Welcome to Dino Ravings
The thoughts on this page are only ravings, merely passing thoughts and distorted truths. They are one world view, no more valid then any view and not necessarily my real views.
There are also lots of great links to sites and pictures.
12 October 02
Wow, two years have flown. Two years towing the line in the UK, keeping opinions to myself and my head down. OK so maybe I am exaggerating or out and out lying, but the two years have flown and I am more aware about the social norms in this fine land of lads and lasses. My parents have just been over for three weeks. We sure appreciated those sleep in and romantic dinners out, while they looked after our wee laddie. My Gran died which is really sad, even if it was peaceful for her. She was a nice loving person, I loved her a lot.
Lots has happened, in two years. About 90,000 Americans have been killed in car accidents and 3,000 died in a terrorist attack. Funny that we hear 3 million times more about the 3,000 who dies than the 90,000. GW Bush should get Congress to allow him to attack Detroit, if he is worried about future loss of life.
My importantly our son was born and is now a total genius at 17 months. He is gorgeous, funny and way smart. Reed said his first sentence today, "Bye-bye ducks", he got such a big reaction from mumma and dadda, that he said it over and over.
Number two is now on the way. I have the twelve weeks scan in front of me on the desk, at 6.2cm long everything is looking fine.
08 February 00
Yefuckingha work is over for almost two weeks. Joanie and I set sail for Antigua tomorrow, well we fly, but set sail feels so much better. Work is really stressful at the moment, with little relief in site. So much is going on that I don't know where to start, so here is some brain candy a quick quiz and a quote from one of the newsletters I read.
Did you choose?It is time to elect the world leader, and your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates:
Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologers. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.
Candidate B: He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whisky every evening.
Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital affairs.
Which of these candidates would be your choice?"
Did you choose:
Candidate A : Franklin D. Roosevelt
Candidate B : Winston Churchill
Candidate C : Adolph Hitler
No way am I a fascist, it is just interesting to think about morals and perspectives we have on people.
"The whole gospel of Karl Marx can be summed up in a single sentence: Hate the man who is better off than you are. Never under any circumstances admit that his success may be due to his own efforts, to the productive contribution he has made to the whole community. Always attribute his success to the exploitation, the cheating, the more or less open robbery of others. Never under any circumstances admit that your own failure may be owing to your own weakness, or that the failure of anyone else may be due to his own defects - his laziness, incompetence, improvidence, or stupidity." Henry Hazlitt
100100 (today is one hundred one hundred day) 10 January 2000
It has been too long since I wrote on these pages, but keep coming back, as I will write more about what I am thinking, reading, subscribing, listening, viewing and laughing about. Andrew Newton just called, he is returning from a sensational week skiing. Gorgeous peaks and pinnacles, glaciers, Mont Blanc, sun sun and only sun, great food from the hostess with the mostest (phrase ripped from A Newton who ripped it off bad TV game show host who no doubt ripped it from elsewhere) I speak so fondly of newtsies last week, as I was with him. Staying at the excellent Ski l'Alpage.Back to Andrew later, I will let him speak for himself tomorrow.
I started this as I thought of Democracy. What a crockostempwegel democracy is. Bold statement, perhaps a writers jest to peak your interest. The Australian Republican debate sparked my interest and has influenced my thinking. Democracy is the same as aristocracy. In the UK what is this joke about getting rid of the lords, the new lords are just kicking out the old lords. Some people just have the need to be in power, some people think they can make a difference, some people can make a difference. But in the end there is just more rules. How many acts of parliament do you really agree with, how many do we really need, 10 was enough rules in the near past. My rule, my morality is summed up in this long->
- let there be rules to organise complex systems, like driving,
- let anyone do whatever they want so long as it harms no-one else or their property,
- don’t have lawyers (sorry Tony, but you will still be the best arguer) all argument should be solved within twenty sentences,
- be good feel good do good,
- look beyond but realise the need for some to look back.
