Pompous anti-cycling columnist

Ugh.

Just listening to Radio 4 and a pompous anti-road cycling journalist who is happy that her husband cycles off-road but hates cyclists getting in her way on the road. She also claims cycling is a religion.

Hmm.

So driving a car isn't a religion?
We get bombarded every day with 'religious' car related advertising and like all religions, driving a vehicle has strict rules! It's a bit like an established religion (car driving) being challenged by a new religion (cycling).
Frankly I get bombarded every day with information about roads and motor vehicles, rarely do I hear much about cycling unless I mention.

But really extremists like this journalist are the problem. They don't have the brains or skills to do anything useful, like making cars or bicycles.

Some ludicrous and insane videos

A bit different to Roberts reviews.

Tesla S P85D Insane mode:





Tesla S P90D Ludicrous mode:

Onshore wind energy now as cheap as chips

Bloomberg say Onshore Wind is now competitive with fossil fuels in the UK:

http://about.bnef.com/press-releases/wind-solar-boost-cost-competitiveness-versus-fossil-fuels/
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/wind-power-now-the-cheapest-source-of-electricity-but-the-government-continues-to-resist-onshore-a6685326.html

Meanwhile the Conservatives Amber Rudd has recently stated that the party isn't ideologically driven when it comes to their climate change skeptic driven energy policies and environment policies.

http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/opinion/2428988/amber-rudd-i-am-a-proud-green-conservative

They certainly don't stick to their ideology, but not in the way Rudd suggests. The trouble is Rudd doesn't know what their ideology is or alternatively loves to misinform. Onshore wind energy is cheap, long term, low carbon, British (the winds around the Isles are for us to harness) and well established, but instead the Conservatives want to increase energy bills with experimental fracking, high carbon emissions, high energy bills, subsidised fossil fuels and nuclear power and commiting to short term supplies of finite fuel sources.

If markets are king, then fracking and nuclear energy should need no help. The fact is all Conservative policy is based on corrupt ideology, to say anything else would be a lie.

Opposing wind farms does not fit in with the idea of market driven economics. The Conservatives are a corrupt brand of capitalism and market ideology.

Not that such things should drive policy (science should drive environmental policies), but given that continued carbon emissions will have a negative economic outcome then logically low cost wind energy will have a positive double whammy on our economic future, whilst fossil fuels have a double negative impact.

A day in the life of Milton Road bus stop

Swiss Cottage to be demolished soon

The Cost of Costa

Garbage by the Milton Road bus stop since the new Costa opened in Wellington Retail park.

It appears that the bus stop is a regular place for litter louts. Maybe it's about time for a bin and for the council to spend a bit of money.

Yep there are 5 Costa cups.

On a brighter note...

Improved pedestrian and cycle path

It's good to see that all the complaints about the pedestrian path/route through the Waterlooville Wellington Retail Park that I made on this blog over the years have been addressed.

See this speculative blog post that I made a few months ago (which includes links to other blog posts on the subject):

http://lovelywaterlooville.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/a-real-path-at-wellington-retail-park.html

The path is now raised and has a curb, it also has had the number of exists/entrances that cut through the path reduced, making it far more acceptable as a way of getting into Waterlooville on foot.
As well as those practical features, there are also big 'planters' with trees and a few seats placed along the path (street furniture).

Addition (9/8/15): I should also add that the upgraded path was essential to improve access to Waterlooville for those using mobility scooters. The improved path ties in with the building of the new ramp. Previously mobility scooter users had a long tortuous route that took them around the town centre and pass the fire station.

So why did it take so long to fix it?

It has been wrong for as long as this blog has been going, why didn't they do this from the start?

Plus - it of course doesn't fix the problem that the retail park was a bad idea from the start and has helped to ruin our town centre.