On 1 November 2014 I wrote
here “I didn't get to bed till nearly 2am. After an hour's laying awake I was watching "Toddlers and Tiaras"
on the TLC channel before 6am. I *hate* these poxy
steroids”. Despite only having just started taking this
course, I think much the same thing is happening again. I was up far too early this morning. Over a bowl of granola I watched “Nightflyers”; like most sci-fi it is very good unless you think about what is
going on. Everyone is familiar with the delays in communication when NASA
control was speaking to the astronauts on the Moon. The delay in communication
with someone who is out at the heliopause would be the best part of a day.
Instantaneous communication just wouldn’t happen. And if a spaceship were to go
out there, it is pretty unlikely that crew members wouldn’t have met each other
before lift-off.
I suppose most people don’t
think too deeply about the telly programs they are watching… or is this one of
the reasons that the show got cancelled?
I had a look at the
Internet; nothing much had happened, but I did roll my eyes at one story I saw on
one of the local Facebook groups. A local father has died, and the family are
trying to crowdfund the funeral. I’ve seen this sort of appeal on Facebook a
few times recently. As a father myself, it annoys me. If there is one thing of
which we can be sure of in life, it is that we are going to croak. It is often
said that all insurance is something of a gamble. Having life insurance *isn’t* a gamble; who’s going to live forever? And
life insurance isn’t that expensive really. Far cheaper than a trip down the
pub each month.
I drove toward Tunbridge Wells through another very
wet and dismal morning. As I peered through the torrential rain the
pundits on the radio were interviewing Michael Gove (who is now secretary for something or other). He was being asked about yesterday's announcement from the supreme
court that the Prime Minister's decision to close Parliament had been illegal.
He said that he disagreed with the decision, but would respect it. When
challenged to apologise for the matter (seven
times) he refused. He implied that he feels no need for
something he considers was the right thing to do even if it has been shown to
be wrong.
I suspect the country's prisons are
similarly full of people who disagree with the courts.
One part of the morning's news was worrying. There
were interviews with members of the public concerning
yesterday's momentous announcement that the Prime Minister misled the
Queen; most of those interviewed didn't hesitate to show their
ignorance.
How is it that this episode doesn't seem to
have affected the Prime Minister's standing with the general public
at all. A small minority see him for the dangerous madman that he is,
but most see him as a well-meaning buffoon who is somehow standing up
for the man in the street (even though he has
absolutely nothing at all in common with the man in the street).
It amazes me that most people are blissfully
unaware that Mr Johnson has (in the past) vehemently campaigned for both leaving and remaining in the European
Union; his final stance being based on what would best suit his personal
political ambitions.
There was also talk from across the Atlantic about
moves to impeach President Trump. But concerns have been voiced that far from
getting him out of office, an impeachment will be seen as sour grapes on the
part of his political enemies and could well end up securing him a disastrous
second term in office.
And they say democracy is a good thing...
I got to work; I did my thing. I had my phone in
"Airplane Mode" today
to see if it would conserve the battery power. It worked somewhat, but did
leave me out of touch with the rest of the world for large parts of the day (specifically those parts when I should have been working
anyway)
Bearing in mind the pocket
of my trousers gave up yesterday I came home via Matalan where I got new
trousers with an incredibly little amount of fuss.
"er
indoors TM"
has gone to the scout group meeting; she’s still scout group secretary. She’s
supposedly coming home via the fish and chip shop.
Oh – and two members of the
family have birthdays today.
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