People keep complaining about wind turbines ruining the view, but I look at them on the moors turning in the wind and I'm just like windy bois

@RolloTreadway @helenclayton @Heliograph @FrazzledBrynn I don't think the standard of replies has to be "useful", just a conversation you know?

@afewbugs @RolloTreadway @Heliograph @FrazzledBrynn indeed, most of my replies on here aren’t useful

@FrazzledBrynn I like them, including the ones I can see from my house. More please.

@helenclayton Hi Helen, jumping in here. Did you do BSc Environmental Science at Plymouth, by any chance?

@NellytheWillow jump away! No, I did mine at Leeds (Plymouth felt too close to home ). Is that where you went?

@FrazzledBrynn When @diffrentcolours and I were in Minneapolis, we walked past an office building for an energy company that had, as like a decoration, one turbine blade outside lying on the ground. It was like a small airplane wing.

@afewbugs
It was.
Architecture, Environment, And Energy.
I didn't finish it as there was a disagreement about my thesis subject. I wanted to be around public transport, but was told it wouldn't fit with the course.
I argued that public transport worked around all aspects of the subject, but in the end I was ill and gave up the struggle and left with a diploma.

I miss it, and would liked to have done more, if I were able.

@Heliograph @FrazzledBrynn

@helenclayton Yes, it was - very, very close to home! Leeds and Plymouth must have run very similar field trips. I suppose the choice was more limited in the 90s. It was 1989-92 for me.

@afewbugs
I will need to see if I can find the 20 year old photo.

@Heliograph @FrazzledBrynn @helenclayton

@NellytheWillow Yes, you’re probably right about the choice then. I was 95-98 after a year out. For the field trip half of my group went to do something in South Wales which didn’t sound as interesting as my choice. Then the Sea Empress oil spill happened and they were right in the thick of it and changed plans. Envious isn’t the appropriate word at all in the circumstances but env chemistry was my specialism and I rather felt I had picked the wrong field trip option.

@helenclayton The Sea Empress was a colossol environmental disaster. The South Wales students must have felt right in the thick of it. I went to CAT as part of a field trip to Wales but, like you, I can't remember much about it.

@afewbugs @Heliograph @FrazzledBrynn @helenclayton
Found it!

@Maker_of_Things @Heliograph @FrazzledBrynn @helenclayton Mastodon: the only social media where a fair proportion of users can be expected to have pictures of themselves in front of the same chunk of interesting engineering

@Maker_of_Things @afewbugs @Heliograph @FrazzledBrynn fabulous!

@afewbugs @Maker_of_Things @Heliograph @FrazzledBrynn ok so if it’s still there I’ll see if I can get someone to take my photo…if I remember!

@helenclayton @Maker_of_Things @Heliograph @FrazzledBrynn

@FrazzledBrynn Oh! Definitely go and see them up close! they are ace (the one in the picture is really old and not that big but it's in a place that's a good walk)

@louisa_
If you stand under a rotating one the blade feels like it is going to smash into you each time it comes around. It's quite a scary experience. At least it was for me, my brother found it fine
@FrazzledBrynn

@afewbugs @helenclayton @Maker_of_Things @Heliograph @FrazzledBrynn

Damn. Can I join in with a photo of *other* people for scale?

This is from about 15 years ago, at the visitor centre at Whitelee Windfarm.

@helenclayton @Maker_of_Things @afewbugs @Heliograph @FrazzledBrynn I love this thread so much. When I took Renewable Energy Law, we visited the only two utility scale land based wind turbines in Connecticut (long story about why only 2; rich people don’t want views spoiled!) they are so huge! And loud!