Where we're heading

The Economist has a long article about In Vetro Babies, where they can legally be grown and where not. Let's just say that it is a mad patchwork of overlapping, mutually exclusive laws, where all the different countries with all their different rules make certain that everything is possible somewhere, but you're just going to have to collect a lot of air miles if you want to get everything done.

That's going to continue to happen, I suspect. At the rate that science is now advancing it seems that law will always be two steps behind. That's if we're (un)lucky. Science is moving ever faster and a great deal of the advancement isn't happening in the West anymore. That means Western law, supposedly the most advanced and humane (very arguable, I admit), might not even be aware of some of the latest advances in the latest fields.

I could argue that we need some sort of international law coordination agency that helps different countries bring their laws into line, but that aint going to happen. Look how much respect the UN is given, and that agency only suggests policy, it doesn't try to make law. No, we are all to convinced that our own countrymen are so much wiser than those from over the border, let alone those over the horizon and of course we're right, every last one of us.

Saddam is dead and we all get to watch

So this is the time we live in, where nothing is taboo and everything can be seen. First there was them cutting off some bloke's head, now there's the hanging of a dictator. Should we be seeing this, or is this where freedom of expression starts to interfere with human decency? How far is too far? And if we can watch this, then why is porn still illegal?

The Secret Lives of Robots

Funny, yes?

Virtual Shock

So, yesterday's problems with the internet were felt by a larger portion of the world population than just little old me. It seems an earthquake has done the virtual damage (though little actual physical damage, it seems).

This worries me. Apparently we're living on the brink of a drop and we're not even aware of it. It took just a couple of cables being knocked out for many markets to suffer and many people to not be able to work at optimum efficiency. What happens if three cables are knocked out? Or if some group decides that this is perfect opportunity to do some mischief?

And it isn't just in the virtual world that we're looking at these types of problems. Also in the physical world capacity and use are coming far too close together, for instance in raw material transport (with transport often serving as warehouses). The reason is obvious. The closer your use is to your capacity, the less excess capacity is wasted, which in turn is perfectly logical if you're trying to operate with the lowest costs possible. Of course, that only works there isn't a sudden drop in capacity.

This will shake the telecom companies awake, but will it do the same in other fields? I doubt it and it isn't really in the telecom areas that we need to worry most. Again, I ask, where is the redundancy?

Where is the redundancy?

I'm getting a little worried. On two separate occasions in the last two weeks I've now been stuck without a piece of software that I've grown rather dependent on. The first time it was dictionary.com, while today there was suddenly a problem with gmail. I tried to overcome the first site's down time by finding another site, but soon discovered that the only other reliable and worthwhile dictionary site out there (which also has a thesaurus, though no encyclopedia) wanted me to suddenly pay for the words I was trying to access!

Today's down time with Gmail made me even more worried, for there is no real alternative for me to my gmail. This made me realise that I've become very dependent upon software that I have absolutely no control over. This stuff is free and they can take it away as they please, when they please.

Wasn't the internet supposed to introduce redundancy? Wasn't everybody shouting about how it would be fantastic, because if one place crashed others would come up to take over? How does that work when you're dependent on that part that has just crashed?

I know, I've got to somehow set up some kind of backup system. Because, even though I pray that one day it won't matter where we are in terms of what we want to do, I also know that that day isn't here yet.

Transformers, robots poke your eye

Okay, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that they shouldn't be making this, but has anybody else noticed that Hollywood seems to be having trouble coming up with anything original? They're basically just nicking stuff from other countries (like how they turned Infernal Affairs into the Departed), recycling old movies (like War of the Worlds) or taking something that has some kind of cult following and turning into a movie (like X-men and yes, Transformers). What gives?

I'll tell you what. Movies have now become such big budget affairs that nobody is willing to risk good money on good ideas. Good ideas don't have good statistics to back them up. When the money becomes as big as it has at this stage, people's first priority is guaranteeing that they at least get their money back. That's why we get decently mediocre films which repackage old ideas (and thereby make certain at least some people come to watch it), rather than awesomely original movies that risk bombing at the box office.

Hollywood is a victim of its own success. Each year the movies must get that bit prettier, so the money must be that bit more, so the movies must get that bit safer and therefore the audiences end up just that bit less interested. I wonder where it will go? Is YouTube the answer, or is that just another red herring?

Print a book

It seems that the boundaries between the virtual and the visual have blurred a little more. A new machine will be deployed in 2007 that can print a book, with glossy cover, in seven minutes. So when you walk into a book store and they don't have the book you want, no more, 'it will arrive in two to three weeks' no, none of that, instead 'it will be ready in seven to eight minutes'.

As this technology advances we will enter a stage of development where book shipping will no longer be necessary! Instead books will be printed on location, on demand. Publishers will be sidelined, with there only really being a need for an author and advertising.

While we're at it, why not just have these machines migrate into the homes? Sound far fetched? People thought computers would never make it into every home only twenty years ago. First these machines will set up in the big book stores and libraries, from there they will move to your local corner bookshops (which will only need to carry a stock of one of each book, just for browsing purposes) and from there into the corner of your study.

Transportations costs will drop, as the raw materials needed for book printing can generally be got locally, and we become just that little bit more environmentally friendly, as each book travels a great deal less in its lifetime.

Gmail as a virtual drive

If you've managed to not completely fill up your gmail yet, this might be the program for you. With it you can use your gmail as if it is an actual drive on your computer, neat if you don't have too much space or you want your material to be easily accessible. So far Gmail has rarely let me down, but it seems like a good idea to back everything up somewhere else. Heck, this might even be your backup drive!

Slowly we're getting to a stage where what we use is no longer linked to where we are. Eventually which computer you use will be no more important than which individual metro train you take, or which newspaper you pick up. They will simply be tools. Near common good items that can be shared, used or left behind as you will.

Soon even processing will be done at a central location, away from where you are. All your PC will do is catch a data stream and display it on your screen. This will mean that you will only need a data input and data output device. Eventually even those will become virtual and then we will no longer need to carry around anything bigger than a pin head, which will connect us with the World Wide Web.

Free Will

One of those big sticklers in philosophy has always been free will. Free will is the idea that we are in control of our own actions, but quite a few philosophers have been arguing, for a while now at least, that free will is actually an illusion.

An article in this week's economist argues that they may well be right. Though free will has certainly not disappeared yet, it has been shrinking as it has become clearer and clearer that chemical effects have an impact on the brain.

