The Real Economy of the World  See that tree? Isn't it lovely? Some neighbours put that up outside their house. It's something pretty for people to look at. The elderly lady who lives across the street from them appreciates: she can see it from her front porch. Decorations are a holiday gift to your surroundings.
That's part of the real economy of the universe. In the Editor's experience, most people seem to think that the only efforts that count are the ones which are rewarded with money. In the Editor's view, this is not true. 99% of what counts is done for no money at all, and the world wouldn't turn without it. For example: nobody pays for all the love and care parents give their kids. The chauffeuring to school events, the homework help, the hot meals and bedtime stories are all unpaid. And yet the CEO in all his glory has not accomplished a fraction of one of these.
Volunteer kindness makes the world go around. Volunteer teaching shares knowledge and equips others. It's the ultimate in 'paying it forward'. And then there's h2g2. . . Don't you realise that what you do adds permanent value to the universe? You don't? Let me explain.
The first internet-related job I had was about twenty-five years ago, at a dot-com where, among other things, music CDs were being sold. My job was to edit some music journals of an indy bent into the database. One, I remember, was the folk journal Dirty Linen, a great name. In addition to formatting the journal copy, I put in hyperlinks. That's where I learned about the purpose of cyberinformation. A great colleague and pioneer of the internet (the world misses you, Den!) explained to me that by linking information, we 'added value' to these texts. It was the best example I've ever seen of a non-zero-sum game.
h2g2 adds value to the universe. Every Guide Entry you research and write, every personal story you share in the Post, every time you pass on what you've learned or encourage another person to publish their thoughts, you're adding value. It's not only that the 21st Century is an 'information economy'. It's also an economy that goes beyond mere monetary value. We cast our pixels upon the internet waters, and we may never know how many lives have been blessed by what we do.
End of sermonette for the week. What's in this week's issue, already?
- An energetic springbuck by Willem. It's beautiful, and makes you want to jump around, no matter what the chiropractor said.
- Another challenging picture. Where does Milla get these ideas? Have some ideas of your own. It's musical.
- A movie review. Awix just keeps them coming. You might want to go out and see this one, especially if you're in a holiday mood.
- Photos galore. h2g2 Researches are ready to show you the View from Here, wherever Here happens to be. You're going to want to see them.
- November highlights. There were some awesome journals posted during NaJoPoMo. So many, in fact, that some people are still trying to read them all. (We're looking at you, Cactuscafé.) So here, for your delectation, are some gems from last month.
- A Very Long Story. Paulh has compiled his NaJo journal from this year into what we can only call a humorous novella with very bad puns in. You will want to bookmark this and read at your leisure, preferably by a warm fire with something suitable to drink.
- The usual attempts at humour, plus some challenging quizzes. Tolle, lege, as Augustine saith, and exercise the grey cells.
 Here's your Obligatory Cat Photo™ for the week. I forgot to ask Mrs Hoggett for the name of this one. He (I think he's a he) is here to remind you to pet your cat this week. If you don't own a cat, first, what is wrong with you? And second, go pet somebody else's cat. If all else fails, go pet a dog. Appreciate our fellow creatures. And have a great week!
Dmitri Gheorgheni
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