And Again

I suppose I'm lucky to have time on my hands to go swimming or just hang out whenever I like. It hasn't always been so. I spent almost twenty years teaching in high schools and teaching was my life. Entirely. I think its great to have consuming passions but perhaps a little unhealthy to become obsessed by your work. I loved teaching but its good to have a life back. I'm not totally out of the loop - I still teach sometimes, though not in my own country.

Today I had one of those occassional computer meltdowns that seem much worse than they really are. Dozens of pages sprung open (no idea why) and, upon gaining control of the situation again, I found the hard drive had become, well, comatose. Didn't want to shut down. Didn't want to respond to any commands. All was well within 30 minutes or so, but the question is, what happened? I couldnt find any browser hijackers, dialers or related nepharios objects. Maybe I'll just put it down to quantum physics. Other people seem to.

I was saddened to hear about the untimely death of Robin Cook, former UK Foreign Minister. It's rare to find political leaders who put principle before their own careers, but Mr Cook was just such a man. For those who don't know, he resigned from the Cabinet in 2003 in protest at his Government's decision to join the Coaltion of the Willing in the Iraq conflict. By which I mean, he dissected and refuted the shabby logic that was presented as the raison d'etre for war. That he had been largely proven right was no comfort to him. That his colleagues at the top failed to heed any lessons only shows him up all the more as a giant amongst pigmies.