Just got back from Waterstones with daughter 2, buying birthday books for her friends. There’s a one-way system in the shopping precinct with barriers and floor stickers, so it’s obvious where to walk to comply with common-sense Covid precautions – unless one has one’s head up one’s arse…

A retired guy and his wife walk against us, so I smile and point it out, literally “‘scuse me mate, there’s a one-way system.” She changes direction, walks around out of our path; it was easy, they’d only just turned in.

He though, mask under his chin, continues walking and snarls at me, “it doesn’t fucking matter,” so I stopped him with a swift northern dismissal and wished him dead.*

Ok, just that last bit is a lie, I didn’t tell him I wished him dead, I don’t know if he’s insured and if his wife can be free of what I inferred from that fleeting moment.

But it does matter, it really really does.**

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* I’d have loved to have given him a piece of my mind, but him swearing with my daughter there it was plain there’s no room in his mind for anything but selfishness and hate. So I think I’ll have a mug of tea (3 sugars) and move right on.

** I wore my new Cleveland Browns mask. Steamy windows syndrome with this one!

This post was originally drafted on January 26 2020 with the intention to post around Super Bowl time. I can’t recall what happened to keep it in near-oblivion.

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On January 31, 1988, the NFL’s Washington Redskins beat the Denver Broncos 42-10 in Super Bowl XXII (number 22, to those Roman-numerically challenged.)

Now this was the first time I’d watched American Football, let alone a Super Bowl. I think it’s important to know that it was a period during which I watched as many diverse sports as I could, perhaps to be the first in my immediate family to find and then ‘belong’ to a club? Who knows.

Puzzled throughout the whole of the game I nevertheless found something that resonated with my mood at the time. I must have been distracted by something though, I honestly thought that an ‘Elway’ was a type of play, much as an ‘up and under’ kick in rugby was referred to as a ‘Garryowen’. Anyway, silly as it sounds now, I ‘found’ a sport I could get behind.

I bought books, watched as much as I could on the UK’s TV during the following season, and picked a team to follow at the end of Super Bowl XXIII: The San Francisco 49ers.

It was an easy choice to make, their Super Bowl XXIII 20-16 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals and their 55-10 demolition of the Denver Broncos a year later, we’ll, it’s easy to climb on the bandwagon isn’t it.

The ‘Threepeat’ attempt the year after that and, like any fair weather fan I decided to pick a new team, The 1-15 Dallas Cowbows (much like my Cleveland Browns) seemed a perfect fit, for how could they get any worse during the rebuilding process with a new owner, head coach, rookie quarterback…?

Incidentally, I didn’t just choose the Browns after their 1-15 season following their 0-16 season, look elsewhere here for that ‘why’.

I’ve wondered why it took me until 2016 to even consider AFC teams worthy of my time, but it recently figured it out; it’s the AFC vs NFC thing.

The NFC’s 49ers won XIX in 1984. AFC teams failed in every subsequent Super Bowl right up to the Denver Broncos’s long-awaited triumph in XXXII that’s 1998, that’s 13 successive NFC wins.

Ok, the AFC vs NFC thing?

It’s the American Football Conference vs the National Football Conference.

First, a hundred years ago this season, came the NFL, the National Football League. Ok, it was predated by college and amateur leagues but professional sports are always the biggest draw right? Well no, college football is BIGGER than the NFL!

Eventually a rival league big enough to challenge the NFL, the AAFC – the All-America Football Conference – was formed, and with it my Cleveland Browns. But the new league really couldn’t thrive in the shadow of the bigger one and eventually was absorbed by it.

For most of the AAFC’s life and for some time after the 1949 merger the Browns were THE dominant team… But that’s now 70 years ago, and there aren’t many who’d say that about the Browns now.

I don’t care; we’ve a new coach, a new staff is being assembled, and we’ve got the players to make something interesting happen. So what if my 2021 Super Bowl prediction might be a year delayed!

