threegee

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...and you won't believe how much better they'll grow if we can increase the atmospheric CO2 by only a fraction more! https://heartland.org/opinion/the-hockey-stick-curve-obscures-earths-co2-history/ BUT certainly not by burning more petrol/diesel! https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28245-nitrogen-oxide-is-not-so-harmless-and-could-damage-human-health/

Would this apply to Scotland by any chance - where they are vastly overrepresented in Westminster? Isn't it something like one MP for twenty odd thousand scots? As far as the contrivance formerly known as Wansbeck is concerned: people with get up and go generally do! Plaudits to those brave individuals who slog it out all their lives. They are most certainly the ones that deserve gongs, but are generally totally ignored by our self-serving establishment.

Someone directed me to the dailysceptic.org website, where they are having a lot of fun "fact checking" the BBCs hysterical weather coverage: https://dailysceptic.org/2023/07/27/feverish-bbc-reporting-on-european-heatwaves-debunked-by-actual-temperature-readings/ Most of the grass fires around here are started deliberately. It keeps the weeds under control by consuming a lot of the seeds and removes much of the roadside litter. I suspect that in Greece, there may also be an element of cleansing the tourists by some of the disaffected locals.

Hey, I can answer the BBC's "Have we seen the end of the Mediterranean heatwave" question: No, you haven't. It's almost exactly three weeks from the statistically warmest days of the year - August is pretty much always a heatwave, and of course - give or take a bit - it will all be back again next year as per usual. Any minute differences you think you'd like to ascribe to CO2 driven anthropomorphic climate change [careful choice of words there, as you can learn a lot from pseudo-scientific shysterism] are hidden in the statistical noise - just where the lucrative "climate change industry" likes them to be! Fun fact: Ask practically any retired and experienced metrologist for an honest opinion on the matter. They need to be retired so's they aren't in fear of their job, and decades of watching the weather instead of running incredibly dubious computer models helps enormously. You'll need to reference quite a few before you find one that doesn't smile and tell you that we are all being conned.

Aww... the footbridge is gone! Something that should have been listed even if it had to be moved to allow for progress. So much that's irrelevant is listed, but the real (industrial) heritage - the stuff that really mattered in ordinary people's lives - seems to get the chop without a moment's consideration.

Today I can report it's no longer "climate change" but good old-fashioned weather. It's a pleasant 27.5C in a strong wind from cooler climes. In fact, it's probably a tad cool for summer. There was one word missing from all the hysterical "climate change" reporting in the media. That word - I learnt it at school, so it's even in the UK vocabulary - is Sirocco. The Sirocco to be exact. Why didn't any of the media reports use the word to properly inform their audiences? Simple: it's a phenomenon that has been documented for thousands of years, and describes the hot winds from the Sahara Desert hitting the northern Mediterranean coastline. The use of that word would be an implicit acknowledgment that what we experienced isn't remotely new, and would inconveniently clash with the agenda.

"Centre for Disaster Philanthropy" OMG! It used to be that wealthy people did good as anonymously as at all possible - their reward was "in heaven". Am I misunderstanding something here, or is this really another outlet for tedious 21st Century virtue signalling? Anyway, the great news is that they won't (can't) fly with Mick the Moron. If you're curious to know why Ryanair doesn't fly The Atlantic (and never will) then I refer you to my answer on another thread.

"It is strange what Ryanair are doing compared with the other airlines. Could it be that they don't have any spare aircraft to send out and bring holiday makers home - or is it just all about money?" The latter, for sure! It's a completely unprincipled outfit run by a moron! Other ex-pats here say they have no choice, but I've managed not to give him a bean over more than a decade. I hate it when Mrs 3G flies with them, particularly when I have to drive her to the airport at some ungodly hour to meet their scheduling. But she's quite canny and knows exactly how their rip-off charging system works, knows what days to fly, how long to book ahead, so plays the system for the cheapest possible seat. Ryanair: I'd rather cycle it! Steer clear of EU countries in any case, they have only ever been after our money, and will rip you off in an instant. If you want that, and want to be treated like cattle, then good luck to you, but don't moan about it afterwards!

Well, it's certainly not a Ryanair Jet-stream Eggy: unlike other airlines, they are refusing to put on rescue flights! Who would have thought that beneficent Mick O'Leary would ever allow his customers to suffer?

The brainwashing continues... Seems to me, it's not medical help these folks need! Anyway, I've just had a great idea: I've decided that I'm a major victim of climate change and that the exploitative capitalist western nations owe me two new air conditioners. Yes, I've a claim against China too, but that one is never going to go anywhere. UK treasury, please stand by for details of my gofundme account!

