Reality Ruminations: A Friend Indeed

In a world determined to reduce friendships to digital soundbyte interactions I often stop and wonder what a real friend is. We all (well I shouldn't assume that but I would think most of us did) had 'best friends' in school who we were inseparable with through all kinds of adventures and explorations (I'm seeing Stand By Me playing in my head but it never got that far out...well we did get chased by a large dribbling Alsation once after cutting across someone's backyard on the way to school) but do we maintain that depth of affection into adulthood...?

The dictionary defines 'friend' as

1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter.
3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile.
4. a member of the same nation, party, etc.

I'm sure we can do better than that though - A true friend is someone with whom you can be fully self expressed. How does that sound? The liberty to be completely and unabashedly yourself with someone else (or elses) is a real pleasure. Unconditional love mixed with a commitment to you being the best you you can be. I would exclude 'friendships' built around being feverish, selfish little clods of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy as Shaw would call it. That's just one sod propping up another. The sublime pleasure of slipping into comfortable youness with someone you trust completely can never be undervalued. The opportunity for robust debate where you can engage in vigorous discussions without trampling on the opinions of others or having your own trampled upon is a must too!

Friends come and go. It's a simple fact. Sometimes that parting is painful, sometimes a relief. As the seasons of life come and go aligned entities enter and exit our lives. The can touch us deeply or touch us briefly and then move on as their own journey winds blow them somewhere else. Some are more teachers, some are more students. In the words of Anain Nin “Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”.

Can you get this online...? I doubt it. This can only be gotten in face to face interactions, time spent together and laughs shared. Anything else if just a synthetic parody.

Medieval Musings: State of the Art

Now I know that if I am going to discuss my take on some medieval art I need to be overt that I understand that Medieval art covers thousands of years and dozens of periods and styles. When I refer to medieval art for the purposes of my blog (and remember this is not an art blog!... once more...this is not an art blog!) I am referring to the very human looking examples to the right. What I have always been fascinated with in these illustrations is the strange sense of depth you still get in an otherwise cartoony or iconic style of representing things in a rather flat looking piece of work.

They have a quasi religious bend to most of them as well which appeals in a mixed innocent (we are beloved of God) and desperate (oh please come and save us from this terrible poverty and barbarian invasions) kind of way. And the costumes and armour and general attire on them are just great too.

I think the ones I like are "Byzantine" but don't quote me on that. I enjoy their simpleness yet somewhat clandestine iconography (remember that the church well and truly ruled the roost back then so it was ixnay on the questioning of the ristchay).

Technology Tidings: Google Wave

Google's latest offering promises "a personal communication and collaboration tool" and was announced by them at the Google I/O conference on May 27, 2009. Being a Google tool it is a fully web-based computing platform, and communications protocol designed to merge e-mail, instant messaging, wikis, and social networking. It is designed as a collaborative, real time interactive tool that not only allows conversations but full document collaboration.

We are currently testing the product but all initial impressions are positive!

The "wave" component is a new term for what Google calls "equal parts conversation and document". Conversation are stored as threads in a forum style layout but display real time updates and conversations in a fully searchable format. If you imagine all the verbal conversations you have had in the past they all (to a lesser or greater extent) entailed the conversation itself, things that were referred to (external resources), documents discussed (text, maps, images etc), people discussed who may also have joined and left the conversation as it occurred, decisions made and action steps agreed upon. In Google Wave all of these assets (for want of a better word) are collated under a titled "Wave". Some of these assets would also have been utilized or referred to in other conversations and Google Wave lets you cross correlate those items as well.

Google Wave is written in Java and utilises OpenJDK. Its web interface uses the Google Web Toolkit. Google intends to release the source code as a public open source resource allowing other developers to create their own Wave services as well. There are also Third Parties working on commercial plugins as well.

I will post more as I continue my journey down the Google Wave rabbit hole!

Movie Mumblings: The Godfather Trilogy

I finally found the time to sit down and enjoy the Coppola restoration versions of the Godfather series. The new set (which I actually purchased at the end of last year) is a meticulous restoration by Paramount Pictures, overseen by Coppola himself. In September last year they released the fully restored first two films along with the newly remastered version of The Godfather Part III as a full collection called "The Coppola Restoration Collection".

The Godfather and The Godfather Part II underwent extensive frame-by-frame examination and restoration utilizing state-of-the-art digital technology which took more than a year to complete. The result is an enhanced feast of these academy award endowed favourites.

The films track the evolution of the Corleone crime family.

In "The Godfather" we follow Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) as his power wanes, and his youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) as he rises to become the family head.

In "The Godfather Part II" we follow Michael's further challenges as the Don as well as flashbacks of Vito's (Robert De Niro) early childhood migration to America and rise to power in the 1920s.

In "The Godfather Part III" we follow Michael's attempt to legitimize his family's business interests against a changing world of young hungry gangsters.

What makes these films such a pleasure for me is their lack of reliance on violence and over the top special effects and high action (which have their place in other favourites of course :D). Instead the films focus on the characters, their strengths and weaknesses, their victories and failures and their interactions as both a family and bunch of mobsters making offers "you can't refuse!".

Set aside some serious time though to watch them all together as combined they are 8 hours 47 mins of sublime viewing.

Brain Banterings: Dark Chocolate

Sometimes, just sometimes a snippet of knowledge presents itself which refutes my "all the good things in life seem to be bad for you" presuppositions and today, with a fanfare of trumpets in the background, the health benefits of Dark Chocolate (a very old time guilty favourite) made themselves known and God himself gave me a conspiratorial wink.

"Dark chocolate boosts your brain while protecting you from heart disease and cancer" they tell me in my new favourite book "Training your Brain" in the "Teach Yourself" series from Hodder. "Eating approximately 20-150g a day of dark chocolate can improve your learning and your memory...improve blood flow and therefore oxygen to your brain...relax your blood vessels reducing blood pressure, brain damage and risk of heart disease."

Researching this further I found that the health benefits are vast and somewhat of a well kept secret (It was even used in the Spanish courts as a medication and brain stimulant and was so highly prized that its presence and use was considered a state secret, the revelation of which was punishable by death! - I know how they feel though as I have murderous thoughts when I find my stash depleted too!) I will paraphrase the "Teach Yourself" data here as it is a well collated.

