mixing alcohol and physics?

From my calendar:

"Warning: consumption of alcohol may obstruct the space-time continuum. Small, and sometimes large gaps of time may disappear from your memory bank."

Now, who has never experienced this phenomenon?

living a second life...

Meet LJ (not her SL name).She is me. At least, in Second Life she is me. She is my avatar; she represents me in the online world known as Second Life. She looks a little like me – except for the weird sideburns and the fact she looks a little Russian. It’s pretty close. But the joy is, she doesn’t have to be. She doesn’t have to be female, in Second Life (SL) she could be a man, woman, alien, animal – it doesn’t matter.

LJ had a pretty uneventful start. She walked into a lot of trees, waded in a few rivers, and walked into a lot of walls during her orientation. Actually, she still walks into a lot of walls. She spent two days on the help island before she took her first brave steps onto the main grid (where most SL residents are). And then she took them again. And again. And again before she realised her graphics card couldn’t cope with very high resolution and she managed to make it into the bustling help area. Which she left again as soon as humanly possible. In her first ten minutes, she was propositioned for sex, saw a big red ball bouncing around the welcome area, hid from a monster, and got totally obscured by an array of bubbles.

Needless to say the whole experience was a little overwhelming. At this point LJ was beginning to wonder what she had gotten herself into with this SL malarkey. Luckily, she remembered a notecard that advertised a place called ‘Spaceport Alpha’ – the International Spaceflight Museum (ISM), and she embarked upon her first adventure.

If anything was going to make or break the experience, this would have been it. LJ is a self confessed nerd, and this is almost as nerdy as it comes. Put it this way, LJ doesn’t have a home in SL, but she does keep going back to the ISM. (A side note from the biographer – if this place existed in RL (Real Life) you wouldn’t need SL). Still struggling to stick to paths, and rambling through many trees, LJ began her exploration – by talking to another SL resident about all the weird things in SL. IT might be an interesting side not to mention that this resident had the appearance of a 2ft black cat.

LJ was very impressed with the museum. Especially the ‘Low Earth Orbit’ exhibit where you can tour the solar system close up, view the International Space Station, and the Hubble Space Telescope. (Biographers side note – Likelihood is I’ll never see these in RL, so SL will have to do) Geeky fact that LJ noticed was that the description of Earth reads ‘mostly harmless’ (a wonderful reference to Douglas Adams). Back on the ground, the Saturn V rocket and the Space Shuttle were most interesting to see, it was even possible to walk all the way up the launch tower alongside the Saturn V – although one wrong step at the top meant a rather fast plummet to the ground. LJ (unhurt) decided that in the future it would be much simpler to fly.

The museum was relatively quiet, but LJ did meet some people – even someone who seemed quite ‘normal’ by SL standards. And this was how the next adventure occurred. LJ was taken on a magic carpet tour of Nantucket (a region in SL) which is a New England-esqe Sim and saw the un-tackiest and most normal place in SL. It was pretty, quiet, and she also picked up some of the jargon and saw a bit of the main grid.

So far LJ has met people from America, Belgium, Ireland, Israel, and the UK. Of course no one in Second Life is who they appear (with the exception of the few big names who have kept their identity in SL). And that is perhaps the charm of SL; anyone can go and be someone completely different. There is no ‘face’ to maintain. No image to live up to. You can be a geeky or as extrovert as you want. There is something for everyone. The only proviso is – if it’s not so mainstream, it may be a more difficult to find (so just like RL).

So with one or two new friends, LJ signed off for a while (it was 2am), happy in the knowledge that she had survived the experience to log back in another day. After all, one of the things she noted before she logged out was the existence of a number of Star Trek museums in SL. And those are definitely worth a return visit.

