A Different Corner

The end?

2006-02-26T13:40:00.000Z

I have decided to put 'A Different Corner' on hold for the foreseeable future. I'm not a natural blogger and haven't really found a coherent modus operandi in this format. So I'll stick to the website where I have more control over layout. Perhaps one day I'll begin again, but until then...

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 8 - Don't just walk on by

2006-02-22T19:09:00.000Z

It's so easy to do: I've been guilty of this many times myself. When you see someone in the street with a petition to sign or asking for a charitable donation, take a moment to assess exactly where they're at (preferably without being ensnared!) If it's something you agree with, is it really so much effort to spend a minute signing up? Will a couple of quid (or local currency!) really break the bank? The people fronting the thing are volunteers who believe sufficiently to spend a couple of hours or a whole day of their lives - match their commitment with a little of your own!

Latest fractal: Creep

2006-02-19T14:31:00.000Z

My entry for the Apophysis weekly theme - "black and white images".

An abstract piece, border/title by the GIMP.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 7 - Use rechargeable batteries where feasible

2006-02-17T14:25:00.000Z

Batteries are terrible things with respect to disposal and long-term environmental damage. Pretty much all applications requiring batteries can make use of the rechargeable variety. OK, they're expensive and you have to buy a charger, but just do a bit of pricing: how many uses will pay for for the extra cost? 5? 10? 20? (depends on the mAh) The NiMH types (most environmentally-friendly and powerful) claim up to 1000 charges! So they'll save you loads of money long-term as well as reducing environmental damage.

A word of caution, though - always buy the recommended charger with branded batteries!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 6 - Perform a random act of kindness

2006-02-06T10:46:00.000Z

A change: I lifted the following from a friend's journal entry at deviantART:

A story..........
a man was on a beach and in the distance he sees a another man doing something. As he gets closer he sees that the man is throwing something into the sea.
When he gets closer he asks the man " what are you doing?" the man points out thousands of starfish on the beach. " do you see these starfish? if they remain on the beach then they will die"
The first man then says "but there are so many, how can you make a difference?"
The second man picks up a starfish and flings it into the sea and says " I made a difference to that one"

A random act of kindness, no matter how small can make a difference. Be a starfish thrower.

Needs no further comment...

Going Underground

2006-02-04T13:41:00.000Z

Being keen on both maps and London, I was delighted to find this reworking of Simon Patterson's 'The Great Bear', Harry Beck's iconic Tube map used to chart various musical styles prevalent over the last century. Of course there are loads of omissions - it's not intended to be taken too seriously. The comments on the original blog entry demonstrate that there are still plenty of first-rate idiots out there. Class!

See/download the whole map here.

Latest fractal: Early one morning

2006-02-03T13:55:00.000Z

I vacillate between seeing this as a derelict docklands warehouse structure and a tropical jungle. But the light is most certainly of the early portion of the day: I rather fancy a term used by John Foxx in the song 'Touch and go' (from waaay back in the late '70s) - "shatter light".

Heavy use of my beloved 'fan' variation in Apophysis.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 5 - Get creative!

2006-02-01T18:25:00.000Z

Most people have some preferred activities/hobbies that occupy their spare time, but what proportion of these are actually creative? Some activities cannot be creative (watching sport), others may be creative (DIY, photography) and some must be (anything artsy/crafty). It's the creative activities that foster a more complete engagement with life and that may help to bring about an enhanced sense of wellbeing. And of course, what's good for the individual is good for those around them, and thus spread the ripples...

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 4 - Use television properly

2006-01-23T14:33:00.000Z

Too many people have been raised on television as 'wallpaper' - a constant backdrop to all domestic activity. This contributes a double-edged problem: on one hand, it reduces the likelihood of proper concentration when you actually want to watch something; and on the other, it takes away any chance of mental, and indeed actual quietude. Like any technology, television has a proven record of good and bad points, but everything depends on the user - a rock may be used to pound grain to make flour or beat another to death. So don't just turn on the TV when getting in from work - have some quiet time and consult a TV guide to see whether there actually is something you want to watch. You should feel more in control and not just the plaything of the program controllers' caprice!

Latest fractal: Winter bouquet

2006-01-19T20:29:00.000Z

My entry for melonlogic's own contest , Apophysis images inspired by, or tying in with, the lyrics of a song, in this case The Cure's 'Trust'.

The interpretation: this is a song of despair, lamenting the inability to trust. I always think that a bouquet of flowers sometimes betrays a breach of trust (traditionally the guilty husband returning home from the mistress, bearing this symbol of his own guilt). However, no flowers here, the bare twigs signify winter, itself symbolising the icy impasse in the relationship. And the whole is shot with blue...

The Generation Game

2006-01-18T19:10:00.000Z

The other day, minding my own business at the bus stop, awaiting the arrival of my charge, I was singled out by one of those unrelenting old dears, special products of their generation, for her quotidian ruminations. The following provides the flavour, if not a transcript, of our exchange:

"Ooh, it's hard with all this shopping", she began. "Still, it's cheap at Jack's - do you go there?"
"No, there's nothing there I tend to buy."
First pause, brief but troubled, the beginnings of old machinery long-rusted being hauled ungratefully into action once agian. "But they sell all sorts there: meat, fish, sweets..."
Ah, she thought this list a sufficient clincher, and the dangling ellipsis seemed to invite agreement with its universal applicability.
"I don't eat any of those."
Now the troubled look darkened further, the pause was fully five seconds duration, and the machinery began to grind almost audibly. "No meat?"
"No."
"No fish?"
"No."
Another lengthy pause. "What do you eat then..." - a slight pause - "health foods?"
My turn for a considered pause. "Healthy foods", I countered.
"Well I suppose I should, having diabetes..."
"I have that too", I ventured,
"Ooh, it's hard isn't it, having diabetes."
"Well, I've not really found it too bad so far, I'm only in the early stages..."
The darkened look had turned to almost complete panic by now. Thankfully, the bus arrived, and, each differently relieved, bade the other farewell.

We may as well have been speaking in different tongues, so far removed from each other were our worlds. Perhaps next time, she'll think twice. Then again...

