Gordon Brown: An alien force from another dimension ?

Is it just me or has anybody else noticed how many really rather odd things have happened since Gordon Brown became a significant force in world politics?

Love him or loath him, you have to admit, life has been different in the strangest ways since he first cropped up. And now we have Swine Flu and yet nobody is linking it to him (yet). OK so it is ‘supposed’ to have originated in Mexico…. Well you wouldn’t expect him to have it originate at 10 Downing street now would you?

Now I have discovered that a friends dishwasher, which had worked perfectly for years broke down around the time he became prime minister. Curiouser and curiouser methinks.

Then there’s Salvia Divinorum. I’d never come across this wonderfully powerful , and ( amazingly ) legal, hallucinogen until around about the time he became chancellor. Clearly there is some link, I mean, the evidence I have laid out above is damning enough…….

Dirty Rotten Swine Flu…..

It’s interesting to contemplate the possibility of a global pandemic (GP)of killer flu because of the all the global catastrophe scenarios commonly banded about it is probably the most likely and is one that is both more ‘ecologically correct’ than a nuclear conflagration and less traumatic than say, a meteorite impact.
Consider: What are the most pressing issues that are facing mankind/the environment?

Overpopulation?
Pollution?
Dwindling resources?
Environmental degradation?
Global warming?
Energy shortages?
Etc

All of these things will be sorted, at a stroke, by culling a significant proportion of the worlds human population.

It is a well known principle of population dynamics that, in a stable ecosystem, populations of individual species are subject to chaotic variation and sudden catastrophic declines. Take moths and their various associated species of parasitic wasps for example. The parasite’s population builds to such a level that virtually all of the moth individuals are wiped out, resulting in a sudden crash in the population of the parasite. This allows the moth population to build once again until, well, you get the picture……..

Therefore, a so called global pandemic, in terms of the overall ecosystem, or Gaia if you prefer, is an expected and entirely natural phenomenon that is likely to occur when average population density reaches a certain critical level, indeed, it would be decidedly odd if it did not happen…..

Having accepted GP as inevitable, it is interesting to try to ponder the effects. Clearly they will be directly related to the efficiency of the virus and/or the inadequacies of our defenses. A ten percent cull would clearly have very different results to a 90% cull but there will certainly be some common factors. In order to attempt some reasonable predictions, I think that the consequences should be divided into, social, political, cultural and ecological components, each being examined separately but within a framework that recognizes that all are interconnected.

I’d love to make a start on this right now but unfortunately I have work to do and so would invite you to suggest things that I have missed ( bound to be loads ) and your own suggestions and thoughts.

More later – and that’s a promise.

Jeaunse

The Aging Process:

Despite assurances as to the compensating effect of age related sagacity, none of us, I am sure finds much in the way of positive benefits in The Aging Process.

I am currently pondering at what age one actually becomes old, I remember sitting on the train on the way back from Bestival last year ( or should that read Worstival) and overhearing a group of twenty somethings behind me remarking as to how they saw some ‘really old people’ at the festival, like you know, ‘in their forties…’. God, I’m amazed how young people in their forties look to me now and so I guess, by anybodies standards, I’m getting on a bit at fifty five. However, I’m not yet in my sixties ( which are – according to me at any rate – the ‘new forties’) and so I have a few more years in which to, erm, well, I’m not really sure but what I do know is that time is inexorably running out and therefore, whatever it is, I’d better get on and bloody well do it.

So, I need to make a list ( in itself a sign of ‘getting on a bit’) , all the stuff that I need to do. Now, let me see….Well I have little desire to go skydiving, bungee jumping, white water rafting, extreme snowboarding etc etc, I mean, I wouldn’t necessarily mind having a go but I’m not going to loose any sleep over shuffling off this mortal coil having missed out on the undoubted thrill of kitesurfing or frisbeediving or whatever the newest bestest thing happens to be. So I need to concentrate on what the things are that I like doing best of all, the things I find most satisfying, fulfilling, soul enriching and enjoyable and work hard to make sure that I do them A Lot! So lets see…. Well, bird watching, walking in the country with friends, listening to music, having a pint in country pubs with friends, reading, traveling, writing, sex, getting intoxicated with a whole range of interesting chemicals, laughing, eating good food. Well there’s a start.

I suppose what I should do is make a spreadsheet, list all these things, and give them a weighting and then try to apportion my leisure time, no, make that all my waking time such that I make sure that not only do I do all of these things but that I do the things that are top of the list most. Actually, looking at the list theres quite a few things on it that could be done at the same time or are at lesat mutually compatable, walking in the country and going to a pub with friends seems an entirely reasonable uxaposition for example, however I'm sure that with a bit of imagination all sorts of interesting combinations and permutations could be developed, in fact it may be possible to do them all at once, but if I did, at my age, I'd need a good long sit down afterwards!

Welcome to Jeaunsetalk

Hello, there will be more Jeaunsetalk along in a bit........
Be patient.
Everything comes to he ( or her) who waits allegedly. I think thats a crap saying and blatently untrue. But - what do I know?