(Not exactly a diary more a record of thoughts and observations stimulated by news and events, day by day.)
Above all and probably the most damaging of human traits, we are highly motivated by greed, power and possession.
Without knowing what the human evolutionary timescale is or whether it reaches a conclusion, it's impossible to say where we are in that process. My belief is that we are still in our infancy and have everything to learn about the planet, the galaxy and universe, in which we live. I also believe that sentient species, such as us, reach critical times in their evolutionary development, when their management of the technologies they have mastered determines their survival or demise. It might be said that the first of these, nuclear weaponry has been successfully negotiated, a view, to which I don't subscribe. The shadow of nuclear war has hung over us since the 1940's and if anything, is becoming more dangerous as the technology spreads among nations with more aggressive natures, minimal respect for human life and beliefs in primitive religions and sacrifice. Ironically, this is overshadowed by our exploitation of fossil fuels, which is destabilising the planet's ecosystem and threatening all life on this planet.
Will we survive? Does it matter? only to us, most probably. How many other species in our galaxy have walked this path? If we survive, how far do we go and what do we become? As we are now, it's difficult to imagine humanity as a powerful benevolence in the galactic community. We would need to shed the primitive instincts that still reside in our genealogy. We don't appear to have made much progress in that regard, so far. If there are other intelligent species 'out there' and I firmly believe there are, I'm guessing they are not too different from us in respect of their evolutions. It would seem logical that all species develop in approximately the same way in that they originate in a primordial soup. Life forms develop and evolve to produce a wide variety of adaptions. Almost certainly a food chain is established and a hierarchy headed by a dominant species, that may change with time, as ours did. It's reasonable to assume that this process does not always produce a sentient species, given the complexity and circumstance required, but where it does, technologies will follow. Varying environmental influences will most likely have a produced a wide range of life forms, many of which, we may not initially recognise as intelligent.
What will be our survival test, our own selfish arrogance, maybe? That we believe our species to be special and not subject to the volatile nature of the planet we inhabit. Our preoccupation with the acquisition and maintenance of wealth and power to the exclusion of a proper and adequate response to the damage we are doing our planet's natural and life sustaining systems, must be a good candidate for self annilhilation. One thing for sure, we must control our numbers! Our propensity to procreate will destroy us if we don't move off of this planet. Earth's resources are finite, as is its ability to recover the damage we do. So it becomes a question of what will happen first.
Assuming we do survive ourselves, what next? There are considerable challenges to establishing a human colony on our nearest neighbours, the Moon or maybe Mars. Both have been found to contain water deposits, albeit not as we know it but useable. This is encouraging but only the beginning of a project that would make all of mankind's achievements to date look like nursery playtime. We need to solve the mind blowing technical challenges of designing and building a structure that will support a human colony on another planet, which is over 40 million miles from Earth and which has no breathable atmosphere. (I don't see the Moon being used for large human colonies, but as a base for deep space exploration, construction projects and mineral resource mining.) Then, on Mars, we would have to make the self-contained cities or towns large enough or build additional colonies to take enough of the human population from Earth to allow the ecology here to recover.This is just considering the principles of the technological challenges. The physical, social and political challenges would be equally mind blowing.
If and when this stage in human evolution is reached it will be the stepping stone to deep space travel and exploration, but I'm guessing that it will take us somewhere between fifty to a hundred years to achieve it but according to current estimates, we don't have that luxury. Maybe a major climate change is unavoidable and will cause the necessary reduction in human global population and a change of mindset. It's somewhat academic at the moment. Documentaries on television don't equate to an imminent threat and the school of concerned scientists are not convincing the politicians. As the threat begins to manifest and cause widespread fatalities and destruction it could concentrate the collective mind and resource to accelerate the development of 'green' technologies and bring us more into symbiosis with our planet, if human society's infrastructure remains intact.
Again, assuming human civilisation survives climate change, what will we look like? It's predicted that the coastal map will have been reshaped as oceanic levels will be higher by at least a metre, maybe two metres. This will mean that land becomes more valuable, which could generate conflicts. Will we still use fossil fuels? With violent storms sweeping the oceans it may not be possible to continue recovery of crude oil from the sea, so it's most likely to become a scarce and expensive commodity sooner. How we adapt is difficult to predict as we are not sure of exactly what we face or how soon it will happen, but we do know that Earth's climate is changing and that we will have to adapt. The generation of electricity is a fundamental requirement to enable us to maintain our society. Even electrically powered transport will require replenishment from national grid systems, which obtain supply from fossil fuel powered generating stations. It's difficult to imagine an early, complete independence from fossil fuels.
