number of people on the planet. Perhaps having LESS people on the planet wouldn't be a bad idea. The other point I've heard made is that we would "return" to much more labour intensive methods of weed control. So what if we do? Even in my area, rural North Norfolk, I've seen crops for the last 20 years grown without any GM manipulation increase yields thanks to better husbandry.
The driving force for GM is money, certain companies see it as a way that they can make large amounts of money, and when there was, at some point an idea of introducing a "Sterility Gene", producing a crop that cannot be used as seed is totally unethical. We have farmers everywhere having, for countless generations, using their harvest as their seed for the following year. These companies, if they have their way, would stop that dead in it's tracks -- literally. After the harvest, you want to grow something, you BUY new seed. Who provides that? They do!! And as a result they make more money. What happens if you don't buy seed, whether GM or not, you cannot grow anything.
I only have one question, where are the ethics in this?
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