24 02 28 1a a big slice to eat and digest
24 02 27 1a Writings in Jan n Feb
Sometimes a continuous flow becomes a flow in lumps, in Quanta. Analogue or packaged.
While hoping to publish every day, sometimes injury or other bits of life block that intention. I have a fairly active life on my bush property and remotely and locally. So rather than publish all my recent little vignettes separately, I decided to parcel them up into a kind of thoughts chapter.
Recent thinkings have been around how we spend our time. How responsible we behave around our own health; social and physical, mental and in our own souls.
All the balances of too much or too little of what we need or don’t need. The universal goal seems happy healthy life. Productive, engaged, living our ‘best self’. So being a human is most complex in 2024. And this, before WW3, before the supply chains and banking systems break down. Stability and local needs-meeting, or great loss. Us the smart species, gone global for the second time ever, learning the power of ambition or the fulfilment of love. The ‘be nice to yourself, surroundings and other people and creatures’, or work toward blowing each other up.
Every decision maker – and that is all of us – are participants in this experiment. All our actions matter. The devil is in the detail. Ambitions of peace, ambitions of war. The following describes the salvation or destruction; early 2024, global story chapter:
[][][][
24 01 30 1a Category human behaviour, good and bad
Philosophy has morals – concepts of good and bad.
All animals have rules of behaviour
For instance – all mammals learn early – don’t gnor nore knor nor; don’t gnore on a nipple {the dog gnored on a bone}.
That is what would happen when I was learning to write/spell.
Where do you start?
Some people see relationships, others learn to spell. Plus variants. Some of us do maths and probability analysis. Ah, the human brain – best/most complex thing in the universe {so IT thinks. I think that God/ess/the universe itself slightly more impressive OF WHICH WE ARE A MOST MICROSCOPIC AND RECENT, SELF-IMPORTANT FLEETING PART}. And we have gone from having to move around for food (settled human life is less than 10,000 years) to optic fibres under the sea in a bioblink of time.
So one of the human rules is about duplicity. People like people who are ‘straight up and down’. We all have stories that mask the truth about motivations and goals. We want that. To get that, we have to sneekup; sneekin, to making it happen. Pretend as this, be conniving for that. To the duplicit person’s perceived benefit of their deception for self-gain. This duplicity often happens leading into a future inheritance grab. Where it suits some-ones’ perceived/felt interests to manipulate proceedings to gain advantage. All creatures no doubt (thought experiment) connive to get more for them and theirs. And evolution science says in the subtle dances of nature, biota does whatever to enhance its own self or offspring to gain. Most times, biogain is at other lifeforms’ expense.
A clear example of a duplicitperson is I think, Scott Morrison. So natural, so seemingly unaware that if he says something about leadership koos, kue, coo, kus obviously just covering his tracks in the dust of the past with a leaft leafed leaved branch of a small gum tree.
So bereft of duplicityselfrepression, when Australian ex-prime minister Scott Morrison is calmly interviewed about robo debt, he just doesn’t accept The Enquiry finding that the relevant minister – him; then – should have monitored its accuracy; nor its legality. Two things people and lawyers lower down the power pyramid tried to tell him, but were blocked. The difference between duplicitous words and clear lies is that one uses mealymouthwords. Scott Morison, on the ABC series [Nemesis] gives a free and on-record public masterclass in mealymouth duplicity. Him, it was power for self. Well born out via his many ministries.
So, in moral terms, most cultures vote against duplicity. We can’t really make laws against it. We just don’t approve. No doubt the beneficiaries and supporters celebrate at ‘getting away with it’ (there is the ‘tell’). But it undermines trust and is as old as time.
The obvious motivation, for the greedy, the overambitious, is for them or theirs, to get ahead. Or to put some-one/a group down. Shades of a superiority complex, justifyingbullying (there is another tell – there are soooo many). For whatever motivation/’reason’. The outcome of this thought experiment. Malice and a sense of special entitlement are at the heart of duplicity.Self-justifying internal narrative allows the sneaky one/ones to enact their two faced, self-interested behaviour.
Great show, ABC.
We have Machiavelli and The Prince to thank for writing a handbook for duplicity.
