It's Like One Of Those Old B&W Silent Movies

 I thought we'd have a car crash with the current government and we'd just full speed drive into a wall or off a cliff, that sort of thing.  It actually feels like I'm watching a twisted macabre clown show, all psychedelic and almost unbelievable as it all starts to unfold.

Think of Buster Keaton in that famous scene when his car hits a bump in the road and all the bits fall off the car.  Laurel and Hardy too made a similar film scene.  But perhaps the best is the Laurel and Hardy where they and a protagonist destroy each others cars.  Each takes a turn to rip of a mud guard, smash a light until there is next to nothing left.

That's where we are right now.  The whole show is falling apart and there's no coherence to their policies, there's no combined strategy to deal with the threat posed by Reform who live rent free in everyone's head.  The various factions are all pulling in different directions, nothing is getting done because they do not know how to do it and then Mr. Charisma finds another idea whilst he's having his evening bath and shouts Eureka!  I have the answer.  He's done this a lot in 14 months and as there really aren't any adults around to stop him he declares that Digital ID shall stop the boats and solve everything.  

What planet do these supposed politicians inhabit?  Well I have no idea and this morning the Chancellor refuses to rule out VAT increases or perhaps changes might be the right way of saying it.  Already there is a reason that around January to April every year you cannot get tradespeople.  They know that if they earn over a certain amount tha they have to register and apply VAT.  It's not a level playing field at 20% on top.  I was faced with two quotes and one was around 75% less than the other totally due to the VAT and I spoke to the guy who was VAT registered and apologized that I liked his quote but... He knew straight away and that was a bit sad if you think about it.

I am reminded that this sort of thing has been going on all my life that they tinker with something and the laws of unintended consequences comes back to bite them.  Reviewing the latest stuff coming from the Office of National Statistics - not the headline stuff but the actual data, there's a lot more to be worried about.  The unemployment shows some losses but actually, when you dig deeper you find that state public sector job hires are the only thing that is propping this up and of course it's not real it's just spending more and standing still.  Underneath that in Hospitality (who must be taking a huge hit) and manufacturing likewise bashed about we ONLY lost 50,000 jobs last month!  It's a disaster and benefits etc are astronomical.  If a dummy like me can see it, why can't they?

Ideological theorists cannot understand why their Utopian dreams never come to fruition.  This is why.  I feel a mood in the country that isn't going to take all this nonsense much longer, fed up of being lied to all the time, watching the country go down the toilet telling us they have a black hole in their finances whilst spunking the money on weird stuff, stopping exploiting our own resources whilst happily paying more for them from abroad and with our cost of living going up at far more than the published 3.8% - I'd go 6 to 10% at least.  The price of gas has gone down but because they imposed a market cap everyone is paying far more.  Make it make sense?  It never will because all the departments are pulling in opposite directions.

Mention the Laffer curve and you get blank stares back.  There's not one of these people who has started and run a business, been in high office in a business or held a working tool or done a days work in the real world.  They instinctively know they are right when they are way off beam. 

Anyway, get the popcorn in and watch the bits falling off the car.  They see a shiny new car and we see a wreck.  One of us is wearing rose tinted glasses and It isn't me!  

When You Can Only Do

 As much as you can do and do your best.  Due diligence and research, scenario building and review, perhaps looking at "What is the worse thing that can happen?" 

This stuff is screwing me over and it is because I actually feel a little (not much admittedly) sympathy for this bloke.  It's wearing mightily thin but I have to continue to be professional and measured, level headed etc.  Thirty years ago the bloke would have got a bigger surprise as I took no prisoners when I was younger, it was my job and so many would try  but few succeeded in getting one over on me.

I recall that one of our ladies in the office heard me rip into someone and they said something along the lines of "I hope you don't kiss your children with those lips!"  you can probably understand why.

Now?  I don't want all this hassle and turmoil because some one who has thrown all their toys out of their pram decides that it is my fault and I should be the one who should be punished.  It's a pathetic waste of time, money and resources and wont get us any further along the road to resolving his problems whether they be in his head or elsewhere.  

But you can only do so much.  Thirty years ago Id have this resolved in 30 minutes, now, it will take a little longer as I need to prepare and cover many bases.  

Here We Go Again

 I find myself in "No, I  don't want to go [insert place here]" preferring to sit quietly here and attempt to get my head back together after another disturbed fitful sleep.

My mind, for what it is was, many years ago, was easily able to process such stuff but being an INTJ when I'm older is very different.  With all this nonsense going on with the company and shareholder meeting now arranged but requiring a lot of work to cover all eventualities.  I am not young anymore and so, what happens is a worry and doubt creep in and the self assuredness of my youth is no longer there.  I dealt with far far worse things than this, and to be honest, to lose would destroy the business under someone else's control and I could just walk away but the actual thing is, it's ready to launch, you can almost touch it.  My self assurance comes and goes in what, to me, is an illogical and not usual INTJ approach. 

I am meant to be out to see my friend get appointed to a very high position and I just don't want to go.  I don't want to leave the house much and I am aware that this is a problem that I've had for a number of years now.  So I need to apologise to him and I'll miss the meal I've paid for and all that.  There is no upside to this, it needs resolving and whether or not the current problem can be resolved will probably lighten or darken my overall demeanour.  

This time next week it will all be over for good or ill.  I am in a very strong position but when you are dealing with irrational, non linear, angry and non business like people, anything can happen.  Maybe that's what is gnawing away at me?  Who knows and it taking over my mind or more likely me just making excuses not to see the world is not helping in the slightest.  I had a few walks during the week and perhaps I need to take a few more?  I know that I need to do things but for now I also need to finance doing these (these are business things) and secure the business first and then I can secure myself.  If I can "steady the ship" then there's a secure base to work from.  

 

Worth Repeating I Believe

 The PM who appears to lie more each day now think immigration (illegal that is) can be stopped by making people have some for of 'Digital' ID.  

So here's what I want to repeat - the government and the civil service and all the other public servants are called servants for a reason..  They take our money and work for us and not the other way around and how many more times will it take to wake the public up and say that?  They work for you, not vice versa, they are "THE SERVANTS"!!!

It comes to something where the most outlandish things pass for policy, stuff not in any manifesto and how can someone so utterly despised think that this will increase his popularity.  Honestly, on the street, the man is hated second only to the Chancellor.  

After wasting our money on pointless virtue signalling rather than tackling the utter mess they and their predecessors have made they double down and it is now bordering on theft.  A few billion here and a few billion there just flushed down the toilet all the time.

Here's the thing, they don't even care about it, the way out of this crisis is to spend more, borrow more and spend it on wasted proejcts.

They also think that if you write it down or announce it (generally in isolation of other things that clash with it) that it will magically happen.  I wrote a not that I'd be a millionaire by now and do you think I am?  

Utterly pathetic and hopeless and I'm giving them a big up there using those words!

That Was A Rough Night

Old enough to know that if you have 4 double espressos before 9:30 you probably will have a brain with the synapses firing off.  So three hours after I went to bed I finally went to sleep.  Of course, I was thinking about this damn man who is trying to oust me from the company.

By this morning the notices should have arrived and my take down should arrive today or tomorrow too as planned.

Scenario strategies didn't help but there we are, that's what happens.  You should always, always prepare well for these sorts of meetings and have plans for any gotcha moments.  I have a few of my own but whether or not these are necessary only time will tell.

I do not feel sleepy at the moment but imagine I'll drift off for a short while during the day.

AI - Good To Have It At The Moment

 I use AI quite a bit and it is great to test out your ideas.  This meeting coming up for example, the Agenda, the letters themselves the statements and the procedures required and so once I'd got all that done I thought, let's try and see if there are any "gotcha" moments that could arise indeed there are a few.  four in fact but I'd already worked out two of them but it was good to just see what I may have missed.

There's a lot to think about and do and so the next step is for me to now put together the Agenda and a script plus any "points of order" and then produce something for the fil and then run it through AI once again.

It is interesting that a few points of procedure that appeared to be the easiest bits aren't entirely that easy so - we can have fun I'd suggest in trying a few permutations.  

