Archive of Postings to October 2016 |
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So Soon! |
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Grandads may find this hard to believe but .. submissions for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest have to be in by next Tuesday.
And we expect the same dismal result for the UK as last year unless the in-built voting bias can be overcome with a truly spectacular song. However, after the Brexit vote, the quality of the song may not be a deciding factor. But perhaps Graham can reduce the damage, in Kiev next May, by issuing a groveling apology on behalf of the senile old voters who forced such a terrible result on the elite and glitterati ... |
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tags: song, contest, BBC, UK, Eurovision, try again |
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Meme of the Day |
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tags: waiting, Brexit, four months, no sign, no news |
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Meme of the Day |
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tags: euro, EU, European Union, stuck, sinking, printing money, quantitative easing, QE |
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New Independence Move |
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While attention was directed at Scotland a second part of the UK has been working towards staying in the European Union. In an unpredicted move Hoxton has become the next to announce its aim of breaking with Westminster and switching its allegiance to Brussels.
When contacted the HIP spokesperson, Nikolai Popescu, said that the party would “work with others across the political divide to try to save Hoxton from the fate of a hard Brexit. We will demand the powers to keep Hoxton in the single market even if the UK opts to leave. But if the Westminster government rejects our demands and insists on taking Hoxton down a path that hurts our economy, costs jobs, lowers our living standards and damages our reputation as an open, welcoming, diverse region, then be in no doubt that Hoxton must have a second vote on EU membership and its ultimate independence. San Marino, Andorra and the Vatican have shown that small, land-locked communities can survive and prosper in Europe. Power to Hoxtonia Europa!” We await developments with interest .. |
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tags: EU, leave, referendum, UK, European Union, London, unilateral, independence, HIP |
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We Can’t Afford To Be Without It |
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I’d like to take the opportunity to remind people why HS2 is so important for the West Midlands. Put simply, we can’t afford to be without it. HS2 is an opportunity to create jobs, bring investment and build for future generations. It is an opportunity to provide better and faster links for our region, not just to London but to the north of England and Scotland as well as Europe. Centro Chief Executive, Geoff Inskip 19-Aug-2011
Earlier this week came the news that a You Gov survey in Birmingham has found that 51% of people in the city think HS2 will be a waste of money while only 32% thought HS2 is a good investment. Yet only yesterday Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed that the government would press ahead with HS2 development. So despite changes in some senior positions and declining support in the city with the most to gain HS2 remains a project that has become too big to stop. Sadly when it does eventually become operational it will be London that will gain at the expense of Birmingham. But at least Birmingham and Doncaster will have their new National Colleges for High Speed Rail and the promise of some graduate level engineers for future projects. Let us hope that it’s UK applicants that get preference now that EU constraints are on the way out. |
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tags: HS2, London, Birmingham, expense, delay, training, students |
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Are We There Yet? |
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This year was going to be the year of the smart meter for energy suppliers. And as Grandad reported in August the Smart Data Communications network was due to be declared live last Friday. However no announcement has appeared on the company’s website and Which? are exclusively reporting that the live date has slipped again.
But the network will surely go live soon and then the energy companies will renew their efforts to convince us that smart meters are good for us. Even if the current Mark 1 meters do not allow you to switch suppliers later. But one thing that the Which? report did not say is that this network live date is only for Version 1.2 of the network. It really needs to have the extra functionality of Version 1.3 and that is not promised until the end of November 2016. Or rather it was promised for then before the latest slippage. So it looks like 2016 will slip away before the network is actually fully functional .. no surprises there I guess. |
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tags: energy, UK, GB, meters, delay |
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Monster Vac |
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Spotted on Smart Energy GB website - Case study: Ian Roberts, Crook, County Durham ... We had our smart meter fitted in August 2015. It was really straightforward – done within an hour. Since we both work from home, we saw that our kettle, which we used to boil up to 20 times a day, caused a clear spike on our usage graph.
