2013 m. balandžio 29 d., pirmadienis

Afrikos ir mūsų bėdos

Gaunu naujienlaiškius iš vieno Pietų Afrikos informacinio serviso: http://www.mbendi.com/
Dažnai būna įdomu paskaityt, nors rašo dažniausiai apie Afrikos problemas.
Bet šįkart skaitant pradėjau galvot, kad rašo apie mus: tiek pažystamų žodžių, vardų ir reiškinių (paryškinimai mano):
"The first is nuclear engineering skills. As a postgraduate student many years ago, I worked on the simulation of the refuelling of the UK's Dungeness B and Hinkley Point nuclear reactors. It was a job that required an advanced knowledge of physics, mathematics and engineering. Like me, the engineers and physicists involved in the design and operation of extant nuclear plants around the world are close to retirement. Nuclear engineering has been studiously avoided as a career choice by bright young people as they followed the money into banking and financial services. The situation is even worse in South Africa which each year drops further down the education rankings for mathematics and science. In my nightmares, I have visions of poorly educated cadres being deployed to run South Africa's nuclear plants, selected purely for their party loyalty and the accidental tint of their skin.
The second issue is corruption. Like the European nuclear plants, the huge Medupi coal fired power station project is billions over budget and years behind schedule. The key - and trouble plagued - boiler contract was awarded to Hitachi Africa, a joint venture between Japan's Hitachi and Chancellor House, none other than the investment arm of the ruling ANC. It is very difficult to discern what value Chancellor House added to the project other than, perhaps, to divert taxpayer and consumer funds to other pockets and to shield Hitachi from close scrutiny of their performance. Already we see key figures in government, with next to no background in nuclear, pushing the nuclear option. Could this be because they have already done a deal with an opaque company in a non-transparent country whereby they or Chancellor House rake in millions as their reward for pushing the nuclear button instead of going for a cheaper, safer option?"

2013 m. balandžio 27 d., šeštadienis

Šaltas savaitgalis

Visa savaitė buvo ganėtinai šilta, o va šiandien tik 7 laipsniukai. Pasivaikščiojus pirma mintis buvo: "Sugadintas savaitgalis..."
Antra (ir turbūt teisingesnė): "Puikus savaitgalis! Prisigėrusių ir kitaip apsinarkotinusių, rėkaujančių ir laužus deginančių žmogėnų minios netrukdys paukščiukams perėti ir zuikiams vaikus auklėti.
Beje, kiškių Lietuvoj yra tik 100 000 - 200 000.

2013 m. balandžio 23 d., antradienis