Intrusions of the future

I'm on a variety of mailing lists - youth related, e-safety, local authority, democracy and also public authority construction as a result of a mailing list snafu that rises, phoenix-like, from some forgotten or repurchased mailing list every time I get it sorted. Actually, I've stopped trying to sort it out. It sends me interesting things. Did you know:

Pollution "eating" construction materials are now a thing. Tiles and other construction materials can strip nitrogen oxides from the air and convert them to a mild fertiliser.

Councils now use robots insulate old homes - Q-bots - tiny crawlerbots that spray insulation foam on to the underside of floorboards.

Do you live in an intermediary city? They are often seen as good places to live, with higher levels of trust than found in larger cities and high levels of civic and social engagement. Half the population is projected to end up in these just-right cities.

Worried about noise in your area? You should be. The tranquillity map for England is incomplete and needs updating. This concentration on the fragmentation and intrusion of England's tranquility, also extends into cities, especially in those areas seen as "semi-rural". Speaking of which:

Quality darkness is also a concern. Did you know that planning applications need to be dark sky compliant? One of those things, I suspect, that exercises the indulged rich with their four storey basements more than the rest of us.

You can rent out the Iron Man Mansion. Presumably without all of the rocket and impact damage.

That last one; there really is no excuse. It was out-of-the-blue, straight up, unsolicited spam. But I'm still kind of pleased by the concept, even if it is less or more than it appears.

the joy of the police alert mailing list

As a confirmed pillar of society, I signed up to receive my local police force's alert messages a few years ago. Normally they are a mildly depressing run of warnings about scams, alerts about petty thefts and the occasional statement about a dodgy someone-or-other to look out for.

But there are also the crime prevention messages, and of these the treasure is the be vigilant for raves message. Here is a prime example:

Be Vigilant For Any Potential Raves This Bank Holiday Weekend

The summer bank holiday is round the corner and your local policing team is reminding  all farmers and landowners to be vigilant to the possibility of unlicensed musical events (raves) being organised on their land.

You should be alert to any of the following rave related activity:- 

• The removal of locks from secure access points
• Vehicles, particularly panel vans or larger, driving off-road
• Groups of vehicles congregating in rural areas
• Convoys of vehicles
• Loud music from remote woodlands

If you spot anyone suspicious who may be conducting early reconnaissance on rural land or even starting to set up an event, please report it to [your local police force] 24-hour non-emergency number 101, as soon as possible.

A message for us all. It always reminds me of that bit in Nelson where the farmer leans on the gate and says, "Is it raave your aafter?"

Hee hee hee.