tcm
...
I'm a bit bored with computers being "the future". They're rubbish, really. tap tap tappity tap, where's the fun in that?
My vision for the next century would be to reinvent and rebuild (literally) the uk or part thereof as a large movable floating seagoing country that cruises around the globe to save its energy requirements by following the sun, allows easier trading with various emerging markets, handily avoids areas of conflict, and repositions for a better climate or to take advantage of unclaimed undersea mineral deposits. Computers might help in this regard, but so might some large sails.
We need to dig up the country, starting from the coasts and working inland, inserting a buoyant grid of concrete floating piers perhaps with praps minimum 20 metre draught in most areas and decent keels under the pennines, cumbrian moutains and grampians if they want to come along too, and then replace all the coutryside back where it was. Nobody need know about this until we tiptoe away darn sarth one summer on a maiden voyage. Rocky offshore outcrops like Lundy, the IOM, Holy island and the orkneys will be used as mooring cleats during construction, and for warping out into the westen appraoches on completion without getting jammed between ushant and the fastnet.
This is a far better idea than the channel stupid tunnel, altho of course the experineced peeps who did that would be v handy for this somewhat more challenging project. Which i suppose need not take longer than a couple of generations, tops.
The UK is uniquely placed to do this amongst all G8 nations cos they arent detached like the UK, but hemmed in and thus needing far more work to get out into the open sea and it might not even be possible, especially the european ones. Belgium and holand obviously may have thought about this, and it explains there strange keeness on the EU - no chance of them going blue-water crusing cos thiv got no freeboard.
The project has advantages of low-tech mass employment, and our engineering, mining, marine enginering and navigational skils can combine to achieve something far more worthwhile than going to the dusty boring moon or to Mars in a rocket, and much more fun for everyone instead of just for a few astronauts. We could have a preliminary feasibilty study with Sark, and get going on the main item within 5 years, i think.
My vision for the next century would be to reinvent and rebuild (literally) the uk or part thereof as a large movable floating seagoing country that cruises around the globe to save its energy requirements by following the sun, allows easier trading with various emerging markets, handily avoids areas of conflict, and repositions for a better climate or to take advantage of unclaimed undersea mineral deposits. Computers might help in this regard, but so might some large sails.
We need to dig up the country, starting from the coasts and working inland, inserting a buoyant grid of concrete floating piers perhaps with praps minimum 20 metre draught in most areas and decent keels under the pennines, cumbrian moutains and grampians if they want to come along too, and then replace all the coutryside back where it was. Nobody need know about this until we tiptoe away darn sarth one summer on a maiden voyage. Rocky offshore outcrops like Lundy, the IOM, Holy island and the orkneys will be used as mooring cleats during construction, and for warping out into the westen appraoches on completion without getting jammed between ushant and the fastnet.
This is a far better idea than the channel stupid tunnel, altho of course the experineced peeps who did that would be v handy for this somewhat more challenging project. Which i suppose need not take longer than a couple of generations, tops.
The UK is uniquely placed to do this amongst all G8 nations cos they arent detached like the UK, but hemmed in and thus needing far more work to get out into the open sea and it might not even be possible, especially the european ones. Belgium and holand obviously may have thought about this, and it explains there strange keeness on the EU - no chance of them going blue-water crusing cos thiv got no freeboard.
The project has advantages of low-tech mass employment, and our engineering, mining, marine enginering and navigational skils can combine to achieve something far more worthwhile than going to the dusty boring moon or to Mars in a rocket, and much more fun for everyone instead of just for a few astronauts. We could have a preliminary feasibilty study with Sark, and get going on the main item within 5 years, i think.