Power

I was just thinking about energy and thought of one of those "sounds stupid now but might work" type of things.

Imagine the energy we use actually gets stored not in lithium batteries but instead was simply a huge weight stored off the ground, hey if it also captured water in it then we'd be getting more energy still for free.  So towns have tall towers with many large weights that get hoisted up in order to store power and released through a geared dynamo of some sort to convert it to electricity, each house could have it's own tower and weight.  People could earn money by lifting the weights by some sort of winch and the amount of energy any one place had would be totally visible from the height of the weight.  By making the energy usage visible to everyone maybe we'd stop leaving office machines on standby or all lights on in an office block or leave the tv on when we go into another room because we intend to come back but something distracts us.

Prisoners could maybe get some sort of allowance if they helped to raise the weights and we could end up in a pay as you go/ get paid as you go sort of idea whereby you needed some cash so popped into a booth to raise the town weight a little.  Imagine your energy is low so you pop next door, not to borrow some sugar but to borrow some of the potential energy they have.  I am sure not all needs could be met by this so in the evening every tower could draw energy slowly from the grid in order to raise their weights.

It's one of those stupid ideas that may have legs, maybe I should do some maths on it :) I vaguely remember the guy who pioneered the clockwork radio used a large weight suspended from a tree for one of his radios once.

What if you knew it was going to rain, you could hoist up an empty container and let all the rain landign on the house roof drain into it, extra weight means more energy right?  Not sure how much of a bonus you'd get so the empty container would have to be "as well as" the weight rather than instead of.

What's become of society

Recently a clip of a young girl in Magaluf blowing over twenty guys for a drink went viral. When I heard this I was shocked, at first for the girl and her low self esteem, then for the sad depraved men willing to let a stranger slobber on their junk and become part of the humiliating joke. Then I felt disgusted for the organizers for encouraging this activity then for the venue allowing it to happen and the authorities for allowing the venues to do this. But then the thing that disgusted me was the fact that I wasn't more disgusted, nor were the people in the bar in Magaluf, nor it would seem were any of the aforementioned participants including the authorities, this behaviour has become accepted in some circles. It's no business of mine if some chav wants to go to a place and do this sort of thing, but it is surely the business of the country in which it happens. This is an example of how society is taking the wrong path when people are incapable of making the right decisions then those who are responsible need to help make those decisions for them. An outright ban on this behaviour wouldn't work, we saw the mess that occurred in America during prohibition. The European smoking ban seems to have changed the view of most people about smoking and this was done by banning openly smoking and banishing those to a smoking area. This is when I realised that this is exactly what Magaluf has become, it's the free sex binge drinking smoking room of the world so that only those people who are interested in sucking off total strangers and making decisions that could ultimately destroy their entire lives need to go there. It's not an exaggeration that the decision could ruin your life take these surprisingly likely scenario's 1) Stranger you sleep with gives you an STD, some can be deadly many render you infertile. 2) Stranger doesn't take no for an answer and rapes you, you're too drunk to fight back. 3) You suffer alcohol poisoning and likely choke on your own vomit, most people ignore your corpse in the street as they assume you'll wake up. 4) Someone video's you at your worst and uploads it, like blowing over 20 strangers, your friends your family and any employer or future employer will never treat you the same way. That note on the future employer bit is very true, you think a company won't Google the person then intent to employ! 5) You wake up and remember all the things you did and are so ashamed that you end it all! I suppose you have to thank the people of Magaluf for volunteering to be the penal colony for the those that don't respect themselves or anyone else enough to have a relationship and basically can't afford prostitutes so use those that are free in Magaluf. I've read many comments on forums about the girl saying that she thought she was getting a holiday not just a drink called a holiday, like the amount that you're willing to prostitute for somehow makes it better?? Yes performing sex acts for remuneration financial or otherwise is prostitution, she was a hooker that night and all the blokes were clients, the organiser was a pimp and the venue a whore house. I've also heard many people saying that it wasn't the girls fault she was tricked e.t.c. they're right but only so far as it wasn't only her fault, in the clip she's walking about not staggering, she's drunk but not totally gone she knows what she's doing. All of the grubby sweaty fat men so desperate for action they get their cock out in the middle of a busy bar for a complete stranger, who as far as they know could be under age, are also responsible. The DJ egging the girl on encouraging that crowd/herd mentality to pressure the girl into continuing and enticing the guys to get it out is responsible. The owner of the venue is responsible for not checking or maybe even caring about the behaviour going on in there. Once again the buck stops with the authorities in Magaluf itself because this stuff is so common place that there's a term for it and if this girl was videoed with 24 men you can bet in another bar on another night another girl with no self respect will have done 50. Here's a simple test for those that think it's a good idea to go to these places and these things, ask yourself "would I let my (future) son or daughter do what I am about to do?" if the answer is yes then that's probably cause for mandatory sterilisation!

