Journal of the Plague Years

In the end, everything is thrown into the Fleet Ditch...

Last changed 01March 2008. Not in order

No "I" in Team - just ME

28 November 2007 .

It's a phrase which, from experience, I find increasingly distasteful and dangerous.

Twice today, separately, I've heard (men) say that somebody they worked with wasn't a team player. Interestingly, what they each meant actually seemed to be, 'so-and-so is not working to my agenda' or, 'so-and-so is not helping my career plans'.

Some of those who are not alpha-males who use the phrase seem, in each case with other evidence, either to be place-man (suits) or naive. (By the italics I mean, I do not come to those conclusions about such people by the use of the phrase alone).

Why dangerous? I'm trying to work how to express that, but it does have a connection with hearing the phrase said over the last few weeks by politicals.

I believe in co-operation: my problem here is that once again something good seems too easily to be perverted by the cynical and the self-serving.

I have no axe to grind today: both comments were addressed to me, not about me - by persons who had no right to assume that I would respect their self-serving, and to whom I have already expressed my opinion (an unpleasant experience which has wound me up enough to bother writing this item).

This is my site. I reserve the right to tilt at my own windmills from time to time.


A new website being born, IV.

16 February 2008 .

Three months ago, I fondly imagined developing a liberal progressive website full of kindly wisdom and cheerful little aphorisms.

The last couple of days, I seem to have been particularly waspish - as in 'Disgusted of T. Wells'...

But, since I wrote 'The Most Shameful Posting I've Ever Made. But I'm Tired Of Being Censored.' ( 10 Feb), I have felt such a (personal) sense of liberation from the largely self-imposed obligation of the past thirty years to be balanced, and sensible, and (may I be forgiven) PC, that a degree of anger at the hate, complacency and sheer bloody stupidity which I sometimes feel I see around me is at last expressing itself (nothing to do with me, of course...)

Back on course soon, I hope.


Another irony, I suppose. (A new website being born, III.)

04 February 2008 .

It's been suggested that the name of this site is a bit gloomy, and won't encourage people to visit. However, it's the name that evolved (like the 'journal', which was originally a 'diary'; I still haven't got round to updating the graphic); since it fitted the slightly millennial strand of some of my articles, and was available as a dot com, I took it.

Then, when I did my first Google for the name 'plagueyear', I discovered that someone had already owned it - and had let it lapse. Hardly encouraging. (If by chance you read this, previous owner, which I suppose you might, please let me know the name isn't jinxed.) On the other hand, now I think about it, its previous incarnation could be why it went into the Google listing so quickly.

But now I've found that there's actually another 'Journal of the Plague Years', in the US. (I've only bookmarked it so far, but I'll transfer a link to here - where it'll no doubt disappear: see below. It claims to be a progressive site. Not very like this one then.)


Technology is a Wonderful Thing. (A new website being born, II.)

04 February 2008 .

This website is presented through Daily, whom I'd be happy to endorse (not only because technical help consists of a cheerful bloke who spends as much time with you as you need). It's created, however, on Incomedia Website X5, whom I'd probably suggest you avoid.

The creation program is incredibly buggy: one of the problems is that links, working perfectly well on the preview and on Firefox, will mysteriously have disappeared when they arrive here; if I can upload them before they do so, they'll work fine, but it's irritating to know that there are always a couple of links just vanished, every time I update. I won't live long enough to check every link every time I upload and there wouldn't be much point doing so anyway, because one link repaired usually simply means another disappeared.

Since I only ever start learning a program or process on computers when I need to (I truly can't understand why everybody thinks of the machine itself as any more exciting than a glorified screwdriver, useful when you need it), I was a complete beginner when starting here. So of course even when I visited the Incomedia site, I couldn't have sworn that it was the program at fault.

On the site, it proved not to be possible to contact them. The link was missing.

One of those delightful ironies that make computers such an enriching experience. (And naturally there's no phone number.)


Googling for me. (A new website being born, I)

03 February 2008 .

I have to say that Google seem to be very quick on their toes. Last night I went to google.com/addurl and entered the address for this website. This morning I thought I'd look at what sort of sites would be turned up by the kind of search I hope might find this site. I'm there in Google already. In fact, when I put the name of the site and the first word that sprang to mind (incompetence; why not?), one of my pages was the only finding listed.

When I entered plague, year and incompetence (not, I admit, a combination that anyone else will actually choose), I found 18,000 odd sites, of which my page was second.

Which was all great fun, and very encouraging.

A pity then that the first page google found started with a spelling mistake, was only half complete, and didn't seem to say anything useful at all.

I'm not going to do myself down. I (obviously) think that I've already made one or two good points on this site; I've anticipated comments in the papers - sometimes by a few days - and even anticipated events once or twice. But some of what I've written , especially in the early days, doesn't read at all well. Not a problem, unless a visitor comes to one of those pages first; since I don't want to drive visitors away before they've started, I'll have to do something... but it seems rather daunting.

The trouble is, I really did start this site for my own benefit, and it shows.


God Bless All Who Sail In Her.

28 January 2008 .

I've launched this tender shoot of a journal onto the great Aether today. Up until now it's only been read by a few friends.

Some people say that they only blog for themselves, but in truth want to be read. Some blog but aren't bothered if nobody visits. I started this effort for my own benefit, almost as a private diary, to let off steam, with only half an eye to one day going public. At least now I'll be clear who I'm writing to.

I will set up a 'Contact-me' button once the site is bedded in..


Net-Shock!

28 January 2008 .

Since I started this journal, I avoided looking at any anyone else's blogs. What I wanted was to write something which was mine, rather than perhaps being unconsciously being drawn into a conventional style. This evening I broke my self-imposed isolation, went on a little web-voyage of discovery and visited a few blog-sites.

