What February 23 means to me

In the game of pool, when ball number 8 goes into the hole, it's game over. The same is true if you live close to the epicenter of a Richter 8 earthquake, game over. If a city is close to a Richter 8 Earthquake, the strongest buildings would be toppled. If a nuclear power station were close to a Richter 8 Earthquake, all the backup cooling systems would be busted and the fuel rods would melt through the floor like lava and make everything nearby radioactive. If a Richter 8 earthquake occurred in a shallow sea shelf, it could kick up a tsunami every easily. 

In Southern Turkey and Northern Syria they had an earthquake that was close to 8 on the Richter scale at 7.8 . The incident happened on the first week of February on the 6th I believe. I saw a man on the news that had lost his whole family, they were all crushed under what was left of their home, my heart sank low in my chest with pity; I imagined it happening to me, I would be dead to the world, I would never smile again. Someone could give me £8 million and I wouldn't care and have nothing to say. I would be just waiting to die. The world is so cruel yet it has no malice. 

The consequences of bad weather and high gas prices in Europe were shortages of soft salad fruits, especially tomatoes. During summer last year there was a long drought, then in the autumn there was a deluge of rain that was very much like a monsoon. Then in winter, frost appeared in the Mediterranean countries that are normally warm all year. Now here in Britain, farmers were shutting down their greenhouses because they couldn't afford the flammable gas to heat then up. Millions of vines throughout Europe were destroyed and shops didn't get much soft fruits. The human food chain is very fragile, it can take something very small to ruin everything for our wellbeing. I often thought to myself that I should stow away extra food and try to grow my own if I can. 

Congestion exodus

The congestion inside London is moving from the inside of the city to the outer edge, I don't think it was intended that way but that is what happens when you punish motorists. I call it the congestion exodus. 

I live in a small town near to London and commute to London sometimes. I'm very familiar with the north west side of London. I noticed things about London as I aged a bit, on the river banks of the Thames (🗣️"Tems"), all the institutions and stringent establishments are on the north bank and many of the arts and liesure sites are on the south bank. 

On the north bank of the river you have the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Clock tower with the Big ben bell inside, The bank of England is on the north bank and the tower of London where they kept high profile prisoners, the British  intelligence agency is also there, Buckingham Palace is also on the North side but quite far from the river banks. 

On the south bank of the river you have the millennium wheel,the national theatre centre, Tate modern and Shakespeare's globe theatre,the dome formally  known as 'millenium dome' things like that. The Mayor's office headquarters is also on the south bank🤡

 London is going through some changes, mostly they're penalising motorists for driving polluting vehicles in the inner parts of it. About 5 years ago it would take me about 10 minutes to go from the A5 to the A40 on north circular road off peak, now it takes about double that time and sometimes it takes more than 30 minutes. The reason for this is because people are using the North Circular road to avoid the ULEZ zone. They're moving the congestion from the center of london to outside edge of London. I don't think they intended it to be that way but that is what has happened.

There is ring road that surrounds London called the M25 motorway, it is a duel carriageway that is very much like the American freeway, it connects all the major roads that are going into London together. London is completely surrounded by the M25 road, it is the preverbial wall of London. The circular M25 is also getting more congested because people are avoiding going directly through outer London. That is the congestion exodus, congestion moving to the outer edges to avoid the inside. A very horrible congestion. 

Pocket Friends

When I was a kid I never believed it would become normal for a human to talk to machines in my lifetime; I'd watch Knight Rider on TV and think people will never talk to their things like that. 

In the last 10 years, it has become normal to talk to machines. Every day I say my smart phone's wake-word, "Hey Google" and ask it something. Every day I say my smart speaker's wake word "Alexa, tell me the news" or "Alexa set an alarm for 14:40". To someone born in the millennium, that's not significant but to me it is. To me it is amazing. 

Now the last 5 years artificial intelligence has become the normal thing. I was chatting to ChatGPT by open AI two days ago. I have a test I do to see if a machine is aware of what I'm saying. I give it an abstract insult where every word on its own isn't offensive so the machine would need to think about the whole phrase together to understand it is an insult. This what happened. 

