Scrubbed or not, this is proper engineering testing. The biggest rocket ever, an all-up test with first flights of both stages, very similar to the "screw it lets light it" testing of the Saturn V.
Ukraine could lose control of its skies as early as next month, putting a planned spring offensive in jeopardy and leaving its cities at risk of Russian bombardment of the kind suffered in Syria, the air force has warned.
The stark assessment from Colonel Yuri Ihnat, spokesman for the air force, follows the devastating leak of Pentagon assessments from February which suggested that Ukraine might run out of ammunition for its Soviet-era air defence systems by May.
“The situation is very dangerous indeed,” Ihnat said. “If we lose the battle for our skies the consequences will be critical. The Russians will smash every city just like they did in Syria. Our nuclear power stations will be vulnerable too. And we will struggle to protect our frontline troops.”
Russia’s inability to achieve air superiority during the opening stages of the invasion was one of the biggest surprises for western analysts. Ukraine’s air defences and fighter jets shot down several enemy aircraft in the opening weeks of the war, meaning that Russia’s bombers and helicopter gunships have barely ventured beyond the active frontlines in the east since. President Putin’s forces have instead relied on guided missiles to reach targets.
That could quickly change, Ihnat said, unless Ukraine could find an answer to the problem posed by its diminishing stocks of Soviet-era Buk and S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, which make up 90 per cent of its air defences. “The problem is where to get them from,” he said, adding that Slovakia had been able to supply some. “Only the Russians produce them, so sooner or later we are going to run out.”
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Naples (one of my favourite cities), Palermo, Berlin, Warsaw. And slightly on topic Belfast, which at least before COVID had a lively music scene, in my view better than Dublin.
Most of these improvements have a specific cause to do with doing something about organised crime.
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Naples (one of my favourite cities), Palermo, Berlin, Warsaw. And slightly on topic Belfast, which at least before COVID had a lively music scene, in my view better than Dublin.
Most of these improvements have a specific cause to do with doing something about organised crime.
Is Naples improved? I LOVE Naples (like you). What have they done? Sorted the garbage? Demolished all the Camorra suburbs?!
And I've always thought Belfast had great potential. The location is quietly spectacular and it has a wealth of grand buildings. Good to hear if it is on the up
Ukraine could lose control of its skies as early as next month, putting a planned spring offensive in jeopardy and leaving its cities at risk of Russian bombardment of the kind suffered in Syria, the air force has warned.
The stark assessment from Colonel Yuri Ihnat, spokesman for the air force, follows the devastating leak of Pentagon assessments from February which suggested that Ukraine might run out of ammunition for its Soviet-era air defence systems by May.
“The situation is very dangerous indeed,” Ihnat said. “If we lose the battle for our skies the consequences will be critical. The Russians will smash every city just like they did in Syria. Our nuclear power stations will be vulnerable too. And we will struggle to protect our frontline troops.”
Russia’s inability to achieve air superiority during the opening stages of the invasion was one of the biggest surprises for western analysts. Ukraine’s air defences and fighter jets shot down several enemy aircraft in the opening weeks of the war, meaning that Russia’s bombers and helicopter gunships have barely ventured beyond the active frontlines in the east since. President Putin’s forces have instead relied on guided missiles to reach targets.
That could quickly change, Ihnat said, unless Ukraine could find an answer to the problem posed by its diminishing stocks of Soviet-era Buk and S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, which make up 90 per cent of its air defences. “The problem is where to get them from,” he said, adding that Slovakia had been able to supply some. “Only the Russians produce them, so sooner or later we are going to run out.”
Scrubbed or not, this is proper engineering testing. The biggest rocket ever, an all-up test with first flights of both stages, very similar to the "screw it lets light it" testing of the Saturn V.
Very much so. I know that Elon Musk can be a divisive character at times, but one has to admire what SpaceX are achieving with this rocket. As you say, it’s Apollo levels of get-stuff-done - but all privately funded, rather than being at the very top of the Federal budget for several years!
Scrubbed or not, this is proper engineering testing. The biggest rocket ever, an all-up test with first flights of both stages, very similar to the "screw it lets light it" testing of the Saturn V.
Very much so. I know that Elon use can be a divisive character at times, but one has to admire what SpaceX are achieving with this rocket. As you say, it’s Apollo levels of get-stuff-done - but all privately funded, rather than being at the very top of the Federal budget for several years!
Elon is a fucking mensch. Let's face it
Also, now that he's decided to go for AI, and take on OpenAI and defeat ChatGPT, there is a good chance we will get unwoke, uncensored, un-nerfed AI, which will at least make the final years of humanity more entertaining
Scrubbed or not, this is proper engineering testing. The biggest rocket ever, an all-up test with first flights of both stages, very similar to the "screw it lets light it" testing of the Saturn V.
SpaceX feels closer to the spirit of NASA of the 60s than NASA does today. Still at least NASA launched the SLS recently. Which is further along than I expected them to be this decade to be quite honest.
Ukraine could lose control of its skies as early as next month, putting a planned spring offensive in jeopardy and leaving its cities at risk of Russian bombardment of the kind suffered in Syria, the air force has warned.
The stark assessment from Colonel Yuri Ihnat, spokesman for the air force, follows the devastating leak of Pentagon assessments from February which suggested that Ukraine might run out of ammunition for its Soviet-era air defence systems by May.
“The situation is very dangerous indeed,” Ihnat said. “If we lose the battle for our skies the consequences will be critical. The Russians will smash every city just like they did in Syria. Our nuclear power stations will be vulnerable too. And we will struggle to protect our frontline troops.”
Russia’s inability to achieve air superiority during the opening stages of the invasion was one of the biggest surprises for western analysts. Ukraine’s air defences and fighter jets shot down several enemy aircraft in the opening weeks of the war, meaning that Russia’s bombers and helicopter gunships have barely ventured beyond the active frontlines in the east since. President Putin’s forces have instead relied on guided missiles to reach targets.
That could quickly change, Ihnat said, unless Ukraine could find an answer to the problem posed by its diminishing stocks of Soviet-era Buk and S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, which make up 90 per cent of its air defences. “The problem is where to get them from,” he said, adding that Slovakia had been able to supply some. “Only the Russians produce them, so sooner or later we are going to run out.”
The rumour are that the Ukrainians have been heavily targeting Russian radar systems as well, partly for this reason.
Perun flagged up Ukrainian anti-air systems as being a potential problem many months ago.
To be fair, and not saying this is the case here.....if I had loads of air defence missiles I would also be saying the same thing in the hope that the russians are emboldened and send me loads of targets
Interesting that Naples is apparently improving, at a similar latitude to Athens. Maybe Southern European cities in general are on the up, despite the economic down turns there. The deprivation in Southern Italy, Greece, and probably Spain as well as Leon says, is often actually most acute in the countryside and interior, away from any coastal beaches or big cities.
Scrubbed or not, this is proper engineering testing. The biggest rocket ever, an all-up test with first flights of both stages, very similar to the "screw it lets light it" testing of the Saturn V.
SpaceX feels closer to the spirit of NASA of the 60s than NASA does today. Still at least NASA launched the SLS recently. Which is further along than I expected them to be this decade to be quite honest.
I disagree. NASA does a massive amount of really cool stuff, very well indeed. It just doesn't get the hype that SpaceX does.
I'd argue (perhaps controversially) that Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, is *more* of an achievement than the SH/SS combo. It has just completed its 50th flight.
They would have called it a 'mission success' if it had just taken off once. The extended mission campaign was five flights.
It has just completed its 50th flight, and is helping the Perseverance rover navigate across Mars.
Scrubbed or not, this is proper engineering testing. The biggest rocket ever, an all-up test with first flights of both stages, very similar to the "screw it lets light it" testing of the Saturn V.
SpaceX feels closer to the spirit of NASA of the 60s than NASA does today. Still at least NASA launched the SLS recently. Which is further along than I expected them to be this decade to be quite honest.
Bridenstine turned out to be one of the best NASA administrators. Got the Webb back on track, pushed Artemis through, got SLS into some kind of state, pushed the Mars helicopter….
Washington Post (via Seattle Times) > Clarence Thomas has for years claimed income from a defunct real estate firm
Over the last two decades, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has reported on required financial disclosure forms that his family received rental income totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a firm called Ginger, Ltd., Partnership.
But that company – a Nebraska real estate firm launched in the 1980s by his wife and her relatives – has not existed since 2006.
That year, the family real estate company was shut down and a separate firm was created, state incorporation records show. The similarly named firm assumed control of the shuttered company’s land leasing business, according to property records.
Since that time, however, Thomas has continued to report income from the defunct company – between $50,000 and $100,000 annually in recent years – and there is no mention of the newer firm, Ginger Holdings, LLC, on the forms.
The previously unreported misstatement might be dismissed as a paperwork error. But it is among a series of errors and omissions that Thomas has made on required annual financial disclosure forms over the past several decades, a review of those records shows. Together, they have raised questions about how seriously Thomas views his responsibility to accurately report details about his finances to the public.
