To be Linux or not to be? That's indeed the question...

For many years I have been an avid supporter and user of Linux. I have not used Windows on my main desktop for nigh on ten years. Linux from then and now are completely different things. In the beginning it was pretty hard to install and run but today it’s almost a baby’s game. The Linux flavour called Mint which is possibly the most popular after Ubuntu, is very Windows like. However, one has to have a smudge of computer knowledge as installation and installing peripherals are not always straightforward. Being frank, I must say Linux leaves Windows standing by a mile, if not more! On top of that, it is a much safer operating system. The software has a firewall (UFW and GUFW) that is pretty strong. In fact it is based on software called ‘IPtables’ in which the more conversant operators can set their own rules.

I still have Windows on a laptop - an Acer, only because the wonderful manufacturer decided to  allow for Windows only. Any trial to install Linux just stops half-way. I can run Linux but only from a CD. The wonderful world of Mr Gates, the multi billionaire, thank you from the bottom of my heart, not.

Just wondering why so many computers, laptops, desktops, tablets and more come with Windows already installed? What is the deal struck with manufacturers? American commercial nous above all? I am sure Russian and possibly Chinese computers run Linux! NGINX, the Russian web server software runs best on Linux, wonder why? Fortunately NGINX is open source, meaning anyone can see the code underlying it. Or even tinker with it, called “Forking”. It is advisable though to not do that because if it is well-working and it does what the magician says it does, why bother? Open source software is the way the world needs to go. Oh I know Microsoft’s answer to that and it is that they provide work for thousands. True, but is it the best way? Today Microsoft is clutching at straws, look at Windows 11 which software came out after Microsoft strongly stated over some years ‘Windows 10 is the last OS, we will only update and improve”. Yep, that’s Americans for you. Never too slow to grab a bean! So, just take your chance, don’t bother with Windows at all. Move over to Linux. In the meantime as today is the last day of the year, have a great 2022. Happy New Year! Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Have a great 2022, looking forward to more political gaffes!

Possibly the last post for this year, I thought to mention something that is close to me, wokism and Covid. So, have a laugh or cry depending on how you feel!               Hahahaha, woke Britain is at it again. Well, why not cancel everybody? JKR otherwise known as the author of the world famous Potter books is battling to stay human.Well, that’s according to the wokies. Frankly I believe the lady is made of strong material. It really is getting stupid. Councils banning meat for fear of the vegan brigade. Pru Leith cannot say the word ‘calories’ for fear of upsetting people with eating disorders. I would have thought that people with eating disorders have other things to worry about and need medical help rather than the inane outpourings of the woke brigade. I would like to silence the woke brigade but I also believe fervently in ‘freedom of speech’. So, unfortunately the woke brigade has the right to speak, although it is still rubbish. I even read somewhere they want to cancel Father Christmas because he’s too white? Perhaps it is time to have a good look at how all these things are reported. Just don’t talk about it any more. When there is no platform for these stupid ideas they may die a natural death. I would say the same thing about the incessant BBC reports about Covid. Every bulletin is peppered with the stuff about how many caught it, how many have died and talk about what has been done in other countries. Who cares? If we are told we cannot travel abroad for the time being, what does it matter what France’s wonder of the world, Macron says?

On the whole I believe people have not yet grasped the changes that are happening. And necessarily so if we are to save humanity from the impending disasters. Make no mistake, the climate that we depend on is in trouble! Our lifestyles need to change drastically, even driving all electric cars is not nearly enough! We continually complain about rules infringing our freedoms but it is these unbridled freedoms that have brought us to this point. People on the whole have been greedy, it is in our make-up. More is never enough, those that are millionaires want to be billionaires. So watch what the billionaires do, if they start building concrete bunkers in the Himalayas begin to stock up on porridge oats and powdered milk. By the way anyone knows where Bill Gates is, not travelling to India I hope?

A New Year's thought...

One thought that keeps me awake is, what is my place in this Universe? Yes, I know I’m weird. But it is very important to know your place isn’t it? Sometime in the past I noted a question on the Question and Answer platform called Quora. Because I am a fluent Dutch speaker (obviously) it was on the Dutch variant. There is an English/American variation, as well as a German. But I digress, this question was “Where is the centre of the Universe”? At first you might think the person asking needs to see a psychiatrist quickly. That’s what I thought as well, but at second glance it is not as silly as you think. We know from observations more or less our place in the Galaxy or if you will, the Milky Way. We know again from observations that we are part of a cluster of galaxies and I suppose using triangulation methods we could figure out the centre of that. But that is still no way near the centre of the Universe. In one way Universe is a strange word. As we look around us during the night time we can see a multitude of stars, as far as the eye can see. With telescopes we can see much more and further away. But there is an edge to how much we can see. That is now called the ‘observable universe’. And the centre of the observable universe is, wait for it – YOU, if you are making the observations. But let’s arguably say that the centre is the planet, Earth. The truth is that we will never know the centre of the universe because we do not know what is outside the observable universe. For all we know there could be not much more or a heck of a lot more. There are even theories of multiple universes, something like a multitude of balloons floating together in an endless void.

Then there are observations that say the universe is expanding. So taking the ‘balloon’ hypothesis to hand you could think that galaxies at the edge of your observable universe moving along with that expansion would eventually disappear from sight. In the meantime they would show a ‘red-shift’. Also another thought I had was that as everything is moving at speed in our universe, including us we would be moving away from certain visible galaxies. Those would be directly opposite our cone of view from Earth. We would be moving toward others. It depends where we are moving to. We are part of a much greater whole and that is moving too! But the centre of the universe will be forever an unknown.

In the meantime have a great Christmas and a very happy Covid-free New Year.

Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda - Prettige Feestdagen en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!

Is the law an ass or is it someone else?

