Personal – Fooyah – Ian Parish

March 3 2026

Time Conventions

We have rules and ways of describing things to other people so that everyone understands the same things. It’s why we have a glorious number of words that specifically describe a particular thing. We can use language to be highly specific and be very clear our meaning. When we use words most people have an understanding of the subtle differences in words and their meaning.

You’re acting like an idiot.

This phrase often gets complaints “you called me an idiot”. And while I might be suggesting you are acting like an idiot I am definitely not calling you an idiot. This type of language is used all the time by politicians where they say one thing, hope the populous interprets in a particular way but also have the deniability that they didn’t say what everyone thought they did. This happens more these days with all the fascists in charge in the USA and the rising of Reform in the UK. If you listen all their language is veiled so that racists understand what they are really saying. Apparently it would be bad form to say overtly racist things, people don’t like that.

I didn’t expect to get going about language in this communication but there’s always going to be some form of political messaging behind what I write. It turns out that 2026 is the tenth anniversary of me being permanently angry. I’m permanently angry because of the obvious lies promulgated during the Brexit campaign and when called out people ignored it. The fact that Johnson et al lied to force the Brexit vote a particular way just to try and heal the divisions within the tory party has boiled my piss for ten years. Here is the image I saw that started this communication:

State Of The Union - Timings — State Of The Union – Timings

I’m not going to discuss the remnants of humans that appear in the image because I don’t have enough space on this server to get that vitriol exorcised. My problem with the image is more to do with the time stated that the State Of The Union will start.

This took place on Tuesday 24 Feb at around 2100 EST. This would have been around 0300 GMT on Wednesday 25th February. As you can see in the image the broadcast via C-Span was due to start at midnight. BUT there is a problem here caused by how midnight is defined.

The general understanding would be that the broadcast was due to start at midnight Tuesday into Wednesday. So Tuesday night time. If I had arranged to meet you at midnight on Tuesday you would assume that we are meeting Tuesday night. However, 1200am is defined as the very start of the next day. So the C-Span graphic, because they used 1200am and not “midnight” means the midnight in the Monday to Tuesday night time. Had C-Span written “midnight” then I think we would have had a better idea of what they meant but the fact they went with the highly specific 1200am means we should interpret that as the specific time in the Monday night time.

Now, because how we speak and the way we use language is versatile, it can be argued that the real meaning of 1200am 24th Feb should be interpreted the way most people would interpret it. If I was to say to you “let’s meet at midnight on Tuesday” only an absolute pedant would turn up on the Monday night time. Midnight Tuesday is the absolute start of Tuesday and not the time going into Wednesday. But, because of how language works we know that Tuesday night time was meant. It could be that we even add some form of qualifier: “I’ll meet you at midnight Tuesday night” which is still ambiguous but less so.

I guess there are two possible outcomes that result in a correct meeting of people. Outcome one is that someone asks a clarifying question to ascertain the correct evening people are meeting. Outcome two is that both assume the correct evening without any clarification. The moral is if someone says “at midnight” then we need more clarification about which actual night time they require.

February 23 2026

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die

Fucking finally! I can write about a film I thought was excellent. First, let’s get through various formalities. I went to Rochester cinema, it wasn’t dark when I got there and the tide was high with wavelets lapping at the wharf. It was actually nice to see lots of water as over the last while it’s just been the mud banks. I rated this film on IMDb after I watched it and there is a system to the scoring so you should check out this communication.

I really enjoyed this film. Along with Rental Family it was actually good. Pretty much every other film I’ve seen was shit or meh. This film had the right mix of action, craziness, emotion and humour. I really enjoyed it. Some parts of it were obvious and some were not. It worked well. All the actors were great. Here’s the thing, I found the film so engrossing that I didn’t sit there drafting my comments for this site. Normally I ponder ways to explain my feelings as the picture motions but that didn’t really happen. I just enjoyed watching and being part of the spectacle.

I suppose the film has a warning about social media and AI. Much like Mercy that I also watched recently. There’s a lot of discussion about what we should do about AI but no one really has the guts to enforce things. In this country the government is too in love with business and so it doesn’t appear to sit back and discuss the moral issues. Like many things I think schools will get the blame or instructions to do things deemed unpopular by most. I’m starting to be on the side of regulation and rules about social media etc. I’m starting to be wary. I’m definitely on the camp of “let’s regulate the shit out of AI” because I don’t think it is being used for the purposes of good. Anyway, that’s probably all for another day. I really enjoyed this film.

