Wednesday 6 February 2018

10:00 I clean up and vacuum throughout the house because our U3A Danish group is holding its next meeting here tomorrow at 2:30pm. Lois gets going with cleaning the floors in the hall, kitchen and utility room, and the cupboards and countertops in the kitchen. My goodness, no peace for the wicked !!!

11:30 I take a little look online. I get a bit of a shock, I have to admit!

A groundbreaking scientific analysis shows that a Brit from 10,000 years ago had dark brown skin and blue eyes. Researchers from London's Natural History Museum have now managed to extract DNA from Cheddar Man, Britain's oldest complete skeleton, that was discovered in 1903.

University College London researchers then used the subsequent genome analysis for a reconstruction of his face. It emphasizes that the lighter skin characteristics of modern Europeans are a relatively new phenomenon. Other skeletons with the same characteristics have been found on the continent in western Europe.

No prehistoric Brit from this period has had his genome analyzed before. That's why the analysis provides a valuable new insight into the first people to resettle Britain after the last ice age.

A replica of "Cheddar Man" in the caves

in the county of Somerset, where he was discovered in 1903

The 10,000 year old "Cheddar Man" had dark brown skin and

blue eyes. He also looks a bit worried, I think.

No surprise there: scientists believe that "Cheddar Man" was murdered -

there is a nasty fracture on the surface of his brain.

- yikes, poor Cheddar Man !!!

12:30 Lunch and then I go to bed and have a gigantic afternoon nap while Lois goes for a 30-minute walk in the neighborhood, which is good for her digestive system. I get up at 2:40pm and jump up on my exercise bike. I cycle my usual 6 miles (10 km).

15:30 I take a little look online. I see that Jason Alexander, who played George Costanza in "Seinfeld", is going to play a new role as a school teacher in "Young Sheldon". 

It's a bit annoying to me that Britain's E4 channel is constantly announcing that they are going to start airing Young Sheldon "soon", but they refuse to give a date - what madness !!

Wake up, E4! Tell us when "Young Sheldon" is going to start !!!!

I also see a heartwarming news item about a success story for one of our local geese. The article has been well researched and reported for local readers, with a series of in-depth interviews, may I add.

This is local journalism at its best.

A local goose told reporters on Monday,

that it was a great relief to be promoted to lead the V

after years of toiling at the back of the configuration

The writer of the article calls him a "local" goose, so I assume he's from Slimbridge, a local bird park.

The goose told the journalists that his hard work, steadfastness and devotion to the flock had finally paid off, and he had finally got the role of lead-flyer at the tip of the "V".

Sources confirmed that the gigantic Canada goose who has had his eye on a position at the front of the flight formation since his very first migration, has been showing promise over his six years with the flock, and has slowly moved up from his first mission, when he was on the left side of the V, at the back.

"It is a great honor to take over this new role and I am more than ready for the responsibility it entails," said the goose, who later admitted that he had begun to wonder if his migrating talents would ever be fully recognized. "It's all about keeping a tight formation. You need to know when it's time to glide and when it's time to flap. At this point I can almost fly the route with my eyes closed. Plus, I know all the best ponds on the route. "

"To be honest, some of my predecessors in this role were just not ready for it," added the 12-pound waterfowl. "We actually had one who led us straight into a hunting party's sights and almost got us all killed."

While emphasizing that he was proud of his 'journey' to the tip of the V, the goose admitted that there were times over the years when he had been forced to "keep [his] bill shut" and look on, as younger, less qualified geese became promoted over his head. As recently as 2015, he was still flying what he described as dead end assignments in the middle of the formation. The goose noted that during this period he "felt rather unmotivated" and spent several migration cycles just going through the motions of flapping and honking.

According to the goose, his lowest point came after he failed to get appointed to a plum position as No. 2 on the right, and an inexperienced rival was promoted ahead of him, a goose whose uncle was in charge of the flock. He said he had assumed that he would be a shoo-in for the job after he had won the approval of his teammates by spotting, from a height of 3,000 feet, a group of schoolchildren sprinkling breadcrumbs in a local park. He felt that his efforts were not appreciated by his superiors, and he had been considering quitting and starting his own flock in California.

