I was always let to believe, that we would as a planet, run out of helium within the next 30-40 years, so I have always been a bit bah humbug about people struggling home from town with massive numbers in a carrier bag for their loved ones birthday. Then I find that there was a report that reckons that there is enough for the best part of 120 years, which again isn’t really that long. It seems that we use worldwide, about 8 billion cubic feet of it a year. That of course is not just for party balloons, but also for things like MRI scanners, in welders workshops, nuclear reactors, and the Hadron Collider. Then a massive pocket of it (at least 54 billion cubic feet) was found in Tasmania, so we're good for at least extra 7 years. Helium can be extracted from natural gas, but apparently it’s a bit of a faff, so most of the time they don’t bother.
The USA has of course stockpiled helium since the early 1960’s and then of late they have started selling it off. Saying that, the US Navy has been looking at alternatives for the helium that they use for deep sea divers. The number of MRI scanners is not going down and we are making a lot of fibre optic cables these days. So while they say ’Oh, we’ve found loads, we’ll be ok now!’ I don’t want to burst your bubble, but as it becomes in shorter supply, the price, just like your balloons, will be inflated and 120 years is well within the life span of your children’s grandchildren! So I’m still going to be bah humbug at people with massive numbers!
So, there on most of our cereal boxes is a note about recycling, the box apparently is widely recycled; funny that, it’s made of cardboard. The inner bag you have to recycle with bags at larger stores! One assumes that means putting it in the carrier bag recycling bin. Failing that, check locally kerbside! Does that mean that I have to ask the bin man if he’ll take it or what? Are bin men up to speed on what is and what isn’t recyclable to that finer degree? Think I’ll just put it in with the recycling and let the people at the recycling centre figure it out.
My wife was reading online the other day that they are going to start fining motorists for even slightly entering Yellow boxes.
Most of inner London Boroughs already have cameras up and fine you for stopping in a yellow box. It’s about £400 in Islington. Most of the country however does not have the infrastructure in place to do this at present and although they would get their money back in fines fairly quickly, I cannot see it going countrywide. I do understand where they are coming from, we have a Keep Clear marking on the main road at the end of our close and it is so infuriating when people stop in it while they queue for the nearby traffic lights.
The funny thing is, I think a lot of the time they know full well what they have done, as they sit looking straight ahead so as not to have to engage with you. Blocking the Yellow box does of course cause further congestion and the people that do it, I would say, on the whole, do it not caring that they are causing any inconvenience because it means that they are further along their journey and are not being held up for an extra couple of minutes whilst they wait outside.
My problem with this whole scheme, if it ever goes ahead, is the fact that they will have to install cameras on every Yellow Box to monitor them, in the mean time, they have apparently changed the law so that it is not possible to put a camera on or near Zebra crossings to catch the people that park dangerously on the zig-zag lines. There is a crossing about half a mile from our house, outside a venue which is used for Weddings and big gatherings, there is a mosque at the back of the building next door which is busy every evening, but still people park all over the zig-zag lines.
Close to where I used to work there is a roundabout and as you come off it, or just as you are approaching it, there is a Zebra crossing to help people get to the row of shops and yes you’ve guessed it, they park on the zig-zag lines right up to the crossing because it’s right outside the shop and they couldn’t possibly walk a few yards down the road. The fine can be 3 points on your licence and up to a £1000 fine. Of course not only are you blocking the view of other motorists from seeing if anyone is on the crossing, you are causing them to overtake on the zig-zag lines, which is in itself an offence and punishable with points and a fine.
Does anyone care? Seemingly not! They patrol outside schools, I’m glad to say, photographing and fining offenders. Parents who seem to feel that either they or their children are not only are incapable of walking from home, but also from the end of the street. No patrolling of Zebra Crossings though it seems, I think the law needs changing back for the safety of our pedestrians and to help curb the selfishness of our motorists (Make them get out and walk)!
I have at last finished my front garden! The wife had a week off work a few weeks back, so we decided to go out most days, nowhere special, just here and there. Ended up doing most of our Christmas shopping one day and then went back the next to buy the artificial grass for the front garden. It's been dug out and ready for a while but we've been looking for some grass that we like. The original grass was available 'off the roll', the full width that we needed. So off we went to get it, only to find that they had discontinued doing it 'off the roll' and it was only available in half width rolls. Eventually we said stuff it and we bought the 2 rolls that we needed, along with the tape to join them together. Got home, I ordered the sand to go underneath and got on with laying the sub-base.
The lorry arrived with the sand and I was informed by the driver that he could only leave near the top of the drive, as that was as far as his reach could go! Brilliant, I was hoping to get the car in front to give me an extra day to sort out the sub-base. Ended up moving the whole Grab bag full of sand, barrowing it and re-bagging it. Still, it's down now, weed membrane on and then the grass. All trimmed, nailed and sprinkled with Silica Sand. Looking good! Only thing is, it looks strange having this green expanse out the front when we've been used to earth for so long, even actually looks quite bare! Still, give it a few more weeks and the Christmas tree will be up and lit in the middle of it.