Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[RED-DOG]

It had a cargo of 19,100 containers.

Lay them end to end, & they would stretch well over 100 miles

My maths isn't great, but I have it at 72 miles.

[tikay]

It had a cargo of 19,100 containers.

Lay them end to end, & they would stretch well over 100 miles

My maths isn't great, but I have it at 72 miles.

You are right, I assumed they were 40' long, but they are, of course, 20' long, so that halves my total mileage. Make it London to Northampton, then.

Still makes my mind boggle, the amount of stuff we import from China & the Far East. A boat that size, with that many Containers, arrives here every week - & that is just one Shipping Line.

[RED-DOG]

You are right, I assumed they were 40' long, but they are, of course, 20' long, so that halves my total mileage. Make it London to Northampton, then.

I still don't believe it. I mean, think about it, over an hour's worth of driving past end to end containers, all on one ship?

Never!

[tikay]

You are right, I assumed they were 40' long, but they are, of course, 20' long, so that halves my total mileage. Make it London to Northampton, then.

I still don't believe it. I mean, think about it, over an hour's worth of driving past end to end containers, all on one ship?


Never!

It beggars belief. It's true, though. I think.

Assume, for ease, each container is 7 yards long. (Just over over 20 feet).

19,100 x 7 = 133,700 yards.

133,700 divided by 1760 (yards in a mile) = 76 miles.

On ONE ship.

I'm gonna have to go take a trip to Felixstowe to see one of one those buggers. 

[tikay]

The number that is a struggle is 19,100 of those containers.

Assume two to a lorry (to deliver or collect them each end) we are talking nearly 10,000 artics. At each end of the journey.

It's a whole economy, right there.

[Tal]

I'll bite...

Why not make it big enough for 20,000?

[arbboy]

three questions

1 - how long would it take that ship to do China to UK?
2 - how much would it cost in fuel to do the trip?
3 - top speed of a fully loaded ship like that?

[david3103]

The number that is a struggle is 19,100 of those containers.

Assume two to a lorry (to deliver or collect them each end) we are talking nearly 10,000 artics. At each end of the journey.

It's a whole economy, right there.

Felixstowe railhead...

Click to see full-size image.

Connects to Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal just of the M1 at Crick,
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daventry_International_Rail_Freight_Terminal

Freight is intermodal these days you know

[tikay]

I'll bite...

Why not make it big enough for 20,000?

It was made in South Korea, they count using a different system to us.

[tikay]

three questions

1 - how long would it take that ship to do China to UK?
2 - how much would it cost in fuel to do the trip?
3 - top speed of a fully loaded ship like that?

1) Not sure, but the wiki page suggests it takes about a month, fully loaded, from China to Felixstowe.

2) Pass. Not as much as we'd likely think though, the diesel fuel is probably tax-free. (Do you know how much fuel a Boeing 747 holds? - you'll be amazed).

3) 20.4 knots, thhough it achieved 22 knots in trials pre-hamdover.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSCL_Globe

No "have you seen the price of a cup of tea?" on this Diary, no sirree. Proper interesting stuff here.

[tikay]

The number that is a struggle is 19,100 of those containers.

Assume two to a lorry (to deliver or collect them each end) we are talking nearly 10,000 artics. At each end of the journey.

It's a whole economy, right there.

Felixstowe railhead...

Click to see full-size image.

Connects to Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal just of the M1 at Crick,
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daventry_International_Rail_Freight_Terminal

Freight is intermodal these days you know

DIRFT, what a place that is.

Many of the UK Supermarket chains have Distribution Depots local to that, so as to "shorten the chain".

Many years ago, that area, as well as the area close to NEC,  were known as "Golden Triangles", because land costs were astronomical, as the Corporations purchased land in the area ready for Distribution Centres.

FedEx & Eddie Stobart have Depots there, too.

[Tal]

Demolition work has begun on the Birmingham Central Library site:

http://www.archdaily.com/584390/demolition-begins-on-john-madin-s-brutalist-former-library-in-birmingham/

Some nostalgic photos from construction.

[tikay]

Demolition work has begun on the Birmingham Central Library site:

http://www.archdaily.com/584390/demolition-begins-on-john-madin-s-brutalist-former-library-in-birmingham/

Some nostalgic photos from construction.

Birmingham City Centre HAS to be better for ridding itself of that monstrosity. "brutalist" sums it up perfectly.

The 60's & 70's saw Birmingham as a focal point for new construction, including Public Buildings., Office Blocks, Hotels & the road system. Few cities changes as much as Birmingham, but much of the architecture & build quality was truly awful. 

Good to see it is now being addressed, the new New St Station MUST be an improvement, & losing that dreadful Library will help, too.

My favourite area of Birmingham used to be the jewellery quarter, which had been left largely untouched. Is that still the case? The area had real, identifiable, character.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

I'm trying to compose my February Bluff Column, but I'm stuck.






You can even get software now, to overcome writers block. Allegedly.

http://www.writersblocks.com/

I did at least discover a new word, whilst persuing a multitude of "writers block" results on google.

Satisficing

You "satisfice" when you take the first reasonable solution instead of searching endlessly for just the right word or sentence. If you're unhappy with the choice, you can bracket it and promise yourself you'll fix it later.

Anyway, I can't find the inspiration, so I'm just gonna write 2,000 words, in 4 or 5 pieces, then get a thesaurus & try & find some nice adjectives. I have the 5 topics clearly in my mind, but I need to find an angle. Think I'll just draft them all first, then (try to) hone & fettle them. 

I penned my January piece on December 9th (not been published yet), & the Editor chap, all sort of gently-wently, helped me by adding a few nice twirls. Just a word or two here & there, or some added emphasis, which was very kind of him, & it really improved the piece greatly. Now I have to try & do it myself.

I've been reading a lot of Bryson's stuff of late, & his inventive use of adjectives really catches the eye & mind.

Yes yes, I'm waffling, I'm putting off the moment. Once I start, I'll be fine, just need to find my little magic box.

[Tal]

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