One of the things I missed when I stopped buying the Guardian was the Doonesbury cartoon, so I was very pleased to see an Apple widget giving me daily access. I then thought it would be nice to go back to the beginning, especially as I probable only read about ten years worth (~1991-2001).
With this aim I put together a web page to retrieve the older strips. To access the page go to http://homepage.mac.com/zzypt/Doonesbury.html?YYYYMMDD and change YYYYMMDD to the date you start reading, this will then bring up the first ever Doonesbury and move you forward one week per day; each day shows the next seven (or six in the early days without a Sunday print). If you miss a few days you can use the date selector to skip back or forward if you prefer.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Terror in our time
We should all be thankful more terror was averted yesterday. A radical, who had to leave his own country due to his religious beliefs was in trouble here yesterday. As Mr Blair later said:
"We have tolerated people coming here from abroad and allowed them to say what we want. If people come here and preach hatred against Britain I think we are entitled to say to them that they cannot do that."
The man was detained under the prevention of terrorism act, having been seen throwing the word "nonsense" in the direction of Jack Straw.
A full video report is available from the BBC.
"We have tolerated people coming here from abroad and allowed them to say what we want. If people come here and preach hatred against Britain I think we are entitled to say to them that they cannot do that."
The man was detained under the prevention of terrorism act, having been seen throwing the word "nonsense" in the direction of Jack Straw.
A full video report is available from the BBC.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Economic Economics
I am always surprised by the constant desire for growth in economics, surprised because we clearly live in a finite world. Therefore growth in one area must be at the expense of another. Therefore a desire for growth is a desire for others to struggle.
From a Buddhist perspective I can see how growth is attractive, as it suggests change. Constant change is a method that Buddhism identifies as a way of hiding suffering, by constantly moving from one suffering to another we are less aware of the suffering, and can easily perceive the temporary relief from one form of suffering as happiness.
The trick that a Buddhist economist would have to pull off is slowly reduce the wealth of the richer people and nations and pass it to the poorer people and nations. So far, the only technique I can think of is dangling shiny things in front of the rich to distract them while their bank accounts are emptied. At least it worked with all the shiny gadgets I bought from China.
Another confusion in economics is the use of the term free trade, it is odd because virtually every advocate of free trade also advocates strong regulation in areas that benefit them. In fact without regulation the natural outcome of freetrade is monopoly, which is hardly free at all. My biggest concern about non-existent free trade movement is that it always insists on freerer movement for goods than it does for people. I can imagine that most of the problems of the third world could be solved by allowing free movement of people, because I am sure the panic caused in the west would create a huge investment overseas.
From a Buddhist perspective I can see how growth is attractive, as it suggests change. Constant change is a method that Buddhism identifies as a way of hiding suffering, by constantly moving from one suffering to another we are less aware of the suffering, and can easily perceive the temporary relief from one form of suffering as happiness.
The trick that a Buddhist economist would have to pull off is slowly reduce the wealth of the richer people and nations and pass it to the poorer people and nations. So far, the only technique I can think of is dangling shiny things in front of the rich to distract them while their bank accounts are emptied. At least it worked with all the shiny gadgets I bought from China.
Another confusion in economics is the use of the term free trade, it is odd because virtually every advocate of free trade also advocates strong regulation in areas that benefit them. In fact without regulation the natural outcome of freetrade is monopoly, which is hardly free at all. My biggest concern about non-existent free trade movement is that it always insists on freerer movement for goods than it does for people. I can imagine that most of the problems of the third world could be solved by allowing free movement of people, because I am sure the panic caused in the west would create a huge investment overseas.
The Mind - a comment
In response to The Cam MC.
When the brain/mind is viewed as a program then we will start to look for a programmer, when it is viewed as a process we do not. I do agree that it is not as simple as a big computer in the current style. I do not yet accept that the Buddhist concept of mind will always be beyond scientific understanding. For now I am content to let science work it's way towards the correct conclusion, whatever it may be. I am not worried about the outcome of the debate either. Ultimately these things are unknown to us, what we can be sure of is what we do with the information. What the Buddhist concept of mind does for us is to indicate that the input we receive is not the same as the feelings and thoughts they produce, there is more happening that just direct perception of the world. This understanding enables us to realise that the perceived world is controllable from within the mind, and from there onward to the rest of Buddhist philosophy.
