Yes, just like Matthew Parris, I am sure. He didn’t, he isn’t, he won’t. Period.
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Canine Balance
Sir Alan Sugar got it right: "Nutters will spend a fortune on trinkets and gadgets for their dogs." Not only that, Sir Alan, but many of the nutters are definitely unhinged if they fall for claptrap such as this: Canine Balance. And, doubtless, many do. As David Hannum said: "There’s a sucker born every minute".Leave a comment
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The Novint Falcon
Another intriguing computer interface device – the Novint Falcon. Otherland is on its way. I just wish that game designers thought about something other than killing people though.2 responses to “The Novint Falcon”
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Yeah, me too. A bit of slash and stab is ok, but I like to be made to think a bit too. Did you ever see the game iCO? http://www.icothegame.com/en_GB/index.htm. It had the best graphics I’ve seen, sometimes just walking around looking was enough. But the game was a good mixture of ‘action’ and working out also. Did you play World of Warcraft? People keep telling me to get it, but I’m still gathering reviews. By the way, we won’t mention the gnu comment……. I gnu you’d rather it was forgotten.
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iCO? Nope, never heard of it – will follow up. World of Warcraft? I don’t think so. I played Dungeons and Dragons when I was a spotty youth. I’ve rather grown out of it by now. I’m afraid Myst and Syberia are about my limit these days. BTW, I finished the Game of Thrones, but I confess I’m finding the innumurable sequels a bit interminable. Just as I think I’ve reached the last book, that bugger Martin pops out another one. I’m beginning to think that birth control for authors is a good idea.
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One Woman’s Story
I’ve been lucky, I know. I’ve never been in a relationship such as this; either as the victim or the transgressor. Natasha managed to come through. Not everyone is so lucky. And sometimes, it is the victim who snaps.2 responses to “One Woman’s Story”
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It’s weird reading this account, because although I obviously didn’t go through what she did, I know that exact feeling of being afraid of someone you live with and can’t escape from. Of wanting to lock your door at night, of being afraid for the rest of your family. I just hope she doesn’t take what he told her she was into her future life with her, that can be the worst thing.
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Gelert, my sympathies. As I say, I’m glad I’ve never been there.
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The Book of Curiosities
Thanks to the wonders of the Web, the Bodleian Library has made available online the Kitāb Gharāʾib al-funūn wa-mulaḥ al-ʿuyūn, otherwise known as the Book of Curiosities. Simply wonderful.(hat tip to BibliOdyssey for the link)Leave a comment
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The Mundaneum
The Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society turns up another forgotten gem: the work of Paul Otlet and his Mundaneum. The forerunner of the World Wide Web – but built on index cards. I’ve just one quibble with the article in the Proceedings – it mistakenly confuses the Internet with the World Wide Web. It’s a common enough mistake, but it’s completely wrong to confuse the two, and it irritates the hell out of a pedant like me. Still, the article is worth reading, and particularly the referenced article from Boxes and Arrows.4 responses to “The Mundaneum”
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umm… give us your version of the diff geoff? I think I have it right but just in case….
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OK, the Internet is simply an infrastructure, upon which higher level applications, such as the Web, run. The Internet’s function is to transport bits of information from one place to another in a reliable manner. That’s all it does.
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I’m having a little difficulty with the difference of the two concepts. Apologies for being stupid. From what (little) i understand: The internet is the system which transports the information, say, the index cards of Otlet’s Mundaneum, while the World Wide Web is the information carried through this system, i.e. the writing on these cards. Is that right?
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Not quite… The web is not "the information", it is the manner in which the information is packaged. A sort of analogy (it’s not perfect, but it may do to begin with) is to think of the Internet as the road infrastructure, with its highways, byways, rules and signage. Then you could envisage the web as being public transport (buses, coaches), carrying information to people. Roads also carry other forms of transport – e.g. mail wagons (email), heavy goods (FTP), and so on…
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Viral Rubbish
The third series of Doctor Who got underway last weekend. The first episode was pretty good, with lots of hints about future storylines. Vote for Saxon – for example – the posters were fairly obvious in the background to some scenes. So, as is in keeping with 21st Century entertainment, we have to have some fake web sites to beef up the viral marketing. Except this web site is so lame. It might just as well have been done by a six year old, except that I’m probably denigrating today’s six year olds.This, on the other hand, has possibilities. Only possibilities, mind, I’m a hard critic of something so personal as Doctor Who.Leave a comment
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Mushrooms That Glow In The Dark
I’m very cautious about wild mushrooms, so I doubt that I would have picked these specimens, thinking that they were Chanterelles. But the clincher would have to be – they glow in the dark. What more do you need to know before you accept that they are not good for you?Leave a comment
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Love Your Family
Louis Theroux ventures where most of us would be afraid to go. Say hello to the Phelps.4 responses to “Love Your Family”
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I saw this programme the other night and what I found chilling was that the Phelps family in most respects seemed like any average American family anywhere. The children were healthy and polite, had good teeth and good manners, went to church and had the courage of their convictions. It was only the convictions that were off.
These were not evil, hateful people, that’s what makes them dangerous. They are arrogant, to be sure, and they don’t think and indeed avoid any questions that would make them think as if trained to do so. The horror of seeing a six-year-old carrying a sign saying God Hates, and not knowing yet what that means is matched by being poltitely told one is going to hell by a very sweet 21-year-old girl who would offer you a glass of ice tea for the journey. Any argument to the contrary is dismissed as one would an annoying gnat. They’re convinced that they are right and will not be turned. So convinced are they of their own righteousness, they fling hate and call it kindness.