SL is getting bigger. The big corporations are taking notice. Reuters has an office in SL, major clothing brands are creating virtual stores. SL even has its first millionaire in Anshe Chung, the property tycoon with an online empire. Second Life keeps hitting the press, sometimes for good things, sometimes not so good things. But it’s all publicity. It’s a big machine with a lot to gain (and a lot to lose). As the hype grows, the residents increase. When I came online about a month ago there were usually about 16,000 people online at peak times. As I write there are 26141 residents online. Maybe it’s a fad, maybe its not. It may be the next logical progression in communication. From the days of IRC chat, to message boards and live chatrooms, now it is interactive in a way we could never imagine. One conversation LJ had in SL was about how the SL world is akin to the Holodeck in Star Trek. The Holodeck is a virtual world, an interactive form of entertainment – so is SL – aside from the lack of actual holograms, the SL environment has only one main difference – instead of interacting with virtual characters, you interact with real people.

I think Second Life may stay around for quite a while if its current popularity is anything to go by.

is Google taking over the world... and is it a bad thing?

Google has become a synonym for success. It had grown exponentially from a garage to a googleplex in very little time. It has become a monolith, a monopoly and even a verb! Add to that it there are ever more graduates of Google labs every day. There are tools for every occasion –Maps, Calendars, E-mail (Gmail), Spreadsheets, Photo Editing tools (Picasa), Academic Service (Google Scholar) and the acclaimed Google Earth (even though it is by no means the best free map service on the Internet), and of course, Blogger. Blogger is a fairly recent acquisition, as to is YouTube . Youtube is the most likely to cause a dent in Google – it is currently subject to hundred of copyright issues over the use of protected content. But there are plenty of things that Google doesn’t own – yet – Flickr (Yahoo), Second Life (Linden Labs), and Skype to name but a high profile few.

Google has become almost all encompassing. But why are so many people opposed. Some of the best services have been those which are not subject to the forces of competition. The problem is that until there is something worse, people don’t realize what they’ve got. Think of nationalized railways – they were seen as unfair and not allowing business to flourish – and now they’re gone we are left with expensive and relatively poor services. If there was no Google, we would be at the mercy of all the small companies – think of all the flotsam and jetsam on the ‘net. Pretty good thing then that Google can be relied upon. There is an argument that the ever expanding presence of Google is taking away the ‘independence’ of the Internet. But I think that actually the Internet is plenty big enough for everyone to have say and stand a chance.

Google has made the Internet easy for people. Blogging is now easier than ever before, there is no need to buy expensive software to make things like spreadsheets and website design easy. The Picasa tool provides everything that the home user really needs from a photo suite. For the more technically minded there is now a 3D sketch tool (linked to Google maps). Google isn’t doing a bad thing by making the web more accessible to people who otherwise never would venture far online. The Internet has long been the preserve of the ‘Uber –geek’, and to be honest it’s been a bit elitist. I would consider myself a bit of a nerd, but why would I want to spend hours coding my Blog, when with Blogger’s tools, I can tweak it a little and get on with the business of writing like this. For some people it’s about all process of creating a site, but for others it’s more of a matter of what they put on it. At the end of the day for some it’s about the journey and some it’s about the destination. Google is just working to make it a little less difficult for those who are interested in the destination.

No matter all the argument and debate over the nature and purpose of Google, we are pretty much guaranteed that it is here to stay. And it’s just going to get bigger.

unpacking the package holiday...

Package holidays have gained a reputation over the years. They are seen as the haven of the family, visions of harassed mothers. ballroom dancing, karaoke, and kids clubs all spring to mind at the very thought. I imagine in the summer the package holiday would be something reminiscent of a nightmare - at least for me.

But in the winter, it turns out its actually quite a pleasant experience. Four of us travelled to Tunisia (yes, I went with people this time!) for one weeks full-board at the Hotel Tour Khalef in Sousse courtesy of Thomson.

Now I'm not going to go into the details - that would be boring. But I'm going to pass on a few tips to make the most of the package holiday.

We were lucky - our hotel had two great Dance Leaders (for the 'young at heart' travellers) who did a number of walking tours of local sights (for free no less) - and very helpfully around the hotel complex itself (so on our first day we found the cheapest water, the local Internet cafe, and had an idea about what to expect from the local area).

As on all package tours you have the trips and tour organised by the operator. We did a couple of these - well - one day trip and a couple of activities. The best activity we did (well it was so good we did it twice) was a quad biking trip. If you imagine quad biking here - usually a 'dirt track with a couple of bumps' to quote James. In Tunisia, to borrow an Americanism - it was Awesome! We were riding for a good hour, down dirt tracks off-road, with huge holes and steep hills, even a bit of riding on actual roads!