Without free will we suddenly have a problem. Free will is an essential part of justice, in that we feel we can't hold a person responsible for their actions if they cannot be held responsible for them, as well as in everything from democracy to economics. The debates is already on in a few fields, such as sexuality (which is most probably genetic and therefore not in the realm of free will, meaning it can't be held against the individual)

But what will it mean for our species if we realise that paedophilia is a chemical imbalance? Can we then still blame the paedophile? Or what if we have a genetic disposition for religiosity? Then the religious can't blame the doubters, nor the doubters the religious.


When there is no free will, how can anybody be held responsible for their actions?

The History of LSD

The full on history of a full on drug.

Warning, it's a one hour video

Sex and the Socket

I'm pretty sure till now you were convinced that an ad about light bulbs could not be funny in any way or form. I forgive you for that. It's a pretty understandable assumption, but it is wrong. The Vancouver Film school has students of a caliber where the impossible become only slightly improbable, so enjoy.

Jules Verne's Cannon Part Duex

It's interesting how old ideas area always recycled. One of the first people to talk about shooting into space was Jules Verne. His idea was to load a person in a cannon and just blast them into orbit. Now that idea has come back in non-explosive form. Rockets be damned, we've got a cannon on our hands!

So where does my ego fit in?

In the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy they've got this machine called 'The Ultimate Perspective Machine', which in my mind is a little bit like this video right here.

Alternative Energy

It's all the hype right now, isn't it? Everybody's suddenly talking about alternative energy when it might actually already be too late by a decade or two. I guess it will be another round of Human ingenuity versus Human Consumption, where if the first wins we get a couple more decades before the next emergency comes along and if the second wins it will mean the end of life as we know it.

Down Time

I apologise for not posting recently. I was preoccupied with other things, but I will start up again real soon (possibly today). I am also planning to change the way things go around here. More of me and less of other people's stuff.

Cyber Censor

Apparently governments really don't trust their people to make the right decisions. I still find it quite shocking that governments are so convinced that they know better than the normal people that they themselves have been drawn from. It's as if they believe that just because they've managed to get themselves into positions of power they suddenly understand more and better than everybody else, when instead it just shows they've been more ambitious and probably more ruthless.

Well, at least there is hope

Lasse Gjertsen

I didn't know him till about 20 mins ago, but I like his stuff. He's done quite some videos, including one about Beatboxing, one about LSD, one about an accident, one about chasing your own shadow and finally one with two Lasses!.

All of them are very creative and considerably different. Definitely a guy worth watching out for, it seems. (Note, there are probably a great deal more videos out there, but I just couldn't be bothered looking for them).

Visual Depiction of a Chat Room

Whoa. Uhrm... uhh.... yeah.

The Inner Daemon

Uhm... I don't get it. Something about what's really on the inside, or something? Or is it an ad that is trying to encourage pedophilia? What ever it is, it's pretty spacy.

Death Note

The movie Death Notes is available in two parts on Daily Motion (part one and part two). The text below is in French, but don't worry the movie itself is in Japanese and has English subbies (and the site I got it from, flabber.nl was in Dutch, just to add a final layer of possible confusion).

Visualising Data

As there is ever more data out there, there is an ever greater need for us to find ways to make it easy to understand. This blog tracks such attempts, specifically in the form of visualised data. After all, an image is instinctively easier to understand and more provocative then a series of numbers.

And a couple of planets for dessert

Scientists have actually seen a black hole eat a star and now you can too. This, while a few decades ago we could only theorise about their existence.

Iraq: a ground eye view

The Vancouver Film School did an interview of a few soldiers about life in Iraq. And people wonder why the American army has such trouble winning the hearts and minds of the people in Iraq. Having the army acting like the police is a bit like having software engineers doing a company's PR.

Paper Art

A cool demonstration of empty and filled spaces. You could probably say something really profound about yin and yang, as well as how things are often greater than their parts, but it's really a bit too early for that, so just go and watch it.

The first day of the rest of your life

An interesting video set to music. These are all the rage around the internet right now. Well done, though and this guy's got some more stuff spread around, here's another one. I'll let you find the rest in your own good time (got to leave some fun in there for you, right?)

Now computures are joining in on the spraypainting fun

If isn't so much what they've made in this video that's interesting (it isn't really, you can buy it in any tourists art shop) but rather how they made it. It's a bit like laser printing, only then on a wall, with some strings and a spray paint can.

Drawing the Devil's Tuning Fork

Drawings are only ever two dimensional representations of three dimensional space. We forget that sometimes and that's why we fall for such apparent paradoxes as the devil's tuning fork.

Cactuses

No I didn't mispell that, its how they've spelled it. They being the the youth of the arc2 project, who made a movie. I haven't watched it fully yet, but it was plugged by one of them on this site, so I can't help but take advantage of that, can I?

The Technology of Money

What is money? Have you ever actually sat down and thought about it? It's a damned hard question to answer, you know. This article might help you along the way. It's interesting that we all work for it and that so many people are obsessed with it, but so few people can actually explain what 'it' is.

In the future people will look at paper money in the same way we now look at bartering.

A Scanner Darkly

Phillip K. Dick's story 'A Scanner Darkly' is a story about drug adiction. For the moment it can be found at Peek Vids in three parts (here, here and here). It is well worth watching, especially if you've seen some of Richard Linklater's other work (such as Waking Life).

Warning, it won't be up there for long, I suspect, so if you want to watch it do so quickly.

Some stuff from Don Hertzfeldt

Okay, this guy's just odd. Look at his submission to the family learning channel, after he was commisioned by them! And what about his two dimensional interpretation of the third dimension?

That second one kinda reminds me of Imagining the Tenth Dimension.

Eye Popping

Whoa, this is original! Nice stuff and worth a watch. This is what animation is all about, really.

EDIT: Hey, i didn't even realise it's for the new Ipod ripoff by microsoft. Still a good animation, though.

First computer

So you thought computers were invented in the 20th century, did you? Well, you're wrong. The first one was built quite a bit earlier.

Mooched

I have successfully used book mooch for the first time and actually got a book out of it. We're using it as a great way to get rid of some books that we really don't want anymore, but don't just want to throw away. You get 'points' for sending books to people and you can use those, in turn, to get books for yourself. I picked up 'Alice in Wonderland' which I had never read before.

(Click on this link to download the full text in pdf format from project Guttenberg)

From LA to New York

Yes, it's another one of those time laps videos. I'm not convinced it's set to the same time laps the entire trip, though...

Movies!

I've got to push Peek Vid again, becuase they've got a great collection of stuff. Their comic side is great and they've even got full fledged movies. Unfortunately (due to it being illegal to put full length movies on the internet for free) many links don't work, but still worth a try!

Time article about YouTube

Sometimes the old media still has something interesting to say.

Cyber Nation

New game about running your own little nation (you get to decide everything from government type to religion). No pictures, no movies but hey, at least it's multiplayer! I've started my own little African nation called Darka (so you better be my friend, you hear!)