Now that his luck had changed, the goose said he was pleased that he chose to stick it out, even though he recognized that the new position came with its share of challenges.

"When you're the one who calls the shots, everyone comes to you with their complaints," he said. "I have done less than a week and I have already experienced three individual geese grumbling in my ear about how they are not getting enough updraft off the bird in front of them. And yesterday when we hit a snow storm, half of them were laughing about it. I tell them, "Hey folks, I don't control the weather," but do you think they listen? No. They'd rather just bitch about it. "

"At the same time, if I'm not on their asses all the time, to keep in line, our formation gets wavy and U-shaped, and nobody wants that," continued the goose. "Sometimes leading the flock means you have to be the bad guy."

The goose continued by saying that he is keen to implement many of the ideas he has had for improving the flock's migratory methodology - such as flying south a few weeks earlier each year and to increase the height to add more opportunities for coasting - because he believes that his innovations could greatly improve the efficiency on which the flock operates.

But some flock members have expressed misgivings about the new bird occupying the tip of their V: for example a female member who says she is afraid that he lacks the instincts needed for the top position.

"He's a great goose, but I'm just not sure he's got the right temperament to be an effective leader," she told journalists. "When he finds himself flying against a few bad headwinds, he'll realize he is just not cut out for this. After all, he would not have got this job in the first place if the three guys in front of him hadn't been sucked into the engine of a passenger jet," she added.

16:00 I talk to Lois about the goose story. We both have had experiences working for a manager who reminds us of the goose in the article. It's always a bit of a tragedy, we think when a bird that is a perfectly competent "dead end" middle manager guy in the center of the formation is promoted to a post he, quite honestly, is not suitable for.

I myself once had a manager who was not up to the job. He had been appointed by a so-called "seagull", that kind of senior manager who craps on you and then pisses off. My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!

18:00 We have dinner and watch a bit of television. An interesting documentary is on, all about a beautiful historic village in Oxfordshire, where the county council has given permission for a large building company to build 3,000 new houses.

It would be better if I did not see programs like this in the evening because it always makes my blood boil when I see the planning authorities and local council members who should be taking care of the local residents' interests, ignoring them so blatantly. Grrrrrrrr !!!!

However, after the end of the program, I usually tend to calm down. I can see that there is a lack of homes in the country, and this village benefits from a railway station with links to Oxford and other major cities, and there are also workplaces that are not too far from the village.

But as usual, the program does not refer to the problem that the young couples who currently cannot afford to buy a house will never be able to buy these new houses in Culham, because building companies are only interested in building expensive homes for wealthy people. Good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!!

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzz !!!!!

Danish translation

10:00 Jeg rydder op og støvsuger overalt i huset, fordi vores U3A danske gruppe holder sit næste møde i morgen kl 14:30 hos os. Lois går i gang med at rense gulvene i entréen, køkkenet og bryggerset, og skabene og bordpladerne i køkkenet. Du godeste, ingen fred for de ugudelige!!!

11:30 Jeg kigger lidt på nettet. Jeg får lidt af et chok, det må jeg indrømme!

En banebrydende videnskabelig analyse viser, at en brit fra 10.000 år siden havde mørkebrun hud og blå øjne. Forskere fra Londons Natural History Museum ekstraherede DNA fra Cheddar Man, Storbritanniens ældste komplette skelet, som blev opdaget i 1903.

University College London forskere brugte derefter den efterfølgende genomanalyse til en ansigtsgenopbygning. Det understreger, at de moderne europæeres lysere hudkarakteristika er et relativt nyt fænomen. Andre skeletter med samme karakteristika er blevet fundet på kontinentet i det vestilige Europa.

Ingen forhistorisk brit i denne tidsalder har fået analyseret deres genom før. Derfor giver analysen et værdifuldt nyt indblik i de første folk til at genbosætte Storbritannien efter den sidste istid.

en replik af ”Cheddarmand” i hulerne

i grevskabet Somerset, hvor han blev opdaget i 1903

Den 10.000 år gamle ”Cheddarmand” havde mørkebrun hud og

blå øjne. Han ser også lidt bekymret ud, synes jeg.