Some of the trip was decidedly tacky - the Reps gave a 'welcome' sales pitch - of the more expensive excursions, there was Karaoke and Kids Clubs, and all that malarkey going on. To be honest though, all these things are what you make of them - we went Ballroom dancing and Line dancing and thoroughly enjoyed it even if it did prove that I had two left feet!

All in all it was a good holiday. We did a lot and saw a lot. It was a quiet time of year with it being the week before Christmas. I would never try it in the summer, and a week was the right length of time. If I was there for longer I think I'd need to go off and do some proper travelling and not stick to the tour operator plans.

Oh yeah - and one other note - go swimming in the sea the week before Christmas, even in Tunisia, it doesn't half look odd!

on life...

Since the early philosophers, we have been seeking out the answer to life (the universe and everything). There have been a great many answers, and much discourse. In giving the answer '42' Douglas Adams had it right. We don't even know the question. But we are no closer to the 'big' answers. As humans we are all unique, and we are all different. History has demonstrated that there can never be 'one' answer to anything. So why try? Maybe, just maybe, its not all about the big answers. Perhaps it was never supposed to be.

I think the meaning of life is down to each individual. We are all searching for our own purpose, our own meaning of life. We make choices and decisions every day in our own personal quest for 'the' answer. Our unique answer. Its the decisions we make every day - big and small. And its all ours.

The answer may have been there all along. We just didn't ask the right question.

poor neglected blog...

I was reminded earlier today that I have neglected this Blog a little over the last month or so. I've still been writing - just struggling to finish anything. A minor tendency to get distracted, a holiday, Christmas, a new job - all the sort of stuff you should be reading about but I haven't had the opportunity to inspiration to finish writing about.

Plus, I spend all day at work staring at computer screens - the last thing I want to do is spend more time staring at them when I get home. I know - not very nerdish of me. So, I've got stuff on paper everywhere with not an ending in sight.

I'm sure it will be good when I'm done.

In the meantime, I'll try and post a little more regularly.

Over and out.

have you ever seen a penguin company?

Stocktake, originally uploaded by moonshine037.

This tickeld me when I saw it in the paper on Friday.

losing the magic in the 21st Century...

Remember the magic of Christmas as a child? I do.

Before I went to bed we would put out a mince pie and a glass of wine for Santa, and sometimes even a carrot for the reindeer. I would be so excited I could barely sleep, and maybe only slept for a few hours, sometimes with considerable bribery from mum and dad.

Christmas morning was magical. It may not have been a white Christmas, but the presents under the tree affirmed my faith that there really was a Santa Claus, and that I was special enough for him to visit. There were always things that remained the same, year on year. Always an orange in my Stocking, the glass of wine would be drunk, only crumbs remaining of the mince pie.

For many years Christmas was a day of fun. Playing with toys, building Lego, eating Christmas dinner, watching all those old movies that are on year after year. Christmas was a time of family, a time of fun, and a time of magic.

And what has Christmas become?

The Christmas season begins earlier and earlier each year. Barely are the ‘back to school’ goods off the shelves, then the Christmas trees and musical Santa’s are there to taunt us at every turn. It is not uncommon to see Witches broomsticks alongside Snowmen. Towns turn their Christmas lights on as early as November.

This is not because there is a desire to extend the magic, or for any other sentimental reason. Christmas has become a retail enterprise. It begins earlier only so that the unsuspecting consumer spends more. Parents who cannot afford the long build up to Christmas are made to feel guilty that they cannot provide what little Johnny wants and all his friends are going to get.

Santa is no longer cool. His credibility is lost at a much younger age than in Christmas past. Where Children as old as ten used to still believe, the loss of innocence happens during the early years of Primary Education. Children would rather be in the real world it would seem. The guise of Santa is simply flaunted as another way for the retail industry to make money.

The Nativity story is barely known. Children are as likely to learn about Hanukkah as any other festival. (Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for teaching other religions, but the traditionalist in me believes that at Christmas the story of Christmas should be taught.)

