Here is an excellent article that everyone should read.
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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: iTunes shuffle - currently Navras by Juno Reactor
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Shut Down
So I managed to get through shut down day without incident or difficulty. However, it mostly turned into watch TV evening, so I really just substituted one electronic device for another. Probably not what the organisers intended, but every little bit counts. I'm thinking of maybe one day a week just leaving the computer off on a regular basis, as I know I spend too much time on it.
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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: None
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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 2 days
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Friday, March 23, 2007
Shutting Down
It turns out that tomorrow is Shutdown Day, where people are encouraged to turn off their computers for one day. Since I managed to go about a month without too much difficulty, one day should not be too much of a problem.
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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 5 minute
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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 5 minute
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A plan for April
Recently I've decided on a plan for April. I'm not going to eat dinner somewhere I've eaten before. This is really just a way to make myself try some new places, as there are a number of places around my apartment that I've meant to try and have not yet done so. I'm going to make exceptions for social gatherings, and if I break down and actually cook, that won't count as well (The odds of me cooking twice in one month are small enough I doubt this will be a problem). Also, chains of restaurants count as one, so there will be no cheating by finding a new MacDonalds or Yoshinoya.
We'll see how I go.
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Writing time: 3 minutes
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: None
We'll see how I go.
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Writing time: 3 minutes
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: None
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Sumo Do Sumo Don't
The spring sumo tournament is currently being held in Osaka, so yesterday afternoon I went into Namba and to the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium where the tournament is hosted. I had a general idea of where to go and a tiny map on my phone, but in the end found it pretty easily. The point at which I started to be unsure of which way to go was when I looked left and saw the following, which solved the problem.
Getting a ticket wasn't too tricky and the line wasn't too long. The seats we got were pretty good, on the diagonal of the gymnasium. I got a bit of a sore neck from looking off to the right for most of the afternoon, but that is only a minor complaint.
I took a fair few photos (102 in total, although some have been culled before uploading to Flickr), and now I'm not so glowing in praise of camera phones. The phones OK for general sightseeing, but is limited when trying to zoom in a long way, for example from seat D7-107 to the dohyo (sumo ring). A few of the better ones will be at the end of this, and all but the worst are here.
Sumo is a very ritualised sport, and the actual sport part is only a tiny part of the performance. One bout had about 3 minutes of build up and 3 seconds of actual sumo fight. Sometimes the build up had the feeling of "I don't want to fight this guy", and some of the fighters who had this done to them would play to the crowd acting cocky, which always got a good response from the crowd. The longest actual fight went for only about 30 seconds. There were only a few fights where one wrestler was thrown out of the ring and landed on some of the spectators (the best seats are only a few feet from the ring, so being squashed by a falling sumo is a very real possibility.
The crowd in general was pretty quiet, although for some of the big (pun unintended) fighters the crowd got more vocal. Also, there was a little kid near us who would yell out the name of a lot of fighters, which helped us keep track of the bouts. Names I remember being yelled out were Ama, Hakuho, Tochiazuma, and Asashoryu.
End Post
Writing time: 38 minutes
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: iTunes shuffle of unplayed songs, currently From the Sea by Eskimo Joe
Getting a ticket wasn't too tricky and the line wasn't too long. The seats we got were pretty good, on the diagonal of the gymnasium. I got a bit of a sore neck from looking off to the right for most of the afternoon, but that is only a minor complaint.
I took a fair few photos (102 in total, although some have been culled before uploading to Flickr), and now I'm not so glowing in praise of camera phones. The phones OK for general sightseeing, but is limited when trying to zoom in a long way, for example from seat D7-107 to the dohyo (sumo ring). A few of the better ones will be at the end of this, and all but the worst are here.
