Monday 20 July 2009

Now wash your hands

I woke up this morning to hear a chap disputing that the moon landing 40 years ago happened - missed some of his arguments, but it seemed that he was arguing that the photos had to be fake because of radiation and no condensation. Or something. Gosh, don't we all feel gullible now?

And then a health expert and a government spokesman were tying themselves in verbal knots regarding advice to pregnant women and flu (I really want to write 'flu. but that seems just too pedantic; actually my fingers type ful, because that's more naturally instinctive if you touch-type, but that's another matter). First the expert said keep out of crowded places, then when pressed, backtracked completely. No, he didn't advocate not going to work in a busy environment, nor not going to work on the Tube. Just wash your hands a lot. "So, the advice to pregnant women is the same as to anyone else?" "er, yes".

Thing is, if they start saying don't go to crowded places, then tourist spots and busy shops will suffer, and they'll get wrong, as we say in Norfolk, for having panic-mongered.

Then I looked at my watch. It had stopped, several minutes before. Just about when the conspiracy-theorists had been talking about the faked moon landing. I checked that the little winder wasn't pulled out, which it wasn't, pulled it out, corrected the time and pushed it back, and it started again. Spooky.

After a couple of weeks off, we're due to start bricklaying again tomorrow. "Sunshine and showers" said the weather forecast, unhelpfully. Right now, we've got the sunshine. Later, the Sage is going off to fetch china for the next sale in October, to be photographed before it's put into storage.

25 comments:

Dave said...

You woke to hear that loony on R4? I'd done half a day's work by then.

He claimed that the extremes of temperature on the moon (-150ºc to +150ºc) would damage the film. The expert pointed out that in a vacuum you don't actually experience those extremes. Then the radiation would fog the film, despite the expert pointing out that they only got a minimal dose of it.

His first argument was that with no viewfinder, how could they compose such good shots - he dropped that one after it was pointed out that we just see the best of hundreds of photos. Presumably the ones with Buzz's head cut off are in the back of the album.

Roll on tomorrow. Although you do realise that someone out there probably doesn't believe your wall is real, and that the photos have been faked?

Rog said...

With the swine flu epidemic I don't think you should be gathering around a wall. I'm thinking of delaying getting pregnant myself until the fuss blows over.

I'm off to read the tabloids. We're all going to die apparently. Fortunately they don't say when.

Z said...

Why would I want to have done any work by 7.30 in the morning, Dave? I haven't got a single deadline to meet until September, and it's lovely to feel untroubled. Even by conspiracy theorists and confused health spokesmen.

Rog, the world will be a better place without humans, won't it? In which case, surely we owe it to the future to do everything we can to die out as soon as possible.

Morton Shadow said...

...so, presumambly this nutter on R4 has never seen the opening of 'Independence Day' then...?

(He'll be telling us *that* was faked next...)

;/

xxx
Mort

Z said...

Has anyone claimed yet that Michael Jackson isn't actually dead but is off on a roadtrip with Elvis and Lord Lucan? It's only a matter of time.

Hello, Mort!

heybartender said...

I awoke to the BBC this morning as well. Only I was treated to a lovely fellow 'Merkin who is giving away a free AK-47 with the purchase of a truck from his dealership. You can imagine what a well-spoken and non-confrontational guy he was. Oh, it makes me almost as proud as that moon landing, I tell you...

martina said...

Obviously the fella has seen the movie Capricorn One a few too many times. Everyone on the news is in a dither about the "swine flu", which I call R2D2 as can't remember actual name. My favorite quote was by Fred Haise, a NASA astronaut. "Never panic too early".

Z said...

Good old BBC, never leave a cliché unturned. Come to that, all journalists are desperate for us to get in a tizz about the flu, but I don't know anyone who actually is. "Panic early, panic often" is the motto of newspaper journalists.

Zig said...

I think you should invite all commentators to the great wall unveiling so we can see for our selves. Need a lot of veil I imagine but I'm sure Dave can run some up in his spare time :)

Z said...

Oh yes, and then Dave can give a speech.

Anonymous said...

I don't know if the moon landing really happened or not, but who really cares? I'm American, yes... but I will be the first to say that it very well could have been a hoax. I dunno...people just need to find better things to worry about--like hunger, or (dare I say it) "global warming".

Z said...

The complexity of planning such a hoax and keeping it secret for 40 years? - simpler just to fly to the moon and land there I think, Alyson. Impossible for someone who remembers it to describe adequately how exciting and enthralling it all was at the time - and we thought it would lead somewhere. Mind you, in those days people thought that you could 'cure' world hunger.

Dandelion said...

Actually, z, it would have been pipsy to mock it up in a studio, using the bare minimum of people. And if they picked people who wanted to hoax it, say maybe people who might revel in the fame and glory of having been to "the moon", then keeping it a secret would be no problem.

It's more likely that it was a hoax than that it wasn't. Look what happened when people tried to copy it. The only way to know for sure would be to go to the real moon and find the flag and the footprints.

Z said...

To mock up the pictures wouldn't be a problem, agreed - but the whole enterprise was rather bigger than grainy grey photos.

Anonymous said...

Now if folk could work out a way of easing through the Earth's gravitational pull and atmosphere that was easier than having to reach 25000 miles per hour using disproportionate amounts of fuel...

heybartender said...

Been reading about Einstein recently, actually, and should anyone have any doubt about the feasibility of a moon landing, they should read him too.

lom said...

Michael Jackson is working in our chip shop, I thought everyone knew that

Dave said...

It's Tuesday now. It's not actually raining.

Z said...

It is raining now, gently. I'll email you in 20 minutes or so, Dave.

Health journo said...

Not ALL journos want us all to panic abut H2D2

Health journo said...

And not all hournos can spell or touch type either!

Z said...

True, MotB - but a woman can wildly over-generalise, can't she? ;-)

Pat said...

Why are pregnant women assumed to have not a shred of common sense.
Do we have to be spoon-fed all of our lives?

luckyzmom said...

You are all so reasonable and sensible.

Z said...

Us? Blimey, darling, no one has ever said that to any of us before.