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 3 - Give up your 'News' addiction!

2006-01-18T19:08:00.000Z

Doubly appropriate as I'm reading Thoreau right now. But how can this improve the world? Well, it's worth either trying, or at least trying to imagine, not knowing 'what's going on in the world'. How does this make you feel? What's missing? From my own observations, news seems chiefly to provide source for, at best pointless gossip, at worst gloom and hatred. And this is how you spend your day, fretting over a global dose of human folly over which you have no control? Think of it: just endless instances of the same broad subject, human folly. If it means you lose popularity, either become more independent or make new friends whose conversation is less dull. You'll feel much lighter and happier in the long run!

Fractal catch-up

2006-01-09T07:10:00.000Z

Well, I've been neglecting to blog my art for a while! Here's a recent selection, all Apophysis + GIMP.

String theory

Not the latest subatomic model of the physical world, but rather cosmic strings, postulated remnants of the early universe - see here for more details.

Spiritual

The path to the light is inviting, soft and inevitable...

Julia's chronograph

My submission for the weekly themed challenge 'Dense fractals' - almost total coverage, but if it doesn't qualify...

Title relates to the use of the Julia variation, and the appearance of the workings of some ancient timepiece. Flam3 with density estimation (sadly, this no longer works for me, so it's back to native rendering soon).

Seeing through...

...the worn and tatty fabrick of material existence to a glimpse of the unity underlying all is one of Art's many important functions.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 2 - Learn to say "No" constructively

2006-01-09T06:58:00.000Z

When I was younger, saying "No" was a relatively normal part of life, something that everyone did. Over the years, I've noticed its erosion to the point now that a firm refusal to comply really jolts the recipient out of their complacent torpor. But this doesn't mean that everyone does as they've agreed - quite the reverse. Now, people agree to things without any intention of following through, and this is usually left unremarked. I sometimes wonder how anything actually does get done. Saying "No" at the appropriate moment encourages honesty and empowerment in the user, removes niggling traces of guilt and may actually free up precious time!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 1 - Be happy!

2006-01-01T11:42:00.000Z

It seems fitting to begin a new year with a definitive statement about where to start, and what could be more clear? If you cannot change yourself, how can you change the world? So seek happiness, but beware the impostors. Pleasure in itself is not happiness, yet there is a place for it in a happy life. Is there a formula for happiness? No. but there are a few general rules and considerations. Happy people are comfortable in themselves and therefore don't require endless occupation. De-cluttering, simplification, call it what you will is a useful step, but if having spare time scares you, then there is something fundamentally wrong that must first be dealt with: personal demons; fears; an untutored mind. Develop a personal philosophy, work on self-empowerment, place less importance on material things and more on the spiritual dimension (meditation on the question "Who am I?" is an excellent starting point).

A happy person is a general wellspring of goodness, so spread warmth, brush aside doom-and-gloom and begin to change the world around you!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 52 - Expand your mind

2005-12-19T19:26:00.000Z

In view of my previous post, the title may take on a rather different meaning to that intended. Fear not, and read on. The suggestion is to read books! Not newspapers (at best depressing, at worst a pack of lies designed to manipulate the idiot minds of fools), nor magazines (practically all general interest magazines are now so dumbed-down that one wonders what happened to the lower end of the market - until one tentatively turns the pages...), but books. And good books, too. Not pointless page-turners whose plots a child could predict, nor dry old tomes that could anaesthetise even the dustiest dons, but stories of vitality whose words shine with possibility, poetry anthologies that drip with tear-inducing beauty or inspiring explications on some of the more wonderful aspects of world. Clothes maketh the man? Books maketh the mind!

Substance, setting, set...

2005-12-19T15:01:00.000Z

Yesterday, I experienced the most profound alteration of consciousness ever. Despite a predilection for mind-altering substances, I'd never had access to any of the full-on hallucinogens before. But it was something I felt compelled to pursue as much of my recent thinking and research has been pointing in this direction.

Substance

The chosen substance was the psilocybin-containing mushroom stropharia cubensis, much beloved of the brothers McKenna. Available to purchase via spore-laden dried compost bricks, this effectively circumnavigates the grey legal area surrounding these innocent/potent fungi. I had decided to take them raw and fresh for the best effect. Research on Erowid indicated that anything from 2 - 20 mushrooms was considered normal. A fortuitous blind spot prevented me from noting the word 'small' or remembering the recommended weight dosage of 5 - 50g. So I consumed four fair-sized specimens plus one attached baby. My guess, from weighing the remaining specimens, is that I was around 35 - 45g in dosage! I'd wanted a medium dose as I generally have a high tolerance to substances, but probably would have aimed lower if I'd been more careful. Oh, well... Difficult to eat raw, I tried one then chose to chop the remainder, mix with chopped kalamata olives and a little vinaigrette and the mini-salad was quite delicious!

Setting

Perhaps the morning after a large pub-crawl was not theoretically ideal, but everything else was right so I just went for it. Eschewed the customary fry-up for a small bowl of porridge, the coffee for green tea. Read a little of 'The Invisible Landscape'. The weather was ice-cold, but bright. Waited till my partner had completed her morning tasks and set a fire. Lit an incense stick geared towards meditation and played a CD of whale sounds set in gentle ambient electronic music.

Set

In a way, this could be traced back to the whole gradual orientation towards a spiritual quest, but I shall start with what I consider the first real signal. One afternoon walk, we passed a couple of recently trampled fly agaric mushrooms. I was tempted to pick the caps for drying, but my partner expressed misgivings so I left them. Shortly after, I developed a headache, something I very rarely suffer from. So I set out to locate a source of psilocybin mushrooms. When they eventually arrived, I had an unexpected bonus of a second spore brick! The first flush was sporadic, but they shot up quickly. I captured them on camera. On an impulse, I loaded a filter set and applied the first one - the result is shown, clearly giving the 'green light'. So all this gave confidence that the experience would be good, and this 'set' - mindset - is so vital to any such experience. Finally, just before consumption, I set the mood by a small act of generosity.

