Stodge.

There are two things one cannot criticize American fast food chains of and there are portion size and hygiene. This is Subway where I have a foot long mega-melt (four sausages, two eggs, two rashers of bacon three toppings, two sauces, one coffee, bread) plus 90 points for £4.50.

It is true that Subway is often bland and makes all places look the same but the value argument holds.

The big drama of last night was the general election which Boris won so I am a happy man.

It is fresh this morning and I feel good despite a steady stream of stupidity form my fellow human
beings. Looking through city publications for money making inspiration I find an advertisement for 'smart' meters. These are free on request and were previously promoted as the money saving option. With a smart meter it is possible to see exactly how much one is using so I suppose this might result in some changed behavior. Now, they are promoted as a way to reduce CO2 emissions as power companies can predict demand through them in some way. It seems worth doing even if there is some loss of privacy involved. In theory it should be possible to tell if I am at home or not by looking at my usage. Despite this I think I will do it as I am a sucker for technology.

One further food innovation was a bag of chia seeds from Waitrose. Quite expensive at 365g for £4.99 they are claimed to reduce cholesterol if one sprinkles them on top of everyday food. If true, this is a bargain.

My employer is looking to reduce my hours so I must cut my overhead soon. I am praying for inspiration.

More James Bond please.

Some more photographs from Mayfair- a place I am falling in love with. When one is poor one should surround oneself with reminders of wealth. If others live like this- why not us?

Today will be dominated by the General Election- the most important since 1945. I have voted and all I can do is wait and worry. The library I am using while I write this is also a polling station so I see the voters come and go as I write this.

Yesterday- some good news. I repaired my iPhone for £40 leaving funds available for other things. The down side is that I have quite a primitive model (relatively speaking) and so I will have to wait another year for a camera upgrade. The pictures I take still look good to me though.

I work as a security guard right now but I want to be a good one. This involves looking a little less like Jeremy Corbyn and a little more James Bond. I am trying to get a new suit from my employer and they have agreed. The only thing stopping them is bureaucracy but I should have it before Christmas.

Uniforms are a funny business. If I let mine become too worn then I will be seen as tired and unprofessional. It will then be even harder to get a replacement because I will subconsciously be seen as of little worth. If I appear smart I will have no problems. Ultimately the beneficiary is the client because security are often the first contact most people have with the client company.

I woke at 0.45 this morning because I am a morning person and because I wanted to do some housework. I have more energy and cheerfulness before the sun rises. We should all know if we are an owl or a lark and do our most demanding work at these times.

I do stuff.

Yesterday I had a bad day- despite the impression of this photograph. I allowed my time to be wasted- not by cats- they were delightful- but by people. Furthermore, in this distracted state I dropped my iPhone and broke it.

For those who are interested this is Fortnum and Mason. Probably the most chrismassy place on earth right now.

My first thought was to buy myself a replacement phone and my second thought was to hesitate. I have an iPad. Most apps run on it. Do I really need an iPhone as well?

Data is cheap in the UK provided the phone is paid for so this is not the major factor. The problem is the capital cost, the heartbreak of dropping it and the ways in which it sucks time. I can use free WiFi in bars and public libraries so I can use the iPad for social media- but not in real time. The only problem is the possibility I may be in a contract I cannot break.

Internet dudes also tell me that the lizard people are using it to track my movements and addict me to dopamine sapping porn. I am not so sure.. but can we be sure of anything right now?

N.B I discover that I am indeed in a contract but I leave my speculations in place as they will be useful to some people. Ho hum.

Twelve months.

As a writer I have a bad habit. I ask questions that do not truly matter, once this is done the article is doomed and in one sense I am personally doomed because my mind is sent in profitless directions.

How can I ensure questions I address mean something? I ask myself what I want. Once I have done this I attempt to do the thing in a single month. This forces the kind of intense focus that gets results and it means I have to come up with something workable. The result is a better life for me and a better blog for you.

My January task is to work weekends only. I had better sart working on it right now!

Eccentrics have value.

Eccentrics are something of a long shot. The worst they can do is take up five or ten minutes of your time with a baffling conspiracy theory (or nine) but from time to time they save the world. The gentleman above (the 21st century Joseph 77) has taken the trouble to sew himself a bizarre outfit and offer his solution to the Brexit impasse. Maybe when the sane people have failed we should give eccentrics a go?