I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
We are about a mile or so from the A1M and it's still noticeable when we have the window is open,
However I did reach a similar conclusion a while back that it will be possible to live on a main road in the future in the way you can't at the moment. Especially if it's a county lane once motorbikes go electric (in the Dales that is where the noise comes from).
Last Saturday I did a run along the A1 (there was a pavement), and the fumes were very noticeable. But oddly, not as pungent as I recall from when I was a kid. Less sensitive nostrils as an adult, or unleaded fuel?
As an aside, Mrs J thinks I'm weird because I love the smell of hot tarmac, e.g. when it is being laid.
Adblue diesels and DPFs are probably the biggest recent difference. 10 years ago cycling down my road I used to see piles of soot near the traffic lights where DPFs had dumped under acceleration, that seems to have stopped as the technology improved.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
We are about a mile or so from the A1M and it's still noticeable when we have the window is open,
However I did reach a similar conclusion a while back that it will be possible to live on a main road in the future in the way you can't at the moment. Especially if it's a county lane once motorbikes go electric (in the Dales that is where the noise comes from).
Last Saturday I did a run along the A1 (there was a pavement), and the fumes were very noticeable. But oddly, not as pungent as I recall from when I was a kid. Less sensitive nostrils as an adult, or unleaded fuel?
As an aside, Mrs J thinks I'm weird because I love the smell of hot tarmac, e.g. when it is being laid.
Adblue diesels and DPFs are probably the biggest recent difference. 10 years ago cycling down my road I used to see piles of soot near the traffic lights where DPFs had dumped under acceleration, that seems to have stopped as the technology improved.
DPF?
Diesel Particulate Filter fills up with nasty carbon particles (PM10s etc) then burns them off / expels them under hard acceleration.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
We are about a mile or so from the A1M and it's still noticeable when we have the window is open,
However I did reach a similar conclusion a while back that it will be possible to live on a main road in the future in the way you can't at the moment. Especially if it's a county lane once motorbikes go electric (in the Dales that is where the noise comes from).
Those massive london houses on the westway and north circular that sell for pennies - because they are on urban motorways - will be bargains soon enough
Thanks for that. But I'm sorta put off by the claim: "In the single year of 1846, Parliament mandated 9,500 miles of railways! (HS2 to Birmingham is just 143.)"
Which ignores the context that the next year there was a massive financial crash, caused in part by over-promotion of railway schemes, some of which were basket-cases or even outright fraudulent. Many of that 9,500 miles never got built.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
We are about a mile or so from the A1M and it's still noticeable when we have the window is open,
However I did reach a similar conclusion a while back that it will be possible to live on a main road in the future in the way you can't at the moment. Especially if it's a county lane once motorbikes go electric (in the Dales that is where the noise comes from).
Last Saturday I did a run along the A1 (there was a pavement), and the fumes were very noticeable. But oddly, not as pungent as I recall from when I was a kid. Less sensitive nostrils as an adult, or unleaded fuel?
As an aside, Mrs J thinks I'm weird because I love the smell of hot tarmac, e.g. when it is being laid.
Adblue diesels and DPFs are probably the biggest recent difference. 10 years ago cycling down my road I used to see piles of soot near the traffic lights where DPFs had dumped under acceleration, that seems to have stopped as the technology improved.
DPF?
Diesel Particulate Filter fills up with nasty carbon particles (PM10s etc) then burns them off / expels them under hard acceleration.
Or doesn't get the chance to so in the case of my missus's diesel Golf, as she putters back and forth to Tesco in it, resulting in expensive trips to the garage to sort out a clogged filter. I keep saying that we should both use my EV around town and her diesel for long trips, but she won't have it. People are very possessive about their cars (which is why car-sharing schemes don't work very well).
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
20mph must make a big difference then. When I first bought my flat on a main-ish road in Camden near 15 years ago the noise of the traffic was a total pain - thankfully my bedroom is at the back and it is very quiet
Now it is remarkably hushed. The only traffic you really notice is clattering HGVs - but there aren’t so many of those - and growling antisocial motorbikes - sadly we still have those
But as I say in those years the speed limit has dropped to 20mph so that must be a factor
Thanks for that. But I'm sorta put off by the claim: "In the single year of 1846, Parliament mandated 9,500 miles of railways! (HS2 to Birmingham is just 143.)"
Which ignores the context that the next year there was a massive financial crash, caused in part by over-promotion of railway schemes, some of which were basket-cases or even outright fraudulent. Many of that 9,500 miles never got built.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
Also tyres and brakes are a significant source of pollution, too - especially particulates. That will limit your potential gain.
That's been a key blank in the argument around LEZs, as we all know.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
We are about a mile or so from the A1M and it's still noticeable when we have the window is open,
However I did reach a similar conclusion a while back that it will be possible to live on a main road in the future in the way you can't at the moment. Especially if it's a county lane once motorbikes go electric (in the Dales that is where the noise comes from).
Those massive london houses on the westway and north circular that sell for pennies - because they are on urban motorways - will be bargains soon enough
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
We are about a mile or so from the A1M and it's still noticeable when we have the window is open,
However I did reach a similar conclusion a while back that it will be possible to live on a main road in the future in the way you can't at the moment. Especially if it's a county lane once motorbikes go electric (in the Dales that is where the noise comes from).
Last Saturday I did a run along the A1 (there was a pavement), and the fumes were very noticeable. But oddly, not as pungent as I recall from when I was a kid. Less sensitive nostrils as an adult, or unleaded fuel?
As an aside, Mrs J thinks I'm weird because I love the smell of hot tarmac, e.g. when it is being laid.
A lot more differences than unleaded fuel - catalytic converters, much better engine management and emission control.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
20mph must make a big difference then. When I first bought my flat on a main-ish road in Camden near 15 years ago the noise of the traffic was a total pain - thankfully my bedroom is at the back and it is very quiet
Now it is remarkably hushed. The only traffic you really notice is clattering HGVs - but there aren’t so many of those - and growling antisocial motorbikes - sadly we still have those
But as I say in those years the speed limit has dropped to 20mph so that must be a factor
Yes, London seemed much quieter to me when I was down there recently compared to my memories from a couple of decades ago, and I'm sure a lot of that must be due to the 20 mph limit. It makes a huge difference to tyre noise.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
Also tyres and brakes are a significant source of pollution, too - especially particulates. That will limit your potential gain.
That's been a key blank in the argument around LEZs, as we all know.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
Also tyres and brakes are a significant source of pollution, too - especially particulates. That will limit your potential gain.
That's been a key blank in the argument around LEZs, as we all know.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
We are about a mile or so from the A1M and it's still noticeable when we have the window is open,
However I did reach a similar conclusion a while back that it will be possible to live on a main road in the future in the way you can't at the moment. Especially if it's a county lane once motorbikes go electric (in the Dales that is where the noise comes from).
