New writings

Tomorrow I hope to be able to post up the latest part of Dimpler Towers somwhat later than intended.

For the first time, I have run this past someone for comments ahead of publishing - in this case ellefurtle, who has made a number of useful suggestions, not least concerning sentence length! So while what you will see is all my own work, it's not the first iteration by a long chalk.

In the meantime, I am looking for a new name for the village: we're not sure that Little-Whittering-in-the-Stubble really works, though I have left it that for now. I am having difficulty in coming up with a fictional village name that sounds plausible but odd; the moreso because there are many real village names in England that just sound odd.

Any suggestions?

Edited to add: Typo there - it's Little-Whittering-in-the Stubble, which I have now corrected.

New writings

Tomorrow I hope to be able to post up the latest part of Dimpler Towers somwhat later than intended.

For the first time, I have run this past someone for comments ahead of publishing - in this case ellefurtle, who has made a number of useful suggestions, not least concerning sentence length! So while what you will see is all my own work, it's not the first iteration by a long chalk.

In the meantime, I am looking for a new name for the village: we're not sure that Little-Whittering-in-the-Stubble really works, though I have left it that for now. I am having difficulty in coming up with a fictional village name that sounds plausible but odd; the moreso because there are many real village names in England that just sound odd.

Any suggestions?

Edited to add: Typo there - it's Little-Whittering-in-the Stubble, which I have now corrected.

License to Kill (II)

A few days ago, I wrote an entry about the decline of the tiger in the wild and the effects of poaching on the remaining numbers. This was in response to an article in the Times concerning China's decision to legalise the trade in tiger products.

It's the sort of thing that gets conservationists up in arms: the potential extinction of a species, particularly when then agent of that extinction is man.

A friend of mine in the US pointed me at this article in the New York Times, published three years ago, in August 2006.

China joined the international effort to protect the tiger in 1993. But today there is a growing recognition among many Chinese officials that a policy of prohibition and trade restrictions has not benefited the tiger as much as it has helped poachers and smugglers of tigers and tiger parts.

It's an interesting approach, and before anyone raises the objection "but the tiger will be extinct in the wild!" this is actually the case with lots of common species. Bos primigenius has been extinct in the wild since 1627, but there are plenty of cows around...

It depends upon what we want, really, doesn't it? Is it enough for tigers to survive as a species, but in captivity only, or do we as a species withdraw from those areas and let them roam free? If so, how do we enforce it - shopuld we enforce it and what do we do with the human population affected by all this?

License to Kill (II)

A few days ago, I wrote an entry about the decline of the tiger in the wild and the effects of poaching on the remaining numbers. This was in response to an article in the Times concerning China's decision to legalise the trade in tiger products.

It's the sort of thing that gets conservationists up in arms: the potential extinction of a species, particularly when then agent of that extinction is man.

A friend of mine in the US pointed me at this article in the New York Times, published three years ago, in August 2006.

China joined the international effort to protect the tiger in 1993. But today there is a growing recognition among many Chinese officials that a policy of prohibition and trade restrictions has not benefited the tiger as much as it has helped poachers and smugglers of tigers and tiger parts.

It's an interesting approach, and before anyone raises the objection "but the tiger will be extinct in the wild!" this is actually the case with lots of common species. Bos primigenius has been extinct in the wild since 1627, but there are plenty of cows around...

It depends upon what we want, really, doesn't it? Is it enough for tigers to survive as a species, but in captivity only, or do we as a species withdraw from those areas and let them roam free? If so, how do we enforce it - shopuld we enforce it and what do we do with the human population affected by all this?

Round down

Last night was supposed to be games night as usual, but I was so tired that I left the office at 4.30, got home about 5.40, looked at my PC and flopped on the bed to read. Then it was 8.15 all of a sudden. I was worried that a couple of hours’ impromptu kip might give me insomnia later in the evening, but it doesn’t appear to have done, though I think I did wake up a couple of times.

Clearly the trip to Bristol on Saturday took rather more out of me than I thought – not that I often underestimate the effects of rising at 5.30am, you understand.

Today I am far more awake than yesterday, so I am hopeful that I am back on an even keel, or at least as even as I ever get, so that’s good. The only problem today, and this has been happening on and off for the past two or three days, is that my shins keep itching; particularly the left shin. My lower legs are very dry, so it rubbed the lotion in its skin and that seems to have helped a bit. I should get into the habit of doing that more often, especially in shorts-wearing weather. It is unbecoming wandering around with lower legs that look like some kind of alligator experiment.

I shall now have more coffee and fret over the lack of comments my creative writing attracts.

Round down

Last night was supposed to be games night as usual, but I was so tired that I left the office at 4.30, got home about 5.40, looked at my PC and flopped on the bed to read. Then it was 8.15 all of a sudden. I was worried that a couple of hours’ impromptu kip might give me insomnia later in the evening, but it doesn’t appear to have done, though I think I did wake up a couple of times.

Clearly the trip to Bristol on Saturday took rather more out of me than I thought – not that I often underestimate the effects of rising at 5.30am, you understand.

Today I am far more awake than yesterday, so I am hopeful that I am back on an even keel, or at least as even as I ever get, so that’s good. The only problem today, and this has been happening on and off for the past two or three days, is that my shins keep itching; particularly the left shin. My lower legs are very dry, so it rubbed the lotion in its skin and that seems to have helped a bit. I should get into the habit of doing that more often, especially in shorts-wearing weather. It is unbecoming wandering around with lower legs that look like some kind of alligator experiment.

I shall now have more coffee and fret over the lack of comments my creative writing attracts.