Thomas’s disclosure history is in the spotlight after ProPublica revealed this month that a Texas billionaire took him on lavish vacations and also bought from Thomas and his siblings a Georgia home where their mother lives, a transaction that was not disclosed on the forms. Thomas said in a statement that colleagues he did not name told him he did not have to report the vacations and that he has always tried to comply with disclosure guidelines. He has not publicly addressed the property transaction.
Again, this man claims to be able to tell pregnant people what they can do with their uteruses and is *certain* about whether white men who died two centuries ago wanted people to have an AR15s... but claims a simple financial disclosure form befuddles him. https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1647942024769818624
I don't see how his fellow Justices allow the situation to continue for very much longer. They're already in denial about the Court's rapidly diminishing credibility; how do they react as it becomes a national laughing stock ?
Interesting that Naples is apparently improving, at a similar latitude to Athens. Maybe Southern European cities in general are on the up, despite the economic down turns there. The deprivation in Southern Italy, Greece, and probably Spain as well as Leon says, is often actually most acute in the countryside and interior, away from any coastal beaches or big cities.
Marseilles, I have heard, is also improving. The crime there was grim. It should be a lovely city....
Scrubbed or not, this is proper engineering testing. The biggest rocket ever, an all-up test with first flights of both stages, very similar to the "screw it lets light it" testing of the Saturn V.
SpaceX feels closer to the spirit of NASA of the 60s than NASA does today. Still at least NASA launched the SLS recently. Which is further along than I expected them to be this decade to be quite honest.
I disagree. NASA does a massive amount of really cool stuff, very well indeed. It just doesn't get the hype that SpaceX does.
I'd argue (perhaps controversially) that Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, is *more* of an achievement than the SH/SS combo. It has just completed its 50th flight.
They would have called it a 'mission success' if it had just taken off once. The extended mission campaign was five flights.
It has just completed its 50th flight, and is helping the Perseverance rover navigate across Mars.
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
Interesting that Naples is apparently improving, at a similar latitude to Athens. Maybe Southern European cities in general are on the up, despite the economic down turns there. The deprivation in Southern Italy, Greece, and probably Spain as well as Leon says, is often actually most acute in the countryside and interior, away from any coastal beaches or big cities.
Marseilles, I have heard, is also improving. The crime there was grim. It should be a lovely city....
Herne Bay. It's the new Broadstairs. You heard it here first.
I love Paris. Not sure I’d want to live there these days. If it’s gone downhill, it’s due to the globalisation and gentrification of the inner quarters.
I liked it best as I discovered it. Still a bit seedy in the second, third and fourth.
Every major city in the west has gone downhill, I am sad to say. I've been to about forty of them in the last few years (many in the last two years). I cannot name one which is obviously improving, they are nearly all in decline. A few are managing to tread water
Swiss cities are doing OK but they are small and intensely rich
I can't really speak for London as a whole as I don't spend that much time in the centre outside of work but South East London - places like Deptford and Peckham - continues to improve noticeably.
London is suffering, but it's nowhere near as bad as the decline in some American cities: the deserted downtowns, the surging crime. Good to hear that SE London is on the up (insert joke about "it couldn't get worse" in here)
That said, I was in Soho for a meet two days ago and the buzz was absolutely tremendous, you couldn't get a car down Dean Street coz of all the drinkers spilling out everywhere. And this was a really chilly Thursday evening at about 6pm. And recently there have been so many people in Camden they've had to semi-close the Tube in weekdays for safety reasons - to slow the crowds - something that only ever happened on weekends before
All anecdotal, but London ain't done yet, just maybe having a rough patch with signs of recuperation
They really do need to sort the petty crime tho - the phones and the bikes
Phone theft in London in 2013 - 314 every day Phone theft in London in 2023 - 248 every day
Has phone theft really gone down??! I guess that's heartening to hear
My perspective may be slanted by this:
1. I got my own phone nicked, successfully, for the first time a few weeks back (I suffered an unsuccessful attemped theft a few years ago
2. I couple of friends have had the same experience recently
3. I've joined that Next Door app which has some very useful functions - like finding a cleaner - but is also full of people moaning about phone theft, car theft, graffiti, etc, which can make you think the entire city is falling down. I am tempted to mute it
You're absolutely right about that Next Door app. It generates a sense of menace all around.
I walk around with my phone peeking provocatively out of my rear pocket. Been doing that for years. Never an attempt. Not one.
Ukraine could lose control of its skies as early as next month, putting a planned spring offensive in jeopardy and leaving its cities at risk of Russian bombardment of the kind suffered in Syria, the air force has warned.
The stark assessment from Colonel Yuri Ihnat, spokesman for the air force, follows the devastating leak of Pentagon assessments from February which suggested that Ukraine might run out of ammunition for its Soviet-era air defence systems by May.
“The situation is very dangerous indeed,” Ihnat said. “If we lose the battle for our skies the consequences will be critical. The Russians will smash every city just like they did in Syria. Our nuclear power stations will be vulnerable too. And we will struggle to protect our frontline troops.”
Russia’s inability to achieve air superiority during the opening stages of the invasion was one of the biggest surprises for western analysts. Ukraine’s air defences and fighter jets shot down several enemy aircraft in the opening weeks of the war, meaning that Russia’s bombers and helicopter gunships have barely ventured beyond the active frontlines in the east since. President Putin’s forces have instead relied on guided missiles to reach targets.
That could quickly change, Ihnat said, unless Ukraine could find an answer to the problem posed by its diminishing stocks of Soviet-era Buk and S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, which make up 90 per cent of its air defences. “The problem is where to get them from,” he said, adding that Slovakia had been able to supply some. “Only the Russians produce them, so sooner or later we are going to run out.”
Interesting that Naples is apparently improving, at a similar latitude to Athens. Maybe Southern European cities in general are on the up, despite the economic down turns there. The deprivation in Southern Italy, Greece, and probably Spain as well as Leon says, is often actually most acute in the countryside and interior, away from any coastal beaches or big cities.
Marseilles, I have heard, is also improving. The crime there was grim. It should be a lovely city....
Herne Bay. It's the new Broadstairs. You heard it here first.
Interesting that Naples is apparently improving, at a similar latitude to Athens. Maybe Southern European cities in general are on the up, despite the economic down turns there. The deprivation in Southern Italy, Greece, and probably Spain as well as Leon says, is often actually most acute in the countryside and interior, away from any coastal beaches or big cities.
Marseilles, I have heard, is also improving. The crime there was grim. It should be a lovely city....
Herne Bay. It's the new Broadstairs. You heard it here first.
Ukraine could lose control of its skies as early as next month, putting a planned spring offensive in jeopardy and leaving its cities at risk of Russian bombardment of the kind suffered in Syria, the air force has warned.
The stark assessment from Colonel Yuri Ihnat, spokesman for the air force, follows the devastating leak of Pentagon assessments from February which suggested that Ukraine might run out of ammunition for its Soviet-era air defence systems by May.
“The situation is very dangerous indeed,” Ihnat said. “If we lose the battle for our skies the consequences will be critical. The Russians will smash every city just like they did in Syria. Our nuclear power stations will be vulnerable too. And we will struggle to protect our frontline troops.”
Russia’s inability to achieve air superiority during the opening stages of the invasion was one of the biggest surprises for western analysts. Ukraine’s air defences and fighter jets shot down several enemy aircraft in the opening weeks of the war, meaning that Russia’s bombers and helicopter gunships have barely ventured beyond the active frontlines in the east since. President Putin’s forces have instead relied on guided missiles to reach targets.
That could quickly change, Ihnat said, unless Ukraine could find an answer to the problem posed by its diminishing stocks of Soviet-era Buk and S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, which make up 90 per cent of its air defences. “The problem is where to get them from,” he said, adding that Slovakia had been able to supply some. “Only the Russians produce them, so sooner or later we are going to run out.”
Surely air defence systems are something that could be provided by the west and, unlike offensive weapons, would not be at all controversial?
The issue is the serious lack of stock, rather than escalatory fears. For anything but manpads, western militaries are loath to part with their supplies, as they are not quickly or easily replaceable.
Ukraine could lose control of its skies as early as next month, putting a planned spring offensive in jeopardy and leaving its cities at risk of Russian bombardment of the kind suffered in Syria, the air force has warned.
The stark assessment from Colonel Yuri Ihnat, spokesman for the air force, follows the devastating leak of Pentagon assessments from February which suggested that Ukraine might run out of ammunition for its Soviet-era air defence systems by May.
“The situation is very dangerous indeed,” Ihnat said. “If we lose the battle for our skies the consequences will be critical. The Russians will smash every city just like they did in Syria. Our nuclear power stations will be vulnerable too. And we will struggle to protect our frontline troops.”
Russia’s inability to achieve air superiority during the opening stages of the invasion was one of the biggest surprises for western analysts. Ukraine’s air defences and fighter jets shot down several enemy aircraft in the opening weeks of the war, meaning that Russia’s bombers and helicopter gunships have barely ventured beyond the active frontlines in the east since. President Putin’s forces have instead relied on guided missiles to reach targets.
