Cogito Corner

2006-05-26T02:25:00.000-07:00

Spring is definitely upon us if the number of young Starlings being fed in the garden is anything to go by, but you'd scarcely know it by looking at the weather. The last few weeks have been very dank and miserable, and although there has been plenty of rain, which is a blessing for the flower beds, it has a long way to go to do anything about the drought being suffered by Southern England.

But a televisual treat to come will be Spring Watch with Bill Oddie which is due to kick off next Monday (29th). Last year's was absolutely magical.

Ealier this week we had Sir David Attenborough come out with a two-part TV programme, finally saying that we need to get dealing with global warming, because he is now completely convinced that the problem is anthropogenic in origin.

Well, that's cause for celebration as far as I am concerned, because hopefully this will now start to get seriously political. If the voters care, the politicians are going to start listening and actually doing something with a bit of urgency.

But it also occurs to me that Britatin has a special place in all this and we should collectively be leading the way on the basis of moral imperative. For the industrial revolution, which started us all down the high-energy consumption route, started in Britain. It was on the basis of this revolution that the British Empire was able to expand so successfully, in the process exporting the attitudes and aspirations attendant with the industrial mentality, to the rest of the world.

So Britain set up the framework for the consumerism that powers the global economy, of which global warming is a prime consequence. Having pointed the world in the direction of catastrophe, it behooves Britain to lead in turning said world away from the edge of the abyss and towards a more sustainable future.

2006-04-22T01:19:00.000-07:00

Back from holiday, in just a week it seems an awfully long time ago already, although the cheese in the fridge belies this.

I realise now that although I have been to Italy several times in the past, onbusiness, I had never actually been to Italy in any real sense. But I have now. We were lucky enouhg to be staying with friends who run the garden of the summer house of this rich industrialist dude, and I fancy that he has the best view across Lago Maggiore of any.

I am now tempted to nip up to the top of the field next door, put up a large hoarding and paint the alps on it. Having woken up to such a view for the thick end of a fortnight, the oak trees seem rather tame.

The geology was, of course, just wonderful, and I struggled to be retrained in returning with samples. But I was reasonably successful, and the plane home did manage to get airborne.

So now, after great food and wine, fantastic days out in the mountains and show gardens, its back to finding a job. As a fully trained science teacher now, this shouldn't be proving as difficult as it is. However, I am told that there is something of a downturn in teaching vacancies at present - oh good! So in the absence of anything else, I continue to improve things in the garden and search high and low for anything that will pay a wage. I've signed up to more initiatives than I can shake a stick at, butto no avail. I wonder what it is the universe wants me to do? I wish it would get on with it before I run out of money - which is becoming imminent.

2006-03-23T03:23:00.001-08:00

Spring is upon us finally. And even better news is that rain is due. It's been dryer than a dead Dingo's donger for weeks now, infact the whole autumn and winter has bordered on the positively arid. So, rain this evening is very welcome indeed.

The Redwings left us on the 20th of this month, which is usually a sign that Spring is there or therabouts, and the following day the frogs started spawning in the pond. This morning I awoke to a blue sky - a real novelty after a fortnight of steel grey - and a bright sun, and suddenly there was a crocus opened in the garden and the daffodils seem to have created flower buds over night. Whoosh!

And I have finished my school placement, with a brilliant report, so I'm like a dog with two tails today. To which end I am going to have a very long walk with the dog and experience Spring first hand out on Weaver's Down. Then, of course, I shall have to come back down to earth and satrt to write the two essays necessary to complete the course, and then I can get out and start looking for work properly.

2006-03-23T03:23:00.000-08:00

2006-03-15T23:20:00.000-08:00

Unable to reach my cousin by e-mail, courtesy of yet another paranoid US corporation, here is what I tried to send you Eric - well most of it anyway:

So have spent my first week at the school, and it has gone well. They seem to have confidence in me since I was given a Year 11 (15 yrs old, final exam year) class to teach yesterday - viruses and bacteria - and I obviously entertained them because they were brilliantly behaved and contrived to ask sensible questions. The amount of organisational and procedural stuff there is to learn is, however, rather daunting - not nearly as much fun as the actual teaching. The kids at the school - Bohunt (where Will goes)- are really pussycats by comparison to the ones I taught in London all those years ago, for the most part anyway. So next week I begin teaching in earnest, with full classes of Year 7, Year 9, and Year 11 - bang goes the weekend since I have to start lesson preparation, effectively from ground zero (but this pays off in the future as you can reuse them each year - until they change the syllabus that is, and then you can start again!)

On the home front, I have completed building and preparing a raised bed in which I intend to grow onions and carrots. Last year the sodding slugs ate all the carrots before they could really get going, so this year I am going to grow them in this raised bed. However, I went down to the scrap yard and acquired some old copper strip which I am using to circle the bed like a belt. Slugs absolutely hate copper, so I anticipate that this should prevent them climbimg up the sides of the bed to get to the carrots. I have floored the whole thing out with a water-permeable membrane so they can't get in from underneath, since slugs will burrow (and eat your potatotoes etc.)

It's been bloody cold here the last few weeks so I haven't sown any seed yet, but hopefuly tomorrow I shall have time to start a few trays off indoors, with a view to planting out next month. Also on my list of things to grow both outside and in the greenhouse are: Red Onions, Garlic, Cucumber (called Crystal Apple - look it up on the web, it looks very strange so I had to have a go), Dwarf Beans (Safari - Kenyan style) , Tomato (maybe), Morning Glory, Marigold, Mignonette, Dahlia, Datura.

The last one was just a whim, but I saw some Datura Eric's mum had once, and wanted to try my own ever since, and I just stumbled over the option of the seeds when I was surfing for the other seeds. So I have decided to see if I can grow one or two. Meanwhile the birds are pairing up ready for nesting, and I have put a nest box up on the side of the house - fingers crossed. Mind you, by the sound of it someone is preparing a nest site up in the attic just above the computer room. I bet you the little sods will ignore my shiny new nest box in favour of remodelling the attic for us.

Since then, I have contrived to put some carrot seed and onion sets into the raised bed, but I don't think much will happen in the near term given how cold it remains.

2006-02-07T02:10:00.000-08:00

So I have a raised bed now - handy if it floods during the night, perhaps - and all I need to do is fill it with earth. However, I think it's going to need rather more earth than I had anticipated, so the next question is likely to be as to where I need a big hole in the garden! Hmm.

Mind you, with Bush admitting that the Americans are addicted to oil, but bearing in mind how long it'll take to deal with that, perhaps I should start digging for 'black gold' and cash in while I can. It's funny how many commentators were quite excited by Bush's pronouncement, given that he said nothing about the environment, climate change, or pollution. I suspect the real agenda is the realisation by the Pentagon that if the US population guzzle all the oil, they'll be left short of the high octane fuels needed to power their military machine; that would never do. Still, whatever the rationale, if they convert to bio-fuels and look to reduce consumption, there will be positive things happening for our environment, and that's all that really matters.

Now if the chap who's supposed to be coming to deal with the central heating thermostat will just turn up, I can get on and finish my jobs in the garden. The time pressure is on now, because shortly all my time will be taken up with the return to teaching course, and the beds must be prepared for planting before then or I'll end up growing nothing much.

Well, sod it, he'll just have to call out to get my attention. I can wait no longer. More later.

