Bad time to remember things

Things not to remember as you rest in warm blankets.

That the road tax is due *today*. So now I can curl up in the (now cold) blankets and try to get to sleep.

Sometime later then intended.

(2330: 0750. *Tired*)

Tell people what to do

We're in a recession

You may have noticed. I don't think the Unions have...http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6836208.ece

Now, I'm not here to talk about high heels - if women should wear them or not. My point of view is biased.

What I find so laughable here is the attitude of the unions and their speakers. Examples? Well...

The exact motion that was passed was: “High heels may look glamorous on the Hollywood catwalks but are completely inappropriate for the day-to-day working environment.”

Important point: the unions are the largest donor to the labour party. They have great influence with them.

So here we have a group that helps the current government set policy complaining about what people wear.

Right now there's a RECESSION happening. But they're not talking about how to help companies, organisations and employers get through this, saving as many jobs as possible.

About the innovative steps being taken by some private sector companies. No. They're worried that women may choose to wear shoes that they disprove of.

They've lost the plot, the book...and possibly reality.

(This was written at the time, but I've been a tad lax...)

Drugs!

As you may have noticed I'm a fan of letting people behave like adults - and of cost effective, sane social policy

Which is why when I saw the article here I realised that this would never make it into general policy under the current govenment.

What is it? Well, it's a way of dealing with drug addicts. It's a very simple policy. You give them what they want, under medical supervision.

Sounds daft, right? Support their evil, self destroying habbits.

But lets look at the (limited) details of the study as presented by the BBC.

Number of Heroin addicts given heroin on request: 39
Cost of scheme per user per year: Aprrox 15,000
Number of crimes commited in month before scheme: 1731
Number of crimes commited in last month of scheme: 547

Ok, lets look at this. 1731-547 = 1184 crimes "saved"
1184/39 = 30.35 crimes per user saved in the last month

So a fair approximation would be the scheme saved one crime per user per day. Which makes a degree of sense - you need a fix, you steal something to pay for it. The next day, rinse and repeat.

So over the course of a year, that's about 365 crimes saved. At a total scheme cost of 15,000 / 365 = 41 pounds per crime saved.

Now, is a crime worth 41 pounds. It would save on...

1) Police time
2) Less cases in criminal justice system
3) Less insurance claims and premiums
4) Less ordinary people suffer crime and it's affects

That would save the public money, I"m fairly sure.

Then we can factor in a few other things...

1) Less drug addicts in jail
2) Far fewer possession crimes
3) No overdoses caused by uncertain drug purity
4) Reduced cases of diseases caused by dirty needles
5) Organised crime and gangs loosing major income source

Over all, I'm fairly sure you could make a very good economic case for this. I'm certain that in the long run (hell, the short to medium term!) you would at the very least break even.

As it stands now we've failed to prevent this. These people are ALREADY addicted. Threatening them with jail isn't going to help. They are already a problem to society.

Is there any better way to deal with them?

Feeling guilty

Yep, I feel guilty.

I've just done a 11 hour day at work, feeling like I could fall asleep any moment. I'll probably be asleep the minute I close my eyes tonight.

And yet I feel guity - we're so under-manned at work...and I took a whole day off ill yesterday.

Ah well. Same again tomorrow...

Oh so tired

To give you an idea of how much fun I have at Maelstrom, here's a description of how badly my event went...

1) I slept through at least 12 hours of game time (I think I might actualy be slightly ill)
2) I only managed one complete experiment with my partner in experimental theology
3) I slept through the finding of something that would have been really, hugely interesting for my character
4) I never got a really good explanation of the fluffy bunny

And yet I consider the event to have been awesome...

Night all

Why?

Where I work I sometimes get odd requests and complaints.

These sometimes make sense. A perverted kind of sense that has as much to do with common sense as a 700 pound dress made from clingfilm - but sense.

Today I've had a new one. A request for me to change the email system so that a user can't email Peter Dunn. Because we have two people named Peter Dunn and she keeps emailing the wrong one.

So she wants every email to go to "The right" Peter Dunn.

And she's sure that "the wrong" Peter won't mind "The Right" Peter forwarding on all his mail.

I'm not sure how to explain to her that the solution to the problem is for her to read who she's sending emails to...

Ideas?

Birthdays

I was thinking today about birthdays. (And no, this is not a gentle reminder about the near future)

What I was thinking about was how they've changed.

I remember, all those years ago, of bring so excited about getting a floppy disk of my own for the computer we had back then. One of my very own, to store files and things on.

I'm sitting here now and I can't think of anything that would generate as much excitement. Unless NASA is looking for astronauts.

Is a reflection of how much more I have then when I was 7?

Or have I lost that spark of "Oh WOW!" that turned a little square of plastic and magnetic film into awesomeness?

A bit of a critic

I'm only writing this because since I've remembered I've got to do it, I won't be able to sleep otherwise....

All I demand of a sequel is perfection. I know, that's a little harsh.

But take Underworld. Awesomely cool movie.

Underworld 2 - moved it to a different country and broke the plot in so many, many ways. Even the sex scene with Kate Beckinsale couldn't save it. (I'm not sure it would save the movie if she came to me, personally and took me out to dinner. No, really, it was that bad)

But I've just seen parts of Underworld 3.

And it makes the second film look good. How in the name of Hastur did a film this bad ever see the light of day??

--
Sleeptime, 10:55 -> 0700

Tyranny of choice

I've just got home, looked in the fridge for food and not found a Whole Meal.

So I'm going shopping. The only problem is that I can buy anything I like.

And I can' t think of a single thing I want.

Damn it.

--
Space left for sleep times
22:50 ->

Autumn II

I seem to remember a post a wrote, last year.

In it I mentioned that for me autumn happens three times a year.

Maybe I'm being gloomy, tired and sad. But I think this year it's come early.

I was dazzled by the golden light off fallen leaves, as I drove to work today. Even though autumn comes in the evening, this morning it was a chill that passed through my heart.

The summer has gone.

And the golden twilight has come.
--

Sleep, 10:18 after a hard written email. Tomorrow to send it.

Sleep on it, so they say...

And the alarm goes off at 730 - far to early.

Sleep

I'm always complaining I'm tired and grumpy.

But as any scientist would tell you - or a sleep psychologist - that's terrible data. The first step would be to collect proof.

So I am.

Every night I'll try and post what time I turn out the light...and what time I get up in the morning.

I'll attempt to put a (non-political) blog entry in as well, but that will be secondary.

I'm tired. And Grumpy.

And I'm going to bed...at 23:13.
Awake at 07:45