The worst scenario is that climate change will be so severe as to cause extinction of the majority of life on planet Earth. It wouldn't be the first time. Natural climate adjustment has occurred in the past, leaving just a few life forms alive and setting evolution on this planet on a different path. Not just climate change but also impact with the Earth by a wandering asteroid or meteor, has produced massive climate change and eliminated major species, the dinosaurs for example, but this is far less likely. On the other hand we might just be confronted with the need to adjust our life style, habits and expectations. Not that we will find that easy! A fundamental shift in our attitude to our environment, the Earth's resources and most importantly, containing and even reducing the human global population, will be the critical ingredients for the future of humanity. The continued consumption of mineral resources and the pollution of the atmosphere is unsustainable. Assuming we get all that right our future will still depend upon the technologies we develop and how quickly they become reality. First among these is clean energy generation. A number of options are currently in research and development but the motivation is profit, not survival. This, of course, will reverse as climate change bites harder and begins to hurt economies by damaging large sections of national population and infrastructure. Sadly for us, this necessary about-turn will most probably not occur in time to avoid widespread destruction and fatalities on a global scale.
Ok, so we survived, but now a badly shaken and slimmed down human global population, with an extensively damaged infrastructure. Has it made us change our attitude? It would be the height of foolish arrogance to continue the way we had in the past. Most likely we couldn't anyway, as the damage and changes to our civilisation will be presenting us with entirely new challenges. Assuming we will have learnt lessons from the experience, it is now that our innovation and skill with technology will serve us best. This will be a pivotal moment in human evolution, which will decide whether we recover to live in symbiosis with our planet and go on to colonise other planets or, we fail to face up to the challenges and slide into decline, destroying our planet's ability to support life.
PS
I read this to my wife who replied with the classic response........."What are you doing to help the situation?" You can't criticise if you're doing nothing yourself to help the situation!
Reasonable? Ok, let's consider that viewpoint. First, one person's efforts don't even register! Half a million people's efforts would produce very little improvement. It needs the majority of the world's developed nation's citizens to make significant sacrifices in their everyday lives to produce any worthwhile contribution to reduce carbon emissions and other pollutants. Is that going to happen? You decide.
Next, what is it that we each would need to do? Stop using transportation that employs fossil fuels. But that's everything! I wouldn't be able to go anywhere further than I can walk or ride a horse or bicycle, if I had one. How would I carry the 5 bags of shopping I buy each weekend? The supermarket is 5 miles away, what if it's bad weather In any case the elderly and many others wouldn't wouldn't be physically capable of doing this. Ok, use public transport. Have you tried carrying 5 bags of food shopping on a bus? Everybody else who's able, will be doing the same. Even if they increased the number of buses, it would be chaos.That's just shopping, what about my job? My office is 25 miles away, how would I get there? There's no alternative work in my neighbourhood that would pay anything like the salary I earn. I would need to sell my house as the mortgage would no longer be affordable. Most of my relatives live more than 10 miles away, some 125 miles away. Practically all holiday options would no longer be available. Situations such as visits to the doctor's surgery would become major events and require half a day to complete. Long distance shopping, shopping malls for example, would be almost out of the question. A move to use only public transport would require massive investment to upgrade current systems. This would take years to complete and still not offer the convenience or versatility of personal transport. In any case, wouldn't this just be changing one mode of fossil fuel driven transport for another?
Successive governments, during the 20th century, have built and promoted a society, which depends heavily upon the consumption of electrical energy and the use of personal transport. Shopping precincts, supermarkets, retail parks, business centres all located out of town and city centres. The move of goods haulage from railway to roads, the promotion of holidays abroad, the de-centralisation of families have all made owning personal transport a necessity and increased our dependence on road transport in general and therefore, the use of fossil fuels.
No, me as an individual, making my life miserable by stepping back in time a hundred years, would make absolutely no difference and certainly wouldn't encourage anybody else to do the same. The initiative has got to come from governments. They have got to bite- the-bullet and sweep aside vested interests, make unpopular decisions and invest large amounts of our GDP in developing 'green' energy systems and transportation. Now!
3 Feb 2006
Driving back from the local rail station I was listening to Sarah Kennedy’s morning prattle on the car radio. She summarises the newspapers headlines and stories of note, one of which was a report of how the armed forces are now actively trying to recruit homosexuals!!! How things have changed? Not very long ago a homosexual in the Army would have been very careful to keep his sexual deviation secret.
This, not least, to avoid receiving physical and mental abuse from his peers, notwithstanding that revealing it would have had him ejected from the armed forces in short order. I can’t image that, even now, living in confined quarters on a ship with the inevitable personal ‘close encounters’ that occur, that it is freely accepted by everyone.
25 February 2006
The lunacy continues!
7 Feb 2006
The, so called cleric, Abu Hanza,
has been found guilty of numerous terrorist incitements and promotions whilst
in the relative immunity of the Finsbury Mosque and has received a seven year
sentence but could be released in eighteen
months!!!!!!!! What the hell is going
on?