Power for power’s sake is something most of us probably don’t understand. It never really sturd stirred in us. Oh, maybe at the community group level. I should be president. No, I should. But that is just humans being competitive. There, hopefully, is never too much sneakiness. Most of us has a moral compass, a sense of behavioural boundaries which say: behave honourably – so we can live with ourselves. How does Morison do that? Gloating? Teaching #412: the duplicitous gloat that they got away with it. {small voice, off, aside – ah, poor childhood guidance and correction – the duplicate was destined to be two faced – they couldn’t resist the forces which kept saying: nasty = gain. Pretend as this, be aiming for that.}
Gravelhead 30/1/24
[][][][[[[[[[
24 01 31 1a The spectra of specta
There is off; on, and spectra or spectrums.
Most times an electric light is off or on. An aeroplane – flighing flying or grounded.
But the light may be dim, the plane taxiing.
Moral #13: there is right or wrong. But it depends on which cultural filters you push that moral judgement through. It depends on any unique circumstances. How much coercion or depravation or despair is in your life. It is easy for I, a member (– ALWAYS – at this time) of the older, safe, comfortable white middle class in a wealthy country; and fully ‘free’ within the laws of Australia, NSWales, to pontificate. But there is international law, religious law. So those who can or force themselves, generally conform. Maxim #01: Create and allow with as much personal freedom as a flourishing and safe society can facilitate.
So, in the right and wrong yibberyabber – it is generally clear – free, flourishing, safe for all – to add RESPECT. Once we have respect – for self, for others; we have a chance at techno-sustainability. Viable futures fair. Easy decision support system for gauging more plausible futures which accept responsibility for having such prowess we are poorly impacting our shared atmosphere and must (must not as coercion as bioimperative) rapidly deflect to technosmarts for our love/need for external energy, transport, and communications. To simply make it good where we are, simply make life good for the locals.
Our collective right or wrong now is to spiral into war with our staggeringly impressive prowess – electricity to spaceships in 300 years (compared since 700mill years of modern earthlife, 100 000 years of us, the upstart species on this one-shot planet). Warfare or peaceably and fairly, continue our journey of 15,000 years to settle down. Make that good, long term.
It’s a simple brief, and a simple choice. Good or bad, as we go global for the second time, these last explosive 400 years of capitalism with few real morals, religions, some more pushy/aggressive/brutal than others, and nationalism, the great rallying point of war – and sport? Either safe settlement or the horror of war and loss. 2024 is this knife-edge for our collective future. Simple, really.
So that is Bushrant #01.
Cheers
Ding
31/1/24
Responding to a dear old friend, Seaa, from some of the above
‘I thrust in the practice in reckless optimism.’
Let’s unpick that: trust … practice.
Practice - to do. Act behaviour.
I choose to act in a trusting way; an optimistic world view; which guides me to be a bit reckless/careless/risky risk-taking; BELIEVING that the outcome of this risky move will work out fine.
If it ain’t reckless; if there is no real risk = you are predisposed to believe taking CALCULATED RISK is ok.
Logic Printout # 24 - the 20s guides to risk-taking group - if it is likely/you trust an action will work out fine (Optimistic) then it probably ain’t all that reckless. More RECK.
You RECKEN it’ll be fine - not reck less - is kinda high risk.
So that is that analysis.
Whatever.
For my writing purposes, My next character is old
Duncan Waters (Ding Gravelhead hung up his heavy gravel tools at close of business yesterday, after 30+ year completion of 1 Km of good bush driveway. Gravelhead retired. Who saw that back-protecting strategy coming?
Less hard work – ideally no hard physical labour, let me introduce Duncan Waters -
Sand and sweeping man. Known since early childhood as Biscuit - Bisc to his family and Friends.
One Alta -Ego of yours I’ve long known is Seaview Seeker … kinda looking for knowledge; wisdom; peace through contemplation. Predisposed to happy/nurture. Love. Relationship nurturer and appreciator.
The influences of your Martys, Tims. Vics. Old school mates threaded now through many decades. The young adult gang, bonds kept alive and well strong. Family ongoing, growing.
So it is, to some extent, THAT
Seaview Seeker - Mr Seeker/ peace-keeper Seeker I’d like our writing to tap, to bring forward. I’ll post our stuff as little or as much as suits. Maybe we plat (a word funny in the looking) a new discourse … ready?
