Geoff Coupe's Blog

Reflections on life at “De Witte Wand”…

  • Hamza Kashgari

    It is one of life’s ironies that at a time when Baroness Warsi frets about the rise of “militant secularisation”, she is ignoring the very real danger of militant religion. Just one example:

    Hamza Kashgari is under threat of execution by the Saudi authorities for blasphemy.

    There’s been a petition set up calling for his release. Please sign it.

    Apparently, there’s also been a Facebook page set up to support him. I don’t do Facebook out of principle, but I understand that it has something like 2,500 signatures. I note in passing that at the same time that the Baroness talks about a rise in secular intolerance of religion, the rival Facebook page set up calling for retribution against Kashgari for tweeting about Mohammad has 22,500 signatures.

    The Baroness chooses to ignore examples of the real intolerance of freedom of expression (and human rights) by religions and speaks instead of chimeras. Phrases such as motes and beams spring to mind. Perhaps she should pause for a moment and give some thought to the plight of a fellow Muslim.

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  • “Militant Secularisation”?

    I see that Baroness Warsi believes that Christianity in the UK is under threat from “militant secularisation” and worries “that at its core and in its instincts it is deeply intolerant”. Music to the ears of the Pope, it would appear.

    It seems to me rather that the established religions are finding that they are no longer getting a right to control in the public sphere, and are finding it hard to adapt to being given an equal voice alongside everyone else.

    Personally, I have no problem with the established religions putting forward their points of view – that’s what it means to live in a secular society – but they, in turn, should accept the fact that some of their views will attract ridicule and robust rejection. So it’s no surprise that the Baroness is attracting much of the same for her ridiculous hyperbole: Ophelia and John are both worth reading on the subject.

    The Baroness is behaving like a bully, and is being called out on it.

    One response to ““Militant Secularisation”?”

    1. Hamza Kashgari | Geoff Coupe's Blog

      […] Geoff Coupe's Blog Reflections on life at "De Witte Wand" Skip to content HomeAboutGardensWedding AlbumWines I Have Known ← “Militant Secularisation”? […]

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  • Swings and Roundabouts

    Almost two years ago, I wrote a blog post describing what I used to build my Home Theatre PC (HTPC). I’ve been pretty happy with the result. Over the course of that time, I’ve added a Solid State Drive (SSD) and reinstalled the Windows 7 operating system onto it. That had the result that the startup time from turning on the HTPC to seeing the Windows Media Center display on the TV was reduced to one minute. I’ve also upgraded the MyMovies and TotalMedia Theatre applications to the latest versions.

    The upgrade of TotalMedia Theatre from version 3 to version 5 has proved to be a problem. On my system, TMT5 does not perform satisfactorily at all. There is some sort of interaction between TMT5 and the software drivers of the ATi Radeon graphics card going on. With the latest version of the software drivers (Catalyst 12.1), I was getting bad video stuttering in the Blu-ray playback every 40 seconds or so. When I rolled back to an older version (Catalyst 11.4), then the stuttering went away, but then after about an hour or so, video playback of a Blu-ray movie would come to a juddering halt. I’ve tried all sorts of combinations of software settings in both the graphics software drivers and in TMT5, but nothing has helped.

    While I’m not the only person who is experiencing problems with TMT5, it’s clear that we are in the minority. I’ve got a support ticket open with Arcsoft’s Customer Support, and although there have been a couple of new software releases for TMT5, neither of them have helped me.

    I’ve been looking at alternatives to TMT5, in order to be able to play Blu-ray movies. While there are a few, they all come with their own set of issues. Either they don’t integrate into Windows Media Center (WMC) – they compete with it in terms of functions, or they don’t integrate with MyMovies.

    For example, I’ve been taking a look at the JRiver Media Center. This is a total solution, replacing Windows Media Center, TMT5 and MyMovies in their entirety. JRiver Media Center is capable of handling Blu-ray. I must admit, on my HTPC it appears to handle them flawlessly, a pleasant change to the current disaster of TMT5. But if I adopted JRiver Media Center, I would also be moving away from WMC and MyMovies, and I do like the user experience of that combination.

    JRiver Media Center has been around since 1998, and is currently on version 17 (!). It looks to be a very good product, well-supported, with an extremely enthusiastic user community of more than 26,000 members, some of whom are contributing plug-ins for the main application. However, I’m not sure that I want to move to it. It’s a personal thing, I know, but as I say, I feel very comfortable with WMC and MyMovies.

