Is This The End of the Internal Combustion Engine?
Environmentalists are killing the planet, destroying the economy, and stealing your children’s future.
A bunch of rabid environmentalists have forced the British Government to announce that all petrol and diesel cars will be banned from the year 2040. Nobody ever accused rabid environmentalists of being intelligent, or having any common sense. Banning diesel and petrol cars, (or will it be all cars that have exhaust emissions?), has staggering implications that the officials, politicians, and environmentalists haven’t properly thought through.
In Sweden, Volvo has announced that from 2019 all of its new models will be either completely battery powered or hybrid vehicles. There’s a couple of interesting points here. Firstly this move will put a whopping premium on the price of all new Volvo’s. And secondly, hybrid cars still have to have a petrol or diesel engine that will produce nasty polluting exhaust fumes.
Diesel exhausts are killing us all, allegedly.
Across Europe several major cities, (Paris, Madrid, Athens), say that diesel cars will be banned from entering their environs from 2025. The Hell-Hole that is Mexico City has followed suit ~ ha! The mayor of London, Mad Sadiq Khan, wants to ban Petrol and Diesel cars from London by 2050.
These headline grabbing moves will achieve absolutely nothing except to cost consumers and taxpayers trillions of Pounds / Euros / Dollars. Banning diesel and petrol cars in the UK will impose vast costs on drivers for little environmental benefit.
There is no conceivable way that the British electricity generating and distribution systems will ever be able to provide enough power for all those battery powered cars, (and vans and busses, and trucks?). Just where will all the extra power come from? The back of an envelope estimate is that all these electric vehicles will add an extra 30 gigawatts to UK peak demand, and that means we would need 50% more generating capacity. That’s equivalent to another half-dozen huge nuclear power plants like Hinkley Point, or another 20,000 wind turbines, (which only work some of the time). I have no idea how many acres of solar collectors it would take to generate that amount of power, but they don’t work at night, which is when most people will be charging their electric vehicles.
The British Government says it will install a fast charging point every 20 miles on major roads ~ imagine how many holes in the road and road works delays that will mean.
The British Government are also considering slashing the maximum speed on our motorways to 60 mph, and what is that supposed to achieve except more fines from speeding tickets?
This all seems a bit rich considering that the whole man-made global warming agenda has been exposed as nothing more than a massive fraud. The best estimate is that if all the trillions of dollars Obama proposed to spend on his Clean Power Plan to tackle non-existent man-made global warming was actually spent, then global temperatures would perhaps be reduced by 0.057 degrees Fahrenheit ~ one five-hundredth of a degree.
Climate change is a normal, natural, and perpetual process which occurs, and has always occurred, with sublime indifference to man’s puny input. ~ James Delingpole.
There are a few inconvenient truths that politicians and environmentalists would rather the public didn’t wake up to;
- Man-made global warming / catastrophic anthropogenic climate change doesn’t actually exist in any meaningful form ~it’s nothing but a fraud, a massive scam designed to give politicians back control over an increasingly independent populace.
- There is no such thing as completely clean power. Green Energy produces nastier and longer term environmental pollution than does burning fossil fuels. Nuclear Energy is a case in point, look at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. Wind turbines have a massively negative impact on the environment, are bad for wildlife, and a blot on the landscape. All batteries are inherently polluting, expensive, and dangerous.
- Switching to electric-powered private transport will require at least a 50% increase in electricity generating capacity in any country that tries it.
- A vast investment in an infrastructure of new charging points to support all these new electric vehicles will be needed.
- Electric vehicles cost a hell of a lot more than an exactly equivalent bike / car / van / truck / bus powered by an internal combustion engine.
- Electric vehicles are less capable, and have a shorter life-span, (about 5 years), before major maintenance is required, (new batteries), than do ‘conventional’ cars, trucks, and busses.
- There aren’t enough qualified mechanics to maintain the huge increase in the number of electric vehicles the politicians propose.
