I've been thinking...

I've had an introspective month; I finished the third book of 'The Owner' trilogy by Neal Asher, set in the 22nd century, where one man takes on the might of global governance. Although it's set 135 years in the future there are enough similarities in the way the world's progressing now with its growing population, decreasing resources and the widening gulf between the rich and the 'zero assets' group. It's a brutal and thought-provoking series; at the start of every chapter, Asher has an italicised paragraph that sets the tone - here's an example from the second book of the trilogy, 'Zero Point'...

'Back in the twenty-first century, a technological singularity did not just seem possible, it seemed inevitable; but those booting up their computer models of human technological development neglected one critical force: the power of human stupidity. For technology to develop so fast that it goes beyond the ability of humans to model it, the underlying bedrock of science must be rigorous and stable. Yet, even in that century, science was becoming unduly influenced by political thought and execrable creations like post-normal science. Science itself began to break down when Karl Popper's dictum of falsifiability was abandoned in favour of faith, and when funding for it became wholly controlled by political expediency. Scientific thought stagnated when the scientists themselves became frightened to pursue lines of research that led them away from whatever consensus happened to be the love child of the politicians who controlled the funding. They became merely puppets producing the results required of them, distorting their research to fit, taking their thirty pieces of silver and crying in their laboratories; dwarfs scuttling away from the shadows of giants like Feynman and Dyson.'

It will be scary when real life mirrors the science fiction I've been reading; when those that speak up get replaced by those willing to toe the line, and corruption displaces moral and ethical behaviour - or has it happened already!

There was a stack of housework to do when I finished reading so what did I do? A jigsaw puzzle of course!! Great for the brain to mull over the complexities of humankind and it rekindled memories of my childhood. We had the 'Book of the Flower Fairies' by Cicely Mary Barker and at times my big sister would let us choose one of the pictures and she'd make the outfit for us to dress up in. I can't remember which ones I chose but this one (Canterbury Bells) looked familiar. I've just googled the book and see that a brand new edition (link opens in new window) was released by Penguin a couple of weeks ago; amazing for a book to have appeal to so many generations (first published in 1923).

The last cruise ship of the season came last week - The World (link opens in new window) is a 196m privately-owned cruise ship where owners of the 165 residences travel the globe, stopping in ports for a few nights and enjoying onboard entertainment such as cooking and photography classes, a full-size tennis court and putting greens. It sort of looked out of place in Halfmoon Bay but the residents that came into the Visitor Centre were lovely - I hope they enjoyed what Stewart Island had to offer.

The World at anchor in Halfmoon Bay

Looking over the rooftops - the two-storied pub on the left, the green
medical centre on the right

At the other end of the spectrum was a visit a few days later by the waka, Haunui. This waka is retracing ancient voyages and is being navigated without modern technology. Read about it's arrival in Bluff on the Stuff website here (opens in new window).

The beautiful low tech waka, Haunui