It is great to read something about the problem we have in this country with anonymous people making complaints about someone else who said something they did not agree with. There are quite a few examples. Also the Sun national newspaper published an article by Mercy Muroki. A well written article highlighting the strange way police forces react to such complaints. Highlighting the case against a retired policeman Mr Harry Miller who tweeted some hard stuff during 2019 and had to endure three years of what can only be called persecution. I don’t know what he tweeted as I am not active on Twitter or Facebook but what bothers me is that the accuser has been allowed throughout to be anonymous. How can that be right? Surely if we all believe in free speech then as long as messages, tweets or such like are within the realms of decency and respect then that should be fine. For instance, can you call someone a moron? Why not if not? I have called politicians idiots and frankly by the way some of them behave I would think correctly. Although the problem is that loads of people who are on social media platforms, have little or no education! How can you put forward a reasonable view in one or two lines of text? On top of that if you cannot spell or are too lazy to use a spellchecker? 

As Mercy said in her article ‘It is NOT a crime to have views that people do not like’. I expect there are loads of people who do not like my views, that’s fine but explain to me lucidly why. I am only a stupid man of continental extraction living in the best country in the world, Wales. Yes, it’s part of the UK and that’s OK for now but I hope that sooner or later we can make our own laws and become part of a federation with Scotland and England. Well, quoting Mercy again, the police force in question spent some quarter of a million quid on the case, the question we should ask is this – how can a police force spent such money on cases that are NOT a crime? Just going on an anonymous call? So, to end this, can we ask that the accuser’s name be made public? I am also certain the policeman in question is made of sterner stuff, and should be an example to the hierarchy. They should have known better.  

But as we know the top echelon of business and governmental agencies including local government are all to happy to pander to a vociferous minority who have no other aim but to transfer the world in their way and ONLY their way. So, wokies where are MY human rights?

Hello wokies, and goodbye!

It seems that many wokies (woke people that is) are moving from London to other hallowed places. They are now turning up everywhere. We are having heads (is that still allowed to say?) of schools cancelling boys and girls. Hurrah! Not before time, we want more unisex stuff. I am not sure what I am any more either, I have to look in the mirror when coming out of bed to see if it is still hanging. Then I remember. It is getting more difficult, my memory is getting hazy. So it is good to cancel male and female genders. Lovely, I must thank the head of that school in Manchester for her (sorry! it’s) decision.

Seriously, how did it become a head? Probably with a degree in home economics? Or possibly in the new Panto module now being offered by some high flying University? There is something unpalatable about all of this, for a start there are too many women (sorry, non-binary beings) teaching in schools. Not many men (sorry, two-legged monstrosities) take up the cudgel. I wonder why. Possibly for fear of having to become non-binary or simply cancelled out all together? I have been cancelled out, not sure who did it but it was an enjoyable experience. Like flying over the bare desert watching camels going by. Nevertheless as a Piers Morgan aficionado, it is high time that we call an end to this frivolity. Call men, men and women, women. Girls and boys and frankly if any head of schools persist in pandering to wokism, SACK them! In the meantime can I ask the government of the supposedly butch PM to take the BBC to task? Perhaps Boris might regain some kudos and stay a bit longer before galloping off into the sunset! Above all do not cancel out Christmas or even try to make it woke! I heard some are trying just to do that. So get truly stuffed like a male turkey and keep on putting the rubbish on Twitter. So I can easily cancel them!

In the meantime I would wish for all readers, friends, associates, man or woman, boy or girl to have a brilliant Christmas and a very happy Covid-free New Year!

Goodbye Boris, I hope you will find a job soon...

There is nothing so funny as to listen to a bad loser trying to explain why! Take our hallowed PM, the once favoured politician, he tried to explain why a once an unassailable Tory seat that had a thumping 20,000+ majority was lost to the Liberal Democrats who got a majority of nearly 6,000! Meaning that 30,000 plus turned their backs on the Conservatives. And he has the gall to ask why! 

Well PM even I, from my cosy armchair can see why! On top of that he has been reported saying “Constant litany of stuff about politics and politicians” overshadowing the government’s successes. Interesting take on a defeat. The frank truth is that he seemed not to know what everyone else knew. The politicians who were caught in the act of defying the law, the politician who was paid to ask questions in Parliament. The politician who nearly had his trousers down in the office! Need to know more PM? Then his blatant attempt to whitewash or deny anything happened. 

Perhaps we should have seen his character before we got rid of another dishwasher called Theresa but all of us wanted Brexit solved. And as it stands, yes that’s his only victory. From then on it was full-speed downwards. To me it shows that yes, he is basically full of bluster, a man who glories in his position without taking the full responsibilities it entails. Let’s be fair if you are PM, you will not have any friends. You are a lonely island in a sea of sharks. Boris wants to be friends with sharks and now has got bitten. He might have lost a leg or two but he is bleeding badly. Will it be too late to remedy the position? 

Well, that remains to be seen, I fear it is too late. It will most likely turn out an early departure. It might not be so bad for him personally, a nice wife, a new baby to complete the half dozen. He will need a proper job, I heard they need loads of ambulance drivers in Woketown (London) where Omicron rules the roost. Good luck Boris, it was nice knowing you, not.

A Nail in the Coffin? Hmmm...

