Not necessarily true; I've heard from people who have tried it that lion meat is actually pretty good. Same goes for alligator and, apparently, rattlesnake.

I had gator in Louisiana and it's one of the best meats I have tried. But I imagine that's because I was in Louisiana where they know how to prepare it properly. I would like to try rattlesnake. But due to father in law's medical issues he doesn't hunt anymore. So I'd have to find a venue that serves it to try it. I'll try most anything once with the exception of calf fries.

So it's technically two months since I started the new job.  And it's almost completely a great move.  My stress level is way down.  As I suspected, the state takeover of the public defense is a dumpster fire.  So I'm super glad to be viewing from the outside and not the inside.  

The one down point (to the extent it's a down point) is that I'm a little bored.  The work is incredibly easy compared to what I've been doing for the last twenty years at least.  But I'll take it.  I should be able to retire in eight years.  I'm fine with coasting in to retirement.  

I can honestly say, I would not.  I learned a lot in my 8 years (midshipman and active duty) and grew a lot; but, on the whole, I think I would have rather gone a different path.  I don't begrudge anyone who enjoyed their experiences; but, like my father, I found that it was a means to a different end and I was glad to leave it behind.  I'm proud to have served and worked with many great people; but, it was not a life I wanted to live for 20 years, even though I would at least have a pension now.

I found the Gulf War, in particular to be a very troubling experience.  Not combat or anything like that (I was stateside); but troubling in my idealism and sense of ethics.  There were other events before that shaped my view, besides that.   It had a positive result, in that it made me a more active citizen, deeply interested in the course of the nation and more inclined to study issues, rather than vote for personalities or straight party lines, or with knee-jerk responses.

It did end up making me identify with one military figure:  Gen Smedley Butler, of the USMC.

Well, yeah. I'm not completely unpatriotic.

I saw a news report here about a barrister who has recommended that the UK needs a third tier of court between the Crown Court and Magistrates’ Court. His name is Alex Chalk.

Forgive my ignorance, but aren’t there already three tiers? Crown Court, County Court, and Magistrates’ Court?

I can’t pretend to know the semantics, but Crown would be for the likes of murder and terrorism, County would be for the likes of personal injury claims and monetary claims, and Magistrates’ Court would be for the likes of motoring offences and minor damage offences. At best, that’s a guess, I’m not a legal expert.

So, yes, I’m a tad confused about a barrister calling for three tiers of courts - because I thought we already had them.

Incidentally, I did once read The Secret Barrister, a riveting book, accessible to a layman like myself. One common theme whenever justice is discussed here is that it isn’t seen as a “glamorous” thing to fund. Politicians do like to get elected talking about defence, trade, healthcare, etc. All important things. But it does often feel like justice is left behind. I mean, here in the UK, there is a backlog of court cases, some courts’ infrastructure is in decline, some cases won’t be heard for years, and it just seems like a topic the media and politicians aren’t interested in.

Not trying to start a discussion about specific politicians or parties, just being as general as I can, based on a news story I thought was interesting.