    An additional wrinkle is that Windows 8 is expected at the end of the year – and the Consumer Preview will be released on the 29th of this month. The WMC community, myself included, is wondering what will happen to WMC in Windows 8. Opinion was divided between those who think that we’ll see a totally new version and those who thought it would be dropped altogether. Microsoft has now promised that some form of WMC will be present in Windows 8, but it’s anybody’s guess what it will turn out to be. A related question is whether Microsoft will provide native support for Blue-ray in Windows 8 itself; either as a standard component in Windows 8, or as a downloadable plug-in available for purchase via the forthcoming Windows Store. If so, then I may be able to simply rely on Windows 8 and WMC. I’m hoping that there will be something in the Customer Preview to clarify my options. It seems to me that my options are:

    1. Roll back from TMT5 to TMT3 (to get Blu-ray playback working at least reasonably well), and hope that a future version of TMT5 will fix my current issues.
    2. Change over from WMC and MyMovies to JRiver Media Center (at a cost of $50).
    3. Hope that Windows 8 will provide a WMC that is capable of handling Blu-ray playback natively (however, I suspect that acquisition cost will be at least $100).

    I’ll continue to play with JRiver Media Center for the remainder of the trial period of 30 days, but I suspect that, in the end, I’ll go with option (1) to begin with, and maybe move to option (3) in a year or so’s time.

    Update: Having completed this post, I suddenly had a thought – what if I removed the ATi Radeon graphics card, and went back to using the integrated graphics on the Intel Core i3 530 processor? I originally had problems with the integrated graphics on the Intel, but Intel just released a new set of graphics driver software last month.

    So I’ve just pulled the ATi graphics card, and installed the new Intel graphics drivers. They seem to have improved the situation – I no longer lose the signal from the HTPC if I switch inputs on the TV. The other issues are still there (slow HDMI handshake and losing the Denon on-screen display if I use the xvYCC colourspace), but I think I can live with them.

    I’ve reinstalled TMT5, and now the Blu-ray playback is as smooth as butter; no stuttering. I’ll have to do extended tests to make sure that all is well, but it is looking good at the moment. So my option (1) has become: carry on with TMT5, using the Intel integrated graphics of the i3 processor. I don’t need to switch to JRiver Media Center, and I can explore Windows 8 at my leisure.

    The moral of the story is: HTPCs are still for enthusiasts who are able to roll up their sleeves and fiddle about – that’s what they have to do. Plug and Play? Forget it.

    2 responses to “Swings and Roundabouts”

    1. Whither Next? A Media Center Journey | Geoff Coupe's Blog

      […] I need to prepare a contingency plan, so I’ve been looking at alternatives. A couple of years ago, I took a (quick) look at JRiver Media Center. I said at the time: […]

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    2. Media in the Home – The Journey Continues, and Roon is Discovered | Geoff Coupe's Blog

      […] next couple of years proved that HTPCs are still for enthusiasts who are able to roll up their sleeves and fiddle about, still I was happy doing that. Fast forward […]

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  • Out On The Ice

    A few minutes walk from our house is a field that gets turned into an ice rink during the Winter when it’s cold enough. Temperatures this past week have been sufficiently low enough that the flooded field has become the much hoped-for ice rink.

    I went down there yesterday at around lunchtime, and already people were there practising their skill at ice skating.

    20120204-1318-18

    20120204-1315-45

    20120204-1314-37

    I suspect that now, on a pleasant, but cold, Sunday afternoon, there will be hundreds of people there.

    3 responses to “Out On The Ice”

    1. Matt Healy Avatar
      Matt Healy

      I grew up in the North Central US State of Wisconsin, where winter can be quite cold; like a lot of kids there, I learned to skate about the same time that I learned to walk. Friends across the road made a small ice rink in their backyard every winter, and my school always turned its athletic field into a larger rink. This winter in much of the US is being unusually mild, which is quite a contrast from a year ago when here in Connecticut we vastly exceeded historical records for snowfall.

      Reply
      1. Geoff Coupe Avatar
        Geoff Coupe

        Matt, there’s currently mounting excitement here in the Netherlands, because it looks as though the Dutch are going to be able to hold the Elfstedentocht this year – at 200 km, it’s the world’s largest and longest speed skating competition:
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfstedentocht

        Reply
    2. Dot Avatar
      Dot

      Thanks for the photos, they bring back happy memories of my introduction to the Netherlands in 1991. I remember getting off the Hull Rotterdam ferry with everthing frozen up (including the windscreen washer bottle in my car). As I drove north, the light was fantastic especially through the frost crystals on the grass. I was charmed by little children learning to skate on the canals in the countryside by pushing a chair in front of them with anxious parents/grandparents looking on. Elfstedentocht would be fantastic, needs to stay cold enough for another week from what I gather.

