Every frog knows that a ripple in the pond means something.
Lately the ripples have been about nuclear power. These ripples mean that powerful, rich people have been waiting in the wings to sell toxic future-endangering stuff for enormous profit.
They work so hard all the time to align elements until the focus of all things socio-political flows the way of one of their many machinations.... If only the people who claim to want a healthy environment and good living conditions would work so hard to align things their way. I guess some people do, but really these powerful, rich people from powerful, above-the-law companies are tireless and unrelenting – and they have understudies! It's an economic game to win for them - they thrive on it. It really is much easier to pull the strings once you are established in the position of puppeteer.
Most sit in the audience; quite happily entertained by the show, they don’t notice the subtle strings attached to every thing the puppeteers purvey. Sleeping power resides in the audience, which is why the puppeteers want the audience to be somnolent and happy.
Audience awake and check out the ripples in your pond!
31 August 2006
Share the dividend of Smog
Ok, I own gaming company shares. It’s true that this makes me a bit hypocritical. I don’t approve of many aspects of the company I have shares in. It is certain that the people running gaming companies care only for profit and take little responsibility for their encouraging of behavioural addictions. Same can be said of many companies from computer games to (gods forbid!) Ebay.
Buying shares as a whole is a tricksy business. I have shares in Coles-Myer and yet they are perpetrators of the worst kind – Smoggies. They sell Orange Roughy fish in their seafood sections – something I have written to them about a few times and the fact that I own a tiny block of their shares seems to make no impact upon them whatsoever. They assure me that Orange Roughy are sustainably fished…. I assured them that the Victorian Parks and Wildlife Service website disagreed with them. Probably this is not an argument I can win. (I don’t think I have purchased anything from a Coles Seafood dept. in years because of this. Admittedly our local shop is not a Coles so it makes it easier).
Really, I am much happier owning the gambling shares by comparison.
Why do I own shares in large companies at all when I disapprove of them and the things they do to society? I also own shares in smaller companies. I believe that buying shares helps me in the long run have a more stable financial future and it helps the economy too.
True, I don’t have a lot of money to invest so I tend to buy fairly ‘sure things’, which means I haven’t supported all the environmentally friendly up-and-coming companies that I favour. However, as I build my portfolio, I will include more green companies and not just because of my political leanings but because they are the future and they will make money, if only I pick the right ones.
If every Australian invested in ‘green’ companies then these companies would advance more quickly and ‘green agendas’ would advance more quickly too. The expression ‘Put your money where your mouth is’ comes to mind…. And I need to do that too.
Meanwhile the standard mid-range Smoggies are not going to cease to exist whether I buy shares or not – let’s face it; there are not a whole lot of people like me out there and even if we all got rid of our shares in these companies or never bought them it would make no difference whatsoever. Is this a bad argument? It may be. I do not knowingly buy shares in companies that are Smoggies or those that have anything to do with uranium or armaments. I had the shares in Coles before I found them selling an endangered fish. A grocery store – who the hell knew it would turn into an ethical dilemma?
However, I did know that the nature of big companies is such that they all have something doggy about them. If you are going to try and make money in our society the chances are you are supporting something less than ethical - property investments destroy historical architecture, lifestyles and the environment. You just try to walk the line between ethics and economics; it’s a very hard line to walk.
At least with me, if not the large companies, economics doesn’t always win or I’d be out buying uranium shares this minute.
Buying shares as a whole is a tricksy business. I have shares in Coles-Myer and yet they are perpetrators of the worst kind – Smoggies. They sell Orange Roughy fish in their seafood sections – something I have written to them about a few times and the fact that I own a tiny block of their shares seems to make no impact upon them whatsoever. They assure me that Orange Roughy are sustainably fished…. I assured them that the Victorian Parks and Wildlife Service website disagreed with them. Probably this is not an argument I can win. (I don’t think I have purchased anything from a Coles Seafood dept. in years because of this. Admittedly our local shop is not a Coles so it makes it easier).
Really, I am much happier owning the gambling shares by comparison.
Why do I own shares in large companies at all when I disapprove of them and the things they do to society? I also own shares in smaller companies. I believe that buying shares helps me in the long run have a more stable financial future and it helps the economy too.
True, I don’t have a lot of money to invest so I tend to buy fairly ‘sure things’, which means I haven’t supported all the environmentally friendly up-and-coming companies that I favour. However, as I build my portfolio, I will include more green companies and not just because of my political leanings but because they are the future and they will make money, if only I pick the right ones.
