Friday the 13th
I'm not that much into superstition. I did enjoy the movies and tv show. If we are going to talk about luck, then there is always the elections in the UK yesterday.
UK Elections
Last night Boris Johnson and the Conservatives had some good fortune in the general election. They won 364 seats, needing only 326 for a majority. The news had been reporting a slim margin between the Conservatives and Labour similar to how American news often overstates the advantage of Democrats. Media polling seems to have a problem with getting good data leading up to elections. Unless, of course, they are purposely misreporting to discourage the opposition. Nevertheless, it is amusing how every conservative victory is a surprise to those opposed.
This is not, however, a clear "conservative" victory as much as a nationalist victory. Even the Scottish National Party picked up seats. There seems to be a growing pushback on forced diversity. People of different countries are starting to reassert their national identities rather than allow them to be subdued for the abstract idea of diversity. One has to wonder where the Liberal Democrats and Labour Party are getting their ideas as to which issues matter to the public. I think there is room for those two parties to be both nationalist and still represent their historic constituents. Instead, they have spent their political capital being obstructionists to what people asked them to do, which was to separate from the European Union. By going against Brexit, they set themselves up as elitists who know better than the voters. By dragging out the process, they have set themselves up as an impediment to progress. The longer it drags out, Brexit, the less time there is for Parliament to address other pressing issues. Mix this with the surge in nationalism, and you are suddenly not as progressive as you would would like to think of yourself, if you were liberal in nature.
Domestic Issues
Here at home, I have tuned out a bit on the whole impeachment process. It is clearly a show being put on by the Democrats to appease their louder constituents. Even if they manage to impeach the President, I doubt the Senate will pick up the baton. So, I have been tuning out the news about impeachment.
Science and Technology
I do find it exciting that solid state batteries are in the works. They promise to be lighter, hold a greater charge, be less affected by temperature, and be faster to charge. If Lithium batteries were a game changer, solid state batteries are a whole new game.
Last night I was looking through articles about IPFS. I also got some suggestions via Peepeth for IPFS blogging. Thanks to @Alon and @jon1012.
At Work
At work, it definitely feels like the holidays. Things have a relaxed intensity, if that is possible. There is an urgency to get things done quickly before Christmas and New Year when we know very little will get done. At the same time, there is some reluctance to take on new obligations for the same reason.
At Home
Things at home are a bit hectic as well. The hours after work and school have not beens ones of leisure, lately. There is often some picking up and dropping off involved. That is when there aren't late work days or social events to attend. My family will have two weeks off for the Christmas break. I'll be off on Christmas Eve and Christmas. I think we all have New Year's Day off as well. Then we begin the madness of 2020.