Organic Food. It’s good for the environment. Right?

Organic Food. It’s good for the environment. Right?

Aug 1, 2017 | , , | 6 Comments

Better for the Environment Well, now we're getting onto firmer ground. It's pretty widely acknowledged that there is little, if any, taste or health benefit to organically grown food.  While that is at odds with popular belief and personal experience (a friend wrote to tell me that "oohs" and "aahs" only happen when the food is organic and local and never when purchased through a supermarket), this seems to be a case of confirmation bias.  When...

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The Craig Egan/Tenpenny Mystery. The Saga Continues.

The Craig Egan/Tenpenny Mystery. The Saga Continues.

Jan 8, 2017 | , , , | 3 Comments

  I just saw the following in a Facebook post. I just got a call at work from the FBI. The agent asked me if I knew who Dr Tenpenny was and if I was "trolling" her page. I explained the best I could and offered full cooperation.  If that was me I would be describing a moment of shitting myself.  The FBI. Is calling me. Why is the FBI calling me? Shit. But it turns out that writer went by the name of Craig Egan.  Yesterday I suggested...

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What the fuck is the it that I fuck?

What the fuck is the it that I fuck?

Jan 2, 2017 | | 1 Comment

Ok, language alert.  As you can already tell by the title I've already abandoned my usually urbane and non-scatalogical approach to writing.  But it seems necessary given the topic at hand.  This is something I think about from time to time and I'd really love to get to the bottom of. Current usage, particularly in internet memes, has fucks being something, i.e. a noun, perhaps an object or concept, that I can give or not give depending on my...

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A month of sex

A month of sex

Feb 4, 2014 | | 1 Comment

My wife and I have just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary.  We gave one another a gift of a short trip to the North Island of New Zealand where we toasted one another, took long walks and had a wonderful time.  But that wasn't the only anniversary present we gave ourselves. Before I tell you about our other present let me tell you a little about us.  I am 65 years old and this is my second marriage.  Eve is 69 years old and this is her...

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Linda

Linda

Oct 7, 2013 | | 0 Comments

I received this message two days ago from my brother Tony. Hello everyone, I am so sorry to inform you that my sweet Linda, my best friend and the love of my life, has left town. She has decided to take a permanent vacation in a very nice place, a place where there is no cancer and where she can play tennis and golf every day, lunch with the girls, and go to parties every night. She asked me to join her there in the future, and I will. She...

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A Tentative Return

A Tentative Return

Jul 10, 2013 | | 3 Comments

[youtube_video id="Sdn3O6aaMNc"] There is no elegant way to do this.  Making a grand gesture would make no sense.  I find myself, once again, being normal, and I've got to live with that. Most blogs fail within 3 months.  Of course that depends on what you mean by the word "fail". If I'd intended to stop blogging six months ago then this endeavour would be classed an unmitigated success.  However, since I've found myself repeating the mantra, I...

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Just a post. Only a post.

Just a post. Only a post.

Jan 1, 2013 | | 3 Comments

Was in New Zealand until about 10 days ago.  Had a spontaneous two week campervan trip around the South Island.  It's a beautiful place - one incredible scene after another.  Took a lot of photographs that in spite of excellent intentions are not yet cleaned out.  There are still around 1300 of them - videos and images.  One that I like is above.  It's the peaks of Mt. Cook on a clear morning.  It wasn't sunset at the time, but that's the way...

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Slow catastrophe

Slow catastrophe

Nov 30, 2012 | , | 6 Comments

I've been playing with a thought experiment.  I don't think it's very original, but I think it's an interesting exercise so I'm going to share it with you and ask for your input.  This is an outgrowth of a Global Warming conversation I had the other day with my book club.  (Yes, I live in the country and am [semi-]retired.  We do that sort of thing.) Most of the table accepted the science and was in agreement with with the proposition that...

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I used to play guitar

I used to play guitar

Nov 24, 2012 | , | 0 Comments

Year before last I took a guitar course. It was an "advanced" course but that only meant I was in the part of the class that knew at least a little about the guitar. The alternative would have been "beginners" guitar which wouldn't do since I'd been playing guitar for over 40 years. The idea had been that by taking a course I could re-enthuse myself, bring the guitar back into focus in my life and start playing again.  I had never been a great...

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The purpose of life

The purpose of life

Oct 15, 2012 | | 1 Comment

The purpose of life.  At least the purpose of my life. What can it possibly be? What can it possibly mean? Now there's a topic worth a paragraph or two. On Wednesday evening my men's group is going to discuss "purpose".  So I've been thinking about it a bit, but only a bit because it's not a topic that particularly intrigues me.  I can see its attraction, but I'm personally not attracted to it.  Never have been that I can remember. It's obvious...

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You should blog about it

You should blog about it

Oct 14, 2012 | | 2 Comments

What's important now is to write about something other than the fact that I can't think of anything to write about. Somehow I need to avoid mentioning that I haven't written a post in over three weeks. Under no circumstances should I discuss why I haven't written, how I'm struggling even at this moment to come up with anything to say, or make any sort of excuse. And above all I mustn't promise to start afresh, with new enthusiasm and profound...

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A jelly is not a fish

A jelly is not a fish

Sep 4, 2012 | | 3 Comments

A week goes by.  All the best intention don't overcome the general business and disorganisation that fills an ordinary day.  At least the title of this blog is Chaos Central, not The Tao of Time Management (which would be a pretty good title if you ask me). So to keep to the long and hallowed traditions of the Chaos Central blog, here is a video I made of jellies.  It's essentially a compilation of iPhone videos I took a year ago....

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What do you do when you see misinformation on the internet?

What do you do when you see misinformation on the internet?

Aug 29, 2012 | , , | 0 Comments

I spent a while last night and this morning making this up.  Please take the poll and please pass it on.  There's a facebook share button at the bottom of this post.  If you click on it you'll share this blog post on Facebook.  If you don't use Facebook (and I know there are a few holdout reading this), please pass on the poll any way you like.  Getting this message out is an interest of mine, which you already know if you've been reading my...

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The Immunization Initiative and the rest of it.

The Immunization Initiative and the rest of it.

Aug 23, 2012 | , , , | 1 Comment

I've been working on two causes at causes.com.  The first one was The Anti-Anti-Vaccine Campaign.  The intention was and is to encourage people to challenge anti-vaccine propaganda that shows up on their Facebook newsfeed.  It's still alive but I haven't worked out how to promote it very effectively.  The people at causes.com said it was too negative and appealed to too small a segment of the population for them to add it to their featured...

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