The God who wasn't there

A one hour documentary about Jesus. I guess the title kinda gives away the leaning of the documentary, aye?

I watched the entire thing and I do have to say it's left me with a feeling of dread.

An artistic impression of child labour

Adam Brandejs has made this rather shocking piece on child labour. Thanks to Banana for bringing this post to my attention.

Sign Language Phone

Here's a prototype for a new phone, one that doesn't need buttons but instead understands sign language. Cool concept.

Proxy Surfing

Now here's something truly useful. For those of you accessing the internet from countries that want to control what you access on the internet, here is a list of proxies that you can use to still access those sites. Viva La Resistance!

Free TV content

This site has quite a collection of full length movies, tv serials and a whole lot more. I'm quite impressed. I'll come back to it when I've found some shows really worth seeing.

Vancouver Film School

The Vancouver Film School has placed some of their content on Youtube under one heading and in one place. Sweet!

Apparently Neill Blomkamp (the guy that had been tapped to direct Halo, based on this short film) went there. That's a good thing.

Total Recal

No, not the movie, the possibility. It gives a completely new definition to such things as 'identity theft' doesn't it? Still, I'd be game.

Breath Me (Sai)

Another great music clip idea. I guess art really does beget art.

Kinda reminds me of this short film.

Full Metal Jacket

I wonder if this is the future? Just download a movie from the internet and watch it at home. Well, this one's already here now, so enjoy (yes, it's the full movie, no the quality isn't all that great, but what do you expect. At least it's Stanley Kubrik!)

I'm already torn

Here's a new version of 'I'm already torn'. This guy is incredibly funny, this is a must watch if you're looking for a laugh and I don't normally put comedy up here, so go figure.

7:35 in the morning

I think this is Spanish (don't worry, there is subtitles) and I'm quite convinced it's weird.

Star Guitar (Chemical Brothers)

Another great music clip (remembered this time, not stolen). You might not get it immediately, but I guarantee that you'll be amazed when you do... If you need a hint, see if the music and the scenery might not, well, have something to do with one another. Yeah, that's a pretty big hint and it's a pretty damned good clip too!

Remind Me

Here's a cool music clip that I nicked from flabber.nl (for those of you that can't speak dutch). Do I feel guilty about it? Well, I probably wouldn't have linked to them if I didn't.

Disturbing

I wasn't aware that toys could be this... disturbing. I don't really know what else to say.

Quotes

"War never really decides who is right, only who is left"

-unknown

"A religious war is like people fighting over who has the strongest imaginary friend"

-unknown

"An intelligent man can get himself out of problems that a wise man would never have let himself get into"

-unknown

If anybody can tell me where these quotes come from I would be much obliged. They are good, though.

Animating

Blender is a free source program that is being used to create some very interesting animations. The best one I've seen is definetely The Elephant's dream (warning, the file is huge and will take a long time to load, so go have dinner or something). Others have used it to, so here's a series of wierd stories told using this software (this file is much smaller).

Axe Touch Ad

It's is an old ad, so you might have seen it already, but it remains brilliant. Great concept, well excecuted. Wonderful mix of sureal and sexy.

The Falacies

Do you know what a falacy is? It's a logical or argumentative mistake that many people don't recognise as such because they seem right. If an argumentative is falacious it might seem like a convincing argument, but it is just plain wrong. This guy's gathered together some interesting logical problems that check if your thinking is falacious or if you can avoid some of the more common traps. Cool stuff.

Electric Consciousness

The first self aware robot has been built, according to its builders. It taught itself to walk and learns to adapt to adverse conditions. Should we all scream and run for the door now?

Math Trick

I think using a calculator would be easier, but it seems to work.

Extreme Break Dancing

I realise this isn't actually called break dancing, but I'm the first to admit I don't understand anything about this cultural phenomenon. Hey, at least I still appreciate it!

Ps: wait for the second guy to come on before you turn it off.

Dilbert!

Need I say more?

I've Got the Pain Licked!

Saliva is apparently a pain killer many times more effective than morphine. Who would have thought?

Global Warming

Children say it, Leonardo di Caprio said it in the nineties, the pentagon said as much two years ago, European governments say it, so why won't the White House listen? I guess I know the answer, I guess we all do, too much vested interest. Better to listen to good old fashioned oil companies then future generations, right?

(If that's too many links for you in one article, definitely go and see the one from the UK government, just to warn you, it does take a while to load.)

Complex Problem Solving Visualised

These guys have taken the time to make a visual representation of how complex problem solving should/ can work. Make sure to roll over different parts of the equation to get a better grasp on what it is they are talking about.

134 Podcast Lectures

There's bound to be something useful in a list that long to learn about, especially since you've now accepted that intelligence is malleable (you have, haven't you?)

Rockfish

They're actually planning to make this into a full length movie (I think it's supposed to still be animated). The bad news? Vin Diesel might be in it.

Rocket in a Tunnel

I don't know why, but this is actually pretty cool. Your a rocket and you have to go through a tunnel with many obstructions and that's it. Nothing hyper original, but still a nice game.

Wire Free Electricity

No more electricity wires, ever. Wouldn't that be fantastic? Well, mathmatics and computer models seem to suggest it's possible through electromagnetic resonance. Of course, we haven't even got rid of most of the other wires yet, but still, billiant idea.

Banksy

Guerrilla artist Banksy has made quite a name for himself in England and even America and that while nobody even knows who he is. Guerrilla art, by the way, is art that suddenly appears with the public and the authorities having no prior knowledge. Good stuff, check out his site.

the Malleability of Intelligence

So, not only is intelligence maleable (in other words, not fixed), but apparently realising that intelligence is maleable significantly improves your performance as well as your academic achievements. It has even more affect for people that think they have a racial disadvantage (like discriminated groups and girls).

Interesting, no? Yet another example that we shouldn't underestimate education.

Subjectivity of the Senses

So you really believe that what you see is what you get? Think again, and again. Great displays of how easy it is to fool ourselves into believing a pattern is there that isn't.

Family Guy

Here's a full episode of family guy. Sweet! (If you haven't seen family guy, you've been missing out)

The Kiwi & The Flatback

Poor thing! Great animation, though I'm not quite sure if I should be happy or sad. Definitely worth a watch.

And then there is this one, a little more abstract but you know that's what I like.

A Laptop for Every Child

One laptop for every child. Sound like a dream? Well, that dream just came one step closer. They've just successfully made a special laptop that only costs $130 US and only uses 10% of the electricity that a normal laptop does. Now it will just be a matter of spreading them to those children that need them most.

