So Where are the HABs?

Every time there is a major (male) football tournament, the media subject us to long and lavish coverage of the WAGs - the Wives and Girlfriends of the various players. Which is pretty reductionist and demeaning, particularly as most of the women in question have reasonably high profile careers in their own rights (and the ones that aren't in the public eye presumably choose not to be).

Still, where there is a major football tournament being run and the wives and girlfriends are there specifically in a supporting role to their husbands and boyfriends, I suppose there is at least a little justification. Maybe.

Except that right now we have a major footballing tournament being run, the Women's World Cup, during which many of the players presumably have husbands and boyfriends in attendance, there specifically in a supporting role to their wives and girlfriends.

So... where is the long and lavish coverage of the HABs? Where are the multi-page spreads, the slobbering debates over which country has the hottest HABs?

I should perhaps note that I'm not particularly desperate to see such coverage. But geese and ganders, and all that stuff: we shouldn't be accepting a double standard. So, as a matter of principle, it must be there.

Or perhaps the media could stop drooling over the WAGs in future?

(Oh, one last thing: I'm aware of course that at least some of the players in the Women's World Cup are gay, and as a consequence have wives and girlfriends supporting them, and it wouldn't be fair for me to completely ignore them. I haven't mentioned them thus far mostly because I've been talking about double standards re:WAGs/HABs. But given the events of this week, it's also important to note that I'm very much not calling for such intrusive coverage. As a wise woman said this week: they're not there for our benefit.)

#27: "Gardens of Gallowspire", by Crystal Frasier

Day 150: Update on Goals

Things continue to go reasonably well in 2019, though a lack of sleep is proving rather debilitating. And then there's the one big fly in the ointment... but I can't speak about that.

Anyway, it's time for an update on goals:

• Books: By day 100 I should have read 24.65 books. I'm pretty much right on target - having finished "Anna Karenina" I'm no longer playing catch up on that sublist, so can get back to tracking things normally. My expectation is to end the year on the 60 books I targeted. However, I'm unlikely to get 12 read from The List, and very unlikely to finish off the British part of The List. Still, that's not too bad.
  
• Weight: I've now dropped about half a stone, so this is actually more or less on target. Still, more to do!
  
• Blogging: This is right on target, both here and on the Imaginarium.
  
• Redecorate the Study: This was not done in the Easter holiday, so remains to do. My new expectation is that we'll probably tackle it during the October week, unless it bugs me enough to demand attention between now and then.
  
• The To-Do List: As noted elsewhere, the To-Do List was revisited at the end of the Easter holiday and expanded to eight items. At the time of writing it's back down to four (one of which is the study, as above). My current focus is on the scanning of old pipe band music, which I expect to get done soon. If and when it gets down to just one item (the study) I'm actually going to declare it done, given the separate goal above.

So, that's that - a long-winded way of saying that everything is going pretty well. The next update will be mid-July. My hope by then would be to be able to announce the completion of the To-Do List, but we'll see...

#26: "Marauders of the Dune Sea", by Bruce R. Cordell

That Ludicrous Display Last Night

Last night Funsize and I sat down to watch Scotland's women against Jamaica. (No, obviously not all of Scotland's women. That would be silly. LC doesn't play football.) Funsize made it to half time before being called away on important sleep-related business, at which point I did the washing up before watching most of the second half.

I was both shocked and confused by what I saw.

Not that the women in question were playing football, you understand. That would be silly. But the manner in which they did so...

They won.

I mean, honestly, has nobody explained to them what is expected of a team representing Scotland? We're not supposed to win things! We're meant to go up against teams we're 'supposed' to beat, make painfully heavy weather of it, lose a jammy goal against the run of play, and then console ourselves about yet another glorious failure.

And what's even more shocking is that they're now off to France to go and play in the World Cup!

(After the game the team were given a pep talk by Nicola Sturgeon, Judy Murray, and Steve Clarke, the last being the new manager of the men's team. Given that the men's team haven't been to a major tournament in twenty years, perhaps they should have been giving him the benefit of their experience, rather than the other way around?)

Okay, on a serious note: it was a good game, and our team played very well, especially in attack. One of the goals, in particular, was exceptional. That said, there was some weakness at the back, and it was apparent that we're prone to leaving ourselves vulnerable to being caught on the break. With luck, the match last night has flagged that up and will allow us to clear up the issues prior to meeting England next week.

It's going to be strange following a World Cup with more than an academic interest in how it all pans out...

#25: "Dark Sun Creature Catalogue", by Richard Baker and Bruce R. Cordell

Nothing Has Changed

Ah, the European Elections. Such fun.

As far as I can see, the upshot of those elections is that things are pretty much as they were: England wants Brexit (and a No Deal Brexit if that's what it takes), and are going to take the rest of us along for the ride. Wales also, mostly, wants Brexit, although there's some strong resistance there. Scotland doesn't want Brexit... but also doesn't quite want Independence, which is looking ever more like the only way to escape Brexit. (It will be really interesting to see what happens when people are finally confronted with a need to actually choose: Brexit or Independence.)

And yet, these results are also in some ways absolutely crucial.

Because right now the fate of the country lies first in the hands of Tory MPs and then in the hands of Tory members, and those groups aren't representative of the country as a whole.

And for that group, the election results are absolutely clear: Tory voters want Brexit, and if need be they'll go and vote for another party to get it.

I'm reasonably sure that what that means is that the new leader will be a hard Brexiteer. I'm very sure that the new leader will have to promise that we're going to leave on the 31st of October, come what may, and will have to deliver on that promise. Otherwise, the Tory party will look to take a major kicking at the next General Election.

(The big problem then is that the new Tory leader is likely to take office in mid-September at the earliest, which gives about six weeks to try to negotiate a new deal. So even if they're inclined to try, the chances of getting a deal that is able to get through parliament in time are negligible.)

I think we now have two chances to avoid No Deal, neither of which look promising:

Firstly, it's possible that there are enough Remain-minded Tory MPs to ensure that the final two candidates in their leadership contest are both soft Brexiteers. In which case the membership will choose between two people they don't much like, and we'll get Theresa May mark II - a period of paralysis, more can kicking and extensions, and nothing being done until that person is finally forced out.

But I don't think there are enough Remain-minded Tory MPs to control both final candidates, and I expect the Tory membership to go for the hardest Brexiteer on offer. Who might well try to negotiate a new deal, but who will certainly head for No Deal Brexit if nothing can be done prior to the 31st of October.

This brings us to the second chance: faced with an imminent No Deal, it's possible that enough Tories will defect to win a vote of No Confidence, and bring about a General Election. The problem being that if they do that then they wouldn't be able to stand as Tory candidates, and so they would be throwing away their political careers to bring about an election that might stop a No Deal Brexit. (Oh, and they'd have to act very quickly - it takes a minimum of seven weeks from a successful No Confidence motion to a General Election, and between mid-September and the end of October there are approximately six weeks.)

(There is one other, very slight, chance of a reprieve. Back in April, it seems that Theresa was all set to go for a No Deal exit. What stopped her was being informed that if she did that then Northern Ireland would leave the UK, and Scotland would almost certainly follow. Faced with the same hard truth, I think the hard Brexiteers would still go for it, but it's just possible that they would blink too.)

The upshot of all of this is that I'm reasonably sure we're now heading for a No Deal Brexit at the end of October. I don't really see any way of stopping it.

Which is a cheery thought for a Monday morning. We should have had the count on Thursday.

#24: "Book of Spells, Part I", edited by Gardner Dozois

Good Things About the "Game of Thrones" Finale

Before I rant properly, I should first note that I've actually been a fan of just about everything in the first five episodes of this season of "Game of Thrones". In particular, the events of the previous episode were something I found quite shocking at the time, but which were actually obvious in retrospect. The only real problem, both with that twist and indeed with the last two seasons as a whole, was just that they were far too rushed - everything was happening so fast that nothing really got a proper build-up. But then, given that too much modern fantasy (including some of the earlier seasons) moves far too slowly, I wasn't too unhappy with that.

Unfortunately...

The finale was almost entirely terrible, but there are at least some good things about it:

Firstly, I particularly enjoyed the bold creative decision to rush the whole of the last two seasons so as to make time in the finale for a 6-hour shot of Arya, Jon, and Sansa slowly walking from the left of the screen to the right. That's the sort of inspired creative genius that's been missing from TV for far too long. Marvellous!

Additionally, this has the big advantage that I now know not to bother with the last two novels in the series, if indeed they are ever published. After all, there are two reasons to read them: to see the end, or to enjoy the journey. But we've now seen the end (and it's not worth it), and the previous two novels have been deeply underwhelming (the series dealt with both in season 5, and they were all the better for that compression). So if neither the journey nor the ending promise to reward the investment, why bother?

Oh, and I also know not to bother with the next Star Wars trilogy either - since Benioff and Weiss are responsible for both the debacle that was the end of "Lost" and the disaster that was the end of "Game of Thrones", why would I think they'll do better with Star Wars?

So that was that. The greatest TV spectacle of the modern age is now over. And it should have ended an hour sooner.

Avengers: Endgame

LC and I finally made it out to "Avengers: Endgame" this weekend. I find I have very little to say about it, mostly because we've waited sufficiently long to see it that just about everything that there is to say has already been said. Suffice it to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a really great culmination to everything in the MCU so far, it put a wonderful capstone on many of the individual stories and plotlines that have been cooking for so long, and it really didn't feel like three hours.