9 August 1999
A long weekend of movies with the blockbusters being duds and the videos coming up trumps, see the reviews here Movie Reviews. Joanie took off for Thousand Oaks outside of LA for the week and I sorted out my affairs before a couple hours of tennis. We're planning to spend Chistmas in NYNY, but one fo us has to get around to organising it, so who knows.5 August 1999
Cambridge bound on WAGN, 55 minutes form London KingsX to Cambridge. I'm working down in Southamton these days, and I hope these days continue for a while. It is a total drag being away from Joanie, but now that I have Fridays off, it is only three nights a week that I am away, and three days of leisure sure is appealing. I am working for an ultra security obsessed company, I'm sure it would be easier to join the CIA than get a pass to the coffee machine at this place.
Dan Wilson is in town tonight on his way to the Ultimate world championships in St Andrews, Scotland. It will be good to catch up with him.
20 July 1999
Net nerd dino coming atya. I just received, via postman pat, three cool CDs. Two bands I'd never heard of and the second release of the Chemical Brothers, all three purchased on the net. The net is a sensational shopping mall for CDs. Listen to a few tracks in the comfort of your home, find almost any CD quickly, no attitude, delivered to your door, discount prices, and in this case two great "new" bands discovered. Enough net hype the bands are The Beta Band JJJJJ and Cibo MattoJJJJ The Chemicals new release is "to be expected" and scores JJJ Check out my brief reviews here Review theWorld music buying is even cooler at places like Crunch Music, buy the tracks you want!! Keeping with the musical feel, Real Audio's RealJukebox is the best software I have loaded on my laptop in '99. It records CDs with ease, has playlists, random et al, now I groove to funky sounds whenever I compute.
I saw Hackers JJJ last night, it is probably only three years old, but is already so outdated it seems like an 80's movie. It has inspired me to go blading though, so plant you now dig you later, I miss RRR.
5 July 1999
The world as we know it is still here. Nostradamus was wrong or at best a shade off, maybe the world will end in a week or so. If only there was such certainty in life then we would all act now. Ummm, just a thought, but maybe life is that certain, after all it is possible to look at your life picture and act as you think or fell is right for the time. I have a strong life picture, probably most people with my personality type have or will build their own life picture - the big picture people. We are no better or worse than other personality types; however, in every single way one type is better than the others and one type really sucks at that single task.
Yesterday was a big day for our American brethren, July 4 Independence Day, free from English rule. Oh and how American has boomed ever since. The Poms sure do have great and timing of humour, deep rooted in almost every English person, but the Septics sure can capitalise, industrialise, computerise, netise and drug like no-one else. Dina and Paul, amigos living in San Francisco, related their own American and Australian views on Independence Day. In general americans were confirmed as brain washed, neurotic freaks, but at least they have lots more songs to patriotically sing (funny, but I usually seem to like americans).
De le Guarda is amazing, if you ever get a chance to see this acrobatic, evocative performance you should do so. Joanie and I went along with Darrell and Susan is see this stunning performance at the Roundhouse in Camden.
28 June 1999
Joanie and I saw The Matrix last night. What a sensational film, the logical progression from T2. We were both really excited after the movie. The concept is similar to many of my own concepts and future views. Tonight I decided it is time for an action plan for the worst type of future shock.
27 June 1999
Two weeks of Spanish sunshine sure does give a boy a long time to read, reflect, renew and refresh his perspective. So whose thoughts and stories have filled me over our Andalucia sojourn. Alex Garland must come first as two of his stories thrilled and entwined me, first The Beach captivated me in its story telling and then The Tesseract showed Garland will entertain for years to come. The Beach is well worth a read by all with an interesting insight into the mind of world travelers and trashed perspective of Thailand, I haven't seen the movie and with Leonardo Crap leading I probably won't, but I'm sure the book as usual will be the better media. Then there was a great sci-fi collection, the Nebula awards for 1998 and Boyd's Armadillo was earlier in the picture, both a re worth a read. In there somewhere was my favourite authour, Carl Hiassen with his very readbale Lucky You.
I learnt this today courtesy of Alex Garland. Take six cubes and arrange them in the shape of a crucifix. Take two more cubes and stick them either side of the crucifix, at the point where the cross is made. Then you have a tesseract. A tesseract is a three dimensional object. A tesseract is also a four-dimensional object - a hypercube unraveled.
A Square unravels to a line. Two dimensions unravel to one.
A cube unravels to a cross. Three dimensions unravel to two.
A hypercube unravels to a tesseract. Four dimensions unravel to three.
I have often tried to imagine how a four dimensional object would look. Now I have a starting point, although that does not help a lot.
