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Sideshoots - associated subjects / The Lighter Side / Re: DfT civil servant joins Love Island
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on: June 25, 2021, 19:17:36
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In a vaguely related way this morning I couldn't stop myself thinking that Matt Hancock will never be employed as a train driver because he obviously doesn't understand the importance of avoiding SPADs▸ .
VickiS - In case you are wondering, SPAD stands for SPecial Advisor Dalliances in this instance. I think SPAD is correct. It indicated Danger to his political career and he could still be derailed. |
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152
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Aberthaw Power Station and Decarbonisation
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on: June 22, 2021, 18:30:40
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We have over 24 GW▸ of installed wind power, currently providing 4.5 GW, and that on a breezy day. It doesn't matter how much we have, it can't be relied upon.
According to UK▸ government figures, in 2019 the UK had, as you say, 24GW of installed wind power capacity. 14.2GW of this was onshore, and 9.8GW offshore. The load factors reported for this period were 26.5% for onshore, and 40.5% for offshore, so on average the offshore turbines are producing around 3.97GW, and the onshore ones 3.76GW. Which, if my arithmetic can be trusted, is a total of 7.73GW on average; it would be rather more than that on a good breezy day. Where did the figure of 4.5GW come from? The Gridwatch web site ( https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/) shows the current state of generation.. It has wind at 4.61Gw (13.19% of generated electricity). Gas is 39%, European imports are 13% and coal is 2% |
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159
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Problems with IET trains from April 2021
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on: May 18, 2021, 12:50:16
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I feel a bit uneasy about quoting so much from one source in another forum - as if it's somehow improper. But maybe an exception can be made for Clarence Yard, posting on railforums, as this is clearly someone involved in fleet management at GWR▸ , and GWR know about it. Maybe not quite semi-official, but certainly a privileged source. This morning's update included: The metal appears to be suffering from Stress Corrosion Cracking, a condition that will worsen over time as environmental conditions and duty cycle both contribute to the propagation rate. Every 80x unit will require remedial attention when the SCC‡ reaches a certain point, either in the jacking plate and/or in the yaw bolster assembly.
As at this morning, 63 out of the 93 GWR IET▸ sets are available for traffic. The full service requirement for the pre-Covid timetable is 80. There's the expected flood of short-forms on JourneyCheck, showing that every unit is running on its own now, It only takes a few services taken out completely to make up any further deficit, though I'm sure there is still no margin of cover for failures. On the subject of stress corrosion cracking, I'm still puzzled by the lack of the right kind of stress. You'd expect a crack like this one to be promoted by a force pulling it open, and it's hard to see that happening. But a following post referred to stresses created during manufacture, presumably thermally due to welding. I don't think there's any point trying to imagine what sort of stresses they would be. For a start, you'd need a good idea of the shape of this thing in 3D and its make-up; even then it'd be too hard on the poor old brain. There are comments that chloride can influence this type of cracking. I wonder if the fact that Japan does not use salt for deicing but the UK▸ does has an impact. |
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162
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Bonus promise turns out to be security test
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on: May 11, 2021, 18:26:00
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Part of the problem is that many companies' genuine emails do contain clickable links. The same goes for text messages. Banks are some of the worst offenders, ironically: phone calls from their staff asking customers to identify themselves by giving date of birth, "memorable question" and similar. I've no idea if emails from West Midlands Trains ever contain genuine clickable links, or did so in the recent past, but it's such a common practice that it's no wonder people fall for fakes.
I once received a phone call from 'Barclaycard fraud department' and said I would ring them back. When I did so (after checking the line was clear) and was transferred to the fraud department they were delighted with my approach. |
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163
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Bonus promise turns out to be security test
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on: May 11, 2021, 12:46:20
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Speaking as a retired IT Director where my responsibilities included IT security in Financial Services I can see both sides.
There are an increasing number of IT security failures where the initial access is via a user who opens an inappropriate link or web site. A third party can then access internal systems using the initial user ID. They can then explore internal systems and at worst they can extract data and or encrypt it and charge a ransom to decrypt the data or not to publish the data which can include highly confidential data such as strategic plans. The latest example of this has disabled the pipelines that supply 45% of fuel to the East coast of the US and listed strategic data that will potentially be published. It has also been used to block data in the NHS.
There are various ways to provide appropriate security, but there is a trade off between security and ease of use and many organizations concentrate on preventing initial access rather than internal security. Dummy emails are a good way of determining individuals who may need additional security training.
I do not believe that an email about a potential bonus is appropriate for testing but I can see why someone who did not think of the wider picture could have done it.
One of these days a third party will use a well disguised email of this sort and 80% of the recipients may fall for it.
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164
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Journey by Journey / Shorter journeys in Devon / Re: Marsh Barton Station
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on: April 30, 2021, 19:48:29
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Cycled past the site yesterday (29/04); workmen (is this term still permitted?  ) It depends. Were all those present "men" and were they "working" ? More importantly, had a Diversity Equality Inclusivity Impact Assessment been carried out to deternine whether those Global Citizens present were the most appropriate given the need to ensure that the Intersectionality of the Impact Output (formerly "Work") complies with the latest thinking on how to acheive Cradle to Cradle Circular Economy Corporate Social Responsibility? Furthermore, did the Diversity Equality Inclusivity Impact Assessment fully consider the Human Rights of those Global Citizens who have, after having fully participated in Brave Space Truth & Reconciliation, made the decision as Slacktivists not to participate in said Impact Output? Finally, it is extremely important that we fully utiise Impact Consulting to ensure that we refer to outdated concepts such as "yards" by their more appropriate forms such as Material Footprint Zones if we want our Impact Storytelling to fully reflect our Two Spirit Value Chain. Hope that clarifies things. BINGO |
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165
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: "LNER is planning to impose compulsory seat reservations on their trains" ...
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on: April 30, 2021, 19:43:30
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I'm very much in agreement with Railfuture. Mandatory seat reservations are a bad idea for the many reasons they list. Even as an operator with a market geared towards longer journeys, there are still plenty of shorter ones undertaken.
There are also longer journeys. Bristol / London is effectively a long distance commuter route. When I used it I never knew for certain which return train I would catch as it depended on unplanned activities. If I have an open return (or season) do I book several trains, or do I book 1 train and make another booking when I miss it? I cannot use my phone to book when I am en route due to a lack of signal in the underground. |
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