A contraction of aeons.

Christmas was nice. We were fortunate enough to have generous gifts on all sides, however was marred by family fall-outs (isn't this the norm?!).
I was struck on Christmas Day evening by an interesting contraction of aeons. Whilst listening to a double CD of Mountain recorded live in 1971 I was skimming through Dionysius of Halicarnassus's Roman Antiquities (both of which I had asked for). It seemed interesting to me to be reading and listening to two very different media which were created nearly two thousand years apart.

I also received some money from Granny's estate just before Xmas. It feels strange accepting someone else's money (I have never inherited directly anything before). I am going to find a nice photograph of Granny from the slide archives I have and print a large one to frame and mount somewhere. I think it's the least I can do as a thankyou. Max will not remember her unfortantely, but having a good photo will help. With the money I have purchased some computer parts and have built a decent computer (i.e. spent a bit more and got some good components rather than scrimping as usual). I'm still figuring out the best configuration though. Do I go for a 1.5 Gb/s RAID 0 array or buy the external SATA converter cable and go for the 3 Gb/s RAID 0 array? Alternatively I could just do a simple JBOD? Decisions... decisions...

(by the way: aeons or eons? My linguistic pedantry is vast, however I also love the way languages evolve. In this case I prefer aeons, simply because it's more interesting)

Solipsistic Hypereality

There is an idea that our consciousnesses are figments of our imaginations or in some way not "real". This is certainly not a new idea (see Solipsism), but the variation that describes a world which is solely for the purposes of the particular mind is newer. It's an idea made famous recently in the film The Truman Show (which I have not seen) involving a character who's life is the subject of a TV show. It's also a similar idea to the central theme of The Matrix movie.
I shared this idea when I was a boy, perhaps more out of paranoia than any philosophical bent. It intrigued me then and still does. It's something I can't believe in, but occasionally I feel that I am the subject of an experiment.

I occasionally play with this idea to amuse myself, for example travelling in a taxi today from The City Inn Glasgow to the office I caught sight of a chap on the pavement who, just as my taxi passed him, scratched his ear. Now, of course, he was only scratching his ear, but it made me smile to imagine that it was some sort of signal to his fellow conspirator, with whom he was monitoring my every move.

We want information...

The way I see it there isn't enough information available to make informed choices.

I know that Scott Adams frequently says that he doesn't have enough information to make the choice of who to vote for, but that is more of a comment about modern politics that anything else. What I'm talking about is the idea that people do not share information enough. There ought to be an independent body for gathering information and publishing the analysed and grouped data.

The most obvious occurrence of not having enough information is related to our household recycling. We recycle as much as possible, both because we both believe that it's much better for the environment, but also because we hoard stuff and are loath to throw anything into the earth (i.e. Landfill). The main issue I have is whether to wash off the labels from tin cans etc before putting the metal into the local recycling depot's bins. Ignoring the fact that I drive a car to the depot (but I do save everything up into a big trip every couple of months) is it worth the energy expended by heating hot water and washing off the labels or would it be better overall to leave the labels on and let them be washed off in bulk?

Of course, I could try to find this out for myself, however I suspect that the exact recycling procedure is closed information and would take me a long time to calculate whether it's better to do this myself or not.

What we need is a body to gather all this kind of information and then trawl through it and publish the results. Under this scheme there would be a legal requirement on companies and individuals to provide information when asked, but also to publish their processing details, company procedures etc (there would be safeguards for company information and only general information need be supplied at first).

I suppose people might think it a bit Orwellian to have such an organisation, but with proper controls it could only be used for good.

I think this needs further investigation… who's with me?

Hello?

It's about time I added another entry to this blog. It's been quite a while (nearly a month) since the last one and I could say that my only excuse is not having had enough time (studying for an exam, doing websites for friends, doing a full-time job, looking after a 2.5 year old boy, washing-up, cooking food etc etc), but really the excuse is not having enough inspiration! Of course I have had ideas, but I want this blog to be something a little special, rather than containing entries like "got up today and went to work. OK day.".