This is precisely why I can not accept the argument that Hitler was a monster. If we dismiss evil with exceptionalism, then we fail to recognise that perfectly ordinary people are capable of perfectly monstrous behaviour. Hitler was human and humans have the capacity for such monumental cruelty in the name of an idealogy.
It’s too easy to dismiss such people and kooks. They’re not. If we’re going to address they hate these people disseminate on behalf of God (they don’t seem to hate very much on their own behalf), we have to realise that we’re dealing with. This family is so dangerous because they’re so normal. -
Coboró, absolutely right. It is the sheer banality of evil that makes it so difficult to deal with. Ordinary people do extraordinary things – both good and bad. I was struck how Gramps seemed to be the core and wellspring of everything. I wonder what will happen when he dies?
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When Gramps dies? A single word to make the Almight shudder: Shirley. Bitch scared the shit out of me.
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Yes, I think you’re right. She seemed to be the chip off the old block. Certainly doesn’t help the public image of lawyers either.
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A Nasty Piece Of Work
Yes, I know that I claim that my blog is supposed to be a "religious-free zone". But, you have to admit it is difficult when Ratzinger comes out with stuff like this. I can but echo Ophelia – he is a thoroughly nasty piece of work. Amen.Leave a comment
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Damning Evidence
If this is a data point, I would have to say that Americans have lost their capability to think. Please say it isn’t so.2 responses to “Damning Evidence”
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Now, now Geoff, be fair. That was four people in a fast food joint in the Bible Belt, not an entire nation (voting for Bush twice is a better argument that an entire nation can’t think). But would you want dear old England to be judged in its entirety by the vulgar antics of Dosh and Pecs?
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Yes, Coboró, you’re right, but still. My blood runs cold at the thought that they are representative of arguably the most powerful nation on the planet.
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Worthy of Tufte
There’s a new version of the mammalian family tree that’s just been published, as a result of taking earlier studies and producing a "supertree" from them. Pharyngula has the details, and there’s a most interesting discussion developing in the comments section.The image that is used on Pharyngula is beautiful, and worthy of something done by the great Edward Tufte, but if you want to see the tree in its full, stunning, glory, then get the version that the BBC has published here and zoom in. I’d love to be able to print this out as a huge wallchart.Leave a comment
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A Trifle OTT?
A trifle over the top, was my reaction to the news that a Swiss man living in Thailand has been jailed for 10 years for insulting the country’s king. But it could have been worse – the judge wanted to impose a sentence of 20 years, but had a flash of leniency, because the accused pleaded guilty…Leave a comment
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Sauce For The Goose…
…Is not always sauce for the gander. I think Ronan Bennett makes a very good point in his article in The Guardian today.Leave a comment
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The New Pope – The Starwars Version
I’m pretty sure I’ve blogged about this before, but it’s just been referred to over on the New Humanists’ Blog, so I thought that was excuse enough to put it up again.It’s by Adam Buxton, and I think it illustrates how we humans love ritual, whatever the background…2 responses to “The New Pope – The Starwars Version”
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thanks for that Geoff, you made me smile for the first time today! I can sleep now. That was brilliant
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Brilliant! I always loved Catholicism for the ceremony, now I see why.
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Yet Another Debate
It’s just like waiting for the proverbial London bus – you stand around for ages and ages, and then three of them come along at once. Here’s another debate about religion… This time between Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and AC Grayling versus Rabbi Julia Neuberger, Professor Roger Scruton and Nigel Spivey. The podcasts can be downloaded here.The trouble is that every speaker is like a blind man confronted with the elephant – they all define it in their own way, so they mostly talk past each other. There are some good riffs – Hitchens’ introduction is excellent, and Spivey’s in its own way is pretty good, but he did seem (to me) to confuse religion with creativity, and religion with patronage. Thankfully, Dawkins pointed out the latter confusion. I’m still listening so haven’t heard all the arguments, but it’s good stuff thus far…Update: I was not impressed at all by Neuberger or Scruton. If this is the best that those who believe that religion is a good thing, then the result that the motion that "we’d all be better off without religion" was carried does not surprise me one bit.For: 1,205Against: 778The motion is carried.Leave a comment
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The God of Eth
Stephen Law has another excellent post over at his eponymous blog to get you thinking about the nature of god. It’s always seemed "patently obvious" to me that if such a being exists (I’m a six on the Dawkins scale), that it must be supremely indifferent of us.Leave a comment
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A Must-See Film?
J. Carter Wood, over at Obscene Desserts, draws our attention to the oft-overlooked art of typography. It’s always seemed strange to me that something so ubiquitous can also be something so unnoticed – its effects being wrought often at almost an unconscious level, as if by some strange osmosis.Apparently, the Helvetica font turns 50 this year, and as JCW writes, there is even to be a documentary about it. And it’s feature-length, too. Ye gods – I can easily imagine dedicated typographers having the attention span to be able to sit through this (they seem at times to be a pretty obsessive bunch), but us ordinary mortals?Oh – and check out the article by Mark Simonson on Arial; it’s definitely worth reading.One response to “A Must-See Film?”
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I notice typography wherever I go, and am geekish enough to be able to name quite a good few on sight, much to the bemusement of companions. I spent a long time studying it at one point, and it is indeed, often overlooked. Happy Birthday Helvetica.
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With Friends Like These…
…Who needs enemies? That Mo, eh? What a card he is! Another brilliant episode in the ongoing story of religious folk.Leave a comment
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The Perfect Man For The Job
The director of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization has clearly the perfect name… He must be the right man for the job.Leave a comment
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