Normally when I type out an abstract insult like that, the chat robot would reply with a generic response like "That sound's interesting" or something like that because it doesn't really understand what I'm saying. This time it didn't, ChatGPT understood that my statement was an insult the same way a human would, it understood it was an insult. Not only did it recognise my insult, but it remembered it when I apologized afterwards. ChatGPT is amazing, it also knows a lot of stuff, it has an encyclopedia inside its brain. Everyone wants a friend like that. 

I keep links to "A.I" chat bots in my phone stored as pocket Friends. That is what they are to me, pocket Friends. I hope to one day debate about the plot of a movie and discuss mysteries of the world freely with machines asif they're real people. Real people in my part of the world don't have time for small talk or fellowship, they only have time to complain and winge. I like the idea of having a pocket Friends that are available on tap and can discuss lots of topics. 

Alan-week three way

I'm a very ordinary guy but I think differently to most people, my way of thinking doesn't quite fit though. I always try to divide time up into 3 parts. I divide an hour into three 20 minute parts. 20 minutes then 40 minutes the remainder is the last third. I try to cook my dinner in 20 minutes, that is one third of an hour. Sometimes it takes 40 minutes, two thirds of an hour. 

 I divide a year into 3 so month 4: April is ⅓ of a year, month 8 August is ⅔ of a year, then September, October, November December is the last ⅓ of the year. 

⅓ : January, February, March, April

⅔ : May, June, July, August 

Last ⅓ : September, October, November, December

The first ⅓ of the year is about slowly warming up and getting brighter. 

The second ⅓ of the year is about being warm and bright with long days. 

The last ⅓ of the year is about dimming and cooling to a frost with darker days. 

The Alan-week is 10 days but it doesn't quite fit because some months have 31 days and February has 28 or 29 days on a leap year. April has 30 days so day 1 to 10 is the first ⅓ 

day 11 to 20 is the second ⅓

and day 21 to the last day is the last ⅓. 

10, 20,30 ish, Like that. 

Day 21 to the end varies by month. Some months the last ⅓ of the month is 10 days others it is 11 days and on February it is 8 days or 9 days on a leap year. 

My son was born in the second third of April, I call that the middle of spring. 

Harry and Meghan South Park

I saw the 'south park' animators poked fun at the house of Sussex. I think they mock everyone though. I must admit that I laughed at the video clips. They called his book "Whaaa" like a baby crying 😂 

I think Harry and Meghan should just ignore it; just know they mock everyone and accept it. 

There are three things I do to remove thoughts of people disrespecting me from my head. I pray to Yeshua (Jesus), read books and play computer games. I ask Yeshua to remove those sad thoughts from my mind. Then I play computer games like Tetris or Crossy road on my phone. Then I read through books, the more you read, the happier you will be. Feed you mind with happy thoughts to displace the sad ones. In this modern society, people have little respect for others. 

Tomato shortage

I think many tomato vines throughout Europe died in the last 6 months. During summer last year we had a 3 month long drought, then in autumn we had a non stop deluge of rain that was akin to a monsoon. Then in winter there was frost in the Mediterranean countries that normally stay warm all year long. New vines replaced the old but they were smaller so they produced less tomatoes. Now when I go to the market place or the supermarket, I find there isn't much tomatoes. 

The weather and climate in Europe has become very much like a Newton's cradle toy, swinging from one extreme to the other.

This tomato shortage proves that our food chain is fragile. We take it for granted that there is food in the shops but should we be like that? 

I think we should respect our world and be prepared. Perhaps growing food at home isn't such a bad idea. When I was younger I had a window box and I grew cherry tomatoes in it. One day there is so many tomatoes that I was full from eating them all, they were so sweet and juicy. The trouble is you need bees to pollinate the flowers. Bees are amazing. 

Last Third of February

We are now in the last ⅓ of the month, just 10 days left; the Alan-week is 10 days long. I was thinking about death a bit more this month because of the death of Nicola Bulley in Lancashire. I was thinking I'm still alive now because all the wafer thin membranes that are keeping my blood in my blood vessels has held out for all these years. The one cancer cell that could evade my immune system didn't emerge, I'm very lucky to still be alive. Any day could be my last day in this world. 