I want these monologues to say something about me, or society, or the Universe or at least to be a bit funny.

So this blog doesn't really have anything inspirational behind it. It is more of a necessary update to my life (there's been a trip to Budapest, studying for an exam, playing a lot more chess, getting into technical blogs, watching Spaced for the first time and loving it etc).

Having said that there was an interesting article in the news about Iter and how it was probably going to be agreed to proceed with this challenging idea. It's an experiment in Nuclear Fusion to produce commercial energy (electricity). I'm not quite sure how this works in detail since they have to control this plasma reaction at about 100,000,000 degrees Centigrade (which, I would have thought, would be fairly energy-hungry and therefore would defeat the object of generating electricity - they would need more energy than they create. This was exactly what happened to the Zeta experiment the British conducted earlier last century, however the plasma controlling technology has moved on quite a bit (the Japanese are pretty good with materials apparently) and therefore there's a chance they might make some energy. I guess it's something to do with getting the temperature up that high - once you have it there it doesn't take as much energy to keep it going, but hey! my nuclear physics is a bit rusty so what do I know!!). It's a very interesting idea and I'm sure something will come out of it (if only the practical knowledge of how to control a 100,000,000 degree Centigrade nucear plasma).

Something else caught my eye the other day and at first I was shocked. BMW are introducing a sort of hybrid fuel car which runs mostly from liquid Hydrogen, but can also revert back to petrol fuel when the Hydrogen runs out. The thing that shocked me was the idea of driving around with a tank of approximately -250 degree Centrigrade-cooled Hydrogen (one of the most (in)flammable substances around - remember the Hindenberg!?). The thought of a collision and damage to the fuel tank made me wince. But then I started thinking about petrol and realised that Petroleum fuel is also a highly flammable substance (just ask the Mythbusters). So in effect all combustion engine vehicles are moving bombs, which is, of course, why they're good at what they do.

Would I drive a Hydrogen car? I suppose I would if it were more economic, or more green or more groovy etc. I don’t think I'll be driving one of those for a while though.

My preference would be an electric car. If Iter gets its act together in a few years we could have as much electrical energy as we can use and therefore would make electric cars a viable possibility (if only they can sort out the performance issues - those electric cars don't seem to have the same punch that combustion engine cars have - must be that moving bomb thing!).

But you know what the best thing is? One of the "waste" products of the Iter programme is Helium. And we all know what that is best used for don't we?! Squeeky voices! There will be so much laughter generated by squeeky voiced physicists that no-one will ever be sad again. Or something.

Integreat!

Is it just me or has anyone noticed that there is a little bit of a frisson in the air over Islamo-Western relations at the moment (by Western I mean so-called advanced countries, UK, USA, France, Australia etc)?

In the UK Jack Straw recently made comments about Muslim women covering their faces and how it impedes communication (The French have an outright ban, of sorts!). Prime Minister Howard in Australia has commented on how a Muslim cleric’s comments were “so out of line with … mainstream Australian opinion” following that cleric’s misjudged comments about women.

I think it’s fair to say that most Western people agree with cultural integration, but with some caveats. It’s these caveats that are the problem. There are a number of Muslims, for example, who want to integrate, but also to maintain their complete religious structure and beliefs (beliefs which have developed and evolved in a completely different environment from bucolic Britannia). Complete maintenance and integration are incompatible and I think we are beginning to see the problems emerge.

What does integration mean anyway? Does it mean that the incoming culture should assume the practices of the incumbent one and in effect lose their own heritage? Or does it mean that simply by being tolerated a culture has been integrated? Obviously the true answer should be somewhere in-between. But where? Should women be allowed to wear what they like, even if it hampers communication (the story of the Muslim teacher suspended for refusing to take off her face-covering comes to mind). Perhaps the issue is how a society deals with practices which are viewed as wrong by the majority? Could they be made law? Wouldn’t Europe have something to say about that?!