And the slightest tinge of … what … huh … dry humour; me ?
Jeeeze …
Bisc
7/2/24
Quicky
So I have a vibrant social network. One mate – Sleve – who half gets my thinking.
Well, he helped make it; from shared houses since the 1970s, to sometimes wild adventures in three states, over decades. Well, he likes to write. So I've started something with him [Starter Bisc].
Like the pop star says: living your best life is hard work. Lots of YOU MAKING EFFORT. You gotta push your cart if you want it to move. All else are busy with their own carts.
The big picture is simply revalue money as well outlined by others [].
So Sleve – Seaa, love the title Wellwood among the sticks.
Old Stick.
My Gravelhead – going forward, Sandy - writing is located inland from Eden. A little privacy deflection deception.
You will always be a sailor, wind over your brow-jutted dome. It’s what we’ll do together sometime latish winter … if we get a summer.
Learn a quiet background music instrument. And on. A busy couple of days for me now, then on with the writing.
Cheers
Ding Gravelhead
Had a morning of 12 tonne of gravel road base and a big grader and vibrator roller for 4 hours. Gravelhead’s last big project before retirement.
Happy.
My back is happier laying down. My writing and publish compulsion are met by writing {reclining writing} an email to myself, so I tap this in on the reclinerbed and next retrieve the text on the laptop -situpbusiness to stick into Seethegoodfutureandgoforit.com
.
My busi time is done so read and write and local music gets back forward to do.
To dream perchance to plan and do … bon voyage, dear friend. I bet, like mine, your travel bag is open for additions.
I’m off to roll the 1 km of driveway in the drizzle before some proper rain this evening. Mmmmmm land form and surface drainage runoff … mmmm
Poppee says :
Moral decisions - decision to ‘do the right thing’ - lead to moral actions.
Thought experiment - Putin or Netanyahu decide to stop blowing other humans to bits. Morally, a pretty simple choice …
But consider their decision support system - how will any behaviour increase my power.
Planetary danger #05: men who seek power and control more than all else. Their decision-support system {concept #30 - our human traits} is fine screened and filtered to more personal/less personal power. They have done it for a living. They are very good at gaining and holding power. Check.
Their decisions - will I seem weak, or strong? Will my enemies be emboldened or beaten into oblivion? Who is my Brutus, my Traitor? What does Machiavelli say?
Who can I trust? Will this give me more personal power and control, or less … in the world of brutal power forces, in which I am tethered in the middle of. This is my world.
It’s why we invented democracy, and why no politician wants participatory e-vote democracy. ‘Cause then each of us could vote on whatever … once we had settled on a shared set of values and aspirations - to improve our bioreality and personal life, within an agreed social contract of personal conduct.
Pretty easy. Really.
Imagine
It’s easy if you try
Popee the pontificator
Hi Stoic
You are the lucky recipient of todays beingblah. I call it brain vomit.
Ring some time.
One of my wallabies is just outside my glass door. Well fed from lots of summer rains
Oh dear god help me
For I have sinned against my own body.
Shovelled 1/2 tonne of wet sand - beautiful mountain granite sand washed from its granular homes from recent floods.
Back the trailer in, put the back brace on my 73 yo hard laboured; motorbike and industrial accident crashed back, and shovelled into old buckets and tubs.
Specialist sand. Sure I’d sprained my ankle two days prior, but the road repair crews were moving toward the god-delivered perfect last lot of material for all my building and earthworks.
The mixed clean coarse sand was to put a skirt around the base of my walls - walls I built from on-site rock and hard sweaty work over the past 50 years.
With the grader and shovel and drain work for my 1km driveway Monday/Tuesday, and the crew that would clean out the wild mountain range road bend bush gutter sand deposit; gone, to rescuing and using quality sand
ahh, the bubble of local focus.
No matter what, we all are and only in our own little bubble.
Now my back, since Thursday. Oh, I did about 1 km of road self-propelled light bush weed slashing/mowing on Tuesday and Wednesday with the damaged ankle before the flood rain dried so much the mowing would make dust - always mow as things just dry out from the stems, not the ground - so now my back has gone on strike. Oh, I rough retiled the main kitchen, ‘cause I was all focused on final surfaces - that’s how my brain works. This whole writing stint of the 2020s had a simple brief: create a story line to this point - this is how my brain works.