Spain was great, two many memories to list here. I will get the 96 photos developed tomorrow and the photos will be HERE soon. Highlights include olives, tapas, spanish arses, costs de luz, El Chorro, Susan and Darrell, two weeks with Joanie, Cruzcampo cervaza "dos cana", seafood, great food and vistas.
23 May 1999
My rambling thoughts have been crystallised by the thoughts of Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini in Inevitable Illusions: How Mistakes of Reason Rule Our Minds.
The premise of the book is simple and compelling. Just as optical illusions exert a trick on our eye, so "cognitive illusions" exert a trick on our minds. Cognitive illusions involve the illusion of "knowing." As the author writes, "These are errors we commit without knowing that we do so, in good faith, and errors that we often defend with vehemence, thus making our power of reasoning subservient to our illusions."
One of the concepts is "framing" -- that the way we are presented information determines our reaction to that information.
The book lays out an actual case study taken from the field of medicine. Two different groups of doctors are presented with the same situation: a serious disease has a new form of treatment, an operation. Doctor Group A is told (factually) that there is a 7% mortality rate within five years of the operation, and we see from actual clinical data how many recommend it. Doctor Group B, on the other hand, is told (factually) that there is a 93% survival rate within five years of the operation... and we see how many of them recommend it.
You may not be surprised to find out -- and this is a real story, real clinical data, real recommendations -- that Doctor Group A hesitated to make favourable recommendations, while Doctor Group B was inclined to recommend the treatment. All this, despite no actual difference in disease or treatment -- two answers, for one reality. The doctors are guilty, in this case, of a cognitive illusion of which we ALL are by instinct guilty: framing.
As Piattelli-Palmarini writes, "Our problem here is that we do not compute final 'assets' (so to speak), but only departures from a baseline." Again, this is human nature, applicable to us all; I am choosing but one easy example. In this case, the baseline is "THREATENED, BUT HEALTHY, STATE." Doctor Group A is presented a frame that encourages them to think about a departure from the baseline (7% mortality rate), while Doctor Group B is presented a frame that encourages them to think about a proximity to the baseline (93% survival rate -- continued health). Human nature focuses us on how far we're departing from a given state or starting point -- not on the reality, the actual assets.
What is so crucial about this again is that we all instinctively make this mistake, suffer from this illusion. (This is one of numerous cognitive illusions documented in the book.) But if we educate ourselves and become conscious of this tendency, we can check ourselves and reduce the number of times we are "tricked."
"In the world of perception," Piattelli-Palmarini writes, "an [optical] illusion is to reality what a fallacy is to reasoning: an argument that is not true but has the appearance of being so. There is always some truth in any illusion; there is always some persuasion in a fallacy. Our business is to distinguish between angels and devils."
12 May 1999
Here is what current science thinks about time, blackholes and wormholes.
The best way to build a time machine is to use a thing called a wormhole which may be formed by linking two black holes. Easy? No!
Black holes are formed from certain types o f star. If a star that is at least three times the size of our sun runs out of fuel, it shrinks rapidly. This sets up shock waves which result in an enormous explosion called a supernova the most violent event since the Big Bang. But because the star w a s so large some mater is left at the centre of the supernova that begins to collapse in upon itself. This time, the matter becomes so dense that the incredibly strong forces holding together quarks (the most fundamental form of matter) are overwhelmed an d the star becomes a seething cauldron of fundamental matter and energy. This is a black hole, so called because it is so massive and dense that even light cannot travel fast enough to escape its gravitational field. A black hole is able to curve space so much that within it lies what is called a 'singularity', a point at which the curvature of space-time becomes infinitely sharp and all the laws of physics break down. It is believed that if two singularities find each other and 'join up' they may form a wormhole. This link is thought to lie outside our own space-time continuum and may provide a means via which we could one day travel between the stars by being able to traverse vast distances instantaneously. Wormholes might also link different points in time as well as space. If this is true then a traveller inside a suitable time machine could enter the wormhole at one end and pop out the other end at a different time. However, this is easier said than done. Wormholes would possess the most hostile environment in the universe and our traveller would experience overwhelming crushing forces. And, as yet, wormholes are purely theoretical. They may not actually exist at all. \par \par That is what conventional science now says. Lets break this down. They know black holes exist and how they come to exist. They think wormholes might exist, but they have never seen them and have no proof of their existence.
