“about five years ago, four like-minded friends and i began to deposit money into a joint bank account on a monthly basis. there was no fixed sum that we each had to relinquish, we just had to give whatever we could. we called it ‘progress insurance’. we had decided amongst ourselves that the world was not progressing as quickly as we had wished. so we came to an agreement. if the world did not progress far enough in the next twenty years, we would create a commune in some remote part of the world where we need rarely worry about human culture and activity. right now, i won’t talk about how we’ve viewed the first five years. for better or worse, there is still time.”

I’m horrible at updating my progress. To make up for it, I’m giving you guys a nice long full-scene snippet. Part of which I already shared, but now you get the full scope of the scene.

EDIT: DAMN. Forgot to change the numbers before I published. My bad!!

Today’s Total: 4,565 2288

NaNoWriMo Total: 27,009 42906

Snippet!: (Note: Had to switch POV half way through from Darnel to Althea, I’m sorry if this is confusing. Mind you, this scene might not make it to the final draft, but its important for me to know.)

“We should have brought Chaska,” Darnel said, not for the first time that night as they trudged through Labrythine, following the scent that burned their throats and nasal passages. The Forest hummed, eerie and beckoning, the night air sinking into their thick skins and deep into their bones. Darnel rubbed his shoulders as a shiver-that he wasn’t entirely convinced had to do with the cold- overtook him.

“You’re stupider than a house pet,” Than said, keeping pace with him. “She’d have chewed our ears off as soon as she heard what we was up to.”

Darnel bristled. “You’re the house pet. I never said we had to clue her in.”

“And I suppose you wanted us to just lead her to Dead Volk’s Clearing unawares?” Althea laughed, and the sound was that of a harsh bark than a sign of amusement. She looked back at him, and did not hide her intent as she gave him a brief look at her canines. “She’s certainly not house pet material.”

“Just severely lacking in ambition,” murmured Spence from up ahead of them.

Althea closed her lips over her grin, ignoring Darnel and Than’s heated glares. “That’s why, when we’re made pack, you’ll be Alpha and not her.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Darnel said, then flinched as he glimpsed the muscle of Spence’s shoulder tensing.

Althea and Than both rounded on him.

“I mean no disrespect, Comrade Red,” he said, addressing Spence as he took two steps back, distancing himself from their seething glares as he lowered his own to the dusty trail. “When we are Pack, I will be subordinate, and will be so with pride.” Darnel’s shoulders drooped, and he kept his hands behind him. “But she is Matthias’ daughter, and sister to Andrei, whom I’m sure we can all agree, has become the highly favored candidate to take over Matthias’ position.” He did not raise his eyes to theirs, but sought to implore and pacify them with his docile tone, barely above a whisper now. “It would take a house pet not to think that they might elevate her status to further their own ambitions, and you are no house pet Comrade.”

Spence’s shoulders eased, but he too turned and stared at Darnel, whose shoulders drooped even more. “Power has swayed to their lineage for too long. I could endure a life cycle under Andrei’s rule, could tolerate Chaska as Pack Alpha, though I am by far more deserving of the title.”

The skin around Spence’s grew tight, and his lips quivered, his tone tipping dangerously low into guttural waves. “But I refuse to suffer alongside our brethren the shame of subordination to Pavel’s little bitch of a skin-born.  “We are Volk, a proud noble race until Pavel’s debauchery, and I will not stand by while our leaders toss caution to the wind and further tarnish our heritage with this absurd notion. That they would even entertain the idea is an insult to our existence. It is why we are out here freezing our hinds off when we could be safely snuggled in our dens. Do not forget that.”

Darnel closed his eyes and lowered his head, willing his body language to sing only of submission. “I do not, and feel much the same as you, Comrade Red.” Then, he raised his head, and looked, not at Spence, but at the path ahead. “But to risk Dead Volk’s Meadow without a Forest Wife?”