Ingen overraskelse der: forskere tror, at ”Cheddarmand” blev myrdet –

der er tegne på brud på hans hjernens overflade

– yikes, stakkels Cheddarmand!!!

12:30 Frokost og derefter går jeg i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermiddagslur, mens Lois går en 30-minutters tur i nabolaget, hvilket er godt for hendes fordøjelsessystem. Jeg står op kl 14:40 og hopper op  på min kondicykel. Jeg cykler mine sædvanlige 6 miles (10 km).

15:30 Jeg kigger lidt på nettet. Jeg ser, at Jason Alexander, der spillede George Costanza i ”Seinfeld”, skal spille en ny rolle som skolelærer i ”Unge Sheldon”. Det er lidt irriterende for mig, at den britiske E4-kanal konstant annoncerer, at de vil begynde at sende ”Unge Sheldon” ”snart”, men de afviser at opgive datoen – sikke et vanvid!!

Vågn op, E4! Sig os, hvornår ”Unge Sheldon” starter!!!!

Jeg ser også en hjertevarmende nyhed om en succeshistorie for en af vores lokale gæs. Artiklen er blevet udmærket godt forsket og rapporteret til fordel for lokale læsere, men en stribe af i dybte interviews, må jeg tilføje: lokal journalistik på sit bedste.

En lokal gås fortalte journalister i mandags,

at det var en stor lettelse at blive forfremmet til at lede "V-et"

efter mange års brugt på at slide og slæbe på bagsiden af konfigurationen

Artiklens forfatter kalder ham en ”lokal” gås, så jeg formoder, han kommer fra Slimbridge, en lokal fuglepark.

Gåsen fortalte journalisterne , at hans hårde arbejde, fasthed og hengivenhed til flokken endelig havde  betalt sig, og han havde endelig skaffet sig rollen af at tage føringen på spidsen af "V-et."

Kilder bekræftede, at den gigantiske Canadagås, der har et godt øje til en position på forsiden af flyveformationen siden hans allerførste migration, har vist løfte i sine seks år med flokken og har langsomt bevæget sig op fra sin første mission på venstre side af V-et på bagsiden.

"Det er en stor ære at overtage denne nye rolle, og jeg er mere end klar til det ansvar, det medfører", sagde gåsen, som senere indrømmede, at han var begyndt at undre sig over, om hans migrerende talenter nogensinde ville blive fuldt anerkendt. "  Det gælder om at holde en stram formation. Du skal vide, hvornår det er tid til at glide, og når det er tid til at klappe. På dette tidspunkt kan jeg næsten flyve ruten med lukkede øjne. Plus, jeg kender alle de bedste damme mellem her og Nova Scotia. "

"Ærligt talt var nogle af mine forgængere i denne rolle ikke forberedte på det," tilføjede den 12-pund vandfugl. "Vi havde faktisk en, der ledte os direkte ind i et jagtselskabs sigter og fik os alle næsten dræbt."

Mens han understregede, at han var stolt af sin rejse til V-ets spids, indrømmede gåsen, at der var tider i løbet af årenes, når han var blevet tvunget til at "holde kæft" og kigge, når yngre, mindre kvalificerede gæs blev fremmet forud ham. Så nyligt som i 2015 fløj han stadig hvad han beskrev som blindgyde-opgaver i midten af formationen. Gåsen bemærkede, at han i denne periode "følte sig temmelig umotiveret" og tilbragte flere migrationscyklusser, på bare at udføre lidt mekanisk bevægelserne associerede med at baske med vingerne og skrige.

