Hypothetical question: How would we be right now this minute if we had no fear? What would we do, how would we act?
We would fairly quickly become exceedingly arrogant and selfish. Fear is a check on those behaviors, I think. Paradoxically, fear is also a fuel for those behaviors. Then again, perhaps I don't really know? :-)
* * *
Might "artisan" be a now obsolete term for any service person -- plumber, carpenter, painter, etc.?
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Artisans
If we can never find the truth why do we desire it?
Because the thought of this existence truly being without purpose, without an underlying truth, is deeply frightening to us
So we are back to fear, specifically the avoidance of it. Hypothetical question: How would we be right now this minute if we had no fear? What would we do, how would we act?
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Yes I like your plumbing analogy a lot. That's what we do, we're artisans. I used to think artisans were painters, I once saw the sign "artisans entrance" above a back door into the clubhouse at a golfing club and wondered what it meant and why it was there.
Because the thought of this existence truly being without purpose, without an underlying truth, is deeply frightening to us
So we are back to fear, specifically the avoidance of it. Hypothetical question: How would we be right now this minute if we had no fear? What would we do, how would we act?
+++
Yes I like your plumbing analogy a lot. That's what we do, we're artisans. I used to think artisans were painters, I once saw the sign "artisans entrance" above a back door into the clubhouse at a golfing club and wondered what it meant and why it was there.
Mid-Life Purpose
This is where I think contemporary society lets us down. In years past, the notion of working at something that provided meaning and purpose to one's life was probably never considered. Working was a means of supporting the family and little more. The possible exception to this was the higher professions such as medicine or academia.
I suffer the same thing you write of. I am finding it increasingly difficult to care. I've long since abandoned the notion that this software stuff is life-altering. It's more akin to the way a plumber approaches his craft ... the homeowner cares about his plumbing because it helps him lead his life in a more comfortable way. So the plumber is providing a service to the homeowner -- money in exchange for something that makes the homeowner more comfortable.
The risk for me is thinking there's a greener pasture out there ... that if I only did X for a living I'd find fulfillment. I won't. Sometimes I wonder if there truly is fulfillment to be had? How's that for pessimistic?
* * *
One thing though, isn't the writer making the assumption that there is something called "truth"?
I think so. We seem to yearn for an anchor point, which is what an objective "truth" would be. It seems we don't necessarily want to live by the constraints of such an anchor point, though. So we are caught in this sort of limbo -- in today's society we go about as if "there is no truth" because that affords us the maximum latitude to pursue our wants and feelings, regardless of where that may lead us. But at the same time there's a part of us that is deeply uncomfortable with such an "un-anchored" reality.
How can we, the programs running on the RAM, find out the true nature of the RAM? We can't can we?
No. Unless the RAM tells us about itself. But if the RAM withholds that information, we can't know about it. How can we know if a revelation is true? Ah ... well, we're back to our dilemma, aren't we? :-)
If we can never find the truth why do we desire it?
Because the thought of this existence truly being without purpose, without an underlying truth, is deeply frightening to us. Lots of people claim that's what this existence is all about. But I don't believe they believe it. What I see is they substitute in various surrogate purposes. Right now the "Global Warming" thing is the purpose de juour. That's why people are flocking to it with such passion -- they believe it to be something that gives their lives (and this existence) an anchor, a grounding, a purpose and truth.
Why would a purposeless existence be frightening? What's frightening about our being nothing but molecules that dictate our behavior and existence? And that when we cease to function we just cease to be?
Isn't that fundamentally the root of nearly all religion, art, poetry and literature?
I suffer the same thing you write of. I am finding it increasingly difficult to care. I've long since abandoned the notion that this software stuff is life-altering. It's more akin to the way a plumber approaches his craft ... the homeowner cares about his plumbing because it helps him lead his life in a more comfortable way. So the plumber is providing a service to the homeowner -- money in exchange for something that makes the homeowner more comfortable.
The risk for me is thinking there's a greener pasture out there ... that if I only did X for a living I'd find fulfillment. I won't. Sometimes I wonder if there truly is fulfillment to be had? How's that for pessimistic?
* * *
One thing though, isn't the writer making the assumption that there is something called "truth"?
I think so. We seem to yearn for an anchor point, which is what an objective "truth" would be. It seems we don't necessarily want to live by the constraints of such an anchor point, though. So we are caught in this sort of limbo -- in today's society we go about as if "there is no truth" because that affords us the maximum latitude to pursue our wants and feelings, regardless of where that may lead us. But at the same time there's a part of us that is deeply uncomfortable with such an "un-anchored" reality.
How can we, the programs running on the RAM, find out the true nature of the RAM? We can't can we?
No. Unless the RAM tells us about itself. But if the RAM withholds that information, we can't know about it. How can we know if a revelation is true? Ah ... well, we're back to our dilemma, aren't we? :-)
If we can never find the truth why do we desire it?
Because the thought of this existence truly being without purpose, without an underlying truth, is deeply frightening to us. Lots of people claim that's what this existence is all about. But I don't believe they believe it. What I see is they substitute in various surrogate purposes. Right now the "Global Warming" thing is the purpose de juour. That's why people are flocking to it with such passion -- they believe it to be something that gives their lives (and this existence) an anchor, a grounding, a purpose and truth.
Why would a purposeless existence be frightening? What's frightening about our being nothing but molecules that dictate our behavior and existence? And that when we cease to function we just cease to be?
Isn't that fundamentally the root of nearly all religion, art, poetry and literature?
Motivation
My motivation for life is very high but my motivation for working for the company is maybe at an all time low. Everything I seem to do there is pointless, even the stuff that helps clients make a profit, I mean -- what's the point ??
Well of course the point is that I need to work to pay the bills, even if the work is of no intrinsic value. Perhaps this is my mid-life crisis? :) That would be funny but I had the middle of my life a long time ago.
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Are you still out there in the Palisades, teaching SOA? Thanks to your efforts I am beginning to get my head around what it is all about, your presentations are much appreciated !
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I found some resonance in this passage about the benefits of the scientific method and living with quantum mechanics in particular:
When we see an insect being tricked into thinking an orchid is a female insect we think "That orchid doesn't look anything like an insect, what a strange mistake to make", and a bat might use echo location and see us being aroused by something that simply has the texture and shape of a piece of paper but which doesn't resemble the texture or shape of a female human and wonder how we could make such a mistake.
Our common sense and intuition don't necessarily tell us what's true, especially when it doesn't relate to the world we evolved in, so we have to rely on experiments, and quantum theory constantly makes accurate predictions. If it's beyond our common sense and intuition then that's too bad for us.
One thing though, isn't the writer making the assumption that there is something called "truth"?
How can we, the programs running on the RAM, find out the true nature of the RAM? We can't can we? We can't use the tools we have been given to discern the nature of the place those tools exist in any more than M$ Word can tell that it's a sunny day outside. If we can never find the truth why do we desire it?