Sumo is a very ritualised sport, and the actual sport part is only a tiny part of the performance. One bout had about 3 minutes of build up and 3 seconds of actual sumo fight. Sometimes the build up had the feeling of "I don't want to fight this guy", and some of the fighters who had this done to them would play to the crowd acting cocky, which always got a good response from the crowd. The longest actual fight went for only about 30 seconds. There were only a few fights where one wrestler was thrown out of the ring and landed on some of the spectators (the best seats are only a few feet from the ring, so being squashed by a falling sumo is a very real possibility.
The crowd in general was pretty quiet, although for some of the big (pun unintended) fighters the crowd got more vocal. Also, there was a little kid near us who would yell out the name of a lot of fighters, which helped us keep track of the bouts. Names I remember being yelled out were Ama, Hakuho, Tochiazuma, and Asashoryu.
End Post
Writing time: 38 minutes
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: iTunes shuffle of unplayed songs, currently From the Sea by Eskimo Joe
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Reconsideration
I may have overreacted a little last week.
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Writing time: 30 seconds
Time since last post: 2 days
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Writing time: 30 seconds
Time since last post: 2 days
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Saturday, March 17, 2007
Cool video
Here is a video of several sand castles being blown up. For extra fun the film has been played backwards. It's pretty cool.
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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 5 minutes
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Writing time: 1 minute
Time since last post: 5 minutes
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The sin of self righteousness
Yesterday morning I watched the movie Death Note. It's based on a manga series and was one of the most popular Japanese movies released last year.
The story is another illustration of how power and the belief in the rightness of ones cause can lead one into the path of evil. The story starts with a university student finding a notebook that when you write someone's name in it they will soon die. The student starts using it to kill criminals who appear to have evaded justice.
Now I can't say I don't enjoy vigilantism. I'm a big fan of Batman, who is nothing if not a vigilante. In fact, most comic book heroes are vigilantes. However, the student takes things a step further. The police notice the pattern in the killing and start investigating the person behind the deaths.
The start of this investigation involved a press conference in which a spokesman announces to the world that the police are hunter the killer. Angered by the idea that the police are hunting them, the student uses the book to kill the spokesman. As it turns out, the spokesman was a criminal sentenced to death, but that does not change the intention of the students actions.
This is just the start of the students self serving actions to get away from the investigators and follow his own plans. His schemes to thwart the investigators includes killing numerous investigators, and at the end of the movie in a scheme to infiltrate the investigation he sets up an elaborate situation that ends with the killing of his girlfriend.
While you can have a certain amount of respect for the student for his cunning and clever schemes, but his actions are nothing but reprehensible. And the justification for his actions is that he has a plan to make the world a better place that has no crime. This sort of self justification is dangerous as it allows the believer to justify nearly any action, no matter how despicable. No matter what the situation, no matter what the cause, there are some actions that cannot be justified, and no ends that justifies the means.
I'm not sure if I'll watch the second movie that concludes the story, I probably will, but mostly because I hope that the student gets caught and dealt with in an appropriate means.
End Post
Writing time: 23 minutes
Time since last post: 5 days
Current media: Absolute Power 2x05
The story is another illustration of how power and the belief in the rightness of ones cause can lead one into the path of evil. The story starts with a university student finding a notebook that when you write someone's name in it they will soon die. The student starts using it to kill criminals who appear to have evaded justice.
Now I can't say I don't enjoy vigilantism. I'm a big fan of Batman, who is nothing if not a vigilante. In fact, most comic book heroes are vigilantes. However, the student takes things a step further. The police notice the pattern in the killing and start investigating the person behind the deaths.
The start of this investigation involved a press conference in which a spokesman announces to the world that the police are hunter the killer. Angered by the idea that the police are hunting them, the student uses the book to kill the spokesman. As it turns out, the spokesman was a criminal sentenced to death, but that does not change the intention of the students actions.
This is just the start of the students self serving actions to get away from the investigators and follow his own plans. His schemes to thwart the investigators includes killing numerous investigators, and at the end of the movie in a scheme to infiltrate the investigation he sets up an elaborate situation that ends with the killing of his girlfriend.