- Disposing of all of the ‘dead’ batteries will require a huge investment in a recycling technology that, as yet, doesn’t actually exist.
- The value of used vehicles powered by petrol and diesel engines will plummet, destroying the economies of the developed world. There is a vast investment in lending to finance vehicle purchases.
- Internal combustion engines don’t have to run on either petrol or diesel fuel. Is a ban on ethanol / methanol / vegetable oil / propane / butane fuelled vehicles also proposed?
- Are politicians also proposing to ban aircraft / railway engines / ships / electricity generators powered by fossil fuels ~ otherwise what’s the point?
- If Politicians think the backlash against Hillary Clinton was an isolated aberration, they’ve got a big surprise in store after all this banning cars crap.
In my life I’ve seen some insane ideas put forward by politicians at the behest of special interest groups, but a total ban on the internal combustion engine running on fossil fuels has got to be maddest thing I’ve ever heard. But then, politicians, special interest groups, and bureaucrats have never been known for putting much thought into anything.
Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it. ~ Henry Ford
At least I have the personal benefit of being able to totally and completely ignore all this banning petrol and diesel fuelled cars crap. Not only that, because I live in a democracy I can cast my vote in ways designed to discomfort the current crop of lightweight, insane, political pygmies. (And that’s an insult to pygmies and the mentally ill.)
Meanwhile, the Lotus 7 is 60 years old this year. Now that’s a great car.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
read about the Seven
Scenes on Sunday ~ Sand, Sea, and Sun
Life’s a Beach.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Scenes on Sunday ~ Santa Monica
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Liar, Liar
Never lie, never cheat, never steal.
Everybody lies.
Mostly that doesn’t matter one little bit. Deep down we know when we are being lied to and we act accordingly. Little lies are what makes the world go around. Little lies are the lubrication in relationships. Little lies are what keeps us sane.
I firmly believe that lying is wrong, but I also believe that, in the big scheme of things, little lies may not matter so much.
Big dark lies are destructive, damaging, and dangerous.
Big Lies Matter.
But everybody lies, and that matters when the liars are scientists, doctors, bankers, lawyers, judges, charities, the police, the military, the security services, politicians, prime ministers, and presidents. Big dark lies by the ‘Fat Cats’, and ‘Important People’ ruin lives, affect interest rates, cause financial crashes, get people hurt, and start wars.
This is a nation that has lost the ability to be self-critical, and that makes a lie out of the freedoms. ~ Joni Mitchell
Big dark lies reported in just one newspaper today, (Tuesday April 11th 2017), involve airlines, bankers, more bankers, politicians, more politicians and generals, presidents… And now, we are but a short step and a few lies from WWIII. Take your choice of the spark that starts WWIII, the Middle East, or North Korea?
Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is. ~ Barbara Bush
You would really think that a President would follow the example of George Washington and be unable to tell a lie.
Big dark lies by the people you care for ruin relationships, imperil your health, imperil your mental health, cost you a fortune, and lead to nasty things like alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, domestic violence… A big dark lie by someone you love can kill you. And, thinking your loved one will ever change and stop lying to you is nothing but wishful thinking.
Cheating and lying aren’t struggles, they’re reasons to break up. ~ Patti Callahan Henry
If you catch someone out in a lie, what can you do about it? Almost nothing.
The chances are that if you have caught someone telling a big dark lie it’s because you’ve been investigating them, for example by following their twitter feed, hacking their emails, listening in on their conversations…. and do you want to admit to that? Spying on liars is almost as bad as lying ~ almost.
The only thing you can do about being lied to is know that you are dealing with a liar, and take everything they say with a very large pinch of salt. In other words, when you know someone is a liar, believe nothing they say until you have got yourself some independent proof. All lies, and all liars, get found out eventually.
Besides, leopards never change their spots, and liars don’t ever stop lying. Catch a liar in a lie and they’ll just strive to become better liars in future.
Lying is addictive. And, once a liar, always a liar.