Triple glazing as it becomes more ubiquitous will help there too.
However, having heavy vehicles - 44 tonne lorries and the like - barrel past close to your home is always going to be a bit intrusive. We're about 50m from the main road between two rural towns and there seems to be a point in the road where the trucks hit a spur of bedrock that runs up to the house, setting all the windows to rattle in their frames.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
20mph must make a big difference then. When I first bought my flat on a main-ish road in Camden near 15 years ago the noise of the traffic was a total pain - thankfully my bedroom is at the back and it is very quiet
Now it is remarkably hushed. The only traffic you really notice is clattering HGVs - but there aren’t so many of those - and growling antisocial motorbikes - sadly we still have those
But as I say in those years the speed limit has dropped to 20mph so that must be a factor
Yes, London seemed much quieter to me when I was down there recently compared to my memories from a couple of decades ago, and I'm sure a lot of that must be due to the 20 mph limit. It makes a huge difference to tyre noise.
It’s a splendid evolution
Ultimately we need to get rid of the urban car altogether. Horrible things
So much will be reborn - like the Talgarth Road houses @Malmesbury links to upthread
London was not meant to have cars and we need to get rid
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
20mph must make a big difference then. When I first bought my flat on a main-ish road in Camden near 15 years ago the noise of the traffic was a total pain - thankfully my bedroom is at the back and it is very quiet
Now it is remarkably hushed. The only traffic you really notice is clattering HGVs - but there aren’t so many of those - and growling antisocial motorbikes - sadly we still have those
But as I say in those years the speed limit has dropped to 20mph so that must be a factor
I demur: I live on a busy-at-peak-times 30mph urban road, and also within 400 yards of the M60. My observation is that at urban speeds (i.e. 20-40mph), there is a big difference between EV and ICE cars. You can still hear the EVs, but they're noticeably quieter and less intrusive. At 70mph, however, it's tyre noise you can hear.
I can hear both right now - the constant background roar of the M60 and the periodic thrum of a car going past the front. Also, someone doing something REALLY LOUD with a power tool, but hopefully that won't last all morning.
Thanks for that. But I'm sorta put off by the claim: "In the single year of 1846, Parliament mandated 9,500 miles of railways! (HS2 to Birmingham is just 143.)"
Which ignores the context that the next year there was a massive financial crash, caused in part by over-promotion of railway schemes, some of which were basket-cases or even outright fraudulent. Many of that 9,500 miles never got built.
"A total of 6,220 miles (10,010 km) of railway line were built as a result of projects authorised between 1844 and 1846"
Which is a longer timespan, and far less, than those authorised in 1846 alone.
Also, many of those were not built by, or with the funds of, the original speculators due to schemes failing. I believe that a few were proposed later, just in time to fail again in the Overend / Gurney baning crash in the mid 1860s...
My point is that building infrastructure is good. I love infrastructure. But insinuating the bubble in the 1840s was a good way of doing things, or sustainable, is a little odd. Choosing 1846 in particular is weird.
"More than a quarter of shops in Boston, Lincolnshire, lie empty and retailers are calling for urgent support. But some local leaders believe the answer is to pivot to leisure and heritage in search of a "new identity". The BBC spent a day in the town to ask what the future might have in store.
Boston bears the scars of its retail casualties.
A short walk through the town centre to the Market Place takes in empty shop after empty shop – some boarded up, others with "to let" signs propped up in the windows.
Look beyond the signs and there are bare walls with tell-tale marks where display cabinets have been ripped away.
"There won't be a town centre in five years if we continue the way that we are," says Lisa Fitzgerald, who manages the Pescod Square shopping centre."
If no one wants to shop there, make it residential. Not as though we have a housing glut.
And if the manager of the shopping centre wants to lure back tenants, perhaps the rent she is charging is too high, although somehow that never seems to occur to people like her.
That's not really the problem. It is the destination shops that go first. Marks & Spencer or Debenhams or Boots or Next. The shops that give a reason for customers to go there, where they will naturally pass other shops. And M&S doesn't really care what the rent is. What they care about is profits and turnover and, well, customers who can't afford to buy as much after pay freezes, factory closures and the cost of living crisis.
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
I think Badenoch will be a bit like Hague. Brilliant at PMQs, hammered in the GE. At least they're skipping the IDS/Jenrick stage this time.
Wasn't IDS what happened after Hague lost? The loser's cycle in both 1997 and 2010 was "plausible but wrong junior Cabinet minister" followed by "unelectable fruitloop".
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
"If you’re a registered Pennsylvania voter, you & whoever referred you will now get $100 for signing our petition in support of free speech & right to bear arms.
Earn money for supporting something you already believe in!
I think Badenoch will be a bit like Hague. Brilliant at PMQs, hammered in the GE. At least they're skipping the IDS/Jenrick stage this time.
Wasn't IDS what happened after Hague lost? The loser's cycle in both 1997 and 2010 was "plausible but wrong junior Cabinet minister" followed by "unelectable fruitloop".
Ha, yes true I'd memory holed the order :E - still there's a choice here I think, and Kemi's the better option who I think they'll go for. Think the current odds are about right.
While I'm disappointed Cleverly isn't in the final two, not sure describing the two candidates as diseases is sensible. Maybe I'm being prudish, but I was less than happy with Rayner calling Conservatives 'scum'. It's entirely possible to disagree with people without dehumanising them. It's better to attack policies and perspectives than people.
*adds Jenrick to the space cannon ammunition list*
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
We are about a mile or so from the A1M and it's still noticeable when we have the window is open,
However I did reach a similar conclusion a while back that it will be possible to live on a main road in the future in the way you can't at the moment. Especially if it's a county lane once motorbikes go electric (in the Dales that is where the noise comes from).
Those massive london houses on the westway and north circular that sell for pennies - because they are on urban motorways - will be bargains soon enough
I think Badenoch will be a bit like Hague. Brilliant at PMQs, hammered in the GE. At least they're skipping the IDS/Jenrick stage this time.
Badenoch will have about 2 years to register a significant opinion poll lead. If she doesn't she'll probably be replaced by either Jenrick or Cleverly and it'll be one of those who goes into the next GE as leader.
New leader bounce and a poorly-received budget - potential for the Tories to take an opinion poll lead, and maybe a poll share above 30%.
It will be very interesting to see if the Tories are able to benefit from Labour unpopularity. The early signs are positive for them - both the council by-elections and opinion polls. It would be more exciting if they didn't, and we had an extended period with no party polling above 30%, and a small range covering the top four parties - 15pp between Lib Dems in 4th and Labour in 1st in that Techne poll.
"If you’re a registered Pennsylvania voter, you & whoever referred you will now get $100 for signing our petition in support of free speech & right to bear arms.
Earn money for supporting something you already believe in!
