Humans R.I.P.
13/02/12 19:36 Filed in: Lifestyle
Apathy.
So, if you can be bothered, read on....
I recently started working for a fund-raising organisation that represents one of the largest conservation charities in Europe. They protect wildlife habitats across the UK and have a very large area of the Sumatran rain forest in which they control the logging rights, so no-one can raze the forest to the ground to plant palm oil plantations. In that rain forest area there are approx 20 confirmed sightings of the sumatran tiger, a species which numbers less than 300 animals world-wide, and approximately 250 other species of interest.
They have over 200 reserves in the UK, 70 in Scotland, and some have facilities for children and groups from schools, etc.
They are restoring wetlands and improving wildlife habitats where and when they can.
So I guess we all would agree that the charity is doing worthwhile things - after all, we know we have to save as much wildlife as we can if we are going to survive on this planet, because we can't live without nature, but nature would get on quite happily without us.
So the fund-raising effort is to stand in shopping centres and ask people if they would like to help/are interested in/aware of wildlife/wildlife issues.
Here are some of the non-verbal responses I get:
Totally ignored.
Head swerve away.
Body swerve away.
Choosing a path that angles away from the display.
Here are some of the verbal responses I get:
"Your alright/It's alright"
Well, no, it bloody well isn't "alright". We have randomly reproduced ourselves to the point where we are endangering our species and all the other species on the planet. So don't tell me it's alright.
"I haven't got time/I haven't got time just now"
You are more right than you know. Unless a radical re-think and an about face is done today on birth control, we won't have time.
"I am already a member/I gave at the office/I contribute to the WWF"
Well, I call BULLSHIT - in 99% of cases. Most of these utterances are flung at you as they hurry by on their way to buy yet another unneeded piece of clothing from Primark ( which has not had a blameless past itself) or as they hurry into the betting shop to wager yet another £2 on a horse/football match/other sporting event.
"I support the Dogs Trust"
Great - but it's hardly wildlife, is it?
"I'll get you on the way back"
I call BULLSHIT again. Why lie? What purpose can it possibly serve to lie in this manner?
"Not interested/No thanks"
Of course you are not. It's not easy to contribute to something that seems so far away from the reality of a fish supper and a few beers.
The majority of you, when asked, would say it is important to save the rain forest/wildlife/endangered species.
The trouble is, though, that doing just that is in the "too hard" basket for most folks.
Is it for you?
If so, those interstellar archeologists might just conclude that the word at the top of the page was what killed us...
So, if you can be bothered, read on....
I recently started working for a fund-raising organisation that represents one of the largest conservation charities in Europe. They protect wildlife habitats across the UK and have a very large area of the Sumatran rain forest in which they control the logging rights, so no-one can raze the forest to the ground to plant palm oil plantations. In that rain forest area there are approx 20 confirmed sightings of the sumatran tiger, a species which numbers less than 300 animals world-wide, and approximately 250 other species of interest.
They have over 200 reserves in the UK, 70 in Scotland, and some have facilities for children and groups from schools, etc.
They are restoring wetlands and improving wildlife habitats where and when they can.
So I guess we all would agree that the charity is doing worthwhile things - after all, we know we have to save as much wildlife as we can if we are going to survive on this planet, because we can't live without nature, but nature would get on quite happily without us.
So the fund-raising effort is to stand in shopping centres and ask people if they would like to help/are interested in/aware of wildlife/wildlife issues.
Here are some of the non-verbal responses I get:
Totally ignored.
Head swerve away.
Body swerve away.
Choosing a path that angles away from the display.
Here are some of the verbal responses I get:
"Your alright/It's alright"
Well, no, it bloody well isn't "alright". We have randomly reproduced ourselves to the point where we are endangering our species and all the other species on the planet. So don't tell me it's alright.
"I haven't got time/I haven't got time just now"
You are more right than you know. Unless a radical re-think and an about face is done today on birth control, we won't have time.
