That's us on the right.

That's us on the right.

Any thoughts on where things are now and where they might go?

Friend in Ireland just told me the price of heating oil had jumped 40% overnight. Price of wholesale gas went up 20% too. I would expect electricity and gas prices to go up quite a bit .

From 1974 by George Orwell. Updated for 2026.

In 2025 forty years ago was 1985.
In 1985 forty years ago was 1945.

We are now as far away in time from 1985 as we were from WW2 in 1985.

Here is a brief excerpt from the Arcturus concert showcasing Mark Shreeve's incredible live sequencing skills. Performed in 2004 this album is currently a free to download/name your price album on the dinrecords Bandcamp store. This gig was such a blast & great to have the big modulars out on stage.

The Story of Capital For decades, David Harvey has been teaching Marx's work, particularly Capital, to great acclaim. He has analysed chapter by chapter - sometimes line-by-line - Marx's three volumes and the Grundrisse. ...

the implications of Trump’s playing with tariffs. His book is for everyone who wants to really understand the mess we are in, which means – it is for everyone.” [3/3]

www.versobooks.com/products/337...

Over 1000 years of playing experience in the band today.

The Internet started off so well. Then we decided to put most of the data on three hosting services and then limit access to it through a single gateway - Cloudflare.

happy cloudflare outage day to all who celebrate

Single point of failure.

Hopefully! He is pretty sensible. I suspect he will end up back in road policing eventually as that is what he did over here. He has to do two years I think before he can move to a specialism.

My eldest son was sworn in as a police officer in Australia today. One of 800 Scottish police officers being recruited by Australia. I'm not sure how Police Scotland can cope with this level of experience loss. They are all 5-15 years service, and fully trained at no cost to Australia.

Some of my weekend radio activity. Contact with the USA on my indoor antenna.

This Simple Indoor HF Antenna got me 102 Countries in a Year. YouTube video by Ham Radio Essentials

This Simple Indoor HF Antenna got me 102 Countries in a Year.
#hamradio #hamradio

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEC-...

The Lark in the Clear Air - Tin Whistle YouTube video by Gordon Hudson

The Lark in the Clear Air

youtu.be/6wGPFDXH6As?...

Who should get a COVID-19 vaccine Find out about COVID-19 vaccination in Ireland, including who should get it, where to get it, which vaccine is used and how long it takes to work.

Ireland is stil vaccinating everybody over the age of 60: www2.hse.ie/screening-an...

Is this a variation on "an area the size of Wales"? We now have the fractional Cardiff.

That time my Ham Radio Station was raided by the DTi YouTube video by Ham Radio Essentials

That time my Ham Radio Station was raided by the DTi
#hamr #hamradio

www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-4u...

There is a lot of this going on on LinkedIn:

How I got into Amateur Radio - with no money - as a teenager in the early 1980s. YouTube video by Ham Radio Essentials

I made a video about how I got started in Amateur Radio as a kid in the late 70s and early 80s.
It might be of interest as a bit of nostalgia for us old folk.
Younger people will be shocked by some of the equipment prices.
#hamr #hamradio

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzg_...

High winds = more free electricity today. Over the past two months I've only had to pay for one quarter charge of my car.

I have reached that age where I have to schedule "hospital appointments" into my diary.

One of the HMRC tests of self employment is your ability to send another person to carry out the work you are contracted for. That person doesn't have to produce any ID. Close that loophole and the delivery driver issue vanishes overnight. You don't need ID cards to do it.

This morning's badger damage!

More free electricity tomorrow. I missed yesterday's because I was out in the car. Damn.

Mine has come down over the past two years. In fact 7 years ago I was paying £250 per month, then after energy efficiency it dropped to £150, then rose steadily to £240, but its dropped back to £150.

More free electricity tomorrow. Renewables running at over 100%. I've had a month of free driving.