In todays news...

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

There are now reports that the actual charging stations have shit the bed in the cold, not just the vehicles ability to take a charge... altho why the fuck anyone would want to go for a drive in a blizzard is somewhat questionable.

You might if you are driving a snow plough.

But if nobody was using the roads the snow plough wouldn't be required.

[Count Steer]

I imagine the charger issue is a specific design problem in that particular device, rather than a general issue IYSWIM. Could be as simple as condensation for example.

It's not entirely true that batteries are the only thing which have changed, but it's not entirely false either. Certainly the dramatic improvement in cost and performance has been the catalyst for the revolution now taking place.

Pretty much every type of electric motor has already been invented on paper. At their heart they're so simple that almost every conceivable type was dreamed up 100 years ago, but only some of them have actually been built. Manufacturing tech and ideas are still out of synch.

The other issue with batteries (and fancy magnets for motors) is that we are moving from stuff like cast iron and reasonably common metal alloys to stuff where you need to dig up half a nation to get a teaspoonful or two. In order to reduce global warming using battery cars we (well, the Chinese, mainly) are going to strip mine the planet.

I'll hold on the 'Oh, happy, happy, joy, joy' stuff for a while as the deeper you get, the worse, and more short term, the solution looks.

[Yorick]

There are now reports that the actual charging stations have shit the bed in the cold, not just the vehicles ability to take a charge... altho why the fuck anyone would want to go for a drive in a blizzard is somewhat questionable.

You might if you are driving a snow plough.

But if nobody was using the roads the snow plough wouldn't be required.

How does the snow plough driver get to work?

[Mr. Dazzle]

The other issue with batteries (and fancy magnets for motors) is that we are moving from stuff like cast iron and reasonably common metal alloys to stuff where you need to dig up half a nation to get a teaspoonful or two. In order to reduce global warming using battery cars we (well, the Chinese, mainly) are going to strip mine the planet.

I'll hold on the 'Oh, happy, happy, joy, joy' stuff for a while as the deeper you get, the worse, and more short term, the solution looks.

Again...yes and no. You have to remember that what you can buy as "new" in a dealer is actually 5-10 year old technology...always has been, even with ICE.

It probably won't surprise you to know that the supply of rare earth magnets (which ironically use some pretty common minerals!) has long been identified as a choke point. That's why the motors in development at the moment are designed to use less and less of them.

Plus they're really fucking expensive! Fancy magnet is about half the cost of a motor, literally.

[Skub]

But if nobody was using the roads the snow plough wouldn't be required.

They may not be using the roads because the snow plough isn't out yet.

[ZRX61]

But if nobody was using the roads the snow plough wouldn't be required.

How would the snowplow driver get to work? oh wait...

[ZRX61]

BTW can't speak for Tesla, but our EVs are designed for -40 to +120 operation. They'll never get to +120 of course, but that's the maximum heat various bits might reach due to internal heating.

The range, power etc are all based off that window too. But unlike Tesla we do things properly rather than relying on YouTube and Twitter to promote our semi-OK cars

Aircraft batteries and motors operate happily down to -70 already.

How much over 120deg? That's not unusual in Palm Springs in the Summer.

[Mr. Dazzle]

120 proper degrees, not your tiny feeble ones.

[KungFooBob]

If it's not too damp tomogga I might pull the bike out for a trip to Scarbados.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-y ... e-64134860

[Skub]

If it's not too damp tomogga I might pull the bike out for a trip to Scarbados.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-y ... e-64134860

Looks like an old mate of mine.

[ZRX61]

Eeewww... messy..

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news ... ane-engine

[Horse]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-63995293

With its catchy chorus and powerful lyrics, the pop song Better Days hit the airwaves in Colombia in the summer of 2010. But the song contained a hidden message that its creators could only reveal once the top-secret files about its true meaning were declassified.

"Malaria was an issue. Ticks were everywhere. When you sat down or tried to sleep ants would be crawling on you," says retired Maj Gen Luis Herlindo Mendieta Ovalle, who was held captive by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) from 1998-2010.

"Then there was the fungus," he says, "because of the humidity, fungus would grow on your intimate parts, and we had no medications to treat it."