“Chaska would not have championed our cause and you know it,” Althea said, a delicate sneeze overtaking her last word. “Besides, I’m sure the Old Forest Wives tale is a fabrication and nothing more. Something to keep bad little pups in check.”

Than snickered. “I’m sure you’d know all about being a bad little pup.”

“I took tips from your mother,” Althea said, giving him a sweet smile.

Than growled then whimpered as Spence cuffed him on the neck. “You present your hand to the flame and expect it not to burn you?” Spence huffed, and then looked to Darnel. “Do you know of another Meadow with an abundance of Wolfsbane?”

“Well-.” Darnel started then sighed. “No.”

“I was put to bed with stories just as Althea was,” Spence said, placing a hand on Darnel’s shoulder in comfort. “That if I did not do as my mother, or father, or Pack Alpha asked, that I would be dragged kicking and screaming to Dead Volk’s Meadow and have my face rubbed into the toxic leaves.”

“That’s the problem Comrade, we know they are toxic.” Darnel said.

The Forest Wives warned pups every year that even being in a ten mile radius of the plan could provoke severe headaches, dizziness, and fainting spells. Inhaling its whisky sour scent led to wheezing and tightness in the chest and, if one dared to spend too long in the area, it eventually slowed and quieted the heart beat. Eventually, if luck were on the Volk’s side, he would fall faint to the heady smell, and enter a coma-like state until his Pack or those responsible for him could collect him. If they were well prepared, and the rescue did not endanger the entire pack.

If a Volk were unlucky enough to have made physical contact with the plant, he could expect anything for a light rash to burns, minor bruising, open sores, and bleeding from the ears, eyes and mouth.

With the aid of gloves, and a handkerchief to cover their mouths, Spence expected them to come away from this feat with no more than a bout of nausea and a searing headache. He’d deemed the reward well worth the risk.

But Dead Volk’s Meadow?

None had made it through and lived to speak of it, at least, none amongst their own.

Darnel shivered, remembering tales told round the campfire late at night when he had been no more than a pup himself.  In the days of old, when a pack mate went missing-or heaven forbid, a pup-the first place the Ja’ur’a’ur Scouting Pack looked through was the immediate area surrounding Dead Volk’s Meadow. The Ja’ura’ur, coming across the unconscious Volk, and not having a Forest Wife on hand to tell them otherwise, presumed him dead and carried his body back to be prepped and offered up in proper tribute to Labrythine.

If it weren’t for the fact that such duties fell on the Forest Wives, they might have offered a still useful soul to Labrythine.

And Labrythine did not take kindly to wastes.

Labrythine did not take kindly to much at all.

“We have been misdirected thrice now. You see how the Forest protects her own? Maybe we forget this and go back,” Darnel said, overly conscious now of the gnarled branches that looked as though they might reach for him at any moment, the lashing wind, and the tickle in his throat that made him cough. “Let us give the news a chance to trickle through the packs. You know they won’t stand for this, especially the really old buggers. We’ll riot as a united front, and the Pack of Five will have to concede. They cannot afford to have anything weakening their hold, not after the food and clothing shortages.”

“If Labrythine will side with a filthy inbreed over one of her own then it shall be her down fall. I will not allow her to fail herself. Not while I still breathe.” Spence said, turning his back on Darnel and began down the path once more, seemingly uncaring whether they would follow after him or not.

And how could they not admire such bravado?

“The Northern Packs are beginning to look to the New Age every since they erected that bloody Council in Skin City.” Spence shook his head, but his feet neither halted nor faltered in their forward motion. “If he will champion her cause, no one will stand against Matthias. Food shortage or not. Our people have long memories, they will not have forgotten how he settled the East and West’s border dispute without either side coming to a single blow in his first year as Alpha of the Pack of Five. They will fall in line.”

Than spoke up. “There’s no reason why you couldn’t issue a formal challenge once she’s taken on the position though. Even now, if you bested her, she would lose face.”