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tags: Dumb, Energy, UK, GB, meters, EU, nanny state |
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Where Are They? |
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Obviously all flat maps are inaccurate in some way due to the curvature of the earth. But this distortion - plus the position of the weather satellite - should not cause town / cities to be relocated. Yet places on the BBC weather map used by Look North have recently seemed to be in some unusual positions when compared to traditional maps or indeed digital imaging. According to Google Earth the straight line distance from Doncaster to Sheffield is 28kms and from Doncaster to Leeds is 42kms; yet Sheffield looks to be further away. Leeds to Settle is 56kms, twice the distance of Doncaster to Sheffield yet the map, if anything, has it shorter. All an unavoidable effect of satellite imaging? Possibly - but one that is routinely overcome by other forecasters; including other parts of the BBC .. |
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tags: BBC, weather, map, devil in the detail |
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Could The Last To Leave Please Turn Out The Lights |
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With so many of the ruling classes wanting the UK to stay a member of the European Union it is no surprise that the leaving process will face plenty of obstacles and delays. However only a dwindling number of die-hard EU fanatics believe that leaving can be delayed forever. So one day it will actually happen. But how best to handle the actual separation is not clear to me or - I suspect - many other Grandads. But that does not prevent us making a few guesses. Step 1 should probably be for the PM to send a letter to one or more of the EU presidents saying we are leaving - as per article 50 of the EU treaty. (see right) Various factions are seeking to delay this first step in both the Commons and the Lords. Step 2 should be to suspend all payments to the EU - pending the conclusion of the leaving negotiations. This would, no doubt, trigger an unfavourable reaction from the EU. But once committed to leaving we need to hang onto all our funds if only to cover ourselves against the EU stopping or restricting the UK’s benefits and rebates. The alternative of making payments and then asking for them back later seems foolish in the extreme. Step 3 should be to repeal the European Communities Act of 1972. This step is needed to restore the priority of British laws and remove the superiority of the EU over our affairs. Being a matter that will, most likely, require a parliamentary bill it may well be blocked or delayed by the remaining, anti-independence EUrologists. And that is why this step must come after steps 1 and 2. Any delays in implementing step 3 would, therefore, not delay the actual leaving date. Once these three steps are cleared then there are dozens - or more likely hundreds / thousands - of laws, rules and regulations that need to be created, replaced, redrafted or scrapped in the UK. A process that could well become long drawn out and tedious. But employing MPs on this task may serve to remind them not to keep adding so many new laws to the statute book in the future. However the EU treaties do not terminate until terms are agreed in Brussels. This process is allowed to take a maximum of two years from the date of step 1. For any extension beyond two years there needs to be a unanimous agreement by the European Council. In February 2016 the UK civil service produced a paper outlining The process for withdrawing from the European Union. This painted a very gloomy picture; mainly highlighting their perceived problems in leaving the EU - This report may be excessively negative but it does make some valid points. Now any Grandads with a strong commercial background would probably conclude that the best strategy would be to go for the simplest terms agreed as quickly as possible. In fact terms that could be as simple as a polite goodbye with no concessions or commitments. This would put the UK in the same situation as non-European countries and non-EU members like Turkey. So trips to the rest of Europe could involve visas (and therefore for EU citizens coming to the UK) - providing the EU is really prepared to commit to the cost of extra policing at its borders that this visa checking would incur. Clearly a quick and clean separation would sweep away all the uncertainties but it would also upset those that want to hang on to EU membership for as long as possible. Notable amongst these would be the SNP. However acting decisively at the first opportunity would shorten the period of unrest; even if it brought to a head the issue of a second referendum on Scotland leaving the UK. Surely a price worth paying when considering the alternative of years of political wrangling. So when will step 1 happen? If I knew that I would be busy placing bets before saying anything publicly. But sometime while parliament is in recess is often good - so how about Christmas / New Year? That is next Christmas .. not Christmas 2017! However it could be something that none of us live long enough to see ... |
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tags: EU, leave, referendum, UK, European Union |
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Getting Ahead of Themselves |
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Any complaints that Yorkshire lags behind other parts of the UK - or indeed the world - were firmly put in their place earlier today by the BBC’s regional team. As this web page clip clearly shows the BBC’s Look North staff have already produced their news reports for events that are eleven days in the future. Somehow the BBC’s science team have managed to keep this time travel breakthrough a secret - but perhaps they will make an announcement in a future series of Doctor Who; and travel back in time to publish it. However critics have downplayed this shock development - saying that the choice of news on the BBC has been totally predictable for years. |
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tags: BBC, news, time travel |
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As always finding the UK entry is down to the BBC - and their plan is that all public entries will be carefully considered and shortlisted by a representative panel of official UK Eurovision fan club (OGAE UK) members. At the same time, entries are also being sought from leading professional songwriters, including BASCA members, with guidance from Record Industry Executive and Music Consultant for the BBC, Hugh Goldsmith.
Leaked documents reveal that the Hoxton Independence Party (HIP) have been making plans since July and will soon be ready to launch their independence manifesto. So going public well before the UK Government gives notice to quit the EU.
And yet now, a full five years later, the High Speed Rail 2 project continues to burn up our taxes without having laid a single metre of track. This lack of track construction is because the project needs further government approvals before it can be deemed to have started. A surreal situation considering how much support work is already in progress and contractually committed. Work that will have to be largely written off if the project was stopped or fails to deliver. 
Now Grandad is not recommending that anyone opts for a smart meter anytime soon. So this delay should not cause any direct concerns. In fact each delay gives the top level policy makers that extra bit of time to reconsider the scope of the EU-directed grand plan.
Dear Smart Energy Marketing Team - Are really sure about that 22 kilowatt figure? Domestic power points normally have no higher than 30 amp rating - so have an absolute maximum of 7.2 kilowatt (or 7,200 watts) for powering anything. But then being energy experts you would know that already.
FOOTNOTES |
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