"Professor Ian McDonald found the increased blood flows in the cerebral cortex persisted for up to three hours after eating dark chocolate. Dr Helen Berg of Harvard found that rates of heart disease were lower by 1,280 percent in parts of the world (for example, Panama), where drinking dark chocolate was part of the everyday diet." Now that's science I can believe in!

The Magic of Dark Chocolate

1. Dark chocolate contains anandamide (known as the BLISS chemical" because it makes you feel good (and is similar to THC you get in Cannabis except that it doesn't act on the whole brain and make you lose your mind [though surely there are some health benefits in that too?])).
2. Dark chocolate contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) which allows the anandamide (as well as general dopamine (feel good chemical that cocaine tries to replace)) to circulate more freely in the brain. These are already high in children but less so in older adults resulting in decreased physical activity, mental spontaneity and general levels of joy. A shot of dark chocolate then can bring back your youthful exuberance! A good antidote to negative thinking and depression too.
3. Dark chocolate also produces endorphins that induce that loving feeling that can lead to sex. (Do I really need to go on)
4. Dark Chocolate contains magnesium which decreases coagulation of your blood and helps your heart deliver oxygen to your vital organs.
5. Dark Chocolate is rich in antioxidants (flavonols). It is twice as rich in them as red wine, three times richer than green tea and five times richer than the well favoured blueberries. This means less DNA damage and susceptibility to tumours and cancers as well as less sticky platelets which decreases the risk of strokes.
6. Dark Chocolate contains theobromine which is a brain stimulant similar to caffeine, but unlike caffeine (which brings a downer after it has worn off) theobromine is gentler and more sustained, lasts four times longer and is kinder to your heart.
7. Dark Chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA) which activates the neurotransmitters in your brain that control mental attention, concentration and alertness. This gives the same effect as enjoying a great movie, sports events or social gathering and results in that "time just flew" experience of euphoric engagement.

Well there it is. A great day in knowledge gathering which I am now celebrating with a great big mug of dark chocolate. As they say in the book - "Sometimes life is less complicated if you just eat the chocolate"...nuff said.

Social Scrutinies: A Mensan

Well curiosity finally got the better of me and I applied to join Mensa International, a high IQ society founded in 1946 by Roland Berrill, an Australian barrister, and Dr. Lancelot Ware, a British scientist and lawyer. Mensa is an international society with only one criterion for membership: a score on a standardised IQ test higher than that of 98 per cent of the general population.

Mensa is a not-for-profit society with its stated purposes as being:

• to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity,
• encourage research into the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence, and
• to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members

They have regular entrance examinations in each state where all you need to bring is 3HB pencils, an eraser and a clear mind (they recommend no heavy drinking prior to the exam - lucky they warned me!). There are actually two exams so you get a 'second chance draw' if something goes horribly wrong with the English Language first test. The second is designed to be language independent and works more on direct pattern recognition than language knowledge and was good fun.

I received my confirmation two weeks ago of my acceptance and today received confirmation of membership from the Qld representative. I look forward to meeting my fellow mensans at the next do!

Of real interest to me is the Special Interest Groups, or SIGs, which are groups of Mensans with similar interests or backgrounds. There are SIGs to join from within Australia and around the world. They range from the predictable chess, maths and Star Trek groupies to Densans (Mensans who don't always act too bright), Bardolatry (For lovers and enthusiasts of the Bard of Stratford-Upon-Avon) and Naturists (Nude Mensans).

"Mensa encompasses members representing many points of view. Consequently, Mensa as an organization shall not express an opinion as being that of Mensa, take any political action other than the publication of the results of its investigations, or have any ideological, philosophical, political, or religious affiliations."

Book Botherings: "Assassin's Apprentice" - Robin Hobb

The is an oldie but a goodie and I am now reading it for the third time so I figured it warranted a post in my book botherings. "Assassins Apprentice" is the first in Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy and her first book under this pseudonym (she is really Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden born in 1952 in California). It was published in 1995. Hobb really hit the nail on the head with this series, expertly drawing you in to her fantasy world from page one. It forgoes the usually "scene setting" blah blah that a lot of fantasy writers feel necessary as a preface and instead launches into the story from the point of view of a six year old boy who is only himself learning about this new world he finds himself in so his discoveries deliciously parallel your own. The supporting characters are imbued with almost too human characteristics (the vile Regal haunts me still) and the main character Fitz is immediately and irreconcilably a cherished child or vicarious self.

This first book covers the beginning of Fitz's life as a disclosed "bastard" of the then Prince Chivalry and his introduction to Buckkeep. He is initially ignored by his would be relatives and left to his own devices but after a chance encounter with King Shrewd, he is scrubbed up and sent to be trained as an assassin and protector, a job he successfully fulfills in safeguarding the throne from his treacherous uncle Regal, an act which almost costs him his own life.

The Fool, Chade, Shrewd, Verity, Burrich, Pleasant, Galen, Nosy, Molly Nosebleed and a rich caste of other characters makes for an enjoyable and refreshingly unique fantasy feast. I highly recommend this one to any fantasy fiction connoisseur!

Social Scrutinies: TED - Ken Robinson

This is an old favourite from Feb '06 which I thought I would link in here. TED is a collection of riveting talks by remarkable people presented free to the world. If this isn't a signpost for a changing world then I don't know what is. I have spent hours devouring the thoughts, feelings and experiences of fellow humans who are just up to the full game of life. They are inspiring! Ken's lecture below on how Schools kill Creativity has stuck in my head for many years and forms part of the basis on which I relate to my sons.

Text link to video

To really value creativity on par with science and mathematics and business acumen is both liberating and humbling. I see people in all walks of life struggling and pushing through depression and 'deadness' to fit in with the way things are. Some find little avenues of creativity that let true pieces of themselves out to play but rarely do I see them fully self expressed. Those who do find full self expression often live on the fringe and remove themselves mostly physically sometimes psychologically from the rest of us in order to be free of the bonds that bind us. We are in a trap not of our own making. We have inherited it and live inside its walls as though it were real. TED I find opens the door here and there to show you what is possible beyond the barricades.

Music Mutterings: Don McLean (American Pie)

Don McLean's American Pie remains a real favourite and enigma...what the hell was he singing about. I have researched this over the years but nobody really knows. There are many guesses and suggestions but nothing from the man himself. Maybe it will be a deathbed confession.

A long, long time ago...

I can still remember

How that music used to make me smile.

And I knew if I had my chance

That I could make those people dance

And, maybe, theyd be happy for a while.

