Friday, February 20, 2009
Monday, December 08, 2008
Times are bad
"Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book."
A quote from the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero (106BC-43BC) as true today as it was in his time.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Cheap Mobil Computing
Listening to: So Easy, Röyksopp
For a while now I've been considering getting a small notebook computer with the idea that its portability will allow me to write more often and even provide me with the opportunity to write in locations that might induce inspiration - with my book set in Melbourne it would be very helpful to sit down and write in the exact place I'm describing.
At first I was set on an Apple MacBook - a natural thought for one who already owns a Mac - but then I started to rationalise what I expected to be doing with a portable computer and soon realised that a MacBook would be overkill (and over priced) for what would basically be a typing and Internet browsing tool. It would be wiser for me to upgrade my eMac to a more powerful iMac, with a larger hard drive and bigger screen than spend around the same amount of money on a MacBook with smaller screen, storage and lesser processing and graphics capabilities. Of course the MacBook has a faster processor than my eMac but I don't really need that when I'm away from desk, which is where I do most my CPU intensive work, ie. video editing and DVD authoring. When I'm out and about all I need is a keyboard, a screen and a small amount of storage (wireless Internet access would be an added bonus so I can write on-line using tools such as Google Docs - which I used to write this).
Around the same time I came to this conclusion along came the ASUS Eee PC 701. For the next few months I enthusiastically followed news and blogs on this remarkable little "Ultra-Mobile-PC" (UMPC). It's tiny proportions (225 x 165 x 21mm) and around 900 grams in weight are also matched with a small price of around $400-500AUD which even includes Wifi and a web camera. But there were two other features that had the tech world going gaga: First is the operating system, it's Linux based and includes 40 Open-Source programs arranged under four simple to understand banners: Internet, Work, Learn and Play. There's two advantages to Linux: It's open source (meaning it's free) and a well composed distribution doesn't bog down a system like Windows does so less powerful (and therefore cheaper) CPU's can be used.
The second thing that captured the tech jornos imagination is that the Eee PC stores it's data on Solid State Drive (SSD), rather than the normal Hard Disk Drive (HDD) found in most computers. The big advantages of SSD's are lower power consumption and no moving parts - so if you drop your Eee PC your data is less likely to be lost (shame about that cracked casing though). The disadvantage is the cost per Gigabyte of storage; meaning the storage sizes on offer are a tiny 2, 4 or 8GB. Asus later offered the option of having the Microsoft Windows XP operating system installed, to tempt those who couldn't possibly live without Solitaire and several hundred thousand viruses to keep them busy.
Of course the Eee PC's small proportions also means a small display of only 7 inches and a small keyboard that many reviewers say is too cramped, or at best, takes a while to get used to. Then ASUS brought out a 8.9" display model called the Eee PC 900 in a casing that was only a smidge bigger than the 701 and still weighed under 1 Kilogram. A nice additional feature is a multi-touch pad that allows finger gestures to perform actions such as zooming and scrolling. However the tiny keyboard remained, leaving me pondering whether I could learn to live with an Eee PC.
Then, just this week, at the COMPUTEX expo in Taiwan, comes the announcement of a 10" Eee PC in 2 models the 1000 and the 1000H. The 1000H uses a 80 GB HDD (hence the H) and comes with Windows XP installed, while the 1000 sports a 40GB SSD and runs the Linux OS. Both now run on the new Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor (as does a new 8.9" model, dubbed 901) which benefits from some clever power conserving technology, allowing for longer times between battery charges (up to 7 hours!). Something worth noting about the 10" models is that their casings are larger than their 7" and 9" brothers and therefore allow for a bigger keyboard; ASUS are saying it's 92% the size of a conventional keyboard (it will be interesting to see what the reviewers think).
