2013 — 14 May: Tuesday
I find Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" rather too Imperial for my half-a-grapefruit and initial cuppa taste of a morning. But then I am a proud and fully paid-up member of the grumpy1 squad. Half way through May, nearly, and the next batch of Microsoft security patches, no doubt. Come on. How does that happen?
I'm in no hurry...
... to have a "smart" meter fitted:
Smart meters are also supposed to drive down energy costs by making it easier for us to change suppliers. That is, so long as those suppliers are happy to rent the smart meter fitted
by our last supplier; otherwise, they'll have to fit a new meter, with the associated costs.
So the cost of smart metering won't appear in the government budget because it will be met by suppliers. They'll pass those costs on in higher energy prices to us, so perhaps smart meters
will drive down consumption after all.
Besides, last time I read anything about them it was suggested their "real" purpose was simply to make it much easier for our benevolent leaders to institute rolling electricity blackouts... I note the (one-page) Department of Energy and Climate Change (when did that happen?) Smart Meters Programme Delivery Plan makes no mention, unless the acronym IHD is significant. It's not defined, though bullets #3 and #4 cover a multitude of potential sins. (Link.)
While I concede...
... it's a bit early to suggest that this...
... is the best film I'll see this year, I'd say it's in with a definite chance. Thanks, Mr Postie.
My odd memory tells me I've not read anything by Stanley Fish since a book of his that I picked up in "October Books" on my last-ever visit there with Christa quite some time ago. Today I've just read his opinion piece about the NRA, though I wearied of making my way all through the many comments it's attracted. Source and snippet:
But on the other hand, the American tradition of accepting the results of elections — even when they bring with them policies you believe to be misguided at best and disastrous at worst — is in danger of being undermined when groups of armed people decide that the present leadership is infected by unpatriotic, socialist ideas and must be resisted at all costs.
I've never understood the problem with 'socialism'. And patriotism is, famously, the last2 resort of a scoundrel.
John Cooper Clarke talking about Salvador Dali... magical radio! (Link.)
A mere...
... pair of reboots, some 230MB or so of freshly-debugged code (I hope!) and a new, improved Win8Pro is back in business. Meanwhile, the rain that has been a major feature of the last half day or so has at least seen to the otherwise unpleasant task of removing the caked guano from one of my two wheelie bins — the one more or less in direct firing line (as it were) underneath the long since unused large FM 10-element antenna array that was a very early addition to the house back in 1981.
In fact, now that I've also just pulled the i-Can HD digital terrestrial TV/radio from my system3 I've finally removed any further dependency on the Isle of Wight transmitter (except for my bedside radio/alarm clock and what was Christa's kitchen radio on the windowsill) for as long as that cluster of geo-stationary satellites we owe to Arthur C Clarke's bright idea stays safely up there.