Another 3 months...

I'm really not very consistent with my blogging, I'm quite a busy man these days, trying to establish my career.

I definitely picked the right career though, engineering. It might be something to do with not having to deal with crowds of people, the application of science, professionalism, satisfaction, etc... but to me, engineering is the most important area of expertise to any society. Everything around you (apart from nature) was designed/manufactured/assembled by some sort of engineer. Everything that makes our lives easier as a species.

Don't make this out to be some sort of snobbery. Everyone has their place in society, as a recent post by leg iron will show; but I love engineering. Knowing how things work, how they're made and how to make them is bloody amazing.

Neither recent Conservative nor Labour governments have proved beneficial for engineering or manufacturing in this country. Yet millions of people will still vote for these parties according to the polls. I was quite frightened by the most recent edition of Question Time where the Green Party leader was cheered by the audience for stating her party was based on socialist principles in a response aimed at David Starkey. It really makes me wonder whether these people realise that the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany were also based on socialist principles (oh yeah, the BNP too...).

In my experience though, I do feel that people are sick and tired of government über-control, meddling and surrendering of our powers to foreign ones.

When I discuss Libertarianism with some people however, I hear arguments that we need government otherwise there'd be anarchy. What a load of crap. Anarchy implies complete disorder. But a Libertarian society would allow local policing and justice, and one of my favourites: personal defence.

Libertarianism won't cause anarchy, or selfish individualism (quite the opposite).

Personal responsibility.

I love that term.

Don't you?

Oh dear...

...3 months since my last blog post. Not exactly what I'd call consistent.

Not been in the mood to be honest, found out I was with a possibility of losing my job 3 months ago, then found out I was losing my job 2 months ago, lost my job 1 month ago then found a new job 1 week ago. Anyway, I've landed a better job so things have turned out quite well to be honest.

I've still been following the news and my favourite blogs and it's been a very interesting few months for me with 'climategate' and the Copenhagen summit. I'm also very saddened by the many British deaths in Afghanistan. I have alot of respect for our Army, it really is the best.

Then there's the Lisbon Treaty. Fuck me (gently). What have we (actually our very thick leaders) done. We've paid (and will continue to pay) to give away our sovereignty to France and Germany (and Spain) who's leaders hate the UK for our success in everything before. It really is very sad. We are one of the greatest countries the world has ever seen and New Labour are giving away our powers like it's a game of 'Let's see who can buy their European Union job the fastest' for FREE!!!

Anyway, when I was made unemployed I thought I'd claim some of my tax back through JSA and other benefits (I've paid that much tax...why not?). JSA was very easy to claim for, I'm still not sure of the difference between 'Contributions based' and 'Income based' jobseekers as they still pay out the same amount no matter how much tax you've paid. As a consequence of being under 25 I got a pretty pathetic £50/week as opposed to £65/ week if you're 25+. This government seems to be all about equality and all so I'm not really sure why there's a difference there... Maybe I should I've mentioned I have the tastes of an older gentleman: I drink real ale and single malt scotch whisky (just finished a bottle of Glenlivet, moving onto a christmas present of Auchentoshan now...). I also applied for Housing (and Council Tax) Benefit from my local council. What a job that was. They really do make it as hard as possible. Fair enough, if you've been brought up to exploit the system you'll now exactly what to do, but for someone who's temporarily out of work who's paid shedloads of tax and will continue to provide tax it's very confusing. Once I figured out what to do I did it, took my proofs to the council in person, was asked to bring more proofs, which I did and spoke to a proper benefits advisor, which I was told was fine. Now I've been asked to bring more proof. FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!! How incompetent can they be! (I'm shocked at the amount of information they say they need about me AND my partner) They really are a bunch of fucking jobsworths. Thank fuck I've found a job so soon otherwise I might really be fucked...

Hope you've enjoyed global-warming induced snow, I was in Yorkshire and did lots of sledging (sans-sledge) and giant snowman building.

Jumping on the ban-wagon

(Authoritarian mode on)

Seeing as New Labour seem intent on banning everything for no reason apart from it annoying a few purists, and then spouting some drivel that sounds like it could be scientific I'd like to propose that the Government bans something I don't like...football.

I can't stand football. A mind-numbingly boring game played by "men" who happen to be very good at kicking around a ball between themselves. So good in fact, they get paid crazy amounts of money to do it. How do they finance this "beautiful game"? Through millions of fans. I can understand why other people like it, it seems to be a tribal thing. Tribes battling each other without the need for swords and spears, rather points in a table. But it doesn't matter that other people like it, I don't like it. And I don't want to just not watch it, which might seem a very sensible idea and one I've followed all my life so far, no, I want all those fans to conform to my ideals. Because I'm right, they're wrong.

In true New Labour fashion I can also make up some health/safety/social reasons for why this ban would be a good thing:

- no more football hooliganism; studies (financed by the association of rugby) have shown that upto 38.63% of the general population have been affected in some way by football hooliganism or second-hand hooliganism (seeing it on the TV and feeling a bit annoyed)
- less heart problems; a study has shown that exceeding your weekly allowance of 3 minutes (2 minutes for women) viewing of football per day (saving up your minutes for a full 90-minute game per month - also known as binging - is very bad for you and will definitely kill you sometime next week) can seriously affect your health, i.e. raised blood pressure, increased heart rate - also known as getting excited about something. It should be noted that these "football units" are definitely based on real science and have NOT been arbitrarily typed up just now...
- there is a proven link that all football supporters abuse children in their basement and that millions of children would be saved through this ban.
- footballers themselves are being exploited. Football clubs are really criminal organisations that smuggle foreign men in to Britain every year and force them to perform in front of thousands of adoring men on a field with very sharp blades of grass.
- people who watch football are right-wing/racist/BNP/terrorists/...