So, has my search for a small, light mobile computer ended with the Eee PC 1000? In a word, no. Not since the MSI Wind blew (excuse the pun) into the UMPC market. This one is practically identical to the Eee PC 1000, with one major difference, price. MSI will sell the Linux version of the Wind for $399 USD, ASUS have gone bananas and put a USD$600+ sticker on the 1000. The 10" Wind is even cheaper than the Eee PC 901, although, part of this price difference can be attributed to the fact that the Wind uses a hard disk for storage and lacks the multi-touch pad. ASUS kicked off the low-cost UMPC market with a cheap, feature rich device and now they look like they'll be beaten in the very market place that they created. I hope they enjoyed their year in the spotlight.
However, something else happened in the last week that made even the $400 MSI Wind look pricey. My employer was getting rid of some old computers and offered them gratis to anyone who wanted them. Amongst these cast-off's was a Toshiba Portege M100, of 2003 vintage, with a 12.1" display, 1.2GHz CPU, 512MB RAM and wireless (albeit 802.11b). Needless to say, I snatched this one up.
As always there's a catch: my employer wouldn't allow the computers to go out into the wild with hard drives still installed, lest they carry some data of a sensitive nature. It's also a bit scuffed and grubby but I can live with that (at least I won't have that horrible feeling one gets when they put the first scratch on their nice shiny new toy). It's also nearly one kilo heavier than the Wind but it does have something none of the low-cost UMPC's have; a CD-RW/DVD-R drive, which I've been using to boot a variety of Linux LiveCD's to try out - I've never been impressed by Windows and so decided to set myself the target of getting this computer functional for as little or no cost.
So far I've had Puppy Linux, gOS and Mandriva One running on the Toshiba and all have performed well. The most impressive, simply because of it's tiny size, is Puppy. The entire OS can be loaded into the computers memory (as long as it's over 256Mb) and run from there even after the CD has been removed. Amazingly Puppy still includes applications for web browsing, e-mail, word processing and spreadsheets, media players as well as a bunch of utilities and games. I was able to quickly access my wireless network and Puppy even asked if I wanted it to to save my configurations to a USB flashdrive (remember, I haven't instaled a HDD yet). At no time did I need to consult the manual or look for help. Microsoft should be paying close attention to how well Puppy operates using only as much space as a 2 page Word document would consume.
Mandriva One, which is the LiveCD version of Mandriva, is also impressive. It looks a lot more professional than Puppy (and is about 10 times the size, at 500+ Megabytes, so it ought to) and includes the OpenOffice suite, Firefox web browser, Gimp image editor and media players, plus all the utilities that most Linux's include. I was pleasantly surprised when I plugged in my Bluetooth dongle into one of the USB ports and it was instantly recognised and once the passcode was entered I was connected to my mobile phone and transferring files.
The only issue I had with Mandriva was that the CD had to be read when ever a new program was opened, meaning things took a bit longer. Of course this wouldn't be a problem if I had a hard drive and doubled the RAM to 1GB; something I could easily do with a visit to a computer swap meet and $50 spending money.
Looking remarkably like Mac OS X, gOS looks beautiful with a dock full of Google applications and very easy to use... as longs as you don't want to change any configurations. It took a bit of searching of the gOS forums (their online help is dismal) to find out how to enter my WEP password so I could access my wireless network - a program with the non-descriptive name of Exalt is the wireless manager, I found it tucked away in a sub-menu of a sub-menu. Still, once that was sorted out, there's much to be impressed about. Along with all those convenient Google application links on the desktop there's a solid collection of on board apps., including OpenOffice.
I haven't completed my quest yet. I intend to try out Ubuntu and Fedora before I settle on an OS for my new free laptop... Sure, it's not as petite and sexy as the modern UMPC but what fun! I'm like being a kid in a candy shop.
For a while now I've been considering getting a small notebook computer with the idea that its portability will allow me to write more often and even provide me with the opportunity to write in locations that might induce inspiration - with my book set in Melbourne it would be very helpful to sit down and write in the exact place I'm describing.
