2009 — 5 June: Friday
Friday again already. For my evening film I watched a Blu-ray copy of "Rising Sun" that was delivered earlier in the day. Can't say I was impressed with the "dazzling, unparalleled picture quality"! I've updated my simple list of videos, by the way.
How about another photo of Christa? This one shows her with niece #1 in April 2007. The water in the background is the Solent at Lepe country park.
Christa and Michelle in April 2007
I'm actually discussing the possibility of having Michelle's company on a trip up to the Midlands. She's currently living in, and I presume working in or near, Hammersmith. Meanwhile, I have lunch with Len to look forward to later today.
G'night.
It's a new...
... and somewhat cooler, cloudier day. Nothing wrong with that. At 09:08 I'm listening to Desert Island Discs and a Countess I've never heard of (whose "Mummy and Daddy were spies", it seems). What a diverse world.
I'm not absolutely certain I ever gained a firm grasp of the German sense of humour. Having correctly answered the Pub Quiz on the online "Der Spiegel" site I soon found myself down the rabbit-hole:
New business ideas are cropping up, providing ways for budget-conscious Americans to earn a quick buck.
Phil Maher, who runs the Web sites bloodbanker.com and spermbanker.com, which feature information on how people can earn extra income by donating blood and sperm, says that traffic to
his sites has grown by 50 percent and 80 percent respectively in recent months. Men, he says, are mainly donating sperm. "You can donate every two to three days, twice to three times a
week if you're lucky," Maher told the news agency AFP. "Three times a week, $100 per donation — with a year's commitment it can get really interesting."
Meanwhile, to lose three cabinet ministers1 in three consecutive days must surely be some sort of record. Interesting times. And is this our own version of Florida's hanging chads?
Back...
... from a quick "whizz" down into Southampton to pick up a "giveaway" copy of Bulgakov's Master and Margarita for niece #1 and a couple of cheap Blu-rays — I'd spotted these yesterday but since they wouldn't let me access my list (even though they were browsing Amazon from their till at the time in search of an obscure book) I wasn't absolutely certain I hadn't already got one of the titles on order. I'm still discovering new ways in which being able to drive is a personal benefit — no wonder Christa enjoyed it so much. It's 11:30 and I've been idly listening to a BBC Radio 4 programme all about miniskirts. Makes a change.
And back again...
... from an enjoyable chatter over lunch. Now then, where the devil was I and what was I up to? Time (13:36) for a cuppa, that's for sure.
I do always so enjoy evidence of an incisive mind at work:
One senior police source said: "If someone has claimed £10,000 to clean a moat and used the money to get the moat cleaned, that is not fraud. If he has used the money for something else, or claimed it for a mortgage that doesn't exist, that obviously needs investigating."
And they say Justice is blind. Mind you, browsing around for that little image led me to Eisenhower's archive. And some fascinating quotes. (I have a particular fondness for "Ike" as he's the only US President ever to have written personally to me. Mind you, he's the only US President to whom I've ever sent a sprig of white heather for luck. Almost exactly 50 years ago.)
I try to remember to clean out my Google mail's spam box every day. It's a pretty dispiriting business with the emphasis very much on various pharmaceuticals that will unfailingly allow me to bring pleasure to my sexual partner, and/or lose weight, and/or sport an impressive fake watch. I must have left it for about 36 hours as I have accumulated a noisome heap of 40 emails, but the subject of one finally made me smile — "Turbines for your meat jet" — must be my nascent inner aeronautical engineer.
Harriet Harman is getting deliciously flustered in a live interview. Cool. (Well, uncool, actually.) And Gordon Brown has been blaming all his woes on external forces. Last night's film (Rising Sun) has that wonderful line about "fix the problem, not the blame". Tonight's "Any questions" should be interesting...
It was... but not nearly as interesting as the superb 90-minute documentary looking at the history of "Island Records". What an incredible line-up of talent. Amazing.