Grumpy old man

So, it looks very much like Italy has a new PM. Mr Berlusconi has apparently been ousted from his position as the longest serving Italian PM since the last war. That's not saying much come to think of it. Mr Berlusconi's defeat is a defeat for flamboyant politics in favour of men in grey suits evidently.

There is almost nothing else in the news that is interesting me today. There seems to be a lot of fuss about this swan with bird flu that was found dead in Scotland. It's now been suggested that the animnal died outside Britain and got washed up on the Scottish coast by tides. Speaking as someone that got caught up in the middle of the SARS crisis a couple of years ago, I'd say this was a lot of fuss about nothing.

I think Abby's answer to the prison question was predictable. That doesn't mean it's wrong of course. I would like to see more statistics about American prisoners. Does having no positive role model really increase one's chances of getting into trouble? I think education is a factor. What I really want to know however is, does the fact that 0.7% of the population are in jail at any one time make the country a better place.

I've been trying to get my tax situation sorted out now that I am back in Britain. You'd think it would be a simple task. I'm back and I'm paying tax again. You'd think that would give them some indication to the tax office that I was in fact resident wouldn't you. Apparently not however. I have to fill in form P86. This form was written by a 6 year old with no grasp of simple grammar. Apparently it is important to provide information about how many days I have been in the country in the last 5 years. I haven't got a clue so I made it up. I could check my passport, but I really can't be bothered. My favourite question was "what are your future intentions?" Just that, no explanation, no hint as to what sort of answer is required. I just put "I have no idea how to answer this question". I did toy with the idea of providing a more colourful answer like, "I hope to win the Nobel prize for physics and drive a Ferarri one day".

I think I am turning into a grumpy old man. Everything seems to piss me off these days.