Stupid Survey

There are many reasons why I have a personal philosophy of refusing to take part in online surveys. One of the reasons is because of the ridiculous questions they ask. For example:

“How would you rate the location of this property?”

The criteria that each person would use in answering this question would be so different that one person’s answer is quite meaningless to another.  An out of town contractor stays at a motel next door to a sewerage treatment plant that he his working on. Location of this property? Excellent!

Christmas letdown

Mark MacLean often used to spot baubles in the Hamilton North drain at Christmas time. As he is lurking in the other end of the state these days I thought I’d see what I could find in the drain on my way to work this morning.

No Christmas baubles. But I did find something with red and green.

Deflated hopes.

I’m sure there’s a metaphor lurking in there somewhere – something about the deflated hopes of an over-commercialised society limp and prostrate before a yawning abyss of darkness.