Hmm. I wonder if it will work. For $100 it might lead to people thinking they've signed up not because they support the Trump agenda but because they've been paid. It might have been better to set the amount at $5 or $10 so that those who go for the money have to rationalise that they do believe those things, since $5 is too cheap to have sold their souls.
And if they do believe those things, they vote one way. If they know they've been bought, the other way.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
We are about a mile or so from the A1M and it's still noticeable when we have the window is open,
However I did reach a similar conclusion a while back that it will be possible to live on a main road in the future in the way you can't at the moment. Especially if it's a county lane once motorbikes go electric (in the Dales that is where the noise comes from).
Those massive london houses on the westway and north circular that sell for pennies - because they are on urban motorways - will be bargains soon enough
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
SPLORG 47. Up from 41 at the 2024 GE. The current trend is disastrous for both Labour and Conservatives. Neither party ever mentions it, which is unreal.
"If you’re a registered Pennsylvania voter, you & whoever referred you will now get $100 for signing our petition in support of free speech & right to bear arms.
Earn money for supporting something you already believe in!
Hmm. I wonder if it will work. For $100 it might lead to people thinking they've signed up not because they support the Trump agenda but because they've been paid. It might have been better to set the amount at $5 or $10 so that those who go for the money have to rationalise that they do believe those things, since $5 is too cheap to have sold their souls.
And if they do believe those things, they vote one way. If they know they've been bought, the other way.
I've seen comments about that being problematic under "inducement to vote" laws.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
We are about a mile or so from the A1M and it's still noticeable when we have the window is open,
However I did reach a similar conclusion a while back that it will be possible to live on a main road in the future in the way you can't at the moment. Especially if it's a county lane once motorbikes go electric (in the Dales that is where the noise comes from).
Those massive london houses on the westway and north circular that sell for pennies - because they are on urban motorways - will be bargains soon enough
I didn't watch last night's debate, I was at a dinner and I doubt that many members will have watched it either. My vote for Jenrick has already been cast. It seemed a largely pro Badenoch audience before anyway and they did not debate head to head. Anecdotally I now know of at least 2 Badenoch backers who have switched and voted for Jenrick.
Meanwhile while Jenrick accepted a BBC QT debate next week (which would have had far more members likely watching it than last night's GB news segment) Badenoch turned it down, not encouraging for someone who could be about to face all the media exposure from being leader of the Opposition https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cevy3jd42x8o
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
SPLORG 47. Up from 41 at the 2024 GE. The current trend is disastrous for both Labour and Conservatives. Neither party ever mentions it, which is unreal.
A swing of 3.5% from Labour to Tory since the GE is hardly disastrous
New leader bounce and a poorly-received budget - potential for the Tories to take an opinion poll lead, and maybe a poll share above 30%.
It will be very interesting to see if the Tories are able to benefit from Labour unpopularity. The early signs are positive for them - both the council by-elections and opinion polls. It would be more exciting if they didn't, and we had an extended period with no party polling above 30%, and a small range covering the top four parties - 15pp between Lib Dems in 4th and Labour in 1st in that Techne poll.
More fun to work out complicated stuff like a parliament where the only possible coalition is Reform & Lib Dem’s
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
SPLORG 47. Up from 41 at the 2024 GE. The current trend is disastrous for both Labour and Conservatives. Neither party ever mentions it, which is unreal.
Maybe Starmer & Reeves would be happier in a grand coalition rather than with some of their clearly furious cabinet colleagues and left wing backbenchers after the budget
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
20mph must make a big difference then. When I first bought my flat on a main-ish road in Camden near 15 years ago the noise of the traffic was a total pain - thankfully my bedroom is at the back and it is very quiet
Now it is remarkably hushed. The only traffic you really notice is clattering HGVs - but there aren’t so many of those - and growling antisocial motorbikes - sadly we still have those
But as I say in those years the speed limit has dropped to 20mph so that must be a factor
Yes, London seemed much quieter to me when I was down there recently compared to my memories from a couple of decades ago, and I'm sure a lot of that must be due to the 20 mph limit. It makes a huge difference to tyre noise.
It’s a splendid evolution
Ultimately we need to get rid of the urban car altogether. Horrible things
So much will be reborn - like the Talgarth Road houses @Malmesbury links to upthread
London was not meant to have cars and we need to get rid
I'm a bit St. Augustine about this. I'm fully bought into the utopian ideal of the post-car city. But also, I have a car and a very comfortable lifestyle and everything for me sort-of works well enough that I don't really want to rip it all up and start again. And occasionally I think I can, and you get a brief flash of the future - when they run the marathon and you're forced to walk or cycle about the town, and all is quiet and calm and your 13 year old daughter remarks how clean the air smells today and wonders why, and you can walk about without vigilance from getting knocked down, and also the trams are full to bursting in a way which could support much more public transport if it was like that all the time. But then the next day I need to go to the tip or to some obscure bit of the opposite side of the city and the dream fades into the far-off future. God grant me a car-free city ... but not yet.
Tedious unfunny boring arrogant leftwing article of the type you would only get in the Guardian. Assuming this is 1997 again and Starmer Blair 2 rather than a PM with the lowest net approval rating of any PM in the last 50 years at this stage of his premiership bar Truss
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
20mph must make a big difference then. When I first bought my flat on a main-ish road in Camden near 15 years ago the noise of the traffic was a total pain - thankfully my bedroom is at the back and it is very quiet
Now it is remarkably hushed. The only traffic you really notice is clattering HGVs - but there aren’t so many of those - and growling antisocial motorbikes - sadly we still have those
But as I say in those years the speed limit has dropped to 20mph so that must be a factor
Yes, London seemed much quieter to me when I was down there recently compared to my memories from a couple of decades ago, and I'm sure a lot of that must be due to the 20 mph limit. It makes a huge difference to tyre noise.
It’s a splendid evolution
Ultimately we need to get rid of the urban car altogether. Horrible things
So much will be reborn - like the Talgarth Road houses @Malmesbury links to upthread
London was not meant to have cars and we need to get rid
I'm a bit St. Augustine about this. I'm fully bought into the utopian ideal of the post-car city. But also, I have a car and a very comfortable lifestyle and everything for me sort-of works well enough that I don't really want to rip it all up and start again. And occasionally I think I can, and you get a brief flash of the future - when they run the marathon and you're forced to walk or cycle about the town, and all is quiet and calm and your 13 year old daughter remarks how clean the air smells today and wonders why, and you can walk about without vigilance from getting knocked down, and also the trams are full to bursting in a way which could support much more public transport if it was like that all the time. But then the next day I need to go to the tip or to some obscure bit of the opposite side of the city and the dream fades into the far-off future. God grant me a car-free city ... but not yet.
But you will have a car. A small e-car that is yours for the hour or the day and then returns to its underground dungeon to be recharged until you summon it once more with an app
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
SPLORG 47. Up from 41 at the 2024 GE. The current trend is disastrous for both Labour and Conservatives. Neither party ever mentions it, which is unreal.
