Just to get this technical note on the Internets for general helpfulness of humanity..
After following the main MongoDB instructions, I was stumped with "Error: couldn't connect to server 127.0.0.1 shell/mongo.js:79". Mongod had started but I couldn't 'mongo'. This was NOT a mongoDB problem, despite all the rest of the advice on the internet telling you to set the datadir, check permissions, uninstall the packages, try a different package etc.
I should have thought earlier to use my own brain. The problem was the server's own firewall preventing mongo from accessing port 27017. Specifically, the Rackspace sample iptables ruleset does not allow an SSHd user to 'mongo': Rackspace Cloud sample iptables.
So if you followed the official YouTube video on setting up your Rackspace Cloud server you'll hit this issue. Rackspace Cloud setup video by Chad. My cloud server is Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid but I expect any Rackspace cloud server configured as above will encounter this. To save you the hours of troubleshooting I've just undergone, this will sort you out:
[After following the MongoDB 'Quickstart' instructions and the stuff on the page above, installing from the mongodb-10gen package]
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 27017 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 28017 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -s 127.0.0.1 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A OUTPUT -s 127.0.0.1 -j ACCEPT
sudo bash -c "iptables-save > /etc/iptables.up.rules"
This assumes you followed Chad's instructions (around time 10:00) to reference /etc/iptables.up.rules from /etc/network/interfaces:
pre-up iptables-restore < /etc/iptables.up.rules
Do that, reboot your cloud server from the Rackspace web management interface - and you'll be able to 'mongo' on your server (and remotely).
Make sure you add 'auth = true' to /etc/mongodb.conf (also adding an 'admin' user via mongo) so that the web interface on http://www.yoursite.com:28017 isn't too useful to people.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
An insight from acting
One of the remarkable things I discovered in my brief acting course was this:
"It's easier to act yourself into an emotion than feel your way to an action". Shake your fist and frown, you'll feel angry. Smile, you feel happy. Much research is available to back this up, though I'm too lazy to list it here - but today I had a little reminder from this article linked from a tweet:
"Humans and other animals express power through open, expansive postures, and powerlessness through closed, constrictive postures. But can these postures actually cause power?" The answer is "a person can, via a simple two-minute pose, embody power and instantly become more powerful"
- http://www.leadershipembodiment.com/postures.html
'Power' is a tricky word here: it's meant in its helpful guise, the ability to enact useful change, rather than 'power over'.
I went into acting because while 80% of communication is non-verbal I was spending 80% of my time and effort on the other 20%, the words and the research. So my congruence and self-awareness of 80% of my communication was minimal. Bringing that forward into consciousness, even a little, has been a great thing to attempt.
Actions speak louder than words (particularly silence).
I hope to do more acting, but not quite yet.
"It's easier to act yourself into an emotion than feel your way to an action". Shake your fist and frown, you'll feel angry. Smile, you feel happy. Much research is available to back this up, though I'm too lazy to list it here - but today I had a little reminder from this article linked from a tweet:
"Humans and other animals express power through open, expansive postures, and powerlessness through closed, constrictive postures. But can these postures actually cause power?" The answer is "a person can, via a simple two-minute pose, embody power and instantly become more powerful"
- http://www.leadershipembodiment.com/postures.html
'Power' is a tricky word here: it's meant in its helpful guise, the ability to enact useful change, rather than 'power over'.
I went into acting because while 80% of communication is non-verbal I was spending 80% of my time and effort on the other 20%, the words and the research. So my congruence and self-awareness of 80% of my communication was minimal. Bringing that forward into consciousness, even a little, has been a great thing to attempt.
Actions speak louder than words (particularly silence).
I hope to do more acting, but not quite yet.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Monday, July 04, 2011
A project manager with no plan
My second post on my recent acting training course in London, which featured the most glorious, beautiful bunch of classmates. Hello to those folk if you're reading. If not, you were the one I thought was truly awful.
We did many classes: acting for TV, a spot of Shakespeare, movement, modern plays, voice. The one that had the most impact for me was Impro. Improvised drama and theatre, rather than comedy, though we quickly discovered disturbingly hilarious scenarios are utterly inevitable.