I think the thing that impressed me most was actually some of the quieter moments in the film. I can't say more without going into spoilers (which I'm inclined to avoid here, even now), but there were three character interactions (well, two and a non-interaction) that were particularly good.

All that said, I think I'm done with superhero movies for a while. I'm inclined to skip "Dark Phoenix" and even "Spider-man: Far From Home" in the cinema - I'll catch them on blu-ray. For now, I'm wanting to see something new, something different. Hollywood, please make it so!

#22: "Doctor Who: Wit, Wisdom and Timey-Wimey Stuff", by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright
#23: "Pathfinder: Last Watch", by Larry Wilhelm

"The Orville" and "Star Trek: Discovery"

I was very glad to see yesterday that "The Orville" has been renewed for a third season. I've very much enjoyed the two seasons thus far - it very much reminds me of the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" of old, and indeed deliberately so. Though part of me kinda wishes they formally drop the jokes and just go full-on sci-fi - I've found that a lot of the comedy seems to fall flat and that the show is actually at its best when it tackles the more contemplative aspects.

By contrast, I'm not enjoying "Star Trek: Discovery" so much, though it's entirely possible that it just hasn't had enough time to grow on me (I'm nine episodes into the first season). It just seems excessively grim to me. Though part of my dissatisfaction with the show is perhaps partly because it starts with an image of a show that I suspect I'd rather watch - the one where Michelle Yeoh's Captain Philippa Georgiou leads her crew on a voyage of exploration around the galaxy. (And it seems there's a spin-off in the works, so who knows?)

All that said, I'm a little bemused by the arguments over what is the 'true' successor to "Star Trek". In large part because D&D had an identical argument about a decade ago, when the fans split between the controversial 4th edition and the pseudo-clone Pathfinder. (FWIW, my view is "Discovery" is "Star Trek", though a different Trek to what we've seen before. "The Orville" is not Trek, although it is something very close. But neither distinction is anything to do with quality.)

Ultimately, though, I'm inclined to ask: why choose? If you like "Star Trek: Discovery", watch that. If you like "The Orville", watch that. If you don't like either, don't watch either - there's plenty of other things to do. And if you like both, well...

#20: "Transition", by Iain Banks (sadly, not one I'd recommend)
#21: "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", by C.S. Lewis (a book for Funsize; a book from The List)

Watership Down

In the run-up to Christmas I took a look through the TV listings, identified a number of things I was potentially interested in, and therefore recorded the new "Watership Down". We then didn't watch it, largely because we were never in the right mood. Eventually, LC stated that she really had no interest in it, whereupon I watched it last week across four days.

Sadly, it wasn't great. As is so often the case, the book was better.

The funny thing is, I don't really know why the adaptation just didn't impress me. The story was all present and correct, the cast was pretty stellar (far better than it really had any right to be), the animation was pretty solid.

(They even managed to not screw up in their handling of the female characters. One of the features of the book is that all the key characters are male, in a way that modern TV just doesn't do. So when they announced this adaptation, of course they talked about expanding female roles. The problem there is that the fact that so many of the characters are male is an absolutely key plot point. Change that, and you actually do ruin the story. As it turned out they didn't change that - they just vastly fleshed out the roles of those female characters who did appear when they did appear, and did so in an entirely appropriate way. So that was extremely satisfying - a win on every front.)

And yet... meh.

My big takeaway from this is that I'll just have to read the book again. Which is no bad thing.

Also at the Weekend: To Done

Shortly after I revisited the To Do list last month I decided to add a further three tasks. This took it up to a total of eight tasks, some of them fairly trivial. Given that a couple of weeks have now passed, I thought I'd take another quick look:

1. Painting the study: No movement, though I think we have now chosen the replacement computer desk.
   
2. Fixing the wardrobe: No movement.
   
3. Clearing the garage: No real movement. However this is, perhaps surprisingly, a good thing - we've generated several more boxes that need cleared, but which still fit within the "one carload" part of the task. I also now know what to do with the washing machine.
   
4. Mounting the pinboard: No movement. That's one of the tasks for this coming weekend.
   
5. Building the shelves: I did this at the weekend, so it can now be removed from the list.
   
6. Scanning old photos: One more niggly little bit of decluttering I have to do is to take some old photos I have accumulated over the years, scan them into digital form, and then get rid of almost all of the originals - they're mostly but not entirely just clutter, so I want rid. This is the other task for the coming weekend, though it may be over-ambitious to do it in one.
   
7. Scanning old bagpipe music: This is something I mostly did many years ago. However, I have since accumulated quite a lot of additional music that I'd like to scan and shred (mostly). I'm also quite keen to compile the existing files into more convenient PDFs.
   
8. MP3 cleanup: Before I did either the digital declutter or the scan-and-shred, my first big cleanup task was to take my accumulated music files and better arrange them. However doing so left a few things in a less-than-satisfactory state. Since it was bugging me, I set myself a task to clean these up, which I achieved at the weekend. Which of course means that the first time I'm mentioning this task is when I'm removing it from the list, but there it is!

In theory, it should be possible to tackle all of these except the study over the next three weeks (and if I get to the point where the study is the only remaining task I'm going to drop the list). In practice, I fear it will take considerably longer - there's a reason some of these tasks have been lingering for quite some time now. Still, this weekend represented good progress, so if it can continue that will be promising.

Star Wars Day

In days of yore, when the world was young and I was about seven or so, it was our wont of a Saturday morning to get up early and watch "Star Wars". We had it on an old Betamax tape, and watched it so often, week by week, that the tape eventually wore through. And that was the end of that. (I then wouldn't see "Star Wars" again until I was sixteen. I call those the wasted years.)

Saturday was the fourth of May, and therefore Star Wars Day. This provided a good opportunity to correct a significant oversight - although Funsize has seen two "Star Wars" films, they were "The Last Jedi" and "Solo", neither of which is exactly great.

So on Saturday we resurrected an old tradition, made new by time and technology, and got up early and watched "Star Wars". It was a shiny new (ish) blu-ray. And it's still good.

Oh, one more thing: whether it is at the end of "The Rise of Skywalker" or when the Disney inevitably decide to mess with the original "Star Wars" again, it is long since past time to give Chewie a medal. Especially in light of the passing of Peter Mayhew.

You Can't Look Away in Time!

I try really hard to avoid spoilers, to the extent that I now don't read reviews until after I've actually seen the film/TV show/whatever to which they refer - far too many reviewers believe it is their job to discuss key plot details, often without prior warning. But I'm also well aware that there are reasonable limitations to how long you can expect people to hold the secret (indeed we're nearing, if not past, that point with "Avengers: Endgame", one of the reasons I'm so keen to get out to see it).

I'm reasonably sure, though, that we haven't yet reached that point with the episode of "Game of Thrones" that aired in the small hours this morning. At the very least, that one doesn't run out until some time tonight.

So imagine my frustration when I opened Google on my phone this morning, was idly scrolling through the news items it had selected for me, and found a major spoiler for that episode sitting right there in one of the headlines. Honestly, how am I supposed to avoid that?

Thanks a bunch, you guys.

Anna Karenina

After a mere four months (and a bit), I've finally finished the last novel I started in 2018. I made the mistake of starting "Anna Karenina" on the flight out to France, when I really should have chosen something easier to read. I then made the further mistake of thinking I would read a part at a time, taking a break between for other things. What I should have done, and what I ended up doing for the latter half of the book, was reading a few chapters every day while reading other things in parallel.

Anyway, it's done now.

Sadly, I wasn't overly impressed. Mostly, my issue was that it was an awfully long novel in which not a great deal happened, with slightly more than half of it not even being about Anna at all, but rather about the young nobleman Levin's search for love and fulfilment. And while that was fine, it wasn't all that interesting - I'm afraid I found Pierre Bezukhov's quest in "War and Peace" rather more compelling.

The other big problem is that I really couldn't find much sympathy for Anna herself. While I understand and can accept the unfairness of her situation, and indeed the hypocracy of Society in that their judgement falls on her and not men in a similar position, my big problem is that she spends most of the book making everyone around her miserable. Even her death isn't actually a result of Society's unfairness towards her, but rather a spiteful attempt to make her lover feel bad. (After which there followed another fifty pages of Levin's story as he plods through a spiritual revelation.)

The upshot is that where "War and Peace" could just about be crammed into a 6-hour mini-series quite well (apart from the unfortunate shoehorning in of an incestuous sub-plot, since everyone wants to be "Game of Thrones" these days), "Anna Karenina" can quite comfortably be chopped down to a 2.5 hour film starring Keira Knightly.

Oh well, it's done now.

#19: "Anna Karenina", by Leo Tolstoy (a book from The List)

Desk Woes

In addition to repainting the study, we're quite keen to replace the computer desk. Said desk is still working fine, but it's fourteen years old and rather beaten up (having survived four house moves). The keyboard tray is unfastened on one side, there's a CD holder wasting space, and its position in the room means that the tower nook is on the wrong side. All in all, it's okay but not great.

Unfortunately, it appears that in addition to PC sales dropping like a stone, sales of computer desks are likewise tumbling. Either that, or people just delight in creating many variations of the same really bad desk design. (My particular favourite is that there are loads of desks that would be quite good if the two sides were switched, but no signs that that desk is actually produced anywhere.)

The upshot is that the selection of a new desk is inevitably going to be a compromise, and very likely a downgrade from what we have currently. And we don't even have the option of just getting an exact replacement of the existing desk - which wouldn't be great either, but would at least have the effect of undoing fourteen years of abuse.

I've even started to think the unthinkable, which would be to make my own desk to better match what I really want/need. But then a remembered that I have absolutely no skill with DIY, and so would just end up hurting myself and producing something ugly and useless. But apart from that it would be a great idea.

In the meantime, I have at least found what I think may be the least objectionable compromise...

Email Zero

Due to my sense of neatness, I try to maintain a state of "email zero" - a state where my Inbox has no outstanding emails needing attention. (Due to a quirk in Outlook, I actually find it beneficial to have a single placeholder email in there. But that's a detail that doesn't affect the underlying principle.)

As a result of this, my first task each morning is to deal with any emails that have arrived during the night. Many of these are routine and can just be deleted, some just want read and then filed, some need a reply (in which case I try to reply immediately). And then there are some that require some sort of action that, for whatever reason, can't be performed immediately.

For the most part, I deal with these by translating the email into a Task, then clearing the email from my Inbox - having recorded the Task I'll not forget it, but I'll get to it later.

However, it doesn't do to be too dogmatic about things. Just as any good filing system should have a "Miscellaneous" or "Other" section, for things that just don't go anywhere else but are sufficiently unique not to warrant their own section, any process for dealing with things is stronger, not weaker, if it includes a mechanism for dealing with exceptional cases that just don't fit. Sometimes, very occasionally, there's an email that requires some action, the action can't be dealt with immediately, but where it's better not to translate it into a task. And that means that sometimes, very occasionally, an email will hang around, and Email Zero will remain elusive.

About six months ago, I received one such email - it needed an action, there was a fairly detailed set of instructions for that action (so turning it into a Task was a pain), so I left it. "I'll get a suitable file tonight and do it tomorrow," thought I.

This was not the great plan I had thought. I finally remembered the appropriate file on Monday, dealt with the email yesterday, and thus was able to file it (in my "from 2018" folder, no less!), and reached Email Zero after a mere six months.

Which is perhaps not the most exciting story, but it was my big achievement of yesterday so I figured it was worthy of note...

Experimental Cookery 2019: Freestyle Stir-fry

On Saturday, following a fairly large lunch, we had a pretty late, and pretty light, dinner. This one was a stir fry with noodles, beef, carrots, and yellow pepper. What was noteworthy about this one was that it wasn't a recipe I took from anywhere - I basically put together a bunch of things I fancied having and cooked those.

It was okay, but not great. Too dry and too salty, though the various components were fine, both individually and collectively. Some more work is required to really make this worthwhile.

And that's pretty much all there is to say about that.

Chores

Had a bit of an interesting discussion yesterday about making the bed.

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, probably in the context of Christmas, I tend to divide tasks rather messily into three groups:

1. Tasks that you actually enjoy. Obviously, the list of such tasks will differ from person to person, but basically if there's something you enjoy doing then go for it!
   
2. Tasks that you don't enjoy but which are necessary. In which case you should optimise them so as to get them done and move on to something more enjoyable.
   
3. Tasks that you don't enjoy and which don't need done. In which case, why are you bothering? Nobody who has your interests at heart will judge you for not ironing the dog's blanket.

(I should note that the second category includes tasks that aren't necessary but which represent a price worth paying for something else you do want. For instance, when LC and I repainted our main bedroom that was something that didn't need done, represented a task we didn't enjoy, but was the price worth paying to have a bedroom that more suited us.)

I should also note that 'optimise' is not code for "do a half-assed job". In general, it's better to do a good job once than to have to do the job again because it wasn't done right the first time.

One thing I really hate is "make work" tasks - either tasks that 'must' be done, not because they're actually necessary but because someone has decided that this is the thing; or tasks that do need to be done, but where someone has decided they must be done this way and not that way. (Someone in this context is probably a matter of tradition, some habit passed down through the generations, or peer pressure. Very often you actually can't identify the specific person who originated it, but "it is known".)

Which brings me to the question of making the bed.

Making the bed is not a task that I enjoy. Nor indeed is it something that is actually necessary - when the evening comes you're going to get back in the bed, thus immediately un-making it. It's purely an aesthetic matter, and one for a room that most people are never going to see.

That said, making the bed is also a very small task, and one that serves as a payment for having a slightly neater bedroom, and that I do find somewhat satisfying. For that reason, it's a price I consider worth paying, and so it's a task I'll generally do (unless LC beats me to it, of course).

So far, so good.

But here's the question: should I, given what I've said above about necessary and unnecessary tasks, and given my aversion to "make work" tasks, proceed to teach Funsize that she should make her bed? (This is, of course, entirely theoretical at this stage. Funsize isn't yet at an age we'd even consider assigning her chores.)

At this point I'm also going to note that this is not just some silly, obscure philosophical point. Our society goes to significant lengths to load people (and especially women) down with imaginary obligations. I'm not sure of the motivation by all of it, though an awful lot seems to be about parting people from their money.

But the problem is that the time spent ironing your dog's blanket is time that you're not spending doing things of more value - whether that's time spent working on a career, time spent out enjoying yourself, or indeed nothing at all. By loading people up with imaginary obligations, you're either preventing them being more successful elsewhere or you're leading them to becoming increasingly stressed and overwrought by the 'needs' of life.

The upshot of that is that one of my roles, as the father of a daughter, is to teach her the discernment to understand the nature of these imaginary obligations and the pointless "make work" tasks they generate, and thus empower her to choose to opt out of them if she so chooses. That is, if Funsize decides to make the bed, it should be because she wants to, and not out of some imagined social obligation. Conversely, if she wants to use that time for something of more value to her, that's all to the good as well.

And yet...

Obviously, in order to choose to make the bed or not, she needs to know how to make the bed. And another of my roles is to equip my children with the skills that they'll need in order to make their way through life. In other words, I do have an obligation to teach Funsize how to make the bed, and indeed to reinforce that lesson through practice.

(And, actually, there's some value in teaching routines of that sort and teaching the attention to detail needed to do the job well. Diligence in the small things in life inculcates habits that lead to diligence in more serious matters, which is worthwhile learning on its own merits.)

The upshot of that, I think, is that the answer is that, yes, at the appropriate time we should teach Funsize that she needs to make her bed, and to do it to an appropriate standard. However, at some time beyond that there will also be a need to discuss why, and then let her stop... or not.

Yep, That'll Be The Problem...

Due to a combination of going away on holiday for a few days and then falling ill for a few days, there was a week when I didn't get a chance to practice my bagpipes. This is a bad thing at the best of times, but was especially bad given that I was using a hide bag (and, indeed, a hide bag that was nearing the end of its lifespan, and was therefore especially sensitive to drying out).

As a consequence of that, when I finally did get back to playing I found that the bag had more or less completely dried out. And so I thought I'd done myself a mischief in carrying on. Time for a new bag, methinks.

Last night at band I decided to give the pipes one last check before admitting defeat, and indeed the bag was leaking air. So off came the bag cover for a closer look...

At which point the cause of the problem became obvious. One of the cords holding the stocks in place had come loose, leaving a dirty great hole where air was spilling out. Frankly, the pipes should have been completely unplayable, and the fact that I felt terrible after doing so was suddenly explained!

Fortunately, my current band have a policy that they will supply bags for pipers to use, and indeed they had two new bags in stock. So the pipe major and I spent half an hour or so stripping the old bag from the pipes and then fitting the new one.

And then all was well. Hurrah!

(Plus, the new bag is synthetic, which means it will be less sensitive to not being played on a daily basis. Though I'm hoping, and intending, to retain the habit of near-daily practice!)

Not a Game-Changer

Over the past several weeks, I have given some considerable thought to the possibility of replacing one or both of our home PCs. After all those deliberations, approaching the question from multiple angles, and generally agonising over the question, I've come to a decision.

I'm not going to bother.

The thing is, both our home PCs are now at least five years old, and that being the case it feels like they should be due for a replacement. This is especially true of LC's laptop, which intermittently suffers from performance issues. And yet, both PCs quite happily do what we want them to do, so it would mostly be just about getting new PCs that do the same jobs better.

The first machine I decided not to replace was my desktop PC. Here, the thing that I thought was going to be a compelling reason to upgrade was to add USB 3 sockets to the machine. The lack of such sockets would represent a distinct limitation in the machine. (You can add such support later by inserting an expansion card, but my experience of similar upgrades in the past is that they're not very satisfying - they work, but not terribly well. So faced with the choice, I'd be inclined to upgrade.)

However, having dug through the specifications for the machine, I was surprised to find that many of the USB sockets are already USB 3. The upshot of this is that there's no hardware limitation to compel a replacement. And that means that any such replacement would be about performance gains.

But digging through those specificiations highlighted that the PC was actually a fairly high-end machine when I got it. Indeed, it appears that it was actually marketed and sold as a gaming PC (despite my never having had any intention to use it for gaming - and indeed I never have). I'm not entirely sure why I went for what was a vastly over-specced machine at the time, but I'm rather glad I did - this machine should remain perfectly adequate for what I actually need for several years to come.

The decision regarding LC's laptop was somewhat more complex, for a while. Given the known issues with the machine, there would seem to be a good case for an upgrade.

However, it turned out that the issues with the machine were largely due to software configuration. There was a problem with the anti-virus software which I was able to sort out. Additionally, there's a small problem in that the machine is itself only used intermittently, which means that when it does get used, it immediately finds several updates and a virus scan that are urgently required. Keep on top of those, and the performance issues largely go away.

The upshot is that in both cases an upgrade is possible, but in both cases it would represent a significant expenditure for an incremental, rather than revolutionary, improvement - a nice-to-have, but not worth the investment of funds.

The other thing that my investigations turned up is that, for both machines, there are two upgrades that are worth making and that will provide much, if not most, of the benefits of replacing the machines at a fraction of the cost. Specifically, both machines would benefit from more RAM (especially the laptop, which is running with 4GB where Windows 10 really wants at least 8), and both machines would also benefit from switching to a solid-state hard drive.

So it looks like I might be delving back into the world of PC upgrades, something I've not tackled in a decade or so.

To-Do List: The Wash-up

As I said in January it was my intention with the current iteration of the To-Do List to let it run until the end of the Easter holidays. Since we're now at that point, it's time to round up where it got to and determine what's next. So...

Phase One

As noted, the accumulated documents were sorted and dealt with early in January. So that's done.

Likewise, the kitchen was cleared, as indeed was the sideboard. Additionally, I cleared out the last drawer in the utility room, thus bringing an end to the decluttering process from last year.

The accumulated RPG papers were scanned, filed electronically, and then shredded. This took a long time, but did finally conclude Phase One of the list.

Phase Two

The various books, clothes, and other assorted items were gradually disposed of to the charity shop. This took longer than I had hoped, but was eventually done.

However, the process of clearing the garage hasn't been quite so effective. I've managed to get rid of most things, but there is about one carload of general stuff to take, plus an old and broken washing machine to get rid of. Clearing that last carload shouldn't be a big issue - with luck, I'll get that done this weekend, but the washing machine is a slightly more difficult proposition. (One thing that was quite nice, though, is that we managed to donate both the dishwasher and the tumble drier to good homes. Which is nice - they were in good working order, so reuse is always better than recycling.)

Phase Three

Perhaps surprisingly, I was able to get through the digital declutter last week, finally completing that task yesterday. This was a big task, and is one I'm very pleased to be able to tick off the list.

Also during the holidays, LC dug out the concrete plug from the garden, which I then took to the recycling centre for disposal. So that's that task done also.

Finally, we repainted the dining room over the holiday. As we had hoped, we were able to get away with just a single coat of paint on the walls. The paint we used was an almost exact match, which helped with keeping the job manageable.

However, we did not get to redecorating the study, largely because we felt we simply had too much on over the holiday without adding another big task. Given that I had a bout with a virus that stole a few days from me, that turned out to be a good choice.

Likewise, I never got around to taking another look at LC's wardrobe. That's a task that should be fairly minor if I can find the appropriate supplies. On the other hand, if I have to make do with something that's not quite the same thing, it could be much more extensive.

Wash-up

In all there were twelve tasks listed for the January To-Do List (although three started in a 'done' state). By the end of the Easter holidays, we'd completed nine of these between us, leaving three incomplete. Particularly gratifying was getting the digital declutter done.

Next...

The current To Do List has actually worked quite well, so I'm going to leave it in place (rather than rebuilding it from scratch, as I did last time). In addition to the three unfinished tasks, I'm adding two more: I have a pinboard that wants mounted in the kitchen, and a set of IKEA shelves to put together for Funsize. That gives five tasks for the list. Though if I get to a point where everything but the study is done, I'll retire the list at that point, since the study is also one of my annual goals and so retaining it in both places would then be redundant.

#17: "Darien: Empire of Salt", by C.F. Iggulden
#18: "Forever and a Day", by Anthony Horowitz

Day 100: Update on Goals

At the time of the previous update, I'd been having a really bad few weeks - 2019 had been a bit of a disaster. Fortunately, the weeks since then have seen a marked improvement in our fortunes, at least as far as our personal lives have been concerned. (Obviously, the political scene has sucked, and continues to be a complete mess, but that's another rant...)

Anyway, it's time for an update on goals:

• Books: By day 100 I should have read 16 and a half books, and I'm right on target. On the topic of The List, I'm still working through "Anna Karenina". As noted, it's looking very unlikely that I'll achieve 12 books this year, and am extremely unlikely to complete the British part of The List - this is one of the easiest of the remaining titles!
  
• Weight: I've managed a modest drop, which is a decent start, largely as a consequence of giving up Coke almost entirely recently. Those liquid calories are a killer!
  
• Blogging: I'm all caught up here, so that's good.
  
• Redecorate the Study: Our plan is to tackle this next week, while we're both on holiday and while Funsize is at nursery.
  
• The To-Do List: At the time that this post goes live (I have it scheduled to post automatically), we should be just starting the process of repainting our dining room. The plan here is mostly to do a patch job, rather than a full repaint - we're going to redo the walls in as close to the same colour as before as possible, and try to get away with one coat and skipping the edging. We'll see how that goes - it may just not work, in which case we have some time this week to revisit the job. Either way, I expect it done by the end of the week.
  My expectation is that that will take the To Do list down to five items. That's pretty good going - and with the exception of the digital declutter I hope to be done by the next update.

And that's that. The goals are actually, mostly, in a good place. See you in another 50 days!

#14: "The Steep Approach to Garbadale", by Iain Banks
#15: "The Magician's Nephew", by C.S. Lewis (a book for Funsize)
#16: "Pathfinder: Eulogy for Roslar's Coffer", by Jason Keeley

An Issue With Lent

For the past several years, including last year, I've been in the habit of giving up Irn Bru (and other 'sugar waters') for Lent. This had the key advantage of being a nice, obvious thing for me to give up, and also being suitably difficult to represent a real (if symbolic) 'sacrifice'. This year there is an obvious problem with that - I've had to give up Irn Bru anyway (due to the recipe change), and just don't have the same connection to Coke and other substitutes.

This year for Lent I've given up chocolate and chips. At the time, that seemed like a reasonable thing to do, but the effect has been largely trivial - I don't eat much chocolate at the best of times, so giving it up wasn't exactly hard, while dropping chips was likewise not a huge change (for the same reason). The upshot is that Lent has been pretty much a non-event this year, which renders it rather pointless.

The net effect of that is that next year I'll need to do something different to return the season to having some sort of meaning. It needs to be something easily understandable and also hard enough to notice.

There's nothing for it; it will have to be coffee.

Who Would Have Thought Theresa May Would Be Right?

In her much-maligned statement last Wednesday, Theresa May accused the House of Commons of going to great lengths to avoid making a decision. The key irony was, of course, that at that time the main block to the HoC actually being able to make a decision was in fact Theresa May. So last week Parliament siezed control of the process, and used it to have indicative votes yesterday. Finally, a chance for the House of Commons to make that much-needed choice!

Naturally, they then proceeded to vote down every possible way forward. May's deal? Nope. A Norway-like deal (in fact, several close variants of this)? Nope. No deal? Nope. A confirmatory referendum? Nope. Rescind Article 50? Nope.

The only possible deal that has ever managed to get a majority in the House of Commons is the "Malthouse Compromise", which amounts to "May's deal, but with the backstop removed". The problem being that the EU rejected that as a possibility long before it was even mooted, and weren't ever going to budge from that position. In other words, the only thing the HoC would accept is a unicorn.

As far as I can see, the only thing that is both (a) possible and (b) hasn't been voted down is to ask the EU for a longer extension. Not to actually achieve anything, mind you, since every possibility has been eliminated. Basically, we'd be asking them for an extension of our Purgatory.

More seriously, I'm inclined to think that the best way forward would probably to put forward "May's deal, but with a confirmatory referendum". That would certainly meet John Bercow's "different motion" test, and I think it would actually get through the House. I'm also pretty certain that the EU would grant a longer extension for the referendum to actually take place. (We'd have to take part in EU elections. I don't really consider that a calamity!)

The referendum itself would be another mess, of course, but at least it's a manageable one. Ideally, I'd prefer to see a shoot-out between May's deal and Remain, but if we absolutely must then I could live with No Deal being added as a third option (despite it being insane), coupled with preferential voting. What shouldn't be on the ballot is any sort of fantasy other option (be it Norway+, Labour's alternative), or what-have-you - any such option would require further negotiation and may not actually be deliverable. The referendum really must be limited to concrete options that we know can be executed promptly.

Naturally, therefore, that is not what's going to happen. My best guess is that May will bring her deal back, again, get defeated, again, there will be more Indicative Votes on Monday where everything is rejected, again, then two weeks of farce, and then No Deal. Not because anyone wants it, but because that's the legal default.

"If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are..."

Funsize took her first steps about six weeks ago, but then basically took no more for several weeks. Then there was some time where she might just about take a step... but more often would drop down onto all fours to crawl about. Last week, however, she took a longer walk, and then over the last week she's gone from just a few steps to basically being a toddler now.

The thing is, walking is actually a difficult thing - you need to coordinate your balance (on one foot no less), move a whole lot of muscles in combination, and in ways they haven't moved before, then re-settle yourself, and then do it again. More than that, it's something that people do without thinking, which means that it's almost impossible to explain how to do it... and anyway, you're explaining to a child without the necessary referents to understand it.

In other words, it's something that every child basically has to learn for herself, with plenty of demonstrations but no real instruction.

It is, therefore, necessarily a slow and difficult process, starting with a couple of staggered steps, then a few more, and then ever-increasing confidence.

Just like everything else.

It's not really some profound revelation, but it's something that bears almost constant repetition, and it's something that is very graphically demonstrated by a child learning to walk: learning a new skill is hard, and unless you're some sort of genius or savant you will such at it at first. But keep at it, and the second step will be a bit easier than the first... and then the next, and so on. Stick at it, and eventually you'll get to the point where it just comes naturally.

Experimental Cookery 2019: Spicy Lamb and Chickpeas

This one comes from Hugh's "Love Your Leftovers", which I picked up on a whim while in The Works recently. It's an interesting book, though I suspect the most useful bit may well be the introduction rather than the actual recipes. Still, we had roast lamb on Sunday and had a fair amount of leftover meat, so it seemed an ideal time to give this one a go.

This was a really easy recipe (spice some chickpeas, roast for a bit, add the lamb, and roast a bit more). My only issue was that I'd misjudged just how long it needed to roast for - I should have started a good bit sooner than I did.

The results were fine, though I must confess that I did find it rather monotonous. That said, LC did enjoy it rather more than I did, so maybe I'm just being fussy. I did think there were rather too many chickpeas for the amount of lamb in the recipe, and it probably did need the slaw that Hugh mentioned (but didn't include in the recipe itself).

I'm sure we'll have this again at some point, though I'm not entirely sure when - roast lamb isn't something we have terribly often, and although I'm probably going to do it again on Easter Sunday ('tis the season), I think it will be a little soon to have this again already.

And that's all there is to say about that.

Digital Decluttering: My Process

Following on from my previous post, I've given some thought to my process for the digital declutter, and so I thought I'd post them here.

The digital declutter is basically in five parts, two of which have already been completed. These follow the five 'libraries' that Windows assigns by default, if for no other reason than that's how I've been storing my files for the past several years. And, indeed, since I don't have a better arrangement in mind, and since that one is entirely reasonable, I'm inclined to stick with it.

The five parts are:

• Music: As the name implies, this is the collection of music files (MP3, WAV, etc) on my PC. I tackled this last year, so it's just a matter now of keeping it decluttered.
  
• Videos: Likewise, this is the collection of video files on my PC. This is also already done.
  
• Downloads: The next item on the list, this is a miscellany of files that have been downloaded - be they boarding passes, installers for various tools, or whatever else. My intention is actually to eliminate this entirely - anything that I want to keep should be stored somewhere else, and there should be plenty of files that just want to be deleted.
  
• Pictures: I think this will be next after the downloads. Pictures are tricky to organise, especially when dealing with them years after they were taken. I may well end up only partially organising the existing files, while establishing a fuller filing system for new photos...
  
• Documents: The last area I'll tackle is the "everything else" folder.

The process for dealing with this mess has three broad steps that apply to all of the libraries equally:

1. Before starting, all of the files should be copied on to a safe external storage device. This is an additional backup copy of the files and their existing file structure, to make sure that nothing gets lost in the process. Then take that external drive and put it somewhere safe. (This is actually done for all libraries.)
   
2. That done, all of the existing files should be moved out of their current library location and into a separate folder (Downloads_old, or similar). Care should be taken to ensure that all of the files move to this single location - at present, there are three possible locations for each of the types of files; they need to be gathered together for further processing.
   
3. Finally, work through each of the files in this separate folder. In each case, one of three things should be done: either the file should be deleted, or it can be moved directly to its new home, or it requires some more processing and then can be moved. (For instance, a document might need renamed to something more descriptive.)
   Note that, as with my house move strategy, the action of moving it to a new home can vary slightly in some cases. If the file's final home is in the same library as is currently being processed (for instance, if it's a picture file and I'm dealing with Pictures), then it should go to the appropriate folder in the library. If it actually belongs in a library that has already been done (for instance, if there's a Music file in Downloads) then it goes into the new library in the right place. If it belongs in a library that hasn't been dealt with yet, it gets moved to the correct library, but can be placed anywhere vaguely appropriate - it will be dealt with again later.

As for the final filing system, that will vary by library:

• Music: The 'default' Music folder has only a small number of dummy folders (download points for Amazon Music and the like), and then a link to the 'real' library. This is stored on a data partition, for easy backup. Within that folder there are subfolders for each album (or, where an artist has several albums, a subfolder for the artist and then subfolders by album).
  
• Videos: The 'default' Videos folder contains only a link to the 'real' library, stored in the data partition. Within that folder there are then subfolders by content type, and then within that subfolders for specific content.
  
• Downloads: The intention here is that everything will be cleared out of here, leaving only the 'default' Downloads folder. This will be used for short-term storage, being regularly cleaned out as files are either moved elsewhere, or just deleted as they outlive their usefulness.
  
• Pictures: The intention is for the 'default' Pictures folder to contain only a link to the 'real' library, stored in the data partition. There may be a short-term need to store other pictures here, but only until they are properly sorted. Within the 'real' library I plan to have a subfolder for Photos and another for Other pictures. The Other pictures will then be sorted by topic, while the Photos folder will have subfolders by year. Then, within each year there will be subfolders by month, and inside those folders for specific events. (As noted, it may be tricky to identify some events, which is why existing pictures may only be partially sorted.) Where an event straddles a month or year boundary, the event will be placed according to its start date.
  
• Documents: As above, the intention is for the 'default' Documents folder to contain only a link to the 'real' library, stored in the data partition. There may be a short-term need to store things here, but only until they are properly sorted. Within the 'real' library, I plan to sort by topic, with fewer top-level topics than at present (largely because I'll have a top-level RPG folder, rather than one folder per game).

Obviously, it is expected that all of this will take some considerable time to work through. Indeed, I don't ever expect to get all the existing files absolutely and completely sorted. If, however, I am able to establish a filing system for new files (especially Music, Videos, and Pictures), and can stick to it, that will be a major win.

Finished!

After just over six months of effort, and two marathon sessions in the last week, I have finally finished the effort of scanning and shredding all of my old RPG notes. Which means that that entry in my To-Do list can now be removed, and my daily task list drops from seven entries back down to six. All of which is great.

My next big project is the next phase in my digital declutter, which in the first instance means going through my downloaded files and deciding which ones to keep and which to get rid of (the latter group being by far the biggest). Apparently there are about 1,500 such files, which is rather more than I had expected.

However, before that I'm going to spend a little time looking at some of the smaller items on the To Do list - notably the tasks of clearing the garage, extracting the concrete plug from the garden, and re-fixing the bedroom wardrobe. With luck, I'll be able to cross some of these off the list in fairly short order - it currently stands at six items, but if I could drive that down to four, that would be great.

But before that I'm dealing with a strange feeling of disconnection - all weekend I kept finding myself itching to go and get on with my scanning for the day, only to have to remind myself that it's done. Which was a really strange feeling, albeit an absolutely classic reaction to the end of a big project.

#13: "The Skaar Invasion", by Terry Brooks (which is okay, but I really wish I'd waited until all four books in this series were out before starting...)

Ten Days

We've gone from it being ten weeks to being in a position where, in exactly ten days' time, unless something changes in the interim, the UK will leave the EU. At present, we will be embarking on a "no deal" Brexit, overseen by the worst government in living memory.

In theory, our government are in the process of writing a letter asking for an extension to Article 50, but it's for an extension they don't really want, of a duration they haven't decided, and for a reason that can best be summarised as "um..." So that's going well.

Still, no hurry, you guys!

#12: "Book of Swords, Part II", edited by Gardner Dozois

Les Mis - BBC style

LC and I watched the BBC's adaptation of "Les Miserables" over the course of last week, culminating with the final episode on Saturday. In truth, midway through the first episode I had inklings that we were wasting our time, but we stuck with it on the grounds that it might pull together by the end.

We might as well not have bothered. I wonder at what point those involved realised that they'd gone to all that effort and all that expense, and produced something that was less true to the novel than the musical, if indeed they did at all?

In fairness, I do have to give credit where it's due: the cast were actually almost uniformly excellent, and did a very good job with the material they were given. And the production itself was lovely - the costuming, the settings, the music... all great.

But the problem was that the cast did a very good job with the material they were given, and I'm afraid that material just sucked. Next time, maybe they could employ someone to do the adaptation without changing the antagonist into a caricature of himself, without turning a tragic death scene into a melodramatic farce, and without inserting a highly inappropriate not-quite-incestuous relationship between the hero and his adoptive daughter.

Two other things:

In the book, Fantine's degradation comes about entirely as a result of being an unwed mother - as a consequence of that she can't find work, is abandoned by all her friends, can't show her face in polite society, and yet is expected somehow to feed both herself and her daughter. It is this problem, and the utter desperation that results, that leads to her leaving Cosette with a seemingly-sympathetic stranger. And it is this stigma that leads to her supervisor sacking her from the factory when she finally does find work.

The adaptation dances around that stigma against unwed mothers, which makes Fantine's decision to leave Cosette, and especially her decision not to go back for her, looking positively insane. Now, I could just about understand that, since times have changed and hopefully so too has the stigma against unwed mothers... except that that's the whole damn point! One of the key themes of the book is that Valjean is absurdly criminialised, losing 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread; and Fantine is absurdly victimised for a foolish misadventure in love.

The other great theme of the book is the redemption of Valjean, the outsider who nonetheless represents the Christ-figure * in the story; as contrasted with the Pharisee-like Javert who represents the established order. And the story is highly critical of the organised church with its empty ritual, as contrasted with the living faith of the Bishop of Digne and Jean Valjean.

So to produce an adaptation of the book without actually mentioning God is an... odd choice. (The adaptation does have plenty of the trappings of religion, with plenty of churches, nuns and convents, people taking Mass, and so on. But God himself was absent from proceedings.)

* Actually, it would be more accurate to liken Valjean to St Paul, after his Road to Damascus conversion. Almost literally, in fact, given that his turning point comes after his encounter with Petit-Gervais on the road from Digne. But that requires a bit more knowledge than the Christ/Pharisee contrast.

Oh yes, and they missed out the elephant. Inexcusable!

#11: "Pathfinder: The Dead Roads", by Ron Lundeen

Driving Towards Car 5

Back in November my car went for its MOT and came back with a big repair bill. Slightly annoyingly, this came in drip-feed form - I had a threshold for what I'd pay for repairs rather than replace it, and the initial bill was under that; but then there was another thing, and then another, and then another. Had I known the total up-front, I'd have gone for a new car then. Oh well.

For the past few months, unfortunately, the car just hasn't felt 'right'. There's a bit of a noise, and it doesn't feel like it quite has the power I'd normally expect, and... I can't put my finger on it, quite, but it definitely feels like the car is on its way out.

That's not exactly terrible. When I bought the car I said I'd ideally like to get 6 years and 100,000 miles from it but would settle for half of that; it has since done four and a half years and 60,000 miles. If I take it to the next MOT, that would be almost all of the time and two-thirds of the distance I'd hoped for, which isn't bad. (I won't get that 100,000 miles, largely because my annual mileage has dropped a great deal since moving to Livingston. Which is no bad thing.)

In terms of metrics, I'm actually doing pretty well. I've been driving now for 26 years (or just under), and have owned cars for 21 years (or just under). In that time I have owned 4 cars, at a total cost of approx £23,500. That's pretty good - you wouldn't have to try too hard to spend that on a single car, if you were so inclined. In particular, that works out at an average of one car per 5.25 years, and a rate of approx £1,120 per year. (Of course, none of this measures the total cost of ownership. I've been reasonably lucky in terms of repair costs, and my fuel efficiency has never been terrible, but that's still two big costs I've ignored!)

When considering car 5, I find myself torn between two approaches. On the one hand, a big part of me is inclined just to go and buy another Ford Focus - the last two have done me well, they're cheap to run and easy to maintain and repair, so that's a big plus. Also, since I know what I'd be getting, that would take a lot of effort out of the "buying a new car" process. On the other hand, part of me is tempted to go for something a bit bigger and more powerful; indeed, something much more like the car LC currently drives - I've been pretty impressed with it, it's plenty big enough for all three of us plus a load of stuff... (Then again, we don't really need two such cars. If it's just about getting me to and from work, that would be overkill.)

And then there's a small part of me that wants one of those luxury German cars... but that guy will have to wait a few more years, I think!

Or there's one more possibility: maybe I'll manage to get just one more year...

The Value of Good Writing

A lot of software engineers are very clever folk. Indeed, that almost goes with the territory - you need to be at least quite bright to do the job. However, a very large proportion of software engineers have extremely technical, even mathematical, minds. This is also important - we're operating in a field where exactness matters a great deal, and where we're thinking around problems that are, generally, deterministic in nature. That's all good.

However, what this also tends to mean is that many, if not most, software engineers aren't very good at technical writing - that's a different skill-set that requires different aptitudes. Indeed, many software engineers are remarkably bad at explaining what they're doing - very often they start from a position about two steps in advance of their audience, and then expect that audience to keep up.

This is why so many instruction manuals suck.

A big part of the reason that I'm posting about this right now is that I'm in a transition from one project, with a technology that I've been working with for almost 20 years, onto another project, with a technology that I've used extensively but never worked with. This has meant a very steep learning curve, aided and abetted by the documentation that has been available to help. It's fair to say that it has been... difficult.

I'm really not sure what the answer to any of this is. As noted, good engineering and good technical writing are different skill-sets, which means that people who can do both well are vanishingly rare. Obviously, a possible solution is to employ a separate team for the technical writing, but that only goes so far - sometimes there's no substitute for having built the thing when it comes to understanding how it works.

Mostly, though, this post is an aknowledgement of just how important good writing is (where 'good' writing is, of course, defined by the context - what is good in technical writing isn't the same as in a novel, for instance). And where you do find someone who is good at it, and especially if you happen upon someone who can do both things well (the engineering and the writing), make sure to value them accordingly!

No Power in the 'Verse

Back in 2015, I purchased the four graphic novels in the Serenity comic line that represented the Firefly/Serenity expanded universe. And that was that - until about two weeks ago I hadn't realised that there was actually a fifth volume, "No Power in the 'Verse" that carried on where the fourth volume finished up.

Anyway, having learned that there was a fifth version, I proceeded to hunt it down - Amazon UK didn't have it for any reasonable price, eBay let me down, so eventually the order went in with Amazon US. And a week or so later, the book arrived, so that was a good choice.

The volume itself is made up of two stories - the aforementioned "No Power in the 'Verse", and "The Warrior and the Wind". Of the two, the latter is actually the better story, consisting of River telling a bedtime story to young Emma. Good stuff, even if it was mostly just another take on what we've already seen.

The main story was fine - it actually felt much more like Firefly than most of the other stories. Except for two things, both of which came right at the end (there are, of course, spoilers ahead!)

My first issue with the story is that it just stops. I think the publishers expected to have a few more volumes to come, but they never quite panned out. That's a bit of a problem, as the book therefore leaves a number of threads just dangling - actually, in much the same way as the show, and indeed it was those very threads that the movie did a good job of tidying up. Oh well.

My second issue was that the book ended with Mal engaged in another of his "my way or the high way" speeches (as in "Serenity"). This time, he's decided to take down the Alliance as a whole. Unfortunately, this just didn't ring true, both because it really feels like something that's just too big for one ship and one crew to deal with (he isn't Luke Skywalker, after all - heck, he isn't even Han Solo), and also because his crew is much more divided over this issue than over the question of Miranda. He's basically trying to browbeat several members of his crew into something that most are lukewarm at best towards, and that some actively oppose.

And then the book just stops.

My understanding is that the new Firefly comic will eventually pick up where these graphic novels have left off, and we'll get some sort of a resolution. Unless, that is, they change their mind and decide to ditch the expanded universe (or, perhaps, Disney decide to pull it in-house - having bought Fox, they now have control over "Firefly" as well). So we'll see. It would be good to see how this cleans up, if indeed it does. Alas, without that, I don't think I can really recommend this book, or by extension the rest of the series.

#10: "100 Classic Stories", by Miles Kelly (a book for Funsize)

Iain Banks

Part of me wishes that I'd come to Iain Banks novels much earlier - I did read one of his 'Culture' novels a long time ago, but it never really compelled me to read more. If I had done, and especially if I'd read both his genre and non-genre novels, I suspect he would have become one of my favourite authors, I would have eagerly awaited the release of each novel as it came, and would have quickly devoured each one.

As it is, I've been reading them one a month for about a year now. And while the standard is generally high, each novel is quite different from the others, which almost inevitably means that they're a mixed bag. Some of them are very good indeed; some of them, not so much.

(I've been somewhat surprised to find that I've tended to enjoy the non-genre novels a bit more, on average, than the genre novels. I had expected the sci-fi to be the better. Given that I read all the sci-fi first, that's no bad thing.)

On the other hand, part of me is aware that if I had come to his novels earlier, and he had become a favourite author, that would have meant losing another favourite a few years ago. Which always sucks. So perhaps it's better this way.

#9: "Dead Air", by Iain Banks

(Incidentally, this novel was okay but I felt it was one of the poorer ones - it didn't feel like it really had quite enough plot to carry the novel, and so it felt more like an extended rant about various political topics. Not that I'm averse to a good political rant...)

Possibly My Most Obscure Post Ever...

I was reading an article about running board meetings, for reasons that should be obvious. During the course of this article, I discovered an interesting (to me) discussion of the role of AOCB - Any Other Competent Business (that is, the bit at the end of the meeting where people bring up anything that hasn't yet been discussed).

Anyway, what was interesting was that the article recommended that AOCB be extremely strongly constrained - specifically, it should be allowed only for things that had come up in the meeting itself but that couldn't possibly have been predicted beforehand.

For other topics, these should ideally be submitted for inclusion in the agenda ahead of time, or they should be raised (but not yet discussed) at the outset of the meeting. Either way, they should be added to the agenda at the start of the meeting, at the latest.

The reason given for this, other than just for a more efficient running of a meeting, is that it protects against the case where someone has to leave the meeting early (or just "on time") and shouldn't later discover that something has been discussed, and potentially decided on, in their absence.

Which is, of course, quite right. And it's one of the things that I wish I had considered, and acted upon, while I was Chairperson of the band, and found myself stuck in very long, very repetitive meetings where AOCB so frequently was the thing that got out of hand.

But, as I said, it's a bit of an obscure topic for the blog. If not the most obscure ever.

Strange Days

I never thought I'd find myself having a barbecue in February, at least not in Scotland. And yet, as of this afternoon, I have now done so.

On the one hand, the recent warm weather has been really nice - Scots tend to suffer, near-universally, from Vitamin D deficiencies; and the bright sunlight and warm weather just cheers everyone up.

On the other hand, this time last year we were house-bound due to being snowed in pretty thoroughly. And while I'm hesitant to immediately jump from the weather (which is transient) to climate change - if for no other reason than doing so gives succour to those who ask "what about global warming?" every time there's a cold snap - it is the case that average temperatures seem to go up year by year, the climate is most definitely changing, and that's a bad thing.

(On the wider topic of climate change, I still find myself in one of my very few agreements with George W. Bush - the solution to this is going to end up being technological. Either because we develop energy sources that are both greener and cheaper than those we're currently using; or because someone develops technologies that can directly counter some of the damage. If we're hoping instead to fix the issue with global changes of behaviour, I'm afraid I have bad news... people are just the worst.)

Anyway... the barbecue went well. I managed to get the amount of food estimated almost exactly, everyone had a good time, and the sun shone down on us. So that's a win, at least in my book.

What Happens if They Refuse?

So the latest gambit from May will see her bring her deal back to the Commons on the 12th of March. If it is voted down, as it surely must, there will then be two votes on the 13th - one to leave with No Deal, and a second to authorise a short extension to Article 50.

So far, so good.

But what happens if, as is very likely, the Commons vote against all of those options?

(Oh, and for that matter, what if the EU refuse to grant a short extension, instead insisting on 2 years? Or they put a hefty price tag on an extension, as they well might?)

Interesting...

I see Brendan Rodgers is to leave Celtic. I'm slightly surprised by this, but only slightly - I wonder how much fun there really is in just winning everything with no real challenge.

Though, ironically, his leaving may mean that there actually is some real challenge for the remainder of the year - after Celtic went out of Europe last week, I expected them to go on a big unbeaten run until the end of the season, but it's just possible that the loss of their manager might unsettle them just enough to let Rangers close some of the gap. Maybe - we'll see.

I do wonder who is next for the hot seat. It sounds like Neil Lennon may be back in the short term, and actually I think Celtic could do worse than to give him the job on a permanent basis - and there would be something poetic about the manager who started the run to 10 be the same man who brings it to a conclusion. If, indeed, Celtic do reach that landmark. Then again, if Celtic really have pretentions of doing something in Europe, I suspect they'll need a bigger name for the role.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out from here.

Little Drummer Girl

I finished watching this over the weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Well, 'enjoyed' might not be the right word, but I thought it was exceptional. Good work, and highly recommended.

Of course, now I have to read the book. But it may take me a while to get to it.

Funsize's First Birthday

We had Funsize's first birthday party yesterday, a few days after her birthday proper. (Actually, it was a busy week, and weekend, for birthdays and parties - C and A turned 40 last week, so we had that party on Friday night also.) Once again, we were lucky enough to be able to borrow the church hall for the event, which meant we were able to invite a sizeable group of people, hire a soft play company, and lay on food. But more on that in a bit.

On Funsize's actual birthday, I took the day off work and we went over to the Kelvingrove to see Dippy the dinosaur. That was nice - once again, it took FS a moment to realise what we were pointing at, and then she realised just how big it was. Which was fun. We also spent a little time looking at the other animals, the exhibit on Ancient Egypt, the Leonardo da Vinci sketches, and various other things. Plus, we had a rather nice lunch - Funsize enjoyed their "Explorer's Box", which contained a sandwich, an apple, and a yogurt. I had a rather nice burger, LC has the fish.

Anyway, back to the party - the event was mostly organised by one of LC's cousins, who was also one of her bridesmaids some years ago. And a grand job she did, too - balloons fit to entertain an army of babies, the aforementioned soft play, a photo 'booth' where we took the picture with the cake. Oh, and a rather spectacular cake that she'd arranged to have made. (I'll endeavour to add some photos later - I don't have any on my phone, so will need to get them off another device.)

Some initial teething troubles aside, everyone seemed to have a good time, which is always the mark of a successful party. Huzzah!

And then we went home and collapsed in a heap. Funsize proceeded to sleep for three hours in the evening (missing dinner in the process), woke up just long enough to open the last of her million-and-one presents, and then went back to sleep. Somehow, we actually managed to get three halfway decent nights sleep across the weekend.

So that's that. As noted, I'll try to add some photos later...

Day 50: Update on Goals

50 days in, and 2019 has sucked so far. Which is a real shame, but there it is - I'm not inclined to sugar coat it. Anyway, it's time for an update on goals:

• Books: By day 50 I should have read 8.21 books. I'm actually right on target, which is something of a surprise (I finished book 8 this morning), but quite good. On the topic of The List, I'm currently a little under half of the first book - "Anna Karenina", so on that front I'm rather behind. I already think I'm highly unlikely to get that done.
  
• Weight: No change.
  
• Blogging: I'm a little behind here, but slightly ahead of target for the Imaginarium. So that's not too bad.
  
• Redecorate the Study: This is on hold until the Easter holiday. I'll have a better update next time - by the 10th of April we should either have done the job or at least be preparing to start.
  
• The To-Do List: The to-do list has eight items on it. Of most note is the clearing out of RPG notes, which is entering its final phase. But the list as a whole is actually in a reasonably good position. As with the previous goal, I expect the next update to indicate very significant progress here.

Perhaps surprisingly, the various goals are all more or less proceeding apace. And, in particular, they're setting up nicely for a good update next time. So I'm happy with that.

#7: "Creature Codex", by Kobold Press
#8: "Pathfinder: Rise of New Thassilon", by Greg A. Vaughan

Splitters!

As I've mentioned before, in a First-Past-the-Post electoral system there is room for two main parties and one "none of the above" option. For better or worse, in the UK at the moment the two main parties are the centre-left pro-Brexit Labour party and the centre-right pro-Brexit Tory party. The "none of the above" option is a fractured mess that is effectively impotent. (Northern Ireland is an exception to this, of course. Because in UK politics, Northern Ireland is always an exception.)

The unfortunate consequence of the above is that a group of MPs splitting off from the Labour party to become a new independent grouping is to help the Tories. They're not going to suddenly gain ground to become a new second party, and they're not suddenly going to be the central mass around which the "none of the above" grouping are going to coalesce.

All that this really serves to do is to demonstrate one of the other great truths of UK politics: it doesn't actually matter how terrible a mess your party is in - you just have to be marginally less dysfunctional than the other guys. Neither Labour nor the Tories are fit for purpose, but the Tories are just barely managing to hold together, so they'll win.

Hit Bottom

Yesterday was another disastrous day. But it had one upside: I think we've now successfully hit the bottom and can start climbing back up.

The purchase of the birthday present is now done: we were able to get some direct feedback from the recipient which meant that we went from having a bunch of not-very-satisfactory options to having one solid choice. From there, it was just a matter of placing an order.

The issue with the wall switch has also been dealt with, thanks to a timely intervention by my father-in-law. My own efforts to resolve it were stalled out by a combination of bad light, sticky screws, and a lack of space in which to work. But, thankfully, it's now done.

And I managed also to get the church website updated, which needed to be done yesterday because it included events happening today.

The upshot of all of that is that there aren't any urgent tasks looming large any more, just a number of things that can be dealt with when time permits.

Of course, there's now all the fallout from the past eight days to deal with - as I said, it has been fairly disastrous. And much of the fault there is mine.

#6: "Game Angry: How to RPG the Angry Way", by Scott Rehm

Storing Up Trouble

I had two major tasks for the weekend: pick up a birthday present and replace the door seal on the washing machine. Unfortunately, both were pretty urgent.

And I achieved neither.

Oddly, the biggest problem with getting the birthday present was just finding any item in the approximate price range - I saw lots of items that were too low, and a very nice item that was about twice the budget, but only a tiny number that were about right - and most of those I didn't like.

That was Saturday, and was pretty disheartening.

Then on Sunday I had to change the door seal on the washing machine. I've done this once before on another machine, and it's an absolutely horrible job - but it's a horrible job that costs about £25 and adds a few years of life to a washing machine, which is a bit better than replacing the whole thing.

As anticipated, this was a terrible job, that has left my hands shredded. But, somehow, I did manage to get it done... mostly.

Naturally, there was a wrinkle - at the last step when reconnecting the power, the wall socket decided not to play ball and broke apart. The upshot of this was that the washing machine was completely out of action, and indeed left in a somewhat dangerous condition. So that's tonight's job.

The annoying thing here is that, on both counts, leaving the jobs in an incomplete step is just storing up trouble for the future. The birthday in question isn't about to be cancelled or to move to a different date. And we can't not have a washing machine for any length of time (plus, as I said, it's somewhat dangerous). So those are tasks that must be addressed soon - and done so when I have that bit less time than at the weekend.

(And that isn't to mention the other task I now have looming, which I'd decided not to address yesterday in order to make time for the washing machine... and which now needs to be dealt with today. That's only a matter of twenty minutes or so, but it's another task on a day without enough time as it is.)

Oh well. Sometimes, things just suck and you end up in a hole. And then, sometimes, you get to climb out of that hole, and that's good.

#5: "Book of Swords, Part I", edited by Gardner Dozois

The Star Trek Films, Ranked Worst to Best

One of my Christmas gifts was a blu-ray set of ten "Star Trek" films - the six with the original cast and the four with the Next Generation cast. I'm therefore in a position where I've actually watched all thirteen Trek films in the past year. So, my ranking...

#13: "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier". This film suffers from three key weaknesses. Firstly, it's just not good. Secondly, what qualities it does have are overshadowed by the director's bouts of ego. And thirdly, it suffers from heightened expectations - after the sort-of-trilogy of "Khan", "Search", and "Voyage", the Trek films were in a really good place. All in all, it's the worst of all the films.

#12: "Star Trek: Nemesis". The final film for the Next Generation is similarly weak. By that time, I think the producers had decided they needed to find the "new Khan", and it just didn't work. Throw in a fairly tired-looking cast, two key actors who clearly wanted to move on from their parts, and a rather distasteful mindrape subplot, and you've got a stinker, and one that has aged badly at that. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they were actually going for the "worst Trek film" title. But if so, they couldn't even manage that. Poor.

#11: "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". Unlike a lot of people, I don't consider this to be a bad film... I just think it is the wrong film. I think the company had some notion that they'd get a film like "Star Wars" - and certainly they timed the film for precisely that. However, what they got was a lightweight "2001: A Space Odyssey". Which is fine, except that it's not series enough to satisfy fans of 'real' sci-fi while also being too slow to really satisfy fans of Trek (or Star Wars). It's a film I re-watch every few years, and it's interesting enough as a piece of film-making (and the music is outstanding), but it's not a film I'd really recommend.

(Oddly, despite the advertising materials stating otherwise, and the set itself doing the same, the blu-ray in the boxed set does appear to be the Director's Cut. Which is good - that cut goes a long way to improve the film, and indeed is almost the difference between it being 'watchable' and not.)

#10: "Star Trek: Generations". A very frustrating film, this. The opening scenes, with Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov are surprisingly good, with the Enterprise-B giving a tantalising hint of what might happen between the two generations. And the middle of the film, with the Next Generation crew dealing with a mad scientist while Picard deals with a personal bereavement are likewise very good. And then it goes horribly wrong. As soon as Kirk comes back into the film, it all turns to dust, and it becomes a slog to get through to the end.

#9: "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home". This is a decent film, but very dated. Indeed, despite enjoying the film, this was one that I never bothered to buy on DVD, and there was a reason for that. Mostly, it serves to round out the sort-of-trilogy, getting back to the status quo as at the start of Khan. That said, it does have the introduction of the Enterprise-A, and it's almost worth watching for that alone.

#8: "Star Trek: Into Darkness". This is a strange one - when it first came out I really enjoyed this film, rather more than its predecessor. However, where I've enjoyed "Star Trek" more and more over the years, this film has diminished over time. It's not a film I'd avoid, necessarily, but it's also not one I have any burning desire to watch again, and given the choice I'd go for either of the other two Pine-era Treks instead.

#7: "Star Trek: Insurrection". I was surprised to be rating this one so highly, but when I rewatched it I was also rather surprised to find that this film was better than I remembered. I guess it has just aged well. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it... but I also wouldn't immediately change the channel to avoid it. In particular, the thought process Picard goes through as he contemplates his rebellion is worthwhile, as indeed is Worf's ever escalating firepower.

#6: "Star Trek". I have very mixed feelings about this film. On the one hand, I really like the cast they've assembled. On the other hand, much of the film feels like it comes from the Dan Brown school of writing - it doesn't matter how stupid the plot is provided you keep the pace up high enough that people don't notice. Sadly, I did notice. In particular, the scene where Kirk provokes an emotional outburst from Spock and then immediately turns around to take command just doesn't work. Still, I do find I enjoy this film more each time I watch it - as with "Insurrection", it seems to have aged rather well.

#5: "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock". This is a slightly strange film, in that it really doesn't work by itself - only the context afforded by "Wrath of Khan" allows it to make sense. Obviously, this film isn't as good as "Khan", but there's still an awful lot to like here - and the death of David followed by the destruction of the Enterprise make this one worth the price of entry all by themselves.

#4: "Star Trek: Beyond". I'm surprised how much dislike this film seems to attract - for me, this is the best of the Pine-era Trek films, both in terms of being the most entertaining and also in terms of being the more Trek-like. Basically, I just really enjoyed it.

#3: "Star Trek: First Contact". The second outing for the Next Generation crew is also their best. The Borg are the single best bit of Trek lore to be added since the Original Series ended, and are used very well here - that feeling of creeping horror is well done. Plus, the conflict between the human spirit and the inhuman Borg, and also Data's conflicting goals are strong. Good stuff.

#2: "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". It was something of a toss-up between this and First Contact, but I give this one the nod because the message of peace and optimism was rather stronger in this one. Plus, Captain Sulu and the Excelsior were just great.

#1: "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". Obviously.

My feelings overall are that of the thirteen there are only two genuinely bad films (although they truly are awful), plus two frustratingly poor films. Then there are four mediocre films, that are mostly watchable but really not great, and then four good films and one truly outstanding film in the series. Of all of these, "Wrath of Khan" is probably the only one that really counts as a great film while the next four are good Star Trek films.

Of course, my opinion may change with time!

Goodbye

While waiting for my flight at Schiphol airport, I was musing on the fact that it was most likely the last time I would be flying home from mainland Europe while we were still a part of the EU. Which is a real shame - the EU in general, and Freedom of Movement in particular, have been a massive boon in my life, and I will be sorry to see that go, quite aside from the economic and political repercussions. (I appreciate that that isn't necessarily true for everyone. I'm just noting that it is true for me.)

Unfortunately, I now have no hope that Brexit can be avoided. The key issue is time - it is written into UK law that we're leaving on the 29th of March, and as long as that is true our government can neither ask for an extension to Article 50 nor can it rescind it. And while it is possible to remove that bit of law, the move to do so has to come from the government - there aren't any Opposition Days between now and then, and so it is the government that sets the business of parliament.

And the problem with that is the Theresa May doesn't want an extension. Even if she did, her cabinet really don't want an extension. And even if they did, the majority of Tory members want a No Deal Brexit. Which means we're relying on May doing something she doesn't want to do, and persuading her colleagues to do something they don't want to do, and doing so for the good of the country... knowing that it would split their party. That's as close to saying "it's not going to happen" as anything I can think of.

No extension means no second referendum, as there just isn't time. It also means that there's no time to negotiate a significantly different deal from the one that has already been rejected. It might be possible to tweak the existing deal, but I would be surprised if the current discussions result in anything more than another letter stating that there is no intention to use the backstop, and certainly no intention to 'trap' the UK in it... but nothing legally mandating that. And then the choice really will be May's Deal or No Deal.

I was at least heartened by the news that the EU are going to continue to allow visa-free travel, even in the event of No Deal. So we won't be totally isolated and our horizons won't have contracted completely.

But it's still a real shame. And I just thought it was worth noting that.

Minor Gripes

We seem to have successfully standardised onto USB as the means of powering/charging a wide variety of small electronics (phones, etc). This is a good thing. Why is it, though, that we've not yet managed to choose one of about half a dozen types of USB connector as the standard port? Such that when you need to charge a device you inevitably find every type of cable within reach except the one that you actually need?

Why is it that some people insist on driving at a constant 40 miles per hour, regardless of road conditions or, indeed, the speed limit? Thus infuriating everyone else on the road who actually has somewhere to go and failing to drive safely in those places where the limit is lower.

Why can't we settle on a consistent set of rules for airport security? It's bad enough that those rules vary from place to place, or even from shift to shift, but yesterday I watched as the three lanes all had different rules at the same time - one group had to take all footwear off, one only had to take trainers off, and the third didn't have to take any footwear off. Surely, if there really is a meaningful threat from people wearing shoes (spoiler: there isn't), everyone should be required to remove their shoes in every airport, all the time? One set of rules, please!

And speaking of flights, why do some people think it's acceptable to get thoroughly drunk and then board a plane? You wouldn't like to be locked in a small space with a loud, obnoxious, and quite possibly abusive person, so why inflict that on other people. And, no, you're not as different as you think. Maybe we should start breathalysing people before they're allowed to board.

Anyway, that's all for now. I feel slightly better.

Some TV

For Christmas I received, amongst other things, the second season of "Supergirl" on blu-ray, which I finished watching on Friday. The first season started reasonably brightly, dragged for a bit, and then improved a great deal. The second season, sadly, did not really match this trajectory - it started brightly, dragged for a bit... then dragged for a bit more and then ended.

A shame. But it does let me skip out on the third and subsequent series.

Likewise, LC and I have been watching the fourth and final series of "Rebels", which I also received for Christmas. This one started quite slowly, ran slowly for quite a long time, and then ended with a phenomenal run of episodes that really showcased everything that was good about the show. The last episode, in particular, was outstanding (though it probably doesn't work by itself). Anyway, that was good.

Finally, I spent some time yesterday watching "Brexit: An Uncivil War", which was horribly watchable. That one is definitely worth a watch if you have the time - but be aware that it's likely to leave you both absolutely furious and rather depressed by the time it's done. (Also, I think it's important to note that while the show mostly focusses on the cavalcade of monsters in the Leave campaigns, it does rightly point out that the Remain campaigns were characterised by utter uselessness - they frankly didn't deserve to win either. Recognising that was definitely to the show's credit.)

Next up will be "Little Drummer Girl", which I expect to watch over the next two weekends (LC has opted out); "Watership Down", which I've heard isn't the best, but which we recorded so I do want to watch; and "Les Miserables", which we've been holding off on until it was done so we could in quick succession. Also, Channel 4 are now advertising that they have the whole of "30 Rock" available, so that might be being added to the slate soon too.

#4: "The Business", by Iain Banks