I'm reading a book on Albert Speer, Hitler's Minister for Armaments and prior to the war, Hitler's personal architect. It's a biography which gives a really in depth coverage of Speer's time in the Reich and a thorough account of the situations that he found himself in day to day, working under the Fuhrer. The book also explores the mindset of Speer during his time as Hitler's close aide and during his later years after his time in prison. A curious point to pull out of the book is that while he denied all knowledge of the industrialised killing of millions of Jews, the slaughter of millions of soviets and the extermination of gypsies, he knew that he was using slave labour to construct many of his most grand works. It is for this that he received 20 years in prison and avoided the firing squad after the war ended.
the book is: Albert Speer - His Battle With Truth. Available on Amazon.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Pushing Economy Further
New technology to increase the fuel efficiency of fossil fuelled vehicles is coming onto the market all the time. The idea is to either tinker with the engine so one can produce a less thirsty engine or reduce the drag coefficient of the vehicle (making the vehicle body more aerodynamic so it slips through the air with less resistance). This is the approach of the car manufacturers to the new EU legislation which requires all car manufacturers to have an average emission from their range of vehicles of 130g CO2 / km or less (130 grams of carbon dioxide emitted per kilometre or less). There are many technologies already on the market as part of new cars but there are some more subtle technologies seeking to push the economy to the limit.
Already Present
Some excellent examples of this new and emergy branch of automotive engineering are the aerodynamic enhancements made by Ford to their new breed of vehicles. http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=34312 This article shows how the designers and engineers put their cars in the wind tunnel and test for drag and they work to minimise this. An excellent product of this process is the active shutting grille. At high speeds, motors at the front of the car shut the grille fins forming an air dam. This minimises air drag off the front of the car and this kind of technology is used all the time by hypermilers wishing to increase fuel economy by crazy amounts: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/effects-air-dam-ford-f350-pickup-3171.html
Another passive technology is the sculpting of the bodywork of the new vehicles to reduce disrupted airflow over the vehicle: http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/#/new/car-range
Start, stop, restart
A technology usually reserved for the higher end luxury models is the start-stop technology which involves an on board computer shutting down the engine when the car comes to a stop then starting it up again when the accelerator pedal is depressed when the lights change. This saves fuel by simply turning the engine off and this technique can be utilised by every vehicle when a lengthy stop at the traffic lights is on the cards.
A look to the future
New exhaust technology being pioneered at the Universities of Cardiff and Birmingham intends to further increase the fuel economy of vehicles by injecting fuel into a conversion unit in the exhaust, allowing it to react using the heat of the exhaust gases and then passing it through the engine. This is a more efficient way to use fuel as it converts simple diesel or petrol into carbon monoxide and molecular hydrogen which are better fuels than simple hydrocarbons. It is a 'green' approach too as it utilises the waste heat of the engine to drive the chemical reaction of conversion of the fuel. The average gains from preliminary testing are suggested to be around an extra 10% mileage with diesel engines and 20% with petrol engines. The lead scientist for this process, Stan Golunski, has been working on the concept for more than 10 years and expects the techology to be perfected and on the road before 2020. http://www.theengineer.co.uk/news/on-board-fuel-reforming-could-enhance-vehicle-efficiency/1005487.article
Already Present
Some excellent examples of this new and emergy branch of automotive engineering are the aerodynamic enhancements made by Ford to their new breed of vehicles. http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=34312 This article shows how the designers and engineers put their cars in the wind tunnel and test for drag and they work to minimise this. An excellent product of this process is the active shutting grille. At high speeds, motors at the front of the car shut the grille fins forming an air dam. This minimises air drag off the front of the car and this kind of technology is used all the time by hypermilers wishing to increase fuel economy by crazy amounts: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/effects-air-dam-ford-f350-pickup-3171.html
Another passive technology is the sculpting of the bodywork of the new vehicles to reduce disrupted airflow over the vehicle: http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/#/new/car-range
Start, stop, restart
A technology usually reserved for the higher end luxury models is the start-stop technology which involves an on board computer shutting down the engine when the car comes to a stop then starting it up again when the accelerator pedal is depressed when the lights change. This saves fuel by simply turning the engine off and this technique can be utilised by every vehicle when a lengthy stop at the traffic lights is on the cards.