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  • Japanese Archery

    I often drop by Jeffrey Friedl’s blog. He’s a computer scientist living in Japan, but in addition to this, he’s a keen, and talented, photographer, and his blog usually has stunning images of Japan and Japanese society.

    He recently attended a Japanese Archery contest for the first time, and has written a number of blog posts about the experience. Do go and take a look; I suggest you start with this one, followed by this and this. There are others in the series as well.

    One response to “Japanese Archery”

    1. Matt Healy Avatar
      Matt Healy

      Friedl’s book Mastering Regular Expressions is a classic, I have a well-thumbed copy of this book in my office. For non-computer-specialist readers, regular expressions or regexes as they are known to coders, are a key part of many programming languages and text-manipulation tools (including Perl, the language I use most, and Vim, the text editor I use most). Regexes can look like feline typing to the uninitiated, but are a very compact and powerful way to pick apart strings of text. I use regexes on a daily basis, and have learned many useful techniques from Friedl’s book.

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  • If You’re Not Angry, You’re Not Paying Attention

    That’s the culmination of an excellent speech and article by Maryam Namazie. Please, just go and read it. Her argument rings true.

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  • I Don’t Believe It!

    You know, when I was at university, in the dim and distant past, back at the beginning of the 1970s, the LSE (the London School of Economics) was viewed as a hotbed of student activism. So recent events at the LSE have left me completely at a loss.

    It appears that there has been a mass invasion of politically correct body snatchers that has resulted in a Students’ Union that has completely lost the plot about what free expression and the ability to criticise means.

    Maryam Namazie points out the obvious: the LSE SU is supporting criticism of religion, just not that of Islam, which gets a free pass from them.

    It would never have happened in my days at Uni. What on earth is wrong with the students of today?

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  • Burka Ban

    Five years ago, I thought that news that the Dutch government were considering a burka ban to be a very bad idea.

    Fast forward to today, and now the current Dutch Cabinet has voted in favour of the ban, despite advice from its most important advisory body, the Council of State.

    As I said five years ago, this is taking a sledgehammer to crack the metaphorical nuts of between 150 and 200 women in the whole of the Netherlands (population: over 16.7 million):

    While I happen to think that the garments say more about the odd ways in which women are viewed by one religion (and gawd knows, it ain’t the only one), I don’t think that banning them is going to help one bit towards the avowed intent of integration into Dutch society. It’s more likely to drive the “us and them” wedge further into this society’s hearts and minds.

    What would be far more helpful is for public order to be preserved by coming down hard on extremists such as the Islamists who attempted to break up a public meeting in Amsterdam last December.

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  • The Science Delusion

    There’s a book review in today’s Guardian. It caught my eye, because the book’s title is The Science Delusion, which sounded rather provocative.

    Turning to the review, I saw that it was written by Mary Midgley, and my heart sank. I read the review, and she likes the book. That settled it for me. The book, by author Rupert Sheldrake, is probably tosh, and not worth getting. She also ends her review with a not-unexpected swipe at her bête noire, Richard Dawkins.

    I see that Dr. Adam Rutherford has felt moved to add in the comments on the review:

    I’ve read this dreadful book, and fail to recognise any of it in this review. It is, I’m sorry to say, drivel. Drivel that stands in opposition to Dawkins’ work to cynically promote Sheldrake’s many times debunked fantasy supernatural gubbins. If there is a philiosophical point therein, I missed it for all the tales of dogs who know when their owners are coming home, experiments abut the Nolan Sisters and Sheldrake’s woo phlogiston which he calls Morphic Resonance.

    A couple of years ago, I wrote this piece on Sheldrake, which applies to this current book too. A book for ignoring.

    Based on my previous exposure to both Midgley’s and Rutherford’s work, I judge Rutherford’s opinion to be the more sound. The book is almost certainly tosh and I definitely will not be buying it.

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  • De Botton’s Folly

    A few days back, I wrote that I was not convinced by Alain de Botton’s presentation of his Atheism 2.0 thesis, and even less impressed by his use of a false categorisation of Richard Dawkins.

    Now I see that de Botton is back in the news today. He’s announced that he wants to build a “temple for atheists” in the City of London. It is to be a 46 metre tower, costing one million quid. According to the Guardian’s report, the tower is:

    to celebrate a “new atheism” as an antidote to what he describes as Professor Richard Dawkins’s “aggressive” and “destructive” approach to non-belief.

    Sigh. More false categorisation. As Dawkins has apparently said:

    “Atheists don’t need temples,” the author of The God Delusion said. “I think there are better things to spend this kind of money on. If you are going to spend money on atheism you could improve secular education and build non-religious schools which teach rational, sceptical critical thinking.”

    I can understand the tower as being a piece of public art (although hopefully not paid for by the taxpayer). The tower serves no purpose other than being a Folly, in every sense of the word.

