WALKING BACK THE HYPE

 

Morning walks. Three apartment blocks on my regular circuit. I can't help wondering what the "architects" thought they were doing. Ranging from the unbelievably bland to a mush-mash of unrelated shapes. Trying too hard versus not trying at all.

As for the block on the far right, what is supposed to be the relationship between the toy-town classicism of the roof storey and the ordered geometry below? In what way did the owners and the designers conspire together to create this sad trio. Did they think they were doing a good job? Were they totally out of their depths? Or did they just not care? 

 

A little further along on my stroll there are red & white concrete barriers to protect a vacant lot from haphazard parking. Thank goodness I have my own spot in the basement. Pasted on those barriers are the ubiquitous adverts for bed spaces. Targeted at specify nationalities to minimise friction when people are living there or four to a room and sharing small bathrooms and kitchens.

Again I am lucky to have a flat to myself that might easily have been sublet to half a dozen desperate souls. Separated by curtains or thin chipboard partitions that stop short of the ceiling.

You may be horrified, but clearly this is a better option for many than going back home.

In between my two hospital appointments on Monday (long layover) I went to Wafi Mall to look at guitars in Thomsuns Music.

It was a spur-of-the-moment idea, but I have been wishing for a while that I had a proper electric guitar that works. When I had a gigging band in Dubai, I was using two Line6 Variax guitars. (one with heavier strings for slide work)

They are very clever guitars that mimic different models at the flip of a switch courtesy of some smart electronics. BUT they are prone to glitches, and the superfine Dubai sand has sneaked its way into the knobs... Crackles and cutouts result. They need a serious service, but the shop no longer supports the brand.

I came away with a Telecaster. Something I can play straight away. Let's try and get some of my musical fluency back... So I have been trying out using two phones. Drum rhythms app on one, plug the guitar into my baby amp with all its sound options, play along and record on the second phone. Potentially do an overdub by switching the phones around.

Let's see how that works out. But one spin-off has been discovering some old recordings... One day at a time.

 

"I am desecrating graves because there is no hope." The message is so negative. Also self-indulgent. Look up "luxury beliefs".

I'm sure these are very nice, well-meaning people, but in my view, so misguided and counter-productive. Without energy there is no life. Darwinian evolution is a story of creatures that harness energy from their environment.

Banning an energy source before you have rolled out a viable replacement is just a way of punishing the poorest communities around the globe. 

 

 

I have more respect for people who are working on technologies to provide the base load power that renewables cannot. It's going to take a couple of decades. Patience, persistence, hard work, brilliant minds, investment in R&D. A long term vision. Positive thinking.

I recently did a quick catchup on Terrapower, who are developing safer, cheaper, fourth generation nuclear that can scale its output up and down to mesh with renewables. There is also the potential to use nuclear waste as fuel and draw down existing stockpiles.

Now you can disagree. I'm not here to argue for or against that technology. It's early days. But they are putting in the hard work. Trying to come up with solutions. To me that's much better than saying "ban this, ban that" while living comfortably in the south of England.

Just my opinion. AKA. "Just Stop the Tantrums"