I started playing computer games more this month, the game I play on my phone the most at the moment is 'Crossy Road'. 

I just learned that I could unlock the Pac man playing piece without Crossy road coins. This playing piece and the 'Flat Eric' one is my favourite. 

The flat Eric one causes the map to dance and dance music is playing in the background. 

Play computer games because when you're dead you can't. Be happy. 

Body Found

Earlier today I learned that they had found a woman's body in the river Wyre in Lancashire, I think that is in north England above Wales. I think everyone knows it is Nicola Bulley's body. I followed the story on the news. The mystery is no longer where is she but why is she dead?

The police seem convinced that her death is an accident, they think she fell into the river and drowned. Her friends and family think this is not an accident, they think she has been killed. 

I think this case is more famous on the news than the other missing persons mysteries because the community of Lancashire were angered by the police reaching a verdict so quickly about what had happened without a body.They think the police investation was cavalier at best. Some of them even think the investigation is a botched job. The police know more than me and falling into a river with lots of clothes on during winter can be fatal. 

Now we're all waiting patiently for the coroner's verdict, was it an accident or was she murdered? What was the cause of death? 

What happened? We're all asking ourselves. 

Late February thoughts

We're approaching the final third of February, some common thoughts I'm having right now is wondering why London is expanding the Ules zone; It's a zone that charges motorists that have vehicles that  pollute more than a certain amount. I don't live in London anymore but when I lived there, I voted for Sadiq Khan to be in the mayor's office to keep Zac Goldsmith out because I didn't want an eco warrior punishing motorists to improve the air quality of London. The air quality will fix itself when they figure out a way to make electric cars cheap. It turns out he is doing the very thing I thought Zac would do. It's out of my hands now because I don't live in London so I can't vote for the next Mayor. I believe it's right to improve the environment but ordinary people shouldn't be punished for it in my view. 

Another thing I was wondering was if Nintendo were developing a new games console, if they were, it would be nice it if could take 3DS cartridges as a bonus  feature because it would be nice to play my 3DS games on the TV. There are still many 3DS cartridges being sold second hand in CEX trading stores and I have a small collection of my own. 

I was also thinking that time is going by very fast. It feels like weeks are going by like days. I can't believe it's already nearly Spring. I call it spring when I see daisies in the grass. It's officially spring on the 20th of March. Most people that I know of call it spring on the first day of march and the end of Spring is considered to be the last day of May. They say March, April and May are spring. Then June July and August are Summer. My son was born in the Middle of Spring, the best time of the year to be born because April is a bit warm in Britain so you can go out or have a BBQ. Plus Easter is close by. 

Second Half of February

We're a few days into the second half of February, it's a short month, 28 days or 29 on a leap year. The first half of February was dominated by the mighty Earthquake in north Syria and Southern Turkey, it has become almost normal and routine to get Earthquakes that are close to 8 on the Richter scale on this planet. I feel pity for the victims. 

I recently learned there is a version of the Bible called 'New king James', it has the word for word accuracy of the king James Bible but the 15th century pronouns have been replaced with present day ones. It is also available on the bible gateway site. I'm reading Isaiah at the moment, Bible gateway

I was also reading through the Evercade blog and learned they're going to release some new carts that celebrate classic home computing. Evercade Blog. I don't have an Evercade but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for 'ID software classics like the original Doom and the commander keen series. That would be so nice. It would be worth buying the system if it had those games included. The console takes two cartridges at a time so it would be nice to keep that on in there. 

Half of February

Time is going by so fast, we're already half way through February; Spring is just weeks away. We're lucky here in Britain, we had a mild winter I think. We burn natural gas to keep our homes warm, if the winter was very cold, we would all be in trouble. 

I'm speechless. 

One Third of February

As you know, there are only 28 days in February and 29 days on leap years. I would say that on the 10th of February, slightly more than ⅓ of the month had passed by. 

