Law of Trends

Or Law of Perceived Trends.

I'm taking a new blogging approach. You see, I have exactly 33 'draft' blog posts that no one has ever seen. They're all full of excellent 'rough draft' material. The intention, of course, has always been to go back, add content, polish them up and publish. Just doesn't happen. :(

So! I've determined that instead of rough drafting everything and leaving it for later, I'll 'good enough' draft the material, publish it for your enjoyment and then add to it as appropriate.

And now, without further adieu, I introduce to you the 'good enough' draft of Law of Trends... (or Law of Perceived Trends... haven't decided ;) )


I read somewhere of a city battling with with the slow destruction of their inner city apartment complexes. Some brilliant figure had a theory and decided to experiment. The theory was that small maintenance issues not dealt with in a timely manner were snowballing like little fertile amoebas in a well-sweetened petri dish. A simple cracked window surprisingly soon became an entire smelly, run-down apartment complex attired in graffiti and crawling with gang activity.

The experiment was simple. They funded the maintenance group and charged them with splitting some serious lickedy on every maintenance issue. You can guess the outcome. Apartment complexes standing tall and proud, clean, safe and fragrant. Tennents had acutally contributed on they're own time and at their own expense to the beautification.

The article I read called it something else, but I call it the Law of Trends and am trying to apply it to my daily habbits. For instance, I put my cloths away as soon as I can. Not to enjoy the clean room at that instant, but because I recognize a single pair of pants on the floor as an entire nightmare of a mess given only a small drop of time.

Now you can see why this blog is married to my new blogging approach. :) Little draft blog dirties have been clogging up the works!

P.S. A reader's comment led me to this article on broken windows.