Where Has This Drop In Brain Power Come From?

 The more I see of this current nonsensical situation I find myself wasting my time, stressing and frankly losing sleep about the more I wonder what on earth has happened to people's common sense? Where the hell did it all go and why are stupid people overpopulating the world?

Maybe it's me but this bloke has some perceived grievance and instead of saying so, talking it out, having it out with me etc., he just spends his time firing off sniping messages via his solicitor and when I offer mediation or arbitration he just doubles down.  That's no way to run a Ballroom ( The line originates from a comedy routine by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, known as Derek & Clive.)

So now, here we are more expense, more fannying around to fight this attack which he hasn't really got a chance of winning and it's just pointless and so not worth it but I have to do this by regulation so I have to go through all of the motions and all of the expense (or rather the business does) to circumnavigate this (Acme) road block.  Think of me as the Roadrunner and not the Coyote in this scenario.

But it isn't just him is it?  I think it can be attributed to so many people who do not seem to "get it"  I, as you know, only watch a few things on TV, Only Connect and University Challenge (forgiving them their occasional Climate Change bolloxs of course).  I watch any decent sport that's on there F1 and Rugby and Cricket mainly - the rest I don't watch because of this craziness we now have to suffer.

Examples:

Leading News Story: "The chancellor might...." that's not news that conjecture

"According to scientist"  Oh FFS what crazy prediction made by computer are they coming up with next?  Excel, the solution to and major problem of the scientific world.

Electric cars are selling to Net Zero targets?  The hell they are, just go and look how many brand new (registered as far back as early 2024) are being sold as second hand with 10 miles on the clock.

The there is the "Expert" brought on to the newscast.  Look who that "expert" actually is.  99 times out of 100 it is someone from a pressure group whose point of view is not balanced.  We see this with all sorts of subjects - as you know I think the climate and environmental lobbies are no such thing, they are not doing the job they purport to.  Look beneath the surface look on the charity or companies house sites and you will see what these people really are, it's an illusion.  The charities are eye watering, look at the CEO salaries for starters and the cost of the board then the staffing costs and the expenses and then look at how much actually gets dispersed - you should be shocked.

 I find this constant blitz of word wars tiresome.  Where have all the Statesmen gone?  20 years ago I'd watch political shows (Robin Day) not everyone's cup of tea but the programme.  You would have some senior politicians of many persuasions argue their case and they'd be respectful, factual (yes I know they are politicians) and whilst they may have wanted to interrupt and make a point (as long as it was valid) there would be disagreement but you never heard the sort of stuff you hear from well everyone these days bandying around insults that they don't actually understand the meaning of, not to make a point but to stop a point being made.  "Far Right!" "Far Left!" "Bigot" "Racist" "Denier" what this does seems to boil down to people who do not have the mental capacity to understand what this actually is.  Your opinion doesn't matter, I for one have been called a denier and a stupid remainer and this by people who describe themselves as the "Be kind" Guardian reading class who, in my humble opinion should now better and act better too.  

I can best sum this up by one of notes above my desk years ago "If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail," attributed to psychologist Abraham Maslow.  For this is the problem I face more often than not these days.  Why people who have a problem exercise extremes of view and action rather than taking a short breath and discussing the problem I don't know.  I have no idea how much this man's subsequent actions has cost him but given the level of anger and vitriol, the legal letters and so on, he must have racked up a grand I'd say.  I surely hope it was worth it as a 5 minute phone call and a met up over coffee would probably have been more productive and a lot cheaper.

That's the modern way I suppose?

Morning Calm

 Having now sent out the forms and resolutions before me.  The chap wants regime change and to kick me out of the business to be replaced by him, this morning finds me a little calmer than I thought I would be.  I suppose because I have sent out everything, made my case and if the truth be known, I'm now kind of glad and let's see what happens.

I also think that the work I have done to argue my response should actually make people wonder what is this all about and as long as they are rational human beings, they will see that something is very very wrong, but that's probably giving people too much benefit of the doubt.

The room is booked and paid for, I only need to work on the Agenda and how the maths work in a case like this.  There you have it.  SO feeling a lot better today and calmer which is good as I have been highly stressed and anxious.

Here is the thing though, I don't really need to be stressed as I actually know what the outcome will be and I just have to be professional for 10 minutes whilst the proceedings happen.  If there's a "gotcha" then that is fine too as nobody wins and I get to demand 9 years effort and watch whilst they squirm to unpick the businesses complexities and work out what they actually need to do to pick up the governance.  

Replacing me with someone who hasn't a real clue (which suggests hidden hands behind the throne) could be joyous to watch especially when they have to get the statutory elements sorted.  If I am dismissed I don't think I owe them anything at all until I get compensated and that, in itself should be most interesting.  

Another Walk Up The Lane

To a different postbox so that I can post the second set of documents to the shareholders.  I posted the notice this morning, they'll get that tomorrow and then the post this afternoon wont go until first thing tomorrow so on Friday my counter arguments will be delivered.

It's been a full on two days but now, once this has gone we have to wait until the meeting to have a vote on ousting me as a director of the business.  What jolly fun this has all been and whether or not it is successful relies on what trap has been set.  I imagine his allies when they actually see my response will need to give their heads a tweak when they see the shenanigans that have gone on (if they are not actually part of the plot of course).  Even those who are will wonder what the hell has transpired and let's see if they are moved by my plight?

Either way, it's been an unpleasant few days and in fact almost a year now and who could have guessed it would lead here?  Well me actually which is why I'd background planned for the event and whether or not I am right time will tell.

All I know is that I am stressed out, annoyed, upset and have a serious headache.  I can do no more other than having to Chair the meeting next week and see what the results might be.

Ouch My Head

 No, not drinking, just working really hard to sort this nonsense out.  Why do people do stupid things?  The trouble is it drains me and I don't go into battle like I used to 20 years ago.  This stuff shakes me up and I suppose it shouldn't.

But what a headache I've got, so much stuff I've had to do once again for no apparent reason.

Whatever Next

 A was watching the rugby when a letter arrived and blow me down if it isn't this bloke,once again, demanding all sorts of nonsense but it caught me at the wrong time and upset me more than I thought it should, it is, after all, only business.  I think that's what they said in the Godfather anyway.  

Accompanied by the usual threats if I don't do this or that I've kind of had enough of it and it really did make me shake and I still am the day after though not as badly as yesterday.  It spoiled the afternoon and the evening and night as I stupidly tried to wash it away with beer even though I know that's not the answer or the solution to it all.  I decided to sleep downstairs so as not to disturb P.  Fitful night and once again, this bloke, what on earth is he thinking he is doing?  I imagine it would actually be harassment the way it is panning out.  If the business gets enough money together then I will get something done about it.  For now, it is ugly, annoying and very upsetting.

I think he is being manipulated or he is ill, one of the two.  The trouble is, its silly, the business is worth nothing at all, not a penny has come in in revenue and there he is being the big corporate bully.

So this morning I've grabbed a coffee and sat out in the sunshine and drawn some deep breaths.  I will just take it easy today and then tackle this latest diatribe tomorrow.  I already know what I have to do, you've guessed it, I had a plan in case this happened and so now to execute that and see what comes next.  I really don't need all this nonsense in my life I am meant to be retired and this is something defaulted to me.  I have to do the right thing but he is free to throw metaphorical rocks at me being the one that caused most of the problems in the first place.

Really? A False Hope, Surely?

 A new massive deal between the US and UK and I cannot help feeling that our government haven't got a clue what it means.

AI Data Centres are massive.  Thinking back to when we used to install midi and main frame computers and server farms the power consumption to run hundreds of thousands of processors and servers is enormous and then you need the air conditioning to keep these things cool.  Top that up with UPS sets and generators and as you might imagine these are significant undertakings and so the headline figure for buying and operating these is in the hundreds of billions.

