Moon over the water

Big, butter fat full moon last night that lit up the islands to the South-east. Fabulous. Mrs S and I took turns examining it via our in house spotter scope which we took out onto the deck for a little celestial nosiness.

Our planets major satellite looks so different through a telescope, so much sharper, the angle slightly different, craters pocking the edge in sharp relief for that truly 3D experience. To repeat that tired old superlative, 'awesome'. Hadn't got the camera attachment fitted yet, so no pics, but it was glorious. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Now that chunk of rock has been around in it's current form, more or less, for far longer than our petty, squabbling little species, and that thought tends to drop your mental feet firmly onto bedrock. It reminds you how small we are, and how big the cosmos is. Too small for the eco-whacko's with their scary CO2 driven senile drivel declaring 'war' on people who disagree with shutting the world down rather than addressing the real issues of clean air and water, and not some farcical 'climate' fantasy which only puts money into the pockets of an unaccountable elite.

The moon will be orbiting Earth aeons after we as a species are long gone. You can do what you like; have a tokenistic shutting down of lights, suspend democracy to get your own muddle headed way, throw other people's money away on it, even shoot people because they disagree with you. Won't change a thing in the long run. The climate will do what it does for other reasons apart from CO2, and nothing the pro AGW lobby can do will change that.

Right. Time for tea and some more stargazing later tonight. Priorities, Bill, priorities. I've got a bedroom to redecorate this Easter weekend.

More bullshit and bollocks.....

...from the Man Made Climate Change advocates along the lines of 'Big Oil funds Climate Deniers' rubbish. Complete and utter bollocks. Especially when pitted against the millions fed into the maw of the Climate Change advocacy groups via NGO's etc. On the basis of? A statement attributed to 'Greensleaze'? Hah! To think I once respected them as environmental crusaders. Well, until I found out their integrity has a relative value. My charitable Direct Debit to that organisation got cancelled around the time of their hyper exaggerations about Brent Spar.

By the way, if anyone is interested, the Climategate Enquiry report is here, and surprise, surprise, it's full of weaselling out of the accusations regarding failures to honour FOI requests, and lawyerish side steps of the core issue of scientific integrity. The report 'raises concerns' rather than addresses them, but is hardly astounding reading. Too much public money has been pumped into the Climate Change industry and much face saving has to be done. The Man Made Climate Change Emperor may have no clothes, but his highly placed advocates can't give it up because then they'll look stupid and all that nice money will go away, and we can't have that happen to the poor dears can we?

Oh stuff it. I've got work to do. There's no 'big oil' to fund this blog. Nor, I suspect, the 'deniers' opposed to the High Church of what my comrade in words, the Angry Exile, calls 'Warble Gloaming'. If we of a sceptical nature were that wrong, then the Man Made CO2 Climate Change Advocates wouldn't have to resort to name calling or declare 'war' on sceptics, would they?

BTW:
Gulf stream not shutting down
Tropical UK as far away as ever
Global ice cover above 'normal'
Polar Bears fine
Yadada yadada....

H/T to Wattsupwithat for the Climategate report Pdf location.

Workaday

Grafting along trying to hammer some client procedures into workable data models, my only company the rain hammering on the roof and my dog fussing around, I had a break for a quick browse around what the rest of the world is up to and checked out the local news. Take for example this story about one of the local detachment of the RCMP being ticked off for comments put on his Facebook page, one example of which was reportedly;

"How come every chick I arrest lately refuses to put clothes on and they're the ones you never want to see naked."

Really? That should boost RCMP recruitment. Was he referring to this place?

Not a week appears to go by without a local drug bust. Last week was Pacifica Heights and the local grow-ops keep the RCMP drugs squad fully employed.

What the drug gangs seem to ignore is that Nanaimo is a city that operates on a personal rather than an impersonal basis. People talk, and gossip gets around. While most folk agree that what people get up to is their own business, many do tend to be law abiding. Well, up until the bars close that is. The comings and goings of less than agreeable people does get noticed, yet certain groups are, or were, tolerated and even approved of. Would you believe I once heard a used car salesmen bemoan the shutting down of the local Hells Angels chapter? Swear to God it's true.

Downtown does have problems as an economically depressed area, with all that entails, although I've noticed a certain amount of gentrification going on with the promise of the new Cruise ship terminal. Mind you, as part of my voluntary work I do get to see the inside of some places that could only be improved by a major Tsunami. Strange how so many have 40 plus inch plasma screens and full cable service though. The kids all have new trainers and laptops yet there's bare concrete floors, loose floorboards, and electrical wiring hanging out of the wall. Go, as they say, figure.

