An overview of opinions and observations for the month.
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Monday, 28 October 2013
Farewell St. Jude!
As the South of England is still recovering from the full devastation of the St Jude Storm, we take a moment to acknowledge the full extent of what has happened this morning. Statistics have been analysed and compared to provide the following details:
1) The highest #windspeed recorded was 99mph at Needles Old Battery, Isle of Wight. On the continent itself, Langdon Bay, Kent reported 82mph gusts.
2) The highest #rainfall measured was 50mm in Otterbourne, Hampshire. Wych Cross reported 45mm, and Cardiff 43mm. There were a total of 146 Environmental Agency flood alerts issued.
3) The highest number of #treefalls that we've seen is 125+ in Sussex. We've seen further reports of 70 in Kent, 60 in East Sussex and 37 in Surrey.
4) The total number of power #outage we've seen is 220,000 in the UK, and a further 75,000 across in France. Water supplies have also been affected as pumping stations lost power.
5) Heathrow reported 130 cancelled flights, the Port of Dover completely closed temporarily stranding 2 ferries carrying 450 passengers, First Capital Connect trains and East Coast Trains have suspended all services for the rest of the day.
6) AA Special Operations Response reported calls of 11 cars stuck in water and a further 30 #flood related calls. London Fire Brigade received 303 #storm related calls, and the Metropolitan Police had an insane 792 calls between 6am-8am compared to their average of 200!
7) There have been two reported deaths directly as a result of the storm. A 17 year old female as a result of a tree falling on her static home in Hever, Edenbridge. An unidentified male in his 50's as a result of a tree falling on his car in Watford, Hertfordshire. Our thoughts go out to their families at this #tragic time.
2) The highest #rainfall measured was 50mm in Otterbourne, Hampshire. Wych Cross reported 45mm, and Cardiff 43mm. There were a total of 146 Environmental Agency flood alerts issued.
3) The highest number of #treefalls that we've seen is 125+ in Sussex. We've seen further reports of 70 in Kent, 60 in East Sussex and 37 in Surrey.
4) The total number of power #outage we've seen is 220,000 in the UK, and a further 75,000 across in France. Water supplies have also been affected as pumping stations lost power.
5) Heathrow reported 130 cancelled flights, the Port of Dover completely closed temporarily stranding 2 ferries carrying 450 passengers, First Capital Connect trains and East Coast Trains have suspended all services for the rest of the day.
6) AA Special Operations Response reported calls of 11 cars stuck in water and a further 30 #flood related calls. London Fire Brigade received 303 #storm related calls, and the Metropolitan Police had an insane 792 calls between 6am-8am compared to their average of 200!
7) There have been two reported deaths directly as a result of the storm. A 17 year old female as a result of a tree falling on her static home in Hever, Edenbridge. An unidentified male in his 50's as a result of a tree falling on his car in Watford, Hertfordshire. Our thoughts go out to their families at this #tragic time.
And finally a few more situations resulting from the storm:
- A #crane has collapsed onto the roof of the Cabinet Office in #Westminister.
- A tree has fallen through the roof of a Ministry of Defence house in Buford, Wiltshire.
- 40 homes have been #evacuated near the Golf Club in Calcot, Reading after reports gas pipe damaged by a falling tree could cause an #explosion.
- A house has been #destroyed in Hounslow after a tree collapsed causing a #gas main to rupture which led to a possible gas explosion.
- Dungeness B #nuclear power station in Kent automatically shut down both #reactors after power to the site was cut off.
- The famous #HelterSkelter on #Clacton Pier, Essex has been blown down in the storm, luckily not into the sea!
Thursday, 3 October 2013
Perfection
Late at night I sometimes think very deeply about the world around me, and the philosophical ideologies of the people who inhabit this planet. If this does not interest you, then feel free to stop reading, however this is a very intriguing notion I have happened across tonight and one I think will help open your mind if you give it the opportunity.
tl;dr: Perfection is subjective.
We all aspire to be perfect based entirely on own individual perception of the world, and of what exactly constitutes perfection. Take a moment to realise however, that opinions vary and never will they all align. Now, apply this knowledge to the original statement, and realise that the very idea of perfection is a flawed logic. You have spent years developing your own preferences and ideologies surrounding perfection based on your own life experiences and encounters. The very definition of perfection is ambiguous. You will undoubtedly have your own opinion of what perfection is, however people are unique and we all have different experiences and encounters on which we base our definition of perfection. Therefore, your idea of perfection may contradict my own opinion of perfection, and vice versa.
With this in mind, riddle me this: why do we as humans obsess with changing elements of ourselves in a bid to match our own idea of perfection? One day you may actually become your own definition of perfection, you may reach the pinnacle of your idea of who the perfect person is. Yet on that day, you may look around and realise that your idea of perfection is unique only to you, and that to everybody else including those who matter most, you remain imperfect.
I will never condemn somebody for bettering themselves, but remain aware that each change you make will likely count as a success to some, and a failure to others. Make sure the changes you are making, are for the benefit of the people who matter most, not just vainly for yourself.
I guess this ties in with the philosophy of living for someone other than yourself. Selflessness is one of our greatest gifts; when we die, we are only remembered for the things we did for others, and the impact we had on other peoples lives.
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tl;dr: Perfection is subjective.
We all aspire to be perfect based entirely on own individual perception of the world, and of what exactly constitutes perfection. Take a moment to realise however, that opinions vary and never will they all align. Now, apply this knowledge to the original statement, and realise that the very idea of perfection is a flawed logic. You have spent years developing your own preferences and ideologies surrounding perfection based on your own life experiences and encounters. The very definition of perfection is ambiguous. You will undoubtedly have your own opinion of what perfection is, however people are unique and we all have different experiences and encounters on which we base our definition of perfection. Therefore, your idea of perfection may contradict my own opinion of perfection, and vice versa.
With this in mind, riddle me this: why do we as humans obsess with changing elements of ourselves in a bid to match our own idea of perfection? One day you may actually become your own definition of perfection, you may reach the pinnacle of your idea of who the perfect person is. Yet on that day, you may look around and realise that your idea of perfection is unique only to you, and that to everybody else including those who matter most, you remain imperfect.
I will never condemn somebody for bettering themselves, but remain aware that each change you make will likely count as a success to some, and a failure to others. Make sure the changes you are making, are for the benefit of the people who matter most, not just vainly for yourself.
I guess this ties in with the philosophy of living for someone other than yourself. Selflessness is one of our greatest gifts; when we die, we are only remembered for the things we did for others, and the impact we had on other peoples lives.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it with your friends on social networks using the buttons below, and please leave a comment with your thoughts;
I love hearing from my subscribers!
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