Monthly Archives: May 2019

Eurovision – 2019

The Eurovision Song Contest is a uniquely weird annual event that has been going since 1956. Nowhere else would you see such a wired mix of costumes, peoples, and strange presenters. It might be unfair of me to say this but sometimes in seeing the presenters the phrase: ‘Where do they find these people?’ Comes to mind. If you have watched the show you will know what I mean. Then it comes to the spokesperson for the voting. All these people have to do is to read out three numbers – with them all I can think of is: ‘Don’t bury yourself in the part!’

…and the winner is.

The winner was The Netherlands. In my family we have the tradition of eating the food of the host country. So next year it will be edam and gouda. Those being the only dutch foods that come to mind – other than the chocolate sprinkles they have for breakfast.

This was my favourite.

This song from Denmark was nice and simplistic. While I am not completely sure about the ladders it was a good performance and, as an aside, being able to sing while climbing a ladder is quite impressive to me.

I voted for this one too.

This entry from Australia was interesting too. Such a wonderful unique idea for the staging. All it all it was a good year. I enjoyed most of the songs and the UK entry certainly didn’t deserve to have so few points.

I actually rather liked it.

Perhaps the weirdest thing about this contest is that despite it having representatives from so many countries there are always a few that are in contention for the victory. I am surprised at this degree of agreement on what is a good song. I would expect the votes to be a bit more spread out. Still it was a very enjoyable yeah and I will be watching again next year.

I just wanted to say that I have checked this post. I really have. Unfortunately my particular combination of dyslexia and dyspraxia makes it really hard for me to spot typos. Please enjoy and I’ll try not to make too many errors.  

I have a Patreon page. I hope you will consider supporting this blog: https://www.patreon.com/unstableorbit

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Tabs and Boredom

When was the last time you had nothing to do?

Marcus Cole (Babylon 5: Voices of Authority )

On my computer I typically have far too many tabs open. Recently it was 22. So why so many?

Fascinating.

Mr Spock (Star Trek: The Original Series: – Various.)

Well the reason is obvious. I like to overload my processor and see how long it takes my computer, Majel, to go bang!

Truly you have a dizzying intellect.

Westley (The Princess Bride)

Actually the reason is because of all the stuff I seem to find myself interested in. This post has been in draft for a long time so it is finally time to start to use it. I have been posting a lot on Quora so I have tabs from that here is one of them. I cleared this a while ago but who is counting?

Question the First: What are your 10 favorite Star Trek: Next Generation/ Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes?

TNG (In no particular order)
1) The Best of Both Worlds
2) Darmok
3) Yesterday’s Enterprise
4) Measure of a Man
5) The Drumhead
6) All Good Things
7) Ensigns of Command
8) The Defector
9) The Inner Light
10) The Pegasus

DS9 (In no particular order)
1) Duet
2) The Way of the Warrior
3) Far Beyond the Stars
4) Triles and Tribulations
5) What you Leave Behind
6) A Call to Arms
7) The Jem’ha’da
8) Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang
9) The Visitor
10) In the Pale Moonlight.

The More things change the more they stay the same.

Quark (DS9: What You Leave Behind)
If you like Star Trek you should check this out.

I watch a lot of YouTube and this is one of the best.

I really need to actually travel and not just watch these great vlogs.

When I was young I remember my dad telling me that boredom was a luxury. At the time I thought he was mad. Now I know better. I don’t think I have experienced boredom in a very long time. Sometimes the things I need to do are dull but that is not the same as having nothing to do. There is always something to do as an adult. Even if it is just the laundry that is overflowing from the laundry tub.

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

I just wanted to say that I have checked this post. I really have. Unfortunately my particular combination of dyslexia and dyspraxia makes it really hard for me to spot typos. Please enjoy and I’ll try not to make too many errors.  

I have a Patreon page. I hope you will consider supporting this blog: https://www.patreon.com/unstableorbit

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Sleep

Photo by Christian Domingues from Pexels

Isn’t sleep a weird thing? To be a healthy and effective being it is required that we spend a third of our day unconscious. I say a third but how many of us truly get that amount?

Another question could be do you sleep?

