I just know I have to stay in, this afternoon, as I’m due my annual gas safety check, this afternoon!
~≈💨≈~
There’s been a bit of talk, recently: after Andy Burnham, the UK’s current PM, announced that Labour were thinking about a second Brexit referendum into their next election manifesto.
Having voted Remain, back in 2016?
I’d welcome the chance to correct something I view as a massive cock-up.
But any options on the ballot would need to be carefully thought out, and not the Leave/Remain options in 2016.
I’m no economist, no expert: but I’m aware that the pound — along with the US dollar, the Euro, and the Japanese Yen, amongst others — is a reserve currency, acceptable in international trade.
Whilst it may not give us much clout?
It gives us some.
So, given those three options?
I’d want to go for the third: re-joining the EU and keeping Sterling.
There’s only so much of Funky Billy Chin I can put up with.
I might just change the record … !
~≈🥋≈~
A few days ago, intruders were spotted outside RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire: in vans containing lots of petrol, rather than the originally reported explosives.
The RAF base is leased out to the US Air Force: and used by the USAF in their current action against Iran.
Understandably, security is heavy in and around the base.
I have questions.
One?
Why were the suspects bailed?
Apparently, this was in what police called an “investigative decision”, one that was “grounded in experience and strategy”.
Hmmm …
OK … but I suspect keeping a group of terrorists off the street would be a good idea, but I’m not wearing the uniform.
Two … ?
Apparently, and according to The Times, one of the five suspects phoned an alert to the police, himself.
Why … ?
I have no idea!
But I’m wondering if the event — stunt? — was either some sort of training exercise: by, I don’t know, MI5, or the SAS.
Why is it, when you wake up on a day you know to be Tuesday, you wake up convinced it’s Sunday … ?
Despite — despite — being aware it’s Tuesday, have double-checked it’s Tuesday, have done everything you can to confirm it’s Tuesday … and yet, it feels like Sunday …
Right … I’ve finally managed to track something down.
Yes: I’ve finally managed to track down toilet blocks.
Which is what I meant to get on Thursday: but totally forgot about.
Heigh … … … HO!
~≈🚽≈~
As an added extra, there … ?
I managed to find a couple of shops near the station that took PayPal payments: where, in theory, I could pay my rent.
One, the local Post Office branch, wasn’t somewhere I could explore, as I went during at a busy patch.
Another?
Would take the rent payment … but only as cash.
Which is inconvenient: I’d have to take the cash out at my bank — in the High Street — then walk to the Brentwood Station area with a lot of cash, pay at the shop … then walk back to the High Street to pay the rest of the bills, and get my shopping!
I think exploring other options my be an idea.
Including — finally — learning how to pay the rent online!
~≈🏚️≈~
Just as an extra thought … ?
The Tories have plans to prevent benefit seekers spending money on cigarettes and alcohol: by issuing benefits on pre-paid debit cards.
Similar to the cards offered by some charity schemes: that offer supplemental spending money to those in need.
The idea is that you spend the money on stuff you need: rather than on stuff you’re addicted to.
I’m sceptical about the plans.
From personal experience, I know you need to activate the things online: and only so many people I know are comfortable using a computer, a smart phone or online services.
I’m also wondering how you’re supposed to use the card to pay rent with the things.
Again, many would feel uncomfortable using it to pay online.
Or setting up the online scheme that tells the Department of Work and Pensions you want the Housing portion of your Universal Credit to go directly to your landlord.
And, frankly?
I know a few people with substances issues: who, I believe, would sell their cards to their nearest dealer … in return for Gods know what!
Assuming the dealers would take them in preference to cash.
Even on the alcohol and tobacco front, a user would need help to get off their substance of choice: so that the wouldn’t be tempted to use the cards.
As a supplement to paying in cash, these cards are fine.
They let you spend extra money: and use cash for other things.
Which means, of course, I’m going to encourage you to talk like a pirate.
Which could be fun … !