The experience

After feeling a kind of odd light-headedness immediately after consumption, little happened for about 20 minutes. Then the smoke from the incense seemed particularly beautiful, like watching the birth and growth of a universe. Mushroom motifs appeared in the smoke. Then purples and blues became almost unbearably intense, and the fireplace tiles seemed to bulge. Looking at the large spiral design above the fireplace introduced the next round of visuals - the texture of the paint became pronounced then seemed to resolve into a kind of alphabet, which began dancing around the spiral. The whole then began to look very odd indeed, alien. A shift of perspective towards the window and I had the phrase 'candy store' float through my thoughts. It was like being a child let loose in a sweet shop, and there was a kind of '60s feeling. There was also a feeling of having been here before, either in substance or dreams. The first trip to the bathroom was very strange, it was a kingdom of ice, not actively hostile but indifferent. The walls bulged and the tiles began resolving into geometric vistas. My partner suggested a turn round the garden to see what the outside world was like. The sky was huge, and the relationship between objects strange, like old black and white 3D films made for viewing with red/green glasses. It was Alice in Wonderland, but it was cold and there was a hint of incipient danger, so I chose to return inside. Once more by the fire, the logs were silvery with beautiful patterns, and glowed around fractal arabesques. Behind, there was a kind of corridor of a wonderful sumptuous regency green, and the addition of new logs hardly seemed to disturb the view. Different music was essayed - classical remained rather aloof from the proceedings, dance seemed to provoke a visible unease, so it was back to the whales which had really begun to orchestrate the whole experience. Whilst the open-eye visuals were obviously attractive, there came a time when it seemed necessary to shut the eyes to go deeper. Here were more geometric vistas of white embossed tiles, stretching to infinity, pure white admitting cycles of colour slowly. I began to try to grasp at concepts but everything became slippery. Past and future were without meaning, here there was no time. Scenes from what would once have been described the recent past appeared as snapshots on paper, and lazily spiralled away. I was nothing, and I was everything at once. I was without identity, pure experience, experiencing itself, captured by the refrain which kept returning - "Who is it who is doing the experiencing?" I was witnessing the act of creation, the Implicate Order explicating itself in a kaleidoscopic living 3-way fractal basin boundary. I tried to grasp the concepts of 'before the trip' and 'after the trip', but they meant nothing, there was only the trip, this was the universe finally becoming self-aware, it had already happened and this was it, 2012 would never come, this was all there was now, I, who was having the trip, was no more, I was somewhere beyond time with everyone who has ever tripped, an image of Lennon floated past, how would I ever get out? I uttered the words "seamless reintegration" or some such, but I still couldn't believe it, I contained all possible futures, so nothing mattered, I understood truly the meaning of the word 'entheogen'. Reality became possible by surprising it before it slipped away, then it felt like an incoming tide, gently lapping at the shores of the trip, and then it reversed, the trip was a receding tide, leaving behind warm waves of unreality. Finally, I was able by an act of will to fully re-ground myself. I was ready - it had been the most profound experience of my life, but very demanding.

Afterwards

I seemed to exit fairly suddenly from such intensity, so I tried a little cannabis to extend the effects - mild, but nothing special. Alcohol, on the other hand, had a surprisingly large effect, causing ghost recurrences of the feeling of coming down, a kind of see-sawing of consciousness. I was left with a curious token of the trip - on removing my loosened neckwear and placing it on some books on a table, my hand encountered a small hard object. It was a strange dried dark-coloured bean, too small for red kidney, too large for aduki, and slightly mouldy-looking. This also seemed oddly familiar.

Thoughts

I had wanted to experience a decent trip, not just a few strange visuals, but this most definitely exceeded expectations. I have a feeling that something had guided me to this and ensured that I got just the right dose. It may be argued that all my experiences were just wish-fulfilment as they confirmed what I was already thinking. All I can say is that nothing prepares one for the actual experience of timelessness, or of actual universal unity, or of, effectively, being God. Nothing. Thoughts and words are a child's pencil-sketch of the great oil painting. Did my wish for experience provide that experience, or is it something independent? Does it matter? I'm not entirely sure, but what I am sure of is that, in the words of the Bard, "there are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy, Horatio."

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 51 - Avoiding Christmas hell IV: quality, not quantity

2005-12-12T13:12:00.000Z

The last in the 'Christmas hell' series:

So, you like giving presents and it's not a burden: probably, then, you already know this, but consider quality over quantity. I don't mean spend a fortune, rather one or two well-chosen gifts will hit the spot more than trying to fulfill some kind of numerical quota you've inadvertently set yourself. It's the old "less is more" thing - sometimes, a creative gift (i.e. home-made) can say a great deal more about how much you care than just splashing out. What counts, though, is really knowing the recipient, and their interests and preferences. So make your gift really count rather than it being a knee-jerk to the accepted imperatives - you never know, it might really make a difference!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 50 - Avoiding Christmas hell III: stay in tune with the season's spirit and keep death off the menu

2005-12-04T20:28:00.000Z

Christmas means different things to different people. Whatever your particular take on it is, be it religious or secular, one common thread that should run through is that it is a time to put aside differences and celebrate peace and love. Ironic, then, that at the centre of this is the mass slaughter of countless creatures whose whole short lives have been hell. Anyone who clings to the romantic notion of that classic oxymoron "humane slaughter" should try facing a firing squad. During this season above all others, we should try to turn our actions towards the abolition of suffering. So opt for a cruelty-free celebration and try one of the many alternatives available.

My Christmas dinner
Alternative suggestions from my website
December Recipe of the Month
Recipezaar - vegan Christmas dishes
Recipezaar - vegan Christmas main courses
Recipezaar - another suitable Christmas main course
Vegetarian AllRecipes.com - Christmas dishes

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 49 - Avoiding Christmas hell II: spend it only with those you really want to!

2005-11-27T16:59:00.000Z

One of the other great Christmas myths is that it's 'a time for the family'. Well, that's fine if you all get on well and like the same things, but what if you don't? If spending time with some in-laws' loathsome and noisy brats is not your idea of fun, if grimly chomping your way through someone else's appalling cooking just doesn't appeal, then make a stand: honesty is the best policy, but even lying about 'going away for a change' is perfectly acceptable if at least someone's going to feel happier as a result. Don't let them railroad you into routine submission, break the chains and enjoy a peaceful festive season!