But february made me shiver

With every paper Id deliver.

Bad news on the doorstep;

I couldnt take one more step.

I cant remember if I cried

When I read about his widowed bride,

But something touched me deep inside

The day the music died.

So bye-bye, miss american pie.

Drove my chevy to the levee,

But the levee was dry.

And them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and rye

Singin, thisll be the day that I die.

Thisll be the day that I die.

Did you write the book of love,

And do you have faith in God above,

If the Bible tells you so?

Do you believe in rock n roll,

Can music save your mortal soul,

And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that youre in love with him

`cause I saw you dancin in the gym.

You both kicked off your shoes.

Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I was a lonely teenage broncin buck

With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,

But I knew I was out of luck

The day the music died.

I started singin,

Bye-bye, miss american pie.

Drove my chevy to the levee,

But the levee was dry.

Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and rye

And singin, thisll be the day that I die.

Thisll be the day that I die.

Now for ten years weve been on our own

And moss grows fat on a rollin stone,

But thats not how it used to be.

When the jester sang for the king and queen,

In a coat he borrowed from james dean

And a voice that came from you and me,

Oh, and while the king was looking down,

The jester stole his thorny crown.

The courtroom was adjourned;

No verdict was returned.

And while lennon read a book of marx,

The quartet practiced in the park,

And we sang dirges in the dark

The day the music died.

We were singing,

Bye-bye, miss american pie.

Drove my chevy to the levee,

But the levee was dry.

Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and rye

And singin, thisll be the day that I die.

Thisll be the day that I die.

Helter skelter in a summer swelter.

The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,

Eight miles high and falling fast.

It landed foul on the grass.

The players tried for a forward pass,

With the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume

While the sergeants played a marching tune.

We all got up to dance,

Oh, but we never got the chance!

`cause the players tried to take the field;

The marching band refused to yield.

Do you recall what was revealed

The day the music died?

We started singing,

Bye-bye, miss american pie.

Drove my chevy to the levee,

But the levee was dry.

Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and rye

And singin, thisll be the day that I die.

Thisll be the day that I die.

Oh, and there we were all in one place,

A generation lost in space

With no time left to start again.

So come on: jack be nimble, jack be quick!

Jack flash sat on a candlestick

Cause fire is the devils only friend.

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage

My hands were clenched in fists of rage.

No angel born in hell

Could break that satans spell.

And as the flames climbed high into the night

To light the sacrificial rite,

I saw satan laughing with delight

The day the music died

He was singing,

Bye-bye, miss american pie.

Drove my chevy to the levee,

But the levee was dry.

Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and rye

And singin, thisll be the day that I die.

Thisll be the day that I die.

I met a girl who sang the blues

And I asked her for some happy news,

But she just smiled and turned away.

I went down to the sacred store

Where Id heard the music years before,

But the man there said the music wouldnt play.

And in the streets: the children screamed,

The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.

But not a word was spoken;

The church bells all were broken.

And the three men I admire most:

The father, son, and the holy ghost,

They caught the last train for the coast

The day the music died.

And they were singing,

Bye-bye, miss american pie.

Drove my chevy to the levee,

But the levee was dry.

And them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and rye

Singin, thisll be the day that I die.

Thisll be the day that I die.

They were singing,

Bye-bye, miss american pie.

Drove my chevy to the levee,

But the levee was dry.

Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and rye

Singin, thisll be the day that I die.

Coding Cogitations: Back to the Status Quo

Well my sojourn into Google Chrome as my default browser is at an end. I gave it my best support but have found too many websites where Chrome either doesn't work at all or numerous features fail. I am a big believer in always supporting various competitors in the market to create difference and promote variety. I am a staunch Microsofty at heart though and so it is with a small fond tear in my eye that I have reactivated IE 8 as my browser of choice. Sorry Google but there is still work for you to do. It appears though the IE has taken up the call of "If you can't beat em - join em" as many of its features mimic the good things I enjoyed in Chrome in any case.

WINDOWS 7 - another triumph!!

After labouring (and I do mean labouring) under Windows Vista on my main development PC for over three months I couldn't take it anymore. It was either take a punt with Windows 7 or blow the damn thing away and rebuild with XP. I bit the bullet and lept into 7. Wow! All the good things of Vista are there and none of the bad memory choking, blood pressure raising, keyboard slamming, cuss causing frustrations. It flies. It is smooth. It is highly customisable and I don't know how I survived previously without the pinnable taskbar.

If you are in any doubt on Windows 7 - I say take the plunge. You won't be dissappointed on this one! I'm still going to send Bill Gates a bill though for the time I wasted grappling with Vista. I think I lost 10mins from every hour of productivity waiting for things to load, think, render, crash, report, confirm etc etc. But I forgive as I think Windows 7 is altogether a great product. Google has it's work cut out for it if it thinks Vista left the might MS vulnerable in the OS market!

Medieval Musings: Agrarian Festivals

Who doesn't love a good festival. Medieval festivals were not mere parties, BBQs or even whole day celebrations such as weddings. These were week long extravaganzas that brought people from far and wide!

Medieval celebrations centered around specific feast days that had pagan origins and were based on ancient agrarian celebrations that marked when certain crops should be planted or harvested.

Wheat and rye were sown from Michaelmas (September 29) to Christmas. Spring crops would be planted from the end of Christmas through to Easter. Christmas, Easter and Pentecost would be celebrated with a feast of the Church. They were followed by a week of vacation. Visions of an Oktoberfest style celebration springs to mind but on a much larger scale.

There were many lesser celebrations as well such as:

- Candlemas (February 2),

- Hocktide (end of the Easter week),

- Mayday,

- the Rogation Days,

- Ascension (all in May),

- Midsummer or St. John's Day (June 24),

- the Lammas or Feast of St. Peter

These would all be marked with feasts and unique celebrations. Michaelmas marked the beginning of winter and the start of the fiscal year for merchants and tradesmen.

By November, feed was often too scarce to keep animals through the winter, and became known as the "blood month" when meat was smoked, salted and cured for consumption during the long winter ahead. The month began with All Hallows (later, All Saints) Day, followed by St. Martin's Day (November 11).

But medieval society awaited the dreariest time of the year to celebrate the grandest feast of all. The two-week period from Christmas Eve to Twelfth Day (January 6) transformed into the longest vacation for workers. The Lords of the manor or castle often gave bonuses of food, clothing, drink and firewood to ye olde servants. Houses were decked with holly and ivy (there's a song in there), and giant Yule logs were brought in and burned throughout the two-week celebration. New Year's took place during this time and added to the festivities, and "First Gifts" were often exchanged on this day.