Egalitarian

e·gal·i·tar·i·an [i-gal-i-tair-ee-uhn]

–adjective
1.
asserting, resulting from, or characterized by belief in the equality of all people, esp. in political, economic, or social life. –noun
2.
a person who adheres to egalitarian beliefs.

from dictionary.com

Why We Need the Ability to Protest

Eventually the checks and balances of the state will fail. Now there are many reasons why this might happen. But let’s sum it up by saying sometimes – maybe through human oversight or through the ability of some people to bamboozle others – a person might get into power who shouldn’t be there.

They might be corrupt, they might be stupid, or (most dangerously) they might well have the best intentions for the country in mind, but their methods are inappropriate or misguided.

Initially it is the government’s job to find these dangerous individuals and either correct their behaviour or, barring that, throw them out of power and most of the time a good government will do exactly that. The problem is that sometimes these individuals are so convincing or ruthless that they unbalance the checks and balances installed to keep them under control. When this happens the government will be hijacked by special interests and no longer represent the true will of the people.

At this point a possibility must exist for the people to voice their grievances without, and this is the important part, without needing to use governmental channels, since these have been taken over by these special interests.

What is more, it is very likely that the special interest group will try to sabotage the people’s ability to speak out, so before they get into power it is essential that a robust system of speaking out and speaking your mind exists. Only in this way will the people, who themselves elected the government, be able to keep their government accountable.

Flow

Very interesting game about growth and evolution. Winner of the 'Game of the Month' award at EDGE magazine.

Xbox 360 banned ad

Great ad for the (now not so new) 360. Very original representation of the xbox world.

Human constructs

First we have the human snowball Good idea, well executed. Didn't exactly blow me away, but still very cool. The second is this pepsi ad, which is also not bad. Still, I have the feeling this concept has more potential than this.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

This was probably the first distopia book that I ever read. I found it online a while ago for free, but then managed to lose it again. Today I found it back, courtesy of this website, which lists a 119 research tools that go beyond the 8 billion pages that Google has access to. (Apparently, or so that page claims, there might be 500 times as much as what Google has access to on the internet).

I've decided to add the research page to my link bar on the left.

Great blog with great links

I have to give credit where credit is due and say that a great deal of my good content I blatantly stole from Gravity Lens. I've had their link in my side bar all this time, but I thought I should also plug them here, to alay my guilt (as it's not going to do much else!). So go check it out for science and fiction based content.

Alternative Reality Gaming

I've never heard of this before! It's some kind of gaming culture that is somehow related to the real world, but not. Check out this User Guide for more information and you can look at links to ARGs here at the ARGNet. I have no idea what to think, but I certainly think it's interesting.

Economics for the citizen

Here is a ten part series of essays about some basic economic principles for those of us who don't want a PhD, but wouldn't mind understanding just a bit more about market mechanics. It's always a good idea to have a better understanding of the system that indirectly or directly influences every aspect of your life, don't you think?

Robo Football!

Robots are still so far behind us in some areas. I wonder when the breakthrough will come? Read here about the robo worldcup in germany and here's a cool (and funny!) video with robots playing football (and falling over).

Time perception

New research into the nature of time perception is revealing some interesting things. Though it might not be possible to actually stretch time yet, it might be possible to at least alter your perception of how much time has passed! Now we'll just have to learn how to do more in that time.

Arthur C. Clarke

"any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"

- Arthur C. Clarke

Find his wikipedia entry here and find more quotes from the good man here.

Top 5

I've decided to create a top 5 in my links bar. When ever I find something I like better than what I've got in there, I'll just change the list! So look there regularly for updates. My top 5 links to blog entries, which in turn will have links to what ever website I thought was amazing. Why do I do that? Well, just to keep you on my blog longer, why else?

Virtual Keyboards

This is the invention I've been waiting for! No more need for a physical keyboard! Now to get rid of the screen and relocate the actual processors to somewhere not on your person.

Metalosis Maligna

Very cool short mockumentary about a new disease called Metalosis Maligna. It's a metalic disease that comes about through mutation of implants. I think I'll have to watch these guys for more interesting stuff.

UPDATE: the mockumentary link above is broken! Go here to see the mockumentary again.

Imagining the Tenth Dimension

I think I'll have to watch this another 9 times before I get it, but it still blew my mind. Go to this site and click the flash link 'imaging the tenth dimension' and just watch. If you get it, please be so kind as to explain it to me.

Youth and the internet

Here's an interesting article about where youth go on the Internet. To sum it up in a few words, they are fickle and by the time the corporations have figured out what site is hot, it is probably already a not. Fashion trends are glacial compared to the rate teens change tastes.

Cognitive biases

The subjectivity, objectivity argument is an important one. For that reason people have gone through considerable lengths to describe all the possibible bias traps that we can let ourselves fall into if we don't watch out. If you don't know them, how will you judge whether you're being as objective as you can be?

The Responsibility of the Moderate

I believe moderates of any belief system should be held responsible for the actions of the extremists. Yes, that’s a strong claim, let me tell you why I believe it.

First and foremost, it is the moderates that create an environment out of which the extremists spring forth. It is moderates general tolerance that gives the extremists the room to manoeuvre and ultimately do harm. If the moderates wouldn’t exist that would first of all limit the number of extremists and secondly leave them far more exposed as their beliefs would appear far more abnormal, even to themselves.

Secondly, extremists will never listen to any people who are not at least moderately of their belief (and even then, their listening is limited). How ever much outsiders might be appalled by the behaviour of the extremists, it is only the moderates who have any chance of reigning in their extremist fringes. By not doing so, the moderates are complicit by silent consent.

If the moderates do not monitor extremist groups forming and, failing that, controlling those groups once they’ve formed then these moderates cannot say that they have nothing to do with those groups’ actions. They should instead be held responsible and be held accountable.

A new look at piracy

An alternative view on movie piracy. I'm not sure if you should let yourself be convinced by this, but it is definitely food for thought. For one thing, there is probably currently as much creativity in You tube in one day as the movie studios manage to produce in a year and there is probably a good reason for that.

Traffic in the Sky

Here's the air traffic over America depicted in an animation. This is apparently really used by the U.S. Federal Aviation. It's both interesting in an artistic sense and as a reality adjuster. That's a lot of planes and, by extention, a lot of polution.

Human Upgrades

One day stuff like this might not just be a joke. At least, I think it's a joke. Or I hope it's a joke! If it is, it's a damned elaborate one!

One red paperclip

Kyle MacDonald turned a red paperclip into a house in one year through 14 trades, trading up each time. As a result he's made it into the news and has become a bit of a celebrity.

There is a lesson to be learned here. Something about the ease with which it can all be done with a good idea and some good publicity. I'll get back to you on that one when I've got a better idea what I'm talking about.