2006-01-29T00:37:00.000-08:00

What a busy month this is turning out to be. The return to teaching initiative sems to be going well so far, and I have two tutorial days completed, an agreed placement at the local school, and more files of government initiatives on education than you can shake a stick at.

I look forward, in due course, to posting what it feels like to be back in the classroom, but I have to get there yet. Quite when that will be will depend on the Head of Science at the school, but I'm hoping to be able to see him next week so that this can move along at the required pace.

In the meantime I am making as much progress as I can preparing the garden for the coming spring sowing season, to which end I am going to construct my first raised bed. I have the relevant bits of wood, so today will be devoted to putting it all together - although how far I get will depend on just how cold it is today.

2006-01-17T02:12:00.000-08:00

Hooray, finally things are moving along at a reasonable pace, and I find I am all signed up for the return to teaching course, and so with a bit of luck I shall be in a position to plausibly apply for teaching jobs by the beginning of April. Since teaching science is both in demand, and eminently portable, it makes a great deal of sense for us - given our intention to move in the next few years.

But to where, I wonder? James Lovelock appears to be re-igniting the climate change debate with his view that we are probably already past the point of no return. Bugger! I simply don't want to believe that Gaia will bite back so hard so soon, but I have to admit that signs of positive feedback entering the equation are becoming alarmingly common, and the environmental news in the past year has been unremittingly bad.

But perhaps the imminence of disaster, as indicated by one of the leading scientists and thinkers on this matter anywhere on the planet, will start to focus enough ordinary peoples' minds to start to focus the politicians.

While we wait for that to happen, I am now looking at contour maps and trying to find the limit of the 20m+ contour in our selected areas for a move. Once the Greenland ice sheet starts to melt I could make a nice little pension hiring out boats from the marina on the front garden!

2006-01-11T02:06:00.000-08:00

Coo, sometimes a walk with the dog can be like going on safari. The other morning was one such, as I took Molly, the terrier-colly, on a surprise early morning stroll through the fields and down to the river. Rabbits, a Green Woodpecker, as female deer, and two foxes, not to mention a myriad small birds.

But the highlight was putting up a Grey Heron at the river, and watching it gain height while avoiding overhanging tree branches. The sheer scale of the bird, fairly close up, with the wings beating relatively slowly, yet effectively, gave a real sense of paddling through the air, much as humans might swim through water. And this was re-inforced by watching how it avoided the tree branches, making small course changes by favouring one wing and then the other and so moving slightly right or left while still climbing.

It was a very neat experience in terms of both quality and compactness.

Meanwhile, I pursue the goal of getting on to the Return2teaching course on the 19th. So far so good, and I now await a printing head for the printer so that I can print and fill out the application form. But happily, the device is still within the warranty period, and a new printer head is on its way (allegedly, anyway) so all should be well tomorrow - do I sound like a politician, or what?

And in the US more wheels fall of the Administration's bandwagon with the resignation of De Lay. Perhaps more usefully, there appears to be a growing recognition within the US that their politics really is horribly corrupt and maybe they should do something about it. This is going to be fun to observe.

2006-01-02T01:32:00.000-08:00

I am reminded that it's three whole weeks since I last updated this - most remiss. I plead festive planning and the seemingly endless search for work of a paying kind.

During that time a new family member has emerged in Nederland, Stevan Gert, who's my cousin's new son, but I'm a bit confused as to whether that makes me a second cousin, or a half uncle, or a second cousin with removal potential or what. But it doesn't really matter at the end of the day, since the most important thing is that he arrived all in one piece and with all bits working properly.

While the rest of the UK has been assaulted by snow in various depths, we have been spared having to get around through the white stuff. It just always petered out before it got to us. I'm jolly grateful for this because although it's very prettywhen covering green stuff, it's a bloody nuisance when it gets on the black stuff.

Now we're in to 2006 we have decided that we seek a year of harmony, happiness, and familial project progress. That seems safe enough, and we hope it is. Last year we determined it needed to be a year of change, but that appears to have been a bit broad, because we certainly got a lot of change, but came out of the other end feeling rather battered by it all. So stability would be a good intention for this year, although I guess that's true for all, especially in other parts of the world.

For me the best bit is that the days are now getting longer, and the quality of sunlight is on an improving track. So now I can start planning for the Spring, beginning with a tidying up and refurbishment project in the lower garden (sounds very grand but it's just because we're on a slope). This year I am going to ream out the greenhouse and start again from ground zero, since it all got a bit out of hand last season and became impossibly unkempt - not least because it ended up with a population explosion among the strawberry plants. Quite what plants I shall attempt this year I'm not sure, given that it seems impossible to guarantee proper ripening conditions for things like melons (two years ago). But I'm sure I'll come up with something interesting, although first-off the greenhouse has to be done, so.....

In amongst all that I note that the Montreal meeting on greenhouse gas emissions was hailed as a success because they managed to agree on how to measure and monitor, and came up with an intention to talk some more. I must admit that my first reaction was broadly positive, but the more I have read about the actual wording, and the more I have thought about it, the less I think of it. Although apparently publicly humiliated, the US still has a clause allowing it to continue prevaricating and doing nothing. Maybe Washington has to get flooded before they take it seriously; all a bit late by then, of course, since at that point we'll be well past the principle tipping points of climatic change.

So, given that the politicians are clearly going to do very little beyond the cosmetic appearance of policy, and for the most part the people of the developed world don't want to change, I am rersetting the height threshold on our new house project at 20 metres, because it looks like the ice sheets will have melted before the blindingly obvious intrudes upon public policy.

2005-12-09T01:19:00.000-08:00

I have been laid low by some damn virus or other, which has left me shot to bits for a couple of weeks. Jilly just got a head cold for a couple of days, so I reckon I must have had the evil twin.

I see the US is up to the usual nonsense at Montreal, and since it doesn't have a vote it's prevailed upon Saudi Arabia to run the interference and prevent agreement of anything but the most facile and specious concluding statements. But happily it seems that, increasingly, the US people are beginning to get their collective head around the need to actually do something, and State Governors and the like are now starting to ignore the administration.

Sadly, judging by comments on the BBC web site about the Montreal Conference, there are still an awful lot of people who remain in denial, and seem to believe that the growing clamour for carbon reduction is some sort of conspiracy aimed at reducing their personal wealth. Which, I suppose, gets to the nub of it.

As I see it, we have a society in which personal value is measured by personal wealth. Most people appear to have bought in to this - I certainly did in the past, because it was what I was taught by parents and peers and their parents and so on - and so think that if their opportunity to drive an SUV is curtailed, it somehow impedes their personal development.

The talk is then of being 'catapulted back to the Middle Ages', which they are reluctant to do. Me too. And in any event it's unnecessary. The challenge is not to relive the past but to invent a new, sustainable future. That, however, is going to require philosophical change, and that is the real challenge for the green movement.

2005-11-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

Time moves along smartly as usual, but here it has been occupied by getting involved with the Earthworks Trust Sustainability Centre at East Meon, and a visit to the earthship in Brighton.

The Earthship tour was rather illuminating, and whilst I do not propose that we build something exactly similar, there were lots of ideas that I shall ‘pinch with glee’. Included with this are some pix, which will give you a view of what the whole thing looks like.