The only saving grace is that, when he’s released he will
most probably be deported to the
The rule of law has got to be respected for it to be observed. Corruptions of sentence such as this simply undermine the very fabric of justice until it becomes meaningless and promotes the atmosphere in which our Police now struggle to maintain law and order.
3 Feb 2006
Driving back from the local rail station I was listening to Sarah Kennedy’s morning prattle on the car radio. She summarises the newspapers headlines and stories of note, one of which was a report of how the armed forces are now actively trying to recruit homosexuals!!! How things have changed? Not very long ago a homosexual in the Army would have been very careful to keep his sexual deviation secret.
This, not least, to avoid receiving physical and mental abuse from his peers, notwithstanding that revealing it would have had him ejected from the armed forces in short order. I can’t image that, even now, living in confined quarters on a ship with the inevitable personal ‘close encounters’ that occur, it is freely accepted by everyone.
12 Jan 2006
Watching the 6pm TV news each day makes it obvious that the media look for the negative rather than promote the positive. Hardly a news broadcast is seen now that doesn’t major on crime and catastrophe. To broadcast success and the positive aspects of human nature appears to be unfashionable and doesn’t warrant airtime.
This persistent barrage of visions of death, destruction, revelations of government failures, the decline in law and order, is not a natural phenomenon and is far in excess of what we, individually, are psychologically structured to absorb. I hazard a guess that at least one of the effects that this promotes is the insular attitude and reduction in compassion that has become prevalent among us in the last 50 years.
p class=MsoNormal>27 December 2005This is probably the last entry for 2005. Tempest Fugit!
No revelations.
We, humanity, continue to destroy the ecosphere, upon which life on this planet depends. It’s interesting to note how we, including me, accept the scientific reports of how life on this planet is going to change. The predictions are nothing short of catastrophic, shifts in weather patterns, at least a 2 metre rise in oceanic levels, increases in harmful radiations penetrating the ozone layer, the destruction of rain forests and their important contribution to the planets ecosystems. The list is long and frightening. Apart from essentially being trapped by the way our societies operate, we don’t yet feel threatened by the changes in weather patterns. It would be impossible to maintain the lifestyles we currently pursue if we were to abandon the items that produce the pollution that is the root cause of global warming. The changes needed in the way we live, I fear, are not going to happen in time to avert catastrophic damage and fatality in human society, on a worldwide scale. By that time, humanity will no longer have a choice. Not a popular viewpoint and totally unacceptable to many, these events will also address what I believe to be the fundamental cause of humanities problems, that of an unsustainable human population on planet Earth. We covert such an elevated opinion of our species and its place in the scheme of things that we cannot and do not accept that we can be eliminated by natural events.
It is the sheer weight of the number of human beings that is causing the failure of the natural systems on this planet. They can no longer recover from the damage done by human exploitation and its consumption of natural resources, all of which are perpetuated by the lack of evolutionary development of the human intellect, which is incapable of adapting to meet the threat.
We arrive at one of my primary beliefs that all ‘intelligent’ species, here and elsewhere in the universe, reach critical times during their evolution when they are threatened by self destruction, which primarily results from their own advances in invention and technology. The ability to survive these ‘moments’ depends on the level to which their intellectual capabilities have developed and enables them to prioritise and adapt.
This doesn’t bode well for humanity, who, are still preoccupied with racial and cultural prejudices, the possession of power and wealth, greed and suspicion rather than pooling their global skills and resources to avoid potential extinction.
In terms of an evolutionary timescale humanity may not survive for much longer.
Reading the report of the American probe crashing into the comet Tempel 1, in the New Scientist e-zine I receive, stimulated the thought that comets are probably failed planets. That is to say that there wasn’t sufficient material in the vicinity to attract and create the mass needed to generate the forces that produce nuclear fission at it’s centre, followed by the volcanic systems and chemical reactions etc. that create planetary bodies and their particular biospheres. It never got beyond the preliminary attraction of a limited quantity of material (dust) hence its relatively small size and inability to produce a fission reaction.
We saw an unbelievable example of human stupidity at the Indianapolis F1 Grand Prix today. For whatever reason, Michelin have supplied an unsafe tyre to the teams that use them. A high speed banked bend on the track has been found to cause a high rate of tyre wear and likely failure after 10 ten laps. A recommendation to insert a chicane at this point, to slow the cars down and prevent this accelerated wear has been rejected and the majority of teams have not started the race.
I don’t know what to make of this! The Internet is full of fanciful rubbish but it also contains genuine research, invention and account. The trick is to filter out the rubbish! A report, e-mailed to me by daughter no.2, appears to be genuine and if so, is a revelation that should shake humanity to its roots.
