Why am I not surprised that the Bush administration has allied itself alongside Iran in preventing Gay and Lesbian people from having a voice in the UN?
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Not-So-Strange Bedfellows
2 responses to “Not-So-Strange Bedfellows”
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I am not surprised either. The U.S. is definitely not the country it used to be. Illegal wiretapping, torture, illegal wars, illegal imprisonment, abortion about to made illegal–I think it might be a good time to escape before the borders are shut!
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Hi, Kevin, thanks for dropping by. Hope that things in the US don’t get worse before they get better… Oh, and thanks for posting my blog on your bloglist… Cheers, Geoff
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European of the Year
Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been selected as European of the Year for 2006. The only thing that slightly modifies my rapture at this news is the fact that the award comes from the Reader’s Digest. I remember that from the days of my childhood, and it struck me even then as being marshmallow reading. Still, glad to see that Hirsi Ali has been recognised for her activities.2 responses to “European of the Year”
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Marshmallow reading? Have you read the mag in recent years. I would think the selection of Hirsi Ali and devotion to space for an extensive interview would be a clue that the times have a-changed. Give it a fresh read! : – )
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Ok, Ok… I grant you that I’m talking about 45 years ago… But then I had the feeling that I was drowning in maple syrup, so cloying and comfy was the selection of pieces. Controversial and cutting-edge were not the terms that could be applied to the product at that time. Happy to hear that things have moved on… 🙂
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Two Data Points From Nigeria
Two Nigerian bloggers comment on the news that the Nigerian government is to ban same-sex marriage.First up is Trae, a young 22-year old Nigerian who spews forth with a depressing stream of homophobia and misogyny on his blog Trae Days.At the other end of the spectrum is Tout Noir’s post in Afro Homo, who vents his frustration at the hypocrisy of certain aspects of Nigerian society.(hat tip to Global Voices Online for the links)Leave a comment
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Simulation – A Great Way To Learn
Flight simulators are terrific tools for pilots learning how to fly. Pilots can be introduced to a whole range of flying conditions and dangerous circumstances in complete safety in order to prepare them for the real thing. Flight simulators represent the pinnacle of the simulation business. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but it’s clear that there’s a whole industry devoted to providing simulators for training doctors and nurses.Ladies and gentlemen, courtesy of Gizmodo, I give you the Digital Rectal Examination Simulator. While you’re at the web site of Kyotokagaku, you may care to check out the other goods on offer, e.g. the Prostate Examination Simulator (with its cunning rotating unit) or the Male Catheterization Simulator (my legs crossed involuntarily at this one).I’m particularly struck by the thoughtful touch of the company including a jar of vaseline with the rectal and prostate simulators, but I thought that they would have known that KY Jelly is much preferred.Leave a comment
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Goodbye Monastery, Hello Hotel
Maastricht is a city worth visiting. I see that there’s a new hotel opened there that might be also worth a visit (if we can afford it).Leave a comment
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Double Dutch
Last month I mentioned the confusion being caused by the introduction of a new version of the official guide to spelling Dutch. I see that Geraldine Coughlan, a BBC News correspondent in The Hague has a story on the same subject. It’s a good read – and I’m relieved to learn that she, like me, finds that she speaks Dutch with lots of mistakes.Since we are both members of the EU, we have it easy – we don’t have to learn Dutch as a condition of entry here. I find that actually somewhat discriminatory – why should we escape what is imposed on those from outside the EU? Just another of the not-so-subtle ways in which the Dutch authorities, despite the tradition of tolerance, manage to put certain types of allochtonen (foreigners) firmly in their place.And now the latest news is that Rita Verdonk, the minister for Integration, wants to make it compulsory for Dutch to be the only language that should be spoken on the streets. I always thought she was slightly mad – this seems to confirm that she’s now officially barking. Presumably tourists will be issued with a permit on entry to allow them to carry on conversing in their native tongue?Update: The Language Log has a good entry on the Verdonk proposal. She’s definitely barking.Update 2: Dear god, would-be immigrants from outside the EU will have to take a language test that will a) be administered over the phone, b) rely on voice-recognition technology (there’s no human examiner involved) and c) cost the applicant 350 euros for each test. Rita obviously has far more faith in voice recognition technology than I have. This is Dutch we’re talking about – a language that is notoriously difficult to pronounce. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I’ve said something to a Dutch person and got a blank response. After two or three attempts at repeating myself, comprehension finally dawns on them, and the bastards then have the gall to say: "oh you mean…" and parrot back exactly the same words that I’ve just been saying to them… And I’ve been here for 22 years. Heaven knows how someone who has never even set foot in the country is going to cope with a test given over the phone with some smug little voice recognition system humming away at the other end. It’s probably Rita’s plot to stop immigration from non-EU countries entirely.Leave a comment
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Why Do I Need Windows Vista?