It's great news of course but, and there is always a but, with the highest electricity prices in the world and a lack of infrastructure let alone the right sort of electricity how on earth is this going to succeed?  These centres take the sort of power a town takes to run and they cannot have any intermittency at all so solar - on when the sun shines and windmills on when the wind blows just aren't going to cut it and the supply whilst it could be run through UPS sets needs proper generation back up.  Not only that, you've got to get the power to where these centres are.

Why build something here that will be 4 times more expensive than building it where they could do?  Subsidies maybe?  

The abyss we are rapidly entering and sinking into is, in some ways caused by the total lack of cheap affordable and reliable energy.  It takes far too long to build the nuclear stations because we no longer just go and build them, there's far too much hesitation and regulation.  The lead times on some of the equipment is also lagging way behind.  We are talking 5 or more years for generation equipment and of course, we no longer manufacture that stuff here in the UK.  Give you a guess where you'd get some though but you'll still have to wait! 

Anyway, having been involved in these areas I'd be very surprised if these appear as they cannot be commercially viable at the moment.  Maybe if there is a change in policy and a proper understanding of future needs we might start to get somewhere but no one seems to be aware of the problems we have.  I imagine that some numbskull minister will proclaim that it all going to work on wind and solar but I'd imagine that unicorn farts are his best bet!

Trades Description

 So, inflation is 3.8%, food inflation 5.1% and our bills for fuel have almost doubled in 5 years.  You notice it too.  Add to that the thieving scheming government of the day are robbing the populace and in return for these taxes, the service we get has almost collapsed.  We've got councillors arguing about greenhouse gases rather than doing their job and looking after the people who elected them and asked them to do the stuff we expect of them.  It is outright theft and non delivery of even the basics that we now pay so much for.

45% of our GDP is public sector spending (I include myself here as a pensioner).  In 20 years the NHS has increased by 90% but probably delivers 90% less.  My old mantra about working life "I always thought management were a punishment from God.  A little later on I was horrified to find that they were actually there to help you!"

There was our local county council yesterday and a protest about them stopping the "investment" in green energy, zero emissions and blah blah bloody blah.  The BBC (of course) had the temerity to cover this and they bigged it up and when we saw the protesters outside County Hall you could count them with both hands and with your shoes and socks off.  And then they were squabbling like kids in a playground.  As I am loathed to say to quite a few people "Grow the f**k up!"  The general level of ignorance is abysmal and then they lecture you about CO2 as if they actually know what they are talking about.  They are seriously deluded and I actually think that they are mentally ill and lack the basic ability to do. like I did, go and read up "The Science" that they use as some form of argument.  "It's the Science don't you know" roll it up tight and shove it up your arse you waste of Oxygen! 

These people wanted to add something close to £15M to our bills so they could virtue signal to the world (I guess) how green we are.  It doesn't make the minutest difference at all.  It just wastes money and requires subsidies to make it work so it costs far more than you save.  It isn't commercially viable and being a narcissistic useful idiot wont actually do anything to achieve what you alone and not the vast majority see as a problem.

Wasting our money on stuff that doesn't do what it says it does, wasting our money on schemes that don't work apart from making rich people richer and paying China for the privilege and all of this complete and utter bollocks isn't doing anything except ruining our country and ruining its people, you know the people who actually have to pay for it rather than the, what is it now, 10 million who are on benefits of some kind or another. It's f**cking crazy.  No wonder people are angry.

You are forced to pay for services and for stuff that isn't delivered in any meaningful way, you then f**k up so badly that our economic outlook is horrendous and tail spinning in to recession, you charge more, we have no choice but to cough up and then you p1ss on our shoes and tell us it's raining.

The state of central and local government is woeful.  When you try and do something about it the hair shirted useful idiots make a bloody nuisance of themselves and chant for things that would send them back to the caves if they were to be accepted.  Stop oil they chant wearing tabbards made from oil!  In clothes and shoes made from oil!  Drinking their Soy Lattes from plastic thermal cups made from oil.  

So yes, where did I start.  Trades Description - protecting for the consumer.  If I buy an Appliance that doesn't do what it says it will do, then I can get my money back and there are consumer guarantees to protect me and my fellow citizens.  If you applied that to our cr@p politicians and councillors you'd get all of your money back all of the time as they cannot run a p1ss up in a brewery and are as useful as the proverbial chocolate teapot!  

And breathe Rant Over LOL....

How's Your Head?

 My head is whirring at the moment and computing away like no one's business.  It does that a lot, it's part of me and I am used to it but it can be both a blessing and a curse.

At present my mind is computing any possibility that the guy who abandoned the business and cut off all channels to talk to him and completely withdrew with a series of threats to add good measure might reappear now that things are about to go live.  It's been a year or a half a year if you consider his legal (not legal) letter.  So hold on, you've done what he wanted, demonstrated that is what he said and that is surely that?  Well, I'd like to think so but I am certain that he needs one more throw of the dice.  If you've ever been at a venue where a drunk rightly gets thrown out you can almost bet that he will come back for a second rant as the anger in him rises.  If I see such behaviour I normally find another exit and go, it's not worth being in the firing line if he does come back.  Walk in the opposite direction even if it takes you away from your desired destination.  Spider senses take over and survival trumps leaving a half drunk beer.

So what am I worried about?  Well it's because people are likely to become irrational when they get all angry and resentful and so when I received the legal (not legal) letter I was pretty horrified that it had escalated on his side to be my fault.  It was pretty much a fabrication and a complete distortion of the truth of the matter and was written in such a way as I knew it was not his idea or him behind it.  Some worm-tongue had constructed a vile attack piece on me and it had the desired effect that these letters do and I was pretty upset about the contents.  I dislike being called a liar, or having my professional reputation called into disrepute.

Of course, when you delve deeper and then see the gaping holes in the argument the hypocrisy and double speak plus the inaccuracies it appears, as it was some desperate attempt to make me do something irrational in response.  Luckily having dealt with sh1t like this for years and years and once I calmed down a bit, I was able to respond with a few facts backed up with documentation and whilst I have had a toned down reply I have not felt it worthy of a response, it is beneath contempt and not worthy of me spending time engaging in something that is, as far as I am concerned done and dusted, over, closed and in full compliance with his wishes.

So why now are the grey cells skipping, jumping and firing off?  I think that as the time nears for the business to commence trading, the chances will be that the red mist will once again take over and the little green genie of jealousy will attempt some other action.  So I am computing all of the stuff once again that I have already done and testing my own biases (because we all have them) and making sure I know where I am just in case.

If you know me, you'll recognize this behaviour and some have warned me about it and forced me to stop albeit that was due to me reflecting on the past and frankly beating myself up about stuff that had already happened, that could not be changed and was in the past and no matter what, that cannot affect the now at all.  So I don't do that anymore but occasionally the past haunts me but only for a short while until I put it back in check.  

I may be worrying about nothing but it is always as well to be prepared.  I fully expect the kickback but the argument was lost a year ago and the only issue now is whether we get the drunk bully coming at me or something equally squalid, vile, hateful and wanting to harm me.   

A Bit Of A Relief

 Well, it has taken 8 years but we actually have an approved App to release to the world.  We aren't going to release it just yet as we want to do more testing ourselves and make sure that it is cosmetically what it should be and as tidy as possible.

It is 11 months since the ugliness of my coworker throwing his toys out of the pram and it would be poetic if I were to release it on the very day but symbolic gesture aside, it would only satisfy my inner ego and he'd not know or I imagine care about that.

So here we are and at last something to throw out there and for the world to make a judgement on as to whether to download it in the first place and buy it in the second.  I don't feel anything at all about it.  No huge joy or cheering or anything else.  I have so many false starts with this including all the marketing which looks particularly stupid as it was leading up to last Christmas and the Christmas before that and the one before that.  So I'm neutral and it will be what it will be.

It's only half of the story though as we commissioned two versions (Apple and Android) and only the Apple is ready.  I very much doubt that the Android will be anytime soon, this time last year when it should have been delivered the developer slipped it 9 months a week before delivery after having been paid extra to get it completed.  Time will tell whether that ever comes about.

For now, we are a little closer to the goal of getting it out there into the wild.  It does need to pay for itself and reasonably rapidly, or of course, it can just fall on its arse and that will be an end to it.

