cold and fever

[drdoug]

I am extremely fed up with this cold of doom that has now lasted more than a bloody fortnight. Earlier I was most frustrated by it making me dopey and thick-headed. (Those who thought 'how could anyone tell?' can launder my handerchiefs.) But today I'm feverish, headachy and can't even face breakfast, which is a Bad Sign. Worse, it's caused an

Comments

[andrewducker]

http://watchmenphotomanips.tumblr.com/post/110852297976

http://memeguy.com/photo/158286/james-cameron-is-hilarious

http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp02112015.shtml

http://wondermark.com/c1101/

[drdoug]

Ooh, thanks for those, rich with follow-on silly links too.

[andrewducker]

Oh, and if this doesn't make you smile, nothing will:
http://eatsoylentgreen.tumblr.com/post/110911798784

[drdoug]

I've had that James Cameron experience myself, many years ago. I was on holiday driving on a quiet road through the Trossachs. We caught a glimpse of an attractive loch through the trees, so on a whim we pulled over, and scrambled down through the forest to the water's edge, and walked along a bit. It was almost dead quiet: the loch glassy and still, just the odd insect and bird noise to be heard when our feet stopped scrunching on the gravel. I felt about as far away from the rest of humanity as I have ever felt.* Then suddenly I was startled out of my wits by my exciting new mobile phone beeping SMS at me. I took it out and I had 5 bars of signal!

(I suspect I had a clear RF view across the loch to a tower stuck on top of a mountain to serve the outskirts of Glasgow or Stirling.)

* I have in fact been further but haven't felt it so strongly. Although I did get brief moments of The Fear driving through rural Canada where between towns the FM spectrum was *entirely silent*.

[andrewducker]

When I was at University, the back of the university was about 20m from my flat, and went straight up into the hills. From the top of the hills you could easily wander into the woods and find yourself entirely out of sight of any kind of civilisation in minutes. It was glorious.

(This was pre-mobile-ubiquity, as the GSM standard was only actualised that year.)

[drdoug]

That does sound good. One of the very best things about where I live now is the woods across the road. They're not beyond-civilisation woods, though - they're clearly cultivated, and have well-travelled footpaths, and part of them is an Iron Age fort.

Mobile ubiquity has really changed those sorts of experiences. Signal isn't always reliable in wilder parts, but it's surprisingly pervasive.

Hmm, maybe that's because many wilder parts are hilly and so can see further transmitters? Certainly in Pembrokeshire I get zero signal more often on beaches than on the hills, which seems obviously topographical.