My 8ntir8 lift door is cov8r8d with an ad for th8 Hangzhou 8xpo. All good. 8xc8pt that it starts 10.18 and finish8s 11.08.

I wont say anything about th8 start of th8 Olympics – this is alr8ady an in-hous8 jok8.

I hav8 to conf8ss that I hav8 a bit of an obs8ssion with th8 Chin8s8 obs8ssion with 8ight.

At first vi8wing, it would s88m that th8 pow8rs-that-b8 hav8 tak8n th8 last 1888-5888 y8ars (d8p8nding on who you talk to) of rath8r sophisticat8d, advanc8d and 8nlight8n8d philosophical d8bat8 and cond8ns8d th8 whol8 thing down to, yup you gu8ss8d right, 8ight. It is all rath8r 88ri8. (Try and gu8ss that word)

If it wasn’t so p8rvasiv8, it would b8 comical. Or p8rhaps b8caus8 it is so p8rvasiv8 it is comical.

I propos8, to pr8v8nt furth8r int8rnational ridicul8, that thos8 pow8rs-that-b8 simply add an 8ight to th8 8nd of 8ach tim8 notation. 12 o’clock thus b8com8s 128 o’clock. May b8com8s th8 58th month of th8 y8ar. (Out of 128 months) This way nobody has to go to thos8 rath8r obsc8n8 l8ngths to book th8ir w8dding / company op8ning / conc8ption / 8tc on a th8 statistically improbably and th8r8for8 8xp8nsiv8 day that th8 dat8 contains on8 or mor8 8ights.

Right now it happ8ns to b8 0128hrs, 25th S8pt8mb8r 2008. L8ts do 8v8rybody a favour and updat8 th8 cal8ndar (which was probably inv8nt8d h8r8 anyway) and call this tim8 018288hrs, 258th day of th8 098th month of 20088 AD.

Of cours8, und8r th8s8 n8w mandat8s thos8 silly dat8s lik8 thos8 of th8 Olympics b8com8 8v8n mor8 p8rv8rs8.

088:088:088 088,088,20088. But h8y! Th8 mor8 8ights th8 b8tt8r