It's all happening...

2005-11-26T09:16:00.000Z

Thursday saw my annual jaunt to the BBC Good Food Show - as many free samples of booze, ranging from the mundane to the excitingly exotic, as one can usefully imbibe in a day. And the long lug home laden with full bottles thereof. Then yesterday, the 'Sacred Children' (stropharia cubensis) arrived at the door, unexpectedly bearing a free gift! I look forward to their fruition. And now two days of sheer indulgence, our annual Brideshead Revisited weekend, eleven hours of the finest television ever made, languidly spun out over the whole time-frame, and enhanced with gastronomic treats. Breakfast is just the best time for a nip of Calvados, and the Champagne, Henriot '96, possibly the best I've ever tasted, to inaugurate the viewing shortly. Ah, life can be sweet!

Latest fractal: Bloodbath

2005-11-21T13:23:00.000Z

My entry for the Apophysis weekly theme challenge (non-black backgrounds). I cannot produce art to order, but as I have a suitable candidate waiting in the wings, then I'm delighted to submit this one.

White background, 2 transforms, 3 variations (linear, spherical and fan). Rendered with flam3 2.7b1 using default density estimation settings - this is the reason for the 'selective focus' look, it is NOT the application of any post-effects. Had to leave the picture full size as too much detail was lost on reduction.

I see the aftermath of some terrible carnage in a sewer-like tunnel - what do YOU see?

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 48 - Avoiding Christmas hell I: beating the consumerist trap

2005-11-20T15:57:00.000Z

It's only just after mid-November, but we're already bombarded with "ideas for the festive season", so here's mine: it seems everyone expects more and more from this season, yet speaking to them afterwards reveals that more often than not, it turns into disappointment. So try this: just inform family and friends (and whoever else) that you're NOT buying presents for anyone, neither do you expect to receive any (OK, different if you've got children, this is really aimed at adults only). If the idea fills you with shock, then you're beginning to learn about the kinds of things that actually rule your life. If you can make the break, you'll feel a huge weight lifted: no worry about spending money you don't have, about choosing the right presents, about when you're going to fit it all in... As well as making you feel happier and more empowered, and by association those around you, it saves on all the unnecessary 'gifts' and packaging. And only send cards to people you won't actually SEE over Christmas. And choose charity or hand-made cards. I could probably go on, but you get the picture!

As an alternative, some non-commercial gift ideas from buynothingchristmas.org.

Latest fractal: Insomnia

2005-11-14T07:41:00.000Z

What scenes of terror taunt the consciousness behind the lidded eyes of the would-be sleeper?

Apophysis and the GIMP.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 47 - Get in touch with Nature

2005-11-13T15:44:00.000Z

Too many people these days are totally cut off from Nature, by 'virtue' of living in their little technological bubbles - house, car, work, shopping centre, theme park... I'm certainly no Luddite, yet I see this technology barrier as inherently unhealthy - for individuals, the species and the planet. Setting aside a little regular time to 'commune' with Nature should be sufficient to largely redress this imbalance: country walks, a little off the beaten track, are wonderful at this time of year; ditto cycling (but leave off the stupid kit!); or even wildlife-spotting. It's very easy to spend the whole day at the PC, but a little fresh air will clear the mind and provide a wholesome rush of energy that will more than make up for lost time. So, why wait, get out there and re-connect with the Earth!

Latest fractal: Sunset

2005-11-06T20:36:00.000Z

Complete with high atmospherics, courtesy of Apophysis and the GIMP.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 46 - Recycling: the other R-words

2005-11-06T20:17:00.000Z

Recycling is probably the first R-word that springs to mind in conjunction with a more eco-friendly lifestyle, but it should be the last resort - it has two precedents, repair and re-use. If I didn't wear repaired (i.e. darned) socks, my clothing bill would resemble the GNP of a small principality, due to the questing nature of my toenails. Repairing also keeps one more in touch with the manual skills that are in danger of becoming products of history: I'll wager that some cyclists now carry spare inner-tubes rather than puncture repair kits! And re-using - what does that mean then? Well, simply using something for a purpose not originally intended, beyond its normal lifespan. For instance, margarine tubs as first-sow seed trays, 'single-use' carrier bags for household waste (I have known people who got all their shopping in these, and promptly chucked them into their specially-purchased bin-liners, along with all their other rubbish - despair!).

Atmospheric Optics

2005-11-06T09:54:00.000Z

For those who seek the sublime in nature, this is well worth a look.

Light playing on water drops, dust or ice crystals in the atmosphere produces a host of visual spectacles - rainbows, halos, glories, coronas and many more. Some can be seen almost every day or so, some are once in a lifetime sights. Find out where to see them and how they form. Then seek and enjoy them outdoors.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 45 - Don't be a fashion victim

2005-11-03T19:19:00.000Z

Buying new clothing or objets d'art can be a pleasant experience, but, leaving aside the now serious problem of 'retail therapy', ask yourself whether your purchases are essential, nice-to-haves or just plain keeping up with trends. It's that last category that's so wasteful of resource and most likely to indicate that the purchaser has been sucked into a mindless spiral of 'keeping up appearances' just for its own sake. Standing against this behaviour empowers the individual and reduces waste. Worried about losing those friends? Do you really want that kind of 'friend' anyway?

So you want to be an Apophysisist?

2005-10-29T12:55:00.000Z

Especially for chloe (but of course, it's useful for any wannabe Apophysisist) a definitive starter list of Apophysis resources:

Apophysis official site
Flam3.com
Apophysis latest beta version
Apophysis resources at deviantART
FracFan forum
Arcane Fractals
The Fractal Farm
The GIMP

Suggeted workflow:

Go to the official site and download version 2.02.

Study the (incomplete) help file and get to know the layout of the software.

Play about in the Editor window, manipulating the triangles manually.