"Plow Monday" took place the day after Epiphany, and freemen of the village would participate in a plow race, to begin cultivation of the town's common plot of land. Each man would try and furrow as many lines as possible, as he would be able to sow those lines during the coming year. Children would play the role of "Fool Plow" and go from house to house asking for pennies. Those who refused would find the ground in front of their door plowed up.

Easter, as Christmas, was a day for exchanging gifts. The castle lord would receive eggs from the villagers and in return, provide servants with dinner. May saw celebrations of love, especially on the 1st. Villagers would venture into the woods to cut wildflowers and other greenery for their homes to usher in May and hope for a fertile season.

Original and further information can be found here.

Bring back a life of festivities, common purpose and mutual exertion I say... especially if it also heralds the end of commercial corporate mass manufactured entertainment!

Hear Hear!

Reality Ruminations: Reflected as an Angel

I have always struggled with the ability of some people to create and perpetuate massive and unsettling lies about themselves, circumstances and events. The struggle was also with myself as my memories often were met with "that never happened" or "it didn't occur that way". What is going on?

I have read about 'Moral Disengagement' where a person excuses their own hurtful or bad (and I know that is subjective) actions within a moral framework that would justify and excuse or 'dress up' those actions as judicial or necessary or whatever made it palatable to them, but does that explain simple re-interpretations that aren't necessarily so morally loaded?

I recently had the experience of coming into conflict with a person who simply appeared disengaged from reality. He was saying things were done that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt never were and further that things weren't done that I know beyond a shadow of doubt were. I accept that interpretations can differ but he now (as this is a recent invention) has no such doubt of my obvious culpability. Is he simply mendacious or is something deeper going on? Normally I would not be particularly concerned except the he has now embarked on a campaign of misinformation that appears to be readily accepted by others. What is even more perplexing is that those relationships that were previously successful with great outcomes are suddenly being re-interpretated by them as abject failures despite prior emails of congratulations and past conversations of gratitude. It is like a spreading virus that is corrupting the holy into a decayed shadow of its former self.

In seeking answers I came across an article called "THE 'PATHOLOGICAL DISHONESTY' DISEASE" by William J. Beaty, 1998.

It reads: "The "liars" are formidable opponents because they have no need to ever surrender. When you take them on, you aren't even dealing with a human, instead you are fighting an unleashed subconscious which has far more extensive mental resources than normal. Also, they can tell enormous lies with a clear conscience, and people will believe their side of the story without a second thought, since their attitude and body-language is that of a truth teller. REAL truth-tellers always have some self-doubt, and when they go up against one of the liars, the liars appear to be far more truthful than the genuine truth-tellers."

The original full article is HERE.

After reading further I found that this sort of "Convenient Disremembering" is a defence mechanism we all have. If we are challenged or 'called' on poor behaviour, our subconscious launches into defence mode and begins reinterpretating reality to cover the hole. I know I have done that in the past myself when my behaviour has been less that noble. Either within my own mind or in conversation with those around me I have 'modified' what really happened to shine a better light, not overtly or intentionally but certainly with an element of subconscious spin. This might perhaps sound like a minor infraction but it is actually quite hideous when you look at it deeper. I guess that is why you hear that even mass murderers believe they are good people and something (generally outside of themselves) justified, caused or created the terrible behaviour.

Beaty in his article also says that we "also put much emphasis on the idea that all of reality is just a matter of opinion. A very strange viewpoint. Though the "blind men" disagree, this doesn't have any effect on the elephant!". I wonder given the discoveries of quantum scientists that the observer has an impact on the fabric of reality whether it actually does have an effect on the elephant. Perhaps in the agreed conversations of humans the past and present is changed and I now need to apologise.

Gardening Goings On: 10 Foot Planet

I have started a new Blog with the family for all the Garden Goings On as there is enough material there to warrant its own site.

http://www.10footplanet.blogspot.com

Enjoy

Technology Tidings: Transparent Aluminium

Oxford scientists have created a transparent form of aluminium by bombarding the metal with the world’s most powerful soft X-ray laser. 'Transparent aluminium' previously only existed in science fiction, featuring in the movie Star Trek IV, but the real material is an exotic new state of matter with implications for planetary science and nuclear fusion.

Full article is Here

The material is apparently a completely new state of matter and of course its implications are enormous in terms of both space and deep sea exploration. It has other fantastic implications in the area of Nuclear Fission though I don't personally appreciate that aspect.

The new technology works by knocking out a key electron within the Aluminium atoms that leaves its basic crystaline structure intact rendering the material transparent to certain light.

"'What we have created is a completely new state of matter nobody has seen before,’ said Professor Justin Wark of Oxford University’s Department of Physics, one of the authors of the paper. ‘Transparent aluminium is just the start. The physical properties of the matter we are creating are relevant to the conditions inside large planets, and we also hope that by studying it we can gain a greater understanding of what is going on during the creation of 'miniature stars' created by high-power laser implosions, which may one day allow the power of nuclear fusion to be harnessed here on Earth.

The discovery was made possible with the development of a new source of radiation that is ten billion times brighter than any synchrotron in the world (such as the UK’s Diamond Light Source). The FLASH laser, based in Hamburg, Germany, produces extremely brief pulses of soft X-ray light, each of which is more powerful than the output of a power plant that provides electricity to a whole city."

Music Mutterings: The Kinks (Wonder Boy)

La-la-la-la...
Wonder boy, lifes just begun.
Turn your sorrow into wonder
Dream alone, dont sigh, dont groan
Life is only what you wonder.
Day is as light as your brightest dreams,
Night is as dark as you feel it ought to be.
Time is as fast as the slowest thing,
Life is only...

Wonder boy,
Wonder boy.
Everybody is looking for the sun.
People strain their eyes to see,
But I see you and you see me,
And aint that wonder?

Wonder boy, some mothers son,
Life is full of work and plunder[? ].
Easy go, life is not real,
Life is only what you conjure.

Wonder boy,
And the world is joy, every single day.
Its the real mccoy,
Wonder boy.
Everybody is looking for the sun.
People strain their eyes to see,
But I see you and you see me,
And aint that wonder?