I think I've made a good case there. I look forward to pictures of torn cruciate ligaments shown before games on Sky Sports from now on...

(Authoritarian mode off)

Thank Gordon we live in a truly liberal society and we don't have to put up with this kind of attitude in reality. Er, wait a minute...

GB

Climate Change...

I'm sick and tired of this climate change bollocks. Really sick and really tired. The propaganda is everywhere. Brainwashed idiots who don't even understand the basics behind the THEORY are everywhere. Basic things such as:
- carbon dioxide (not even called that, just 'carbon', probably to cater to the lowest common denominator) an ESSENTIAL trace gas necessary for life to exist on this planet. Yet it's treated like it's pollution and worse than sin.
- the 'greenhouse effect', that has made our planet habitable and warm enough for life to emerge and evolve. It's not a bad thing.
- radiation, only absorbed at very specific wavelengths by carbon dioxide and other 'greenhouse gases'. Increasing the amount of these gases doesn't change how much radiation is trapped by the atmosphere, you can't absorb more if you're already absorbing everything in that wavelength.

I have an uncle who actually thinks global warming is caused by the increase in the number of power stations. Not because of the CO2. Nope. He thinks it's because of the heat generated by the burning coal in the furnace. All these power stations burning coal are heating up the atmosphere! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I heard that.

Apparently, climate change is so catastrophic and urgent that reducing your 'carbon footprint' (one of my most hated phrases) by 10% by 2010 will save the world. What a load of crap. If these people care so much about saving the planet why don't they just kill themselves and reduce their carbon footprint by 100%.

It's the new world religion. Nobody questions it. They believe it because a man in a suit on the television tells us that men in labcoats have "proven" it. We've been told that the global warming debate is over, it's been proven. Scientific theories are NEVER proven. That's the beauty of science. It's encourages progress. Climate change is a very bad theory. The argument is so full of holes it shouldn't even be considered a 'good' theory.

Yet most of the population is scientifically illiterate. They just accept it. Like people have accepted christianity, islam, hinduism, taoism, etc, for thousands of years. Just because it's what they've been told is true and have been threatened with eternal damnation if you believe otherwise. The same is happening with climate change. If you don't do as you're told and stop flying so much you'll destroy the planet and your children will die.

It's like we're going back in time. I thought the human race had gotten past this idea that humans are the centre of the universe. But we're believing it again. The planet has been around for billions of years, but we think we have to 'save it' because we're the chosen generation.

In reality, we're just biological organisms that have evolved on a small blue/green planet orbiting an insignificant star in a spiral galaxy consisting of billions of other stars in a universe consisting of billions of other galaxies. We live for a mere 75 years to contemplate our own existence and then we die. I have no desire to spend my short time in this universe being cattle for the state nor be told what I can and can't do.

That's why I'm a Libertarian.

The Greatest Show on Earth

I noticed with interest at the weekend that Richard Dawkins has entered the Sunday Times book chart in 1st place. I look forward to reading his new book.

I'm a big fan of Dawkins. It's through Dawkins that I've come to understand the theory of evolution by natural selection and let go of daft beliefs in some sort of sky-fairy. I was raised in a very religious family and even though I considered myself rather intelligent (the large amount of alcohol since then has diminished that unfortunately...come to uni...kill brain cells...) I actually believed in a lot of that nonsense. Biology wasn't my favourite science (I was a bit of geek - Physics was my preferred choice) so I never made the effort to understand evolution.

Until I read the God Delusion, which turned me from a doubting christian into a rational human being. After that I have been reading more of Dawkins' books and consider him to be an excellent teacher and writer.

This world is in need of more rational thinking and I hope his new book is read by many.

GB

SAS trains Libyan soldiers

Was enjoying my Saturday morning bacon sandwich and coffee when I noticed this article in the Telegraph.

Turns out this government has no limit to it's indecency. Our troops have been training Libyan soldiers for the past 6 months. The very country that supplied IRA scum with explosives used to kill our own soldiers and civilians. I was already aware that our ministers were capable of putting their own political ambitions ahead of actually doing the right bloody thing but where does it stop?

“From our perspective we cannot see it as part of anything else other than the Megrahi deal.” Another SAS soldier said: “The IRA was our greatest adversary now we are training their backers. There was a weary rolling of the eyes when we were told about this.”

Too right. This government (if you can call it that) has shown time and time again that they have nothing but contempt for our armed forces, our country or even democracy.

You're a bastard Gordon.

GB

Let's have a go at blogging...

Well I finally did it. Just bought my first laptop and now belong to the 21st century. After a year of reading other people's blogs thought I'd have a go myself in response to the spin, lies and bollocks in today's media. I think I'll blog about politics, science, film and other things I feel like talking about but I'm not much of a writer to be honest...

Grumpy Bear