Human Achievement Hour

As opposed to those sad, ignorant, metaphorically hair shirt wearing people who want to drag humankind back to the bad old days, I shall have all the lights and appliances on this evening. However, I hold no animosity towards those who want us all to switch off, and will invite any of the aforementioned visitors in, while I enthuse about living in a golden age where, oo, lets see;

Few people in our society are starving.
No one (Extreme Naturists aside) goes without clothes on their back, or shoes on their feet.
Travel is relatively safe and easy.
There is clean air where once it was hard to breathe.
The lame are no longer bedridden for life.
There is plenty where once starvation reigned. Sadly not true everywhere, but nobody's perfect.
Humankind can keep the worst of the elements at bay through advanced construction.
We send craft out to explore the local cosmos.
We have machines to delve into the secrets of time and space itself.
We can light and heat entire cities at the mere turning of switches.
When disaster strikes we can quickly come to the aid of those less fortunate.
We can span the mightiest rivers, tunnel under the sea and sculpt mountains.
We can explore those mountains and rivers in relative safety with modern equipment; Kayaking down those mighty rivers, travelling those trackless forests, and going where no man has ever gone before.
All made possible by human enterprise and effort. All life choices are ours.
This should be celebrated.

This is what the whining, credulous, guilt ridden fools want us to give up on the back of their dodgy belief system? I don't think so.

Ross McKitrick co-demolisher of Manns 'Hockey stick' has this to say on the subject of 'Earth Hour'

H/T to Dick Puddlecote for the human achievement hour graphic and Small Dead Animals for the Ross McKittrick article.

Oh, and just for comparison;

A tale from the other side.......

A U.S. army platoon was marching through Helmland, Afghanistan when they came upon a badly injured and unconscious Taleban insurgent on the left-hand side of the road.

On the right-hand side was a British soldier in a similar, but less serious state. The Brit was conscious and alert. As first aid was given to both men, the American platoon leader asked the injured soldier what had happened.

The soldier reported: “I was recce-ing the highway here when suddenly, coming towards me from the south was a heavily-armed insurgent. We shot at each other and both took cover in the ditches along either side of the road."

“I yelled to him that the local Taleban commander was a miserable, lowlife scumbag who needed slicing up into little pieces. The insurgent yelled back that Gordon Brown is a fat, useless, lying, one-eyed porridge wog. And furthermore, Lord Mandelson is a pillow-biting gay bastard!"

“So I said that Osama Bin Laden dresses and ponces about like a frigid, hatchet-faced lesbian. He retaliated by saying that so does Harriet Harman."

“And, there we were – in the middle of the road – shaking hands, when the f*****g bus hit us.”

Adapted from this post over at Oh what now! which originated at the Daily Politics.

This could get interesting...

Kind of a 'what will happen' situation if it's not a spoof. Although taken at face value, there appear to be a lot of pissed off people south of the border. I'll see what my Sister in Law down in Minnesota has to say apart from she's glad the snow is finally beginning to melt.

Back to work. TTFN.

BTW: Bye bye, NHS Blog Doctor, hello UK News Network. H/T Grumpyoldtwat

Anger management

"Bill, you're doing it again!" Said Mrs S rather sharply.
"What?" I rejoindered.
"You're angry. Your eyes are angry and you're grinding your teeth."
"Am I? Oh." I replied, much mollified.
"Step away from the keyboard hon, or do some proper writing. Short stories. Do some funny stuff for sale. Talk to that Agent about the test screenplay you sent him. And stay off that Daily Telegraph site, I'm sure they only write things in a way designed to wind people up." She knows how to pound the lesson home does my wife.

Thus, bowing to the greater intelligence and counsel of my much better half, that is precisely what I'm doing. The world can go to hell in a handbasket without my input for a few days. I'm sure no-one really cares what I think anyway.

Real life demands my more immediate attention.

I appear to have upset someone

Bimbling around linked sites today, I dropped in at 'An Englishman's Castle' to see what Tim was up to. He had an article about a complaint from someone in Alton, Hampshire UK about 'Youths on the village green'. He'd made ironic (What I thought was ironic) comment about newcomers complaining about whatever in a village. In storms one commenter with a long post about the complainant being a pillar of the community etc to which I mildly pointed out that Tims comment had to be a gag. Don't take my word for it, go here to read. You probably have to have had a rural upbringing to appreciate the humour, but to get all defensive like that; well, I'll leave it to anyone who can be bothered to read it to decide.

