In the news

^ Lol

This sounds hilarious
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49137520

the incident was sparked by a passenger taking offence at another holidaymaker dressed as a clown.

He said the violence occurred after a black-tie evening and an afternoon of "patriotic" partying on deck, when large amounts of alcohol were consumed.

"This upset one of their party because they'd specifically booked a
cruise with no fancy dress. It led to a violent confrontation."

FML. Get in the sea. Literally.

Some interesting insight into how gayness happens:

https://metro.co.uk/2019/07/26/gay-people-exist-pregnant-women-anal-sex-bishop-says-10464758/

Well that clears that up then...

Yes, don't underestimate the amount of anti-cyclist feeling by other towpath users. It may be different outside of London, but there are riders who are easily the match of any bully in a motor vehicle on the streets. Some canal user groups (probably many, but I only know a few) are angry about it. Not the biggest problem in the universe, but you can see how fast some people go if you stand on the Regent's Canal towpath for a short while during the morning peak hour (but it also happens at other times).

You call that news?

Much too obvious, really.

It's a shame that they've omitted any mention of the evident fact that gay marriage then causes flooding.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2014/jan/21/how-same-sex-marriage-causes-floods

Someone should write an apocalyptic tome about it all.

There's annoying cyclists going too fast on some NI towpaths as well, leading to conflicts.

csb

I've been on local radio to chat about Dutch cycle lanes when that towpath annoyance came up years ago in Belfast.

I explained you have similar problems on Dutch cycle lanes (groups of roadies doing 25 mph expecting others to clear the way...) so it's not a cyclist vs pedestrian issue perse. Some people just can't play nice.

I said I thought annoyances are unavoidable and turning into conversations where people are having a pop at whole groups (cyclist vs peds) is not very helpful and that you always remember the nasty ones, not the majority of considerate cyclists.

Now if that stuck...I don't know.

/csb

It's the same problem in both cases: Where you have a mix of speeds, you need flexible design. The towpaths are largely fixed and can't be changed much.

I've made myself unpopular on here before when sharing my feelings about the East London canal boat dwellers, but I really can't see why the left are so ready to include them in their tribe. Because the kind of look like lefties?
I don't really know what else they have done that gives them a free pass to act like complete Ayn Rand style individualists, settling down in a largely communal area and then only really speaking out when their own interests are at stake. Shame about the kitten that died of course, but who said the towpath is that lady's back garden? I don't see much difference between her and some red faced rural landowner screaming at the kids to "get off my land!".

This week in obvious metaphors

https://twitter.com/Sue_Charles/status/1155253400398979072

^^ Probably best not to read this: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jul/28/canalboat-owners-on-life-afloat-it-forces-you-to-be-green

.

Hawkeye is a musician and songwriter from Dorset and is moored in Hertfordshire

Jo Bowis, from Cornwall, is a member of the Mediaeval Baebes, an actors’ agent and author of Express Yourself: a Mamoir. Her partner, Matt, from Stoke-on-Trent, is artistic director of the Crystal Maze Live Experience.

Guardian writers have a unique talent for rooting out the weirdest people in the world and interviewing them

Guardian writers have a unique talent for rooting out the weirdest people in the world and interviewing them

about their clothes.

.

Oooh.. look at me, just by owning a little boat I am so much better than you!

That article presents A LOT of motivated reasoning behind each claim that they are greener than the average East London resident. There's a complete absence of any side by side numerical analysis.

OK, I will buy the argument about them producing less rubbish. Seems reasonable.
But is their system for disposing of portaloo waste better than me flushing my shit down the municipal sewage system? I don't know the details of the boat dwellers' human waste disposal, but from what I've read about third world slums, a piped sewage system is always considered an improvement. The alternative is often lorries transporting tanks full of poo from place to place.
At least one of the residents has the honesty to admit that her dishwater goes straight into the canal, so us flat dwellers clearly win there. The boat dweller claims to use some greener form of washing up liquid, but again I would like to see proof other than the manufacturer's own claim.
Canal boats typically have smaller spaces to heat up, fair enough, but I would still expect that most council estate flats conserve energy better than these boats. So any savings by living small might easily be cancelled out by the boat's poor insulation. And burning coal in a residential area? Fuck off. I keenly remember my morning commute past the these boats when I lived in Hackney Wick. My impression is that most boats send their smoke straight into the atmosphere with little or no filtering involved.

Jesus. Did a boater fart on your knee one time or something? You seem pretty exercised by the living arrangements of a small minority.

Probably best not to read this

I think it should be read widely, it exposes alot of the myths and hypocrisy around boat homes.

"Boating does make you more conscious of the environment"
....
"all boats have diesel engines"
"We burn firewood and coal for heating"
"The best bit is being able to have a real fire"

They can all get in the fucking sea. Lung disease, heart disease and athsma caused by particulates are all increasing, especially among children. Theres a reason fires were banned– everyone was getting ill and no-one could see anything– and there's a reason diesel is being phased out. We need to build modern, green homes for people on brownfield sites, not romanticise this polluting, antisocial, unsustainable bullshit.

Did a boater fart on your knee

Naa they helped stunt the growth of kids' lungs. @starfish&coffee makes further important points about the insulation of these boats and the extra energy therefore needed to heat them.

Yes, I'm exercised about this. Recently been researching the impact of diesel emissions in particular on childrens' lungs, and helping to campaign for car- free areas around schools. I have been asking alot of tradespeople (of which I am one myself) to turn off their idling diesel engines. Many are surprised and apologetic when I tell them that 9500 people a year are killed by london's air, and stationary vehicles produce around 2x the toxic particles. Many tell me to fuck off and even become physically agressive. These ignorant responses to a massive health hazard leave me angry and depressed. The promotion of lifestyles reliant on producing more of these emissions even more so.

I imagine that the boating community’s contribution to London’s terrible air quality is disproportionately massive, yes. Let’s get the fuckers. With pitchforks.

Every individual idling a diesel engine, using a wood stove, not insulating their house is the problem. Every single one. One of the most common responses I get when aking people to turn off their engines is: "but what about all that traffic, and you're bothering me, I'm just one person" as if this makes their own emissions less harmful. It's a weak response and people need to be educated about this public health emergency.

Problems caused by boaties:

Pollution

Scurvy

Kittens (dead)

Shanties

Shanties

Shanties are great. And originated in the days of sail :)

You should change your name from William to Earnest.

One cruise ship owner creates more pollution than all of Europe's cars.

https://www.ft.com/content/8bceef94-86cd-11e9-a028-86cea8523dc2

They don't often moor down Hackney Wick but it's all part of the big boaty picture.