The whole thing is situated in Stanmore Park on the outskirts of Brighton, near to the University. There’s a section in the park, which the local council is renting out to those seeking to test alternative ideas – which includes a raft of organic growing, a small tree nursery, and so on. In the midst of this is the Earthship, which started off as the ‘brainchild’ of some 45 like-minded individuals, and is now approaching completion – some four years on – and will act as community centre.

The neat thing about it, as a Community Centre, is that its running costs will be virtually zero since it really is self-sufficient – water, electricity, sewage, heating. When we went on Sunday, and bearing in mind that it was a chilly, but sunny, three or four degrees outside, the interior space was a cosy 21 degrees centigrade, with no heater on!

Let’s take a trip around the construction. First, the whole thing is partially cut into the hillside. The back wall that provides the primary load bearing structure is made from old tyres and rammed earth.

In the first instance the Environment Agency threatened to prosecute them, because one is no longer permitted to bury old tyres willy nilly, and clearly it seemed to the EA that that was the general effect. However, after some discussion of what was intended, common sense (that rare event) prevailed, and they let them get on with it.

The dwelling area then effectively emerges from what is in effect a back wall of tyres and rammed earth. The whole thing is orientated East-West, and comprises just one story, so it has a very long axis with maximum exposure facing South, to catch the sun.

Most of this South-facing wall is taken up with glass, double-glazed, and coated with a silver salt that allows light through but reflects infrared back into the interior space – passive solar heating. Two thirds of this length is effectively double skinned, since there is a long ‘conservatory’.

The rammed earth wall at the back acts as a mass heat store, soaking up heat in the day and then slowly releasing it at night. The walls are ‘plastered’ using a wattle and daub formula employing the soil and clay from the site, and I have to say that I haven’t seen a better finish using conventional plaster.

Within the interior space are two deep gullies in the floor that will contain plants. These will be watered using ‘grey water’ – from the sink, shower, etc. This will effectively be cleaned by flowing through these planted gullies, and then collected at the end of the run to be used for flushing the toilets.

The ‘black’ water from the toilets goes into a sceptic tank, which overflows to a reed bed so that the final liquid effluent is just clean water, which soaks away.

All the water is collected from the building’s roof, and they have storage for some 8,000 litres – for the inevitable dry spells.

Electricity is generated by an array of 18 photovoltaic panels on the roof, and a small wind turbine. Water is heated using two solar water panels on the roof, and is supplemented by a wood chip burner in the main interior space.

So as long as the people using the place are sensible about how they use water and power, there is quite enough for all purposes.

And that, of course, is half the battle. We are so used to being utterly profligate with resources, without consequence, that we waste grotesque amounts. I am reminded that in the UK, and most ‘developed’ nations we use drinking quality water to flush our lavatories. Let’s hope that’s not too widely known among the 2.7 billion people with no access to proper sanitation and drinking water; they’ll be really pissed off when they find out.

I shall now go and fulminate over the next part of the Iraq debacle, as War on Want and others have blown the whistle on the cosy deal that the US and UK governments are doing to ensure that US and UK oil multinationals get the lion's share of operating the Iraqui oil fields. Now we see the truth. Greedy bastards.

2005-11-15T10:19:00.000-08:00

Johann Hari of The Independent says that we should stop talking about Climate Change and start thinking in terms of forthcoming Climate Chaos. The trouble is that, while I agree that this conveys the need for alarm more effectively than just 'change', its use may cause conversational chaos at one level at least, since climate is in any case chaotic. That's what makes it so bloody difficult to predict precisely how the weather is going to be.

However, since the sequelae of anthropogenic global warming are likely to shatter the comfortable assumptions upon which global commerce and social cohesion are based, perhaps climate catastrophe would be an appropriate phrase to use.

The denialists of climate change will, of course, leap upon this as further proof of the use of hyperbole by the environmentalists, climatologists and others who watch the unfolding signs of irreversible change to the atmosphere and global climate with considerable alarm.

The oil lobby, and organisations funded by it like the Cato Institute (also in bed with News corp, Phillip Morris, etc., as well as Exxon, Mitsubishi and big pharma such as Pfizer), are desperate to poo poo any such worries. The cosy profit train must not be disturbed. But surely this is daft, when we have reached, or else will shortly, so-called 'peak oil'. As China, India, Brazil, and others grow, their demand for energy can only increase, providing increased competition for a dwindling resource. At which point the price of oil climbs inexorably to a point where energy becomes too expensive to enable us to carry on as we are in any case. That day is not so far away. Hell, even BP appears to recognise that.

So why on earth aren't we investing heavily in alternatives to head off this potential eonomic crisis, even if policy makers and governments couldn't give a stuff about the wider environment? It doesn't matter if you don't believe in global warming, a low carbon economy is the only possible solution for the future anyway.

2005-11-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

Splutter, splutter, where did all this rain come from? But so far it would seem to be 'not enough', at least according to the water authorities who are still gazing gloomily on half empty reservoirs. Reading between the lines of a commentator the other day, we probably need it to rain constantly for the next three or four months in order to get back to a 'reasonably comfortable' position. Bloody hell, I'll have reverse-evolved into a fish by then!

What ever happened to Niger? Did everyone die, or are they still busy doing that? Poor old Niger seems to have been too soon in crisis after the Tsunami, so no-one paid attention to the imminent famine, and not soon enough before Kashmir distracted everyone again. One wonders what any remaining Nigerans make of it.

Here, however, we still wait for the Oak trees to start shedding their leaves. Finally they are beginning to turn, but it's rather late this year, like so much else. I've been looking forward to gathering leaves up to compost them (strange, but true), but the little buggers are hanging on resolutely to their twigs. I shall have to go and harangue them about this in due course - it's simply not cricket, holding a chap up like that.

2005-11-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

Well, the search for gainful employment has cranked up again with two more applications away today. It's difficult to know, though, whether to pursue so many. I suppose that if they all come through I will have the luxury of picking the best for me. Here's hoping, nay intending.

It looks as if we may finally get rid of David Blunkett from government - Hoorah! I thought his policies as Home Secretary were generally execrable. He wasn't the very image of a Labour Party Home Secretary, rather one wondered why he wasn't signed up with Totalitarians R Us or something similar. And then he started bending the rules for his own convenience and, rightly, had to leave. So why on earth was he brought back?

If his judgement was crap then, why wouldn't it be so now? But, very helpfully, his arrogance led him to believe he was beyond parliamentary scrutiny, and bingo, it all comes out. Another politician with their snout in the trough. Perhaps he could get a job with George Bush as a special adviser in some capacity. George certainly doesn't have a problem with cronyism, but Tony Blair had better watch out because the smell from Downing Street is beginning to ripen like a piece of old brie.

Here in the southern march of the UK, the rain continues to fall, after a brief interlude yesterday. But at least in that time I was able to get out onto a local common and do some walking. And I can report that the fungi continue to be a delight this year. All the flowering plants may be having a poor time as the climate shifts, but the fungi, at least for now, are burgeoning. So far this year I think I have noted thirty odd different species on the common, but I'm sure that's probably only a proportion of the true number. However, one would need to do a proper survey to establish that.

The flowering plants, however, continue to worry me. This morning I woke up to a new rose on the climber in the front garden. That plant is going to be knackered by next summer if it carries on blowing resources on flowers at this time of year while it cannot replenish effectively photosynthetically.

2005-10-31T15:26:00.000-08:00

Coo. We went of to the Winkworth Arboretum yesterday to see the various maples and other trees in their autumnal leaves, and they did not disappoint. The range of colours - intense reds and yellows and pinks and purples - against a backdrop of grey-green Cedars and darker oaks and so on was really rather spectacular.