It's Probably Just Me Then?

 Someone just posted a photo stating that a wind turbine in Norway had its blades pained black and it reduced bird deaths by 70%.  It sort of beggars the question why we have things that kill birds (and bats and especially Avian predators) in such high numbers in the first place but progress is progress as we are only killing 30% of those birds now!!  Isn't 30% still too high and as I always say 30% of what?  It's hundreds and hundreds, the blades look innocuous enough but the speed they actually travel is far higher than you'd think.  So I asked Gemini.  It gave this response:

"For large, utility-scale turbines, the tips of the blades can reach speeds of 180 to 200 mph (290 to 320 km/h).

Some of the largest offshore turbines, designed for very high wind speeds, can reach speeds of over 250 mph (400 km/h).

For smaller, domestic wind turbines, the tips travel at a much lower speed, typically around 75 to 100 mph (120 to 160 km/h).

To put that into perspective, the tip of a large wind turbine blade can move faster than many high-speed trains."

Whilst I am on the subject I find the whole language of journalists problematic.  So two words they use are "Unprecedented" (nothing to do with Donald Trump) and "Exponential"

Again, trusty AI states:

Unprecedented means something that has never happened or existed before.

The word literally breaks down to "un-" (not) and "precedent" (a previous example or model), so it describes a situation, event, or action that is entirely new.

The term is often used to describe things that are shocking, significant, or on a scale never seen before, such as:

Unprecedented levels of rainfall

An unprecedented global health crisis

The company saw unprecedented growth in sales.

So now just think about that in terms of the first example because that is where I read it.  Yet, there was nothing unprecedented about it at all.  It had happened in the same area some fifty years prior and some seventy odd years before it as well so it was perhaps once in a generation event but not unprecedented at all.  

Then there is this:

Exponential describes a process of growth where the rate of increase is proportional to the current amount. In simple terms, it means something is increasing at a rapidly accelerating pace. Think of it this way:

Linear Growth: This is a steady, straight-line increase. If you earn an extra $10 a day, that's linear. You're always adding the same amount.

Exponential Growth: This is a doubling or tripling effect. If something doubles every day, it starts small but quickly becomes massive.

A classic example is a single grain of rice on the first square of a chessboard, with the number of grains doubling on each successive square. You start with 1, then 2, 4, 8, 16, and so on. By the 64th square, the number of grains is larger than what the world could ever produce.

So, when someone says they've seen exponential growth, it means the numbers aren't just getting bigger; the rate at which they're getting bigger is also increasing dramatically.

So now go and look at the news and where they describe something as exponential they generally mean fast not linear and yet describing inflation as exponential when it has gone up a lot or population increases isn't really accurate - perhaps for Locusts breeding out of control they'd probably be exponential but it is a lazy term and is used out of context.

I think that is it really, a lazy catch all phrase overused and abused as it doesn't mean what they use it for.

Watch out for those weasel words and those strange benefit claims which now reduce deaths by 70% when really we shouldn't be advocating machinery that causes any deaths! 

Tinnitus Is Back

 I thought I'd gotten rid of this high pitched screeching in my ears and I have not been troubled with it for months but this morning it is back with a vengeance plus the heart beat thumping with it too.  I cannot think of a reason why that might be but perhaps it is the change in the weather - it feels cold and I've had to add a layer (not too cold to put the heating on yet).

Maybe some other reason whirring around in my body or brain?  Who knows?  It is distracting and quite noticeable as it hasn't been there for quite some time.  I will have to work out how to ignore and block it all over again.

Dawning Day's Promise

 After the rain and wind, today dawns bright, sunny, a little breezy and I progress a little more.

Tuesday's routine a cooked breakfast to start and then on with some more work om the App and who knows, it has been resubmitted, we may get a little further and gain a few more ticks in the box towards release.  Once that happens I expect that I will be pretty much full time on selling and marketing (plus any other things that are bound to be thrown up).

I see that as the diversion I probably need and it will be good to get there after 9 years graft and all the brickbats that have been thrown at me. 

Once that is under some sort of control and I have a view on how it is going, then I can work out what I am going to do as the uncertainty of the last few years will be partly (not entirely) gone.  

It feels good this morning and I will leave that here and go and make some breakfast.  

Is It Possible That

 The parasite class are beginning to lose their hold on the sleep walking masses?  I say this as over the weekend there was a massive assembling in London and, as many know you get the odd divot who wants a punch up and indeed 25 were arrested for being Muppets and causing agro.  Rightly so, it was a peaceful protest but if you listened to our parasite overlords they condemned it and the use of the flag whilst commenting that it was (add description here) that these thugs and right wing hooligans took to the streets in support of, let's see shall we?  Well making this country great again and all that good stuff.

The MSM were over the arrests like a rash and yet with upwards of 150,000 in attendance and some say 3 times that amount the BBC could manage "thousands" and many did not show the aerial shots showing a huge throng.  Anyhow, back to the parasites and their reporting.  The furore about 25 arrests is interesting to me as when you look back at the weekend before there were, well.... 890 arrests and at the Notting Hill Carnival billed as a great day out and one of the UK's finest carnival celebrations there were.... 528 arrests, 18 sexual assaults and 46 weapons among those arrested.

The PM also was worried about seizing the flag for some such blah blah.  I don't listen to him anymore, he's toast and we all know what he stands for, yes, nothing at all by the looks of it.

So here we are once again and the chattering metropolitan elite must surely be starting to be rattled by this rising of the hoi polloi. You can hear it in their shrill responses and they condemn and disparage rather than learning the real lessons and addressing those.  They cannot of course, so suckered in to their ideology are they that common sense, management, direction and the like are foreign words to them.  The MSM are reporting these things in such an obviously skewed way and it is, well to me at least, blindingly obvious that there is no balance and that agendas are at play.  The BBC is unwatchable and you have to dodge through the woke crap - so I find that mute the build up and analysis to say the Rugby or Cricket and just go for the commentary if you need to.  It's awful.

The news too is misleading and skewed and am I the only one who paid attention during maths lessons?  The statistics don't add up, the numbers make no sense and just do the sums yourself please.  Then do what I do and avoid the MSM like the plague! 

It was interesting to listen to Allister Heath (Telegraph) explaining the dire financial state we are in and the lack of action that will bring about financial woes similar to 1976.  The rush to bankruptcy is entirely visible and the trouble is the pain we feel today is nothing like the agony we will be feeling when we have to balance the books.  45% of GDP is spent on the state.  I am now one of that 45% as my state pension is in that figure of course.  It is unsustainable and they think that more tax and spend is sustainable.  The debt service costs are eye watering in the tens of billions just to pay off the interest and those interest rates go up as our debt increases.  £3.2 Trillion as I write.  See here National Debt Clock   That amounts to £ 51.693 Debt per citizen and £ 88.913 Debt per taxpayer.

So I called these parasites and here is a general definition: "A parasite is an organism that lives in or on another organism, known as the host, and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host's expense. In return for these resources, the parasite harms the host, though it generally doesn't kill it immediately, instead relying on it for survival and to spread to new hosts."

Sounds so familiar. These ruling classes have fed at the trough for most of their working lives.  They live off of our taxes and are actually meant to serve us but they just rob us blind and waste our money and when they've p1ssed it up the wall they come back to us for more.  They think not a jot for us and treat us as stupid and a cash cow riding rough shod over our wishes.   Perhaps it is time for a massive shock incoming.  Given the dire financial position and the headlong rush to waste our money, I'm looking at you Mad Ed Millipede, spending £32 Bn to put CO2 into the ground with technology that isn't available yet and cutting off our ability to use our own gas and oil (and coal too if needed).  The CO2 thing is hilarious as in a year if the tech works we'd be able to put into the ground about one days worth of CO2.  

We are being governed by lightweight politicians with no real world view and certainly no idea how to run and economy or spend money wisely.  Added they tax the very people who pay them and treat them like sh1t it can only end badly (Ohh I sounded like the Donald there).  

Still the train crashes in slow motion and no one can see it from the government, but we are beginning to see through it all now.