Virtual Time Capsule

An internet time capsule is being created and you've only got two days left to contribute! I'm suspecting that you can look at it a whole lot longer than that and if you are late for the contribution, well I'm sure you can still contribute to next years.

Good idea, though. I've always enjoyed the idea of time capsules. I'm even writing letters to myself ten years from now (one each birthday).

A picture a day

This guy has decided to draw a picture a day. Granted, it's not the most original idea, but it is still interesting to watch how a drawing or a 3d model is put together, especially for us untallented types who find drawing a straight line about as easy as actually flying by flapping your arms.

Virtual Bill of Rights

So what rights do you think every netizen should have? The right to expression? Freedom from discrimination? Protection from abuse and foul language?

Should those rights be inshrined in international law? Is the internet another domain entirely? Should we see it as its own country? Should we even go there?

Should we write a Bill of Rights for the internet?

Draw together

Here's a nifty little website called Imagination Cubed that I found mentioned on the BBC Click website and then blatantly stole. It allows you to get together with friends miles away and actually draw pictures. First off course you've got to have friends, so I haven't been able to try it out, but it should be good fun for people who can draw a straight line.

External hard drives of the mind

I don’t like libraries. It’s not that I have something against the concept of libraries, it’s more that I do not agree how that concept has been executed. The rules have usurped the intention.

That’s why I like ideas like Book Mooch, where you send and receive books, which are then yours to do with as you please. Keep and read again and again the ones you like, redistribute the ones you don’t. Good idea, wonder if this one works in practice.

Oh God, I think I'm an Atheist

Most people talk about what they take away with them from a trip abroad. It seems I am not most people, for I would like to explain what I left behind. I left behind my belief in a God. On my trip I brought Richard Dawkins' book 'The God Delusion', which, as you can probably tell, is his attempt to show that there are good and valid arguments for why you don't need to believe in a God to have a carefully thought out and agreeable perspective on the world around you. In fact, he even argues that to believe in God demonstrates that you really haven't thought things out far enough.

He convinced me. From my position in the middle (around that vague area called agnosticism) he pulled me sharply to the atheist camp. Now I don't think anybody is completely convinced there is no God (that is where reason is overtaken by another form of fundamentalism), but he took me just short of as close as you can go.

Now I foretell right now that I'm going to get a lot of flak for this in the future, but I believe am now an Atheist.

Spray Paint Art

I don't actually like this guy's art, but I certainly admire how he makes it. If you're into fantasy landscapes and deep space images (or you admire somebody with artistic ability) check out this link, this one, oh yeah, and this one.

Downloading your mind

Within most of our lifetimes computer technology and neuroscience might have advanced far enough that they will be able to merge. Then brains might be downloadable and our thoughts enhanceable. Barring a mainframe crash that could mean immortality (that is, if you believe the brain is all there is to you). What do you think about that?

Perfect Pictures for an Imperfect World

This ad doesn't just tell one story in 37 seconds, it tells about five. Very effective ad. I truly believe more credit should be given to well made ads. That way we might not have to watch so many bad ones!

Stop Motion Photography

Directly found something wierd and interesting to throw at you. It's called 'Waking up in a Morgue' and it's been shot in stop motion (which is one of those interesting art forms that we see little enough of that it remains fresh).

Back

I just arrived back from Vietnam. I'm not sure what to think, though I enjoyed it. Let me dwell on it for a few days and then get back to you. Admittedly, however, Banana will do a much better job of telling you the what and how, so look there over the next days (weeks?) for updates about our Vietnam perspective.

As for my silence during that period, it was by choice. I just did not have any urge to come close to a computer and I'm quite glad to say that I didn't spend more than ten minutes on one for the entire last twelve days.

Huh?

So is this how my Blog is going to be? I'm not sure this is as satisfying as it could be. Well, I'll have ten days to think about it as I'm gone to Vietnam. Maybe after that I will continue along the same path, or decide for a different method entirely. We will see.

Expect updates sporadically at best for the next few days.

The Economist on the Arab World

This week's Economist has a very sobering and depressing article about how things stand in the middle east. Anybody who has been paying attention with a relatively open mind will know most of whats going on already, but its not often that somebody comes out and says so frankly and honestly what so many people still try to deny.

Well worth the read, don't miss this one.

Limbo

Cool little video. I think its for a new game, but I'm not sure.

Future Home

Here is your future home, or at least, according to the tech companies! For some reason I can't help but think that they might be biased, though.

Second Life

MMORPs are clearly here to stay. Each generation is more impressive (and has managed to suck in more people) than the last. The most popular one out there right now would have to be WoW (World of Warcraft), but that is far from the only one and possibly far from the most impressive one.

You see, WoW plays within a number of specifically defined rules and controls. The game Second Life doesn't do that. It was developed with the aim of allowing the participants to help it evolve, the code written in such a way that with clever work it could be expanded upon.

It's going so far that some people actually have full time jobs in this game, even though they are not affiliated with the creating company. Their incomes aren't huge yet, but large enough to live on. (granted, that is actually the case in many MMORPs, but in Second Life this is actually legal). Oh yes, and one last thing, Second Life is actually free at the most basic level.

Oh and I can't help but put up a link to the South Park Episode about WoW.

I don't think that's relevant

It’s not really about anything, he explained. So it’s about nothing, she asked. No it’s everything, but not really about anything. She didn’t understand, but she knew he was trying to tell her something. That’s the way of it, sometimes, you just can’t get it, though you know it’s very profound. The way the clock ticks through the seconds, the way the water flushes down the toilet, the way the sunlight turns blue as the day fades away.

Blue o’clock, beer o’clock, it’s all really the same thing, a defined moment, an attempt to put limits on miscomprehension. We sit there and we talk about the secrets of the universe, certain in our uncertainty that we can never really truly understand.

Imagine the boredom, if we could. A landscape of dead thoughts and discarded theories that play havoc with our minds of instincts and instances, memories and plagiaries of things that we wished we had experienced but we’d just been told in passing by strangers that wouldn’t be our friends.

Sometimes, it asked, I wish you would just ask me what’s the matter. I didn’t respond to that, I didn’t tell him that the question was really whether I cared. That’s the thing with life, as the end lies near, just behind the corner, waiting to pounce on its next meal, napkin around its neck and an appetite awakened by the smell of death. It’s the stupidity of it all, the lack of a gleam in your neighbours eye.

I’m not very happy with my anus right now, it told me about when it cheated. It’s not very happy with me either. Too much shit flowing out my mouth, so it feels neglected. It feels like there is worms crawling around my stomach, unsure about which way is out, so they burrow their way through the lining of my consciousness, slowly eating their way through my sanity till the whole is joined, patches of light playing through the darkness of her patience.