But what on earth has happened to Autumn more generally? Last week we went for a walk over the South Downs, and at one point passed along the edge of an arable field that still had flowering Cornflower, some poppies, and a member of the pea family that I couldn't identify. At Winkworth yesterday, in their new wetland zone, there were specimens of Monk's Hood in flower - four months later than they should be - together with Red Campion in the woods!

It is, of course, dangerous to extrapolate too much from a few isolated incidents, but they are consistent with a pattern that becomes increasingly alarming. If the plants get out of step with the seasons it is going to make life very tough on the organisms that depend upon them, and ultimately ourselves.

Meanwhile we can all get used to having the times of day messed about with as we revert to 'daylight saving time' - at least that's what I think it's supposed to be when the clocks go back an hour. Why do we indulge in this craziness? I gather it was invented as a ruse to enable factory workers to be able to go to work in the light in the winter. But since few people work in factories anymore for whom this was originally cooked up, and in any event the rules of employment are a little less draconian than in 1914, I can't see the point.

Willem is due to go to some Halloween party tonight, so I had better get the shopping and stuff doner. What is this Halloween, and why does everyone now insist on spending so much money on the tat that appears to accompany it? Suckered by the Americans again, I imagine. What a load of old nonsense.

2005-10-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

Well, the Starlings really have returned with a vengeance. From just six last Autumn we appear to have getting on for 50 this time around. They are just so aggressive to one another, fighting and squabbling over pretty much everything. It's amazing they manage to fly around in such large flocks when roosting time comes in the evening, without fisticuffs all over the sky.

But it's good to see them making some sort of recovery from the population crash they have suffered over the last few years, even if it is going to cost the gross domestic product of a small European country to keep them in food this winter - which apparently is set to be a hard one, although who the hell knows. We've just had the warmest October day on record, and the North Atlantic storm season is now a record with 23 storms, and running through the Greek alphabet to label them because they've run out of names.

2005-10-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am reminded by my cousin that this blogg has become moribund and needs a swift slapping to wake it up. Slap, slap.

Any comments that I'm just a slapper will be treated with some contempt, obviously.

There are good reasons why this blogg stalled, of course, since most time has been spent job hunting and researching ecohousing. So now I have enough reference books to start a small library, and I guess my next task will be to start to try and correlate the huge amount of information in them.

That means sitting down and reading them, but I think this will have to be done on a topic by topic basis rather than trying to absorb it all from cover to cover, book by book. But this also has to take its turn with the need to fill in job applications and the like.

The price of land to do a self-build is becoming absurd in this country, so maybe we'll have to try our hands at a renovation of an old building. That will mean some compromises for sure, but it will be better than nothing. However, since we are not going to be in a position to move anywhere for a couple of years, I'll not fret too much over that.

I am delighted to note that two of Bush's neocon friends are in some trouble for what appears to be sharp practice. They'll not be convicted, of course, but it is helpful in alerting the US public to just how corrupt their political system has become. All around there is the sound of chickens coming home to roost - cluck, cluck, cluck.

But all that said, I can't hang around slagging off the Axis of Idiocy formed by Bush and Blair. There are some more pressing tasks to be undertaken, the first of which is an assault on the kitchen, followed by some application form filling in.

2005-10-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

The job search continues unabated, but it is becoming clear that I don't really fancy much that is on offer. So I suppose that I am just going to have to be patient, which will no doubt make me jolly virtuous. But it would be nice to be contributing some cash to the household. Maybe I'll just have to go off and do a holding job for a while until I can find the right thing for me.

In the meantime, however, there is the research into eco-building to keep me occupied, and of course this blog, not to mention all the science and other news.

It was also rather alarming to discover that George Bush was instructed by God to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. This is clearly not the Christian God, who is clear on points such as not killing and treating other humans with the respect that one should llike accorded oneself. I note that a wry commentator in the Independent, posing the same question of which god this is, opts for the god in question being most likely to be the god Mammon. However, I'm not so sure.

Looking at all of it I conclude that this is the same false god that instructs Osama Bin Laden. In both cases the god concerned instructs the unleashing of death and destruction on the, mostly, innocent. In both cases it appears that there is only the one version of truth. And, of course, there will be heaven on earth once this world view is imposed upon everyone else. It reminds me of the approach to life taken by such historical notables as Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler. Let's hope 30 or 40 million don't have to die before this one settles out.

2005-10-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

Working mt way through the climate blogs I notice that there is significant discussion about Chris Mooney's book on how the Republicans appear to have declared war on science. This is a proposition that, from the Eastern side of the Atlantic, appears entirely plausible. But I don't think the issue is that the administration has declared war on science per se, ratherit has declared war on those areas of science that produce results that are inconvenient to its supporters. This is a normal political and commercial response to unwanted news.

As it happens, the areas in which this administration are particularly active in this regard, are ones with very scary consequences if they are wrong - and I think it must be fairly clear where I stand on that one.

What we, as global citizens, require is that our politicians take a global view on matters such as climate change and resource depletion. That can only happen with more globalised political structures. So it is particularly irritating to sea the US doing its best to undermine the UN, which is currently the only real contender for creating some sort of global governance. Naturally large changes will be required, but they really should be attempted, not swamped by the interference and disabling tactics used by the Bush Rottweiller in the UN, John Bolton.

At the same time as achieving a more global political strategy, there needs to be significantly more education to enable voters to be able to make informed, rather than politically misinformed, decisions on who should hold power. Bring back Nirvana, that's what I say.

2005-09-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

Typhoon Damrey has been romping through China, Vietnam and environs and, posting winds of 125 mph, has killed some 89 people to date and caused huge damage. Apparently it is the strongest typhoon in 10 years.

It's interesting that the UK televisual media have not mentioned this at all, although coverage of Katrina and Rita in the US was bordering on 'blanket' at times. There has been enormous focus on hurricanes in the Atlantic, but there doesn't appear to be the same attention for the Pacific/Indian Ocean equivalents, presumeably because they rarely affect the US. The question that arises is whether the trends are the same, and what effect climate change/global warming might be having on them. Given there will undoubtedly be significant diffrences in circulation and heat distribution, it may be too difficult to make such a comparison. I will have to go and have a look and see what's been researched so far.

I'll see what the boys and girls at Real Climate have to say on the matter.

2005-09-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

Greetings from a soggy Hampshire. It's been a long time since I was at this blog, but then it has been a ferocious few weeks. In that time the blessed spaniel died, and my sister and I contrived to part company, which has been a drama, a trauma and, finally, a relief.

So what was Rita thinking of, missing Galveston and Houston like that? There was a perfect opportunity to really focus US minds on the need to be rather more frugal in their use of fossil fuels. Instead, glodfish like, everyone will be back to business as usual within days.

Today it has been reported that Tony Blair has become a fully formed poodle of the Bush Administration, having now adopted its view on tackling climate change - i.e. do sod all, keep making money from oil, understand that the environment is there to be exploited not nurtured (too expensive, and eats into profit), and hope the market will deliver technological fixes.