Wonder boy, some mothers son,
Turn your sorrow into wonder
Dream alone, go have your fun.
Life is only...
Life is only...
Life is only...

An old favourite - apparently John Lennon was fond of this one too!

Technology Tidings: Witricity

I was listening to Coast to Coast AM with George Noory (a highly recommended show for anyone interested in 'other' ideas of what we are all doing here!) just last week and the guest was talking about Harmonic Resonance technologies, Tesla and wireless electrical systems. As I mentioned in a previous post I have a great interest in the work of Nikola Tesla...Wireless electricity...is it possible...?

Well...while researching gardening of all things I came across this story from the BBC - A system that can deliver power to devices without the need for wires has been shown off at a hi-tech conference....wow!

The system is based on work by physicist Marin Soljacic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It exploits "resonance", whereby energy transfer is markedly more efficient when a certain frequency is applied. When two objects have the same resonant frequency, they exchange energy strongly without having an effect on other, surrounding objects.

For example, it is resonance that can cause a wine glass to explode when a singer hits exactly the right tone. But instead of using acoustic resonance, Witricity's approach exploits the resonance of low frequency electromagnetic waves.

The fascinating thing about this technology is that all you need is a 'like minded' receiver (by which I mean same resonant frequency) coil inside a laptop, television, toaster that matches the energy source transmitter and it will automatically make use of the resonant electricity to charge or power itself. No more wires, cables, batteries etc. The system utilises magnetic fields so keep your floppy disks somewhere else but otherwise the technology appears harmless to humans, pets and cockroaches (I say appears as we often can't predict the effects of these systems until someone has had decent exposure to it....Thalidomide anyone?).

Interesting enough the article in discussing precursors to the technology mentions the work and ideas of Edison and Tesla and writes "Tesla even went so far as to build a 29m-high aerial known as Wardenclyffe Tower in New York. "It ran into some financial troubles and that work was never completed," said Professor Soljacic"....financial trouble...It was canned by JP Morgan to prevent universal free energy!! Haven't you been on YouTube!!

*takes of his tin foil hat and returns to his discourse*

A world without wires is a fascinating idea - it bodes well for electric cars that charge themselves in your own garage or at the office carpark....surely that's not going to make big oil very happy though....

The full article is available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8165928.stm.

Enjoy!

People Ponderings: Nikola Tesla

Geniuses are always fascinating to read about. Their single minded focus on their goals leaves them open to ridicule and exploitation for their foibles, quirks and general disregard for the practical elements of life, especially finances.

I can pretty unreservedly say that Nikola Tesla enlightened the modern era. He gave us alternating current power, modern radio, radar, neon and flourescent lighting, remote control and almost it is believed universal free energy.

While most of his inventions, as is the modus operandi of capitalist imperialism, were turned to violence, war and monetary gain, Tesla himself forsaw and pursued a world of peace and enlightened mankind. He sought to lift the burdens of humanity and bring a new era of abundance and joy to all peoples.

Seeing the coming of World War II he sought to create a device that would make any country, regardless of size, safe within its own borders. It was rejected as was his device to create an ionosphere of unlimited energy for free use for every person of every nation.

Tesla was an inventor, scientist and engineer of the highest order. A veritable Superman!
He left us with a multitude of modern technologies, patents and scientific data.

He died leaving no offspring or legatees of his brilliant mind who might have carried on his work. He created fortunes for many money driven men but died penniless.

Ok...rewind that back please....universal free energy?!?!....apparently Tesla was working with resonant frequencies of the earth to potentially transmit unlimited electric power. He also found the same harmonics in the sea, air and space and believed that energy could be transmitted into any of these mediums and then utilised anywhere on the planet instantaneously...wow...and I mean WOW! Time to build a lab and do some experiments!

Book Botherings: "The Transition Handbook" - Rob Hopkins

From oil dependency to local resilience. "We have little time, and much to accomplish" - Richard Heinberg, author of 'Peak Everything'.

This is a ground breaking book! Not just because it says so on it's back cover but because the idea of transitioning anywhere from the mindless slog of capitalism and endless (though the end appears nearish) growth and expansion is both refreshingly freeing and utterly terrifying. But this book is a solid how to, not in the sense of the appropriate forms to have prepared for your new community's various activities but in the sense of preparing yourself and your neighbours and family, mind, body and soul or in their words head, heart and hands for a move towards self-sufficiency and local community living.

Transition Initiatives are based on four key assumptions:

• That life with dramatically lower energy consumption is inevitable, and that it’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.

• That our settlements and communities presently lack the resilience to enable them to weather the severe energy shocks that will accompany peak oil.

• That we have to act collectively, and we have to act now.

• That by unleashing the collective genius of those around us to creatively and proactively design our energy descent, we can build ways of living that are more connected, more enriching and that recognise the biological limits of our planet.

This great upbeat guide offers the tools, resources and reasons to prepare ourselves adequately for the coming economic, social and cultural renaissance.

Family Fathomings: A dose of humility

I find having a son one of the greatest joys and pleasures of my life, let alone three of them. Three little souls bursting with joy and unfettered love and merriment. We have a wall of the boys' drawings and written gifts etc that to be honest I don't particularly notice most days. Today I did and found the following reminders of who we are for our children.

"Happy Father's Day! I love you because you play with me before you go to work"

"Happy Father's Day! I love you because you resol me"

"I love it when Daddy plays Brandy with me"

Time spent and love given is the currency of children. It's also an opportunity to open a door for our own souls to be merry and joyous. It is easy to get caught up in the great tribal buffalo hunt for wealth and ownership of stuff but the true treasures lie in our relationships, especially those with our children.

Book Botherings: "How to Be Free" - Tom Hodgkinson

Have you ever had the experience in reading a book that perhaps your journey through life is in fact a great play that you planned from the start and you left yourself some little guide posts and reminders along the way...? This book read like a tale I had planned to tell myself all along and was momentous, joyous, reflective and downright delicious to consume.

From the book cover itself - "Drawing on the French existentialists, British punks, the US beats, hippies and yippies, medieval thinkers, anarchists and 1970s back-to-the-landers such as Ivan Illich, Idler editor Tom Hodgkinson provides a new, simple, joyful blueprint for modern living. He shows that consumer society has led not to a widening of freedoms but to the opposite, and that they key to a free life is to stop consuming and start producing. We are not consumers, we are creators!"