You start a scene, standing and you speak second, never first. You act high or low status (submissive or dominant) and demonstrate with your body a simple emotion, let's say 'joy'. Another character enters, your new friend that minutes before was tasked only with a blueberry muffin. But now your new playmate must speak first to tell you why you're feeling what you're feeling. Up until that point you didn't know, you really didn't know - and neither did he because he didn't know what emotion you'd go for.
You might have your own ideas on why you feel your emotion, but you leave them aside. You accept what he says as fact: you were just promoted to captain on Starbase Alpha and you're looking forward, apparently, to celebrating with the crew down on planet Zorg, except your legs are robot legs and they're a bit unreliable.
As the story unfolds, you discover it at the same time as your audience and at the same time as your fellow actors. You embrace the uncertainty, ride the rollercoaster while it's still under construction, it's you that's building it. Your playmate may misread your original emotion, you might accidentally transplant the scene three hundred years backwards, speak nonsense, dry up completely. The scene always continues.
The story always tends toward stability: the end of something, the resolution, the refusal of the characters to speak with one another, or into complete chaos. Stability is dull. There's no drama there, at the extremes, at the ends. If you've driven into a wall you have nowhere to go, if you've dug too deep a hole you can't get out. Steering it between those magnetic extremes is a huge challenge, a balancing act, rolling a ball-bearing around a wooden maze of holes.
As project manager I plan months in advance. My job is to reduce and remove uncertainty, fight it toe-to-toe in a constant, eternal battle, day after day. I've trained and practised this for over a decade. Supplying coping strategies to corporations.
But here I am naked, no timing plan, no estimate, no scope of work, reacting now to what happened just now. As honestly as I'm able and not even as as me but as a character - a character I only find out along the way. You have to trust your team completely. You can't react to something you've missed so you really pay attention to what they're trying to communicate, verbally and otherwise - and there's no time to anticipate even 2 sentences in advance. Incredibly tricky to do right, but wonderfully exciting and great fun.
More than that, planning or being fully engaged in the present moment - which is the closer match to reality?
We did many classes: acting for TV, a spot of Shakespeare, movement, modern plays, voice. The one that had the most impact for me was Impro. Improvised drama and theatre, rather than comedy, though we quickly discovered disturbingly hilarious scenarios are utterly inevitable.
You start a scene, standing and you speak second, never first. You act high or low status (submissive or dominant) and demonstrate with your body a simple emotion, let's say 'joy'. Another character enters, your new friend that minutes before was tasked only with a blueberry muffin. But now your new playmate must speak first to tell you why you're feeling what you're feeling. Up until that point you didn't know, you really didn't know - and neither did he because he didn't know what emotion you'd go for.
You might have your own ideas on why you feel your emotion, but you leave them aside. You accept what he says as fact: you were just promoted to captain on Starbase Alpha and you're looking forward, apparently, to celebrating with the crew down on planet Zorg, except your legs are robot legs and they're a bit unreliable.
As the story unfolds, you discover it at the same time as your audience and at the same time as your fellow actors. You embrace the uncertainty, ride the rollercoaster while it's still under construction, it's you that's building it. Your playmate may misread your original emotion, you might accidentally transplant the scene three hundred years backwards, speak nonsense, dry up completely. The scene always continues.
The story always tends toward stability: the end of something, the resolution, the refusal of the characters to speak with one another, or into complete chaos. Stability is dull. There's no drama there, at the extremes, at the ends. If you've driven into a wall you have nowhere to go, if you've dug too deep a hole you can't get out. Steering it between those magnetic extremes is a huge challenge, a balancing act, rolling a ball-bearing around a wooden maze of holes.
As project manager I plan months in advance. My job is to reduce and remove uncertainty, fight it toe-to-toe in a constant, eternal battle, day after day. I've trained and practised this for over a decade. Supplying coping strategies to corporations.
But here I am naked, no timing plan, no estimate, no scope of work, reacting now to what happened just now. As honestly as I'm able and not even as as me but as a character - a character I only find out along the way. You have to trust your team completely. You can't react to something you've missed so you really pay attention to what they're trying to communicate, verbally and otherwise - and there's no time to anticipate even 2 sentences in advance. Incredibly tricky to do right, but wonderfully exciting and great fun.
More than that, planning or being fully engaged in the present moment - which is the closer match to reality?
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A brief introduction to acting
A short four weeks ago I met a new group of 15 people in a room in central London. We closed our eyes and crawled over each other on the floor.
