People love to travel, being one of them I should know. Yet I can't help but feel that our love for travel and discovery puts us in danger of doing too much too soon; and, in so doing losing some of the magic and anticipation that comes with each trip. Sure the world's a big place and it would be beyond presumptuous of me to claim that I've done it all (whatever that means). What I can say with a fair amount of confidence is that I'm lucky to have had the opportunity to follow my travel bug: sundowners on a pier in Honduras; reaching Everest Base Camp among tears of happiness and exhaustion; drinking my way around Ireland / France / Italy / Kentucky...; partaking in a cut throat tuktuk race around Kathmandu; seeing the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. While each experience is different and I guarantee you there are hundreds more (OK, that was bragging. Sorry); the point I want to make here is that no matter how much traveling you do and how many countries you manage to tick of your bucket list by the time you hit 30, the feelings you get from these moments have nothing to do with being away from home. Instead we get these feelings because be really let go and live. So yes I'm lucky, but am I really luckier than someone who has travelled less and yet still 'lived' and embraced new experience closer to home? It would take a lot for me to voluntarily give up traveling yet in recent months I've come to appreciate the travel bug closer to home. With a summer free to do as I pleased, I've made more new friends and discovered new places in my home city than I ever thought possible. 

W is for Bourbon

It didn't take long for the Irish in me to show it's true appreciation for triple distilled corn, barley, and rye (or wheat but we'll get to that later). Only 26 years. There is a somewhat romantic story to my discovery of bourbon, but the shortened version will suffice for now: I moved to America. OK, so that's not all that it took; prior to America there was a road trip around Ireland, and once in America there was the lure of a golden plaque upon completion of a now infamous Georgetown bar challenge: drink the entire bourbon selection at Old Glory (some 92-100 bourbon's) in under a year. I did it in 2 months.

I'll be the first to admit that all this started as a fun adventure driven in part by my sense of adventure, in part my boyfriend's incessantly loveable quest for expertise in everything, and in part procrastination. What better way to put off those final term papers than to drink 100 bourbons? Helping us along the way were a liquor store where we've become part of the wallpaper, a Bourbon entrepeneur famed in DC and Kentucky (but not in between), and a Bourbon ignorant bartender at a New Orleans themed restaurant that will remain nameless for reasons that will become obvious in due course.

Challenge nearing completion, said boyfriend and I packed up the car and headed for Kentucky. Just us, a tent, 15 hours of NPR podcasts, and the prospect of an entire state dedicated to the production of bourbon. One could say the rest is history; truth be told history is still in the making and my love affair with bourbon has only just begun...

Front page fever

What would we blog, critique or discuss were it not for traditional media? What does "traditional" media even mean? Is it a thing (newspapers, radio, TV) or something much larger and intangible?
Media is communication, medium through which stories can be told that may or may not affect us, interest us or impact our lives in ways we may never comprehend. Increasingly these medium have become two way, allowing for a discussion (in the form of tweets, blogs ...etc) which far from replacing traditional forms of media have encouraged media professionals, particularly journalists, to become better at what they do.
Going back to my original question, one which emerged from the recent New York Times documentary, I believe there is a place for every type of media though the scale of distribution will certainly shift. This is not because Bloggers are taking away journalists jobs but simply because more and ore people are joining the discussion, outweighing the influence of media moghuls and ensuring the balance is very much tipped towards mass media. Yes jobs are being lost, but many of these are a result of emerging technology or economic pressures. Bloggers will always need something to blog about, if no one is in Sana'a to report on popular uprisings then no one will talk about it. If the pictures don't turn up on the 10 o'clock news, the story is much slower to emerge. Wikileaks may have used Youtube to break the first of their "media" scoops, then opted to embrace print media to channel the second on a much larger and more effective scale.

Wanderlust - Fez and Istanbul

This is the life

Drink with a view?

The Blue Mosque

Heaven for the Baklava lovers among us

Who's hiding what?