If every Australian invested in ‘green’ companies then these companies would advance more quickly and ‘green agendas’ would advance more quickly too. The expression ‘Put your money where your mouth is’ comes to mind…. And I need to do that too.
Meanwhile the standard mid-range Smoggies are not going to cease to exist whether I buy shares or not – let’s face it; there are not a whole lot of people like me out there and even if we all got rid of our shares in these companies or never bought them it would make no difference whatsoever. Is this a bad argument? It may be. I do not knowingly buy shares in companies that are Smoggies or those that have anything to do with uranium or armaments. I had the shares in Coles before I found them selling an endangered fish. A grocery store – who the hell knew it would turn into an ethical dilemma?
However, I did know that the nature of big companies is such that they all have something doggy about them. If you are going to try and make money in our society the chances are you are supporting something less than ethical - property investments destroy historical architecture, lifestyles and the environment. You just try to walk the line between ethics and economics; it’s a very hard line to walk.
At least with me, if not the large companies, economics doesn’t always win or I’d be out buying uranium shares this minute.
26 August 2006
graphic design shouldn't wake you up at night
arghhh - 3.40am and I wake to think about work and regale myself with all last week's stupid mistakes until they feel like body blows. Female deities, I'm glad I'm not a doctor!
24 August 2006
not-cold
I officially declare it the first week of summer. Isn’t it fantastic? By next week we will all hate it and I will have my brolly out. I’ve already had one dose of heat-induced rosacea from pruning the orange tree last week. Things will be crispy this year, but right now it’s fresh and new and importantly ‘not-cold’.
17 August 2006
Must be time for a random rave…
… about jewellery. I think most modern jewellery sucks.
First against the wall will be those cheap stores that sell things that are a complete waste of the small amount of precious metals they use. All that glisters is not gold…. Not gold enough anyway and not good enough in any other way. How much of this crap do you really need? It doesn’t look good; it doesn’t last; it’s a waste of resources.
We need gold for electronics. Our precious computers use it. It’s an important metal for the modern world but it’s one of the most polluting things to mine so don’t waste it by buying crap that might as well not be made of it. Better to have one piece that might gain value as it ages and that you can pass on to your children – something you really can sell in an emergency. Or consider other materials – you can get the same status with a bit of clay jewellery as long as it’s made by the right person.
Better still, buy shares in an environmentally responsible company and invest in the future.
First against the wall will be those cheap stores that sell things that are a complete waste of the small amount of precious metals they use. All that glisters is not gold…. Not gold enough anyway and not good enough in any other way. How much of this crap do you really need? It doesn’t look good; it doesn’t last; it’s a waste of resources.
We need gold for electronics. Our precious computers use it. It’s an important metal for the modern world but it’s one of the most polluting things to mine so don’t waste it by buying crap that might as well not be made of it. Better to have one piece that might gain value as it ages and that you can pass on to your children – something you really can sell in an emergency. Or consider other materials – you can get the same status with a bit of clay jewellery as long as it’s made by the right person.
Better still, buy shares in an environmentally responsible company and invest in the future.
11 August 2006
Ways to discover who you are
I don't know what you wrote, but I put 'Jedi' again.
It's Census time again and I had very little hesitation. I had a small fear that someone might punish me, but I don't know, really, what for. This is the first thing I've done lately that is true to myself.
I thought about it and it turns out that I believe in the Force and have since 1977. I think this is a religion for nerds, SF buffs and outsiders but I hope it doesn't become an organised religion because I think there is an attraction to sharing something with lots of other people world-wide that doesn't have to be defined or confined. I might be a Buddhist except that people are constantly telling me about their Buddhism and giving up things doesn't seem to be my way.
If they want to create old people's homes that are 'Jedi religion' based then I truly do think that would be the place for me and many people I know. Imagine being stuck with people who don't like SF? - it looms large as one of my numerous fears of nursing homes.
I also believe a bit in mana. I don't think objects that have mana are lucky or anything, but are redolent of their own history and the people who have touched them. To look upon something like that is a form of time travel.
It's Census time again and I had very little hesitation. I had a small fear that someone might punish me, but I don't know, really, what for. This is the first thing I've done lately that is true to myself.