Mapping the Human Genome was completed a while ago but, identifying the contents of our DNA and its function is considered a lifetime’s occupation. The description “junk DNA” means little, other than to those who work within the HGP (Human Genome Project). It’s a term applied to the non-active genes in our bodies.
A HGP research group, led by prof. Sam Chang, has discovered that ‘junk DNA’ accounts for 97%! In other words we operate on just 3% of the total DNA we carry.
In short Prof. Chang has, by enlisting the help of a financial analyst and a cryptographer/computer programmer, identified that this other 97% of our DNA is, what amounts to a complete program for the human body. If totally activated, it would enhance us in every respect and eliminate disease. The most startling fact to come out of this is that the construction of this 97% draws strong parallels with the logic in human created computer programs but is many millions of years old.
The conclusions drawn by Prof. Chang and his research group are that an extraterrestrial intelligence created and implanted these structures in life on Earth many millennia ago! If and when we discover how to activate this full DNA structure, Humanity will change.
Again, I can’t help comparing these conclusions with my own, contained in two of my books. If one looks at our specie’s development logically and without the constrictions of religious beliefs, the involvement of a highly developed species from elsewhere, is a perfectly reasonable option.
No shortage of the bizarre and nonsensical these days!
Apparently the government is exploring the possibility of replacing road tax and the exorbitant tax they levy on petrol with a ‘pay as you drive scheme’. Dependant on location, a charge will be made for each mile driven, as tracked by a satellite. The theory being, motorists will adjust their route to avoid expensive areas, thereby alleviating traditional routes from jams. (so they will clog up small towns and villages instead) Oh boy! There’s always the public transport option…..isn’t there?
A prime example of the mentality that reigns in our society at present was reported recently. Two young adults were killed some weeks ago when the driver of the car they wer in, lost control on a local bend and hit a tree. To put this into context, they were being pursued by ‘friends’ in another car whilst on a homeward journey, at a speed inappropriate for both the driver and road at that particular spot. It’s reported that a member of one of the victim’s families has felled the tree in an act of revenge. The local Estate, upon which the tree resided, is to investigate and will take legal action against the brain cell challenged idiot responsible.
I sincerely hope they are successful.
Broadband problems pale into insignificance alongside the proposals of the newly invigorated Labour government we suffer. Proposals to supposedly, ease the lot of those who cannot now afford the join the home ownership fraternity, are destined to consume land at an even greater rate, brown or green. What research has been done to assess the affect of covering vast tracts of earth with concrete and preventing the natural seepage of rainwater into the soil and subsequently, aquifers and subterranean fresh water stores?
water courses. Will we be surprised when water sources and the subsoil structure begin to fail? All this is additional to the destruction of our countryside and the psychological effects of loosing open spaces.
Ok, looks like my broadband problem has been solved. Connection has been solid since the cable move, even through yesterday evening! I might now start asking questions about the 26dB drop between our main jack and the BT cabinet at the local distribution cabinet. Might be interesting to find out what the parameters are for a 2Mb service!!!
Update: It's now 5 years later! I currently receive an average download speed of 3.4Mb which, by standards elsewhere, is pathetic. If you are located in a town or city you can expect between 8Mb and 20Mb and with the implementation of fibre optics, this could rise to 50Mb!I’ve received yet another e-mail, identifying references and sources of information this time, expounding theories which bring together forces and aliens yet to be fully revealed to the human race. Now we are apparently entering a new phase of existence known as Ascension. Now the human race is turning to looking for truths and a more compatible existence with nature.
Oh yeah, where are these friends of the Earth then?It sounds good but smacks of mystic powers and forces just outside the perception of mankind, as is always the way with this mindset. If pressed, I see it as a search for an alternative to religion, to replace that which served humanity in the past but has now failed and no longer draws the faithful to it’s churches. A new ‘crutch’ or rationale is needed for humanity to blame or use as an excuse for it's failings and lack of understanding and ability to come to terms with nature. This new ‘faith’ will gather momentum and prevail for a short time, but will fade as the human species develops even more spectacular technologies, if it survives itself!
I have been conversing, via e-mail, with a Dr Boylan. A self professed authority on alien life. He responds with simple but curt answers to my questions regarding the credibility of his reports, understandably I suppose. He has today, inferred that I’m ill informed and, rather than complaining, should research the subject of ET evidence more fully. This I would do but the data is at best, dubious. On the other hand I don’t want to alienate him, especially as I’ve sent him a copy manuscript of book one of 2150 TI for his opinion. Who knows?
He offers e-mail reports on scientific, technical and spiritual type matters, some of which he is involved with, personally. daughter’s action was prompted by a current report, concerning a highly secret aircraft/spacecraft that the Americans have apparently constructed using technology gleaned from crashed alien craft.
