Seahorse

Does anybody know anything about the Socio economic report into impact of council cuts? I seem to remember there was an outcry in February when the cuts were first announced. The council would not wait for the advice from this report before implementing cuts. If I recall, the report was due out in April and the council had already paid for it. Can anyone shed any light on this?

Just a quick thought, The kids being educated in Shetland today are the ones who will bear the brunt of this credit crunch and the economic down turn; when they become tax payers (not long now kids!). Should'nt we see to it that they get the best education possible? It's not their generations fault the council has to tighten it's belt.

Skating on very thin ice there Skaterboy. Are you saying that people in the third world deserve to die and those left should be stopped from having childern? Just so that you can continue with your resourse rich, comfortable life. Shame on you.

Hi, I have googled the article you mentioned about Bangladesh and I think you are wrongly concluding that sea levels are not rising. They are, but the sediment accumulation in the region is greater than that rise. (AFP) – Jul 29, 2008 Maminul Haque Sarker, head of the department at the government-owned centre that looks at boundary changes, told AFP sediment which travelled down the big Himalayan Rivers -- the Ganges and the Brahmaputra -- had caused the landmass to increase. But Sarker said that while rising sea levels and river erosion were both claiming land in Bangladesh, many climate experts had failed to take into account new land being formed from the river sediment.

Thanks all, had me bridder look at the computer and apparently I have a built in graphics card which canna handle this type of set up. I will have to look into this again. Another thought: Some recordable digi boxes have a USB port ie the BT vision box. I might have to load movies onto a stick and (heaven forbid) walk through to the sitting room with it!!!! Thanks for all the posts and links, I think I understood about 60% of it, like i say, I'm a bit of a technophobe!

Wow, thanks for that! TV connections are not an issue, have to get a new telly anyway. I take it HD's the way to go then? The computer might be though. Operating system is the one before Vista. (sorry, bit of a technophobe here) I have seen an advert for windows 7 which sounds like what I'm looking for. It showed a wireless system where all the laptops in the house are connected and they can also watch downloaded movies on the telly. Is this the way to go? I was hoping to do this with the existing system... I can stretch to a new telly but am hoping to keep the cost low-ish after that. Any thoughts? Ta

Hi, Could any of you advise me what set up/kit I need so I can use my TV as a computer monitor ie with a wireless keyboard and mouse? It would just be for access to the internet, music and movies (and to save using a DVD player). I would still be keeping a pc/monitor/keyboard/printer etc set up in another room for work. Access under the floor for wiring not an issue so your thoughts on hardwiring V wireless also much appreciated Ta, seahorse

Hi tojo any luck? I am looking to do something similar, any advice/tips on the subject?

Try googling 'Retro rebels, aberdeen' for a look. (The clothes shop not the tatoos!!!)

Met a lerook lass in a gift shop in Cambridge - New Zealand. It wiz affel fine, she was a bit miffed wee da lass she wis travelling with and I wiz on me aen so we geed oot fir mitt dat night n got sloshed!!!

Hi, Try dis lot http://www.megalithic.co.uk/ no sure if yir stane is on da site but do a search for Shetland.

To many lanes, hills and old folk for the handling of those I doot! Do they not have lanes, hills and old folk South? Hi, Sure dae do, but I think da wedder (lik dadays) wid stop mast folk havin wheelie bins. Mind you, a few oh dem flying aboot wid sun get rid oh da skorries and cats

Niald, I quite agree, by looking at these company websites Scotty can get an idea of what they are looking for. Some places will give you a start as a fire watcher (sitting watching the Welder in case he sets himself on fire!) or if you have experience using a industrial high pressure washer. There is even a guy that goes out once a year to re-cloth the snooker table!

Listen greenheatman, Will you please commit some time to finally explain exactly how your 'thermal battery' works. If, as you say it is somehow possible to convert hot water in your thermal battery into electricity then, you my friend may be the saviour of our planet. If it were, as you claim, an available technology, this could be what the world is looking for. You Sir, will be in line for a Nobel Prize! Think of the possibilities, every industrial operation World Wide that produces hot water as a by product will be able to provide their own electricity, every steel manufacturer, paper mill, oil refinery... The list is endless. They will become self sustaining. Heck, there wont be a need build more power stations. (Can you feel the sarcasm creeping in?) I DON'T THINK SO! Until you explain yourself and your invention I will continue to believe, as I am sure many other Shetlanders do that you are no more than a charlatan and a conman who is wasting our time with your silly ideas. Explain yourself and prove me wrong or stop wasting my time!! Having said that, I do thank you for sparking an interesting debate and forcing me to go in search of knowledge and facts from other website and "peer reviewed papers" which I would otherwise have missed.

