farmdoc's blog post number 541

In Deloraine there are two real estate agencies next door to one another. On the face of it, that’s crazy. But on closer scrutiny it benefits both agencies. Because they’re adjacent, prospective customers are more likely to visit both. For the same reason, car dealerships are often cheek-by-jowl. And if you’re buying electronics in central London, Tottenham Court Road’s where you go. As it is with businesses, so it is with people. When those with like interests connect, their ideas and enthusiasm and inspiration are reinforced. Everything goes up a notch. Likely many notches. To the common good. In this internet age, connection’s easy. Including topic-specific blogs. Like darling Kate’s Foxs Lane blog dedicated to her love of craft. According to Foxs Lane profile: baking, crochet and sewing. But also drawing and screen-printing. And mothering. Judging by Foxs Lane’s comments, Kate’s craft interests are shared by lots of other people out there. And they’re kind and generous to, and supportive of, Kate. So everyone benefits. Foxs Lane began last 23 June. Since then – via the blog, but also by phone and in person – I’ve seen Kate blossom. She’s found herself. And how. As a result, she benefits. And so too does every one around her. It’s the bucket principle, of course. I feel blessed that Kate’s my daughter. If you don’t know why, just read any Foxs Lane post. And while you’re there, enter the giveaway. But hurry – you only have until 22 October.

farmdoc's blog post number 467

I’ve previously written of two principles I’ve invented (I think): the Bus Stop Principle and the Bucket Principle. Today’s post’s about another one. I haven’t finalised its name yet. I’m provisionally calling it the Spurlock Principle – after Morgan Spurlock (pictured) who wrote, directed and starred in the 2004 Academy Award nominated documentary Super Size Me. In a 30-day period (in February-March 2003), Spurlock ate only McDonalds food. But he also ‘super-sized’ his meal whenever he was asked to. Which is the essence of my theory – the Spurlock Principle – that if you buy a bigger container of something, you’re likely to use its contents faster than a smaller container’s. I haven’t tested this theory – at all let alone rigorously. And I probably won’t. Sweetheart Vivienne disagrees with it. I accept that Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. And I know that when Sweetheart Vivienne’s and my opinions on something differ, mostly she’s right. But to me it’s so logical. Basic human nature. Like the tendency to drive less economically if your tank’s full of fuel, than if it’s near empty. I’ve previously mentioned supermarket unit pricing. Obviously the larger the container, the lower the unit price. But buying a larger quantity may be false economy if it results in faster use. Ho hum.

farmdoc's blog post number 355

Today I write of buckets. I love them. I don’t exactly know why. Perhaps because their design’s so simple and they so wonderfully perform their purpose. Currently my favourite bucket (pictured) is a 20-litre stainless steel one. It's a beauty. I’ve had it a few years. I’m ashamed to reveal I bought it in a Launceston hardware store owned by Australia’s (and, I think, the world’s) most rapacious woodchipping company. Yes, Gunns Limited. This bucket’s usual location is on the gravel outside my Mole Creek back door. The rainwater it collects there is used to water our native Tasmanian trees in their pots nearby, or to wash my Peugeot. I love that bucket because it’s a bucket, and also because I love stainless steel. Stainless steel is a steel alloy with a minimum 10% chromium content. It doesn’t stain, corrode, or rust as easily as ordinary steel (it ‘stains less’). But it isn’t totally stain-proof. The corrosion resistance of iron-chromium alloys was first recognized in 1821. But back to buckets. I’m enchanted by the fact that only a full bucket can overflow. Extrapolating this fact to human psychology produces what I call ‘the bucket principle’. I’m pleased to say that most of the time my psychological bucket overflows.