That’s the question raised by Mano over at his blog. It’s a rhetorical question, because he lists 15 reasons as to why he thinks the next version of Microsoft Windows will be worth it.Mmm, perhaps; but I’m afraid I’m much more cynical. I’ve got this sinking feeling that if I were to step up to Vista, then I won’t be just faced with the cost of upgrading my operating system, but also having to replace some core application software and related hardware.For example, with the current Technology Preview of Vista that I have installed for test; the soundcard, the webcam, and the USB video capture devices all don’t work. While I realise that this is not totally unexpected in a beta, my point is that I really don’t have much faith in the companies behind these devices coming out with new versions of drivers or application patches for Vista.Take the soundcard – it’s not a mass-market device, it’s the E-MU 1820M DSP, which is part of my home studio setup for musicmaking, in combination with Steinberg’s Cubase SX. Neither the E-MU driver, nor the E-MU application currently work in Vista. And then, Steinberg is notorious for releasing new versions of software and dropping support for older versions. I’m quite happy with my version 2 of Cubase SX – but Steinberg stopped support of this back in 2004. Based on their history, I doubt whether they’ll come out with a patch to make it work on Vista. And I doubt that I can afford to upgrade to a version of Cubase that is designed for Vista. I expect it will be a similar story for the video capture device (made by Adaptec, who have not updated the drivers or the application – despite the fact that it has bugs – since mid 2004).The real question is not "do I need Windows Vista?", but "what is the cost of upgrading/replacing my complete system – applications, hardware, and operating system?. The cost of the upgrade of the operating system alone is not the point. I would like to be proved wrong – it would be great if all my applications and hardware continued to be supported under Vista. But somehow, I don’t think that’s going to happen, and I’ll resign myself to soldiering on with Windows XP for as long as I can.Update: Out of curiosity, I tried installing Cubase SX2 and the Steinberg Midex 8 interface onto build 5270 of Vista. Neither would install properly. For Cubase, Vista announced: "Application blocked due to known Compatibility issues. This version of Windows Media Technologies is incompatible with or has been superseded by this version of Windows". Not entirely unexpected, I suppose, but without proactive support by Steinberg, then Cubase SX2 on Vista is dead in the water.2 responses to “Why Do I Need Windows Vista?”
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Hey there, thanks for dropping by my blog to post comment etc :)OK I am a musician myself, so I am with you on the EMU card – but it is not an obscure card at all, so I am sure Creative/EMU will have it working on Vista… the OS that will be on all "new" computers people buy after it ships… The card will still ship then (it is not an old card), there is no way they’d chance having thousands of customers not being able to use the device they are selling.Audio-wise, Vista is actually much better than XP so I’d be even more eager to upgrade.But hey it’s like everything… I use a Creamware SCOPE Project card (formerly Pulsar 2), and people have had problems getting updates for new OS’s over the years – so there are cases where what you are describing is true. That’s not the fault of OS’s though (we are talking MS and also non MS OS’s too).Let’s see how the next beta/ctp works with these devices. A good idea would be to contact EMU and Adaptec to ask them if they’ll release patches/updates too.Take care!-mano
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Mano – thanks for the comments. I tend to be a "glass half empty" kinda guy – I always think that a pessimist is simply a well-informed optimist. But, I hope that your confidence is well-founded. Good idea about pushing the vendors, though – I’ll add my two-pennyworth to that…
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The Bog Bodies
There was an interesting programme on the BBC last night: Timewatch: The Bog Bodies. It followed the archeological research that followed the discovery of two bodies preserved in Irish peat bogs. As well as the scientists involved in dating the remains, the research team also had a forensic pathologist (shades of Silent Witness – she could have been the inspiration for Sam Ryan) who was able to establish the manner of death.It appears that, in common with other similar finds, the two individuals did not go quietly into that long good night – they appear to have been tortured and killed. During the programme, reference was made to Tacitus, the Roman historian, who described such killings in Germany. A page from his Germany was shown, and the text (in translation) was: "Traitors and deserters are hung upon trees: cowards, shirkers and sodomites are suffocated in mud under a hurdle". Delightful.Ned Kelly, of the Museum of Ireland, is of the opinion that these were ritual killings, "offerings to the gods of fertility by kings to ensure a successful reign". He claims that the bodies are found on the borders of royal land or tribal boundaries. Somehow, this doesn’t sound quite right to me. Surely sacrifices to ensure the fertility of land would be more likely to be made on some holy spot within the boundaries. Burying bodies outside of the land sounds to me more like a symbolic banishment of criminals or those who have been rejected by the society – the class described by Tacitus.Leave a comment
