Erosion and Deposition

AI image generated by Grok Imagine.

The geometry of a conduit through which any fluid passes affects the velocity profile of that fluid. In the case of a river, on the inside of a bend, water flows slower. On the outside of the bend, water flows faster. Erosion due to faster flow causing a scouring effect is probably responsible for the so-called "Sally Hole" in the riverbed near St Brigid's Well. Eventually there may be landslides as the riverbank is undercut. However, tree roots and other vegetation act as reinforcement, holding the bank together. So it's not necessarily imminent. Meanwhile, on the meander opposite Castlemartin, debris such as bottles and other rubbish accumulate on the inside bend, where water flows slower. Water also flows faster where there's a bottleneck in a watercourse. (You can observe this from the farm trail near the island that's north of the bridge. However, this may be partially due to a gradient in the river bed).
Bernoulli's principle is a law in fluid dynamics which states that an increase in speed occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure. It's a principle that's used in engine carburettors. A venturi (a narrowing of the passage in a carburettor through which the fuel/air mixture flows) causes a drop in pressure. That drop in pressure causes fuel to be sucked into the venturi. Small engines such as those used on lawn mowers still use this arrangement for supplying the engine with a fuel/air mixture. However, modern petrol engines on vehicles use fuel injection. (Since the late 1980s, early 1990s I believe).

Slippery Manhole Covers

Image courtesy Google Street View

I don't want to be ranting on about them all the time and get a reputation as a manhole crank, but there's a really slippery one outside the heritage centre. I slipped on it on Friday when out running. I wasn't running at the time, but just stepped in off the road after stepping off the kerb to avoid some pedestrians and maybe turned too quickly on the cover. My foot went from under me on the surface and I wrenched my shoulder, throwing myself forwards to avoid falling backwards. It had to be the bad shoulder I damaged eight months ago after falling when sprinting. Anyway, I think the problem with these galvanised manhole covers (Eir ones) is that the bumps/tread pattern they put on them for grip is too rounded and shallow, unlike the square bumps on the older cast iron covers. They're probably polished from foot traffic also.

Edit: I think it's an Eir one, but maybe ESB Networks.

Pump House, County Board of Health

Last edition 6" map. Image courtesy Tailte Éireann.

This was a small hut, from what I can remember, with a slate or corrugated-iron roof, located in the council yard beside the old canoe club building (a "Barna Building"-style timber hut). There was a good view of it from the playing field of the BNS (now the library building) from where we used to throw stones and see if we could get them into the river. I presume the function of the pump was to pump water from the Ballymore Eustace water treatment works to a reservoir on raised ground at the back of Dunlea's garage, before the cavernous underground reservoir was built at Old Kilcullen.

Kilcullen Mill Stream Rerouted

Mill stream, Kilcullen. Image courtesy Tailte Éireann.

I'm always trying to spot things I've missed on the Ordnance Survey Ireland (now Tailte Éireann) historical maps. One thing I hadn't noticed previously was that the mill stream was rerouted, sometime after 1939. The first image is a satellite photo and the next three, from top to bottom are the c. 1837 6" first edition map., the c. 1900 25" map and the last edition 6" map (which is post-1939, since the Nicholastown housing estate has been built, but pre-1950 because the Logstown estate hasn't been built yet).

On the last edition map, the area around the mill stream is marked as "liable to floods". I'm guessing the meander was removed from the stream and water routed through a deeper channel directly to the river to prevent flooding. (The channel could have been widened also). The original stream bed can be faintly made out in the satellite photo.

Maybe some older locals would know something about this?

 

The Irish Townland and Historical Maps Viewer can be accessed here:

 

https://osi.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html...

 

Images courtesy Tailte Éireann.

 

c. 1837 6" first edition map. Images courtesy Tailte Éireann.

c. 1900 25" map. Image courtesy Tailte Éireann.

Last edition 6" map. Image courtesy Tailte Éireann.

