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Marseille

From Aix we set out to Marseille and promptly wished that we had chosen to stay here instead of messing about at Aix for so long.  The old port its defensive fortifications and the spectacular gallery/ museum were wonderful and the old town, the Cathedral and modern port were interesting as well. 

 

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Marseille

 

We spent the best part of the day here and enjoyed a pleasant lunch into the bargain. 

Reluctantly we then departed for Nice using the motorway network instead of the local roads and cruise-control set to 150 km/h, as time was now of the essence.  No diverting to Cannes or Monaco other such resorts along the way.

Unfortunately, although I slowed for the 110 km/h zones (most of it is 130) it was obviously not slow enough on the day.  A fine notice for 45 Euro for doing 130 in a 110 zone appeared in the letterbox a few days after we arrived home.   

 
The fine is for exceeding the limit by less than 50 km/h. 
So it would have been the same fine had I been doing 160.  Damn! 
The good thing is that it was easy to pay on-line.

 

I might say at no time was ours the fastest car on the road.  We were constantly overtaken by others coming up quickly behind, doing well over 160 (the old 100 mph).  I guess they know where the cameras are or don't care about being fined.

 

 

 

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Travel

Romania

 

 

In October 2016 we flew from southern England to Romania.

Romania is a big country by European standards and not one to see by public transport if time is limited.  So to travel beyond Bucharest we hired a car and drove northwest to Brașov and on to Sighisiora, before looping southwest to Sibiu (European capital of culture 2007) and southeast through the Transylvanian Alps to Curtea de Arges on our way back to Bucharest. 

Driving in Romania was interesting.  There are some quite good motorways once out of the suburbs of Bucharest, where traffic lights are interminable trams rumble noisily, trolley-busses stop and start and progress can be slow.  In the countryside road surfaces are variable and the roads mostly narrow. This does not slow the locals who seem to ignore speed limits making it necessary to keep up to avoid holding up traffic. 

Read more: Romania

Fiction, Recollections & News

ChatGPT and The Craft

As another test of ChatGPT I asked it: "in 2 thousand words, to write a fiction about a modern-day witch who uses chemistry and female charms to enslave her familiars". This is one of the motifs in my novella: The Craft (along with: the great famine; world government; cyber security and overarching artificial intelligence).

Rather alarmingly, two of five ChatGPT offerings, each taking around 22 seconds to generate, came quite close to the sub-plot, although I'm not keen on the style or moralistic endings.  Here they are:

Read more: ChatGPT and The Craft

Opinions and Philosophy

Electricity Pricing

 

 August 2012 (chapters added since)

 

 

 

Introduction

 

The present government interventions in electricity markets, intended to move the industry from coal to renewable energy sources, are responsible for most of the rapidly rising cost of electricity in Australia.  These interventions have introduced unanticipated distortions and inefficiencies in the way that electricity is delivered.

Industry experts point to looming problems in supply and even higher price increases.

A 'root and branch' review of these mechanisms is urgently required to prevent ever increasing prices and to prevent further potentially crippling distortions.

Read more: Electricity Pricing

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