"Read How to Be Free and throw off the shackles of anxiety, bureaucracy, debt, governments, housework, moaning, pain, poverty, ugliness and waste, and much else besides. "

"Are you ready to be free? Read this book and find out!"

Enough said...but really...you must read this book! If you believe anything I have to say (and I'm not sure I believe half of it myself) then believe this.

Medieval Musings: Common Ideas, Common Outcomes

"The principle of medieval trade was admittedly comradeship and justice while the principle of modern trade is avowedly competition and greed" G.K. Chesterton, 'William Cobbet', 1926

The theory (at least as far as is advertised) is that competition leads to higher quality and resonable pricing of goods. The opposite is what actually occurs, as evidenced by the rise of massive monopolies and super corporations that almost without restriction pursue their own corporate agendas across countries, peoples and cultures. They force small enterprises out of business and suck money and resources out of local communities and into the hands of shareholders. Sales and profits, not quality, service or human respect are the goals.

Merry old medieval England was imbued with a spirit of hospitality, charity and common enterprise. Workers gave 10% of their produce or earnings to the local monastery and the tithe was then used for local relief for the poor and needy. Communities looked after their own rather than delegate the task to a distant collection of bureaucrats. The notion of a 'brotherhood of man' was powerfully promoted and citizens were encouraged to love they neighbour as thyselves'. Guilds arose to manage work and trade in the mould of spirited creativity and high quality goods with complex agreed value systems specifically to engender free and fair anti-competitive trade. Members donated to a central coffer for feasts, guildhall maintenance and alms.

Gardening Goings On: The Chicken Perch Dilemma

Now chickens aren't the brightest of animals but I had thought that given the choice between a flat plank of wood and a nice cosy perch high up the back of the shed, nicely sheltered, the choice would be a no brainer.

The perches have been set up like a ladder, sloping back to the wall with enough space between each perch to keep the chickens roosting above from dropping poo on the chickens below. There is plenty of room for the birds to roost without being too crowded. Sounds ideal....right...?

Unfortunately our chickens decided that the flat plank of wood we placed above the feeder and waterer (originally put there so they could sit on the window sill during the day without dirtying their resources) was also an ideal perch and there they slept, three fat ladies bustled together on an ever increasingly sloped board.

The solution then appeared to be to simply remove the board and close off the window. Anticipating our reclacitrant ladies would simply sit on the L shaped shelf supports directly above the food and water (they needed to stay as they held up the water and food) we placed two large diameter PVC pipes there to dissuade them.

This was all in vain as my next nightly visit found two chooks perched on the PVC pipe (feet splayed out in the most uncomfortable of fashion) and one cold chook out in the yard who obviously missed the opportunity of a PVC perch and failed to notice the state of the art ladder of perches lovingly constructed at the back of the shed.

At least they lay well!

People Ponderings: James Howard Kunstler

Author of "The Long Emergency" as well as a couple of books harshly critical of suburbia namely "The Geography of Nowhere" and "Home From Nowhere.", Kunstler is a verbal samurai carving up notions that technology will save us from ourselves and depleting oil reserves will be solved by friendly bacteria excreting fuel into our cars and civic projects.

His website is http://www.kunstler.com/ and I invite anyone who wants a direct injection of reality straight to a major artery to visit it.

He also has a weekly podcast available at http://kunstlercast.com/. Again strap yourself in, be prepared to make light of disturbing human dysfunction and weep yourself into a world made by hand.

"I believe a lot of people share my feelings about the tragic landscape of highway strips, parking lots, housing tracts, mega-malls, junked cities, and ravaged countryside that makes up the everyday environment where most Americans live and work."

James Howard Kunstler, 'The Geography of Nowhere'.

I have enjoyed Kunstler's rants for over twelve months now and his no nonsense, take no prisoners approach to what I also believe is a massive waste of human potential in the mega over globalisation and suburbination (new word coming soon to a dictionary near you!) of our world, is inspiring in the same way that being chased by a lion lends an extra step to one's gait. Life is absurd and we are now witnessing the slow swaying and suspenseful slow motion collapse of a world built of goo. Be Merry!

Coding Cogitations: Converting Cold Fusion to .Net

Well anyone with an ounce of coding will recognise the misnomer title for this post. You convert Cold Fusion to .Net like you convert grass to diamond earings. There are a few steps in the journey from Point A to Point B.

Here's how the game played out:

1. Luckily the backend is SQL Server 2005 so only some minor tweaking required to make use of it in this case. (Hail Mary full of grace)

2. Run a code generator over the Database to create my Data Access Layer. Luckily the previous developer (God bless his soul) broke up his Cold Fusion into seperate pages for the various data access methods. This gives me a great set of code to run a parser through to recreate the calls in my extended DAL

3. He also created seperate pages for the various business requirements though one for every single method, but god bless his little cotton socks his incode comments left nothing to assumption.

4. The GUI was pulled apart in no time. Carved into a variety of objects and recreated with Master pages.

This all seems pretty straight forward Jayson I hear you say. It was! So why blog about it? Because the real message here is that great coding in the first instance on any project makes updates, transitions and complete rebuilds a joy to undertake. Thank you previous developer - your spirit now lives on in .Net....

Technology Tidings: Redflow Advanced Energy Storage

RedFlow is a privately owned technology development company, located in Brisbane Australia.

RedFlow has pioneered the development and packaging of zinc bromine flow batteries into practical electricity storage systems that meet real market needs.

The patented zinc bromine flow technology is a breakthrough for kilowatt-scale electricity storage.

It combines RedFlow's proprietary battery technology with an integrated electronic interface using 3G-based remote communications and control capabilities.

Their management has strong technical backgrounds and extensive international links.

We also designed and developed their new website! ;)

Movie Mumblings: Hornblower TV Series

I have to say that I have never been so beautifully and deliciously drawn into a tv series as I was with this gem from British broadcaster Meridian Television.

It is based on the series of novels by C.S. Forester and majestically brought to life by the talents of Ioan Gruffudd as Horatio Hornblower, Robert Lindsay as Captain (and later Commodore and Admiral) Sir Edward Pellew, Paul Copley as Matthews the Bosun and Sean Gilder as Styles the Bosun's Mate. Ok there were others in there as well but these four really made this series for me.