~≈🏴☠️≈~
I’m also going to discourage you from something.
I’m going to discourage you from downloading and installing TorBrowser.
And discourage you from downloading and installing Transmission, or something like it.
If — if — you install the pair, I’m going to discourage you from visit sites likePirate Bay, then using the files you find there with Transmission, to illegally download movies and TV shows.
Yes: I know I was planning to leave it for a couple of days: to get past the inevitable slow download speeds you get when a major update’s released.
But … ?
I had an afternoon, free!
There’s pros and cons to the OS, I think.
Visually, it’s gorgeous: window corners are far more consistant, the Liquid Glass language is nice, and the traffic light buttons have a nice, Aqua-style sheen.
On the downside?
On the downside, the system voice settings seem inconsistent, compared to earlier versions of the OS.
I’ve got one voice doing most of them: and one or two others doing the rest.
And can’t figure out how to change them.
There’s also space.
I had some seven hundred and sixty gigabytes of space left on my machine’s main hard drive: under Tahoe.
But now have some six hundred and eighty (~680) gigabytes left.
I’m assuming that space is chewed up by the large language model used by SiriAI.
I’m aware of a couple of things.
First?
I’m not sure what’s going on with the voices: but yes, I have filled out another entry on Apple’s feedback page!
Second?
The Golden Gate update is very big.
It’s going to give those of us with smaller internal drives a headache.
Which I’ll take my time updating too, I think: it’s going to be a long process.
I’m told the visual updates to the operating system are quite impressive.
We’ll have to wait and see.
Either way … ?
The updates give me an excuse to by cynical.
And reiterate what I’ve said in today’s introduction video.
OS updates are like buses.
You wait ages for one … then three turn up at once …
~≈🌉≈~
Did I mention I was due a gas safety check, the other day … ?
I was due a gas safety check, the other day.
I was quite happily sitting right here, could see the van — and the engineer — from here … when I got the text message from the team that said the engineer had missed me, and would had rebooked the appointment for the 6th October …
It turned out there was a problem with the intercom connected to the button board at the building’s front door.
At least, that’s what the doorbell engineer my landlord sent, last night, told me.
I think I’m going to be on the phone all day: phoning the engineers, my landlord, the gas check people … …
It’s got to be said, there’s a certain amount of irony to when I’ve started this post.
Yes: it’s Star Trek Day: as mentioned in today’s Daily Teaser.
The irony?
Is simply in the one fact: that I’m going to be watching “This Land Is Our Land”, the tenth and last episode of For All Mankind’s fifth season, tonight.
And will start watching the fourth season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, next week: at the earliest.
So, yeah …
Irony …
~≈🚀≈~
Irony, aside … ?
Irony, aside, it’s a Tuesday evening: so I’ll be having dinner, then watching “This Land Is Our Land”.
And … ?
Letting you know what I thought, by Saturday.
I can only hope, right now, it’s worth the wait!
~≈🚀≈~
9th September, 2026.
Part One.
The Summary.
Episode 10 — “This Land Is Our Land” — opens with scenes of confusion: as the people of Happy Valley try to organise their homes in the face of an M-6 invasion: as the colony’s leader, Miles Dale (Tony Kebbell) sends out a desperate message telling people where to go.
At his shoulder is Governor Leonid Polivanov (Costa Ronin): along side the rest of the Council that govern the base.
The group knows it will have to take drastic action: by taking out the M-6 forces in their improvised command centre.
They can only do that by flooding the place with extra oxygen, then setting it alight.
If they can find the place.
To do that? The group needs some one who’s feeling quick, brave … and remarkably like a volunteer.
Governor Polivanov … is just the man …
~≈🚀≈~
After the titles roll, the scene changes: to show us the Away One mission — Kelly, Walt and Elena (Cynthy Wu, Christopher Denham and Kristina Klebe) — are very aware they have good news, and bad news.
The good news?
Is that yes: there is life on Titan, and they have a sample to take home.
The bad news?