Been saying it for half a century now... The day Bedlington stops allowing its votes to be taken for granted by the major political parties is the day we'll start to see some real change. All the rest is empty words!

(Subtitle: from the steaming jungles of Southern Italy) The news about TUI cancelling all flights to Rhodes popped the thought into my head that you might like an update from the err.. coal face. The news from the stylish heel of the boot that is Italy is ..oh, you guessed it... it's hot! I suspect the real reason for this post is that we haven't been able to get a bloody-Samsung-Service (that's all one word here) person to fix both failed air conditioning units for the best part of a year. Always keen to accept bookings, but no one actually wants to do the leg work! The local plumber (Mario Brothers personified) keeps contacting them in the city, but a phone call to promise an early attendance is as far as it ever gets. Of course, we should have bought cheaper locally made stuff and thrown it away for new. You can get "free installation" on even the cheapest of brands these days. The extent of the problem is that the digital clock gismo in our bedroom (on the cool, north facing side of the house) was indicating a mere 35.5C when I entered it around midnight. That was with a large fan jammed in the window, expelling air for a prior several hours. Here's the temperature graph from a north-east facing balcony that only gets a bit of morning sun, with the sun never getting nearer than three meters for the thermometer when it's this high: I've thermometers on other aspects of the house, but it's not as easy to call up a graph without getting out of this seat. I've seen measurements of 50C+ in the shade from the south side of the house in previous years. We are still weeks away from the statistically hottest part of the year, too! All this is perfect material for a media who really wants you to believe in "climate change". Remember the difference between weather and climate: climate is when it conveniently suits the agenda, and weather is when it inconveniently doesn't! The sober truth is it's in no way out of line with what can be expected in these parts, and like everywhere else in this overpopulated world urban effect (mankind's propensity to concrete, tarmac, and glassify large areas) has a big hand in it. I can cycle into town (amusingly, it's a city by local standards) in the evening and feel an astoundingly large difference in air temperature. So the reports from Rome are easily understandable. No Italian in their right mind heads to Rome in August. The motorways are beyond capacity with residents getting out!

What do they sneer about Sym? The revolution is now: it's actually about looking after those closest to you first. From there, an ever-widening circle of your local community - region - nation - allied nations. It's not about being consumed with envy for those that have had (what you think) a luckier breaks in life, or stealing what they've got in the name of a constantly redefined equity - offering justifications derived from constantly changing meanings of words. In case you never noticed: our country universally embraced Megan, until the moment she walked out on us and started ridiculing our country and revealing her two-faced nature. Trying to portray it otherwise is very mean spirited. So you don't want silly old Chuck for monarch? Who are we going to appoint as head of state then? What do you think is really going to happen if we open this too up to influence-peddling politicos? If The Guardian ever sought to answer any of these questions without prevarication - or approximately portray the World as it really is - I might just be persuaded to consider some of their less delusional writer's output.

Well, the strange thing is that he's already admitted to never having read the articles that have allegedly caused him all this distress. Apparently it's all about headlines causing people to think ill of him. This is so self-evident that he doesn't really need his views corroborated by any of the people involved, and he doesn't need to provide any evidence of illegal activity. If only judge Oprah Winfrey had taken this case, I reckon it would all have been over by now!

Wow, he's truly relying on the old aphorism "just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't out to get you"! There's a much simpler explanation for them no longer being your friends, and it's a great pity your self-confessed paranoia doesn't extend to your grifter of a wife. Some tragically belated advice: If you are going to voluntarily subject yourself to cross-examination by one of the hottest legal minds in the land, then don't write a 416-page manual of scandalous revelations for his crack team to pick through! There were always very clear reasons the RF historically steered well clear of the courts. Assuming these unwritten rules don't apply to you is going to result in a very costly lesson!