Run through some of the tutorials - those at the Fractal Farm and Arcane Fractals are pretty good to start.

Use the resources at deviantART to go further.

Check out the FracFan forum.

Join the mailing list (from the official site). Warning: traffic can get heavy, up to 100 per day!

Become a beta tester by downloading the latest beta.

Get to know the alternative (external) rendering engine (comes packaged with the official release as hqi.exe, now called flam3). Allows for .png transparency, useful for custom backgrounds.

Obtain some decent image processing software for adding final touches. The GIMP has a bit of a learning curve, but it's FREE!

Latest fractal: Music of three

2005-10-25T18:46:00.000Z

A complete change from my recent more 'organic' work, this time a graphical symphony.

Apophysis and GIMP.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 44 - Take up a new interest/hobby/project

2005-10-25T18:19:00.000Z

Life seem stale and in a run? Miserable and lacking in energy all the time? Think of something you'd really like to do, be it a subject you'd like to know more about, or a personal project you'd like to undertake, whether practical or intellectual. Then make a plan to do it and get in there - you'll feel more fulfilled and that will have a positive effect on those around you, as ripples spread on a pond. Improving the world as a whole can often begin with improving your own!

Latest fractal: Frost bites

2005-10-22T16:02:00.000Z

Straight Apophysis flame, border and lettering by the GIMP.

First render using the new density estimation algorithm in flam3 - I think the native focal contrast is a rather good feature.

Full view absolutely essential! Click on the pic!

Future sense and the search for the soul

2005-10-16T13:59:00.000Z

I've been ruminating on the manner in which we experience the world at large, and the manner in which we experience the world in our heads, what the philosophers would label 'phenomenal' and 'noumenal' - sensory input versus mental states. But first, a digression.

If we consider our 5 basic modes of sensory input, they hardly constitute comprehensive coverage of the myriad possibilities of experiencing phenomena, yet they have evolved to fulfil our basic requirements and provide us with a means to 'get by' in the physical world.

To further digress, I'm interested in the possibility of using some of our current senses in the manner in which we use others. As an example, I've tried what might be termed 'light music', not undemanding tunes but music composed only of light. I conjecture that as virtual reality technology further develops, it will be possible to experience a kind of touch-music, via controlled use of an all-over body-suit designed to stimulate the nerves in our skin. This could even be extended to symphonies of smell and taste with the correct technology, certainly once nanotechnology is more fully realised. I'm imagining an unobtrusive nasal insertion that releases controlled waves of molecules in sufficient concentration to be detected by our crude olfactory sense.

But I wonder whether we will ever be able to interface with instruments capable of sensing, say, electrical fields and experience them in some way? Perhaps to integrate with sight data so that we can turn on the option of 'seeing' electrical fields present around objects. Again, this is only another form of sense data, and therefore belongs to the phenomenal world.

So finally, we return to what can be our only experience of the noumenal world, that of the, for want of a more precise term, psychical landscape. Experience of the noumenal can only occur when the experiencer directly undergoes the experience, with no mediation which inevitably leads to the problem of interpretation. This now calls to discussion what is meant by the 'I', the self, that experiences. In everyday life, 'I' refers to the biological entity/thought process/self-awareness combo. Here, 'I' can only be the self-awareness part of this trinity of what constitutes a person. Perhaps this, stripped of the layers of intellect and body, is the soul?

I believe that certain psychoactive compounds are able to, at least partially, unshackle what our senses and intellect have constrained, to open, in Huxley's phrase (borrowed from Blake), the "doors of perception" and allow us to 'see' so much more of the psychic landscape such that both sense data and 'otherworldly' perceptions can sit comfortably side-by-side in a new 'panception' of so much more than what we now see.

Perhaps one day, or so I'd like to think, such experimentation with consciousness will be a routine aspect of a more enlightened lifestyle, freed forever from the slavery of work. But until then, it's left to the few brave psychonauts to risk the disapprobation of the establishment in order to research the very tools that threaten to undermine it. Go to it, and keep alive the hope of a better way!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 43 - Don't take the kids to McDonald's

2005-10-16T06:40:00.000Z

Coaching a young life through its formative years must be a daunting task to anyone who allows themselves to actually think about it. Some of the most difficult decisions must surely concern what values should be instilled. Unless your household runs a complete media blackout, chances are that the kids will demand to visit an establishment such as McDonald's (and I single it out merely for illustration). With peer pressure looming, it's difficult to say no, but no must be said if the meme of bland consumerist values is in any way to be kerbed. Taking such a stand will obviously have repercussions, but to dredge up a particularly threadbare adage, "no pain, no gain".

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 42 - Install long-life light-bulbs

2005-10-09T08:58:00.000Z

OK, they cost somewhat more than the average budget (or even full-priced) light-bulb, but think for a moment: everyone these days is keen to 'invest', no doubt to prove what worthwhile citizens they are. A long-life light-bulb is just a small investment, but with added hidden benefits. Consideration of cost versus lifetime suggests that there's not much in it. But the energy use is around one-fifth of that of a normal light-bulb, plus it saves on the materials and manufacture of roughly a further nine such objects. Now that's got to be a bargain!

Website update

2005-10-03T18:19:00.000Z

Books: new Poem of the Month.

Drink: Drink of the Month has a seasonal touch with Sourz Apple Liqueur.

Food: new Recipe of the Month - Ful medames, a staple of the Middle East.

Fractals: new Fractal of the Month.

Garden: new Garden Tip and a further chapter in the major project of the year, 'A Year at Padley Wood' - this month, it's Early Autumn.

Links: this month, Spotlight on (usually a site new to me, but could be an old favourite):

The true spirit of the Internet: an online encyclopoedia that remains an ongoing project, forged by collaboration of many (thousands of?) individuals, and completely free. For those unfamiliar, a 'wiki' (derived from the Hawaiian 'wiki wiki' meaning 'quick') is an editable (in situ) website.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 41 - Invest in a 'Bag for Life'

2005-10-03T10:00:00.000Z

A very bad habit of vehicular supermarket shoppers (and that's an awful lot of people) is to pack the weekly shop into single-use free 'carrier bags' numbering into double figures. Some supermarkets offer a one-payment 'Bag for Life' that's somewhat stronger for multi-use purposes, and is replaced free of charge when it wears out. But if it doesn't, buy a sturdy canvas bag or three. Plastic carrier bags are becoming a particularly nasty source of environmental pollution, so a small outlay can make a big difference.

