Blogging 101

To think that it's taken me this long to figure out how to pop a picture onto this thing. Almost embarassing, really. Fortunately, I have a thick skin, and I am deaf to the sound of mocking laughter, and the sight of pointed fingers.

Now all I have to do is work out how to get them into the appropriate place. Watch this space, but be patient.

It was a foggy morning here in Northcote when I took this picture. I don't think there can be many places around Auckland that still boast this entanglement of above-ground power and telephone cabling: I wonder how long it will be before these are buried?

I was leafing through a New Scientist magazine last night, and I read something rather profound. There are, apparently, similarities in the way bacteria and banking institutions are organised... and, of course, major differences. Life, while apparently chaotic, is in fact highly structured. Even at the bacterial level, life is organised to "optimise growth for any internal and external conditions", while banks have attempted to operate without paying any heed to their external environment. This is a rough paraphrase, you understand: I have stolen these words from Merrelyn Emery, of Canberra, Australia. Anyway: It seems that these two main organisational structures may explain why bacteria are hugely successful in their endeavours, while banks are somewhat chaotic: by being forced to pay attention to the external environment, bacteria are highly regulated by those external forces. Modern market-force banks, by contrast, attempt to self-regulate (ie internally) from the top down. And they fall apart. This is, of course, biological Marxism, and it may even be that nature is naturally a socialistic thing. From each, to each etc. An interesting thought, anyway.

Had dinner last night with Caroline & Reg: they rang mid-afternoon and invited us around to share in a roast beef. The animal had been a Jersey.. and Jersey meat is delicious. Quite distinctive. The Lawsons are fine people: funny, interesting, caring. If everyone had friends as good as them, the world would be a fine place indeed.

No Rats today: I'm doing a bit of an edit on the yarn, and need to write another chapter or two. Patience!

Reading: Nope. Writing.

Listening to: really loud Beatles - the "Love" album that was assembled for the Cique de Soleil show. It is quite excellent.

Word Of The Day: Work!