Maybe Starmer & Reeves would be happier in a grand coalition rather than with some of their clearly furious cabinet colleagues and left wing backbenchers after the budget
Only way I see a grand coalition is if Putin extends his forces further Westwards.
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
SPLORG 47. Up from 41 at the 2024 GE. The current trend is disastrous for both Labour and Conservatives. Neither party ever mentions it, which is unreal.
A swing of 3.5% from Labour to Tory since the GE is hardly disastrous
Last night's results (as per Mark Pack) seem reasonably good for the Conservatives. Unfortunately he doesn't always show turnout.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
20mph must make a big difference then. When I first bought my flat on a main-ish road in Camden near 15 years ago the noise of the traffic was a total pain - thankfully my bedroom is at the back and it is very quiet
Now it is remarkably hushed. The only traffic you really notice is clattering HGVs - but there aren’t so many of those - and growling antisocial motorbikes - sadly we still have those
But as I say in those years the speed limit has dropped to 20mph so that must be a factor
Yes, London seemed much quieter to me when I was down there recently compared to my memories from a couple of decades ago, and I'm sure a lot of that must be due to the 20 mph limit. It makes a huge difference to tyre noise.
It’s a splendid evolution
Ultimately we need to get rid of the urban car altogether. Horrible things
So much will be reborn - like the Talgarth Road houses @Malmesbury links to upthread
London was not meant to have cars and we need to get rid
I'm a bit St. Augustine about this. I'm fully bought into the utopian ideal of the post-car city. But also, I have a car and a very comfortable lifestyle and everything for me sort-of works well enough that I don't really want to rip it all up and start again. And occasionally I think I can, and you get a brief flash of the future - when they run the marathon and you're forced to walk or cycle about the town, and all is quiet and calm and your 13 year old daughter remarks how clean the air smells today and wonders why, and you can walk about without vigilance from getting knocked down, and also the trams are full to bursting in a way which could support much more public transport if it was like that all the time. But then the next day I need to go to the tip or to some obscure bit of the opposite side of the city and the dream fades into the far-off future. God grant me a car-free city ... but not yet.
I agree, and I can't really understand how the 30- 40% of households that don't have access to a car can operate (60% in North London).
I think the future is car clubs. Increase car access while massively reducing the total number of cars.
I didn't watch last night's debate, I was at a dinner and I doubt that many members will have watched it either. My vote for Jenrick has already been cast. It seemed a largely pro Badenoch audience before anyway and they did not debate head to head. Anecdotally I now know of at least 2 Badenoch backers who have switched and voted for Jenrick.
Meanwhile while Jenrick accepted a BBC QT debate next week (which would have had far more members likely watching it than last night's GB news segment) Badenoch turned it down, not encouraging for someone who could be about to face all the media exposure from being leader of the Opposition https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cevy3jd42x8o
As the rules state that any debate must be arranged by the party chairman (and this wouldn't be) and the BBC want it with virtually all non party members, which the Conservatives say is not acceptable, it will simply not happen.
Of course Jenrick would accept it. It's confirmation from him that he is way behind and will do anything to desperately bend the rules of the contest to try and give himself a chance. It's over.
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
SPLORG 47. Up from 41 at the 2024 GE. The current trend is disastrous for both Labour and Conservatives. Neither party ever mentions it, which is unreal.
Maybe Starmer & Reeves would be happier in a grand coalition rather than with some of their clearly furious cabinet colleagues and left wing backbenchers after the budget
Only way I see a grand coalition is if Putin extends his forces further Westwards.
"I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely."
Strangely, BF don't even have her on the list of who will be leader at next GE.
“One video, shared by a drone operator, follows two people ambling down a quiet Kherson street oblivious to the drone overhead until it drops a grenade that cuts both down, leaving them writhing on the ground in agony”
I think I’ve seen that video. It is as horrific as it sounds. Satanic
On the one hand this makes me want to nuke Putin and obliterate Russia. On the other hand it just makes this war even more unwinnable - for either side. Because the Ukrainians can start doing this to the Russians
Drone technology may have ended “victory” in war as we know it unless you are prepared to nuke the other side and kill everyone
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
20mph must make a big difference then. When I first bought my flat on a main-ish road in Camden near 15 years ago the noise of the traffic was a total pain - thankfully my bedroom is at the back and it is very quiet
Now it is remarkably hushed. The only traffic you really notice is clattering HGVs - but there aren’t so many of those - and growling antisocial motorbikes - sadly we still have those
But as I say in those years the speed limit has dropped to 20mph so that must be a factor
Yes, London seemed much quieter to me when I was down there recently compared to my memories from a couple of decades ago, and I'm sure a lot of that must be due to the 20 mph limit. It makes a huge difference to tyre noise.
It’s a splendid evolution
Ultimately we need to get rid of the urban car altogether. Horrible things
So much will be reborn - like the Talgarth Road houses @Malmesbury links to upthread
London was not meant to have cars and we need to get rid
I'm a bit St. Augustine about this. I'm fully bought into the utopian ideal of the post-car city. But also, I have a car and a very comfortable lifestyle and everything for me sort-of works well enough that I don't really want to rip it all up and start again. And occasionally I think I can, and you get a brief flash of the future - when they run the marathon and you're forced to walk or cycle about the town, and all is quiet and calm and your 13 year old daughter remarks how clean the air smells today and wonders why, and you can walk about without vigilance from getting knocked down, and also the trams are full to bursting in a way which could support much more public transport if it was like that all the time. But then the next day I need to go to the tip or to some obscure bit of the opposite side of the city and the dream fades into the far-off future. God grant me a car-free city ... but not yet.
But you will have a car. A small e-car that is yours for the hour or the day and then returns to its underground dungeon to be recharged until you summon it once more with an app
Many years ago my son bought a small car which had a very low mileage indeed for it's age. Apparently the owner had driven 20 miles a day ..... work and back ..... and never at weekends or on holidays. I, and his car mechanic mate, were somewhat suspicious, but it did him to and from and at University for four years, including a year at one in Germany. Took him years to find another he liked as well.
Drone technology allows even the poorest army - or a bunch of civilians - to have a horribly effective nano-air-force that can make life unbearable for the enemy
“One video, shared by a drone operator, follows two people ambling down a quiet Kherson street oblivious to the drone overhead until it drops a grenade that cuts both down, leaving them writhing on the ground in agony”
I think I’ve seen that video. It is as horrific as it sounds. Satanic
On the one hand this makes me want to nuke Putin and obliterate Russia. On the other hand it just makes this war even more unwinnable - for either side. Because the Ukrainians can start doing this to the Russians
Drone technology may have ended “victory” in war as we know it unless you are prepared to nuke the other side and kill everyone
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
20mph must make a big difference then. When I first bought my flat on a main-ish road in Camden near 15 years ago the noise of the traffic was a total pain - thankfully my bedroom is at the back and it is very quiet
Now it is remarkably hushed. The only traffic you really notice is clattering HGVs - but there aren’t so many of those - and growling antisocial motorbikes - sadly we still have those
But as I say in those years the speed limit has dropped to 20mph so that must be a factor
Yes, London seemed much quieter to me when I was down there recently compared to my memories from a couple of decades ago, and I'm sure a lot of that must be due to the 20 mph limit. It makes a huge difference to tyre noise.