Latest fractal: Supplication

2005-10-03T09:53:00.000Z

An older piece, dusted down and re-packaged.

A very abstract representation of the symbolism of the act of supplication: a downward movement, as of kneeling; downcast attitude; and finally prostration before the superior.

Made with Apophysis and the GIMP.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 40 - Reduce food air miles: cook seasonally

2005-10-03T09:50:00.000Z

As we approach a change of season, we should look forward with some relish to its particular associations, not least of which is what we eat. As domestically-grown summer crops (those Mediterranean vegetables, for instance) exhaust their glut, they are sourced from further afield and begin to add air miles. By eating domestically-grown food seasonally, this problem is reduced somewhat. You needn't give up international cooking, just build it around a core of more seasonal habits.

More information

A Journey

2005-09-23T12:27:00.000Z

Time to get lyrical.

Last night, as I returned home after shopping after work, the light was beginning to change and I forbore my customary read to observe the way from the bus. It had been a wonderful cusp-of-the-season evening that had even suffused the quotidian and guilt-ridden act of supermarket shopping with the apricot luminance of the westering sun.

Now, as we headed into open countryside, the eastern sky had turned that full and limpid shade of thick grey-blue that only occurs on such evenings. The farm buildings captured the remains of the salmon-grey light and coruscated almost painfully to the eye. Thoughts and feelings seemed to float, easily juxtaposed without conflict. We passed the lay-by where, early on a perfect May morning last year, returning from a disastrous night's clubbing, I had sadly observed my friend needing his next fix of crack, unable to drive the remaining four miles without, and where, in a pointless gesture of solidarity, I grimly took my own.

But the bus had moved on: a village pub, so welcoming with its outside coloured lights, and further yet, a young man of ordinary appearance caught the bus and sat down gratefully. Something within me seemed to try to reach out and get into his head, to be him and understand his current hopes and fears. Another running for the bus, between stops, and parting from his girl at the same time. The driver, mock-angry, "Come on, I haven't got all night", but he stopped anyway. The blue light in the bus echoed more brightly the intensifying colour of the sky outside.

By the time I alighted, the darkness was beginning to assert itself, but the walk down the lane continued the magick. My soul was brim-full-to-bursting, and if correctly struck would have, as Douglas Adams so aptly described, "chimed". The final words of Umberto Eco's 'Foucault's Pendulum', as the narrator sits at the window of a Piemontese farmhouse watching the dawn light, awaiting his fate, recurred with a particular resonance: "It's so beautiful."

Then the comfort of reaching home on such an evening, the welcoming light of inside.

* * * * * * *

It was amazing too, this morning: the sky a ridge-and-furrow of pink and pale turquoise, the feeling of magick, never quite absent since last night, returning in a glorious refrain.

Proust would have made a long and exquisite vintage of all this; I have attempted an alchemical distillation of the experiential to a shot of verbose eau-de-vie. We should all treasure such moments, such journeys of our consciousness guided by the phenomenal, the merely contingent: there are few enough in a lifetime.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 39 - Change those fast food habits

2005-09-20T07:00:00.000Z

Most working people reckon they just don't have time to prepare their own packed lunch to take to work and besides, it's so infra dig, dahling! Whatever the validity of this, there are still many ways to reduce the negative environmental impact of the fast-food substitute:

- do you really need to arrive at work with a carton of hot drink? Try having one before setting out or when you get there
- use your lunch break properly and eat at a café/pub/restaurant rather than the burger joint
- if you really must eat at your desk (and it's so much better to avoid this), locate an establishment that prepares its food freshly and purveys it in minimal packaging

Latest fractal: "Blue"

2005-09-13T19:44:00.000Z

Subtitled "A Deeply Mystical Trip into the oceans of inner space", aficionados will no doubt enjoy the Beatles-inspired wordplay ;-)

Absolutely requires full view and it's a big file (to preserve maximum detail), so be patient!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 38 - Take care when recycling II

2005-09-13T19:35:00.000Z

You get to the recycling bin and it's full. What do you do? I've seen countless bags of recycling just dumped there, presumably in the hope that the recyclers will put them into the newly emptied bins when they arrive... but they won't! Yes, in true jobsworth-style, it isn't in their job description, so they won't do it.

So, please, if you've brought your stuff in the car, just take it back home and bring it again on the next visit. It's not much to ask.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 37 - Take care when recycling I

2005-09-13T19:32:00.000Z

OK, I've got well behind here, so I'll issue a 2-parter in rapid succession.

Most people, when they recycle, feel they've pretty well "done their bit" for the environment and leave it at that. But sometimes, that "bit", when not fully considered, can turn out to have an element of negative impact.

Read the blurb on the recycling bin carefully: are all paper-based products accepted, or does it ask for no staples or catalogues?; does it ask for tops to be removed from plastic bottles?; or perhaps metal bits to be removed from glass bottles?

Failure to comply or even notice may result in a great deal of extra work at "the other end" when all it takes is a little more effort from each individual. Wake up and do that extra "bit"!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 36 - Grow your own

2005-08-30T13:39:00.000Z

You don't need an acre of land in the deepest rural setting in order to grow your own produce - anything from a suburban garden to a city windowsill will do! Obviously, more space means more options, but it's the whole activity that counts. I needn't emphasise that you should approach the project organically - this will put you in touch with Nature in the most natural (!) way, and bring a special satisfaction when (if? - dispel those doubts!) your crop is ready. For an ordinary garden, set aside as much space as you're comfortable with and begin with your favourite vegetables. Do a little research and choose varieties for flavour rather than bulk. And herbs: these are the ideal crop for that windowsill, as well as a small patch in the garden, close to the kitchen. However small you start, once the bug bites, you'll probably want to expand - go for it, and the ripple effects will be surprising: greater attunement to Nature; acquisition of new skills and knowledge; better tasting food; fewer food-miles clocked up; and a general improvement in personal well-being. And did I mention it's more economical? Now that's what I call a bargain!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 35 - Walk more

2005-08-23T07:28:00.000Z

Having a car doesn't mean that you're compelled to use it every time you leave the house: for those short trips (e.g. to the village shop), why not walk for a change, if the weather's OK? It cuts down on the atmospheric pollution (short journies are the worst) and gives you some vital exercise for free. Much better than doing some boring repetitive task in a poncy 'gym'!

