Though I have been variously occupied throughout the day since awakening shortly before eight o’clock this morning, the occupations have certainly been of my own necessity – that is, doing what I prefer to do rather than what I am obliged to do. Lately I am less and less resilient to obligation. I quickly tire of appointments (whether medical, dental or merely renewing a passport). And obligations requiring immediate attention (most often those involving mechanical functions and disfunctions) push me to the edge of tolerance. Having at the moment a lull in the proceedings is a welcome state of being. It is an infrequent spectacle; and one guaranteed soon to exchange for the alternative. Hence its propitious feature.

There are those who thrive upon industry of almost any persuasion.  Indeed – whether they would say so or not – they require the exercise of the imperative to withstand themselves. As an existentialist (“you are what you do”) you would think I’d align with the doctrine.  Strangely however from the instant that I retired from the practice of law, I unreservedly put aside decades of devotion to mandatory production; and, I have never yearned to replenish the forum with like slavish behaviour. It was work.

Luckily I have within my battery of necessity the following: moderate exercise (that’s at the top of the list, to ensure things get moving); driving my car (the blunt fascination is naturally threatened by future age limitation); writing (this is what spares me from ruin – it embraces my proclivity for chatter and my espousal of commentary); books beyond copyright (a sparsity punctuated by invariable acclaim); amateur photography; and music (now restricted to listening, no longer playing). Unwittingly I have developed a pattern of behaviour which regularly succumbs to these mandates. The initial motive for exercise overtakes me from the moment of awakening. It is fortuitous that I am capable of accommodating the exigency in any weather in any season of the year – the underground parking lot is, when required, the ideal circular track (including smooth flat construction, sufficient opportunity to expiate the hovering athletic guilt, and very often including an unintended social gathering as residents come and go). The literary and photographic ambitions are frequently intertwined – as well they should be for a daily exemplification of oneself.

Meanwhile the advantages of music and reading I preserve for later in the day as a reward for my travails. Not being bound by any agenda, I listen to music and read with unhesitating application – giving broad and welcoming privilege to my dyslexia. My reputed condition of neurodevelopmental origin mainly affects the ease with which I read – as a result of which I read very slowly (but with the collateral benefit of absorbing detail). On occasion the detail leads to unanticipated enquiry; and, after an equally unexpected interruption, I am diverting my attention to unpredicted resource.

The latter circumstance is illustrative of the ambling nature of my day. The calendar doesn’t predict my aimless intentions. Today for example I wandered into the realm of Trustpilot which coincidentally reflected the many comments arising from the webinar I attended yesterday regarding search vehicles.

Trustpilot Group plc, is a Danish consumer business operating a review website founded in Denmark in 2007 that hosts reviews of businesses worldwide. Nearly one-million new reviews are posted each month. The site offers freemium services to businesses.

For reasons I haven’t the interest to pursue I received an email today from Trustpilot questioning the authenticity of my latest review. I believe the algorithmic objection was that my humanity was in question. I was required to submit “documentation” as proof of my identity and legitimacy. Given the public nature of the enquiry I immediately deleted my account instead of participating in this unexplained and widening investigation.

It has been criticized for the publication of fake reviews, and allowing companies to remove negative reviews.

This was but one more encroachment upon the lull in proceedings.