So there we are, our Prime Minister, elected as the man to run a sovereign nation, has managed in just eight years, to make us the lap dog of the Americans and so also hated across the globe. He has tossed away the opportunity to start saving humanity from certain catastrophe if climate change is not dealt with. He has taken us into an unjustifiable war from which we now cannot easily extricate ourselves. He has presided over rafts of panic-measure legislation that are destroying civil liberties in a nation that has been a beacon to the world in such matters. His presidency of the EU has been pitiful thus far.

Why, I wonder, does the Labour Party not just ditch him? He is now a serious electoral liability. But I guess until there is stronger opposition in the House of Commons, that possibility has no real force to it. With the Lib Dems now starting to lose their way and the Conservatives remaining rather incoherent we are in danger of sleep walking into an effective dictatorship.

On the bright side, however, I'm moving along now, with my CV fully tarted up, and two applications for jobs now sent off. I do hope the right job comes along soonbecause my brain is going to start rotting from boredom soon. Not really, I've got lots of stuff on the board, from researching ecohousing and permaculture, to polishing up my Dutch and French. Not to mention the endless search for jobs, although there aren't many that I can apply for without moving house, and that isn't going to happen until Willem has finished his GCSEs.

2005-09-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

The sequelae of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina are a testament to the cpacity of people to ignore the obvious when it looks like it might not be profitable. A key component of the level of destruction was the removal of wetlands to enable development to occur. Yet it has been known for decades that in estuarine environments the wetlands are a key buffer against sudden rises in water level.

But in the case of New Orleans the authorities consistently ignored this and permitted development to occur. In whose best interests was that, I wonder? This approach will be increasingly costly as the power and frequency of hurricanes increases with ongoing global warming. There are going to be some very significant adjustments in the thinking of the insurance industry, I fancy. I wonder when the insurers will start to lean on the US administration to start taking climate change seriously?

2005-08-31T01:01:00.000-07:00

There have been some interesting headlines about homeopathy in the last few days, after a Lancet paper, looking at past trials of homeopathy and allopathy, said that homeopathy doesn't work.

However, the article also points out that a forthcoming WHO review indicates that homeopathy is better than placebo. At the end of all that it's hard to know what to believe.

Perhaps everyone is looking in the wrong place. Because in the end illnesses and 'cures' are likely to be relate to energy and the relative harmonics of that energy. After all, in the end biology is chemistry, and chemistry is physics which in turn is all about energy. Thus in the final analysis biology is energy, and illness therefore must be a function of energy. Finding ways to comprehend what is going on will lead to cures.

At present we are only addressing the first two steps in that logic chain in allopathy, whereas homeopathy does at least seek to engage the fourth step in the context of water memory. There is already recent evidence that water association in the cytosol may influence enzymatic function through changing microelectrical field distribution. That, in turn, affects how efficiently the cell performs its biochemical functions and contributes to its role in the particular tissue. If it goes wrong the tissue misfunctions and we talk about an illness.

Scale things up and then consider a human sitting in front of a computer. That human is an energy signature, surrounded by a suit of others - the chair etc., since all matter is ultimately energy - which exist within a matrix of other energy fields such as TV signal distribution, mobile phones etc. Step out of four dimensional thinking and it gets even more interestingly interwoven.

2005-08-27T00:33:00.000-07:00

I see George Bolton, Bushes 'ambassador' to the UN, is busy trying to destroy consensus on world poverty, climate change, global education and so on, and scupper the UN's Autumn summit on the topics. How many more years do we have to put up with this corrupt and immoral administration? Meanwhile Pat Robertson, Bush's 'Christian' chum who leads part of the christian right alliance, calls for the Venezualan president to be 'taken out'. These yanks really have a grip on Christian ethics and values, eh? All because Chavez has the temerity to want to siphon some oil wealth to create a better Venezuala for Venezualans.

Chavez was elected in a democratic election, as declared by independent monitors. George Bush says he wants to export democracy world wide, so why the blatant interference in Venezuala? Because his mates in the oil industry are hurting.

If you wonder why the World generally despises or hates America guys, this is why. Arrogance, greed, ignorance and/or wilful denial, bullying, rapaciousness, murderousness, duplicitousness. These are the consistent components underpinning US behaviour around the globe. Driven by profit greed and, increasingly, naked fear.

I think that, ironically, the catastrophic consequences of this administration's behaviour, especially if the next administration or two are as corrupt as this one, which seems entirely probable given the US population and how it behaves, will be the collapse of the US. Because its social philosophy has come down to simply the acquisition of money the denizens of the US will fight each other when the chickens of climate change, 'Free Trade', etc. come home to roost.

Since they're mostly armed to the teeth (apparently it is a right for everyone to be tooled up enough to kill each other) this will be a messy process. But at least it has the virtue that they will have less time to strut around other peoples' countries. Bin Ladan should relax and be patient.

2005-08-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

Bloggery is, it seems, a hard thing to keep going since life seems to be so busy. Since the last posting, my cousin Erik and his partner Annet have been over for a visit, many ceilings have been painted, Willem has had his 14th birthday and Nick has returned unexpecctedly from Australia. Bill and Claudia from Shanghai are about to show up to stay for a few days, which will no doubt keep me fully occupied. And then there's the garden, and finding a new job. Pretty 'phew' really.

I gather Senators Clinton and McCain have been to Alaska and conclude that there is evidence of global warming and the Senate should get on and do something. Try getting past vested interests, chaps. Your corrupt administration has all bases covered I'll warrant. They'll be able to fillibuster this to death whilst keeping their snouts in the trough.

However, I am cheered to start to observe serious opposition to Bush and his chronies. I should be even more cheered to see serious debate about the way in which US politics is undertaken and structured. The fact that the Bush clan were able to effectively rig both elections should be a cause for serious concern in any case, but I think the two party system is too restricted and in need of some serious restructuring.

If your politicians are so corrupt that vested interest can exercise the degree cof influence that is obvious in US politics, then the only recourse is to pit the vested interests against each other or else bleed them by making them split their bribes across too many options. If the politicians are really interested in government of the people, by the people, for the people then the two party approach can work. But what I observe in the US is government of the people by the politicians and officials, for the politicians and industry (including agri-business) and their bank accounts.

Next time, a treatise on religion and energy. Intriguing, eh?

2005-08-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

It transpires that hurricanes can generate waves in excess of 90 feet high. Apparently a previously unknown fact. I'm not surprised, who could survive such a thing? I must make sure not to be at sea during a hurricane. It's important to remember these things in life, you never know when they might come in useful.

It's just like having learned that pulling Bracken Fern by the stem in an attempt to uproot it is a silly thuing to do, because the odds are it'll get you first. This is where actually remembering the useful fact becomes important as well. Sadly I forgot the other day and received a cut to the inside of my finger that contrived to open an arteriole. Very messy. So now I'm walking around with a wonky finger. Thus is the importance of memory reinforced in my mind, such as it is.

Last weekend we decided that we were going to have to postpone the spiritual ceremony we were going to have as the second component to our wedding this year. In the end we had to move location, and it became apparent last wekend that we simply didn't have time to prepare things on the new territory. So it'll have to go back to May next year, on the anniversary of the civil ceremony, which seems appropriate anyway.

The Permaculture project is gathering some pace, and my first copy of the Permaculture magazine has arrived with a host of useful contacts and resources. This looks more and more like the direction we shall take for the coming decades. But looking at it I would estimate that there are a couple of years of research and learning to do first, and a bunch of practising.