I have a question, but first this:

Bought a 300mmx76mm telescope on a Dobsonian mount last weekend for daughter 2 (10) – she’s been asking for one for a couple of years and we were round the corner from Jessops, so why not.

It came with 20mm and 6mm 1.25” eyepieces and a 3x Barlow lens, and ‘adequate’ assembly instructions. Though, it has to be said, the weather has been pretty miserable since the purchase, we’ve found it resolves stuff pretty well through windows, e.g. the houses and electricity pylon 1.2 miles away, and focusses well enough to bring stars to almost a single point. (The moon’s a bit too high here right now.)

Here’s the awkward bit: I’m *already* considering getting extra stuff for it:

• a smartphone adapter (seen one for <£10.)
• replacing the 5x cross-hair finder scope (for £30) – the stock one is adjusted by three thumbscrews around a plastic ring!
• adding a 32mm or 40mm eyepiece (for £30) – the standard kit’s view angle is too narrow to see much especially given the crap finder.
• and a 45 or 90 degree diagonal adapter (for £20.)

(I’m rationalising spending 3x the scope cost on the extra bits by saying we’ll be able to use them on a better scope, you know, one with an equatorial mount.)

That question then.

Is this normal?

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This post was originally queued up in early February 2020.

I found out it isn’t normal, not really. The new hobby went off the boil a bit as we adapted to lighter spring & summer nights and the coronavirus lockdown.

Upgraded to iOS 14.0 public beta on Saturday July 11. Apps failing so far with summaries of impact on me, actions taken.

• Sky Go: splash screen then black screen; a bit inconvenient, forum registration username restrictions *suck donkey balls*.

• Fark: splash screen only; aw crap, Farkback created (feedback form.)

• Amazon Prime Music: splash screen then black screen; might be inconvenient eventually, we’re using a 3 month Deezer trial now so this can wait. Incidentally, I’m loving Deezer so far.

I might post updates, haven’t decided.

I didn’t.

It seems Michael Gove is taking credit for a LibDem policy, the Pupil Premium.

I wrote the email below on 14 June in response to a request from the local LibDem party leader for someone to host a Zoom session for a party leadership candidate.

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No questions I’m afraid.  Rant follows, long, sorry.

It’s too short notice for me to even watch, and I’m no activist let alone assured enough to host.  However after reading Wera’s statement below I have to say it’s been the way I’ve wanted the party to go for a long time, since the tuition fees news ‘broke’, and every more depressing year since.

https://werahobhouse.org.uk/new-direction/

I’d go further (and have done in surveys which the party hasn’t followed me up on.)  The public needs a lesson in British politics: the minority coalition party gets the scraps and the future negative press, the positive headlines belong to the ‘most popular’ party.  It’s about compromise and being in no position to dictate terms.

The last election was fought on the basis we made mistakes back then; the message must be pushed that these [insert a full list here] issues had to be compromised on and this list [insert another more telling set here] is where we failed. Only Ed Davey even got close as I recall, and again as i recall, he was the only LibDem to do so – and as the vote for the personality machine rolled on, that important message was lost.

In essence we can’t let the public make its own mind up.

Anyway, as of now, if I remain a member, you have my vote.  ‘Bollocks to Brexit’ aside (inspired, polarising) if you win don’t listen to those who’d stuff this up by resorting to platitudes, cuddly but meaningless ads and party political broadcasts; if we’ve got another 4 years to wait until the next election the seed needs planting *now* that the LibDems remain viable.  

Gotta end on a positive note.

I hope the Zoom thing goes well!

Baz.

@bazbt3

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I didn’t get a reply.

Not that he needs it right now to do his job, but when will Cummings get his peerage?

Recent link (my description): Dismantling government

I felt the need to post this in my local Facebook group:

I’ve lived here for ‘only’ 13 years; in that time I’ve I’ve only once had to pick up dog poo* from our front garden or the path outside. Once. Today.

I’ve never previously had to worry about watching where I walk, and yet every time we go out now I see dog mess. (‘Best’ example is along the bushes both sides of [redacted] approaching [redacted].)

