Day 150: Update on Goals

We're getting towards the halfway point though 2023, so time for another update on goals...

• Books: I'm making really slow progress through the second of the three books from The List - I'm 175 pages in, out of 870ish. I have picked up the pace recently, though since that was from "stopped", I'm not sure that really counts. I still hope to finish the three books this year, but probably very few others, if any.
• Blogging: I should really have completed 49 posts by this point in the year, so I'm still somewhat behind. However, I'm pretty much on target at The Imaginarium, so the catchup is underway.
• Redecorating: No progress here, but I remain somewhat hopeful.
• Other stuff: Nothing much to report on that I haven't mentioned already. We're now well into the long days of summer, which in theory means a bit more daylight in which to do stuff. I'm afraid I'm doubtful of that!

My best guess is that I'll complete the three goals, but only just. Which is somewhat pathetic, really.

Despite that, life actually remains mostly positive. Mostly.

One Conclusion, One Beginning

We had a BBQ yesterday, for the first time since I fitted the new regulator and hose. As I mentioned before, I had had some trepidation about this fix, and so approached the cooking with some small measure of fear. But I'm still here, which suggests that it was probably okay. So I'm calling that job done.

At work I'm now preparing for our first BBQ of the year. (For complex and confusing reasons, I'm the resident grill-master.) I therefore spent quite a bit of time this morning getting the BBQ out of storage, giving it a thorough clean, putting the grill plates back in position, and turning it on to make sure everything is in working order (it is).

So now I'm in meal planning mode, both for the work BBQ on Thursday and also for my birthday BBQ at the end of the month. In both cases, I'm hoping to surprise people with something they didn't expect. But what, that is the question...

Chickens Come Home to Roost

The latest polling evidence makes for grim reading for the SNP. If the seats fall as this poll suggests, they'll lose 23 seats (technically 20 plus three others that were won by SNP candidates but are currently held by ex-SNP MPs). My own MP falls into that group.

Now, on the one hand, that's somewhat unfortunate, as our current MP is one of the more effective SNP MPs. On the other hand, given some of the things that she has expressed, I won't be particularly sorry to see her go. (Funnily enough, I'm not keen on outright misandry.) But on the other, other hand, the prospect of replacing a largely-useless SNP MP with a totally-useless Labour one isn't exactly thrilling.

But, fundamentally, the issue isn't really a swing from the SNP to Labour. The issue is that people who voted SNP last time are going to stay home, while everyone else votes tactically to replace them with Unionist candidates. 45% of the electorate will give you a landslide, but only if that 45% is motivated to turn out.

And therein lies the rub. The SNP are, frankly, not giving anyone a reason to bother voting for them. They're not going to be in government, so whatever policies they put forward, on just about anything, are irrelevant. (Plus, of course, if they were relevant then they'd need to be judged on their record in Holyrood, which in recent times is abysmal.)

That leaves the constitutional matter. Now, their "de facto referendum" could have been a foolhardy move, and there's a very real chance that had it succeeded it still wouldn't have made any difference. But it would at least have motivated the 45%. But they're not going for that. Instead, they're asking for a mandate to ask, yet again, for a Section 30 order for a second referendum.

Well, let's not bother with that. We know the answer already. If the Tories win the election, the answer is "no". If Labour win the election, the answer is "no". If there's a hung parliament in which either the Lib Dems or DUP hold the balance of power, the SNP will be locked out, and the answer is "no".

There's a tiny chance that we might end up with a hung parliament in which the SNP hold the balance of power. But here's a thing: Labour will never do a deal with the SNP to take power. Even if the 'deal' is "do whatever you want, and we'll vote for it, and ask nothing at all in return", Labour still wouldn't take it. They'd let the Tories back into power first, since the alternative is five years of the right-wing media saying "See?! We told you so!", followed by them being wiped out at the next and subsequent elections. So even if that tiny chance did pay out, Labour would let the Tories take power... and the answer is "no".

A Section 30 Order for a new referendum is long since dead. If that's what you're asking for, you're saying you've given up on independence. Which means that the 45% have no inbuilt reason to bother voting for you.

And so I'm left with no reason to bother with them. They've failed us for too long. The chickens have come home to roost.

Ever-Smaller Roads

In theory, the main road on my commute is the M8. That's the busiest moterway in Scotland, it's a big, serious road, and it's also nice and direct.

Except that the M8 is horribly busy, so actually it's really not the road to take. The best way to work is to use an alternative route that is similarly direct but which is much smaller, has a lower speed limit, more traffic lights and roundabouts, and is generally the lesser option - in theory.

Except that that road is currently ravaged with massive, long-term roadworks. Which means that the best way to work is currently to divert off that road and into a bunch of small, winding roads through a couple of villages, across a level crossing, and then onto some narrow country roads.

I noticed this morning that there are now some roadworks on one of those roads. I dread to think what the next step is.

