h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yes, I do know how cold it is in the UK, and I am really not looking forward to experiencing it myself in Manchester next week at the meet, but it is cool here too right now. Temperatures are comparitive and if you get used to the warmth you miss it if it drops and stays cold and there is nothing you can do about it.

Houses here are not heated by and large - well mine isn't - so the trick is to wear extra clothing in the winter months. This marks you out as a local as they can be seen wearing their winter woollies alongside the tourists who are still perfectly happy in T-shirts and shorts. Even the local dogs get to wear their little doggy-coats, although I suspect that they don't really shiver that much.

Wearing scarf, coat and boots to walk to the shops in the evening is fine, but it's another matter when you realise you feet are chilly while you are still at home. So this morning I decided to wear my new shirt ( bought last night for the whopping price of 7.95 Euro in the sales) with a thick denim skirt and leggings. I completed this sartorial elegance with some fluffy pink slippers. I did say my feet were cold - and needs must.

So, why the journal, nobody would be interested in fluffy slippers surely? Well, this is when having decided to dress for winter, the sun came out, but only long enough for me to waiver and think about getting changed again. I got a bit distracted by something on h2g2 and by the time I'd decided what else to wear the sun had disappeared once more behind thick black clouds, the air temperature was pretty cool and the nearer the horizon the sun gets the chillier it is anyway. So, I give up. My feet are still cold.

I might have a hot bath.

We had -18° this morning but at noon it was sunny and I took a walk in the park in my lunch break. The snow was nice.
Now I'm in my apartment and have cold feet, it's not very well insulated.

I saw the movie "Big Miracle" last night. It was about three whales that were trapped by unseasonal Arcitc cold near Point Barrow, Alaska. When temperatures dropped to 40 degrees below zero [the same whether in Fahrenheit or Centigrade], it was hard to keep the air holes free of ice so the whales could breathe. The local Anouki people chopped new air holes at 60-foot intervals for five miles to the open ocean. The whales migrated to the nearest hole to the ocean. Meanwhile, the president of the U.S. asked the Soviets if they would be kind enough to bring their massive ice-breaking ship to punch a hole in a mountainous ridge of ice that separated the ocean from the ice sheet. The whales were eventually freed, and migrated to Baja, off the coast of Mexico, where they would breed.

I think you told me that you have a log burner? That must be quite comforting to sit near. Real fires are so atmospheric.

One day I will have to buy a house with a real fire and a hearth. I've never seen any coal or logs for sale on the island though, so it would probably end up being propane gas lookalike flames.

There is a ;fireplace' here, but it is more for ventilation I think - I sometimes put candles in it.

with paulh there. That movie sounds good and possibly believable - sometimes the plot is implausible.

I watched a dreadful one the other night, it was so bad I have conveniently forgotten the title.

My parents have a wood stove. This is handy because (a.) my father has a lor of trees, which (b.) he is able to chop into logs. If you don;t have many trees nearby, you'd have to have some brought in, which could be expensive.

Do you get a lot of sun? Maybe solarpanels on your roof would pay for themselves over the next 80 to 100 years.

Yes, we have a stove that burns wood pellets, we just fed it, so it now starts to really burn hot. Still there are so many places where the warmth gets out of the room. We're also cold at night.

Gosh, Tav could you buy plastic sheeting and put it over the windows at least. That might help a little and shouldn't be too expensive.Make yourself tea or coffee. or better yet with your bf!

I think most of the windows are the only thing that doesn't let air in and out. The door has gaps, the ceiling has no insulation to the attic and there's wind gets through the holes where the lamps are hung up on the ceiling. It's almost funny.

Gosh I am quite surprised by the lack of insulation to your attic, Tav. I don't think it costs much to put that in? I've lived in two houses which lacked enough loft insulation and after we had it installed it made a huge difference.

...and someone mentioned solar panels, I would love to be able to afford them. One day they should be compulsory on all houses, but they are so expensive at the moment.

No, it doesn't cost that much I guess but it's my granny's house and she loves it and thinks it's the most perfect house in the world, so why change anything.

My parents talk about getting solar panels or photovoltaic for years. More probably solar panels for water and heating. Not sure how much money the country still adds if you install them.

Well sometimes they are efficient enough that they can put the extra energy generated into the grid---that might make them more affordable in the long term.Also you granny's heating bills would go down considerable.

Nuclear energy is the way to go (though I might suggest not installing it house by house )

Though i agree, were solar panels cheap (price would need to be cut it half, that would eliminate needs for subsidy as well) and flexible (I've seen the preliminary flexible panels, and if they were fully effective will be very popular), they would be great just to put up in any convenient place

I've just searched, and cannot find even a supplier on the island for the photovoltaics. There is so much inertia here to change, it is ridiculous.

I think Germany is way ahead of the rest of Europe in terms of alternative energy. I have no idea how it is in Austria Tavaron?

Germany is shutting down its nuclear plants for safety concerns (it started just after Fukishima)

Now i can accept the Japanese shutting theirs down, even if the plant managed to mostly survive a hit by an Earthquake and Tsunami ten times more powerful than designed for
...but how many Tsunamis do we get in Europe?

Well, Austria gets most energy from water as far as I know, we also have coal power thingies but no nuclear power (unless imported). The state and country give money if you buy photovoltaic or solar panels or anything else for alternative energy. I will get 500 Euros for buying the pellets stove. New houses also have very good insulation usually and the state gives money if you insulate an old house.

Well nbb, guess you didn't experience Tchernobyl...

Chernobyl was an example of awful training and common sense levels and diabolical building and design


Nevertheless, i am more than merely greatful not to be present at the time, or indeed, within 50 miles of still dead land now, the denial of what happened by the USSR is culpable to murder in my view

I don't know, though, Tav. I'm not one of the people who are pro-nuclear in a knee jerk anti-green way, but I'm slightly persuaded by the argument that says it has a fantastic safety record compared to, say, the use of cars.

*If*, of course, it is properly regulated and with appropriate safety precautions in place. The problem is, there's always a profit motive to cut corners. Especially at the minute, when the spirit of the times seems to be cutting investment, cutting corners and de-regulating as much as possible.

Well, we had mutated flowers after Chernobyl for a long time. I can still remember them. And I'm definitely not as close as 50 miles here. There are still enough nuclear power thingies in Europe that are in a bad shape, some just across the border. And then of course there's the question about what to do with the nuclear waste. With nuclear power we are making problems for many many future generations.