Darnel winced as Spence’s shoulders bunched again, his hands clenching at his side as he kept up his stride. He had the distinct feeling their self-proclaimed leader was fighting the urge to Shift and rip them apart for their cowardice. “Svetlanna’s yippering goody-two paws of a son has thwarted all my previous attempts. Even Tamara, who should damned well know better, would stand by the little skin-born if it meant keeping the title in their precious bloodlines.” Spence huffed. “Now there’s an ambitious female.”

“Can’t keep her mouth shut though,” Althea said in a huff. At Darnel’s bewildered expression she smiled haughtily. “How else do you suppose I found out about their little ploy to gain favor during the Hunt?”

Than chuckled. “A little too ambitious. I heard she could beat out Andrei in a pissing contest.”

“There has been enough talk about their inappropriate fraternization,” Darnel tried one last time, switching his tactic. “Even those who might sympathize with Helena would see that as a large failing in the dynamic of their pack.”

“I leave nothing to chance,” Spence said as he rounded on them, eyes boring holes into Darnel’s skull in particular as he stepped into his personal space. “If the Skin-born-and I will trust that from now on you will refer to her as Skin Born and nothing else-if she has a chance to garner support from the other pack then all will be for naught! We will lose the essence of who we are as a people, don’t you understand?” He snorted and his breath came out as hot steam, blowing into Darnel’s face and warming his cheeks. “We may not yet be Pack but I thought I might be able to count on you as though we were. If I am mistaken, and any of you are more concerned with your own hides than the reputation of our entire race, then turn tail and run back to the dens like good little pups. So long as you keep your head down and your muzzles shut, I won’t begrudge you.”

“None of us are going anywhere,” Althea said decidedly, stepping forward as Darnel and Than shared a look and swallowed. She shouldn’t have the right to choose for them, but if they bowed out now they would never hear the end of it. “Lead and we will follow, Alpha to be!”

“Thank you Althea,” Spence said offhandedly, not even bothering to acknowledge her as he craned his neck, left and right. It gave a brief crack, and a hint of relief flickered into the Red’s eyes.

“Tamara’s not the only ambitious female,” Althea said, keeping her eyes low, but allowing them to light on Spence’s cheeks briefly, but no higher. “And I fully expect to be rewarded in a better place.”

Than snorted and elbowed Darnel, “Why doesn’t she just roll on her back and slobber all over his feet?”

“Sorry, I don’t speak ass. Would you kindly take your head out of yours?” She barely had time to turn around before Than charged at her, knocking her off balance.

Spence grit his teeth and ran a hand through his auburn hair, his nails digging into his scalp. “Would you mutts knock it off? If I do not find Dead Volk’s Meadow before dusk, it will be on your hides!”

Althea and Than tumbled to the ground, wrestling for dominance. They rolled long past where Althea had known there to be a tree, but they never came into contact with it, instead they descended down a hill and into a heavily shaded thicket.

Althea coughed raggedly, coming out on top just in time to notice what they had stumbled upon. She leapt away, hoping her skin had not touched the offending plant. She coughed again, eyes watering as she pulled out her handkerchief and placed it over her mouth. “Look what you’ve done!”

Spence slid down the hill, and came to a halt behind her. “He found the Wolfsbane,” the Red said, his teeth on full display as he watched Than struggle to get out of the thick weeds. “I guess that settles that. Than, when we are Pack, you will serve as my Beta.”

Althea whimpered from behind the cloth. “But I-“

“Oh stop pouting,” Spence said, with a pitying look that made Althea bristle inside, though she dare not show it. “You can fight Darnel for the last position.”

“Yes!” Darnel said, pumping a fist into the air. He caught himself suddenly, and whined. “Wait what? what about Chaska?”

“Chaska would have shown more spine then you did. And she would have caught on to that little barb a lot quicker,” Spence said, grin firmly in place. “Now don’t go all tucking your tail between your legs. I’ll be a merciful dictator, so long as you learn to heel and grovel at the right places. Get to work, we have to collect enough before the dizzy spells kick in.”

“Already there,” said Than as he staggered from the bush, despite the lopsided smile on his face.

