24 November 2014 (Monday) - Walk, Learning, Telescope



I had a rather good night’s sleep, and over brekkie I had a little look on the Internet. I was just a tad disappointed to find that my suggestion (on a geo-forum) for a geo-walk today hadn’t elicited any geo-interest. Mind you after yesterday’s rain most of the county would have been geo-flooded so stomping up hill and down dale might not have been the best of geo-ideas.

Instead I took “Furry Face TM “ for a little walk. I say “little walk”; he’s a lot better than he was so I took him on one of our old-style walks. Through South Ashford to Singleton Lake and home through Viccie Park. Apart from a minor altercation with a squirrel the walk was relatively uneventful. Fudge played nicely with two Scotties and a few Labradors. To see him playing in the park you’d never think he was paralysed only a few short weeks ago.

We walked for about an hour and a half; the longest he’s walked since his injury. Once home he scoffed his brekkie and I carried on with domestic drudgery. Washing machines, dishwashers, Hoovering (courtesy of the Dyson corporation) It was as I was tidying that something was delivered through the letterbox. I have no idea what it was because my dog got to it first and ate it. I was rather surprised by that. He’s usually so good. Last night he whinged at the dustbin for half an hour because he wanted to chew a bottle that was in it. He could easily have reached that bottle, but has *never* taken stuff from the bin. This morning he ate the mail.
Perhaps he’s got the sulks because in my tidy-up I threw out a dozen half chewed bones, balls and assorted toys.

I then had a look at the household accounts. They could be better. I just seem to have had too many unexpected financial outgoings lately, and it is rather sad that for all that it is payday today I am already looking forward to the next wage packet.
I then spent a little while on this week’s Coursera work. I say “this week’s”; I’ve only just realised they aren’t bringing out a new module each week. They are coming out every four days in this course. I need to get a shift on.
Today’s lectures were quite interesting. Two were on the “Snowball Earth” theory. They were probably more informative than the chap’s terrible accent would have had you believe. And then four more were about the broad-scale classification of living things. That’s a topic on which I thought I was quite well versed. I did know that DNA analysis was casting a lot of doubt onto what had once been considered to be “established fact”. It turns out that pretty much everything I learned about classifying living things was wrong. I’m far closer related to a mushroom than I am an oak tree.
But, as I always say, a day when I learn nothing is a day wasted.

I practiced my sax; my dog sang along. I wish he wouldn’t. And with ‘er indoors TM out bowling I went down to Woodchurch. The astro club was staging an observing evening. I had decided I wasn’t going to go, but Steve was going down for an hour and offered me a lift, and in all honesty I didn’t feel I could be disparaging about the session if I hadn’t gone.
Don’t get me wrong; the astro club is *really* good. But I have maintained (for some years) that the membership are like me; they have no interest in getting cold whilst looking through a telescope. If someone sets up a telescope during club nights, then people will have a look. And then they will go back into the hall where it is warm. Over the years we’ve put on so many observing nights that have been so poorly supported. And tonight was yet another. The membership had been given plenty of notice about tonight’s observing session. It was a perfectly clear night; ideal for stargazing. There were only three of us there; all committee members.
So disappointing…

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