Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[RED-DOG]

Young Alex (Posh Bloke), said something like "the SPT Events have a terrific, atmosphere & are always great fun".

Fun eh?

Mrs Red reckons I don't like enjoying myself.

[tikay]

In an LA Starbucks, I bought two large (Grande?) latte's.

Having no small bills, I tried to pay with a $100 note, but they couldn't break it.

"No problem Sir, If we can't make change the drinks are free."

Excellent. Now THAT is Customer Service.

Incidentally, "Grande" is, technically "large" in Starbys, but NOT largest.

It goes like this, smallest to biggest....

Demi

Short

Tall

Grande

Venti

Trenta.

Grande, Venti & Trenta derive from French or Italian roots (large, 20, 30, as in fluid ounces), & Tall was, at one time, their biggest size. (12 fluid ounces).

I don't think I've ever been in a Starbucks which offer Trenta.

You may arch an eyebrow if I menton thast last year, worldwide, Starbucks grossed $13 billion in turnover, & exactly 10% of that in net profit, & employs 150,000 staff. Jeez, all from serving consumers coffee "on the move".

How the world has changed in my lifetime. I grew up in times of relative austerity, with Macmillan telling is "you have never had it so good".

Now, everyone thinks it normal to pay a quid for a bottle of water, £3 for a coffee, & most of us have a car, a mobile phone or tablet, a colour TV, Online Gaming is growing lickity-spit (all from our disposable income), & we think we are hard done by if we cannot go abroad for our holidays. 

We truly have never had it so good.

Here's the Starbucks Head Office. Nice building, eh? Proper brick jobbie that.

[tikay]

Just to correct myself - the memory plays tricks - but Alex actually wrote.....


I'm in and looking forward to it. Sky events are always so fun and relaxed

I'll take that.

[tikay]

An absolutely horrific train crash in Spain last night, at least 80 people died. The cause is thought to be excessive speed, the train was reportedly travelling at twice the speed limit on a tricky curve.

We will see more & more train crashes. They travel at such speed, with each train weighing hundreds of tonnes (typically a single carriage weighs 40 or 50 tonnes), & the sheer inertia does the damage when something goes wrong.

Fortunately (for us Brits) British design means such a death toll is unlikely, as the couplings which link each carriage are designed such that they cannot, in the event of a disaster, "telescope" into each other.  

A quite dreadful thing for the Spanish people.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[outragous76]

Just heard that the train could have been travelling at 2x the recommended speed for that bend

[tikay]

Just heard that the train could have been travelling at 2x the recommended speed for that bend

Yup. I just edited my Post to add that. There are two drivers on these things, as a sort of fail safe. Logic fail, there.

[VBlue]

I have a large family in Galicia.  I hope none are effected.

[tikay]

I have a large family in Galicia.  I hope none are effected.

It must be very worrying for you, I do hope all is well.

[bobAlike]

Just heard that the train could have been travelling at 2x the recommended speed for that bend

Yup. I just edited my Post to add that. There are two drivers on these things, as a sort of fail safe. Logic fail, there.

Some trainy type person on R4 this morning stated it was a new train and there should have been electronic failsafes inbuilt to the train to stop this type of accident. Obviously this is all still speculation.

[bobAlike]

I've gone and got myself a new contract with Rolls Royce aero engines helping with opening some new factories accross the world. The one I'm currently on is for the Advanced Blade Casting Facility. Truely facinating stuff above and beyond my understanding.

http://www.rolls-royce.com/careers/where_in_the_world/uk/Rotherham.jsp

[tikay]

Just heard that the train could have been travelling at 2x the recommended speed for that bend

Yup. I just edited my Post to add that. There are two drivers on these things, as a sort of fail safe. Logic fail, there.

Some trainy type person on R4 this morning stated it was a new train and there should have been electronic failsafes inbuilt to the train to stop this type of accident. Obviously this is all still speculation.

Sorry?

A trainy type person?

What that?

[bobAlike]

Just heard that the train could have been travelling at 2x the recommended speed for that bend

Yup. I just edited my Post to add that. There are two drivers on these things, as a sort of fail safe. Logic fail, there.

Some trainy type person on R4 this morning stated it was a new train and there should have been electronic failsafes inbuilt to the train to stop this type of accident. Obviously this is all still speculation.

Sorry?

A trainy type person?

What that?

Some editor form some trainy type magazine

[tikay]

I've gone and got myself a new contract with Rolls Royce aero engines helping with opening some new factories accross the world. The one I'm currently on is for the Advanced Blade Casting Facility. Truely facinating stuff above and beyond my understanding.

http://www.rolls-royce.com/careers/where_in_the_world/uk/Rotherham.jsp

Ooh, many congrats.

Those "blades" really are quite something. One failure, & a whole bunch of nasty problems ensue.

Each engine must have scores - hundreds? - of blades.

Imagine an Airbus A380, which can have (optionally) 4 x RR Trent Engines, each with all those blades, & every blade....

Trent engines use hollow titanium fan blades with an internal Warren-girder structure to achieve strength, stiffness and robustness at low weight. The blades can rotate at 3300 RPM with a tip speed of 1730 km/h, well above the speed of sound.

It only wants one to fail......and yet they never do.

We take air safety a little for granted, but it really is incredibly good. As with the train crash mentioned earlier, it is usually human failure which causes accidents.

I must add, what a wonderful British company Rolls Royce is. It has a forward order book of around £70 billion. Even without a single forward order, it would be very profitable just by maintaining & providing spares for the installed base of engines. Proper old-fashioned company, that actully makes things. 

[tikay]

Just heard that the train could have been travelling at 2x the recommended speed for that bend

Yup. I just edited my Post to add that. There are two drivers on these things, as a sort of fail safe. Logic fail, there.

Some trainy type person on R4 this morning stated it was a new train and there should have been electronic failsafes inbuilt to the train to stop this type of accident. Obviously this is all still speculation.

Sorry?

A trainy type person?

What that?

Some editor form some trainy type magazine

Ahh, a trainy type magazine.

Gotcha.

[bobAlike]

It certainly is a testament to the owners and the employees.

I'm also working on a new disc production faclility in Sunderland. With regards to safety RR had to build a new facility and run it for 5 years just to prove that the new manufacturing process was good enough. This facility was running in parrallel with the existing factory and will now be closed down to make way for another new facility is being built in Washington T&W for production.

http://www.rolls-royce.com/about/technology/gas_turbine_tech/turbines.jsp

EDIT: Fixed the typos and added the link