A look to the future
New exhaust technology being pioneered at the Universities of Cardiff and Birmingham intends to further increase the fuel economy of vehicles by injecting fuel into a conversion unit in the exhaust, allowing it to react using the heat of the exhaust gases and then passing it through the engine. This is a more efficient way to use fuel as it converts simple diesel or petrol into carbon monoxide and molecular hydrogen which are better fuels than simple hydrocarbons. It is a 'green' approach too as it utilises the waste heat of the engine to drive the chemical reaction of conversion of the fuel. The average gains from preliminary testing are suggested to be around an extra 10% mileage with diesel engines and 20% with petrol engines. The lead scientist for this process, Stan Golunski, has been working on the concept for more than 10 years and expects the techology to be perfected and on the road before 2020. http://www.theengineer.co.uk/news/on-board-fuel-reforming-could-enhance-vehicle-efficiency/1005487.article
Monday, 18 July 2011
A TV cartoon series I picked up a few months ago. Quite dark humour and some jokes requiring a visit to Urban Dictionary. The main character of the programme is Sterling Archer, a secret agent who uses misdirection, distraction and muttering under breath to get the upper hand in most situations and dole out loads of funny turns of phrase. There's a different storyline in every episode and a small degree of continuity between episodes so it's probably best to watch them 'in order' to understand some of the more subtle jokes.
There are two seasons available to watch at the moment and there's another in the pipeline. They're a hilarious diversion from day-to-day life and draw you in right from the start with the bright colours and 80's style cop beat soundtrack. There's a future-retro theme to the show. An example is that the agents have high-tech equipment and the staff at the headquarters all have mobile phones but the computers are bulky CRT models and there's no room without a decent smattering of formica effect veneer.
It's certainly worth giving them a try and let me know what you think, compare notes on episodes etc. They're available to watch on channel 5. Another possibility is to watch them after torrenting from p2p sites.
Watch on channel5 with : http://www.channel5.com/shows/archer
There are two seasons available to watch at the moment and there's another in the pipeline. They're a hilarious diversion from day-to-day life and draw you in right from the start with the bright colours and 80's style cop beat soundtrack. There's a future-retro theme to the show. An example is that the agents have high-tech equipment and the staff at the headquarters all have mobile phones but the computers are bulky CRT models and there's no room without a decent smattering of formica effect veneer.
It's certainly worth giving them a try and let me know what you think, compare notes on episodes etc. They're available to watch on channel 5. Another possibility is to watch them after torrenting from p2p sites.
Watch on channel5 with : http://www.channel5.com/shows/archer
My day at the Boating Lake
Hi guys, I went to the boating lake the other day and took some pictures of all the birds and things. Coming from at three year stint at York, it's safe to say I had a bit of a craving to see some wildfowl. Hope you enjoy.
Advances in Engineering
This is a picture of the new 480 meter long vesseldue to be comissioned by the Dutch petrochemical company Shell. It will be a floating natural gas extraction, refining and storage facility. It has been designed to meet the needs of today's natural gas market.
Distance
As we have heard over and over in recent history, the earth's oil and gas are running out and as a result, more extreme enviroments must be braved to unearth the natural resources we need. This new vessel will be the first giant development to that end. The vessel, as yet unnamed, will be moored 200 miles from the northern coast of Australia to harvest gas from a natural gas field in that area. The vessel overcomes the need for pipes to be laid on the seabed. This is important because being 200 miles away from land, the gas cannot be tapped and recovered through seabed pipes. It also gives a nod to sustainable, reusable, mobile infrastructure as once the gas in the field is depleted, the huge vessel can be towed to the next field for exploitation.