Meanwhile the house is getting a make-over, so if you're coming round be warned that you will feel like HRH the Queen, because the smell of new paint is everywhere. We seem to be having a very focused clear out of the old and the unused in the house. It proves to be very satisfying. Speaking of which I hear a ceiling calling, and the light looks about right for painting, so more reports tomorrow.

And Nick's coming home soon. Hurrah!!!!

2005-08-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

Strewth, Cumbria is a long way from here - 320 miles in the event. Charles' wedding was a nice affair and everyone seemed to have a good time. However, the unexpected highlight of the weekend turned out to be a visit to Leighton Moss wildlife reserve in Silverdale just across the bay (Morecombe - no cocklepickin' jokes please) from where we were staying for the wedding.

I saw my first Marsh Harrier, aswell as some Red Deer stags making their way through the reed beds, a Water Rail juvenile, Buzzards, Grey Herons, and a host of ducks etc. Sadly no Bearded Reedlings, or the very rare Bitterns which live there. But the Marsh Harrier was the highlight, and made several appearances, so we were able to get a good idea of size, hunting technique, colour and so on.

It turns out we were lucky, since the Harriers leave in early August and head South for the Winter. The trick for them then, of course, beyond the usual climatic and feeding issues, is to avoid being shot by some ignorant Spaniard or Maltese who thinks they have a 'right' to kill migrating birds. Quite why they 'need' to hunt is a mystery - they don't eat their kills. They should hunt each other, it would be a more even contest, and add greatly to the experience for both parties.

But I am grateful to have had the chance to see the Harriers. They are bigger than I had expected, around as large as a Buzzard or maybe a tad larger. They skim across the top of the reed beds in a graceful, very purposeful way that really is poetry although I doubt that their prey species would describe it thus.

I see the US Energy Bill has cruised through the Senate, and is the expected catastrophe. Naturally they dropped the bit requiring better SUV mpg and a requirement to cut motor fuel consumption. They also droppped the permission to drill in the Arctic reserve, but that is now expected to be snuck in through the forthcoming spending bill. The whole thing is a massive wasted opportunity, but I guess when the world is looked at through the greed lenses that the Americans seem to constantly wear such issues are invisible.

I think that the Bush administration is probably the best ever recruiter for anti-Americanism, bar none. I'm bloody glad I'm not an American; it would be so shaming.

2005-07-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

What a week that turned out to be! What a sad old test match. I don't really understand how the English bowling attack went from intimidating in the first innings, to rather less effective than an old blancmange in the second. And it seems we have just the one batsman in Kevin Pietersen. Surely we could have put up a rather better show than that.

Still, that seems to be the way of it when we play Australia - at pretty much anything, which is galling to say the least.

In the meantime I have become immersed in the intricacies of permaculture, an holistic approach to living on the planet, and I think that it will inform where we go from here in the rest of our lives. So once we return from Cumbria - where we are off to attend the wedding of a New Zealand friend - there will be an opportunity to start to look in detail where this approach might take us. Right now, however, planning and packing are the order of the day, and then we must go. So there'll be more next week.

2005-07-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

What an extraordinary week. On Sunday we went to Doug's 50th birthday party, and that proved to be brilliant. Great weather, good company, and lots of fun and conversation.

During the week it has also become apparent that there have been late broods of Blue Tits and Sparrows, and one of Great Tits. This is becoming a remarkably productive year for our local feathered denizens. We are very pleased.

Giving up the Seroxat has been harsh. My brain has been short-circuiting to the extent that on several days I have not gone out at all, because it would have been dangerous to drive. However, the good news is that, as the days have rolled by, the frequency and intensity of the 'zaps' has slowly reduced. Now they seem to start later in the day, rather than the instant my eyes open, and are not as debilitating when there is a rush of them.

On the other hand I have been emotionally all over the place, veering from grumpy, to tearful, to broadly hilarious, and then effectively numb. The anxiety knot returned with a vengeance to start with, but is now just a quiet echo in the background.

So although I am not out of the woods quite yet, I appear to be heading in the right direction.

Yesterday, I managed something I have always wanted to do, courtesy of Jilly, and was able to spend the whole day in front of the television watching the opening day of The Ashes. It was a gripping day. At stumps, however, I had to ask myself whether the two teams realised they are playing a five day Test match. They went at it like it was a limited over one day game, so with 17 wickets having fallen already in the first day, I can't see this going out much beyond Saturday lunch time.

Then there was the attempted bombing of the Tube and Bus in London - including The Oval! How dare they attempt something like that on the first day of a Test match! It's enough to really piss one off. Argue amongst yourselves over religious beliefs, water, skin colour or whatever, but don't interfere with the cricket. Bloody poor show.

Jilly and I are also thinking of launching a whole new range of car paints. On the journey up to Doug's birthday party Jilly remarked on the 'hideous' colour of a car that we passed. On closer inspection of the other cars on the road it became clear that the one upon which she had remarked was not alone. And clearly they came in several ranges. We identified them as follows:

The Hideous Range - this appears to come as Truly Vile, Metallic Hideous, and Vomit
The Bowel Movement Range - with such notable contenders as Electric Bowel Movement, Frisky Faeces, and metallic You Can Probably Get Pills For That.

So with this market having been identified, we can get on and start some new options for the colour-blind and other unsuspecting victims.

But now I note that there is but an hour to go before the second, and at this rate, last day of the first Ashes Test commences. So I had better put this down and maybe report back later.

2005-07-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

I had a really neat e-mail today from Yvonne and Harry in Venezuela, just checking that none of us were involved in last week's bombing nonsense. It was forwarded on to me from a contact at work. In the process we have discovered that the commpany is actively blocking my e-mail address - in and out. How pathetic.

It's lucky my chum did this for me, since I lost all of my contact information when I was bounced out of the offices that fateful day. I wasn't able to download my addresses from work, and I was unable to collect the charger for my IPaq until a fortnight later. By then the bloody thing had run out of battery and lost its mind, so I was rather knackered for contacting anyone. Happily I think we may be able to start re-constructing things - and this time its going into a book so that there can be no issues of running out of memory.

I have now run down the Seroxat to nothing at all, and I am getting the neurological sequelae from that. This stuff really is poison. I feel mentally fine, but keep getting these 'zapping' sensations which render me momentarily out of control of my limbs. Most alarming. So I shan't drive at the moment, until this phase passes. But one thing is certain, I'm not having anything more to do with that stuff, or its relatives. Despite what they say, these things really can be addictive, because when you stop them you do suffer a form of cold turkey and there is a great temptation to restart to stop the symptoms. In my book that falls into the category of an addictive substance.

2005-07-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

I must say I am amazed with the progress the police appear to have made in such a short time in their search to find those responsible for the bombings last week. It seems that the perpetrators are spattered over bits of London. I suppose there is a kind of justice to that. But who recruited them, and why on earth did they sign up to be suicide bombers.

I can sort of understand the Palestinians doing it, given their appalling treatment at the hands of the Israelis, but guys from Leeds? There are clearly some sick and twisted bastards out there, beyond the ones in corporate boardrooms. But I guess that the second helps to beget the first.

Here we had fun and games on Monday when our neighbour Simon, who is a sad but large individual, prone to bullying all those that will allow it, decided to try and bully the MD of he local business park adjacent to us. When he became really threatening, the MD decked him. Respect!

