What March 2025 Means To Me

Lots of things happened in March but my thoughts were dominated by the disaster that happened in Myanmar. They had what I call a near 8 Richter earthquake. On the 28th of march, Myanmar and nearby countries were rocked by a 7.7 Richter earthquake. When earthquakes are that strong, the strongest of buildings and trees are toppled over. If they happen under water, it can kick vast volumes of water into a tsunami. My poor heart sank low in my chest when I saw the buildings topple over and collapse on the news. Multitudes of people were facing a horror that I can't imagine. When I was a young man I recall those types of Earthquakes were quite rare, they would happen once in 5 or 6 years; these days they seem to happen twice a year. Every year, two crowded communities in the world are struck by a near 8 Richter  earthquake. Some people say it is a natural cycle of the earth, others are saying it rains more in dry places and the fault lines are lubricated. I don't know what is happening, I just notice there are near 8 earthquakes happening more often as time passes by. 

The other thing was the trump tariffs, he wanted to increase the import tax of goods entering the united states to make them less competitive against  American goods. I think he also wants them to move their factories into the states avoid the tariffs and increase manufacturing jobs. I don't know much about economics but I thought it would be a good idea to give them time to prepare, I would say they have 9 months to prepare for the new tariffs. It may also be a good idea to raise tariffs in stages as well.  I think businesses need time to prepare for changes like that. Don't rock the boat too much I say. 

I'm an ordinary man, I can't do anything about it so I continue reading and doing my hobbies. Window shopping can also keep the restless mind settled. I look at all the prices of hotels in the coastal towns of Britain so I can go there for a short break on my birthday and have a nice cold drink, a small glass of whiskey twice a year. One for my birthday in a paradise and the other for Christmas.  

Myanmar Quakes and Trump tariffs

It was at the end of March on the 28th when a powerful 7.7 rs earthquake struck Myanmar and caused devastation. I felt pity for all those people that lost loved ones and their homes; in the game of pool, sinking the black ball 8 is game over and the same is true of earthquakes. Anything close to 8 in the Richter scale will devastate the nation around it, the ground is leaping and undulating with too much force for strong buildings to stand up. A near-8 earthquake will topple the strongest of buildings. It will spare wooden bungalows and tents but anything with supporting walls will topple over.  

There were two thoughts in my mind around the time of the earthquake. One was short breaks and the other was trump tariffs. I get what president Donald Trump is doing, if there is a bigger import tariff, it would make imported goods less competitive against domestic produced goods and it would pressure companies to move some of their factories into the united states to avoid the import tax altogether. He is looking to create lots of jobs in the long term. It is a very big risk and bad news for us. I'm in two minds about his decision, other countries will do it back to him and he may cause everything to become too expensive. I don't know what is going to happen, I try not to think about it too much. 

The other thing is short breaks, I like to look at all the coastal towns in Britain and see if there is a good deal available somewhere. The price of a train journey in Britain isn't based on distance but what tools you have available. If you have a good rail card and use the internet to book early that you will get a much better deal. All the different train operators have different perks, some give you a discount for return journeys, others let you use more than one rail card. There is no consistency. If you travel 50km, it will vary a lot depending on the time you get on the train and your perks. The possibilities are endless because you can use a bus service to get into a discounted zone so you can use a mixture of different transport services.