I thought about it and it turns out that I believe in the Force and have since 1977. I think this is a religion for nerds, SF buffs and outsiders but I hope it doesn't become an organised religion because I think there is an attraction to sharing something with lots of other people world-wide that doesn't have to be defined or confined. I might be a Buddhist except that people are constantly telling me about their Buddhism and giving up things doesn't seem to be my way.
If they want to create old people's homes that are 'Jedi religion' based then I truly do think that would be the place for me and many people I know. Imagine being stuck with people who don't like SF? - it looms large as one of my numerous fears of nursing homes.
I also believe a bit in mana. I don't think objects that have mana are lucky or anything, but are redolent of their own history and the people who have touched them. To look upon something like that is a form of time travel.
07 August 2006
procrastination is my friend
I'm sick. I'm definitely sick. Is that good enough? Stay home from work? But the work will pile up; people will think I am having a sicky; I will have to go to work sometime this week and it will only get harder. I am sick. Do I go to the doctor? Do I want to go to the doctor - that's almost harder than going to work sick. Do I want to spread germs? I should stay home. I am, after all, sick. Busy week, busy month - can't afford to be sick. Should go to the doctor!
Bad to be in your own head and still have no idea of the plan for the day.
Bad to be in your own head and still have no idea of the plan for the day.
03 August 2006
Think more creatively
I've a basic faith in the human race. I have no faith in us being peaceful - don't think I've gone crazy. I have faith that we can do anything technolgically that we set our minds to - eventually. Given that alternative energy is such a broad field, I am sure we can come up with enough approaches that our lifestyles are not significantly altered. We can probably continue to 'consume' in the rapid way our economies are designed to but we might have to consume different things, in different ways, to save the planet.
I have faith that if we put all our efforts into using greener energy it will get done, but if we take the easy out and go for nuclear then these other approaches may never get the chance.
We are being told that it will be good for Australia - that economically we need to sell uranium. I've purchased plenty of shonky items in my time, but most of them have a limited ability to destroy the world as we know it. It is unethical to mine uranium at all. Unethical to store its waste in anyone's backyard. Unethical to sell it to anyone - whatever use they want it for, it still has the potential to kill massive amounts of people and pollute for hundreds of thousands of years. I can't believe that people will countenance this for any reason, least of all economics.
I have faith that if we put all our efforts into using greener energy it will get done, but if we take the easy out and go for nuclear then these other approaches may never get the chance.
We are being told that it will be good for Australia - that economically we need to sell uranium. I've purchased plenty of shonky items in my time, but most of them have a limited ability to destroy the world as we know it. It is unethical to mine uranium at all. Unethical to store its waste in anyone's backyard. Unethical to sell it to anyone - whatever use they want it for, it still has the potential to kill massive amounts of people and pollute for hundreds of thousands of years. I can't believe that people will countenance this for any reason, least of all economics.
What was it John Lennon said about Life?
I can't remember what John Lennon said about Life.... The Internet is my memory; is my brain.
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
Whatever happened to my other plans? Yet I still think this bit isn't my life....
I seem to have grown to think I’m not a real person and I take care to stay away from real people in case I get found out. Real People are fascinating and scary (and sometimes dull) - efficient and certain. They are in their Life and they know it. They are sure about their career-path and do all the things society expects. I’m certainly not a real graphic designer or a real worker. Am I a real homeowner? I certainly suffer some of the same problems.
Being not real isn’t too far removed from real – it’s more about the way you feel. About the way you fit into a group or into society (or want to fit in). Or, pertinently, the way you don’t fit (or don't want to fit in).
I've removed myself from my old life where the people were interesting-bordering-on-insane, but I have replaced it with boredom. Hope there is a middle path and that it is 'real' and is my life.
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
Whatever happened to my other plans? Yet I still think this bit isn't my life....
I seem to have grown to think I’m not a real person and I take care to stay away from real people in case I get found out. Real People are fascinating and scary (and sometimes dull) - efficient and certain. They are in their Life and they know it. They are sure about their career-path and do all the things society expects. I’m certainly not a real graphic designer or a real worker. Am I a real homeowner? I certainly suffer some of the same problems.
Being not real isn’t too far removed from real – it’s more about the way you feel. About the way you fit into a group or into society (or want to fit in). Or, pertinently, the way you don’t fit (or don't want to fit in).
I've removed myself from my old life where the people were interesting-bordering-on-insane, but I have replaced it with boredom. Hope there is a middle path and that it is 'real' and is my life.
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