This craft, designated the TAW-50,
has the ability to reach speeds over mach 50!
It can accelerate from zero to maximum in seconds and achieve the
reverse. Powered by a form of nuclear
power, the crew are protected from the crushing affects of such acceleration
and deceleration by an inertial dampening system. Such speeds within Earths atmosphere would
make it a fireball so it must also be constructed of a highly advanced heat
resistant material also. It’s also fitted
with an antigravity device, which considerably enhances its capabilities. This reads like a specification for a
spacecraft featured in contemporary science fiction but, is apparently factual
data leaked by a contractor, employed in the highly secret research and
development projects funded by the
If this were true, the least these technologies could achieve would be to change our lives by making fossil fuel driven systems obsolete but not without a considerable reaction from economies that rely heavily upon the petrochemical industry.
Nothing has changed and right now, I’m in one of those ‘low’ periods where I see no promise of improvement in humanity’s attitudes and behaviour. The impact of human existence on the planet increases in severity daily and we continue to ignore it.
Perhaps it doesn’t matter because we’ve already passed the point, up to where, we had the option to prevent, or at least minimise, the consequences that face us in the future.
Been meaning to pen this comment for a few days but one or two things diverted me!
The current election fever, being whipped up, mostly by the media, is as expected, producing all the usual transparent promises from politicians that they will put everything right by addressing the concerns of the electorate. The opinion polls, of course, pump out their ‘guesses’ as to who’s leading and the latest 'wisdom' puts Labour ahead still. This made me consider the shift in the Labour party’s fortunes and the possible reasons for it and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s about class and privilege.
The lack of good pronunciation and a generally low grammatical ability, especially among the young, is fronting the sink in general standards of behaviour and a growing tendency to criticise anyone who does speak correctly. The contemporary strengthening of minority groups and their attacks on the traditions of the wealthy and privileged, is another indicator of the way the masses are growing in confidence and inclination to dismantle previously held standards.
Voting for the Labour party always was a vote against privilege and wealth by the working class, but now the working class, for the most part, have been lifted out of poverty and low-grade occupations and are seeding the professions and other preserves of the privileged with their attitudes and habits. Unfortunately, this evolution isn’t producing anything that improves our culture and, like water, is settling at the lowest level it can find. Examples:- Pronounciation.... words ending in 'ing' are pronounced 'ink'. The letter 'T' is not pronounced and words like 'BUTTER' are pronounced 'BUERR' (difficult to write as there's no written character to illustrate the absence of the 'T' sound in words.) 'TH' has become 'F' So 'Think' is pronounced 'Fink'. In other words, the poor pronounciation which, was confined to the speech of the poorly educated, is becoming widely used. A current pronounciation that really bugs me, concerns the word 'YOU', now pronounced by many of the female fraternity as 'YEW'. So what does it matter? you may ask. For me, it illustrates the absence of at least one value in an individual's mentality. It can also still indicate a poor education or the mind numbing need to adopt what is currently fashionable.
Been a while but, a few days ago I received the weekly e-zine from New Scientist and it contained a report that I keep thinking about. The report stated that a UN scientific study has found that Human behaviour is inflicting enormous damage upon the biosystems of our planet, in all areas.Oh right, so what's new? It predicted that 30% of all species of life on Earth will be extinct by 2050!!!!! It highlights the number of humans as a major reason for this catastrophe. This rings a big bell with me, as it’s a belief I’ve held for some time now and is chronicled in my first book, ‘Clever Idiots’. It’s shattering to realise that this is now a published scientific fact.
The really frightening thing is that, the number of reports dealing with this subject is increasing and nobody, especially governments, is doing anything about it. In fact, our headlong rush into oblivion gathers momentum. It appears to be impossible for humans to accept the concept that they are the ‘cancer’ that Planet Earth is struggling with and which is destroying its life systems.
It’s frequently a lunchtime item on radio 2 that sparks a chain of thought for me and today was no exception. Back on the old chestnut of the law and how to deal with criminals and criminalyobish behaviour.
I grimace with frustration at the continuous procession of futile schemes churned out by government and its agencies. The year’s pass, crime and bad behaviour increases due to ineffective laws and the proliferation of ‘human rights’ legislation. Humans are no different to other animal species in that we respond to deprivation and physical pain. Penalties for serious crime should be painful, both mentally and physically, as this is probably the most effective weapon in society’s arsenal of responses to criminal acts. Breaking our laws should attract a penalty, proportionate to the crime with no deviation. In other words, a life sentence should actually mean for the remainder of the criminals natural life.
Well, the Koyoto Accord is now
affective but, ironically, the world’s two largest economies (polluters) are
not signed up to it! Guess who? Yes of course, the
The proletariat have got their way. It becomes illegal in the
There is no longer a clear value system, it’s now a question of what you can get away with, in and out of court.