At first I was set on an Apple MacBook - a natural thought for one who already owns a Mac - but then I started to rationalise what I expected to be doing with a portable computer and soon realised that a MacBook would be overkill (and over priced) for what would basically be a typing and Internet browsing tool. It would be wiser for me to upgrade my eMac to a more powerful iMac, with a larger hard drive and bigger screen than spend around the same amount of money on a MacBook with smaller screen, storage and lesser processing and graphics capabilities. Of course the MacBook has a faster processor than my eMac but I don't really need that when I'm away from desk, which is where I do most my CPU intensive work, ie. video editing and DVD authoring. When I'm out and about all I need is a keyboard, a screen and a small amount of storage (wireless Internet access would be an added bonus so I can write on-line using tools such as Google Docs - which I used to write this).
Around the same time I came to this conclusion along came the ASUS Eee PC 701. For the next few months I enthusiastically followed news and blogs on this remarkable little "Ultra-Mobile-PC" (UMPC). It's tiny proportions (225 x 165 x 21mm) and around 900 grams in weight are also matched with a small price of around $400-500AUD which even includes Wifi and a web camera. But there were two other features that had the tech world going gaga: First is the operating system, it's Linux based and includes 40 Open-Source programs arranged under four simple to understand banners: Internet, Work, Learn and Play. There's two advantages to Linux: It's open source (meaning it's free) and a well composed distribution doesn't bog down a system like Windows does so less powerful (and therefore cheaper) CPU's can be used.
The second thing that captured the tech jornos imagination is that the Eee PC stores it's data on Solid State Drive (SSD), rather than the normal Hard Disk Drive (HDD) found in most computers. The big advantages of SSD's are lower power consumption and no moving parts - so if you drop your Eee PC your data is less likely to be lost (shame about that cracked casing though). The disadvantage is the cost per Gigabyte of storage; meaning the storage sizes on offer are a tiny 2, 4 or 8GB. Asus later offered the option of having the Microsoft Windows XP operating system installed, to tempt those who couldn't possibly live without Solitaire and several hundred thousand viruses to keep them busy.
Of course the Eee PC's small proportions also means a small display of only 7 inches and a small keyboard that many reviewers say is too cramped, or at best, takes a while to get used to. Then ASUS brought out a 8.9" display model called the Eee PC 900 in a casing that was only a smidge bigger than the 701 and still weighed under 1 Kilogram. A nice additional feature is a multi-touch pad that allows finger gestures to perform actions such as zooming and scrolling. However the tiny keyboard remained, leaving me pondering whether I could learn to live with an Eee PC.
Then, just this week, at the COMPUTEX expo in Taiwan, comes the announcement of a 10" Eee PC in 2 models the 1000 and the 1000H. The 1000H uses a 80 GB HDD (hence the H) and comes with Windows XP installed, while the 1000 sports a 40GB SSD and runs the Linux OS. Both now run on the new Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor (as does a new 8.9" model, dubbed 901) which benefits from some clever power conserving technology, allowing for longer times between battery charges (up to 7 hours!). Something worth noting about the 10" models is that their casings are larger than their 7" and 9" brothers and therefore allow for a bigger keyboard; ASUS are saying it's 92% the size of a conventional keyboard (it will be interesting to see what the reviewers think).
So, has my search for a small, light mobile computer ended with the Eee PC 1000? In a word, no. Not since the MSI Wind blew (excuse the pun) into the UMPC market. This one is practically identical to the Eee PC 1000, with one major difference, price. MSI will sell the Linux version of the Wind for $399 USD, ASUS have gone bananas and put a USD$600+ sticker on the 1000. The 10" Wind is even cheaper than the Eee PC 901, although, part of this price difference can be attributed to the fact that the Wind uses a hard disk for storage and lacks the multi-touch pad. ASUS kicked off the low-cost UMPC market with a cheap, feature rich device and now they look like they'll be beaten in the very market place that they created. I hope they enjoyed their year in the spotlight.