That was day one of acting school, which culminated on Sunday with a run of our one-act plays in front of a live studio audience. I loved the experience and hope to scribble some thoughts here.
A key thing for me was that as an actor one must be aware of one's body. It's easy to acknowledge this intellectually, but it takes a simple exercise and mere seconds to show most people that they have remarkably little idea what their body is doing at any given moment, myself included.
You stand up straight, assertive, looking straight at people's eyes. But you're fidgeting with your hands.
You attempt 'unsure' and move slowly, relax your body, look down - but you come across as cocky, confident, couldn't-care-less.
This is a problem for an actor, though the start of learning a skill that will pay royally in acting and otherwise.
In an exchange with someone, look at their eyes, look away, look back, look away and refuse to look back. You've lowered your status, marked yourself as submissive, if only for a moment. With two brief movements of your eyes.
Think how many muscles and moves the body is capable of. Each scratch, wiggle of an eyebrow, blink, intake of breath the audience searches through for meaning (so long as you've given them a reason to).
So in one interaction between two characters you have hundreds of these factors to deal with, bodily signals to align to your ends. In a scene, thousands. In an act, millions. In a play, multiply, multiply.
You can't script and control these individually, so you must trust 99% of them to your unconscious. So you try to really feel what's going on for your character. You are your character, you are your body, your body is your character.
When it stops, the scene over, more than once this has left me dazed and confused, emotional, delirious.
Who am I?
That was day one of acting school, which culminated on Sunday with a run of our one-act plays in front of a live studio audience. I loved the experience and hope to scribble some thoughts here.
A key thing for me was that as an actor one must be aware of one's body. It's easy to acknowledge this intellectually, but it takes a simple exercise and mere seconds to show most people that they have remarkably little idea what their body is doing at any given moment, myself included.
You stand up straight, assertive, looking straight at people's eyes. But you're fidgeting with your hands.
You attempt 'unsure' and move slowly, relax your body, look down - but you come across as cocky, confident, couldn't-care-less.
This is a problem for an actor, though the start of learning a skill that will pay royally in acting and otherwise.
In an exchange with someone, look at their eyes, look away, look back, look away and refuse to look back. You've lowered your status, marked yourself as submissive, if only for a moment. With two brief movements of your eyes.
Think how many muscles and moves the body is capable of. Each scratch, wiggle of an eyebrow, blink, intake of breath the audience searches through for meaning (so long as you've given them a reason to).
So in one interaction between two characters you have hundreds of these factors to deal with, bodily signals to align to your ends. In a scene, thousands. In an act, millions. In a play, multiply, multiply.
You can't script and control these individually, so you must trust 99% of them to your unconscious. So you try to really feel what's going on for your character. You are your character, you are your body, your body is your character.
When it stops, the scene over, more than once this has left me dazed and confused, emotional, delirious.
Who am I?
Friday, June 10, 2011
Svengali
"We're here to deliver a petition", I said to the policeman at the top of Downing Street.
On his way out, he gave me a kiss. 'Nice beard' he said. I think he was trying to manipulate me into choosing the number '4'. And I'll never know what for. Not until I wake up age 63 on a desert island with only the vaguest sense of once co-ordinating a worldwide hacking project and depositing £10 million in someone else's bank account.
"What's it about?"
"Cuts to nurses" I replied, failing to consider that nurses are probably perfectly capable of taking care of cuts on their own.
"We have three signatures", I continued, "although one of them is you".
At this point I noticed a change in his demeanour. As if he wasn't taking us seriously. I probably imagined this, because it was five minutes to six in the morning and we were clearly three sheets to the wind. This may have already made his quick-witted policeman mind cautious about our authenticity. He giggled, grinned and playfully wiggled his semi-automatic gun.
As we approached Big Ben, gleaming brilliant gold in bright dawn sunshine, he rang. Bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bonggg. Hello Ben, it's been quite some time.
We went to visit Brian Haw, but he wasn't up, lazy bastard. We resigned ourselves to talking loudly about the fact he wasn't up just outside his canvas abode.
Because we'd been out with Derren Brown that night, you see. Drinking in the same pub at least. After his show, the first night of his run of 'Svengali' in London. I can't quite place where in the show he gave me the instruction to drink 4 pints and meet him there.
