My favourite Beatles album is The Beatles which is also known as The White Album. The best book about the band is Revolution In The Head by the music journalist Ian MacDonald, who is now dead and sorely missed (he also wrote the brilliant and influential The New Shostakovich). MacDonald had a gift for finding fresh insights whilst travelling well trodden paths and instead of my waffle about The Beatles here is an excerpt from Revolution In The Head that gives a summary of the artistic ambience of the The White Album;
"With it's thirty varied and variable tracks, The Beatles is a sprawling affair reflecting the group's post-Epstein indifference to corporate concerns. That it hangs together as well as it does is a tribute to the sequencing skills of Lennon, McCartney, and George Martin, who worked out the running order in a continuous 24-hour effort on 16th-17th October 1968 (The Beatles' longest single session). With it's mood contrasts, cunning key-sequences, and clever segues, this 95-minute double-album is a masterpiece of programming. Mere expert presentation, however, cannot hide the fact that half the tracks on it are poor by earlier standards, or that many of it's lyrics are little more than the lazy navel-gazing of pampered recluses.
Before the Leicester group Family issued their debut LP Music in a Doll's House in August 1968, The Beatles had been planning to call their work A Doll's House (supposedly after Ibsen). The clash was unfortunate since this was an apt title for this musical attic of odds and ends, some charming, others sinister, many tinged with childhood memories, all absorbed in the interior worlds of their authors. There is a secret unease in this music, betraying the turmoil beneath the group's business-as-usual facade. Shadows lengthen over the album as it progresses: the long slow afternoon of The Beatles' career. Sadly, none of this is captured in Richard Hamilton's modishly empty sleeve-design. One can only assume that this is because he wasn't able to hear the music before setting to work, since it's crepuscular quality is so tangible. Certainly no other product of the noon-bright idiom of Sixties pop offers as many associations of guardeed privacy and locked rooms, or concludes in such disturbing dreamlike darkness."
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
'Super' casinos
In a country that is addicted to gambling, that spends as much money on gambling as on food, the idea of supercasinos is quite obviously stupid. Such sites will be the Tesco of the gambling industry. The first such warehouse of crap slot machines and tacky gaming tables will be located in a poor part of Manchester.
Tessa Jowell assures us that these places will not adopt Las vegas style measures such as free drinks to make people irrationally keep gambling and pumped oxygen to keep punters awake. Presumably this also means that there will be no other 'Las Vegas stlye tricks' such as good food at fair prices, art galleries, shows and other attractions that will balance against the pure gambling.
This government has presided over the liberalisation of drinking culture and the consequent effects with little regard for the people affected and a hand rubbing greed for the tax so generated. It seems that people vulnerable to gambling are the next target for a stealth tax. This is purely preying on the vulnerable.
Tessa Jowell assures us that these places will not adopt Las vegas style measures such as free drinks to make people irrationally keep gambling and pumped oxygen to keep punters awake. Presumably this also means that there will be no other 'Las Vegas stlye tricks' such as good food at fair prices, art galleries, shows and other attractions that will balance against the pure gambling.
This government has presided over the liberalisation of drinking culture and the consequent effects with little regard for the people affected and a hand rubbing greed for the tax so generated. It seems that people vulnerable to gambling are the next target for a stealth tax. This is purely preying on the vulnerable.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Personality test
| Cattell's 16 Factor Test Results
|
Friday, January 26, 2007
Council Tax
Average weekly earnings after income tax and NI - £343 *
Average council tax bill per working person per week - £10 +
Average hours worked per week - 40
Time at work required to pay coucil tax bill - 1 hr 10 minutes
That's right. That last miserable hour on a Friday.