All three of them will have to walk to where they will be picked up by the ship that will take them home, as the vehicle that’s got them here is no longer working.
The really bad news … ?
The three of them will have to walk … despite the fact there’s only enough oxygen for two …
~≈🚀≈~
Part Two.
About The Episode.
Now … what did I make of both “This Land Is Our Land”: and the series it’s the climax to?
Let’s start with the episode, shall we?
I mentioned how earlier episodes were tense: very tense in some cases.
The opening scene, for example, shows us that the apparent defection of Governor Polivanov is a ruse: to get the Leonid into the M-6 command post, so it can be found and destroyed … then shows us what happens when the Governor tries to get out of post with an angry Ilya in tow!
Edge of the seat?
Oh, yes.
Then … ?
There’s the button …
I’ve told you how Leonid has sneaked his way in to the M-6 command point: and how Leonid’s attempt’s to escape had me glued to my seat, with my eyes glued to the screen.
So did the immediate consequences.
Miles asks the relevant controller, Tim (James Michael McHale), to hit the button, the button that will set off a spark that will ignite the command post’s air, and kill every one in it.
Tim … ? Refuses the order, as he doesn’t deaths on his conscience.
So Miles, after some hesitation … ?
Miles does the deed.
Yes: edge of the seat.
Very edge of the seat.
Then there’s Titan.
We see Kelly, Walt and Elena buoyed by the fact they’re finally discovered life … but deflated by one simple fact: getting the evidence home meant walking to the pickup point.
The tension?
Comes from a little thing: the pause, before the team realise that only two of them are going home …
~≈🚀≈~
11th September, 2026.
Part Three.
A Quote.
There’s something I think I should mention: a quote.
I’ve only been including them in my Daily Teaser quizzes for a decade, after all.
It’s a relatively simple one, something Irina tells Miles, early in the cold open:
“War is simply politics by other means.”
It’s an old sentiment, one that dates back to Carl von Clausewitz:
“War is the continuation of policy with other means.”
It’s an clinical little phrase, isn’t it?
And one I’ve heard, before: usually attributed to the likes of Josef Stalin, or Mao Zedong.
The reason I mention it?
Was simply this: it was a phrase, a sentiment, I recognised, one that applied to the situation … and something I learnt a little about, when I looked it up.
I think I owe the writers of this episode a vote of thanks: for telling me something I didn’t know.
~≈🚀≈~
Part Four.
Thoughts.
So … what did I make of this episode: of “This Land Is Our Land”?
There are times when a series finale is something of a let down.
“Fire from the Gods”, for example, the last episode of The Man in the High Castle.
Was distinctly underwhelming.
As was “The Real Monsters”, the last episode of Alien: Earth: as wonderful as most of the series was, as nasty as the Adrian Edmondson character was, the final episode of Alien: Earth, series one …
Fell distinctly flat: especially the last five minutes or so.
By contrast, “This Land Is Our Land” is fantastic: from the cold opening, it pulled me into the story it was telling, told us of Kelly Baldwin’s sad end, showed us Alex’s coming of age … and showed us, at the end of the episode, shows us Miles being formally named as Happy Valley’s leader.
“This Land Is Our Land” may not be a superb episode, or a great series finale.
But it’s a very well made episode: and fills the role of finale, very well.
“This Land Is Our Land”
★★★☆
~≈🚀≈~
Part Five.
About the Series.
With that said … ?
What did I make of series five, as a whole?
What can I tell you … ?
I suspect there’s not a lot I can add to what I’ve already said.
But one thing I should mention is that word: tense.
Tense.
Series five has been tense.
All the way from Ed Baldwin’s cancer diagnoses in early episode, all the way to the final battle, and Alex’s hand delivered cease-fire orders in the last minutes of this climactic episode.
Series five of For All Mankind has been a dramatic thing to watch: and leaves me looking forward to season six, the show’s last series.
Roll on its release in 2027: it’s got a lot to live up to.
