Things

1. I've just had an e-mail from the US government to tell me that my ETSA permission to travel there thingy is about to expire. I'm not welcome in their country until I have filled out the form again. And maybe not even then. I've usually liked America more than I was expecting, but then there's the jet lag and hours on planes and in airports, so all those horror stories on boing boing about the pornoscanners have just tipped things the other way and I don't intend to return. Maybe I should reply to the US government's email explaining about that, but I fear they might be petty enough to keep it on my record. Like the underwear you can buy that has the fourth amendment in silver so that they show up on the body scanners. It's a good point, but is it a good idea, practically speaking, to rile them?

2. Sometimes it's odd to live in a village. For example, they are actually going to celebrate the Royal Wedding here. The flyer asks people to arrive at the village hall at 11am to watch the wedding live, with Bucks Fizz and nibbles. Then when it's all over you eat a lunch of "good old fashioned" fish and chips, while watching the thing again on the BBC's highlights show. They need a substantial take-up to pay for a TV licence for the village hall.

3. It's interesting that even for the people who were really behind World Book Day/Night and the giving out of free books, it seems to have gone rather badly. This woman tried to give out 48 copies of Fingersmith in Peterhouse.