* Based on £23900 net per year
+ Based on £1,056 per year per household and two working adults to pay the bill
But... that's for
Schools (ie state organised babysitting for the workforce)
Rubbish collection (imagine having to go to the dump all the time)
Libraries (yes, all those Mills and Boon books)
Police (but don't expect them to help when you get burgled)
Fire (No arguments here. Hire more. Give them a pay rise)
Local Council Admin (Doncaster Council has to be the biggest joke ever)
It's also means tested but not based on how much a person earns or has in savings. It is worked out on the basis of the value of the property a person lives in. If you rent in a building that's worth a lot (as I used to) your tax is based on the assets of someone else. And if you don't have kids you are effectively paying for other people's kids to go to the local school because most local council tax is spent there.
That's Local Tax. What about Income tax. The average person above would pay £75 a week in income tax. How does the government spend that? In 2005 the government spent
On the 'This Week' politics talk show last night they pointed out that the British economy has been supported for the past decade on the unholy triptych of inflated house prices, consumer debt and no consumer personal savings. The average Italian family saves three times as much money for the future as a British family. Or should I say a Scottish/English/Welsh family. The concept of Britishness is taught in English schools but not in Welsh or Scottish schools. Wonder why. The three most important figures in a Gordon Brown government would be Scottish. They would sit in the English parliament but not be democratically accountable to English voters.
Have a good weekend (all 30 of you.)
Average council tax bill per working person per week - £10 +
Average hours worked per week - 40
Time at work required to pay coucil tax bill - 1 hr 10 minutes
That's right. That last miserable hour on a Friday.
* Based on £23900 net per year
+ Based on £1,056 per year per household and two working adults to pay the bill
But... that's for
Schools (ie state organised babysitting for the workforce)
Rubbish collection (imagine having to go to the dump all the time)
Libraries (yes, all those Mills and Boon books)
Police (but don't expect them to help when you get burgled)
Fire (No arguments here. Hire more. Give them a pay rise)
Local Council Admin (Doncaster Council has to be the biggest joke ever)
It's also means tested but not based on how much a person earns or has in savings. It is worked out on the basis of the value of the property a person lives in. If you rent in a building that's worth a lot (as I used to) your tax is based on the assets of someone else. And if you don't have kids you are effectively paying for other people's kids to go to the local school because most local council tax is spent there.
That's Local Tax. What about Income tax. The average person above would pay £75 a week in income tax. How does the government spend that? In 2005 the government spent
On the 'This Week' politics talk show last night they pointed out that the British economy has been supported for the past decade on the unholy triptych of inflated house prices, consumer debt and no consumer personal savings. The average Italian family saves three times as much money for the future as a British family. Or should I say a Scottish/English/Welsh family. The concept of Britishness is taught in English schools but not in Welsh or Scottish schools. Wonder why. The three most important figures in a Gordon Brown government would be Scottish. They would sit in the English parliament but not be democratically accountable to English voters.
Have a good weekend (all 30 of you.)
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Thom Yorke celebrity iTunes playlist
Thom Yorke of Radiohead has just put his celebrity playlist on iTunes US.
I wonder how Thom has justified this to himself. He has criticised
iTunes and Apple in the past. iTunes is expensive (per track; 40p Canada, 50p US, 70p Europe, 80p UK) and the user doesn't even own what they pay for; they just buy the right to play it on their iPod. I hope it wasn't any financial incentive that swayed Thom. We know he likes shopping and he has kiddies to feed. Or maybe he likes the celebrity tag. Or maybe he likes to simultaneously criticise big business and massively profit off it. Thom has endorsed the Friends of the Earth Big Ask campaign for everyone to do their bit to reduce carbon emissions. At the same time his touring with the band has generated a HUGE carbon footprint. It's doublespeak/hypocrisy.
Whatever. Thom has always had mostly poor taste in music (as even the other bandmembers admit). Contrast this playlist with that of the reggae album Jonny has compiled for Trojan records which I'm very excited about. Or Jonny's growing reputation as a composer and the type of music they associated with him on the Radio 3 program late junction the other night. That program was a joy.
Thees Thom/iTunes beezness, ees not right Stimpy.