To completely change the subject but still about the proposed wind farms: I would like to see the SIC, Viking Energy and Scottish and Southern Energy invest in establishing a Training Scheme or Apprenticeship program for the young people of Shetland. After it is built, the wind farm will provide approx 50 jobs in the Islands (we are told) working with High Voltage and in the case of the Inter-connector Ultra-High Voltage. These jobs are highly skilled and specialised, requiring years of training over and above that already required for a domestic electrician. The young people of Shetland should be encouraged to stay in the Islands and this could be an opportunity for some to earn a good wage. Lets face it, the windfarm may be their legacy from us. The Oil Companies created training schemes with a view to employ local people at Sullom Voe. Many young Shetlanders of the '70s & '80s have gone on to spent their whole working life at the terminal. (need I mention the wealth this has generated?!). Should the youth of today not be assisted and encouraged in the same way?? Bearing in mind, they may be about to spent their entire adult life in a very different Shetland from the one we have been used to.

I have read the Holy Blood/Holy Grail (turgid load of crap, and based on a hoax). Believe me, DB (or his wife) pretty much lifted it straight, but as has been said, most of the actual material was public domain so the lawsuit failed. Good point in here Arabia Terra, this material is out there but unfortunately wrapped up in HB/HG style books which although best sellers in their own right, they have not been as widely read as DVC has been (60 million copies) So, for many people, this book may have been their first introduction to material which contradicts the Roman Catholic Church & Christianity. Remember, people burned for saying less in the not too distant past. This might be the source of the hype and success in equal measures, especially true in the the religious belt of America. IMHO it was a good enough read, ok to pass the time in airports/on the plane. No more than a crime novel.

Hi Scotty, I have all those qualifications and the body 'Cogent' which are offering them is the one recognised by the Offshore industry. However, I strongly feel that if you want to work offshore, you should spend your money on courses that will get you out there. Such as the Survival course and an offshore medical. This way you will be able to get 'general assistants/labourer' type jobs requiring little in the way of skills (sorry lads!). Once you start earnig a wage, then go on to get these courses. They are more geared to trainee operators, already working as an operator for the main oil companies that own the offshore platforms. I feel that you would be better off contacting the service companies and drilling companies (WG, KCA, Salamis etc) and see what they say. Have a look in the yellow pages for Aberdeen and check out the Web sites for these types of companies. You never know, you may already have some skills they are looking for. One other think, it may be an option, depending on your age but, I think Cogent do sponcer trainees to HNC level at college (in Aberdeen, I think it is in partnership with Aberdeen College) Many of these trainees end up offshore. Hope this helps!

Am I the only person visualising a large man in a leather chair stroking a big white cat - muttering about world domination?

I wonder if that was one of the Picts design criteria Sorry to split hairs about 'Picts Castle' but, it's not a castle it is a broch and block house and it was built in the Iron Age well before people were classed as picts. Clickimin Broch is a better name. However, I'm sure it doesn't matter for kiss, cuddle and torture! I think the Job centre is one of the worst buildings in the toon.

Me again, thought of another question, what provision has Vikingenergy made to complete or sponcer the completion of wildlife surveys of the affected areas? Have their Environmental Impact Assessments on the local Flora and Fauna come from 'suspected numbers' and 'typical species', in other words did they read it in a book? will they finance outside agencies to assess the area? Will there be provision to 'translocate' populations or species that would otherwise be distroyed? I am writting with only a little knowledge about the diversity and species contained within the moorlands and wetlands of central Shetland but, I do know that elsewhere in Shetland there are 'rare' and 'at risk' colonies which have a world importance. Take the Arctic Char Salvelinus alpinus which has only been recorded in the Loch of Girlsta, it was stranded after the last ice age and is thought to have evolved into a seperate sub-species. Or the Edmondston's Chickweed Cerastium nigrescens found only at the Keen of Hamar (a piece of hillside with no commercial or agricultural value) in Unst. The reason the habitats of Central Shetland have survived as they are is because they have had no commercial value before now. So before carving them up/ destroying them should'nt some-one have a really good look and at the very least, record what was there for future generations?

Hi, I was unable to attend the two public meetings about the windfarms so apologies if this points have been considered and answers given already. What provision is there for the TV signals up North (ie past Girlsta)? I moved back to Shetland after the Burradale windmills were in place I may be wrong but I thought there was some compensation paid to the residents in Scalloway & Tingwall on the loss of reception caused by the windwills. Am I right in thinking that an extra 'repeater station' (not sure the correct name for it) was built in Scalloway too? I have no analog signal in Tingwall, and to receive digital I had to buy a signal booster. and I still don't receive all the digital channels that are available, missing History, hits, Film4 & Film4+1 to name a few. My point is, will there be provision made to either install cable or erect more repeater stations in Shetland to the effected areas? Will the company pay for this or will the SIC pay for it? Will Council tax money be used?

It seems to me that the government have a 'do as I say not as I do' attitude to many things. An issue in the news eenoo is the House of Lords and the vote for reform the Lords to elected rather than appointed members. Tony Benn was on radio2 and put a fine point "we have troops fighting in Iraq for democracy yet we have a government which is partly appointed" I would like to see change in Shetland, it is a unique culture with a fasinating history.

...Some bloke from Preston!

Maybe this could also be moved to the Words of the day would have added it, but I had to look up how to spell it so I couldn't exactly say it was one of mine!!!