Angry Logic - 1

What is the point of giving you a life jacket in a plane?

Okay if you're flying across the Atlantic but the do it on internal flights in the UK. I'd rather have a parachute or a big bouncy bit of rubber. What are they going to do?
'Oh I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen we are about to drop out of the sky with all the grace and aerodynamics of a house brick'

And what about the trolley-dollies? I would rather they were trained pilots for the unlikely event the obese, balding, should be retired, don't care if I live or die but my smile is painted on, alcoholic in charge of the plane, has a heart attack at the helm. I don't know if I actually cheated death in the same way as the Final Destination movies but I've been close enough to make the reaper pay attention.

Here is just one example of that with an extract from A Different Class.........

The boys realised it wasn't a prank and raced off to the nearest house. Joel kept trying to stand up, unsuccessfully. Then he hit on an idea. He closed his eyes and stood up perfectly. When he opened them again he fell flat on his face. A man came and looked at Joel whose eyes were rolling about in his head.
"Keep him sitting up, I'll get my car" the man said and dashed off.

Joel was put in the car and driven to hospital. He remembered being put in a wheelchair outside the hospital but as the doors opened there was a blinding white flash, then it all went dark. Dying is a strange experience, almost euphoric in Joel's case. But he never had the problem of pain or trauma when he crossed that invisible threshold between worlds. It seemed the harder Joel hit his head the less it hurt. Joel just felt pleasantly dizzy when it all went black.

'Am I dead?' Joel wondered, quite untroubled by the thought.
"Quick, he's not breathing"
"Pulse?"
'I can't be dead yet I can still hear people'

It didn't occur to Joel to try and open his eyes. He was aware of a pressure on his chest but couldn't feel it. A doctor was administering cpr.
'I'm not there anymore' Joel sang to himself, silently teasing the doctor.

There was a sudden surge and Joel was up in the corner of the room looking down on himself. There was a flurry of activity around the boy on the table. The fascination was brief as Joel became aware of changes. It was like he didn't have a body.
'Am I just a brain? I can feel my face, my cheeks and my smile... perhaps I'm just a face'

The door opened and without a thought he swished down from the ceiling and through the gap just before the door swung shut. The motion was swift and fluid, a curious white shadow followed like the tail of a comet. Through one door, then another, and another. The outside door opened and Joel was out of the hospital in a flash. Joel soared up to roof-top height and down the darkened street. It was night time and the streetlamps shone brightly just a few feet below him. Glaringly so. Recognising the street, Joel wanted to see his house.

Time seemed not to exist or he moved at incredible speed, the three mile journey from the hospital took just seconds. The house was in darkness and he hovered at his bedroom window height. Suddenly unsure, Joel hesitated. Something behind him attracted his attention. It wasn't a noise or a light, it was a sensory thing, an instinct. Joel turned as if looking back over his shoulder had he a body and then he was back in the hospital.
"He's back" a doctor declared triumphantly.
'That's odd' Joel thought as he looked down on himself again, then it went black once more.

It felt no more than a blink but when Joel opened his eyes his father was sat next to the hospital bed looking relieved.
'That was one hell of a dream' Joel thought.

When Joel was told he was in a coma for three days and had actually died at one point, he began to wonder if indeed it was a dream. One thing about nearly dying is the change in attitude of a person. There is a tendency to live for the day. Death is no longer a concern, it holds no mystery anymore. Joel saw the smile on his father's face but it didn't reach his eyes, he looked unshaven and haggard. Worry lines were etched all over the man's face.
"Is my bike okay?" Joel asked and for a split second thought his father about to explode.

It was many years later after the death of his father, Joel's mother told the story. Joel's father blamed himself for the accident. He mistakenly thought Joel's angry mood over his chores may have contributed to an error of judgement. He also cursed himself for buying the bicycle in the first place. It upset Joel to learn how for years his father lived with that guilt and it was all unnecessary. Joel's mood changed the instant the door was closed and behaved no differently than he would otherwise have done. As for the bike he would have borrowed one, or been sat on the handle bars of another. Joel would have gladly told his father the truth had he known how he felt.

Music? - 1

I am a single dad with three morons. To be fair one of the morons is not the fruit of my loins. To be honest he is probably the best of a bad bunch. I suppose in the currentclimate I should be grateful. My tossers aren't that bad.... not that good, but not that bad! One of the problems I have with them is the very same my father had with me.

It's a shame he isn't alive today to hear the assault on the eardrums I have to endure. Every Monday I will allow the three morons to pick a music vid they like and I will pick a fourth, First my eldest boy, the geek. Known for dumping the best girlfriend / prospective wife known to man because ahe 'interefered with his computer time'. In some ways I should be glad because the youngest has other interests.