I wonder how Thom has justified this to himself. He has criticised
iTunes and Apple in the past. iTunes is expensive (per track; 40p Canada, 50p US, 70p Europe, 80p UK) and the user doesn't even own what they pay for; they just buy the right to play it on their iPod. I hope it wasn't any financial incentive that swayed Thom. We know he likes shopping and he has kiddies to feed. Or maybe he likes the celebrity tag. Or maybe he likes to simultaneously criticise big business and massively profit off it. Thom has endorsed the Friends of the Earth Big Ask campaign for everyone to do their bit to reduce carbon emissions. At the same time his touring with the band has generated a HUGE carbon footprint. It's doublespeak/hypocrisy.
Whatever. Thom has always had mostly poor taste in music (as even the other bandmembers admit). Contrast this playlist with that of the reggae album Jonny has compiled for Trojan records which I'm very excited about. Or Jonny's growing reputation as a composer and the type of music they associated with him on the Radio 3 program late junction the other night. That program was a joy.
Thees Thom/iTunes beezness, ees not right Stimpy.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Our tolerant society
Last year I was punched in the face after a night out whilst I was eating some food outside a takeaway in the middle of York. My 'crime' was the fact that two of my friends in our group were not white. Our attackers (one wearing a very fetching pink shirt) spewed racist abuse at my friends and then lashed out at me and another member of our party. Britain and the wider world are about to undergo massive changes in the next decade and the ignorant and insular nature of some sections of the British population are to be feared. Over the past 15 years or so the UK has become a moral and disciplinary vacuum. The influence of religion, community ties and the justice system have all evaporated. How can things be fixed?
First, we need a society with a decent standard of living for all with fair working hours and without a culture of celebrity and binge drinking to distract the workforce from their debt and crappy service jobs. Education must be fixed too. Target driven teaching only results in students who know how to pass exams (which are getting easier to help meet targets) and who don't have a good knowledge of the core subjects. The new national curriculum for science is a joke and being asked to teach such a distorted version of my subject (Physics) has changed my mind about becoming a Physics teacher. However, alcohol, education and the media are just three variables in a complex problem.
The most fundamental cause of the current problems in society is the staggeringly liberal slant enforced by the justice system and the PC left over the past decade. We aren't ready for this sort of liberality in the treatment of those who spoil things for everyone else because there is no restoring force; no deterrent to prevent people from doing just what they please. Such liberal attitudes to crime won't ever work in a society in which prisoners can sue prisons for denying them access to class A drugs whilst in jail. Or a society where young offenders can sue prisons for not protecting them from bullying and theft (what type of people did they expect to meet in prison? And surely being the victim of crime helps them understand what they did to to others?). Perhaps the Home office would benefit from reorganisation into more manageable chunks but the idea smacks of more tinkering. How about
1) Reducing the level of government interference in the Home office
2) Removing targets for police officers
3) Abandoning all Private Finance Initiative projects (prisons, for starters but then schools and the NHS)
4) Charging the customer AND the drinks industry more tax on alcohol to cover the cost of friday and saturday night policing in town centres
5) No tough talk and laying the blame on civil servants and police officers by politicians
First, we need a society with a decent standard of living for all with fair working hours and without a culture of celebrity and binge drinking to distract the workforce from their debt and crappy service jobs. Education must be fixed too. Target driven teaching only results in students who know how to pass exams (which are getting easier to help meet targets) and who don't have a good knowledge of the core subjects. The new national curriculum for science is a joke and being asked to teach such a distorted version of my subject (Physics) has changed my mind about becoming a Physics teacher. However, alcohol, education and the media are just three variables in a complex problem.
