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10/08/22
Maik:
Kef fire risk 10/08/22: High
Today’s bank rates:
1 €UR = £ 0.8706 GBP
1 €UR = $ 1.0541 USD
£1 GBP = 1.1486 €UR
$1 USD = 0.9487 €UR
Based on Alpha Bank exchange rates, these are widely used by exchange agencies in Greece.
Other banks likely to offer a different rate which may be marginally higher or lower.
Banks and foreign exchange offices normally charge standard 2% commission.
You may get a better rate changing your holiday money in advance at e.g the Post Office.
NB: some f-ex agencies advertise "No Commission".
Invariably, they deduct commission before they (don't) advertise the rate.
Foreign exchange offices are businesses, not charities.
Ten day weather forecast for Kefalonia:
This is an overall forecast, due to the mountainous terrain the weather can be very localised.
Updated forecast @ weather.com
Day, Date Hi°/Lo° Wind sp Wet Forecast
Wed 10/08 31°/23° 18 km/h 24% Mostly sunny
Thu 11/08 30°/22° 17 km/h 21% Sunny
Fri 12/08 29°/22° 17 km/h 50% Afternoon/evening thunderstorms possible
Sat 13/08 28°/21° 21 km/h 35% Morning thunderstorms possible
Sun 14/08 27°/21° 24 km/h 54% Breezy, morning thunderstorms probable
Mon 15/08 28°/22° 22 km/h 15% Sunny
Tue 16/08 29°/22° 19 km/h 08% Sunny
Wed 17/08 30°/22° 17 km/h 13% Sunny
Thu 18/08 31°/23° 20 km/h 05% Sunny
Fri 19/08 31°/23° 23 km/h 04% Sunny
Maik:
Body of a 68 y-o Greek male recovered midday yesterday from the sea at Nikianas, Levkas.
Body of a 77 y-o Greek male recovered midday yesterday from the sea off Arillas beach, Corfu.
Body of a 62 y-o foreign male recovered midday yesterday from the sea off Kyani Akti, Nea Serres.
Body of an 85 y-o Greek female recovered yesterday afternoon from the sea at Pylos, Nea Messinia.
Body of a 77 y-o Greek male recovered yesterday afternoon from the sea off Drepanou beach, Igoumenitsa.
Body of a 51 y-o foreign national recovered yesterday afternoon from the sea off Psaralykis beach, Antiparos.
Dead loggerhead discovered yesterday afternoon on Trinisa beach, Evrotas.
Maik:
--- Quote ---65 forest fires reported in 24 hours
A total of 65 forest fires broke out in the 24-hour period to 6 p.m., the Fire Service said on Tuesday, warning that the threat of fires remains very high for Wednesday in many regions.
Citizens are urged to avoid any open-air activities that can cause a fire by negligence, such as burning dry grass and branches, using machines that create sparks – such as circular saws, welding devices – using outdoor grills, smoking bees, and throwing lit cigarettes.
--- End quote ---
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1190867/65-forest-fires-reported-in-24-hours/
Maik:
--- Quote ---Meta’s new AI chatbot can’t stop bashing Facebook
Launched on Friday, BlenderBot is a prototype of Meta’s conversational AI, which, according to Facebook’s parent company, can converse on nearly any topic.
Asked about Mark Zuckerberg, the bot told BuzzFeed’s Max Woolf that “he is a good businessman, but his business practices are not always ethical. It is funny that he has all this money and still wears the same clothes!”
The bot has also made clear that it’s not a Facebook user, telling Vice’s Janus Rose that it had deleted its account after learning about the company’s privacy scandals. “Since deleting Facebook my life has been much better,” it said.
--- End quote ---
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/09/blenderbot-meta-chatbot-facebook
:iroll:
Maik:
--- Quote ---Water firms ‘sold off reservoirs that could have eased drought’
Companies gave up sites for reserves without building new ones, says former head of Natural England
Water firms have sold off reservoirs that could have helped ease drought to housing developers, the former head of Natural England has said.
Dozens of reservoirs across the country have been given up by water companies, while no new ones have been built in the last 30 years.
Writing for The Telegraph, Andrew Sells - who was head of Natural England between 2014 and 2019 - said the sell-off, with no replacements, was evidence of water companies putting profits before water resilience.
Thames Water, Severn Trent and Southern Water are among those to have sold off some of their reservoirs in recent years.
Thames Water, which announced on Tuesday that it would soon bring in a hosepipe ban for its 15 million customers, has sold off 25 reservoirs since the 1980s, according to the GMB Union.
That includes a reservoir at Cheshunt, which it sold in 2006 to developers to build 249 flats after the water company said it was no longer needed, as well as a water storage facility in Enfield, sold to a house builder.
Dr Andy Hughes, a reservoir expert who has advised Thames Water and Southern Water, said companies often kept reservoir facilities but were unable to use the water from them, as they were no longer connected to working treatment facilities.
“Most companies have at least one or two reservoirs that they no longer want,” he said.
Water industry sources said companies faced pressure from Ofwat to close old facilities to save money, as well as scrutiny from the regulator over the financial benefit of opening new ones.
Water companies say they face widespread opposition in building new reservoir facilities, despite a recognition they will be increasingly needed under drier conditions as a result of climate change.
Thames Water has spent more than a decade attempting to construct a £1 billion reservoir to serve more than eight million people in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The plans were first rejected by the government in 2011 and have been the subject of local opposition.
There are plans for a handful of new reservoirs across the country, but only one - the £100 million Havant Thicket project, near Portsmouth - actually has planning permission.
--- End quote ---
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/environment/2022/08/09/water-firms-sold-reservoirs-could-have-eased-drought/
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