It's hard to believe that January 2010 is already drawing to a close. I made a 'resolution' before the end of 2009 to try to make this year as interesting as possible. This involved taking opportunities when they presented themselves, taking more risks, and trying my hand at new things.
In general, I think I've kept to that. I've definitely held back a lot less that I did before and as I found this can be a double edged sword. I've pushed, pulled, taught, traveled, partied, parted, hugged, hurt, cried, kissed, laughed, lied, played, plotted, built, broke, risked and was rewarded.
There have been low points, the last month has been on a whole extremely positive. Technically, my life hasn't progressed in the last month; I'm still unemployed, still single, still broke but I'm a hell of a lot happier now. As always there are prospects to fix at least partially fix those problems, and I am feeling quite optimistic about them.
Roll on February and whatever new opportunities it brings
31 January 2010
30 January 2010
An Endless Circus?
Another year, another round of tense negotiations in Northern Ireland, another series of threats, missed deadlines and political posturing. The latest series is over the admittedly sensitive issue of policing, with some parades thrown in there for fun and games. Sure, everyone loves a good ol' parade yeah? Yeah? Hmm...
This system that has evolved of re-negotiating things that had apparently been agreed more than ten years ago in the Good Friday Agreement has proven to have become the downfall of the centrist parties; the SDLP and the UUP, as those on the extremes shout and cry fowl until they get some concession. We are now left in the absurd situation where the DUP, once thought to epitomise some of the worst bigotry of during the Troubles (who can forget Ian Paisley calling the Pope the antichrist in the European Parliment) are now being out-flanked on the right by the Traditional Unionist Voice party (who recently called the Irish language "a leprechaun language").
This had lead to some critics call for an end to the d'Hondt method and enforced coalition. Senator Fiona O'Malley raised this in the Seanad this week, saying "it rewards people from the extremes and does not reward people who bring together communities and serve all of the people within their communities. While we continue to prop up a dysfunctional system, frankly it will never work and there will be crisis after crisis." There is some truth in her words, but while we may not like it; it works at one very important thing. It has stop the armed conflict.
I don't think anyone is under any illusions that the current system is intended to be temporary until things calm down a wee bit (whenever that will be). It has brought Sinn Féin and the DUP to the table. In time it will bring the TUV to the table if they do become a force after the next elections. In the time since the Good Friday Agreement, the IRA, UVF and UDA have all decommissioned their arms. The current system gave the North the breathing room to do this, to be able to move past violence without the spectre of extremely confrontational politics going on in the assembly. Without a doubt, that would have made the task so much more difficult.
The key question will is when do we change to a "proper democratic system"? Well for one thing, devolution has to be completed and will have to been so for quite a while. The people of the North need a sense of normality about their lives without the drama of these almost annual re-earthing of the old troubles. It's going to take a long, long time. When hatred is bred from birth, it does take a few generations at least to wean the community of it.
When the deal was struck back in 1997, Tony Blair said that the real work was only beginning. Those are words worth remembering now.
This system that has evolved of re-negotiating things that had apparently been agreed more than ten years ago in the Good Friday Agreement has proven to have become the downfall of the centrist parties; the SDLP and the UUP, as those on the extremes shout and cry fowl until they get some concession. We are now left in the absurd situation where the DUP, once thought to epitomise some of the worst bigotry of during the Troubles (who can forget Ian Paisley calling the Pope the antichrist in the European Parliment) are now being out-flanked on the right by the Traditional Unionist Voice party (who recently called the Irish language "a leprechaun language").
This had lead to some critics call for an end to the d'Hondt method and enforced coalition. Senator Fiona O'Malley raised this in the Seanad this week, saying "it rewards people from the extremes and does not reward people who bring together communities and serve all of the people within their communities. While we continue to prop up a dysfunctional system, frankly it will never work and there will be crisis after crisis." There is some truth in her words, but while we may not like it; it works at one very important thing. It has stop the armed conflict.
I don't think anyone is under any illusions that the current system is intended to be temporary until things calm down a wee bit (whenever that will be). It has brought Sinn Féin and the DUP to the table. In time it will bring the TUV to the table if they do become a force after the next elections. In the time since the Good Friday Agreement, the IRA, UVF and UDA have all decommissioned their arms. The current system gave the North the breathing room to do this, to be able to move past violence without the spectre of extremely confrontational politics going on in the assembly. Without a doubt, that would have made the task so much more difficult.