I think that society can often be viewed (simplistically) as a microcosm of the family home. Certainly in the UK this is apt and leads to common questions like “You wouldn’t let a visitor tell you what to do in your own home, would you?”. I think that these beliefs and comments are valid (in my culture anyway and only to a certain extent). If you agree with this analogy then any incoming group should have a great respect for the host’s beliefs and culture. I don’t think this is always evident in the UK.

To what extent does an incumbent society tolerate an integrating culture’s (apparent) wrong beliefs? The Muslim woman view is a good example. It is considered wrong to treat women any less equally than men in The West. Therefore a culture or society that doesn’t agree with this must be considered wrong. Does this mean than some forms of Islam are wrong in the eyes of the “advanced” West?

I guess the only thing to say is that time will tell. Over the next 50 years these little disagreements will be ironed out and at some point a cohesive, integrated society should emerge. One in which cockney-speaking Asians and sari-wearing Caucasians live harmoniously. Or there will be a war. Oh hang on… there is a war…

Wiz Bang

What happened to the days when you were lucky to get a rocket in a milk bottle and a couple of bangers?!

I received a flyer through the post today for a "Firework Frenzy". It contains approximately 70 different kinds of fireworks with names like:

Total Annihilation
Apocalypse Barrage
Salamander Voodoo
Nebula Destruction
Lucifer's Laughter
Wrath Of The Gods
And my favourite: Satanic Desecration

I would love to get some of them to see what they look like, but not only are they ridiculously-named, but astronomically-priced!

I think we'll give the firework thing a miss this year. I suspect that Max is still a little bit too young. Perhaps we'll try out a small, local one so that if he gets upset we can come home sharpish!

Hair dwyer

I took Max to have his hair cut today. It was his second ever visit to the barber and he was very good and stayed nice and still for the young chap who serviced his mop (it was very long hair). He did take more off than I'd asked for though. I think cutters get carried away and keep trying to "even it up" which just means it ends up shorter than expected. Max looks nice though. I'm fascinated by how professional hair people know what to do. I imagine that there are some simple rules that have been worked out over time, which, if stuck to or varied slightly, will result in the desired finish. I also think this must be combined with dexterous, learned skill. This is why when I try to cut hair it seems like the hardest thing in the world.

Most of this which follows applies to men as I don't really know what happens in a female haircutters (except that they spend a lot of time and money on something which usually looks as good as it did before they had it serviced). There always seems to be a slight uncertainty about how far you should push the cutter. For example let's say that your hair has been cut and the cutter offers you the mirror behind your head and waves it about too quickly to see the back of your head (as they do). Some people will say "yeah thanks, that's great" even though they hate the way it looks. It's a sort of embarrassment thing. Other people would criticise the way it looks (but I'm sure they are in the minority or perhaps are spending a lot of money on the cut (>£30)). I reckon the majority of people will always say it's fine and pay and walk out only to look at themselves in the shop window reflections whilst brushing their ears with tissue paper, wondering whether it's "what they asked for".

Of course there's the "just walked out of the salon" look which explains somewhat why people don't question the final cut in the shop. They wait until they get home, wash the hair, dry it and then see what it looks like. It always looks different (unless you have some sort of style - dyed, greased or permed etc).

My visits to the hairdresser are very infrequent, but I certainly experience this phenomenon of uncertainty when it's all over. Apart from the obvious unease at being trapped in a chair and dreading getting into a conversation with someone you less than hardly know, about holidays or football etc, there is this extra confusion about the quality of service. Uusually try to get the look I ask for and if that means asking them to keep chopping then I will say so. Sometimes, however, I just want to get out of there knowing that when I get home it will look OK and my only criterion for success is that it doesn't look stupid (even that wouldn't bother me: I have very low standards).

This whole subject sounds like the foil for a standup comic or sketch show (I know Monty Python did some hilarious work on this topic).