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Poignant Portrait
Dr. Charles posts a poignant portrait of one of his patients. I’ve had the privilege of meeting some of Martin’s pupils who share the same chromasomal history. It is indeed bittersweet that their candle of optimistic light is snuffed out all too quickly.Leave a comment
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B&B for Bigots
The highlands of Scotland has glorious scenery – and some Bed & Breakfast establishments that Martin and I clearly won’t be welcome at (scroll down on the link). Well, at least we know which places to avoid (…here be bigots). Good to know that UK dogs are welcome, though. One wonders what the owners have against dogs that don’t hail from Great Britain’s shores. Perhaps they are afraid of the possibility of rabies. I could make a comment about who is rabid here, but it seems too easy, somehow.(hat tip to Antonia’s blog)Leave a comment
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Night Follows Day
While some Nigerians show themselves to be humans with their brains turned on, others reveal themselves as sound arguments as to why cockroaches should inherit the earth.Leave a comment
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Menagerie
25 years ago, an artist by the name of Kit Williams created a puzzle in book form named Masquerade. Now, to mark the 25th anniversary, Dillon Waugh has created an homage in the form of a web site puzzle named Menagerie. Happy hunting!Leave a comment
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How Free Is Your Free Will?
I’ve mentioned Carl Zimmer’s fascinating book Parasite Rex before. He’s returned to one of its themes (that viruses alter host behaviour) in his blog. In "The Return of the Puppet Masters" he leads off with the rather startling question: are brain parasites altering the personalities of three billion people? Go and read it. I’m just mindful of the fact that we will need to get a cat to keep the mouse population down around the farmhouse. If I don’t already carry Toxoplasma gondii in my brain, I probably soon will do.Leave a comment
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Turning The Pages
If you have a broadband connection to the Internet, then check out the British Library’s Turning the Pages online gallery. I hope that the content of more books is made available over the web in this way.Leave a comment
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So, How Did You Do?
I see that the answers to the King William’s College quiz have now been published. As expected, I did miserably, and am kicking myself that I did not get more, particularly in the Grimm’s section. I should have just slowed down and thought about the questions, instead of dashing through them…Leave a comment
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Gaia’s Not a Well Woman
Is James Lovelock over-egging the pudding, or is he right to give his warning? The cynic in me sees a connection between the article and the fact that his new book is due. Still, part of me thinks that all is not well with our ecosphere, and that the balancing act is at risk. Will it become morbidly apparent during my lifetime? Probably not, but I do worry for today’s youngsters. My great-nephew had his birthday yesterday. What sort of world will he take over from our stewardship?Leave a comment
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Transmutation
There’s an increasing use of digital techniques to encode analogue signals all around us. Despite what I wrote about Digital Radio, it doesn’t necessarily have to be worse than the analogue FM broadcasts – it all depends on what the broadcaster does. And while there are plenty of Hi-Fi buffs who detest digital per se (“CDs can never sound as good as LPs”), I’m not one of them. I’m quite happy to buy CDs instead of continuing with analogue LPs.In preparation for our move to the farmhouse in April, I’m currently transcribing my old LPs and tapes into digital form and storing them on computer hard disc and DVDs. This will have the twin benefits of saving us some precious living space and allowing subsequent archive copies to be made without further degradation of quality.It’s been a fascinating wander down memory lane during the transmutation process. I’m hearing things that I haven’t heard for years. For example, yesterday I heard radio plays from the BBC from the early 1970s – Penthesilea (by Heinrich von Kleist, adapted by Robert Nye), The Hero Rises Up (with Paul Daneman and Fenella Fielding) and Cries from Casement as His Bones Are Brought to Dublin (by David Rudkin). And I came across some tape recordings that I made some 35 years ago of organ pieces played by a university colleague. l made the recordings on my trusty Revox A77 recorder, which, when I fired it up yesterday for the first time in 20 years, performed as well as ever. The Swiss built those machines to last.Leave a comment
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Ambient Intelligence
Philips Research is experimenting with something it calls Ambient Intelligence. It’s where you are surrounded in your home by a network of devices (lights, air-conditioners, entertainment systems, curtains, chairs, etc.) that all communicate with each other and are aware of what you are doing.There’s a scenario that Philips has put together to describe what storytelling to your children might be like in such an environment. Sounds more like the first step to the dystopia described by Paul Di Filippo to me…Leave a comment
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