OneGuyFromBarlick

I wonder if the tanker was another of those secret Chinese deliveries of oil to North Korea and someone has sabotaged it? South Korea has already caught tankers smuggling oil to N. Korea.

I see diesel cars are coming under more criticism and a University of Aston report says they expect diesel `will account for just 15% of the UK market by 2025, down from a 50% peak'. Others are warning that a fall in diesel car numbers, although reducing nitrogen oxide emissions, will cause a rise in CO2 emissions. The motor industry aims to replace diesel with electric but it's going to take a long time. Perhaps the industry and the government should also be considering a short term measure for the interim period - reducing the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted by diesel cars. A quick way to do this would be to build them to a different specification - stop trying to make them all very fast and with high acceleration. The performance of cars is much greater than is necessary and only feeds the macho attitude of the Clarkson types. If top speed and acceleration were reduced then the emissions could be reduced too, both CO2 and NOx. It would be aided by stricter policing of speed limits and even more by reducing the speed limits.

First real exam of 2018 done and dusted, BTEC Hospitality, another tomorrow different subject.

Dead right Tiz. Diesel has been made the bad guy, look how sales have dropped. It is still the best option as regards emissions.As you say they make them less good by chasing performance. If I understand the technology correctly, with the new systems they could immediately alter the OS to improve them. Instead of acting immediately they have decided to go for the 'new thing' electrics in one form or the other.
HERE'S the latest report from Reuters on the tanker.

Changes to the law on purchasing via credit cards / debit cards has now come into affect. Link. The price that you pay for goods and services should be the same irrespective of whether you pay by cash or card. This is an EU law that came into affect last Sunday. I've some sympathy for the small retailer that has to pay a relatively large proportion of turnover for the payment service. The financial watchdog should now be jumping on this to get the charges reduced. I'm assuming that this ruling also applies to Councils and other large financial institutions but get the feeling that they will call them 'setup' charges or other loophole names.

BTEC Engineering sorted today last of the real exams for now, mocks in February.

P, new rules are fine but as you say, it all depends on how well they are enforced and what is done about loopholes.
What struck me yesterday was that my new credit card arrived. I activated it by phone. The automated lady's voice was crystal clear, absolutely no problems understanding the instructions and an easy transaction. Pity their other voice services are so deficient! It's not my hearing!

Today's Telegraph front page has a photo of a woman holding a Walker's crisp packet that was amongst all the waste washed up on beaches recently in Britain. It has a sell by date of 1997 and looks like almost like new.

Donald Trump will have his first presidential medical on Friday. He doesn't drink alcohol (his brother was an alcoholic and died at 43) and doesn't smoke but he takes no exercise (except a game of golf now and then) and has an awful diet of burgers and diet coke. The White House doctor will give a summary and it will be interesting to see his conclusions. I suppose if he finds anything wrong with his health Trump will say it's more fake news!

I see that an MP has called in Parliament for a ban on high-caffeine energy drinks for under-16s, following the suicide of a 25-year-old constituent. But there also needs to be a detailed consideration of possible links between energy drink consumption and road accidents. US studies show that high levels of caffeine can make a driver agitated and disoriented. The biggest danger is said to arise when the caffeine effect wears off because the driver then becomes drowsy and reaction times fall dramatically. An American lawyers' web site states: "The use and or abuse of energy drinks can impair a driver's thought processes and reaction times when operating a motor vehicle. If you are using high energy drinks on a regular basis and driving, you are exposing yourself not only to the risk of a potentially deadly car accident but to very serious legal repercussions as well. If you are involved in a car accident and it is proven that your consumption of an energy drink was the proximate cause of the accident. you may be held legally responsible for all of an injured driver's resulting, foreseeable damages."

I saw the 1980s lolly stick as well..... It's a tragedy....
I am in a frenzy of indifference as to Trump's 'health'. Look at Churchill, drank like a fish, smoked cigars, never took exercise and didn't even dress himself, he had a valet to do it for him. He managed to live to a ripe old age.
Many of the cans I litter pick are caffeine laced 'energy drinks'. I wonder how many are sold.....
What grabbed me was the fact that my credit card balance is OK, all the credits for the fraudulent payments have been applied. I followed Kev's advice and rang the company this morning. Heard every word that the recorded voice uttered.

Stanley wrote: ↑12 Jan 2018, 05:22 What grabbed me was the fact that my credit card balance is OK, all the credits for the fraudulent payments have been applied. I followed Kev's advice and rang the company this morning. Heard every word that the recorded voice uttered.

Good news and should put your mind at rest

It has Kev..... I feel I can order my castings now!

Castings ordered..... Card worked fine.
I got my three month energy statement yesterday. Expensive but supportable and I have a warm house. I worry less and less about cost these days, more important to be healthy and because I have no expensive vices like booze, women, drugs, holidays or travel even on a low income I can manage. All right, castings could be seen as an expensive hobby but they keep me healthy, occupied and active mentally and physically. Cheap at half the price!
The case which Facebook has settled by paying a teenager in N Ireland compensation for allowing him to be the victim of 'revenge porn' has triggered a possible increase in similar claims. I wish the complainants well, it is a horrible crime.
What it signals to me is that it is high time that the mistake made in the early days of the internet when Providers were designated as 'platforms, not 'publishers'. This should be changed immediately, putting the responsibility for matters like this squarely on the shoulders of the people making immense fortunes out of this.

Now the banks themselves are telling us that open banking will leave us exposed to hacking... LINK
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What can and cannot be recycled? Test yourself here: LINK
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Facebook....