Well there it is. The big nail in Boris’ coffin. Called the by-election loss in North Shropshire. It is how democracy works. As PM you can act like an idiot for only a short time. It is really incredible isn’t it? Like thousands of others, even die-hard Labour voters, I voted Boris in and as we thought, with a proper sound Conservative government. And what do we end up with? A buffoon who does not know the difference between right and wrong. We end up with a load of people who believe they are somehow above the law. How deep we have sunk. It is endemic all over Europe. Across the water we have another idiot who believes he is called Napoleon. Far off it seems but I begin to see great similarities between now and the time before World War Two. The period of 1933-1940 was just as idiotic as it is now. The Dutch would call it ‘losbandigheid’. A general disdain for rules. Also rule of law weakened due to judges’ incredible sentencing. Where life sentences are simply a joke, killers off within 10 years or so to start all over again. It is called ‘Slap on the wrist’ judgements. Sentences should be a reflection of the severity of the crime committed. 

We have now a society that has become like a canoe in a rapid river, wildly tossed all over the place. The oarsman has gone AWOL and is partying on shore. One thing I also note, this Covid Omicron virus is rampant in London. Probably due to the behaviour of the woke liberal elite. Well, keep it there wokies, hoping the right-minded will stop the wokies from travelling to far-flung places to protest. So, as I am not really a betting man I will bet my money though on the coming change of government and its leader. The present incumbent to leave before April is out. The only problem though is I cannot really see a suitable new Conservative leader. We can dismiss the Labour party they are even less capable of putting together a sound government. The Lib-Dems they are just a joke, so we are in the doldrums. Let’s hope a good person will show up before the country goes bankrupt.

Edit: Losbandigheid = unrestrained, ungovernable.

Government in a muddle? Noooo, surely not.....

Oh dear oh dear, haven’t we got ourselves in a muddle. No, not us, the general population, it is the government of this hallowed country. Just look at them. Let’s start with those work-shy civil servants. Working from home to them means more time with the bottle of gin. Long paid foreign holidays which must not be disturbed. Not even when World War 3 erupts. As Dominic Raab showed, why bother about Afghanistan? Just another backward country. As another of his minions showed and stayed on holiday for a further week. But what was important, repatriate some hundreds of dogs and cats. That was showing the old British mettle innit? Blimey we forgot the translators, ah let’s not worry, they’ll find another job quick. Unless the Taliban got to them first.

It beggars belief that our government has let things slip so badly. Going from one blunder to another. Did I not say in the past that most politicians are dunces? These people are not fit to hold a normal job. They have degrees, some will have a certificate of attendance from Eton (a wonderful dormitory somewhere close to London). Just look in what. Not many science degrees. It shows as they cannot manage a simple budget. Most did not know what a virus was and what it can do. That showed in the late start of the vaccine programme and even now most in the government are in favour of just letting it all go ‘nature’. Don’t bother with vaccines, just let the donkeys (us) acquire natural or as they call it, herd immunity. Forgetting of course that with this extremely virulent strain mutations happen on an hourly basis. Meaning you have to be quick to stay in front. Unfortunately the word ‘quick’ is not in the UK government handbook. 

You may ask, did we vote in a Churchill or did we vote in his bulldog? Boris the Churchillian or Boris the overfed stumbling arthritic bulldog? Politics is very unforgiving, Boris will just be judged on his latest performances and let’s be fair these were not so good! You cannot be a bit laissez-faire and joke your way out or say, ‘That did not happen’ when evidence shows it has happened. So, the knives are not out yet but if he carries on like he has these past few weeks, I am certain they will start sharpening them.

Edit 17 Dec 2021 - And lo and behold, the dagger sharpeners are out! If I was Boris I would guard my back and look in the mirror on an hourly basis counting the knives in my back. Perhaps I would just call it a day. If the by-election loss says anything, it says the people have had enough of the bumbling, incoherent, government led by an extrovert charlatan who cannot see the wood for the trees.

A muddle? Look no further than the UK...

How can a legal entity such as a government get into a muddle? Just look at the British Government. One gaff after another. It is due to badly thought out rules and regulations. Let’s look at the Covid muddle. What is Covid? Covid-19 is a nasty virus related to the common cold and flu. But this virus behaves a little bit different in that it attacks the airways much more severely especially the lungs. In some people with reduced resistance due to underlying illness the virus can be deadly. At best it can be survived with copious amounts of oxygen but even then there is evidence of long-lasting effects. So, a bit of a problem then isn’t it? Then we were faced with a plethora of laws and regulations most which were contradicting each other. The excuse? Ah we didn’t really know what we were facing! Look people, it was quite evident within a few weeks that this virus was incredibly fast in spreading, helped by our mania for travelling all over the globe. Most of it unnecessary. Did we stop it? No, certainly not. We waited to see what would happen. Now we know, we had to endure months of lock-down. If we had proper checking mechanisms at all the air and seaports, proper entry regulations and immigration procedures we could have minimised the effect of the virus. 

But we have opened Pandora’s box now and will have to endure whatever will and has already, come out of it. The frank truth of all of this is that there are too many people on this planet who insist on what they call freedom. Freedom to travel willy-nilly all over the place without restrictions. No-one now remembers the bubonic plague, basically brought to Europe including Britain by ships bringing lovely goods from the Far East including rats with fleas. The fleas simply transferred to humans and bingo! A disease killing millions because like Covid we had no resistance. It was new, it was like a maelstrom. Diseases such as that will find millions of willing takers, humans are served up like turkeys for Christmas. So, if we do not change our behaviour and do not change our approach then just go and sit down, smile and hope for the best. True, we won’t like what will be coming, we also won’t like all the restrictions, but if we, humanity, intend to live longer as a species beyond 2100 then there is really no alternative.

From navel-gazing to telescopes

Just for your information – is Britain the only country in the world with an excessive woke population? We must be the laughing stock of all times. A once great nation navel-gazing all day long! Tell you what, let’s invade France. That’ll put the cat among the pigeons! Grab Macron and send him to our new penal colony on one of the Outer Hebrides. Ah yes, I forgot, send Boris with him as well. That’s for allowing a party whilst everyone else was chained at home, not even allowed to talk to partners or dogs. Talking about penal colonies, you might remember our glorious invasion of what is now Australia, treating all the people there with absolute ‘kindness’. Slavery? Nah, we didn’t do any of that, we just put them to work without a salary. The working day was only 24 hours long. It was a doddle! Put that in your diary wokey people! Have a nice Christmas.

