The Changeling
I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about the 1962 Foot And Mouth outbreak, and its effect on my father; wondering to what extent his psychiatric crisis affected mine, and mine, his.
(My father wes then the Ministry of Agriculture's Regional Controller for the North of England; among his responsibilities was deciding which herds were condemned. He insisted on visiting every affected farm, talking to every vet and every farmer. He didn't have to do that. It's because of him that we now know that the disease can be carried on the tyres of cars — specifically our car. He carried the disease from farm to farm with him, infecting farms which had not previously been infected).
About taxing the car
This is an account of my descent into yet another psyciatric crisis this weekend. It's a bit confusing, mainly because my memory is so scrambled I can't be clear about the order of events; and, of course, it isn't really of interest to anyone else. But writing it down at least lets me get it out. Like talking to a psychiatrist who isn't there, and doesn't answer. Because that's how it is.
Taxing the car
Brexit: selfishness, short-termism, rent seeking, and hereditary privilege
Brexit: We got into this mess because some Conservatives couldn't cope with the fact that we weren't the top power in Europe: because, while we won almost all of the votes Europe ever had, it wasn't quite totally all. They couldn't cope with the fact that Germany was more influential than us — because Germany outperforms us at manufacturing, finance, exports, and, critically, diplomacy.
After Brexit, Germany will still outperform us at manufacturing, finance, exports, and, critically, diplomacy — and Germany will be part of the most powerful trading block in the world while we will have NO FRIENDS AT ALL.
Kickstarting a hydrogen economy
Battering batteries
There's a lot of interest in battery electric vehicles at present; they're popularly viewed as the future of transport. But there are several problems with the widespread adoption of battery electric vehicles.
We'll not go
We’ll not go; we’ll not send back nae letters fae onywhaur -
The ships of migration can ruist on the Clyde.
We’ll not go, we will ficht here, we’ll staun or be buried here,
Lik the floors o the forest on the Broomielaw’s side
Enclosure nae mair,
Eviction nae mair,
Clearance nae mair,
Lairdship nae mair