Dark Alex's Really Long Post Thread.

[Alex]

Oh for anyone trying to follow the whole brexit debacle, a new law has been passed (in record time) last night. I've not looked at the detail (indeed I have stopped following what has been happening myself), but I have been told this new law says we cannot leave the EU without a trade deal in place. Since the only trade deal on offer has been continually rejected (three or four times now it has been voted down), and we are due to leave on Friday without a deal I can see this as only leading to one outcome.

Cancel brexit. Either by a very long extension to the whole process, or an outright cancelling the invocation of article 50.

Expect riots. Or at least strongly worded letters to The Times. Unless Parliament decides to vote again on the deal on the table and says yes, at the moment I cannot see how we could have any other outcome. Europe is getting pretty fed up with us and just wants the UK gone now. The PM want's to ask for (yet another) short term extension, but that is just hanging around with no new plans hoping somehow, in someway things will change.

Bet the brexiteers really wish they'd taken the leave deal now while it was on the table. Now it is looking like they won't get to leave at all.

[justme2013]

I'd say we have a bunch of people running the country who couldn't organise a p**s up in a brewery, but then what does that say about the people who voted for them? Who is the bigger idiot - The one who leads, or the one who follows?

I'd say it's actually the voters, these are the people who they have decided best represent them. So that means we live in a nation of people who cannot see the bigger picture and hold onto their very small narrow world views that they are incapable of changing because that would require original thought.

[Alex]

Planning a busy weekend. Losing a battle against moss in the garden, so going to try just digging the whole lot up and reseeding the grass. Problem is that it spends a good portion of the day in shadow, both the front and back yard and I neither know nor care enough about gardening to spent enough time looking after it to keep it all in order. All I want is that the grass is in a decent condition when we leave the house so I don't have to pay for new turf to be laid. The contractors who they employ to do things like that like to gouge us on the price and you get no choice but to pay. It comes out of your wage before you get it.

So an attempt to take a photo of a black hole is going to be made today by using telescopes all over the world and creating a composite image. That could be interesting to see, must watch out for it. I wonder how it will compare to how TV and movies have imagined them.

I'm a member of a parental group for nerdy parents. Someone posted up some stuff about how exercise can help with period cramps, and the women who do this are the ones who will survive the apocalypse. Most of the replies are along the lines of "I'd rather die eating chocolate than out of breath from running from a mutant cannibal. Who wants to survive the apocalypse?"

[316zombie]

don't put in grass. put in ferns, or chickweed. both are pretty groundcover for shady areas, and you don't have to mow them.

[Alex]

The nature of out accommodation is that we have to have a neat grass lawn I am afraid.

[Alex]

Saw that Gary Numan is doing a UK tour. Going to see about getting some tickets and going to see him live.

[Alex]

Saw a relative had reposted something about brexit, talking about how Germany had suddenly had to sell euro bonds for more than they were worth and have its national bank step in to prop up the euro (pretty sure the European central bank would be the one to do that, not the Bundesbank or whatever it is called), the £ had shot up against the $, and that the euro had plunged against pretty much every international currency. Did some quick fact checking and couldn't substantiate any of the claims in the post (not saying they aren't true, just I couldn't find a single bit of proof on any of them. Well, ok the £ had increased slightly against the $ not nothing unusual or newsworthy). I wrote out a long post reply explaining on how each part of the post was wrong as far as I could find. Got about half way through and thought "f**k it", it would make no difference and besides, people tend to treasure their ignorance and just deleted my comments.

I always find it odd when people say that education is the key to banishing ignorance, racism or whatever. Say you have someone who thinks all immigration is a bad thing and should be stopped as an example. Maybe you can take this person, show them proof that maybe it helps the economy in whatever way, that it is needed to support an aging population and so on. Then after you have shown this person things from a different view point, even provided proof, what do you then do if they still stick to their same beliefs and refuse to share your viewpoint? Then again, maybe by education, what some people really mean is brainwashing to force people to believe the same as them.

I have encountered enough people in my life who would love to have everyone forced to think just like them. I wonder if they have ever considered just how terrible it would be? Talk about be careful what you wish for.

[Alex]

Sunday seems to be a less gloriously sunny day than Saturday was. We went for a walk anyway. Kristi's phone says we did 3 miles which is a good minimum per day.

Sorting out a bit more terrain for wargaming. Got a ruined resin building. Not sure what find of building it is supposed to be (sort of a two-roomed L shaped building made of stone. One room has a wooden floor while the other is tiled and it has a small yard bordered with a drystone wall, so I am guessing it is some kind of farm outbuilding), but I guess that isn't really important.

Watching a zombie musical at the moment. Out of all the films of this genre I've seen (and sadly that is more than one), this is the best one. Its called Anna & The Apocalypse. Turns out it was filmed near Glasgow. If High School Musical had been set during the apocalypse and in Scotland is the best way I have of describing it.

Oh well, next week will be a short week. Long weekend with the easter break. For some reason the local schools have been off for the past two weeks ontheir easter break. Not sure how they worked that one out.

Bumped into a couple of people Kristi know while we were walking around. They wanted us to join them in church. Yeah, that's not happening.