On his way out, he gave me a kiss. 'Nice beard' he said. I think he was trying to manipulate me into choosing the number '4'. And I'll never know what for. Not until I wake up age 63 on a desert island with only the vaguest sense of once co-ordinating a worldwide hacking project and depositing £10 million in someone else's bank account.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
A note on serendipity
So much more these days I'm having brilliant things happen apparently out of sheer good luck.
I added an old colleague, Peter Gander, on Facebook and said in my welcome message that I'd been to his part of the world recently, Whitstable. Lovely place by the sea: me and Slawek enjoyed a lovely pint of Shepherd Neame in the blustery sea air. A short conversation later, he sends his hand-illustrated postcards about the place to me in the post:
My friend Ricky mentioned he was thinking of going to Brighton in the next few days. As it happens I'd just finished my notice at work, so I was free. I said that sounds good - and before you know it we're on the train for a couple of nights there. Brilliant!
I use serendipity in preference to synchronicity, though there appears to be a wide-ranging confusion about any distinction. If only because the latter is used in peculiar ways to imply something supernatural, I prefer the former with its origin in literature: 'The Three Princes of Serendip' whose heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of".
I added an old colleague, Peter Gander, on Facebook and said in my welcome message that I'd been to his part of the world recently, Whitstable. Lovely place by the sea: me and Slawek enjoyed a lovely pint of Shepherd Neame in the blustery sea air. A short conversation later, he sends his hand-illustrated postcards about the place to me in the post:
My friend Ricky mentioned he was thinking of going to Brighton in the next few days. As it happens I'd just finished my notice at work, so I was free. I said that sounds good - and before you know it we're on the train for a couple of nights there. Brilliant!
I use serendipity in preference to synchronicity, though there appears to be a wide-ranging confusion about any distinction. If only because the latter is used in peculiar ways to imply something supernatural, I prefer the former with its origin in literature: 'The Three Princes of Serendip' whose heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of".
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Celebrating Zombie Jesus Weekend
Jesus died at the start of Easter and my friends nearly did too: a crash with an HGV on the motorway, the car written off. But the computer hardware came off intact. And the human cargo was fine too: my weekend gaming partners (Andy) Lockett, Chris and Doherty.
The scene: Newbury race course grandstands. A vast but temporary network of power and cabling. Four huge floors each with 400 gaming desks, split across two buildings - plus a central 'live finals arena' with spectator seating and trade stands. Thousands in prize money. If it didn't exist, you wouldn't think to invent it.
4am, 4am, 2am for Friday, Saturday, Sunday - so not quite 'Insomnia', the event title. Take it easy: we were never going to last as long as the hordes of rampaging teenagers. Rampaging in the Unreal Tournament sense.
In a different timeline these valiant young men would be out fighting for their country. Using not dissimilar skills. But our generation doesn't have wars like that. So we sit in front of the biggest screen we can afford and pretend. For fun.
Newbury took care of us with it's canalside pubs and warm weather. Rained in London apparently. While I fried eggs on a fold-up barbeque in the sunshine.
You see what you need is a waterproof, heat-conductive container. Fortunately for me, Lockett was given a 'Things to make' book one Summer age 6 and has been practising ever since constructing just such things. In my case from tin foil. Andy - don't doubt it - is handy.
After an epic 'pub quiz' in the live finals arena, Doherty entered the 'boat race' (and lost). While others streamed the new Dr Who from iPlayer, Lockett and me completed Co-op Portal 2, a new, funny and genuinely innovative game featuring Stephen Merchant as an uncertain robot that guides your two robots around a futuristic testing facility.
Every now and again a cheer would go up from somewhere in the room, some objective reached, some achievement accomplished. Or someone would at random initiate a game of 'butt scratcher', inviting a reply of the same, or comedy rhyming variant, which must be shouted at maximum volume - and no less. This game came into it's own around 2am when beer finally dominated energy drinks. MARGARET THATCHER.
And as a team of four in the frenetic battle to see how long you last in 'Left for Dead 2', we lasted 12 long, Zombie-shootin' minutes. The winners got to 144 minutes.
Our minutes were higher quality, I like to think. And to be fair, those guys were probably some of the world's best gamers, high on caffeine, running hardware so expensive it ought to be measured in mosquito nets for ethiopians, or how many nurses' jobs could be safeguarded instead, or how much of Kate Middleton's dress you could get for it. You're right, probably not much.
