The Time Bubble

The Time Bubble is progressing better than I could have hoped for. You'll remember before I started all of this that I questioned whether I would find writing fiction more difficult than writing non-fiction. As the weeks have gone by and the novel has taken shape those concerns have fallen away. I've become completely immersed in the tale and am managing to write around 7,000 words a week at present as I move onto the second half of the book. When I began I had a broad framework in place - a skeleton if you like of the basic structure of the book. I knew what the book was going to be about, the story I wanted to tell and how it would end. I had drafted a rough chapter structure and knew what was going to happen and where. Since then the writing process has been very much a case of putting the meat on the bones and as I've progressed there have been many opportunities to add in little scenes and bits of dialogue where they fit in nicely to the plot. It's not all se...

It seems I can't open a newspaper these days without finding yet another article about how bad sugar is. Yes, it seems that sugar is this year's public enemy number one. We just can't be left alone to enjoy our lives can we? It seems to be one thing after another. One minute we're a nation of binge drinkers. Next salt is the silent killer, oh and keep off the coffee too. Then the focus is on fats - good fats, bad fats, let's confuse the hell out of everyone. Now it's sugar - and great the paper is telling me there's 5 teaspoons of sugar in every banana - one of the few "healthy" things my children enthusiastically ask for. Thanks for ruining that for me. Then there's 23 spoons of sugar in a can of drink and 86 in a chocolate bar. OK I'm exaggerating now, but even so the amounts quoted seem ridiculous on some of the things. Does all this scaremongering do people any good? None whatsoever - all it does is confuse and annoy them and give t...

"The best things in life are free - but you can save them for the birds and bees" So sang "M" on her 1979 hit single. Presumably she was talking about sex here, quite racy for 1979. But to be fair, whoever coined the phrase "There's no such thing as a free lunch" had it right. Let's be honest. Everything has a hidden cost. Since we were talking about sex, I may as well continue on that subject. As this is normally a "family blog" you might have to look away now if you are under, say 15. As you know I like to find mathematical solutions for explaining everything, and sex is no different. To prove my point that sex is not free, you do have to in fact be a parent, it kinds of falls down if you aren't but bear with me. I worked out that you can work out exactly how much sex has cost you if you are a parent, by following this simple formula. The first bit is easy. Write down how many kids you have got. Most people should be able to...

A two part blog entry today. Firstly, there are many issues that polarise opinion in the world, and factors that make people compatible with one another. Ever since computer dating was invented, people have been trying to matchmake using various criteria. I am sure you have all seen the ads over the years where you get a list of interests you have to tick - reading, holidays, keeping fit, nights out etc. Maybe you have even tried it. But I have come to the conclusion that there is only one test you'll ever need. People talk about people with Type A and Type B personalities, and countless words have been written on the subject. I myself have spent a good 20 years or more now pondering the issue and indeed wrote an extensive 100,000 word thesis on the subject. However I have condensed this down purely for your benefit into two summary bullet points containing 4 and 5 words each. So my two basic personality types are: a) People who like Marmite. b) People who don't like M...

Well, years on since the credit crunch and it's all doom and gloom, austerity, the UK billions in debt etc. And other countries in an even worse mess. But I know the answer! Never one to shy away from controversy I have come up with an awesome plan to save the world! Well starting with the UK anyway. Now throughout this article you will find a few pictures leading up to this answer, perhaps they will give you a clue as we go along. Here's one to get you started. Cheers! Go on, have another! As I say, there's a simple solution to all this. I can tell the Government exactly where it has been going wrong all these years. One of the things that we always hear about it the "Pensions timebomb", it's bankrupting the country, people are living too long etc. So they talk about raising the retirement age a year or two. Now pensions were a great idea when we were expected to live to three score years and ten. Retire at 65, "thank-you very much sir, here ...