Mike's musings

Sleep

(backposting) Jo suddenly seems to have got the whole thing. She's averaging 0700. That's about an hour's improvement. And Miri's not doing to badly, apart from her cough. Long may this continue.

Labels: sleep

Today, I shall mostly be ...

• ... sleeping in (but not as long as Jo and Moo)
• ... taking the girls swimming with Moo
• ... spending more money than I meant to in Waitrose
• ... clearing the dog poo off the lawn
• ... mowing the lawn (first time this year, if you exclude the two strims it's had)
• ... stepping in several instances of dog poo that I missed
• ... barbecuing with Si
• ... drinking beer with Si
• ... eating the barbecued food with Si, D, Morgs, Boo, Moo, Jo and Miri
• ... drinking wine with Si and Moo
• ... geeking with Si
• ... whilst drinking more wine with Si
• ... going for a walk with the girls, Moo and Buster
• ... having a bath with the girls (but not Moo and Buster)
• ... putting Jo to bed (very quick!)
• ... clearing around a bit
• ... loading the dishwasher
• ... doing some washing up
• ... and ... finishing my last essay for ERMC. YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!

Labels: drink, ERMC, family, friends, geekery, swimming, walk

A great woman

Some people are known to all, and some are great in a quiet way. Moo's Aunty Kitty died this morning with a member of family at her bedside, though Parkinson's meant that she'd not been able to know anybody for quite a while. She was always the mainstay of the family. She never married, but was always first on the scene for a family crisis. She worked all her adult life for Littlewood's - and for everybody else. And noone could wield a hoover or clear plates like her at 0730, even if people were still in bed.

She's where she should be: in God's hands, where she will finally know herself again.

Labels: death, family

Writing

Wrote a major report for work today, and another 2,200 words of essay: I'm within 600 words now, and have just a conclusion to put together, so that's about right. I think I'm very pleased with it, but I'm absolutely on my last legs and off to bed soon, so can't really tell.

Had a good chat over lunch with Tim, the area CME (Continuing Ministerial Education) Officer, who will be overseeing a fair bit of my training over the next 3-4 years. Got on very well, and we've got lots in common in terms of background and academic interests, so I'm very pleased about that, too.

Got to stop now, as my typing accuracy is going to pot...

Labels: essay, ministry, work

Synchroblog - Human rights (and Christian responsibilities)

Ramblings of a proto-ethicist

As a liberal - and I live in a country where the moniker is not an insult, at least not yet - I am drawn to the discourse of human rights. There is a strong calling to recognising the rights of the inidividual, particularly as against the State, and to a consequentialist ethics which, at root, exists to ensure - or to try to ensure - the best outcome for the most people.

An example: there are rights around whether I should be allowed to exist in a smoke-free environment. I believe that I have a right to health. You argue that you have a right to smoke if you wish. The arbitration tends to be - and has been, in the UK, at least - that the benefits to society as a whole (in terms of healthcare costs for smokers, for instance) outweigh the rights of smokers to injure those around them. This is a good argument, but there are problems with it (not least issues of how you tax smokers, and why you allow tobacco to be sold in the first place). For me as a Christian, however, I am beginning to question how I feel about the consequentialist argument.

The classic alternative to the consequentialist argument ("do the best for the greatest number of people") is the de-ontological argument ("do what is right" - sometimes over-simplified to "the end justifies the means"). This is an argument from the Law. And, for Christians, it is with a capital "L", typically. There are a number of problems with this: not least the suffering of individuals who are often trampled underfoot, and the problems with being certain that you know _what_ is right (and what "the Law" really commands). But one way to balance these issues is to remember that with rights come responsibilities: they are always balanced the one against each other. For some, this can move us into an approach labelled "virtue ethics", but I'm not yet sure that I want to move down this line.

I don't have answers this month (do I ever?), but I think that if we remember that rights _always_ entail responsibilities, we are at least part of the way there.

Synchroblog

Today's post is a "synchroblog" on the subject of "human rights". If you've liked what you read here, or, more particularly, if you didn't, and you'd like to read some other opinions, please visit one of the other participating blogs:

• Sonja Andrews on Human Wrongs
• Adam Gonnerman on Guantanamo Bay in the eyes of God
• Julie Clawson on Human rights and Christian comfort
• Steve Hayes on Human rights and Christian faith
• Sally Coleman on "If"
• Adam Gonerman on "My Charade is the event of the season"
• Janice Fowler on "Voice Overs Needed" (or "Wake up - Speak Up")
• Mike Bursell on Human rights (and Christian responsibilities)

Labels: ethics, synchroblog

ExCel

Today I was speaking on a panel of four plus chairman at the IET GSA International Semiconductor Forum at ExCel in London. Finally managed to catch up with the chairman 20 minutes beforehand, and when I got there, I discovered that there were only two of us plus him, so more work. But it went pretty well, I think. Some nice give-aways at the exhibition, and some interesting leads, so a good day, all-in-all.

Labels: work

I give in

Yup, I've done it. The new barbecue arrived today, and it's a gas one. It's just going to be so much quicker to have barbecues, particularly for the girls, who aren't great at waiting for food. Tried it out for Moo and my supper, and it worked very well. Put it together all on my own, as well.

Started on my final ERMC essay tonight. 6,000 words. I've got the first 1,000 or so done, which I was dreading. The next 3,000 or so shouldn't be too hard, and we'll see after that.

Labels: ERMC, essay, food