    In passing, I note that the Guardian couldn’t resist a quote from the Rev George Pitcher:

    “This is a more constructive atheism than Dawkins, who is about the destruction of ideas rather than contributing new ones.”

    Ah, yes, the good reverend has previous form in such remarks.

    2 responses to “De Botton’s Folly”

    1. Al Feersum Avatar
      Al Feersum

      … the point about Atheism is that there absolutely has to be a Theism for it to be contrary to. Hence my declaration of being an Agnostic Secularist (If god does exist, and can prove it to my satisfaction, then I’ll believe; otherwise a non-theistic approach is applied and I couldn’t care one way or another whether a god or gods exist or not – and I refuse to acknowledge said existence until I am satisfied). That’s not to say that I disagree with Dawkins though… but people like de Botton just don’t get it, as you’ve shown in the included snippet…

      Reply
      1. Geoff Coupe Avatar
        Geoff Coupe

        Yes, as Hitchens said: “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” and thus far, you, me, and Dawkins are awaiting anything that even comes within light years of that. Give us the evidence, and we’ll become theists; but without it…

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  • “Verging On Fascism”

    There was unease last week in Amsterdam’s Orthodox Jewish community when it emerged that their nominal Chief Rabbi, Aryeh Ralbag (who lives in New York), stated that homosexuality was an illness that could be cured. As a result of this patent nonsense, the Chief Rabbi found himself suspended by the community.

    Now the US-based Committee for the Declaration on the Torah Approach to Homosexuality, which includes Rabbi Ralbag as one of its members, has opined that it is “shocking” that a chief rabbi in the Netherlands has been suspended for his statements on “centuries-old religious truths”, and that this action is “verging on fascism”. Welcome to Planet Godwin.

    I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. They are no different to the Catholic Church or Islam in their touching adherence to ancient and false beliefs about human sexuality. But what really raised an eyebrow was the report that

    …the rabbi believes his life would be in danger if he came to the Netherlands.

    Ralbag told the NRC newspaper: ‘I have strong indications that my wife and I would not be sure of our lives if we came to the Netherlands now.’ He declined to say what the threats were but did say he took them ‘extremely seriously’, the paper reported.

    I’m sorry rabbi, but you really are living in another world if you think that to be the case. The Amsterdam Orthodox community, and the rest of us, are merely pointing out what an idiot you are. Idiots don’t deserve death, they deserve education.

    7 responses to ““Verging On Fascism””

    1. TomT Avatar
      TomT

      Perhaps he’s worried education would be such a shock to his system as to prove fatal.

      Reply
      1. Geoff Coupe Avatar
        Geoff Coupe

        Could be. Or perhaps he’s just letting his imagination run riot?

        Reply
    2. al feersum Avatar
      al feersum

      We’re in a similar place with disability – more specifically, ‘hidden’ disabilities, like autism. ‘Idiots’, i.e. those in the medical profession who follow the 40 year old definitions of conditions and the ignorant general public who see ‘autism = retard’ don’t seem to be able to realise that their understanding of said conditions is so far out of date, so that when a ‘Celebrity’ (whether it be a common or garden sleb, or a medical sleb) states something along the lines of ‘Autism is caused by the inhalation of pollen grains from tagetes patula’, people then get on the bandwagon and try and ban the sale and ownership of a humble flower, for fear that their unborn children may ‘contract’ a terminal ‘disease’ (in much the same way that homosexuality was viewed, pre-enlightment: association with ‘one of those’ will make you contract queerness, and you’ll die from it). Consequent lawsuits get filed by parents of kids with autism demanding some sort of recompense from garden centres, seed suppliers go into panic and withdraw all their stock because they can’t afford to be bogged down in some useless legal battle and don’t want to lose trade…

      … but ultimately, it all boils down to idiots who either refuse to be educated, or are afraid to be educated… and usually, because someone who they respect (previously mentioned slebs who are famous for publically humiliating themselves in the mass media, or other ‘influential’ persons, like priests or doctors whose expertise is in an incompatible field) has uttered some speculative comment, said idiots further their ignorance by believing the rubbish that has, like effluent from an industrial sewer, fallen out of the speaker’s mouth.