However, something else happened in the last week that made even the $400 MSI Wind look pricey. My employer was getting rid of some old computers and offered them gratis to anyone who wanted them. Amongst these cast-off's was a Toshiba Portege M100, of 2003 vintage, with a 12.1" display, 1.2GHz CPU, 512MB RAM and wireless (albeit 802.11b). Needless to say, I snatched this one up.
As always there's a catch: my employer wouldn't allow the computers to go out into the wild with hard drives still installed, lest they carry some data of a sensitive nature. It's also a bit scuffed and grubby but I can live with that (at least I won't have that horrible feeling one gets when they put the first scratch on their nice shiny new toy). It's also nearly one kilo heavier than the Wind but it does have something none of the low-cost UMPC's have; a CD-RW/DVD-R drive, which I've been using to boot a variety of Linux LiveCD's to try out - I've never been impressed by Windows and so decided to set myself the target of getting this computer functional for as little or no cost.
So far I've had Puppy Linux, gOS and Mandriva One running on the Toshiba and all have performed well. The most impressive, simply because of it's tiny size, is Puppy. The entire OS can be loaded into the computers memory (as long as it's over 256Mb) and run from there even after the CD has been removed. Amazingly Puppy still includes applications for web browsing, e-mail, word processing and spreadsheets, media players as well as a bunch of utilities and games. I was able to quickly access my wireless network and Puppy even asked if I wanted it to to save my configurations to a USB flashdrive (remember, I haven't instaled a HDD yet). At no time did I need to consult the manual or look for help. Microsoft should be paying close attention to how well Puppy operates using only as much space as a 2 page Word document would consume.
Mandriva One, which is the LiveCD version of Mandriva, is also impressive. It looks a lot more professional than Puppy (and is about 10 times the size, at 500+ Megabytes, so it ought to) and includes the OpenOffice suite, Firefox web browser, Gimp image editor and media players, plus all the utilities that most Linux's include. I was pleasantly surprised when I plugged in my Bluetooth dongle into one of the USB ports and it was instantly recognised and once the passcode was entered I was connected to my mobile phone and transferring files.
The only issue I had with Mandriva was that the CD had to be read when ever a new program was opened, meaning things took a bit longer. Of course this wouldn't be a problem if I had a hard drive and doubled the RAM to 1GB; something I could easily do with a visit to a computer swap meet and $50 spending money.
Looking remarkably like Mac OS X, gOS looks beautiful with a dock full of Google applications and very easy to use... as longs as you don't want to change any configurations. It took a bit of searching of the gOS forums (their online help is dismal) to find out how to enter my WEP password so I could access my wireless network - a program with the non-descriptive name of Exalt is the wireless manager, I found it tucked away in a sub-menu of a sub-menu. Still, once that was sorted out, there's much to be impressed about. Along with all those convenient Google application links on the desktop there's a solid collection of on board apps., including OpenOffice.
I haven't completed my quest yet. I intend to try out Ubuntu and Fedora before I settle on an OS for my new free laptop... Sure, it's not as petite and sexy as the modern UMPC but what fun! I'm like being a kid in a candy shop.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
The Great Search for Life
I love science news and this past week has had some fantastic finds.
NASA have landed another robot on Mars, this time near the northern pole. Theyŕe searching for ice in the hope that the robots scientific equipment might find signs of the building blocks of life in the frozen water.
Meanwhile, another bunch of boffins, using a telescope atop a New Zealand mountain, have discovered a distant planet 3 times the size of Earth orbiting a distant dim star. Some have even speculated that the planet has a thick atmosphere and even liquid oceans and even the possibly of these oceans being made up of water. Again, the idea is that where thereś water thereś life.
And then comes a story from deep inside the Amazon jungle of Brazil of the discovery of a previously unknown tribe of indigenous people.
