March 8, 2026- Daylight Savings Time & Guilty Pleasures

Slept horribly last night - ended up finishing The Botantist's Assistant, which features a neurodivergent middle aged female detective trying to solve the murder of her boss, a research fellow at a university. It's okay, but I probably should stop picking up books rec'd from Smart Bitches. (Yes, I got it from my brother - but only because I asked for it - via a rec from Smart Bitches.)

Got about five hours of sleep, which isn't too bad, considering I didn't fall asleep until 3:30 (2:30 until Daylight Savings Time struck at 2 am). Someone posted on FB - "Does anyone like Daylight Savings Time" - and I thought, yes, unfortunately, or it wouldn't exist - they are all the people who don't have to get up before 8 am each day to go to work, and usually get home after 5:30 pm, and don't care about morning light. I am obviously not among them. I get up at 6 am and am usually home between 4:30 and 5pm. Daylight Savings Time as a result plays havoc with my sleep patterns and just around the time I was getting it right. (An example of how helping some often hurts others, or how getting what you want may be at the expense of someone else's health.) I'm at my best sometime in May, when sunrise is at 6 am and sunset at 7 pm.

Today's Unitarian Church Service was on Guilty Pleasures, it was about enjoying what you love without letting society dictate it, but at the same time - listening to your conscience and not going against your own values because society dictates you should love this particular thing. It was interesting - because the Minister is Transmale Pacific Asian devoted Harry Potter Fan, who was struggling with the desire to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. (I really feel for the LGBTA+ who fell in love with Harry Potter as kids, only to discover the author is a transphobic bully, who uses the money from Harry Potter to fund her anti-trans or Terf causes, and influence legislation against them.) He compared the so-called societal guilty pleasures of ice cream, country music/pop music, and romance novels to their desire to see the play Cursed Child (which has excellent stage craft). The difference between them - is a value issue.

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The world isn't simple, is it?

Television

Been watching British Costume Dramas. Currently the newest (or at least I think it is the newest) adaptation of the Count of Monte Cristo on PBS, with Sam Clafin and Jeremy Irons. I'm enjoying it. I can't remember the story at all, and I don't think I ever watched all of it or seen it. I keep meaning to read the book - which is insanely thick with teeny tiny print. (It's why I read so much on the Kindle - the paperbacks have teeny tiny print - which require reading glasses, and some have faded print.)
It's a good adaptation - Clafin manages to get across both the innocent sailor, and the hardened wrathful ex-prisoner filled with vengeance. [PBS Passport]

Also started the last season (or the revival of Downton Abbey on Netflix which is followed up by the Grand Finale), and Grantchester on Netflix (a mystery series about a minister in a small British town outside of Cambridge during the 1950s, starring James Norton.

And I think I might start Maigret (PBS Passport), and a rewatch of Veronica Mars (which I can't remember at all - I can't even remember my recent rewatch of it in 2025 which got rudely interrupted halfway through season 1 by Hulu removing seasons 1-3. Netflix picked them up last week.)

And of course, I'm still watching and loving The Pitt which is the perfect medical procedural drama. It keeps all the action in the ER, and focuses on Doctor Robi's sixteen hour shift. So, say a character leaves the ER or has to run an errand or go upstairs to surgery, or go to a deposition? We don't follow them, we stay in the ER with the chaos going on there. We only leave the ER - at the very beginning of each season - following Robi on his bike to work, or at the very end of each season when the doctors from that shift leave to share a drink. That's it. I find this approach to be a breath of fresh air? It removes some of the unnecessary melodrama relationship drama bits from the procedural. And makes it far more realistic. It's in a lot of ways a no-nonsense straight up medical procedural, with relationship drama along the edges.

***

Mother: You're home?
Me: Well, where would I be? It's overcast and gloomy, and there's nothing to do with anybody. I'm fine here.

It's kind of sunny. But no real blue sky to note.

There was some good news in February appparently?

Disclaimer: As always, good news like humor and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In short, mileage it varies.

