Time is Never Time Enough.

A lot of people seem to be talking about how much time they have to read, or to watch Netflix, or simply to take up a new hobby. Sometime I wish I had that much free time.

I am extremely fortunate to be working in an area that is in demand. I commenced this role in Digital Education only a few weeks before lockdown. Not only did I have the learning curve that accompany most new jobs, but we had a short period of time to get programmes online, and to do it while working from home.

I'm thrilled I am part of a supportive and encouraging team.

I have learned a lot in the past couple of months, and I continue to learn everyday. Which is great, it is setting me up well for my future. I have a broad range of new practical skills to support my experience and education. And it all looks great on a CV - not that I have any plans to move anywhere soon.

I am pelased I have been furloughed, or placed on leave. But wouldn't it be nice just to have one extra day a week off?  Then maybe I could start watching some of those series on my list.

Oh well, back to work. I have an issue with some videos that won't upload properly.

Moogs, Tinfoil And Velour.

I'm listening to the 1973 BBC radio adaptation of Asimov's Foundation series on my daily commute. It's wonderful, a great radio play that is a lot of fun.

But in some ways it's so dated, and I wonder whether it was dated even then. Every device that is operated, every machine that is switched on, is portrayed by noisy synthesisers. Did the producers really think everything would make noise in the future?

A girl wears a chain around her waist, and with a flick of a switch she is cloaked in a nebulous, shifting cloak of light, and accompanied by a high pitched whine. Meanwhile, another character walks into a room with a portable force shield protecting him, and that is completely silent.

I know in a radio play you need sounds to convey actions that can't be seen. And I know synthesisers had only been commonly used for a few years at that time. It reminds me of all those 70s TV shows I love, the ones where people obviously thought that in the future we would all be wearing clothes made of velour and tinfoil.

They're nostalgic. They're a throwback to the age of SF I first started reading, the type of SF that made me fall in love with the genre. And I really enjoy them.