Unscathed so far
Yesterday was a bit of an ordeal.
To my amazement [and delight] masks were few and far between at the opticians. It all went well, apart from nearly being blinded by having very bright lights being shone into my eyes.
The outcome seems good. Yes I have a cataract but it is so minor it will be quite a while before surgery is necessary. Everything else is grand and I pick up my new glasses in a fortnight.
The only problem I had was in the car park. On the way back I shoved the ticket into their machine. It thought about it for a while and eventually I was asked to dab my debit card on the screen. I did that and the machine made some funny noises and eventually spat out my ticket to use on the exit barrier. Grand. I drove to the exit barrier and stuck my validated card in the slot. The fucking thing rejected it and told me to go back to pay the money and get the ticket validated. It spat out my ticket. At this point a queue was forming behind me and I was stuck.
I shoved in the ticket again. It announced that there was an error somewhere and it swallowed my ticket. At this point people behind me were getting a tad impatient. I pressed the Help button. The machine made a series of burping noises and eventually a voice asked me what was wrong. I’m not used to speaking to barriers but had no choice. I explained my predicament. Without another word, the barrier lifted. I went home.
Later in the day I came across a little piece on the BBC News site, Apparently they are talking about building massive solar panels in space that will beam electricity back to Earth. It sounds feasible if a little expensive but never mind. A thought did cross my mind though. Suppose the beamed energy drifted slightly so it misses the collector on the ground? Someone is going to get fried. A few Gigawatts of power beamed onto the unsuspecting public?
I wouldn’t fancy that.
But I suppose it would be quick…..
Put mirrors on yer roof, or a tin foil hat.
Mirrors on the roof are a good idea. If they are mountd on an adjustable frame I could redirect the beam anywhere in the neighbourhood.
If you have ever accidentally [or otherwise] put tin foil in a microwave you’ll know the spectacular fireworks display. Tin foil hats could become quite a fashion statement?
Asimov wrote a short story about Robots creating a religion on a space station that was beaming solar energy back to earth.
I have seen quite a few tales written about solar farms in one shape or another. Life does frequently follow fiction.
“Apparently they are talking about building massive solar panels in space that will beam electricity back to Earth.”
I was going to say that a couple-3 decades ago this was nothing but science fiction. I still don’t believe they’ve found a way to “beam electricity”. I mean, how the hell do you “beam” power? A “beam” collector?
3 decades ago there weren’t thousands of satellites whizzing round the earth in a variety of orbits. How the hell do these idiots think they can beam Gigawatt levels of power back to Earth without vaporising numerous metallic objects on the way?
The sf story I remember had giant reflectors in space which reflected and focused the sunlight down to earth to counter the impending ice age. Yes, it was that long ago.
Now the Billy Goat Gates is talking about putting sun shades in space to counter the impending Warble Gloaming.
And if your little nation does not do as it is told, well, it is going to get very cool. Nice agriculture industry you have got there. It would be a shame if summer did not come. For a decade or so.