The Art Of Retirement

 Especially when you still have this business that I have ended up running here too.

I've been trying to work on this as I have been retired for two years now but I have also somehow ended up running a business when I thought it would have been up running and sold off by now.  Oh well, here we are I guess.  It's almost there (well half way there) and it's only been 8 or is it 9 years now?!!

That aside, there's been a really bad time for me in terms of settling into not doing things.  The structure of years of habit forming activity means that I still mainly, get up, come into the office and clear the backlog of emails and actions I need to do for an hour or two then go and grab a coffee and on Mondays and Tuesdays, have a hearty breakfast but the rest of the week, these days, I do not eat until around 1 pm a little later if I can so I have just two meals a day.

So perhaps, there is a routine I can play around with but I also have to revolve around P too.  

The current down has also stopped me being Mr. Maintenance and most of that is bloody mindedness rather than apathy although, to be fair, that is also part of the trouble too.  I can see that this isn't a good place to be but sometimes that's the way my mind works when it is riding the black dog and knowing that it isn't the right thing to do is quite different from stopping yourself doing it or changing course.  This not sully self-destructive behaviour is difficult to shake off and difficult to burst through especially when the problem isn't entirely  resting with you.

I watched a YouTube video last night on a chap who had retired and worked his way through this and past all the dreamy half romantic adverts of what retirement looks like.  Yes it isn't every day is a holiday on a Cruise Ship or silver sanded tropical island.  I have to say that I found Mauritius, when we did the trip, not entirely up to the expectations built up of how it would be.  Don't get me wrong, it was nice but it wasn't all you would expect it to be either.

This chap just made use of his time and did things he wanted to do and just enjoyed doing them.  Walks almost every day, Gym trips, Padel (I think it is called) and other things that were habit forming in a different way and so he had time for a coffee (if he was at home) with no phone, no PC, no book even, just time for the coffee and enjoying that.  It was an interesting take on things and worth a look for me especially.  

I tend to work at least 3 or 4 hours every day on the business, it will be a 24 x 7 x 365 operation and whilst I hope that it will not need too much looking after, I need to keep up with it and so, in a way I am training myself to do that.  I have to be careful, once it is launched, not to be running it full time but we will come to that when it is launched (not long now for half of it anyway).

I suppose things will settle down over time and a pattern will emerge, one that I can work alongside rather than full-time on.  I do fancy doing some walks, we are blessed with footpaths here though they can be muddy in places.  I fancy the walk from here to a local hostelry and a nice local beer and then a nice meander home.  It's hard surface on the route I am thinking of and a nice reward at the middle of the walk!  

At least I can see that there is something that I can change to loosen myself from this current situation.  

Time For Rugby And Cricket

 It's the Women;s World Cup Rugby quarter finals and the game has come on in leaps and bounds over the years.  It is fast and entertaining.  Then there's the Cricket and the T20 last night (on the radio) was amazing and watching the highlights it was some game.  There's more Cricket on today too but it is clashing and I cannot listen / watch both at the same time - I do not have the mental acuity to do that.

And, I'm retired so I don't need to do anything else, although I am struggling to put together a cardboard model that my grandson has requested I make him.  It would be round too to make it easier for me.  And where's the craft glue gun?  I have no idea, it isn't where it was left before so I need to wait for assistance to arrive. 

So, time to go and get comfortable now and watch the rugby.  I am in a better place this weekend than I was last and generally feeling lighter and less dark cloud than I have been.  

Losing Power With Aging

 Physically I forget my age (I'm 68 now) and I think I'm 40!  I can happily go and do something not thinking about my age and the next day I am suffering aches and pains and muttering to myself "You silly bugger, you've done it again!" 

Mentally though too the odd word doesn't appear yet you thought it a moment ago and whilst I have never been good at names, sometimes I can see their faces but cannot recall their names.  

So it was about six months ago now I met someone who I haven't seen for a while who was a great speaker and raconteur and witty and filled a room, he's a big chap with a big personality and presence or, rather, he was.  I noticed that he wasn't as steady in his voice or his mannerisms and tripped over the odd word and just appeared slightly less self assured than he has been in the past.  Funnily enough, he said to me that he was "slowing down" and it was quite noticeable indeed.  The old  glint and mischief was still there but his light had faded a little.

I suppose that is true too of me, I am no longer the centre of the room and I suppose I have no need to be as I am no longer in those industries and I have no staff or customers to please so maybe that's what I am noticing.  I used to have a false mask on of course.  No INTJ would be seen dead being the centre of attention unless they had to be and in my day to day job, I had to.

I do find my self belief and self belief challenged now.  Did I "Do the right thing?" and have I got this or that right and generally I do but there's not the conviction there once was, there's a hesitation and self doubt creeps in.  The nonsense with the business is proof in point as I took ages to do what I would in the good old days have done by return in one draft.  I took a full couple of weeks I suppose and even then remained unsure I had done the right thing.

I wonder if we become more cautious as we age, I know I shy away from conflict more now - I mean there's still things that need to be resolved and argued through but it's more the sh1t stuff involved in the business that you just don't need, that's arguing for arguing's sake if you know what I mean.  It drains me but the younger me would have relished the fight and gone in guns blazing but now, not so much.

I'm still a big guy and I imagine that helped intimidate others back in the day but I don't have the wit nor the physical stamina to do that sort of thing these days.  It looks as if you just fade away with this stuff.  

Do You See It Yet? Let's Pull Back The Curtain

 Events are beginning to unravel the deceit and the lies told around the world and maybe, just maybe, the veil is dropping from people's misty eyes and some of the ugly world damage can be seen for what it is.

I've always liked this scene from The Wizard Of Oz.  I imagine you can understand why?

Toto pulls back the curtain and the truth is there to see for us all.  Such is the events of the last few weeks I'd say.  The awful slaying of two quite different people in the US, firstly Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska slaughtered on a Train in Charlotte NC and then the assassination of Charlie Kirk serves to highlight some of the problems we are facing.  Why?  because the keyboard warriors believed they both kind of deserved it!!

Yes, people thought it was OK.  From the passengers on the train to the media classes.  What the hell is wrong with people?  It's gone too far when you actually believe this, surely no one deserves to die for no reason like that and on the eve of 9/11 too, what were you thinking?

Then there's our slip into totalitarianism.  If you are not allowed to criticize or challenge your (elected mind you) representatives then you are heading into the abyss and that's dark and it needs to stop.  The trouble is we can (those of us who are awake) see it and they cannot.  Cognitive Dissonance or blind stupidity.  We have a wishy washy PM who two weeks running has said he had full confidence in quite senior people who next day after he'd said it were both relieved of their duties.  The guy causing huge damage to our energy infrastructure refused to leave his post and the PM did........ yes, noting about that.  I'd have sacked him for not following my orders but then people who worked with me knew that LOL!

The economy is now in the toilet and our prospects are based on people who think you can borrow your way out of debt!  Good luck with that.

I do hope the people who wish ill on the living and the dead will be rightly exposed for what they are and receive the punishment (if that's not too strong or emotive a word) they deserve.  In what civilized society is it acceptable to wish death on someone or rejoice in the political assassination of someone because they don't hold the same views as you?  This should be a turning point in society.  The cynic in me says that we will have the candles and the tweets and the headlines, we will have "Lessons will be learned" and in a month's time we will be back here.  I really hope not, I hope the groundswell sorts it out.

I hear the phrase "did not die in vain" and yet looking at the way we behave I think our veterans and those who went before may well have done so.  

Slagged The Butcher Off and it's Still Early

 Quality of service is a big thing with me.  Customer service goes a huge way to customer satisfaction and for the umpteenth time they failed to deliver yesterday so I was on the system to them and the lady I usually deal with came back quickly and suggested unexpected circumstances prevented delivery.  Then they asked "How did we do?"  

I need no second invitation as those who know me are fully aware.  So I gave them (nicely) both barrels explaining that this wasn't the first time and that they regularly fail to deliver or don't deliver everything I wanted and here's the thing.  If they had proactively said - sorry there's been something unexpected then I'd be OK with that, we all f**k up and it's how you deal with it that's important.