Shipping and transport
The vessel, once moored, will spend 25 years working on the one field, in the same place, in open sea. This means that it needs to withstand massive storms and the gas needs to be transported to the mainland. The vessel has been designed to withstand the most ferocious of storms and the vessel's gas storage tanks are used to fill empty sea-going LNG tankers which will transport the gas to nearby China, Australia, Japan and South Korea as it's expected main buyers. After the field is depleted, it will be refurbished then sent to work on another gas field to sustain supply to buyers. Shell expects 2-3 of these vessels to be built to order from Samsung Heavy Industries Shipyards in Japan
Mad about Maths?
2 + 2 = 5. Simple. Many people think that's where it ends and after school, it has no relevance. This is not the case.
It is becoming more and more common, people in their middle ages returning to school to enroll
in night courses to improve their skills in maths / english / science or languages. In recent years there have been many government initiatives to engage the general public in improving their skills in maths and english specifically to help them better themselvesin the workplace and increase their confidence with sums they encounter in their day to day lives.
A prime example is the Direct gov programme where parents / adults who find they are bafflled
by their childrens' homework, they should contact the phoneline to get involved with the free
skills courses on offer. This is an excellent initiative as it increases the general level of learning
of the populace. However, this scheme shouldn't be a necessity in today's society and we should examine the root of the problem, the cause of the apathy towards maths in the early years when these skills should be nailed.
Benefits of maths - confidence
The benefits of learning maths skills are many and varied. For one, having a good grasp
of maths means that one isn't forever scowling at a problem and asking colleagues for help.
Having maths skills means you can be more independant and can take on problems head on, without fear. This can greatly increase your confidence and lead to more senior role in the workplace as you oversee those who are developing their skills.
Employability
Having skills and qualifications in maths allows you to apply for a greater variety of jobs.
They instantly open more doors and brighten your outlook as you can say yes to a lot of
different opportunities. Maths not also helps with a professional post with a company but
it can also help by opening up doors to part-time freelance work like tutoring. Many children
suffer at school and need extra help to get their skills up to par and working as a tutor allows
you to aid them whilst also making some money with your own skills. This is a direct example of the maths skills at work but there are also many other different opportunities out there using the same kinds of skills. Bookmaking and small-time accounting are just a few examples.
Economic Wellbeing
There are many benefits to learning maths and keeping your skills up to scratch. the above confidence boost and ability to moonlight as a tutor/ bookmaker are to name but a few. These are personal benefits of learning maths skills but the wider picture is that with better maths skills, there will be less waste in the economy: less time wasted as employees tackle problems quicker. Less waste at events and in government departments as employees gain confidence in the art of estimation and mininise the waste originating from buying too much of a particular consumable. There are many good reasons behind getting involved in learning more english and maths skills. confidence, employability. There is also the lucrative path of working as a tutor, earn part time wage as maths tutor.
Maths, Maths, everywhere !
However, there are many jobs where a good grasp of even elementary mathematics skills are a necessity. A good example is the humble P.A.. Working under someone doesn't mean your skills needn't be up to scratch. The assistant needs to help organise the superior's day. This means calculating time intervals when tasks can be carried out, keeping track of calls and reports. In addition, the seemingly simple task of getting the coffees also requires a sharp mind so correct remuneration for each person's drink can take place.
Root of the problem
In the UK, school doesn't foster the importance of maths skills as a concept. In fact, the opposite occurs frequently. Children are expected to simply pick up the maths at an exponential rate like a savant (Rain Man) with little explanation or reinforcement of how to gofrom A to B in a mathematical system. This 'you know it or you don't' strategy, borne out of the lack of specialist maths tutors and a strict time sensitive curriculum maths in schools.
Patience is the key
These factors are the main reason that children aren't learning the essential skills they'll need
in the working world. The above benefits should be stressed to children when the despair with their maths homework and the concept of delayed gratification, working hard now for something good later in life, should be cemented into their minds. Remember, a good knowledge of maths needs patience to be able to learn it in the first place.