What I find disturbing is that on a recent trip to al-Khiam, locals had no issue with us taking pictures - hardly something to suggest they are hiding weapons. Interestingly, only UNIFIL seemed to have a problem with our presence, while Hezbollah were more than welcoming. This begs the question: who has something to hide? Or more to the point, who are supporting Israel's propaganda war through limiting access to a town with nothing to hide, and who have felt the full impact of Israeli aggression? Click here for the article.

In a privately run health care system, the opportunity cost for doctors of any time they spend not rendering services will vary according to the equipment and time they have available. It would appear that US doctors are paid depending on the treatments they provide and because the equipment they have available is often a fixed cost, in order to secure profit, the incentive is for doctors to overprescribe. This is not to say that they do this, such an assumption would be unfair. However if we were to embark upon a program to improve efficiency, we might employ more doctors per surgery in order to spread to fixed costs and decrease average total cost. Marginal cost is low, however potential marginal revenue can be quite high and thus the suggestion that doctors may be accused of providing unnecessary services in order to increase their pay (which as mentioned before is variable according to the number / type of service provided).

In the UK, the system is quite the reverse. Each region is given a budget and the responsibility to spend it according to the needs of the population. E.g. if there is a high propensity for COPD, then the necessary equipment would be prioritised over, say, a maternity ward (assuming here that COPD is high because of an older than average population, thus lower than average birth rates). The UK system is designed to ensure investing in equipment and distribution of spacialisations are in line with local variations. With regards to GPs (doctors), they are paid according to the number of patients on their register, not according to the quantity / complexity of procedures they undertake. Thus the salary of the GP is a fixed cost. Furthermore, in the UK the majority of healthcare is public and health organisations do not seek a profit. Incentive therefore lies in achieving the quality, innovation, productivity and performance targets set by the regulatory authorities. Meeting these would increase the budget for subsequent years, and targets are set such that year on year improvements are recognised. This gives health organisations who have a history of below average performance an incentive to provide better quality care because they are able to measure their progress and not feel consistently judged against their national peers.

In comparing the two systems at this high level, it appears that while a system that pays on a fee-for-service basis represents an incentive for doctors to provide excessive or unnecessary treatment in order to secure additional fees and thus higher revenue, focusing on quality and innovation ensures that resources are not wasted and patients receive the level of treatment they require. I would certainly be keen to investigate this further and do a comparative study of health care systems across the world.

The best memories

Is my desire my downfall because I believe it is mine alone?

To be in perpetual conflict with the world that is around us is a philosophy that many have explored. Is it fair to say that each and every one of our desires are driven by an interaction with the external - be it conscious or not?
True, to believe we can find inspiration within without the elements of our external environment would be naive, even when the environment within and without no longer make sense. Subconsciously they are inseparable. What's within is shaped by the external and our interpretation of that external environment is a personal one shaped by what is within. If they don't make sense it's often because we're faced with the unknown, something our internal self has yet to experience through external happenings, and has yet to imagine through internal conscience.
However, to return to the original question of how our internal conscience and desire is fed by the external, our uniqueness must also be considered. Indeed, we may feed off each others desires but our manifestations of these will always be unique.

My uniqueness is mine, so why question it?

We're all unique and yet there exist a plethora of frameworks and tools which seek to identify our personalities. Surely this profiling is doomed to fail at the first hurdle, indeed how can I be categorised if I am me and no one else? I accept that certain personality traits can be more or less prevalent in each individual, and I'll be the first to admit that to date, my personality "type" has always been spot on (for the record I'm an idealist with an artistic streak). What I have difficulty with is the idea that we are born into our personalities, that our character is set in stone relatively early in our childhood. Surely our exposure to people, places and experiences, our interaction with these and our ability to increasingly live in multidimensional realities stretches our persona to the limits of existential psychoanalysis

Equity vs. Equality

Because we are living in a society where we have access to the same resources, does this make us as individuals equal? Or more to the point can we claim to live in an equitable society? Indeed, one persons position in an equal society can be a symbol of another's failure. Because I earn less than you, am I less successful? Because I come from a privileged background, is my success any less worthy?
The debate is even more poignant when opened up to health care. Indeed, in the UK we can almost speak of an equal and equitable health care system, until that is we cross the line into drugs pricing. While in the US, the equality on which the nation is built is a far distance from achieving equity in health care provision.