Well of course the point is that I need to work to pay the bills, even if the work is of no intrinsic value. Perhaps this is my mid-life crisis? :) That would be funny but I had the middle of my life a long time ago.
+++
Are you still out there in the Palisades, teaching SOA? Thanks to your efforts I am beginning to get my head around what it is all about, your presentations are much appreciated !
+++
I found some resonance in this passage about the benefits of the scientific method and living with quantum mechanics in particular:
When we see an insect being tricked into thinking an orchid is a female insect we think "That orchid doesn't look anything like an insect, what a strange mistake to make", and a bat might use echo location and see us being aroused by something that simply has the texture and shape of a piece of paper but which doesn't resemble the texture or shape of a female human and wonder how we could make such a mistake.
Our common sense and intuition don't necessarily tell us what's true, especially when it doesn't relate to the world we evolved in, so we have to rely on experiments, and quantum theory constantly makes accurate predictions. If it's beyond our common sense and intuition then that's too bad for us.
One thing though, isn't the writer making the assumption that there is something called "truth"?
How can we, the programs running on the RAM, find out the true nature of the RAM? We can't can we? We can't use the tools we have been given to discern the nature of the place those tools exist in any more than M$ Word can tell that it's a sunny day outside. If we can never find the truth why do we desire it?
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Bus vs. Hub
In one of the classes last year, we got into a discussion over whether ESB is a true bus or a hub architecture. I thought, "Oh, what does it really matter as long as it works?" But that's just me.
Truth is, the ESB is really more of a interconnected hub structure. It's a hub within any instance of the implementation ... and a kind of channel structure between hubs.
Even one of our true bus architectures -- Ethernet -- is not really a bus anymore, it's a star-hub structure with a high-speed switch fabric at the center.
* * *
The concept of "application" really is morphing, isn't it? The concept of a monolithic application is nearly dead ... and perhaps has been for 10 or more years. But more and more, an "application" is becoming a kind of logical collection of services stitched together.
* * *
I'm in Pallisades, NY right now. Lots of quaint villages. Lots of green and budding spring. Lots of gray overcast skies.
Truth is, the ESB is really more of a interconnected hub structure. It's a hub within any instance of the implementation ... and a kind of channel structure between hubs.
Even one of our true bus architectures -- Ethernet -- is not really a bus anymore, it's a star-hub structure with a high-speed switch fabric at the center.
* * *
The concept of "application" really is morphing, isn't it? The concept of a monolithic application is nearly dead ... and perhaps has been for 10 or more years. But more and more, an "application" is becoming a kind of logical collection of services stitched together.
* * *
I'm in Pallisades, NY right now. Lots of quaint villages. Lots of green and budding spring. Lots of gray overcast skies.
Buses
Reading your stuff in a desperate attempt to grok (or understand) exactly what an ESB is ... a thought comes to mind - is the term "application" now dead? Ie. Everything is a service. So the client does not have applications any more, but has services? Is that the mindset we are looking to?
Interesting, there are times when buses are good and times when not so. Since year dot Intel have been making CPU's that connect to their memory (RAM) through a bus, sometimes referred to as the FSB or "Front Side Bus". AMD (the major competitor to Intel in the x86 CPU space) came up with an alternate architecture a few years ago, a direct connect architecture (DCA) called Hypertransport. It worked, it was a lot faster than FSB and memory latencies were greatly reduced, giving a tremendous boost to application performance, a supreme innovation which led to them stealing 20% of the market.
Intel in their next generation processors out this year will also be moving away from FSB to a DCA :)
So in a time-critical performance sense, buses aren't so good.
Interesting, there are times when buses are good and times when not so. Since year dot Intel have been making CPU's that connect to their memory (RAM) through a bus, sometimes referred to as the FSB or "Front Side Bus". AMD (the major competitor to Intel in the x86 CPU space) came up with an alternate architecture a few years ago, a direct connect architecture (DCA) called Hypertransport. It worked, it was a lot faster than FSB and memory latencies were greatly reduced, giving a tremendous boost to application performance, a supreme innovation which led to them stealing 20% of the market.
Intel in their next generation processors out this year will also be moving away from FSB to a DCA :)
So in a time-critical performance sense, buses aren't so good.
Gay Deceiver
I saw a picture of the kid who shot 32 and I think it's the latter "detached and numb". Cold. Something went very wrong in that kids life or creation or somewhere. He does look archetypically evil in the shot. Evil does exist doesn't it? Very sad.
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Recall our discussion of things supernatural in origin .. well now a mathematician has come up with a theory based on Einstein's equations that is quite neat.
The theory is derived bottom-up rather than top-down (like string theory) so should be more attractive to those of us with a more pratical nature, or from missouri.
He's saying that the Universe might be 6-D and that the two extra dimensions are time-like.
I say, these extra two dimensions are a superb place for Heaven and Hell to exist.
I like the theory - a) there is a trinity involved (space time interacting with the two new dimensions, called twistor spaces - what a great name!) Picture of that here:
b) it's also the same idea as in a Science Fiction book (so must be correct) I read in the mid 80's (around about same time that I read "Enders Game" by Orson Scott Card - the one your missus adores) called "The Number of The Beast" by Robert A. Heinlein. In there two couples travelled around these six axes in a ship called Gay Deceiver - fantastic book - you get the 666 connection?
It must be correct else why else did I read that book? :)
I like it much better than the m-brane 10-D theory that Hawking is associated with, I do so hope it's falsifiable then it has some merit as a scientific theory.
One thing that does annoy me in the article is the following sentance:
"There are also non-spinorial particles, called bosons, such as the photon, graviton, pion, mesons, the W and Z bosons, the Higgs, (if it exists) and so on, which have an integer spin, Sparling explains."
Why does the Higgs boson (which is meant to be the particle mediator for mass) get an "if it exists" whereas the graviton does not? Nobody ever found a graviton and I suspect they won't either. I'm such a fan of General Relativity due to it's beauty (as opposed to Quantum Gravity). I do so hope it's "correct", ouch my prejudices are showing. If the Higgs boson doesn't exist then we humans need to re-invent standard particle theory so my guess is that the Higgs does exist, as standard particle theory has been pretty successful so far.
+++
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Recall our discussion of things supernatural in origin .. well now a mathematician has come up with a theory based on Einstein's equations that is quite neat.
The theory is derived bottom-up rather than top-down (like string theory) so should be more attractive to those of us with a more pratical nature, or from missouri.
He's saying that the Universe might be 6-D and that the two extra dimensions are time-like.
I say, these extra two dimensions are a superb place for Heaven and Hell to exist.
I like the theory - a) there is a trinity involved (space time interacting with the two new dimensions, called twistor spaces - what a great name!) Picture of that here:
b) it's also the same idea as in a Science Fiction book (so must be correct) I read in the mid 80's (around about same time that I read "Enders Game" by Orson Scott Card - the one your missus adores) called "The Number of The Beast" by Robert A. Heinlein. In there two couples travelled around these six axes in a ship called Gay Deceiver - fantastic book - you get the 666 connection?