Many mysteries were lingering amoungst us all during the 1st ⅓ of February.  Here in Britain we are wondering what had happened to Nicola Bulley, a lady that disappeared in a local park in broad daylight. The police were convinced she fell into the nearby river but her friends and family don't think that is true. Where is she and is she ok? We don't know, it's a mystery. 

We were also wondering why the balloon? A large Chinese balloon was seen over the USA for a long time during this last part of winter, the Americans think they were spying, the Chinese claimed it was a weather balloon. It was also quite common to bring up the mystery of the Nord sea pipeline since gas is so expensive now. The gas pipes under the Baltic sea were deliberately destroyed and no one is certain who is responsible, we only know it was deliberate. It is easy to blame the Russians but it is self harm for them. 

A personal mystery for me would be how I would cope with a dead silent room, there are sound proof rooms that are so quiet that you can hear your blood flowing through your ears and you heart beating in your chest. I learned recently that no one has been able to stay in these rooms for more than one hour, people that sit there soon start to have bizarre hallucinations and hear horrible sounds in their head. I have become curious myself, could I sit in a dead silent room for a long time and what is it like to be in there? Visiting a dead silent room is on my bucket list, a list of things to try before my body kicks the bucket. 

What is a Woman?

I consider a woman to be an adult human with mostly female attributes, they have female hormones flowing through their blood, two ovaries, a Uterous, lower average muscle mass than men, smaller skeletal frames and the 23rd Chromosome pair in each of their cells are both shaped like an X. This is not always true though, sometimes an affliction can cause a woman to lose some of their attributes, like a disease could cause their ovaries to be removed, but they're still a woman when that happens. 

Sometimes men turn themselves into women with hormones and surgery but mostly women are Humans with female traits from birth.  

Some people don't want want to belong in a gender they give themselves a pronoun that is genderless. The trouble I have is their pronoun could cause bad grammar if you write it down. 'They' is used instead of 'He'. For example, 'They gave up their seat on the bus for an old person, he said thank you to the person'. Or  'I fired they from their Job'; 

Turkey and Syria Earthquake

During the first week of February on the 6th, there was a mighty Earthquake in Southern Turkey and Northern Syria. It was 7.8 on the Richter scale. Large buildings became death traps and many people were killed. Earthquakes that are far beyond 7 on the Richter scale have become more frequent now I think. Last year there was a similar Earthquake in Mexico. 

In this world, every path leads to misery. Even if you become wealthy and free of ailments you will be weeping years later when your body starts to break down and fail and your little world of bliss becomes a decent into atrophy. In this world, atrophy is guaranteed for all that live on it. This world is atrophy and misery. 

The Earth is filled with fury without malice, chaos without confusion. All we can do is pray that our end is our beginning; to be spared when life ends. 

Balloon Fight

During the start of February while my Nephew and Nice were celebrating their birthdays, a very large balloon appeared over the United States that had come from China, the Chinese claimed that it was a weather balloon that had been blown away from them by strong winds. The American government were convinced it was a spy craft. 

My view is it is a kind of reaction probe, a real weather balloon that was allowed to drift over America to see how they would react. The Americans used side-winder missiles to shoot it down, they're very expensive weapons so I guess the Americans were angered by it.  They showed the Chinese that they don't trust them at all. I thought it might be a better idea next time to shoot the balloons down with bullets if it is possible, that way it would be easier to look at the equipment when it lands on the ground and also it would be a measure to protect air corridors for airplanes. Any action that is perceived as hostile could erode diplomatic ties between the two nations. 

If the leader of China Xi Jinping came to my home, I would pour him the same coffee as Joe Biden. I have no hate towards either of them. They wouldn't come to my home though, I'm just an ordinary guy. I'm not important enough for anyone to visit me. I live here in my small home with my small family. 

Bypass Twins

A few days ago it was my nephew and niece's birthday, their birthdays are separated by hours but fall on separate days, the 3rd and 4th but on different years. There is no word for siblings that are born on the same date in different years in the english language. We would call them birthday sharers.