Beachyhead Marathon

So it's that time again, time to run 26.2miles across some of the nicest countryside of Sussex, the south downs :)

I've been doing a mediocre amount of training, only doing maybe 3 10km runs midweek and a longer one at the weekend, I only managed to do a single 30km run as the longest distance training so I was a little concerned that I wouldn't even make it round the course let alone get a good time.

All week I decided to drink plenty, avoid caffeine and get plenty of sleep.  This seemed to be going well until the Friday night before the race when the girls woke at 3am then again at 6am, having woken at midnight when Lisa got back from work I hadn't really got a long nights sleep.  So not a good start to the run!

I did manage to eat some porridge in the morning despite being attacked by two restless girls wondering why daddy wasn't playing with them.  Got up and out in plenty of time but I didn't have enough time to go to the toilet before the start as there was a massive queue and the announcer was requesting everyone to get ready.

The crowd was the same friendly crowd I've seen in the past, just more of them, as this year there were around 2000 runners.

The gun went off and it took 2 minutes before I crossed the start line, which to be honest is a long time for this particular run.  The start is amazing for this race a really steep hill, only the most hardened or foolish tend to run up this hill.  As usual I got talking to people, there was a nice guy running accompanied by a couple of beagles.  Sometime the dogs just get in the way but this guy and his dogs were so well behaved, plus he moved over to get out of the way.  I was concerned that a dog with such short legs would struggle to travel so far and he explained to me that they were essentially bred to hunt on foot all day long so this little run was a walk in the park for them.

I saw plenty of club runners and noticed far more 100Marathon club runners.  One of them that I spoke to was in his sixties and had run 60 something marathons, on this particular run someone completed their 600th marathon.

As always I was struck by the camaraderie amongst the runners.

Up on the ridge I bumped into a really nice lady called Jade, she had arm bands and a shirt with her name on it, she told me she ordered them only that week because a friend told her it'd be a good idea, I think her friend was right as it's always nice to hear your name shouted by the spectators.  Sadly she started to fall back when I kept on going and I never saw her again, I hope she completed the course as it was her first ever marathon.

I thought that I was going to struggle on this run so kept holding back as much as I thought necessary, I managed to reach Alfriston after less than 1 hour 30 minutes, pretty good going I thought.  I did have to walk a little up the hill out of Alfrston with some woman wittering on about takking faster than running e.t.c. I don't know why she bothered me, I think it's because she made me feel self concious which caused me to lose my rhythm and walk rather than run.

The next bit of the run was largely uneventful, in fact as it goes this bit is all a bit dull, but Litlington makes up for all that.  This is such a nice village everyone cheers you on and they provide hot cross buns, sausage rolls, tea and water and juice and a fantastic band.  I stopped here for about 15 minutes enjoying the sounds because I had reached it at roughly 3 hours.  The band even played the music from the canteen bar in star wars which brought a smile to my face.

I was overtaken by sooooo many people at this point I really had to exercise my non-competative spirit and let them.