And now homeward bound, tent packed away, cowboy hat in tow. Leaving a thousand beer cans to recycle, ten thousand energy drink cans, some grass to sort out for the horses. Back on a train, Reading to Paddington, then a couple circuits of Regents Park on the cycle home. Good game.
As one T-shirt on Easter Sunday put it, 'Happy Zombie Jesus Day'.
The scene: Newbury race course grandstands. A vast but temporary network of power and cabling. Four huge floors each with 400 gaming desks, split across two buildings - plus a central 'live finals arena' with spectator seating and trade stands. Thousands in prize money. If it didn't exist, you wouldn't think to invent it.
4am, 4am, 2am for Friday, Saturday, Sunday - so not quite 'Insomnia', the event title. Take it easy: we were never going to last as long as the hordes of rampaging teenagers. Rampaging in the Unreal Tournament sense.
In a different timeline these valiant young men would be out fighting for their country. Using not dissimilar skills. But our generation doesn't have wars like that. So we sit in front of the biggest screen we can afford and pretend. For fun.
Newbury took care of us with it's canalside pubs and warm weather. Rained in London apparently. While I fried eggs on a fold-up barbeque in the sunshine.
You see what you need is a waterproof, heat-conductive container. Fortunately for me, Lockett was given a 'Things to make' book one Summer age 6 and has been practising ever since constructing just such things. In my case from tin foil. Andy - don't doubt it - is handy.
After an epic 'pub quiz' in the live finals arena, Doherty entered the 'boat race' (and lost). While others streamed the new Dr Who from iPlayer, Lockett and me completed Co-op Portal 2, a new, funny and genuinely innovative game featuring Stephen Merchant as an uncertain robot that guides your two robots around a futuristic testing facility.
Every now and again a cheer would go up from somewhere in the room, some objective reached, some achievement accomplished. Or someone would at random initiate a game of 'butt scratcher', inviting a reply of the same, or comedy rhyming variant, which must be shouted at maximum volume - and no less. This game came into it's own around 2am when beer finally dominated energy drinks. MARGARET THATCHER.
And as a team of four in the frenetic battle to see how long you last in 'Left for Dead 2', we lasted 12 long, Zombie-shootin' minutes. The winners got to 144 minutes.
Our minutes were higher quality, I like to think. And to be fair, those guys were probably some of the world's best gamers, high on caffeine, running hardware so expensive it ought to be measured in mosquito nets for ethiopians, or how many nurses' jobs could be safeguarded instead, or how much of Kate Middleton's dress you could get for it. You're right, probably not much.
And now homeward bound, tent packed away, cowboy hat in tow. Leaving a thousand beer cans to recycle, ten thousand energy drink cans, some grass to sort out for the horses. Back on a train, Reading to Paddington, then a couple circuits of Regents Park on the cycle home. Good game.
As one T-shirt on Easter Sunday put it, 'Happy Zombie Jesus Day'.
 |
| Wizzo and man |
 |
| The site at Newbury |
 |
| Evening at the campsite |
 |
| Daytime at the campsite |
 |
| Doherty (in background) in the Boat Race |
 |
| One of the main gaming floors |
 |
| Panorama of the stage at the Live Finals Arena |
 |
| Our team at the Pub Quiz |
Blogs are dead. Long live blogs!
Bizarrely close to exactly two years since my last post on this blog, it's time to revive it! Not in quite its previous form. The things that interest me now are slightly different to the things on my mind all that time ago, though perhaps more an evolution than a revolution.
Who said blogs aren't relevant in today's Twittery Facebook-soaked world? I probably did. But here goes an experiment in changing my mind.
And what better time to start blogging again than as I head off into what will hopefully be a pretty strange period of my life? Having resigned my full-time job recently with no job to go to and only a vague sense I want to enact some kind of interesting change, I'll post here my thoughts as I go.
Who said blogs aren't relevant in today's Twittery Facebook-soaked world? I probably did. But here goes an experiment in changing my mind.
And what better time to start blogging again than as I head off into what will hopefully be a pretty strange period of my life? Having resigned my full-time job recently with no job to go to and only a vague sense I want to enact some kind of interesting change, I'll post here my thoughts as I go.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Getting to know digital better
You know, people often ask me "Adam, how on Earth do you get so clever about all things digital". If you were to ask me, I'd probably say:
• Don’t Make Me Think by Krugg, obviously.