There is an thoughtful article that I will quote:
"[There is] an interesting computer game called NERO. The idea of this game is that you get a team of robots and you have to train them to fight, by designing training exercises in which you establish goals like maintaining a particular distance from the enemy, and lay out a battleground for the robots to learn in. The interesting thing about this is that the robots basically evolve neural networks that seek to meet the goals you set, and they learn how to do this from experience, not by being programmed. The neural nets that evolve have no self-consciousness, no awareness of how they accomplish the task. Wiring just forms and improves. It would be a mistake to look at the robots' behavior and conclude that there is intelligence or intention there; it is just formation of neural nets in response to environmental stimuli coupled with goal-oriented feedback."
The are a number of good books based on a series of discussions between the Dalai Lama and various scientists on these topics. There are even tickets available for the next discussion in November.
When the brain/mind is viewed as a program then we will start to look for a programmer, when it is viewed as a process we do not. I do agree that it is not as simple as a big computer in the current style. I do not yet accept that the Buddhist concept of mind will always be beyond scientific understanding. For now I am content to let science work it's way towards the correct conclusion, whatever it may be. I am not worried about the outcome of the debate either. Ultimately these things are unknown to us, what we can be sure of is what we do with the information. What the Buddhist concept of mind does for us is to indicate that the input we receive is not the same as the feelings and thoughts they produce, there is more happening that just direct perception of the world. This understanding enables us to realise that the perceived world is controllable from within the mind, and from there onward to the rest of Buddhist philosophy.
There is an thoughtful article that I will quote:
"[There is] an interesting computer game called NERO. The idea of this game is that you get a team of robots and you have to train them to fight, by designing training exercises in which you establish goals like maintaining a particular distance from the enemy, and lay out a battleground for the robots to learn in. The interesting thing about this is that the robots basically evolve neural networks that seek to meet the goals you set, and they learn how to do this from experience, not by being programmed. The neural nets that evolve have no self-consciousness, no awareness of how they accomplish the task. Wiring just forms and improves. It would be a mistake to look at the robots' behavior and conclude that there is intelligence or intention there; it is just formation of neural nets in response to environmental stimuli coupled with goal-oriented feedback."
The are a number of good books based on a series of discussions between the Dalai Lama and various scientists on these topics. There are even tickets available for the next discussion in November.
Grumpy Old Man
What is about getting older that makes you think the past was full of hope and the future full of fear?
When I young all the mistakes seemed to be in the past, I wasn't living in a time of war like in "the olden days". Society was developing ideas of tolerance and equality, technology was making things better.
Now I look at the future; I see leaders determined to oppose all the lessons of history, just as our children seemed to oppose all lessons. I see other similarities between or leaders and our children; they have no respect for others, they have no respect for anything other than themselves. There is a constant desire to create a system that will allow the maximum exploitation of each other.
I can't stop the violence or the hatred, the ignorance or the carelessness. All I seem to be able to do is pretend it isn't happening and remember the hope I once had.
When I young all the mistakes seemed to be in the past, I wasn't living in a time of war like in "the olden days". Society was developing ideas of tolerance and equality, technology was making things better.
Now I look at the future; I see leaders determined to oppose all the lessons of history, just as our children seemed to oppose all lessons. I see other similarities between or leaders and our children; they have no respect for others, they have no respect for anything other than themselves. There is a constant desire to create a system that will allow the maximum exploitation of each other.
I can't stop the violence or the hatred, the ignorance or the carelessness. All I seem to be able to do is pretend it isn't happening and remember the hope I once had.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
British Library
The British Library has made available a number of it's books. Even though the selection is modest, this is a superb service, and a wonderful example of what technology can offer.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Run
He was charged with breaching his ASBO, by entering an exclusion zone. He entered the exclusion zone after being chased there by police who had started beating his friend with truncheons. Once out of his area he climbed on a roof and attracted as much attention as he could, his solicitor was called whilst he was still on the roof. He did not come to any harm, but he will be found guilty of breaching his ASBO. The police have said they will not be content until he leaves the city. His ASBO was imposed after several 'run ins' with police.
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