Notes and Jottings

This morning I saw a reference to an article about activity-based experiences “being the best way to achieve satisfaction”:http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/17/1076779970333.html, [via “Philip Greenspun”:http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2004/02/18#a3776]. This agrees very well with the sort of life I seem to be living at the moment, where a car is so far down my list of priorities as to be almost nonexistent, while a ski trip takes pride of place in my hopes and memories And I can’t say that the experience is that bad at all.

I was finding it hard to sleep tonight, and it brought my mind back to the very best way to clear your mind at such times, when I was at home in Kilkenny. I now live in the heart of a major European city, and the stars are mute and dim. But back at home, the constellations burned brightly in the sky, and it was always a wonder and beauty to behold at night. So if I couldn’t sleep, what better way to spend a few minutes than out in the back garden looking for Orion’s Belt or the Plough, or Cassiopeia. Then narrow your eyes somewhat, and the faint glow of the Milky Way comes into view. This was all especially wonderful on a crisp winter night with a smell of frost in the air, then the sky was especially bright, and one could rejoice to be alive.

私は ばかですね。
Sad but true.

Ireland of the welcomes opts for two-tier citizenship (free subscription required)

THE Supreme Court decision yesterday that the non-national parents of Irish citizens do not have the right to reside in their children’s country of citizenship deserves strong criticism.
[…]
They ruled however that although the citizen has a right to reside here, the citizen does not have the right to the care and company of their families in this State. This right is overridden by the need to protect the integrity of the asylum and immigration process; by the sovereign right of the State to dictate its own immigration policy.

Doesn’t this sound very like the behaviour of the Supreme Court in the US over the constitutional challenge to the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. Id est, that the end justifies the means? I have seen it suggested (can’t find the link yet) that the differences in how the Supreme Court acted in restricting Congress (or is it Senate?) powers in the Commerce Act differed from that when confronted with a challenge to the CTEA occurred because the Justices perceived at some level that Disney et al. were good for the US, and acting against that would be bad. It would just be a background motivation, but…
And then here in Ireland, the Supreme Court appears to act in a way which is obviously constitutional (since they say it is), but which seems to act on the side of supporting what is currently considered “common opinion” in Ireland against the common sense view of the Constitution.

Gary could try spelling ‘embarrassment’ and ‘embarrassed’ consistently! I think I’m in a bit of a silly mood tonight Back to the normal schedule tomorrow…

Janny Wurts is so cool. Tut. No hero worshipping here I suspect it’s rather INFP-ish of me to be talking like this though (when you consider this in combination with my ‘embarassment’ post below)…

Gary is so embarrassed! Gary did not think before he posted to a public forum and now he feels like a fool. Close eyes and take deep breaths - nobody will remember this a year from now. It just feels a bit *yuck*. Gary must refrain from sloppy thinking in future. That is a good New Year’s Resolution. I could even start it before the new year!

I was re-reading Peril’s Gate last night, and was going through Arithon’s talk with Davien when I thought of a possible motivation for Davien’s actions, resulting in his discorporation.

I think we are beginning to see hints of the social strata which existed on the continent of Paravia before the Rebellion. This was mainly due to hereditary ability creating a two-tier society - an educated minority which laid down the laws, with the ability to meet the native Paravians which to all others were creatures who caused madness.

The talented patrolled the wilds and kept the Compact. The “untalented” kept to their cities, and feared.

We have seen the stated opinions of five of the F7 concerning the city of Etarra, one almost of contempt for the ruling body at least, though the problems delved deeply into Etarran society. However, as was said initially, Etarra was also like that from before the time of the Rebellion. And yet the F7 did nothing? I’m not talking about getting rid of the city - but of education, enlightenment.

Why did the nobility of Rathain live separately from the majority of the people they were pledged to protect? The society strata appear to have been reinforced by the nobility, with no intention of creating harmony among all.

The Paravians had no jurisdiction in the walled cities under the Compact, and the F7 left decisions in the area to the ruling king/queen.

I would submit for thought that Davien’s Rebellion was inspired by the above rather than by the Mistwraith. And we do not know what he did to cause the Rebellion - perhaps he wished for joint ruling between the classes? But events spun out of his control - the “untalented” gained the ascendency, and anger and fear gave them the impetus to depose the rulers.

Gary.

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.

That was a quote from a mail I got in work - and it reminds me of an entry I almost wrote last week before %@^% it was eaten. About the Nice Treaty, and why I voted yes.
A large part of that almost-entry was about how people filter events through their own particular perception of reality, and a rejection of the treaty by Ireland changes the perception of many people. I think that strangely enough, the bigger changes to Ireland would have come from that change in perception rather than the changes which will occur due to the Nice Treaty.
Admittedly I’ve only gotten to page 15 in reading the treaty - bad considering that I’ve already voted! Nothing to make me think I’ve made a horrible mistake yet though…

The Doc Searls Weblog : Thursday, October 17, 2002
Doc Searls reminding us to “be nice”. In this case, in regard to a woman who was made fun of, just because she works at Microsoft. Generally known to be the most evil country at the world. Yes, with a Monty Burns in charge. NO! Not really. It shows the danger of sloppy thinking. Just like with Saddam Hussein, people are far too eager to divide the world into ‘us’ and ‘them’, and to hate the other side. Which side is full of cool techies too! And in the case of Beth here, well she seems to have wonderful ramblings on her site which make her seem a normal person, Microsoft or no Microsoft, makes no difference.