While you can have a certain amount of respect for the student for his cunning and clever schemes, but his actions are nothing but reprehensible. And the justification for his actions is that he has a plan to make the world a better place that has no crime. This sort of self justification is dangerous as it allows the believer to justify nearly any action, no matter how despicable. No matter what the situation, no matter what the cause, there are some actions that cannot be justified, and no ends that justifies the means.
I'm not sure if I'll watch the second movie that concludes the story, I probably will, but mostly because I hope that the student gets caught and dealt with in an appropriate means.
End Post
Writing time: 23 minutes
Time since last post: 5 days
Current media: Absolute Power 2x05
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Fuck
Fuck, fuck fuckety fuck.
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Writing time: 10 seconds
Time since last post: who cares
Current media: None
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Writing time: 10 seconds
Time since last post: who cares
Current media: None
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Cowboy Bebop
I've started watching the full series of Cowboy Bebop. I've watched a few episodes in the past, but not in a regular fashion. I started watching because I wanted something in Japanese so I could do some more listening to spoken Japanese outside the context of trains and bars.
So far it is really good. The animation is great, and the music is fantastic. The stories are pretty good, but so far there hasn't been much of an overall story, although reliable sources have stated that there is one. I'm only up to episode 5 out of 26 so it probably hasn't had time to develop and become clear yet.
Anyway, I'm going to keep going through listening to the Japanese audio. Later on I may try the English audio, as I have noticed a few times when the English words don't exactly match up with the English audio.
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Writing time: 5 minutes
Time since last post: 15 minutes
Current media: Cowboy Bebop episode 5
So far it is really good. The animation is great, and the music is fantastic. The stories are pretty good, but so far there hasn't been much of an overall story, although reliable sources have stated that there is one. I'm only up to episode 5 out of 26 so it probably hasn't had time to develop and become clear yet.
Anyway, I'm going to keep going through listening to the Japanese audio. Later on I may try the English audio, as I have noticed a few times when the English words don't exactly match up with the English audio.
End Post
Writing time: 5 minutes
Time since last post: 15 minutes
Current media: Cowboy Bebop episode 5
A Good Idea
Today on Slashdot there has been a discussion of an idea I think is definitely a good one that should be implemented. The idea is that legislation should use a Version Control System to manage bills introduced and the amendments made to them.
This is a really good idea as at the moment there are too many instances of self serving or clandestine legislation being done (see here and here for but two examples, and pork barrelling n general). I've have written before that excessive amendments to bills is a bad idea, and these sort of actions reinforces those points. Having a publicly accessible record of who introduced what changes and when would be a valuable tool for the public to keep an eye on their elected representatives.
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Writing time: 21 minutes
Time since last post: about half an hour
Current media: Cowboy Bebop
This is a really good idea as at the moment there are too many instances of self serving or clandestine legislation being done (see here and here for but two examples, and pork barrelling n general). I've have written before that excessive amendments to bills is a bad idea, and these sort of actions reinforces those points. Having a publicly accessible record of who introduced what changes and when would be a valuable tool for the public to keep an eye on their elected representatives.
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Writing time: 21 minutes
Time since last post: about half an hour
Current media: Cowboy Bebop
Whither Turkey?
Bad news from Turkey via the BBC today. A Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk has been sentenced to 6 months in jail for referring to Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan as "Mr Ocalan". Apparently using Mr is a sign of respect for Mr Ocalan, who I don't know enough about to make a judgment call on. In any case, the use of Mr is a pretty standard thing, which usually doesn't make much claim about the person being referred to.
All of this of course is prevaricating before dealing with the main issue. This is of course a massive violation of Mr Turks right to freedom of speech. Mr Turk has the right to respect whoever he wants, and to speak about other people in any manner he sees fit. 6 months in jail for saying Mr Ocalan is outrageous.