Ifølge gåsen kom hans laveste punkt, efter at han ikke blev udpeget til en fedt stilling som nr 2 på højre og en uerfaret rival blev fremmet forud ham, en gås hvis onkel stod for flokken. Han sagde, at han havde antaget, at han ville være det indlysende valg for jobbet, efter at han havde vundet godkendelsen af hans gåskammerater ved at spotte, fra en højde af 3.000 fod, en gruppe Binghamton, NY skolebørn drysse brødkrummer i en lokal park. Han følte, at hans bestræbelser ikke blev værdsat af sine overordnede, og han havde angiveligt overvejet at sige op og starte sin egen flok i Californien.

Nu da hans lykke har ændret sig, sagde gåsen, at han var glad for, at han valgte at holde det hele ud, selvom han erkendte, at den nye position kommer med sin del af udfordringerne.

"Når du er den der bestemmer, kommer alle til dig med deres klager," sagde han. "Jeg har gjort det mindre end en uge, og jeg har allerede oplevet, at tre individuelle gæs brokke sig i mit øre om, hvordan de ikke får nok opvind af fuglen foran dem. Og i går, da vi ramte en snestorm, grinede halvdelen om det. Jeg fortæller dem, "Hey folkens, jeg har ikke kontrol over vejret," men tror du, at de lytter? Nej. De vil hellere bare brokke sig over det. "

"På samme tid, hvis jeg ikke er efter dem hele tiden om at holde sig i kø, bliver vores formation bølget og u-formet, og ingen ønsker det," fortsatte gåsen. "Nogle gange at stå for flokken betyder, at du skal være den bad guy."

Gåsen fortsatte med at sige, at han er ivrig efter at gennemføre mange af de ideer, han har for at forbedre flokkens vandrende vaner - som f.eks. at flyve sydpå nogle få uger tidligere hvert år og at øge højden for at tilføje flere muligheder for at glide i frigear - fordi han mener, at hans innovationer i høj grad kunne forbedre effektiviteten, som flocken opererer med.

Men nogle flokmedlemmer har udtrykt dårlige anelser om den nye fugl, der besætter spidsen af deres V: for eksempel et kvindelige medlem, der siger, at hun frygter, at han mangler de instinkter, der er nødvendige for toppositionen.

"Han er en super gås, men jeg er bare ikke sikker på, at han har det rigtige temperament  til at være en effektiv leder," fortalte hun journalister. "Når han kommer til at flyve imod et par dårlige hovedvinde, kan han indse, at han bare ikke har skabt til dette."

"Han ville trods alt ikke have fået dette job i begyndelsen, hvis de tre fyre foran ham ikke var blevet suget ind i en passagerflys motor," tilføjede hun.

16:00 Jeg snakker lidt med Lois om gås-historien. Vi har begge to oplevelser med at arbejde for en chef, der minder os om gåsen i artiklen. Det er altid lidt af en tragedie, synes vi, når en fugl, der er en perfekte kompetent ”blindgyde” mellemleder i centret af formationen bliver fremmet til en stilling, han ærligt talt, ikke er egnet til.

Jeg havde selv engang en manager, der ikke slog til i jobbet. Han var blevet udpeget af en såkaldte måge-supermanager, den slags overchef, der skider på en og så pisse af. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og ser lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om en smuk, historisk landsby i Oxfordshire, hvor grevskabets kommune har givet sin tilladelse til, at et stort bygningsfirma bygger 3.000 nye huse.

Det ville være bedre, hvis jeg ikke så sådanne programmer om aftenen, fordi det altid får mit blod til at koge, når jeg ser planlægningsmyndighederne og lokale kommunemedlemmer, der burde varetage de lokale beboernes tarv, ignorerer dem så åbenbart. Grrrrrrrr!!!!

Så efter programmets slutning, plejer jeg imidlertid at have tendens til at falde til ro. Jeg kan se at der er en mangel på hjem i landet, og denne landsby har til fordel, at der er en banegård med forbindelser til Oxford og andre storbyer, og der også er arbejdspladser, der ikke ligger for langt fra landsbyen.

Men som sædvanligt henviser programmet ikke til problemet, at de unge par, der for tiden ikke har råd til at købe et hus, aldrig vil kunne købe disse nye huse i Culham, fordi bygningsfirmaer kun er interesseret i at bygge dyre huse til velhavere folk. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzzz!!!!!