Something more interesting – I managed to get a reflector telescope. Not excessively large but a tidy one that will allow a splendid view of the planets as long as we have a clear night in Wales! That’s asking a lot I know but you can only hope. It came without a tripod, so I ordered one from a reputable company in London (any left though?). It needs calibrating but with the storms now I’ll have to wait. The finder scope needs to be set so that it aligns with the reflector and the whole thing needs to be stabilised, not forgetting to set the tripod towards North and also set the elevation to around 51.5 degrees latitude plus ensuring we set the positioning bubble right in the centre of the gauge. It is fun. Especially as my 10 year old granddaughter is very interested. In fact she tells me how to do it all. She also tells me how to behave and the things I can and cannot say anymore. I just wonder what they teach in schools today! At ten years of age she knows what non-binary means. Can you believe it? When I was 10 years old I was just worrying about the local football team - Ajax Amsterdam. Binary was another system to count like decimals.

Ah well, did I not say that the world has gone nuts? Or perhaps we in the UK are the only ones gone bonkers.

To be or not to be travelling...

With the renewed travel restrictions now going to be imposed the travel industry is complaining that it faces extinction! As its leaders stated, this is a hammerblow. Well, frankly what did they expect? You could argue that the government is letting all industry including the travel industry sort out its own problems. The government has always done this in this country. The coal industry in Wales and some other places was virtually closed down overnight without any thought of the consequences. Thousands of miners and support staff were just abandoned. Wales is still suffering the aftermath, problems with health, housing, infrastructure. I am afraid that the travel industry will also have to face a similar fate. Particularly in view of the damage aeroplanes make to the climate. Emissions of CO2 and other gases have to be eliminated. The problem of course is the same as happened in Wales. There will be thousands unemployed. There will be some help in that unemployment benefits are available but in the end everyone will have to find their own way. Various UK governments have been particularly bad at making decisions without effective research in possible aftermath scenarios. I suppose not just in the UK, it seems a worldwide problem with political decision making. In the past I have called this type of government ‘Stop-gap government’. You stop a gap, a problem solved. Great but because of that other gaps open up etc etc. The Thatcher era was particularly good at that.

Well, let’s hope that the government is not just using this way to curtail the travel industry and stop people flying but I am afraid inertia is rife in the hallowed halls of Westminster so don’t hold your breath just yet!

Hard lessons to learn?

You have to laugh at loud when you hear the TV news and read the editorials of the newspapers. I often think ‘What do people really expect?’ There is Putin parading all over the front pages among fears that he is going to invade the Ukraine. Friends, he might do that if we are going to behave as we did before WW2. Appeasement DOES NOT WORK. When will we here start to understand that? Appeasement will only embolden the adversary more. Of course the problems will not go away either but the advice is simple, just be aware and ensure your defences are up to scratch.

The frank truth about humans is also pretty simple, we are just animals but dangerous ones at that. Despite the very woke liberal elite who would have us think that everything is rosy if only we would stop swearing and have LBGT+ street parties. Basically on the whole we are quite efficient killers. 

I get my morning papers from a local Spar outlet and at around 7am the workers, drivers and similar are tanking up. It is incredible how basic most people are, obviously very little education and the language used seems one that the Atlanteans spoke. It makes me wonder how in all honesty we got where we are today. Because the greater number just don’t care a jot. Instead of worrying about whether we should be called non-binary or whatever, we ought to bother more about how we bring up the family. Celebrate the differences but also the equality of being human. Remembering we are not the only entity that matters on this planet. Where I live, in a small backyard town in the Rhondda Valley people throw more rubbish on the street than anywhere else. Plastics like cellophane from cigarette packs just waiting to be flushed into the river next to the road. Thrown by young people who protest about plastic in the seas and global warming. They might as well go home to bed and stay there. Dreaming about the next statue they want to topple into the harbour. Well, unless we all get a hard lesson, and maybe Covid is a lesson, things will not change. It will change when people start dying in huge numbers. Let’s hope we will learn our lessons quick!

Chickens coming home to roost? Well, maybe...

Are the chickens coming home to roost? It seems so, the legal case now performing concerning the question of whether Ms Maxwell procured underage girls for lovely days out on a sandy beach 2,000 miles away has undertones of our own Prince Andrew being allegedly involved. It remains to be seen whether he will get deeper into the mire. But as I said before and of course our legal system says the same, you are not guilty until proven. So, at present there is just a heck of a lot of circumstantial evidence, photographs of the Prince,oh sorry he said it wasn't him, in which case he has a very good double; and also evidence now given in Ms Maxwell's trial pertaining to him. 

It is quite the sordid case and shows in a big way the lifestyles and behaviour of the rich and powerful, both here and in the US. I don't know what you think, dear reader but it is about time that this swamp is drained. The carbuncle squeezed. There is no need to look up to these kind of people, they are depraved, deprived of any moral stand. They seem to enjoy molesting young girls and boys for their own enjoyment thinking they can get away with it because they're rich and are powerful. 

I don't want to take up a I am holier than thou stance but surely if we allow the rich and powerful to satisfy their depraved desires then we are halfway to destruction of our already fragile society. A society a lot of books have warned about. So, let's drain that swamp, indeed let's go after all of those 'friends' that 'enjoyed' Epstein's hospitality and throw the book at them. No matter how high and how powerful they were or are.

Channel 4 a woke channel? Eh, hmmm....

