Chris Thompson   Chris Thompson on the internet

Someone called down the stairs last night, saying that the moon was orange. And orange it was, which was more than slightly strange. I couldn’t help but feel that it was more like a sign of Armageddon or something: the first thing to burn was the moon, hanging like a dull sun in the sky.

There have been a lot of stories of lightning in the news recently. When such stories are so dominant, it’s no wonder my mind was somehow filled with dark thoughts when looking at burning moon, rather than comparing it to a Japanese painting or something. This poor woman was struck by a bolt of lightning whilst she was inside her home, simply going about clearing the breakfast table. The bolt, which must have been one very determined bolt, came through the ceiling, bounced off a pan, and “plunged” straight into her chest. Thankfully she’s now okay.

And there’s one here, saying how car exhaust fumes can not only increase lightning strikes, but increases them for miles around. Quite a scary thought.

People don’t like wires. And it’s understandable. If you have an Xbox, and you have friends round who are also playing on it, then you don’t really want four long wires tangling themselves together; you don’t want to have to worry about interrupting the game by pulling a controller out, or tripping up. And there’s also the fact that it just doesn’t look very good.

It is good, then, that we live in a wireless age. If you don’t like wires, you can take the wires away. It’s simple, it works, and it’s beautiful, right down to it looking a lot nicer than it otherwise would. Now you can have your Xbox underneath your fancy TV, and your wireless controller on the side, and it looks good; it looks like it belongs: you can have it out and not be embarrassed about it.

This phenomenon is not just for computers and computer game consoles to hog, though. You see it with CD players, with speakers. You can have a very fancy sound system installed in your home if you want, all glossy and with a very distinct lack of wires. And there’s definitely something about it. You can probably even get wireless call logging devices, if you look hard enough.

It’s everywhere, this wireless movement. You can look at telephones and cordless phones are now very much the phone to have. And when you look at things like Panasonic KX phones, and see the variety available, you really can see just how big they’ve become.

There are telecom companies, too; another underscoring of this wireless world we now live in, with wireless phones and wireless internet, and all sorts. So, really, the person who wrote that first article doesn’t have much to worry about. There aren’t many wires left in the world, and any stragglers that have somehow survived to this day probably don’t have much longer left.

Nothing can ever happen these days and just be observed or regarded as phenomena – it must happen for a reason. So when sheep start shrinking in Scotland, there must be a reason for it. When you’re searching around for a scapegoat, what better than global warming?

Yes, the sheep are apparently shrinking because of global warming. Now, when it comes to the global warming debate, I tend to favour the arguments that suggest that there isn’t really such thing. It’s true that the media is presenting us with a very one sided argument.

The article is written quite confusedly as well. It argues that the changes are because of climate change – but then describes those changes as one might describe natural selection. And after all, if a small goat survives, and passes on its small genes to further generations, is it not a form of natural selection?

Yes, it seems quite ludicrous to blame shrinking sheep on global warming.

It seems that there are other options than Sky out there, for satellite TV.

Yes, as I sit here, with a cup of coffee beside me and the television on in the background, I’m pondering the benefits of getting the fancy sort of TV. Previously, when I thought about satellite TV, Sky was the first thing that came to mind; it’s not just synonymous with it – it is eponymous. Here, satellite is Sky. Sky is satellite. It’s just been around so long that it has a spike-like grip on the market.

I notice that if you are investigating into satellite, there are websites to help you with the decision. Satellite Help, for example, offers news and blogs and forums that can be invaluable when you are looking into these things. I’ve discovered a number of alternatives in this manner that I quite simply did not know existed previously. Virgin Media, of course, is another big one: like Sky, they are a satellite powerhouse; developing over recent years to deal with more than just the internet and phones, but TV as well. Their service seems to be based around on-demand – so you get a basic package, and from there can pay a fee to watch what you want when you want.

There are other options, too, like the Eurovox box. It has its own sub-forum, where there is seemingly a thriving community willing to answer questions and provide information if you need it. And there is the Dreambox, which, it seems, is a similar sort of thing. I’ll have to look into it further, because I’m not entirely sure of their uses myself. But it’s interesting to note the alternatives to Sky that are out there. Even as I’m sitting here now, with the TV on in the background, I’m thinking that satellite is definitely something I’d like to invest in. Especially in time for the upcoming NFL season.

After the epic matches of the last few days, Wimbledon fever has well and truly reached boiling point. Andy Murray, our British lad, has, for the first time ever, made it to the semi-final. Which might not sound like much – but the quality of tennis on offer has been phenomenal: just ask Andy Roddick. And in recreation grounds across the country, people are playing tennis all day long.

I wrote about this sudden urge to play tennis a few days ago. But now, I’m beginning to feel that I wrote it in an overly sarcastic and perhaps a touch too pessimistic way.

My friend had a day off work today, and he quite fancied playing tennis. I said I’d take him up on the offer. Tennis, for me, can be a very satisfying game; like table tennis, or squash: you can make your opponent run around, and it can be very, very fun to do so. So I went, and I played, and I had fun – it was difficult not to, the weather was so beautiful. And when I was out there, I realised something.

Wimbledon fever is actually a really good thing.

So much these days, we hear about the obesity epidemic, which should probably be capitalised and read The Obesity Epidemic. We hear about our children not having enough PE lessons at school, and growing fat because of it. We hear about all sorts of these things, and really, for me to criticise people for wanting to go and play tennis because Wimbledon’s come on the TV is a bit rubbish.

It’s pretty fantastic that people of all ages get inspired by the sport to go out and play it themselves. It is tiring stuff, and is an easy way to get fit – and that’s an incredible thing. And when you consider how utterly sublime last year’s final was, where the tennis on display was probably the best that ever has been seen, it’s no wonder Wimbledon proves to be such an inspirational event.

It’s certainly not something to be grumbled about by foolish people like myself.