“All the more reason to hurry along then.”

Althea crossed her arms and turned her nose up. “Fine,” she said, ensuring that her gloves covered every inch of her arms before picking through the bush in front of her. Next in line, eh? She thought. Like hell she was going to take orders from that Tawny pea-sized brain of a mutt Than, or from that sniveling Gray Chaska. If showing initiative wasn’t enough, she’d have to upstage them somehow to gain Spence’s favor. She nodded to herself as she furiously collected twigs, yanking them from their resting places and bunching them together in one hand.

Soon the bush was nearly fleeced, and her throat grew sore. She thought to move away for a time, to take a quick break in the hopes of staving off the inevitable dizzy spell soon to follow when something caught her eye. Lodged in the bush, obscured by its leaves, appeared to be a rather large twig.  Althea beamed in delight, placing her twigs on the ground and kneeling to fetch the larger twig. Size mattered a great deal to her people, after all. “If this doesn’t get her!” She reached through the leaves, hoping that Nikkal granted her mercy and did not let the toxins seep into any bare part of her skin. Rationalizing that even if it had, that she might only suffer minor bruising from such brief contact.

At least, she sincerely hoped that to be the case.

Than slinked over to her, a renewed swagger in his step that made Althea want to gut him. “And just what are you going on about?” he asked, just as she got both hands around the twig-which suddenly didn’t feel much like a twig at all. In fact it felt like-

Fur.

Althea felt her eyes widening, the motion pulling the skin beneath them tight. Gently, she glided her fingers along the length of the object, and froze when they came across something wet and slick, the scent of blood suddenly heady in her nose beneath the sour smell of Wolfsbane.

“Hey, your Beta-to-be asked you a question.” He huffed. “Oh all right, spoiled sport, just pull it out already,” Than hovered, breathing down her neck impatiently before he caught the look on her face and backed off. “Althea? Oh shit. Did a Spirit get you? Speak to me ‘Thea!”

“Shut up, would you?” Althea said, in a voice much too small for her usual gusto. She swallowed, took a deep breath, and prayed to the same Spirits that Than feared had whisked her away that her overactive imagination was playing tricks on her poor befuddled mind.

The object gave her some resistance, so she gave it one final hard yank, brought it into clear view just as something cold and wet fell onto her bare feet and a rustle sounded from above. She looked down at them first, and whimpered as red speckled over her toes, hands shaking as she brought her gaze back to what she hoped was just a twig and nothing more.

Something large and heavy sang through the air behind her, knocking Than over and straight into the Wolfsbane bush.

Althea paid no mind to it, held captive by the dislodged front leg of a wolf- a Volk- clutched in her hands, its brown fur matted with blood, the wet end dripping to pool over her feet and batches of Wolfsbane she’d collected. She barely registered the thin, shiny string attached to its wrist through her blurry vision before she dropped it, a scream tearing through before she’d even opened her mouth.

Althea turned, and ran right into the tough bulky thing that had knocked Than over. She was still screaming when she hit the floor, eyes wide as she saw the corpse dangling by its once fluffy tail before her. Its eyes had been gorged out leaving only hollow sockets. Its jaw unhinged, sagging to reveal hundreds of thousands of Wolfsbane leaves stuffed into the length of its body making it stiff and heavy.

Her mind shut down, and she didn’t remember being hauled up and led away by her two littermates, had no way of knowing if they had managed to pull Than from the Wolfsbane.

All could think of in her howling and hysteria was that both Than, and her throat, would burn tomorrow.