Stanley wrote: ↑13 Jan 2018, 04:36 The case which Facebook has settled by paying a teenager in N Ireland compensation for allowing him to be the victim of 'revenge porn' has triggered a possible increase in similar claims. I wish the complainants well, it is a horrible crime. What it signals to me is that it is high time that the mistake made in the early days of the internet when Providers were designated as 'platforms, not 'publishers'. This should be changed immediately, putting the responsibility for matters like this squarely on the shoulders of the people making immense fortunes out of this.

Having worked as an editor at a large publishing company and also run a small publishing business, I strongly support Stanley's view that Facebook and the like should be treated the same as publishers. Newspaper, magazine and book publishers have to be very careful to ensure that what they publish doesn't flout regulations and doesn't get them sued for libel. They have to take this care no matter how much it costs them in time and money. Facebook should be subject to the same constraints. They might like to call themselves a `platform' but they profit from the material published on the platform and are responsible for monitoring its quality and its conformance to regulations.

The imminent failure of Carrillion. I had dealings with them in the 1980s when my architect Peter Dawson and myself were tasked with the initial negotiations for the building of a hotel at Ellenroad. This was slightly unusual but was because the Trust had a veto on the design of the new building as it had to conform to English Heritage restrictions as it was part of a Scheduled Monument site. Our assessment was that they were a lightweight outfit only interested in putting up a concrete box as cheaply as possible and making profit. Coates Brothers agreed and in the end gave them the bum's rush. It looks as though they have lost the ability to make money.......
Much more important, a visit by Yiota and Ash.... A delight! Our grand children are always special and Yiota is no exception, a beautiful affectionate young woman who really cares about me. Ahhhhhh....

I've just mentioned GKN, the British engineering firm, on the Politics thread and added this link to its history. I'm putting the link here too because the history is fascinating. Read about how a mother of 10 kids ran the company successfully in the mid 1800s! LINK

Link Tiz?
The arrival of the castings for my next project in the shed.
The fact I overslept an hour this morning!
The growing concern and fall out from the Carillion failure.

Link added to original post. And again here to save anyone going back: GKN

The winter storm that hasn't happened yet despite yellow warnings plastered all over the place. 1947 it wasn't......
The man on North West tonight who is in charge of the initial talks to devise a consultation that could lead to a study that could present evidence to the Treasury that might attract funds for schemes to improve Northern infrastructure that might be in place by 2050 if all goes well..... What could possibly go wrong! Do you ever get a funny feeling when you hear a spokesperson saying "We are looking at this".....?

Just found out from facebook that contractors are due to replace the Millenium bench on the top of Weets. I only mentioned the need in the walking thread the other day. Good fairy must have heard.

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From ongoing chat on facebook it looks like it will be a composite materials one (recycled plastic), just the job and what I mentioned in the other thread.

Re Stanley's "We are looking at this".

Lookout: Cap'n, Cap'n! There's an iceberg dead ahead!
Captain Theresa: No need for panic, we'll have a consultation...

Re Panbiker's bench...
The government should put pressure on the packaging companies to collect waste `non-recyclable' plastics packaging, make it into benches and give them for free to local authorities, National Trust etc.

The site went offline for about 10 minutes just before 12 midday. It was the 1&1 servers where the site is hosted. Temporarily no access via SFTP or access to the domains on the server. Came back up around midday.

How lucky we have been with the weather....
How cheap gas looks when it's brass monkey weather.....

If we'd still been running our CH on oil we'd have seen a 40% increase in cost since August when we moved house.

I found this Guardian story hard to believe until I read that it involves Vincent Tchenguiz...
`Residents of tower with Grenfell-style cladding told they must foot £2m bill' LINK
"Owner of Citiscape complex in Croydon has denied responsibility to pay for work, with leaseholders left facing a bill of £31,300 per flat. “Terrified” residents of a housing complex clad in similar flammable panels to Grenfell tower are facing a bill of £2m to make their homes safe after the building’s owner said it was not its responsibility to pay. The freehold is owned by a company owned by the family trust of the multi-millionaire property mogul Vincent Tchenguiz, and its property agent has told residents that work recladding the Citiscape complex in Croydon will begin “once full funds are in place”. The government told the agent to remove the cladding five months ago and Sajid Javid, the housing, communities and local government secretary, last month suggested the landlord was responsible for ensuring residents’ safety. But freeholder Proxima GR Properties has insisted that it is not obliged to cover the costs of the work, warning leaseholders in the 93 apartments that the bill will increase if they delay payment. Leaseholders are fighting the charge of up to £31,300 per flat, which could be levied as early as March. Some said it was more than they earned in a year and that they feared for their safety. In a statement a group of them said they had been “left terrified by what could happen in the event of a fire”. Fire wardens are patrolling constantly at a cost of £4,000 a week, which the company is also planning to pass on to leaseholders."

I thought about you now being on gas when I saw the report of the price rise of oil Tiz.
I heard that report as well and added it to my reasons why living in a leasehold flat was high risk today. Some landlords are exploiting 'maintenance charges unmercifully.
The fact that my feet were cold in bed last night. I know it's due to the fact that I always have the window open a bit, I enjoy the cold air across my face, but last night was unusual and the wind must have been more Northerly than the forecast.
How nice it is to be active in the shed again!



Lots of hand work.... Nothing better for the body and brain than light exercise using your hands and doing good work! (I can hear Sue shouting "Hear Hear!")
The report on Liverpool prison.... disgraceful and an indication of wider problems in the prison service, many of them rooted in the funding cuts but not exclusively.
Later.... I see from the BET that Earby Youth Hostel has got a £15,000 grant towards their work refurbishing the original home of Katherine Glazier. Good!