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with sleep. I would like to get more of it but that would mean not doing something else. For some reason my brain only decides it is bed time at around midnight.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-moon-in-the-sky-254408/

It is also important to not use electronic devices before bed. The light from a mobile phone can badly effect a person’s ability to sleep. This too is not easy and I am sure almost everyone reading this feels the same. In fact you might even be reading this now when you should be trying to sleep.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-moon-in-the-sky-254408/

I think the midnight thing is the same as the human attitude to almost any problem. We do not deal with a problem until it is upon us. Like the problem of climate change – changes could have been being made for the last twenty years – maybe longer – we didn’t – so now we are running around like crazy trying to stop the end of the world. And so my body only thinks it is in desperate need of sleep now that it is tomorrow.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/photograph-of-a-burning-fire-672636/

So after having successfully linked lack of sleep to the end of the world it is time to conclude this post. A couple of years back I had a friend in America and we spoke often online. She was so sweet though that she kept an eye on what time it was for me and when 2300 came around she refused to talk to me any more – and you know what? I did actually go to bed.

Photo by Tracy Le Blanc from Pexels

I miss her – and not just because of that sweetness. Talking to her meant I was focused on one person rather than on the endless void of social media. I think the main reason I go to bed so late is loneliness. I think if I wasn’t living alone then I would talk to that other person instead – and we would both be aware of the time. While conversations might go on into the night it would be far more full filling than the time spent on YouTube or Facebook.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/adorable-animal-animal-world-cat-209037/

Even as I right this (It is Saturday) I know that I will not be getting enough sleep tonight. At least this time I have the excuse of being on a late shift at work.

I just wanted to say that I have checked this post. I really have. Unfortunately my particular combination of dyslexia and dyspraxia makes it really hard for me to spot typos. Please enjoy and I’ll try not to make too many errors.  

I have a Patreon page. I hope you will consider supporting this blog: https://www.patreon.com/unstableorbit

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Do Less to do More

https://www.pexels.com/photo/clear-glass-with-red-sand-grainer-39396/

I had a week off a few weeks back. I had leave to take rather than going anywhere. I really should have gone somewhere – that is a different story of me having the planning capabilities of a gnat. Instead I was following my ridiculously detailed to-do list. I made a useful discovery though. I am trying to do more things than I have time for. In short my list would only work if the days were longer than 24 hours. I am moving to Bajor!

Photo by Skitterphoto from Pexels

I have spoken many times about my attachment to my to-do list, my attempt to get things done, my feeling of never doing enough, and in general managing to stress out about stuff that only I care about. I discovered I was trying to do over twenty hours – a struggle on a week off – impossible on a normal week. Well maybe not impossible but you are forgetting my proclivity for procrastination – so much procrastination. Perhaps a more accurate statement would be that I suck at prioritising.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/human-skull-with-white-background-46510/

I didn’t just ineffectively follow my list. I say ineffectively because I never did get the feeling of a good thing done. What was the other thing I was doing? Binge watching Bones. That counts as productive, right? Right?

Photo by lalesh aldarwish from Pexels

In other thoughts… These blog posts are always written over several sessions. It takes a while and doing otherwise might mean I didn’t do something else – things like meditation, my diary, and Duolingo. The apps I use keep track of progress and therefore I don’t want to miss a day. The problem is the ebb and flow of my metal state.

Photo by Tamba Budiarsana from Pexels

I may start a post on a bad day and thus the post is morose and unhappy. Then I come back to it on a good day and suddenly the hopelessness previously shown makes no sense. Meaning it is difficult to pick up where I left off.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-playing-mini-fig-1660662/

It is like playing with Lego as a child. Perhaps you are building a space rocket and then mum tells you to go to bed before it is finished. When you wake up the next day you want to make a submarine. So you take apart the rocket but bed time happens before the sub is finished and the cycle goes on and on.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

At the moment I am okay. I am not feeling the hopelessness I sometimes feel it is more of a resigned feeling. More Puddleglum – less Marvin the paranoid android. Are those two characters too similar for this example to work?

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Here is a picture of a lion because Puddleglum is a character from the Chronicles of Narnia – and Pexels didn’t have a wardrobe in their collection.

Photo by Adrianna Calvo from Pexels

And here is a beach because I like beaches and walking along one on holiday always has a calming effect. Whoever you are reading this now – thank you and I hope you are doing well.

Photo by Francesco Ungaro from Pexels

And happy Star Wars day for yesterday.

I just wanted to say that I have checked this post. I really have. Unfortunately my particular combination of dyslexia and dyspraxia makes it really hard for me to spot typos. Please enjoy and I’ll try not to make too many errors.  

I have a Patreon page. I hope you will consider supporting this blog: https://www.patreon.com/unstableorbit

Leave a comment

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