1.A new treatment has shown huge potential for treating spina bifida in the womb, after a trial showed that it improved children’s mobility and quality of life. Spina bifida, a condition in which a baby’s spinal cord is not properly enclosed during gestation, can lead to a range of lifelong disabilities. However, scientists claimed this week to have a promising new treatment, which involves applying stem cells from the mother’s placenta to her baby’s spine while surgeons repair it in the womb.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)02466-3/fulltext

2.Researchers hailed new prostate cancer treatment
A new immunotherapy drug for treating prostate cancer has shown “remarkable” results in an early clinical trial.
The VIR-5500 drug was given to 58 patients with advanced prostate cancer that had stopped responding to other treatments. Almost half saw their tumour shrink after taking the drug, according to the UK’s Institute of Cancer Research, which led the research. Most patients had only mild side-effects.

3.After surviving breast cancer, Mary Mwangi started crafting handmade prosthetic breasts for those who’ve had mastectomies in Kenya, as an alternative to costly silicone options. She now leads a group of women who have produced over 600 pieces for fellow survivors in need, all while finding a sense of solace in the art itself. “Knitting takes you through a process of healing,” Mwangi said. “Once you are not thinking about your disease, you are positive, and that positive mind helps you, because healing starts from your mind.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/breast-cancer-survivor-knits-prostheses-050739235.html

4.Chile has become the first country in the Americas, and only the second globally, to be verified as having eliminated leprosy. Announcing the verification on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) described the milestone as a “landmark public health achievement” and “a powerful testament to what leadership, science, and solidarity can accomplish”.
Chile’s leprosy-free certification follows sustained public health efforts, including prevention strategies, early diagnosis, improved treatments, and continuous follow-ups. “Chile’s elimination of leprosy sends a clear message to the world: with sustained commitment, inclusive health services, integrated public health strategies, early detection and universal access to care, we can consign ancient diseases to history,” said WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The first country to be verified as having eliminated leprosy was Jordan in September 2024.

https://worldhealthorganization.com/

5.Indigenous river defenders are celebrating after winning a David versus Goliath battle against the Brazilian government and corporate giants over plans to industrialise an Amazonian waterway.
The Tapajós River faced the threat of being dredged and privatised to boost soy and grain shipments out of Santarém, a small city in the Brazilian state of Pará. But activists had other ideas. They occupied a local grain terminal belonging to Cargill, the biggest privately owned company in the US, forcing Brazil’s government into a policy U-turn.“The transformation of Amazonian rivers into routes for economic exploitation directly threatens Indigenous territories, traditional ways of life, food security, biodiversity and the environmental balance of the entire region,” said the Federation of Indigenous Peoples. Reacting to the U-turn, Maria Leusa, an Indigenous campaigner, said: “This proves that life – the river – has no price. It cannot be sold, it is not negotiable. That’s why we will never back down.”

6.Lawmakers in Vietnam have passed legislation regulating artificial intelligence, making it the first country in southeast Asia to place safeguards on the fast-moving technology. Like the European Union’s AI Act, Vietnam’s law requires companies to clearly label AI-generated content, which is often not easy to differentiate from reality. It will also oblige them to inform customers when they are interacting with a chatbot rather than a human. Internet safety campaigners welcomed the move, but said enforcement will be key for it to be effective.

https://www.positive.news/science/eu-approves-draft-law-to-regulate-ai-how-it-works/

South Korea became the first country to enact an AI law in January (the European Union’s is entering force in phases). It comes amid growing concern about AI firms’ involvement in the military, after the Trump administration demanded that AI companies give the Pentagon unrestricted access to their technology – including for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. Open AI, the company behind ChatGPT, obliged, signing a deal with the Pentagon this week that will allow its systems to be used by the US military. It sparked a fierce backlash, with millions pledging to quit ChatGPT, resulting in a rapid reversal and Open AI changing the deal. "On Monday OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said the company would add the language to its agreement, including explicitly prohibiting the use of its systems to spy on Americans." [Proof boycotts work at any rate.]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3rz1nd0egro

7. The UK’s green economy grew by 10.2% in the last year, outpacing the nation’s broader economy, which grew by just 1.3% in 2025.
That’s according to research from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which comes amid increasing hostility to green industries from opposition political parties.

The CBI’s research shows the green economy to be in rude health, generating around £83.1bn in gross added value. Every £1 it generates, it added, creates an additional £1.89 in the wider economy.