Some liars are so expert they deceive themselves. ~ Austin O’Malley
But you know what? Once you stop believing the lie, it loses all power over you. Once you know someone is a liar, everything they say is just pointless noise.
I’m sorry, what language are you speaking? It sounds like bullshit.
Have a nice day.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Food on Friday ~ interesting side dishes
You like your potatoes more interesting?
If you’re unlucky side dishes can be really boring, even when the rest of the meal is fabulous. None of these sides are anything less than interesting, and some of them are good enough to make a tasty snack all on their own. So, what’s not to like?
I love the look of this recipe from Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest; crispy oregano smashed potatoes with feta and lemon ~ wow! Such a fabulous side dish that you could just eat this as a super-filling snack, (and oregano is such a great herb).
Crispy Oregano Smashed Potatoes with Feta and Lemon
Chungah at Damn Delicious gives us these great slow cooker cheesy scalloped potatoes ~ she says this crockpot dish is so damn easy. Well, it does look so damn good for something that only takes 20 minutes to prepare, and then can be left to cook while you’re doing something else ~ like going to work. It would be a great accompaniment to Chungah’s bacon scallops too.
Slow Cooker Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Another potato dish, this time from Amanda at Chez Le Réve Français; cheese and onion potato cakes. This very, very easy 20 minute dish would make a tasty supper as well as a much more interesting side dish than ordinary mashed potatoes.
Cheese and Onion Potato Cakes
Something different from Andrea at Cooking with a Wallflower; cheesy cauliflower mash. Allegedly this tastes like mac and cheese but has the texture of mashed potatoes. Weird but nice. Looks good for a 20 minute dish that would be an interesting side, snack, or something to take to work the following day.
Cheesy Cauliflower Mash
Do you want something spectacular made with potatoes? Then what about these Tahini whipped potatoes with cilantro chili sauce from Heather Christo? I bet these are some spicy potatoes. I’d like to choose Heather’s Peking cranberry lacquered turkey to go with this.
Tahini Whipped Potatoes with Cilantro Chili Sauce
This is a spectacular dish for a romantic dinner for two. From the lovely Alina at Passion Cook we have salad tulips, (aka devilled cherry tomatoes). Pretty, or what?
Salad Tulips, (aka Devilled Cherry Tomatoes)
If you like green beans, then you will love these loaded skillet toasted green beans from Jessica Merchant at How Sweet It is. Allegedly, these are the most unboring green beans you can get. Not bad for a 30 minute dish. Would go well with Jessica’s unboring bourbon fig + gorgonzola stuffed pork tenderloin.
Loaded Skillet Toasted Green Beans
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thanks ever so to all the great cooks featured in this week’s Food on Friday
all of these dishes be nice at a Champagne Sunday Brunch, say in Long Beach
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
peacefully pacific intimacy
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secluded sleepy serene sunset light
presaging warm and tender nighttime
in love’s gentle arms and contented sight
and promises whispered soft, low, in rhyme
emotions adoring, congruent, pacific, so right
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words and pictures by jack collier
jack collier 7@talktalk.net
21 ways to save money
Easy Lifestyle Changes Could Save You A Small Fortune.
There some very basic things you can do which, added together, will save you a great deal of money. These changes to the way you live your life are not difficult, they’re not complicated, and they will not take up a lot of your time. In fact, all of these things are what my granny used to call; ‘basic common sense’. Get on with it, smell the roses, save yourself some money, and live a better life.
- Pay off all your credit and store card bills. The average interest rate on credit card debt is around 16%, with some banks charging as much as 79.9% per annum, this is just extortion and usury. Far better to borrow elsewhere, at a cheaper rate, and pay off your plastic.
- Use the internet and find cheaper providers for your gas, electricity, water, mobile phone, (cell phone), land line telephone, internet, cable television, and car insurance. Switch to the cheapest provider because customer service will always suck, no matter who you are with. And, by the way, do you really need all those rubbish TV channels?
- Lower the temperature of your heating, and raise the temperature of your air conditioning by a couple of degrees. We all pay far too much for heating and cooling our homes.