It’s a splendid evolution
Ultimately we need to get rid of the urban car altogether. Horrible things
So much will be reborn - like the Talgarth Road houses @Malmesbury links to upthread
London was not meant to have cars and we need to get rid
I'm a bit St. Augustine about this. I'm fully bought into the utopian ideal of the post-car city. But also, I have a car and a very comfortable lifestyle and everything for me sort-of works well enough that I don't really want to rip it all up and start again. And occasionally I think I can, and you get a brief flash of the future - when they run the marathon and you're forced to walk or cycle about the town, and all is quiet and calm and your 13 year old daughter remarks how clean the air smells today and wonders why, and you can walk about without vigilance from getting knocked down, and also the trams are full to bursting in a way which could support much more public transport if it was like that all the time. But then the next day I need to go to the tip or to some obscure bit of the opposite side of the city and the dream fades into the far-off future. God grant me a car-free city ... but not yet.
But you will have a car. A small e-car that is yours for the hour or the day and then returns to its underground dungeon to be recharged until you summon it once more with an app
Many years ago my son bought a small car which had a very low mileage indeed for it's age. Apparently the owner had driven 20 miles a day ..... work and back ..... and never at weekends or on holidays. I, and his car mechanic mate, were somewhat suspicious, but it did him to and from and at University for four years, including a year at one in Germany. Took him years to find another he liked as well.
Quite a few people, out in the sticks, have a commute-to-the-station runabout and a bigger car(s) for other stuff.
I think Badenoch will be a bit like Hague. Brilliant at PMQs, hammered in the GE. At least they're skipping the IDS/Jenrick stage this time.
Wasn't IDS what happened after Hague lost? The loser's cycle in both 1997 and 2010 was "plausible but wrong junior Cabinet minister" followed by "unelectable fruitloop".
With Badenochv looks they are going straight to unelectable fruitloop. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.
“One video, shared by a drone operator, follows two people ambling down a quiet Kherson street oblivious to the drone overhead until it drops a grenade that cuts both down, leaving them writhing on the ground in agony”
I think I’ve seen that video. It is as horrific as it sounds. Satanic
On the one hand this makes me want to nuke Putin and obliterate Russia. On the other hand it just makes this war even more unwinnable - for either side. Because the Ukrainians can start doing this to the Russians
Drone technology may have ended “victory” in war as we know it unless you are prepared to nuke the other side and kill everyone
Yeah. Just read that. Like a nightmare dystopia. Very dark times. And the thought of a smirking Putin and his orcs prevailing is just nauseating. The west needs to do some serious thinking about what this portends.
Drone technology allows even the poorest army - or a bunch of civilians - to have a horribly effective nano-air-force that can make life unbearable for the enemy
I think drone operators are far more likely to be executed upon capture than your ordinary AK wielding infantryman.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
20mph must make a big difference then. When I first bought my flat on a main-ish road in Camden near 15 years ago the noise of the traffic was a total pain - thankfully my bedroom is at the back and it is very quiet
Now it is remarkably hushed. The only traffic you really notice is clattering HGVs - but there aren’t so many of those - and growling antisocial motorbikes - sadly we still have those
But as I say in those years the speed limit has dropped to 20mph so that must be a factor
Yes, London seemed much quieter to me when I was down there recently compared to my memories from a couple of decades ago, and I'm sure a lot of that must be due to the 20 mph limit. It makes a huge difference to tyre noise.
It’s a splendid evolution
Ultimately we need to get rid of the urban car altogether. Horrible things
So much will be reborn - like the Talgarth Road houses @Malmesbury links to upthread
London was not meant to have cars and we need to get rid
I'm a bit St. Augustine about this. I'm fully bought into the utopian ideal of the post-car city. But also, I have a car and a very comfortable lifestyle and everything for me sort-of works well enough that I don't really want to rip it all up and start again. And occasionally I think I can, and you get a brief flash of the future - when they run the marathon and you're forced to walk or cycle about the town, and all is quiet and calm and your 13 year old daughter remarks how clean the air smells today and wonders why, and you can walk about without vigilance from getting knocked down, and also the trams are full to bursting in a way which could support much more public transport if it was like that all the time. But then the next day I need to go to the tip or to some obscure bit of the opposite side of the city and the dream fades into the far-off future. God grant me a car-free city ... but not yet.
But you will have a car. A small e-car that is yours for the hour or the day and then returns to its underground dungeon to be recharged until you summon it once more with an app
Oh, yes, I know, and I'm fully bought into it. But life is comfortable as it is and there is a car on my drive and 'apps' are the devil's work. I am fully bought into your utopia and achieving it has been part of my professional life, in the past. But at the same time the present is pleasant. And I am no change-embracing neophile.
Anyway, I am very glad you've leapt aboard this bandwagon and have a long reading list for you on the subject - to start with, have you read Jane Jacobs 'the life and death of American cities' by Jane Jacobs or 'Street Smart' by Samuel Schwartz'? Both books are both splendid articulations of a highly achievable urban utopia and also very enjoyably written.
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
Living near a busy road, but with a 30 mph limit, I'd say that tyre noise is by far the main factor. At those speeds, the engine and exhaust noise from a modern ICE barely registers in comparison to that from the tyres. This isn't going to change with ZEVs, so I have no great hope that my house value is going to jump over the next few years.
20mph must make a big difference then. When I first bought my flat on a main-ish road in Camden near 15 years ago the noise of the traffic was a total pain - thankfully my bedroom is at the back and it is very quiet
Now it is remarkably hushed. The only traffic you really notice is clattering HGVs - but there aren’t so many of those - and growling antisocial motorbikes - sadly we still have those
But as I say in those years the speed limit has dropped to 20mph so that must be a factor
Yes, London seemed much quieter to me when I was down there recently compared to my memories from a couple of decades ago, and I'm sure a lot of that must be due to the 20 mph limit. It makes a huge difference to tyre noise.