I checked what Ford offers on their ICE vehicles: "The Powertrain Warranty covers components such as the engine, transmission, and drivetrain. It begins at the Warranty Start Date and lasts for 5 years or 60,000 miles, whichever occurs first." So… EV makers are generally 60% more confident in their product's longevity than big auto is. Yes, you're right. The range degradation in cold weather has very little to do with any loss of capacity. It's partly due to having to keep the occupants warm - there's little waste heat in a much more energy efficient vehicle. Partly rolling resistance; partly wheel slip. In fact, all the issues which affect ICE vehicles and people are so used to they ignore - or can ignore because around 83% of the energy they are paying for is totally wasted in normal conditions! The Norwegian government (where very few ICE vehicles are now being sold, and a world leader in BEV adoption) advises citizens to allow for a 20% range reduction in cold weather. Better BEVs allow you to automatically precondition the car on mains power before you leave home. All you do is set a departure time. This warms the battery pack so that your regen works properly from the outset, and so you don't need to waste any energy braking either. And of course it also heats the cabin, steering wheel, seats, and windscreen before you enter the vehicle. I've not experienced this myself (only pre-cooling), but I've watched plenty of videos from people demonstrating this. Surely this is a much more pleasant experience than approaching a frozen petrol or diesel vehicle, where your primary concern is: will the engine actually start? Crazy that they still use lead acid batteries in vehicles, where you need hundreds of amps to overcome huge engine friction in freezing conditions. You'd think that the better marks would have switched to far smaller and lighter Lithium batteries a decade or more ago.

Ah... you got me! By the time I got to 8 time was getting on, so I said to myself, "no 3G, don't mention heat pumps, etc. This is already a bit complicato, and that sort of thing will likely put more people off from reading this, so the basics won't get out. No one reading it is going to live at the North Pole, or the equator, so just K.I.S.S.". Life being life, up pops someone living at (or too near) said North Pole and dashes all my hopes and dreams! (Greta does this far better!) So, answering one of your last questions - "What improvements have you seen in the four years?" - first: it's heat pumps. 9) Try to buy a vehicle with a heat pump if you anticipate using your EV in extremes of climate. Living where the sun is strong and temperatures frequently hover around 40C it's what I miss most, and one of the main reasons why I will be trading my EV for a new one in a year or so. People decrying EVs because of reduced range in cold conditions seldom, if ever, mention that ICE vehicles also suffer from decreased range in the cold. Maybe not as much, but it's not exclusive to EVs. Not too many EVs have a heat pump, and particularly not cheaper and used ones, but they are rapidly becoming more common. "battery life, replacement and disposal cost"? : Any good EV will have a battery life way beyond the useful life of any petrol engine in mileage terms - generally several times. I've never heard anyone asking a salesman what the likely life of the engine in the car he is selling could be. Don't charge too fast too often, and you'll easily exceed the manufacturer's warranty (it's often 8 years). Disposal is another red-herring from the ICE mob: when the battery pack is below 70% capacity it will still be highly sought-after for domestic storage, and you can still expect several thousand pounds for it - on say eBay. I'd really really like to know where this oft-mentioned "landfill" is. I dream of successfully scavenging for carelessly abandoned large Lithium-ion battery packs for my planned solar photovoltaic system! A totally clapped out pack is still far too valuable in mineral terms to throw away. The only problem with EV battery recycling is that there's nothing like enough to recycle at present. Budding recyclers are generally reduced to small, marginally economic, stuff extracted from electronic equipment waste.

Headline: Cramlington drink-driver flipped car on duel carriageway in busy morning traffic then fled on foot Oh, dear! Still, the so-called quality papers have all the best information. Today's Telegraph informs us that Prince Harry is 48 years old. I knew I'd slept in, but surely not an entire decade?