So if the story is lost, the meaning is lost. And we have a generation of children growing up believing that the true purpose of Christmas is material gain. Not magic, not family, not much of anything really.

So if the magic is gone. What now?

I’ll admit I’m struggling with Christmas this year. I really am. I have yet to write cards. I have bought only essential gifts. And as you can see, I have become more than a little cynical about the whole thing.

There isn’t anything I can do to change the way the world is approaching Christmas. I think maybe I need to rediscover the meaning of Christmas. I know I can never go back to the magic of my childhood Christmases, but perhaps there is a way to make my own magic now.

We’ll see.

perspective or perception?

Perspective [noun]… 3. Mental view of relative importance of things.

We often talk of ‘putting things in perspective’ What we mean is taking a step back and looking at our situation in a more objective manner, to try and see what is really important. The idea is we will step beyond the ‘now’, count our blessings and realise we were worried about nothing in the first place.

Yeah. That’s the theory. You just try putting that into practice.

The truth is we don’t need perspective. We need perception.

Perception [noun]…art or faculty of perceiving.

Perceive [verb] 1. Become aware of ones senses. 2. Apprehend. Understand.

Our individual perceptions of the world around us shape the reality we experience. We are coloured by our life experiences, attitudes and values, and we essentially make up our reality as we go along. It’s the joy of being an individual. And the curse.

We all say we need to get ‘some perspective’. But we don’t need to step back and see the world more objectively. Why try and see the world objectively? No one really does. Maybe what we need to do instead is change our perception, or at least try to perceive the world through someone else’s eyes. We all have our own reality after all.

So if we try and understand another person’s perception, we will understand their reality a bit better. And that may be all the perspective we need.

It gets better... right?

I’m in one of those weeks that never seems to end. How is it that there is a direct correlation between how crappy you feel and how slow time passes. Why can’t time slow down when life is good and speed past the not so good bits?

It’s like driving in fog. No matter how far you go, you never seem to come out of it. You may think the fog has lifted but its just an illusion. I’m trying to keep busy, but the second I stop, that weight comes crashing back down again. I guess time is like many things – completely in the eye of the beholder.

I’ve always been a believer that things work themselves out in the end. But my question is – Why does everything turn go wrong all at once? Is it Karma? All I could really use is for something to go right this week.

But I guess that’s hoping for too much.

on accents...

So, I was listening to the Babylon podcast earlier on - the interviewee was Claudia Christian. On the show, her accent was a a neutral American accent, despite her character being Russian. She grew up with a German-accented mother and and Irish-accented father. And now she speaks with a noticeable English accent. The Americans running the show found this quite 'odd' to say the least.

The Americans, in my experience struggle with accent recognition, and yet are immensely fascinated when faced with someone who speaks different to themselves. There is no 'one' American accent, it varies by area as it does here and elsewhere. But the fact remains, someone who talks different is going to be noticed.

Perhaps it is their lack of exposure to foreign media, movies and TV? Most Americans I know only seem ever to have heard of Monty Python and Blackadder Whereas most of the television I watch and enjoy are products from across the Atlantic.

We are more attuned to different accents in this country not only because a large proportion of our population now comes from overseas in their first, second, third generations, and some considerably more than that. Add into that we are still a Commonwealth of 53 diverse nations, with soldiers from these nations still swearing their allegiance to the Queen and settling into the economic life of this country.

And I cannot discount the European influence on our appreciation of accents. Being a member of the European Union has made it easier for travel and trade to happen across borders, and we think very little of hopping on a plane to the ski slopes of Austria, or the Spanish Costa's, or the Beer halls of Germany. Once there we are exposed to a multitude of people and cultures and languages. Hearing a foreign accent has become of second nature to us. We call our bank and we are as likely to talk to someone in India as we are to someone at home. It has become a feature of everyday life.

The more you are exposed to something, the less of an impact it has. And if you live in a country where people are less likely to travel outside their own borders and few tourists ever visit. A foreign accent is going to stand out like a sore thumb.

Whats your (guilty) pleasure?

Each of us has our guilty pleasures, whether we admit it or not. Those things we know we should not like, but for some inexplicable reason, we are drawn to like a moth to a flame.