It is becoming more and more common, people in their middle ages returning to school to enroll
in night courses to improve their skills in maths / english / science or languages. In recent years there have been many government initiatives to engage the general public in improving their skills in maths and english specifically to help them better themselvesin the workplace and increase their confidence with sums they encounter in their day to day lives.
A prime example is the Direct gov programme where parents / adults who find they are bafflled
by their childrens' homework, they should contact the phoneline to get involved with the free
skills courses on offer. This is an excellent initiative as it increases the general level of learning
of the populace. However, this scheme shouldn't be a necessity in today's society and we should examine the root of the problem, the cause of the apathy towards maths in the early years when these skills should be nailed.
Benefits of maths - confidence
The benefits of learning maths skills are many and varied. For one, having a good grasp
of maths means that one isn't forever scowling at a problem and asking colleagues for help.
Having maths skills means you can be more independant and can take on problems head on, without fear. This can greatly increase your confidence and lead to more senior role in the workplace as you oversee those who are developing their skills.
Employability
Having skills and qualifications in maths allows you to apply for a greater variety of jobs.
They instantly open more doors and brighten your outlook as you can say yes to a lot of
different opportunities. Maths not also helps with a professional post with a company but
it can also help by opening up doors to part-time freelance work like tutoring. Many children
suffer at school and need extra help to get their skills up to par and working as a tutor allows
you to aid them whilst also making some money with your own skills. This is a direct example of the maths skills at work but there are also many other different opportunities out there using the same kinds of skills. Bookmaking and small-time accounting are just a few examples.
Economic Wellbeing
There are many benefits to learning maths and keeping your skills up to scratch. the above confidence boost and ability to moonlight as a tutor/ bookmaker are to name but a few. These are personal benefits of learning maths skills but the wider picture is that with better maths skills, there will be less waste in the economy: less time wasted as employees tackle problems quicker. Less waste at events and in government departments as employees gain confidence in the art of estimation and mininise the waste originating from buying too much of a particular consumable. There are many good reasons behind getting involved in learning more english and maths skills. confidence, employability. There is also the lucrative path of working as a tutor, earn part time wage as maths tutor.
Maths, Maths, everywhere !
However, there are many jobs where a good grasp of even elementary mathematics skills are a necessity. A good example is the humble P.A.. Working under someone doesn't mean your skills needn't be up to scratch. The assistant needs to help organise the superior's day. This means calculating time intervals when tasks can be carried out, keeping track of calls and reports. In addition, the seemingly simple task of getting the coffees also requires a sharp mind so correct remuneration for each person's drink can take place.
Root of the problem
In the UK, school doesn't foster the importance of maths skills as a concept. In fact, the opposite occurs frequently. Children are expected to simply pick up the maths at an exponential rate like a savant (Rain Man) with little explanation or reinforcement of how to gofrom A to B in a mathematical system. This 'you know it or you don't' strategy, borne out of the lack of specialist maths tutors and a strict time sensitive curriculum maths in schools.
Patience is the key
These factors are the main reason that children aren't learning the essential skills they'll need
in the working world. The above benefits should be stressed to children when the despair with their maths homework and the concept of delayed gratification, working hard now for something good later in life, should be cemented into their minds. Remember, a good knowledge of maths needs patience to be able to learn it in the first place.
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Ready Steady Cook
Hours slaving away in the kitchen to produce a small dish of inedible rubbish, burnt hands and lots of waste and cleaning to take care of afterward. Laughing at your pitiful efforts and crying at the poor quality 'food' you've created. Cooking does come with some horror stories but it need not be like this. In this article, there are a few tips and tricks to getting your skills fast tracked to Masterchef finalist levels.
Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail.
