Prophets of Doom

Why have the prophets of doom adopted global warming as their current battle cry? When I was a child, it was nuclear power. We were all going to die because we were using nuclear reactors. Then in my teens it was AIDS. The population was doomed to dwindle away to nothing because AIDS was going to rip through the heterosexual population like a plague of locusts. Then there was the hole in the ozone layer. We were all going to die of skin cancer in the 90s. Now, as I approach my fortieth birthday it's global warming.

What really gets me about all these issues is that the storms are always whipped up by the uninformed. Yet somehow they always seem to take hold. Currently it's Al Gore leading the crusade against global warming. And I'm reading in the press this morning that Sir Nicholas Stern, economist, yes ECONOMIST, is predicting a 20% shrinkage in the global economy, 100 million people displaced by floods, and 40% of species becoming extinct. This man is not qualified to preach about scientific matters! What he knows about environmental science could be written on a gnat's arse with a fat crayon! And Al Gore is a washed up politician trying to kick start his career. Why do these people have any credibility? If Stern can show me where he gets his figures from, I'll start listening to him. Until then, I just wish he'd shut up.

Today started pretty badly. The train was late. I just missed the bus from the station to the office, and when I did arrive, the coffee machine was out of beans. However, the coffee machine bean hopper has now been replenished by the coffee gnome, and things are looking up. I was also given a permanent office pass this morning, which makes me think I'm probably not going to get fired this week. I haven't actually tried to open a door with it yet come to think of it.

The weekend was nothing special. We bought a huge pumpkin and made a lantern on Saturday.This year we carved two faces; a happy one on the front and an angry one on the back. Dumpy really didn't know what to make of it. No one has yet knocked on the door begging for sweets, but halloween arrives tomorrow. I don't mind the little ones coming round. I think teenagers are too old for trick or treating.

We did a bit more driving practice on real, public roads yesterday and the dragon is gaining confidence. She actually drove home from the park without incident.

I got hold of a copy of the new Richard Dawkins book, The God Delusion, this weekend. I'm about two chapters in. I don't like Dawkins' writing style, but the man speaks soothe, and it is essential reading. I found out he is married to Lalla Ward. This will mean nothing to the majority of people, but Lalla Ward was an assistant of Dr Who, some 20 years ago. She married Tom Baker for a very short time. She met Dawkins at Dougals Adams' (Hitchhikers' Guide) 40th birthday party. Who'd have thougth it?