In the same way Archie Roach ‘Move it on’ song most sings out what a life; a life of redemption, so different from our own 99.9% - born on a river bank, family group moved by authorities next to a rubbish tip. In 1956 the Queen was coming to visit (what a picture, a contrast, a strong time-tag) moved to a river bank; then flooded; to his mother’s people, to the nurturing and cruel streets, hitting the booze but being a fine composer and human, loved and respected by many thousand. And likely more.
Being able to convey a life - a glimpse of other to move the exposed to empathy.
So my back’s kinda gone on strike. Well, my left leg a bit too. Just debilitating pain, basically yelling GIVE ME A REST.
Or is it just my form of long Covid, or sudden onset aging.
At some stage in my growing years, there must be no bounce-back.
I’m getting on.
A bit of the best war hero’s poem ever:
Age shall not weary them
For us old survivors, age does weary us.
Trueism # 47 - you’re alive ‘till you’re dead.
Collolory You either get old or you die early.
Value system of time # 05 - fundamental time value system - short time living and a long time dead.
Value system # 01 I’m so happy to be alive []
Self-responsibility # 01 look after yourself.
Colloolory - if you won’t look after you, why should anyone else?
So I go at things too hard - all my life - and so have occasionally weeks of damaged inaction. Get lots done.
Very happy with my life to date. My and my cultural swarm - family, friends, neighbours, community members - our lives look ok. Wouldn’t want to be in Gaza, sub-Saharan Africa, overcrowded, under-resources countries and places anywhere.
All living toward settling down, using our smarts for a longterm future, or to just blow our one-shot planet.
We are smart enough to stop destruction, but domineering bullies definitively want damage to others. They are globally flexing their destructive power. The ‘delicate’ global balance mechanisms’ just get ignored by those wielding, or lining up, to wield military might. Perhaps armies need the same rules of restraint as police. As north Gaza descends into hell.
Where were the parents, the teachers, to say to these young bullies-in-training: this is why we don’t bully.
The next chapter of our brief, so brief human history may be: the bullies who got away with it bully the world into a full global war and destruction, loss and collapse.
Or, the bullies were told TODAY - just stop blowing people up, blowing buildings up, shooting or even hurting people. Us great majority want local settled peace and full needs meeting into the long term. We want our human global resources FROM TODAY directed into this plain and legitimate goal. Bullies; decist. Longterm, commit.
Thinker Soreback.
12/2/24
Us 99.9% of humans are sick of bullies.
We are sick of bullies who become leaders of big harming organisations, or become leaders of political organisations or become president or prime minister and the like globally.
We are sick of all your bullies and we want you to stand down.
The global leaders who are ordering other humans to be blown to pieces, or are preparing the armaments and the weaponry to blow other people to pieces – we want you all to stand down. We want you to all cease and desist.
There is a recently deceased beautiful Australian song composer, Archie Roach who wrote a song called MOVE IT ON this song is worthy of great study and appreciation. This song, move it on, needs to be fully explored as the best song ever for describing another person‘s life, a life so different from nearly all of us. If we are at all human (most bullies were bullied), we will empathise with this man, with this song writer. The song is a song of redemption.
The song opens with the fact that Archie was born on a riverbank. His family group were moved and moved again, one of the moves was next to a rubbish tip. They then moved to his grandmother’s country where they were welcomed and nurtured. He was then a street kid and then alcoholic.
He was loved by thousands, many thousands, ans a fine human annd a fine musician and hopefully will be appreciated by more as time wears on. His story is at one end of a spectrum of human experience. At the other end of that spectrum is bullies, trained, unguided, encouraged, never redirected, self-evidently to cause distress to others as a form of entertainment, and the rest of us say to you global bullies who are, or are moving to be able to blow other people to bits “step down”.
What we want to say to you world leaders with your submarines and drones, your intercontinental missiles; all weaponry - is: spend all our money on our settling down. Don’t spend all our money on blowing us up. It is that simple.
We either settle down locally with local needs meeting or we continually get more ready to blow each other and things up, and that is the way to a species destruction and a great loss and tragedy and it’s in our hands now.