That could quickly change, Ihnat said, unless Ukraine could find an answer to the problem posed by its diminishing stocks of Soviet-era Buk and S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, which make up 90 per cent of its air defences. “The problem is where to get them from,” he said, adding that Slovakia had been able to supply some. “Only the Russians produce them, so sooner or later we are going to run out.”
Surely air defence systems are something that could be provided by the west and, unlike offensive weapons, would not be at all controversial?
The issue is the serious lack of stock, rather than escalatory fears. For anything but manpads, western militaries are loath to part with their supplies, as they are not quickly or easily replaceable.
It needs seriously more Air Defence Systems than have been provided to achieve what is assessed as adequate cover.
NOTICE to those who insist on proclaiming that "Democrats" are hoping, wishing, "praying" for Donald Fucking Trump to win the 2024 Republican nomination -
Interesting that Naples is apparently improving, at a similar latitude to Athens. Maybe Southern European cities in general are on the up, despite the economic down turns there. The deprivation in Southern Italy, Greece, and probably Spain as well as Leon says, is often actually most acute in the countryside and interior, away from any coastal beaches or big cities.
Marseilles, I have heard, is also improving. The crime there was grim. It should be a lovely city....
Wasn't Marseilles an Ancient Greek colony ? Also the home of Zinedine Zidane. Great fish, local food and and culinary traditions as well, as I seem to recall from somewhere.
Scrubbed or not, this is proper engineering testing. The biggest rocket ever, an all-up test with first flights of both stages, very similar to the "screw it lets light it" testing of the Saturn V.
SpaceX feels closer to the spirit of NASA of the 60s than NASA does today. Still at least NASA launched the SLS recently. Which is further along than I expected them to be this decade to be quite honest.
I disagree. NASA does a massive amount of really cool stuff, very well indeed. It just doesn't get the hype that SpaceX does.
I'd argue (perhaps controversially) that Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, is *more* of an achievement than the SH/SS combo. It has just completed its 50th flight.
They would have called it a 'mission success' if it had just taken off once. The extended mission campaign was five flights.
It has just completed its 50th flight, and is helping the Perseverance rover navigate across Mars.
As fantastic as an achievement the Mars helicopter is, it's not really comparable to a superheavy launch system.
What utter rubbish.
Seriously. What the tiny team behind Ingenuity has achieved - and what it heralds for the future - is staggering.
People obsessing over SH/SS are just truck fanatics. What matters are the payloads. Yes, SH/SS will hopefully make launching payloads much cheaper - but Ingenuity opens up so many more options on many worlds.
Question: has anyone ever joined a car club in London? Or is a member now?
I'm gonna be out of town a lot in coming months and owning a car is now beyond ridiculous. Three journeys a year or whatever. But a car club makes sense for those 3 journeys
I used to be a member of Zipcar and it worked fine. But the reviews now are TERRIBLE: dirty cars, terrible customer service, hidden charges, the works
Scrubbed or not, this is proper engineering testing. The biggest rocket ever, an all-up test with first flights of both stages, very similar to the "screw it lets light it" testing of the Saturn V.
SpaceX feels closer to the spirit of NASA of the 60s than NASA does today. Still at least NASA launched the SLS recently. Which is further along than I expected them to be this decade to be quite honest.
I disagree. NASA does a massive amount of really cool stuff, very well indeed. It just doesn't get the hype that SpaceX does.
I'd argue (perhaps controversially) that Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, is *more* of an achievement than the SH/SS combo. It has just completed its 50th flight.
They would have called it a 'mission success' if it had just taken off once. The extended mission campaign was five flights.
It has just completed its 50th flight, and is helping the Perseverance rover navigate across Mars.
As fantastic as an achievement the Mars helicopter is, it's not really comparable to a superheavy launch system.
What utter rubbish.
Seriously. What the tiny team behind Ingenuity has achieved - and what it heralds for the future - is staggering.
People obsessing over SH/SS are just truck fanatics. What matters are the payloads. Yes, SH/SS will hopefully make launching payloads much cheaper - but Ingenuity opens up so many more options on many worlds.
We need both. We need to be able to explore the planets with people. And then have a helicopter to expand how far we can explore. As good as a robot lander can be, it isn't the same as landing a human exploration base.
Building A Dyson Sphere Using ChatGPT https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2023/04/building-a-dyson-sphere-using-chatgpt.html ...I asked AI engine chatGPT to build me a hypothetical 2 meter thick Dyson sphere at a distance of 2 AU (~300 million kilometers). I wanted to see how efficiently chatGPT harnesses information from the internet to give me specifics and how well its large language model (LLM) of computation understood what I was saying.
I asked it a number of questions based on the technology, economics and material science aspects of building a giant structure like this and it answered all of them within reasonable bounds...
..I verified at least some (but not all) of the numbers it gave me from other sources and was finally able to arrive at the following conclusion:
Building a 1 meter thick Dyson sphere at 1 AU from the sun would take approximately 10^25 kilograms of material. The composition of this material would include silicon, carbon and metals. If we could disassemble both Jupiter and Mercury and also mine metal-rich asteroids and the major metal-rich moons of Jupiter and Saturn, we would get least 10^27 kilograms of material would be more than enough to build this sphere. At current world GDP growth rates and assuming current prices, it would take about 600 years for us to have enough capital to build the sphere...
Ukraine could lose control of its skies as early as next month, putting a planned spring offensive in jeopardy and leaving its cities at risk of Russian bombardment of the kind suffered in Syria, the air force has warned.
The stark assessment from Colonel Yuri Ihnat, spokesman for the air force, follows the devastating leak of Pentagon assessments from February which suggested that Ukraine might run out of ammunition for its Soviet-era air defence systems by May.
“The situation is very dangerous indeed,” Ihnat said. “If we lose the battle for our skies the consequences will be critical. The Russians will smash every city just like they did in Syria. Our nuclear power stations will be vulnerable too. And we will struggle to protect our frontline troops.”
Russia’s inability to achieve air superiority during the opening stages of the invasion was one of the biggest surprises for western analysts. Ukraine’s air defences and fighter jets shot down several enemy aircraft in the opening weeks of the war, meaning that Russia’s bombers and helicopter gunships have barely ventured beyond the active frontlines in the east since. President Putin’s forces have instead relied on guided missiles to reach targets.
That could quickly change, Ihnat said, unless Ukraine could find an answer to the problem posed by its diminishing stocks of Soviet-era Buk and S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, which make up 90 per cent of its air defences. “The problem is where to get them from,” he said, adding that Slovakia had been able to supply some. “Only the Russians produce them, so sooner or later we are going to run out.”
Surely air defence systems are something that could be provided by the west and, unlike offensive weapons, would not be at all controversial?
The issue is the serious lack of stock, rather than escalatory fears. For anything but manpads, western militaries are loath to part with their supplies, as they are not quickly or easily replaceable.
It needs seriously more Air Defence Systems than have been provided to achieve what is assessed as adequate cover.
Like 6-7 times more.
I agree.
But western militaries are extremely parsimonious when it comes to sharing the stuff they actually use*, rather than the mothballed stock. And have no doubt advised their ministers of the extreme risks of giving away modern medium range AA systems.
Ukraine could lose control of its skies as early as next month, putting a planned spring offensive in jeopardy and leaving its cities at risk of Russian bombardment of the kind suffered in Syria, the air force has warned.
The stark assessment from Colonel Yuri Ihnat, spokesman for the air force, follows the devastating leak of Pentagon assessments from February which suggested that Ukraine might run out of ammunition for its Soviet-era air defence systems by May.
“The situation is very dangerous indeed,” Ihnat said. “If we lose the battle for our skies the consequences will be critical. The Russians will smash every city just like they did in Syria. Our nuclear power stations will be vulnerable too. And we will struggle to protect our frontline troops.”
Russia’s inability to achieve air superiority during the opening stages of the invasion was one of the biggest surprises for western analysts. Ukraine’s air defences and fighter jets shot down several enemy aircraft in the opening weeks of the war, meaning that Russia’s bombers and helicopter gunships have barely ventured beyond the active frontlines in the east since. President Putin’s forces have instead relied on guided missiles to reach targets.
That could quickly change, Ihnat said, unless Ukraine could find an answer to the problem posed by its diminishing stocks of Soviet-era Buk and S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, which make up 90 per cent of its air defences. “The problem is where to get them from,” he said, adding that Slovakia had been able to supply some. “Only the Russians produce them, so sooner or later we are going to run out.”
Surely air defence systems are something that could be provided by the west and, unlike offensive weapons, would not be at all controversial?
They could have been provided 9 months ago and left Ukraine with its power grid 90% operational. That these have not been provided (Israel was very reluctant to allow its technology to be used, before it wasn't) is one of the great mysteries of this war.
NOTICE to those who insist on proclaiming that "Democrats" are hoping, wishing, "praying" for Donald Fucking Trump to win the 2024 Republican nomination -
In MY case, you are TOTALLY FULL OF SHIT.
And I am NOT alone.
Very sensible. Polling suggests that there is not a lot in it, between Trump and Biden, and in a two horse contest, the last thing you want is for one of the candidates to be a psychopathic man-child. The psychopathic man-child might win.