It must be correct else why else did I read that book? :)
I like it much better than the m-brane 10-D theory that Hawking is associated with, I do so hope it's falsifiable then it has some merit as a scientific theory.
One thing that does annoy me in the article is the following sentance:
"There are also non-spinorial particles, called bosons, such as the photon, graviton, pion, mesons, the W and Z bosons, the Higgs, (if it exists) and so on, which have an integer spin, Sparling explains."
Why does the Higgs boson (which is meant to be the particle mediator for mass) get an "if it exists" whereas the graviton does not? Nobody ever found a graviton and I suspect they won't either. I'm such a fan of General Relativity due to it's beauty (as opposed to Quantum Gravity). I do so hope it's "correct", ouch my prejudices are showing. If the Higgs boson doesn't exist then we humans need to re-invent standard particle theory so my guess is that the Higgs does exist, as standard particle theory has been pretty successful so far.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Virginia Tech
What must be the state of someone's mind to deliberately and intentionally massacre people? Is it a crazed state of mind? Or just detached and numb? Do you suppose the gunman had a rational awareness of what he was doing? A rational awareness of right and wrong, with a deliberate intent to do wrong?
Monday, April 16, 2007
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Motorcycling
One day I may drive again! Although probably not in the near future as knowing my luck I would end up having an accident and orphaning my daughter earlier than I should.
It's a sobering thought that all things being as they should be, all of us will get orphaned some day.
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Ah ok I get the cable thing now, thanks, that picture paints a thousand words.
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Nice joke, I have something similar, probably from the same batch ...
:)
It's a sobering thought that all things being as they should be, all of us will get orphaned some day.
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Ah ok I get the cable thing now, thanks, that picture paints a thousand words.
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Nice joke, I have something similar, probably from the same batch ...
:)
Friday, April 13, 2007
Yahama FJR 1300 - No Shift With Foot!
Yahama has a really nice Sport Touring bike called the FJR. One model of it has "electric shift," with controls on the left grip to shift up or down. Here's a quick review.
There you go!
There you go!
Concrete
I don't have a clue what the true distinction is between pre- and post- stressed concrete. Here's a picture of what they do with the concrete slabs they pour:
The effect is to compress the concrete such that cracks are less likely to appear. In a sense it's like leaving a spring-loaded cake ring on the cake, as opposed to taking the ring off. With the spring-loaded cake ring left on, pressure is exerted around the edges of the cake. That holds it together. Take the ring off the cake may well hold together ... or it may crack if the cake is touched or moved.
I think the meaning of "post" is that they wait until after the concrete has set before they stretch and tie off the cables. If they did that when the concrete was wet, it would require a very rigid frame. As it is, I think what they do is this:
For giggles:
The effect is to compress the concrete such that cracks are less likely to appear. In a sense it's like leaving a spring-loaded cake ring on the cake, as opposed to taking the ring off. With the spring-loaded cake ring left on, pressure is exerted around the edges of the cake. That holds it together. Take the ring off the cake may well hold together ... or it may crack if the cake is touched or moved.
I think the meaning of "post" is that they wait until after the concrete has set before they stretch and tie off the cables. If they did that when the concrete was wet, it would require a very rigid frame. As it is, I think what they do is this:
- Lay temporary wood or steel frame for slab outline
- Lay cables in place, but do not put tension on them
- Pour concrete and allow to set
- Remove temporary frame
- Tighten cables ... hence the "post"
For giggles:
Post vs Pre Stressing
When the concrete hardens, they come out and stretch the cables, putting the whole concrete slab under internal tension ... it essentially holds the concrete in place.
Hmm, wouldn't that have the effect of pulling the concrete apart? Or do the cables somehow weave in and out of holes in the concrete? So that when you pull on the ends of the cables they compress the concrete like a sewing thread you might pull in a garment?
On the other hand, if they stretched the cables before pouring the concrete around them, and then once the concrete had set released the tension on the cables, then I can see how that would also compress the concrete.
Looking at the Wikipedia article you referenced it does seem that there are these two methods, "post" and "pre" tensioning, but it's not clear to me from the article how the stretching of the cables in the "post" mentod leads to compression of the concrete, or even if it has to! And it seems that the "post" method is used (rather than "pre") in the field, and in your house, due to lower cost.
I find construction a fascinating topic also.
Hmm, wouldn't that have the effect of pulling the concrete apart? Or do the cables somehow weave in and out of holes in the concrete? So that when you pull on the ends of the cables they compress the concrete like a sewing thread you might pull in a garment?
On the other hand, if they stretched the cables before pouring the concrete around them, and then once the concrete had set released the tension on the cables, then I can see how that would also compress the concrete.
Looking at the Wikipedia article you referenced it does seem that there are these two methods, "post" and "pre" tensioning, but it's not clear to me from the article how the stretching of the cables in the "post" mentod leads to compression of the concrete, or even if it has to! And it seems that the "post" method is used (rather than "pre") in the field, and in your house, due to lower cost.
I find construction a fascinating topic also.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Forever Learning
Today I learned about termites. We had our pest control contractor come out and inspect our home for termites as our original 5-year construction warranty on termites is about to expire. Here's what I learned:
- Arizona is full of termites. There's no practical way to guarantee a house will never get termites. It's a question of minimizing the risk.
- Arizona homes are largely built on a "slab" -- that is, a solid concrete pad with no basements or crawl spaces. Our home is like that. About 10 years ago they perfected a way of pouring that slab called "post tension." Wikipedia, of course, has a write-up here. In short, it's a process by which a mesh of cables is placed in the wet concrete. When the concrete hardens, they come out and stretch the cables, putting the whole concrete slab under internal tension ... it essentially holds the concrete in place. It prevents cracking. Termites love cracks. That's how they enter the homes ... through cracks in the slab. But with post-tension concrete slabs, there are almost no more cracks, which means far fewer termites.
- The pesticides used by the industry are almost all manufactured by pharmaceutical companies, and they often manufacture those chemicals right along side products meant for human consumption. Ultimately, the chemistries are very similar.
- My house has no evidence of termites.
- A treatment and re-warranty would run about $600 to $1000.
- Doing nothing is an option. Given we have the pest control guy come out once a month -- a near necessity in Arizona, given all the different types of crawling critters -- he watches for external evidence of termites. We could just wait to hear word from him, which would be an early warning of termite trouble. We could then treat just that localized termite infestation.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Robin Hood
What's your impression of the mood over there? Positive, negative, or indifferent?
It seems to depend on who you are and where you are coming from.
Those who have lost relatives in war appear to be anti the sale of the stories.
Those who value "dignity" appear to be against the sale.
Those who love money and "news" seem to be pro the sale.
Some people who do not have much money seem to be pro sale but having said that some people who do not have much money also seem anti the sale, so maybe they cancel out.
