String Theory



CoVID-19 Day 30

Today, for me, has been about search engines, key words and figuring out how to get people we don’t know who are asking questions we are not privy to find a website they were unaware of. Then asking a developer how long a particular part of the program is going to take to be ready for release. How long is a piece of string? This is the same day we discovered the shipment of PPE from Turkey that was apparently delayed on Sunday was actually a figment of our imagination when that news was announced. We are also discovering that no one has a clue how many people are dying each day from the Coronavirus.

will people collectively demand knots be tied in the piece of string,
the length of which is otherwise indeterminate

On other matters I’ve been getting answers to questions (or part answers) that have been bothering me for days and raising ancillary questions that have lost me sleep. The difference between this and the sham daily press conferences is that I’ve not been misled about Google searches, development work or finances I’m dealing with and no one has been withholding information either for the sake of it or with a devious agenda while the government information is spin that is neither open nor honest.

It’s exhausting living in a state of suspended animation where you are looking for information to string together what is going on in your personal, local, national and international life when some of the normal lines of communication have been taken away. With human interaction drastically curtailed we are waste deep in communication effluent, processing the detritus, seeking out clear water. In reality we were fed this garbage before and though we knew we were swallowing crap there seemed little we could do about it.

This time has focused my mind on how I deal with the information I have to hand that personally affects me. Apparently less than 10% of those surveyed said they want to go back to normal after this crisis. The question is, will people collectively demand knots be tied in the piece of string, the length of which is otherwise indeterminate.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ghost of Christmas Cancelled

I decided to work late into the night and complete something I promised I'd do over the last couple of days. At 11.30 I was really tired and a little cold. I wasn't sure whether to push on through the tiredness or lay down for a while and nap but gave in and lay beneath the duvet, fully clothed so that I didn't get too comfortable. At midnight my computer alerted me to the time but by now the drug of sleep had made getting up an unpleasant experience and I gave in and went back to bed. That too was unpleasant as I couldn't get comfortable and as I turned over a part of the bed was cold. I got up, went to the toilet, then made myself a cup of tea and a bowl of cereal and sat in front of my computer. I then, as is my habit these days, pictured what it was that I was feeling and the picture was of heading into a black tunnel - that tunnel being Christmas. There should be nothing frightening about Christmas - nothing traumatic has happened for me to associate it with blackn...
Read more

Length of a Jetty

My fingertips are cold but not as cold as my heart. How can there be so much noise yet it seems like there’s a deafening silence – tinnitus, white sound that drowns out all sounds of joy and peace but I can still hear the clock ticking and the traffic outside. Where is God in all this? When all the reasoning and words of encouragement have settled like house dust the air is clearer and lines and angles of the furniture and window frame are sharper and clearer. When chattering has ceased the sound of the house moving and settling reminds me that the earth moves. It doesn’t just remain static while humans take care of their busyness and God’s creatures go about theirs. The earth moves – very slowly, definitely, irresistibly taking no heed of our short and hurried lives. But I’m getting older and as long as I’m alive I will be swept down the river of life along with the detritus that brushes my shoulder and muddies my view. And the landmarks become memories as new horizons entice me and e...
Read more

Rocks and Hard Places

Image
I didn't get a Father's day card last year. I was fairly pragmatic. After all, its just a made up day and mostly geared to selling cards, gifts and generally sustaining our consumerist economy. If you're not hung over, bloated or broke after a big day then it can't have been that good, can it? I'm not heartless though. It did hurt a little. It must have, because I can remember how I felt. But piling misery on misery really doesn't have any beneficial effects so it's not good to dwell on these things. I got one this year and it feels worse. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, which is true if you're on a promise. But when nearness is painful, distance is a mercy. When you're separated from your family by distance you can count the miles but when you're separated by regret the counting never stops. I'm on my own with a lovely Father's Day card in the window. It says "Thank you for everything." So I did something right b...
Read more