2012 — 6 September: Thursday
I toddled off to bed, setting my subconscious the task of locating four mislaid volumes. And I found all four, parked on the same shelf, less than a minute after I started my search this morning. Wonder how that works? It would be more useful if I could harness it consciously rather than setting it running as a detached background batch process overnight!
Now that the (minor) hurdle of the car's service and 'MoT' is, erm, hurdled I can relax on the nursery slope down to the weekend.1 Yesterday evening's pixel display was the fourth episode of "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" — I'm not sure it's an authentic template of the 'ancient' world, but the behaviour on display was thoroughly and repulsively 'modern'. As I remarked to Mike (who lent me the series) "I, Claudius was never like this!"
Meanwhile, as a gentle piece of C# minor Scarlatti was rippling nicely in the background, Big Bro sent me a magazine article featuring a photo of newly-wed niece #4...
...as she goes about her gladiatorial anti-submarine warfare duties somewhere on a vast three-week multi-national fleet "Exercise RIMPac" in Hawaiian waters. When I was her age, the nearest I had got to such 'fame' by that point was to have had the front covers of several of my books featured on the front cover of an ICL annual report :-)
How very far my path in life has diverged from that of Bro and his family.
Time for a refill, Mrs Hubbard? Your cupboard's looking a little sparse. And I've enough time before my lunch date.
[Pause]
Bang go another few pennies
I've just ordered a replacement sliding patio door. I can't continue to kid myself that the nylon runners on the present one aren't (after 31 years) feeling their age — I know the feeling.
Lunch having been lunched, topped off by another visit to Carlo's ice-cream establishment, and an amiable — if esoteric — chat having been chatted, I'm back at Technology Towers in time to correct the spelling of "Hawaiian". It's 16:20 and is still very pleasant out there.
Planning regulations on...
... home extensions are being relaxed for three years in another attempt to kick some life into the "economy". Let's see what the unintended consequences2 of that little venture will turn out to be. After all, the Local Guvmint Association reckons there are already 400,000 prospective homes with planning permission so where does the boy Dave get the idea that it's the bureaucracy holding everyone back? (Link.)
It's time (20:30) for...
Today's mystery object
In thumbnail form...
And if you need a bigger clue.