Hahaha, just wondering what TV execs were thinking when developing programmes like SAS - Who Dares wins. Channel 4 executives obviously without thinking, went for a real SAS guy called Ant. Well, obvious innit? SAS is the SAS, it ain’t for the sissies. These chaps do not mince words, swear a bit and like the look of ladies in their underwear. I have to say I do remember my own time in the army. Not SAS but a lowly infantry boy mostly getting the sand out of my eyes and ears, swearing as I did so. Yes, that is the way it was and probably still is despite the top brass trying to make women into men and turning men into women. Woke? Nooh, really?

Today’s kids haven’t much of a clue what life is all about. They wake up thinking about how to topple the next statue of a misogynist or war hero like Admiral Nelson because he allegedly tried to kiss a subordinate or two? Who cares? The once Bristol politician who was involved with slavery paid the price, his statue is down the harbour. I hope someone pulled it and displayed it proudly somewhere else. 

Get a life people, these things happened a long time ago, a time in which many unpalatable things occurred. So, to put things into perspective, Ant Middleton did a great job. You might shiver a bit but to get the best out of people you have to bellow, you have to pressurise, you have to be obnoxious. To get an American into Ant’s place is idiotic. The only thing American soldiers do is coming out all gun’s blazing whilst dancing the rumba and eating a banana. If you want to do SAS get a SAS guy and forget all about American stuff. If you want to show how to become a hard nutter, do NOT get woke celebrities to train up. End of rant for ANT.

A more natural way....

From time to time I tend to stop worrying about all the politics, the French, Covid Omicron and watch a nature programme on the TV. Most are just about how to tend your roses and keep the place looking tidy. Whatever you think ‘tidy’ to mean. I suppose cutting the grass to an evergreen sward exactly 3 centimetres high and don’t forget the sharp edging looking like a freshly cut moustache. Plus of course all the bushes sprayed with enough poison to kill the neighbours’ cats. Besides we don’t want all these insects do we? 

YES, we do! The programme I watched this morning reiterated what I have been thinking for a long time. The guy, Colin Stafford-Johnson, an ex-camera man making films all across the world is now back in his native Ireland on a small plot his mother gave him. Now semi-retired he has decided to transform his patch into a natural state. Wildflower meadows, two ponds, all native species. No foreign imports because as he said so succinctly, imported flowers, seeds, trees and so on, have also brought new diseases that killed off many native species. 

Remember Dutch Elm disease? He has introduced only native seeds and plants, and uprooted stuff that should not be there like a laurel. Laurel is not native here and I too think we should destroy them all, along with Japanese knot-weed. He showed a way to make gardens in the UK and Ireland be more insect friendly. Not to worry much about honeybees but more the wild bees. Mason bees and bumblebees. These are endangered. With the right plants, the right insects come and then the birds. Also it does not take a lot of thought to figure out the food chain. Building a proper hedge will bring in the field mice, voles and so on, followed by the owls of course. I didn’t know that the red squirrel will follow pine martens. I thought it was the other way round. Red squirrels have adapted to pine martens, grey squirrels haven’t. Grey squirrels also are aliens and don’t really belong here. Colin has shown a very interesting side to nature. Most of us do not really care or think about it and we seem to forget we also are part of nature. But as he indicated we should stop interfering with it and work alongside.

Black holes and the end of it all...

At certain times we are looking at the TV screen and watch one of the brightest stars in our universe, aka Prof Brian Cox. Presently showing his newest programme ‘Universe’. A very glitzy, raucous, thundery compilation of poetry spoken by the Prof whilst trying to explain the intricacies of a black hole. No, nothing to do with our bodily function, we are in the depths of our galaxy, in fact at the centre and looking at what he calls Sagittarius A*. A black hole of gigantic proportions. The one thing I would ask, why in all blazes is there music trying to drown his words? His poetry must be heard. Well ok, it isn’t brilliant but we all can do with a laugh in these difficult Covid times. Prof Brian was talking about the black hole and the discovery by Stephen Hawking that black is not black. In fact black holes radiate matter or energy, and will evaporate. 

One would have thought it be the end and bye-bye. No, Prof Brian showed in devastating colour the last explosion of the dying hole. As my own was twitching by now, I wanted to know why he kept mixing up the terms black hole and universe. To be fair a black hole, as far as I know, is a part of the galaxy which in itself is part of a cluster and on and on right to the universe itself. But it set me on an idea that I found rather interesting. 

Yes, black holes attract whatever they can. Matter that comes too close and supposedly this would mean that a whole galaxy could become a black hole. This black hole over trillions of years would meet others and in the end there would be just one black hole slowly radiating away. But as Prof Brian said that’s not the end. Remember that black hole in the centre of the galaxy in dying ended in a burst of energy? It would be the same for our universal black hole. Yes! Let’s call that another Big Bang. It seems that the hypothesis of the ‘Oscillating Universe’ could well be true! Right, now we know. Recall all scientists and get them to repair all the black holes in our roads. These unfortunately will not evaporate away, although our Councils do think they will. The problem is universal, all black holes will coalesce and we now know thanks to the Prof that they will explode in the end. Yep, it is a universal law. Hopefully humanity will not be in the vicinity when that happens. But don't hold your breath!

Peppa Pig for Prime Minister? Yeah, why not....

I have decided to stay with this font, it seems nice and easy to read. So, ditching the Arial and going for Trebuchet!

Just listening or watching or even reading the various news reports you would be thinking this country’s leaders have lost the plot. In fact I think you might well be right. First of all the PM Boris seems to like Peppa Pig – for those who are not familiar with that name, it is a children’s cartoon character and will now probably show a full head of wild straggly hair. You could not make it up. But at least there are people who said he worked far too much for a single person in a day. Well, welcome to the 24-7 days Boris, thanks to your compatriots over the years we are all chasing our tails! When I get up I cannot remember what day it is until I look on the calendar. It does seem though that the government we have, talk a good story but it stays at that. 