It’s a splendid evolution
Ultimately we need to get rid of the urban car altogether. Horrible things
So much will be reborn - like the Talgarth Road houses @Malmesbury links to upthread
London was not meant to have cars and we need to get rid
I'm a bit St. Augustine about this. I'm fully bought into the utopian ideal of the post-car city. But also, I have a car and a very comfortable lifestyle and everything for me sort-of works well enough that I don't really want to rip it all up and start again. And occasionally I think I can, and you get a brief flash of the future - when they run the marathon and you're forced to walk or cycle about the town, and all is quiet and calm and your 13 year old daughter remarks how clean the air smells today and wonders why, and you can walk about without vigilance from getting knocked down, and also the trams are full to bursting in a way which could support much more public transport if it was like that all the time. But then the next day I need to go to the tip or to some obscure bit of the opposite side of the city and the dream fades into the far-off future. God grant me a car-free city ... but not yet.
But you will have a car. A small e-car that is yours for the hour or the day and then returns to its underground dungeon to be recharged until you summon it once more with an app
Many years ago my son bought a small car which had a very low mileage indeed for it's age. Apparently the owner had driven 20 miles a day ..... work and back ..... and never at weekends or on holidays. I, and his car mechanic mate, were somewhat suspicious, but it did him to and from and at University for four years, including a year at one in Germany. Took him years to find another he liked as well.
Quite a few people, out in the sticks, have a commute-to-the-station runabout and a bigger car(s) for other stuff.
Our local station's car park is jammed with them, and a chap with some close by is doing well, as well. As you say, very few of them big. The big ones are parked outside the local primary school twice a day.
I didn't watch last night's debate, I was at a dinner and I doubt that many members will have watched it either. My vote for Jenrick has already been cast. It seemed a largely pro Badenoch audience before anyway and they did not debate head to head. Anecdotally I now know of at least 2 Badenoch backers who have switched and voted for Jenrick.
Meanwhile while Jenrick accepted a BBC QT debate next week (which would have had far more members likely watching it than last night's GB news segment) Badenoch turned it down, not encouraging for someone who could be about to face all the media exposure from being leader of the Opposition https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cevy3jd42x8o
As the rules state that any debate must be arranged by the party chairman (and this wouldn't be) and the BBC want it with virtually all non party members, which the Conservatives say is not acceptable, it will simply not happen.
Of course Jenrick would accept it. It's confirmation from him that he is way behind and will do anything to desperately bend the rules of the contest to try and give himself a chance. It's over.
The right answer is to have no studio audience at all. This would disable the soundbite followed by clapping function which, when used, disables the functioning of thoughtful discussion.
I think Badenoch will be a bit like Hague. Brilliant at PMQs, hammered in the GE. At least they're skipping the IDS/Jenrick stage this time.
Wasn't IDS what happened after Hague lost? The loser's cycle in both 1997 and 2010 was "plausible but wrong junior Cabinet minister" followed by "unelectable fruitloop".
With Badenochv looks they are going straight to unelectable fruitloop. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.
IDS's big drawback wasn't fruitloopery but because he was electorally unattractive - looked odd, didn't smile much, not particularly gifted rhetorically. Politically he was little different from Hague - Hague was just more articulate (in its broadest sense).
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
Yes and it's worth emphasising that the whole world is moving to Usb C as the standard for DC charging...
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
SPLORG 47. Up from 41 at the 2024 GE. The current trend is disastrous for both Labour and Conservatives. Neither party ever mentions it, which is unreal.
A swing of 3.5% from Labour to Tory since the GE is hardly disastrous
Last night's results (as per Mark Pack) seem reasonably good for the Conservatives. Unfortunately he doesn't always show turnout.
Pretty good set of results for the Lib Dems there. It's encouraging that, with one exception, they are holding or extending vote share vs the conservatives where they are the incumbent or main challenger. Labour on the other hand are falling back everywhere.
There haven't been big Tory surges in council byelections [EDIT: actually slightly unfair, they were up 16% in Swindon vs Labour], but it's notable that 1 of the results last night had Greens up over 17%, and another had Reform at around 17% from a standing start.
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
SPLORG 47. Up from 41 at the 2024 GE. The current trend is disastrous for both Labour and Conservatives. Neither party ever mentions it, which is unreal.
A swing of 3.5% from Labour to Tory since the GE is hardly disastrous
Last night's results (as per Mark Pack) seem reasonably good for the Conservatives. Unfortunately he doesn't always show turnout.
Good morning
ElectionMapsUK.uk is an excellent site on upto date information on locals showing turnout, votes cast, seats won and lost, and more
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
SPLORG 47. Up from 41 at the 2024 GE. The current trend is disastrous for both Labour and Conservatives. Neither party ever mentions it, which is unreal.
A swing of 3.5% from Labour to Tory since the GE is hardly disastrous
Last night's results (as per Mark Pack) seem reasonably good for the Conservatives. Unfortunately he doesn't always show turnout.
Good morning
ElectionMapsUK.uk is an excellent site on upto date information on locals showing turnout, votes cast, seats won and lost, and more
Last night turnout seems between 21.5% and 28%
That's not dreadful for Council by-elections. It is, of course, for the likes of us who think elections are really, really important.
I think Badenoch will be a bit like Hague. Brilliant at PMQs, hammered in the GE. At least they're skipping the IDS/Jenrick stage this time.
Wasn't IDS what happened after Hague lost? The loser's cycle in both 1997 and 2010 was "plausible but wrong junior Cabinet minister" followed by "unelectable fruitloop".
With Badenochv looks they are going straight to unelectable fruitloop. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.
IDS's big drawback wasn't fruitloopery but because he was electorally unattractive - looked odd, didn't smile much, not particularly gifted rhetorically. Politically he was little different from Hague - Hague was just more articulate (in its broadest sense).
IDS polled 34% in the last Yougov before he was ousted, Howard got 33% in 2005 at the GE in the end
Drone technology allows even the poorest army - or a bunch of civilians - to have a horribly effective nano-air-force that can make life unbearable for the enemy
I think drone operators are far more likely to be executed upon capture than your ordinary AK wielding infantryman.
During WWI, the Germans, when retreating, would leave behind machine gun operators, to cover the retreat.
When Allied soldiers got into the dugouts, finally, they would try and surrender. If still alive.
According the Robert Graves - and my grandfathers diary - it was common to say "Too late, chum".
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
I think Badenoch will be a bit like Hague. Brilliant at PMQs, hammered in the GE. At least they're skipping the IDS/Jenrick stage this time.
Wasn't IDS what happened after Hague lost? The loser's cycle in both 1997 and 2010 was "plausible but wrong junior Cabinet minister" followed by "unelectable fruitloop".
With Badenochv looks they are going straight to unelectable fruitloop. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.
IDS's big drawback wasn't fruitloopery but because he was electorally unattractive - looked odd, didn't smile much, not particularly gifted rhetorically. Politically he was little different from Hague - Hague was just more articulate (in its broadest sense).
William Hague was wrong about almost everything but he had a great voice and sense of humour. IDS gave us Universal Credit, had a lousy voice and could not think on his feet. These days, both men would have hair transplants (see TRiE).