Personally that's not the kind of story I would read anyway, so I don't really care. I do think that the media hype is a waste of time and energy though, I don't see that any story is worth 200,000 dollars or so when there are people starving in the world. Perhaps a good solution would be for all of the sailors to sell their stories to the highest bidder and them immediately donate the proceeds to Bob Geldof's fund? So take from the rich and give to the poor.
It seems to depend on who you are and where you are coming from.
Those who have lost relatives in war appear to be anti the sale of the stories.
Those who value "dignity" appear to be against the sale.
Those who love money and "news" seem to be pro the sale.
Some people who do not have much money seem to be pro sale but having said that some people who do not have much money also seem anti the sale, so maybe they cancel out.
Personally that's not the kind of story I would read anyway, so I don't really care. I do think that the media hype is a waste of time and energy though, I don't see that any story is worth 200,000 dollars or so when there are people starving in the world. Perhaps a good solution would be for all of the sailors to sell their stories to the highest bidder and them immediately donate the proceeds to Bob Geldof's fund? So take from the rich and give to the poor.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
From England's Perspective?
There is much commentary here about the way the 15 Royal Marines conducted themselves, particularly since being released. The feeling is those 15 participated a bit too willingly in the propaganda exercise. And their eagerness to sell their stories upon return really hit a raw nerve.
What's your impression of the mood over there? Positive, negative, or indifferent?
What's your impression of the mood over there? Positive, negative, or indifferent?
Loosey Goosey
"Born On" date is entirely ambiguous -- it leaves it to the person to determine how long is too long."
Hmm I am surprised that is legal. Doesn't beer spoil after a certain time? Could it be a health hazzard to drink it after that? I can see the benefit of the retailer not having to throw the stuff out though. Maybe some folks think that beer is like wine? And look for aged bottles? I once opened and poured a can of lager that was 7 years past its "sell by" date. It had red lumps floating in it and looked absolutely foul! Not to be consumed.
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What is it about the Wii that's so good?
It's far simpler to use and the game playing experience is much more interactive. I can now actually swing the tennis bat or golf club. There are still a lot of improvements to be made, it doesn't quite match your body movements exactly enough to be ultra compelling, but I am sure they will come. The PS3 has better graphics but the PS3 six-axis controller is stuck in space, you can't go forwards or backwards, it doesn't recognize acceleration.
The PS3 is the most poweful computer I have in my house by a long way but I cannot get access to that power. Linux runs on it but it only uses the PowerPC chip in the PS3, not the cell broadband engine (with 7 SPE's - the eighth being disabled) or the ful capabilities of the GPU. When someone comes up with a Linux and some apps that can use all of the PS3 things will be fun indeed.
Note that IBM also make the broadway processor, the brain of the Wii.
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I am currently on unit 1a of your latest masterpiece. I got to thinking that a lot of the benefits of System z are in the fact that the components which comprise z are tightly coupled. But I see one of the value statements of SOA is that things are loosely coupled for reasons of flexibility. Maybe services are like fruits, or cars. There are lots of different types of fruit and there are lots of different models of cars. Maybe the type of service we are talking about here can contain a set of tightly coupled products or services?
Hmm I am surprised that is legal. Doesn't beer spoil after a certain time? Could it be a health hazzard to drink it after that? I can see the benefit of the retailer not having to throw the stuff out though. Maybe some folks think that beer is like wine? And look for aged bottles? I once opened and poured a can of lager that was 7 years past its "sell by" date. It had red lumps floating in it and looked absolutely foul! Not to be consumed.
+++
What is it about the Wii that's so good?
It's far simpler to use and the game playing experience is much more interactive. I can now actually swing the tennis bat or golf club. There are still a lot of improvements to be made, it doesn't quite match your body movements exactly enough to be ultra compelling, but I am sure they will come. The PS3 has better graphics but the PS3 six-axis controller is stuck in space, you can't go forwards or backwards, it doesn't recognize acceleration.
The PS3 is the most poweful computer I have in my house by a long way but I cannot get access to that power. Linux runs on it but it only uses the PowerPC chip in the PS3, not the cell broadband engine (with 7 SPE's - the eighth being disabled) or the ful capabilities of the GPU. When someone comes up with a Linux and some apps that can use all of the PS3 things will be fun indeed.
Note that IBM also make the broadway processor, the brain of the Wii.
+++
I am currently on unit 1a of your latest masterpiece. I got to thinking that a lot of the benefits of System z are in the fact that the components which comprise z are tightly coupled. But I see one of the value statements of SOA is that things are loosely coupled for reasons of flexibility. Maybe services are like fruits, or cars. There are lots of different types of fruit and there are lots of different models of cars. Maybe the type of service we are talking about here can contain a set of tightly coupled products or services?
Monday, April 09, 2007
Game Stations
You know, I've never owned a gaming system ... ever. What is it about the Wii that's so good?
* * *
I'm a big fan of clever and effective marketing. One of the most brilliant marketing things I've ever seen was Budweiser's "Born On" date. Other beers had "Good Until" dates. The problem with that is when the date occurs, the beer is automatically considered "bad," even when it isn't. Lots on on-shelf spoilage. But a "Born On" date is entirely ambiguous -- it leaves it to the person to determine how long is too long.
* * *
It's taken me almost a week to recover from my two weeks away and canceled flight ordeal. Honestly, all last week I was a zombie ... staring at the screen and getting only a minimal amount of work done.
* * *
Check this out. :-)
* * *
I'm a big fan of clever and effective marketing. One of the most brilliant marketing things I've ever seen was Budweiser's "Born On" date. Other beers had "Good Until" dates. The problem with that is when the date occurs, the beer is automatically considered "bad," even when it isn't. Lots on on-shelf spoilage. But a "Born On" date is entirely ambiguous -- it leaves it to the person to determine how long is too long.
* * *
It's taken me almost a week to recover from my two weeks away and canceled flight ordeal. Honestly, all last week I was a zombie ... staring at the screen and getting only a minimal amount of work done.
* * *
Check this out. :-)
Sony PlayStation 3 vs Nintendo Wii
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljZOHnZNaBc
As an owner of both of these boxes I can say that the kids much prefer the Wii. That video commercial, although based on the Apple vs PC format, just hits the mark doesn't it? Genius in marketing :)
As an owner of both of these boxes I can say that the kids much prefer the Wii. That video commercial, although based on the Apple vs PC format, just hits the mark doesn't it? Genius in marketing :)
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Great Article!
our wants are relative to what other people have, not to some absolute measure.
This doesn't surprise me in the least, it's part of the instruction to "count your blessings" in order to be happy I think. Ie. If there are people worse off than you somewhere, then this fact is likely to cheer you up - after all, things could be worse.
because the pursuit of pleasure lands us on a never-ending hedonic treadmill that paradoxically leads to misery
Yes I have found this to be true. This is so self evident I would remove the word paradoxically from that statement. It's empirically the case.
satisfaction can arise only by the conscious decision to do something.
