Oh no!

Sue! Ctrl+Z! Ctrl+Z!

I like to think that I've managed a cameo in FAS at a Council of Genres meeting, taking minutes, doodling on my notepad, wondering how these people managed to get elected and what sort of people voted for them. I'm not specifically mentioned in the text of course, but if you look closely you'll see me there in the background. I've just had a haircut, so you might not recognise me at first...

I did take heart from the JK Rowling documentary (Year in the Life) a few weeks ago when she mused about attending meetings now that she is the most important person at the table, as opposed to her previous attendance when she was supposed to be taking minutes but instead was writing ideas for stories.

Jazz Sue,

Keep up the good literary work. It is a pleasure to read and for me brings back memories.

I guess the Dark Lord of London referred to is Ken Livingston, former leftist leaning opponent of Maggot Hatcher? I thought he had been composted years ago.


I guess also that we in the antipodes had a better view of the London festivities that did you. It all gets shown on the box ad nauseum, as all the stations use a central news service so you get the same pictures and commentary on every station. Sometimes SBS will have someone with a funny voice do the commentary but not often.


It seems that things have deteriorated since the IRA bombing days. I was in London for the Queen's 25th jubilee and we had zillions of people trying to see the fireworks on the Thames. Don't remember seeing any in the sky, but fireworks we got because some fool put his thermos flask down by a bridge abutment and someone else saw it and raised a panicky alarm. Have you ever seen two hundred thousand people imitating sardines on a bridge suddenly create enough space for a clear 30 feet or so around said thermos flask. Police arrive off a launch and very gingerly pick up flask with appropriate implements (tongs, shields and a clean pair of undies) and pass it down to boat, then some twirp comes and asked what happened to his flask.

The list of charges they read out as they took him away would have done Lance Constable Carrot proud.

In Oz all the TV networks think that only Sydney celebrates the new year. I am so sick of seeing the Harbour bridge with sparklers on it that I refused to watch it this year. They probably did the same today (Australia Day) but I haven't turned the idiot box on except for the Tour Down Under. (If anyone sees an image of a white Subaru Forrester with a big 'Astana' sign on it that was us at McLaren Vale yesterday.)

They had something from the bridge and harbour generally recently and I couldn't help thinking how much it looked like Baghdad when the Septics were invading.

Keep up the good work, and everybody, if you've got a rant on, let yourselves go and let us all in on the subject.

Oh, and Happy Long Weekend Day to all the aussies!

New year has gone,
and Australia day too
next holiday at Easter
Oh what to do?

Tis the end of the weekend
in the house there's no strife
the daughter's gone crabbing
and taken the wife

With two other ladies
they've gone to the coast
to burn in the sun
like a chicken in roast

while I sit here naked
being a winner
The only flaw is
What's for dinner?

I don't eat seafood
and I'm sick of chips
so it's either pizza
or yiros to add to the hips.

the torments that have plagued
the existence of man
looks like toast and baked beans
right out of the can

So I'll pass these few days
without much cheer
until next Hogmanay
Sassenach New Year

Hmmm.... My rant of choice at the moment would be about the current administration of the country and the energy company with its monopoly.

But this is a ffamily fforum....

__________________________________
'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

Annie, you are not the only one who can count. Mrs. SkidMarks and I also refused 01/01/2000 as a millenium starter.

We just had two new millenium parties... one in 2000. and one in 2001.

Seemed to work out ok.

I don't see what the issue is--it's just an arbitrary year and day anyway. But 2000 was fun because we got to watch all the numbers of the year change, plus we got to party a year before all the serious people did. Then in 2001 we got to party again! Two excuses to party!

Besides, I'm a computer scientist--we start counting at 0, so for me, 2000 IS the new millenium.

Then, since you're a computer scientist Muse, I presume you began celebrating the millenium on January 0.

Yep! That's the day after December 30.

Why do you computer people always try to reinvent the wheel?

Shouldn't you be using Julian day numbering and bugger the reference to whichever culture in which you live? And, if using the current era count, also largest number down, ie, 2001-02-13 0251UT(approx)

While 2000 has clocked up in Christian era, what of the days lost with the switch to the Georgian calendar. And if you use the Muslim calendar it about 1100 or so, while in China its some other number but much larger and the the year doesn't start until 7 February. And the Hebrews have another number as their year. And the poms have (or had, when I was involved in accounting) their accounting year beginning on 4 April, as this was once the start of the new year. (And doesn't it bugger up the life of people with other accounting periods trying to get the accruals done for the tax purposes of English companies. Give me quantum mechanics any day. I don't understand the numbers in that either, but I never had to put my life on the line to certify that a particular particle was at some particuar point in time and belonged to some particular entity.

I am of the opinion that the calendars should all be restarted using the date that chocolate became available to the world wrapped in foil packets. So we are probabluy about year 120 or so.

Interesting idea. I'll help you write your proposal to the UN if you like.

And tell them we want those 10 days back as well.

Indeed. I want them. Can I have them before a major assignment or test please. Might as well have them useful.

__________________________________
'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

In the middle of the test would be even more helpful.

It would be better if we could split them up--five days before the assignment, five days during the test.

bunyip Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>Give me quantum mechanics any day.

> I am of the opinion that the calendars should all
> be restarted using the date that chocolate
> became available to the world wrapped in foil
> packets. So we are probably about year 120 or
> so.
-------------------------------------------------------
I'm with you- just gimme a quantum mechanical calendar made of chocolate & I'll be happy!


Seriously, folks are still arguing when the century started?

Look at it this way: the first year of your life is the year up until you turn 1, so...

<waits for the clever people to sort it out>

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Yes, you see, we count age properly, starting with 0!

So when we're 99, (having finished 99 of them) we're in our hundredth year. Therefore the recent millenium year may also have started on Jan 1, 1999.