I didn't watch the debates last night but have seen clips including the audience overwhelmingly endorsing Badenoch
The bits my wife and I saw we were very impressed with Badenoch, who seems quite different to what one expects and certainly my wife had no hesitation in saying she should lead the party
As most of you know @HYUFD and I have many disagreement, but I would gently say to him that Jenrick is not what the party needs. He is utterly obsessed with leaving the ECHR but then look at his backers, Frost, Kruger, Cash, Bannerman, Chope and others all who have a pathological hatred of the EU and frankly are dinosaurs
I genuinely think Badenoch will cause problems for Starmer and Labour, and not at all sure that she can be dismissed so easily as her opponents predict
I will say this about @HYUFD for all his right leanings for Jenrick, Farage, and Trump, I have no doubt he will fall behind Badenoch if she wins
Badenoch's cabinet will be interesting, but expect either Clare Coutino or Laura Trott to be shadow COE
"If you’re a registered Pennsylvania voter, you & whoever referred you will now get $100 for signing our petition in support of free speech & right to bear arms.
Earn money for supporting something you already believe in!
Tedious unfunny boring arrogant leftwing article of the type you would only get in the Guardian. Assuming this is 1997 again and Starmer Blair 2 rather than a PM with the lowest net approval rating of any PM in the last 50 years at this stage of his premiership bar Truss
I did like the following segment: "In a quick-fire Q&A at the end, he was asked if he had ever taken drugs. Kemi was later asked the same subject. Both said no. You have never heard a better advert for taking drugs." Especially as Crace is a recovered addict.
"If you’re a registered Pennsylvania voter, you & whoever referred you will now get $100 for signing our petition in support of free speech & right to bear arms.
Earn money for supporting something you already believe in!
I just asked a close friend who is a road traffic noise expert and he says it is a combo, he just sent this by email
1 Electric vehicles: As you mentioned, the increasing adoption of electric cars, buses, and other vehicles is reducing traffic noise. Electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines.
2. Improved road surfaces: Many cities are using noise-reducing asphalt and other materials that help dampen traffic sounds.
3. Noise regulations: Stricter noise pollution laws and enforcement in many urban areas have led to reductions in allowable noise levels for vehicles, construction, and other activities; also lower speed limits are likewise contributing
4. Technological improvements: Even traditional vehicles are becoming quieter due to advances in engine design and noise reduction technologies.
Years back, I suggested to @rcs1000 that the move to ZEVs might well result in a revaluation of houses near major roads.
We are about a mile or so from the A1M and it's still noticeable when we have the window is open,
However I did reach a similar conclusion a while back that it will be possible to live on a main road in the future in the way you can't at the moment. Especially if it's a county lane once motorbikes go electric (in the Dales that is where the noise comes from).
Those massive london houses on the westway and north circular that sell for pennies - because they are on urban motorways - will be bargains soon enough
"If you’re a registered Pennsylvania voter, you & whoever referred you will now get $100 for signing our petition in support of free speech & right to bear arms.
Earn money for supporting something you already believe in!
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
Yeah, standards are typically good things.
I like standards. Open standards are even better.
Let people design propriety hardware and software solutions that interoperate due to free, open standards. That way, we all win.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
Yeah, standards are typically good things.
Standards are good things, but mandatory standards less so. I'm all in favour of USB Type-C replacing things like Micro-B USB on devices that have held off changing, but I do wonder how something like Lightning, which was genuinely superior and innovative when it came out, would be released in a world where USB-C is now mandatory on a whole range of devices.
Harris's Fox interviewer effectively admits he's a liar. An honest journalist would have apologised straight afterwards; in the unlikely event it was an honest mistake, they'd have known very quickly.
I hope I'm wrong, but Kemi is too short here and I'm going to have to become even more overweight Bastard (while still staying healthily green on Kemi). Big overreaction to a non event.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
I get the impression that some people would still prefer we had a regional time difference for Bristol.
Standardization is generally good and helped drive the industrial revelution.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
Yeah, standards are typically good things.
Standards are good things, but mandatory standards less so. I'm all in favour of USB Type-C replacing things like Micro-B USB on devices that have held off changing, but I do wonder how something like Lightning, which was genuinely superior and innovative when it came out, would be released in a world where USB-C is now mandatory on a whole range of devices.
Another excellent set of local by election results for the Conservatives But probably the main feature was the power of Reform against Labour, over 20% starting from scratch, they are just a stones throw away from breaking through. Next years County Council elections could be good for them, the Greens and the Tories, bad for Labour and a holding operation for the Lib Dems.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
I get the impression that some people would still prefer we had a regional time difference for Bristol.
Standardization is generally good and helped drive the industrial revelution.
One of my heroes is Joseph Whitworth.
Blanche would be screaming: "Why standardise screw threads!!! They're stifling innovation!"
Comments
https://x.com/rcolvile/status/1847191170373349590
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Which ignores the context that the next year there was a massive financial crash, caused in part by over-promotion of railway schemes, some of which were basket-cases or even outright fraudulent. Many of that 9,500 miles never got built.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_Mania
Now it is remarkably hushed. The only traffic you really notice is clattering HGVs - but there aren’t so many of those - and growling antisocial motorbikes - sadly we still have those
But as I say in those years the speed limit has dropped to 20mph so that must be a factor
That's been a key blank in the argument around LEZs, as we all know.
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/243333/prioritise-tackling-toxic-emissions-from-tyres/
Beautiful autumnal morning here; light mist over the roofs and trees.
Mr FE, it's surely well known that diesels are expensive and inefficient for short journeys?
However, having heavy vehicles - 44 tonne lorries and the like - barrel past close to your home is always going to be a bit intrusive. We're about 50m from the main road between two rural towns and there seems to be a point in the road where the trucks hit a spur of bedrock that runs up to the house, setting all the windows to rattle in their frames.
Ultimately we need to get rid of the urban car altogether. Horrible things
So much will be reborn - like the Talgarth Road houses @Malmesbury links to upthread
London was not meant to have cars and we need to get rid
I can hear both right now - the constant background roar of the M60 and the periodic thrum of a car going past the front. Also, someone doing something REALLY LOUD with a power tool, but hopefully that won't last all morning.
Also, many of those were not built by, or with the funds of, the original speculators due to schemes failing. I believe that a few were proposed later, just in time to fail again in the Overend / Gurney baning crash in the mid 1860s...
My point is that building infrastructure is good. I love infrastructure. But insinuating the bubble in the 1840s was a good way of doing things, or sustainable, is a little odd. Choosing 1846 in particular is weird.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
Labour: 28% (-1)
Conservatives: 25% (+1)
Lib Dems: 13% (+1)
Reform UK: 19% (=)
Greens: 7% (=)
SNP: 2% (=)
Others: 6% (-1)
https://www.techneuk.com/tracker/
"If you’re a registered Pennsylvania voter, you & whoever referred you will now get $100 for signing our petition in support of free speech & right to bear arms.