Then of course there is the lodger. The best friend of my youngest and just as confusing as my own spawn. He shares a room with my youngest and although undiagnosed I think he has OCD. My boys are untidy at best and I know I was the same. I thought it was a boy thing. Perhaps it is because the lad is more ballet than rugby. Many people worry or wonder about if their son will turn out gay but it is stupid. I can see in this lad a lot to make a parent proud.

So here we go starting with Hugh who likes quite a range of music. I did manage to influence him a little but some of the stuff he likes hurts.


Okay now this is one of my youngest's favourites.....


So it was all down to Ben and I wondered what assault on the eardrums he would choose. This is what he picked....


Strange boy Ben. So what is my usual response on this injustice on a Sunday morning?



I rest my case!

Monday Musing

Starting this blog in midweek makes for a short review. The earlier events of the week gave examples of how an increasing number of teens today are out of control. It was mentioned about the three Liverpool youths who kicked a man to death and how the mother of two of the boys now had all of her sons behind bars for murder.

Of course these events paled when the Boston marathon bombers hit the headlines. This also involved two brothers the youngest of which a 19 year old. The boys uncle was on the news condemning them but I have since heard reports the mother says they were 'set up'. I fail to see how any innocent person can get into a gun battle with police, but that is not the issue here.

The mother of the Liverpool teens was sentenced to just 30 months for providing the boys with a false alibi. My second book The Other Side of the Fence is set in an area not dissimilar to the one the Liverpool lads come from and I have seen first hand this siege mentality. Parents refuse to take responsibility for their young who are borderline cases of neglect, but as soon as they are in trouble the parent(s) - usually a single parent - will defend their offspring no matter what they have done.

Below is an article I wrote last year about knife-crime and the lack of discipline in kids today.....

It has long been my belief that a 'clip round the ear' was sufficient deterrent to at least make kids consider the consequences of their actions. It is illegal to physically discipline a child in the UK today. I can't help feel this has had adverse effects on society in general. Even the village 'Bobby' was liable to administer such a chastisement in days gone by. Now kids have nothing to fear. Could it be as a result of this that teens today are so in fear of physical harm (more from their peers than any other source), that they have taken to carrying weapons.

Have we bred a generation of cowards because the bleeding hearts scream 'abuse' if they see a child get a smacked bum? I don't condone beating children because of what I endured and perhaps it has been the excesses of the past which has led to this swing to the other extreme, but certain errant behaviour requires a 'short, sharp, shock' and I don't believe a slapped bottom can be classified as child abuse.

I know as a child I learnt to take care of myself and in many ways it was because of my father. He instilled such fear in me that adversity of any other kind paled into insignificance. Today there is no respect for teachers, the police, or the older generation. I'm not saying fear is the way to deal with things, but there has to be middle ground.

One day my two girls came in to the house having been chased by a bunch of girls of a similar age. When I was that age the approach of an adult would automatically cause a cessation of any unruly behaviour, but I was met with 'What're you going to f*****g do?'

My reply took them by surprise, but had the desired effect.
'I will tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to go round to your house and hit your dad on the chin. Then I'm going to tell him exactly why I did it'.

The girls muttered under their breath as they went away. They never troubled my girls again.

One in 10 teenagers in knife crime "hotspots" targeted by the government say they still have to carry a weapon to feel safe, a Newsbeat poll shows.

More than half of the people questioned said they are worried about other teens carrying a knife when they go out.

Fifty-three per cent surveyed said the government would not be able to reduce teen violence over the coming months.

The survey questioned 500 people aged 13 to 19 in five of those hotspots - London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Thames Valley.

A quarter of the teenagers surveyed said they knew someone who had been stabbed

The majority said young people carry a knife not to commit a crime but for protection or respect from their friends. Two thirds of all under-18s asked said it was either 'very easy' or 'fairly easy' to buy a knife. The government has raised the age limit to buy a knife from 16 to 18 and asked the Trading Standards Institute to crack down on underage sales in hotspot areas.

When asked to name the "most effective" way of reducing knife crime, 30% of young people in hotspot areas said they wanted to see tougher sentences for carrying a weapon.

The latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show 6% of under-18s caught with a knife were sent straight to jail in the first three months of the year, up fractionally on the same period in 2008.

What counts as knife crime?

'Knife crime’ is an expression that covers any crime that involves a knife.

• carrying a knife or trying to buy one if you’re under 18
• threatening people with a knife
• carrying a knife that is banned
• a murder where the victim was stabbed with a knife
• a robbery or burglary where the thieves carried a knife as a weapon

Carrying a knife

Crimes involving knives still make up a small percentage of the total crimes committed every year in the UK, but there have been a lot of stories in the news recently where teenagers have been injured or killed by someone using a knife as a weapon.

