They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

I have just finished The Wind-up Bird Chronicles for the third or fourth time. I was asked why I was re-reading it, and it’s simply because the book moves me. Murakami is an unusual author, and to quote an old cliché, I just can’t put his books down; this one in particular.

The book is, for me at least, a journey. An almost spiritual experience that really makes me question what I do, and if I’m being truthful who I am. It makes me want to quit everything and go on one of those self-finding quests. Which I did sort of this weekend, just taking off after work to go walking for the weekend.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Read it.

My MX-5 shod a spark plug this weekend, and so I popped off to Halfords to get a 10mm spark plug socket to replace it. Upon asking the person behind the counter to open the cupboard so I could get the one I wanted, he told me:

“I’d love too, but we’ve lost the key.”

Wonderful. This was one of the few times in my life I’ve not known what to say.

Kevin Yank is an esteemed technical author, and wrote a book that I cut my teeth on a long time ago, Build your own Database Driven Website using PHP and MySQL, which is great for anyone starting out in the area of dynamic websites.

On his page is a quote worth repeating; “Kev believes that any good webmaster should have seen at least one episode of MacGyver“.

How true!

A rocket explorer named Wright

Once travelled much faster than light

He set out one day,

in a relative way

And returned on the previous night

Thanks Al.

During an interesting discussion at work, this article came up. Now, I urge you to read it as it is intended, an abstract. This is simply one article in the myriad of articles on global warming.

Whether or not you believe in global warming is not what I’m interested in discussing here. For the purposes of this note, I do believe it is happening – that is to say I have faith in the scientific evidence to show that global temperatures are rising, as are sea levels and what have you.

What I am still to be convinced about however, is the causes of this rise in temperature – be they man made or natural. Again, that is for another debate. And if you are still to be convinced I would urge you to read around the subject. There is an awful lot of information out there.

No – the point of this piece is the astonishing reaction of one of the directors of my company. Someone who has in the past sent around rather sensationalist literature on the subject of global warming, including urging us all to sign up to the Guardian supported 10:10 campaign. Yes – the same Guardian that deleted any comment from its website on the rather dubious scientific data mentioned in the article above. I don’t think that the 10:10 campaign is a bad one at all, indeed many of its motives are to be lauded, but I object to the campaign for quite a few reasons, which I might go into later.

Anyway – onto the five minutes of mis-guided vitriol, in a torrent of shouting littered with swearing. Quite who it was aimed at was lost in the swathe of noise, although the person that had brought the article up was at this point quietly sinking lower and lower into his chair.

Amongst other things what struck me as amusing was the irony of his diatribe. A passioned belief in “going green” I do not dislike, and in many ways support, but what I find so hard to swallow about the whole global warming debate is the evidence, and how it is used on both sides. And what I dislike most of all is people that take evidence, manipulated or otherwise, and use it to their advantage whilst discounting any contrary evidence at all costs. Indeed, this person said as much about this type of close minded individual, and that they are, amongst many other things, “fucking morons”. And yet, here was someone ranting and raving and claiming that evidence to show global warming is not man made is “fucking bollocks”. Odd, given that this person is an extremely intelligent man.

Or perhaps, sadly, it isn’t odd. How many times has global warming been mis-used for both political and scientific reasons? Too many to count. Whatever side of the argument you are on however, it was a little too much for a Friday morning.

I’ve only ever had two car accidents in my life, one wrote off my car and damaged nothing else. This one…urgh.

8:40 on the way to work this morning, a car came off a slip road, span into a lorry, the lorry moved into lane two, and queue cars running into each other. Only 4 cars and the lorry badly damaged.

Odd that the only thing that was running through my head was to get out of the car and check on the guy I had run into. Infact I spent the first minutes after the crash checking all the people involved (cars and the lorry) – I’m not trying to inflate my self here – just telling the details. Not once did I think about the fact that I’d written off my other half’s focus (fully insured!) – weird how you act under certain pressures as I’d never have expected myself to do so.

Anyway.

At the end of the day everyone walked away. Which is a testament to the engineering of modern vehicles, and definitely something to be thankful for.

Haven’t updated in a while, I’ve just been so busy. Not that anyone reads this crap .

Anyway, the DIY at the girlfriends house is almost done. I say almost, of course these things are never truly finished. A play I’m in is almost on, and even though I’m struggling with the script it will be over, one way or another with the passage of time.

And I’ve recently started a CCNA. So, even less time, but hopefully a way to “better” myself, but more importantly just learn something interesting. With any luck I’ll become an expert .

Well I’m off on Holiday tomorrow, for a week. Haven’t been on holiday in rather a long time, so a bit apprehensive, but I’m sure it will be fun.