Another commenter, similarly in humour failure mode, took issue with me and virtually accused me of being a Nulabour apparatchik. Yes, you John Malpas, if that is indeed your name and not some nom de keyboard. I have replied to your malevolence in humorous vein, indicating my dismay and displeasure at being associated with that bunch of Fabian fuckwits. Let it be known; I have never, ever had any tacit or overt connection, nor have I ever sympathised with, or had anything to do with, the parliamentary Labour party in any of it's guises. They are in my eyes, traitors all against the Crown and people of Britain. They (Brown, Blair, Straw, Harman, Balls, Milliband et al) top the poll in my 'Heads I would like to see on spikes on London Bridge'. See sidebar. I have already cast my ballot.

Watching the Eagles at Sunrise

Love this new spotter scope we've been lent. Sunrise this morning found me gazing out over Round Island, noting that both local nesting pairs of Bald Eagles were roosting over there for a change.

Watched a red hulled Fisheries vessel pootle down towards Thetis. Been a lot of them recently. Normally speaking we hardly see them, but for the past few days they've appeared to be aggressively patrolling the Narrows and inner passage. There's a conservation area south of Round Island to the bottom of Link, and I suppose with the current runs of fish, they're making sure the local fishermen don't stray where they shouldn't.

Did have a look at the news from over the water, but all I can see is the same shit, different day. New Labours political scorched earth policy making life ever more restrictive and unpleasant for the UK's inhabitants. I suppose the Fabian scumbuckets think they can't win the next election so they'll fuck the country just to make trouble for the next government. I'm sure the Tories are aware of this, and if they win an overall majority they'll be taking on a real poison chalice. Happened in the 70's, and despite all hope to the contrary it's happening again.

Quite frankly I can't be arsed to get angry with it any more. My ties with the UK are growing ever more tenuous and there's much less to get peeved about this side of the world. Apart from the long wait for Immigration to do their thing and tick our final box.

In the meantime I shall fill the non-working time watching Bald Eagles and taking long walks to fill the unforgiving minute.

Social success!

We have just seen our first of many house guests safely back home after an overnight visit and hearty breakfast. Verdicts are favourable, and praise for the hospitality at Chez Sticker effusive. Visitors book has been signed and smiles all round.

Drank far too much last night. Guests and I got quite smashed and a bit silly on a nice bottle of Syrah each, although I was far drunker than they were. That is strange. Used to be able to sling a bottle of wine down my throat without blinking. Although nowadays I don't drink for weeks on end. Maybe I'm just not used to the booze any more?

Pass the ibuprofen.

Anthropogenic Global Warming; game over

Referring to the Specific Heat Capacity of Gases, these video's provide empirical proof that the CO2 based model of Anthropogenic, or Man Made Global Warming isn't a good one. Shades of R W Woods experiment from the 1900's. Four years later just prior to World War 1, World renowned Physicist Niels Bohr reported his discovery that the absorption of specific wavelengths of light didn’t cause gas atoms/molecules to become hotter. It's in the Physics textbooks, guys.




There you have it. Proper scientific method and empirical evidence trumps Computer modelling and wishful thinking, taking both the trick and the game. For people who get in my face and 'tell' me that periodic climate shifts are all down to mankind and we're all doomed unless we flush technology, and by proxy our comfortable standard of living, down the toilet; I say, show, don't tell. Show me. Come on. I'm not an unreasonable man. I can be persuaded. Demonstrate that enhanced CO2 levels are a primary climate driver. Not with computer models, but with a real, small scale experiment as above. Although I have the feeling that any such demonstration would end up like one of those old Tomorrow's World experiments with Raymond Baxter, Judith Hann and Michael Rodd. It wouldn't work.

The truth, as they say, has been out there all along. Not that a demonstration of the actual physics will convince 'true believers' or anyone whose grant or tenure relies on the whole AGW / MMGW boondoggle. They have too much to lose to let mere facts get in the way. The public however, is catching on. If certain politicians don't wake up and small the coffee soonish, they'll be out on their ears. Fortunately, we have the Harper Government over here, which likes to drag it's heels on this issue and may thus be the saving of Canada. Although what we'll do if our biggest market to the south goes belly up might cause short term issues. We could always sell to the Chinese market. They have real money.