The cowboy’s (Bush) mouthpiece, Condom Rice, has been responding
to questions on her
If any one state is going to cause the global conflict that
will annihilate humanity, it will be the Americans. Their blatant arrogance and trigger-happy
diplomacy poses the most potent threat to world peace and far exceeds any
danger generated by terrorist organisations.
This view is convincingly supported by their lack of action internally
to convert from a vintage wild west, gun-toting society to a modern
democracy. Trouble is, their
self-righteous, God save
This Human rights bandwagon is running out of
control! Allied to political
correctness, it’s producing some really whacky reactions from politicians and
others in government and authority. Minority
groups are gaining influence way beyond their station and it’s progressively
eroding law enforcement in the
The latest illustration of this governmental disease is the
announcement by Clarke (Home Secretary) that, the four Brit terrorist suspects,
brought back from
I believe, a basic requisite for a successful society is that criminality in all its forms, progressively dilutes the human rights of the criminal as the crime committed becomes more despicable. Because we no longer demonstrate, through a system of punishments, graded in severity to match the severity of the crime up to and including the ultimate, criminals perceive an unwillingness in society to properly regulate their unsociable and often inhuman behaviour, so the problem grows. In reality, a prison sentence is seen by some in the criminal fraternity as a ‘badge of credibility’ and is actively sought. It is not a deterrent as they fully intend to continue their criminal lifestyle when released and in fact, some do whilst in prison.
Our police carry out their responsibilities by public
consent. If we continue to withdraw our
consent by limiting their powers and confining their initiative, we shouldn’t
be surprised by the increases in crime and its severity. We’ve seen what this can lead to in
It suddenly dawned on me! The senior generation often express no desire for modern gadgets, even though they may significantly improve their lifestyle. Programming a video recorder was a classical example of how new technology completely intimidated them and not only them but younger generations, also. My mother-in-law is intimidated by a phone, which requires she does more than just dial numbers.
We are observing change! We are witnesses to the process of change but, because it’s integral to everyday life, it doesn’t always register.
The very young grow and learn with what we consider to be new technology. They assimilate and identify with whatever technology is prevalent during their development therefore, possess no inhibitions concerning new or old. This phenomenon contributes considerably to the transformation of human society’s habits and preferences and allows new technologies to replace old.
Today, I am reminded that various technical and scientific innovations that are appearing in technologies such as communications, computing, genetics, to name but a few, are gradually producing the groundwork science for the development of some of the ‘future technologies’ that I reference in my book, 2150 Total Integration. Those that would benefit us most now, at the beginning of the 21st century, are slow to appear, probably because of the financial investment required to develop them to a usable state. We are still held back by monetary considerations, or more precisely, profit. Few, if none at all, put money into a project purely for the good of our species therefore, it requires governments to cultivate the wisdom to look further than the immediate pressures that demand their attention, to where we will be and what we will require as a culture, in the longer term. I know, I’m dreaming. It hasn’t happened yet, why would it happen now? Well, I believe each new technology has a compound effect and adds momentum to the pace of change. The process that took a hundred years to spawn a new technology, a hundred years ago, now frequently produces it's new generation in far less than a decade and often within a year. Long term planning in the traditional sense, is no longer feasible as it is almost impossible to accurately project ahead further than say, 10 years. This margin is decreasing all the time whereas, the pressure to make informed and appropriate decisions is increasing.
The Airbus 380 was wheeled out today, that’s a big one! Well over 500 tons, wouldn’t want that coming
down accidentally. A big presentation in
a
The Hyena’s are out. Prince Harry’s ‘mistake’, wearing a Nazi uniform to a private fancy dress party, is attracting all, the ‘holier than thou’ brigade to pour retribution on the young man. It makes me sick, these inbred, self-righteous, bigoted ‘stone throwers’ can’t resist an opportunity to take someone down. The media, as one might expect, are making the most of the story by feeding the flames. For God’s sake, he is a young man, no matter what his position and breeding, he is not infallible and will make errors of judgement, as do we all. Who is so perfect that they can judge him without fear of reckoning? We are a sick society! We are very sick! Most unbelievable, are the Jews. Considering what they are doing to the Palestinians, I believe they should think very carefully about being insulted by this ‘young man’s’ youthful foolishness.
More extreme weather has swept across the northern parts of
the
On the other hand I find it difficult to accept that, with the plethora of scientific advisers available to them, that they cannot quantify future impacts. Are they really not fully appreciative of exactly what is at risk?
Another affect of the increasing frequency of these winds is that it’s reducing the opportunities available for me to fly my helis! Yeah, I know it’s trivial in comparison but that’s life, isn’t it?