Drug of the nation

Television… What is it good for… oh hang on. That’s a different song.

I am a big fan of television. Not, of course, what is on the television necessarily, but the medium itself. I cannot imagine a world without it (well I can, but it would certainly be a less informed world; similarly I cannot imagine a world without email, but that’s another story). I have a gripe with the content of television broadcasts, of course, but that shouldn’t take away from the facility of light capture and retransmission which has revolutionised the planet.

I am writing this as a response to my own guilt for letting Max watch the telly too often than might be considered acceptable for some people. To be honest he probably does watch too much, but then he enjoys it and it is educational so what is the real harm? We are very careful not to let him watch anything containing violence or advertising (which is worse?!).

The way I look at it (simplistically) is that screens of some nature, be they CRT or TFT etc, will form an enormous part of his life, from school, to work, to his personal life that in my opinion he’s only getting some good practice in at this early stage which will leave him in good stead for the rest of his life. Alternatively, of course, his eyes might turn square by the time he’s 10.

People often demonise the little box in the front room as being the root of modern ills etc. What a load of rubbish! If everyone watched Postman Pat and Pingu all the time instead of Big Brother or Death Wish 11 then there would be no ills in the world (that’s the subject of another rant).

What do we do when he gets older and learns that there are “cool” and “groovy” programs (that his friends all watch) (probably on E4)? Do we let him watch them? For good or bad my parents let me watch things not suitable for my age, presumably because they either thought the censors had gotten it wrong or that I was intelligent enough to bypass the rules. I don’t feel particularly unbalanced because of it so I think they probably got it about right. Perhaps it taught me a number of more valuable lessons: that not all that glitters is gold and perhaps be careful what one wishes for. Also I think I probably gained a sort of self-regulation regarding what I actually really wanted to watch, which in itself gave me a boost in critical thinking.

Perhaps none of this is true and it makes little difference either way. The real problem is that there is no clear evidence of the effects of television on the young (or old for that matter). It is a hugely complicated sociological issue with factors as diverse as wealth, opportunities, IQ, intelligence, program content, education, health, parental attendance etc. How can someone decide what the optimal amount of television they watch should be?! I think what’s required is a gut/brain balance whereby we should use our brains to set the standard we want to apply and then moderate the application of those standards with gut feelings. Besides… I like watching Pingu too.

Of course, some of this derives from guilt about not spending enough “quality time” with Max. We spend relatively a large amount of quality time with Max at the moment. Relative to what?! Well relative to other parents in our modern age, but perhaps not relative to pre-historic homo sapiens who presumably spent a lot of QT with their young (when they weren’t hunting dinosaurs (and feeling guilty about not spending enough QT with the tribe), although arguably it was the grandparents who spent proportionately more time with the youngsters). As with almost everything a happy medium is available which I imagine includes some TV, some playing with toys and some nursery-style care involving peer interaction. I don’t think the guilt will ever go away.

It’s difficult for parents to decide what’s best for their children given that society isn’t geared towards generating the best and healthiest members of society. Instead it’s designed to make money and wealth. There is always going to be a struggle between making money and spending time with children. Hopefully we can get this balance right. In either eventuality at least he’s got the telly to watch!

Of course it is

The feminine singular equivalent of emeritus is emerita.

Lovely speaking to you today.

I had to call my insurance company today to change some details and was surprised when the insurance rep ended the call with "lovely to speak with you today". Wow! What a nice thing to say. I think he may have almost meant it too!

Wow!

It worked! Grootste.

Test post

This is a test email post!!

Away we go...

First post eh?!

This is going to be a bit weird at first. Sort of a repository for thoughts, daily stuff and weridness (and bad spelling).

Some inspiration from Scott Adam's blog (http://dilbertblog.typepad.com), which if my blog gets anywhere near I'll be very happy.

Apologies to anyone who doesn't like anything posted here.