I have to admit it – my guilty pleasure is Grey’s Anatomy.

In a nutshell, Grey’s Anatomy follows the lives and loves of the interns (and doctors) of Seattle Grace Hospital as they complete their surgical internships. Grey’s Anatomy has become immensely popular in the US, even beating long running and established shows like CSI in the ratings war. At only 3 seasons old, Grey’s is a relative infant, but it has taken the US by storm.

So the question arises – what has made Grey’s Anatomy so popular? And why is it a guilty pleasure?

Today’s answer comes from the part of me that indulges in the guilty pleasure of Greys Anatomy:

Greys Anatomy is so addictive because it is character centred. All the relationships that are so fleeting in other shows are allowed to develop and grow on Grey’s Anatomy. Why wait for 6 years waiting for Grissom and Sara to get together on CSI, only to find out that it did happen, and what’s worse, it all happened off air. In Grey’s Anatomy, we get to see it all. Feelings dictate actions, not the other way around. It is what CSI started with Sara Sidle, but those who were opposed to character-in-CSI hated to see. Whereas from the first Grey’s Anatomy episode, we knew that the long-running ‘will they won’t they’ between Meredith and Derek was going to be important. It’s a soap set in a hospital at the end of the day. And that’s what makes it a ‘guilty pleasure’ – soaps are meant to do that. You shouldn’t want to be nosy. And I think that’s why Grey’s Anatomy will be a success. Because it’s the way that who has ever wanted two characters on TV show to get together would like TV to be, and at least we can enjoy it on Grey’s Anatomy. On Grey’s Anatomy no one is perfect and there isn’t always a happy ending but the voiceovers at the beginning and end of the show have become a trademark of sorts, and highlighted the more serious character developments and issues. And most importantly, they make you think.

All I ask is a blank piece of paper and a pen to write with…

I was reading the other day that Blogging is becoming more and more popular, with thousands of Blog’s starting up everyday. And I can see why.

I have always enjoyed writing. There is something about the creative process, of transferring thoughts and idea into prose and narrative. I always thought that the best use of my love of the written word would be writing fiction, but having discovered Blogging, I realise that perhaps it isn’t. Most of my fiction remains unfinished, the muse having disappeared. I have a collection of beginnings, middles, endings, dialogues and outline ideas, but very little finished work. Most of it will never see the light of day.

In Blogging I have found a natural expression, a way of transferring my thoughts and ideas in whatever way I choose. Short or long, one sided or an in depth piece, it is mine to mould as I see fit. I may not post everyday, but I write everyday. It may be an essay on politics or a scribbled note on a scrap of paper but the thoughts and ideas are my own. I have nothing to prove and nothing to gain.

And I find in this form of expression that I can finish what I start.

watching and waiting...

Inspiration is a funny thing. You can sit for hours waiting for it to come with no success, and then, when you least expect it – it comes from nowhere and often at the most inconvenient time.

I’ve spent ages trying to write fiction, but when I set time aside to write, I am usually left with a blank page. I do my best work late at night when I really should be asleep and when I was young and at school, I always did my best work when I was supposed to be concentrating on other classes. I have come to realise that inspiration cannot be forced, and that it can come from the most unlikely of sources. In any creative activity it is outside stimuli that act as the point of inspiration, whether this is personal knowledge, an overheard conversation, or a newspaper headline. After all the use of imagination is what makes the world go round. All inventions are based on inspiration and imagination in some guise. I have learned that you just need to keep your mind open.

A little inspiration can go a long way. Just hang on in there. That little inspiration will hit, and you probably won’t see it coming. But when it does it will open up a world of possibilities.

If you truly seek inspiration, it is definitely worth the wait.

seeing is believing

Watching CSI last night I watched the episode “Turn of the Screws”, which involves rollercoaster’s. At the end Grissom is talking to the guy who maintains the rollercoaster, and they talk about great ‘coasters. Right at the end they mention ‘The Beast’ and ‘Son of Beast’, two of the ‘coasters at Kings Island, Cincinnati, OH.