Just read a news item on the web. The new Home Secretary (Clarke) has rejected suggestions that private individuals should be permitted to use as much force as they wish to deal with criminals such as burglars, without incurring retribution from the law. My trust and faith in politicians, at best, is almost non-existent but this bureaucratic, unimaginative and insensitive response to a situation, which has widespread support among the public, just erodes it even further. If I remember correctly, this guy Clarke, made a mess of a previous post he held but I can’t think what it was at the minute.
The Asian tsunami disaster has almost disappeared from the
major news channel’s reports, as one might expect. The figures are now setting records. Current estimated deaths top 150,000, public
donations in the
A stark reminder of our frailty and the true nature of the reality we call life. Leaving my sister and brother-in-law’s house, after an enjoyable weekend, became a nightmare. Our elderly uncle was backing his car out of the drive when he suddenly reversed, foot flat to the floor, into a neighbours drive, hitting their car and finishing with a 360 degree spin on their front lawn which fortunately, is what stopped him.
Much shaken and very embarrassed, he was unhurt. We were dumbfounded but with the cooperation of a very understanding neighbour, were able to make arrangements to recover some assemblance of order.
The Asian earthquake/tsunami has become one of the most devastating single natural disasters of the past half century. The death toll is now approaching 90,000 and is expected to exceed 100,000. Millions are homeless and many local economies are wiped out.
On a personal level, my wife has been hosting a stinker of a cold but, as usual, has soldiered on and gone in to the office, such commitment!
I’m still waiting for ma fenny parts! (model helicopter enclosed tail rotor) Sad old git.
Tuesday 28 December 2004
Another reminder of our place in the scheme of things.
A massive undersea earthquake (9 on the Richter scale), off
the north west coast of Indonesia on Boxing Day, produced a Tsunami
tidal wave, which has devastated the coastal regions of at least 6
countries.
Tropical paradises, such as the
As tragic as this event is I cannot help feeling that it will be completely overshadowed by what awaits mankind in the future. Global warming will produce climate changes that will affect the entire planet and place this disaster way down the scale, in all respects.
No snow but lots of turkey!
Nice laser cordless mouse from my wife.
The Mafia (family) came for the day as usual and, as usual, it was an
enjoyable event. This year, we do it
again tomorrow!!! Well it’s becoming a
bit much for the Mother In Law but next year we might
not be at home! Daughter no 1 had told ex
boyfriend not to come in case we didn’t agree (they have parted) but produced a
few tears when I explained he would have been most welcome. Ah well!
I find it interesting to watch the way change occurs in our society. For the most part it appears to be driven by profit. A new invention may never see the light of day if it offers no potential to make money for the investor, regardless of it’s usefulness to humanity. In fact, massive amounts of resource and cash are simply wasted on trivia simply because an item will appeal to the masses and therefore, will earn income. This time of year sees the most prolific misuse of our planet’s resources, in this regard, as the producers pander to the whims and fancies of the population as they clamber for the latest fashionable trends in image and entertainment.
More on the conflict generated by the perceived threats of new technologies. This time it’s smart I.D. cards, to be carried by all for fast identification by police and other authorities to assist in the fight against terrorism and crime in general.
The ‘Ludites’ cry is to forecast a ‘Big Brother’ state and a loss of individual liberties, well, every new development in the government’s ability to monitor individual movement will be a trade-off against individual privacy and freedoms. It’s the price we pay for a safer society but if it produces no tangible benefits then perhaps we should call for its withdrawal.
Most new technological developments come with disadvantages as well advantages because mankind will always find a dubious and unintended use for them and very often for personal gain. Are we going to stop using our creative talents and stagnate in a motionless culture because of what might happen if we dare continue with the heresy of invention? I think not and certainly hope not.
I’d forgotten about this ‘Journal Of Thoughts’. I must put a reminder in the computer calendar, which will prompt me on a regular basis, even if I’ve nothing to say.
My retirement provides me with considerable time to deliberate on life, the universe and the bloody awful mess we humans make as we struggle to make sense of life and the universe. I suppose, without the ceaseless drive to understand and improve our existence, humanity would still be living in caves but is it necessary for us to be so destructive at the same time? The tools of human culture are being developed at an ever increasing rate but our psychology has hardly changed. Will we shed aggressiveness and selfishness if and when technology provides all our needs and wraps us in a protective shell?
Life has always been a struggle for survival. That struggle has changed over time from a total preoccupation with the daily need to find food and shelter whilst avoiding dangerous species to a mixture of direct and indirect threats. Although some dangerous species still exist, direct physical threat is now more likely to originate from another human. The requirement to generate sufficient financial income to support ones self and family is now a primary preoccupation. Maintaining health and well being in a society full of stress and dubious foodstuff also contributes to the daily struggle. The stark imbalance between wealthy industrialised nations and the so-called third world nations is embarrassing but continues to produce widespread famine and disease. Personally, I look forward to the time when technology will eradicate this difference and put an end to the crucial damage we are doing to our planet’s life support systems.
