one thing at a time horsemouth. one thing at a time.

nowhere further to fall 

such is the advantage of lying on the floor (kafka allegedly). 

horsemouth has little recollection of yesterday (and he didn't make any notes as he was going along). 

they were making horsemouth dress up in the costume of a capitalist (well a capitalist pantomime horse) and then they were hitting him with sticks. horsemouth is of course not comfortable in the costume of a capitalist (he worries that people will hit him with sticks). 

his goal (between buffetings) was to work out how much development the communal endeavour can support. it's a small little beastie (but a strong one). the sensible way to do it would be with a spreadsheet. 

he got the calculator out (well the calculator app on the computer and a mortgage interest app online). in the old days (before horsemouth) they would have gotten out a slide rule (horsemouth remembers seeing one) or the logarithm tables. he remembers his dad bringing back a calculator (to do work stuff) in the valleys of south wales in the 70ies, he remembers the school (round about then)  getting a bbc micro, he remembers a friend showing him ceefax on the tv, he remembers the first time he saw the netscape logo and logging in to bulletin boards. 

horsemouth is (as always) indebted to his opponents for enabling him to clarify his thoughts for reminding him that assumptions have to be explicitly stated and justified, for reminding him that everything has to be said all at once or carefully placed in a story such that the elements flow.  

ultimately (of course) it's not horsemouth's problem (he is already housed). to horsemouth it is a practical question,  to his opponents it is a moral one, he wishes them luck in their efforts to reform humanity. he surmises that the realisation that their fate is in the hands of their fellow human beings is making them nervous. 

the doing and the timing of what is necessary is a meaty enough problem to be getting on with. it is important that the political problem (of convincing people of its necessity and to keep going through the difficult bits) is kept separate. 

one thing at a time horsemouth. one thing at a time. 

and indeed the timing is the key thing. (that and keeping the emotional investment low). everything cannot be done at once.  we are talking about a situation that will be five years in the unravelling. while it has some components that are more immediate (end of the year say) most of them are two/three years down the line at least.