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Magnar Steyn in Austria is a contract manufacturer which spins up production lines for low volume production. Really the only company of its kind. For example, the Aston Martin Rapide was built there. If the model is a success, Ineos will move production to a dedicated facility to decrease unit costs. That facility won't be in the UK either, of course...
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring and predictable in general, I would say. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer.
Scrubbed or not, this is proper engineering testing. The biggest rocket ever, an all-up test with first flights of both stages, very similar to the "screw it lets light it" testing of the Saturn V.
SpaceX feels closer to the spirit of NASA of the 60s than NASA does today. Still at least NASA launched the SLS recently. Which is further along than I expected them to be this decade to be quite honest.
I disagree. NASA does a massive amount of really cool stuff, very well indeed. It just doesn't get the hype that SpaceX does.
I'd argue (perhaps controversially) that Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, is *more* of an achievement than the SH/SS combo. It has just completed its 50th flight.
They would have called it a 'mission success' if it had just taken off once. The extended mission campaign was five flights.
It has just completed its 50th flight, and is helping the Perseverance rover navigate across Mars.
As fantastic as an achievement the Mars helicopter is, it's not really comparable to a superheavy launch system.
What utter rubbish.
Seriously. What the tiny team behind Ingenuity has achieved - and what it heralds for the future - is staggering.
People obsessing over SH/SS are just truck fanatics. What matters are the payloads. Yes, SH/SS will hopefully make launching payloads much cheaper - but Ingenuity opens up so many more options on many worlds.
We need both. We need to be able to explore the planets with people. And then have a helicopter to expand how far we can explore. As good as a robot lander can be, it isn't the same as landing a human exploration base.
This comes back to the age-old human versus robotic exploration debate. And I'm firmly in the 'both' camp. We could just about 'live' on the Moon or Mars with current, or high TRL (*). For anywhere else - Venus, Jupiter, the various moons - we're looking at robotic exploration for the near future. Venusian cloud colonies are a very distant dream.
And even on Mars or the Moon, you can get so much more bang for your buck with robotic exploration backing up human bases.
NOTICE to those who insist on proclaiming that "Democrats" are hoping, wishing, "praying" for Donald Fucking Trump to win the 2024 Republican nomination -
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer, I would say.
Soho is totally rocking now. I do not recognise this description at all
Covent Garden is much as it was. Touristy, very pretty, but with hints of tat
Holborn and "midtown" is indeed looking really ratty, especially around Red Lion Square and the Brunswick
Seems out of kilter with other seat counts on similar polling, especially as that's assuming a Tory vote of 28%. Looks wrong - see SNP seat total with 3.3% too.
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring and staid, I think. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer, I would say.
Part of this is because the inner suburbs are getting gentrified - Clapham, Hackney Wick and Greenwich are all booming at the moment
Cheap spaceflight allows greater risks with payload.
Indeed. I want a seed-all-the-planets approach with probes: send many cheap probes to all planets of interest. The probes will have common busses and common sensors. Build 500 of them and send them to 50 targets through the solar system. You won't get such tailored data as you would from targeted probes, but you'd get a massive amount.
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Isn't much of London's South Bank near the Eye closed for redevelopment (demolition and rebuilding) such as the IBM building and ITV studios? That might skew things.
ETA come to think of it, the South Bank was always teeming with foreign school trips, so there might be a Brexit effect there (by imposing a need for passports, which made London a PITA for European schools compared with hopping into the next door EU vassal state).
NOTICE to those who insist on proclaiming that "Democrats" are hoping, wishing, "praying" for Donald Fucking Trump to win the 2024 Republican nomination -
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring and predictable in general, I would say. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer.
As the Italians moved out of Holborn and Clerkenwell, so the good restaurants went with them. When I worked in Bloomsbury, 1989-91, it was both much cheaper, and more interesting, than today.
I miss the semi-gritty, semi-gentrified era of '90s Soho, again. Very lively and unpredictable ; Jeffrey Barnard rubbing shoulders with trendy young nightclubbers and the last sleazy hostesses, touting their venues at the doors ; a fascinating mixture. It's still alive in some evenings of the spring and summer, though, as you say.
Scrubbed or not, this is proper engineering testing. The biggest rocket ever, an all-up test with first flights of both stages, very similar to the "screw it lets light it" testing of the Saturn V.
SpaceX feels closer to the spirit of NASA of the 60s than NASA does today. Still at least NASA launched the SLS recently. Which is further along than I expected them to be this decade to be quite honest.
I disagree. NASA does a massive amount of really cool stuff, very well indeed. It just doesn't get the hype that SpaceX does.
I'd argue (perhaps controversially) that Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, is *more* of an achievement than the SH/SS combo. It has just completed its 50th flight.
They would have called it a 'mission success' if it had just taken off once. The extended mission campaign was five flights.
It has just completed its 50th flight, and is helping the Perseverance rover navigate across Mars.
As fantastic as an achievement the Mars helicopter is, it's not really comparable to a superheavy launch system.
What utter rubbish.
Seriously. What the tiny team behind Ingenuity has achieved - and what it heralds for the future - is staggering.
People obsessing over SH/SS are just truck fanatics. What matters are the payloads. Yes, SH/SS will hopefully make launching payloads much cheaper - but Ingenuity opens up so many more options on many worlds.
We need both. We need to be able to explore the planets with people. And then have a helicopter to expand how far we can explore. As good as a robot lander can be, it isn't the same as landing a human exploration base.
This comes back to the age-old human versus robotic exploration debate. And I'm firmly in the 'both' camp. We could just about 'live' on the Moon or Mars with current, or high TRL (*). For anywhere else - Venus, Jupiter, the various moons - we're looking at robotic exploration for the near future. Venusian cloud colonies are a very distant dream.
And even on Mars or the Moon, you can get so much more bang for your buck with robotic exploration backing up human bases.
Several of the people running the various Mars landers have aid that a human could have done months of their work in a few hours, if physically present on the surface.
Cheap spaceflight allows greater risks with payload.
Indeed. I want a seed-all-the-planets approach with probes: send many cheap probes to all planets of interest. The probes will have common busses and common sensors. Build 500 of them and send them to 50 targets through the solar system. You won't get such tailored data as you would from targeted probes, but you'd get a massive amount.
(Sorry, Sandy...)
Which will overwhelm the DSN unless you do some pretty massive upgrades.
A big drop today of two ex-Wagner fighters testifying to mass killings, including of more than 20 Ukrainian children and teenagers. Azamat Uldarov and Aleksey Savichev are both former prisoners.
They say they blew up a pit with 50+ wounded Ukrainian POWs and the so-called "500s," Russian refuseniks who didn't agree to kill Ukrainians. They cleared residences in Soledar and Bakhmut by murdering everyone.
"I executed the order with this hand, I killed the children on the order," Uldarov says. "What we did when we entered Soledar and Bakhmut... We were given the command to clear and kill everyone. We went and killed all women, men, pensioners and children, including minors, five-year-olds."
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring and predictable in general, I would say. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer.
As the Italians moved out of Holborn and Clerkenwell, so the good restaurants went with them. When I worked in Bloomsbury, 1989-91, it was both much cheaper, and more interesting, than today.
Bloomsbury is a weird mix. Parts of it have gone way upmarket. Store St for instance. And the redevelopment of the Tott Ct Road/Charing X junction is a vast improvement, and suddenly throbs with people
And yet other streets look very rundown
Fitzrovia took a massive knock during Covid. I recall walking down Charlotte St thinking, Shit, this is never going to recover. South Charlotte Street is now livelier than it ever was, perhaps, with a much more interesting variety of restos and bars (fewer chain outlets). There is just one block left where you can see Covid scarring - a row of about 5 shops still shuttered, but two of those (when I last looked) had the builders in
London is definitely recovering in many places, and in some places seems busier than ever
I've not been to Canary Wharf tho, I am genuinely intrigued to see how it is faring
I miss the semi-gritty, semi-gentrified era of '90s Soho, again. Very lively and unpredictable ; Jeffrey Barnard rubbing shoulders with trendy young nightclubbers and the last sleazy hostesses, touting their venues at the doors ; a fascinating mixture. It's still alive in the evenings, though, as you say.
A lot of Soho coming alive is just pubs spilling out onto narrow pavements. Destination pubs, admittedly, and a good area for rainbow flags.
Question: has anyone ever joined a car club in London? Or is a member now?
I'm gonna be out of town a lot in coming months and owning a car is now beyond ridiculous. Three journeys a year or whatever. But a car club makes sense for those 3 journeys
I used to be a member of Zipcar and it worked fine. But the reviews now are TERRIBLE: dirty cars, terrible customer service, hidden charges, the works
Anyone got any advice?
Enterprise will rent you a Tesla from the garage/carpark behind Tesco in St Johns Wood.
On Marseille, see Transatlantic on netflix. Mi6 send a black women and the woke SS don't suspect a thing.
No matter where you live, it will give you the impression you are in downtown Mogadishu.
Why? Because they survive on engagement, and people open crime alerts. So they'll send you bloody gazillions. And you're like "Holy shit! A break in on the corner of Acacia and Smith Street", and only later do you realise that's actually four miles away, and there are about a four million people in a four mile radius of you.