H/T Spinonthat.com via this post on wattsupwiththat.

Now can we simply do something about air and water pollution and overfishing? Which are more important issues than a trace atmospheric gas essential to the life of plants.

What's not to like?

One cool piece of kit which beats the hell out of the snowblowers they sell at Canadian Tire and elsewhere. The speed this webcam equipped robot can clear sidewalks looks awesome. My brother in law, who lives in Minnesota (Where they know about snow and cold) says he wants one for next Winter. He might even make a few extra bucks hiring it out.

Nor was there a clipboard to be seen, or 'elf 'n safety officer involved in its making.

H/T Scoakat

My family are watching

Phone call from family in the UK this morning; having received regular updates on our progress in the immigration stakes, eldest brother was almost complimentary. His take on the erosion of civil liberties and increasing tax take in the UK; "You're not missing anything."

Indeed, dear sibling indeed. You know it's all going terribly wrong over there when the Russians are saying stuff like this. I mean, Pravda for crying out loud! The one time home of the greatest tractor statistics reporting in the entire world.

Mind you, on our day trip over to Vancouver the other week, we noted that the Russians did appear to be the richest partygoers in town. How the world turns, eh?

Important stuff for UK expatriates.

Watching the current UK Government's scorched Earth policy from this side of the planet, I have been disturbed to find that my old NHS health records may soon be made available online for the world and his wife to gawp at. Unless of course you want to 'opt out'. There is a twelve week deadline, and if like me you aren't sure what address your 'opt out' letter went to, you won't have been notified.

For emigrants like me this is a concern. What about medical confidentiality, what about your right to a 'private life' as supposedly enshrined (and so often ignored) in EU Human Rights legislation? This walks all over it with size 12 workboots.

Now obviously I don't live in the UK any more, but I don't want every council busybody able to access my confidential medical records on the grounds that it's none of their fucking business. For example, I do not want to have to go back to the UK for family reasons only to have some clipboard wielding council official enquiring about the state of my feet for example (Incidentally, they're fine, the tendon injuries caused by walking up to 20 miles a day in unsuitable council issue footwear has cleared up nicely thankyou). Yes I know that's a bit of a reach, but people without proper medical training should not have ready access to such information as they do not have either the experience nor the knowledge to form credible opinions. Only Doctors should have that power.

Putting your health records online in the UK National Health Service's notoriously leaky and surprisingly unsecure data infrastructure is the worst idea on this planet. ID thieves must be positively salivating with anticipation.

If you don't want your personal medical record published online by the UK's NHS, you have less than twelve weeks to do so. This link will take you to the form which will allow you to opt out of the process. Mine will be filled out and my families details removed from said online travesty, providing the temporary clerk with limited English language skills they hire to do the job doesn't fuck up, which is more likely than not. However, despite my justifiable cynicism, the form goes priority air mail tonight.

New toy

Big 'Herring run' locally on Sunday. Bald Eagles all over the damn place, patches of pink surfaced sea bigger than five acre fields each in the narrows, California Sea Lions rolled on their back with their flippers in the air from eating too much Herring. Acre sized rafts of Gulls sitting on the water too bloated with fish to fly. Working affairs precluded me getting the fishing rod out and joining in the bumper harvest, but I now have a new toy in the shape of a 60x spotter scope with a promise of a camera attachment for when I actually get a new camera.

Pictures of our local Eagles nest will follow when the set up is complete, although any pictures of Baby Bald Eagles will have to wait until August when they start to fledge.

Dinosaur am I?

In the local paper today there was a cartoon showing the end of the Dinosaurs with a Tyrannosaur holding up a placard saying "There is no such thing as global warming". Being a contrary soul, I have my own little missive in a similar vein.

When the truth stamps on your tail, it is the smart saurian that examines the evidence and says, "Well maybe it ain't gonna get hotter after all." and begins preparations for a long cold spell. While those doomed to extinction keep on regurgitating the same "We're all dooomed" mantra while still wearing T-shirts and shorts and not putting stuff aside for the hard times to come, or expecting someone else to do it all for them.

My money is still on a Dalton like event over the next thirty years or so.

Monckton, Plimer, Redfearn & Brooke at the Brisbane institute

Brooke + Readfearn / Monckton + Plimer from Manda Chuva on Vimeo.