I felt quite chipper out of there and even the steps in the forest didn't seem like much of a problem, admitedly I didn't run up them this time but when I reached the top there was the happiest race marshal I've ever seen, he really raised spirits.

A little jog down to the road and across thanks to the police holding traffic up for us.  Then the oh so long climb up the ridge by the side of Cuckmere Haven.  When I eventually reached the top I looked to my right and saw the wonderful sight of the beach way way below, quick glance at my watch and I am here at 3 hours 30 minutes a frankly amazing time, I must be running too fast so should take it easy, not a problem because from now on the climbs are seriously long.

When at the top I can see the lighthouse, I vaguely remeber that we won't run up to that but do go around it so think nothing of it and press on.  Then I suddenly feel tired, not ready to quit but every hill now feels like a real struggle so I opt for a strategy of run down and walk up which seems to work well.

I continue doing this and it feels a bit ridiculous as one of the climbs seems to go on for miles and I am walking it, but then again at this point in the field most other people are too :)

I see Birling Gap and run down to the check point.  What's amusing is I see a man in a red jumper that I also saw at Alfriston and Cuckmere Haven not to mention the start line, he's a dedicated supporter.  I say that I recognised him and he too recognised me and that I should look out for him at the later stops, it really is people like this that make the run a bit of a laugh.  At birling gap I stop for a bit of a while and sit down, even have a cup of tea, I tried tea because at each of the stops so far I've tried juice and everytime I feel sick.  I sit and talk to a few other blokes who are discussing whether 5 hours or 5:30 or 6 is within the realms of possibility.  One of the guys in a stripy top was feeling faint earlier on one of the hills so I am surprised that he suggests running on.

The number of people my age that seemed to have 'moments' during the race are the reason that I don't think I should do a marathon on my own, well unless I seriously get more training under my belt before hand!

Anyway I leave Birling gap and run, admitedly I feel tired very quickly and end up walking but it was a valiant effort, at this stage I just want to finish the race so not concerned about speed.  I continue my walk jog walk routine until I hear someone shout 1.4 miles up somewhere ahead a bit closer to the Beachy head pub and I decide that all this holding back is for wimps and start running.  I must admit I surprised myself because my legs didn't hurt and I had plenty of energy, made me wonder why I hadn't started running before now but never mind.

I run and run at a steady pace and actually pass quite a few people who are walking.  I pick up speed going down the last bit which I remember is probably a mistake given how steep the finish is, in fact the marshals warn me quite rightly to "check my brakes" before I have an injury, so I do slow down, just not as much as the grouop in front of me who are walking down the steps, not wanting to be held up or interfere with them I run down the trickier steps and reach the bottom running almost flat out, which I continue all the way across the line, receive my medal and grab a bottle of water.

What a fantastic day, my family meet me and I decide to walk on, which on reflection was probably a mistake as I feel sick and a little faint, a feeling I've not had previously, but then again I usually end up waiting for a long time to get into the hall and have some food but this time decide to simply get home quickly.

Later that day I can walk freely, the following day my legs only mildly ache.  By Monday I am back to normal and manage a 17km hill climb in 30 minutes on the bike with a rather tasty heart rate of just 140bpm, all this running really is good for you.

So, when's the next marathon :)

Politics of politics

I've never relly considered myself as _being_ any particular political party, my ideals tend to agree with those of the liberal democrats.  However I realise there's no way I am going to vote for a party that has proven itself to be spineless, if Nick Clegg couldn't stand up to posh boy Cameron then how on Earth could he ever be expected to stand his ground against the likes of Merkel.

I fit quite nicely into the 1.5% of the population considered quite inteligent, with this ability it allows me to reason about the things around me, it actively encourages me to question the things that are presented to me as fact.  This means that when the media tell me that Labour was responsible for the *global* economic meltdown, alarm bells start ringing as this is obviously impossible as Labour don't control global spending habbits, but that does mean 98.5% of the population won't query this which is annoying.