"I am already a member/I gave at the office/I contribute to the WWF"
Well, I call BULLSHIT - in 99% of cases. Most of these utterances are flung at you as they hurry by on their way to buy yet another unneeded piece of clothing from Primark ( which has not had a blameless past itself) or as they hurry into the betting shop to wager yet another £2 on a horse/football match/other sporting event.
"I support the Dogs Trust"
Great - but it's hardly wildlife, is it?
"I'll get you on the way back"
I call BULLSHIT again. Why lie? What purpose can it possibly serve to lie in this manner?
"Not interested/No thanks"
Of course you are not. It's not easy to contribute to something that seems so far away from the reality of a fish supper and a few beers.
The majority of you, when asked, would say it is important to save the rain forest/wildlife/endangered species.
The trouble is, though, that doing just that is in the "too hard" basket for most folks.
Is it for you?
If so, those interstellar archeologists might just conclude that the word at the top of the page was what killed us...
Comments
An absence of books
26/12/11 07:51 Filed in: Lifestyle
If we do not record our thoughts on a medium that is somewhat permanent, then did we really think them?
If we do not record our knowledge in a way that allows others free and unrestrained access to it, how will they grow?
If our technology is such that we rely on other people to be the knowledge-keepers, how can we trust the veracity of that knowledge?
If we allow the knowledge to be concentrated in the hands of a few, how will that reflect the power balance in the world?
The Internet, although I love it dearly, is an ephemeral place. It is an instantaneous idea conduit. Currently, it acts as a store for some of man's knowledge, some of man's thoughts and a lot of stuff that would never have been worthy of your time a decade ago.
But the "stuff" we are storing is growing exponentially, and the "signal to noise" ratio is getting worse.
In the future, we may just drown in clips of some pop "star" who sang in their bedroom and was never heard from again, or umpteen "dancing dog" clips of pets long dead. Finding knowledge may just become the lifelong work of some who would otherwise be involved in creating the next step in that knowledge. And who pays for all this storage? In our society, it is the user/consumer who pays for everything, so if we come to our senses and stop playing the "amusing", stop surfing the "celebrity sites", don't give page clicks to advertising driven sites, then are those things going to still be stored? Should they still be stored? And if they are still stored, how will we afford to store the important things, if the revenue from the "noise" is not available to subsidise the important? And if we charge for the important, then does the knowledge once again become the "property" of the rich?
I don't have answers, and I guess no one has, but I think it is important that we start asking the questions.
I have a birthday coming up soon, so perhaps I will get a book or three then....
If we do not record our knowledge in a way that allows others free and unrestrained access to it, how will they grow?
If our technology is such that we rely on other people to be the knowledge-keepers, how can we trust the veracity of that knowledge?
If we allow the knowledge to be concentrated in the hands of a few, how will that reflect the power balance in the world?
The Internet, although I love it dearly, is an ephemeral place. It is an instantaneous idea conduit. Currently, it acts as a store for some of man's knowledge, some of man's thoughts and a lot of stuff that would never have been worthy of your time a decade ago.
But the "stuff" we are storing is growing exponentially, and the "signal to noise" ratio is getting worse.
In the future, we may just drown in clips of some pop "star" who sang in their bedroom and was never heard from again, or umpteen "dancing dog" clips of pets long dead. Finding knowledge may just become the lifelong work of some who would otherwise be involved in creating the next step in that knowledge. And who pays for all this storage? In our society, it is the user/consumer who pays for everything, so if we come to our senses and stop playing the "amusing", stop surfing the "celebrity sites", don't give page clicks to advertising driven sites, then are those things going to still be stored? Should they still be stored? And if they are still stored, how will we afford to store the important things, if the revenue from the "noise" is not available to subsidise the important? And if we charge for the important, then does the knowledge once again become the "property" of the rich?
I don't have answers, and I guess no one has, but I think it is important that we start asking the questions.
I have a birthday coming up soon, so perhaps I will get a book or three then....
