Tuesday 2 July 2013

Saturday 17 September 2011

Short break in Florence

Thought we would take a short break in Florence prior to me starting my new job with Domino Printing Sciences. Florence is lovely nd we enjoyed the visit very much. I know that the Italian economy is in trouble but I was quite amazed at how money grabbing the government has become. One of the big earners must be tourism, and I would therefore expect that the tourist economy be encourage. I was amazed therefore when we checked out of our hotel to be presented with a bill for something called a city tax! This smacks of the old and dicredited socialist ideas. Their economy needs tourists, so they penalise tourists when they visit their cities! How will this grow their tourism industry? I can only assume that Berlusconi is lossing what few marbles he may once have had.

Saturday 30 July 2011

Why we must go back to the Moon

Economic growth is being constrained by resource scarcity.  The environmental cost of ripping minerals out of the ground is also probably becoming too high a price to pay.  In addition to this, the vast amounts of energy needed for mining, extraction and refining of minerals makes a significant contribution to the carbon added to the atmosphere.
It is likely that the Moon contains an abundance of valuable minerals, including rare earths, It also has a vast amount of totally predictable solar energy, There is therefore a pressing economic imperative to go back to the Moon, and soon.  The minerals required for our economic well being could be mined and refined on the Moon using solar energy.  It is likely that there is sufficient water for the manufacture of rocket fuel which would be needed to send the refined product back to the Earth. 
All of this would be done with very little environmental impact on the Earth.

Saturday 9 July 2011

Social services for the elderly in Cambridge

The quality of gerontology in Cambridge is very impressive.  Much better than it is in t' North

The Stig

You do see some funny things in St Ives.  I knew times were hard at the BBC but really....