To those of you with new dogs, please:

– Carry some nappy bags with you every time you go for ‘walkies’. Pre-lockdown there was (and probably still is if you think about it) a legal requirement to carry at least 2 when you set out.

– Either drop the bags in the next bin you see or take them home with you. (Yes them, you might need more than one, appalling as it sounds. If you need 4 it’s classed as an epic!)

– Don’t leave the bag where your dog sat or dangling off a convenient branch; it’d be better to not pick it up at all (it’ll naturally biodegrade, but that’d be missing my point.)

One final thing: if you’re paying more than around 25p for 100 bog-standard nappy bags, though you’re not being ripped off it’s likely you’ve gone for the posh ones, the scented ones (very understandable sometimes!), the biodegradable ones, or the ones specifically made for dog poo. And that’s fine.

Actually no, this is my final word: don’t use not having bags as an excuse, leaving mess spreads diseases potentially fatal to dogs and actually harmful to humans too.

Quick Google result:

https://www.kingdom.co.uk/articles/issues-and-dangers-surrounding-dog-fouling/

Go on, carry your (dog’s) poo with public-spirited pride!

*I’d considered the possibility it might be a cat, but the size, no. No. Please no. (shudders)

On Wednesday I asked on our primary school’s school/PTA Facebook page if there was a plan to have video lessons now there’s no realistic prospect of a return to school before September.

Instead of publicly engaging they replied via a Facebook Messenger message.

Their focus is now on ensuring levels of staffing so those eligible to physically attend school remain safe, and they’ll email the other parents in the next few weeks to inform us about the transition up to the next year.

In the next few weeks‽

We’ve only a few weeks before term would end anyway.

Incidentally, the only outbound communications with parents since the lockdown began have been via Facebook. The school has a messaging (email, text) service as part of their payments system.

No, I tell a lie, there was a message sent via the service. It asked all parents to ensure they’d paid their bills for school meals, before and after school clubs…

So I replied:

Hiya! I’ve tried to keep [my youngest] to a timetable, motivated enough to do lessons and she’s been great, not needed too many bribes at all! However, my question started with Zoom/Teams video lessons – actual teacher participation in lessons.

*Weeks* ago we found that a friend’s daughter ([3 towns away]) started Zoom lessons the first day of the national lockdown, and today I heard of a school (local-ish, I didn’t ask) providing 5 Teams lessons *per day.*

It would be fantastic to have someone available for the years not catered for by current plans, it’s an awfully long time to go without *any* teacher contact.

I’ll be physically back in work in a week and a half; the adjustment to working at the dining room table was hard enough and took way too long for me to balance the needs of family and work. I’m not a teacher though.

Lots of words, sorry, but I’d love to hear of more substantial plans; transition’s going to be too late.

Ta, stay safe.

I’ve heard nothing back since Wednesday. I now know that I left it too late to ask the question; I now know that, at least at this school, years 2, 3, 4 and 5 are now adrift. The head’s going to be riding the rest of this school year out and accepting praise from most other parents for the fantastic work she’s done.

They have set lessons on an online educational platform they use, they have directed us to BBC Bitesize web site and the Oak National Academy web site, and to other online resources, of course they have. But meh.

I feel I should say at this point we’ve had other issues with the way the school has managed my daughter’s care in very specific areas but, short of involving the local education authority, we’ve gone as far as we can internally.

At this point I really don’t wish to talk about my oldest daughter’s high school; as well as only setting lessons and having no video/direct teacher involvement they don’t even respond to emails sent to the main contact address.

Well, maybe I’ll attempt to get things off my chest here when they contact us about an upcoming meeting with her teacher and the form – the opportunity to ask questions.

Oh, and be given a lesson on wellbeing.

Three fucking months after the start of lockdown!

They too will likely be congratulated on the fantastic job they’ve done.

