2013 — 28 July: Sunday
It would seem1 many of my neighbours are either all singing their lungs out in church on the anniversary of Bach's death or (more likely) are away from base in full-on bucket and spade mode at the side of the sea. I'm not complaining. I've got "places" of my own that will need some spadework to explore. (Example.)
I've been saying and thinking...
... this for years, but less amusingly. Source and snippet:
What a disaster for shareholders and building society members, as well as customers and social justice, if that's the case; if all of our financial institutions are being led in nude
mediocrity by little emperors declaring: "If you want clothes like these, you've got to pay! Financial crisis, you say? Just think how much worse things would have been left to the kind
of chump who will work for six figures."
It's a striking contrast to how MPs talk about their pay. Chastened by the expenses scandal, they jostle to express their revulsion at any talk of a raise. They don't tend to say: "If
you don't pay top dollar, you won't get the best people." Perhaps that's because it's too obvious that we won't and so we haven't.
Having just caught...
... a soundbite asserting that the UK migration figures are at best merely a "best guess" I wandered over to that totally apolitical authoritative guvmint data source, the ONS. They, at least, know of what they speak. Typical example: "Country of birth cannot change over time (unlike nationality) and so those born outside the UK represent a stable definition of a migrant." Logical, Mr Spock. Glad we cleared that up. Or do they mean that migrants were born in stables?
As I was...
... nibbling steadily away, not only at my late, but delicious, chicken salad lunch, but also at my "Late Junction" backlog, I was disappointed to learn that one of the presenters (Verity Sharp) has now moved on. No longer news, of course, to anyone except me. Meanwhile, as I sense the end of the present fairly concentrated batch of e-Bookery I've been indulging in, I've also just allowed a credit card briefly off the lead... for long enough to ensure my continued supply (though not for a couple of months yet) of both "Bones, Season #8" and "The Mentalist, Season #5". And — following the suggestions of Chris and Gill last Thursday — I also gave in and bought the final Season of "House". How bad does it have to be to be worth less than £8-75 I wonder?
I expect I shall soon find out. [Pause] I've also exchanged emails with my ex-ICL chum Ian who is thinking it's time for my next visit. Last time I was there (with two rather worn front tyres to my [dis]credit) I nearly got stuck on his slippery muddy drive. Not a problem for his heavyweight Volvo estate, but much more nearly a deal-breaker for my little Toyota Yaris. I've told him:
You guarantee the jam and ham for a sandwich, and I'll nip out and siphon some petrol from the cars parked on every neighbours' driveways.
I jest.
Of course, having brushed the moths out of my credit card holder, how could I resist a few bytes of music? Namely, the new Judy Dyble album, and a remastered version of the first album from Country Joe and the Fish?
I'm so fickle!
Belatedly acting on a hint received a day or so ago, I have expunged the "X-plor" App from the phone, and replaced it by "ES File Explorer" on both the phone and the Tablet PC. It's the work of (a period of time less than it takes to boil my kettle for the next cuppa) mere moments to introduce both devices to my Synology NAS and I now have access to all my file shares on the internal network. Mind you, the (14th) beta of VLC player still has a few steps left to travel.