The key question will is when do we change to a "proper democratic system"? Well for one thing, devolution has to be completed and will have to been so for quite a while. The people of the North need a sense of normality about their lives without the drama of these almost annual re-earthing of the old troubles. It's going to take a long, long time. When hatred is bred from birth, it does take a few generations at least to wean the community of it.
When the deal was struck back in 1997, Tony Blair said that the real work was only beginning. Those are words worth remembering now.
25 January 2010
They think it's all over... but it's still f***ing going!
It's past 3am. I've had a long day building a set for a play, and I've to be up and gone in 6 hours to finish it off. I should be in bed. What's keeping my up? American football (much to the chagrin of many of my friends and family).
After the Colts took apart the Jets in the second half of the AFC Championship match earlier, the Saints and Vikings are still going at it, hammer and tongs, in overtime.
Fumbles in the NFL are counted like how Prachett's trolls count; one, two, many, lots. The Vikings have had enough fumbles to bamboozle any troll (at room temperature). They've blown it so many times when they could have won this game already, most noticeably at the end of each half of regulation time. The Saints have hit hard defensively, but seem to be getting absoloutely hammered by Minnesota's defence.
Regardless of the eventual outcome, one thing is painfully clear to me even now. This is Brett Favre's last season without a doubt. No more dramatic returns for the old warrior. He's gotten beat up so badly so far in this game that I'm amazed he's still walking let alone playing. The biggest hit was when a 26 year old, 125kg mountain of muscle named Hargrove picked up the 40 year old and drove him into the ground. I really hope the old man gets to the Superbowl again and that he'll be fully fit to play. It would be a fitting end to one of the most remarkable careers in NFL history.
Right now, the Saints have gotten into field-goal range, but the Saints have a very inexperienced kicker and the Vikings can still do something...
After the Colts took apart the Jets in the second half of the AFC Championship match earlier, the Saints and Vikings are still going at it, hammer and tongs, in overtime.
Fumbles in the NFL are counted like how Prachett's trolls count; one, two, many, lots. The Vikings have had enough fumbles to bamboozle any troll (at room temperature). They've blown it so many times when they could have won this game already, most noticeably at the end of each half of regulation time. The Saints have hit hard defensively, but seem to be getting absoloutely hammered by Minnesota's defence.
Regardless of the eventual outcome, one thing is painfully clear to me even now. This is Brett Favre's last season without a doubt. No more dramatic returns for the old warrior. He's gotten beat up so badly so far in this game that I'm amazed he's still walking let alone playing. The biggest hit was when a 26 year old, 125kg mountain of muscle named Hargrove picked up the 40 year old and drove him into the ground. I really hope the old man gets to the Superbowl again and that he'll be fully fit to play. It would be a fitting end to one of the most remarkable careers in NFL history.
Right now, the Saints have gotten into field-goal range, but the Saints have a very inexperienced kicker and the Vikings can still do something...
21 January 2010
20 January 2010
Wait, You mean we have to PAY for it?
Last night, the Massechit, Massachusetss, American voters decided to give a big f*** you to Barrack Obama on the anniversary of his inauguration. For me, the worrying things is not that the Democrats have lost the supermajority in the Senate; it's that arguably the most Democratic state in the country returned a Republican a little over a year after the Democrats swept into power in a very convincing fashion.
To me, it seems like the US electorate liked to hear Obama talk about saving them and their families from massive healthcare bills, but when push came to shove the idea of someone having to pay for it through taxes seemed anathema to them.
From my basic reading of the plans before the House and the Senate, the proposals don't really look that redical at all. The vast majority of people will still pay their own health insurance or their employer will. Medicaid would only be available to those earning less than $30,000 (rough figure based on 4 person family). Yet still, Republicans get away with scaremongering; claiming that Obama is "socializing" healthcare.
I have two rebuttals:
(a) Compared to Public Health Insurance models, he really, really isn't.
(b) If there was one thing in the world to socialize; it's healthcare! You generally don't have an option about getting sick; and you can't say that this person or whatever "deserved" to get sick due to their lifestyle alone and therefore deserves to pay for it. Not only that but health is the most important thing to get right for people for without that they would be unable to access any of the freedoms they enjoy by living in the US.
I am confounded that the American people would vote again for the Republicans, who royally messed up their time in power in the last decade. This blow and the presumably heavy losses that the Democrats will endure in House elections in November will yet again freeze all hope of progress on this and the issue of social security. Huzzah for democracy, indeed.
To me, it seems like the US electorate liked to hear Obama talk about saving them and their families from massive healthcare bills, but when push came to shove the idea of someone having to pay for it through taxes seemed anathema to them.
