2012 — 22 June: Friday
The choice of "news" items this morning1 seems to have been made with the intent of maximising what was known in IBM circles, at least, as 'FUD'. Recall Mencken: The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed — and hence clamorous to be led to safety — by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
This morning's hobgoblinnery includes the down-rating of the creditworthiness of three of our banks (including two of mine), the problems posed by excessive immigration, and the wisdom (or otherwise) of revealing the five genetic mutations that would make avian 'flu transmissible through the air we breathe.
The interrupt-driven confrontational style of the 'interviewer' irritates me immensely, too. Back to Radio 3.
With a little...
... something for the weekend safely tucked into what (for want of a better term) I think of as my kitchen storage facility I can turn my attention to more urgent matters: my next cuppa, and some breakfast... says he, realising as he types that he forgot the two cereal items that were on the mental "top up" list.
I arrived back...
... from a little expotition to windy city (aka Soton) clutching the book on the left...
... and just in time to intercept Mr Postie before he tried to jam the DVD on the right through my letter box. The book is a long overdue sequel to half of "Zones of Thought" (which I bought in January 2011 to replace the copy that Junior had filched of "A Fire upon the Deep").
Into the life of...
... every domestic god (such as myself) lurches, from time to time, the task of taking out, and then cleaning out, the dreaded U-bend under the kitchen sink. Not my favourite task, but a chap has to do what a chap has to do. And then remember to put it back, of course. [Pause] Done. And even tightened up. Ever onward.
I'm guessing this must be the summer solstice, near as dammit. Which means, of course, that it's now downhill (as it were) all the way to Xmas :-)
It's only 21:58 but I can barely keep my eyes open. Some part of which is pollen-related, I suspect.