Progress

18. Read 101 books in 1001 days- I finished Sex God by Rob Bell and the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown 3/101
23. Read 50 books from the Entertainment Weekly’s The New Classic List- I finished The Da Vinci Code 7/50
43. Try 15 new restaurant- I went to Three Graces in Tifton with a friend 2/15
67. Watch 25o Movies- 5 more- The Hannah Montana Movie, a Christmas Movie on ABC Family called Chasing Christmas,  Swing Vote, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, and Two if By Sea 19/250
88. Avoid fast food of any kind for a month- Halfway there! 15/30

Well, it looks like David will be going to Sudbury for the holidays. He has been offered 2 weeks of work at CBC up there and he’s taking it. So it’s just the girls and me for 2 weeks with no car. Should be interesting. My mom lives 45 minutes away, so I will have to skip Christmas dinner there. It’s no big deal, I can make dinner for me and the girls here. I am just a bit worried about getting the kids out during the two weeks and getting groceries. I will have no car and can’t take two kids shopping alone. I’m sure I’ll figure this out.

Our respite doesn’t start until March. IBI starts in January. I will have a ton of help in the new year, but I wish I had that stuff now. My mom will still be coming on Tuesdays, but I can’t drive her van because it’s a leased van. Uggh!

David will be working at the CBC radio here in Windsor after all. He just heard back from the station manager emailed him and asked him to come in to fill out forms. He’s there now. He also has an opportunity for another TV station here in town, but that is not until January.

The woman from respite services came over today and told us about all of the services in Windsor. Wow, so many things for Ruby. Sudbury was nothing like this. They even have “autism movie night” at one of the theaters here. I have to find out more because we need things to do with Ruby. We also found out that we can use the respite money for riding therapy. I have wanted to try the riding therapy for a while, so maybe in the summer I can. So many services here for her I can’t write about all of them!

I can’t believe I forgot to mention this, but two days ago Ruby learned how to use the computer mouse all on her own! I tried and tried to show her how to click the mouse and she just never paid (or seemed to) attention to what I was doing. Suddenly, she just started clicking around with it and playing games on her own. She has been having so much fun playing online games by herself for the past couple of days. This opens up so much for Ruby. I can get her learning games now! I’ll get a picture of this soon!

CRV nabrak truck, sisi kiri hancur ( ban, head lamp, fender, pintu penyok penyok… )

penampakannya nih :

A six-year-old Scottish boy with a rare muscle condition who travelled more than 300 miles to Derby for treatment is thriving weeks after surgery.

Hamish Cumming from Brechin, Angus, suffered from Poland’s Syndrome, a condition which left him with a lack of muscle in his chest.

He spent eight days at the Royal Derby Hospital where he had muscle from his back transferred into his chest.

His mother Rachael said the change in her son was “amazing”.

Ms Cumming added: “The change is absolutely huge, the physical appearance (after) the operation is just amazing.

“He’s now symmetrical and within himself he’s much happier and a lot more confident.

“Because he’s had it done at such a young age I can’t believe the difference in his confidence, just in five weeks.”

One-sided malformations

The six-hour operation was performed by specialist surgeon Mr Chris Bainbridge in October.

He had said: “One of the reasons he has come to Derby is because we have been doing procedures like this through endoscopes, which minimises the size of the scar.

“We have been using endoscopes for this type of operation for a couple of years and every time we do it the scar gets smaller and smaller.”

Mrs Cumming managed to find the surgeon with the help of the Poland’s Syndrome Support Group, which is based in Swadlincote, Derbyshire.

The syndrome affects one in 20,000 to 30,000 births.

The condition is a pattern of one-sided malformations that are present at birth.

Poland Syndrome is characterised by a defect of the chest muscle on one side of the body and sometimes webbing of the fingers of the hand on the same side.

I was actually able to get in a late chest workout last night. I improved on my max Dumbbell Bench Press and One-arm Dumbbell Row, not a bad night. Here’s the workout:

3 x 6 Dumbbell Flat Bench Press (75 lbs)
3 x 6 Dumbbell Incline Bench Press (60 lbs)
3 x 6 Dumbbell Decline Bench Press (65 lbs)
3 x 6 One-arm Dumbbell Row (100 lbs)
3 x 6 Bent-over Reverse Grip Barbell Row
3 x 3 Rope Pull-up
3 x 6 Rope Reverse Row

Even though it was late I still had a good workout. I’m at the airport right now waiting to go back to Detroit so I don’t know how my workouts will go this weekend. Hopefully I can get my Dad to the gym with me at some point.

