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March 04, 2005

I love blinking, I do

Do you remember Big Brother 2 in the UK, back in the golden age when Big Brother was inane and intriguing and only slightly sordid? Do you remember Helen, the hairdresser from Wales? She was making coffee in the kitchen one morning and suddenly announced to no one in particular 'I love blinking, I do.' And on her eviction night three weeks later she was greeted rapturously by fans waving 'WE LOVE BLINKING TOO, HELEN' placards. Ah me, 2001 was a good year.

Yesterday afternoon for about an hour I found myself caught up in the harmattan wind blowing in from the desert. I was walking south to north, with sand and dust blowing horizontal in my face all the way, and my blink-rate was about six a second. Are eyelids the result of evolutionary algorithm or intelligent design? I can't say for sure - perhaps both. But this much I do know: I love blinking too, Helen.

Posted by sahelsteve at March 4, 2005 06:18 PM