h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ah, the Good Olde Days! We was well-fed back then!

Welcome, all!

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

We were, but the conversation sucked.

Indeed. Back when we kept swinging dead cats into atheists.

"Why should another crystal that is identical in every respect, except that it is twice as large, be any less perfect than the first crystal?
" -Madent

Well, actually, it cant be quite identical 'cause the relative size of its atoms to it would cause some other differences. (this is just intuition nitpicking.)

Right. Control? There's a business paradigm involving that very thickly. It's called CAPI. Control, Authority, Power, Influence.

Control: Direct effect on some event. I control my mouse. It simply has no way of disagreeing.

Authority: Authority belongs to, say, a king. The king's power is enforced by a combination of well-ingrained habit and a necessity for survival. without the king's control, the rule of law would, in their eyes, fail. To resist would be dangerous.

Power: Power is more toward the habitual part. A military commander may have power over his troops while off the battlefield. They do what's required of them because they always have. They don't think to resist.

Influence: Influence belongs to a parent after the child has matured. One submits to influence voluntarily, because one believes that the influencer tends to be right. It's a form of trust.

The idea of the paradigm is that the most desirable form is influence, and each preceeding one is less so. I think this has little to do with what we're talking about, but it's what I have to say. I don't really mind not making sense.

...and you *do* have a reputation to maintain!

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

But only because there's a feedback loop from that little arrow thingy (sorry about the highly technical terminology ) on my screen via my eyes/brain/hand back to the mouse. Not to mention from my hand back to my brain that controls my own movement, and...

Noggin

"Control: Direct effect on some event. I control my mouse. It simply has no way of disagreeing."
As Noggin said, the mouse controls you, too. "If you stare too long into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you". Like you're in control? In that sense, then, of a lack of feedback, no one anywhere has any control over anything.

hobblelimphobble

Legs stiff, Math?

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

Hi P-C,

I have Grade 3 Chondramalacia Patella in my left knee and I am chemically intolerant of all analgesic painkillers. Thus, when the weather changes, or someone runs their f**king shopping trolley into it I spend a few days off my feet and a week hobbling.

Blessings,
Matholwch the Limp /|\.

Limp huh? You have my sympathy, though you can get stuff for that these days.

On a pedantic note: what kind of painkillers are not analgesic? And are they legal?

F

hi Math,

I recommend lots and lots of rioja!

I don't have an intolerance of analgesic painkillers, except that most of them seem to do b*gger all for me. When I had my recent back episode and could not move without massive excrutiating pain I found that the pills didn't help at all. But a few glasses of rioja certainly relaxed ALL of me. Yeah well, any excuse, right?

Of course, after a certain amount of rioja one can only lurch, which may also solve your limping problem. And do remember the wise words of Dean Martin, who supposedly said - You are not drunk as long as you can lie on the floor without needing to hold on.



az

In Britain at the moment, there is much being written and said about a weapons expert, David Kelly, who committed suicide after becoming involved in the Iraq should-we-have-gone-to-war scandal. It seems he was a member of the Baha'i faith, which has increased *its* prominence once more.

The official website is http://www.bahai.org/

I think Baha'i is the fastest-growing faith around, isn't it? It may be new, but it doesn't seem to have much in common with its smaller and weirder contemporaries. In general, it appears to be quite a well-balanced religion.

Comments or views?

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

Hi P-C,

I have met several members of the Baha'i faith and they do seem to be patient, toelrant and accepting individuals. By the very nature of the religion it is 'interfaith' and attract many converts from the reflective ends of all three abrahamic religions.

Based upon what I have read about them and those I have met I find it very difficult to understand what drove Dr.Kelly to commit suicide. The Baha'i is very supportive and every member seems to have a web of supporting contacts around them.

Blessings,
Matholwch /|\.

A thinking man/womans faith? How very refreshing! Who is trying to claim it as theirs? Can we make it exclusive? Or is that just a religion thing?
Methinks that a lot of people find it very difficult to understand what drove Dr.Kelly to commit suicide.

"The White House directly interfered with planned Environmental Protection Agency warnings about the toxic fallout from the World Trade Center explosions. It had "competing considerations" that came before protecting the health of the people of New York. Among them were re-opening the stock exchange as quickly as possible, and limiting clean-up costs and liability claims."

For more, see http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0903-01.htm

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

Surprised? I think not.....

Blessings,
Matholwch /|
Strange how people bemoan the loss of a thirty year old building, but not a thousand year old tree.

Yes. I think the problem is that most people consider animals to be alive (insects rather less than other animals), but plants to be little different from (say) rocks. My wife - a generally reasonable and intelligent person - looks askance at me when I treat plants as living creatures, not to be damaged or killed without good reason.

House plants, in particular, are too often treated as inert fashion accessories.

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

Hi P-C

Well as one who has communicated with trees (I can almost hear peoples' eyes rolling all over the FFFF ) I can assure you they have spirit and intelligence, just not in a form our recent little species finds it easy or comfortable to deal with.

Blessings,
Matholwch /|\.

Hi Matholwch



In my case, at least, you're preaching to the converted. But I wouldn't be at all surprised to find we're in quite a small minority!

Now I'm just hoping I live long enough - and my ears are good enough - to "hear peoples' eyes rolling all over the FFFF"!

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

hi PC and Math,

Am not rolling my eyes at all. Awhile back I bought this gorgeous long trailing ivy plant to hang from the ceiling in my bathroom and while I was waiting for a friend to come over with a drill I put it out on the balcony to keep it safe from my plant-eating cat (which is why my plants have to be either hung from ceilings or otherwise high up somewhere). And due to this and that, I forgot the plant was out on the balcony and it died because it was 40º and I hadn't watered it for a few days! And man, did I ever mourn that plant, and I felt so angry at myself for being so irresponsible.

Meanwhile, other people thought I was being silly and 'over-reacting'.

Anyhow, surely the loss of a thirty-year-old building means nothing compared to all the lives lost (human, animal and plant life) because of that disaster.

az