I was writing elsewhere about how I used to tackle these sorts of problems.  I'd quickly evaluate what was about to or had happened and go see the customer straight away with an apology and a plan on how it was going to be dealt with.  This would mean upping the number of times I'd call them and keep them informed.  I'd get agreement,. follow up with the plan and execute the plan.  But so many people would lie or try and hide the truth and that becomes cumbersome, unwieldy and difficult to maintain.  99% of the time the customer would find out anyway.  They used to say I was fearless and didn't I mind being shouted at?  Well not really, don't put it off, you rarely get shouted at but you need to approach the customer in a way that yelling at me isn't going to get this fixed.

I will check in a minute that it is actually coming, I haven't seen a dispatch note so I am not convinced.   

Yes, That's Better As Well

 Surprising how quickly things turn around but I suppose I've had this most of my life and so I can flip flop between states much to my amazement.

Another good day as I am doing small tasks and achieving them  they don't need to be massive and so getting rid of stuff on my desk and shredding a lot of paperwork has made things look and feel better.  The App has entered advanced testing now and that also has made things better.

Of course, things have been sent to try my patience and once again, my delivery from the butcher has not arrived and no one has advised me, picked up the phone, dropped me an email etc so I am having to do the chasing.  Tiresome.  I like the produce but the customer service can some times be missing.  

It was interesting that P thought today was miserable.  It's raining for sure but is rain actually miserable?  I suppose it limits your ability to get out but I'm not sure that I'd call it miserable, it's weather and we need the rain.

What is miserable is watching the country implode financially and morally, that's miserable and shocking at the same time and these people have no idea at all what damage they are blindly inflicting on their fellow citizens.  It's crazy but as I have stated before, I can do little about it other than watch the car crash and hope that the lights don't go out too often and that somehow we will pull through it all.  It's not just the UK either.  Oh well,  it will be what it will be I suppose.  

So there you have it, a better few days, not so much inward loathing, not too much Black Dog and let us hope that continues as I feel a lot better like this than I have done for some weeks / months now.  

A Better Day

 What did I do that was different? Not a lot but I did write down some business related stuff that was on my mind and that allowed me to do a bit more thinking about the situation and then make a decision and clear my mind about that decision.

There are some important steps needed and things that I must do but in some ways, was unwilling to face.  It's to do with changing direction and in doing so, it affects a number of people but the bottom line is that only I know it will affect them and they will never know as, in reality, nothing changes circumstantially for them at all.  I know that doesn't make sense reading it like that but I now am happy that I am doing the right thing for everyone.

I felt much better, lighter if you will and it is progress, not a lot but enough.

So there we are, a little progress goes a long way, a decision I needed to make has been reviewed and is now settled and the course of action is clear. If only everything else was as clear.

FAFO In Action

 FAFO is a slang acronym for "F*** Around, Find Out," meaning actions have consequences and one will discover the negative results of their behaviour. 

I just noticed that Mallorca are finding out what it means when they tell the British Tourists that they don't want them what it actually does to their trade.  They are hoping September will restore something back to their local economy.  Then Spain itself was also unwelcoming and 1 million airline seats are going away as people like Ryan Air decide it isn't worth flying there.  

It is the same in a number of these episodes n'est pas?  The Jaguar cars re brand.  The Bud Light advert and so on.  Read the room, smell the coffee or whatever they say these days.  You see ideologically driven adverts or policies inflicted on people without any analysis what those policies would do or worse still that they do know what they will do.    

I just watched a short video about the job situation in London where there are four days of strikes happening and again, has no body read the room?  Disrupting passengers for four days and beating up an already fed up working population.  They got a mega pay rise last year but now the trough is open they've joined all sorts demanding above inflation pay, shorter working weeks and so on.  And they don't see it, they don't feel the vibe.  I recall seeing people hastening their own demise way back in the 70s when I first started work.  My own trades union would strike and as an Apprentice it was OK as we went to the training centre to do some work but when I got on site I was sick to death of it and losing money so I cut up my card and sent it to the top man explaining that I didn't get more money that I actually got less as I wasn't working. 

There's lots of rumbling going on at the moment too.  I cannot recall a PM being made a chant at an England Football match before nor such words used for someone who is the top man and leads the country (YES I know he is pathetic and not really but you know, he's the de facto leader).  The lot of them look pathetic and woefully inadequate to do their job let alone lead anything.  It's pretty awful the lack of calibre these people have, they lack in every discernible way.  My old phrase "His men would follow him anywhere but only out of curiosity!" 

The other phrases were "A village somewhere is missing its idiot" "Like a six pack but without the plastic thing that holds them together" "A sandwich short of a picnic" and I could go on but that's why I am unemployable these days, I used to come out with this stuff all of the time, you could call someone stupid, idiot, imbecile and so on back in the day and it was an accurate reflection of their competence levels.  Today you have to tell them they are marvellous and it was a great team effort more so when they've just lost you a few million pounds!  

Anyway it always makes me smile when there people get found out and FAFO and the look of shock and surprise on their face and in what they say and the rest of us all look on and wonder why we alone could see it coming and they, allegedly the cream of the political or business world, run full speed into a wall that they did not realise was there?  

And This Sums It Up

 This is what it looks and feels like at the moment.

Some Way To Go

 There's some way to go to get back to "normal" and this is a deep depression.  It's a series of things really and it isn't helped by the inaction it causes.  There's nagging doubt whether I will say or do the right thing and it all needs to be thought through before I do anything.  That leads to procrastination and that in turn leads to a general malaise about not getting things done, leaving things I would otherwise do and so on.  Down and down it goes and it is sort of levelling out but what do I know?

There's a general feeling of dread about what the country (government) is doing to add to this.  There is little or no leadership, you can see the infighting beginning and you can see the loonies for what they are, or at least I can.  Quite how much the country's finances can take is a matter for the markets I imagine who will determine such things but the debt and the loss of jobs, businesses and opportunities and the imposition of regulations to add more red tape to befuddle and catch out employers is the absolute opposite of what they promised.  Yes, they are politicians and you know they are lying because their lips are moving!

There's a sort of wading through treacle feeling as things grind on and nothing really happens in my life.  I am making small breaks through each day and I just hope that they start joining themselves together and things take an upwards turn.  I grind the days out and follow the habit forming chores of the week, bring the milk in, put the right bins out in the right order and so on.  

Oh well, let me hope that slowly I'll get back to my old self and things will even keel themselves.

It's A Very Strange Time I Am Living Through At The Moment

 I am in one of my "down" times at the moment.  Things aren't going well but I am healthy and actually feel physically fit.  I am a bit immobilized and procrastination has entered the building so to speak.  I am not getting on and doing things that I should which are therefore piling up and I am staying indoors too often which is a problem for me as I am happy doing that.

I just cannot get going other than doing my mundane stuff ready for the business which is still in limbo, in touching distance but in limbo nonetheless.  It will soon be a year on from when the business partner threw his toys out of the pram, the developer failed to deliver yet again and I had to make some serious decisions about the way forward.  I thing that perhaps the second option would have been preferable, in hindsight, of just shutting it all down given the evil letter I received some 6 to 7 months after the event.  I do think that and other similar things have destroyed my faith in people.  There are very few good guys left and that in itself is worrying.  You can trust no one and lies and disinformation are everywhere around.

I had to remind myself this morning that in reality the things are all "IN YOUR HEAD!" and not real.  Some stuff is external pressure for sure but only if you let it get to you which it has.  It's just another phase of my life I am going through and I know how to handle it but don't have the wherewithal to actually take the action I know I need to do to get out of it.  I should, in all honesty, walk away from it and start again, I've done it before but as they say "It's complicated" and so it is.

It's the point in time where you just have to accept that it is what it is and you have no power to change the circumstances you find yourself in.  The answer(s) are available but not practical and timeliness is also a thing.  In some ways I need to see what the business does before making a key decision.

