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IN THIS ISSUE

• Zvonko Springer tells the story of a bewitched factory
• Don Henderson forwards an article about wind turbines
• Gerrit de Leeuw offers advice for people moving to Calgary
• Burke Dykes sends a story about crabs on an airplane
• Jack Peaker recommends a site for Roger Whittaker fans
• Tom Telfer forwards a site for users of Windows XP

Zvonko Springer remembers stories from his professional life in Africa:

TWIGA - THE CEMENT FACTORY AT WAZO HILL, TANZANIA

We arrived in Mombasa from Khartoum on August 6, 1964. We moved to the house allocated to us by the Bamburi Portland Cement Co. Ltd. Kenya (abbr. BPCCo) that was my new employer. Our home for the next few years stood on a coral shelf some 70m from the Bamburi beach. From its balcony we could see the wide lagoon rimmed by the East African barrier reef some 500m out into the Indian Ocean stretching to the horizon.

My new position was Chief Structural Engineer and my first job was to look after the construction progress at the new cement works at Wazo Hill. The factory was built for Tanzania Portland Cement Co. (TPCCo) on a construction site some 25km north of Dar-es-Salaam, the capital of the United Republic of Tanzania. Construction started early in 1964 but was not completed until mid-1966, with the official opening ceremony slated for February 8, 1967. As soon as construction was finished, trial runs in various plant sections were run. The new plant concept was for a dry process that had a capacity of 600t/d of clinker, whereas KHD Cologne (Germany) was the main supplier of the rotary kiln and the heat exchanger, etc. The mechanical and electrical engineers started assembling the machinery and other equipment when the builders completed any of the plant buildings, and each part had to go through a number of running tests first. By autumn of 1966 the whole plant was ready to start the full operational runs. However, there were continuing breakdowns here and there in various sections that became a real nuisance.

Of course the local labour was not used to working in an industrial complex of this size and complexity. The general manager, Martin Froehlich, had installed three lights on top of the heat exchanger tower. He could see the lights from his house even at night - green meant the plant was running smoothly; yellow, there was a minor stoppage somewhere; and red meant the main process system had come to an abrupt stop. All the troubles seemed to be more of a personal nature than being caused by the equipment. Martin went to the Minister for Industry to seek advice, and was told to bring witch-doctors to exterminate the bad spirits in the plant.

The managing director at Mombasa Cement Works, Dr. Felix Mandl, could not believe this advice and asked his good friend, the President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, for his views. Jomo Kenyatta had abjured the oath of the Mau-Mau movement, including all kinds of black magic or rites linked to it after Kenya got it independence, known as "Uhuru", in 1964. Thus Kenyatta was somehow hesitant about any counselling on this subject. Instead, he suggested seeking advice from his counterpart, Julius Nyerere, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania. Julius Nyerere had a nickname "Mwalimu" (The Teacher) so his advice would be considered final about whether to call the witch-doctors or not. Some time later Martin went again to see the Minister and obtained a cryptic directive personally from Mwalimu, the President, to proceed as pleaded for by the Tanzanian factory workers. So Martin instructed the Workers´ Union to find witch-doctors who would take off the bad spell hovering over the cement plant. A number of local witch-doctors came to view and tour around the cursed plant some days after. At the end they had to agree that their magic powers were too weak for that great job. At last, it was agreed to call in the greatest magicians living in the region of Morogoro, who willingly accepted this task. A number of fairly mysterious-looking men arrived, followed by a few helpers a week after.

The chief witch-doctor, accompanied by a few Unionists, met Martin and submitted a list of items that would be needed for the ceremony. At the end of a long list were two live oxen that would be required for the rite. The company had to provide a certain quantity of linen in different specified colors, a lot of crushed maize corn known as "posho", several pints of "pombe" - that is, fermented coconut milk - all to be used during the exterminating process. The magicians went around the site, searching for baobab trees. They placed the appropriate donations for demons under each of the trees according to their ritual. At the end, the quantity of endowments did not suffice so more linen, posho, and pombe had to be purchased fast. The magician made a small hut of colored linen, which looked like a shelter, in which he placed a handful of posho and a cup with pombe on top of a spread white linen sheet. Shortly before sunset, two oxen were pulled in next to the heat exchanger tower. Some helpers broke the knees of the oxen so they could not run away. Then the neck arteries were cut open and the gushing blood was collected in a few large bowls. This gruesome process lasted some time, until both oxen bled entirely out. Afterwards the animals were butchered by cutting the meat to smaller pieces to make the stew for all who attended the rite. Everybody working in the factory was invited to attend that ritual rite except for females, who were not allowed to be present.

The witch-doctors took the bowls with animal blood and smeared a patch on each of buildings. The patch size apparently depended upon the importance of each building as it appeared to the magician. The largest patch was on the heat exchanger tower, certainly the most important and largest building in the plant. After sunset, most of the Europeans left but the rest continued to enjoy the stew and even more of pombe.