The series consists of eight made-for-television movies though their high production values are obvious with beautiful scenery and the mouth watering galleons and frigates that grace the waters. My recommended episode would be The Frogs and the Lobsters in which Lt. Hornblower and his crew are sent to accompany a doomed royalist invasion of revolutionary France. The french royalists are played wonderfully by Antony Sher as Colonel Moncoutant (a tad bloodthirsty) and John Shrapnel as General Charette. Samuel West as the firstly pompous and ultimately likeable Major Edrington, commander of the British regiment sent to support the French. This episode overflows with espionage, intrigue, bloody murder, war and heroics, romance, prison breaks, you name it!

I highly recommend this series. Each episode is about an hour and a half long so you have 12 hours of fantastic period settings and did I mention the mouth watering galleons and frigates....

Technology Tidings: The Orion Project

The Orion Project is an organization created to transform the current energy, environmental and social crisis into a world of sustainability and Enlightened Abundance.

http://www.theorionproject.org/en/index.html

Technological progress in the areas of advanced physics and electromagnetic systems, if appropriately supported, will enable humanity to live on the Earth with a minimal footprint with genuine long-term sustainability.

For over 100 years, these advanced concepts in energy generation have either been ignored or actively suppressed due to the power of fossil-fuel based economic and industrial interests.

Imagine a world where every home and village has its own clean source of electrical energy, free from the cost of fossil fuels, nuclear power or a centralized electric grid.

Imagine every means of transportation running off of clean power plants, using no source of fuel and creating no pollution.

Imagine the developing world blossoming with these new technologies and the equatorial rain forests protected from slash and burn subsistence farming and logging.

Imagine all inter-city transportation above the ground and the millions of acres paved over with highways freed for productive agriculture and recreation.

Imagine all manufacturing being clean-fuel sourced, using no-cost or low-cost energy.

Imagine the possibility of 100% recycling because the energy cost of transporting recycled materials, processing them and scrubbing pollution out of the air and water approaches zero.

Imagine...

This is no mere pipe-dream, but a world that is well within our grasp to create- in our lifetimes. Imagine... and see that it is a reality.

The Orion Project is dedicated to:

• Supporting the world's most accomplished engineers, physicists, and inventors who have developed innovative solutions to energy generation.
• Cleaning up the fossil fuel power sources currently in use.

Medieval Musings: The City State

"For I was reared

In the great city, pent 'mid cloisters dim,

And saw nought lovely but the sky and stars."

Coleridge, 'Frost at Midnight', 1797

In ye olde days, before globalisation and industrialisation mass produced human experience and made every main street look and feel the same, there were the independent city states that flowed with the flavour of individuality. These weren't the mega cities you see today of 25,000,000 plus people but rather great big country towns of 50,000 to 100,000 souls.

From the 12th century on these great cities become self-governing democratic havens, free of intrusion from nobles. Multitudes of people fed up with the restrictions of feudal existence and "to the manor born effeteness" congolmerated to escape the rule of nobles and create an ideal working and creative community in which fairness and equality were the main driving principles. It was the adventure of cooperation at its most effective. They were centers of humanity bursting with schools, hospitals, baths, workshops (in the sense of the artisan working at his chosen trade not the toxic factories or human slave lines we know today) and wonderful community inspired architecture. Guilds controlled the fairness and expression of individual trade and cathedrals rose to celebrate the glory of god and the energy and abundance of the people. Walls were their own form of self enforced limitation to growth and over urbanisation.

These free cities existed all over the known world from the coasts of the Mediterranean to the North Sea, the Baltic, the Atlantic Ocean, down the fjords of Scandinavia through Russia, Hungary, France and Spain. A mighty fraternity of spirit rose from the compost of feudalism.

I imagine a time not to far in the future where the same organic human spiritual emergence rises from the remains of capitalism and globalisation...

Gardening Goings On: The Vege Patch Extension Project

Stage 2 of the vege patch has now entered the formal planning stage. To the left are some photos of the existing gardens with the new ones in sight and for those not suffering from any eye issues, the string for the new fence is vaguely visible around the edges.

We currently have 21m² of vege garden space. This doesn't take into account the sandy loam garden at the end of the chicken coop as it is only really suitable for watermelons at the moment.

We are adding an additional 12m² of gardens in. We are also putting rabbit/hare/fox/overly diggy chocolate labrador proof fencing around the whole area and river pebbling the areas between the gardens to try to get on top of the grass which incessently marches, leaps and underscores the gardens themselves.

We are going to put thin gardens in around the fencing itself which will add an additional 5m² of vege space bringing our grand total to 38m² of deliciously abundant soil. This is a little over 409 sq ft for you imperials out there. In “How To Grow More Vegetables”, intensive gardening guru, John Jeavons, says you’ll need about 100 sq ft. per person, to grow enough vegetables to feed them for the whole year. With a family of five we need 500 sq ft, but as the boys are all under 8 I think we have time to add that critical 91sq ft or 8.5m² at a later stage.

FYI - The bottom picture shows our Asian vegetables coming through - there are a couple of Bok Choys, a couple of asian lettuces and an as yet unidentified one (Im hoping not some form of triffid).

People Ponderings: Arthur Schopenhauer

From Wikipedia (I know I've blown any academic cred utilising the great plebian knowledge cave but hey - therein lies revolution itself!)

Arthur Schopenhauer (February 22, 1788–September 21, 1860) was a German philosopher known for his atheistic pessimism and philosophical clarity. At age 25, he published his doctoral dissertation, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which examined the fundamental question of whether reason alone can unlock answers about the world. Schopenhauer's most influential work, The World as Will and Representation, emphasized the role of man's basic motivation, which Schopenhauer called will. His analysis of will led him to the conclusion that emotional, physical, and sexual desires can never be fulfilled. Consequently, he favored a lifestyle of negating human desires, similar to the teachings of Buddhism and Vedanta.

I recently revisited the works and ideas of Schopenhauer on one of the various audios provided by various friends. In this case it is Will Durant's "The Story of Philosophy". What I loved about Schopenhauer was his focus on the individual will as opposed to the collective will or more the subjugation of individual will to the will of the whole. His philosophies are inherently pessimistic as is anyone's that focus on the basic desires as the root motivater for human action. It can only be depressing to consider ourselves simple monkey's that react to basic, organic stimulus both internal and external. We want to be bigger than that, made in the image of gods, the highest form of evolved sentience, capable of great and noble things of universal significance. But what if anything outside of ourselves is simple illusion. The creation of willful monkeys, hell bent on not being simple willful monkeys. Schopenhauer's response was a withdrawal of sorts from earthly pleasures to a fairly austere existence. The theory being that to not partake in the pleasure/pain existence would free the mind to perhaps be more than simply will or desire.