Install Lighting at the Recycling Facility at Leinster Marts

Created with Grok Imagine

Just an idea so we don't end up stepping on broken-bottle ends at night, which I've seen every so often. I usually bring a torch, but safety shoes with steel insoles would be advised. Getting ESB Networks to install an electrical supply for lighting always seems to be a hassle and costly, as we saw recently when a pedestrian crossing was installed, so maybe lights could be solar powered and on sensors? They'd only need to turn on intermittently, so average power use would be low and therefore solar panels for powering the system wouldn't have to be large. In fact, a sensor could be mounted on the nearest light to the gate to control a string of maybe three streetlamps.

Edit: Grok made the image, so send the Grammar Police to them if you're concerned about spelling.

Bad Water Quality In Kilcullen

AI image created by Grok for illustrative purposes.

Am I the only one who is experiencing corrosion of aluminium fittings because of the excessive lime in the water? Lime builds up in lumps, these act as sponges, holding water in contact with metal. Chlorine in water can make it acidic or alkaline and fluorine in the water also makes it acidic. The result is pitting damage on for example the frame members of showers.
Maybe it's time to lobby Uisce Éireann again? They say water quality is to recommended standards, but I have my doubts. It may be safe to drink, but it's obviously causing problems. Have there been any changes at the water treatment plant at Srowland, Athy to improve water quality since this article in the Kilcullen Diary in 2022?

Saw Setting and Yield Strength

© Eugene Brennan

 

My bow saw blade is years old. I've cut up loads of logs and full trees with it and I sharpen it every so often (an extremely boring and tedious job, because there's probably over a hundred edges to do.) However, it was binding, because I reckoned, the faces of the teeth were worn and there was no kerf remaining. The teeth of a saw blade are alternately set to the left and right, so that they point slightly away from the blade. This gives the saw a kerf, making the width of the cut wider than the body of the blade behind the teeth so the blade doesn't bind. Without a kerf, a blade would stick in damp timber. I used a saw set tool on the blade (one of several old hand tools belonging to my grandfather) and it's working beautifully now, no problem cutting logs up to 5" thick. (Handier than taking out the chainsaw and good for upper body exercise.)

I tried using a saw set on a carpenter's hand saw once and it broke one of the teeth. So I'm wondering can only some modern saws/saw blades be used with a saw set because the teeth are so hard and the ultimate strength of the steel isn't much higher than the yield strength. I.e. once the elastic limit is reached, teeth don't deform plastically and just break? The engineering aspect of this post is that materials have a yield strength which is the max strain they can undergo elastically without permanent deformation. After that they deform plastically and don't spring back into shape. The ultimate strength, measured in units of newtons per square metre or pascals (a pressure measurement) is the point at which a material will fracture.

Parish Centre Windows and Lawn Mower Decks

A counterbalance used to balance a lever. These are often seen on road barriers where one end of the lever is much shorter than the other end. © Eugene Brennan

Standing at the side of the parish church this morning, collecting for the SVP, I noticed the parish centre still has sash windows. I’m not sure whether these are the original ones; I would have thought they’d have rotted away by now. So maybe some or all of them are timber replacements. As six-year-olds in Sr Brendan's senior infants or "high infants" as we called it, one of the chores that was sought after was being allowed to sweep the leaves on the lane up to the playing field, where the Millstream Court houses are now located. The other was being given the job of opening or closing the sash windows in the classroom. In our young minds, either of these tasks gave us a sense of being very important people.

ESB Networks Account

Generated using Bing Image Creator

Did you know, you can register for an ESB Networks account that allows you to access lots of information about the electricity usage logged by your smart meter, irrespective of which supplier you're with? The details are more comprehensive than those provided by electricity providers. Also, meter readings are shown and it's possible to download a comma separated values (CSV) file that contains meter readings which can be read by spreadsheet software such as Excel. Time and date-stamped daily readings are provided, with a precision of two decimal places. I switched to SSE Airtricity recently and was annoyed to discover that their bills don't show meter readings, just usage. So there's no way to double check whether the figure they quote tallies with meter readings.