- Lower the temperature at which you wash your clothes. There is a 30C setting on my washing machine, (about 90F), and most of the time that’s what I use. This gets rid of most dirt and stains, but it does not get rid of germs, and it’s not hot enough to get whites clean. So, I still always wash my bed linen and whites at 90C, (about 200F). Mind you, I always use biological washing powder which works well at lower temperatures.
- Always make a shopping list. Far too many people go into a store and come out with a whole bunch of stuff they don’t really want or need, while forgetting the important thing they went in for. Make a shopping list and never, ever make impulse purchases.
- Try own-brand goods. Very often the own-brand products are just as good as the more expensive named-brands. Quite often own-brand products are made in the same factories and on the same production lines as named brands. Stores always try to make you buy the most expensive, premium goods.
- Never buy ‘designer labels’ ~ don’t be a logo whore, and who wants some other guy’s name on their clothes and shoes anyway? It’s pathetic.
- Learn to do DIY. I hate contractors, repair men, decorators, gardeners, with a passion. If it needs doing then 90% of the time I do it myself. Learn to decorate, put up a shelf, fix a leaky tap, (faucet), and save yourself an absolute fortune.
- Make your travel arrangements early and do it on the internet. Always shop around for the cheapest deal. Always pay by credit card. Get a brochure from the travel agent for information and to give you a comparison.
- Learn to drive properly. Almost everyone I know is a crap driver, especially women. Almost everyone I know drives too fast, races between the lights, uses the accelerator hard and the brakes hard, and sits in the wrong gear. Drive a little slower and learn what anticipation means and you will not only use less petrol, (gas), there will be much less wear and tear on your car.
Don’t always buy the newest, top-of-the-range car. A low mileage used car, or the basic model in the new car range can save you thousands. Remember, the biggest cost of owning a car is depreciation. Most cars will lose between 50% – 60% of their value in the first 3 years. (Just don’t buy an Edsel ~ people will laugh.)- Walk, don’t drive. If you don’t have far to go and don’t have much to carry, don’t drive, walk instead. That won’t only save you money, walking will do wonders for your health and fitness.
- Give up smoking / vaping. Both will seriously damage your health, both can kill you, and both will cost you a fortune. A pack of 20 cigarettes will cost you about £7 in the UK and about $7 in California, (USA prices vary by state). So, a 10 a day habit will cost you about £1,300 per annum in the UK and $1,300 a year in California ~ a lot of money for a disgusting habit that’s killing you.
- Cut down on your drinking. Too much booze will make you fat, ill, and temporarily or permanently stupid ~ it will eventually kill you. How much booze is too much? If you drink a bottle of wine a night, or 4 bottles of beer, or a quarter of a bottle of spirits, then you are drinking far too much. Decent booze is hellishly expensive.
STOP GAMBLING. Gambling is exactly the same as throwing your hard-earned money in the trash. Gambling is an addiction, and all gamblers lose heavily over time, always, with no exceptions, (not even the Cincinnati Kid).- Never, ever, join a gym, and if you have gym membership, then cancel it. Most people with gym memberships don’t go often enough to get their money’s worth. Gyms are poor value for money and bad places for most people to exercise ~ you’re breathing stale air, being made to listen to loud music, and you’re indoors under artificial lights. Nasty. Exercise for free instead.
- Plan ahead and buy stuff in the sales, at discount stores, and in thrift stores.
- Claim all your tax and other benefits. Use the internet at learn what you can really claim.
- Never use pay per view TV or TV services such as Netflix ~ this is just stupid. Do you really need to dumb down so much as to sit in front of the TV, and pay extra for the privilege, over and above whatever stupid cable subscription you are already paying for this crap?
- Never, ever buy extended warranties on things like a car, new washing machine, or television. These warranties are scams, not worth the paper they’re printed on, and cost a fortune.
- Stop buying expensive pre-prepared, ready meals. Learn to cook instead. ‘Ready meals’ are full of unmentionable crap, and are terrible value for money.