Some people say that they carry a knife to protect themselves or make themselves feel safer, even though they would never think of using it. But did you know that you’re actually more likely to become a victim of crime if you’re carrying a knife? It could even be used to harm you by someone else.

Of course the other thing in the news was football and the behaviour of Newcastle and Millwall 'fans'. They were hardly shining examples to our youth and their thuggery shamed their clubs. It was easy to have ago at brawling fans attacking police and condemn them as bad examples but what of the overpaid idols looked up to by so many youngsters? How many young Liverpool fans for instance have the name Suarez on their replica shirts. If there is one it is one too many!

The Uruguayan's disgusting display calls into question his sanity. During the course of the game Suarez lost the ball and promptly BIT the opposing player. Nor was it the first time. Suarez was banned for seven games by the Dutch FA when playing for Ajax and doing the same to another opponent. It turned out to be the last game he ever played for Ajax. I wonder how the English FA and Liverpool Football Club will deal with him.

For the answers to yesterday's puzzles and a review of the weekend's football click on 'read more>' below

Skywatch - Introduction

Star Charts

 

The oldest star chart known may be a carved ivory Mammoth tusk that was discovered in Germany in 1979. This artifact is 32,500 years old and has a carving that resembles the constellation Orion.

 

A drawing on the wall of the Lascaux caves in France has a graphical representation of the Pleiades open cluster of stars. This is dated to 33,000 to 10,000 years ago. Researcher Michael A. Rappenglueck has suggested that a panel in the same caves depicting a charging bison, a man with a bird's head and the head of a bird on top of a piece of wood, together may depict the summer triangle, which at the time was a circumpolar formation. Another star chart panel, created more than 21,000 years ago, was found in the La Tête du Lion grotto. The bovine in this panel may represent the constellation Taurus, with a pattern representing the Pleiades located just above it.

 

The Farnese Atlas is a Roman statue depicting the Titan Atlas holding the celestial sphere on his shoulder. It is the oldest surviving depiction of the ancient Greek constellations, and includes grid circles that provide coordinate positions. Because of precession, the positions of the constellations slowly change over time. By comparing the positions of the 41 constellations against the grid circles, an accurate determination can be made of the epoch when the original observations were performed. Based upon this information, the constellations were catalogued at 125 ± 55 BC. This evidence indicates that the star catalogue of the Greek astronomer Hipparchus was used.

There are endless things to be seen with the naked eye. Obviously there is the Moon, with clearly visible craters and an occasional lunar eclipse where it passes through the Earth's shadow. The five nearest planets are visible to the naked eye. Then there are the meteor showers, man made satellites, and of course you can familiarise yourself with the various constellations.

First you need to let your eyes adapt. This can take 15-20 minutes and avoid looking at lights. Wear warm clothing and cover your head in winter (beware of insects and bugs in summer). A flask of tea or coffee and some dried fruit or nuts are also welcome as is an adjustable reclining garden chair.

For those of you with binoculars other possibilities arise. Binoculars are, in certain aspects of sky watching, the best instrument of all to use. For less money than you would pay for a poor quality small telescope, you can buy a well made pair of binoculars with quality optics that will last a life time. Through binoculars you will be able to see the craters on the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, and 5-10 times the amount of stars you can see with the naked eye. If you consider purchasing binoculars in the future here's what to look out for.

Prisms are used in binoculars so what you see is the right way round otherwise things would appear upside down and switched left to right. There are two main variations of prisms.

The porro prism is the simplest and most commonly used. The roof prism is significantly lighter, more compact and more expensive. The performance of the binoculars depends on the size of the lenses at the front of the binoculars. Combination of eye pieces and lens have a wide range of possibilities.

A pair 7 x 50 which always uses the porro prism design is recommended. The 7 refers to the magnification and the 50 to the diameter of the lens. While 10 x 50 and 8 x 40 are also okay for use they don't match the light available so well. Binoculars with 80mm lenses are available but they are heavy and you would need a tripod.

A lot of the cheaper binoculars are useless. Unless the two optical paths are exactly alined you will see slightly different images with each eye. To test the alignment get a friend to cover one lens with a book as you look at a distant object. Keep both eyes open then get them to take the book away quickly. If you see two images just before your brain merges them into one the binoculars are out of alignment.

Now you're ready!

Ken's Sunday Salad

Hi, Ken U. Dewitt here with a selection of challenges, trivia, and something to listen to. Answers to puzzles are posted in tomorrow's weekend review.

So let's sharpen you up with the age old question 'what is heaviest an ounce of gold or an ounce of feathers?' I suppose many of you will think you know but do you really know?

Below is my own version of sudoku. Just fill in the missing colours making sure lines and blocks of nine do not contain the same colour twice.

Rock Moments