Communal Music

Have you ever wanted to influence a piece of music that is going to be performed? Here's a program that lets you do exactly that. By picking your way through a network of small music samples you'll help create the next composition that will be played when this piece is next performed.

I just hope they don't perform what I created!

del.icio.us

Socially networked bookmarks! Great idea, or what? This way you can look at what other people have bookmarked and find the real gems on the internet. I've only just become a member myself, so I'm far from sure how everything work, but it sounds like a brilliant idea. Oh, if you want to link onto my network my user name is Symbol. (You'll figure out how to use it if you look at the page.)

Bookmark with you soon.

Alive in Joburg

Here is a ridiculously big animation file (the animation is not so long). It was the first big project done by Neill Blomkamp and though it was a short, it led to him being chosen to do the hugely expensive movie Halo (which isn't out yet, before you start looking for it).

It's quite a download, but it is well worth it.

Blur

The company Blur is a animation company that has made some very impressive shorts. Though they haven't updated their short movies in a while now, the ones that are on their site are still worth the watch.

Two, in particular, are worth watching. The first is The Rough and the second is Rockfish. Unforunately they don't have direct links to either, but you can get there by clicking on 'animations' and 'shorts' from their main page.

Waking Life

So, to continue on this weird theme I’ve got going, I just finished watching the movie Waking Life, by Richard Linklater. Now, this is a weird movie. There is no other way to describe it, but it is both profound and bizarre at the same time, which is quite an accomplishment.

Is it a great movie? I’m not yet sure, I think I’ll need to watch it again a few more times before I’ve decided that, but it is certainly a movie worth watching, if can avoid falling asleep (I’ll tell you straight out that for most people this movie will just not be worth their time).

I think the movie might be slightly too high brow. That’s probably why it ended up in the discount pile in Canada (where a friend of mine bought it for me). It certainly takes a great deal of mental exercise to get through. Some would consider that a good thing, some would just see that as a waste of time. I’ll leave it up to you to decide where you belong.

I’ll just finish by saying this is something that might be profound, or might just be mind bogglingly boring, but at least it won’t be ordinary.

The Elephants Dream

Want to see something weird? Here is a sample from a movie that can be downloaded in full from the Internet, legally.

Some absolute great imagery here for the more open minded. For the rest it will probably just be bizarre.

Update: the sample is apparently actually the whole video, just recorded in bad quality.

Art?

So, is this art? Is it entertainment? Or is it just plain wierd?

Lee Kwan Yew

"Democracy isn't everything"

-Lee Kwan Yew

Look at his Wikipedia entry here

Arrogance Breeds Complacency

Singapore needs to be careful. As a country that is in a relatively unique position of being the regional leader in terms of quite a few fields it runs the risk of becoming complacent. The people believe they are superior to their regional neighbours and the government seems convinced that the country is heading in the right direction. Both might well be right, but what if they aren’t?

The problem with many western countries has been that they believed the same thing for a very long time. Now quite a few are discovering, or should be discovering, that they’ve lost out. They are no longer the most advanced, the most gifted or the most impressive.

Singapore runs the risk of heading down the same path and the problem is that they don’t have centuries of success to fall back upon. Centuries of success make a difference. It makes people more robust, it gives them the confidence to succeed again even after many failures. There is something to be said for previous progress, in that it seems to encourage future progress simply by its presence.

Singapore doesn’t have this advantage and it runs the risk of becoming complacent. It shouldn’t compare itself with its neighbours, instead it should compare itself with the world leaders and realise what it lacks there.

It lacks an independently minded enough people to push the country forward when (not if) the government fails. It lacks an open enough society to try to understand, rather than challenge, any criticisms that are made against it and it lacks the confidence to give its individual people enough power to decide for themselves what direction the country should take.

So I say again, watch out Singapore and make sure your dream isn’t built on quicksand.

Charles Darwin

The complete works of Charles Darwin are now available online, or will be by 2009 (according to the website).

Caught in the Middle

Here's a blog where writings of different middle eastern writers are collected. It's not often that we get to see the views of the other side. Judge for yourself or, better yet, try not to judge at all.

Dark visions of absurdity

The barcodes of his cell are all wrong, here in this seeping gray wasteland of the soul. They talked about it, yesterday, but they couldn’t come to an agreement. He explained that it had to do with the virtual nature of his reality.

Somewhere there is a doorway to arcadia, a place where time is all wrong, but he’s beaten his head into the wall a thousand times to find it and all he has to show for it is blood spatters across the plaster. In the distance the hyenas laugh as they circle the old folks home.

But we try so hard to ignore the guilt on our hands, we try so hard to act as if we hadn’t killed the old bird, but that’s hard, you see, when you can see her form under the carpet, with the wine glasses sliding off the coffee table and staining the floor red with shards of reflected brain matter.

Gnawing at my shoulder I try to escape the madness that slowly, but oh so certainly, creeps into my cereal. Serial numbers with milk and sugar. Coded message of flashes, dots and faeces, flung against the wall by the little old lady that can’t stop crying, even though she ripped out her own eyes. Torn fingernails, like serrated tweezers.

Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts, but then the audience isn’t even there, oblivious to my rantings they pass right by the door to this damp cellar in which she plans her rebellion, as she tries to overthrow reason with her faith in something better.

Nobody listens, with the black and white coded bars forming their reality. Keep out the gray, they explain and you keep in normality. Skid marks down the rabbit hole. No time to wipe as, after all, truth remains firmly fixed in the realm of fairytales.

The search engine finally works up the courage to ask ‘Why’ and the wino explains that its search –‘Why’ – did not match any documents.

Grow your own house

It's not a new idea, but it's the first time somebody is trying it practice.

If the planning commissions don't allow this, then they are demonstrating - without a doubt - that law can hinder necessary innovation.

The view from the other side

What the North Koreans believe.

This kind of stuff always makes me wonder how far I've been indoctrinated.

The problem is that you can never tell how far they've got to you.

God’s Chosen People

We’re always so impressed with ourselves. People argue, all over the world, that we are so perfect in our design and that the world is so beautiful in all its intricacies that it is clear that we must have been created and chosen by God.

For the life of me I still can’t figure out why they believe this argument. It smacks of arrogance, if you ask me.

I think what we truly lack is a comparison to drive home the point of how unimportant we are in the grand scheme of things. It is true that we’ve managed to fight our way to the top of the pile on our planet, but that only seems like quite an achievement as long as you don’t consider how big everything else out there is (look here, here and here to consider it).

But once you realise how small our little ball of water and mud is in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t that make you wonder? Doesn’t it make you think, ‘Gee, why did God put us in orbit around an insignificant sun, in the outer stretches of a rather small galaxy so far away from everything else?’