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Writing time: 28 minutes (I was a little distracted)
Time since last post: about half an hour
Current media: Cowboy Bebop
All of this of course is prevaricating before dealing with the main issue. This is of course a massive violation of Mr Turks right to freedom of speech. Mr Turk has the right to respect whoever he wants, and to speak about other people in any manner he sees fit. 6 months in jail for saying Mr Ocalan is outrageous.
End Post
Writing time: 28 minutes (I was a little distracted)
Time since last post: about half an hour
Current media: Cowboy Bebop
More for EMACS
When it comes to VI vs Emacs I tend to sit in the Emacs camp, although I have been known to use VI on occasion. But today I found out something new that Emacs can do. You can now post to blogger using an Emacs extension. The text editor that can do everything can now do even more. Take that notepad.
I won't be making use of this, since I have only just installed Emacs on my macbook, and am still looking for my .emacs file, and where to put it since they've changed some things around for the mac version. I also am more than satisfied with the web browser interface so don't feel the need to mess around with this just for the heck of it.
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Writing time: 14 minutes
Time since last post: 5 days
Current media: None
I won't be making use of this, since I have only just installed Emacs on my macbook, and am still looking for my .emacs file, and where to put it since they've changed some things around for the mac version. I also am more than satisfied with the web browser interface so don't feel the need to mess around with this just for the heck of it.
End Post
Writing time: 14 minutes
Time since last post: 5 days
Current media: None
Friday, March 02, 2007
Good Idea Coonan
I read in Crikey today that communications minister Helen Coonan has put forward the brilliant idea that all media in Australia should be classified in a scheme similar to that currently used for films. This includes newspapers, magazines, books and of course the Internet.
This idea has several problems, the main one philosophical, other logistical and jurisdictional. The main objection to this is that this censorship, which violates the principle of freedom of speech. Requiring every book, magazine, newspaper and website to be classified before publication is a massive act of prior restraint.
Logistically, this is a nightmare which would require a massive increase in the staff of the department. The number of books, magazines, newspapers and websites published dwarfs the number of films and games released each year, with a frequency and speed that a government department would be hard pressed to keep up with.
Finally there is the issue of jurisdiction on material published on the Internet. If I use an American service (oh, for example, Blogger) to host a blog that I write in Australia, am I required to submit it for classification, and how about the reverse situation. What if someone visits Australia and writes a few posts for there blog based in England. Others can come up with more convoluted situations that can be used to muddy the water and show how this cannot be implemented cleanly, clearly, fairly, and efficiently.
End Post
Writing time: 11 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: The Daily Show
This idea has several problems, the main one philosophical, other logistical and jurisdictional. The main objection to this is that this censorship, which violates the principle of freedom of speech. Requiring every book, magazine, newspaper and website to be classified before publication is a massive act of prior restraint.
Logistically, this is a nightmare which would require a massive increase in the staff of the department. The number of books, magazines, newspapers and websites published dwarfs the number of films and games released each year, with a frequency and speed that a government department would be hard pressed to keep up with.
Finally there is the issue of jurisdiction on material published on the Internet. If I use an American service (oh, for example, Blogger) to host a blog that I write in Australia, am I required to submit it for classification, and how about the reverse situation. What if someone visits Australia and writes a few posts for there blog based in England. Others can come up with more convoluted situations that can be used to muddy the water and show how this cannot be implemented cleanly, clearly, fairly, and efficiently.
End Post
Writing time: 11 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: The Daily Show
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Something Good Comes of Nietzsche
I found a funny website thanks to some random browsing of Wikipedia. I was reading the article on The Family Circus and one of the external links that was in the article was for something called The Nietzsche Family Circus. It randomly takes one of a selection of Nietzsche quotes and pairs it with a randomly selected Family Circus cartoon.
The combination is quite surreal and the contrast between the pictures and the words is striking.
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Writing time: 21 minutes (I got distracted)
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: The Daily Show
The combination is quite surreal and the contrast between the pictures and the words is striking.
End Post
Writing time: 21 minutes (I got distracted)
Time since last post: 2 days
Current media: The Daily Show
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