      Reply
      1. al feersum Avatar
        al feersum

        … or, perhaps, bearing in mind your adoptive homeland…

        “Autism is caused by the inhalation of pollen grains from tulipa tarda”

        Reply
        1. Geoff Coupe Avatar
          Geoff Coupe

          Hah! And, of course, Al, you’re right. It’s all too easy to dismiss people who are different. Reading Amanda Baggs’ blog is a constant reminder to me to open my eyes. (https://ballastexistenz.wordpress.com/). But for some, it becomes very easy to dismiss people because you believe that God does it as well…

          Reply
          1. al feersum Avatar
            al feersum

            Hmm… yes…. God. Well, as an agnostic secularist (not an atheist – though this is a pretty close description), I have no truck with superstitious claptrap. And what’s worse is that for (at the very least) the Abrahamic* faiths, the religious texts effectively state: ‘Don’t listen to what other people say, because it might be a falsehood. Go and find out for yourself’ – and yet, still they listen to the ‘intepretation’ of God’s word… and in some of the worst examples, if you directly ‘converse’ with God, you’re either a heretic or a lunatic because you aren’t allowed: only designated priests (and in the case of a couple of particularly virulent and inward looking Abrahamic sects, only _the highest priest_) are allowed to talk to converse with God. And yet, and yet… where is the evidence that the texts demand you find to affirm your faith? Science, on the other hand, demands proof, and regularly supplies it, often supplying more proofs that contradict earlier proofs, but that doesn’t matter: the proof only has to last long enough to ensure we’re on the right track… 😉

            * I won’t identify those faiths individually for fear of militant retribution, as this often happens when someone writes something that is considered heretical…

            Reply
    3. al feersum Avatar
      al feersum

      * … although saying that, I’m surprised either of us haven’t been the target for said retribution, you because you’re sinning against God, and me because I’ve been cursed by God… ho hum…

      Reply

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  • Atheism 2.0? Dear God, No…

    Alain de Botton is a philosopher. He recently gave a talk at a TED conference where he proposed “Atheism 2.0”, a form of atheism that would reject all deities and supernatural acts but cater to the “ritualistic side” of some atheists.

    It sounds like an appalling idea to me. I see that Jerry Coyne, over at Why Evolution is True, finds the idea to be “a facile attempt to appropriate the trappings of religion as something essential to an atheist world”. As Coyne says, “What we need, as sociological studies indicate, is not stained glass, potted lilies, and a gasbag orator, but a society that cares about its citizens”.

    In fact, I like some rituals, such as walking the dogs in the woods, or going to the theatre or listening to a concert; but the idea of elevating those ad-hoc activities into prescribed rote and trappings is simply a bad one, and has nothing whatsoever to do with “atheism”.

    What really irritated me about de Botton’s performance in this TED talk, is that he opens it with a thinly-veiled sneer at Richard Dawkins, saying that “many [people] who live in North Oxford” simply find religion ridiculous. De Botton then has the effrontery to go on to say that:

    I’m interested in the kind of constituency that thinks something along these lines: that thinks, “I can’t believe in any of this stuff, I can’t believe in the doctrines. I don’t think these doctrines are right. But,” a very important but, “I love Christmas Carols, I really like the art of Mantegna. I really like looking at old churches. I really like turning the pages of the Old Testament”.

    So de Botton has created another Dawkins strawman by his sneer, because, in fact, Dawkins is in just the kind of constituency that de Botton claims he is interested in. Dawkins is on record as recognising himself as a cultural Christian, who loves listening to Carols, and who, in The God Delusion (p.344 in my hardcover edition), writes:

    …an atheistic world-view provides no justification for cutting the Bible, and other sacred books, out of our education. And of course we can retain a sentimental loyalty to the cultural and literary traditions of, say, Judaism, Anglicanism or Islam, and even participate in religious rituals such as marriages and funerals, without buying into the supernatural beliefs that historically went along with those traditions. We can give up belief in God while not losing touch with a treasured heritage.

    I should note that I’ve read very little of de Botton that I have been able to nod my head in agreement with, or indeed, take seriously. Give me Daniel Dennett any day…

    On a side note, is it just me, or has the quality of TED talks gone down the toilet in recent years? There was a time when I enjoyed listening to them, but these days they seem to contain a high percentage of woo-merchants doing their happy-clappy schticks.

    5 responses to “Atheism 2.0? Dear God, No…”

    1. John Carter Wood Avatar
      John Carter Wood

      I’m coming to the point where I wonder whether _anyone_ who criticises Dawkins has actually read him. And I have long wondered what the point of Alain de Botton is…without, as of yet, any actual success.

      Reply
      1. Geoff Coupe Avatar
        Geoff Coupe

        Yep, it is tiresome the way his critics often seem to attribute to Dawkins things that he’s never said, but there we go…

        Reply
      2. Geoff Coupe Avatar
        Geoff Coupe

        Oh, and I see that today’s Guardian has one of John Crace’s wicked digested reads of de Botton’s latest book. Quote:

        “Religion may offer empty promises of a happier afterlife, but we should not overlook its power in helping people to cope with the fact they are never going to be as rich or as clever as me.”

