on negativity in "fan" forums, and on (British) tax filing for small businesses

Robert Fripp's Diary for Monday, 5th January 2009:

What I find most astonishing is that people act as if there were no consequences from their behaviour, no repercussions from their actions. Like, being nasty to someone & then expressing surprise that the subject of their nastiness is offended, upset, disturbed. Why be upset that a critic, reviewer, commentator, poster, fan or audient have stuck a metaphorical knife in the heart of a player?

If we assume our postings have no effect, better not to post them. If we believe that our postings & online commentary have effect, better to accept responsibility for generating those effects.

Robert Fripp's Diary for Wednesday, 7th January 2009:

David: A few thought-provoking figures. In the last ten years, the legal obligation for our small business to file accounts with Companies House has cost us exactly £213,763.62 in bookkeeping and accountancy fees. And yet, having paid all that money preparing accounts for the taxman, how much tax have we actually paid during that same ten year period? Exactly £670. Those figures bear repeating. £213,763.62 on the completely pointless and non-productive task of preparing figures, in order to pay a tax bill of just £670.

time to start remembering this...*sigh*

Cocktails and calories: Beer, wine and liquor calories can really add up. Here are the breakdowns for your favorite bar beverages - Nutrition | Shape | Find Articles at BNET:

What wets your whistle? A cold beer? A slushy margarita? A glass of red wine? At a party, a happy hour or a night by the fireplace, a drink is such a natural accompaniment that sometimes we forget about the calories we're consuming. Big mistake: Calories from alcohol add up quickly. Our bodies don't register liquids in terms of fullness," says Elizabeth Somer, R.D., a nutritionist and author of The Origin Diet (Henry Holt, 2001). "The reason you gain weight from alcohol is that you don't compensate by eating less later. You still eat the same amount, regardless of whether you had the drink."

filling dinner for 2 on 300 calories each...

Frozen Scallops (about 20 total: 100 cal each person)
Brocolli (about 1 cup: 15 each cal - doubling to 2 cups acceptable if you can eat that much)
Lipton noodle-sides, "Alfredo" whole-wheat (110 cal each)
1 tbs butter/margerine (35 cal each - a second tbs is needed for the noodle-side but that's counted in there already)

seasoning: Salt-free Lemon & Herb, with a touch more black pepper from a mill.

while noodles are cooking, melt butter in frying pan with seasoning.  add scallops and brocolli and pan-fry on med-low heat 'til cooked, which should be about half the time the noodles will take (noodles: 12 min; scallops, 'bout 8 if frozen; less if fresh).

15 minutes, 300 calories, and i'm *done*.