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.