Remember, when you want to save money, when you want to stop wasting money, the internet is your friend. You may think you don’t have the time to spend on internet research, trust me, you do have loads of spare time, it’s just that you waste that too. Stop ruining your mind by watching hours of drivel on the TV, stop ruining your health by spending time in your usual sleazy pub / bar, and stop making excuses.
Never, ever, sign anything you don’t understand. Never, ever, trust a salesperson.
Take back control of your own life, and take control of your finances, it’s a lot easier than you think.
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jack collier
jack collier7@talktalk.net
Scenes on Sunday #25
California Road Trip.
Echo Beach, Route 66, Hotel California
Gorillaz, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
California Girls, Breakfast in America
California Rain, California King Bed
Dog Breath, Champagne, Back to California
I’m Going Home, Get Back, Grateful Dead
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pictures by the girl riding shotgun
jack collier doing the driving
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
dreaming of you
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I dreamed of you last night
we were by the seashore, having fun
feeling friendly, loving, caring, feeling so right
walking together, until the last warm rays of the sun
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words and pictures by jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Gentleman or Slob? Lady or Skank?
Manners Maketh the Man, (and Woman).
With Christmas festivities in full swing, some of us are going to have to go out and about to meet a lot of people we don’t normally mix with. This is not always a pleasure. Not everyone we meet is civilised and well mannered. There are some real animals out there.
A mature Englishman is allowed to have an opinion of what constitutes civilised behaviour, and what marks people out as heading in the general direction of the low IQ knuckle-draggers and sleazy slatterns. I will admit to having some pet hates, and that my opinions and tastes are a trifle old-fashioned, preppy, conventional, proper, and, well, English. However, some of the douchebags out there could do with some good, old-fashioned, English manners.
Among the things that I really hate to see and be near are;
- People walking along the street, or in the mall, who aren’t looking where they’re going, usually because they’re engrossed in their smart phone / cell. These idiots are a danger to themselves and others. These same people probably browse social media while they’re driving.
- ‘Friends’ sitting together and looking at their smart-phone / cell / tablet rather than engaging in some intelligent and lively conversation. That’s just about as ill-mannered as it gets.
- People who smoke without asking if it’s OK with everyone else present. Thank you, I don’t want your disgusting and unhealthy habit in my personal space.
- Smokers who throw their cigarette butts onto the street / out of the car window / into a potted plant / into their coffee cup.
- People who drop litter in the street when there is a litter-bin, (trash can), just feet / yards away. How stupid and lazy is that?
- Dog owners who don’t clean up the disgusting mess their pooch makes. Oh, and dog owners who assume that everyone will just love their nasty animal. As it goes, I’m a cat person anyway.
- Parents who don’t control their screaming, badly behaved children in stores / restaurants / on public transport / in airports….
- Opinionated people who not only assume that you are remotely interested in their political views, but that you also agree with them. Three things a polite Englishman will never willingly discuss; politics, money, and women.
- Slobs who drink beer straight out of the bottle. Have you any idea where beer bottles are stored and how many cockroaches / mice / rats have scuttled across those bottles? For goodness sake, have some style and get a glass.
- People who eat with their mouth open while they are walking along the street / around the mall / waiting in queues. That is gross.
- And then there are those people who will tell all and sundry about their unpleasant medical problem. To be honest, I don’t want to know about flatulence, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, or any other issue that anyone has with their body. Please keep these things between you and your doctor.
The type of scuzzy people who do some or all of the ill-mannered things above have one thing in common above all else, (apart from the fact that they are irredeemably common). These people care nothing for anyone else’s finer feelings, and very little for themselves.
The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any. ~ Fred Astaire
Good manners cost nothing. I firmly believe that before you can truly respect yourself you have to respect others too. If you want to be a slob, skank, slut… then please do it in the privacy of your own home, rather than inflicting yourself upon decent people.
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these opinions are mine and mine alone
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
