Giant Bug

During the Devonian age there lived a giant arthropod called Jaekelopterus. They estimated it to be roughly the weight of two men, about 150 to 180 kg. It grew to be over 2 meters long. 

It lived in the water and belonged to the group euripterid, they were a group of arthropods that resembled scorpions but were more closely related to horse shoe crabs. 

It was a large creature that ate anything it could grab with it's claws but was the size of a panda, or a go cart. 

At the time more than 300 million years ago, there was a lot more oxygen in the air so creatures could grow a lot bigger and still move quite fast. 

Coal Makers

If you hold coal in your hands, you're looking at the remains of carboniferous period trees and plants. In the carboniferous period, the eco system didn't know how to break down tough plant fibers like wood. 

The trees that were around in the carboniferous period were nothing like the trees you see today, they were more like ferns. They wold look like ferns with tree sizes stumps. 

They were scaly prickly bizarre looking plants like Lepidodendron (scaly tree). They didn't embed their sperm in pollen like modern trees,  instead their sperm would swim along standing water on the ground just like animal sperm does today.  The trees were often male and female so one tree would make the seeds and the other would make the sperm. 

The trouble with these types of trees is they need damp environments to reproduce. 

After the carboniferous period in the Permian period, fungus and bacteria emerged that were able to break down tough plant fibers like wood so coal was no longer being created on a large scale. 

Taxi Vs Train Chilterns Railway

I gathered some prices for train tickets from high Wycombe to Marylebone (50km)  and compared it to Taxi tarrifs. 

Once again I found it was cheaper by train. It gets close when groups are considered. 

The results were a bit closer than the ones to Southend from Barking, the distance is the same (50 km). Barking to Southend report

In this model the ticket of the train drops dramatically when there are 3 or more adults. (This is without rail cards), just a group ticket. It drops down to £9.10. In this model only one way is considered. 

The cost per person also drops on Uber taxi as the passengers increase up to 6 passengers at  £15.33 per person. (You need UberX for more than 4 passengers) That is tarrif b on the chart. 

Six passenders by train pay £9.10 each. 

A group of 6 passengers  on a  Uber taxi pay roughly £6.10 more than if they went by train. If they had rail cards and a return tickets the gap would even get bigger. 

A group travelling 50 km on the Chiltern line pay roughly £3 more for the same distance on the c2c line. I'm not sure why; perhaps more of the C2c line is subsidised while it is in London. I also noticed lines that use diesel trains are slightly more expensive than electric ones. Perhaps the tracks needs to be replaced less often because the trains are lighter and the trains cost less to maintain because they use electric motors. 

It could also be that line itself has more passengers so it can charge less money and still break even with their costs. I can only speculate at this stage. 

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Half and Half

The worlds Tallest Mountain, mount Everest occupies two countries. The north side of mount Everest is in China in the region of Tibet. The South side of mount Everest is in Nepal in the Koshi Province. koshi means river in Nepal. 

The South side of Mount Everest in Nepal has the most frozen bodies: just in case you were wondering. 

If you ascend the western or eastern flank of the mountain, it is possible to climb a mountain in two countries at the same time. 

When you stand on the top of the mountain, you would be standing in china and Nepal if you feet were aligned with the border line. 

Build Virtual Circuits

Have you ever wondered if there is a website that lets you make your own circuits and virtually simulate a current flowing through them. There is one. 

https://www.withdiode.com/

On the site you get existing projects and you can modify them or you can make your own from scratch using a virtual breadboard and standard electronic parts. 

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Nyctinasty and Planter Fasciitis

Daisies and many other common flowers often close their petals at night. This is action is known as Nyctinasty; tissues at the base of the flower petal absorb water and swell up, the swelling puts pressure on the base of the petal and pushes it shut. 

It is thought they do this to keep condensation off the flower parts and prevent frost damage. It also helps keep nuisance insects off the flower at night. It must be amazing to be a small mite living on a daisy flower and see the flower close and open around you. 

Have you ever felt a feeling of pain in the heel of your foot as you take your first steps that fades away. Is the pain usually only in one foot? The chances are you have Planter Fasciitis. The Planter Fascia tissue that connects your heel to your toes can become swollen and push back into the nerve fibres inside your heel tendons. 

It's not a serious condition but it can cause a lot of pain and discomfort. The best way to treat the condition is to do foot stretches and to lose weight. Finding more comfortable shoes can also cause a rapid improvement. 

The cause of the condition usually  stems from the calf muscles in the leg pulling your Achilles tendon for prolonged periods of time causing tightness in the arch of the foot. 

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https://alspresso.blogspot.com/

Mr Cheerman A cartoon strip / comic. 

https://jokejohn.blogspot.com/

Taxi Vs Train

Through my own investigations I can confirm that is is now cheaper to take a train 50 km from Barking in London to Southend Central by the coast in Britain than by taxi. 

With an Uber Taxi, it gets cheaper per person as the passengers increase up to 4 passengers, then the price goes up because you need a more expensive 6 seater Uber. But the train is cheaper in every metric. 

With 3 or more Adults, each person is paying just £6.05 because of Group save supplied by the c2c train line. 

With 4 passengers, an Uber ride from barking station costs just £15 per person because the taxi costs £60 regardless of the number of passengers. However, one passenger is only paying £9.10 on C2C so it is cheaper by train in every way. If your just one passenger or 6, it is cheaper than the cheapest configuration on Uber taxi although is gets close with 4 passengers. 

The Uber is slightly more convenient because you can chose the pickup and dropoff point and with 4 passengers, you're only paying £8.95 more than the train. 

The train is cheaper still when you add return tickets and rail cards.