        See here for the whole thing: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/22/digested-read-religion-for-atheists

        Reply
        1. John Carter Wood Avatar
          John Carter Wood

          That is brilliant!

          Reply
    2. De Botton’s Folly | Geoff Coupe's Blog

      […] A few days back, I wrote that I was not convinced by Alain de Botton’s presentation of his Atheism 2.0 thesis, and even less impressed by his use of a false categorisation of Richard Dawkins. […]

      Reply

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  • A Reminder of Magic

    There’s a wonderful article in today’s Observer. It’s by Susannah Clapp, and it’s reminiscences about her friend Angela Carter.

    Carter was a brilliant novelist who died of lung cancer ten years ago at the young age of 51. As Clapp says:

    She was 10 years too old and entirely too female to be mentioned routinely alongside Martin Amis, Julian Barnes and Ian McEwan as being a young pillar of British fiction. She was 20 years too young to belong to what she considered the “alternative pantheon” of Iris Murdoch, Doris Lessing and Muriel Spark in the 40s. 

    I see I have twenty-two of her books in my library, a couple in multiple editions. Time to go back and re-read them, I think. Meanwhile, if you’ve never heard of Angela Carter, do go and read the article, and then get one of her books: I suggest either Nights at the Circus or Wise Children.

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  • Forced to be Sterilised

    There are times when the law goes beyond being “a ass” as Dickens’ Mr Bumble famously said, into realms where the law is simply anti-human.

    I was amazed to learn this week that Sweden requires, under force of law, that its transgender citizens be sterilised. I was prepared, at first, to think that, OK, it’s a quirk of the law that no-one could foresee, but now that we are in the 21st Century, it will be changed tout suite.

    Not a bit of it.

    The Christian Democratic party in the Swedish Parliament, being key to the coalition, are against any change to the law. As an aside, I am really not surprised that it’s a political party with religious roots that is insisting on this barbarism – ‘twas ever thus.  However…

    As the Human Rights Watch organisation states:

    The Swedish transgender law stems from 1972 and is out of step with current international best practice and understandings of Swedish obligations under international human rights law.

    In July 2009 Thomas Hammarberg, the commissioner for human rights of the Council of Europe, made the observation about the forced sterilization requirement that in reality the state prescribes medical treatment for legal purposes, “a requirement which clearly runs against principles of human rights and human dignity.” This was followed up in the extensive report on human rights for LGBT people in Europe that the commissioner published this summer. The commissioner there recommends Council of Europe member states to do away with all physical requirements for people who want to change their legal gender.

    In March 2010 the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe recommended to member states, including Sweden, that requirements, including changes of a physical nature, for legal recognition of a gender reassignment, should be reviewed in order to remove abusive elements. The Committee recommended that member states should take appropriate measures “to guarantee the full recognition of a person’s gender reassignment in all areas of life, in particular by making possible the change of name and gender in official documents in a quick, transparent and accessible way.”

    I am mindful that the situation here in the Netherlands is not so far in advance of that in Sweden; however, the Dutch government, a coalition of the conservative Liberal Party and the Christian-Democratic party, has publicly acknowledged that its transgender law violates international human rights law and has published a law proposal which does away with the forced sterilisation requirement.

    Here’s Georg Elfvelin asking for your support to help change the Swedish law:

    And here’s where you can sign a petition to Sweden’s Prime Minister. I hope that you will.

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  • Dedicated Comic

    I see that yesterday’s Jesus and Mo is dedicated to Rhys Morgan, Jessica Ahlquist, One Law for All, and Salman Rushdie. Quite right, too.

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  • Time is Money

    When I was growing up (many years ago), there used to be a saying: “If you want to know the time, ask a policeman”. Presumably it started when most people did not carry around timepieces of their own, whereas policemen were issued with them as standard equipment.

    These days, it would seem, that London’s policemen consult a higher authority: the “Speaking Clock”.

    Guess how much they spent ringing the Speaking Clock for the time in the past two years?

    Just a staggering £35,000. The mind boggles. Particularly when they could have got the time, for free, from their mobile phones to atomic clock accuracy…

    One response to “Time is Money”

    1. Matt Healy Avatar
      Matt Healy

      There are also websites run by various government agencies and standards bodies that give the official time. The US government runs http://www.time.gov which gives the time for US time zones, the BIPM in France gives the time at http://www.bipm.org and many other agencies have similar services.

      Reply

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  • How Did He Do It?

    If you saw last night’s Sherlock episode (The Reichenbach Fall – note the singular, by the way, a nice joke), you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you didn’t, and don’t want spoilers, then stop reading now.