Artemis II On Schedule

Artemis II crew. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The Artemis I mission, launched in 2022, involved sending an uncrewed Orion spacecraft into orbit around the Moon and bringing it back to Earth. Artemis II will be a crewed mission, launching four astronauts into a free-return orbit around the Moon and back to Earth, the first time humans will have been in lunar orbit since 1972. The mission had been delayed until September 2026 due to technical problems, but has now been brought forward to April of next year or possibly earlier. NASA's Orion spacecraft comprising of a command and service module sits on top of the unimaginatively-named Space Launch System (SLS), the equivalent of the Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo program. The 8.4 m (27.6 ft) diameter, 98 m (322 ft) tall SLS is a two-and-a-half-stage rocket, powered by engines that burn liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, assisted by two solid rocket boosters.

Turlough Hill Transmission Lines

Twin 220 kV lines crossing the mountains from Turlough Hill hydro station. © Eugene Brennan

One of my cycles back in mid-August (the long days of summer seem to be a distant memory now) was from Kilcullen to within a few miles of Turlough Hill. This is the location of Ireland's only pumped storage power station. When there's a surplus of power which the grid can't use, pumps at the station send water to an artificial lake located on top of the mountain. Once there's a demand for power, the motors and pumps switch function and become turbines and generators, the turbines driven by water as it rushes down through penstocks (large pipes) to a natural lake, located at the base of the mountain. Turlough Hill power station is net inefficient (power out is less than power in due to losses in the system).

All Good

Created by Grok

 

Real Time Displays at Kilcullen Bus Stops

Image © Google Maps

I asked the NTA for information on whether real time passenger information displays could be installed at bus stops. This was the response:

Case #402630

Dear Eugene,

 

I refer to your recent correspondence regarding the provision of an RTPI (Real Time Passenger Information) unit at the following bus stop locations, images attached, which was forwarded to the National Transport Authority (NTA) to respond to you:

 

• stop number 136431, Kilcullen (Opposite Service Station), Castlemartin, Co. Kildare; and
• stop number 132641, Kilcullen (Outside Service Station), Castlemartin, Co. Kildare.

 

Chapel Lane, New Ross

Image © Google Maps

Unlike the UK, where medieval houses are plentiful, we have relatively few pre-18th century houses in Ireland. There are castles dating back to medieval times, but there are few, if any, "ordinary" houses from the medieval period, as we would think of a house today. However, fortified tower houses exist. One probable reason is that there was no substantial middle class who could afford "proper" houses, built from timber or brick and most people were poor and lived in mud cabins. Or maybe the climate was hostile to the half-timbered houses like those that still exist in the UK (if they even existed here), and they decayed over the centuries. Most of the houses in the country date no further back than the Georgian era, which extended from 1714 to 1837. There are some examples of Queen Anne style architecture, such as the Red House in Youghal, Marsh's Library in Dublin and The Rubrics in Trinity College. These were built in the 1710s and have a distinctive "doll's house" appearance. A few Tudor/Elizabethan-era buildings exist, such as Rothe House in Kilkenny; Ormond Castle, a manor house in Carrick-on-Suir; and Myrtle Grove, Sir Walter Raleigh's home in Youghal. It's possible also that some houses were later "Georgianified", their older fabric concealed beneath a more modern facade. That's the case with some of the so-called "Dutch Billys" in Dublin, a pre-Georgian architectural style brought by the Huguenots, Protestants who fled persecution in France around the end of the 17th century. So to cut a long story short, I came across this some time ago. I think it was Colm Moriarty, a Wexford-based archaeologist who mentioned the street in New Ross in a social media post. The facades at the front are plain-rendered, but the back of the terrace of houses reveal the medieval origin of at least one of the buildings.

