Destroy All Onions!

“The Midnight Falcon”, by David Gemmell, page 137.

The first sentence that contains this shocking news is “Sole owner of a rundown circus with a mountain of debts and only two assets, the little slave Norwin and the aging gladiator Rage”.

50 pages later, you’ll be pleased to known that Norwin is still alive. I will post further developments as I get to them.

I always knew that sooner or later I would come across my name as a character in a fantasy or sci-fi book, it was just a matter of time.

A friend was described in his Japanese medical report as having an “elevated level of abdominal circumference”.

That’s the most wonderful description of overweight that I have ever heard.

Today I went on a day trip to Hiroshima, the first place where an atomic bomb was used in anger. This is the Hiroshima Peace Dome, one of the very few buildings that survived the blast, and the resulting temperatures of 3000° C.

As expected, it’s a slightly scary place. The pictures of the city before show a typical Japanese city of the period, except for the fire breaks that had been specifically created to protect the city from bombing. Needless to say, when the atomic bomb came, it wasn’t what they were expecting.

The pictures of the city afterwards just show a wasteland, with a handful of remaining buildings. A lot of people died horribly. We actually met one of the survivors, who talked us through what happened.

Walking back through the city to the station, it was odd to think that the streets we were walking through had been that wasteland. I’m glad that they have kept the peace dome as a memorial. A terrible thing was done, and I hope it never happens again.

It doesn’t take much for gadgetry to impress me, as I always like a new toy. But I was completely stunned when I found noise-cancelling headphones on the plane to Japan yesterday. They always make a difference to the entertainment experience on the plane, so I usually carry a pair. But I’ve never found them supplied by the airline. Well done ANA!

Oh and thanks for not going bankrupt before we got to travel too.