“It is clear, you can’t have growth without green,” said Louise Hellem, CBI’s chief economist. “At a time when the cost of doing business has squeezed appetite for capital investments, and high energy prices are being cited as a drag factor across the economy, investments in clean technologies can significantly bolster competitiveness and productivity.”
The report follows separate research from Carbon Brief, which found that clean energy drove more than a third of China’s GDP growth in 2025. It comes as the war in the Middle East sends oil and gas prices soaring.
“Long-term sustainable growth is unattainable without a future powered by clean, affordable, and secure energy,” said Hellem.

https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-clean-energy-drove-more-than-a-third-of-chinas-gdp-growth-in-2025/

8.Europe’s night train network is set to expand after the community owned rail firm European Sleeper announced a new route between Brussels and Milan. Launching in September, the service will call at Cologne and Zürich, providing an important north–south connection on the continent.
European Sleeper has been a driving force behind Europe’s unexpected night train renaissance, which comes amid growing demand for low-carbon travel. In 2023, the Dutch-Belgian company launched a Brussels to Berlin service, which has since been extended in both directions to include Amsterdam and Prague. European Sleeper is part of Europe’s burgeoning community ownership movement, which has seen regular folk take ownership of everything from pubs and shopping centres to a ferry service. Owned by its readers, Positive News is part of that movement.

https://www.positive.news/society/how-communities-are-stepping-up-to-revive-our-tired-towns/

9.Ireland’s basic income for artists became permanent. A basic income scheme for artists that launched during the pandemic to kickstart Irish culture was made permanent this week. Offering participants a weekly stipend of €325 (£283), the €25m (£21m) pilot helped more than 2,000 artists, although many more applied. According to an independent study, the scheme generated €100m (£87m) in “social and economic benefits” to Ireland’s economy. Elinor O’Donovan is among the artists to have been accepted onto the scheme, which was launched by the Irish government in 2022. “Before I started receiving it, I was working part-time as a receptionist just to be able to afford my rent. I was thinking about moving to a country where I might be able to afford to live a bit cheaper.”
“Now I work full-time as an artist. [The scheme] has given me the flexibility that the job of an artist requires and has allowed me to take risks. I’ve gone into film and I was able to pay other people to work with me on it.” Although limited in scope, it’s the world’s first basic income scheme to be made permanent.

https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/press-releases/basic-income-for-the-arts-pilot-produced-over-100-million-in-social-and-economic-benefits/

10.A new law was proposed to crack down on abusive online images
The UK government this week revealed a new law that would require tech companies to remove intimate images that have been shared without consent, within 48 hours. Currently making its way through the House of Lords, the proposed amendment to the crime and policing bill would mean that a survivor only needs to flag an offensive image once, instead of contacting different platforms separately. Keir Starmer, the UK prime minister, told BBC Breakfast on Thursday that this law would mean a survivor “doesn’t have to do a sort of whack-a-mole chasing wherever this image is next going up”. The law would be enforced by fines and other as-yet-undetermined measures.
Janaya Walker, interim director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said that the proposed law “sends a powerful message that women and girls’ rights and freedoms matter, and should not be threatened by image-based abuse. “This announcement rightly places the responsibility on tech companies to act, because it is they who can stop images from spreading, and that have profited from hosting this harm. We need to see government build on this work by giving survivors more options to take action, and ultimately to prevent this abuse from happening in the first place.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz6ed1549yvo

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[In personal news, been battling a bit of a weather related headache, the weather is shifting and I think it's finally going to clear in time for my birthday tomorrow. I went to the book store - and picked up three books as a birthday gift to myself - "Ministry of Time"; Amy Tan's The Backyard Bird Chronicles; and The Color Palette ( a journey exploring the history and origins of color), so two non-fiction, one fiction to add to my ever increasing pile of books.

Yes, I'm one of those people who goes to a book store intent on either buying nothing or just one book - and ends up with three. This is pathetic. It's not like I don't have two libraries in walking distance, numerous little libraries, and a massive book depository in the basement laundry room. Not to mention all the unread books in my apartment, and on my kindle. I have enough to last me five lifetimes. Sigh. What can I say? Buying and owning books has always made me gleefully happy. Nothing else does in quite the same way. Well maybe records did when I was a kid - but I no longer own a record player and have an unlimited music account with Apple Music, which is much easier to use than the record player, and takes up less space.]