Negative Peace

I came across an interesting term today - "Negative Peace". It worries me that academics and indeed politicians have gone so far as to stretch the definition of Peace to include anything other than what is a positive outcome. Indeed, a cessation to violence - whether permanent or fragile - is a period of peace; an opportunity for parties to conflict to reassess their ideals; to see the potential for dialogue; and to embark on dialogue for peaceful resolution. While the permanent state of peace, that "Positive Peace" has been coined to define, may not always be tangible, the potential for coexistence and the hope that periods of non-violence give a society are more valuable than time spent seeking to define the state of affairs. War is not a science, the only rules of conflict are those which are wisened to after the event.

The only way is up

Thanks Jordan, great bit of advice you gave me there! To put this morning's elevator conversation into perspective, readers should note that I am 3 days away from embarking on an Everest base camp trek. So yes, the only way is up (or so one would hope)!

But should we always seek to attain that which is deemed higher? Deep, I know. But seriously worth some consideration. Because essentially if we focus on what we want to achieve more than what we already have achieved then maybe we lose out on the essence of appreciating the moment and living for the here and now.

Even in politics the constant focus on what we need to achieve may leave parties, governments and international organisations in a state of flux. Between working with what we have to maintain and improve the situation as it is, and preparing for the next 12 years governments lose focus. Miss opportunities. Waste time. Take climate change. We all agree that we need to act. We all agree to a certain extent that we need to act now. But we can't agree on what goals to set so we're going to delay acting for a year? Sorry guys, not convinced. What we should be dong in a situation where we can't agree is sitting down until we do agree. Instead it seems governments have changed the goal of Copenhagen 2009 to "lets decide when we'll be ready to decide what to do". Ludicrous!

So I say stop climbing and take a moment to appreciate the view. Climb any higher and things will only get tougher especially when you aren't working together.

Inspired, by a bag lady

What do we do to really make the world a better place? Recycle, donate to charity, re-use shopping bags... the list goes on and as it does so we soon realise that ticking the box of each and every one of these is a full time job.

But what if it didn't have to be?

Maybe the answer is to "institutionalise" sustainability. What if when you go shopping, you can't not be sustainable? What if your workplace made sustainability part of the wallpaper?University campuses become Green War battlefields and countries as well as communities feel proud and are rewarded or their efforts in a way that make us all want a piece of the pie...

My initial thoughts are turned towards the creation of a national sustainability agenda encouraging businesses and communities to “compete” in proactive carbon emissions reduction. The US already do a lot of this on University campuses and I think it has massive potential to make lasting impact and positive change across the public sector and society as a whole. Blue sky thinking perhaps. I like blue skies.

Sustainable communities

Where can we find examples of sustainable communities?
I am interested in seeking out those who rebuild their lives after natural and manmade disasters. Or those who have embarked on a social movement to regain control of their comunity in a bid to create sustainability where before self destruction was a real threat.
How can we maximise social value, invest responsibly and generate sufficiant finacncial returns to ensure sustainability?

Looking for the link: my thoughts into words, uncut.

History is full of them leaders, warriors and mothers who protect. Their objective is the same, survival. Their strtategy defense and a constant awareness of that or those seeking to harm you or your protégé.
As time and history moved on we slowly began to realise that internal threats were just as dangerous to our survival as threats from our neighbours and beyond. The idea that such internal threats could be more easily defended against sparked social protectionism in it's many forms.
Yet all the while the majority of effort still was directed towards the external threat, perhaps neglecting the internal beast as a result. With time protectionism led to rebellion to supression and so on.
And now we protest and deny our governments the freedoms once given to use violence and counter external aggression in the name of defense. As we the protected begin to question our protectors, attention is turned to social harmony, prevention and sustainability. If we can fix ourselves, we can save the world. Naïve?
Social movements, sustainable communities, peace ... where is the link?
Have we found the anwser? Have we even found the question?