If you’re anywhere on the Internet and you’ve been passed this particular bit from Sandy Waters then pass it on and channel it up through your political and organisational processes. We want the bullying to stop we want people to stop hurting each other and it’s that simple we want all armies and military to be subjected to the same Laws of constraint, as is normally required of policing, there is no special circumstances to hurt noncombatants. There is no excuse valid enough. It is just the expression of greedy bullies, power, hungry bullies, self-aggrandising bullies. You may have a vision of reuniting, the old Russia, you’re wasting your time. And lots of lives and property and …
People like freedom more than your bullying.
Cease-and-desist.
People around Putin: have him stand down, have your self stand down. People at the front lines everywhere - in Gazza, muscling up in China and the military in the Navy in China. Just say back up the chain we don’t want to hurt other humans like this, the aspirations of you megalomaniac leaders and let’s include Trump you heard me bully, well documented bully, extraordinaire bully in the public domain. No secrets about how well trained as a bully Trump and his ilk.
All logic lines from: is it morally okay to blow humans to bits or not to that life story so poignantly sung so honestly and humbly sung so beautifully and redemptively sung by Archie Roach that needs to be our guide , not who can blow up the most people and things. Bullies stand down.
Sandy Waters
13/2/24
Skin in the game
I hit 73 years old and suddenly I realise I have to rub waxy oily stuff into my skin.
The more exposed to driving oxygen, the thicker the cream needed. Even a doctor said: Oh, and your skin is really dry.
My analysis - me skin drastically slowed down its own biofactory making skin oil/waxy coating.
In the grown language of me own head: I’ve got to treat my own hide. Living leather needs moisturising past a certain age.
Us lucky enough know that and have the means - ancient or modern - to wax away. {theme # 01 - Geography - humans in time and space}.
Now going forward - we weaponise and destroy more of value, and blow more of our cousins - we are all related - up, or we map local settling down sustainability projects.
Trump travesties or truth.
So that’s how pampered I am. Skin oiling - knowledge and means.
More
Yesterday with southern neighbours we explored and marked a path from vehicle access from one property to the other. A foottrack link of about 400m through dense wild bush - a massive old granite steep worn-down creek gully, about 150 million years in the erosion to now. With the od igneous (basalt) intrusion for fun.
Ah, geologic/evolutionary time.
Ya gotta love it.
Soon I plan to go on a very long driving trip and so the more physical exercise I can get before I sit for two or three weeks the better. There’s a big ravine Gully between my place where I’m writing this from and their place where my southern neighbours have occupied for quite some years and their farm has a homestead dating from I think the late 1800s; old place. Great position. We went to some of the hundred year-old fig trees yesterday afternoon after our big exploratory walk so that’s my reality is where I’m writing this from. I’ve had the good grace fortune luck let’s call it the Ratsby Luck. It’s all luck is an extreme philosophy for you.
So I’ve had that extreme privilege to have a bunch of social skills n all, so that I turned up there because I made the effort with Radby a couple of months ago to tryto find a way down into the boundary gorge but the country was too wild and overgrown with prickle bushed and blady grass – cuts like a razor - and looked again on my own about a month ago. I couldn’t find a passable way to the gorge and so my southern neighbours decided to meet up in the only reliable way - for me to get to it would be to come from their side so that’s what we went for, and I did a bit of cattle work. For words to be straight up and down, communication clean and clear, there needs to be a lot of overlap cultural subtle values of language and we’re all related as a deep theme. We, like so many creatures – ok; all, love to communicvate. Some ‘write down’ their message in dance or urine, we keep making up new words, symbols – think: emoji, and concepts. Think cryptocurrency WHAT A SPECIES. WHAT A CUSP WE ARE IN.