Question: has anyone ever joined a car club in London? Or is a member now?
I'm gonna be out of town a lot in coming months and owning a car is now beyond ridiculous. Three journeys a year or whatever. But a car club makes sense for those 3 journeys
I used to be a member of Zipcar and it worked fine. But the reviews now are TERRIBLE: dirty cars, terrible customer service, hidden charges, the works
Anyone got any advice?
I read that classic cars are a superb investment at the moment.
So, like James Bond, get yourself a DB5 and a lockup. Use it 3 days a year and watch the value accumulate on all the others...
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer, I would say.
Soho is totally rocking now. I do not recognise this description at all
Covent Garden is much as it was. Touristy, very pretty, but with hints of tat
Holborn and "midtown" is indeed looking really ratty, especially around Red Lion Square and the Brunswick
I think that's right: indeed I'd say Soho through Chinatown and into St Martin's Lane are all rocking right now. While Fitzrovia is OK, and the City is really struggling.
I miss the semi-gritty, semi-gentrified era of '90s Soho, again. Very lively and unpredictable ; Jeffrey Barnard rubbing shoulders with trendy young nightclubbers and the last sleazy hostesses, touting their venues at the doors ; a fascinating mixture. It's still alive in the evenings, though, as you say.
A lot of Soho coming alive is just pubs spilling out onto narrow pavements. Destination pubs, admittedly, and a good area for rainbow flags.
indeed. There's nothing like narrow streets and a lot of people to give a place life and spontaneous, unpredictable interaction. The more obscure and less touristised parts of Plaka just underneath the Acropolis are just the same for this.
No wonder they wanted Hausmann to rebuild Paris and get rid of all those narrow streets - there's nothing like them for the endless and lively social ferment just before, and since they rebuilt Paris only one attempted "revolution" after.
Interesting that Naples is apparently improving, at a similar latitude to Athens. Maybe Southern European cities in general are on the up, despite the economic down turns there. The deprivation in Southern Italy, Greece, and probably Spain as well as Leon says, is often actually most acute in the countryside and interior, away from any coastal beaches or big cities.
Marseilles, I have heard, is also improving. The crime there was grim. It should be a lovely city....
Wasn't Marseilles an Ancient Greek colony ? Also the home of Zinedine Zidane. Great fish, local food and and culinary traditions as well, as I seem to recall from somewhere.
I would say French cities are more uniformly pleasant and well serviced than they used to be, when the experience was much patchier with some being great and others less so, but they still feel a little staid compared with much of the rest of Europe. I really like Lyon and it's my "local" city but it's not got the swagger of somewhere like Manchester or Glasgow.
I just came back from another week in Southern Burgundy and I'd say the country - which looks nice, pristine, well serviced as ever, and is doing reasonably well economically - is in a bit of a bad mood at the moment. To take one example, all the trades are doing roaring business with waiting times in the multiple months and prices going through the roof, but they're all moaning about lack of staff. Nature is suffering a bit - rather like our own sewage problem, they have a crisis of biodiversity happening in real time with insect and bird populations crashing. My neighbour was expressing general depression at the state of politics where you're basically stuck with extremists on both wings or what she sees as an arrogant overbearing president and PM.
For all that the UK can seem scruffy, uncouth and dysfunctional there's a certain level of cheerful boisterousness about the urban bits of the country that is absent from most of urban and rural France. I realised that when we stopped in the middle of Kent at a cheap chain restaurant serving bog standard Italian American food (you know the one, typically found in the vicinity of multiplex cinemas). The food wasn't great but the vibe - from waiting staff to the customers - was so much more lively, happy and energetic than any equivalent restaurants in France - the likes of Buffalo Grill or Courtepaille.
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring and predictable in general, I would say. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer.
As the Italians moved out of Holborn and Clerkenwell, so the good restaurants went with them. When I worked in Bloomsbury, 1989-91, it was both much cheaper, and more interesting, than today.
That's not quite true: Clerkenwell had some great restaurants right through until about 2010.
. . . this for Fitalass among others . . .Troubled Waters for Washington State Ferries . . . (Scotland is NOT alone) . . .
2 stories from today's Seattle Times ($)
> Passengers retrieve cars from WA ferry that ran aground on Bainbridge Island
After running aground on Bainbridge Island on Saturday evening, the ferry Walla Walla limped back to Bremerton early Sunday morning, where it welcomed weary passengers returning to pick up the cars they’d been forced to abandon the night before.
The 50-year-old boat on its way to Seattle from Bremerton beached on the south end of Bainbridge Island as it entered Rich Passage around 4:30 p.m. Saturday; the cause was an apparent loss of power, according to a spokesperson for Washington State Ferries.
Roughly 600 people were aboard the ship when it beached Saturday, all of whom were shuttled off the Walla Walla and back to Bremerton via a Kitsap Transit fast boat. That meant, however, that close to 200 cars were left on board. . . .
Passengers on board when the boat ran aground Saturday afternoon recalled the lights flickering, followed by alarms sounding on the boat and the captain warning people to brace for impact. The crash itself was gentle, as the Jumbo-class ferry settled on the sandy shores of southern Bainbridge Island.
“It was controlled chaos,” said Rhona Jones, who was trying to return home to Seattle on Saturday night but instead spent the night in Bremerton with her son after five hours aboard the ferry.
Marisha Doan, who was on board with her two young children and husband, called the whole experience “very, very surreal.”
Once it was clear no one was hurt, the experience was amusing for a short time, she said. “Then it was parenting hell.”
> Beached ferry reminder of WA’s aging fleet as state struggles to replace boats
As the sun set and the tide receded on the beached ferry Walla Walla on Saturday night, the lights aboard the 50-year-old Jumbo class ship grew sharp against the darkening skies.
The image, at once striking and unsettling, stood as backdrop to the state’s aging fleet of 21 ferries in need of ever more maintenance simply to keep them afloat.
It’s a point Gov. Jay Inslee made from the shores of Bainbridge Island, where he looked on as the nearly 600 passengers were loaded onto rescue boats supplied by Kitsap Transit, an unwelcome marker of the 111th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking.
“Look, we have a very old fleet,” he said. “We desperately need new boats. We’ve known this for a long time.”
Lawmakers in Olympia have begun to act, budgeting $1.5 billion over 16 years to build new vessels and convert existing ones to be electric.
But the challenges of completing the new ships go beyond budgeting. Ballooning costs and workforce shortages could mean Washington does something it hasn’t done in more than 50 years: build the boats outside the state. . . .
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer, I would say.
Soho is totally rocking now. I do not recognise this description at all
Covent Garden is much as it was. Touristy, very pretty, but with hints of tat
Holborn and "midtown" is indeed looking really ratty, especially around Red Lion Square and the Brunswick
I think that's right: indeed I'd say Soho through Chinatown and into St Martin's Lane are all rocking right now. While Fitzrovia is OK, and the City is really struggling.
The square mile is fine from Tuesday to Thursday, otherwise it is a bit dead. Old Street, Shoreditch and Hoxton still seem fine though.
We're looking at increasing Friday office attendance with a fully paid sit down lunch and 3pm finish plus office booze and a bar tab for people who come into the office.
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer, I would say.
Soho is totally rocking now. I do not recognise this description at all
Covent Garden is much as it was. Touristy, very pretty, but with hints of tat
Holborn and "midtown" is indeed looking really ratty, especially around Red Lion Square and the Brunswick
I think that's right: indeed I'd say Soho through Chinatown and into St Martin's Lane are all rocking right now. While Fitzrovia is OK, and the City is really struggling.
The square mile is fine from Tuesday to Thursday, otherwise it is a bit dead. Old Street, Shoreditch and Hoxton still seem fine though.
We're looking at increasing Friday office attendance with a fully paid sit down lunch and 3pm finish plus office booze and a bar tab for people who come into the office.
Canary Wharf on the other hand is right back to pre-Covid liveliness levels and is also now pretty decent at the weekend. It'll never be Soho but as high rise financial centres go it's a lot better than La Defense for example.
I miss the semi-gritty, semi-gentrified era of '90s Soho, again. Very lively and unpredictable ; Jeffrey Barnard rubbing shoulders with trendy young nightclubbers and the last sleazy hostesses, touting their venues at the doors ; a fascinating mixture. It's still alive in some evenings of the spring and summer, though, as you say.
One thing annoys me about complaints about gentrification.
It’s a problem you can fix yourself - get out there and sell some crack and steal some mobile phones.
I visited Canary Wharf recently and it was strange being able to easily find a seat in one of those bars/cafes near the tube station. Used to be almost impossible before Covid-19.
I miss the semi-gritty, semi-gentrified era of '90s Soho, again. Very lively and unpredictable ; Jeffrey Barnard rubbing shoulders with trendy young nightclubbers and the last sleazy hostesses, touting their venues at the doors ; a fascinating mixture. It's still alive in some evenings of the spring and summer, though, as you say.
One thing annoys me about complaints about gentrification.