I think believing that we’re God’s chosen people is very dangerous. It creates a situation where we think we have power and, as we know, power corrupts. Just think of the bullies and the dictators, just think of the military coups and the corrupted politicians. Most of us have that in us, the abusive behaviour, the arrogant disregard for our lessors.

When you think you’re God’s chosen you think of everything as your lesser. You think everybody should bow to your beliefs and follow your ideals, after all, God said you were right.

If, on the other hand, we accept we are not God’s chosen and that nobody out there cares about us but ourselves, then we might have a chance. We might learn some humility and some responsibility (with nobody else but ourselves to blame). We might wake up to the realisation that the universe will not weep at our passing and that in the grand scheme of things our continued existence matters very little.

In the end, the only ones that will care if we fail are ourselves and we won’t have anybody to blame, but ourselves. So we need to learn some humility and take some responsibility and then, maybe, we might actually one day make a difference, many millennia from now.

Dichotomy

I’m having a bit of trouble deciding what to do with this blog. I have a small little book that I use like a place to save my ideas. I use it, without worry, to write down details of the stuff I’m working on, the concepts I’m playing around with and the ideas that I really like. The problem is that I don’t feel I should do that with this website.

This web site is in the public domain and I can never forget that. I have to accept that anything I put up here can be and will be used by other people for their own ends. Concepts will be borrowed, links copied and ideas spun off (yes, I do give myself a lot of credit).

So I could do what other people do, which is only put links to other people’s stuff, but that doesn’t sit quite right with me either. Copying other people’s work is not my true strength. If I can I want to inspire people, I want to offer them ideas and trains of thought that help them do great things (even if only in their own eyes). So I need to find a middle road. I need to give enough, but not too much. I need to facilitate thought without loosing my own ideas.

And so I’m left to wonder, how the hell do you do that?

What is beauty?

This ad examines what reality and the billboards have in common.

A must watch for anybody that thinks they're not pretty enough.

Attosecond

One attosecond is to a second what a second is to the age of the universe.

Look at this Wikipedia entry for more information about what an attosecond is, as well as for what it is used.

Movies

I love movies. Secretly (well, not so secretly) I would love to be a film critic. Even managed to win a prize at one point with one of my reviews.

Any self respecting movie lover wouldn't go without a few very important resources on the internet, though, so I felt it was my duty to put up three links.

The first one is the Internet Movie Database, (imdb for short). Which seems to contain nearly every movie that you'll ever want to look up (so far it has not failed me yet).

The second one is Rotten Tomatoes, which is a review site that takes reviews from many different people and brings them together on one site, also averaging out their score (as well as the users score). They also do other things, but their main strength is still their many reviews on one page.

Then, lastly, there is the Hollywood Stock Exchange, a website which had modeled a stock exchange on upcoming movies and upcoming stars. If you think you know your movies, this is the game for you (plus it's free).

Great websites, that even if already very popular, should be mentioned just in case somebody hadn't heard about them yet.

Einstein

"The problems that exist in the world today cannot be fixed by the level of thinking that created them"

-Einstein

Find more of his quotes here and find his wikipedia entry here

Democracy and Education

I think the haze currently hanging over South East Asia proves that there can be no true functioning Democracy without education. Yes, I realise that to some this is an offensive and shocking statement, but let me try to explain.

The farmers in Indonesia that are currently burning their fields do this because they believe this is the best way to live their life to the fullest. This is how things have been done for generations and if it worked for their parents, why shouldn’t it work for them?

Their perception of the world around them is limited by their lack of opportunity to go abroad, as well as their lack of education as to what lies past their horizon. Their lack of education has made it impossible for them to truly conceive of the damage they are causing elsewhere (let alone to their direct environment).

As a result they continue to behave in a way that is damaging for their neighbours and ultimately damaging for them selves. Their customs were created in a time of thousands, not of millions, and these customs are therefore not calibrated to correctly measure the impact of their actions on their environment. Education, based on the scientific method, is meant to adapt to the changing environment. Customs, on the other hand, are much slower to adapt, or even non-adaptive.

In a non-democratic country the government could then intervene and possibly improve the situation, but in a democratic country the (uneducated) values of the people are (supposed to be) represented in the government, meaning they also do not fully understand why they should intervene.

The first step to a functioning Democracy is, therefore, an aware and educated population, who can understand the significance of their own actions, at home and abroad. Democracy is ultimately ineffective among the uneducated.

The Raven

(Taken from 101 Philosophy Problems by Martin Cohen)

An imperial Court Philosopher is often asked to prove things, such as a Baron’s wager in an argument to the effect that:

All ravens are black

To do this, he realised he would have to find all the ravens in the world, past, present and, ideally, future, and check that they were black. This, it looked like, would take a long time. Alternatively, he thought of a (cunning way) of finding all the non-black things and checking that there were no ravens among them.

‘Find all the non-ravens and check that they are not black’ instructed the Philosopher to his assistant, speaking loosely (and getting confused), as non-ravens could be black anyway.

The problem still was that even if they did find at the time checking that every raven was indeed black, it was possible that the next raven along might be, say, green.

But the Philosopher decided to try and brazen it out anyway, and returned to the Imperial Court with what he hoped was proof that all ravens were, indeed, black. He announced to the assembled group:

‘My Lords and Ladies, the answer is, simply, we define ravens as being black. In which case even, say, a green raven is not a raven at all, merely a green bird withal the characteristics commonly associated with ravens, except that of its colour. None-the-less, it most certainly cannot (by definition) be a raven! All ravens really are black!’ There was a ripple of applause at this. But then the Keeper of the Imperial Ravens stepped forward holding a ghastly, sick-looking bird.

‘But what,’ the Keeper asked, ‘is a raven with a disease which makes its feathers temporarily go green?’

Accelerando

I just found an entire book online. I only read a few pages of it so far, but it looks to be pretty good, so I thought I would share it with you. It's definitely Sci Fi, so if you're into that kind of thing, check it out.

My Girlfriend's Little Sister

(this joke has been blatantly stolen from Kontraband)

I was happy. My girlfriend and I had been dating for over a year, and so we decided to get married.

My parents helped us in every way, my friends encouraged me, and my girlfriend? She was a dream! There was only one thing bothering me, very much indeed, and that one thing was her younger sister.

My prospective sister-in-law was twenty years of age, wore tight mini skirts and low cut blouses. She would regularly bend down when near me and I got many a pleasant view of her underwear.

It had to be deliberate. She never did it when she was near anyone else. One day little sister called and asked me to come over to check the wedding invitations. She was alone when I arrived. She whispered to me that soon I was to be married, and she had feelings and desires for me that she couldn't overcome and didn't really want to overcome.

