The totally off-topic thread

[Flashback]

My wife brushes her hair, exactly 50 strokes, each night.
Then she does the other leg.

Reminds me of the lady who we met at the lodge office when we arrived in Puerto Maldonado, what a sight :shock: (arms though, not legs)

 

[JohnK]

Help please. Yes I know it only happens to me! :mrgreen:

I use MrRebates and Ebates to book Holiday Inn and Accor. I am trying to book a night at Holiday Inn and I go through MrRebates logged in the popup window appears and when I get to Holiday Inn the ebates IATA # is there. I have reset form data in Firefox and still the ebates IATA # is there. So I went back to Windows Explorer and yes you guessed it.

* Edit. Going to advance search or + More options makes the IATA # edit capable. Crisis has been averted *

 

[penegal]

Went to a trivia night tonight.

The Gen Y people were playing on their phones so much that we were accused of cheating.

A good lesson not to be a compulsive texter...

 

[vetrade]

Deaths of 2 greats in sport.
RIP Max Walker.68 of melanoma.........

It doesn't make him any less dead, but it was actually multiple myeloma.

 

[serfty]

If, as has been reported, the transmission system has been compromised by a tower going down near Pt Augusta, then the blackouts would still have occurred regardless of how the power was generated.

No - as far as I can tell these issues at Port Augusta caused the "Inter-connector" (or "national grid") to proactively/protectively stop supply to South Australia.

To quote a backpedaling SA Premier ".... there may have been some issue with the interconnector ..."

Since the closure of the gas fire generator, the national grid is basically the only real back up Adelaide has. If it fails (as it did) we have found out what can happen.

Some more here: SA power outage: how did it happen? - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The specific generator was temporarily recommissioned back in July while a planned outage of the "Heywood" Interconnector to Victoria was undertaken. It seems the owners of this generator feel they can make better profits by not having it operating.

Mystery as South Australia pleads with gas generator to switch back on : Renew Economy

 

[JohnK]

Can't find citizenship certificate. Yes lost something again.

Hope it doesn't delay citizenship by descent for daughter or tourist visa application for wife.

 

[Denali]

People are pretty quick on all the memes about the SA blackout situation.

I'm not sure whether this is a humorous way to deal with an emergency situation, or it's a genuine dig (jeering or political).

Power is out but the internet still working?

Remind me to invest in one of those wind up battery chargers.

 

[Pushka]

Power is out but the internet still working?

Remind me to invest in one of those wind up battery chargers.

Modems need power so no. People were using their phones/tablet 3G but even those services were failing.

 

[RooFlyer]

No - as far as I can tell these issues at Port Augusta caused the "Inter-connector" (or "national grid") to proactively/protectively stop supply to South Australia.

To quote a backpedaling SA Premier ".... there may have been some issue with the interconnector ..."

Since the closure of the gas fire generator, the national grid is basically the only real back up Adelaide has. If it fails (as it did) we have found out what can happen.
<snip>

In a former life I got involved in a study of the structure of the power grid in Tasmania which is similar to Sth Australia in its reliance on renewables (albeit base load renewables) and a single interconnector to the National Grid.

The thing that stuck with me is that a power grid is a finely tuned instrument with all segments needing to be in harmony for it to function - the grid will self protect if there is a problem and that's how you get blackouts where there is no immediate damage nearby. If the transmission assets are old, the juggling act of maintaining that harmony is much more difficult. So far, reasonably well known.

However, importantly, maybe in the SA situation, is that the location of generation assets within the grid also has an important bearing on grid stability. As a rule you can't just bung energy input just anywhere into a grid; segments have various capacities to generate power and then distribute load.

With renewable like wind, they have to go where the wind blows and you want the shortest distance to the grid connection point. Wind farms have been popping up in localities where the grid backbone hadn't contemplated them. I wonder in the fall-out of the SA grid failure they will find that the grid wasn't properly balanced as to where the wind generation centres were, in the rush to get renewables onto the grid? That is, they bent the 'stability' rules and thus when there was a major problem, much more of the grid failed than should have been the case? And maybe it took longer to re-stabilise the grid?

 

[Pushka]

It doesn't make him any less dead, but it was actually multiple myeloma.

Drron was correct. Walker died from melanoma.

 

[Flashback]

Modems need power so no. People were using their phones/tablet 3G but even those services were failing.

Usually they'll turn off data to preserve the network for voice usage i.e. for emergencies and such.

 

[coriander]

Drron was correct. Walker died from melanoma.

ABC News breakfast reported "spinal cancer" this morning (it's interesting how it's hard for journalists to get a story right - I suppose either myeloma or melanoma (metastasis) could result in " spinal cancer ").

 

[Pushka]

ABC News breakfast reported "spinal cancer" this morning (it's interesting how it's hard for journalists to get a story right - I suppose either myeloma or melanoma (metastasis) could result in " spinal cancer ").

Secondary to melanoma I would think. Melanoma that hasn't spread from the original site would not be fatal. And read now he battled Prostate Cancer.

 

[Pushka]

So the Gubbnent is telling us the cause of the SA blackout was with multiple towers falling over. That is where they still are. But power is being restored. And failing again for some.

 

[Cossie]

I will never understand why governments insist on selling off essential services, especially to companies based overseas that imo are only interested in generating(!) profit, after all isn't that why a company exists?


(flame suit on!)

 

[vetrade]

Drron was correct. Walker died from melanoma.

Not so fast, Pushka. I know many media outlets said it was melanoma but they obviously just copy each other so they all got it wrong. I think the error has occurred because many people have heard of melanoma but very few would have a clue what multiple myeloma is (it's a cancer of the bone marrow). The fact they sound quite similar could trick a lot of people but they are actually very different types of cancer which originate in different tissues.

Max Walker died from multiple myeloma, not metastatic melanoma.

 

[JohnK]

I will never understand why governments insist on selling off essential services, especially to companies based overseas that imo are only interested in generating(!) profit, after all isn't that why a company exists?


(flame suit on!)

No flame suit. The biggest mistake governments have made. They have sold the cash cows for quick cash and we get atrocious service in return.

 

[Pushka]

Not so fast, Pushka. I know many media outlets said it was melanoma but they obviously just copy each other so they all got it wrong. I think the error has occurred because many people have heard of melanoma but very few would have a clue what multiple myeloma is (it's a cancer of the bone marrow). The fact they sound quite similar could trick a lot of people but they are actually very different types of cancer which originate in different tissues.

Max Walker died from multiple myeloma, not metastatic melanoma.

I just read it was from prostate cancer.

No flame suit. The biggest mistake governments have made. They have sold the cash cows for quick cash and we get atrocious service in return.

Agree. Like selling the family jewels. Which is only to be done in times of financial distress. Welcome to SA. Started with the State Bank back in the '90's and we've never recovered.

 

[Pushka]

I guess it doesn't really matter. A great legend has gone.

 

[RooFlyer]

So the Gubbnent is telling us the cause of the SA blackout was with multiple towers falling over. That is where they still are. But power is being restored. And failing again for some.

See post above. The grid shuts down over areas not connected with a physical failure, to protect itself. The sequence to re-start using intact generating assets can be complicated and take some time - but as long as the greater grid is intact it can occur.

But again, see comment about grid balance - some intact sectors may not be able to be energised if the balance can't be restored.