The Action Plan and the knife

Much as I like pondering about the Great Question of Where is The World Going, I am perfectly aware that one can't live in an ivory tower, and if I want to change that I have to start from home. That's why I'm involved in the local Transition Town. You can find everything about it here.

The part I'm specifically involved in is coordinating the Action Plan. The name of the Plan is quite a mouthful: Energy Descent and Resilience Action Plan. There is an alternative name that sounds a lot easier to remember: One Planet Living Plan. Only that it isn't the same people writing that one... that one is a concoction by a NGO called Bioregional in association with the local Council, that looked just like it was going to be the typical list of vague generalities. I'm working on hijacking that plan, but it remains to be seen if I have any success at it. There are two main obstacles to that:
1) It appears I'm way too optimistic about our people. Assuming that they could produce something better than vague generalities was probably too much. In fact, it remains to be seen that they can produce anything.
2) It appears I'm way too optimistic about our people. Assuming that they could understand the advantages of hijacking somebody else's position was probably too much.

I've spent the whole week working on the Plan:
- Monday: Meet one of the guys that comes to our Plan meetings, because he had something important he wanted to tell me. Discover that, as usual, he wants me to help him in his little plans, rather than collaborate in one big plan.
- Tuesday: Meet the Energy Group, that had a meeting specifically about the Plan, and see it dominated by the same guy that always tries to dominate the Energy Group meetings. He may have the occasional good thing to say, but that is amply compensated by his refusal to ever listen to anything or anybody.
- Wednesday: Attend the forum meeting, and hear some of the members complain that it is too soon for an Action Plan... we need a lot more community involvement first... Of course, they don't say who is supposed to work on that community involvement.
- Thursday: Prepare for the main Action Plan meeting on Saturday... which gets cut short by the
KNIFE
I get a call that my ex is in hospital after being knifed repeatedly by his neighbour. That's the sort of things that sometimes happen in this community. Coke-crazed people knifing other people.
- Friday: This time, really prepare for the Action Plan meeting on Saturday.
- Saturday: Chair the Action Plan meeting. Less attendees than usual, and those who come talk about vague generalities. For a change.

With all this, I was too busy to get electricity on my houseboat until Sunday, and the week has been bitterly cold and my heaters are electric.

And I have little hope that any of the fools that came to the meetings that used up all my time will understand why I put my heating last. I know they are doing this as a hobby, not anything to take seriously at all. Not like their future heating depended on it or anything.