One final thing, the only teaching department to give a flying fuck about my oldest daughter completing all the lessons the school has set is Mathematics. Not a single other teaching department has cared enough to offer up ‘Conduct’ points, not one. Given the ignorant, unsupportive arseholes I had teaching me maths from my first year in junior school right the way through technical college, I have to say my preconceptions have been utterly destroyed. To be fair, I did well in high school CSE maths, but I cannot recall the teacher so I’m throwing them under my bus too.

And yes, I’ve asked the school to comment on the lack of points and teacher participation. That, again to be fair, was Friday. To be unfair I’ve had no reply to Wednesday’s email asking about a specific point mentioned in their latest impenetrably-wordy newsletter. Hey, at least my blog posts have paragraph sizes one can pause for breath between!

Oh yes, I’ve been careful to mention what I see teachers failing at; our related circumstances, though not unique, are private.

As I said, at this point I really don’t wish to talk about my oldest daughter’s high school.

Much.

There’s an important distinction to be made between slavery and racism.

Throughout recorded history nations have both subjugated other nations and used slaves to work in fields, manufacturing enterprises, homes and to build major infrastructure projects like monuments, walls…

Perhaps the biggest difference between ancient slavery and racism, wars and poverty were once the biggest drivers of slavery. Some cultures even allowed their own subjects to temporarily designate themselves as slaves to pay off debts; and no, I’m not imagining a cosy relationship to their owners. The point is that slaves could be found anywhere in ancient societies, from any group internal or external to the nation. Think of the ‘caste’ system, it was never restricted solely to the Indian subcontinent…

I’m most past examples though, routes existed out of slavery: time passing, money earned, special rewards given to loyal servants; and of course as time passed, wholesale integration of slaves into a nation’s society perhaps as second-class citizens, and an absorption of indigenous cultures by the previous incoming masters.

It all took time.

You’d perhaps think we’ve not had time for the natural order of things to establish itself. But this is not how things have worked from the 18thr century onwards, and will never work again.

In the last couple of thousand years – at least until the 18th century – the term racism wasn’t specifically linked to slavery; indeed the word ‘racism’ itself is only around 120 years old. Yeah, I found that quite surprising.

So whilst slavery seems inextricably linked to imperialism and conquest it’s not the biggest driver.

Will it be enough when the slaver statues are torn down, the streets and public buildings are renamed, the physical remnants of past imperialist glories are defaced and sanitised in boxes?

No.

Concentrating on the superficial leads us down a dangerous path. It engenders antipathy in the minds of those who support and run the government, it increases the increase in the number of ad-hoc (Statutory Instrument/Executive Order) laws designed to further erode our rights.

It’s important to note at this point that I’m not a protester. I’m not militant. I’m not a lot of things, not yet anyway. I hope I’m judged by a lifetime of fairness but we’ll have to see, I’m not done yet.

I tried to buy a copy of ‘Antifa: The Antifascist Handbook’ online last week, found only one place outside eBay which seemed to have stock. A week later my money was returned. I then concluded I should cast my net of learning a little further…

Racism isn’t something that’ll disappear overnight as the statues are either quietly removed or boxed in and newly-minted protesters go back home. It’s more insidious than ‘modern’ slavery, the rise of fascism, and especially of inverted totalitarianism.

We can’t talk about it without awkward silences, we can’t draw attention to it without the perpetrator becoming at least the verbally combative or worse, indignant that we’d challenge what they learned from parents and peers.

Well, actually, we can and we should. Must?

Forget only looking to the past and trying to fix that by erasing it, the fact that right-won’t politicians and commentators are along for the self-righteous ride should be enough to get us thinking.

If you’re not willing to go out into the streets then vote. Vote in whatever way removes the right and the far right as a political and cultural influence. Vote to have anti-racism taught in schools.

Don’t waste the next opportunity you come across to change our future for the better. And don’t, after 4/8 or 5/10 years have elapsed make the mistake of thinking the grass is greener on the side the right occupies, it isn’t. Despite the extraordinarily effective propaganda machines the right use, we can see for ourselves it really isn’t.

And yes, I’m looking.