Unthreaded
@SandyS I think London behaves appallingly to Scotland
It would be good if Parliament was moved to Scotland or the borders.
I see that some UK government depts based in Scotland
30,000 workers but I bet London has far higher proportion of government workers
79,000 "Around 27% of civil servants work in London and the South East"
stewgreen
@Robert Christopher, Mar 5, 2017 at 10:56 PM
Today-Tonight is a current affairs show in Australia. Today a few more Australians discovered that free energy is not just expensive but creates its own kind of pollution.
JoNova: Windy Clean Green Pollution
Thanks for that. Clip explains in simple straight forward words how the green blob have been deceiving the population. Typical green/left response from woman: "More laws/regulation" to plaster over the problems they caused.
Pcar
Germany/Turkey spat
"In Germany, they are not allowing our friends to speak. Let them do so. Do you think that by not allowing them to speak the votes in Germany will come out 'no' instead of 'yes?'" Erdogan said. "Germany, you don't have anything to do with democracy. These current practices of yours are no different than the Nazi practices of the past." the Turkish president said at a rally in Istanbul."When we say that, they get disturbed. Why are you disturbed?"
"We will talk about Germany's actions in the international arena and we will put them to shame in the eyes of the world," Erdogan said and added "We don't want to see their fascist actions. We thought that era was in the past, but apparently it isn't."
Hmm, the Greeks have been saying this for years. Now their (Cyprus) enemies the Turks are saying the same.
Interesting/worrying times ahead in Western & Central Europe.
Mrs May, please serve article 50 and then declare no negotiations, UK is out of EU as of now.
Pcar
How refreshing to find the BBC doing its job instead of handwringing about Islamophobia
The Attack: Terror In The UK (BBC2, Thursday)
No comment as not watched yet.
Pcar
Looks like the halo is fading.
Today-Tonight is a current affairs show in Australia. Today a few more Australians discovered that free energy is not just expensive but creates its own kind of pollution.
JoNova: Windy Clean Green Pollution
Robert Christopher
stewgreen
Smart Meters are not all equally smart :-) As I understand it there are at least 4 methods of transporting the meter data from individual dwellings / businesses by radio. Not all are implemented in a "standard meter".
The UK's present energy suppliers are quite a mixed bag - some of the big ones are simply appallingly dishonest and lazy. By and large the move to easy switching between suppliers is being resisted - and passive-aggressive tactics are fully deployed.
As with the mobile phone business (a model that some utilities aspire to emulate) - technology which empowers the customers is viewed as something to to sabotage as it moves control away and imposes obligations on the suppliers of service. I think the big players are quite happy that it's screwing up and doing what they can to keep proprietary equipment at customer premises. .
I know of people who've been deliberately rooked for thousands by electricity suppliers - the crooked billing games being played are too profitable to be allowed to disappear.
The involvement of technical illiterates (eco-twerps, senior utility management and politicians) in the process imho only serves to guarantee that it'll be a mess.
A pal of mine who owned a software company was so exercised by the capability of microprocessor based measuring equipment to be in error that he investigated the processes by which the software is tested and validated. In some (not all) cases what he found was pitiful due diligence in design, implementation and QA - infosec was vestigial at best. I think it's safe to predict that the system will be successfully attacked by teenagers and folk who have other, more focused aims.
If there's going to be a growth sector in home tech - it's going to be in equipment to check up on "Smart Meters". In the 1990s I worked for a company whose main business was logging equipment and related billing reconciliation of BT billing. Think about that for a moment - a business whose raison d'etre is challenging BT bills......
tomo
@stewgreen, Mar 5, 2017 at 3:12 PM
""Selling off the BBC will generate about £250bn for the treasury" says John Watkins Aberdare, United Kingdom
I hope John Watkins doesn't work in the financial sector.
Pcar
@stewgreen, Mar 5, 2017 at 4:55 PM
They do have a GSM mobile phone chip to communicate with the supplier. The new chip is to add the sub 1GHz band.
Nothing to do with Wi-Fi, ADSL or routers etc.
Pcar
@tomo That "Smart meter firm EDMI asked UK for £7m to change a single component" ie adding second Wi-Fi frequency
I thought that they have a phone chip so they can send data (so if there is no mobile signal they don't work)
So I guess some are set up send data to your router, and that's how you see the usage
OK it won't add so much power usage but it is 40 million lots more that was been used before (accounting for all meters , domestic and commercial)
#2 Not everyone has wifi, and surely in 20 years the tech will have changed
#3 Connecting anything to wifi makes it hackable .. eg One day I pop on your PC and run a sequence to access your meter and cut supply, I record that exact wifi output conversation. Anytime later I come near your house and play that conversation over wifi..it shuts down your leccy, And burglar alarm ..and then I am in.
stewgreen
Mar 6, 2017 at 10:36 AM by stewgreen
"Around 27% of civil servants work in London and the South East"
It is absolutely shocking, especially when London and the South East have 27% of the population. :)
And using your figures (27*30/79), around 10.6% of civil servants work in Scotland which has only 8.3% of the population.
Wiki: Countries of the United Kingdom by population
Or should the size of the workforce be decided by land area?