Winning Words 1

2005-08-21T13:30:00.000Z

Number 1 in an occasional series taking a wryly-amused view of word-related blunders. Click on the title to find the web-page that first inspired.

Word/phrase/acronym: safety hazards

Category: oxymoron

My interpretation: a phrase whose true meaning will eventually be much-discussed by future historians (sorry!). Though not intended as such in the article, this will refer to the increased anxiety experienced by state-nannied citizens through over-exposure to:

a) signage for every possible low-probability "hazard" e.g. foodstuff labelling: "may have been produced in a factory where workers have thought about nuts"

b) harrowing advertising campaigns showing rare, though possible, results from activities carrying an inherent risk e.g. smoking, driving, eating, sleeping...

Latest fractal: Visions of Hell

2005-08-17T05:40:00.000Z

More Apo experimentation with the 'fan' variation - a kind of Old Testament image of Satan's lair, all fire, heat, screaming souls and sharp black shafts of pain... we've come a long way, but there's yet a way to go ;-)

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 34 - Don't treat technology as fashion

2005-08-14T17:06:00.000Z

There's a tendency today to treat technology as disposable: we change mobile 'phones like clothing; we buy new kitchen equipment every time we redecorate; and we upgrade the PC by simply buying new. Yet it takes huge amounts of resource to produce this kind of technology. And loads more to dispose of our discarded items properly - that or environmental stress from not bothering. Consider technological purchases carefully: will you ever really use all those new features on the next-generation mobile 'phones? Choose kitchen equipment that'll fit well with a variety of styles and colour schemes. And think about upgrading the PC piecemeal, only replacing the parts that are truly letting the side down. Having more disposable income isn't a licence to squander resource: remember there's more than just financial cost.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 33 - Stop buying branded 'sportswear'

2005-08-08T08:51:00.000Z

Most people are aware the dubious business practices of the brand giants in this area: sweatshop labour; huge incentives for the 'stars' that advertise; inflated prices; and the kind of aggressive marketing that traps young people who can ill afford the gear into wearing it. OK, maybe some companies are cleaning up their acts, but in buying the stuff, you're just perpetuating the notion that its cool, that you're just like everyone else. These companies are already rich enough: you want to advertise their brand whilst paying to wear it? Stop buying branded 'sportswear' - just do it!

Website update

2005-08-05T10:03:00.000Z

General: The major change should by now be obvious: a completely new navigation menu. Whilst the old one was perfectly functional and I liked the context-sensitive side navigation, it did look rather dated. Hence it's a new javascript-driven menu constructed using the excellent CoffeeCup DHTML Menu Builder, and this has enabled (indeed forced) me to finally break free from Microsoft Front Page. This has now highlighted a shed-load of little inconsistencies caused by using a WYSIWYG editor without studying the code: stretched images; unwanted fixed heights for table elements; misuse of spaces in the name attributes of anchor tags; and others, I'm sure, besides. These are gradually getting fixed to improve both form and functionality of the whole site.

Books: new Poem of the Month.

Drink: I received an e-mail from the webmaster of a rather good absinthe site (see below), so I'm tying the Drink of the Month in with this: La Fée Verte absinthe, with 4 original recipes.

Food: Picnic time (again!) for Recipe of the Month - a collection put together for one we enjoyed just recently.

Fractals: new Fractal of the Month, plus a new set of previews in the 'mini-gallery' as a taster of my latest work at deviantART.

Freeware: new program reviews, the founder of the feast (well, menu!), CoffeeCup DHTML Menu Builder plus the excellent image management software Picasa. And I've begun the process of improving the external links here by adding a standard button for visiting the devloper's website. In adding these, all links have been checked for both validity and current software status - non-freeware has been removed.

Garden: new Garden Tip and a further chapter in the major new project, 'A Year at Padley Wood' - this month, it's High Summer.

Links: this month, Spotlight on (usually a site new to me, but could be an old favourite):

Comprehensive historical coverage of all things absinthe with an opportunity to purchase the associated paraphernalia.

Latest fractal: Breakout

2005-08-05T09:57:00.000Z

You're out, but they're after you... broken shafts of searchlights scan the grainy night... a hint of red for danger, yet pockets of dark exist: stick to these, you may yet be free!

Made with Apophysis, this has hints of cubism, even vorticism, in its broken planes and shattered structure.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 32 - Go organic

2005-08-03T15:53:00.000Z

Everybody knows by now that modern farming methods that rely on heavy use of chemicals are bad both for the environment and long-term human health. But how many people actually do anything other than complain about it? The simplest way to turn the tide is to begin switching to organically-produced foods. It doesn't have to be all-or-nothing, just start with a few key items: vegetables, especially carrots and salad crops - they taste so much better too; grain-based foods, such as breakfast cereals and bread - these should form a fair proportion of a healthy diet, so it's well worth targeting them; and soya-based foods as organic means GM-free and soya is a favourite crop for GM experiments. For those wanting to go further, there's a growing range of foods beginning to appear on supermarket shelves. But perhaps the best way, if you're lucky to have such things available, are box deliveries of vegetables or pick-your-own farms - they ensure that the grower gets a fair price, and you get them cheaper!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 31 - Take the green energy option

2005-07-25T06:21:00.000Z

Many large suppliers of electricity are offering a green option to their customers - a choice to switch to a power supply from renewable resources (wind, water). My guess is that it's being done in this way to manage the change more easily, both logistically and economically. But the emphasis is on YOU - return that form or check out the website and see what has to be done: demand creates supply, so do it - the sooner, the better!