Ironic, is it not, that there is billions of dollars spent every year looking into space for life and yet new life can be found with a small aeroplane and a camera right here on Earth.
The Brazilian government have a no-contact policy for the many ¨uncontacted¨ tribes in their country, which I must commend . The worst thing that these people could have happen to them is to come into contact with the so-called Civilised World. First thereś all our diseases that no longer bother us thanks to our built-up immunity and vaccinations. And then thereś all the other things that would be horrible to pass on to these people; like money, TV, Top 40 music, the Internet and blogs :-)
I wonder what the policy is for when life is found on another world?
NASA have landed another robot on Mars, this time near the northern pole. Theyŕe searching for ice in the hope that the robots scientific equipment might find signs of the building blocks of life in the frozen water.
Meanwhile, another bunch of boffins, using a telescope atop a New Zealand mountain, have discovered a distant planet 3 times the size of Earth orbiting a distant dim star. Some have even speculated that the planet has a thick atmosphere and even liquid oceans and even the possibly of these oceans being made up of water. Again, the idea is that where thereś water thereś life.
And then comes a story from deep inside the Amazon jungle of Brazil of the discovery of a previously unknown tribe of indigenous people.
Ironic, is it not, that there is billions of dollars spent every year looking into space for life and yet new life can be found with a small aeroplane and a camera right here on Earth.
The Brazilian government have a no-contact policy for the many ¨uncontacted¨ tribes in their country, which I must commend . The worst thing that these people could have happen to them is to come into contact with the so-called Civilised World. First thereś all our diseases that no longer bother us thanks to our built-up immunity and vaccinations. And then thereś all the other things that would be horrible to pass on to these people; like money, TV, Top 40 music, the Internet and blogs :-)
I wonder what the policy is for when life is found on another world?
Monday, May 19, 2008
Peace During Wartime
Here's a photo from Afghanistan I found to be surreal and uplifting:
An Australian soldier on patrol in the Afghan province of Oruzgan greets a little girl amid the area's oceans of poppies. Photo: PA
The source article is equally inspiring. The Australian army are basically using the good old fashioned Aussie charm to make friends in Afghanistan and help the people separate themselves from the Taliban backed poppy industry.
An Australian soldier on patrol in the Afghan province of Oruzgan greets a little girl amid the area's oceans of poppies. Photo: PAThe source article is equally inspiring. The Australian army are basically using the good old fashioned Aussie charm to make friends in Afghanistan and help the people separate themselves from the Taliban backed poppy industry.
Monday, May 12, 2008
This could get ugly
Listening to: Breathe, Télépopmusik
Sorry but I have to vent my spleen.
Some people close to me have been preaching the much hyped book The Secret to me lately and it's really getting on my tit.
I say preaching because to me that is exactly what it seems. Praising and pushing something you believe onto another person is the same as a Seventh Day Adventist standing at your door step preaching their beliefs... and just as annoying. Except it's easier to tell a stranger to buzz off than someone who is near and dear to me.
And I personally believe that the connection to religion does not stop at preaching. Believers of The Laws of Attraction, as laid out in the book, seem to have found a new religion - Interesting that the word Sect can be found in Secret. Those who are currently preaching to me are Catholic educated but not necessarily practising to the full extent of the faith. Maybe they've lost some of their faith in god or their church, to which the author of The Secret, Rhonda Byrne (a fellow Melbournian I'm sorry to say) has managed to tap into that hole left by the exit of one omnipotent being and replaced it with another omnipotent being they call The Universe.
But hang on a minute! Isn't The Universe something physical? The result of the Big Bang 13 Billion+ years ago? Wikipedia describes The Universe as: Everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and constants that govern them.
The way I see it - admittedly as an atheist - asking The Universe to fulfil your wishes is exactly the same as praying (to god or gods, saints, idols, deities, etc.). You are voicing your wishes and by doing so projecting a feeling of hope and positiveness.
