Rainy sunday

Dear George,

I hope you've had a nice weekend mate.  It is 14*C outside and very, very wet.  The price of a first class stamp is 46p.

So before i tell you what has occurred to me this damp weekend i'll give you a few of the latest headlines minus all the ones about murders and rapes:

• More than 5,000 people attended London's 'Slutwalk' march - part of a phenomenon against the culture of blaming women for being sexually harrassed.
• More strikes have been announced on the London Underground in a row over a staff member who was sacked
• The Basketball Arena, becomes the fourth venue to be finished at the Olympic Park in London
• Bruce Forsyth receives a well-deserved Knighthood

There's not a lot else i think will cause you any kind of longing to be back home. Except maybe the story of the bloke who made sandals for his duck.  I did however find out that classic horror movie star/legend, Boris Karloff lived (albeit for a short period) down the road from me in Honour Oak Park.  There's one of those blue plaques up on the house so i'll have to go take a picture for the blog.

This week also saw the third and final episode of Adam Curtis' documentary 'All watched over by machines of loving grace'.  I think you would have really enjoyed the whole thing and if anyone else is reading this go watch it now...it'll be on BBC iplayer for a bit and then I'm sure you can stream it for free somewhere.  The gist of the whole series has been the impact of computers on society.  First episode looked at how economists thought that using computers would regulate the markets, minimise financial collapse and monitor investments...it didn't work.  Second episode looked at how ecologists tried using computers to predict behaviour because some believed that nature always balanced things out...it didn't work.  The third episode looked at how the consumer boom in electrical goods and consequential land grabbing there has been in the countries where the minerals to make the goods are.  It also disuses genes and concludes that machines can't be like humans and humans have become computers, pre-programmed through our genes.  I've not done it justice but all i can say is that it is fascinating and a real joy to watch.

I'll sign off now my friend.  I have to feed my stick insects...yes that's right i have stick insects, but that is another story...

Take care buddy,
Yours,
Little Dave