Latest Inventions

posted by admin on Nov 26

I just saw an advert for a new online ‘game’ that showed me a lot about how a city is powered - and the impact of ‘green’ alternatives.

It’s called Energyville and has been put together by The Economist Group, to show people the environmental costs of the many forms of energy available - and the essential we can’t do without at the moment.

Of course it is only a simplified storyline - but it is filled with facts and figures that really make you think about what we can expect for the future.  I mean I got to the point where it told me that we cannot currently run our transport networks without oil - we need it or we cannot exist.  So much for filling my city with ‘green’ energy!

Enter Energyville Yourself:
Take yourself to their website where you get a basic introduction to the site, then you name your city and either choose the actual game to start - or you can try the tester version to get to grips with the place.

I entered the tester city - which I decided to name ‘Hopesville’ - and it was very well laid out.  I was confronted with a very compact version of a major city with homes, an airport, factories, offices and transport systems: but nothing was working - it all had no power.  And the soundtrack was of just birdsong.

It all looked so peaceful - but then without all the noise and hub-bub of a city there wouldn’t be any food, furniture or products in the world!  So I needed to get things moving.

All the areas have information buttons where you can read about the energy needs of all the important sectors of a working city like commercial buildings, vehicles and homes as well as containing some amazing and extensive facts unique to that sector - like under transport it said that ‘ wide based tires improve fuel economy by up to 5% - saving up to 400 gallons of fuel per year; that’s US$1,680 at todays rates - and around 4 metric tonnes of CO2!

Running The City:
Next you have to decide what energy sources you want to use for your city and drag the factories, dams or wind turbines onto your cityscape.  But do so with care!

Each item your drag onto the scene has an impact on your key energy indicators: Economic Cost, Environmental Cost and City Security - as well as clocking up your overall energy score!  And, as you start to power the city it comes alive; cars start moving around, lights in offices come on and planes take-off!

The idea is obviously to keep your energy score as low as possible, but creating enough of the right energy to power your city.  The information can help you and the main info box tells you what you are doing wrong!  So needless to say it was screaming at me to use oil to power by infrastructure when I was trying to run the whole place on hydro and wind power!

And, the energy scores for some of the green alternatives are not so low after all!  It certainly made me think differently about it all - I mean a biomass factory had more energy cost than a coal factory!

Fully Powered:
When you have reached full power for your city for 2015, it takes you through a mid way storyline detailing some future events that could affect your city - for example if biomass factories make world hunger even worse than it is today, then your factory becomes more expensive to run!  And all the rest….

The game then takes you back to your city in 2015 to see how it looks.  And I didn’t like mine!  It was noisy and busy and using far too much energy - total contrast to when you first start the game!

But - as it’s busier - it needs yet more energy - so you need to add more factories or change your sources to get the balance again.  It isn’t a nice place to be in my opinion!

The End?:
When you finally finish your city (and it can only take a few minutes to complete if you don’t read it all), it takes you to the ‘final score’ section, which shows your total energy cost and environmental impacts etc.

It also gives you a final score out of the thousands of people who have played it!  I’m afraid I was nearly in 200,000th place with my hydro and wind (with a little oil) based city!  And we are told that that is the way forward!

So, maybe try out your own ideas in this format - I might see if nuclear is the way forward!

posted by admin on Jul 1

There is now a high-tech, low carbon, self-cleaning way to keep your windows sparkling!

Using some of the new and widely available global imaging software and a unique window-cleaning solution, a well established but expanding window-cleaning business in London can now offer you just that. 

Whether you run your own business in the city, or you are lucky enough to own a property there, then maybe this would be of interest to you.

It has been written that a well known automobile company is now saving around £3000 per annum because of this new technology!

So, Who Is Running This Outfit?
Well, they are a local firm called rather randomly: NCPM247.  They have been trading in London for nearly 25 years as window cleaners - but now they are after a change - a change with the times!

As a result of the many pressures on the planet - NCPM247 are trying to become the most environmentally friendly and technologically advanced window cleaning company in London.

Having become - as have we all - very aware of the limits on water use, spiralling fuel costs, continuing environmental issues, rising carbon emissions the constant congestion in London, they wanted to not be a part of it all!

To help overcome these obstacles - they have started to use modern IT technology to improve their existing company.  By taking advantage of satellite imaging software including Google Street View and MSN Birds Eye View, they can see you house of office without having to go there!

So instead of having to get a phone call, arrange a visit to their property taking both time out of their day and the customers time, driving around busy streets to find it then calculate the individual quote and type it up and post it back out: they can just search online for a close-up image of your property, count the windows and check their height and size etc - then offer an exact price over the phone!

No wasted time or journeys!

So, Why Use Them Other Than That?
This firm use a unique hydrophobic cleaning materials in their trade.  It is a rain-resistant solution that actually keeps your windows cleaner for longer. 

Their ’secret ingredient’ actually coats the glass in your windows with a protective (and eco friendly) layer which will actually repel rain water from the surface.  So, when it rains hard, the rain itself can’t stick to the windows and is forced away from the glass and downwards - carrying everything with it.  As a result the rain itself actually washes off any dust and dirt as it falls!

It creates ’self-cleaning’ glass. 

So IT technology and advances in Window Cleaning all rolled into 1! Check out their website for more information and to get a quote yourself!

posted by admin on May 19

Should You Be Spending Your Money, Rather Then Paying Your Bank To Look After It! 

In this terrible housing market we are having at the moment in the UK, it’s no wonder there is a rise in buy-to-let ownerships.

Basically, no-one can afford to ask for much for their property if they are having to sell, so people with ready cash - i.e. all those people whose bank accounts are now getting zilch interest in their savings are out there spending it instead.

I know several people who are taking their savings out of their banks and investing it in bigger projects for the long-term.  A friend of mine has just has her dad put up around 25% of her property price so that she could buy-out her ex-partner as she couldn’t sell the thing in the current market.

Others are buying up properties in their local area, knowing that the house prices will eventually go back up - but anyway - they will be getting around £600-£1000 a month ‘interest’ (rental payments) a month rather than zero interest at all!

What Should You Do?
If you are interested in investing your money in property to let out then the 2 most important considerations are a new kitchen and bathroom.  These 2 rooms are the rooms that will get you the best rent - and you want to get them done asap - and get potential clients in to view.

My friend has been doing this and found a great little company - the Kitchen Shack - to help out with the main room of the house - the kitchen.  They do all styles and sizes including modern cabinets, bespoke fittings, butler sinks and right through to hard wearing ‘landlord’ styles that can take a hard life - but still look great! And all of a guaranteed high quality that will last the pressures of rented accommodation!

She ordered everything online as easy as pie and it was all delivered promptly and by courier - so nothing was lost or broken!  She also saved herself an extra day of so of work by having them deliver the kitchen units already made up instead of the usual flat-pack arrangement.  That way - she didn’t waste a day off work gluing everything together and trying to match up the parts.

She’s not an expert - so didn’t want to add more stress to the job by dealing with all that hassle or paying around £140 a day for someone else to either!  She just wanted the units in the kitchen, all joined together - and ready to go!

She couldn’t find fault with the kitchen suppliers - which is more than could be said for the people she tried to get the bathroom furniture from!!

Rather her than me……