For years we have known that immigration is a problem. Not that it has anything to do with skin colour but everything to do with support. Meaning if 1,000 come over in a boat or the other, somehow we will have to feed, clothe, look for housing. And when the annual total exceeds 20,000 then anyone can see we are having a problem. Because they just will keep coming. It is easy to see why they are so determined. Compared to European nations we are simply too soft. We do not question anything because if we do, lawyers will beat down our front doors. And so the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, bless her heart, keeps saying and coming up with great ideas but it just stays at that. We even help immigrants to land. Now from a humanitarian point of view I would agree but it does not solve the problem. The only way it is going to be solved is when we literally stop the boats and turn them back. Even tow them back to French waters. Or the French will allow our military to patrol their beaches which I cannot see happening in a million years. Besides all of that we will have to beef up our laws about asylum. If asylum fails, sorry back to Europe. It is sad that despite the French and the EU generally, constantly commenting about our problem, the French in particular ought to regain control of their own borders. The EU is criminally negligent. Get it right Macron and quick before we will have to do it ourselves! Or perhaps Peppa Pig will do it for us.

Use the Navy, thank you...

Just in case you, dear reader, thought that things were great. Britain showing a bit of beef. Sending troops to Poland to keep the immigrants out of the EU. Great stuff, don’t you think? Well, yes but how is it possible that we can use the military, send them to Poland to do the thing we cannot seem to do on our own coasts? Is this another of Boris’ great promises? Showing he has what it takes? He might have what it takes but it’s not in making the right decisions. Look Boris, you came to the hallowed seat of PM power with some bravado. Wild waving hair, a bit of bluster and yes, you took me in. 

But I’m afraid that now you’ve lost me! I feel a bit sorry for you because you thought you were the next Churchill but you turned out to be a bit like Churchill’s overfed bulldog. Slow and pondering about, slavering at the mouth and pretty useless in a fight. I am not sure that you really knew what it was all about. What politics is about. What Britain’s real standing is. OK you won Brexit, excellent because it stopped most of the infighting. But when you win a battle you also have to deal with its aftermath. 

The destructions need addressing, you cannot just leave it. America after WW2 had its Marshall plan to rebuild Europe. It worked. If they had just left it Germany would by now have been just part of Russia, possibly just an empty prairie. So, Boris just do us all a favour, either pull your socks up or leave.

Just to end this missive, don’t think immigrants will change their minds. They ALL want just one country. Yes, us. Britain. It will not ever stop. Don’t try to find reasons why, we all know the reasons why and we do not understand your evident reluctance to deal with this issue. It is basically quite simple, turn the boats around. Use the Navy. Thank you.

How many gaffes before you're kicked out?

It defies belief to hear how this government of ours is reneging on promises made to the North of this country. During the last election we heard that the North were going to have their HS2 extension to Leeds. And as a result Boris ended up with a stonking majority in Parliament. So what happened? Well, I suppose some bright spark in the government has deducted that passenger usage would be less than anticipated and not worth expending billions on an underused railway. Underused in terms of large commuter travel. Besides all that, the cash spent would not be paid back for hundreds of years in income. That’s how I see it but according to the government it is basically a money issue. Well, how do you want to lose the next election? He seems to be gaffe prone lately and that is because he opened his mouth and said all the wrong things. To be PM you need to have a steel backbone, you cannot have minions make all the decisions and yourself stay at home looking after the dog. You cannot say to the North country “We are going to invest heavily to get you right up there with the South”! Then pull back at the last and definitely wrong time!

Next Boris, as always a good friend, tried to hide one of his mates wrongdoing. To be fair Owen Paterson did not break the law but questions were asked about so-called second jobs by MPs. Especially when you learn one of them trousered hundreds of thousands. You might well ask “Why bother to stand for political office”? I think the answer is pretty clear, wouldn’t you think? Actions like that, work offered because you’re a high level politician is most likely very close to corruption. 

So, I’m afraid from now on it will be downhill and goodbye. It was nice knowing you but you came up short Boris. Have a nice time with the family and stop kicking the dog, it’s not his fault you were shown to be a bit of a waste of time.

Immigration? Looking for paradise but where is it exactly?

And to follow up my previous post, something else has cropped up on the radar. It is something I have wondered about as well. The apparent collusion between people here and in France to get immigrants to come over. Ultra woke leftie liberal charities actually are over in France. Can you believe it? Criminal gangs organising it and indeed some individuals as well, are from the UK! The outgoing head of the Borderforce, apparently thought it was a ‘bloody pain in the arse’. Probably believing it wasn’t his or the Force’s problem. Well, good riddance then please retire to the Outer Hebrides. I heard Rockall needs a new tenant. It just defies belief that there are people in this country with views like that, these are civil servants. Civil servants are supposed to do their very best to see to it that this country flourishes and is run correctly.What did this Border Force guy think his job was? Sure the French leave a lot to be desired but when I look at their problems with immigrants ours are dwarfed. Nevertheless that’s not or should not be, an excuse. Unbridled immigration creates many problems in the UK. Housing, jobs, social costs, the UK is not very well situated to deal with a daily influx of 1,000 men, women and children! The failure of various governments, todays and past is an absolute disgrace. Both for the immigrants themselves and our population. It is our population who have to deal with it in the end. Politicians just do nothing and sit in their ivory towers quaffing champagne, congratulating themselves on a job well done. That the job merely shifted the responsibility to others is not considered. To be fair I was very pro Boris but I am afraid he has lost his grip on the issues that bother this country. Ah well. it is what it is. If you cannot stand the heat in the kitchen, just leave. Stage left and don’t forget to close the door on your way out.