This one I find most interesting. If "true", and it probably is, then maybe it accounts for all of the "bad" decisions we see in the world. Statistically there must be far fewer decsions that are "good" than those that are "bad". In the same way that most inventions (ideas) are rubbish and the few good ones we come up with stick (like the wheel). But, if we have some instrinsic need to make a decision, and if this decision is probably going to be sub-optimal (or bad) then this need in us will account for a lot of the misery in this world.
This is something to work on, let's consciously try to be more indecisive perhaps? I'm serious, perhaps that is an answer to our condition?
+++
It's been a fine Easter here, K and I went to visit my sister and went to a wild animal park.
This doesn't surprise me in the least, it's part of the instruction to "count your blessings" in order to be happy I think. Ie. If there are people worse off than you somewhere, then this fact is likely to cheer you up - after all, things could be worse.
because the pursuit of pleasure lands us on a never-ending hedonic treadmill that paradoxically leads to misery
Yes I have found this to be true. This is so self evident I would remove the word paradoxically from that statement. It's empirically the case.
satisfaction can arise only by the conscious decision to do something.
This one I find most interesting. If "true", and it probably is, then maybe it accounts for all of the "bad" decisions we see in the world. Statistically there must be far fewer decsions that are "good" than those that are "bad". In the same way that most inventions (ideas) are rubbish and the few good ones we come up with stick (like the wheel). But, if we have some instrinsic need to make a decision, and if this decision is probably going to be sub-optimal (or bad) then this need in us will account for a lot of the misery in this world.
This is something to work on, let's consciously try to be more indecisive perhaps? I'm serious, perhaps that is an answer to our condition?
+++
It's been a fine Easter here, K and I went to visit my sister and went to a wild animal park.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Pursuit of Happiness
No, not the movie starring Will Smith. This article in Scientific American. Key graphs:
The first highlighted passage in paragraph #3 is something I've experienced first-hand. I think evidence of addicts points to this being generally true. I have a sense the last highlighted paragraph is also near the truth.
Thoughts?
- Imagine you have a choice between earning $50,000 a year while other people make $25,000 or earning $100,000 a year while other people get $250,000. Prices of goods and services are the same. Which would you prefer? Surprisingly, studies show that the majority of people select the first option.
- Once average annual income is above $20,000 a head, higher pay brings no greater happiness. Why? One, our genes account for roughly half of our predisposition to be happy or unhappy, and two, our wants are relative to what other people have, not to some absolute measure.
- Happiness is better equated with satisfaction than pleasure, says Emory University psychiatrist Gregory Berns in Satisfaction (Henry Holt, 2005), because the pursuit of pleasure lands us on a never-ending hedonic treadmill that paradoxically leads to misery. "Satisfaction is an emotion that captures the uniquely human need to impart meaning to one's activities," Berns concludes. "While you might find pleasure by happenstance--winning the lottery, possessing the genes for a sunny temperament, or having the luck not to live in poverty--satisfaction can arise only by the conscious decision to do something. And this makes all the difference in the world, because it is only your own actions for which you may take responsibility and credit."
The first highlighted passage in paragraph #3 is something I've experienced first-hand. I think evidence of addicts points to this being generally true. I have a sense the last highlighted paragraph is also near the truth.
Thoughts?
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Monday, April 02, 2007
Returning from Vacation
I'm convinced that vacations are no longer restorative. I say that because our model has changed. In the old days one could go on vacation and the work would be delegated to another, or would effectively cease for the duration of the vacation. No more. We have nobody to delegate to. The work input does not stop or slow down. It merely queues up. The stress of going back to work is amplified.
I think the human race is reaching a breaking point. I really, really do.
* * *
Trivia for you -- somewhere back in the mists of my mind I heard an interview with the guy who played guitar on Paul Simon's song "Graceland." He said during rehearsals he got the idea to change to a minor key. I think I have that right ... either minor key or minor chord; I never know which is which. At any rate, if you listen to the guitar on that song, which is subtle, it'll be "minor."
The bass line in that song is awesome. Very tribal.
I think the human race is reaching a breaking point. I really, really do.
* * *
Trivia for you -- somewhere back in the mists of my mind I heard an interview with the guy who played guitar on Paul Simon's song "Graceland." He said during rehearsals he got the idea to change to a minor key. I think I have that right ... either minor key or minor chord; I never know which is which. At any rate, if you listen to the guitar on that song, which is subtle, it'll be "minor."
The bass line in that song is awesome. Very tribal.
"From Dulles to Dallas"
... and there is the title of your new book/play/film about your Zen like ordeal! Nice touch there flying first class for a bit buddy :) Glad you made it home eventually.
+++
Yes one of the chess fora I frequent often has the same "Jesus is Lord" vs "There is no God" debate - seems to happen every two weeks or so. The usual faces either side of the debate so you know what they are going to say before they say it. The believer will try to rationalise his belief, whilst conveniently forgetting that he is arguing from a non-falsifiable standpoint, and the non-believer will insist that an absence of evidence for something is akin to that something not being there. All very boring zzzzz
+++
I returned to work today after 3 weeks out, but it didn't really feel like a vacation at all, bar illness it's only the second time in my working life I have taken 3 weeks off in one go, the last time in 1992 on a bike tour as previously mentioned. Both very different vacations. One thing I noticed is that I am more stressed by actively being at work, I can feel it ... maybe I should win the lottery and retire?
What did I do with my time off, well read mainly, looked after K, played with her a lot, played some chess, read some more, etc. That'll do me :)
+++
Yes one of the chess fora I frequent often has the same "Jesus is Lord" vs "There is no God" debate - seems to happen every two weeks or so. The usual faces either side of the debate so you know what they are going to say before they say it. The believer will try to rationalise his belief, whilst conveniently forgetting that he is arguing from a non-falsifiable standpoint, and the non-believer will insist that an absence of evidence for something is akin to that something not being there. All very boring zzzzz
+++
I returned to work today after 3 weeks out, but it didn't really feel like a vacation at all, bar illness it's only the second time in my working life I have taken 3 weeks off in one go, the last time in 1992 on a bike tour as previously mentioned. Both very different vacations. One thing I noticed is that I am more stressed by actively being at work, I can feel it ... maybe I should win the lottery and retire?
What did I do with my time off, well read mainly, looked after K, played with her a lot, played some chess, read some more, etc. That'll do me :)
Back Home / Bible Thumping
I've made it home. My flight from Dulles to Dallas was without incident, as was my flight from Dallas to Tucson. For that last leg I rewarded myself and cashed in a first class upgrade. I rode that last two hours with a glass of wine. :-)
* * *
On the motorcycle forum I frequent, there was a recent thread where someone came on to profess in strong words that's he's a biker and a -- his words -- "Jesus freak." Others responded in support. Then non-believers came into the thread complaining that the topic had nothing to do with motorcycles, and that Christians shouldn't "ram" their beliefs down others' throats. It degraded from there. I think the thread has been deleted by the moderators.