Earn money for supporting something you already believe in!
Offer valid until midnight on Monday."
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1847115389676740899
- Choose someone who can give them a fun time at PMQs:Hague Badenoch
- Lose election
- Conclude that their first choice wasn't repulsive enough, choose IDS Jenrick (or Braverman!)
- Come to some senses and defenestrate before next election
- Choose someone to steady the ship in a caretaker(ish) role: Howard Mordaunt? Cleverly? Hunt?
- Lose election, but nowhere near as badly
- Choose someone much better who we haven't yet heard of
Of course, Starmer is no Blair, so they could shorten the process and skip some election losses, potentially. But they'll have to want to do it.Badenoch = Lucius Aemilius Paullus
Jenrick = Hannibal
One lost a battle, one lost a war.
(Edit: About £1.6m - £2m now.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/w14-9da.html)
It also has a tube station at the back. Not Nirvana. Perhaps a rental or a flip. - though it may not be legal to rent. My photo quota:
Given the choice, I'd take the top floor of Highpoint One or Two:
https://www.themodernhouse.com/past-sales/3332-highpoint-ii/
It will be very interesting to see if the Tories are able to benefit from Labour unpopularity. The early signs are positive for them - both the council by-elections and opinion polls. It would be more exciting if they didn't, and we had an extended period with no party polling above 30%, and a small range covering the top four parties - 15pp between Lib Dems in 4th and Labour in 1st in that Techne poll.
And if they do believe those things, they vote one way. If they know they've been bought, the other way.
Elon would not care, but I'm sure we'll see.
Meanwhile while Jenrick accepted a BBC QT debate next week (which would have had far more members likely watching it than last night's GB news segment) Badenoch turned it down, not encouraging for someone who could be about to face all the media exposure from being leader of the Opposition
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cevy3jd42x8o
God grant me a car-free city ... but not yet.
I think the future is car clubs. Increase car access while massively reducing the total number of cars.
Of course Jenrick would accept it. It's confirmation from him that he is way behind and will do anything to desperately bend the rules of the contest to try and give himself a chance. It's over.
Strangely, BF don't even have her on the list of who will be leader at next GE.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/18/drones-carrying-explosives-stalk-streets-of-kherson-ukraine-russia
Example paragraph
“One video, shared by a drone operator, follows two people ambling down a quiet Kherson street oblivious to the drone overhead until it drops a grenade that cuts both down, leaving them writhing on the ground in agony”
I think I’ve seen that video. It is as horrific as it sounds. Satanic
On the one hand this makes me want to nuke Putin and obliterate Russia. On the other hand it just makes this war even more unwinnable - for either side. Because the Ukrainians can start doing this to the Russians
Drone technology may have ended “victory” in war as we know it unless you are prepared to nuke the other side and kill everyone
I, and his car mechanic mate, were somewhat suspicious, but it did him to and from and at University for four years, including a year at one in Germany. Took him years to find another he liked as well.
The only difference that I can discern is that a tax on people working is only a tax on people working in the private sector
If Employer NICs were increased to 100% of wages, the contributions to public sector workers would have zero effect on the Treasury's bottom line
Employer NICs are a salary discount for the government in the employment market
I am fully bought into your utopia and achieving it has been part of my professional life, in the past. But at the same time the present is pleasant. And I am no change-embracing neophile.
Anyway, I am very glad you've leapt aboard this bandwagon and have a long reading list for you on the subject - to start with, have you read Jane Jacobs 'the life and death of American cities' by Jane Jacobs or 'Street Smart' by Samuel Schwartz'? Both books are both splendid articulations of a highly achievable urban utopia and also very enjoyably written.
One of the more famous ryokans in the country. That’s the famous snow crab steaming away there
My room in peak season costs £2000 a night
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
There haven't been big Tory surges in council byelections [EDIT: actually slightly unfair, they were up 16% in Swindon vs Labour], but it's notable that 1 of the results last night had Greens up over 17%, and another had Reform at around 17% from a standing start.
ElectionMapsUK.uk is an excellent site on upto date information on locals showing turnout, votes cast, seats won and lost, and more
Last night turnout seems between 21.5% and 28%
When Allied soldiers got into the dugouts, finally, they would try and surrender. If still alive.
According the Robert Graves - and my grandfathers diary - it was common to say "Too late, chum".
https://www.booking.com/Share-SwVOrzN
https://www.nishimuraya.ne.jp/shogetsu/en/
Not sharing the snow crab, tho
The bits my wife and I saw we were very impressed with Badenoch, who seems quite different to what one expects and certainly my wife had no hesitation in saying she should lead the party
As most of you know @HYUFD and I have many disagreement, but I would gently say to him that Jenrick is not what the party needs. He is utterly obsessed with leaving the ECHR but then look at his backers, Frost, Kruger, Cash, Bannerman, Chope and others all who have a pathological hatred of the EU and frankly are dinosaurs
I genuinely think Badenoch will cause problems for Starmer and Labour, and not at all sure that she can be dismissed so easily as her opponents predict
I will say this about @HYUFD for all his right leanings for Jenrick, Farage, and Trump, I have no doubt he will fall behind Badenoch if she wins
Badenoch's cabinet will be interesting, but expect either Clare Coutino or Laura Trott to be shadow COE
And I think it requires you to be a registered voter ? So a potentially illegal inducement, too.
Let people design propriety hardware and software solutions that interoperate due to free, open standards. That way, we all win.
Now Bret Baier says “his mistake” he ran wrong Trump “enemy from within” clip during interview w/ Harris. ..
https://x.com/GretchenCarlson/status/1847065930595291416
Hors d'oeuvres:
Yurine akebi, saury fish yuan yaki, eggplant
Persimmon fu, ginkgo bulb spear, salmon sushi
Chestnut sesame tofu, shibukawa-ni, matsuba needle
Persimmon & daikon radish with dressing
C’mon, PB, who doesn’t like a nice matsuba needle, especially with persimmon fu
Standardization is generally good and helped drive the industrial revelution.
You’d think at a £2k a night hotel they’d do the steaks
But probably the main feature was the power of Reform against Labour, over 20% starting from scratch, they are just a stones throw away from breaking through. Next years County Council elections could be good for them, the Greens and the Tories, bad for Labour and a holding operation for the Lib Dems.
Blanche would be screaming: "Why standardise screw threads!!! They're stifling innovation!"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Whitworth
But who the eff are the Trump/Casey voters ?
Pennsylvania Polling:
Pres:
Harris (D): 46%
Trump (R): 45%
Sen:
Casey (D): 48%
McCormick (R): 39%
U. Mass Lowell / Oct 9, 2024 / n=800
https://x.com/USA_Polling/status/1846940328827244744