My view is somewhat different. I agree that blackholes exist and wormholes definitely exist, as both are created by aliens as a means of traversing the universe. As far as time travel is concerned, what a primitive concept that is. Time is relative. What does that mean? Joanie's view is that everyone is on a different time clock and so time is relative to them. For example time is a lot slower for kids than for old people. Kids are always waiting for something, time seems to crawl for them, whereas time gets faster the older you get, hence oldies say 'didn't this year fly by'. My view on time is it is simultaneous not lineal, the universe is one big occurrence and our race just stamps a lineal perspective on it, as our puny brains can't handle the simultaneous nature of the universe. Therefore, all that is needed for time travel the ability to view the simultaneous nature of the universe. Now I know that I could be completely wrong, but remember, if you think science has it right then you are crazy. Science is seldom right and so if you can think of alternative views you have a better chance of being right. Be accepting of all views, but do try and think of your own or at least accept alternative views to those thought up by the least imaginative among us, scientists. Yes scientists might be right after all, but I doubt it.
Someone said you shouldn't talk about politics or religion. Shit I wish people wouldn't practice either of them. Surely they are the two most vile things on this earth. The root of all evil. Oh I know religion does a lot of good, comforts a lot of people, is humanities crutch, but fuck it is wrong and I am right, religion is evil. Religion is insidious, invective, persecuting, un-accepting, preaching, sexist, fuck religion is yesterdays gig, religion is the crusades, intolerant, blinkered.
Society needs to take a long hard look at itself. A new renaissance could be ours, time to dump the baggage and move on.
Only three games for Man United to win. Three unanswered goals and they win the treble. Just one win would be great, winning the league would be wonderful, the FA superb and the European Cup great, but all three that would be (as the poms say) magic.
11 May 1999
Manchester United are so so close to the treble. Only four wins away, all they need to do to prove they are the greatest team ever is win four more games. We will find out if that motivates those soccer pussies (as in cats). Just booked our flights for Malaga, Spain. Now I'm going to play travel operator and have a complete itinerary ready for Joanie on her return this evening. Tomorrow is back to work. I have really enjoyed this time off, learning Web page creation and a touch of web design, relaxing, reading, investing, flower arranging and cooking gourmet meals for Joanie and then Paulette too, quite the right little cook I turned into, not that I was a slouch before. My two years at Heaton Intermediate were a blessing for many reasons, but certainly the cooking, sewing, metal & wood work & art are among the highlights. So was Brendan (shit what was his name) and my other little friend (I was a child giant in the land of Christchurch, New Zealand).
I look forward to longer periods like these last weeks, but I must power on for a few more years.
Don't you just love all of those useless words like few, not far, not long, not bloody anything, in a while etc, so subjective but useless when falling on my ears, and when I use them it is because I want to be vague. Maybe I'm just too empirical, big pictures with exact answers, cut to the chase.
Life Philosophy Number 11: Everything we now know is wrong.
How smart were we when we thought the world was flat, that all cholesterol was bad, that antibiotics were the panacea of all bacterial infections, how smart are we to believe or not believe in God. Then how smart will we be in the future when the fully mapped Genome is ancient times, when Star Trek is reality? PLEASE GO HERE to give your view of the future.
This came to me from Life Philosophy Number 11a: Humans greatest folly is our arrogance.
I first remember this rule from when mum used to paraphrase me (rather poorly I thought) when saying 'According to you everyone is a dickhead, except the Pascoes and the Morels are dickheads, Bede Pascoe was my closest friend. I went on to think that surely I gave the Pasoes plenty of opportunities to think I was a dickhead. Therefore they could think that everyone was a dickhead except themselves. Oh how I laughed at that idea. I was young, but had already received many years of lineal thought induction therapy. So it took me a while to work my way through to LPN 11a.
