Books and Fish

Independent booksellers have been in the news recently. They are obviously concerned about the rise of the e-reader and pissed off at those people making money from a new technology. I think, on the whole, I like e-readers. You have all the obvious benefits of not having to store or carry books. And then there are other things, like the environmental aspects. Sure there is some effort making all the plastics and electronics, but I wonder how many trees you have to make into books to have an equivalent environmental impact?

I don't have an e-reader, but that is simply because I read so few books it would be 5-10 years before it paid for itself. However, I have no sympathy for these book-selling people.

Back in the 80s, instant photography consisted of Polariod. And there were lots of people making a livelihood from making and selling all the equipment involved. Then digital cameras are invented and they are all our of a job. Oh well, that is progress, right? I am not sure some of the people involved in the book industry (I am looking at you - really old man running an independent book shop) wouldn't recognise progress if it hit them in the face.

There will always be a place for real books, but there will be far fewer of them. And the industries built around them will change accordingly. I think it will be more like vinyl than Polariod. People still make and sell vinyl music, but most of it is digital.

It really grinds my gears when I see someone on the news who has had the same job for years complaining when they loose their job, not because they were bad at it, but because the world has decided that industry is too big. Get a new fucking job. And the example that irritates me the most are the fishermen. They like to bicker amongst themselves, and blame the spanish fishermen. But when you look at it as a whole (which we must do) then you see that we have shagged the seas to the point that there is little left. There are more fishermen than fish, so some people are going to have to find new jobs.

Go get a job in a call-centre you whining little turd.

Eat More Fish

After my post on why I shouldn't eat meat I saw an advert for a show on a very similar topic. I didn't watch it, but I guess the gist of Channel 4's investigation is that you can't have cheap ethical meat products. I have really gone off having meat in convenience food like pasties or sandwiches from the shop or whatever. But I am still cool with having meat occasionally when it is the focus of a meal. We have completely stopped having spaghetti bolognaise (with meat), we just have spaghetti and a jar of tomato sauce now.

I haven't even posted about Eurovision that is how much I haven't been blogging. But when the musical elite of Europe came together to laugh at the contestants in Baku I had a barbecue to mark the occasion, and on that barbecue I put some mackerel. It was an exciting day for a barbecue. Good thing I had watched that video on how to clean and gut a mackerel, cos I wasn't expecting to have to do it when I was planning the meal.

Guess what's in the bag.

We had more fish on a birthday barbecue a couple of weeks later, including a trout. Not only that, but on two occasions now I have made a quick and possibly healthy lunch by getting a fish fillet from the supermarket and pan frying it. If you do this from Sainsbury's they give you a free knob of interesting butter. You don't get that at Morrison's. Sainsbury's really know how to look after their customers.

Felt all cheffy spooning my foaming butter over my fish.