And it is more likely that being of a positive attitude opens the mind to positive outcomes and tunes the mind to identify situations that would benefit your desires.
The opposite is also possible, where being of a negative frame of mind brings to focus more of the undesirable things in life. How many times have you heard someone explain a series of unfortunate events? "I had an awful day. I had a fight with my partner over breakfast. Missed my bus. Eventually got to work and the boss screamed at me for being late. Everything and everyone at work drove me nuts. And to top it all off I lost my wallet on the way home". Now, ask yourself, would all these things have gone wrong if the complainant had made mad passionate love to their partner instead of arguing with them? Sure they may still have been late to work but would they have been annoyed about being yelled at when the reason for being late was a nice bit of rumpy-pumpy? I doubt it. More likely they would continue smiling right throughout the day regardless of how many obstacles were put in front of them.
A Google search finds possibly thousands of staunch followers of The Secret willing to defend their new found answer to all their problems to anyone who dares to question it. And plenty of others who are more than willing to criticise the concept. Much like any two opposing groups - Mac vs Windows is a fine example - rarely will the two agree.
Before my recent encounters at the altar of the New Believers of The Secret, I had heard of the book but thought it's not for me but good luck to anyone who finds what they're looking for in its pages. But now I despise the thing and its author for corrupting the minds of people who are dear to me and now think that what they have learned is perfect for everyone. I am then forced to impart on them my beliefs: "I have come this far without believing in divine intervention I'm not about to start believing in any other kind of non-physical intervention."
I have no problem with people believing in something that they feel provides them with answers to their well-being. I DO have a problem with people telling me what I should believe.
Whilst Googling The Secret (to better my understanding of what all the hype is about) I stumbled across a book called The Luck Factor by British psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman (a wise man indeed). Prof. Wiseman studied two types of people; those who consider themselves exceptionally lucky and those who consider themselves exceptionally unlucky. His research (that's right, good old fashioned scientific research) identified four characteristics of lucky people: 1. Maximise Chance Opportunities, 2. Listen to Lucky Hunches, 3. Expect Good Fortune, and 4. Turn Bad Luck into Good Luck.
Thus, Prof. Wiseman's studies found that lucky people aren't born lucky as such but have instead unknowingly developed the above four principles through life experiences (Another, humourous, possibility is offered in one of my all time favourite TV shows, Red Dwarf. In the episode, Quarantine from series VIII, Lister, Kryten and The Cat have been confined to quarantine by Rimmer who has gone insane after being infected with a virus and has shut off oxygen to the room they're locked in. To escape, Kryten injects Lister with another virus, one that gives him immense luck, so he can correctly "guess" the PIN on a security keypad. See this video - skip through to 2 minutes, 50 seconds to view the scene I just described - makes me laugh every time I see it).
As a person who believes destiny is created by individuals, rather than appearing like magic out of thin air, I find this concept of creating one's own fortune easier to grapple with than "asking" for fortune from an omnipotent being. I'm sorry, but if you receive a pay rise or a bonus after asking The Universe for more money, you're selling yourself short (and The Universe didn't provide the job for you either. Your CV, cover letter and actions during the interview(s) are what made your employer decide to take you on). Please consider why your employer would offer this to you. Surely your manager wouldn't ask his superiors to go to their superiors to go to the board and ask for more money for poor old you even though you're completely useless at your job. You worked for it, you deserve to be rewarded. Don't distance yourself from what you have achieved.
Logic tells me that if I am optimistic and convey that optimism then people I meet will pick up on that. And the more people I meet maximises the chance that I will find someone who can be of some benefit to help me achieve my desires. Whether it be a new job, a relationship or publishing my book.
On the other hand. If I go around telling everyone I meet that I'm asking The Universe to help me out of a pickle then the majority of the people I meet will think I'm a fruitcake.