It’s a problem you can fix yourself - get out there and sell some crack and steal some mobile phones.
Or in the case of 1990s' Soho, buy your own Arthur-Daley-type fleece overcoat, and start a Raymond Revue Bar or street fruit market.
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer, I would say.
Soho is totally rocking now. I do not recognise this description at all
Covent Garden is much as it was. Touristy, very pretty, but with hints of tat
Holborn and "midtown" is indeed looking really ratty, especially around Red Lion Square and the Brunswick
I think that's right: indeed I'd say Soho through Chinatown and into St Martin's Lane are all rocking right now. While Fitzrovia is OK, and the City is really struggling.
The square mile is fine from Tuesday to Thursday, otherwise it is a bit dead. Old Street, Shoreditch and Hoxton still seem fine though.
We're looking at increasing Friday office attendance with a fully paid sit down lunch and 3pm finish plus office booze and a bar tab for people who come into the office.
What a life! It sounds like those heady University days and tutorials in the Woodville.
No matter where you live, it will give you the impression you are in downtown Mogadishu.
Why? Because they survive on engagement, and people open crime alerts. So they'll send you bloody gazillions. And you're like "Holy shit! A break in on the corner of Acacia and Smith Street", and only later do you realise that's actually four miles away, and there are about a four million people in a four mile radius of you.
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer, I would say.
Soho is totally rocking now. I do not recognise this description at all
Covent Garden is much as it was. Touristy, very pretty, but with hints of tat
Holborn and "midtown" is indeed looking really ratty, especially around Red Lion Square and the Brunswick
I think that's right: indeed I'd say Soho through Chinatown and into St Martin's Lane are all rocking right now. While Fitzrovia is OK, and the City is really struggling.
The square mile is fine from Tuesday to Thursday, otherwise it is a bit dead. Old Street, Shoreditch and Hoxton still seem fine though.
We're looking at increasing Friday office attendance with a fully paid sit down lunch and 3pm finish plus office booze and a bar tab for people who come into the office.
Canary Wharf on the other hand is right back to pre-Covid liveliness levels and is also now pretty decent at the weekend. It'll never be Soho but as high rise financial centres go it's a lot better than La Defense for example.
Canary Wharf is the worst though. Rubbish location, the buildings are horrible on the inside and the pubs are shite and full of the worst finance wankers that have already done far too much coke at 5pm on a Tuesday.
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer, I would say.
Soho is totally rocking now. I do not recognise this description at all
Covent Garden is much as it was. Touristy, very pretty, but with hints of tat
Holborn and "midtown" is indeed looking really ratty, especially around Red Lion Square and the Brunswick
I think that's right: indeed I'd say Soho through Chinatown and into St Martin's Lane are all rocking right now. While Fitzrovia is OK, and the City is really struggling.
The square mile is fine from Tuesday to Thursday, otherwise it is a bit dead. Old Street, Shoreditch and Hoxton still seem fine though.
We're looking at increasing Friday office attendance with a fully paid sit down lunch and 3pm finish plus office booze and a bar tab for people who come into the office.
Canary Wharf on the other hand is right back to pre-Covid liveliness levels and is also now pretty decent at the weekend. It'll never be Soho but as high rise financial centres go it's a lot better than La Defense for example.
Canary Wharf is the worst though. Rubbish location, the buildings are horrible on the inside and the pubs are shite and full of the worst finance wankers that have already done far too much coke at 5pm on a Tuesday.
Can I interest you in a desirable office on Canada Square, Sir?
Question: has anyone ever joined a car club in London? Or is a member now?
I'm gonna be out of town a lot in coming months and owning a car is now beyond ridiculous. Three journeys a year or whatever. But a car club makes sense for those 3 journeys
I used to be a member of Zipcar and it worked fine. But the reviews now are TERRIBLE: dirty cars, terrible customer service, hidden charges, the works
Anyone got any advice?
Co-Wheels have a car near us & it seems to be kept in reasonable shape. Not expensive to join if you want to try them out.
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer, I would say.
Soho is totally rocking now. I do not recognise this description at all
Covent Garden is much as it was. Touristy, very pretty, but with hints of tat
Holborn and "midtown" is indeed looking really ratty, especially around Red Lion Square and the Brunswick
I think that's right: indeed I'd say Soho through Chinatown and into St Martin's Lane are all rocking right now. While Fitzrovia is OK, and the City is really struggling.
The square mile is fine from Tuesday to Thursday, otherwise it is a bit dead. Old Street, Shoreditch and Hoxton still seem fine though.
We're looking at increasing Friday office attendance with a fully paid sit down lunch and 3pm finish plus office booze and a bar tab for people who come into the office.
Canary Wharf on the other hand is right back to pre-Covid liveliness levels and is also now pretty decent at the weekend. It'll never be Soho but as high rise financial centres go it's a lot better than La Defense for example.
Canary Wharf is the worst though. Rubbish location, the buildings are horrible on the inside and the pubs are shite and full of the worst finance wankers that have already done far too much coke at 5pm on a Tuesday.
I love Canary Wharf. I first visited in 1991, and me and my parents got to go to the top of the tall 'un - although it was the only one at the time. That was shortly before it got closed because of the IRA and terrorist threat. Since then I've seen the area develop into the weird mix it is now. And the DLR goes right through it.
Memories include a gf playing the sax whilst we walked down an up escalator - until a security guard stopped us.
The Isle of Dogs is superb. And when I ran past it the other week, I was overjoyed to see that my old local, the Gun, is still open. Although I bet there's less spit and sawdust on the floor than there was 30 years ago...
Question: has anyone ever joined a car club in London? Or is a member now?
I'm gonna be out of town a lot in coming months and owning a car is now beyond ridiculous. Three journeys a year or whatever. But a car club makes sense for those 3 journeys
I used to be a member of Zipcar and it worked fine. But the reviews now are TERRIBLE: dirty cars, terrible customer service, hidden charges, the works
Anyone got any advice?
why not just hire from one of the big rental companies
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer, I would say.
Soho is totally rocking now. I do not recognise this description at all
Covent Garden is much as it was. Touristy, very pretty, but with hints of tat
Holborn and "midtown" is indeed looking really ratty, especially around Red Lion Square and the Brunswick
I think that's right: indeed I'd say Soho through Chinatown and into St Martin's Lane are all rocking right now. While Fitzrovia is OK, and the City is really struggling.
The square mile is fine from Tuesday to Thursday, otherwise it is a bit dead. Old Street, Shoreditch and Hoxton still seem fine though.
We're looking at increasing Friday office attendance with a fully paid sit down lunch and 3pm finish plus office booze and a bar tab for people who come into the office.
Canary Wharf on the other hand is right back to pre-Covid liveliness levels and is also now pretty decent at the weekend. It'll never be Soho but as high rise financial centres go it's a lot better than La Defense for example.
Canary Wharf is the worst though. Rubbish location, the buildings are horrible on the inside and the pubs are shite and full of the worst finance wankers that have already done far too much coke at 5pm on a Tuesday.
I love Canary Wharf. I first visited in 1991, and me and my parents got to go to the top of the tall 'un - although it was the only one at the time. That was shortly before it got closed because of the IRA and terrorist threat. Since then I've seen the area develop into the weird mix it is now. And the DLR goes right through it.
Memories include a gf playing the sax whilst we walked down an up escalator - until a security guard stopped us.
The Isle of Dogs is superb. And when I ran past it the other week, I was overjoyed to see that my old local, the Gun, is still open. Although I bet there's less spit and sawdust on the floor than there was 30 years ago...
For about 10 years from 1989 to 1998 that one tower was the only one there.
I could do a list of major western cities experiencing obvious decline and it would be thirty long, or more, and it would include Paris, NYC, LA, Rome, New Orleans, Florence and - I am afraid - London. And many many more. Perhaps this is to be expected after a plague but it is still a sad fact
The list of cities looking better is probably more interesting because it is so much smaller
Seville (the outskirts are still poor, nonetheless the centre is much lovelier) Lucerne (but is that major, does it count?) Er Reykjavik?
Nashville Tennessee seemed to be doing well, and it is experiencing an influx of people (unlike many American cities) but it was my first visit so dunno how much of a change this is
Which parts of London have declined the most would you say?
In central London: the City, due to lack of commuters and workers. Parts of the South Bank around the Eye. Parts of Bloomsbury - eg the Brunswick Centre and Lamb's Conduit St. Also Holborn
Holborn and Covent Garden have got much more boring. Soho isn't quite what it was, but still comes alive on some nights of spring and summer, I would say.
Soho is totally rocking now. I do not recognise this description at all
Covent Garden is much as it was. Touristy, very pretty, but with hints of tat
Holborn and "midtown" is indeed looking really ratty, especially around Red Lion Square and the Brunswick
I think that's right: indeed I'd say Soho through Chinatown and into St Martin's Lane are all rocking right now. While Fitzrovia is OK, and the City is really struggling.
The square mile is fine from Tuesday to Thursday, otherwise it is a bit dead. Old Street, Shoreditch and Hoxton still seem fine though.
We're looking at increasing Friday office attendance with a fully paid sit down lunch and 3pm finish plus office booze and a bar tab for people who come into the office.