9 May 1999
Yesterday was go-go day in the land of Wilmore. Joanie lead the way with a whirlwind home beautification project, then off to the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts . Here's a picture at dusk, of the Norman Foster designed Gallery, check this cool picture or another angle of this great building. The Sainsbury's, Peter & Linda, set this Gallery and collection up in 1973. By the look at the purchased on dates on the works they have been collecting for a while and must have one or many houses filled with incredible art works. They had lots of work by Francis Bacon. Check these two pictures out Head of a Woman by Amedeo Modigliani The Great Oak by Charles Maussion. There was a wonderful amount of sculpture from Neolithic times to present, plenty Maori and South Pacific pieces, lots from all over the globe. Unfortunately, photos can't capture the beauty of sculpture. It was a fabo afternoon out and an OK drive to Norwich.
Back home then off for two hours of social tennis. I did fell really good after the exercise, subdued competition and outside personal interactions. There was a great mix of players there with me in the lower half of aptitude. I shall return weekly.
A quick list of things I like about the UK.
- Mail twice a day
- Mail on Saturday
- No Bicycle helmets
- Cambridge is cute & bike friendly
- Lots of good beers readily available
- Joanie is here
6 May 1999
You have up days, such as today, and down days like yesterday. What are mood swings controlled by? Moon, planet alignment, hormones (but what controls them), perhaps nothing controls them they just exist, or perhaps they don't exist at all, they are merely an invention of our fertile minds to spice up our lives ( can you imagine only having one mood, the same mood every day?), or even not even an invention of our own mind, but simply one of the many constructs planted there by society. Once again, what do you think?
I spoke earlier of conspiracies. DO you know w hat the founders of AMZN, AOL, EBAY, YHOO, and Motley Fool have in common? Is the cross-promotional hype, a coincidence, or the force of a new economy? How much money does someone need to have, not much, so give most of it away you lucky dudes who have all the cash. Bill Gates has now given around $4 Billion, not bad certainly worth a small mention, but $4 Billion is just the foundation for the skyscraper to come. Isn't it Bill? Please tell us you will become the greatest philantrophist (sp?) ever and lead our generation to a new Renaissance, I am sure Larry E. will join you and the rest of the wired winners.
Bloody ref handed Liverpool a draw, I think the rabid Man U supported said it all 'what a scouse (sp?) wanker'.
Time to build some more of my Web Site www.morel.freeserve.co.uk
5 May, 1999
When I started creating this web site, I thought what the hell can I use it for? A diary was one of the answers bouncing around in my head. I thought I would start my transcribing my old written diary across to this electronic media, but alas I left it back in Australia. Therefore, you and I will just have to start again, start now, the last year of the second AD millennium.I have spent some time thinking back to the time when I started my old diary. They were crazy times, thoughts fuelled by hallucinogens, time spent with friends. Two of my dear friends from those days died shortly after; Wed and Jonathan I miss you. For a decade death seemed to coming closer and closer to me, and I dearly miss all the people who have left this mortal coil.
I just finished reading Jeff Noon's Nymphomation, a great read; if you like William Gibson and cyber punk writing you will love this book. Now I travel back in the literary world to Gogol's Diary of Madman & Other Stories. It reminds me of someone's quote, 'the only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad'. Gogol provides a tantalising insight into the twisted world of delusional thoughts
I am disappointed with the world, but do see a light at the end of the tunnel, it is yet to be revealed whether it is a train coming full steam ahead. I feel that a new renaissance is upon us, a time of celebration, when art and culture are held high. A time of evolution, of cyber implants, of genetic engineering, a time of healing. I look to the future and want to be one of the providers for those left behind.
Why does education so misalign our values and teach us little of worth. Conspiracy or stupidity? I do see a lot of conspiracies in the world, perhaps I bestow the perpetrators too much intelligence and there are no conspiracies, just greed and ignorance. It is possible to be wealthy, and you should be, so you too can provide for those who suffer at the hand of society. Think outside your small world, see the big picture. How may hours do you work a week, working to make someone else rich? How may hours do you work to make you and your family rich? Most people would answer 37.5hrs and 0hrs. How many hours to you spend watching TV or other mindless pursuits and how many hours do you invest in yourself, in your future, in your wealth, in your mind, body or soul? Once again the ratio would be sad. Are you a mindless consumer?
Tonight I will mindlessly consume a couple of pints of Caffrey's Irish Ale and a footy game, Manchester United vs Liverpool (I think), the opponents don't really mater. Man U are a hair lice's width away from a fantastic treble; League, FA and European Cups. What a welcome to the UK that would be for me. Go Man U.
I miss Woody.