Time Allotted
05/12/11 19:39 Filed in: Lifestyle
Death is inevitable.
The time allotted to us is unknown.
Some achieve much in their short time.
Some achieve a little in their longer time.
Some achieve nothing in all of their time.
Where do you choose to fit?
Waiting for ...
30/11/11 08:54 Filed in: Lifestyle
Waiting for …
After almost 60 years on this planet, I have discovered what I have been doing wrong.
I have been allowing things to happen to me - things that other people are controlling.
What I should have been doing is controlling myself.
I am responsible for my actions. No-one else.
Now, when I do something, I do it deliberately, with forethought, and with a recognition that any action I undertake will have consequences. Sounds ponderous and limiting, but it is really very freeing.
Here’s how it works for me, in the little things:
I know I don’t need that cup of coffee because I am not thirsty.
I know I don’t need that new shirt because my old one(s) are just fine.
I know I don’t need the latest operating system for my computer because I am still productive with the old one.
I know I don’t need to drive the car to the shops for milk, because I can still walk.
Here’s how it works for me in the big things:
I know I can make my wifes life better if I do some of the housework.
I know I can make a difference to many people if I get involved in the local community.
I know I can get a better job by choosing one to aim for, seeing what it needs from me, and making that happen.
All these things are happening now as the result of actions I have undertaken.
And that is why “waiting for the right time” and “waiting for opportunity to knock” and “waiting for inspiration” pretty much always mean just waiting. All of the above are passive. No wonder they rarely result in the outcome you desire.
If you initiate the action, you have a much better chance of seeing the outcome you want come to pass.
Initiate, don’t procrastinate.
After almost 60 years on this planet, I have discovered what I have been doing wrong.
I have been allowing things to happen to me - things that other people are controlling.
What I should have been doing is controlling myself.
I am responsible for my actions. No-one else.
Now, when I do something, I do it deliberately, with forethought, and with a recognition that any action I undertake will have consequences. Sounds ponderous and limiting, but it is really very freeing.
Here’s how it works for me, in the little things:
I know I don’t need that cup of coffee because I am not thirsty.
I know I don’t need that new shirt because my old one(s) are just fine.
I know I don’t need the latest operating system for my computer because I am still productive with the old one.
I know I don’t need to drive the car to the shops for milk, because I can still walk.
Here’s how it works for me in the big things:
I know I can make my wifes life better if I do some of the housework.
I know I can make a difference to many people if I get involved in the local community.
I know I can get a better job by choosing one to aim for, seeing what it needs from me, and making that happen.
All these things are happening now as the result of actions I have undertaken.
And that is why “waiting for the right time” and “waiting for opportunity to knock” and “waiting for inspiration” pretty much always mean just waiting. All of the above are passive. No wonder they rarely result in the outcome you desire.
If you initiate the action, you have a much better chance of seeing the outcome you want come to pass.
Initiate, don’t procrastinate.
Why?
31/10/11 08:23
Why am I here?
Hmm... big question, probably just as unanswerable today as it was yesterday, and as it will be tomorrow.
So let’s start with something smaller.
Why yet another iteration in my blogging?
Really, I don’t know - I only know my old blog was not getting as much love as it should have been, because I was no longer interested in writing in it. It had become a “sometime” thing and I felt it was in a “rut” that I couldn’t seem to steer the way I wanted it to go - all the failed projects, the half-finished posts and the concentration on photography was putting me off doing anything with it.
Hence the re-think.
Hmm... big question, probably just as unanswerable today as it was yesterday, and as it will be tomorrow.
So let’s start with something smaller.
Why yet another iteration in my blogging?
Really, I don’t know - I only know my old blog was not getting as much love as it should have been, because I was no longer interested in writing in it. It had become a “sometime” thing and I felt it was in a “rut” that I couldn’t seem to steer the way I wanted it to go - all the failed projects, the half-finished posts and the concentration on photography was putting me off doing anything with it.
Hence the re-think.