Just Finished Reading: The Good Ancestor – How to Think Long Term in a Short-Term World by Roman Krznaric (FP: 2020) [245pp] 

According to the author, short term thinking will kill us all. He's not far wrong. Certainly, in the West, few politicians or governments think much beyond the next election or the one after that – 8-10 years at most. They certainly wouldn't want to start something that only comes to fruition years later if there's a possibility that the opposition party might be in power to take the credit. Likewise, business tends to think of quarterly profit forecasts and shareholder meetings. Why would they possibly put something in train that might not turn a handsome profit in 3 months rather than 3 decades? Short term thinking is reasonably adept at dealing with immediate problems and the unexpected out-of-the-blue disasters, but it's also very good at laying the groundwork for perpetuating or even creating the very conditions from which disasters emerge. 

So, what's stopping us from long term (or at least longer term) thinking? Part of the problem is that, generally, we're not very good at it. Planning 5 years out seems long term to many and planning further out seems pointless especially if circumstances are prone to regular and rapid change. Then, of course, there is little incentive for either governments or business to plan for decades or even generations ahead. They would be criticised for 'blue sky thinking' and wasting money. Yet, at the same time, there are calls to fix some fundamental problems that cannot be resolved in 5, 10 or even 20 years. We KNOW that ongoing climate change is going to cause MAJOR problems – and is already doing so – but little if anything is being done about it by people or organisations with the power, ability and money to actually accomplish things because of short-term thinking. If any solution is predicted to take more than a few elections or shareholder reviews to bed in... forget it. 

The author proposes a range of options to help us (and those in power) to think about things beyond what we can see right in front of our eyes. My favourite, and probably most practical, is Cathedral Thinking. Our ancestors built cathedrals and other structures that still have the power to amaze us hundreds if not thousands of years after they were completed. What many fail to take into account is that many of these structures took generations to complete with their construction being handed on to the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the original designers/builders to complete. We seem to have lost that focus, that projection into the future, that OUR ancestors seem to have. It might be a very good idea to rediscover it. 

Although I found the author to be somewhat over optimistic and some of the ideas presented to be rather wishy-washy and vague, I thought that his heart was in the right place (and not just in his chest). Despite all of our technology and imagination we, as a culture, seem to have lost the ability to think big and project ourselves into the DEEP future rather than 5 minutes down the road. Short term thinking will not save us from many of the problems – which have honestly been building for decades or longer – we KNOW are coming our way. This book, flawed as I think it is, is a small step looking to correct that. Worth a read. Reasonable. 

Just Finished Reading: Investigations of a Dog by Franz Kafka (FP: 1931) [57pp] 

Back in my 20's I got it into my head that I 'should' read "The Classics" if I wanted to call myself a reader despite, at the time, reading almost purely Science-Fiction. One of those authors I tried, having heard SO much about him elsewhere, was Kafka. So, I tried several of his most famous works and DNF'd all of them. 

That experience certainly gave me pause when a Kafka short work was the next booklet in my Penguin Modern Classic boxset. The tale (pun intended!) followed the efforts of a young dog investigating the world trying to build on the canine philosophy he'd picked up along the way. Unsurprisingly, he failed to get anywhere and at the end of the story nothing had been resolved and no notable progress had been made. I don't know if this was the highlight that most people's thinking is flawed or if the author was trying to say that philosophical progress is impossible (or at least VERY difficult). Try as I might I couldn't really see what the point of the narrative was – unless that WAS the point? The problem with the dog's thought process is that there was no attempt to prove or disprove anything, so any suppositions floated in the air without any foundations. Then, on top of these original ideas even more ideas where added – all without any substance. No wonder no progress was, or could, be made. Again, maybe THAT was the point? 

Thankfully this was a very short work. If it had been a novel, it'd definitely have been my 3rd DNF of the year. Needless to say, I am still not encouraged to try Kafka in a longer format. Life, I think, is just too short for that. Not recommended. 

Translated from the German by Michael Hofmann 

Sublime... I LOVE the piano SO much. Its definitely my favourite musical instrument. 

Happy Birthday: Christopher John Tarrant (born 10 October 1946) is an English retired broadcaster, television personality, radio DJ, and comedian. He is best known for presenting the ITV children's television show Tiswas from 1974 to 1981 and the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from its inception in 1998 until 2014.

Tarrant's career began in 1972 when he was hired by the television broadcaster ATV. He presented ATV Today, a current affairs programme serving the Midlands area of England, until 1982. Tarrant rose to prominence after becoming a co-host on Tiswas, the children's television show broadcast on Saturday mornings from 1974 to 1981. Tarrant was a member of the Four Bucketeers group, whose single "Bucket of Water Song" reached No. 26 in the UK Singles Chart in 1980. In January 1982, along with Bob Carolgees, John Gorman, Randolph Sutherland and Lenny Henry, Tarrant launched a late-night show, O.T.T. ("Over the Top"), thought of as an "adult" version of Tiswas, which despite being short-lived, was popular among adults. His co-host Sally James presented the concurrent and final series of Tiswas alone.

Tarrant was a Capital Radio host from 1984 to 2004, presenting the early-morning show Capital Breakfast. The show was highly popular, increasing Capital Radio's audience share in London. Tarrant presented the ITV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from 1998 to 2014, while also providing audio recordings for some console games, and a tabletop game made by Tiger Electronics based on the show. He recorded a total of 592 episodes across 30 series, in which five contestants won the top cash prize of £1 million. In 2012, Tarrant began a travel documentary series, Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railways, with locations including the Congo-Ocean Railway, the Ghan across Australia and the Konkan Railway in India.

Tarrant's other television credits include Tarrant on TV, a programme that shows clips featuring a number of unusual television programmes from around the world, and Tarrant Lets the Kids Loose, a programme which gives three- to six-year-olds the chance to fulfil their greatest ambitions in the adult world. He also hosted several other game shows, including It's Not What You Know and The Colour of Money, The Main Event 1993. Tarrant was appointed an OBE in 2004 for his charity work, in particular his campaigning on behalf of disadvantaged children. In 2006, he was ranked number 38 in ITV's poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars. Tarrant announced his retirement in December 2024, after 52 years in television.

[Tiswas was a BIG part of my late teens and was one of the things that got me out of bed on a Saturday morning. Absolute anarchic FUN.]

This year's Flu shot.... Done! An early one this year and a different system too. Not the usual conveyer belt approach but instead I 'registered' with reception and then was called after about 2-3 minutes. Walked to the room with the nurse, had my shot (after confirming my ID), asked about the COVID shot I'd heard about and was told that I was "too young". COVID shots are only for the over-75's and those with compromised immune systems. Out and popped to my local supermarket for a few things and back in the house before my actual appointment time. EXCELLENT!