Heat Exchanger

View of Plant at Night

A few days after this eventful ritual, the unbelievable happened. All the plant machinery was running almost smoothly. The green light on top of the heat exchanger tower shone green for days without turning to yellow or red. It seemed as if the "bad spirits" had been appeased and that the plant´s future was a promising one.

Don Henderson forwards an article written by Monte Sonnenberg about

WIND TURBINES AND WILDLIFE

The Erie Shores Wind Farm in southwest Norfolk is taking a modest toll on wildlife. That is the conclusion of a wildlife biologist who has monitored mortality rates in the area of 66 turbines over the past two years.

Dr. Ross James, former chief ornithologist at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, spent 1,400 hours in 2006 and 2007 documenting the wind farm´s impact on local wildlife. That time was spent searching for native birds killed in collisions with the 80-metre towers. The total number over two years came to 59, and included a wide range of species. Allowing for a margin of error, James estimates each tower kills, on average, 2.5 native birds a year.

"If there was going to be a serious problem with birds at wind turbines, Erie Shores Wind Farm had all the potential for that to have happened," James says in his conclusion. "It has not happened."

The Erie Shores development begins in Messiah´s Corners in the southwest corner of South Walsingham and extends west into Elgin County. During his travels between the two counties, James found far more dead birds on the road than he did around turbines. He said those who worry about turbine mortality need to keep the problem in perspective.

"Birds are obviously far more adaptable to change than people are," James said. "Why don´t people get upset by far worse causes of death to birds and completely ignore the benefits of clean energy? Pollution is known to be causing the premature deaths of hundreds of people each year - that is, you and me - and may be killing far greater numbers of birds unbeknownst to us."

Surprisingly, James found the mortality rate for bats was much higher. Over the two-year study period, 163 dead bats were found. Applying the sample size to the entire project, James estimates each tower accounts for five bat deaths a year.

Jim Wilgar, a site consultant with AIM PowerGen in Toronto, is pleased that the Erie Shores site has finally been probed. Many wind farm critics, he said, draw their conclusions from the experience of an older facility in Palm Springs, California. The problem with that project, Wilgar said, is that turbines are lined up shoulder to shoulder in a coastal area. This leaves little room for birds to manoeuvre. Turbines at Erie Shores, by contrast, are staggered along a strip 29 kilometres long to a depth of 2.5 kilometres.

As well, some are under the impression that the turbines encroach on traditional migratory routes in the area of Port Rowan and the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve. In fact, Erie Shores eastern boundary is well west of Port Royal.

Zoning is in place to erect towers closer to Port Rowan. However, AIM has declined due to concerns from the naturalist community. Dr. Scott Petrie of Bird Studies Canada in Port Rowan was among those who raised the alarm two years ago. "If two or three swans run into a turbine, I don´t care," Petrie said in a recent interview. "My concern is the placement of turbines that interrupt their migration routes and their feeding habits."

Because bats are nocturnal, no one knows for sure why they die around turbines. Aircraft warning beacons are suspected because lights attract bugs, which in turn attract the bats that feed on them. In his conclusions, James recommends the investigation of technologies that repel bats. These include lasers and high-frequency ultrasound.

He also recommends that future turbines be located at least 250 metres from the Lake Erie shoreline. Turbines near the lake are by far the most lethal. James also concluded that the Erie Shores death toll is so low that the issue is no longer worth studying.

Gerrit de Leeuw, who lives in Calgary, forwards these

NEW RULES FOR ENTERING ALBERTA

1. Bring your own house.

2. If going to the Oil Sands, bring your own house, school and hospital.

3. If going to Edmonton, wear your flak jacket. This is the murder capital of Canada.

4. If driving to Edmonton, it is also the auto theft centre of Canada.

5. If you are bringing drugs, head to Fort McMurray, the drug capital of Canada.

6. If you are looking for work, look no further. Average wage is $15.60/hour.

7. If you work downtown, parking costs $15 per hour.

8. If you are able to buy a house in Edmonton or Calgary, why not spend the money on a 15-year holiday?

9. If you drive a Hummer, look out. We have the highest gas prices in Canada. The Alberta Advantage.

10. In Edmonton we have five hospitals. Ten years ago we had seven. Don´t come here sick.

11. In Calgary the population has exploded. The last road was paved 12 years ago. Calgary is a no- parking zone.

Burke Dykes sends this story about

CRABS

A man boarded an airplane in New Orleans with a box of crabs. A female crew member took the box and promised to put it in the crew´s refrigerator, which she did.

The man firmly advised her that he was holding her personally responsible for the crabs staying frozen, and proceeded to rant and rave about what would happen if she let the crabs thaw out.

Shortly before landing in New York, she announced to the entire cabin, "Would the gentleman who gave me the crabs in New Orleans please raise your hand?"

Not one hand went up, so she took them home and ate them herself.

Men never learn.

THIS WEEK´S WEBSITE

Jack Peaker forwards this URL for fans of Roger Whittaker:

Tom Telfer sends a site that discusses Windows XP going off market in June:

"It is books that bear from age to age the intellectual wealth of the world." - Owen Meredith