The Cold Hand of Evolution

Myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy... It's a genetic condition which gives sufferers 40% more muscle mass, with no negative side effects.

I sometimes worry that human kind is stagnating itself, declaring anything outside accepted norms a 'deformity' and treating it into extinction. With seven billion people in the world, one-in-a-billion chances happen occasionally. Eugenics is probably a step too far, but we should be seizing these opportunities.

Of course, the masses rule and turkeys wouldn't vote for Christmas. I just thought it was interesting and worth remembering. There's a thought experiment which might lead to a story in there somewhere...

Weather it Matters

The weather has been beautiful today. I wilt like a lettuce leaf on a hot grill in the heat and the cold makes me crave creature comforts I don't have. Today, the sky was crayon-blue, there was an occasional cloud and the sun was getting in some early practice for August. The wind was cold, but very light. It was the sort of day where I could wear jeans, a t-shirt and a jumper, and tie the jumper around my waist if I got too hot. It was my sort of day. It's just a complicated series of events coming together in a particular way, and it they just happened to come together on my birthday. There's no real reason for it.

I realised that at some point. It's a special day because the weather is lovely and my friends and I are working in our garden. The next time the weather is beautiful and I'm happy to be where I am, I can have that same warm sunburst of realisation: There's no reason for it, it's just happened. The universe hands us moments without telling us sometimes, and if you're too busy looking for them you'll miss them. As the hippies used to say, 'be here now'. I think that's the lesson for my twenty-ninth year.

My SO brought me a shamanic drum. She played it for me so I could meet the drum's spirit. I'll admit I felt horrifically self-conscious, even though there was just her and me. I mean, a drum's spirit? It's all a bit, you know... BBC 2. The spirit I met was a blackbird. According to some reading I've done, the blackbird leads us through change and helps us realise a creative and spiritual awakening. It's also a very shy spirit who feels self-conscious in groups. If we have patience with each other, I think we're going to get on well.

Ngaio brought me a stack of books and I have a cheque from an aunt who thought I was a year older. The cheque is going to be spending money for the next few months, and the books are going to be some new herbs for the casserole of my mind. The best thing about other people buying you books is that you'd probably never read them otherwise. It's like finding a new coloured pencil in a set you've been using for years.

I've also written a short bio for Concept Sci-Fi. For the record, I hate writing bios and I don't photograph well. Accepting these things and saying, 'oh, sod it then' can be liberating at times.