Disjecta

As a kid, I often liked the songs I didn't officially like.  I certainly wouldn't have bought any of these or admitted in conversation that I even gave them time of day (oh no!). They were fairly typical '80s chart dance / pop tunes, but they all stuck in my head, for various reasons -Continue reading "I used to like the songs I didn’t like"

Shock - I've found another new band that I really like! Nurse! On hearing these old tracks from a band from Ohio called "The Serfs" (such a properly old, chippy, name too - cf. e.g., The Ejected, The Expelled, The Damned, The Exploited, etc) I reflected, somewhat gloomily, that this probably dates from 1979 toContinue reading "Theft? Not at all"

Fascinating and readable <article> in The Atlantic, by Peter Brannen, covering climate change events back to the earlier stages of the Cenozoic era. I hope you can access it. You may not be able to, unless you're a subscriber to The Atlantic. The article is so good though, that you ought to subscribe. It's theContinue reading "Born Yesterday"

Sometime in the '80s, I was at the dentist's. As the chair reclined, and my feet heaved into view, my middle-aged dentist greeted my shoes like long-lost friends: "Winklepickers! Good God, I haven't seen them in 20 years!", he exclaimed, surprise, nostalgia and happiness all jostling in his expression. Winkle-what? I was disgusted - toContinue reading "Eternal Return"

It is forbidden to dislike your job. Growing up, I thought "passion" was reserved for girlfriends-on-pedestals, or maybe football or politics or punk rock; but no - to be normal nowadays, you must "have a passion" for your bloody work. This inevitably leads to job ad dishonesty on an Orwellian, nay estate-agent-y scale. Think aboutContinue reading "Beware Overstated Job Ads"

<Grim>, indeed. (Hard-hitting report in The Atlantic at the previous link.)   Internal combustion engines are not the problem though.  Fossil fuel is.   JCB has already invented an internal combustion engine which is zero emissions, which is far cheaper than EVs, and which has none of the environmental and social damage of battery mining.Continue reading "We may be fucked"

Thinking does not require too much intelligence. Thinking is a skill, like wood-carving; it can be learned. Humility, patience, honesty, a sense of humour; all those are far more important aids to the craft of thinking than masses of grey matter. No brain, however large, can smuggle thoughts past the wall of a brittle ego.Continue reading "Post hoc ergo propter hoc"

Me on my wee Honda Lead 80 scooter, Winter, 1986 or '87.  Proper raglan sleeves and 2-tone shoes.  Paisley scarf too, if you could see it.  Sharp Mod gear, even if I say so myself : ) ​ I loved that wee Honda.  Whizzing along a deserted road on a moonlight Summer night was, toContinue reading "Scootering"

Having messed up over Brexit, the DUP and Mr Trimble are now keen to send in the rioters.  It gives them political cover to attack the Protocol that they previously voted for, without looking even more unhinged than usual.  Once again, over 100 years later, Larne is at the centre of Unionist threats of violenceContinue reading "Why Unionism’s Brexiters need violence"

Ayant fait une grosse erreur sur le Brexit, le DUP et M. Trimble sont maintenant prêts à envoyer les émeutiers.  Cela leur donne une couverture politique pour attaquer le protocole pour lequel ils ont précédemment voté, sans paraître encore plus déséquilibrés que d'habitude.  Une fois de plus, plus de 100 ans plus tard, Larne estContinue reading "Pourquoi les DUP Brexiters ont besoin de violence"