I just checked my delivery confirmation via the U.S. Postal Service and nearly had a heart attack: No record of that number on file.

It turned out, I incorrectly entered the tracking number from my receipt. When I typed in the correct number, the computer told me my GH entry was received. Woo-hoo! That’s a load off my mind.

We had a great, inspirational NARWA meeting Saturday — and for once I didn’t have to come home and go to work. I was off all weekend, so I got to come home from the meeting all inspired to write … and actually do it! I wish that’d happen more often.

With the GH entry off my plate, I devoted the weekend to catching up on the NaNo. I didn’t succeed, but I did write about 6,000 words on Saturday and Sunday, bringing my NaNo count up to 20,000+.

Pathetic compared to most people’s, I’m sure … but it’s still 20,000 more words than I had at the end of October. And I realized I don’t have quite as far to go to finish as I thought … Only about 16,500 to get my MS to 90,000 words.

So … I finally let Kari and Damien get busy. Figured they needed a couple of happy sex scenes before I break them apart and get them back together.

I was sick last night, so the word count didn’t grow much Monday. And today it was back to work. I’m going to try to do a little writing when I get home from work, but I’m still pretty wiped out from my bout with the 36-hour bug. About the time I finish this blog and my other one, I’ll probably be ready for bed.

Post office says it's been delivered!

While in California, I had one of friends topping up my barrels. Due to some residual gas from primary, the barrels gave off the impression of malolactic fermentation starting up. This was last month. I made a post about it, glad that things were moving along. My preference was for a slow malolactic, but with so many other’s wines taking off, I believed mine were following suit.

2009 is proving to be an interesting year. Sure, I’ve read the hype from what people are tasting of the vintage. One of the generalities of the vintage are rapid malos, a good of them complete at present.

Tasting my own wines, I was fooled. Residual gas was present when pulling the bung off, and the taste seemed right.

Knowing the importance of wine health, I decided to get a analysis to be sure. Results in hand, I can say that not only has the malolactic fermentation not finished, it has yet to begin! While being correct in thinking the malo was comete would mean that I could rest easy knowing that all was finished, it is actually my preference to have this result that I was in fact wrong. A longer fermentation is my preference. And as it turns out many other who took samples in for analysis were also met with this great news after thinking there wines were following in the lines of the others having the malo finished.

What I take from this is to never hesitate in confirming your instincts with facts, never assume about your wines based on what others are reporting and when in doubt…ask.

I will stick with my decision to let the wine take it’s time. From looking at the analysis provided by the guys at Bouchard Analysis in Beaune, the wine is looking healthy while it sleeps.

That’s all for now…

Cheers

La douăzeci de ani de la prăbușirea regimurilor comuniste – ceea ce nu echivalează cu dispariția comunismului ca ideologie și mentalitate cu putere de atracție – scepticismul și dezamăgirile cu privire la cele două valori occidentale fundamentale, capitalismul/democrația, rămân la cote considerabile. România nu apare in sondaj, însă ne putem lesne imagina rezultatele ce ar fi fost obținute aici.

Ireland is a place that has marked me forever. It has been the backdrop to my coming of age (a year in Dublin), happy moments with my family (holidays in Kerry), and where I met the girl I hope to spend the rest of my life with (if she’ll have me!).

The door is always open in Ireland, although, this may have more to do with my name than the politeness of Celtic folk; type Martin Cahill into Google and you will see what I mean. I haven’t always liked Ireland though. In fact, I used to hate it when I was younger. A trip to Ireland typically meant cold rain, scary aunts who would plant those sloppy kisses on your cheek, and extended stays in Kate’s (the local pub). My patience (at the age of 8 or 9) was bought with Club Orange, Tayto crisps and coins for the pool table. These days I visit Kate’s for the same reason my Dad did before. The Guinness is great, yes, but more than that – it’s the conversation. Local farmers walk through the door and into the warmth of Kate’s bar. The atmosphere can sometimes be quiet. Subdued even. There is no hurry to engage in wit and banter. Sometimes a period of reflection is the first order.

