Posts Tagged ‘Scotland’
Pic of the Day
Looks like the Brits – and especially the Tories – are getting worried about for-real devolution, this time. This is a fiery topic with old mates of mine in Progressive politics in the UK coming down on both sides of the question. As a “child” of the Highland Clearances, I’m a supporter of sovereignty for Scotland. Causes more pub rows than an Auld Firm derby.
Lorry trailer blown over and righted by winds – Forth Bridge
CCTV video + iPhone video from a car driving behind this idiot
[If the video doesn't run, double-click the YouTube icon to watch there]
This lorry driver ignored the warning signs saying Forth Road bridge was closed to all vehicles except cars due to high winds on the 28 December 2011.
CCTV taken from the bridge at the time shows the trailer tipping over to one side, righting itself, then tipping again and hitting the central barrier. Surprisingly winds seem to catch the trailer and put it back – allowing it to continue on its way north to Fife.
The driver was however stopped by officers from Fife Constabulary when he reached the end of the bridge.
The Forth Estuary Transport Authority, which operates the bridge, said it was lucky no one was hurt by the incident. A spokesman said: “The clip shows quite clearly why restrictions are necessary in high winds.
“It was lucky that no one was killed or injured. It is a good demonstration of what can happen if people ignore restrictions.”
We get to watch videos like this here in New Mexico several times a year as out-of-state truck drivers ignore posted high wind warnings in the Interstate Highways. Especially in spring; but, it can happen anytime of the year.
Pic of the New Year
Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images used by permission
Over 1000 new year revellers, many in fancy dress, brave freezing conditions in the River Forth during the annual swim in South Queensferry, Scotland.
I never have. I never will.
Jump into water that cold – that is.
Interesting and positive tactics in community policing cut crime
Just part of cultural history – Kelpies – sculpture
A pioneering police division has cut serious violent crime by a record 20% by identifying and tackling specific “problem families” and helping to find jobs for young people in trouble.
Police in North Lanarkshire have identified the most prolific problem families in different council wards and used a combination of persuasion and compulsion to get young people into work, sport and training.
The new figures from the police division show there have been 90 fewer victims of serious assault in the past year – with estimated savings of £2 million for the police and NHS…
Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Graham Cairns said: “We know that a small number of people are responsible for most of our crime.
“By mapping out diversionary activities and connecting kids into ongoing activities that interest them we have reduced youth disorder by 43% in the last two years and that is massive. We cut serious assaults by 20% last year and they are down a further 14% so far this financial year…overall violence has been cut by 22% and that includes murder and attempted murder.
“We ran a Pathfinder initiative for kids who are emerging on our radar and we work with them over consecutive months before going on an outward-bound weekend with them.
“They get to know the cops and we get to know them, but they also get to break down barriers with the other local kids whom they perhaps saw as a threat…As an extension of this we have now had meetings with employability agencies and are trying to connect those kids into training for employment.
“Some kids come from families with maybe three generations of worklessness and if we are to break that cycle then we have to be proactive in doing it.
Thumbs up for toe swap operation!
A man has praised surgeons after his missing thumb was replaced with one of his toes.
Fisherman Donald Gunn lost his right thumb while at sea when his hand got caught in rope. Surgeons at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary used the second toe from the Caithness man’s left foot.
He said: “The difference it has made to me already is unbelievable. I am delighted with the result and cannot thank the team enough.”
Consultant plastic surgeon Amir Tadros had believed the toe transplant was a viable option. Mr Tadros said: “This is a very complex procedure but the difference it could make to Mr Gunn’s life convinced me it was worth trying.
“By using the second toe from his left foot we ensured that the patient’s balance wasn’t affected and the cosmetic appearance was almost the same as a normal foot…
He explained: “It’s a rare operation, it’s been around since the 60s, but is not very often done…
Mr Gunn added: “It’s hard to explain the impact of losing my thumb had on my life. “It might only be a small part of the body but it’s only when you lose it that you realise how important it is.
Folks don’t need to study evolution and the progress brought by the opposable thumb to realize the value of that little bit of structure. Bravo to the physicians and surgeon involved in aiding Donald Gunn.
Scottish Tories elect gay leader – well, you knew it wasn’t Texas
An openly gay woman has been elected leader of the Scottish Conservatives after the membership rejected her leading rival’s radical proposals to create a new centre-right party.
Ruth Davidson, 32, widely seen as David Cameron’s favourite, was chosen to lead the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party by a comfortable margin after the most bitterly-fought and divisive leadership campaign in party history.
Officials in London believe that Davidson, a lesbian and the youngest of the four candidates, will be able to freshen up the Tories’ faltering appeal to Scottish voters…
Her victory saves the prime minister from the embarrassment of watching the UK party being split by Davidson’s rival for the leadership, Murdo Fraser.
In a statement released on her election, Davidson said: “With the radical, generational change that I represent, this is a unique opportunity for us to rebuild the party and to once again become a powerful, meaningful and relevant force in Scottish politics and in Scottish life.”
A former Territorial Army officer and kick-boxer, Davidson campaigned vigorously against Fraser’s dramatic proposals to scrap the party and replace it with a new “progressive” organisation which would be independent of David Cameron’s Tories…
Bravo for a gender and sexual orientation victory.