I promise to get things under control...well may be, I don't know.

The title says it all. Many times people like myself are looking at all the promises our government makes, and remember the glossy brochures at election time. Then start thinking what a load of prats they all are. Look, we all know life is not as easy as some would led you to believe. The frank truth is that most of us get by on very little indeed. One of the big things showing today is the Immigration Show. This has had a longer theatre life than the Mouse Trap. The Agatha Christie show running in London probably ever since I was born. But it properly started when Labour (the great Liar Blair, sorry I think his name was Tony, I could be wrong) had inaugurated their ‘Open Door’ policy. Ever since then we have ‘welcomed’ thousands every year and will continue to do so because our political friends are hamstrung by indecision and fear to upset lawyers. Yet I do believe that this issue will ensure the Conservatives will lose the next election. Moreover, it will ensure their legacy will be one of failure and feeble government. All despite their promises to get things under control. An abysmal failure of the kind alike to the sinking of the Titanic. 

It is the same with the drugs epidemic. There is no real will to get it under control. They say a few words about the Border Force, probably with words like ‘We have the best in the world’ and spend a few millions on a glossy brochure campaign. But the reality is things stay just the same or get worse. Priti Patel, an able woman turned politician has found out that the world is still ruled by petty men. Old grey men with loads of money. This will be the downfall of the Conservatives, their apparent greed. Politicians just don’t get it, their avarice is boundless, from renting out homes to Lords just turning up in Parliament pocketing £300 a day and sleeping in their pluche office or quaffing Bollinger champagne. That’s why the Lords are called Champagne Charlies. And that my friends is the sorry state of 2021 politics in the western world. Spearheaded by drunken halfwits and a UK PM who still thinks he has things under control. All I can say to him now is, Boris you have let me down. Go back home and look after the kids.

Putting some things in perspective....

If you really wanted to know what is wrong in the world look no further than the differences between two of the richest men in the world and Owain Wyn Evans, the BBC Weather presenter.

Branson and Bezos firing billion pound rockets into space for no more than allowing some rich gits a glimpse of the world they just helped to destroy a bit faster. Tourism? My foot..the amount of noxious crap put into the atmosphere defies belief and for what? Then there is Owain who is the flamboyant weather presenter for BBC mainly in the north-west I believe but I would like to see him here a bit more, he’s got class. Challenged to do something for Children in Need. Yes, I know it is 2021 but there are STILL children and I know some where I live in one of the poorest areas of Wales where some children due to uncaring parents or sick parents don’t even have a bed to sleep in, where help is needed desperately. Owain took up the challenge and as he likes playing drums, probably a thing when he was younger and wanted to play in a band, he has now completed the challenge and so the best news yet, followed by donations being so far over one and a half million pounds (£1,6million). Brilliant Owain, well done and I think Richard Branson ought to give all his medals and orders to charity. It puts things into some perspective doesn’t it?  

Here we are talking about COP26 and the need for direct action and as suspected the richest nations are a bit so-so about a deal. The main reason as I have said before, is that they do not want their economies radically altered. So, coal will still be mined and burned in countries like China and India. I do believe that we here in the so-called western world will have to dig into our pockets more to help build the infrastructure needed to limit the expected temperature increase to 1.5 degrees. I think we are already to late to achieve that but we must try. This is why I frown on the attempts by Amazon and Virgin firing these rockets because I just cannot see the point of it. The need for direct action, hard though it may be, is very evident. I also think that the present leadership of the world governments are not up to the mark. Boris here is a bit of a talker but what about action? I'm sure it's not easy but good leadership shows through action. It is something I would tell Priti Patel as well. 

Sleeze or sleaze? That's the question....

Sleeze? What sleeze, Boris keeps asking. It is funny how you can define sleeze. Or as it is spelled, properly, sleaze. I have seen both but sleeze has connotations with drink, something MPs know all about. However, sleaze it is. So, the government in the hallowed room where the Cabinet meets, are scratching their collective heads and wondering what it all means. There is a chair at the end of the table and if you sit in that one you are out of government in the following month. It is the ‘Leaver Chair’. Just kidding. Geoffrey Cox is in that chair right now. OK so what about sleaze then? Is it normal to have a perk like subsidised housing for MPs which after all was set up so that MPs from hundreds of miles away had somewhere to stay during sittings of Parliament. Rent a small apartment. If you do that it is totally acceptable, that’s the system being used what it was set up for but not if you already had an apartment or house in London and rented that out. Is that sleaze? Hmmmm. There are a few MPs of different parties who use the system for profit so yes it should not be strange that we, the great unwashed, look at these shenanigans with a jaundiced eye. Because it is akin to profiteering. It might be ‘lawful’ but is it morally right? You may want to know why it is a problem? It tends to happen when a party holds the governing power. As at present, the Conservatives, aka the Tories. It is a type of mindset that tells some of the higher ranking politicos and MPs the shackles are off, we can do what we want. It’s ok despite warnings about climate warming to travel with private jets to attend meetings in sunny Caribbean islands which could be done over the phone by Whatsapp or Signal. It’s OK to have a London pad and give it to a family member or a friend and claim the rent on a rented place as allowed by Parliament. No one checks, everyone is too afraid to push the gravy train off the rails. So, I am now saying Boris, your time is up, you had your chance and fluffed it. Welcome the new prince, Rishi step forward!

The NHS in trouble? It sure is...but why?

