Very briefly

Happy birthday dragonfly_lily ! Your post last week was so moving and wise, I hope it sets the stage for a wonderful year for you in which things conspire to take you in brilliant directions.

Everyone else: hello, stay well! I am buried in work and have had the sort of minor illness one gets when one is buried in work, which means I am stuck somewhere back in August in terms of Things I Was Meant To Do. Next three days see an acre of editing and writing, a dash to Melbourne and finding my craft room underneath the mess. Expect post of abject derangement by Monday.

Very briefly

Happy birthday dragonfly_lily ! Your post last week was so moving and wise, I hope it sets the stage for a wonderful year for you in which things conspire to take you in brilliant directions.

Everyone else: hello, stay well! I am buried in work and have had the sort of minor illness one gets when one is buried in work, which means I am stuck somewhere back in August in terms of Things I Was Meant To Do. Next three days see an acre of editing and writing, a dash to Melbourne and finding my craft room underneath the mess. Expect post of abject derangement by Monday.

SEATBELTS!

I believe in seatbelts. I believe in them with a profound and unshakeable faith. Well, it's less of a belief as such and more of a tried and tested result from an extensive data set including a few unfortunate control experiments. My father's driving was eccentric at best, and while I am the most law-abiding cyclist in the world, I foolishly kept cycling when I moved to Sydney, so was able to experience first hand and several times that a human body can fly quite well, it's just the landings we suck at.

Here's another reason to believe in seatbelts. Yesterday in Melbourne a young mother lost grip on her pushchair/stroller for a moment, and it rolled away from her quickly, infant inside. No one could catch it before it fell onto the tracks, and the pushchair and child were both hit by a train. The baby boy, who was securely held in with his seatbelt, was pushed along upside down for over 30m, but is fine save for a bump on his head. Be warned that the video is a bit heart in mouth.

Seriously, seatbelts.

Princess Diana would still be alive, James Dean would probably be a grandfather and tens of thousands of people who die every year would not. I do not understand people who make it an 'issue' of 'personal choice'. Seatbelts do not trap people in wrecks. I've been in cars upside down and a friend was in one in the water. Because we'd been wearing seatbelts, we both were in excellent condition at the end of the accidents we were in, and we were easily able to escape our cars, having undone our seatbelts. If you're that worried, keep a Swiss Army knife in your pocket to slash a belt post-accident.

I love seatbelts. And sunblock, too, but it already has enough champions.

SEATBELTS!

I believe in seatbelts. I believe in them with a profound and unshakeable faith. Well, it's less of a belief as such and more of a tried and tested result from an extensive data set including a few unfortunate control experiments. My father's driving was eccentric at best, and while I am the most law-abiding cyclist in the world, I foolishly kept cycling when I moved to Sydney, so was able to experience first hand and several times that a human body can fly quite well, it's just the landings we suck at.

Here's another reason to believe in seatbelts. Yesterday in Melbourne a young mother lost grip on her pushchair/stroller for a moment, and it rolled away from her quickly, infant inside. No one could catch it before it fell onto the tracks, and the pushchair and child were both hit by a train. The baby boy, who was securely held in with his seatbelt, was pushed along upside down for over 30m, but is fine save for a bump on his head. Be warned that the video is a bit heart in mouth.

Seriously, seatbelts.

Princess Diana would still be alive, James Dean would probably be a grandfather and tens of thousands of people who die every year would not. I do not understand people who make it an 'issue' of 'personal choice'. Seatbelts do not trap people in wrecks. I've been in cars upside down and a friend was in one in the water. Because we'd been wearing seatbelts, we both were in excellent condition at the end of the accidents we were in, and we were easily able to escape our cars, having undone our seatbelts. If you're that worried, keep a Swiss Army knife in your pocket to slash a belt post-accident.

I love seatbelts. And sunblock, too, but it already has enough champions.