This throwaway society

Last week we had a power spike chez smog (in fact the power was out at our apartment for nearly 3 hours, which is a first for me). The only consequence was that my monitor just played dead.

So I bundled it up and took it down to Wanchai Computer Centre to get someone to fix it. Much to my amazement I couldn’t find anyone in any of the so called “repair & service” shops who had the slightest interest in having a look at it. They all simply said “throw it away and get a new one – they are only seven or eight hundred dollars”. I offered them $500 if they could fix it. They refused.

Lawrence Dallaglio

This evening I have just had the pleasure of watching Lawrence Dallaglio leading Wasps to the Premiership title in his last game as a professional. If ever there was a man that you would want as your leader in pretty much any field then Lawrence Dallaglio is surely right at the top of the list. He was a huge contributor to the English national side for 12 years from 1995 up until the 2007 World Cup, being a key figure both in the win in 2003 and the amazing renaissance that brought them so close to the 2007 title as well. Let’s hope Martin Johnson can find a role for him in the new England coaching set up where I’m sure he would be a great asset. In the meantime let’s just give thanks for a wonderfully entertaining career.