From my basic reading of the plans before the House and the Senate, the proposals don't really look that redical at all. The vast majority of people will still pay their own health insurance or their employer will. Medicaid would only be available to those earning less than $30,000 (rough figure based on 4 person family). Yet still, Republicans get away with scaremongering; claiming that Obama is "socializing" healthcare.
I have two rebuttals:
(a) Compared to Public Health Insurance models, he really, really isn't.
(b) If there was one thing in the world to socialize; it's healthcare! You generally don't have an option about getting sick; and you can't say that this person or whatever "deserved" to get sick due to their lifestyle alone and therefore deserves to pay for it. Not only that but health is the most important thing to get right for people for without that they would be unable to access any of the freedoms they enjoy by living in the US.
I am confounded that the American people would vote again for the Republicans, who royally messed up their time in power in the last decade. This blow and the presumably heavy losses that the Democrats will endure in House elections in November will yet again freeze all hope of progress on this and the issue of social security. Huzzah for democracy, indeed.
18 January 2010
Yerrah, Fuck it
At the start of this year, I made several promises to myself. I wouldn't exactly term them resolutions as it seemed more of philosophical change in my approach to life than anything else. I would do my best to be optimistic, to take some risks, and in general stop waiting for interesting things to happen and instead to go and make them happen.
So far, it seems to be working. The last 2.53 weeks (I like being precise) have been very interesting indeed. Nothing has changed in my situation in that time, but things just seem a whole lot better. Even the plans and plots and schemes that didn't work out have given me a renewed sense of optimism. This isn't the sort of fake optimism I was forcing upon myself earlier, but genuine optimism that life is getting good again.
The one thing that has contributed a lot to this change has been me changing the way I approach decisions. I'm a thinker and many times in my personal life I over think things. I'm trying to replace that with a balance of thinking for a while and then going "Yerrah, fuck it" and just doing whatever feels right. Despite being male, I seem to have developed a pretty good intuition for all sorts of things. While I haven't done detailed statistical analysis on it (yet), I do think that when I follow my gut instinct, even if things don't work out the way I like, I'll feel much better as a result. There are so many times in my past where I wish now I could go back and give my past self a giant kick in the behind and just say "Go for it. Like, do you really have that much to lose?"
This is so much more true in love, where even though there can be pain and humiliation, that is only temporary and can usually be solved by a good night(s) out with friends. The pay-offs though are huge when it goes right. Therefore, in gambling parlance, taking those risks are a good bet as you have positive expectation. You may get burned, but the good more than makes up for it. This is essentially a fancy way of saying "Tis better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all". Crucially, it is expressed in mathematical terminology and so is better.
So the next time you are faced with a tough decision that seems to have no logical resolution, just say the magic words "Yerrah, fuck it" and go with you gut. You'll be happier for it.
P.S. I couldn't exactly find a suitable image to express these abstract ideas. Sorry.
So far, it seems to be working. The last 2.53 weeks (I like being precise) have been very interesting indeed. Nothing has changed in my situation in that time, but things just seem a whole lot better. Even the plans and plots and schemes that didn't work out have given me a renewed sense of optimism. This isn't the sort of fake optimism I was forcing upon myself earlier, but genuine optimism that life is getting good again.
The one thing that has contributed a lot to this change has been me changing the way I approach decisions. I'm a thinker and many times in my personal life I over think things. I'm trying to replace that with a balance of thinking for a while and then going "Yerrah, fuck it" and just doing whatever feels right. Despite being male, I seem to have developed a pretty good intuition for all sorts of things. While I haven't done detailed statistical analysis on it (yet), I do think that when I follow my gut instinct, even if things don't work out the way I like, I'll feel much better as a result. There are so many times in my past where I wish now I could go back and give my past self a giant kick in the behind and just say "Go for it. Like, do you really have that much to lose?"
This is so much more true in love, where even though there can be pain and humiliation, that is only temporary and can usually be solved by a good night(s) out with friends. The pay-offs though are huge when it goes right. Therefore, in gambling parlance, taking those risks are a good bet as you have positive expectation. You may get burned, but the good more than makes up for it. This is essentially a fancy way of saying "Tis better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all". Crucially, it is expressed in mathematical terminology and so is better.
So the next time you are faced with a tough decision that seems to have no logical resolution, just say the magic words "Yerrah, fuck it" and go with you gut. You'll be happier for it.
P.S. I couldn't exactly find a suitable image to express these abstract ideas. Sorry.
