farmdoc's blog post number 144

Each of us has two parotids, two submandibulars, two sublinguals, and over 600 minor ones. I’m talking glands, folks. The ones that make saliva – a mixture of 98% water and 2% electrolytes, mucus, disinfectant, electrolytes, and enzymes. Saliva is released in response to various stimuli, the main one being anticipation of something tantalisingly delicious or appealing; hence the adjective ‘mouthwatering’. Among the things I love best about Tasmania is the library service. I can reserve books (and CDs and DVDs) online from the catalogue (called Talis), I receive an email when they’re reading for collection, and I get each item for three weeks. But most wonderfully, new books are added to the catalogue soon after publication. In a recent New Yorker I read of a recently released book which I looked up Talis, and there it was. I reserved it, and last Monday I collected it. It’s called SWAY – the irresistible pull of irrational behaviour. The back-cover blurbs are transcribed into the lower half of this Amazon page – under the heading ‘PRAISE FOR SWAY*’. They sound amazing – quirkily enthralling. I’ve had the book for three days and not yet opened it. Now the decks are cleared and I’m ready. My mouth’s not watering literally, but it is figuratively. So goodbye for now – I’m hopping in to bed with a hot water bottle and SWAY.