I'm unplugging myself from the avalanche of crisis news

This morning was great - until I listened to the BBC's Business Daily.

It's not the BBC's fault - it's just the news they're bringing every day. Fear, anxiety and depression can be contagious sometimes, and in these unprecedented times doubly so.

So I'm unplugging. I'm going to stop gawping at the protracted car crash that is the financial world, and get on with what I need to do.

It's not like I'm being an ostrich - I'm certainly still open to critical analysis and historical comparisons, big picture stuff that helps me understand what this means long term. But as for the daily lurches up and down - I don't need to ride that roller coaster.

ay carumba!

Nostalgia rocks

Major kudos to the ad agency that did Mainland Cheese's clever ad placement in the latest Taste Magazine.

While everyone else is trying to be new and high-tech, Mainland is playing to their strength - a nostalgic view that good things take time.

It starts with a back cover ad that's upside down, making you wonder whether this is one of those double-ended magazines. It's not, it's just upside-down, but inside is a detachable tabloid-sized newspaper (pictured) looking like one of those archival ones that has aged only somewhat gracefully:

It has recipes, but instead of writing them out in terse, action-oriented prose (the way I recommend you write web copy) they're stories. Fictional stories, with the gentle humour that us Kiwis inherited from the British and made our own. The humour that still survives in my parents' generation and in areas more than 10 kilometres from the city.

Even though I'm not a cook, and mostly a future-oriented kind of guy, this (fictional) blast from the past, from a simpler world, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. And possibly cheesy. Nice work, Mainland's agency!

How social media supports mainstream media - iJumpTV #36

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( more info: http://ijump.tv/ ) ... We talk with Regan Cunliffe of Throng.co.nz about how they've changed the way people watch TV, their plans for social network integration, and the kind of content that works best.

We need our alpha waves

I slept in half an hour this morning. It was sooo good!

As I woke up the second time around, I remembered the phrase "Without a vision, the people perish".

It's often used in organisations to get people focused on a singular vision, and getting busy. But sometimes getting a bit of sleep - especially REM sleep - is a really good thing.

Actually the original Hebrew reads something more like, without a revelation the people wander off.

Revelation: Now you might believe God reveals things in your sleep ... or you may not even believe in God. Either way, I think we can agree the process of dreaming can be very valuable for defragging the brain and unlocking new possibilities. When you can see things with new eyes, it's a revelation.

Perish: I used to think that was a one-time event, like an explosion. But it's a slow, dreadful rot ... like perishing rubber. It's still there but its usefulness has gone as it slowly perishes away. It's like wandering off track from the vision and direction you're on. And it's just as easy to do that while being really busy as it is while being lazy and distracted.

So look after yourself. Pace yourself. You're not running a sprinting race, you're climbing a mountain. At least, you could be ... may you be spared the joyless existence of just labouring away. May you have a mountain worth climbing. May I have one too.

Sleep well.






zzzzzzzz

The reason there is no blog post today

This is a blog post to tell you that I had planned a blog post on a variety of topics, including

• economics
• unions, politics and corporate social responsibility
• the moral element of the current financial crisis around the world
• perhaps Paul Newman, although that's probably been well blogged about already
• social media (what else!)

But instead, I'm not posting at all today.

It's all because of the express train. First of all, I had to stand up in a crowded carriage, so no reading possible. Had to listen to my ipod instead. But that's okay, it's an express train, so the journey's fast - right?

Nope. We get to Newmarket, and wait. And wait. Then an announcement comes that we're expecting delays of up to 30 minutes!

Stuff this, I think, I'm going to catch a bus. Unfortunately, approximately one zillion other people got the same idea, so all of us at the bus stop outside Parnell Library had to watch about five buses go by, completely full. At least we had the sign there to show us when the next full bus would steam past so we could watch it.

There's something about public transport when it's not functioning well that feels really humiliating. Not just stressful, but humiliating. Or maybe I'm just paranoid.

After about an hour I saw Francis from HB Media, who had the initiative to suggest we share a cab. Otherwise I was seriously considering walking - which would be okay, except for that big hill in Grafton.

So anyway ... on the cab ride we saw an ambulance and two fire engines. Yeesh. And then when we got to Lorne Street there was a film shoot underway. Oh the excitement! I took a pic.


So anyway, enough moaning, here's what I'm thankful for today:

• Even though our public transport sometimes has a big ol' FAIL, most times it works ok.
• The power and internet are on. This is good.
• I have enough health and strength that I could have walked if I needed to.
• I had cash on me for the EFTPOSless taxi. Actually, that I had any money at all!
• That I had the choice of getting off the train when it was delayed.
• That really, my problems amount to less than a hill of beans in this troubled world.
  

So that's why I didn't post a blog post today. Have a great day!

Orange Roughies

Not the TV show, the fish. They're endangered. I'm not a seafood fan so I'm not so bothered, but it is a pity if Orange Roughies are being fished to death.

And it's not just roughies, it's also tuna, sharks, and prawns. Gee! You can find out more about the fish you need to avoid at the supermarket here.

Why am I doing an ad for Greenpeace on my blog? I'm acting out one of the principles of influence - the law of reciprocity.

 

While walking along Auckland's Vulcan Lane, I noticed a big red fish with legs. I took a photo, and then almost bumped into a lady called Marie from Greenpeace.

She told me what the publicity stunt was about, and gave me the basic information I've detailed above.

She said the fisheries won't solve this problem themselves - they need people like us to remind them to be sustainable. How to do that? Become a financial supporter of Greenpeace, to show you're serious and it's more than just a petition.

I'm not one to sign up an AP or credit card form with a stranger on the street, no matter how worthy their cause, so I declined to become a member, but asked for more information so I could spread the word.

She gave me some brochures, saying "I normally don't give these to non-members, because they cost money to produce". She didn't say why she was giving it to me, but hey, I felt guilty enough to follow through what I said I'd do, and spread the word.

Interesting, huh! Actually there's two principles in play here:

1. Reciprocity - she gave me brochures, so I give a bit of publicity.
2. Consistency - I want to be consistent with what I said I'd do earlier. No-one wants to think of themselves as a liar, or someone who doesn't deliver.

So ... no seafood on the menu tonight.

How to solve the world's problems by being a bit nicer

Some people say being nice gets you nowhere but that's bollocks. I know for sure that being rude and making people feel small might just be the cause of most of the world's problems.

We don't get good things done because we feel bad. We have stuff happening in our lives. Yet each of us has something to be thankful for. We also have something to give - in some people it's buried deeper than others - but it's our choice when, where or how we give that.

This morning I parked my car at the public carpark near the gym. The lady in the car next to me interrupted me to say how annoying it was when "gym people" use the public carpark, because it's so hard to find a park.

I had to explain to her that I park there all day, because I catch the train. So I'm not really a "gym person", just a commuter who uses the gym - and the public carpark.

"Thanks for listening to me rant," she said. As opposed to what? Turning my ipod up? Running away? Hm. She gave me lemons. I suppose by listening to her, I gave her some lemonade.

some people just like to complain