And if you seriously believe that you got that new house for the price you wanted because you asked The Universe, you're crazy. It's actually because the price you offered was suitable to the seller. If you offered $50 and the seller accepted (and the place wasn't built on top of an old toxic waste dump, or on the edge of a badly eroded cliff face, or riddled with termites, or some such seriously devaluing scenario) I'd still be inclined to believe it was more to do with luck than intervention by an omnipotent being... especially one that's 93 Billion Light Years across.
End of discussion.
Actually, my rant has been beneficial to Coma City. The main character needs a lot of good fortune to get him out of mess he finds himself in. I can probably build some of the arguments I used tonight into the story.
On a personal level, the four principles of luck would benefit me greatly at the moment. I shall look further into The Luck Factor.
Sorry but I have to vent my spleen.
Some people close to me have been preaching the much hyped book The Secret to me lately and it's really getting on my tit.
I say preaching because to me that is exactly what it seems. Praising and pushing something you believe onto another person is the same as a Seventh Day Adventist standing at your door step preaching their beliefs... and just as annoying. Except it's easier to tell a stranger to buzz off than someone who is near and dear to me.
And I personally believe that the connection to religion does not stop at preaching. Believers of The Laws of Attraction, as laid out in the book, seem to have found a new religion - Interesting that the word Sect can be found in Secret. Those who are currently preaching to me are Catholic educated but not necessarily practising to the full extent of the faith. Maybe they've lost some of their faith in god or their church, to which the author of The Secret, Rhonda Byrne (a fellow Melbournian I'm sorry to say) has managed to tap into that hole left by the exit of one omnipotent being and replaced it with another omnipotent being they call The Universe.
But hang on a minute! Isn't The Universe something physical? The result of the Big Bang 13 Billion+ years ago? Wikipedia describes The Universe as: Everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and constants that govern them.
The way I see it - admittedly as an atheist - asking The Universe to fulfil your wishes is exactly the same as praying (to god or gods, saints, idols, deities, etc.). You are voicing your wishes and by doing so projecting a feeling of hope and positiveness.
And it is more likely that being of a positive attitude opens the mind to positive outcomes and tunes the mind to identify situations that would benefit your desires.
The opposite is also possible, where being of a negative frame of mind brings to focus more of the undesirable things in life. How many times have you heard someone explain a series of unfortunate events? "I had an awful day. I had a fight with my partner over breakfast. Missed my bus. Eventually got to work and the boss screamed at me for being late. Everything and everyone at work drove me nuts. And to top it all off I lost my wallet on the way home". Now, ask yourself, would all these things have gone wrong if the complainant had made mad passionate love to their partner instead of arguing with them? Sure they may still have been late to work but would they have been annoyed about being yelled at when the reason for being late was a nice bit of rumpy-pumpy? I doubt it. More likely they would continue smiling right throughout the day regardless of how many obstacles were put in front of them.
A Google search finds possibly thousands of staunch followers of The Secret willing to defend their new found answer to all their problems to anyone who dares to question it. And plenty of others who are more than willing to criticise the concept. Much like any two opposing groups - Mac vs Windows is a fine example - rarely will the two agree.
Before my recent encounters at the altar of the New Believers of The Secret, I had heard of the book but thought it's not for me but good luck to anyone who finds what they're looking for in its pages. But now I despise the thing and its author for corrupting the minds of people who are dear to me and now think that what they have learned is perfect for everyone. I am then forced to impart on them my beliefs: "I have come this far without believing in divine intervention I'm not about to start believing in any other kind of non-physical intervention."
I have no problem with people believing in something that they feel provides them with answers to their well-being. I DO have a problem with people telling me what I should believe.
Whilst Googling The Secret (to better my understanding of what all the hype is about) I stumbled across a book called The Luck Factor by British psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman (a wise man indeed). Prof. Wiseman studied two types of people; those who consider themselves exceptionally lucky and those who consider themselves exceptionally unlucky. His research (that's right, good old fashioned scientific research) identified four characteristics of lucky people: 1. Maximise Chance Opportunities, 2. Listen to Lucky Hunches, 3. Expect Good Fortune, and 4. Turn Bad Luck into Good Luck.
