Under New Management

As of October 2007, the Apollonian Gasket is venting for a new master.

All change, and no change in a way, as I’d been coveting the name ever since I first saw it.

A lot of the non-personal stuff will be left in place, it’s the same sort of stuff I’d probably have included if I could be bothered, and I have better things to spend my spare time on, but I will send a broom through the places and sweep out anything particularly personal.

I’ll try and pick a new theme as well, just to mark the the change.

Now that I’ve got it, I’ll probably never use it!

(Fat Chance)

Remembrance depression

Remembrance Day and the Two Minute Silence have been observed since the end of the First World War, but today’s silence seemed to be sadder than before, as the world we live in today has changed in the past few years, and not for the better, or with any respect for those who gave so much in years gone by.

Without going into detail, the changes I have in mind are entirely Western/European in nature, and ongoing as the population sleepwalks into them.

Picture courtesy of The Royal British Legion.

Michael Schumacher - retired

While I’ve never been one of his followers (he’s been a shade too ruthless on occasion), his skills and abilities behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car have never been in question, and make it even more the pity that there are those negative memories of his progress as a multiple World Champion.

Nonetheless, it was a shame that fate chose not to leave him problem free on his final race, although it did provide him with an opportunity to plough through the field from last position to 4th, after his puncture.

Watching the closing stages of the Brazilian race, more than his retiral and forthcoming absence from the F1 circus, the thought that there’s not really anyone of similar interest sitting in the wings as it were, ready to take his place as someone to watch at the head of the field, and be a character in their own right, as he, and most of his predecessors have been.

Maybe next year will be a fresh start, and the next few years will see some interesting characters develop from the current field. I suppose I liked things the way the way a few years ago, when drivers seemed to be around for years, growing and maturing with the sport. Nowadays, they seem to come from nowhere, stay around for a few years, and vapourise if they don’t become world champion after a year or two. Maybe there should be an F1-Idol series. Let them audition in front of a few experts, and just award one the title and cash without the effort of building a career first (kidding).

It was interesting to see the news report that Pele was there for a break, having sadly lost his daughter to cancer a few days ago.

Wierdness…

Or just honest coincidence?

Suffering from frustration as a '10 minute' web page moved into its 7th hour, the lighter evening offered an hour's break with a walk to the nearby 24 hour super-shop, at least starting in the light even though it was 9 pm. Taking way longer than planned, even the self-service checkout decided it wasn't going to read the barcodes, and I had to get an operator to manually accept the items - this is usually a smooth operation that beats the staffed checkouts.

Anyway, now rather later than planned, I was about 10 minutes from home, and about to pass a guy that had been ahead of me for some time, stuck to the inevitable mobile phone. I wanted to hurry past as I was dressed up for the weather, but he was only wearing a sleeveless T-shirt (ok, plus trousers etc) and little things like that can signal nearby trouble.

However, I pulled up short when he called out my first name as I drew level with him. "Remember me"?

Er… um… (familiarity, but no name popping up).

"Kenny".

Yup, that was enough. We'd been at school together, not particular friends, but knew each other well enough. Turns out he was waiting for a lift, hence the lack of jacket.

We were also both 'between jobs' now. He'd gone into the motor trade and ended up managing a BMW dealership, but had walked away recently as "70+ hours a week wasn't on" when it became the norm, rather than the exception. Now he's training to be a driving instructor, and plans to be self-employed. I'm told it's a good number if you can make it work.

Geez. I can barely recognise folk I've just met, let alone years later! Still, might be a good sign if it means I don't look as decrepit as I feel

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