On a more mundane note, the magnatherapy products I distribute have, at long last, been given some credibility by the medical profession, no less. A report on the findings of a clinical trial, published in the BMJ, recognise that they do work, specifically for people suffering from osteoarthritis as this was the ailment chosen for the trail. A recognition, such as this, should expand sales potential if I choose to exploit it. We’ll see!
I often consider what I could and would do with a large amount of money should I ever be fortunate enough to become the recipient of such a prize, say, win the lottery!
I’ve spent the last ten minutes looking at some papers on a website dealing with probabilities and causality in the vain hope that I could devise a methodology. The problem I have is coping with stuff like quantum mechanics as my education was not that exotic. In reality, if it had been within my capability, it would have been solved by others, more competent, a long time ago resulting in the Lottery being shut down.
Nevertheless, I read these theories and cannot help feeling that the explanations are, in part, self indulgent exercises in the ‘craft’ that science has cultivated over the last several hundred years. This perception is partially supported by the continuous contradictions and changes of direction that the scientific fraternity produce with consistent frequency. Even the once hallowed theories of Albert Einstein are being challenged and replaced as technology provides the means to disprove the ‘calculated guesswork’ of past masters. We are replacing the vintage wisdom of old science with understanding as technology provides tools to assist us in our passion to reveal the truth.
Anyway, back to my point. An element that always plays a prominent part in calculations and deliberations is that of time. Despite not having received a scientific training I have sufficient interest and appreciation to formulate my own view of this particular ‘bag of parts’ and it doesn’t conform to conventional beliefs.
It seems to me that the scientific community always refer to time as a tangible existence, a free-standing element or state that is fed into the equation and influences the outcome. I don’t see it this way. My interpretation is that time doesn’t exist in its own right but that it is simply a measure, created by mankind, to identify and record the duration of events. Consider for a minute, the natural state of existence. The apparent timings in Nature result from the influence of other, recognisable events, several in particular that determine Human behaviour and habit. Earth’s orbit around the Sun is the basis for our system of measurement of duration (time) and determines the cycle of our planet’s ecosystems. Therefore, if we took a timepiece to another solar system it would not be relevant because the event sequence would most likely be of a different duration. Time is a Human measurement system not an independent reality. The reality is that, existence is a continuous process of events, time is derived by identifying their duration against our planet’s cycles and solar orbit. Any relationship between these events arises accidentally as a result of random circumstance, for example: proximity, chemical, electrical or physical interaction, but patterns establish and generate composite events by their interaction. A prime example is our satellite moon and the Earth’s oceanic tides.
The natural state of birth or creation and then decay until death or disintegration is universal and time has no influence other than to serve as a record of duration. The ageing process in humans results from the biological decay that all living tissue experiences as its period of duration progresses. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the relationship between events as it is this that provides us with the conundrums we struggle to understand. Based upon my beliefs, obviously ‘time travel’ is not a possibility but the existence of other dimensions may explain the phenomenon but I’ll not go there. Once an event is completed it no longer exists. A record may exist, a memory or picture, for example. If an event comprises the movement, displacement or transformation of matter then perhaps ‘evidence’ is left imprinted in the local background matter that can, with appropriate technology, be recovered. Miniscule they may be but what happens to the electromagnetic energies generated by animal species, especially Humans, when they eventually succumb? Like pouring a glass of water into a river, are they simply absorbed back into the universal energy pool?
I’m not qualified to publicly dispute any of the ‘guvnors’ (Einstein) theories but his ideas on time displacement seem somewhat contrived to me. Accepting my understanding of time, its relevance is determined by ‘local’ events and their duration, in our case, Earths orbit around the Sun. If we travel through space, ‘local’ events become difficult or impossible to measure as we increase our speed, so our time, no longer relates to the time in any of the localities we pass through. It relates only to our immediate environment, eg. the spaceship, as the events inside the spaceship remain measurable. On the other hand, an observer, watching us pass by, can relate our passing to his ‘local’ events duration and is able to measure our existence in his
locality. If our speed is to great for his technology to detect us then he simply doesn’t know we have passed. To compare event durations in the two existences in this situation is not meaningful as neither can detect the other but in both situations individually so, if event duration is determined by the local environment I’m not sure why time would pass more slowly for those travelling at extreme velocities.
A favourite comment, frequently quoted by the ‘mature’ is, ‘I don’t know where time goes, it seems to go so fast’. It doesn’t, of course. We simply fill our lives with more events and/or take longer to complete our actions but it does illustrate how our perception plays a primary part in the way we view event duration or time, as we call it.