Kettles, corporations, chickens

I wake up, stumble blearily into the kitchen - at 4am, as I am still jetlagged. Pick up the kettle, put it under the tap, put in some water. Return it to its base, flick the switch and stand, zombie-like, as it boils.

That's it. That's all I have to do.

Compare that to places we stayed in Bangladesh and Nepal. They would have to walk down a fair way to the well, pump up water, carry it back up the hill; gather wood and light a fire, wait for it to establish. Admitted, the *tea* is grown over the next hill, but...

Just the sheer convenience is astounding to me, when I let it be. How many people really think, every day, about the humble kettle and the vast network of pipes and cables supporting it in its daily task of boiling water?

Forget the plasma TVs, the iPods, tumble driers and electric shavers.

Think about the kettle. Wow!

This morning I was thinking about how large companies are so similar to organisms, and how even the head-cells cannot really control how the monster grows. Oh, they can set the direction, I suppose. I'm not studying this stuff (though my girlfriend will be in the masters she is taking in Sustainable Leadership), and I struggle to envision how you can get companies to be focussed not on the profits of shareholders, but... "the good of society". "But, we're a widget factory - the company exists to make widgets!" "Well, yes, but wouldn't it be good if you made widgets.. and created a nice park for people to use? Not for the PR, but because it's important for the company - for the employees - to be part of something more than widgets?"

Hmm. I don't know if I have the skills to win arguments in that area, and it's good there are people with the abilities and drive to do so.

I just want to have a few chickens...

Which is why I've been looking at websites about chicken coops! Everywhere we went on our travels, pretty much, people had a few chickens - the embodiment of permaculture. Looking at the designs is really interesting, and is clearly a great geeky subject for me to dive into ("Aha! Yes I like the way this one has a sloping floor, and a south facing window.. Nice window blinds, too!").

The sheer number of different designs on http://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html is amazing!

My carpentry skills don't extend further than a wooden pencil box I made when I was 12 or 13, but I'm looking forward to tackling something like this.

Well, that's enough of a ramble for today, I think :)