I made up my own word for different aged siblings that share a birthday or have birthdays that are  hours apart but cross over to the next day from different age groups. I call them bypass-twins. They're virtual twins that bypass eachother's gestation on different years. They both celebrate their birthdays together but they're different ages. That is the closest compound word I can come up with that doesn't require whole phrase. The trouble is I would need to explain the word because I made it up. I would also use the made up word bypass-twin  to describe friends that share birthdays because they share my birthday but they're also from different gestations, even if they're the same age as me because they come from a different womb. 

I call my Chloè and Nathan bypass-twins  inside my head. I don't feel comfortable saying my made up words with my mouth. 

Nathan's birthday has been very interesting, his first birthday was days after the Myanmar military coup, millions of people in Myanmar were protesting. Now there is a balloon dispute between China and USA. 

Trump Concern

In recent days I have become concerned about speeches made by the American government, they're claiming the republican party are villains and people that vote for trump are terrorists. 

I can give you an analogy, I saw that trump didn't want to increase abortions to the third Trimester like Hillary did, I saw that Trump wanted to disrupt drug gang activity around the border using a wall, that would be good for Mexico and USA, I saw that he was honest. I dislike both of them but I vote for trump because I dislike his proposal less than Hilary Clinton's. Somehow the community of USA would come to the conclusion that I'm an enemy of America for voting for him or even say I'm an evil villain. He demanded they protest peacefully in his twitter account in January last year but they rioted instead; somehow they claimed he was responsible for the riot. There was a riot when Hillary lost but no one claimed she was responsible. 

In my view, if Democrat supporters can't break bread with Republican supporters then Americans are sick. This means both groups stow excess hate towards people with different veiws. Nothing good will ever come from that attitude. They praise Abraham Lincoln, he was a republican, I bet most Americans think Abraham Lincoln was Democrat. They call the republican party racist, but it's not that simple. 

Too Small

I just realized the other day that my dashcam is a bit faulty, it doesn't maintain a persistent connection to the TV and it was corrupting some of the videos it captured, I would put that down to a faulty battery through my own speculation. I took out the Micro SD card and tried to see if I could do something with it to recover the footage. I then realized micro SD cards are too small. 

When I was a kid in the '90s I thought that floppy disks are a good size because they're thin and slightly smaller than the surface area of most books but they are big enough that they don't go missing if you leave it in your desk and you could buy a special rack to store them in. Micro SD cards are amazing because they store large amounts of data but they're about half the size of a postage stamp. The problem is they're too small, it would be nice if they made them about the same size as a credit card, then you could put them in your wallet and wouldn't worry about them falling into a crevice. If I held one outside, I would be worried about wind blowing it out of my hand because it is so small. The original SD cards were nice, I loved to use them on my old desktop computer, I added a SD card reader into the bay where the floppy drive would go. The bay was designed to house floppy disks but this PCI device would fit into the same slot. 

Bank and credit cards are just the right size, I wish they made memory cards that size. 

What January 23 Means to me

Throughout January 2023 there were union strikes and announcements of union strikes in the near future. People from almost every profession in Britain were taking strike action or were trying to increase their pay by other means, this was a direct reaction to the high inflation we were getting last year. Some of the bigger strike proposals that were announced in January are happening right now. I blame the inflation on the pandemic and war. Supply chains were delayed often, during the last two years they were struggling to get everything back to normal. 

I learned during the last week of January that the core of the Earth is no longer rotating with the rest of the planet but appears to be still and almost going the other way. We know this because the shock waves from Earthquakes pass through the whole earth and if you treat them like light rays you can see into the Earth. If you were hovering above the north pole of the Earth, you would see it turning anticlockwise but if you could see the Earth's core, it would be still so the whole planet is sliding over the core. I think there is a vast ocean of liquid iron between the mantle of the earth and the core; it is hard to imagine, a gigantic ocean of molten iron, perhaps there are coastlines and beaches and even metal continents down there in hell, I can only speculate and ponder. 

Apart from all that, the month went by very fast for me; one minute I was looking at my Christmas tree and counting down the seconds before 2023 begins, the next I'm writing this post in the start of February. Just like that, months are passing by like days or weeks.