The whole thing was a sad spectacle.
* * *
On the motorcycle forum I frequent, there was a recent thread where someone came on to profess in strong words that's he's a biker and a -- his words -- "Jesus freak." Others responded in support. Then non-believers came into the thread complaining that the topic had nothing to do with motorcycles, and that Christians shouldn't "ram" their beliefs down others' throats. It degraded from there. I think the thread has been deleted by the moderators.
The whole thing was a sad spectacle.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Ordeals
Ouch ouch ouch. It just gets worse doesn't it? I wonder what the reason for your ordeal here is?
I believe it to be a test of how I react to conditions that are irritating but not life threatening. I was talking to my lovely bride about this ... imagine being a family with only moderate means, out for a rare holiday, and having a flight canceled like this. It could end up costing the family considerably more than they planned for; perhaps considerably more than they have. It might also mean not returning to work on time, resulting in, perhaps, being fired.
Contrast that with me ... my hotel is paid by American Airlines. Even if it weren't, our employer would be picking it up. My meals are paid for by our employer. I have no particular time pressure to get home. My life is not threatened. I have no physical deprivations to speak of. But I am irritated nevertheless, simply because things are not working out the way I want them to work out.
I have been consciously trying to be as gracious as I can be to those I encounter. But I find my patience growing thin, and I am becoming more irritable. And the thoughts in my mind are anything but gracious. So if this is a test, I am not doing all that well.
* * *
Have you ever considered what are the things you react most strongly to? For me, it is having another treat me dismissively. I will react more strongly to having someone roll their eyes and walk away than nearly anything else. Twice yesterday -- in a shoe store, and in the hotel sports bar -- I was treated as if I was of no worth, and rather quickly dismissed.
Again ... a test.
* * *
But perhaps it is better in it's original form, I view this as a sign that you have mentioned the tense we consider Jesus in.
That your first inclination was to think of Him in the present tense is, I think, a very good sign. I am growing in my realization of His being present right now. I am not doing so well in the "do what I have told you" department.
I believe it to be a test of how I react to conditions that are irritating but not life threatening. I was talking to my lovely bride about this ... imagine being a family with only moderate means, out for a rare holiday, and having a flight canceled like this. It could end up costing the family considerably more than they planned for; perhaps considerably more than they have. It might also mean not returning to work on time, resulting in, perhaps, being fired.
Contrast that with me ... my hotel is paid by American Airlines. Even if it weren't, our employer would be picking it up. My meals are paid for by our employer. I have no particular time pressure to get home. My life is not threatened. I have no physical deprivations to speak of. But I am irritated nevertheless, simply because things are not working out the way I want them to work out.
I have been consciously trying to be as gracious as I can be to those I encounter. But I find my patience growing thin, and I am becoming more irritable. And the thoughts in my mind are anything but gracious. So if this is a test, I am not doing all that well.
* * *
Have you ever considered what are the things you react most strongly to? For me, it is having another treat me dismissively. I will react more strongly to having someone roll their eyes and walk away than nearly anything else. Twice yesterday -- in a shoe store, and in the hotel sports bar -- I was treated as if I was of no worth, and rather quickly dismissed.
Again ... a test.
* * *
But perhaps it is better in it's original form, I view this as a sign that you have mentioned the tense we consider Jesus in.
That your first inclination was to think of Him in the present tense is, I think, a very good sign. I am growing in my realization of His being present right now. I am not doing so well in the "do what I have told you" department.
Oil Pressure
Going North from Seville to Madrid we were behind schedule so were +100 mph all the way with temperatures approaching 50 degrees c! at points. This little glass doohicky blew out and that was the end of the trip for him.
That "little glass doohicky" was actually a nice little idea ... it made visually checking the oil an easy thing to do. My previous bike's oil check routine was a pain. My Wing is a little inconvenient because it requires I remove a body panel to get at the oil dipstick.
But it sounds like given the conditions -- heat, high speed -- the oil pressure in the bike exceeded the engineering limits. Or the glass doohickey was slightly stressed and the conditions caused the oil pressure to exceed the limits of the now-distressed glass doohickey.
Those conditions can also shred an oil filter, allowing contaminants to flow into the engine.
Just the other day someone on the Goldwing online forum was saying that a particular brand of oil filter had failed and caused an engine to be ruined. It then came out that the bike was actually a competition drag motorcycle, and that the the filter used was a stock filter, not intended for racing. Yep, that'll do it.
Oil pressure, baby ... it's all about the oil pressure.
Automotive engineering is fascinating. I know little about it, but what I do know fascinates me.
That "little glass doohicky" was actually a nice little idea ... it made visually checking the oil an easy thing to do. My previous bike's oil check routine was a pain. My Wing is a little inconvenient because it requires I remove a body panel to get at the oil dipstick.
But it sounds like given the conditions -- heat, high speed -- the oil pressure in the bike exceeded the engineering limits. Or the glass doohickey was slightly stressed and the conditions caused the oil pressure to exceed the limits of the now-distressed glass doohickey.
Those conditions can also shred an oil filter, allowing contaminants to flow into the engine.
Just the other day someone on the Goldwing online forum was saying that a particular brand of oil filter had failed and caused an engine to be ruined. It then came out that the bike was actually a competition drag motorcycle, and that the the filter used was a stock filter, not intended for racing. Yep, that'll do it.
Oil pressure, baby ... it's all about the oil pressure.
Automotive engineering is fascinating. I know little about it, but what I do know fascinates me.
The Living Jesus
It seems you have a fairly good grasp on Jesus as present tense.
That's weird you should say that because in my last post I originally wrote:
But ended up with:
Because I thought the first version was making Jesus out as a person that could change his definitions at a whim, so I thought it innapropriate and consciously changed it. But perhaps it is better in it's original form, I view this as a sign that you have mentioned the tense we consider Jesus in.
+++
The alarm clock in the hotel room next to mine is ringing and has for the past hour.
Ouch ouch ouch. It just gets worse doesn't it? I wonder what the reason for your ordeal here is?
That's weird you should say that because in my last post I originally wrote:
I guess it depends what Jesus defines as "knew"
But ended up with:
I guess it depends what Jesus defined as "knew"
Because I thought the first version was making Jesus out as a person that could change his definitions at a whim, so I thought it innapropriate and consciously changed it. But perhaps it is better in it's original form, I view this as a sign that you have mentioned the tense we consider Jesus in.
+++
The alarm clock in the hotel room next to mine is ringing and has for the past hour.
Ouch ouch ouch. It just gets worse doesn't it? I wonder what the reason for your ordeal here is?
Relationship
I understand the point and scary though it is it seems an odd thing to say, but I guess it depends what Jesus defined as "knew".
