The first of the wisteria.
Looking west towards Thirteenth Beach from Barwon Heads Park.
Towards Barwon Heads, Victoria 3227, Australia. William Buckley Bridge in the background.
“What counts as a crisis is the expectation of loss of control; in other words, cybernetic breakdown in an institution.” Stafford Beer, Brain of the Firm (2nd ed.), 1981.
“Should we all stand by complaining, and wait for someone malevolent to take it over and enslave us? An electronic mafia lurks around that corner.” Stafford Beer, Designing Freedom, 1974.
Absolutely, definitely made of polyester.
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Spring 2024.
I have just learnt that avocado oil has an exceptionally high smoke point of 271oC / 520oF. I can’t wait to try it with my next stir fry dinner.
In every crisis there’s always someone looking to make money.
“Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty.” …. Jacob Bronowski.
Avenue of trees, South of France.
Eriocapitella hupehensis, ‘Japanese wind flower’.
Malvern Hills, Worcestershire. Looking east and down towards Malvern.
“We are presented not only with fragmented news but news without context, without consequences, without value, and therefore without essential seriousness; that is to say, news as pure entertainment.”
The potential for cybersecurity spending is limitless.
The potential for #cybersecurity spending is limitless.
There’s literally no end to the time, effort and money you could spend on adding more checks and controls to make things more ‘secure’ ad infinitum.
The result is extreme cybersecurity ideologies, ‘secure everything just in case’.
And if you’re responsible, and accountable, for running a cybersecurity programme there are no incentives to not keep demanding for more.
Because if you’re a security extremist, and you still get hacked, at least you can say you did everything in your power to make things more ‘secure’.
It takes real guts and courage to be a cybersecurity non-extremist and advocate for an informed risk approach.
Aeschylus in Perrhaibides: ‘Where are my many promised gifts and spoils of war? Where are my gold and silver cups?’
“Blood grows hot, and blood is spilled”
“Blood grows hot, and blood is spilled. Thought is forced from old channels into confusion. Deception breeds and thrives. Confidence dies, and universal suspicion reigns. Each man feels an impulse to kill his neighbor, lest he be first killed by him. Revenge and retaliation follow. And all this … may be among honest men only. But this is not all. Every foul bird comes abroad, and every dirty reptile rises up. These add crime to confusion.”
— Abraham Lincoln, letter to the Missouri abolitionist Charles D. Drake, 1863
“The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors.” - Thomas Jefferson
Big ideas come from the unconscious.
“I doubt if more than one campaign in a hundred contains a big idea. I am supposed to be one of the more fertile inventors of big ideas, but in my long career as a copywriter I have not had more than 20, if that. Big ideas come from the unconscious. This is true in art, in science and in advertising. But your unconscious has to be well informed, or your idea will be irrelevant. Stuff your conscious mind with information, then unhook your rational thought process. You can help this process by going for a long walk, or taking a hot bath, or drinking half a pint of claret. Suddenly, if the telephone line from your unconscious is open, a big idea wells up within you.”
— David Ogilvy
“The author is what he is.”
“A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. Its beauty comes from the fact that the author is what he is. It has nothing to do with the fact that other people want what they want. Indeed, the moment that an artist takes notice of what other people want, and tries to supply the demand, he ceases to be an artist, and becomes a dull or an amusing craftsman, an honest or a dishonest tradesman. He has no further claim to be considered as an artist.”
— Oscar Wilde
‘May Day’ (1935) by L.S. Lowry. #art #dailylowry
‘Lady crossing a bridge’ (1961) by L.S. Lowry. #art #dailylowry
‘Home from the pub’ (1944) by L.S. Lowry. #art #dailylowry
My first attempt at goat curry was pretty damn good if I say so myself.
A self-made prison in the making
Blood is thicker than water. And ego is thicker than blood. When a decision becomes part of who you are because you’ve emotionally invested in it, that’s a self-made prison in the making. It’s already becoming too hard to respond to new information by raising a hand, shrugging a shoulder and saying to yourself, “hmm, I didn’t do that very well, did I?”, or “what was I even thinking?”, or “you daft idiot, will you ever learn?”, or “I’m sorry, I was wrong”. And if in saying that while resisting any kind of justification, there’s not at least a glimmer of discomfort, it’s become trite and insincere. Lying to yourself or blaming others is much easier.