Well; if some of the sites I visited this evening are typical, I've certainly avoided web-conventionality; in fact, I suspect I've been missing the point altogether. My overwhelming impression is that there is a brevity, a concise punch to web-entries which means they make their point quickly and without fuss. Perhaps that's what you have to do if you want to attract attention and score your point while you've got it. The downside is that there is little argument and less reflection and meditation.

[Actually, that's not the worst of it: there seems to be an awful lot of bigotry and even hatred, venomous little soundbites that make surfing the web suddenly rather a nasty-tasting experience. I assume most people simply switch off, or know how to recognise such sites in advance and avoid them: but there also seem to be a fair number of posted replies on those sites, in the same spirit... scary!]

For me, the whole point of a site is to have a chance to think through one's arguments - and prejudices. What appears obvious to me right now is that I have to change my style, or accept that I don't have to many visitors. I want a reflective site; so I guess I risk a smaller audience. I'll have to see.

It may be that you, now, are the only person who will ever read this item via www.


I Would!

29 November 2007 .

The Independent did an article today about slogans chosen by towns and counties around the country; you know the sort of thing, 'Because mid-Wales is as unique as you are', or 'So charming, South Oxfordshire', mostly totally banal and sometimes the result of hundreds of thousands of pounds of ratepayers money paid to agencies. Nottinghamshire's slogan clocked in at $120 000 per letter.

I'm still smarting at the amount of my local tax money that was spent on Islington's 'People who live in Islington wouldn't live anywhere else': not only on its devising but also on the massive media/poster campaign using the slogan which then followed (the campaign was in the borough... why?). Apart from the fact that at the time I was desperate to move but was stuck in the borough because economically I had no choice... Islington enjoyed the fastest falling population of any borough in London.


A Bad Issue To Face Rationally...
A Good Issue With Which To Dump An Unwanted Customer.

03 December 2007 .

I've just been watching yet another programme on the continuing threat of flooding (Dispatches:Britain under Water, Channel 4).

1. Of The Father Of The Nation's planned 3 000 000 new homes, at least 1 000 000 are likely to be built in places liable to flooding. The Department of the Environment is digging its heels in to stop that nonsense and have the houses built elsewhere. (Where?). (And, since there was also discussion about problems with dams, water supply, sewage and electricity, I'll also ask: how are these utilities, already stretched, going to be stretched even further?)

Nothing at all about changing our expectations: but then the politicians aren't likely to look too at, say, second homes: apart from their own self-interest, what a vote-loser... and among many of the most influential voters, too.

And nothing at all about the pressure of numbers... population, family size... totally tabu.

2. The insurer's association assured Dispatches that their members will continue to indemnify existing domestic policy-holders against flooding.

Another personal grumble. After 25 years, although I've never having made any claim (and indeed, no communication at all but for a monthly direct debit of excessive size), my home insurers have recently informed me that they will no longer be insuring me due to the risk of flooding.

When I objected - ever so conciliatory, I was - that I live in a top floor flat on the top of a hill in Islington which is about 30 metres above the highest possible flooding that could ever happen in London (all ice melted, storm surge and high tide would still require a good walk from the flat to go to have a look.)...

...they said I was also liable to subsidence.

My lament that the entire terrace was built over 200 years ago (1796) and hadn't slipped yet, there were no trees nearby nor plans to build underground motorways under us, etc., fell on deaf ears. I'm not sure even now why they no longer wanted my business, but they were quite happy to use flooding as the excuse.


It all depends on your Point of View.

01 December 2007 .

Waltham Forest council has just culled nearly 250 000 - a quarter of a million - books from its libraries, it is reported. That much is fact, finally admitted by the council.

Some, not a majority, were culled because they were dog-eared; some, because they were duplicates; some, because they were never borrowed, or were no longer on any syllabus, or were inappropriate in some way. The reason given for the cull, I believe, was rationalisation. A little further investigation suggests that the council believes that books no longer have the cultural priority they once enjoyed, and that space needs to be used in a more relevant way - computers, DVDs, plasma screens, etc. This paragraph has to be regarded as speculation and must not in any way be taken as gospel, since the council will not confirm or deny the suggestions.

It is reported that record-keeping was so chaotic that the council does not actually know what books were culled; nor does it actually know how many books were involved, nor their resale value.

The 250 000 books were burned. It would apparently not have been cost-effective to find alternative homes for them.


Dominic Lawson:

10 November 2007 .

My regular newspaper is the Independent; its news coverage is sometimes thin, but on the whole I enjoy the columnists.

I like Ms. Orr because she agrees with me on so many things (until she reads this site and tells me I'm rubbish, at least...) and because she writes more cogently than I. I hope Hari will forgive my pomposity if I say he is still young but shews promise. I disagree with some of Alibhai-Brown but enjoy what she has to say. I thank God for Fisk, even if he does get carried away.

But Lawson... I find it hard to understand why the Indy carries on with him. I find much of what he has to say - and indeed what he reveals about himself - pretty repellent, but that's not why I'm being so mean about him.

It's good for the soul to meet people possessed of thoroughly different opinions, but it's a waste of time debating with them unless they know - broadly - what they're talking about. The problem with Lawson is that he writes, particularly regarding climate change and population, without apparently any understanding of the science or of the issues involved. He is held up as the great advocate against the theory of anthropogenic global warming... but in article after article he seems to live on another planet.

And he's paid...

And he too often goes unchallenged.

PS. I don't know what I'm talking about either, sometimes, on this site: but that's why I'm on a site and write a big disclaimer on the Welcome page.

PPS. It's too much to hope that Mr. Lawson will read or hear about my comment here; but if he should, I hope he might see how irritating it is to be presented with material without evidence or meaningful argument.