Canary Wharf on the other hand is right back to pre-Covid liveliness levels and is also now pretty decent at the weekend. It'll never be Soho but as high rise financial centres go it's a lot better than La Defense for example.
Canary Wharf is the worst though. Rubbish location, the buildings are horrible on the inside and the pubs are shite and full of the worst finance wankers that have already done far too much coke at 5pm on a Tuesday.
I love Canary Wharf. I first visited in 1991, and me and my parents got to go to the top of the tall 'un - although it was the only one at the time. That was shortly before it got closed because of the IRA and terrorist threat. Since then I've seen the area develop into the weird mix it is now. And the DLR goes right through it.
Memories include a gf playing the sax whilst we walked down an up escalator - until a security guard stopped us.
The Isle of Dogs is superb. And when I ran past it the other week, I was overjoyed to see that my old local, the Gun, is still open. Although I bet there's less spit and sawdust on the floor than there was 30 years ago...
For about 10 years from 1989 to 1998 that one tower was the only one there.
I remember that. It bizarrely loomed over the Isle of Dogs, with just its light flashing on the top. A Thatcherite arrival amongst the council estates, many of which have not that willingly been relocated elsewhere, since that time.
I think Canary Wharf has turned out better than La Defense, across the channel, after 35 years, though.
Taranto accuses ProPublica of getting some facts wrong, and misunderstanding the rules. In the past I have found him to be a competent, honest journalist, but I haven't followed this story closely enough to have an opinion on who is right.
But I will say that leftwing journalists in the US have become less confined to mere facts, in recent years. (Example: the 1619 project) Most haven't reached Tucker Carlson levels, but they are heading in his direction.
From the Times's coverage of Sunak's maths speech. On balance, I'm pretty sure that devising their own spreadsheets is not a good use of (Prime) Ministerial time.
Sunak, a former investment banker who devises his own spreadsheets for use in government, will argue that poor maths skills are costing the British economy.
For people to learn basic maths you need more maths teachers. Good luck with that!
We don't invest anything like as much as we need to in children's education.
Unfortunately, Labour's keystone policy of vindictiveness towards private schools will only make it worse.
How will it make it worse? The money raised by putting VAT on private school fees will be used to increase funding for the schools that 93% of kids go to. Since those schools are starved of resources I would assume that each £1 spent there would have more incremental benefit on the overall quality of educational outcomes. At state schools the money would be spent on more teachers or new books, at private schools it would just be a new lighting system at the school theatre, more manicuring of the school's eighth rugby pitch or an extra school cricket trip to the Caribbean.
Because it won't raise any more money, and will indeed cost the taxpayer, as the children transfer to be educated at the State's expense and, indeed, some private schools actually close.
It's a remarkably stupid policy, driven by prejudice.
I remember going through the numbers and it looked like it would be revenue positive - you'd need an implausibly high amount of pupils switching to the state system for it not to be (and since I would prefer all pupils to be educated in the state system so that the rich can't escape the consequences of their voting decisions and to promote social cohesion I wouldn't be that bothered if that happened anyway).
If you wanted "to promote social cohesion" rigorously you'd have to abolish catchment areas, do away with kids going to schools they can walk to, and instead have something like bussing and random allocation with no choice as to what school people go to.
The fact that a good school's catchment area is a key determinant in house prices shows that there's more than just private schools etc that are in play here.
Parents who value their kids education are going to do what they can to get their kids into a good school, even within the state sector, and not be worried about "social cohesion" - and quite rightly too.
School catchment is certainly a factor in house prices but the causation also runs the other way and is likely more powerful - big houses in leafy suburbs attract middle class families whose kids attend their local school and get better exam results. For most children their closest school is their best option. I am certainly glad that our kids can attend their nearest comprehensive school (rated good - the median rating, above average number of kids on free school meals) and walk there, it is best for everyone.
Wouldn't it be nice if your local school was nice?
In practice, everyone-goes-to-their-local-school leads to a large amount of coasting. Schools will get the kids and the funding anyway, so no need to try too hard. They can follow their own agenda, rather than one that parents might want them to.
In practice, if your kids are starting secondary school this September, there is next to no choice: you go where you're put. This cohort is so huge that there isn't the space to pick and choose.
You've highlighted one of the problems with school choice here. For it to work, you do need the system to carry a significant number of free places in each area. In general, we don't want to do that, because of the cost/inefficiency. So what often happens in practice is that all but one schools fill up to capacity and the school seen as worst becomes half-empty and enters a spiral of doom.
One of the theories was that good schools would want to expand to meet demand. That rarely happened- partly because of the constraints of school sites and partly because a lot of heads would rather keep a small school running well than risk the instability of expansion.
The dirty secret of school improvement is that, once you get beyond basic competence (and yes, there are schools where that doesn't happen reliably), it's not easy to make a school actually better (as opposed to looking better), and the easiest way to do it is to choose your intake shrewdly.
I strongly (though politely!) disagree with your last para. There's LOADS of ways of improving schools, and there are loads of examples of schools improving experiences and outcomes for pupils by changing the right things. (My wife works in schools improvement and is very interesting on the subject!)
And you do need slack in the system, as in any system. If you're running at capacity, you fall over when you're pushed that little bit more.
Curious what you consider are the easiest wins in terms of ways of improving schools?
I wish my wife was on hand to answer this (Mrs. Cookie, if you're reading, of course I was listening), but to pluck an example out of thin air, there is one academy trust which has effected fantastic results with pupil motivation, attendance and engagement simply by changing the philosophy of how kids are rewarded. Again, I'm being vague here because I can't remember all the details, but there is a notion of 'bring in work you are proud of'. And there are other philosophical changes too: what behaviour do and don't we encourage/tolerate? How do we present our school? What do we put on the walls? How do we deal with non-attendance? And so forth. There are also lots of discipline-specific decisions - as an example, around matters like setting, but more specifically (for example) how do we best teach algebra?
This is outside my area of expertise - but the point is there are wins which - if not easy - are not necessarily resource dependent. Some schools will be getting this right, some will be getting it wrong; many will be in some sort of middle ground. I'm certainly not saying lack of resources is not a problem; but resources alone are not the solution.
Comments
Ukraine could lose control of its skies as early as next month, putting a planned spring offensive in jeopardy and leaving its cities at risk of Russian bombardment of the kind suffered in Syria, the air force has warned.
The stark assessment from Colonel Yuri Ihnat, spokesman for the air force, follows the devastating leak of Pentagon assessments from February which suggested that Ukraine might run out of ammunition for its Soviet-era air defence systems by May.
“The situation is very dangerous indeed,” Ihnat said. “If we lose the battle for our skies the consequences will be critical. The Russians will smash every city just like they did in Syria. Our nuclear power stations will be vulnerable too. And we will struggle to protect our frontline troops.”
Russia’s inability to achieve air superiority during the opening stages of the invasion was one of the biggest surprises for western analysts. Ukraine’s air defences and fighter jets shot down several enemy aircraft in the opening weeks of the war, meaning that Russia’s bombers and helicopter gunships have barely ventured beyond the active frontlines in the east since. President Putin’s forces have instead relied on guided missiles to reach targets.
That could quickly change, Ihnat said, unless Ukraine could find an answer to the problem posed by its diminishing stocks of Soviet-era Buk and S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, which make up 90 per cent of its air defences. “The problem is where to get them from,” he said, adding that Slovakia had been able to supply some. “Only the Russians produce them, so sooner or later we are going to run out.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-on-brink-in-battle-for-skies-kyiv-warns-west-g6cfqj90c
Most of these improvements have a specific cause to do with doing something about organised crime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN57x2a_waw
And I've always thought Belfast had great potential. The location is quietly spectacular and it has a wealth of grand buildings. Good to hear if it is on the up
Perun flagged up Ukrainian anti-air systems as being a potential problem many months ago.
Also, now that he's decided to go for AI, and take on OpenAI and defeat ChatGPT, there is a good chance we will get unwoke, uncensored, un-nerfed AI, which will at least make the final years of humanity more entertaining
I'd argue (perhaps controversially) that Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, is *more* of an achievement than the SH/SS combo. It has just completed its 50th flight.
They would have called it a 'mission success' if it had just taken off once. The extended mission campaign was five flights.
It has just completed its 50th flight, and is helping the Perseverance rover navigate across Mars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingenuity_(helicopter)
https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1647942024769818624
I don't see how his fellow Justices allow the situation to continue for very much longer.
They're already in denial about the Court's rapidly diminishing credibility; how do they react as it becomes a national laughing stock ?
Britain misses out on building second Ineos vehicle, after company chose France for original model
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/apr/17/jim-ratcliffe-ineos-electric-grenadier-austria
I walk around with my phone peeking provocatively out of my rear pocket. Been doing that for years. Never an attempt. Not one.
St Leonard's is the new St. Ives.
For anything but manpads, western militaries are loath to part with their supplies, as they are not quickly or easily replaceable.
Like 6-7 times more.
In MY case, you are TOTALLY FULL OF SHIT.
And I am NOT alone.
