Starting a new regular type of posting. These are a series of short notes and thoughts, too small to warrant a post, but looking for a home nonetheless, and possibly becoming more. I invite your curiosity on any of this…queries may set me to growing these little guys into something more substantial.

• Conversations that matter is the home for the world cafe Europe blog. Good reading there.
• Dave Pollard on the distinctions between dialogue and debate. Dave wrestles with his conscience on this one and comes up with a finer grain analysis as a result. Interesting as usual, and deeply in tune with some stuff I’ve been thinking about lately regarding politics and conversation.
• Sitting outside by the fire last night, I realized why the human eye can preserve its night vision when it is exposed to red light. The dying embers of the fire that were keeping me warm did not in the least affect my ability to peer into the forest at the passing deer, or to scan the heavens for globular clusters. That seems like a useful survival tactic. I wonder what the 21st century eye is able to see that will preserve our species?
• You have to read this to believe it. The Sock-A-Month knitting club gets shut down by a bank after the gnomes suspect a scam.   You see?   If I didn’t have a little notes category, where would I have blogged this?
• Music at the moment:   One-named Canadian singers Feist and Issa (formerly Jane Sibbery, new album forthcoming).   My ten year old daughter is listening to Avril on her iPod.   My goodness, they grow up quickly.   (Psst, Alex, I snuck some Zero 7 on there as well.   She loves The Pageant of the Bizarre!)