Went to visit a friend in darkest Stockport a while back. On the way back, I was dragged by mysterious forces into a charity shop. Here's a table of all the books I definitely didn't buy, how much I didn't pay for each (they were all 25p), and comments on why I didn't buy them.... Continue Reading →
Letter in #Manchester Evening News abt Labour’s contempt for democratic norms
ONLY one member of the public attended Annual Council today. That's probably good, because outrageous contempt for democratic norms and conventions was on full horrible display. New councillors (there are 10) usually get their first choice of which of the six scrutiny committees to sit on. Scrutiny is vital to try to stop the Executive... Continue Reading →
I don’t need this pressure Ron… #delardification
Count your blessings, obviously (I've lived a life of undeserved privilege and luck. That can change, obvs we all live under a sword of Damocles) but being grateful for what you've got, and trying to contribute meaningfully are apparently solid ways not to be a miserable douche. This particular maundering comes from the fact that... Continue Reading →
Books I definitely didn’t buy in Bristol and why I bought them
Was down in Bristol on Friday 15th. I lived there for three and a half years back in the second half of the '90s, before coming to the best city in the world. Here's a table of all the books I definitely didn't buy in charity shops (mostly up Stokes Croft Road), how much I... Continue Reading →
Whoop! Whoop! I am OVERWEIGHT!!
I stepped (staggered, actually) onto the scales an hour ago. 115.2kg blinked up at me. "Fry up!" I peremptorily bellowed to (feebly whispered in the direction of) The Wife, who has been her usual amazing supportive self throughout this delardification effort. When I crawl in the door, dehydrated and incoherent, there's a pint glass of... Continue Reading →
No fry-up yet – sad emoticon….25th April – delardification post
Another week, another blog post about what has (and has not) been achieved) This one covers weight lossnew fitness gigsreading and researching I've done First the numbers ParameterNumbers and burblingsWeight last week117.7 (on Monday, after 12 laps)Weight this week117.1 (Sunday, after 12 laps)Weight loss (or gain obvs)0.6kgsKgs to target (100kg: not the hardest calculation ever)17.2Percentage... Continue Reading →
Past the (or this) plateau! #delardification
Another week, another blog post about what has (and has not) been achieved in Operation Delardification. For those new - in October 2019 I got on the talking scales and they said "one at a time please." I was 20kgs heavier than I would have guessed - i.e. 150kg. Sure, can blame "obesogenic" environments,and go... Continue Reading →
Weight loss plateau and (not) breaking on through to the other side…
On 28th March I got down to 119 kilos flat (massively dehydrated) and had a fry-up, which I blogged, obvs. And I promised myself I would blog weekly on the weight loss. Oops. I didn't blog last week, and since then I have only got under 120kg twice (so maybe it was an artefact?) HOWEVER,... Continue Reading →
Letter in MEN: You like authoritarianism, go live in North Korea
So one way that anyone to the left of Genghis Khan is baited, when they suggest even the mildest of social democratic reforms is "you like communism so much, go live in Russia". In this letter I thought it might be fun to riff on this. TURNING a blind eye - refusing to look for... Continue Reading →
Academic self-delusion
A while back (as in, I wrote this blog post hot, but didn't post it straight away because I don't want to commit "career" suicide) I attended back-to-back zoom meetings. The first promised to be on a crucial question about how we respond to escalating social, political and environmental crises. All the right theorists got... Continue Reading →