Thus, Prof. Wiseman's studies found that lucky people aren't born lucky as such but have instead unknowingly developed the above four principles through life experiences (Another, humourous, possibility is offered in one of my all time favourite TV shows, Red Dwarf. In the episode, Quarantine from series VIII, Lister, Kryten and The Cat have been confined to quarantine by Rimmer who has gone insane after being infected with a virus and has shut off oxygen to the room they're locked in. To escape, Kryten injects Lister with another virus, one that gives him immense luck, so he can correctly "guess" the PIN on a security keypad. See this video - skip through to 2 minutes, 50 seconds to view the scene I just described - makes me laugh every time I see it).
As a person who believes destiny is created by individuals, rather than appearing like magic out of thin air, I find this concept of creating one's own fortune easier to grapple with than "asking" for fortune from an omnipotent being. I'm sorry, but if you receive a pay rise or a bonus after asking The Universe for more money, you're selling yourself short (and The Universe didn't provide the job for you either. Your CV, cover letter and actions during the interview(s) are what made your employer decide to take you on). Please consider why your employer would offer this to you. Surely your manager wouldn't ask his superiors to go to their superiors to go to the board and ask for more money for poor old you even though you're completely useless at your job. You worked for it, you deserve to be rewarded. Don't distance yourself from what you have achieved.
Logic tells me that if I am optimistic and convey that optimism then people I meet will pick up on that. And the more people I meet maximises the chance that I will find someone who can be of some benefit to help me achieve my desires. Whether it be a new job, a relationship or publishing my book.
On the other hand. If I go around telling everyone I meet that I'm asking The Universe to help me out of a pickle then the majority of the people I meet will think I'm a fruitcake.
And if you seriously believe that you got that new house for the price you wanted because you asked The Universe, you're crazy. It's actually because the price you offered was suitable to the seller. If you offered $50 and the seller accepted (and the place wasn't built on top of an old toxic waste dump, or on the edge of a badly eroded cliff face, or riddled with termites, or some such seriously devaluing scenario) I'd still be inclined to believe it was more to do with luck than intervention by an omnipotent being... especially one that's 93 Billion Light Years across.
End of discussion.
Actually, my rant has been beneficial to Coma City. The main character needs a lot of good fortune to get him out of mess he finds himself in. I can probably build some of the arguments I used tonight into the story.
On a personal level, the four principles of luck would benefit me greatly at the moment. I shall look further into The Luck Factor.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Forget the Jasons. What about Steve?
Listening to: We Would Fall Against the Tide, The Radio Dept.
Enough about other people. Progress on Coma City hasn't exactly been going at full steam (as you have no doubt deduced).
I still haven't been able to put into words the scene (or scenes) I call the "Writer's Chasm". There's ideas, characters, a probable outcome and a fair amount of frustration. I really need to workshop/brain storm the thing, or maybe just do a bit more free writing and see what comes out - so far I haven't been pleased with the outcome of previous free writing sessions for this particular scene.
At least there's been some work on other parts of the story. Mostly freshening up and some character establishing, which I'm happy to report has helped build a picture of the main characters life prior to the event the story revolves around.
Word count is now at 22,727.
Enough about other people. Progress on Coma City hasn't exactly been going at full steam (as you have no doubt deduced).
I still haven't been able to put into words the scene (or scenes) I call the "Writer's Chasm". There's ideas, characters, a probable outcome and a fair amount of frustration. I really need to workshop/brain storm the thing, or maybe just do a bit more free writing and see what comes out - so far I haven't been pleased with the outcome of previous free writing sessions for this particular scene.
At least there's been some work on other parts of the story. Mostly freshening up and some character establishing, which I'm happy to report has helped build a picture of the main characters life prior to the event the story revolves around.
Word count is now at 22,727.
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