Wednesday 29 October 2014

Half-Welsh?

Today - give or take a day or two - I will have lived in Wales for half of my life. By a calculation I did sometime ago - and which I have now lost - that's a total of 10867 days. I don't know if that makes me 'half-Welsh' or not but while I don't mind being considered a Londoner since I was born there, I'm not particularly keen on being considered 'English'. I don't hold to the values or attitudes that characterise the typically 'English'. If I could be naturalised, I'd happily become Welsh.

(NB So that I wouldn't lose the note I'd made about this and so forget, I wrote and scheduled this post to appear today on Wednesday, 13th July 2011. Over three years ago! I wonder what has happened between then and now?)


Thursday 23 October 2014

Tracks on Mars

Like others, I am getting used to pictures from the robotic explorers Spirit and Opportunity as they explore Mars. I was very struck though by this picture when I first saw it on Astronomy Picture of the Day.

I think I am struck because of seeing something that is so mundane in an Earthly context - wheel tracks - left on the pristine Martian surface. Sometimes the mundane becomes fascinating when it is encountered out of its usual context. (By now the Martian winds will have erased these tracks.)


Friday 17 October 2014

Door? What door?

This picture was taken at work a couple of years ago. There is a glass door here and people did walk into it without seeing it. The things stuck to it were very much an afterthought. (How a door can be 'automatic' if one must press a button to open it is puzzling.)



Saturday 11 October 2014

Barcode - 17

A micro QR code saying Marginalia55.