The Big Shaggy...

No it's not about Scooby Doo...found via Sarah Wilson, David Brooks from the New York Times says...more...

studying the humanities helps you befriend The Big Shaggy.

Free things to do in Sydney...the Beta version

So, we have been threatening to write the book for years. I'm sure we have discussed a Mike Whitney inspired tv show and yep, now we up to a blog. But The Sagacious Friend and I have always wanted to create a list of free things to do in Sydney. Not one of those 'show a tourist' round kind of things, but stuff for the locals that doesn't impact the purse strings, ok well maybe only slightly touches the purse strings, or at the very least gives a substantial discount.

Moral? Legal? Well...you decide. Have I done most of them...well no, but then I've always been a goodie goodie...

• Attend a graduation morning tea or lunch = find the catering spread (actually I graduate for my Masters in May...pop in!)
• Attend a lecture at your local uni = randomly pick a building and walk in
• Validate your parking at UTS library = if you know where to look
• Hop a boat to your own island = actually not free but cheap and awesome (oh I did that one!)
• Free breakfast UTS? = dress like a student
• A dip at one of the secret pools of Sydney = can you find McCallum pool on the map?

Got any other ideas to share?

'City' ideas versus 'Natural' ideas

Found via the blog Something Changed

"Millions of dollars are spent each year at conferences that people attend to be inspired, to learn the latest memes and speak the latest jargon. They stand around in hotel lobbies, drinking bottled water and swapping business cards. They look at what everyone else is doing, and try to figure out how to apply what they see to their own particular endeavor. These conferences lead to what I call “city ideas”. City ideas have to do with a particular moment in time, a scene, a movement, other people’s work, what critics say, or what’s happening in the zeitgeist. City ideas tend to be slick, sexy, smart, and savvy, like the people who live in cities. City ideas are often incremental improvements—small steps forward, usually in response to what your neighbor is doing or what you just read in the paper. City ideas, like cities, are fashionable. But fashions change quickly, so city ideas live and die on short cycles. The opposite of city ideas are “natural ideas”, which account for the big leaps forward and often appear to come from nowhere. These ideas come from nature, solitude, and meditation. They’re less concerned with how the world is, and more with how the world could and should be."

— Jonathan Harris, “Ideas,” World Building in a Crazy World