The most important thing to remember when attmepting to cook something is to ensure you have ready all the things you will need to cook your delicious meal. This means having the chicken breasts defrosted or the pork chops bought and in the fridge ready. It also means having the spices and flavourings ready too. Don't be tempted to swap one thing that you do have for the spice that you don't have but the recipe specifies. As you go through your cooking career,
you will start to amass a great number of spices and flavourings that you can use. So it will enable you to experiment more and more as more combinations of flavours are at your disposal.
Read your Recipe
To ensure that you get your food exactly how you want it, it is a good idea to invest in a cooking timer or use the timer on your watch. It is important to ensure that you have a good sense of the amount of time your food has been cooking for as it's not nice to eat runny eggs or burnt steak. This simple device will help you time your cooking to perfection. As you start out with the cooking, it is a good idea to follow the times in the recipe but as you progress and develop a sense of how long food takes to cook, you can rely on the timer less and just cook as if it were natural.
Cleaning
The dreaded pots and pans put a lot of people off from cooking. But it shouldn't be feared. After each step of your cooking, simply pop the dirty equipment in the sink to soak so food doesn't dry onto it. The dried on food is difficult to and needs a lot of effort to remove so get those dishes in soak as soon as you can. The other benefit of cleaning as you go is that there isn't a massive heap of stuff to clean when your potato bake/ beef wellington/ pasta bake. Remembering this will make your life easier. Don't be afraid to get your hands 'dirty' either, many recipes that involve marinated meat or baking require that you get your hands involved and manipulate the food yourself. This is a close relationship with food that has been severed in recent times with the growth of sterile boxed food that is simply microwaved for convenience.
Good Luck
Once you've picked your recipe, gathered the ingredients and set the timers, dive in!! Don't be afraid to try any dish you want to because the worst that can happen is burned food and the best thing; tasty dishes all round. If at first you go wrong, don't worry, practise makes perfect and as you go through your favourite recipes, you will find that you can cook them better and better. Once you have this confidence, you can start tweaking the food and cook what your heart desires, changing spices and meats and accompaniments here, there and everywhere.
Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail.
The most important thing to remember when attmepting to cook something is to ensure you have ready all the things you will need to cook your delicious meal. This means having the chicken breasts defrosted or the pork chops bought and in the fridge ready. It also means having the spices and flavourings ready too. Don't be tempted to swap one thing that you do have for the spice that you don't have but the recipe specifies. As you go through your cooking career,
you will start to amass a great number of spices and flavourings that you can use. So it will enable you to experiment more and more as more combinations of flavours are at your disposal.
Read your Recipe
To ensure that you get your food exactly how you want it, it is a good idea to invest in a cooking timer or use the timer on your watch. It is important to ensure that you have a good sense of the amount of time your food has been cooking for as it's not nice to eat runny eggs or burnt steak. This simple device will help you time your cooking to perfection. As you start out with the cooking, it is a good idea to follow the times in the recipe but as you progress and develop a sense of how long food takes to cook, you can rely on the timer less and just cook as if it were natural.
Cleaning
The dreaded pots and pans put a lot of people off from cooking. But it shouldn't be feared. After each step of your cooking, simply pop the dirty equipment in the sink to soak so food doesn't dry onto it. The dried on food is difficult to and needs a lot of effort to remove so get those dishes in soak as soon as you can. The other benefit of cleaning as you go is that there isn't a massive heap of stuff to clean when your potato bake/ beef wellington/ pasta bake. Remembering this will make your life easier. Don't be afraid to get your hands 'dirty' either, many recipes that involve marinated meat or baking require that you get your hands involved and manipulate the food yourself. This is a close relationship with food that has been severed in recent times with the growth of sterile boxed food that is simply microwaved for convenience.
Good Luck
Once you've picked your recipe, gathered the ingredients and set the timers, dive in!! Don't be afraid to try any dish you want to because the worst that can happen is burned food and the best thing; tasty dishes all round. If at first you go wrong, don't worry, practise makes perfect and as you go through your favourite recipes, you will find that you can cook them better and better. Once you have this confidence, you can start tweaking the food and cook what your heart desires, changing spices and meats and accompaniments here, there and everywhere.
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