The most fundamental cause of the current problems in society is the staggeringly liberal slant enforced by the justice system and the PC left over the past decade. We aren't ready for this sort of liberality in the treatment of those who spoil things for everyone else because there is no restoring force; no deterrent to prevent people from doing just what they please. Such liberal attitudes to crime won't ever work in a society in which prisoners can sue prisons for denying them access to class A drugs whilst in jail. Or a society where young offenders can sue prisons for not protecting them from bullying and theft (what type of people did they expect to meet in prison? And surely being the victim of crime helps them understand what they did to to others?). Perhaps the Home office would benefit from reorganisation into more manageable chunks but the idea smacks of more tinkering. How about
1) Reducing the level of government interference in the Home office
2) Removing targets for police officers
3) Abandoning all Private Finance Initiative projects (prisons, for starters but then schools and the NHS)
4) Charging the customer AND the drinks industry more tax on alcohol to cover the cost of friday and saturday night policing in town centres
5) No tough talk and laying the blame on civil servants and police officers by politicians
One week old
This blog is one week old and already I've missed some days. I have been ill though. With flu (and not just 'man flu' - ie a cold)
Monday, January 22, 2007
Masters Snooker Night of Shame
There were three aspects of the behaviour of the crowd at the Masters snooker final today that brought shame on the game
1) Constant shouting out whilst the players were mid-break
2) Abusive comments (swearing) directed at the referee when he asked for quiet
3) Complete disregard of the obvious pressure and upset that Ding Junhui was experiencing
I can't remember a snooker audience so badly behaved. London has always been a rowdy venue but some sections of the crowd tonight brought shame on the UK in what has been a bad week for our reputation on the world stage. World Snooker must prevent this behaviour in future. Just as the use of a mobile phone can result in being kicked out of a snooker audience so should yobbish behaviour. One thing to look at is the sale of alcohol backstage during a game.
On a lighter note Ronnie O'Sullivan put in a superb performance. He has come in for some harsh criticism after the walkout at York. I bought tickets for the semi final in York hoping that Ronnie would get through and I was angry when he walked out in the quarter final denying me my chance to see him play. Shaun Murphy has also pointed out that Paul Hunter fulfilled his obligations to snooker whilst dying of cancer. All of this anger is understandable but Ronnie should not do anything that makes him feel uncomfortable. A man with a plethora of personal problems who suffers from depression should not be put under the microscope. The simple fact that he still attempts to play snooker to his own high standards and has not quit the game should be something to admire and encourage. When he visited my local snooker club he was quiet, modest and shy.
Another example of the vulnerability of snooker players was the breakdown of Ding Junhui near to the end of the match tonight. Ronnie played him off the table but I think most of the performance of Junhui was down to the crowd. Imagine taking part in a high pressure sporting event in China with thousands of fans cheering for your opponent and erupting with relief every time you miss. Junhui is an amazing snooker player plying his trade in an unfamiliar country. He works exceptionally hard and his play is a joy to watch. He has a genuine desire to improve his game and at 19 years old he is surely going to be the player of the next decade. Many of the current players of today (Hendry, Williams, O'Sullivan, Higgins) are reaching the end of their career and Ding Junhui is the best of the players coming through to replace them.
One aspect of the partisan nature of the crowd at the Masters final tonight might be the fact that Junhui is Chinese. I hope not. Snooker has been enriched by players from all over the globe over the years. The popularity of snooker in China is something that all snooker fans should embrace. Lets face it, after the loss of sponsorship from big tobacco the game has suffered financially. And the crop of Chinese players ready to burst into the game can only enrich it. There could be someone as gifted as O'Sullivan practising right now in a Shanghai snooker hall. I hope that World Snooker has a clear plan in place to embrace the Chinese audience and players. I would suggest
1) Elect 50% of Chinese members to the board of World Snooker
2) Stage more tournaments in China
3) Take turns to hold the World Championship in China and Sheffield
Such activities would help foster ties amongst the global network of snooker fans and help improve the profile of the game. We would not be handing OUR game over. We would be sharing something wonderful that we all love. I am excited by the prospect of joining a global audience of tens or even hundreds of millions to watch the first world snooker final staged in China.
