Nick Jordan

NewsBiscuit: Refugees from Congo Civil War ‘more angry about Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand’. Nothing I’ve seen or heard puts the current furore over Ross and Brand into perspective better than this. The prank was stupid and they should have known better but there are more important things happening in the world. Besides, the sheer quantity of coverage of this has become deeply irritating, at least to me. Can we forget this and go and solve some real problems now? It’s not as if there aren’t plenty of them.

I was just on my way out to a job interview this afternoon when my mobile rang and I received some great news. The long and short of it is that I have just accepted an excellent job offer, starting on Monday, 3rd November. I’m very pleased and excited, since the company concerned was my favourite of all the ones I interviewed with. The people, the place and the work all seem top-notch and I’m really looking forward to getting started.

I now have a week off to look forward to, with no interviews or other pressures, which’ll be great. The relief is just joyful.

I know it’s not uncommon for other people to share one’s name but I thought it might be fun to list a few that I’ve been aware of for a while, both real and fictional.

• A US Republican Senator (Kansas)
• An English guy living in Canada who also rides motorbikes
• An artist from Manchester, UK
• A surgeon in the BBC dramas Casualty and Holby City
• A French comic-book secret agent (how cool is that?)

I know there are others, but these are my favourites. Does anyone interesting share your name?

I had a fairly enjoyable job interview this afternoon with a company who do music downloads, but I’ve already heard that I didn’t get it. Fortunately I’m not too worried – I had a really good interview with a small web agency yesterday that I think I’d be a much better fit for. Not only that, but the people seemed nice, the work looked interesting and I liked the environment, so fingers crossed.

Anyway, in order to provide myself with the small amount of consolation that I need I’ve ordered myself a pizza and I intend to curl up on the sofa in front of Holby City (yes, I know!) later on with a beer. Tomorrow I have a day off from interviewing as I’m paying my Dad a visit while he’s over from the Isle of Man, which’ll provide me with a welcome break.

I spent all day yesterday at the Insulae Draconis Viceroy Tournament, which was held at a delightful site in Surrey with a mediaeval barn for court, feasting and displays and a good-sized field for the fighting. The sun shone, the sky was blue and the whole occasion was a real pleasure to attend. The organisers deserve a huge pat on the back for putting together a thoroughly enjoyable event.

Special thanks go to Steve and Jen for driving us there and back again, not the first time they’ve been kind enough to do so.

Update: You can find a much fuller, and better, report here.

Along with most of the people I know I’m very keen on protecting our environment. Apart from the obvious element of self-interest, there’s the fact that the Earth and all the things, living and non-living, that make it up are beautiful and wonderful treasures. However, there is one thing that I consider to be more important, one thing in the pursuit of which I would, if it proved necessary, destroy the entire planet. Space travel.

It’s a matter of pure survival. Our planet, this wonderful home of ours, is doomed. Nothing lasts forever, and that includes the Earth, our solar system and, indeed, the entire galaxy. Even if it isn’t destroyed completely, there’s a chance of some sort of natural disaster wiping us all out, whether it’s a large meteor strike or something completely unforeseen. It could happen tomorrow. And that’s why space travel is the most important thing we can do. We currently have all our eggs in one basket by having all our people on one planet. We need the capability to leave, to spread ourselves out as much as possible. That way lies the best chance for the survival of our children and our children’s children.

If I had my way, as much of our resources, financial, mental, physical, whatever, would be devoted to this most important of causes. Feed the hungry by all means (it wouldn’t actually cost that much), heal the sick, all that stuff, but having an eye on the future of the species while we do those things would be rather handy, too.