thenotsomightyom

Thanks to Daniel Hodgson and Teeside Live Online for the Headline.(also Wikepedia for some background information)

Mayor Ben Houchen , actually Baron Houchen of Leven( an honour bestowed on him in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list) has declined to have his salary as Mayor increased from £65,000 a year to £82,200 a year.

The new figure was recommended by the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) for Teeside which is a statutory independent body established to provide recommendations on allowances and remuneration arrangements for elected members and other relevant office holders. The panel’s Chair is a wwhichell qualified Academic, with over 30 years experience in determining remuneration and allowances for those working for Councils.

I admire Ben Houchen for saying no to a 26% increase in pay when everyone is under pressure to control their costs. I do think no matter how well qualified the Academic was , the reality is this increase is way above inflation and it is impossible to justify the increase when Councils are looking to save money and to promote growth in employment and good services.

I note the review also included normal Councillors expenses and I think those were not queried and were approved.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Are we blind to what can be done? How many backyards in Western Society have fruit that is wasted and looks unseemly because there is no one to pick it. The owners cannot eat it all and may not be fit enough to sort it and pick it.

A teenager in California as part of “volunteering” at school, spotted this opportunity and decided to use his volunteering time to help backyard owners and at the same time collect and sort fruit that could be given to charitable organisations who provide food to those in need. Very often there is a shortage of “fresh” fruit , so the two really went hand in hand.

The success of the project has led to hundreds of student volunteers gathering fruit that would go to waste across the Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley. The project is now called “Glean on me”. Glean meaning collecting what would otherwise be left behind.

It’s a long way from the days that errant school children would break into orchards to steal fruit and going even further back would be severely punished for doing so.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Thanks to Dave Mc Quilling and AutoNotion Online for the Headline.

Elon Musk’s Cybertruck will no longer be produced, it has been taken off sale even before the pre-orders have been fulfilled.

The Cybertruck was an expensive buy for anyone who did manage to get hold of one anywhere between $60,000 and $100,000 not quite McClaren prices but maybe a bit steep for the blue collar go anywhere do anything target customers. Particularly when they needed to buy a large and heavy range extender to reach the promised over 500miles mileage .This kit took up significant room in the space which should have been used for transporting goods, which by definition is why you buy a truck.

For those who have managed to get one, the Cybertruck will likely become a collector’s piece. It’s unusual shape, it’s stainless steel body and it’s steer by wire technology as well as it’s proprietary wiring harness which used 70% less cable than lesser mortal cars.Qualities that definitely could be part of the future. A bit like the gull winged Delorean perhaps.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

u

Thanks to Galya Dimitrova and BBC News Online for the Headline

A ditch full of 8,000 ancient frog bones told the story of how the landscape changed 1,700 years ago and led to the serious predation of frogs who up to then had been protected by the Wetlands and Ancient Forests.

The culprits were mainly Short-Eared Owls who predated the young frogs who were left without the protection of trees due to the land being cleared of trees for grazing livestock.

Namaste and Thank you for Reading.🙏

u