My little red book

A change in circumstance

2005-09-25T10:24:00.000+01:00

Well, it took far longer than I anticipated but I'm finally back in work. Back being the operative word - I'm back in the same job I had 11 years ago.

They say you should never go back, but in this case I don't think the rule applies. You don't get many jobs like this one, combining the best elements of Applications and Systems work, or at least those elements I think I'm best at. What's more, at only 20 miles away it's relatively local.

I had been concerned that after such a long lay-off I would have found it difficult to get back into the regime of rushing out each morning. Well sofar there has been no such difficulty, the hard part has been at the other end of the day. I've been at my desk by 8 each morning without any real effort, but it is a rush to get back in time for the evening commitments I've acquired over the last 4 years. I think there may soon come a time when I need to review those commitments and that will be a very hard choice - those commitments that I'd be least unwilling to relinquish are the only ones that have not arisen since returning from semi-retirement. Ah well, such is life!

Speed cameras and Camera detectors

2005-06-27T17:57:00.000+01:00

The AA have just published a new road atlas that shows where speed cameras are. They claim they are doing their bit to reduce accidents. If that's the case, why are they showing where the cameras are rather than showing the blackspots? I think their claims are fatuous, it's just a marketing ploy — they know very well that even people like me who disagree with it will still want to know where the cameras are for purely economic reasons.

And talking of speed cameras, there have been devices on sale to detect them for some time now. What is the point? These devices detect the radar signals from the cameras. If there is a radar signal then the camera has spotted you! It is too late to do anything about it! It's just another scheme to make money out of the motorist, but then, anyone who wants to spend money just so they can break the speed limit deserves to be stung.

Andrew Murray

2005-06-26T10:36:00.000+01:00

Well, Andrew Murray started well, but did not have the stamina to pull off another coup. This remarkable young man can bow out of Wimbledon with pride for what he has achieved. I am not going to put pressure on him by suggesting what his future may be — there's plenty of others already doing that.

I hope the media allow him to develop and mature his game without the pressure of public expectation, but somehow I don't think they will

The media and British sport

2005-06-25T17:55:00.000+01:00

Tim Henman's out, but we still have Andrew Murray. He's on court now and doing well so far. God pray that the media do not put too much pressure on him.

Tim's barely got his breath back and there has already been an attempt to rechristen "Henman Hill" as "Murray Field" — I was relieved to hear a colleague of the commentator berate him for it. At least some members of the media are not tempted to screw up the hype to breaking point.

But if Andrew Murray wins the media are bound to describe it as an historic victory. Has Britain sunk so low that any win is historic?

First thoughts

2005-06-21T16:25:00.000+01:00

My first blog, and my first thought. This is bound to be rubbish - I don't know what I'm doing - but maybe a lesson or three will come of it.

Dweud a gwir, it matters a great big zilch what I put here. I really only want to see if I can import the blog to a web site, and what else is possible.

When I found that Stuart, my son, had a Blog I accused him of being pretentious for thinking that the world would wish to know his thoughts. So how's this for pretentiousness and hypocracy? I've got one too now!