Category: old blogging

Nico has switched on the lights at my2p. It no longer seems like a black cat in a coal cellar.

The perfect tribute. Radio 4 is now playing Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads monologue A Cream Cracker Under The Settee, performed by Thora Hird.

Well, even before a shot has been fired, it looks like the Fog Of War is already descending, and getting accurate news (or, at least the best approximation for that) gets harder. At lunchtime, the BBC reported that US-led forces had moved into the UN-declared DMZ, a report that was pretty quickly contradicted by the US command. Now, Sky News is reporting thay Iraqi deputy PM Tariq Aziz may have defected to Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, something that none of the other news sources I’ve checked are reporting.
Having said that, the fact that I can sit at my desk and access news sources from all around the world is a marked change on just about every previous major conflict. And with al-Jazeera launching an English language web presence by the end of this month (if not before), the sources just get more numerous and varied, which is a good thing.
I think I may spend this evening getting my news sources list updated, as promised. But the existing one can be found here.
UPDATE: Reuters: US rubbishes Aziz story.

Another utterly gorgeous morning here, ruined only by the fact that I’d rather not be working.
There was some quality about the light and warmth this morning, as I walked through Chichester, that reminded me of Lisbon or Barcelona. Maybe it was because I’m also in one of those bloody-minded moods of self determination and independence, with a nice icing of f***-you attitude?

Inevitably, just when life is all sunny days and perfectness, something comes along to take the wind out of your sails. sigh.
UPDATE: but a long phone call from one of the Good People helps make things right.

I’ve updated the radio grayblog page with the new instructions for listening, and the revised playlist. Enjoy.

It’ll be interesting to see what the implications of this new law in South Africa are on ornamental horticulture. South African flora is an important source of plant material in western commericial horticulture, and whilst I disapprove of patenting or PBR on plant material sourced directly from the wild, that plant material still has an important rôle to play in the development and breeding of commercial plant varieties. I’ll be watching this one with interest.

Strange search for today: stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop.
Hmm.

I never thought I would say it, but on this occasion I am 100% in agreement with Robin Cook.

Beer last night with Arron, Al and the lovely Lucy, with sightings of Ruth, Hamish and Terry.
Today has that "long day" feeling to it already, partly engendered by an email I got last night which gives me a slight cause for concern about potential minor hiccups with work. Nothing that is insurmountable, but something that potentially will only be resolved in a satisfactory way by me doing work which other people should do. And, to be honest, I have enough on my plate already.