Coal

So, the gov say "moar coal!" - BOO! - and they stitch carbon-capture requirements to it.  YAY?  Or not yay?

On the one hand, shoveling cash at the tech will get it developed faster than the market would do -- the market will definitely not save our arses, it doesn't respond fast enough.  So we have a good chance of getting industrial-scale CCS and a stack of British expertise to flog to India, China and the USA.  This is good.

On the other hand, the string connecting the new plants to the CCS isn't as tight as I'd like - it really needs to apply to all of the plant's emissions and be a requirement before the plants go live. It's a gamble on future-tech, which makes me twitchy.

I sense two strategies for making this work, other than just lots of boffins brainstorming in their thinking pits:  First, before CCS is properly born, direct action will slow down plant construction to a crawl.  Swampy in Kingsnorth, so to speak.  Second, the big green lobbies ought to be able to get all legal on the generators and compel them to apply the capture tech to the whole plant - you don't put a cat on just one cylinder of your car, the idea is absurd.

So overall, a guarded welcome, with plenty of sceptical eyes out for welshing.  Thoughts?

Time for a heated debate!

I promise not to be naughty

Believe it or not, this is an actual slab of boilerplate I have to agree to.  For what edgy, hardcore product?  Biospoo synthesis?  Quant codebases?  HEAP guns?

A backup driver. 

Srsly.

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First Barefoot Run

Took the FiveFingers out for a proper run (albeit a short one) for the first time just now, on mixed surfaces, mostly pavement.

They're really going to beast / build my soleus and tibialis - the columnar muscles in the calf.  After two miles / 15 minutes I have the most preposterous lower-leg pump and not much else, so further results will come when the lower legs are up to spec!  I'll definitely be feeling that tomorrow.

I can feel my toes trying to grip the road and, unlike when that happens inside a shoe, they're actually getting purchase and data.  A bit too grippy, I think, but give me time to acclimatize.  Running on grass is a childish delight; sprinting on grass is silly-grin stuff.  Running on dirt is interesting.  Running on pavement isn't as bad as you might think - there's some skill in getting the heel dab right (not too much or you jar, not too little or you're on tip-toes all the way round). 

The feeling of "foot euphoria" was back, and I was scampering across surfaces just to see how they felt.  Yes, scampering, it's that kind of vibe.

There's this notion I have for gear, a sort of "enhanced nakedness" - gear that powers you up but doesn't take away from the essential human animal making it all work; the power-ups can be trivial or paradigm-changing, but they're all forgettable to the user, blending in.  Or something.  There's a riff on superhero outfits and bicycles here, but it needs refining.  Anyway, the fivefingers fit into this class of kit: they're just a buff for bare feet.  Compare to the Nike Rift, which is all split and clever, but still boingy.