During Colombia's 50-year bitter armed conflict, atrocities were committed on both sides. In the early 2000s kidnapping had become a key strategy for the Farc to fund itself. Colombia's transitional justice tribunal estimates that 21,396 people were kidnapped during the conflict.


Army soldiers and police officers were often the main targets. Chained in secret camps in the Colombian jungle, the conditions endured by the hostages were enough to make any person lose hope.

Rescue missions were dangerous due to the mountainous terrain and, like Gen Mendieta, some security forces hostages had spent several years in captivity.

At the time, Col José Espejo, then a Colombian army communications officer, knew how important morale among troops was to the success of a rescue operation.

"We desperately wanted to give the military hostages something that they could hold on to, a message of hope that would maintain their spirit and strength, so they could consider the possibility of escape if the opportunity presented itself," he says.

In order to deliver this message he decided to throw out the rule book and instead turned to Juan Carlos Ortíz, the CEO of an advertising agency. Mr Ortíz's government-funded anti-drug campaign had won an award for innovation, but had also attracted the attention of the Farc, for whom the cocaine trade was a lucrative source of income.

Mr Ortíz received death threats from the guerrillas and had to flee to the US with his family to begin a new life there. But he and his team decided to take up the challenge to come up with a way of getting a message of hope to the hostages.

A meeting with army representatives sparked
an idea.

"They told us that Colombian soldiers in their basic training are trained [in] Morse code," he says. "We thought, 'Right, how can we communicate with them via Morse code?' It was a true light bulb moment."

With hostages kept deep in the jungle and communication from the outside world near impossible, creative director, Alfonso Díaz, says they realised they would only be able to get through to them via radio.

"During this era, a journalist called Herbin Hoyos - who did a lot for all of the hostages - created a programme called 'Voices of the Kidnapped'," he says, "to help reduce their feelings of isolation by broadcasting messages from their loved ones to those in captivity."

Mr Hoyos, who had also been a former hostage of the Farc, died of coronavirus in 2021. His programme was a lifeline for many during the years it aired and seemed like the perfect place to first broadcast the message.

Mr Díaz says they thought about including the Morse code in a joke, with the beeps apparently covering up swear words, but this didn't seem appropriate. Then he had the idea for a song.

Audio producer Carlos Portela says they initially thought of using "a cheerful vallenato or a salsa", but realised this might cause "the listener's mind to wander". So they decided instead on a sentimental song with emotional lyrics to help the hostages make the link between the song and the Morse code hidden within it.

"The lyrics to Better Days speak of the heart, of the resilience and the strength that the hostages must possess to be able to move forward and not to despair when they are alone," says Mr Díaz, who co-wrote the lyrics with Mr Portela.

They enlisted the help of rock singer Angelo, who had come up through the ranks of Colombia's version of the X Factor, and singer and actor Natalia Gutiérrez.

Mr Portela, along with composer, producer and sound engineer Amaury Hernández, carried out a lot of research into Morse Code, including how many words per minute a person could decipher. They decided to use a synthesizer in the track to help camouflage the message.

The code was inserted in three different places within the song and the team decided to transmit one simple message: "19 people rescued. You're next. Don't lose hope."



Video on the linked page. The Morse code can be heard at 1:31, 2:31 and 3:32

[Yorick]

These dickheads are stopping direct action. It's too bloody cold for them to glue themselves anywhere.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/news.sky ... n-12777788

They'll be back when it's warmer

[Yorick]

This started out well, until I saw this bit

They will only need to provide a valid mobile number.


That rules out some homeless and poor people. Hmm


https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-ed ... e-64126998

[Felix]

Tesla see quite safe to crash in

[Felix]

Now there is something you dont see every day

[Skub]

Now there is something you dont see every day

If it was born like that,it's amazing it has survived,maybe even more surprising if it was result of an injury.

[Felix]

I was thinking born like that as any injury would be a mess under there i would presume. Its just neat like it was born with two legs. Also is there not major arteries down the legs? Poor bugger would have just bled to death.

[Yorick]

Just heard a story about a pervert who has been caught after years hiding on the dark web. The world's best couldn't find him.

If perverts can find each other on this web, why can't tech experts find him.

Keep it in simple terms for us numptys

[ZRX61]

Tesla see quite safe to crash in

Driver is facing three counts of attempted murder.