Old Bill are not pressing charges. Quite right, because they wouldn't have a prayer of getting a conviction, given Simon's record of threatening behaviour. Now, perhaps, we can get him off the site, although his old man, who owns the site, is terrified of him, and afraid he will come back and murder the family. Simon has apparently threatened him with a shotgun in the past. He really does need help, but of course doesn't think there's anything wrong with him so will accept none. A shame for all concerned.

Meanwhile, we appear to have a second brood of Great Tits and Blue Tits with us, so this really is turning into a fantastically productive year.

2005-07-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

Obviously we have been cursed by the Chinese, for we are surely living in 'interesting times'. The blood thirsty nutters of Al Quaeda murdered a 100 or so (which looks likely to be the final figure) innocent people on Thursday and mangled and maimed many more. Apparently this strikes a blow for the 'nation of Islam'.

However, it is clear to me that the majority of muslims want nothing to do with these plonkers. They would be more accurate if they were to say they had struck a blow for the tribe of islamic psychopaths, and not try and drag the rest in to their twisted view of the world.

I agree that the Iraq war was an equal travesty, but this sort of thing doesn't actually improve the situation, or address the central issues. I guess what needs to happen in the first instance is for there to be an Islamic Reformation, and a real shift towards democracy in the wider islamic world. In this latter, although it really pains me to say it, Bush has a point.

The G8 statement was a pretty limp affair, although many commentators seem to have welcomed it, and Tony Blair has gone up in my estimation for a number of reasons, the fact remains that the Americans have once again contrived to torpedo a wonderful opportunity to get things rolling for the benefit of all. But there we are, I would expect nothing less of the Americans. What a benighted country.

Here I had a farewell drink with the crew on Thursday night. They are a grand bunch and I miss seeing them each day. Since my summary 'execution' a new regime has been implemented, and they have been told that they must smile more, and if things don't 'improve' the whole department risks being wound up by Christmas.

What nonsense. This dictat comes from the US offices who in my considerable experience couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery if you gave them a can opener and a book of instructions. Because they are unable to sell effectively, or manage projects properly, it is apparently everyone else's fault. So, as the bosses seek to weasel out of the consequences of their own ineptitude, they have to make it look as if they are doing something to 'aggressively address' the problems. This means that senior management at PAREXEL doesn't get rid of them, well not yet anyway.

But it's only a stay of execution, because they have clearly destroyed the morale at Creative Services. In due course they will resort to more serious bullying tactics as things continue to go wrong and indeed get worse as people will not willingly go the 'extra mile' so get projects out of a hole. Then the experienced people will leave and the whole thing will collapse in blizzard of acrimony and accusation.

The whole thing is underpinned by some fundamental consequences of American corporate 'culture' (sorry for the oxymoron). A flexible labour market in their terms means being able to hire and fire people at the drop of a hat. This leads to a climate of fear and intimidation which leads to people always seeking to cover their backs and point the finger at others. This leads groups to shelter behind 'Standard Operating Procedures', and thus creativity is stifled since stepping out of the bounds of the prescribed way of doing things could mean going home unexpectedly early without a job any more. Thus the 'flexibility' in treating the work force ultimately backfires. And they want this imported into Europe! Bugger off, I say.

It was summed up for me a couple of years ago when I discovered that the Americans have an 'employee appreciation day'. What do you do the other 364 days, chaps? Every day should be an employee appreciation day, after all, who's doing the work?

2005-07-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

So London has won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics. I can't decide what I think about that, except to reflect that the amount of newsprint devoted to the Millenium Dome was extraordinary. Which means, given the relative size and complexity of that compared to the Olympics, Finland had better start planting a lot more trees for the extra paper that'll be required. It's a shame the French didn't get it. They could do with the work (ow, but it's irresistible to poke fun at the French, and in any event traditional).

Willem appears to be a happy chap and has a girlfriend. I hope it won't interfere too much with the work he's going to have to do over the next two years, but of course I know that it will. Being a dad proves to be much more tricky than one ever imagines, and I hear myself saying the same things my old man said to me. I know it shouldn't come as any surprise, but it brings me up short every time it happens, still.

Of course, I am waiting with baited breath for the statement on climate change from the G8. Lord May from the Royal Society was fairly clear about what he thinks is required, which accords with the views of the Scientific Academies of all G8 nations and those of India, China, and Brazil. Naturally it is only George Bush and the pork barrel boys of the US Congress and Senate who say the science isn't there yet. A clear demonstration of the power of greed, good Christian boys and girls that they are. The spokesman for the Energy Agency is'very worried' for the future of the planet if urgent and immediate steps aren't started off right now.

And what happened to Summer? we are now in our eighth day of leaden skys and cold winds. It's costing a fortune in bird seed as the feeding stations in the garden have become the sites of frantic activity. Mind you we have contributed to the successful rearing of five or six Starling broods, three Blue Tit broods, two broods of Great Tits, one of Nuthatches, and four or five of Sparrows. A lot of the kids are still coming round even now. And then we have a pair of Goldfinches and a pair of Bullfinches. So it has been a successful breeding season for the birds, despite having, now, some dozen or more cats now living in the immediate vicinity.

The cats keep trying to sneak up on the birds, but letting the dogs out on a regular basis keeps the cats on their toes, and although they constantly try so far they have been unsuccessful in killing any of the kids we have helped rear. Long may we continue to succeed.

2005-07-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Well, the Live 8 at the Eden Project in Cornwall was just spectacular. I've been to a few gigs in the half century or so that I've been on the planet, but this far and away the best I have ever attended. It really was Africa talking to the 'West' (or however you choose to define it), and in my experience nothing matches it. The setting, the ambience, the energy, and the performances were, well, something like sublime. I can't find a word that really captures it all.

The people of the Eden crew, and Tim Smit, Peter Gabriel, and all the others who gave their time for free and created such a magnificent, evocative, mesmerising gig, are also true, professional performers. For what it's worth I congratulate them upon an extraordinary achievement which they contrived to pull together in just a fortnight (give or take). Unprecedented I am sure.

At the top is Geoffrey Oryema, who, according to Peter Gabriel, was rather nervous coming on because his band hadn't been able to get there so he was going to do a set with just acoustic guitar. I can't see why, he was terrific. Mind you, the Cornish are generally a friendly bunch, unless you're an arrogant shit in which case beware, and he got a seriously warm welcome, seemed to relax into it, and gave a brilliant virtuoso performance.

And when the crowd went nuts for more at the end of the set, he blagged Peter Gabriel to do a duet with him, which was inspired.

Meanwhile, I have heard from Nick in Oz and he's sent a whole bunch of pics, which I'm hoping he'll identify when he gets back because they're very intriguing.

Well after all this I do hope the G8 effectively address the questions posed because I suspect that the natives are going to get restless in due course and then the solids are likely to get fan driven if they try and ignore us again. The fun and games have now begun in Edinburgh, and apparently the demonstrators have been carrying stones, 'staves' and 'other' non-lethal 'offensive weapons'. That's according to the Police Chief in charge of security.

Well, if the BBC news is anything to go by the stones and staves came from the municipal flower beds when the demonstrators were baton charged. And the 'other' non lethal 'offensive weapons' were geraniums. What's with the batons and body armour guys? Geraniums do smell a bit, but really.....!

2005-07-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

Well, there's going to be a small hiatus in this for a day or three, since I am off to Eden in Cornwall for the Africa Live 8 concert. My oldest friend snagged two tickets and his darling missus awarded me her ticket. I shall, of course report back. The question iswhat clothes to take, since this is England and the weather could therefore be anything.