I can’t find my old t-shirt, anyway – that said “don’t blame me I didn’t vote Tory” in Gaelic. But, I’d still nudge my perpetually conservative kin in Scotland to support her achievement.
Wave-power buoy tested off Scotland exceeds expectations
A wave power developer has said tests of a device off Scotland’s coast exceeded expectations. US-based Ocean Power Technologies (OPT), which also has offices in Warwick, Warwickshire, deployed the machine from Invergordon, Easter Ross…
OPT has also been developing wave energy devices for powering US Navy and Marine Corps bases.
The tests off Scotland are mentioned in the company’s latest financial results. It said initial reported power levels for the system had outperformed expectations.
OPT added: “The company believes the capacity factor represented by these results exceeded that experienced by most other renewable sources.
Wave power is a natural, of course, for lots of active coastal waters. And my experience with oil-drilling platforms tells me it’s great for recreational and sport-fishing as well.
Scottish civil servant marries world’s most pierced woman
Elaine Davidson, who has almost 7000 piercings covering her body, married Douglas Watson, at a low-key wedding reception in Edinburgh.
Brazilian-born Miss Davidson, 46, made a bizarre sight in a flowing white wedding gown and floral tiara with only her face visible, which was painted green and covered in 192 piercings.
It contrasted markedly from her older husband, who is aged in his 60s, who was more conservatively-dressed in a simple navy suit, a sky-blue shirt and Marks and Spencer tie. The two bridesmaids were dressed in pink.
Bespectacled Mr Watson, who has no piercings or tattoos, clutched his bride’s hand as they walked out of the central Register Office in front of stunned onlookers.
The couple, who live in Edinburgh, where she operates an aromatherapy shop called Tropical Rainbow, happily posed for photographs before heading off for a reception at a local city cafe…
“People see the piercings but I see the amazing personality underneath. We have known each other for a long time…
“I am always amazed by the effect her piercings have on people. She’s an incredible woman.
“People think its unconventional but that is the woman she is and people love her for it…”
The former nurse now has 6,925 including more than 1,500 that are “internal” that are said to weigh almost seven pounds.
They say that love is blind. I hope it is also hypo-allergenic and anti-magnetic.
School with an iPad for every child
Fraser Speirs is head of computing and IT at Cedars School of Excellence
Cedars is a small independent school in Greenock, Scotland, with 105 pupils in Primary 1 through Secondary 5 (roughly equivalent to kindergarten through 12th grade in the United States)…But while we’ve been using Apple hardware at the school for a while, we’ve never done so on the scale we’re attempting now.
Before we started this latest program, we had 24 Macs (12 iMacs and 12 MacBooks) for 105 pupils. The problem was that those machines were in hot demand. Teachers wanted them available all the time and everywhere. We never reached the point of fights breaking out over the MacBooks—but it was close.
In my role as head of IT at Cedars, I convened a meeting in January 2010 to discuss the situation. We thought about buying more laptops, but nobody was really happy with that: They are heavy and bulky, and keeping them charged and running had been a problem…
We have now deployed 115 iPads in school—one to each pupil and staff member. The iPads stay with students all day. Children aged 10 and older can take them home at night. We told teachers they could get keyboards; to my surprise, none have taken up that offer…
I had one requirement in mind when we were planning the deployment: We wouldn’t tell anyone what the iPads were for. Too often, school computers are bought for specific pedagogical purposes—video editing, podcasting, or simply learning about computers. We didn’t do that. We simply made the iPads available, without telling anyone what they should do with them. It’s been interesting to see how teachers and students have responded to that freedom…
RTFA. Follow the unexpected turns and advances achieved – a bit to everyone’s surprise. Fraser Speirs says: “We are now at the stage where the iPad is embedded in the way we do business at the school. When we first started, we thought we could guard against misuse by threatening to take away the child’s iPad for a day or so…We might as well make them sit in the hallway and face the wall for the entire day. I did not expect that we would reach that point so soon.”
We discuss education a fair bit in and around this blog. More so than the role tech can play in rebuilding lost standards, building new systems of teaching and self-learning. In fact, this is a discussion I believe deeply concerns most parents in this country – and should concern everyone.
Note: there’s an interview with Fraser Speirs in episode 12 of iPad Today.
Renewable power in Scotland rises by a fifth
Daylife/Reuters Pictures used by permission
More than a quarter of the electricity generated in Scotland last year was produced from wind, hydro and other renewable sources.
Official figures showed the amount of renewable power increased by a fifth, while the total power generated in Scotland went up by 3%.
Scotland exported nearly a quarter of the total power produced…
Roseanna Cunningham, the environment and climate change minister, commented: “As Scotland faces a white Christmas, we are greening up our energy supply.
“Scotland is blessed with abundant natural energy sources, particularly in our seas, and today’s figures follow a steady trend towards Scotland’s energy becoming greener and cleaner”. She said 2010 had also been a “tremendous year” for the renewable power sector, with more wind power developments in the planning and construction pipeline.
She said Scotland was on course to meet its 2011 target of sourcing 31% of its electricity from renewable sources. The Scottish government recently uprated its targets to hit 80% by 2020.
Hand out a little credit where due. Brian Wilson got all this rolling when he was Cabinet Minister for Energy.
Whatever you may think of Brian’s dedication to Blair and Blairite politics, he got the Green direction in UK power production off the ground. Something that Blair probably wouldn’t have pressed for on his own.