New ... ?

New Year new me? Or time to reignite the me I have suppressed for 4 years...? Lets go for the latter, with a hint of the former to get me on my way. It started badly this is true (I 'cancelled' NYE) but my philosophy is things can only improve. Again, that has been my philosophy for a good few years now so I'll need to work on that as well. 

Change doesn't just happen, or does it? Is it our necessity to feel challenged that causes us to fabricate barriers to what would otherwise be achievable goals? I sense a challenge to challenge the challenge. Find a thesaurus you say? I say pick one up yourself if you want literary genius, we all know what the final meaning is! 

Where will I be this time next year? Neither here nor there, because I like not to know. Lets say somewhere.

The eternal list

Wants, desires, aspirations and goals. We all have them, then there are the few who actively go and get them. The worst bit of it (for those of us too lazy to try), is that a get up and go attitude tends to get you to where you want to go. Seriously, I kid you not!

Spontaneity tends to produce the best results as we learn to appreciate the art of letting ourselves go and stop questioning our ability to succeed at the precise moment where one more step, one small action is all it will take. I'm not talking about climbing mountains, more like going to that Jazz club you've always wanted to visit but never get round too; or making a point of actually going to the major exhibitions in your home city that others would travel hundreds of miles to go and see. 

The secret world of you and me

People keep commenting on the necklace. I say thanks and smile because it makes me think of you. What great taste! I know you didn't choose it but the person who bought it for you did, and they based their choice on a unique understanding of your personality, style and enviable joie de vivre. I like to think that each time I wear it a little bit of that rubs off on me.
There's so much more I want to tell you but I would rather say it to your face. Who knows if and when that day will come, I for one am still finding my feet after all we went through the last time. At least I know I have a good 4 weeks of me time to let things settle, although with the festive season creeping up on us I imagine a fair amount of my "me" time will become "me + Zubrowka" time!
You would laugh at me, I would giggle and much would be left unsaid purely because intuition was our chosen means of communication. I sometimes wish we could have been more vocal and expressive, the way we are with other people. And sometimes we were which was great! Other times, at the opposite end of the spectrum, what was great was the secret world of you and me. We haven't lost that have we?

It's the anticipation that counts. At least that's what the Irish say! There is some truth in our apparent obsession with planning and only occasionally doing. Is it because an executed plan brings with it expectation and risks disappointment? A dream isn't a reality. But a reality can be better than a dream if we could only let go of expectation and focus on appreciating the unexpected. 

That's not to say don't plan. Just make sure you let yourself go now and then, take a wrong turn and don't question how you'll get back on track. (Another cliché...) it's the journey that counts, the destination is a given so how we get there should always be a bonus of sorts.

So what if Ireland lose to the All Blacks. We were fairly sure it was going to happen, at best we hoped for a good match! And were it not for the ref we would have got jut that. But lets not get caught up in post game politics, truth is the best part of the day is spent in the pub pre and/or post match; bagging yourself a kiwi would be the cherry on the cake, or the bonus journey in keeping with the theme!

Starting, I think

It takes time to get to  point where you can start putting pen to paper, or in this day and age finger to keyboard to screen. Whatever your choice of medium, the point remains the same. An experience, an event, a moment - when are we really able to write about something past and in doing so are we letting a little bit of the memory go?

When you try to get across a story based on fact, an element of fiction or 'spin' as the media refer to it, is used consciously or not in order  to make it that little bit more interesting, or that little bit more real. Ironic no? But back to my point (and you'll soon learn that I tend to diverge from one topic to another all too easily). Does this fictitious injection alter the blueprint of an experience in our minds so that over time we no longer recognise what is real and what is supplementing fact?