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The sparks have quite literally been flying, not for reasons of passion but for the more mundane fact that winter and the very low humidity have resulted in fairly significant amounts of static electricity build up on everything. More times than I care to remember over the past few weeks, I have had the sometimes unexpected displeasure of a substantial shock. I am much more careful now, taking the time to touch walls and other non-metallic objects to dissipate some of the build up. S insists that my refusal to moisturise often, and liberally, is a contributor to this – a google search seems to suggest she is right in some way. The jury is still out on that one I think, but I am leaning towards getting a humidifier, if and when I can sort out travel to the city next door.

I came face to face with my inner dark side this week, no thanks to what looks like a Bitcoin scam. Some website purporting to be associated with Chamath Palihapitiyia, claimed to be 10x-ing deposited Bitcoin. It seemed too good to be true, as quick google search proves (it was just another iteration of a long running scam) but in the moment all I saw was the potential to quickly turn around a small deposit into something substantial. In my head, it was the perfect opportunity to kick-off dollar cost averaging into Bitcoin. Thankfully, the exchange/wallet I ended up signing up for had a 24 hour cooling off period before one could transfer coins out, by which time the website was down and I had managed to do the google search I should have done at the onset. The silver lining is that I am left with about 1,000 GBP worth of Bitcoin which I suppose is as good as any starting point. The downside is that it puts my inner greed into perspective. There is much to shudder at there, I must admit.

On a slightly less troubling note, I found myself stepping into the shower several times this week with my glasses on. Whilst I am not sure what it means for my long term sight, I am willing to speculate. I am taking it as a sign to enjoy the things I still can see now. That, and learning to keep my greed in check, are perhaps the life lessons for this week.

Recent Finds

• James Surowiecki, in The Bitcoin Dream is Dead, argues that its volatility makes it unusable as a currency anytime soon. There is though still the “Bitcoin as a hedge against gold” argument which I think makes sense, and is why I am (belatedly) looking to dollar cost average into it with sums I can afford to lose in the short term (if I can find a way to free the funds which are stuck in a number of Nigerian investments which are going nowhere)
• Astronaut Tim Peake joins a stellar cast on The Infinite Monkey Cage to talk space, the stars and out relationship with them over millennia.
• The Open University’s podcast, Life on our Terms headlined by BBC Music’s Gemma Cairney, is a new weekly listen. Favourite episodes include Brentford’s Rasmus Ankersen, Black Curriculum CEO Lavinya Stennett and George The Poet.
• High praise for that stellar Amanda Gorman spoken word performance. Of course quite a few grumps had contrary views. But who cares, right?