… [the] process is only projected to be completed by the end of this century, as it is not considered safe to start dismantling the highly radioactive core until the 2080s
— BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Tackling the UK’s nuclear legacy
Blog
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How to dismantle an nuclear power station
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bankie haircut
I had my hair cut last night by Arthur, who came over from Clydebank in 1969. His workmates were amused how broad his accent got when we were talking.
It was at The Barber’s Chair, a chain (franchise?) of old-style barber shops. I think I’ll be back.
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green drinks Toronto
Green Drinks Toronto was good last night. Had a chance to catch up with Jim Prall, too.
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Staedtler Noris Ergosoft
I like these pencils. And no image scaling tricks were used; the bigger pencil is the bigger, thicker Learner’s Pencil. At the back is a Lee Valley belt-clip sharpener.
I think I was supposed to review these for Pencil Revolution, but looks like someone beat me to it.
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everything old is new again: clean coal
Clean coal seems to be in vogue, but when I read about it, I thought — hang on, isn’t this just the old town gas technology?
I’m guessing the new clean coal guys don’t want us to know about the old town gasworks in the UK, most of which still have toxic wastes lurking deep down.
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the mighty elocom
I’d been suffering from some winter eczema on the blade of my right hand. It meant (like, if I wanted to) I couldn’t karate chop, but I could probably give someone a pretty good karate sandpapering.
It got worse recently, and beyond the control of over-the-counter meds. The doctor gave me a wee pottie of Elocom, a fearsome skin ointment, on Friday. The eczema’s almost gone; it’s just a tiny bit of dry skin now.
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The week of shaving carefully
So how did my first week of shaving with a plain safety razor go? Pretty well, I think.
I’ve discovered that Weleda shaving cream and after-shave balm work well for me. They have a muted, natural scent, and are very soothing.
What didn’t work for me was Lush Prince shaving cream. This heavy, waxy preparation clogs up the blade, it smells too strongly of neroli, and is a horror to rinse off. I also cut myself the only time I used it. Styptic pencil owies resulted.
Catherine has remarked on the closer shave (I suspect ‘cos I’m spending more time on it). It’s strange, but the stubble seems sharper. I wonder if multiple blades smoothed the razor-cut ends of the hairs, and thus gave an impression of a smoother, longer-lasting shave?
I like my Merkur. Using it for a year will end up cheaper than any cartridge razor, and result in far less trash.
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Old German Guys were better than Coldplay
I guess by appropriating the main riff of Computer Love, Coldplay might’ve thought they could suck less. Nope. They’re still the Sade of the 2000s; music for chartered accountants.
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Imagine Me & You, and a redwing
We just saw Imagine Me & You; fairly amusing, mostly harmless. But there’s a problem; in a scene (Hec & Rachel’s breakup, if you must know) a red-winged blackbird can be clearly heard. There are no redwings in England …
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don’t mess with my childhood
Why is the Canadian release of The Magic Roundabout called Doogal? Surely everyone knows he’s Dougal (unless you know him as the francophone Pollux)? Sheesh.
It’ll suck. Since there’s no Eric Thompson, and no mention of sugar cubes for recreational purposes, it’ll be v.poor.
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shavin’
They’ve just discontinued my razor of choice — the Wilkinson Sword/Schick Diamond — so I’ve decided to go old-school. Now that Wilkinson Sword has the four-blade Quattro, and Gillette their five-bladed monstrosity, I’ve realised that the whole multi-blade thing is a load of hooey.
Consider this: if the first blade was supposed to do most of the work, then draw the hair out a bit to be cut below the skin level, further blades would have less and less effect. It’s just as likely that the whole multi-blade cartridge thing was a scam to sell more, and non-standard, blades that could easily be made obsolescent by the time generic manufacturers caught on —Â the old Instamatic effect.
So I bought a Merkur safety razor (from Toronto Salon Supply, at Bay and Dundas), and a bunch of Merkur blades. I didn’t shave particularly close today, but it’s just as close a shave as the old twin-blader I used to use.
The plus side is that I’m throwing away no plastic with every blade, so I’m shaving the planet.
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just yer basic yerba, mate
Scored some yerba mate for Catherine’s cousin Phil yesterday. Seems there aren’t so many South American food stores in KCMO, while there’s a strip of them on Augusta in Kensington Market.
The store at 239 Augusta had a whole yerba mate section. Since it was cheap ($2 for the half key), I got some for myself. Wonder what I’ll do with it?
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little turbine on the desk
I’ve finally managed to snag a model wind turbine. Thanks to Jay Wilgar at AIM Powergen, I now have a GE Your Wind Turbine in a Box 1/265 scale turbine, complete with tiny plastic cow.
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We’re the Decemberists. No *we’re* the Decemberists!
Seems that the Decemberists (current indie band, of Portland) are a bit concerned to hear about the Decemberists (indie band out of Liverpool in the 1980s, now mostly known as the Hellfire Sermons).
The strange thing is, bassist for the (original, Liverpool) Decemberists is none other than my mate Andy Ford, who co-moderates liontower with me.
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first bad rockbox build
Today’s daily build of rockbox caused my iRiver to crash. It’s the first time it’s been anything other than perfect.