February 19 2026

RNAS Yeovilton

I’ve retired officially from doing cadet things and I don’t regret it. I’ve recently read through my reasons for leaving that I communicated to OC SE and I still agree with all the reasons and I have real wish to be back in the fold. I was asked a while ago if I would act as the extra driver on a STEM trip for the RN Cadets and I agreed. I didn’t have to be put onto any official systems and I was just going to be a pure civilian. I was happy with this arrangement. I will admit it is over a year since I drove a vehicle with a manual transmission – but I didn’t stall and it still felt natural. The only issue was the minibus not being very happy about starting – that caused raised eyebrows!

I visited the Fleet Air Arm Museum many years ago when I was on my way to see friends in Cornwall via a motorbike. I had passed the sign a few times and decided I would go in and see what it was about. I haven’t yet done the Army Air Corps museum and that’s in that direction too. One day I’ll pop in to that museum.

I don’t remember there being a Concorde when I last visited but there may have been. I guess I could look through the photos from that day, if I could find them. The museum is pretty good. There are four main halls and it covers naval aviation from before World War One through to current day. It is a good place to visit.

Lots of the aircraft had really easy to read histories explaining their roles and what issues they may have faced. It was nice to see. Rather than fill this communication with pictures of aircraft I thought I’d show some of the details of parts of aircraft. The above are windvanes on the nose of the Concorde prototype. It would be interesting to see how much data collected and what movement these vanes would have when travelling supersonic. There were some seats in the Concorde but really it was full of recording equipment for the test flights.

This is the cross section of the folding part of the Fairy Fulmar wing. This particular aircraft was the only Fulmar in existence and was the prototype. It’s a shame to think it’s the only one around.

This is the landing hook of the Sea Vixen. This was situated in the carrier deck hall. It’s quite impressive to see a hangar made out like a carrier deck. You could even wander through the island and see carrier group operations centre which was nice, even if the signage was a touch vague.

The final image from the trip is this part of everyone’s favourite low flying bomber the Buccaneer. It’s a lovely aircraft, large and impressive. Love the rotating bomb-bay and the automatically retracting gear. It’s fast and low. Have a look at some videos online to see just what crazy shenanigans the Bucc could get up to. I had a lovely time wandering the museum. It was a long day though!

February 14 2026

Shelter

I went to see a film, hoping it would be better than the last couple I watched. To be fair it was a Statham film and so I knew what it would be like and it didn’t disappoint. Let’s get the formalities completed now. The tide was low as I entered the cinema but was definitely higher when I left so that means it was flowing. I rated this film on IMDb and it’s important you see the communication that covers the scoring system.

This film was exactly what I expected. Except it was dark. And I don’t mean story type dark I mean filmed to be dark. This could be just me, I didn’t find Iron lung to be particularly bright but then to be honest it was set in a submersible. Shelter was different and it could have been bright in some places. Maybe I’m just getting old. Look, it’s an action movie but with feelings. There are conspiracies and Bill Nighy. That’s about it. Statham does Statham.

Part way through this film I realised it was a lot like Hanna, a film and TV series. I’ve recently watched the series on Amazon and it was much better than this film. It is a well-made well scripted, if confusing at times with all the double crossing, TV show. It’s worth the watch. Plus it’s got that Joel big bloke person in it from that other thing you saw him in.

February 8 2026February 10 2026

Ashbury Heights – Downstairs At The Dome

Smith and I went to see Ashbury Heights last night. I had seen them before at Mera Luna but this was the first time I had seen them headlining their own show. This was a new venue for me and the easiest way to get there was to drive into town. I booked parking at the Tufnell Park Tavern, which, when looked at from street view, looks like a shit pub. You know the type, Sky sports wall to wall and Farage voters inside. But, I have to say the pub was really nice and welcoming, we had a drink there after the gig and it was lovely. One of the staff explained that if I park there again then if I have a drink the parking is free – something I’ll think about for the next time I’m in this area.

While driving to the venue I noticed a lot of Arsenal Football Club fans and realised I must have been close to the stadium they use. They weren’t too much of a problem although there were some local road closures to ensure people could move between the transport links and the stadium safely. I didn’t mind this. I did mind being held at a T-junction by a police motorbike. It turned out I was stopped to allow a convoy of big vehicles through. I don’t know who it was, probably either the Prime Minister or the Prince Of Wales. I was annoyed because I don’t think anyone is important enough for a convoy like that. People are equal and I don’t care what anyone else says. I have just googled where the PM was and Facebook seems to think he was at the match. I guess being in a Range Rover isn’t as cool as the helicopters I saw flying Barack Obama when I was in DC.