Trying to haul myself back to the present is proving a little difficult and so I've abandoned the biography and bladder cancer book for now - they were both not actually doing anything for me as I was picking at the scabs of my past life and whilst some of it is hilarious, the other side is not really, it drags up the past and apportions blame (generally on myself) and so I'll give that a rest for now.

I need to break the monotony of sitting here and preparing for the business launch which I have been doing for a few years now, please God, this is the real thing this time!  It needs to be and it would be great if it was just moderately successful. 

The Ups And Mysterious Downs

Generally I can pretty much sleep through the night unless there's stuff on my mind and last night was pretty bad - awake after 2 I went back to sleep - not sure what woke me up but P was stirring too.  Around 4:30 though I was suddenly awake and the room was closing in on me.  This has happened throughout my life to various intensities.  Last night was about a 6 on the scale.  I got up and got dressed and came downstairs.

A six means that it was above normal and required getting out of the situation.  So I came downstairs, had a large drink of water and then switched the cameras off and went outside for some fresh air.  I'd forgotten about the big PIR floodlight which came on but hey ho.  About 5 minutes was enough.  You could hear all sorts of wildlife making early morning noises.

I came back in and then sat in my chair and fought the demons and fell asleep.  There are lots of dreams flying about and I can only recollect tiny fragments of them.  They aren't particularly dark as far as I can tell and they aren't the terrors and worries of say 18 or 19 years ago.

It's strange to be getting these quite so often but I am not particularly good at the moment, a bit Black Dog and up and down many times a day.  I need to work my way through it and if I was honest with myself, I deep down inside know what the answer is and what I must do.  It's just difficult and history repeating itself but this time, my options are quite limited.

Oh well, it's morning, the sun is shining so hopefully I'll feel a lot better about things later on?

I'd Like To See It From Your Point Of View

 But I can't get my head that far up your arse!!!  That is why I don't think I'd hold down a job these days. That along with "Don't you ever get tired of being wrong!"

So it amused me today to see how people reacted to the "resignation" and the reshuffle in the Labour Party and also how Reform were being viewed.  Now, I try and watch the Party Conferences and yesterday (and today) it is Reform and it's quite glitzy and glamorous and quite different to Tory and Labour ones of the past.  Of course they were pleased with the resignation of the Deputy Leader/PM and the reshuffle made them (and me if I am honest) laugh and moan at the same time but reading today's comments on Facebook you'd have thought it was quite a different thing that happened.

Someone I know who I have to hide every few months suggested that it was a blow to Reform and took the attention away from them.  Well I suppose that might be so but it wasn't unexpected.  Another person suggested that Nigel Farage (leader of Reform) had been savaged by the US Committee he gave evidence to a few days back.  Did they even watch it?  I didn't particularly like it but he wasn't savaged.  There was some parochial stuff going on and some misinformed opinions but savaged?

It is striking how people see the same thing and react and draw opinions quite differently as if their view of reality is quite different to mine say.  I watched the whole thing apart from the break where Jeremy Kyle (I am not a fan) was chatting to delegates and commentators.   What was apparent was that it was quite different to Tory and Labour Conferences. More razzmatazz - mini Trump style I'd suggest.  

There are some serious problems coming our way and societal breakdown is one but also, it seems to me, these views of the world that are quite different to the lived experiences of the majority of the population.  I cannot fathom how people do not understand the depth of the problems we have, why we have them and how to tackle them.  There's a lot of "I'm alright Jack" going on but many people yesterday and I imagine today too when asked were concerned about the future, not for themselves but for their children and grandchildren.  

There were some heavy subjects touched on and many I've mentioned before about business, finance, taxes, cost of living, lack of opportunities, the list goes on but the decline in all areas seems to hardly concern the metropolitan liberal elites (they say elites but they surely are not).  Those who wholeheartedly support higher fuels costs to save the planet, higher taxes, you know the sort.  They don't have a problem (YET) that the majority have and it will come as a complete surprise to them when the problems manifest themselves at their door.  So they don't get the populist movement away from the failed two party situation at all.  I cannot imagine what these people have been watching or where they get their news from over the past 20 years, probably the BBC and the Guardian most likely.

They cannot help themselves but to sneer at the changes that are coming as they do no to comprehend the situation either locally or globally.  If they stopped chattering for a moment, scrolling on their phones, taking Instagram pictures of their lunch and gym & yoga classes they might, just might have time to take in the impact of idiotic policies and the consequences coming down the line at them.

Whilst people have different views and opinions, it is the ones who cannot see or hear who make the loudest noise and will perhaps get the shock of their lives when they perceive the outcomes of failed policies, losses of freedom, increased taxes to pay for vanity projects and the freeloaders using our money to live off the fat of the land.  Our land.

Stirring Like The Balrog Maybe?

 There's some strange stuff going on at the moment don't you think?  Like the school bully pushing and pushing to see how far his luck will hold out.  We have an arrest for 'hurty words' and now we have our Deputy Prime Minister embroiled in a tax underpayment (that's simplifying it - there's much more underneath down in the depths).

It's pretty obvious that it's a resignation event but no, like most of these people, they grip on until the last molecule and atom of keratin finally gives way and they fall, disgracefully from view.  I had thought no more than a few weeks ago that she was likely to commence going for the PM's job and perhaps she was?  This blunder is pretty bad and once again, the party of the people and the workers are found nose in trough and declaring that the rules are for thee and not for me!

Good luck with that and inevitably there is damage here and who's to regret the loss other than herself.  Much as I dislike the woman, she did seem to be an able politician but none of their policies make sense unless you too are a Marxist I guess?  Yet they act as if the only people who have to follow these doctrines are the serfs they represent.

But, deeper down in the country there does appear to be a stirring and maybe that is a good thing as it slowly dawns on the populace what this government is doing behind the scenes and as these things manifest themselves we perceive that our once free society may soon not be (free that is).

In many ways, the whole lot should be razed to the ground and rebuilt, it is no longer fit for purpose and does not serve the vast majority who actually pay for it all.  A huge monolith, a Cuckoo who parasitically lives off of its host.  Britain never shall be slaves the song goes and too many of us now feel that the bully has pushed his luck far enough and like that bully, when you stand up to him, they retreat and turn out to just be a coward in disguise all along.

People in power should exercise the best levels of integrity and honour, they are trusted to do so and time after time after time after time let us down and they do not see what they have done wrong because the rules we have to live by don't apply to them.  A pox on them all. 

There's A Reason That There Aren't Any Battery Powered Aircraft

 Or Rockets for that matter.  I mean, where would you recharge them when you are in flight or on Mars?  The interesting thing is that once the charge has gone the aircraft or rocket probably still weighs about the same where conventional ones get lighter as the fuel gets used up and the stages drop away from the main craft.

It's the insanity of the Lorries and Buses that are now battery powered and the Ferries (no really) and that is the amount of electricity you require to charge them up.  The lorries and ships need megawatts not paltry kilo watts like at your house.  The Ferries had to be cancelled because no one had worked out how much electricity was required nor, indeed, how they were going to get it to the terminal and electric and water don't mix well (I learned that at Electrical Engineering College by experimentation - don't ask).

I see someone things that liquefied hydrogen could be substituted for kerosene but at 2000 psi I doubt many would like to be sat anywhere near that given it's other corrosive properties.  

The craziness is that no one asks basic questions about how heavy these batteries are and could you really use electric engines to power an aircraft and how meaty would the battery have to be to produce the energy you actually need to take off and fly?  Like the lorries they are trialling, the wight means that the loads that they can carry are diminished by around 25% - and it takes ages to charge the batteries.  They do not normally have enough charge to do a full day's work either.  

The practicalities of battery power can be seen in your rechargeable toothbrush or other battery powered home appliance.  They deteriorate over time, just run out without warning and take an age to recharge.   They are noting like mains powered or petrol powered tools (if you use chainsaws and drills etc) and you have the inconvenience of  less and less output over time.

We need, somehow, to work out what to do but the blind push to reach net zero is fraught with problems and batteries are not going to be the long term answer.  

Oh well, I haven't even got started on how powerful these cars, lorries and busses are when they are charged up.  Because of how they are coupled up, they can accelerate a lot faster than you think and so many people get caught out especially if they have a heavy right foot.  Have fun!

