Feeling better: exercising, cooking

Recently it has temporarily been falling to me to organize more of our household matters and I have been enjoying it. After buying the groceries yesterday, driving in Dundee I found myself feeling content, almost happy, and enjoying the music on the radio which ranged from The Temptations to George Ezra. It wasn't exactly driving on a wide, straight American highway in my police car or sports car in the hot sun but it was something nonetheless.

For the first time in months, today I chose to do a longer workout during which I also listened to a range of popular music; those songs turned out to include a track sung by Alison Moyet whose voice engages my full attention; I mentioned her here a couple of years ago. After my workout I still felt good enough that I took a gentle jog around the square before I treated myself to a hot bath. My right side is still healing but now barely impedes my daily activity.

I had hoped to go for a walk but the weather has been distinctly changeable so maybe next Sunday instead when I have simple food planned. Today I have batter sitting for the crêpes we will be cooking in a while. While I embrace many American things I do tend to stick with my European culinary background: I adapted the crêpe recipe from my typical go-to, Prue Leith's Cookery Bible, though my fallback, the Sunday Times Cook's Companion, also has a recipe for them; no buttermilk or leavening for these. For the basics of cookery I use a manual that provides the background for the first few levels of the National Vocational Qualification in Food Preparation and Cooking.

Inheriting ashes, photographs and more

Unexpected developments left me with more vacation time for this calendar year than I had initially expected. I figured that I should finally perform a filial duty and take my parents' ashes on perhaps a last visit to Cornwall for me and scatter them there. I am conscious of how much of my thinking is, on its face, irrational. For example, whom does this trip benefit? It is not as if I believe in an afterlife. So much of what I believe turns out to arise simply from received wisdom about how one ought to behave. Rational or not, it seems the right thing to do so I have now made the related bookings for the middle of fall after the summer vacation folks will be long gone.

I also hope to move further toward sorting through my parents' photographs. I took backups of their hard drives and flash drives before I wiped them but had left things there. My work is on software for organizing, annotating and sharing one's images so I may as well start clearing the obvious clutter from my parents' data then arrange the remainder using the software I work on. I can't help but be reminded of Roy Batty's, All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. I won't even know where some of their photographs were taken or of whom.

As usual, I follow what my instinct tells me: I shall preserve and eventually organize my parents' photographs. Regardless of if it is a good thing to do, it might be quite interesting. I will try not to trouble myself over what meaning those photographs had for them or that others should think similarly.

As a teenager I was beset by existential angst that had me reading authors from Dostoyevsky to Sartre for clues to how to give my life any meaning. In my thirties I was struck by a deep depression that took me years to climb out of. That healing process changed me and, among other things, somewhat inoculated me against despair. It's partly a matter of perception. The things that matter to me will someday be forgotten by all. I must accept that, whatever their value, the old things pass and make way for the new.

I have been happy to leave these inherited items alone, to procrastinate considerably. As well as the photographs from the computers I still have some physical items that I inherited, such as my father's coat which is presently in the attic. Likewise, I preserve the physical items but am in no rush to engage with them. It will get easier with time.

Huawei for British telecommunications

The US has been pressuring the UK not to use Huawei in telecommunications infrastructure. I notice that my instinctive feelings are nationalistic. I do consider international trade to be good for many things. However, when it comes to strategic infrastructure I think one should endeavor to keep it within the nation so as to minimize dependence on foreign powers. The US generally tries to buy from American companies in spending taxpayers' money. Beyond national security, this is also for economic benefit: while much weakened over the twentieth century, the UK remains a powerful and advanced enough country that for much of what it can't presently do, it should be able to fund internal research and development (including collaborations with allies) until it can, an investment that may often bring significant returns. Though, I should keep this entry brief as a couple of years ago I was saying much the same here about Hinkley Point C.