Wednesday 8 June 2016

Have You Got Time?




One advantage of the web nowadays is that instead of sweating over a hot typewriter or lurking in libraries you can write pick up information very easily.  Which is why link blogs are popular.

We all need sleep so we all have an interest, hat tip to one of the family.  This longish item from slumber wise may tell us why so many do not sleep well according to the conventional way of our times.  It claims that sleep patterns not so long ago were different.  Our modern practice may not be the best.

Most of us travel and this one from Simon Jenkins of The Guardian, under the heading of The Long Read, hat tip Orphans of Liberty, is about the history and politics of the HS2 project.  This blog has serious objections to the project as an occasional railwayman of the 1950's along with near eighty years moving by train.

What is striking is that it is not just an article dealing with the issues of transport and what may or may not be best.  It is a major example of how our politics and governments function these days and their preparedness to lavish money on high profile projects and activity at the cost of basic activities or less media friendly ones.

One aspect of such projects is that almost invariably the future running costs, maintenance, interest charges on debt are not considered.  The consequence is loss making activity that has to be met by debt, taxes, or pricing in the future.

There are risks unwanted in life and all those with a pensions interest either now or in the future do not like risk.  But Frances Coppola reminds us that life is not like that and that being risk averse is counter productive.  The present situation is getting worse.

What is the point of a Referendum is as the BBC suggests, hat tip The Slog, Parliament may decide to take no notice and indeed frustrate the wish to Leave the EU?  This blog on 27 May last under "Hanging Parliament" suggested it was possible for the Government to effectively block our exit because in Parliament most members at Remainers.

Now is it time for a kip, or a trip, or to check the bank account or to deal with the postal vote?

1 comment:

  1. I can't see our ancestors managing to fit two sleeps into a short summer night.

    A better way is to copy MPs and sleep through part of the day, such as HS2 debates.

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