So this got me thinking about which party actually suits me:

Conservative/Tory: seem to prefer bullshit and spin rather than real action.  I am sick of hearing "we haven't fixed X-Y-Z because of the previous administration"  if 5 years after being hired a new manager of a company was spouting this line they'd be out on their arse quick as you like.  I also really despise Osbourne considering the number of 180's he's made and his seeming lack of knowledge of basic economics when he says "his measures have ensured our recovery" I really do think "no you prick, the recovery has taken place _despite_ your terribly misguided and shortsighted misadventures".  Dislike the "friends" that the tories keep too, going all the way back to the days when Thatcher made many of her friends rich by taking advantage of the great public service's sell-off and it looks very much like the new lot are trying the same thing with the NHS, although private tender was a mistake made by Labour that improves finances at the expense of quality.

Liberal democrats: I used to agree with their policies, in fact I probably still do but to be honest after turning their backs on all those that supported them just so Cleggie boy could sit in the big seat and pretent he's no longer the butt of the public school boy jokes is enough to let me know their hopeless.

Labour: This one surprised me, I do agree with a lot of the policies and after seeing Milliband speak to Paxman I think he does have the balls needed.  I did get turned off when I thought they were mud slinging rather than creating valid policies until I realised that they weren't mud slinging they were just listing the twisted things the *unelected* leader was getting up to _in my name_!  I don't agree with cutting tuition fees though as I can't really see where the benefit happens, remember it's not how much further education costs but how much you pay back that matters and when fees are reduced to a low enough figure those students who get highly paid jobs will pay off the amount before it acrues much interest and therefore be free to pocket more of the gross pay received from highly paid jobs, whereas not such high earners will pay back mostly interest for the rest of their careers the equation between earnings and initial fees is relatively simple so the party surely know this.

UKIP: The less secretly xenophobic, less introverted racist elements of the conservatives.  So far I can see that these lot want everything they can get their hands on but have little or no understanding of how trade works now that we're a part of a global consumership.  I'd be scared if they didn't prove themselves to be inept at every turn.  Their more like the posh boys national front.

BNP: Racist party fronted by a criminal.

Green: Nice policies but sadly there doesn't seem much substance to back it up so unless they discover the same unicorn tears used to power the latest iPhone that looks the same as all the others but will still have drones queueing for through the night I am not sticking an X in this particular box.

SNP: I know it's Scotland but thought I'd put it out there, as a person I kinda liked Alex Salmond but really think Nicola Sturgeon is a poisoned troll that's rather see Scotland become a poor backwater slum than swallow her pride and accept assistance from any party of England, the very essence of cutting your nose off to spite your face and the only ones to suffer would be the people of Scotland.

One thing that I should really do as soon as I have time is take a few typical people working typical jobs found at different levels of the pay spectrum and see which one's are better off now than they were under Labour.  My finger in the air guess is that rich bankers are better under the conservatives and even the increase in untaxed earnings benefits those that work under a company as a contractor so they can pay _wages_ into an offshore trust, give themselves a dividend and then pay themselves a real wage up to the limit now set by the conservatives.  The whole zero hours discussion is worth talking about since the majority of people forced to work under these are at the lower end of the pay spectrum.

Does democracy work?

I hate myself for reaching this conclusion but sadly I don't think it does, here's my reasoning, the majority of the public lack the ability or inclination to question or disagree with what they're told as it's just easier to agree and accept the conclusions laid out before them by the media probably because it requires no effort to draw their own conclusions.  Add to this the fact that the people in charge have been shown to be out for themselves (not all but enough to be wrong) rather than to be the public servants out to represent those that can't represent themselves.  Now consider the fact that the way our out-dated unfair election process operates means that more and more we're going to see coalitions deciding on how to govern us rather than any one single party.  I'd actually like to see a system where a committee of intelligent people who've proved themselves to be at the head of their particular field make the decisions and another committee who are charged with ensuring that the first group don't get corrupt.

Or a dictatorship where I am in charge, but I doubt anyone would like that one :)