1) Constant shouting out whilst the players were mid-break
2) Abusive comments (swearing) directed at the referee when he asked for quiet
3) Complete disregard of the obvious pressure and upset that Ding Junhui was experiencing
I can't remember a snooker audience so badly behaved. London has always been a rowdy venue but some sections of the crowd tonight brought shame on the UK in what has been a bad week for our reputation on the world stage. World Snooker must prevent this behaviour in future. Just as the use of a mobile phone can result in being kicked out of a snooker audience so should yobbish behaviour. One thing to look at is the sale of alcohol backstage during a game.
On a lighter note Ronnie O'Sullivan put in a superb performance. He has come in for some harsh criticism after the walkout at York. I bought tickets for the semi final in York hoping that Ronnie would get through and I was angry when he walked out in the quarter final denying me my chance to see him play. Shaun Murphy has also pointed out that Paul Hunter fulfilled his obligations to snooker whilst dying of cancer. All of this anger is understandable but Ronnie should not do anything that makes him feel uncomfortable. A man with a plethora of personal problems who suffers from depression should not be put under the microscope. The simple fact that he still attempts to play snooker to his own high standards and has not quit the game should be something to admire and encourage. When he visited my local snooker club he was quiet, modest and shy.
Another example of the vulnerability of snooker players was the breakdown of Ding Junhui near to the end of the match tonight. Ronnie played him off the table but I think most of the performance of Junhui was down to the crowd. Imagine taking part in a high pressure sporting event in China with thousands of fans cheering for your opponent and erupting with relief every time you miss. Junhui is an amazing snooker player plying his trade in an unfamiliar country. He works exceptionally hard and his play is a joy to watch. He has a genuine desire to improve his game and at 19 years old he is surely going to be the player of the next decade. Many of the current players of today (Hendry, Williams, O'Sullivan, Higgins) are reaching the end of their career and Ding Junhui is the best of the players coming through to replace them.
One aspect of the partisan nature of the crowd at the Masters final tonight might be the fact that Junhui is Chinese. I hope not. Snooker has been enriched by players from all over the globe over the years. The popularity of snooker in China is something that all snooker fans should embrace. Lets face it, after the loss of sponsorship from big tobacco the game has suffered financially. And the crop of Chinese players ready to burst into the game can only enrich it. There could be someone as gifted as O'Sullivan practising right now in a Shanghai snooker hall. I hope that World Snooker has a clear plan in place to embrace the Chinese audience and players. I would suggest
1) Elect 50% of Chinese members to the board of World Snooker
2) Stage more tournaments in China
3) Take turns to hold the World Championship in China and Sheffield
Such activities would help foster ties amongst the global network of snooker fans and help improve the profile of the game. We would not be handing OUR game over. We would be sharing something wonderful that we all love. I am excited by the prospect of joining a global audience of tens or even hundreds of millions to watch the first world snooker final staged in China.
Friday, January 19, 2007
In Poor Taste
In poor taste;
1) 4x4/SUVs used to take people to/from the school gates/supermarket
2) Obtrusive Christmas decorations on the outside of houses
3) Innapropraite use of the words 'basically', 'literally', 'actually', 'obviously' and other verbal ticks
This last one can be funny, especially when football players are interviewed to camera
"Basically at the end of the day it's a game of two halves" - translation; no exact English translation but something like 'all football games have two 45 minute periods of play which are often quite different due to the ability of the team to decide to change tactics during the half time interval.'
Football players are unable to master the past tense
"Wew, av seen 'im off his line and av ad a go and it's gone in" - translation; 'I noticed the keeper was off his line and I took a speculative shot which fortunately resulted in a goal.'
There are too many examples to indulge in. Notable offenders are Ian Dowie, David Beckham and Frank Lampard (who was privately educated at Brentwood). The best example was Julio Geordio, a character from Harry Enfield played by Paul Whitehouse. Julio was a South American footballer playing for Newcastle who mixed his native tongue with accent perfect Geordie colloquialisms.
It isn't just football players. Watch anyone who isn't media trained being interviewed on camera such as local news eyewitnesses and police officers/firemen. Reality TV shows also kick up some good examples. It puts me in mind of 'Politics and the English Language', a George Orwell essay first published in April 1946;
"Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly..."