    …

    I suppose, in a way, with a title echoing the climax of the original Conan Doyle story The Final Problem, which features the Reichenbach Falls, it was obvious what was going to happen; but the question is: how did he do it? There are lots of theories floating around, and while I’m unsure of the precise mechanics, I’m fairly sure of the following:

    • Molly was in on it (and what a wonderful character she has proved to be throughout the two series)
    • John Watson was not.
    • Mycroft may have been.
    • We did see a live human being jump (he was moving his arms to control his balance), and I am sure it was Holmes.
    • Watson was knocked over by a bicyclist in the period between seeing the jump and running to Holmes’ body. That is certainly significant.
    • Watson feels for Holmes’ pulse, and presumably doesn’t find one. Holmes was shown earlier playing with a squash ball. Could this be the old “squash ball in the armpit to stop the pulse trick”?

    Some viewers have complained that we shouldn’t have got obvious confirmation that Holmes faked his own death by seeing Holmes alive in the closing seconds, but I thought it was a good plot device:

    • It confirms to the viewer that Holmes is alive and sets the ball rolling on “how did he do it?” Great for the next series…
    • It gives extra poignancy to the fact that we now know that Holmes has heard Watson’s eulogy to a friend that he supposes is dead.

    The writing and the acting of this series has been outstanding. Hats off to all concerned.

    10 responses to “How Did He Do It?”

    1. Pat Avatar
      Pat

      The falling body did flail its arms – but that may simply have been the desire of the stuntman to remain alive long enough to get paid 😉 It’s a short drop and he had to be in control all the way down.

      My solution involves the observation that the kidnapped girl had seen Sherlock before – so there’s some method in-story of looking like Sherlock without being Sherlock. Mind you, I reckon Moriarty is still alive too!

      Reply
      1. Geoff Coupe Avatar
        Geoff Coupe

        I don’t buy the theory that the falling body was already dead. If that were the case, then why didn’t they just shove a Sherlock dummy off the roof? Answer: because it would be too obvious that it was a dead body, and strained the versimilitude of the tale too much. No, I think that had to represent a live Sherlock, not a dead Moriarty wearing a Sherlock mask (pace the kidnapped girl).

        I think there could well be something about the girl being connected in some way, and I suspect that you are right about Moriarty. Although I have to say that this strains credulity – we are expected to believe that Sherlock was taken in by Moriarty’s faking of the blowing out his brains? That’s a step too far…

        Reply
    2. iVenky Avatar
      iVenky

      Steven Moffat said that we are missing something and it’s a thing what Sherlock usually won’t do. So I guessed this- What if Sherlock indeed kidnapped that girl? That should clearly explain why she screamed at the sight of Sherlock. This is something what Sherlock usually won’t do. He should have done this for some purpose though I don’t know how.

      What do you think?

      Reply
      1. Geoff Coupe Avatar
        Geoff Coupe

        Well, it’s possible, but it does seem somewhat unlikely. I think SM is referring to something else, but what, I haven’t the faintest idea…

        Reply
    3. Joe Avatar
      Joe

      The gas from the Hounds of Baskerville may have been used on the girl to make her think it was Sherlock who kidnapped them, and this would be why she screamed and pointed at him.

      Sherlock acted out of character a few times in the episode.
      First notable one would be when he is at the lab with Molly, and Molly says to him that he looks sad when Watson isn’t looking, Sherlock says “thank you” to her, which is out of character because he knows it’s illogical for him to say it at that point… then she asks him if she can get him anything, and Sherlock says “actually…” but she interrupts saying “I know you don’t” and she walks off.

      Second slight out of character moment was when Moriarty was pretending to be “a hired actor” in the journalists home. Sherlock screams at him to “stop it, stop it now!” right before he makes his escape through the window. Shortly after this scene, Sherlock seems to have figured out what Moriarty is up to… Sherlock says to Watson “there’s only one thing he needs to do to complete his game and that’s…” that’s when Sherlock figures it out and goes to the lab.

      Then when he was at the lab again with Molly, and he asks her if she would still do anything for him even if he wasn’t what she thought he was. Along with the first scene with Molly (mentioned above), Sherlock is acting out of character, as he usually ignores her completely, but now he is opening up to her.

      The last out of character moment is when he is with Moriarty and he says “I may be on the side of the Angels, but don’t ever assume I am one of them!” Which implies he could have a dark side… one that would explain “why” he may have kidnapped the children (unlikely), but could imply some other form of crime.

      Reply
      1. Geoff Coupe Avatar
        Geoff Coupe

        I don’t think it’s the interactions with Molly that SM is referring to as “the big clue”, but you may be on to something with the interactions with Moriarty – particularly the first one in the journalist’s home. However, they still don’t seem to add up to what I would think of as “the big clue”, so I suspect it’s something else entirely!