Kate also maintains a kitchen behind the bar. I don’t know how she does it, but she can go back there and within a few minutes provide a plate of steaming hot stew, potatoes and veg. Most surprising, is the customer did not even ask for it, but they certainly welcome it. Kate then communicates events from the day. What has been said by Farmer Connolley and the latest prices from the mart. She is a knowledge hub. An RSS feed in traditional Irish style. Another customer arrives and the conversation continues. A community of neighbours all ready to highlight changes in the market, economy, and even the weather. The local radio sits in the corner relaying the local news and the death list (those who have recently passed and the time of the mass and burial). Comment is passed, drinks are finished and people are back on their way. Back out to the land. Back to practice.

Kate’s bar – A School? … And the only piece of technology in sight – the radio.

The experience was reflected in London some time ago. It was my first visit to the Apple Store. As I walked through the door teenagers were typing and clicking on the new range of Mac laptops and iMacs on display. They were emailing and facebook’ing. To my right was a genius bar. A whole workbench of Mac geeks ready to fix your machine or answer your Mac related questions. I walked up the stairs and entered a creative zone. A place where photographers and movie-makers could learn and share tips in relation to their creative pursuits. Further along was a lecture theatre. A speaker was clicking through the latest features of iWork. Some were listening, others were posting online, networking, thinking.

Apple Store – A School? … Technology is on sale, but the centre-piece is people and knowledge.

I arrived in Sydney six months ago. In those early months I was looking for work and networking across the city. I was using both traditional and modern methods. One evening, over too many bottles of Cabernet a new friend asked me “If you could do anything, what would your working week look like?”. Great question, I thought. My response surprised me. “Well”, I said, “If I could do anything then I would like to open an Alternative School of Business. A place where talented folk across Sydney’s new and emerging industries could meet and a space where those looking for work could ‘hang-out’. People would be presenting – perhaps a new business idea. Others would critique and hopefully offer new ideas or routes to making it happen. Industry Pecha Kuchas would play out, events, and possibly corporate off-sites. It should be a hive of learning. A place where folk would come, enjoy a hot meal, and go back to the land. Back to practice. There are no corridors. No offices and no static zones. Just movement, progression and space”. “I would spend my time there”, I said, “and the rest of the week I’d pick up my camera and notepad and go venture” (that though is another story).

An Alternative Business School? Perhaps not so dissimilar to what we have now, you might say? Still, since talking to managers, analysts and talented folk across Sydney’s media, hi-tech, and social innovation scene I still hear a call for change. All cite the importance of an MBA and how they would benefit from such an experience. The good stuff like learning from other industries, making new connections, challenging their thinking, tackling tough problems etc. However, I was reminded of the gulf (supposed) between academia and practice, the pressures brought to bear on families and marriages, the untimeliness of case based learning and the fees!

I think the sector is ripe for great change, but we must avoid the McDonaldisation of education, just as Ireland must avoid the McDonalidation of its Celtic ways. Technology should never replace our human needs for social contact and social spaces. Technology should only ever fuel the conversation, peoples understanding and our overall pot of knowledge. It should only ever be the radio in the corner. What is interesting about today’s technology, is it makes the alternative business school self-organise. There is no need for administration or administrative teams. The school is open. Groups gather around themes. People subscribe. People unsubscribe. This is the magic of new social technology.

Results of weigh-in this morning: 150.6 lb

Down. 1.2 lb from last week. And still in the same general area for over 4 weeks now. Uber frustrating. You have no idea how much I plead with my scale this morning to just give me a result that was 0.1 less than 150 lb. It laughed in my face, and I’ll have to settle. Again. Also, apologies for posting my weight 1 day later than promised. I wasn’t around a scale on Monday morning, so I figured that 1 more day wouldn’t matter much.

