What Goes Round, Comes Round

New Technology?

Earlier this week, fbb noticed that one of the headlights on the limo was faulty. He well remembers, back in his youth, that "motoring tips" articles advised the driver to "keep a set of bulbs in the glove box - for emergencies". fbb never did but neither did he ever have an illumination emergency.

Then along came "sealed beam units"! Apparently, according to Alan (Isle of Wight version) we are back to bulbs now.

So all fbb has to do is to buy a bulb and push it into the end bit?

Apparently not. The local garage says it takes half an hour to fit a new bulb!

Isn't technology wonderful?

Which leads fbb to ponder ...

 E xciting

 E lectrical

 E xperiments

... is technology truly wonderful in electric vehicles?

Enter a pioneer.

We don't usually associate Brighton with a hotbed of technological innovation, but the guy above was an absolutely passionate enthusiasm for electricity.

He built the first electric railway in the world (or maybe didn't??) ...

... which still bears his name.

If you are a bit confused as fbb was, note that tht the early railway (NOT the one on stilts) did run on a bit of a viaduct which no longer exists. Although what you ride on today is not the original, Magnus Volk was the pioneer.

Likewise his electric cars (1887 and 1888) were pioneering but did not catch on. He drove his spindly three wheeler himself ...

... and built a four wheeler for an eminent Sultan of Turkey which looked something like this (the car, not the sultan!).

But the problem was the huge batteries which offered a very limited range. Petrol took you further and was much cheaper and much lighter in weight overall!

Has anything changed?

But the UK was huge in electric vehicles when fbb was nobbut a lad. This is how Wikipedia tells it,

In August 1967, the UK Electric Vehicle Association put out a press release stating that Britain had more battery-electric vehicles on its roads than the rest of the world combined.[3] It is not clear what research the association had undertaken into the number of electric vehicles of other countries, but closer inspection disclosed that almost all of the battery-driven vehicles licensed for UK road use were milk floats.

Why they were called "floats" seems a bit unclear. They were called floats when they were horse drawn!

 And what about carnival "floats"? 

One theory is that horse-drawn vehicles "floated" on thick squidgy tyres, Carnival trailers often looked as if they were floating and electric milk carts glided silently across the waves of suburban roads.

Hmmm.

Then why did we never have "bread floats".

Even the aged fbb remembers Northampton Co-op "bread floats" although they were never called that. Below is one from Birmingham Co-op preserved at Wythall Transport Museum.

Northampton's were also green but (fbb's memory permitting) a darker shade of green.

Petrol took you further and was much cheaper and much lighter in weight overall!

Has anything changed?

Can you recycle electric car batteries?  

Yes you can recycle electric car batteries. Most electric cars are made with lithium-ion batteries which can be easily recycled, as long as they are handled with care. It’s imperative that a professional disposes of the batteries because they contain toxins which can be harmful if not handled in the correct way.

To dispose of electric car batteries you first have to find a local place that recycles them.  You simply need to phone your local council or do some research online to see where your nearest recycling centre is. You should also check if the centre has any specific requirements such as draining the battery first, or if they will accept fully charged batteries.

Easy peasy.  But that is NOT recycling - it is passing them to someone to do the recycling.

So, how, and at what cost, does the council or its contractor actually recycle the batteries?

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The first eleven chapter of the Bible can be regarded as pre-history, myths in the true sense of the word. Like so many ancient tales there is likely to be a lot of well-rememered truth in these narratives. Passed down through the generations, they recall significant events in the development of humanity, some good and some bad.

 E nigmatic

 E pisodes

Cain murdered Abel ...

... over jealousy about the appropriateness of a thank offering to God. Abel's was good and heartfelt; Cain's was nominal and meaningless. Yet Cain was not executed by God, but was punished as a "wanderer". 

Yet he was offered some protection. The hope of forgiveness?

We read about characters with strange sounding ancient names but they are highlighted as they show that, despite its failings, humanity was allowed, nay encouraged, to develop.

Jabal raised livestock and lived in tents

Jubal was a musician (harp and flute)

Jubal Cain was the bronze worker

However enigmatic these ancient snippets are, they show humanity developing from hunter gatherer inyo much more. The hope of betterment!

But beware human arrogance.

The builders of The Ziggurat at Babylon (a k a the Tower of Babel) were seen as using human wit and wisdom to challenge God. It all ended in tears as the tiers were abandoned.

Then Noah built a box!

It certainly wasn't a boat because Noah had no need of matitime technology. The box would be taken where the flood droiive it - where God intended. (P.S. The "Ark of the Covenant" as in "Raiders of the Lost ditto" was also a box, but smaller and posher than Noah's!)

But the point of this enigma is not whether the flood was world wide (today's world) or world wide (Noah:s world). The key is that Noah walked with God and his immediate world was "only evil continually". (Phrase as used in Genesis)

With God, there is always promise of punishment or the Hope of Salvation.

Please note that in Bible usage "hope" means "certainty" not just a vague possibility.

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 Next F ABC blog - Wednesday 6th December