I don't mean to toot my own horn, but... toot
This weekend's divisional match-ups proved for the most part to be one-sided and disappointing, with the huge exception of the game in San Diego, where the heavily favoured Chargers got caught with their pants down by the New York Jets. Oh yeah, and who was the only person I've seen on the internet predicting a Jets win? ME. In fact, I predicted all 4 of the weekend's vistors. So, everyone should now listen when I say that next we'll see the Colts win the AFC and the Vikings win the NFC and go on to face each other in Super Bowl XLIV (that's 44 to save you some time figuring it out.)
The Indianapolis Colts crushed Baltimore convincingly and the Jets team they face now have essentially the same run-first and tough defence approach to the game. Even without going into how brilliant the Colts are, not having to make major adjustments to their approach during the week gives them an extra edge. The Jets on the other hand are lucky to be here thanks to an off-day from Nate Kaeding, the Chargers field goal kicker, who missed 3 attempts yesterday. The Jets much lauded defence also leaked many points to the Colts before they benched Manning and many of their starters in week 16. The Jets managed to sneak a win then, but I wouldn't expect Manning and co. to be removed next weekend.
The Vikings-Saints game is going to be closer, and the Saints defence finally showed that in can put in some plays against a good Arizona offence. However, with the arsenal of weapons available to Favre, and if their defensive line can dominate like it did against the Cowboys; I just don't see a way out for the Saints. Adrian Petersen will also be dying to get back out make some plays after being limited on Sunday, and there are large holes in the Saints running defence as shown in first 19 seconds of their game on Saturday.
My play of the week was Sidney Rice's first touchdown against the Cowboys. The 45 yard pass from Favre is inch perfect and a joy to watch.
The Indianapolis Colts crushed Baltimore convincingly and the Jets team they face now have essentially the same run-first and tough defence approach to the game. Even without going into how brilliant the Colts are, not having to make major adjustments to their approach during the week gives them an extra edge. The Jets on the other hand are lucky to be here thanks to an off-day from Nate Kaeding, the Chargers field goal kicker, who missed 3 attempts yesterday. The Jets much lauded defence also leaked many points to the Colts before they benched Manning and many of their starters in week 16. The Jets managed to sneak a win then, but I wouldn't expect Manning and co. to be removed next weekend.
The Vikings-Saints game is going to be closer, and the Saints defence finally showed that in can put in some plays against a good Arizona offence. However, with the arsenal of weapons available to Favre, and if their defensive line can dominate like it did against the Cowboys; I just don't see a way out for the Saints. Adrian Petersen will also be dying to get back out make some plays after being limited on Sunday, and there are large holes in the Saints running defence as shown in first 19 seconds of their game on Saturday.
My play of the week was Sidney Rice's first touchdown against the Cowboys. The 45 yard pass from Favre is inch perfect and a joy to watch.
14 January 2010
A Birthday Blog
The 14th of January is an auspicious day. Many important people have their birthdays today; me... em... and many others.
Included among these other people is none other than Dave Grohl. That's THE Dave Grohl to you. The Dave Grohl of Nirvana, Queen's of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures fame. The man is a legend.
The only problem is that his flagship project, the Foo Fighters, are decidedly average. As someone who thought the walked on water ten years ago, this is a big thing for me to be saying. The release of the Greatest Hits album was accompanied by the release of the single Wheels, which is among least inspiring piece of music I have ever heard. Drab, unoriginal, containing nothing to stir the soul; which has been the same with the Foo Fighters of late. The previous album, Echo Silence Patience & Grace, contained one track of note, and the rest was just bland rock.
This contrast wildly with Them Crooked Vulture's album which is nothing short of excellent, with Grohl back on drums where he belongs. He leaves the guitaring to the much more natural talent of Josh Homme. The problem is not that Grohl doesn't have musical talent, it's that he is not a natural guitarist. Vocally, he's fine, he just lacks the imagination to produce song after song and album after album of good material. Occasional flashes of inspiration can add to whatever group he is with, but not to be the lead.
Dave, happy birthday, but stick to the sticks.
Included among these other people is none other than Dave Grohl. That's THE Dave Grohl to you. The Dave Grohl of Nirvana, Queen's of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures fame. The man is a legend.
The only problem is that his flagship project, the Foo Fighters, are decidedly average. As someone who thought the walked on water ten years ago, this is a big thing for me to be saying. The release of the Greatest Hits album was accompanied by the release of the single Wheels, which is among least inspiring piece of music I have ever heard. Drab, unoriginal, containing nothing to stir the soul; which has been the same with the Foo Fighters of late. The previous album, Echo Silence Patience & Grace, contained one track of note, and the rest was just bland rock.
