A former diplomat in the Middle East commenting on how bad relations between the UK and Israel were just now said: “Things can be ever so bad, but it does not mean they can’t get worse”. Is this the national character? Is this more than averagely pessimistic? Or is
What’s on the box? we used to say, reaching for the Radio Times. How to put it now... What’s on the rectangle? I rarely watch it nowadays. I sit in front of it pressing Continue Watching and Next Episode. About 30% of TV drama is detective series, and
They do say never trust a skinny chef. The primary source here is “they”. If the skinny chef can resist his own food then his tasty dishes are clearly not irresistible. Gotta say I walk past the nearest barber shop to me because the barber there is balding, not a
Robots are right handed. Not many people know that. Just those that have hands, naturally. Some only have one, but even then the thumb is on top and the palm faces to the left. Right handed. Logically there’s no reason a robot should have hands at all, but the
How dare anyone suggest I am not patriotic. Those who put flags on lamposts are not ... err... patrioticer than thou. Or me. And they have no grounds to suggest otherwise. In the first place I was at the World Cup Final in 1966 shouting myself hoarse in support of the
It’s very annoying. You empty the wash basket, sort into piles, carry it all downstairs and stuff the colours into the washing machine. Laundry liquid. Conditioner. Eco wash and low temperature to save the planet. Start the cycle. The door lock engages, the machine starts to fill. And there
There is a notion in Quantum Theory whereby just looking at a thing – just by the look – you change it. And for years now whenever I look or examine a thing a clock, or a gadget, a pen with a spring inside the result is always that I change the
A year ago Elon Musk predicted self-aware AI by the end of 2025. Well, that train’s left the station. Can’t help wondering, though... If he had succeeded, would Grok have been grateful? There’s not much precedent for this sort of thing. The prototypes, Adam and Eve,
There’s this not very old joke – actually it may be current – “My wife says I have two major faults. I don’t listen and … errrrr… I’m not sure what the other one is.” Many say they value a good listener, I fear this may not have been said
I always thought that conservative nostalgia was directed towards the 1950s – family values, social class, bad dentistry. Apparently not. The golden age was the 11th century. I had the radio on the other day – some rent-a-pundit panel discussion. I don’t normally listen to that sort of thing,
“Be Kind” said the T shirt on my grandson. Was that telling me to be kind or were his parents hoping he’d catch the idea from reading it backwards in the mirror? Some time ago there was a woman I was showering with acts of kindness, giving her lifts,
I am thinking of a second career as an urban graffiti artist. Urban is pushing it a bit, but small market town graffiti artist is too much of a mouthful. Every day I walk my dog along the local trailway, dodging cyclists and pushchairs. It used to be a railway