As much as this essay talks about written English in the 1940's the essence readily applies to spoken English today. I have to be careful here because I indulge in verbal ticks and you will notice this blog will be riddled with my lazy writing habits.
1) 4x4/SUVs used to take people to/from the school gates/supermarket
2) Obtrusive Christmas decorations on the outside of houses
3) Innapropraite use of the words 'basically', 'literally', 'actually', 'obviously' and other verbal ticks
This last one can be funny, especially when football players are interviewed to camera
"Basically at the end of the day it's a game of two halves" - translation; no exact English translation but something like 'all football games have two 45 minute periods of play which are often quite different due to the ability of the team to decide to change tactics during the half time interval.'
Football players are unable to master the past tense
"Wew, av seen 'im off his line and av ad a go and it's gone in" - translation; 'I noticed the keeper was off his line and I took a speculative shot which fortunately resulted in a goal.'
There are too many examples to indulge in. Notable offenders are Ian Dowie, David Beckham and Frank Lampard (who was privately educated at Brentwood). The best example was Julio Geordio, a character from Harry Enfield played by Paul Whitehouse. Julio was a South American footballer playing for Newcastle who mixed his native tongue with accent perfect Geordie colloquialisms.
It isn't just football players. Watch anyone who isn't media trained being interviewed on camera such as local news eyewitnesses and police officers/firemen. Reality TV shows also kick up some good examples. It puts me in mind of 'Politics and the English Language', a George Orwell essay first published in April 1946;
"Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly..."
As much as this essay talks about written English in the 1940's the essence readily applies to spoken English today. I have to be careful here because I indulge in verbal ticks and you will notice this blog will be riddled with my lazy writing habits.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Christmas Drink Driving
The drink driving figures for Christmas 2006 are out and they are worse than last year in Yorkshire. I'm amazed they managed to catch more people because there are fewer traffic police on the roads. As the roads become busier we need more traffic police but the exisintg officers have to help with regular police duties. What a waste of their training. There are shocking examples of bad driving on the roads at the moment and I really feel that during an upcoming journey someone will involve me in an RTA. Take a 10 minute drive and you are guaranteed to encounter someone; speeding, cutting up, tailgating, driving in an overtaking lane but not overtaking anything, not indicating, using a mobile phone etc etc.
But drink driving is the worst crime. I know it can be expensive to get home after a night out. Tough. I know of a pub whose car park is usually full (especially on a Saturday afternoon). On an evening the car park is also busy. People try to hide their vehicles by parking them down the side street. I have nothing against that particular pub (in fact I like to go there when I'm in the area; it has just had a really cool interior renovation) I just don't want anyone to get hurt. And I'm not being preachy; members of my own family have been in trouble for drink driving and the same applies to them. What can be done? There are some ideas around. Personally I favour alcolocks which prevent a car from starting until the driver passes a breath test. In Sweden all vehicles will have alcolocks by 2012.
Will alcolocks work? Can someone else blow into the machine for you? They are on trial in Bristol and Birmingham but civil liberties groups have already grumbled. I don't think a drunk person has the right to decide whether to start the engine. But then again I'm in favour of speed limiters being fitted on vehicles that would prevent a breach of the speed limit in danger areas like accident blackspots, school areas, supermarket car parks etc. I like the idea of people being physically prevented from commiting a crime like in A Clockwork Orange, the 'Justice' episode of Red Dwarf where Lister sets himself on fire and the Simpsons episode where Lisa conditions Bart against stealing cupcakes by electrifying one.
But drink driving is the worst crime. I know it can be expensive to get home after a night out. Tough. I know of a pub whose car park is usually full (especially on a Saturday afternoon). On an evening the car park is also busy. People try to hide their vehicles by parking them down the side street. I have nothing against that particular pub (in fact I like to go there when I'm in the area; it has just had a really cool interior renovation) I just don't want anyone to get hurt. And I'm not being preachy; members of my own family have been in trouble for drink driving and the same applies to them. What can be done? There are some ideas around. Personally I favour alcolocks which prevent a car from starting until the driver passes a breath test. In Sweden all vehicles will have alcolocks by 2012.