Seriously. What the tiny team behind Ingenuity has achieved - and what it heralds for the future - is staggering.
People obsessing over SH/SS are just truck fanatics. What matters are the payloads. Yes, SH/SS will hopefully make launching payloads much cheaper - but Ingenuity opens up so many more options on many worlds.
I'm gonna be out of town a lot in coming months and owning a car is now beyond ridiculous. Three journeys a year or whatever. But a car club makes sense for those 3 journeys
I used to be a member of Zipcar and it worked fine. But the reviews now are TERRIBLE: dirty cars, terrible customer service, hidden charges, the works
Anyone got any advice?
https://dominiccummings.substack.com/p/6-regime-change-new-data-shows-trump (£££)
Dom must be stalking @Leon!
https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2023/04/building-a-dyson-sphere-using-chatgpt.html
...I asked AI engine chatGPT to build me a hypothetical 2 meter thick Dyson sphere at a distance of 2 AU (~300 million kilometers). I wanted to see how efficiently chatGPT harnesses information from the internet to give me specifics and how well its large language model (LLM) of computation understood what I was saying.
I asked it a number of questions based on the technology, economics and material science aspects of building a giant structure like this and it answered all of them within reasonable bounds...
..I verified at least some (but not all) of the numbers it gave me from other sources and was finally able to arrive at the following conclusion:
Building a 1 meter thick Dyson sphere at 1 AU from the sun would take approximately 10^25 kilograms of material. The composition of this material would include silicon, carbon and metals. If we could disassemble both Jupiter and Mercury and also mine metal-rich asteroids and the major metal-rich moons of Jupiter and Saturn, we would get least 10^27 kilograms of material would be more than enough to build this sphere. At current world GDP growth rates and assuming current prices, it would take about 600 years for us to have enough capital to build the sphere...
'If'
But western militaries are extremely parsimonious when it comes to sharing the stuff they actually use*, rather than the mothballed stock.
And have no doubt advised their ministers of the extreme risks of giving away modern medium range AA systems.
*Not entirely without justification.
And one of the most inexcusable.
https://pollingreport.uk/seats
And even on Mars or the Moon, you can get so much more bang for your buck with robotic exploration backing up human bases.
(*) Technology Readiness Level - a score from 1 to 10 of the maturity of a tech. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_readiness_level
Covent Garden is much as it was. Touristy, very pretty, but with hints of tat
Holborn and "midtown" is indeed looking really ratty, especially around Red Lion Square and the Brunswick
(Sorry, Sandy...)
ETA come to think of it, the South Bank was always teeming with foreign school trips, so there might be a Brexit effect there (by imposing a need for passports, which made London a PITA for European schools compared with hopping into the next door EU vassal state).
For which you need masses of cheap launch…
They say they blew up a pit with 50+ wounded Ukrainian POWs and the so-called "500s," Russian refuseniks who didn't agree to kill Ukrainians. They cleared residences in Soledar and Bakhmut by murdering everyone.
"I executed the order with this hand, I killed the children on the order," Uldarov says. "What we did when we entered Soledar and Bakhmut... We were given the command to clear and kill everyone. We went and killed all women, men, pensioners and children, including minors, five-year-olds."
Yevgeny Prigozhin personally gave orders for the shootings, Uldarov and Savichev claim.
https://mobile.twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1647949751990599687
And yet other streets look very rundown
Fitzrovia took a massive knock during Covid. I recall walking down Charlotte St thinking, Shit, this is never going to recover. South Charlotte Street is now livelier than it ever was, perhaps, with a much more interesting variety of restos and bars (fewer chain outlets). There is just one block left where you can see Covid scarring - a row of about 5 shops still shuttered, but two of those (when I last looked) had the builders in
London is definitely recovering in many places, and in some places seems busier than ever
I've not been to Canary Wharf tho, I am genuinely intrigued to see how it is faring
On Marseille, see Transatlantic on netflix. Mi6 send a black women and the woke SS don't suspect a thing.
DO NOT USE NEXTDOOR.
No matter where you live, it will give you the impression you are in downtown Mogadishu.
Why? Because they survive on engagement, and people open crime alerts. So they'll send you bloody gazillions. And you're like "Holy shit! A break in on the corner of Acacia and Smith Street", and only later do you realise that's actually four miles away, and there are about a four million people in a four mile radius of you.
So, like James Bond, get yourself a DB5 and a lockup. Use it 3 days a year and watch the value accumulate on all the others...
No wonder they wanted Hausmann to rebuild Paris and get rid of all those narrow streets - there's nothing like them for the endless and lively social ferment just before, and since they rebuilt Paris only one attempted "revolution" after.
I just came back from another week in Southern Burgundy and I'd say the country - which looks nice, pristine, well serviced as ever, and is doing reasonably well economically - is in a bit of a bad mood at the moment. To take one example, all the trades are doing roaring business with waiting times in the multiple months and prices going through the roof, but they're all moaning about lack of staff. Nature is suffering a bit - rather like our own sewage problem, they have a crisis of biodiversity happening in real time with insect and bird populations crashing. My neighbour was expressing general depression at the state of politics where you're basically stuck with extremists on both wings or what she sees as an arrogant overbearing president and PM.
For all that the UK can seem scruffy, uncouth and dysfunctional there's a certain level of cheerful boisterousness about the urban bits of the country that is absent from most of urban and rural France. I realised that when we stopped in the middle of Kent at a cheap chain restaurant serving bog standard Italian American food (you know the one, typically found in the vicinity of multiplex cinemas). The food wasn't great but the vibe - from waiting staff to the customers - was so much more lively, happy and energetic than any equivalent restaurants in France - the likes of Buffalo Grill or Courtepaille.
2 stories from today's Seattle Times ($)
> Passengers retrieve cars from WA ferry that ran aground on Bainbridge Island
After running aground on Bainbridge Island on Saturday evening, the ferry Walla Walla limped back to Bremerton early Sunday morning, where it welcomed weary passengers returning to pick up the cars they’d been forced to abandon the night before.
The 50-year-old boat on its way to Seattle from Bremerton beached on the south end of Bainbridge Island as it entered Rich Passage around 4:30 p.m. Saturday; the cause was an apparent loss of power, according to a spokesperson for Washington State Ferries.
Roughly 600 people were aboard the ship when it beached Saturday, all of whom were shuttled off the Walla Walla and back to Bremerton via a Kitsap Transit fast boat. That meant, however, that close to 200 cars were left on board. . . .
Passengers on board when the boat ran aground Saturday afternoon recalled the lights flickering, followed by alarms sounding on the boat and the captain warning people to brace for impact. The crash itself was gentle, as the Jumbo-class ferry settled on the sandy shores of southern Bainbridge Island.
“It was controlled chaos,” said Rhona Jones, who was trying to return home to Seattle on Saturday night but instead spent the night in Bremerton with her son after five hours aboard the ferry.
Marisha Doan, who was on board with her two young children and husband, called the whole experience “very, very surreal.”
Once it was clear no one was hurt, the experience was amusing for a short time, she said. “Then it was parenting hell.”
> Beached ferry reminder of WA’s aging fleet as state struggles to replace boats
As the sun set and the tide receded on the beached ferry Walla Walla on Saturday night, the lights aboard the 50-year-old Jumbo class ship grew sharp against the darkening skies.
The image, at once striking and unsettling, stood as backdrop to the state’s aging fleet of 21 ferries in need of ever more maintenance simply to keep them afloat.
It’s a point Gov. Jay Inslee made from the shores of Bainbridge Island, where he looked on as the nearly 600 passengers were loaded onto rescue boats supplied by Kitsap Transit, an unwelcome marker of the 111th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking.
“Look, we have a very old fleet,” he said. “We desperately need new boats. We’ve known this for a long time.”
Lawmakers in Olympia have begun to act, budgeting $1.5 billion over 16 years to build new vessels and convert existing ones to be electric.
But the challenges of completing the new ships go beyond budgeting. Ballooning costs and workforce shortages could mean Washington does something it hasn’t done in more than 50 years: build the boats outside the state. . . .
We're looking at increasing Friday office attendance with a fully paid sit down lunch and 3pm finish plus office booze and a bar tab for people who come into the office.
It’s a problem you can fix yourself - get out there and sell some crack and steal some mobile phones.
Shame we former Remainers left on L' Isle Noir are lumbered with Jim's Brexit.
NEW THREAD
Memories include a gf playing the sax whilst we walked down an up escalator - until a security guard stopped us.
The Isle of Dogs is superb. And when I ran past it the other week, I was overjoyed to see that my old local, the Gun, is still open. Although I bet there's less spit and sawdust on the floor than there was 30 years ago...
I think Canary Wharf has turned out better than La Defense, across the channel, after 35 years, though.
Taranto accuses ProPublica of getting some facts wrong, and misunderstanding the rules. In the past I have found him to be a competent, honest journalist, but I haven't followed this story closely enough to have an opinion on who is right.
But I will say that leftwing journalists in the US have become less confined to mere facts, in recent years. (Example: the 1619 project) Most haven't reached Tucker Carlson levels, but they are heading in his direction.