Back at work...

I'm at work again.

Even though I came in a couple of times last week, I was too bleary to get into the flow of things - and I was all the more disoriented by the construction going on. My office is in the construction zone, so I'm in gamergrrl's office while she's in Mongolia.

It's like coming back from an exotic vacation: hard to remember what was going on, what is going on, and what should be going on.

I'm also somewhat distracted by thoughts of my shiny new computer at home. Still setting up. It feels like having a lovely, powerful racehorse at my command.


Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Riots...

" ... Just last night, all over London places are aflame and some guy — some photographer — got a lovely picture of a rioter and he's standing there full of indignation with a stolen tape deck in either hand and he's irate. He says, 'I'm doing this because they call us criminals.' And so when people come out with that in real life, I hardly ever have to write." - Terry Pratchett

Someone asked me what I thought the cause of the riots in England lately were. I thought of the recent riots in Greece, and in Vancouver, and of the politically-motivated unrest in North Africa, and I thought: This is a volatile time.

I thought of three reasons:

1. Climatic change. Globally, people are hotter (or colder) than they were; troubled by earthquakes, floods and famine. Even if the changes may appear slight wherever you happen to be, a few degrees difference without air conditioning or heat can make a lot of difference to one's temper.
   
   
2. In the UK particularly, too many years - a generation, now? - of mostly right-wing government.
   
   
3. Overpopulation. We're coping, but there are more people elbowing each other than ever before,too many people moving around, too many people in cities, too many haves and too many have-nots.

I don't think any of these problems are insurmountable, or even long-term. But they do make for unrest in the meanwhile.

A song of ice and families...

Fans of A Game of Thrones might like this family tree:

Families.

It's simple, no spoilers, and has nice graphics. I love the way the Stark Direwolves and included, with Benjen and Jon Snow on the Wall.

Barge and bridge...

Can anyone tell me where this picture was taken?