This gets to the concept of a "relationship" with Jesus. It's a slippery notion, I think. The nearest I can figure, it's something like this: I know you. You and I have had numerous conversations and we've had a relationship for nearly 10 years now. I know of your daughter, but I don't really know her at all. I've never met her, I've never spoken with her.
The idea of having a "conversation" with Jesus is one many people struggle with, myself included. Ultimately that's evidence of a weak faith. Part of the problem is a tendency on the part of people -- churches included -- to think of Jesus as past tense. Jesus was rather than Jesus is.
It sounds like you further down the path of relationship than most. It seems you have a fairly good grasp on Jesus as present tense.
* * *
On many issues on morality and ethics, one cannot take a rational stand without the help of some additional moral axioms.
I think that's true. Everyone, it seems, has some personal sense of what they consider moral. Nobody, I think, is truly amoral. They may not recognize the moral components of their reasoning, or may not acknowledge them, but I think they're always there.
The topic is far, far more complicated than I'm capable of exploring. I used to think I had the capacity for big thinking, though my training in it was lacking. Now I'm not so sure I have the capacity. That's not a "aw, poor me" statement ... it's just a statement of what I believe to be true.
* * *
The alarm clock in the hotel room next to mine is ringing and has for the past hour. Either nobody is in that room (likely) or the people there are heavy sleepers. And if they had their alarm for 5:30am on a Sunday, they probably had a flight to catch. It's unlikely they'll catch it now.
This gets to the concept of a "relationship" with Jesus. It's a slippery notion, I think. The nearest I can figure, it's something like this: I know you. You and I have had numerous conversations and we've had a relationship for nearly 10 years now. I know of your daughter, but I don't really know her at all. I've never met her, I've never spoken with her.
The idea of having a "conversation" with Jesus is one many people struggle with, myself included. Ultimately that's evidence of a weak faith. Part of the problem is a tendency on the part of people -- churches included -- to think of Jesus as past tense. Jesus was rather than Jesus is.
It sounds like you further down the path of relationship than most. It seems you have a fairly good grasp on Jesus as present tense.
* * *
On many issues on morality and ethics, one cannot take a rational stand without the help of some additional moral axioms.
I think that's true. Everyone, it seems, has some personal sense of what they consider moral. Nobody, I think, is truly amoral. They may not recognize the moral components of their reasoning, or may not acknowledge them, but I think they're always there.
The topic is far, far more complicated than I'm capable of exploring. I used to think I had the capacity for big thinking, though my training in it was lacking. Now I'm not so sure I have the capacity. That's not a "aw, poor me" statement ... it's just a statement of what I believe to be true.
* * *
The alarm clock in the hotel room next to mine is ringing and has for the past hour. Either nobody is in that room (likely) or the people there are heavy sleepers. And if they had their alarm for 5:30am on a Sunday, they probably had a flight to catch. It's unlikely they'll catch it now.
Moral Axioms?
I'd think the person was being boastful, being selfish, or lying.
These seem to be ingrained traits of the human being don't they? The point is, it would cause bad feeling of some sort, this advantage thing that is within our makeup.
Reminds me of some dialog from The Beatles Anthology series:
PAUL: Somehow the helicopter came. It landed down by the Ganges. This was on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh. And it was like, one of this "One of you can go up for a quick ride with Maharishi. Who's going to?".
"Me, sir, me, sir. Sir, sir!'' And, of course, it was John. John always would -- he was good at that, you know. So it got to be him, anyway. And I was saying, "Why, why were you so keen, like, to get up with Maharishi?'' He said, "Tell you the truth,'' he said, `"I thought he might slip me The Answer.'' [laughing] It was very John.
+++
Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.
I understand the point and scary though it is it seems an odd thing to say, but I guess it depends what Jesus defined as "knew". Considering that there appears to be a whole book written by humans somewhere on each word of The Bible, I wonder what human cogitation over history has made of this word here, knew. In Heaven doesn't Jesus gain omnipotency? Or is that ability reserved just for The Father?
I believe that Jesus definitely knows me -- at least in the way I would define "know" -- otherwise who else I have been communicating with? Now if He says to me "I don't know you" then I will spend eternity in Hell saying "Well then, who was I talking to all those years?" Assuming I can still think through the excrutiating pain.
Julian Barnes wrote a book The History of The World in 10 1/2 Chapters which for me is one of the greatest books ever written, and in there the protagonist ends up in Heaven and Hitler is there. "What!" he demands, "happened to Hell?" In the book it turns out there isn't any Hell, merely a theme park filled with skeletons and devils played by out-of-work actors. As his heavenly informant explains, "that's all people want nowadays".
+++
It is Saturday night and I should be home from G'burg. But my flight Friday evening was canceled and no flights were available until Sunday night. So I'm in a hotel near Dulles. And I'm in a foul mood.
Ouch sorry to hear that. Is there any way you can turn this to your advantage? I may have mentioned this before, I went on a 3-week long bike trip of France and Spain with a friend in 1992, aiming for London-Paris-Barcelona-Costa Del Sol-Seville-Madrid-Santander-Bordeaux-Back up through France to UK. Well those are the towns I can remember - we were in it to see the Olympics in Barcelona and the Exposition in Seville, both of which were excellent.
However, his Kawasaki 550 had a glass circle installed into the metal engine casing, a bright idea by some engineer, enabling the customer to look into the engine to see the oil level and if it needed topping up. Going North from Seville to Madrid we were behind schedule so were +100 mph all the way with temperatures approaching 50 degrees c! at points. This little glass dohicky blew out and that was the end of the trip for him, he was recovered to Madrid and then flew home a week later. Meanwhile I returned home alone, which was fun but would have preferred to have finished the trip with my buddy. That good old Suzuki 500 which a customer IT Operations manager loaned me :)
Anyway, while he was stuck in Madrid for a week he fell in love with the place, he spent one more year in the UK then moved to Spain permanently, he now has a French/Spanish missus and two kids, one of which I am Godfather to, the other to which I am an "uncle".
So if he had never had the "bad luck" - and at the time it felt disasterous - then his life would have been very different. Now, I'm not saying a 2 night delay is the same thing, but you get my point.
John Lennon said "There is no place you can be that isn't where you're meant to be". I find this comforting when I am late or held up in airports etc.
Yes I know he also said "I am the egg man goo goo ga choob".
PS. It seems that the flying economy has recovered from 9/11 anway - if the system is running at 100%.
+++
I'm trying to think of a case where morality would dictate one thing and reason clearly dictate something opposite.
Well the example I am thinking of is some cases of going to war. I'm arguing here that war is not rational of course. After all, people will die won't they? And typically the people that die will NOT be the people that send the others that WILL die into the war. But morally war may be the required action.
But only if I had a firm conviction of what was moral.
It's all about definitions and what we define to be "moral". Someone else (source unknown) highlights some of the issues here:
It should be clear that science and rationalism does not have any inherent value judgment in them.