So I’m contrasting my current reality with the peoples of me and my with of Gazza or Ukraine, so many people or just so many people poor and struggling countries so so many kids well so many people simply make it good for the local simply make it good where you are.[]
So in a few weeks heading off from Eden way East Coast Southern New South Wales to Perth. Now anyone that’s reading this is almost certainly gonna know where Perth is. It’s a long drive. And it’s across the Nullarbor Plains and I’ve never been there so that’ll be like you know I’m in my 70s. it’s what a lot of people do and so getting ready for that, but the theme of today’s thought bubble is The I’ll be packing different shirts I’ll have two belts I’ll have at least two or three hats. The car will be the suitcase the suitcases n the overnight bags n the bag for the laundry and all the detail n the things you got taken n the little toothbrush and so all that detail and putting it together so that when my partner turns up then everything is ready for her in terms of bed space and everything else from where she lands for a few days so I’ve got quite a shift of this reality.
I’ve been parked here for 18 months and Very grateful for that 18 months really had to go up to Cairns for a couple of weeks one time and so that’s it but the amount of safety and security that I have. How many shirts will I take seven or eight I have sufficient underwear the trip will almost certainly go safely. Who knows but the security and the plenty that I have the people I move with are in deep contrast to being in places where others are all trying to blow you to pieces and I call on all of the bullies I call on all of the people who say blowing people to pieces is something we need to do.
Exercise whatever resources humans can continue deriving from the planet without further harming it it’s either that or we just put our massive capabilities to blowing people and stuff up, or commit to just settling down where your food, water, safety education nurture, respect equality it’s better than any other alternative. More of us want that than to help blow others to pieces and that’s just mechanised and drones. It’s getting too easy. Like fishing. It’s too easy now it’s just not fair any more. It’s the equivalent of going out and shooting all of the wildlife game in Africa, that the white males of a certain wealth level did. And a sense of how safe low danger of being killed by the lions they shot and so forth. Too easy. Not sport. Not cool.
How many were trampled by the elephants? So we need to stop doing all this - the harming the remnants of nature. It’s simple and learning and creating where we can live, where we have external energy, capture storage and appropriate use and need for water, local capture, storage and sensible use. Food, local, as much as possible. We’re going electric we’re going to do external energy that way to some extent, but you know organic fuels and feedstock for plastics and carbon fibre and the like – we like - waiting to come into existence so we’re on the path of settling down, not crashing and burning, but exploding and burning. Our call. We’re at tipping point on so many levels. That’s the end from this chapter of this style of writing.
Dated 18th of February 2024 over and out.
Gravelhead
Over and out
18/2/24
Character 4
There is an old mate of mine out here from Eden, Merry (Meredith), who is a great burn-out social pivot engine. A deep and abiding giver. With a sometimes acid tongue.
Just a thug bulldozer. Domineering. Otherwise sweet as pie. Now all these friendship type 56s (the fives group is knife-edge love/be cautious hugwithlove/slaphardintheface. Other group five friend types are : 59 Appreciation/depreciation, ie, in Delegate, Livie. Thinks you’re the best thing since sliced bread, then crashes the bus and finds you difficult. Sly kid in the 12 year old playground. Growthstunted in SO many ways. I wanna say it’s in the community groups we share: the guide of all decisions and conduct is by an agreed or standard PROCESS, it’s not your headnoise of personalitycrap.
Ahhh, the community groups I’ve been in, co-ordinated, formed and or chaired. But then these socialplusdefect friends would say I’m a dismissive knowitall. Because I am. Life is too short. I got a fast, trained brain.
Today’s smartarse moral # 411 is: the worst thing about people with defects is we are not really gonna see the world that way.
EG: the truely stupidbutfunctional can NEVER know what it is like to be appreciably highly intelligent. THIS IS WHAT GETS ME #5612. Stupid people are SO stupid they act like - if I can’t understand it, then it doesn’t make sense. If you can’t convince me of an argument, then, by my own rules and judgement, the argument fails and they, the stupid person, acts like they won.
Stupid is not ignorance of choice. It is a great limitation of capacity to process, to empathise, to analyse in a way that does respect to all things. It is very narrow. Stupid people really annoy me because they think they’ve got equal rights to make decisions. Indeed, they often think their narrow stupid puerile assessments and judgements are better than anybody else’s, so they’re often doggedly doggedly because they’re so narrow, doggedly intent on getting their own petty desires met.
Stupid people often act dumber than they are; they are so smart.
Collolory: the more self aware and self honest we are, the better.
Song
Ownlittlebubbleoverlaps.com
Empathy, cousins or closer.
Sandy
Judgemental, snide, so BEST and smartest