I have ridden both of those ‘coasters (before Son of Beast was involved in an accident that hurt a bunch of people about a week after I rode it). The Beast was a really cool ride. It was fast, wooden, and really quite cool. Son of Beast on the other hand was too big, too fast, and too furious. I felt like my brain had been bounced around inside of my head when I got off. John had hurt his knees. I think we all felt pretty battered. Maybe a trip in a washing machine would have been more comfortable. But the park was really quite cool. It was definitely an experience to remember with lots of different rides (which really were quite different not the same on a theme like some parks.

I think the main thing about my trip was the variety of things I did. Much more than I would have done back home in the same amount of time! I went to places I have seen on TV, and I now here them talk about on shows. How cool is that?! Same sort of thing with New York and Chicago – I now see those places on TV and in movies.

moments in time...

Firey Sunset,
originally uploaded by moonshine037.

There is something about the sky that fascinates me. Not just the science behind it (although that is interesting), but the 'fluidity'. I've been taking photos of skies for a while and something about them has been bugging me.

A photo of the sky is like a snapshot of time, like moments, they can only come once, and will never be the same again. The sky moves, it is always alive. If you take a photo of the sky, its liek you are preserving that moment, to share it with people not lucky enough to share that single moment in time. Time is fleeting, and as I get older, it seems to go quickly, even on a really slow day it is soon past. Every time I see a stunning sky I am reminded to treasure every moment, because it can never come again.

Plus - skies are just really cool!

opportunities and ideas

While I was working in America, every morning at breakfast, somebody had a big idea for the day. The idea is to inspire the boys, to give them something to think about as they start the day. I gave a big idea once a week. It is something I really do believe in.

I’ll tell you my big idea for today…

“My big idea is… ‘To take advantage of every opportunity’.

At Camp – to do merit badges and other fun activities

Through Scouts – to do fun things, see places, and grow as a person

In life – seize new challenges and experiences and make the most of them

So take advantage of every opportunity and you never know where you’ll end up!”

I did the same big idea each week for each new group of boys. I always did it on a Wednesday, in the (probably futile) hope that it would inspire just one boy to come to my presentation on the UK that evening. What I didn’t realise was quite how much of an impact it had on the other staff members. I guess I noticed that a couple of people started saying “take advantage of every opportunity” in a very ‘English’ accent for a couple of weeks but in the last week I was lucky enough to have my Big Idea stolen and given to the entire breakfast sitting in an ‘English’ accent.

It seems that my idea really did get remembered. Maybe because I have a different accent to everyone else, or maybe because it is actually a really great piece of advice.

So there you go – take advantage of every opportunity and you never know where you’ll end up!

hehe

My pirate name is:

Mad Anne Kidd

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

1701

Ok, so I spotted this on Wikipedia, and the first thing that I noticed was the resolution number.

Thats right 1701 is...

...the registry number from the Starship Enterprise!

It actually seems quite apt that a resolution aimed at bringing an end to the hostilities in the Middle East is representitive of the Enterprise. I only hope that as the Enterprise was a ship of peace promoting unity and non-aggression, that the resolution bearing her number has the same impact on such a troubled region.

Well, here's hoping...

the news today...

Today the news has been filled with the attempted terrorist plot to detonate bombs on flights from the UK to the US. It has caused massive disruption and I'm sure you've heard.

What gets me, is the people who complain about the security measures that have been brought in (see this site for the measures) Yes, these measures are incredibly restrictive, and it will cause difficulties for some people, but at the end of the day, if I were traveling, I would rather have the inconvenience of using a plastic bag that getting blown up. People don't really have perspective in these situations - they just see the immediate effect on themselves.

A few days ago this could have affected me. A lot of flights were cancelled today because of the same security alert. People were stranded all over the world as flights were delayed or cancelled. If you get to the airport, and the line is out of the door do you a) join the line, or b) cut your losses and go home, or c) find another route? What make me laugh is that people actually join the line! I suppose if you are in another country its a bit different, but if its because you're going on your summer holiday, its already effectively been over-shadowed and most cases ruined by that point... So really, what is the point. If I'd still been in New York, I'd have headed back to Illinois - 800 miles the wrong way!

Anyway, I think that's probably enough for now...