This contrast wildly with Them Crooked Vulture's album which is nothing short of excellent, with Grohl back on drums where he belongs. He leaves the guitaring to the much more natural talent of Josh Homme. The problem is not that Grohl doesn't have musical talent, it's that he is not a natural guitarist. Vocally, he's fine, he just lacks the imagination to produce song after song and album after album of good material. Occasional flashes of inspiration can add to whatever group he is with, but not to be the lead.
Dave, happy birthday, but stick to the sticks.
11 January 2010
Wild Wild-Card Action in the Wild, Wild West
NFL Wild Card weekend produced three one sided encounters, almost entirely devoid of drama. The fourth game in Arizona however produced more emotion, drama and excitement than any fan could ever have hoped for. While the average score in the other three games was 22, the Packers-Cardinals game went into overtime at 45-45 and a defensive touchdown from the Cardinals on the third play of overtime lifted the roof of the stadium in Phoenix.
At home, I have to fight every week to watch NFL but this game managed to grab the attention of everyone; my father, mother and two sisters. Two teams with highly effective offences and defences that were struggling equals high scoring, high octane football.
I’m not going to begrudge the cardinals their victory; they came out and made that big play in overtime when it was needed, almost immediately after missing a potentially game winning field goal, but I honestly think that it was the Packers that deserved to win. Aaron Rodgers playing in his first ever playoff game threw an interception with his first pass of the game and saw his second get picked up by Arizona after a fumble, both of which the Cardinals turned into two touchdowns. He picked himself up, dusted himself off and completed nearly 75% of his remaining passes for over 400 yards and threw 4 touchdowns. If only the Packers much lauded defence had been able to make one or two big plays, then it would have easily been the Packers marching the New Orleans next week.
That being said I don’t want to take anything away from the unbelievable performance of Kurt Warner. 29 complete passes from 33 attempts for 379 yards and five touchdowns. This gave Kurt a spectacular Quarter-Back rating of 154.1, the second highest ever in the NFL postseason.
As hard as it is, one must look ahead to next weekend. Can any of next week’s games match up in terms of drama? Well, actually, there are a couple candidates....
- Arizona Cardinals v. New Orleans Saints
Two stunning offences led by two of the best quarter-backs in the league, and both teams have been shown to have weak defences. This is gonna be a good ‘un. Despite their problems at the end of the season, I’m picking New Orleans. The week off will have helped them get their house in order and the Cardinals picked up a few knocks in their already porous defence last night. Rodgers was an inexperienced QB who had a few early errors that ended up costing Green Bay the game; Drew Brees won’t be making those mistakes.
- Dallas Cowboys v. Minnesota Vikings
The winner of this will be representing the NFC in the Superbowl. Here you have two very balanced offences, one led by the man having the season of his life, Tony Romo, and the other led by the legend Brett Favre. Crucially both of these teams have defences that have been making plays all season too. This won’t be as high scoring, as the Cardinals-Saints games, but there will still be plenty of drama. I fancy the Vikings to pip it, just. The Cowboys weren’t under any pressure at all against the Eagles, which made their lives very easy. I don’t expect them to get the same treatment from the Vikings who will also have some very, very load home support. I expect the game to be lost by the Cowboys as opposed to being won by the Vikings, if you get my drift.
- New York Jets v. San Diego Chargers
After all the Week 17 drama in the AFC, the playoffs here seem pedestrian in comparison. San Diego seem to have glided into the playoffs without causing any major drama. However star running back LaDainian Tomlinson has had a decidedly below par season, and the Chargers have become reliant on their passing game to find yards. The Jets really impressed me with the way they went about their business on Saturday. They are a tough physical team that run and run and run. Their defence clamped down on OchoCinco so hard that he didn’t get a single reception until the 4th quarter. I fancy the Jets to take this one too.
- Baltimore Ravens v. Indianapolis Colts
The ease with which the Colts made it here was almost embarrassing for the league. They could have easily gone 16-0 except that they decided to rest season MVP Peyton Manning and many other starters. Baltimore showed good hustle with their demolition of the New England Patriots, but you’d want to be a crazy man to think that there is any team in the AFC that can beat the Colts when they are full strength. The Baltimore defence did a number on Tom Brady, getting no less than three interceptions. I can guarantee you, Peyton the Nerd will have studied each of them intensely and that will not happen again. Colts to win.
10 January 2010
The Price of Success
Like most people who either follow sport or can feel emotions, I was appalled at the attack on the Togo national soccer team a few days ago. A rebel group sprayed the bus carrying the team with machine gun fire for a full twenty minutes. Three people; the driver, a press officer and the team’s assistant coach died in the attack. Despite this, the Confederation of African Football was insisting that Togo play on in the African Nations Cup.
This complete lack of compassion from the CAF can be explained in one easy statement. 80% of the CAF’s revenue comes from the biennial competition. I find it sickening that sport has come to this level of disregard for the mental well being of its stars.
Historically, professional sports people have never had support structures. Foreign players coming to play in the Premiership often felt isolated and thus why many of them never seem to settle. This has improved in recent years with such foundations as Tony Adams’ Sporting Chance clinic. However again the FA has shown what it values; the FA are cutting 10% across the board to be able to afford Capello’s half a million pound salary, a cut which many believe will include the comparatively paltry £50,000 this clinic receives. This could mean that the clinic could go under. But as long as the fans and the tabloids are happy who cares? Who cares about the Robert Enkes? Who gives a damn as long as the bottom line is black?
Professional sports people have long been vilified as over-paid, under-educated lads with no connection to the real world. As the saying goes however, it’s lonely at the top, and not enough is being done to ensure that these young people come out at the other end in one piece physically and mentally.
Kudos to the Togolese government for valuing people over money.
06 January 2010
Astronomy and the Apocalypse
Ever since the first planets outside the solar system were discovered in 2003, astronomy has entered a new, and for me, probably it’s most exciting phase ever. Humans are now able to and are looking for other Earths.
Unsurprisingly most of the planets uncovered so far have been huge planets (much bigger than Jupiter) orbiting near their stars (and so having short years). This makes them rather easy to spot. So far, we’ve got about 400 or so of them. Last year however, NASA launched the Kepler space telescope with the explicit purpose of searching for extrasolar planets and specifically ones capable of supporting life. The mission’s first main report was issued two days ago, and despite not finding any Earth-like planets; what it has uncovered is spectacular.
Not only has it discovered five more planets, but also has found some very odd objects. The theory with star formation is that stars need a critical mass to start their fusion reactions and that is estimated at 75 Jupiter’s worth of hydrogen. What Kepler found was objects smaller than Jupiter orbiting stars but are nonetheless radiating light. This shouldn’t be happening, and nothing makes scientists happier than unexpected mysteries. For one thing, it’ll keep us employed longer. It also has effects on the search of Earth-like planets too.
Not only has it discovered five more planets, but also has found some very odd objects. The theory with star formation is that stars need a critical mass to start their fusion reactions and that is estimated at 75 Jupiter’s worth of hydrogen. What Kepler found was objects smaller than Jupiter orbiting stars but are nonetheless radiating light. This shouldn’t be happening, and nothing makes scientists happier than unexpected mysteries. For one thing, it’ll keep us employed longer. It also has effects on the search of Earth-like planets too.
Back in 1960, Frank Drake estimated using his famous equation that there were about 9 other intelligent forms of life in the galaxy. These observations change the estimations of the possibly most important parameter; how many planets there are which can support life. An updated estimate brings Drake’s 9 down to less than 2. I for one wouldn’t be surprised to find this fall further.
Aside from resolving the question as to whether we are alone or not, the much more immediate consequence has to be for our resource consumption. I will admit to being a futurist here, but unless humanity can find new planets with new resources we are facing a massive global catastrophe. We’ll survive peak oil, move on to something else, and continue the cycle of abusing the limited resources of our small planet. However, unless we either learn quickly to harness solar power efficiently on a large scale (giant solar panel in space FTW!), or build spaceships to get to other planets, we may be going the way of the dinosaur.
Of course, we could all be done for in 2029 when this asteroid called Apophis gives the Earth more than a close shave as you can see from the video. The geek in me appreciates the Stargate reference. Don't worry, it has only a mere 1 in 450 chance of hitting Earth and killing us all, and the Russians are planning on stopping it anyway. Cue Aerosmith...
05 January 2010
Brian Lenhian - Political Badass
The world and its mother now know about Brian Lenihan’s health problems. The man himself has been very forthright about it, giving more details than most people would have politely asked for (cough...TV3...cough). I’m not going to go into well trodden ground about the revelations by TV3 of such sensitive personal information over Christmas (again, the world and its mother thinks they’re idiots), but rather his decision to stay on as Minister. I think people need to recognise the sacrifice the man is making for the good of the country and the effect that it will have on our psyche.