Will alcolocks work? Can someone else blow into the machine for you? They are on trial in Bristol and Birmingham but civil liberties groups have already grumbled. I don't think a drunk person has the right to decide whether to start the engine. But then again I'm in favour of speed limiters being fitted on vehicles that would prevent a breach of the speed limit in danger areas like accident blackspots, school areas, supermarket car parks etc. I like the idea of people being physically prevented from commiting a crime like in A Clockwork Orange, the 'Justice' episode of Red Dwarf where Lister sets himself on fire and the Simpsons episode where Lisa conditions Bart against stealing cupcakes by electrifying one.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
In Limbo
I suppose I'd better tell you a bit about me and what will be posted here. The content is easy; whatever I'm mentally chewing on will probably be spit out onto this page (so expect posts in the small hours when I can't sleep). It should be a Physics related blog since that's what I do for a living. Don't let that put you off; I'm hoping to give you a flavour of what it's like to work in scientific research (good and bad) and to provide an accessible slant on science stories in the media (especially when science gets distorted or misreported). There will be other posts about major events in my life and other things like grumbles about the bus companies and the local government.
I submitted my PhD thesis in December 2006 and I now have to find a J.O.B. (Jading fulfillment of Obligations to the Bank) to pay off my bills. A PhD takes at least 3 years to do and the thesis takes 3 months to write but I only get paid for 3 years. Some people have spent 4 years in total on their PhD and only got paid for 3. Luckily I have an understanding partner but I know that it has caused deep stress for many people. To top it off the University of York has now introduced a charge of £200 for anyone who does not hand in a thesis in under 3 years 3 months. Scandal.
So I need a job and I have interviews to go to but not for a few weeks. I have to sit at home with no money while my partner goes to work and gets tired. I'm in limbo. The nether world. Music should help. An excerpt from 'Lull' by Radiohead
Distracted by irrelevence
The stress and the tension
I'm in a lull
There's nothin' more dull
than talkin', talkin' 'bout yourself
Or from the track 'In Limbo'
I'm lost at sea
Don't bother me
I've lost my way
You're living in a fantasy world
I should chill out and make the most of it because soon I will need to quote The Smiths 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now'
I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour
But heaven knows I'm miserable now
I was looking for a job, and then I found a job
And heaven knows I'm miserable now
I submitted my PhD thesis in December 2006 and I now have to find a J.O.B. (Jading fulfillment of Obligations to the Bank) to pay off my bills. A PhD takes at least 3 years to do and the thesis takes 3 months to write but I only get paid for 3 years. Some people have spent 4 years in total on their PhD and only got paid for 3. Luckily I have an understanding partner but I know that it has caused deep stress for many people. To top it off the University of York has now introduced a charge of £200 for anyone who does not hand in a thesis in under 3 years 3 months. Scandal.
So I need a job and I have interviews to go to but not for a few weeks. I have to sit at home with no money while my partner goes to work and gets tired. I'm in limbo. The nether world. Music should help. An excerpt from 'Lull' by Radiohead
Distracted by irrelevence
The stress and the tension
I'm in a lull
There's nothin' more dull
than talkin', talkin' 'bout yourself
Or from the track 'In Limbo'
I'm lost at sea
Don't bother me
I've lost my way
You're living in a fantasy world
I should chill out and make the most of it because soon I will need to quote The Smiths 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now'
I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour
But heaven knows I'm miserable now
I was looking for a job, and then I found a job
And heaven knows I'm miserable now
Wet Paint
Welcome to this very select invitation only preopening of my blog. Please excuse the unfinished state. I'm renovating. Do not touch the walls because the paint is wet. Do not remove the polythene covers from the chairs until the workmen have finished making sawdust.
We are gathered here today to try to figure out how the bloody hell to get this all going efficiently. Blessed be the code of html.
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