The only thing I can hope is that the extra running and watching my food will help next Monday. I gotta get below 150 lb some time. Perhaps Thanksgiving week isn’t the best time to expect or even wish for it, but I’m gonna do it. I can’t remain stagnant.

Food choices today:

• Breakfast: An English muffin w/peanut butter, 2 cups coffee
• Snack: Pistachios (switchin it up from the almonds)
• Lunch: Lean Cuisine meal (tortilla-crusted fish w/rice), yogurt
• Snack: An orange
• Dinner: Some leftover cole slaw, some pistachios, and 2 glasses of wine. Weird, huh? Well, my excuse is that I’m baking pies to prepare for Thanksgiving, so I’m picking

“I have to keep celebrating that I’m alive. I shouldn’t be here now. I’m on borrowed time”. These were the words spoken by Jayne before she sat down and told her story about how Individualised Budgets has changed her life, the life of her husband Mark and her wider family including her Mum.

Jayne’s life as a high energy career nurse was thrown into chaos at the age of 30 when she was diagnosed with cancer. She describes how treatment offered structure to her weeks following the original announcement and how she found a sense of purpose in simply trying to stay alive. “By finding structure and purpose something positive will merge” Jayne says. This model of chaos, structure, meaning and emergence has seen Jayne through eight years of fighting cancer and all the ups and downs that entails.

Jayne explains how time became her greatest commodity because no one could say how long she had left to live. Following her first round of treatment Jayne took a part-time job which allowed for flexibility and days away; days spent with Mark on an canal barge – “We like canal barging – it slows life down”. However, one afternoon Jayne was plunged back into chaos as she fractured her spine pushing the boat through a lock. The cancer had spread to her bones. At this point the nature of the problem had changed. It was was no longer an illness, but a disability. This was going to take away her independence and this was the one thing that scared her the most.

It was at this point that Jayne was offered Direct Payments, but this proved to be rigid and outside of her desire to regain independence – “I was trying not to be a disabled person. I didn’t want many of the installations that were being offered. I did need help though, especially with my food shopping, but the times were fixed and no matter what I had to be well on that prescribed day, but I wasn’t”. Outside of this chaos Jayne found meaning attending a local college to study art, but was soon hit with a real problem. She was reliant on other students to lift the wheelchair from her car – “you can’t describe how helpless it makes you feel”.

This is when Jayne was introduced to Individualised Budgets (IB) and she was able to purchase a floating chair and trailer for her car. “All of a sudden my life was transformed. I could go shopping on my own. I could get to and from college and also take part in local field trips. I felt independent again”. The IB payments also allowed Jayne to compartmentalise the six hours of support she was offered through Direct Payments. It was broken into different instances allowing Jayne to take the burden of cleaning the house from her busy Mum and instead spend quality time with her at the local swimming pool. “The IB budget has really allowed me to understand where I want to spend my time and what I want to spend it doing. In the end, this is not about having a service, it’s about having a life”.

Jayne does however state that there has been periods where she has been able to reduce the budget – “We are very conscious that this is not our money. I keep returning to the IB panel and asking if it’s okay to procure a particular service. There have even been instances where I have even been able to give money back”. Jayne now has support on a daily basis – a position that Jayne gave great consideration to – “This is the person I am going to choose to share the last parts of my life and it was important that I was able to make that choice”.

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The full report is now available. Please click on the link below to read the report or left-click and download.

Unpacking Service Transformation – Oldham In Control

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Acum fix 150 de ani, pe 24 noiembrie 1859, apărea On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, de Charles Darwin. Un moment destul de important pentru istoria științei, zic eu…

An insightful interview with the dynamic visionaries Luke and Kieth:

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Hey guys! Welcome to the official Ninja Turtles: Dawn of the Ninja blog!

I’ll be updating this web site constantly, with pictures, articles, video’s and anything news worthy in general!

I hope you all are as excited as I am about the amazing progress that has been taking place in recent months.

For now, please visit the official website: Dawn of The Ninja

And check out this awesome art piece: