2011 — 11 July: Monday
I have BBC Radio 4 burbling in the background and must admit I'm finding it extremely entertaining to observe the ongoing game of multi-dimensional chess / go / diplomacy between our political lords and masters1 and a certain little global media empire that seeks to own all of BSkyB. This could run and run.
It's time for breakfast.
Not new, but still funny
Found on the site that encourages scientists called "Steve" to refute the wisdom of teaching creationism in the US public school system:
Having spent...
... some time yesterday evening editorially "cleaning up" in the wake of a tiny burst of OCRing, I've bitten the bullet and ordered a software package that will (I hope) do the job a bit more smoothly. And with fewer errors to seek out and fix. The OCR capability built into my latest flatbed scanner is all very well, but very much lacking in fine control. Fingers crossed, therefore.
I'm also gloomily contemplating the need for another set of wall shelving to go onto the other load-bearing wall in what was Christa's study. Mind you, it does make a very nice little reading room away from the living room. Quite how a detached four-bedroom house can have so little space in it for one chap when, in earlier times, it literally housed the three of us remains an utter mystery. Something to do with the curvature of the space-time continuum, perhaps?
I'm currently...
... reading, and have nearly finished, "A History of the Mind" by Nicholas Humphrey. It has touched, though only fleetingly, on consciousness-altering drugs. I've spoken quite often with a number of people who have dabbled, but have always been far too cowardly to do so myself. Whatever it is that goes on "inside" my head, I'm well-used to it, and rather like things — as it were — the way they are.2 But when I read fascinating stuff like this, though, I do still wonder... Source and snippet:
Among the many mysteries and insults presented by DMT, it offers a final mockery of our drug laws: Not only have we criminalized naturally occurring substances, like cannabis; we have criminalized one of our own neurotransmitters.
It's hard enough to wrap my mind around consciousness as I experience it without randomly supercharging a batch of my neuronal inter-connections.
It almost looks as if, by avoiding a new SSD boot drive and opting for a conventional spinning disk, I may for once have made a better call. (Link.)
Rather later
Been a busy boy. Bumped into a chum in Waitrose, which prompted me to email another chum I've not heard from for quite a while. Nipped into Eastleigh, and am now wearing the result — a little chain round my neck with a house key on it to safeguard me against that awful moment when the door slams shut with you on the wrong side of it. Not completely foolproof, but a lot easier than having to break into my little castle.
Was contacted by, and promptly downloaded and tested an accounts package build from, the chaps whose program I was stopped from reloading on to BlackBeast MkII by the detection of an alleged Java malware problem. It was reported as clean but, 'cos they gave me a link to their business version rather than the home version I have an activation key for, it's still no use to me yet. Research continues tomorrow, I gather.
I also decided (at long last) to take out a subscription to "The Word" magazine. Registering at their web site cheekily sets you a couple of pop quiz questions which, if got wrong, prevent you from joining in with their online fun. Fair enough, I suppose. Meanwhile Mr (usual) Postie dropped by...
Before you know it, it's 17:55 and will soon be time to think about an evening meal. Amazing.
Not since watching...
... the Wim Wenders film "Buena Vista Social Club" have I been quite as entranced as I just have been by "Chico & Rita". Sheer musical and graphical magic.
On those notes: g'night!