Systems work best if they are standardised, processes are predictable and can be planned, if there is nothing out of the ordinary. Henry Ford said that his customers could have their car in the colour of their choice, as long as that was black. Take it or leave it. Most systems don’t tolerate divergence very well – whatever doesn’t fit in is rejected and disposed of. This is true for industrial systems like conveyor belts, it’s also true for many social systems.

Today, the Financial Times reports that Apple will be accused of prospering from illegal tax deals with the Irish government for more than two decades when Brussels this week unveils details of a probe that could leave the iPhone maker with a record fine of as much as several billions of euros.

Preliminary findings from the European Commission’s investigation into Apple’s tax affairs in Ireland, where it has had a rate of less than 2 per cent, claim the Silicon Valley company benefited from illicit state aid after striking backroom deals with Ireland’s authorities, according to people involved in the case.

I wonder – will there be a fine imposed on the Irish Government too who allowed the world’s richest company to pay less than 2 per cent tax, when, at the same time, the health services budget was cut by hundreds of millions of euro to a point where some essential services could not be delivered anymore? When health officials justify non-delivery of essential services, like neuro-rehabiliation, by saying it offered a bad “return-on-investment”?

Today, a prime example of non-conformance arrived in the post. It came with a recommendation. Pádraig would love it. Stuff about his city. Dublin. Real, true Dublin. It also came with a health warning. There would be the occasional non-printable word. The CD, the letter, both nicely wrapped in a padded envelope wasn’t the first package that arrived from this friend of Pádraig’s who is making sure that he won’t get bored but will be able to listen to first-class music, and now stories from his town, his country.

Back on the ward. It’s strange to feel almost ‘at home’ in a hospital room. Though – the ‘almost’ is important here and it makes a big difference. I learnt a lot about what the concept of being institutionalised means in practice and I know that it’s not something to aspire too. It’s probably easy to agree to this but one thing is to think about it or to imagine it, the other is to experience it. Institutions have this tendency to suck up anything that has got to do with the individual, digest it, and spit out conformant and standardised people, attitudes, and practices. ‘Take it or leave it’ is another aspect of institutions, because, although you hope at times, you will never be able to change them (easily).

Pádraig is still receiving high doses of medication to prevent a re-occurrence of what the doctors called seizures from last Friday. He also seems to have the symptoms of a light cold. So today, we didn’t go out onto the roof terrace, though it was a lovely day. Tomorrow, I hope to hear from his doctor what his strategy in relation to the medication is. Pádraig never took any medication, apart from Lemsip Max. The stuff he’s getting now is ok to deal with what happened, but, I imagine, wouldn’t be anything one would like to consider over a prolonged period of time.

At the fair on Saturday, I made a lot of contacts with companies who said they’d be delighted to send a rep along to check whether their stuff fits Pádraig. Some of them were almost as interested as we are to find out whether a 2.04m person can use their things. Hopefully, they’ll start making contact later in the week, and we’ll be able to arrange something for the coming week. Even if we won’t be able to buy some of the aids straight away, to have it all tried here is a great opportunity.

Today’s German Music Tip
Desiree Klaeukens, Kompliziert.
Der Mond glüht
als würde er gleich explodieren…
Ich sag dir was falsch ist
sag mir
ob es stimmt.
What’s hot
Yourself
What’s cold
Conformance
The German word/phrase/verse of the day
Schlawiner