Thoughts Mindesque - Gareth - Humanity

Empowering The Young To Dig Their Own Graves?

nospam@example.com (Gareth) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:06:47 -0700

Several recent news reports have painted a gloomy picture for younger Australians. Apparently many of them are facing credit repayment difficulties and most will face further stress from increased rents as they are unable to afford to purchase their own homes.

Considering their employability in a 'young image' world and the consequent incomes they enjoy that revelation is astounding.

A fact of life is that every generation considers the next one to be lazier, more spoilt and less responsible than their own. Baby-boomers faced those criticisms from their own parents. Those parents themselves received the same admonishment from their elders and so forth.

There is no doubt that perception failures account for a great deal of that criticism, since while an apparent slide seems real to older generations the reality is that societies and economies charge forth irrespective of the altered values and behaviours of their younger members.

I don't like to harp on a hackneyed theme but there is another aspect to those generation variances that is not often publicly aired, but which recent developments have highlighted to me personally.
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Down In The Dumps with Political Correctness

nospam@example.com (Gareth) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 17:14:56 -0700

Like many other people, I would love to see political correctness consigned to the local rubbish dump. So too, the pesky people who have carved a path to personal power from peddling it's poison in place of common sense and realism.

I recently visited what appeared to be a quaint, grass-covered valley floor in the Adelaide foothills. I had previously discovered it while peering down a steep incline adjacent to the Windy Point Restaurant lookout. From a height, it appeared interesting. A colourful quarry cut into one corner offered a tantalising glimpse of local history to a curious mind.

A satellite-eye view of the valley on Microsoft 3D Virtual Earth revealed a strange-looking structure in the middle of a plain, along with several vehicle access tracks. Since the area was otherwise abnormally featureless, my curiosity began to boil.

Upon close inspection the structure's business card was a large sign introducing it as the Lynton Landfill Gas Monitoring Plant. I then realised exactly where I had ventured. The elevated valley floor, which I had gained with much puff and steam up a steep track from a road below, is the site of the old Lynton rubbish dump.

I clearly remember having gone there around thirty years ago to help a friend empty a trailer filled with household waste. Back then it was called a 'dump', or a 'tip', so I was surprised to discover that without any alteration to its duties, its job description had been upgraded to 'landfill site'.
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Give Yourself A Serve

nospam@example.com (Gareth) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:12:56 -0700

"If you want your petrol spilling, spill it yourself". Well, perhaps it's not quite like that. But in 1971 I worked (briefly) as a teenage driveway attendant in the last filling station in Adelaide that didn't have automatic cut-off pumps.

I started work on a Monday morning and was shown how to listen for the increasing pitch in sound as the filler-tube filled like a bottle. It didn't seem too hard. The trick was just to let go of the trigger in time. Unfortunately, some cars tended to 'blow back' if they were filled too quickly. Some of their owners were inclined to 'blow off' when that happened.
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It's 'C' Day In The War Of Words

nospam@example.com (Gareth) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:58:47 -0700

Jane Fonda dropped the 'C' word on national television. Is that a sign of maturity? In one way no, but in another way, yes. What remains to be seen is the level of maturity in society's response. Back in the 'sixties intellectuals began to highlight processes whereby we need value B because we have value A, we need value C because we have value B, but it's only because we have value C that we persist with value A in the first place. If we throw the whole damn lot in the bin no harm is done and a lot of humanity's problems instantly disappear. Scandals fit well and truly into that category.
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"Rich Indeed Is He Whose Pleasures Are Few And Simple"

nospam@example.com (Gareth) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 13:49:34 -0700

I cannot for the life of me recall who wrote this quote or I would honour the author with a credit. It struck me as a good piece of wisdom and I look for it's truth in my own life, fortunately with great success. For example, I dislike junk food but upon returning home after work my favourite 'chill-out' activity is to cook a good meal.
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