Watching the news nowadays is akin to dousing yourself with extremely cold water. I have always said that there is no good news, all of it is pretty bad. In fact it is better really not to watch it at all. However, this morning it was the turn of the NHS (again) and the very long waiting times. I must agree why have we arrived at this situation? I cannot remember it ever having been as bad as it is now. Ambulances take hours to attend a casualty or pick up someone who has had a heart attack or Brain haemorrhage. People have died waiting for help. But like everything else what are the causes of this situation? Despite cheerful government talk about millions, nay billions more for the NHS and more doctors and nurses I think they simply are lying. Or at least hiding the truth behind confusing statements. The facts are very simple, the whole system is in meltdown. Is it just money? That cannot be true. The NHS is, as we all know, a bottomless pit but again that I think is not the problem. The problem is a demographic problem. There are just too many of us and too many older people. The facts are there to see. The over 60’s have increased incredibly fast. It will not be long before there are more over 60’s than below 30’s! And the older you are the more health problems are seen. Well, OK so the need for more and more health services must be evident but will or can the government do anything about it? I fear not unless the NHS is radically changed. From my point of view which I have mentioned before is that we can no longer afford to have a free NHS. It is or was, a great idea but the NHS is just now in the process drowning in the demand which was never foreseen.

The other problem we face is the way the general population expects the service to be. The feeling I get is that no-one expects to die at any time, everyone wants to look slim, have dark wavy hair, straight pretty noses, non-drooping eyelids, full red lips. Flat belly and stick out bums. Lovely and that all for free on the NHS because as you know we are mentally affected by our looks. I must have had 20 or more mental breakdowns about a wart that sits nicely on my head under hair. Will it go? No, it won’t. Can’t see a doctor to freeze it off because he/she sits at home staring at a computer screen. Well, there it is. It is us who are the problem. Our expectations, our fears and wishes. Time to re-evaluate, stop and start again.

Drugs and punishment...

There is something that not many people know about drugs. Not that the users care where the stuff comes from but it is something that I also had never considered. For instance, cocaine is mostly from South America. Colombia in particular is in the news. But I too had never considered how it is grown. Yes, you got it, it is grown in cleared Amazonian forest. They cut down whole areas of pristine forest to plant the coca bushes. So in other words, if you use coke, loads of prattling middle class jokers do in this country, they are no more than imbecilic climate destroyers. Climate protesters in the UK, the middle-class type, also tend to be cocaine takers. I just wonder how they correlate that with climate warming.

It is funny how some just don’t consider their actions with other actions which are opposed to the first action. Apparently Britain is a big user of the stuff and anyone who does is unfit to take up any position of responsibility or as far as I am concerned any position at all. We are too easy going by far and although I am not advocating to become a police state or let the far-right take over we do need to evaluate the cost to the nation, the cost to families and of course the personal cost to the individual. After all, it has health implications. The next thing is to deal with the pushers, the dealers. Jail does not seem to help much in this so a new way should be found. You might think I am demented but I’ll be frank, dealers need a sharp lesson as to why they are guilty of making this nation a sleepwalking state. 

So, I would like to see a very public punishment. Something of the order of a chain gang. Repairing all the potholes would be good. As this would mean they would not be able to work at a proper job for the time being they would have to live in a tent set up for the purpose. With an ankle bracelet that can give electric shocks. This to be used as and when said individual tries to escape or does not turn up for the work. Make monitoring 100% effective! Well, it might be a bit much for the woke leftie-liberals as most of them of course, are dependent on aforementioned dealers. But hey there you go, this is 2021!

Some thoughts on food and space...

The Strictly Come Dancing furore continues unabated. It certainly does so on social media. Twitter is awash with people who are asking ‘Why is Dan still in the competition?’ May I just ask what competition? Besides all of that if the public vote - well, the one or two who still bother to pick up the phone - has anything to say then Katiya is not liked all that much. So, there we have it, calm down, the BBC is always right .Yes, and my name is Hogmanay Jones.

The problem with all of this, is that our attention is drawn away from much more important issues. I have wondered many times why so many new houses are being built in Wales. South Wales in particular. It is obvious that something has been decided in the Halls of Power of which us, the great unwashed, are not aware of. The big question we have to ask is ‘What and how do we want our country to be’? This is not just for Wales but the whole of the UK. We have some 68million people alive at present, in a country that should have no more than 25million. That is if you want to have good green spaces and clean air plus room to grow the necessary vegetables and other foods. But this is not the world we see. We see problems galore, climate hotting up putting pressure on food production and inclement weather patterns increasingly going wilder. We see a movement of people from southern countries moving north. It is expected to become a human river of gigantic proportions. The question is ‘Are our political friends actually even be aware of these problems’? And if they are, what are they doing about it? It just seems they are as per the usual taking the easy route and put it on the back-burner. Why? Because in this country there is what is known as the ‘Second great western movement’. That is to say people selling up expensive houses in the eastern conurbations like London, Reading, Bristol and moving into much cheaper homes across the Severn. This is making room for immigrants to move into HMOs (Homes with multiple occupation) because the freed homes have been bought by property developers. You may say - Yes, we have the responsibility to save lives. Sounds great but it doesn’t solve the problems. The problems originate through and because of our behaviour. Nature is quite a simple body. Every species has a niche in which they live. There is a balance between its food supply and numbers. Increase the food supply and you will also increase numbers. By doing that you decrease the available land because it is needed for growing food meaning less space for the entity to expand. The increased numbers now will decrease other entities who have less or no more room to exist. Diseases that would normally prey on an entity which is now severely diminished or gone, now transfers to the more numerical entity. This could be humans and that is already happening. Due to the increased numbers of the entity, pressures on food and space increase. As has been seen in non-human entities when in such a model, it is followed by a crash in numbers due to disease and infighting. Do we need to say any more? The answers are still out, no-one is bothering. Companies merrily carry on with their destructive behaviour. Ask Richard Branson why it is necessary to spend billions to shoot a few rich people into space so that they can gawk at the Earth where they have just hammered another nail into its coffin?