I go with my heart singing, because I have heard from my eldest, Nick, who is in Australia and, being a bloke, is rubbbish at communication, so it's great to know that he is well. I suppose it's no worse than it ever was in the sense of not hearing so often from someone who is far away, but one becomes spoiled by e-mail and mobile phones, and the current ease of global communication.

The poor old spaniel has been suffering in the heat we've had iin the last few days, since his heart isn't working so well any more. So it's down to the vet before I head for Cornwall, for a second diuretic injection to try and lower the fluid load. The weather's much cooler now, and that is clearly helping.

Meanwhile our daughter, Cariad, has moved out for the fourth time, and we await to see how long she makes it this time. The situation is keeping us all amused, and I must say that she takes our ribbing in very good part.

And finally I note that the Italians are more than a little ticked off with the Americans, who have been practising their 'extraordinary rendition' in Italy (you know, where they lift some poor sod off the street and fly him or her out to some benighted ally that practices torture). They lived in expensive hotels and used ordinary mobiles and land lines to communicate, and then lifted this Imam from Milan and send the poor bugger to Egypt for torturing.

In the process they completely buggered up the Italian investigation and the cell they were tracking thus escaped. So they have issued warrants against 16 CIA operatives for kidnapping. The Italian government is seriously pissed off, not least at the sheer arrogance and unprofessionalism of those people.

Right. To eden and don't spare the hamsters.

2005-06-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

Cor blimey! How I found time to work at all beats me. There seems to be an endless string of things to do, to the extent that getting to write this on a regular basis is proving a bit of a challenge. And I started out wondering what I was going to do with my time. Shoot. How wrong you can be.

The spaniel continues to educate me in the art of stick throwing, and how to create your very own wood yard in the dining room. He has also given some fascinating demonstrations of how to reduce recalcitrant sticks to chippings, using very blunt teeth (well he is very old now - probably about 96 in human years).

Meanwhile on the window here, I have my very own life drama being played out, as a spider hunting solitary wasp seeks out a little zebra spider which, in turn, is aware of a daddy long legs that is twatting about in the corner. Actually I don't think any of them will find one another, although the crane fly may well blunder in to the spider I suppose. They're not awfully bright.

Now to mow grass. You see, there's just no time.

2005-06-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

I see that Tony Blair is finally displaying 'intense irritation' with George Bush regarding his intransigence over global warming and the forthcoming statement from the G8 meeting next month. Wow. I've been intensely irritated by the little weasel for years, as are millions of others in the rest of the world.

US policy on pollution and global warming is disgraceful. And it must be perfectly clear to all that this is a direct consequence of the pork barrel politics the US people permit to go on. Sadly it is the other 96% of the world's population that will suffer, whilst US citizens pamper themselves with the fruits of consumption (25% of the world's resources). Yet the US expresses puzzlement as to why they are disliked in the wider world. I guess it's because they don't really know.

US journalism is extremely poor quality for the most part, and little news of any worth appears on the news channels. Michael Moore has, however, already exposed the parlous state of political debate in the US, and the covert censorship that occurs in the media, so someone might wake up soon. Let's hope it's not too late for the rest of us.

Still, the rest of us can at least get on and do what we can, and in the first instance we are now actively working to make this as low a carbon footprint household as we can. This is a complex proposition, of course, because it means that we need to examine every aspect of our lives, but it's surprising what one can come up with.

Mind you hare-brained can also emerge, I discovered, as I speculated whether I could use the spaniel for electricity generating purposes. He needs a stick thrown about every four minutes it seems. I speculated that if I could somehow hook him up to a generator his irrepresibility would probably power a small village. I think the only down side would be the cost of bonios.

On the other hand, changing our shopping practices to pay much more attention to issues of Fair Trade and where things have come from - flying green beans from Kenya is just silly and very carbon intensive - does make a difference.

Trying to actively employ biofuels would also be a good move, but getting hold of them is near impossible at present. I see that many European countries are making efforts in that direction, but I assume that finding space to grow the feedstuff is tricky because of food farming requirements. Perhaps if the subsidies that are given for food production, skewing the agro-economy and disadvantaging the developing world, were given for bio-fuel feedstuff production, then we might achieve two beneficial things. But I don't suppose the oil companies would like that, which means the US will seek to slow things down as much as they can.

Funny, isn't it, all the talk about Free Trade and flexible labour markets, doesn't mean fair trade and and a better deal for 'workers'? Not surprisingly the US and Euros get very sniffy when the logical interpretation of free trade is raised and someone wants subsidies removed. They only like it if it means someone else's tarrif barriers are removed. Meanwhile the elctorates sleep walk to the demise of the planet, while the West sucks it dry and befouls it, drugged by the morally bankrupt philosophy of consumerism.

Actually, I find I am ashamed to be a human. Our species wreaks so much havoc and suffering on the other organisms in this world. And all in the name of profit and 'progress'. Apparently it doesn't matter because we are divine and they aren't. What stuff and nonsense. If God created the world then everything in it is divine and should be respected accordingly. If not, then we behave like astronauts who can't be arsed to take the time to work with their spacecraft, and for convenience just rip it up and crap at will. Would we have sympathy for them when they started to suffer and screamed for someone to get them out of it? I think we'd find it hard. But in any case there's no-one going to pop out of the sky to save our sorry arses.

Meanwhile, I shall go and make our garden a welcome home for a few small denizens of the land of which I am part. Given we're supposed to be the smart guys on the planet, I suggest we each have a direct responsibility to support the other life forms who, in turn, support us. Creating havens, however small, is one thing we can all do.

2005-06-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

This is something of a novelty, for I actually have sufficient time on my hands to be able to have a blog at all. Finally, at the grand age of 53, I have the opportunity to create yet another new life for myself, having been made redundant by a US Corporation (in the brutal way that US corporates seem to have perfected). It was a startling experience to find that after 30 years in continuous work I apparently had no value, but I understand that in the bid to cut costs to satisfy the venture capitalists and shareholders, sacrifices had to be made. I've never been a sacrifice before. It's not an experience that I would recommend.

Now, I recognise that I could, at this point, panic and rush to the nearest job centre, but that's not going to happen. First off I am taking a month off to do nothing and so to become a human being, which will be an important change from a human doing. And so there will be time for contemplative thought and we'll see what emerges.

However, some things are pretty clear already. I will not rejoin the corporate world. The legal idea of the embodiment of an organisation as some sort of being - as in corpore - leads to an interesting proposition it seems to me. For having watched a number of corporations operate, from inside and out, their behaviour, in a human, would be described as psychotic.

This leads to a rather scarier notion. For, as anyone can see, globally politicians are increasingly influenced by corporations and corporate interests. The most glaring example is in the US, where corruption of the body politic is endemic. It really is very rich for a country that has moral values that require the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley, to lecture the Africans on business ethics. What ethics? Robert Mugabe and George Bush are as bad as each other, they're both corrupt, they both implement their self-serving policies with violence, they don't care how many people get hurt in the process. The only difference is that Mugabe doesn't have WMD.

Thus endeth the first rant of the day.

So the scary notion is that, slowly but surely, global politics becomes the instrument of business, at which point we cease to be people. We become 'Human Resources' - notice that personnel departments are a thing of the past. I fear for our children's future. Something needs to be done. I wonder what?