2009 — 28 April: Tuesday
More rain later today, I'm told, though we may fit in a walk on Wednesday. Meanwhile, tonight's picture of Christa and Peter is from about 1982:
Bath-times were often a cue for a mixture of giggles and a great deal of splashing. That was "Mr Fish" between them, by the way. (An LCD thermometer.) And a mechanised turtle who was not much of a swimmer. (I forget his name.) All good, clean, fun.
G'night.
Slavonic dance #1
Greets my bleary-eyed start to the fresh, and remarkably sunny, day at 08:25. You know what I need? I need a Goblin Teasmaid!
Sad to say, I see our wonderful Home Office is running true to "Phorm":
Fascinating though the Wizard of Oz is, I'd tuned in to hear about broadcaster Andy Kershaw. The web site also states that the Kershaw programme is "on air now". Technology, heh? Meanwhile, this is completely outrageous (and depressing). I'm going out for some fresh air!
Back, in good time for "lemonses"
Either everyone is already stricken with swine 'flu or early on a Tuesday is a jolly good time to nip down into Southampton. Speaking of infection, I noted yesterday (while half-listening to a programme trail for — I suspect — this) that some 7,500 new "software germs" are now appearing daily, and that it is now essentially impossible for Mr Joe Public to keep his PC healthy.1 That would (perhaps) explain why my chosen antiviral tool keeps reminding me every day to download and install the latest update2 despite my having done so three days ago as soon as the first reminder showed up.
Ignoring the weather...
... me and my main co-pilot will be off in search of an afternoon cuppa, and damnation to all viruses. (The bulk of the nation's main half-hour news broadcast, and a slightly disturbing amount of passing [as it were] of anti-viral bucks from pillar to post.) Still, it's more interesting as a topic than MPs' expenses. Just so long as it doesn't turn out to prove Charles Eric Maine was accurate in writing his 1962 novel The darkest of nights. I can't now remember when I first read this, but it was many years before I eventually picked up a multi-hand SFBC hardback of it in June 1981. Oops. Just stumbled across Galactic Central. Nice.
Had a chance to study a police speed trap this afternoon, near the "Keats" restaurant but after a busy tree surgeon had slowed us all down to a crawl. Luckily, therefore, I was still driving slowly enough not to have to worry (as I always do, of course). It's 17:52 and the weather is taking a turn for the wetter (Christa would have appreciated that one, and given me a big smile as a reward).
Having spotted the most distant Gamma Ray Burst, will anyone in Whitehall dig a little something out of their £800,000 booze cabinet, do you suppose, to toast NASA's Swift satellite? Might take their minds off swine 'flu and housing allowances...
Stinky journalism...
I never knew the late (and, in my opinion, great) Stephen Jay Gould had set this up.