 

Google Maps link to Chapel Lane in New Ross here 

Maps for Council Workers

Image © Google Maps

Apparently when we report road or other issues on the KCC portal and specify the location of the problem, repair crews just get a description, but not the map pinpointing where they have to fix them (there's an option to tag the position on a map when making a report on the portal). I had a long discussion with a repair crew a month or so ago and got a great insight into how they feel about this and other things. If someone reporting a problem doesn't clearly specify road numbers and distances from landmarks, obviously it can be difficult for a repair crew to find the problem. Saying that it's "just down the road from Johnny's house" or similar isn't very helpful. A point on a map would be more logical (assuming the person who made the report zoomed in sufficiently to accurately place a tag). Reading a map is hardly rocket science and I'm sure KCC can train workers to do so.

 

Maybe someone can let me know whether the tarmac is broken up and gone from around this drain opposite LaTouche Cottage in Brannockstown so I can report it? I make mental notes of these things when I'm out and about on the bike, but I've got a head like a sieve and forget where I've seen the defects. I don't want to make a false report. A cyclist could easily lose control if they hit this. It was ok last August when the Street View imagery was taken, but as far as I recall, the tarmac fill around the drain has now disintegrated.

A Little Ladder Logic

Ladder logic program. © Eugene Brennan

Just found this among documents I was going through after getting the oil boiler serviced last week. I had forgotten all about it. The electrician made a minor cockup when wiring the controls for the dual oil/solid fuel heating system 9 years ago. So I had to go off and look for a CAD package to draw a ladder logic diagram for him, showing how it should have been wired. (He had his own ladder logic diagram, but it made more sense for me to draw a new one, rather than trying to explain the error in English). Ladder logic is a schematic system for showing the wiring in an electrical/electromechanical system, input devices such as switches and sensors and output devices, e.g. motors and relays being shown as symbols on a diagram. It has evolved into a graphical programming language, the graphical program used to control programmable logic controllers (PLCs). These are basically modular, industrial control computers, built into a box, with terminals for connecting inputs and outputs. A computer can be connected for programming and they can be linked-to by various computer networks.

I'm rusty on this stuff. It's a shame when you learn stuff, and then forget it all if you're not applying the knowledge on a daily basis (I never really used this practically, even though I studied industrial automation).

See if you can understand what this does. Hint: MV1, 2 & 3 are zone valves, R1 & R2 are relays. SF is solid fuel.

Heritage Week Sunday Cycle

Historical buildings in Ballitore and Calverstown.© Eugene Brennan

My Sunday cycle this week was supposed to be to Kilkea Castle, but it was 4 pm by the time I set out and I changed plans midway. (Sometimes I make up the route as I go along and let the bicycle decide). Usually on the steep road out of Crookstown heading west towards the Athy road direction, I turn left for Mullaghmast at the top of the hill. I travel cross country to Kilkea this way, crossing the new N78 Athy Link Road at the bottom of Mullaghmast Hill, and then take a right just before the Moone Inn. On Sunday, I took the second turn after the Mullaghmast turn on the Crookstown road. This leads to the Burtown area on the new N78. I travelled a few miles east on the N78, and then exited for Ballitore. In the village I took some photos of the historic Quaker buildings including the Meeting House and Mary Leadbeater's house, now a library and museum. Leadbeater (1758 - 1826 ) was a Quaker and author who lived in the village and documented events during the 1798 rebellion. 

Mary Leadbeater's house, now a library and museum. © Eugene Brennan

A school established in 1726 by Abraham Shackleton. It's now a Quaker meeting house. © Eugene Brennan

Next I headed to the outskirts of the village and the location of Ballitore Mill. This a large, ruined structure, built in the early 19th century. An EPA hydrometric station that monitors water level and flow is located on the River Griese, which runs alongside the mill. The Griese in addition to powering this mill also powered a second mill in Ballitore, located down a cull-de-sac in the village. I headed back on the old section of road towards Crookstown. This was the original Carlow road before it was replaced by a wider section several decades ago. It's amazing how the ditches of a road that's no longer used begin to creep inwards and the accumulation of leaves and other debris begin to return it to nature, obscuring the tarmac. 