Before the gig we ate at what I described as a bakery with a cheeky restaurant at the back but it turned out to be a Greek street food café type thing. It was genuinely really nice and good value it was called Pitta Republic but it was hidden in the back of Intrepid Bakers. We then found the venue and it was quite standard. Black painted walls, a bar, a merch area and basically an open space, hall shaped that can fit 300 people. There weren’t really any quirky aspects to the venue, which was actually nice. The sound system was good and the set up was well balanced. The only slight issue was any lighting from the front didn’t seem to be working, otherwise, impressive.

First band up were Promenade Cinema who were already playing when we arrived. It was fine. There was a keyboardist and a singer. The songs had no real variation in them, no tempo changes or melody changes. Like I said it was fine. I did find myself wondering what to do with my arms during their set. I wasn’t clapping along so my arms just felt oddly in the way, I didn’t know where they should be. I tried behind my back, crossed, hands in pockets but they just felt “in the way” during this band. I think that means I was bored.

Ghostbells were up next and before the gig they handed out a load of plastic bracelets that had pinkish- red lights in them. The whole crown had them on their arms during this set and I thought that was a really nice touch. This band were better, their songs had variation and guitars. The singer had really good microphone control to make her singing fit with the music and changes in volume – I don’t know why I noticed this but it made me happy. I enjoyed it. I’d see them again quite happily.

The headliners were amazing. Musically excellent, great personalities, really seemed to be enjoying themselves. I could stay close all through the set as my neck started aching and given it’s been rough for over a month I moved towards the back to relax and be able to move my head a little easier. Ashbury Heights played a lot of bangers. Songs I’ve heard before and some off the album I have by them. It was an impressive display of musicianship from a band who have been around a long time. I really enjoyed it.

February 2 2026

Mercy

I made the wrong choice of film to watch. The whole weekend was a disappointment of cinema attendance. I watched Iron Lung – one man in a submarine for two hours – and then I went to see Mercy instead of Shelter. The tide was low as I drove to the showing. After the film I rated this on IMDb and I gave it four out of ten. There’s a communication somewhere way back that tells you how the scoring system works.

I spent some time during this film wondering whether to leave or not. I was miffed at watching another film with just one person starring in a single location. It didn’t look good. Yes, there was the AI judge but it’s AI so doesn’t count as a person. I though Judge Maddox was looking rather Starbuck like during the film and I wonder if that’s the hairstyle and look Hollywood now associates with strong female characters.

Amusingly this film was financed by Amazon and it effectively is an argument against AI. The irony was not lost on me. The main actor, one of the Chris people, was OK in all this but hardly a likable character. A violent drunk who’s only conviction is that he wouldn’t hurt his wife. It’s OK the film tells us, there’s a good reason he’s a drunk. Bullshit, say I. You can’t write this stuff and make the guy likeable. I don’t think I mind him being an alcoholic, but he is a cop and a dick. Worse than that he’s an american cop and that makes him very dodgy. I didn’t care if he got killed or not by the state.

I was hoping to see an action film with stupid stunts. What I saw was a cheap film with no discussion of the morals of AI usage in the real world. Just the explosive outcome at the end of the film. Why would an AI judge have a face? Why would it be white? Why would it have emotions? Why would it glitch? Gosh, it’s a bad film.

February 1 2026

It’s Time To Fix Things

If you know me then you would be very much aware that this is probably a rant about how we need to become vegan socialists. However, this isn’t about fixing society. This is about things I need to fix in the home. I’m currently concentrating on the bathroom and I have got a list of issues that’s quite long. I don’t think any of them are urgent so I am going to do these things over time, do something every other weekend or so.

First I painted the radiator. It wasn’t looking good and needed some rust treatment. Then I spent a weekend getting two decent coats of titanium based paint onto it. I think it looks alright. It hasn’t made that much difference to the bathroom but I notice and it makes me happy.

Recently I am working on the ceiling. I have quite a bit of paint flaking off and some bubbles where the paint is definitely leaving the surface. So, I am in the process of scraping all the loose stuff off and then sealing the surface ready for paint. I think the paint will be over the next few evenings as I’m working on the sealing of the ceiling. Taking this little by little approach also keeps me happy as there isn’t too much disruption to my normal life.

I don’t like decorating. I don’t like the idea of having to move everything so that I can slap some paint on a surface. I don’t like the disruption. But, I have been telling myself that the end result will be pleasing and so I’m coping with that. I do not know what colour to do the walls in that room. I’ll leave that decision for another day.

February 1 2026February 1 2026

Just So Pretty

It’s worth playing computer games just to look at the views.