Poverty & Priorities

Central planning has never worked in the past but one can't help but think there is something in it. Its main problem is egotism on the part of its implementer. In a system where everyone is equal the design is fundamentally flawed as so few genuinely believe that to be the case.

Still, there are times where you just want to break up the world and put it back together in the right order as this gigantic jigsaw puzzle blatantly isn't how it should be.

What's important:
Food
Water
Shelter
Clothing
Healthcare
Transportation
Communication

Provision:
Can we produce enough food to feed 6.5 billion people? Yes with more on the side.
Can enough clean drinking water be provided for Earth's human population? Again, yes.
Are there enough building materials and skills to house humanity? Materials, yes. Skills, maybe, and if not it's something that can be worked around.
Clothing? Not a question is it.
Communication? Even the remotest places in the world can get a signal nowadays.
Healthcare and transport. These are the dodgy issues. Never enough nurses, doctors, drugs or facilities available or so we are told. Transport links always need work and improvement.

Naturally, things are more complicated than this. Other industries are needed to get these necessities where they need to be. But what seems odd is the idea that some frivolous industries are treated with a higher priority than fulfilling the basic needs the world over.

Hangover Cure

As my friends surround me on a Sunday in their varying states of "meh" due to the events of the night before I stumble upon the ultimate hangover cure...

A god forsaken bloody toothache. Stomach - perfect, head - as clear as a blue summer day. The price - too damned steep for my liking.

Blissful Ignorance

It has just occurred to me that I commonly offer myself and others advice which encourages ignorance to the current situation in order to progress through the day:

Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to.
Don't try to apply logic to the situation, it will not help you.

For a man whose philosophy is turning toward feel more and hide less I wonder if I should change this practice or continue to accept its usefulness.

Measured Amusement

It's a very bad sign.

The level of comic anti-genius at work is now being measured by the quantity of tumble weed one produces. Thankfully this isn't a competition I'm winning.

Hmmm

Nothing less attractive than wallowing and self pity. Idea is I get it all out the way now so I can get on with things. The thing is, the feeling of utter devastation is feeling a little subdued.

Over the years I've developed two bodily manifestations of intense feeling to allow my brain to operate fairly clearly. Tension, anger or nervousness go straight to my bladder. Upset and anguish go straight to my stomach.

I don't even feel stupid which is kind of what I would be expecting about now. Lost is the only description that comes to mind. Lost somewhere between my logic and my emotions. The logic that tells me everything is going to be fine, snap out of it. My emotions which say "My god man. How do you expect to ever feel alive if you don't take the time to feel it?"

Whilst I'm glad my mind is my own (god knows I'm going to need it tomorrow for three high profile meetings where I need at least some semblance of control) I'm sick to death of my stomach being in knots as it has been for the past week.

Onwards and upwards.

No Normality for You

There have always been occasions for as long as I can remember where I sometimes fail to recognise the person I was as little as six months ago.

Thankfully I do remember the man I was six weeks ago when I wrote this little note before my last weekend away. I was looking forward to this? Guess I never suspected my closest work companion would be leaving my side during this time too.

*Note to self, pay more attention to the variables next time Ddot...*

Missing Moons

The big bang theory has been with us for decades. We look deeper and deeper into space to search for creation, the beginning of the universe, dark matter and other such gems of knowledge.

What I always find odd is how that points out we miss the things right in front of us (relatively speaking). Prime example: A new moon has been discovered circling Saturn. A regular occurrence considering 42 have now been discovered in the past decade. What's more, it is not expected that this will be the last.

If you could have any job what would it be?

I saw this question posted on a friend's myspace. Nowadays, I believe I can actually answer that.

Comedian.

As a 9 year old, I remember doing the Victor Meldrew impression in class. I was ace. It was the first time I could make use of the fact my voice broke in infant school.

Right up to the present I watched the special feature on the American Dad first season DVD where the whole crew do a read through of the episode Threat Levels. I can't think of a better job than being in that room with all my colleagues around me roaring with laughter and doing something productive.

That's the dream.

Amazon - My Favourite Place to Shop

Big fan of Amazon. For year's I've always thought it was the best commercial site going. However, because I purchased two poker books for a friend it has gone poker nuts on me and given me nothing but recommendations for poker books the past few weeks.

Good news is a couple of clicks on "not interested" should hopefully sweep them all away. OK, now what have we got: Excel, Mind Maps and Economics...

One of these days I'll start buying books that aren't so practical.

The Cloud of Ambiguity

There's usually a choice between being clear and succinct or being vague and ambiguous. Lately I'm becoming more aware of this choice and I think I'm nearly at the stage where I realise what I'm doing before I hit the send button.

It seems to be the mark for judging the quality of the question asked or the task set. A well defined task or a precise question earns itself a clear response. A poor query or ill thought task simply does not.

A habit I should really break away from but then I'll have to replace it with another good opportunity to exercise one's vocabulary...

Here's a Worry

I don't think I'm the first person that has caught onto this but I wonder whether the last set of attempting bombings in London and Glasgow were executed so poorly on purpose.

The thinking being that our security forces and more importantly the public at large will let their guard down when they have the impression that these criminals are incompetent.

Oh, and speaking of, the change of government tone to label the perpetrators as criminals instead of the more glamorous title of terrorists is a stroke of genius.

Powered by Good Vibrations

A good idea needs publicly applauding.
Creating a battery/generator that charges itself on the vibrations of the world is right up there with the great ideas that involve hooking up the cycling machines at the gym to the national grid.

BBC News Story