The trend to Electric Vehicles is now well established, and it's inevitable that most people will be considering one in the next few years. As someone who has spent an absurd amount of time over the past decade studying the progress of EVs - and who is now well into the fourth year of running one - I'm happy to answer member's questions in this thread. As an opener, I'd offer a few key points of advice: 1) Don't listen to the media! They operate with a strong bias toward what their advertisers want to see in print. A lot of what they print is pure bull. An article in this morning's Sunday Telegraph was so laughably ill-informed it's what actually prompted this post. 2) Consider the total cost of ownership, and not the sticker price. The cost of an EV is heavily front loaded. By that, I mean that you're spending (or borrowing) to save. The extent of those savings are very likely to be a lot more than you can presently anticipate. There are still some unknowns, but if you chose wisely, those unknowns (like the soaring cost of petrol) will average in your favour. 3) Don't think that in buying a hybrid (including a Plug-In Hybrid) you're taking the first cautious step to electrification - you're not! Hybrids are the worst of both worlds, and this fact has now dawned on the buying public. Hybrid sales are falling, and many manufacturers are abandoning them. This is resulting in many tempting bargains - which you'd be very wise to steer well clear of. 4) Don't buy an EV with pouch batteries. They are cheap to produce, but the manufacturers who went this route (like BMW) have learnt a lot and are now firmly committed to cells in future. Pouch batteries swell and have a very much higher propensity toward spontaneous battery fires. Likewise, avoid like the plague any vehicle which doesn't have a proper liquid cooling system for the battery. It's truly amazing the number of buyers who shell out tens of thousands of pounds without carefully checking what they are buying here. If the salesman can answer this question (truthfully) then there's little point listening to anything else he/she has to say. 5) Don't obsess about range and so-called "range anxiety". The media loves to focus on this, but after you've bedded in your EV experience, you'll find their obsession amusing. If you want to be assured that your EV will comfortably get you where you want to go, then download the Zap-Map app onto your phone (UK only, but many other apps are available). There you will discover that there are more public charging points than you could ever dream of. 6) Charge wisely! Pretty much 95% of your charging is going to be done at home (or work) and generally on cheap rate electricity. Unlike a petrol or diesel vehicle, you will actively plan to return from long trips at a low state of charge; that's so you can take advantage of cheap home charging. You have to accept that you're going to be paying a considerable premium for some part of longer journeys, but that it will still work out cheaper than petrol or diesel. If you're crafty and take the time to plan ahead, it's still possible to "bum free power" on a long road trip. 7) Whilst it's nice to "have your own petrol pump at home" it's NOT essential to have a dedicated wall charger at home. Many people manage just fine by using the portable charger supplied with the car, plugged into an existing 13A wall outlet. Most cars will allow you to set up a schedule of when they draw power and their charging rate. Then all you need to do is to get into the habit of plugging it in immediately you return home. Overnight charging (inside the strict cheap rate hours) at the minimum rate (5A = 1.25KWh on many EVs) will often be all it takes to ensure you've plenty for next day use. You're never going to be stranded because this will provide easily enough energy to get to a fast charger in an unforeseen long-trip emergency. 8 ) Don't pay for more range than you actually need. Whilst a four-hundred mile plus range might make for good boasting points at the pub, carrying around heavy batteries that you're seldom going to need costs energy as well as money. Bladders (in my generation at least) don't go for anything like that distance, and fast chargers generally complete well before motorway diners can do their thing. ------------------------------------------- Lots more, but I have to go and wash and polish the EV. Discuss...

The compliant media is avoiding any mention of the US Banks that are refusing US depositors access to their own money. Apparently, as of 36 hours ago, there was a jaw dropping thirty of them! If you need to know the names, then the "Black Conservative Patriot" YouTube channel is your goto. This worthy gentleman is clearly exercising his black privilege by ceremoniously donning his "black banker glasses" and exposing them to the world. He's plainly daring the (putatively racist) wokies who control YouTube to deploy their take-down digit. More amusing still was the Signature Bank's video on using the correct personal pronoun from its infinitely wide palette. I'm not sure if it was intended for staff or for customers - probably both. I said was because that has been rapidly taken off the bank's website, together with all other evidence of terminal wokeism. It's a pure gem, with a smiling bank CEO introducing his chosen lecturer, reportedly on some obscene salary, to present his brain-numbing whiteboard of "valid" personal pronouns. As we are so frequently reminded: woke rhymes with broke - almost as well as banker rhymes with ...

Convicted criminal fraudster (base salary 421,308 euros per annum + endless perks and expenses) raises glass to toast the continuance of the ECB Ponzi scheme, whilst trying hard to look very purposeful and resolute.

Here's why it's not a terribly good idea to get into Lithium-ion battery manufacturing, and certainly not a good idea to build your community on it: The price per kilowatt is currently driving down to below $100, and many plants now under construction won't be able to produce a quality product at the prices pertaining at the time they get into real volume. That's at least three years, and more likely five or six. If you've taken public money to build your plant, well.. it's not really your own loss, is it? Best to avoid big gesture politics I think and concentrate on helping small local enterprise. Just persuading local people with get up and go, not going, has a lot to say for itself.

Check the URL in your browser address bar, and you'll discover that we've replaced the .co.uk with a coolio .uk This means that your browser cookies won't be able to recognise the URL until you log in again. It's a once-only process, and when your browser stores a new cookie, you'll be right back to normal. All the old links are preserved though, as the former bedlington.co.uk domain will be preserved for posterity. With soooo much less typing to do, you'll be able to post more and more often!

That sounds like the right thing to do, but I don't think it ever works out in the end, Eggy. I think you'll find that practically all the public money spent in Europe eventually goes down the drain. It might produce a short term boost, but that way is the way to a crushing disappointments up ahead. In case you think I'm too pessimistic about things, I'd simply say that I'm very upbeat about EVs and have now had one myself for over three years. I follow developments very closely and will try to find a bit of time to update everyone as to what's really going on internationally and how I see the future panning out. The media coverage on this subject is terrible, and we generally only get to hear what their big advertisers (often German motor companies) want us to hear. Interesting to hear what others have to say.