• http://mashable.com/
• Sign up to the e-consultancy newsletter (think requires becoming a basic/free member) and read stuff like Inexpensive tips to improve usability
• Some cute Flash games: http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/
• Review award-winning digital work like BIMAs awards (I stole one, once).
• Get a copy of Revolution mag; read their site http://www.revolutionmagazine.com/; follow them on Twitter http://twitter.com/andrewmccormick
• http://www.ted.com/
• Wider picture at Economist Technology Quarterly: http://www.economist.com/science/tq/ e.g. this on off/online gaming
• Same for Guardian’s relevant bit each week: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/digital-media
But bigger than all that is: stop reading, start doing. It’s called interactive for a reason. Start a blog, start tweeting (and follow me), make yourself a 1-page website, share your shots on Flickr, buy an iPhone, explore the Facebook features you’ve always ignored, start a conversation on a YouTube channel, ask a question to your network on LinkedIn, edit an article on Wikipedia – any article!, choose a meetup.com group and turn up one night, create a Google maps mashup of past pet’s resting places, charge $1 a pixel for your homepage, start a new social movement. Get involved! That’s learning.
• Don’t Make Me Think by Krugg, obviously.
• http://mashable.com/
• Sign up to the e-consultancy newsletter (think requires becoming a basic/free member) and read stuff like Inexpensive tips to improve usability
• Some cute Flash games: http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/
• Review award-winning digital work like BIMAs awards (I stole one, once).
• Get a copy of Revolution mag; read their site http://www.revolutionmagazine.com/; follow them on Twitter http://twitter.com/andrewmccormick
• http://www.ted.com/
• Wider picture at Economist Technology Quarterly: http://www.economist.com/science/tq/ e.g. this on off/online gaming
• Same for Guardian’s relevant bit each week: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/digital-media
But bigger than all that is: stop reading, start doing. It’s called interactive for a reason. Start a blog, start tweeting (and follow me), make yourself a 1-page website, share your shots on Flickr, buy an iPhone, explore the Facebook features you’ve always ignored, start a conversation on a YouTube channel, ask a question to your network on LinkedIn, edit an article on Wikipedia – any article!, choose a meetup.com group and turn up one night, create a Google maps mashup of past pet’s resting places, charge $1 a pixel for your homepage, start a new social movement. Get involved! That’s learning.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Blair and humanism
Blair speaking at the US National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC:
"Neither do I decry the work of humanists, who give gladly of themselves for others and who can often shame the avowedly religious. Those who do God's work are God's people.
I only say that there are limits to humanism and beyond those limits God and only God can work. The phrase "fear of God" conjures up the vengeful God of parts of the Old Testament. But "fear of God" means really obedience to God; humility before God; acceptance through God that there is something bigger, better and more important than you. It is that humbling of man's vanity, that stirring of conscience through God's prompting, that recognition of our limitations, that faith alone can bestow.
We can perform acts of mercy, but only God can lend them dignity. We can forgive, but only God forgives completely in the full knowledge of our sin. And only through God comes grace; and it is God's grace that is unique."
In recognising the positive contribution of humanists, Blair is ahead of the curve (along with Obama).
Humanism is limited, agree: indeed that lends it the 'humility' he later claims it is missing.
You do not need God to understand there is something bigger. The Universe is amazing, utterly huge, sublime. I'm nothing within it. Faith is not alone in bestowing such an understanding: most episodes of Dr. Who do a decent job.
It's exactly this kind of deference to a supernatural being that, were I visiting in a flying saucer from another planet, would make me hit 'reverse' and come back in another 1000 years to see if this fair race has understood anything yet. On this evidence we have but the faintest grasp on knowledge.
"Neither do I decry the work of humanists, who give gladly of themselves for others and who can often shame the avowedly religious. Those who do God's work are God's people.
I only say that there are limits to humanism and beyond those limits God and only God can work. The phrase "fear of God" conjures up the vengeful God of parts of the Old Testament. But "fear of God" means really obedience to God; humility before God; acceptance through God that there is something bigger, better and more important than you. It is that humbling of man's vanity, that stirring of conscience through God's prompting, that recognition of our limitations, that faith alone can bestow.
