Some thoughts

 I happened to notice this film was on tv Saturday night. I haven't seen it since it came out and started watching to see if my initial impression of it was correct- that it starts off ok (but with some flaws), but all goes south from the point when it's revealed that Benedict Cummerbund's character was KHAAAN! The problems with this film have been pointed out many times already, but I got thinking: how could this film be fixed? To start with, I'd have to go back to Star Trek (2009), which I still find enjoyable despite the poor sequels. I liked how they used time travel to make a new timeline, thereby allowing the original canon to exist, and it was a good idea how the death of Kirks' dad and absence from his life has changed his personality. (I really like the opening sequence and still find it powerful)  For me, the biggest mistake was trying to set up the classic series in one go, it's ridiculous how Kirk gets promoted from cadet to captain at the end, and...

I recently discovered the  YouTube channel  of Daisy Cousens, an Australian lady whose content I'd definitely recommend. This two-part video is a speculative, worst-case scenario prediction based on current trends that are scarily plausible. Part 2: Well worth watching.  

 Another good article  I've come across this week. I do find the current attempts to redefine men and women baffling, and reminds me a bit of this line from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "Oh, that was easy," says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing.” One thought I had this week regarding the trans debates is how many would, if science advanced to the point that it became possible, want to reproduce as their chosen sex like Loretta in Life of Brian, or are they just hardcore cosplayers more interested in the idea of being a woman rather than actually wanting to deal with the less pleasant feminine issues...

 After my previous speculative post, let's look ahead at an actual catastrophe going on right now, and the long term implications of current events. First off, it is clear that lockdowns have disproportionately hit some sectors harder than others, and large firms have had a better time than small, individual, and family-owned ones (as this  Babylon Bee article satirically points out). I would therefore expect to see even more consolidation as small firms fail to reopen and larger firms either merge or are taken over. Also longer term I would expect there to be less start-up and business creation, with individuals becoming more risk-averse and there being fewer opportunities to attract investment, lower consumer confidence, and higher barriers to raising capital. It would still be possible to have sole trader/self-employed trade like plumbing or decorating, and selling online via platforms like eBay will still be viable, but overall I expect a future where large PLC's and multi...

 Scott Lowther ponders this after viewing a clip of London getting wipe out by an orbital kinetic weapon (AKA Project Thor ). I started to leave a comment but as it got longer and longer I decided to post here instead. So, let's go through some of his questions and try to make a realistic prediction: First, he posits ' would this utterly trash Britain?' he also states ' London is responsible for a whole lot of the British economy, but it’s sorta the “fake” economy of financial stuff, not growing stuff or making stuff.' Well, first off there is the issue of all the banks being vaporized, along with all their ICT systems. I'd hope they have backups but it could be that the entire payments system ceases to function. The result for the rest of the UK would be no one would be able to use a credit or debit card, withdraw cash or even access their accounts. Guess we'd be back to cash pretty sharpish.  In addition, all the insurance underwriters (Lloyds, etc) wou...