Nick Jordan

Private firm may track all email and calls. Let’s just parcel up all our communications data and hand it over to the private sector. Rarely have I heard a madder or more dangerous idea. This has to be stopped, and stopped now. I can’t believe that something so stupid would even be considered.

Yes, I’m going to bore you by talking about my Christmas, but I’ll keep it brief and spare you most of the details. Essentially, I had a very good time, marred only by the continued presence of the cold/flu thing I’ve had for the past couple of weeks. Yes, I’m feeling considerably better now, thanks for asking.

Anyway, I was away at Jenny’s parents’ place near Cambridge, where we were both liberally showered with presents, all of which are lovely and many of which will prove very useful. I even got a book on photography, so if I can find some time to read and digest it my crappy pictures might actually improve a bit.

It was really good to get home yesterday afternoon, though. Being away is great but there’s nothing quite like home, if you know what I mean. An evening spent lounging around in front of the TV and eating pizza was very much appreciated.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the gifts, cards and messages. Now, onwards towards the New Year!

Today was my first day back at work after a couple of days off sick with the cold/flu thing that’s been going around. The thing that made my weekend pretty unpleasant. Anyway, I arrived at work alarmingly short of breath, feeling pretty grim and wondering whether I’d made a mistake going back. My colleagues were ever so nice and I was told in no uncertain terms to go home if I felt I needed to.

Fortunately, after about an hour I was feeling able to cope so, although I still feel fairly grotty, I made it all the way through the day. Which is most definitely a good thing. Now if I can just be OK by the weekend, when I’m off to a friend’s wedding, I’ll be very happy indeed.

What part of Ireland’s ‘no’ does the EU not understand? A nice little piece by Brendan O’Neill on the recent Irish rejection of the Lisbon treaty. I couldn’t agree more with his point of view that the Irish people were presented with the arguments, made their minds up and voted, and there the matter should rest. Disagreeing with a particular piece of EU legislation does not amount to a wholesale rejection of the EU itself, and to chide the Irish for ‘making the wrong decision’ is insulting and makes a nonsense of the democratic process.

In other words, suck it up, guys.

Paperwork error means Scotland has no legal motorways. If this is true it’s absolutely fantastic news. I’m planning a trip to Scotland with some friends next year and, while we’re not planning on spending too much time on fast roads, this still could lead to some real fun. I’d love to see someone testing an outrageously quick home-build vehicle of some kind up there. Jet-powered skateboard, anyone?

I tried to upgrade to the latest version of Wordpress this morning and regretted it, since it screwed things up rather badly. Possibly it was the automatic upgrade plugin I was using. If you tried to view the site earlier today and couldn’t, that’s why. I’ll try again using the normal procedure when I get the time and see if I can get it to work.

Update: I have now tried the normal upgrade procedure and have run into the same problem, which is that when I try to load and page which is part of Wordpress (other scripts elsewhere are fine) I’m offered the page as a download, as if the web server was no longer configured to process PHP scripts. I’ll see if I can find a solution to the problem (no luck so far) but if I can’t I shall either have to change hosting company or blogging software.

I saw Eddie Izzard last night, and what a throughly enjoyable night it was. All I can say is that I want a jazz chicken. Now.

The Thamesreach SCA group now has its own Facebook group. If you’re interested in mediaeval reenactment and you’re in the London, UK area, do get in touch. We’re very friendly, even when hitting each other with big sticks, and we have some amazingly knowledgeable people who can help you get involved in all manner of activities, from fighting to cooking to needlework to jewellery to brewing, and everything in between.

This month’s Folkcast podcast is available now. If you like good music (and who doesn’t?) go and grab it now. There’s an excellent selection of stuff, including a song by an artist who’s new to me, Ruth Theodore. The great thing, I discovered, is that her album, Worm Food, is available as a free download. What more could you ask? Good music for nowt. Check her out and support her if you like what you hear. The same goes for all the other artists featured this month, of course.

Nasa delays its next Mars mission. It’s a bit of a shame but a year’s not really all that long, and clearly it’s extremely important to get everything right before the launch.

Can anyone tell me why it is that even with the central heating going strong and the radiators good and hot, the only room in the flat that’s nice and warm is the one that’s not used, namely the spare bedroom? It really is most frustrating.

Today is the 1st of December. This means that it’s now OK with me for shops to put up their Christmas displays and decorations, play cheesy Christmas music and generally be Christmassy. I may be being a bit of a grump, but I really, really, really hate the general promotion of Christmas before December. It just feels wrong, and it means that by the time we get to the 24th I’m sick and tired of hearing about it.

I’m not trying to put the seasonal festivities down. I like them. I’m looking forward not just to the holiday but also to the whole jolly, overeating, overdrinking, completely overindulging celebration that is a modern Christmas. I also appreciate the whole peace and goodwill to all thing, although it seems a trifle odd to confine such a simple and worthwhile sentiment to just a few days out of the year.

Anyway, here we are. Stuff to buy, stuff to prepare, and a good time to anticipate. I’m not complaining. Much.