Good morning all.

Back at work (how odd, after 9 days off) and coffee time has arrived.

I'm headaching gently at everything that needs to be done - there are a few tasks to squish in that aren't compatible time wise, but what the heck. At least Jon's coming in to run some assays that I can't add in too.

I've been reading MOJO magazine over Christmas - they often have cool cover CDs and the articles can actually have a bit of weight to them, rather than being NME style dross. This months issue had a review of Phil Lynott/Thin Lizzie and interviews with Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who. Some of the most interesting parts were comments made by Townshend about social circumstances and the influence of WWII, rather than talking about the band itself. He was referring to a post-war generation that was traumatised and in denial, suppressing their emotions to keep up appearances of normality. He also mention the effect of the war on child abuse, and how the thought that they might lose removed people's inhibitions to do the unthinkable. He was also a victim of abuse.

Another comment that was really only an aside had me thinking. Townshend was talking about how the mods thing really was youth culture - indulged by those who hadn't yet grown into the accepted 'norm' of behaviour for adults, for whom there was a very clear pattern laid down. This was compared with a comment by the interviewer about the way society now has 'eternal' youth culture. I can see reasons quite clearly why, despite the media pressure to buy and conform, that there is an aspect of 'eternal youth' to adult and even geriatric culture. I feel this, being part of the generation that rejected it's forebears way of doing things and chose to carve their own culture. Actually it's interesting that my mother had also hooked into this, being a young communist with strong ideals in the post-war years.

It also reminds me that middle age is the age of compromise, softening and a strong danger of mediocrity, but that's another rant.


On a different note, I've always found that Christmas tends to be a time when I drift further from God, rather than closer. I just stop trying in all areas, relax and let things go. I know I should push deeper into Father during the time of relaxation, but instead I tend to treat it like time off from God. A psychologist could probably interpret this to explain how I see Him, but that's probably not useful. But somehow Christmas and Jesus are divorced for me. Maybe that's why I was so strongly opposed to Christmas as a new Christian. Like I said above, middle age can be the time of compromise and mediocrity. Sometimes it can bring greater gentleness and acceptance, but there are times I wish I was energised and radical again, rather than old, self-absorbed and lazy.

Right, coffee finished. Back to bulk reagent preparation, colony picking and QC assessments.