Certain social views are not objective statements of facts, so are not dictated by rationalism. Examples of such ideologies are views on homosexual issues (like gay marriage), abortion rights, communism versus capitalism (in the sense of economic systems) etc.
On many issues on morality and ethics, one cannot take a rational stand without the help of some additional moral axioms.
In logic one draws a conclusion using valid rules of inferences starting from one or more premises (axioms). So to form a rational conclusion on an issue of morality one has to rely on some axiom or premise. An example of a premise may be to adopt "it is immoral to kill an innocent life" as a moral axiom.
Is the conclusion "abortion is immoral" then rational? If life is understood as defined in biology then it certainly is. If life is redefined as a human being after birth then it is not a rational conclusion. So the problem reduces to unambiguously defining "Life" in the axiom "it is immoral to kill an innocent life", to decide if the conclusion is valid or not.
Although science defines life unambiguously, that definition will not be acceptable to those who have adopted an a priori stand that abortion is not immoral, as that definition will contradict their ideological stand. At least we can see that taking either position on abortion is consistent with rationalism. But it will be inconsistent with rationalism to adopt one definition of life in one context and another definition in another context. That will be a fallacy of equivocation, and rationalism is inconsistent with logical fallacies.
In the case of abortion we saw that because of the ambiguity of the word "Life", it is not possible to assign a rational status on a stand on abortion. But in cases where a moral axiom is expressed in unambiguous terms and is universally accepted as an axiom, then it is possible to decisively judge if a conclusion based on the axiom is rational or not.
These seem to be ingrained traits of the human being don't they? The point is, it would cause bad feeling of some sort, this advantage thing that is within our makeup.
Reminds me of some dialog from The Beatles Anthology series:
PAUL: Somehow the helicopter came. It landed down by the Ganges. This was on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh. And it was like, one of this "One of you can go up for a quick ride with Maharishi. Who's going to?".
"Me, sir, me, sir. Sir, sir!'' And, of course, it was John. John always would -- he was good at that, you know. So it got to be him, anyway. And I was saying, "Why, why were you so keen, like, to get up with Maharishi?'' He said, "Tell you the truth,'' he said, `"I thought he might slip me The Answer.'' [laughing] It was very John.
+++
Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.
I understand the point and scary though it is it seems an odd thing to say, but I guess it depends what Jesus defined as "knew". Considering that there appears to be a whole book written by humans somewhere on each word of The Bible, I wonder what human cogitation over history has made of this word here, knew. In Heaven doesn't Jesus gain omnipotency? Or is that ability reserved just for The Father?
I believe that Jesus definitely knows me -- at least in the way I would define "know" -- otherwise who else I have been communicating with? Now if He says to me "I don't know you" then I will spend eternity in Hell saying "Well then, who was I talking to all those years?" Assuming I can still think through the excrutiating pain.
Julian Barnes wrote a book The History of The World in 10 1/2 Chapters which for me is one of the greatest books ever written, and in there the protagonist ends up in Heaven and Hitler is there. "What!" he demands, "happened to Hell?" In the book it turns out there isn't any Hell, merely a theme park filled with skeletons and devils played by out-of-work actors. As his heavenly informant explains, "that's all people want nowadays".
+++
It is Saturday night and I should be home from G'burg. But my flight Friday evening was canceled and no flights were available until Sunday night. So I'm in a hotel near Dulles. And I'm in a foul mood.
Ouch sorry to hear that. Is there any way you can turn this to your advantage? I may have mentioned this before, I went on a 3-week long bike trip of France and Spain with a friend in 1992, aiming for London-Paris-Barcelona-Costa Del Sol-Seville-Madrid-Santander-Bordeaux-Back up through France to UK. Well those are the towns I can remember - we were in it to see the Olympics in Barcelona and the Exposition in Seville, both of which were excellent.
However, his Kawasaki 550 had a glass circle installed into the metal engine casing, a bright idea by some engineer, enabling the customer to look into the engine to see the oil level and if it needed topping up. Going North from Seville to Madrid we were behind schedule so were +100 mph all the way with temperatures approaching 50 degrees c! at points. This little glass dohicky blew out and that was the end of the trip for him, he was recovered to Madrid and then flew home a week later. Meanwhile I returned home alone, which was fun but would have preferred to have finished the trip with my buddy. That good old Suzuki 500 which a customer IT Operations manager loaned me :)
Anyway, while he was stuck in Madrid for a week he fell in love with the place, he spent one more year in the UK then moved to Spain permanently, he now has a French/Spanish missus and two kids, one of which I am Godfather to, the other to which I am an "uncle".
So if he had never had the "bad luck" - and at the time it felt disasterous - then his life would have been very different. Now, I'm not saying a 2 night delay is the same thing, but you get my point.
John Lennon said "There is no place you can be that isn't where you're meant to be". I find this comforting when I am late or held up in airports etc.
Yes I know he also said "I am the egg man goo goo ga choob".
PS. It seems that the flying economy has recovered from 9/11 anway - if the system is running at 100%.
+++
I'm trying to think of a case where morality would dictate one thing and reason clearly dictate something opposite.
Well the example I am thinking of is some cases of going to war. I'm arguing here that war is not rational of course. After all, people will die won't they? And typically the people that die will NOT be the people that send the others that WILL die into the war. But morally war may be the required action.
But only if I had a firm conviction of what was moral.
It's all about definitions and what we define to be "moral". Someone else (source unknown) highlights some of the issues here:
It should be clear that science and rationalism does not have any inherent value judgment in them.
Certain social views are not objective statements of facts, so are not dictated by rationalism. Examples of such ideologies are views on homosexual issues (like gay marriage), abortion rights, communism versus capitalism (in the sense of economic systems) etc.
On many issues on morality and ethics, one cannot take a rational stand without the help of some additional moral axioms.
In logic one draws a conclusion using valid rules of inferences starting from one or more premises (axioms). So to form a rational conclusion on an issue of morality one has to rely on some axiom or premise. An example of a premise may be to adopt "it is immoral to kill an innocent life" as a moral axiom.
Is the conclusion "abortion is immoral" then rational? If life is understood as defined in biology then it certainly is. If life is redefined as a human being after birth then it is not a rational conclusion. So the problem reduces to unambiguously defining "Life" in the axiom "it is immoral to kill an innocent life", to decide if the conclusion is valid or not.
Although science defines life unambiguously, that definition will not be acceptable to those who have adopted an a priori stand that abortion is not immoral, as that definition will contradict their ideological stand. At least we can see that taking either position on abortion is consistent with rationalism. But it will be inconsistent with rationalism to adopt one definition of life in one context and another definition in another context. That will be a fallacy of equivocation, and rationalism is inconsistent with logical fallacies.
In the case of abortion we saw that because of the ambiguity of the word "Life", it is not possible to assign a rational status on a stand on abortion. But in cases where a moral axiom is expressed in unambiguous terms and is universally accepted as an axiom, then it is possible to decisively judge if a conclusion based on the axiom is rational or not.
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