A proper climate change debate, a bit long at 89 minutes, but informative nonetheless. Redfearn was out of order for making sidelong personal attacks when the whole idea was to debate the science. Plimer was also mocking of the other side. The only people to come out on top were Monckton and Brooke, who debated the subject, not the personalities.

Errata: Apologies for getting Redfearn and Brooke mixed up. Smacked wrists.

Update: Monckton seemed to come out on top as he actually explained what he was doing rather than taking Brooke's "It's far too complicated for non-specialists to understand, I'm the expert." Plimer should have stuck to explaining his work rather than the personal jabs. As for Redfearn; well, he came across as a propagandist, nothing more.

Guffaw

I love the cover picture of this article in the Weekly Standard.

I'm also laughing at the tales of climate doom about a massive release of Methane from undersea deposits of crystalline Methane Hydrate (a.k.a Methane Clathrate). Now this idea has been kicking around since the 70's, with speculation on how one nation could cause mega catastrophe by dropping a Nuclear weapon onto said deposits. First published in 'Weather War' by Leonard Leokum and Paul Posnik. Now the idea has resurfaced with another eco-thriller covering the same theme. Frozen Fire, by Bill Evans & Marianna Jameson, published July 2009 . The idea of massive methane release was earlier used as the backbone theme in ‘Mother of Storms’ by John Barnes, published in 1995. At least Mr Barnes was honest enough to publish his as science fiction. The others belong in the 'occult' section of the bookstore along with Erich von Daniken's codswallop about aliens building the pyramids and suchlike.

The real story behind Methane Clathrate is that we don't know all that much. To quote this paper from the USGS;

At this stage, it is important for USGS scientists to learn how the hydrates form, evolve, and break down, how they affect sediments, and what factors control their concentration at certain locations, as well as to explore for new hydrate accumulations. Cooperation with other Federal agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for bathymetry studies, the Department of Energy for application of hydrate gas extraction technology, and the U.S. Navy for acoustic studies, will enhance the success of future work.

Right. So to run around screaming that "We're all doooomed!" about a phenomenon that is not well explored or understood is not the sensible option.

Just time for a nice cup of tea then.

Well there's an event I missed

Apparently there was a naked bungee jump for charity south of town last week. Just as well they did it while the weather was mild, as the chill that has whipped in recently might have seen the exposure significantly reduced, if you know what I mean.

The news from the UK continues to fall into the category of 'Is this some political kamikaze thing or what?' The Tories seem determined to lose the next election. Brown and his cronies seem dead set on sinking the UK into a slough from whence it will be painful to extricate itself. From over here the bloated UK state and all it's local government departments resemble a sink estate fortysomething 'mum' with a bad chip habit. A mass of lethargic, bad tempered cellulite that knows all it's 'rights' but is too lazy and ill tempered to do anything in return.

Doing a lot of 'lurking' at the moment on UK blogs. Just reading posts and making little comment because it's almost too painful to assimilate. Are things really that bad and the politicians so detached from the electorate? Although a quick phone call to Ma Sticker tells me that yes, it's worse. State intervention in the day to day of the UK's citizenry appears endemic. The busybodies are trying to regulate everything, food, drink, even air, with a perverted clipboard carrying mentality which claims to know the price of everything, but the value of nothing. Oh what the hell, this is what happens when you let the 'there should be a law agin it' crowd have their head. I'd get depressed only I'm over here, and not there.

A bit chill today. Log fire time I think.

A touch of the Bard

Was taking a break from the working day this morning, leaned on the rail to enjoy BC's bright silken morning air. I was moved to literary transport,and Hamlet's famous soliloquy rolled through my forebrain. With of course my own idiosyncratic commentary.

To be or not to be – that is the question:
Who and what is this shit?
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Is it better to roll over and take shit?
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them.
What am I going to do about all this shit?
To die, to sleep No more – and by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to – ‘tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.
To die, to sleep To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th’ oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th’ unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
If I killed myself would all the shit go away?
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
But what if this shit is all there is?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.—Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.
If I do nothing, or say nothing, what kind of cowardly shit does that make me?

As acted by Ethan Hawke (What is all this shit and why do people rent it?):

And more traditionally by Kenneth Branagh (I can make all previous versions look like shit):

And Mel Gibson's performance (Despite objections in the comments, not shit at all):

Even Schwarzenegger has had a go (Taking no shit whatsoever):


No shit.