Brian Lenihan is in probably the most important job there is at the moment in this country. As Minister for Finance, his ability to control and direct spending wisely and to negotiate on our behalf with the IMF, the ECB, the EU and the Irish banks will almost solely determine how quickly this country emerges from recession. Despite being new to the job when the shit hit the fan back in 2008, he has shown himself to be capable and someone who I think could fix this.
Now throw cancer into the mix. What has been his reaction? Essentially, it can be summed up as “Meh, I’ve work to do”. No time off, working from a hospital bed, continuing with his 14 hour days; this man has overnight become a colossus in my eyes. His attitude clearly singles him out as the most badass finance minister we’ve had since Michael Collins.
The effect this attitude has is huge. Not only is the stability in the department of finance good to keep the value of the stock market from plummeting further, but what we finally have now is a vision of a politician who is putting the public good ahead of his personal good. Let’s be honest, Fianna Fáil have endured scandal after scandal over the last 15 years. FF have been haunted with scandals of members both high up and low down accepting bribes from the construction industry in exchange for zoning changes. When faced with the biggest public spending cuts in the history of the State, what do the backbenchers threaten a coup over? Drink driving legislation. The TD who lead this revolt had previously been charged with assaulting a man in a pub. Even Brian Lenihan’s father’s Presidential campaign in 1990 was derailed when it came out that he had put pressure on the President to refuse the request of Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald to dissolve the Dáil. What FF have lacked massively recently is integrity.
Finally, we have someone who is putting country over not just his own political future (he did that already in his budgets), but also his own personal health. This will do wonders for the political system as a whole as well as providing a solid base of support for the Minister with all the tough decisions that still lie ahead.
Mr. Lenihan, while I may not agree with you on much of your policies, you have restored my faith in the Irish political system.
04 January 2010
NFL Week 17
And thus the regular season ends... and what an ending it was.
Miami's desperate comeback attempt, Houston's futile comeback and the Romo taking apart the Philadelphia Eagles were my personal highlights. The upshot of all the action was that amazingly, three of next weeks four play-offs are repeats of pairings from this week. The drama of the whole thing had me on the edge of my seat for all of the 6 hours it was on TV and I went to sleep rooting for the Bengals to do Houston a favour. Alas, it was not to be and Houston will have to wait for their first ever play-off appearance.
On a more personal note, my fantasy team failed miserably once again to earn me a free trip to Miami for the Superbowl. Despite getting good performances from Tony Romo (16 points), Vernon Davis (14) and Chris Johnson (27), the rest of my team was a dissappointment. New England's vunerable secondary shut down Andre Johnson, but annoyingly let everyone else in. Baltimore had a good day running against Oakland, but unfortunately it wasn't Ray Rice (6 points) that got in the end-zone. Damn Willis McGahee got more points with a single 77 yard run for a touchdown than Rice got in the whole match. More depressingly, my pessimism about Cleveland's upturn in fortune remained unrewarded (Mike Sims-Walker was limited to TWO points). So add in Miami's defence putting in a decent 15 point performance gave me 94 points for the week, a mere 67 short of the weekly winner. Sigh.
Miami's desperate comeback attempt, Houston's futile comeback and the Romo taking apart the Philadelphia Eagles were my personal highlights. The upshot of all the action was that amazingly, three of next weeks four play-offs are repeats of pairings from this week. The drama of the whole thing had me on the edge of my seat for all of the 6 hours it was on TV and I went to sleep rooting for the Bengals to do Houston a favour. Alas, it was not to be and Houston will have to wait for their first ever play-off appearance.
On a more personal note, my fantasy team failed miserably once again to earn me a free trip to Miami for the Superbowl. Despite getting good performances from Tony Romo (16 points), Vernon Davis (14) and Chris Johnson (27), the rest of my team was a dissappointment. New England's vunerable secondary shut down Andre Johnson, but annoyingly let everyone else in. Baltimore had a good day running against Oakland, but unfortunately it wasn't Ray Rice (6 points) that got in the end-zone. Damn Willis McGahee got more points with a single 77 yard run for a touchdown than Rice got in the whole match. More depressingly, my pessimism about Cleveland's upturn in fortune remained unrewarded (Mike Sims-Walker was limited to TWO points). So add in Miami's defence putting in a decent 15 point performance gave me 94 points for the week, a mere 67 short of the weekly winner. Sigh.
Looking forward to next week, I'm predicting wins for New England, Cincinnati, Dallas and Green Bay.