She told me that she wanted to make love to me just once before I got married and committed my life to her sister. I was in total shock and couldn't say a word.

She said, "I'm going upstairs to my bedroom, and if you want to go ahead with it just come up and get me." I was stunned. I was frozen in shock as I watched her go up the stairs. When she reached the top she pulled down her panties and threw them down the stairs at me.

I stood there for a moment, then turned and went straight to the front door. I opened the door and stepped out of the house. I walked straight towards my car. My future father-in-law was standing outside.

With tears in his eyes he hugged me and said, "We are very happy that you have passed our little test. We couldn't ask for a better man for our daughter. Welcome to the family."

The moral of this story is: Always keep your condoms in your car.

Helping Others Help Themselves

Last night I was thinking, as I got up for my regular midnight pee (small bladder, you know) that you never know who’s going to make it and who’s going to land flat on his ass. I thought about that for a while, especially in connection to my own current state of mind and finances and came to the somber conclusion that things could be better.

My mind had been set a thinking by the resent buy over of You Tube by Google. (I would link to a story, but even my mum knows about this one, so if you don’t know about it you should be ashamed of yourself and go back to whatever primordial puddle you only just crawled out of.) The amount of money given to the creators of that idea was just mind boggling. Just as crazy as for the creators of Skype (actually, in some ways I understood the Skype fees a lot easier than the fees paid for You Tube).

I came to the conclusion that you can never known what’s going to succeed and what’s going to fail. Then I started to think about this new website that had just been set up by my semi-brother-in-law (I’m not actually married to his sister, you see) and I wondered, is he going to make it?

Truth of the matter is, I really don’t know. He’s created an original idea, which I don’t fully understand (probably because I haven’t spent more than ten minutes actually looking at his site), so it could easily go either way. Probability dictates that he’s got a one in ten chance of moderate success, maybe a 1 in a 1000 for ‘never having to work again’ success.

Initially I thought that sounds like bad odds, but then I realised them’s better odds than in any lottery I’ve heard of! So I decided, lets improve his odds a teeny tiny bit (I don’t have enough pull in any circles to do more than that) by putting up his newly minted website on my blog. So I have (banner in the top left corner) and if he ever does get successful, well then I’ll have that extra bit of leverage when I come by his mansion in ten odd years, begging for scraps!

So if you want to do your bit for struggling entrepreneurs of the world (and my future begging chances) then, click, click, click away and visit Want to Trade. Remember, a little generosity goes a long way.

Grow!

It's a difficult job sorting through all the shit on the internet, but somebody's got to do it! True, other people do it a great deal better than I do, but that isn't going to stop me from putting the stuff that I enjoyed the most up here on this blog (giving me a convenient place to go back to to find those links I enjoyed the most (you didn't actually think I was doing this for you, did you? You arrogant bastard!)).

So here is the fantastically original game Grow cube! Try the other grows on the side if you like this one.

If, after that, you've still not had enough, here is another grow made by some people in tribute of the original one.

Them's some wierd dance videos!

I might be late to this scene, but here is some damned wierd dance videos. I have to say two and three are interesting (and show that some people too much time on their hands). Of course number one is a parodie (it doesn't make a great deal of sense until you've seen number two, so it might be a good idea to watch that one first).

Enjoy... I guess.

The Generation Gap

It’s funny how fathers can’t understand their children. Take my dad, for instance. He tries – very hard – to take me for who I am, to accept me, be proud of me and to support me; but he just doesn’t seem to be able to do it. For him there is only one real way forward. You start a career in a company, you work your way up and you become somebody important.

It’s not such a strange idea, really. It means job security, it means a supportive network of people around you, it means identity, corporate understanding and stability. It also signifies something that is not me. I am incapable of the corporate culture. I am a person who doesn’t agree with the hierarchical process of progression inherent in the international organisation. My nature doesn’t accept superiors, especially when I can’t avoid the strong suspicions that those individuals above me are inadequate and possibly even incompetent.

He can’t understand that, however. It just doesn’t agree with how he sees the world. Which is unfortunate, because when I look at him I see somebody that deep down isn’t truly happy. He had to fight throughout his entire experience at the firm and he still fights now, even when he’s retired. He fights with himself now, mainly. He’s given up fighting with us, as we have learned how to deal with him.

There is wisdom in what he has to say, no doubt. How could there not be? After all, he’s had sixty years to learn and he’s always put food on the table and a roof over our head. Somehow, though, what he has to say always comes out angry, confused and bitter.

Tonight was one of the first time where we were able to disagree for longer than fifteen minutes without shouting. We still couldn’t come to an agreement, but at least there were no angry words and his walking away from the room only lasted for a few minutes, as he went inside the restaurant to pay.

He is a kind man. He truly does have a golden heart and means the best for me. It’s just so unfortunate that he’s such a difficult man. I wish, deep down, that we could talk better, but I’m just as unwilling to back down from my own beliefs as he is to back down from his.

Hostel (2005)

I don’t think there are many movies which are significant in a specific year, but I am convinced that Hostel was one such movie for the year 2005. The acting wasn’t particularly good, nor was the budget particularly big, but it was none-the-less a significant movie in the western horror genre.

‘Why?’ I hear you ask. Well, let me tell you. Hostel does something new. It doesn’t just show the mind of the hunted, it also shows the minds of the hunters, the psychology of the killer and the concept of what the rich will do to get their thrills.

I don’t want to give too much away about what the movie is about, but I hereby would like it to be noted that I say this now, not later, when everybody else is saying it. Of course I can’t be sure that everybody else will be saying it, but if they don’t then that just goes to show that not every great movie is discovered or recognised.

Yes, I am waffling. Just make sure you watch it, if you like the unpredictable, the original and actually manage to get your hands on a copy.

Tacitus

"The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise. "

-Tacitus

Find more quotes from Tacitus here and his wikipedia entry here.

It’s my life!

I am not dependable. That is the long and short of it. Though I mean well and always try to do my best, I find that I don’t do everything I should, often forgetting or postponing semi-important activities. As you might well understand, this greatly frustrates the people around me and, what is more, makes them unwilling to take the risks they might otherwise take.

My poor dependability is the handbrake of my life. Having grown more and more aware of this problem I have decided that it has got to stop. For that reason I have started to work harder at being dependable. I don’t know if I will ever be as good as my girlfriend (one of the most dependable people I know), but I do know I will be better than I am now.

The first step is to collect all my old magazine articles and other writing material, fill my portfolio with them and then start sending them out to people interested in free lance writers. I know quite a few of people are looking for writers right now and I would be a fool not to fill out my portfolio further (as well as earn the extra money that freelancing would bring).