Neighbourliness

Taking time out from work to sit on our admittedly chilly but sunbathed porch today, Mrs S and I were hailed from across the fence and received two invitations to a 'Happy Hour'. From total strangers no less. We've missed all this stuff because we've mainly been snuggled down next to a toasty log fire and not been getting out and about as much as we should. That and work has taken up most of our daylight hours. Yet our new neighbours have been uncompromisingly welcoming, and I hope to be returning all favours shortly as soon as Mrs S deems our new domicile ready for polite company.

The only downside at present is that like so many ex-pats we're economising because the nosediving pound is ablating our capital, and there's nothing we can do about it at the moment. Well we could, but the immigration rules say that until we get that last tick in the box we can't import the rest of our money. This has proved very frustrating and highly expensive. It just means we've got to work harder when we're allowed to.

Chores, chores, chores. Migrate to a new country, navigate complex immigration rules, restrictions on work prevent earning additional income to make up shortfalls. Well no one said it would be easy.

Here we go

The UK's proposed digital economy bill is an iniquitous piece of proposed legislation that should be buried at a crossroads at midnight with a stake through it's wicked heart. I say Bill, that's a bit strong isn't it? After all, you won't be affected by it over on your side of the world.

True,as a copyright holder I should be bang alongside all these big companies who can see their revenue streams being eroded but I'm not. File sharing is free publicity, as the Python team found out in their own words;

For 3 years you YouTubers have been ripping us off, taking tens of thousands of our videos and putting them on YouTube. Now the tables are turned. It's time for us to take matters into our own hands.

We know who you are, we know where you live and we could come after you in ways too horrible to tell. But being the extraordinarily nice chaps we are, we've figured a better way to get our own back: We've launched our own Monty Python channel on YouTube.

No more of those crap quality videos you've been posting. We're giving you the real thing - HQ videos delivered straight from our vault.

What's more, we're taking our most viewed clips and uploading brand new HQ versions. And what's even more, we're letting you see absolutely everything for free. So there!

But we want something in return.

None of your driveling, mindless comments. Instead, we want you to click on the links, buy our movies & TV shows and soften our pain and disgust at being ripped off all these years.

And for the Pythons it has paid off in massively increased sales of DVD's.

Simple business sense. When offered free advertising, smile and welcome everyone to the party. It's no good having the rights to the most fabulous piece of music or prose ever if no-one is allowed to see even a sample without coughing up. There's gold in them thar vids, pardner!

Britannia justicia est mortuus

Well I knew this situation was coming back in 2005, which is one of the reasons Mrs S and I are abandoning HMS UK, but to see someone banged up for breaching an arbitrary ban whilst more serious offenders go free is still a bit of a shock to the system. This isn't just about smoking, it's about the simple liberty to run your own life. There's a collection for Mr Hogan over at Old Holborns blog. Help if you can.

Update: Not only can someone be prosecuted for allowing people to smoke on their premises, you can apparently be prosecuted for publicly disagreeing with the legislation. The phrases 'heavy handed' and 'completely over the top' seem to be quite apposite.

Drinking will probably be next.

Correction: It's to be freedom of religious conscience. It's a wonder his grace hasn't made mention of it in this weeks postings.

As an aside, I mentioned the aforementioned to a work buddy who quipped that I should have applied for political asylum, as I would have had my Canadian Citizenship by now had I done so. Not with my luck.

Oh dear.....

I'd better send my Mother warning her about this in my next letter. On the other hand I'd be better off phoning.

Over here I've finished cutting and stacking all our logs into firewood for next year so it will be dry for heating. I reckon we've got until early June until our Permanent Residency kicks in and we can start taking all the work we've had to turn down. With the pound currently in a nosedive, I just hope our sterling reserves don't get too depleted. This is not good.

BTW: H/T to An Englishmans Castle for the vid.

Bloody Malthusians

Pedro Delgado wrote:
"There are simply too many people on the planet."
Peter Hitchcock wrote:
"The elephant in the room is that there are already too many people for this planet."
Lucius Malfoy wrote:
"Surprise surprise! What we need is 2 billion less people not new fuels."

Well me bucko's, is this the sort of thing you had in mind, eh?

As I've said before about people wanting the global population reduced; after you.

Update; H/T to Kate at Small Dead Animals. How about this climate scare story related death?
Earth Day founder murdered his girlfriend and on 13th February 2005 hanged himself with electrical flex at the Royal Ottawa Hospital Forensic Unit.