New England are good are defending against their opponents strongest attacking weapon (see above about Andre Johnson). In Baltimore's case this is the run. Take that away and they're boned; they're only 18th in the NFL in passing yardage and Joe Flacco's 88.6 QB rating is not enough for the Ravens to mount a serious challenge. On the other side of the ball, the Patriots have Brady and Moss. Enough said.
The Jets have been the quiet team to sneak into the play-offs this year, but I can't see them get past the first round. Despite beating the Bengals in New York this weekend, I just don't think they have the quality Cincinnati have. The Bengals had nothing to play for and the Jets were playing to get into the play-offs. Palmer, Ochocinco, Benson have all been on fire this year, but who's been on song for the Jets? They have 3 Pro-Bowlers to the Bengals zero, but none in game-making positions (centre, guard, corner).
In Dallas on Sunday, the Eagles just didn't turn up and Romo ripped them apart. Crucially, it was without doing anything too spectacular. Bad defense decision making from Ashante Samuel cost the Eagles sorely and they couldn't get any pressure on Tony Romo. Unless the Philly defence turns up on Saturday, it'll be another easy win for the Cowboys.
The Green Bay-Arizona clash is the tightest one, but I'm going to go with the Packers. Why? Well, for starters I'm biased. I am a bone-fide cheeshead. Not just that but Green Bay's defence has been performing brilliantly and Aaron Rogers has matured into a real quality quarter-back. Arizona haven't shown any form in the regular that would suggest they could be contenders and have a weak division to thank for their appearance in the play-offs. Then again, they didn't last year either...
Frolics on Ice
This blog won't be all seriousness. To show this, here's a video of our dog having trouble playing fetch.
New Year's Resolutions?
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me and I’m feelin’ good.
The ball drops in Times Square, the fireworks go off worldwide, another 940 million kilometre journey around the Sun has passed, and yet again I’m hitting the booze lamenting yet another wasted year. Last year was actually worse than most due to the high that 2008 finished on.
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Luckily, misery loves company, and I am confident that I have plenty of that. How do I know? All of this hackneyed tripe about New Year’s Resolutions. For all people’s good intentions, almost naught will come of it, besides filling the coffers of gyms up and down the country. There’s a few fairly obvious reasons why starting a get fit regime won’t work when you start in the middle of winter; it’s wet, cold, dark and generally unpleasant to move away from the cosy fireside. You’re better off trying the whole fitness thing starting in March-ish, and start by running around the park or having a kick around. Hold onto your gym membership cash until the end of the summer when you know you can actually keep up the health thing for a prolonged period of time.
For a New Year’s resolution that will work, it has to be something that can be easily done in bad weather. That’s why writing this blog is the perfect New Year’s resolution. Through an aligning of the planets, over the last week I have become imbued with new found sense of optimism. Old friends coming home with their tall tales from London and new friends with their not-so-tall tales (yeah, that’s right a made a bad joke about your height). Nothing gets you in the mood for new adventures like funny and fun-filled fairytales of friends (+10 points for alliteration).
03 January 2010
An Introduction
Hello internet and weird people on the internet (This may not be the best way to gain a following, but it's mainly true; you're a weirdo, deal with it).
I intend this blog to cover a lot of different topics, so try not to be annoyed if I meander from politics in one post to the NFL in another and onto quantum mechanics after that. I do however fully intend ranting and hopefully emotionally scaring some of my readers.
The only request I have for now is to flame me if and only if I start getting all emo. If it ever gets to that point, I'll really need it beaten out of me.
Tomorrow, the plan is kick around followed by watching the final week of the regular season in the NFL, so it's unlikely there'll be a blog post tomorrow, but soon!
In case anyone is wondering, the castle in the title image is the keep in Carcassone. Everyone should go there. They've got an entire village inside the walls of the citadel. Freaking awesome.
I intend this blog to cover a lot of different topics, so try not to be annoyed if I meander from politics in one post to the NFL in another and onto quantum mechanics after that. I do however fully intend ranting and hopefully emotionally scaring some of my readers.
The only request I have for now is to flame me if and only if I start getting all emo. If it ever gets to that point, I'll really need it beaten out of me.
Tomorrow, the plan is kick around followed by watching the final week of the regular season in the NFL, so it's unlikely there'll be a blog post tomorrow, but soon!
In case anyone is wondering, the castle in the title image is the keep in Carcassone. Everyone should go there. They've got an entire village inside the walls of the citadel. Freaking awesome.
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