[Alex]

Today was not a fun day. Random drug testing was in force and I got voluntold for it. Still, at least I didn't have to watch people pee'ing, I just had to check their details after all the testing had been done and make sure the people who couldn't pee waited around and tried again every 40 minutes. I was standing there for 6 or 7 hours. At some point they brought me a packed lunch, but since I was standing about five feet away from a bunch of used beakers, the food did not seem that appetizing to me.

I did notice that a disproportionate number of my management seem to have been randomly selected.

Ash got up a 4 this morning and decided not to go for a nap. Kristi is working tonight, so I put him to bed once she'd went out and surprise, he goes straight to bed lol. Poor Kristi had a rough day with him, so as soon as I got in I sent her to go relax and looked after Ash while making the dinner. Wasn't the most fun day for me either, but I figured she deserved at least a bit of a rest before she'd to go to work tonight. The community council is still trying to deal with stuff from the proper council's cutbacks, and sort out saving the bridge to the beach. I'd have thought the buisnesses down the harbour front would have a vested interest in maintaining access to the beach there.

Anyway Ash sleeping and Kristi being out gives me a bit of time to finish reviewing SNUB and chill.

[Alex]

Working on a staff ride to Malta. Just in the initial stages, but we shall see where it goes.

Getting ready for our trip down to Glasgow this week and our trip to the states later on. Turns out it is £1000 cheaper for us to fly into Vegas than Salt Lake City, so we are being picked up there and spending a day in some canyon with some of Kristi's relatives who dwell down that way. Other people have been making other plans for what we will be doing when we land, but they'll be getting told thank you, but we have already made plans. Not the first time we've made plans this way and other people have decided to alter them.

[Alex]

Woohoo for the last day of work before a long weekend. On the news today, Mastercard may have to pay everyone over the age of 16 in the UK £304, due to shops having to raise prices to pay the costs Mastercard put in place. You don't have to have had or used a Mastercard during the period of these fee's being put in place because shops had to increase prices for everyone to cover these charges. The charges have been declared illegal. Works out about 14 billion they may have to pay back. Mastercard, of course, is fighting to reduce the amount of compensation they have to pay, so I am not going to plan out what I am going to spend my money on just yet. Oh and you don't have to prove that you shopped in somewhere that accepts Mastercard. It looks like they are just going to assume everyone has, which given how widely it is accepted and that the offence covers a 16 year period seems like a fair shout. When I first saw the headline yesterday I assumed this was a fake story, but it is apparently real.

Nice to see big companies being slapped down now and again like this.

[Svengoolie 3]

As to brexit, the bottom line is the people voted for it, if the government just says "Yeah, no" then it is effectively saying that Britain is not a democracy or a republic but essentially an oligarchy and the peoples voice means nothing.

[Alex]

Got the family up at half three this morning, although Kristi was already lying awake. Making an early morning run down to Glasgow, via Edinburgh and hoping to avoid the easter weekend crowds.

Seriously, what is it with holding easter on a different date every year? Just decide on a date when the guy was nailed to a plank of wood and keep it the same date every year. It would make planning travelling so much easier. I mean they picked a date for his birthday that was months away from the real thing and have stuck with it since (with a bit of variation across different countries).

Bloody stupid wandering holidays.

Nice sunrise this morning, lots of countryside to watch going past the windiw. Hills 'n trees mostly. I used to really enjoy looking at that kind of stuff. Nowadays it is all just stuff. Oh well, maybe one day my appreciation for it will return.


Oh well, looking forward to taking Kristi to see her band, even if it isn't one I particularly know anything about. Hope you all have a great long weekend and for those who believe in such things, happy zombie Jesus day. And for those who celebrate the true origins of this holiday, happy Eastre, and may your veneration of the Goddess of spring be rewarded with a bountiful crop and much fertility (you didn't really think the bunnies wee there to bring chocolate eggs did you? 'Fraid it is all about sex) this year (sorry christians, but it ain't nothing but another stolen holiday).

Personally I don't mind that so much as I've alway felt that even if you change the names involved, if you take part in these ancient festivals then you are acutally venerating the ancient gods and goddesses. Old gods, new clothes.

Oh well, I am off to write some stuff. For those off work, crack open a cold one and have a good time, for those who are working, nyah, nyah, na nyah, nyah (best said while sticking your tongue out).

[Rev. Powell]

As to brexit, the bottom line is the people voted for it, if the government just says "Yeah, no" then it is effectively saying that Britain is not a democracy or a republic but essentially an oligarchy and the peoples voice means nothing.

The only problem is, now that they've seen what's involved, the people would vote to remain if the vote were held again. So the people's will is also being frustrated by holding them to their original uninformed vote. I think the Brexit vote is a good example of why direct democracy is a bad idea.

[Alex]

Special forces units normally have some gruelling physical endurance tests to go through to join. I wonder if they've ever consider having carrying a baby through a city shopping center on a days shopping? A whole mess of physcial endurance and improvisational skills come into play with that.

Kristi bought my birthday present yesterday and then decided to give it to me, so I have the Fallout boardgame now.

Had some beers with my little brother last night. Fortunately Ash decided to sleep in until 6 this morning, so we all got a good nights sleep.