Musings

Data

by

I was an electronic engineer for most of my working life.  During all of that time I used the word “data” lots of times, every day. It was never a plural word as it seems to be used now. Neither was it a singular word.  It was used in a similar way to “water” or … Read more

England – the view from Cornwall (Fiction)

by

11th September 2045 Today we remember the tragic destruction of the twin towers in New York forty four years ago, and celebrate Cornish Independence five years ago. It was a long struggle for Cornwall. With just over half a million people the county could not hope to stand on it’s own. But as it was … Read more

Infinity and Beyond (Fiction)

by

My own opinion is that interplanetary travel by human beings is not a good idea. Humans have evolved over millions of years to live on Earth.  We are developing robots and AI at an increasing rate and these seem to be the sensible way to explore the solar system – or even the galaxy.  Would … Read more

Flying Saucers

by

Let’s do a little extrapolating from the present to the next few hundred years based on developments over the last few years. We are sending automatic unmanned probes into space. Artificial intelligence is now advanced and its development is accelerating We are unlikely to send many human beings on long open ended trips with no … Read more

The Pooper Scooper (Fiction)

by

The governments of all colours in the UK seem intent on pursuing or claiming to pursue a low tax economy.  So in an ultra low tax economy (as we may have in 2045) how would the central government and the ruling classes manage to maintain their income? The idea for this little story came from … Read more

Putting the Earth into Perspective

by

Usually when the statistics of the earth are described, diagrams are used. Somewhere in the description is the disclaimer “Not to scale”. There is a reason for this, it’s almost impossible to show the relative dimensions on a paper diagram. But it can be done in a mental diagram. As we get to grips with … Read more

Open Mic Etiquette

by

Not be a minute. I’ll just tune up. Can I have the music stand please. It’s a bit low for me, can you raise it please? Now what will I sing? I Oh I know. It’s in my book here. Now let me find it. Sorry about this I had it a few minutes ago. … Read more

Spend a Penny

by

On March 13th 2018 Philip Hammond made possibly the only sensible suggestion he has ever made while in government – to scrap the 1p and 2p coins. One day later Theresa May overruled him following hysteria in the tabloid press.   When I was around 8 or so I used to be sent to the … Read more

Our Crazy Currency

by

On March 13th 2018 Philip Hammond made possibly the only sensible suggestion he has ever made while in government – to scrap the 1p and 2p coins. One day later Theresa May overruled him following hysteria in the tabloid press. When I was around 8 or so I used to be sent to the chippy … Read more

The Ambassador (Fiction)

by

In recent years I have noticed how political posturing, spin bias and fake news used to further the ambitions of those in power have more effect on outcomes than truth and logic. What is true and what is bluff? May 5th 2025 They came in different ways, but all spectacular. In China, a three mile … Read more