Something I Don't Understand

There are many things that perplex me about the Tory government, not least how 17% of people can still think of voting for them. (Seriously, I can just about understand the mindset that leads someone to vote Tory. But to vote for these Tories, when in addition to everything else they're fundamentally bad even at being Tories...) However, there is one thing that particularly confuses the hell out of me:

As we know, the most valuable natural resource of the future is going to be clean water. ("Quantum of Solace" is not a good Bond movie, but on that point it was absolutely bang on the money - and that was fifteen years ago.) This isn't a controversial opinion, or some bizarre eco-hippy shit; it's a very simple and clear fact.

Why then are the Tories allowing, even encouraging, the privitised water companies to turn all of England's waterways into open sewers? Why are they actively destroying the very resource that is going to become so incredibly valuable?

As I said, they're really really bad even at being Tories.

It Was Nice While It Lasted

I see that Summer has been and gone. It was an unusually good one this year - it lasted almost all of Friday!

Not Helping

Some stuff is happening at work that is intended to improve things. At least, that's the stated intent, and I choose to believe it. Sadly, that stuff is raking up everything that has happened over the last two years, some of which it turns out was better left buried.

Right now is not a good time.

Snooze

I've always tried to resist the use of the snooze function on my alarm - I've generally been of the view that I'd rather build the extra few minutes into my sleep, and get up straight away with a later alarm. (Plus, my understanding is that this gives better sleep overall anyway.) Granted, there have been times the snooze alarm has gone off, but that's been because I've not stopped the alarm properly for one reason or another.

Until this week.

On Tuesday, to my lasting shame, when my alarm went off I just couldn't face getting up. So the snooze went on, and I snoozed indeed.

Granted, that had been after a difficult night in which Surprise! had gotten me out of bed for an hour about 3am, and when I returned I found that Funsize had evicted me (and so I slept the rest of the night in her bed). But still.

Anyway, we survived this great horror. This time.

Worryingly Fixed

After a few failed attempts, I managed to fix our BBQ at the weekend - I'd sourced and purchased a new regulator and hose some time ago, but found that actually fitting the hose was remarkably difficult. But after several attempts, the application of washing up liquid and boiling water, and the strategic use of a glove, I managed to get it into place. Then the clips were appropriately tightened, and the job was done!

At this point, per the advice I'd seen about doing the job I checked for leaks using an officially-branded product for this task. (It was actually just "bubble goo" - the very same stuff that the kids use for blowing bubbles. But since the consistency of these things varies, I was somewhat comforted by getting an official product just to be sure.)

So, anyway, I checked. No bubbles. Then I checked again, just to be extra sure. It really, really doesn't have any leaks.

And yet...

I find that there's a tiny part of me that would rather that the repair had definitively failed. That would have forced the purchase of a new BBQ, which isn't something I want to do, but could be preferable.

Because there's a tiny part of me that just won't be happy with this one until I've actually used the BBQ to actually cook some food. I'm absolutely certain that the parts used are good, I'm absolutely certain that the fitting is correct, and I'm absolutely certain that there aren't any leaks. So there's no reasonable doubt as to the efficacy of the fix. But there is still an unreasonable doubt to contend with.

Some Thoughts on the Coronation

I'm of the view that spending a quarter of a billion pounds of scarce public money on giving a rich old guy a new hat is not a particularly worthwhile use of resources at the best of times. To do so while in the midst of a cost of living crisis is bordering on the obscene. And to pay for it, in part, by diverting funds away from foodbanks is frankly indefensible.

That said, if you absolutely must do such a monstrous thing, I guess it's better that it's done well. And, looked at purely as a demonstration of Britain's absurd obsession with pageantry and dressing up, it was certainly done well. The hat went on, and stayed on, with scarcely a wobble. What more could you possibly ask for?

So... yay, I guess?

Oh, one more thing: the right wing press are now positively glowing about Penny Mordant's performance, and have now declared her to be the favourite to become the next Tory leader. Apparently, strange women distributing swords is a suitable basis for a system of government in Brexit Britain.

Roll Over

We've hit a fun new phase.

Surprise! is still not quite at the stage where he will sleep through the night. He seems to be getting better, but it remains the case that at some point in the night he will start crying and come into bed with us.

However, in the last couple of weeks Funsize seems to have also started to suffer from disturbed sleep, and in particular from nightmares. As a consequence of this, she wakes up and comes through to us as well. (Plus, I rather suspect she's milking it somewhat - her brother comes through, so she wants to as well.) The upshot of all of this is that quite often we've ended up with all four of us in our bed, and while it's a big bed it's really not big enough.

Unfortunately, this has left me trying to sleep while balanced on the edge of the bed or, more recently, simply giving up and retreating into Funsize's bedroom, switching off the unicorn nightlight, and trying to get some sleep. It's not ideal, but when they all roll over, one falls out.