We can perform acts of mercy, but only God can lend them dignity. We can forgive, but only God forgives completely in the full knowledge of our sin. And only through God comes grace; and it is God's grace that is unique."
In recognising the positive contribution of humanists, Blair is ahead of the curve (along with Obama).
Humanism is limited, agree: indeed that lends it the 'humility' he later claims it is missing.
You do not need God to understand there is something bigger. The Universe is amazing, utterly huge, sublime. I'm nothing within it. Faith is not alone in bestowing such an understanding: most episodes of Dr. Who do a decent job.
It's exactly this kind of deference to a supernatural being that, were I visiting in a flying saucer from another planet, would make me hit 'reverse' and come back in another 1000 years to see if this fair race has understood anything yet. On this evidence we have but the faintest grasp on knowledge.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Politics in Gaza
"Geoffrey Dennis, chief executive of the global humanitarian group Care International, said it was not a time for politics.
"Fifty per cent of the population in Gaza are under the age of 18; they're not interested in the politics in this, they want to go to school and play football like my son. "
- BBC News
Politics is somehow optional is it? Who are these people that think you can brush aside all the complexities of an issue by avoiding 'the politics' (so that you agree with their position). They work for an international NGO. Shocking naivety.
The answer is more and better politics, not trying to wish the politics out of existence.
"Fifty per cent of the population in Gaza are under the age of 18; they're not interested in the politics in this, they want to go to school and play football like my son. "
- BBC News
Politics is somehow optional is it? Who are these people that think you can brush aside all the complexities of an issue by avoiding 'the politics' (so that you agree with their position). They work for an international NGO. Shocking naivety.
The answer is more and better politics, not trying to wish the politics out of existence.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
What piece of work is a man!
What piece of work is a man! how noble in reason!
how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how
express and admirable! in action how like an angel!
in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the
world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me,
what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not
me: no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling
you seem to say so.
Full speech
how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how
express and admirable! in action how like an angel!
in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the
world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me,
what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not
me: no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling
you seem to say so.
Full speech
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
MPs should publish their full expenses
Dear Frank Dobson,
I am writing to urge you to vote against the draft Freedom of Information (Parliament) Order 2009 this Thursday. Additionally, please sign Jo Swinson’s Early Day Motion number 492.
I want Parliament to be more open, not less: this motion is in the wrong direction. I note that addresses of MPs will not be published (SI 2008/1967).
Public servants must account for their expenses: all of them. I work in the private sector and have to provide a receipt whether its 50p or £50. That information is made available to the person paying for it. The same principle applies; I strongly feel that this 'balance' being introduced (or rather not prevented from being introduced) into our democracy will lead to greater responsibility with taxpayers' money.
I don't doubt your personal integrity on this matter Mr. Dobson, but there are clear signs that others in that chamber make questionable decisions on spending. That information should be available so the public can judge it for themselves.
I will be tracking your and other MPs votes via TheyWorkForYou and will perceive a vote for this motion or an abstention as a vote against transparency, which will contribute to my voting decision at the next election.
Yours sincerely,
Pharkie
I am writing to urge you to vote against the draft Freedom of Information (Parliament) Order 2009 this Thursday. Additionally, please sign Jo Swinson’s Early Day Motion number 492.
I want Parliament to be more open, not less: this motion is in the wrong direction. I note that addresses of MPs will not be published (SI 2008/1967).
Public servants must account for their expenses: all of them. I work in the private sector and have to provide a receipt whether its 50p or £50. That information is made available to the person paying for it. The same principle applies; I strongly feel that this 'balance' being introduced (or rather not prevented from being introduced) into our democracy will lead to greater responsibility with taxpayers' money.
I don't doubt your personal integrity on this matter Mr. Dobson, but there are clear signs that others in that chamber make questionable decisions on spending. That information should be available so the public can judge it for themselves.
I will be tracking your and other MPs votes via TheyWorkForYou and will perceive a vote for this motion or an abstention as a vote against transparency, which will contribute to my voting decision at the next election.
Yours sincerely,
Pharkie
Obamania gets serious
More pics and updates on the inauguration todayIt's finally happening. Eight years to the day of George W. Bush - finally coming to an end.
Maybe now the human race can get back on track?