He also had a combative discourse with Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and any robust debate is a good thing I think... as long the competition is in the joy of discourse and not the eventual conquest and destruction of an opponent. An example verbiage from Schop - "If I were to say that the so-called philosophy of this fellow Hegel is a colossal piece of mystification which will yet provide posterity with an inexhaustible theme for laughter at our times, that it is a pseudo-philosophy paralyzing all mental powers, stifling all real thinking, and, by the most outrageous misuse of language, putting in its place the hollowest, most senseless, thoughtless, and, as is confirmed by its success, most stupefying verbiage, I should be quite right. ". Got to love it.

In a realm where death is a choice and to not die is a force of will I think Schopenhauer reigns supreme though he would not perhaps have accepted the hat.

Family Fathomings: How to Kick a Football

My eldest boy has joined AusKick, an National Australia Bank sponsored kids footy course that runs over 10 weeks. Their website is http://www2.aflauskick.com.au/.

Now I never played AFL myself on any club or school level so my delight in his joining AusKick is twofold as I get the chance to understand why I was always picked last at lunchtime AFL games.

Steps to kick a Drop Punt

1. Hold the ball with your hands on either side of it. (Seems easy enough!)

2. Begin kicking your chosen leg forward (Who chooses? Me? Do I wait for guidance from the captain/coach...?)

2. Guide or drop the football down onto your footy boot laces. (Seems easy enough!)

3. The ball should meet your boot on the upswing of your kick (Ahhh....the heart of the skill!)

4. You follow through with your boot and launch the ball spinning backwards. (Who spins? Me or the ball...?)

Bonus Tips

1. Walking as you kick brings momentum and makes the kick have more depth (go further). (Ok that must be a week 10 thing!)

2. Learn to kick using both feet. (At once...Ok I'm outta here)

Here's a good Youtube clip to demonstrate the technique.

Well, my 7 year old can now kick an AFL ball better than me....wait til we get home...Arm Wrestling time!!

Reality Ruminations: The Manacles are Mind Forg'd

"Live Merrily, oh my friends, free from cares, perplexity, anguish, grief of mind, live merrily" - Marsilius Ficinus

For what purpose do we freely and seemingly without question submit ourselves to lives of anxiety and stress. There are no Sabre-Tooth Tigers waiting to leap on us in the night, or Wooly Mammoths that can squash us underfoot in mindless stampedes, yet our media, conversations and general tribal consciousness seems determined to find new things to fear and be upset about. Is this simply the way our minds are or is there something more sinister at play...?

The question I believe we should all ask before we simply accept anything we are told as the truth is "Who benefits?". Who could possibly benefit from me being anxious about money, health, terrorists, swine flu, career, peak oil, assets, economy and why the guy down the road smiled at me a little too long today?

I believe that the goal of life is simple - to live well! That of course is a massively subjective statement and well it should be. There are 6 billion people on the planet with 6 billion world views - sure there are cultural and social views groups have in common but every man, woman and child holds secret, personal and often unshared views of what the world means to them. Why are these rarely expressed? Certain people seem to and we either venerate them or tear them down depending on the global mood but in general people seem willing to accept that the world is a frightening place and we need xxxx to protect us. Aha! Who is this xxxx that we all look to then to protect us from this frightening world...?

Government? Those who are doing well with the Status Quo? Big Business? Anxious people make good consumers and obedient workers. Anxiety pushes us towards means and ways to create safety and comfort. Roll out the TV Set and credit cards and forget about revolutions and reformations. Those things are dangerous and if we remove those who are protecting us from the terrorists we'll be naked and alone. Won't we? Like George Orwell's "1984" we are told that we are in a perpetual state of war - the enemy changes here and there but they are always out there. Heck the enemy is even next door - If I don't keep up with the Jones I won't look good and then I will feel stressed and anxious when they invite me to their place for a "let's admire ourselves" party. None of this stimulating company, good cheer, merriment, feasting and fun - this is combat!

Can we escape these mind forg'd tyrannies and create a better world? Only by acknowledging the fear that we are being fed. Until we recognise the trap, we will never escape it.

Book Botherings: "The Book of Lost Tales 2" - JRR Tolkien

Finally it has arrived - 14 weeks by boat (or I suspect Albatross) from the UK and I finally have the second to last book for my collection of Unwin Unicorn paperbacks of Tolkien's works. I continue my search for "The Hobbit" but I suspect they may not have actually published it in that series...but hope springs eternal.

Here are the chapters:

1. "The Tale of Tinúviel" — first version of the tale of Beren and Lúthien

2. "Turambar and the Foalókë" — first version of the Túrin saga

3. "The Fall of Gondolin" — the only full narrative of the Fall of Gondolin

4. "The Nauglafring" — a story which was "lost", in that it never was rewritten in full, and was mostly left out of the later Silmarillion.

5. "The Tale of Eärendel" — the only full narrative of Eärendil's travels

6. "The History of Eriol or Ælfwine and the End of the Tales" — an essay about the changes in the framework, and the "unwritten" tales.

It takes work to read these books. They are not your usual fantasy mind candy requiring little thought. These books need you to be almost academic in your digestion of them. As they are pieced together from various Tolkien scribbles there are often changes in certain names including actual usage or application of those names. I thoroughly enjoy them for the depth and meatiness they provide however and Christopher Tolkien deserves a hearty slap on the back and a mug of ale for bringing them to an eager world.

Coding Cogitations: Principles behind the Agile Manifesto

From the heroes at www.manifesto.org - you can't sum it up better than this

Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer
through early and continuous delivery
of valuable software.

Welcome changing requirements, even late in
development. Agile processes harness change for
the customer's competitive advantage.

Deliver working software frequently, from a
couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a
preference to the shorter timescale.

Business people and developers must work
together daily throughout the project.

Build projects around motivated individuals.
Give them the environment and support they need,
and trust them to get the job done.

The most efficient and effective method of
conveying information to and within a development
team is face-to-face conversation.

Working software is the primary measure of progress.

Agile processes promote sustainable development.
The sponsors, developers, and users should be able
to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

Continuous attention to technical excellence
and good design enhances agility.

Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount
of work not done--is essential.

The best architectures, requirements, and designs
emerge from self-organizing teams.

At regular intervals, the team reflects on how
to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts
its behavior accordingly.