        Reply
    4. Robert Dammers Avatar
      Robert Dammers

      I think Joe’s point could conceivably be extended – were Watson under the influence of the Baskerville nerve agent, his mind, suitably suggested, might fill in Sherlock’s face on the falling body – but on the ground? Perhaps not.

      As with “The Final Problem”, Holmes may wish to remain dead for a while to clear up any issues left around by Moriarty, so that makes eminent sense. And Watson’s grief is powerful testimony to the world that the great man is dead. But since anyone in the UK with a pulse, just about, knows that Holmes survived “The Final Problem”, the sight of Holmes at the cemetery is hardly a spoiler.

      Molly has had a wonderful series. Just imagine, if they hadn’t made “Mayo” (which people were terribly rude about, but I rather enjoyed), Lou Brearley would never have been considered for the part. And what a missed opportunity that would have been.

      This series of “Sherlock” has been a joy – I could have giggled most of the way through the first episode just because it was exciting, and such fun (“I never beg” – “Twice!”). It takes the very finest acting to keep such an excellent script on track. Thank heavens the plans are to get the next series out before the end of the year!

      Reply
      1. Geoff Coupe Avatar
        Geoff Coupe

        Hi Robert, thanks for your comments. I never saw “Mayo”, so you now prompt me to try and catch up with it. Glad you share my feelings about Molly; she is just such a wonderful character, and Brearley is perfection in the role. Yep, it’s been a joy throughout. Roll on the next series!

        Reply
    5. Arth Avatar
      Arth

      It was definitely him that jumped, John’s constant watch, paired with the flailing limbs! I think he landed in something, got bloodied up, and moved to the pavement. The ‘Civs’ dotted around on the pavement could have well been his ‘homeless network’ which was referenced in the episode. The cyclist riding into Watson was no accident, probably for the purpose of disorientating him long enough for the switch as said above – he needed to be clueless to make it plausible, and save him from the assassin. No need for body switching, Watson was disorientated, and using the squash ball he had earlier he could mask his pulse – A nice clue.
      After being taken to the morgue I’m sure we’ll see a clever Sherlock sitting up, with Molly preparing any body to be buried after he’s made his pretend death get away! That’s my guess anyhow!

      Reply
    6. So That’s How He Did It – Maybe… | Geoff Coupe's Blog

      […] himself. Of course, part of the reason why I want that to be the real story was because it was the theory that I came up with when I first saw The Reichenbach Fall a year ago. When Holmes confirmed all the points I had listed […]

      Reply

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  • Just Wait…

    I mentioned a few months back that I was being tempted by the Samsung Slate PC Series 7 that is now available in a few markets around the globe. Now that CES 2012 is in full swing, a whole slew of new Tablets is being shown there. While most of them are running Android, it’s clear that some of them are being shown in anticipation of Windows 8, which could be available by late December this year (the first public beta will be available next month).

    One such Tablet is the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 – and this looks even more interesting than the Samsung.

    Really, the best course of action for me is to sit tight and wait. It makes no sense to rush into a decision at the moment. And I have to say that my desire to get a new Tablet PC to replace my now-defunct HP TX2000 has abated considerably since I got my Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone. I’m able to use it to do many of the things that I was persuading myself that I would need a new Tablet PC for. Not all, but sufficient to relieve the pressure and turn the “need” into a “rather nice-to-have” sensation.

    I’ll revisit the situation at the end of the year.

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  • The Joy of Books

    What books get up to at night.

    I sometimes wonder what happens in my library deep in the night as well.

    (hat tip to Matthew Cobb over at Why Evolution is True)

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  • A Dastardly Plot

    I know that there are some intelligent churchmen around, but I do despair when I read bollocks like this:

    The Spanish Catholic Church is also concerned about homosexuality. During his Boxing Day sermon, the Bishop of Córdoba, Demetrio Fernández, said there was a conspiracy by the United Nations. “The Minister for Family of the Papal Government, Cardinal Antonelli, told me a few days ago in Zaragoza that UNESCO has a program for the next 20 years to make half the world population homosexual. To do this they have distinct programs, and will continue to implant the ideology that is already present in our schools.”

    It, quite literally, beggars belief.

    Update: Benedict also talks bollocks. Sigh.

    2 responses to “A Dastardly Plot”

    1. TomT Avatar
      TomT

      There’s a Spanish Inquisition joke to be found somewhere in all this. Sounds as though Bishop Fernández could use some time in the Comfy Chair.

      Reply
      1. Geoff Coupe Avatar
        Geoff Coupe

        No! Not the Comfy Chair!

        Reply

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