Barack the Builder

I keep saying I need to spend more time playing with Photoshop. Well, I just did. It's not perfect, but it was fun and I learned a lot.

As to the politics, I think he's inherited a mind-boggling mess, but then he's already done six impossible things before breakfast. For a start, if you'd asked me six months ago, I'd have said the USA was overdue for a black president, but it would be about 25 years before they got one. And he's saved us from the half-baked Alaskan. So like everyone else, I'm waiting to see just how much he can fix.

And I'm still humming "Little Seeds of Hope."

Last Night's Big Loser

In my opinion, last night's biggest loser wasn't McCain or Sarah Palin. It was Osama bin Laden. His whole strategy is to persuade moderate Muslims that the USA is out to get them, and their only chance of safety is with al Qaeda. For the last eight years, that's been easy. George Bush spent most of his time driving them straight into bin Laden's arms. John McCain's an OK guy, but as soon as he became too ill to work, Sarah Palin would have carried on right where Bush left off.

But now bin Laden's going to lose his best recruiting agent. Instead, he'll have to deal with President Barack Hussein Obama, who'll talk to moderate Muslims like they're human. He might even help poor Pakistanis get an education for their kids at a school that doesn't try to turn them into suicide bombers.

Bin Laden must be fuming.

I'm deeply cynical about any career politician. But I like the way Obama keeps talking about "everybody" like Nelson Mandela, in clear contrast to Margaret Thatcher who kept talking about "one of us". So here I am, humming "Little Seeds of Hope" by Norma Wilow.

Plan B, Plan C, and Plan G

After my friend missed the ferry, we had a furry of looking up transport firms on the web. There's a ferry from Tenerife on Tuesday. Plan B: she could leave here on Monday, spend the night on Tenerife, and get the ferry Tuesday night. Plan C: or get up hideously early on Tuesday and get through in one, 20-hour day. Or... All these ferries are much more expensive than the direct one.

In the end she got the plane back, plan D. Which, of course, meant that she had to leave her car behind, and hire one on El Hierro to get to work.

So off she went, planning to come back for the car next weekend. Pricey, but no help for it.

I had another idea. Helen was planning to go to El Hierro to visit anyway, so if she goes this weekend, it'll save one return airfare. Helen liked the idea, too. Plan E.

Meanwhile, my friend set off, and I had a visit from two old friends whom I hadn't seen for years.

And then my friend phoned from El Hierro airport. You need your driving license to hire a car, right? And hers was in her own car, parked outside my house. The hire car firm would take a fax, and would I mind?

I didn't mind at all, but the places in Santa Cruz where you can send faxes all opened at 5pm, and the hire car firm closed at 5pm. And no, they couldn't accept an email of a scan.

I looked for inspiration in a cup of tea. Thank you Tetleys. The Galileo telescope offices are just ten minutes drive away, and obviously they have a fax machine. As it turned out, they're nice people, too.

Then Helen got worried about finding the house on rural El Hierro. Plan F: she'll meet our mutual friend at the airport when she returns the hire car.

But that means the passenger seat has to be kept free.

Plan G: I was going to fly our for a weekend anyway, wasn't I? So if I go this weekend and take the guitar, there'll be room for two.

So that's seven plans so far. Watch this space.

Too much fun, not enough sleep

My friend came over from El Hierro for the weekend. So I got my long translation job done last week, tidied up the guest room, and did some cooking in advance.

She arrived Saturday lunchtime, and the fun started. We got home at about 1:30 am and carried on drinking. It must have been around that time that I said, "You think you're weird? One of my best friends is an imaginary hamster."

In the end we went to bed some time after two.

On Sunday we had a lazy morning, and then our friends from Franceses came to join the party for lunch. We stuffed, very pleasantly.

And then my friend missed the ferry home. There's only one direct ferry per week.

The Day of the Dead

Today is All Saint's Day, and in Spain people remember their dead, and decorate the graves. (There's a photo on my blog about La Palma)

When I first came here, I found it strange. Now I think it's a better idea than trying to pretend that death doesn't even exist, as some people do. We each have a finite amount of time to achieve our dreams, and it's hard enough to get started working towards them without pretending we're immortal.

Today is also the old Celtic New Year, Samhain. It's as good an excuse as any for a new year's resolution. So I respectfully suggest that you start taking baby steps towards whatever you want.

Me, I'm going to do a lot more writing.