Ballitore Mill. © Eugene Brennan

Ballitore Mill. © Eugene Brennan

EPA hydrometric station. © Eugene Brennan

From Crookstown, I headed back towards Calverstown via Narraghmore Bog. I took the road that runs alongside Crookstown Millview AC's track and then turned off that to pickup up the Narraghmore - Calverstown road. I've always intended to visit Blackhall Castle, and I've passed the entrance multiple times over the decades, so I decided to investigate it on Sunday. A long, wooded lane leads down to the castle, situated in the grounds of an old farmhouse, probably dating to the Georgian period and owned by Jeffrey and Naomi White. The owner, Naomi, and a barking Cocker Spaniel greeted me and Naomi explained some details about the ruin. The four story castle was built by the Eustace family in the 16th century and appears to have a large , impressive fireplace on the fourth floor. Unfortunately half of the castle collapsed in 1999, due to instability in the structure. Naomi told me they had secured a grant to stabilise the structure, but it's a shame the collapse happened before this work could be done. There's also a "Sheela na Gig" carving which was luckily recovered from the rubble after the collapse and is now mounted in a ground floor wall. More information on Blackhall Castle is available on the Irish Historic Houses blog here.

Blackhall Castle. © Eugene Brennan

 

Blackhall Castle. © Eugene Brennan

 

Sheela na gig carving. © Eugene Brennan

 

My cycle route. © Eugene Brennan

I Present to You for Heritage Week

Items found in the garden. © Eugene Brennan

.....my archaeological discoveries from the garden. Found while digging and doing construction work over the last few decades. Probably nineteenth century stuff. My theory is that rubble from the demolition of the Carlow Stables was spread out to level the ground during construction of the Nicholastown housing estate and that's where some of these fragments may have came from. During the era when a Bianconi coach service ran from Dublin to Cork, via Clonmel, horses were replaced at intervals along the way. The Carlow Stables in Kilcullen was one of the relay sites. The building was located just before the first turn into the estate, heading south. Some of the fragments I found were rough pottery with glaze, so these could be pre-nineteenth century and not manufactured in moulds or by machine. One piece has shallow grooves, possibly made by finger marks when the pottery was turned on a wheel. The top of a flagon came from outside the wall of my house, dug up when the council was fixing a broken water main almost 20 years ago. It's embossed with the text "Price Bristol". That grass bank outside the house probably contains a treasure trove of items, lost and discarded over the centuries since the road and the trail which probably preceded it has been in existence. I also found a piece of red brick, three feet under the ground, when I was digging a soakaway in the front lawn, but there were no houses in the area before the estate was built. The triangular tile-like objects were found when I was digging the foundations for my gate piers a few years ago. Not sure what they are.

Painting Tip Related to Science

Cleaning a paint brush in white spirit. © Eugene Brennan

I've been painting my front door, something I've been putting off for a couple of months. Painting requires preparation and then there's all the cleaning up to do afterwards. The trend now is towards the replacement of oil-based paints for wood and metal by water-based formulations. Presumably this is an eco-driven thing, to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere or landfills when paint containers are discarded. I'm not convinced water-based paint is as durable as oil-based types, however it does make the cleaning of brushes easier.

Attacking the Brasses With Acid

Shiny fittings on the newly-painted front door, the result of hours of polishing. © Eugene Brennan

Painting is something I tend to procrastinate on and life is too short for cleaning brasses regularly. I do a good job of cleaning the hardware on the front door every two or three years when I paint it, but then I only polish the brasses a couple of times before I lose interest and have more pressing chores to attend to. After three years of non-cleaning, a thick layer of oxide builds up on the fittings, which takes several hours to remove with wire wool and Brasso. (Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, so the tarnish is zinc oxide and copper oxide).