Friday, January 16, 2009
A letter to David Miliband MP
Rt. Hon David Miliband MP - Foreign Secretary
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH
Dear Foreign Secretary
Re: This ship and Gaza
I urge immediate action to stop arms shipments en route to the Israeli port of Ashdod near Gaza and agree a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and Palestinian armed groups to help ensure that weapons will not be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.
I learn that a German-owned container ship the Wehr Elbe, is currently transporting some 989 CONTAINERS of US munitions en route to Israel. It was heading to the Israeli port of Ashdod near Gaza but at the time of writing its status is unclear. The weapons are still on the ship and they must not be allowed to be unloaded for use in the deadly conflict in Gaza.
This vast consignment of weapons could be delivered at any time in the next few days. A further consignment of an additional 325 containers of weapons, likely to include White Phosphorous, was due to be shipped from Askatos in Greece to Israel. This ship was last spotted off the port of Askatos on 12th January 2009. I urge to you take all possible diplomatic measures to stop these and pending and future shipments to any of the parties to this current conflict .
I am also concerned about recent reports that UK arms components may be used in military equipment used by the Israeli armed forces. Specifically, it would appear that a UK company may have provided engines for Israeli Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs). Such pilot-less drone Aircraft have been widely used by Israeli forces to help target bombs, aircraft and helicopter attacks in Lebanon and Gaza. It is vital that the UK does not license components that could be used in the current conflict
I encourage your personal support for the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The need for such a treaty remains pressing and urgent. As a champion of the ATT, it is vital that the UK’s own arms export controls are sufficiently tough and that all necessary action is taken to prevent arms fueling the current crisis in Gaza.
Yours in hope,
Pharkie
» Now write your own
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH
Dear Foreign Secretary
Re: This ship and Gaza
I urge immediate action to stop arms shipments en route to the Israeli port of Ashdod near Gaza and agree a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and Palestinian armed groups to help ensure that weapons will not be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.
I learn that a German-owned container ship the Wehr Elbe, is currently transporting some 989 CONTAINERS of US munitions en route to Israel. It was heading to the Israeli port of Ashdod near Gaza but at the time of writing its status is unclear. The weapons are still on the ship and they must not be allowed to be unloaded for use in the deadly conflict in Gaza.
This vast consignment of weapons could be delivered at any time in the next few days. A further consignment of an additional 325 containers of weapons, likely to include White Phosphorous, was due to be shipped from Askatos in Greece to Israel. This ship was last spotted off the port of Askatos on 12th January 2009. I urge to you take all possible diplomatic measures to stop these and pending and future shipments to any of the parties to this current conflict .
I am also concerned about recent reports that UK arms components may be used in military equipment used by the Israeli armed forces. Specifically, it would appear that a UK company may have provided engines for Israeli Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs). Such pilot-less drone Aircraft have been widely used by Israeli forces to help target bombs, aircraft and helicopter attacks in Lebanon and Gaza. It is vital that the UK does not license components that could be used in the current conflict
I encourage your personal support for the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The need for such a treaty remains pressing and urgent. As a champion of the ATT, it is vital that the UK’s own arms export controls are sufficiently tough and that all necessary action is taken to prevent arms fueling the current crisis in Gaza.
Yours in hope,
Pharkie
» Now write your own
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Free Hugs for London
Pharkie and friends giving out Free Hugs in London!
Inspired by Julian Mann: http://www.freehugscampaign.org/
Read more on the Free Hugs Campaign: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Hugs_Campaign
Inspired by Julian Mann: http://www.freehugscampaign.org/
Read more on the Free Hugs Campaign: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Hugs_Campaign
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Atheist bus launches!
"You wait ages for an atheist bus, then 800 come along at once" - comedy writer Ariane Sherine, behind the campaign.
£135000, 800 UK buses, 1000 tube ads and 2 animated signs.
woo!
Watch the BBC video
Full details are here:
http://www.atheistbus.org.uk/
http://richarddawkins.net/article,3494,Atheists-launch-bus-ad-campaign,BBC
£135000, 800 UK buses, 1000 tube ads and 2 animated signs.
woo!
Watch the BBC video
Full details are here:
http://www.atheistbus.org.uk/
http://richarddawkins.net/article,3494,Atheists-launch-bus-ad-campaign,BBC
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