Language Timothy

 A sitcom from days gone by when little Ronnie Corbett was harangued my his over bearing mother and every now and then as he was exasperated and perhaps used a word like "blast" he would get the lecture from his mother "Language Timothy!"

And so I briefly looked at the new headlines this morning and wondered what happened to our language that makes headlines such as "OFCOM flooded with complaints"  When you get past that particular headline you find that those complaints amount to...... wait for it.... 500.  Yes 500 in a population of 67 or 68 million (that we know of) decided they didn't like something enough to "flood" the regulator.  Let's say 6 million people saw it.  It's way less than 1% complained.

Such is the use of language today that it adds "flooded" when it didn't need to say that and it isn't entirely accurate or properly descriptive of what has happened.  People complain all the time about programmes and what was and wasn't said and bias blah blah blah.  I do understand that in the days of click bait that it is required for the reader to click deeper to achieve hits and advertising revenue, I get it but, all it does is to do what it did this morning for me.  I just went elsewhere for my news and wondered what words they could dream up if it had gone to 600 complaints?  "Tsunami!" "Mega Tsunami!"?  

Everything these days has an adjective misused or is sensationalized and it's cry wolf stuff.  I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this but it is used all the time.  Climate Change is another area where words are used that rather than discussing the science they sensationalize opinion and misinform and when called out they accuse others of the same actions!  

On top of that no one applies common sense anymore to these headlines.  I could go on forever about this but just a few crazy things I hear is about how 1.5 Degrees C rise is bad for everything and that CO2 emissions are too high.  Travel for 50 miles from my house and I can show you 5 degrees of change, or just wait until a cloud comes over or look at the difference between a cloudy or sunny day.  No catastrophic problems occur?  CO2 - surely to God everyone knows that CO2 is, to all intents and purposes, plant food.  See that tree?  Any idea what it's made from?  Look it up.  A lot of people think that they are made from something in the soil.  Why do farmers in greenhouses pump the CO2 up?  Because it makes plants grow really well.

Carbon as they bandy the word around is what? Graphite, Diamonds, Coal, I mean what the absolute f**k are they doing other than to confuse the public, obfuscate the facts and not have the scientific debate you need to logically discuss these things. No, they use frightening words and the clues are that there is no debate allowed, no common sense thinking, no demonstrations of how this all actually works, instead, they rely on models and computer models, no real data to speak of.  The clues are in those words "Scientists predict", "Experts say", "Might", "Could" words used to grey out facts and obfuscate the masses and people buy it hook line and sinker.  Where did our common sense, scientific method and debate (without getting yelled at) go?  You cannot have a debate in this country (or rather you have to be careful who you debate with) for fear of getting yelled at.  So I was yelled at for my opinions on Brexit and called a "Climate Denier" loudly in a pub, the chap just lost it, I thought he was going to break his blood vessels.  You certainly don't want to have seen the scene when I called out the Covid ward overcrowding at a Hospital.  Having just visited one in the middle of it all, it was like a ghost town.

The argument was that a certain Hospital was at 100% capacity in its Covid ward.  I know that Hospital and knew (long reason why) that there were 42 beds in the ward.  So I suggested that there were 42 people being treated in it as there were no other allocated wards.  You'd have thought the end of the world had been announced.  I don't enter into discussions any more with certain people as they've completely lost the ability to debate and prefer to yell headlines without research at me.  

A Bit Lighter This Morning

Out with my school chums from 57 years ago last night. Actually it was good as I got that awful letter and the craziness off my chest and of course, there was plenty of banter and reminiscing but it did get dark at one point as we realised that the vast majority of our teachers were now dead with just a few exceptions yet even those teachers would be in the mid to late 80s!  

But we still had a lot of fun and there was a great photo of us all.

My grandson started school yesterday so we had the obligatory first day at school photo and hi little sister giving him a hug before he went - I imagine she is going to miss him a lot.

Here in the UK we appear to be arresting comedians using armed police for posting hurty words.  We are rapidly becoming Venezuela or North Korea. I despair that this government are doing anything about it and lip service is paid to each event.  I thought that the sort of intellect on display about national ID to "combat illegal migration" was just another nail in the coffin of our liberal, open society (well we used to have that 25 years ago).  I mean it's obvious that "Ihre Papiere, bitte" is the way forward I mean what could possibly go wrong with that that history hasn't taught us?

So - there's lots of stuff to wonder about among the hypocritical-arty government.  It's just worth sitting back and watching the car crash but at the same time realising that generations will end up paying for this nonsense.  

And Here We Are Back To Black Dog Times

No matter how hard I try to decouple from all this sh1t I end up back in this space and damn it, I know what is wrong but I am unable to deal with it as I am wrapped by layers of stuff that is holding me here.  It's full on The Matrix stuff, you have all these connections and ties into things, people, friends, relationships, family, property, finances and so on and all I'd like to do is to just go off grid, walk away from it all but, you know, responsibilities and these connections that you'd need to break and deal with the consequences.

I woke around 5:30 this morning and the pressure that I felt, more than my normal claustrophobia because everything was pressing in on me, the house, the business, the relationship and this oppressed feeling as if some huge weight was being brought down on me and the house was shrinking around me.   So I got up and went downstairs and as it was getting light sat in my office and fell asleep at my desk which was useful.

What wasn't so useful was trying to work out how to get out of this place I find myself in?  It's not as easy as all that is it?  I've pumped most of my savings into this house and to get those out is "interesting" and in the current financial crisis and any crazy taxes this odious government attempt to impose in October, may prove challenging.  

I actually don't know what to do at the moment but have several things I am looking into because I don't see a way out that is simple and sweet.  It's just so difficult to get yourself out of the pickle you are in.  

I can, of course, lose my self in work but that defaulted on me and I suppose what I really wanted was to just enjoy my retirement and that's not happening at all at the moment.  

Yes, lots of things to explore and think about, lots of options but none of them are pleasant at all.  I guess we will have to wait and see.  At least I am aware that Black Dog is here and doing his thing, that I probably comprehend what I need to do but I really don't want to face up to it because I know what it is, how to get out of it and I really don't want to be doing this for a second time in my life but there you go, not my choice, not my preferred way forward but it's no longer in my power I feel.

Yuk, I hate it when you realise what your options are, that you cannot take action this moment even though you know what that should be and it's going to be painful and soul searching to get it done!  

Got to Eat The Frog though, eat the Frog! 

Don't You Ever Get Tired Of...

 Being wrong?  I hope it is not just me?  The bare faced hypocrisy of the current bunch of politicians was breathtaking at first and now they just lie and wear their sanctimonious sneer level bald faced untruths in a way that can only be to goad an already distrusting and disgusted public?

It seems that the old adage of "Rules for me but not for thee!" flow fast and furious from a Socialist government and they appear absolutely certain of the voracity of their argument and don't appear to have their finger on the pulse one jot.  What next I wonder?  

I have dealt with people like this in the past and I normally engineer things in such a way as to be able to observe their car crash performance in a meeting, in front of a customer or some such massive fall from grace because, they bloody well deserved it.  So, to the tune of the Red Flag let's all sing:

"The working class can kiss my arse,
I've got the foreman's job at last.
You can tell old Joe I'm off the dole,
He can stick his Red Flag up his 'ole!". 

Breathtaking cognitive dissonance would be a way to explain it perhaps but the ugly holier than thou responses to perfectly reasonable questions about - O, I don't know, the economy, immigration, public services, tax avoidance, rules for thee but not me etc etc are met with sneering, sinusoidal, adenoidal bollocks, downright lies and a complete lack of empathy for the public and just an insulting assault on our intelligence.  

I can only hope that (I know if will hurt the country) the collapse of this government and everything that they currently stand for is massive and completely destructive to every one of the individuals who hold the electorate in contempt.  They are beneath our contempt and deserve absolutely everything that is coming their way.  Only because we live in a "Civilized society" will they get away with it.  Absolutely contemptible waste of oxygen the lot of them, a curse on their houses.