Latest fractal: King Tut

2005-07-22T14:33:00.000Z

Abstract Egyptian look, courtesy of the 'fan' variation in Apophysis.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 30 - Plan

2005-07-19T06:33:00.000Z

It's my opinion that we've lost the ability to plan for anything: younger people never learned the skill, raised on a culture of instant communication and capricious whim; and more mature people have let the concept slide, confining it only to major commitments like holidays, relying on the last-minute dash to the supermarket.

Planning can be very useful for ergonomics, meaning that you have to make fewer of those short car journeys that are such a source of atmospheric pollution. It can reduce stress by providing the reassurance that you've 'thought of everything' (well, almost!). And it can increase the pleasure of anticipation by forcing you to consider in detail all those wonderful things you're vaguely intending to do. Rediscover that basic faculty for a richer mental life!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 29 - Do something constructive with old clothes

2005-07-13T06:52:00.000Z

With the emphasis these days on 'disposability' (disposable goods, disposable income), it's so easy to get caught up in the habit of fling-and-replace and even hoarding when it comes to buying clothing. Stop and think for a minute. Only buy what you really need and look at the stuff you're proposing to throw out, or that you never wear any more. Chances are most of it's in pretty good nick. Take it to charity shops and recycle any that really are past it. This both reduces waste and the demand on new materials and helps those with less 'disposable income' to obtain something a little different.

The Sea, the Sea...

2005-07-10T05:39:00.000Z

It had been 20 years since my partner had seen the sea and she was feeling its pull so we sought somewhere suitable via a combination of brochures and Internet. B&Bs were out - the tedious inevitability of explaining the vegan diet to well-meaning but ill-informed proprietors did not form a part of our ideal holiday scenario. Ditto hotels. Self-catering, then, but must be by night rather than week; on the east coast, preferably Lincolnshire. And then suddenly, it dropped out of the rank-and-file apartments, flats, houses... a group of cottages on a farm, the sea within walking distance. The photos on the website sold it to us - minimal, clean, comfortable, beautiful surroundings: we booked.

Then the problems began: the cheque to pay the balance went astray; its follow-up took ages; and the weather forecast had thunderstorms. Then there were significant delays on the train, meaning we'd have to catch a later (by a full hour) connection bus. But we waded through it all, eventually travelling through a countryside of mist and rain, arriving as the rain was dying and the sun was trying to assert its dominion. The scene had a curious beauty, dripping and drying and surprisingly warm, but with low-to-medium visibility. A long walk down a longer lane, fully laden with rucksacks and finally we arrived - the photographs we'd seen had captured the atmosphere well. But no time for hanging around - a quick visit to a nearby shop was essential, before it closed, to lay in some basic supplies for breakfast.

It was then a longish walk into 'town' as we weren't sure whether there were any closer shortcuts to the sea-front but, at just after 6:30 in the evening, we made it to the sea, in defiance of all the little niggles that seemed to have been conspiring against us. My aqua-girl, re-united with her watery element, a pleasure to observe such fundamental joy in a loved one.

The weather improved: the next day began with light rain but that cleared up by the time we left the cottage. We discovered the local shortcut to the sea: the waves were wonderful in the firm easterly breeze, dramatic and playful by turns. But this wasn't picnic weather, so back to base for lunch, though we did get our picnic in the next day, much further up the coast in the dunes. And we got more: the weather had taken a dramatic turn but we hadn't taken the sun-block out with us - we got somewhat burned.

Sad to leave the next day, and rather painful with the rucksacks chafing the burns but we vowed then we'd be back... and so we shall, in September...

Website update

2005-07-04T07:06:00.000Z

General: a little lean on updates this month - it is holiday season after all!

Books: new Poem of the Month, plus some rather useful new links if you're in search of best prices or hard-to-find titles.

Drink: new Drink of the Month (Jim Beam bourbon whiskey, with 2 new recipes plus one existing).

Food: high time to give sprouting a profile raise with the Recipe of the Month.

Fractals: new Fractal of the Month.

Garden: new Garden Tip and a further chapter in the major new project, 'A Year at Padley Wood' - this month, it's Early Summer.

Links: this month, Spotlight on... (usually a site new to me, but could be an old favourite):

An excellent drinks mixing site with over 8000 cocktail recipes and many more in other categories, including shots. What sets this site apart from competitors are some nice features such as 'Top 20 most popular' and 'Top 10 highest rated' drinks on the 'Welcome'page, as well as sets of links to similar/related drinks that change with each recipe browsed. And of course it includes the ability to build your own 'cabinet' (so you can easily find which drinks you can mix with what you've got at home), plus a 'handbook' section for storing favourite recipes.

So just to ensure you never have to leave home, order your drinks from:
.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 28 - Use recycled

2005-07-04T07:05:00.000Z

Buy recycled products where available. There are a huge variety of products available across many lines: paper, clothing, glass... Sometimes, it's easiest to find a company that specialises; that way, you usually get a high-quality and unique product. Increase the demand as well as the supply!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 27 - Slow down!

2005-06-28T12:15:00.000Z

Are you the sort of person who finds yourself constantly rushing around but rarely getting things done to your satisfaction? If so, plan some quality time out to, wait for it, plan some quality time in! Better time management reduces stress and therefore irritability-related problems such as road rage. It'll make you feel better and have a knock-on effect with those in contact with you. No excuses, just prune, eliminate, delegate - so much for so little!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 26 - Make your money work for good

2005-06-22T16:24:00.000Z

Are you in the process of changing, or making new, investments? If so, consider this: there are brokers who specialise in ethical investments. Instead of your money funding who-knows-what (corrupt foreign regimes, arms dealers, multinationals whose only ethics are the bottom line...), you'll rest assured that it will actually be doing some good. I can't vouch for the returns, but then nobody can anyway, that's the nature of the game. They claim good comparison with non-ethical investors, so why not give it a try?

The Language of Dreams and Visions

2005-06-17T15:55:00.000Z

Have you ever wondered why dreams are symbolic - why can't they just tell us 'straight'? I considered this question, allowing it to rest lightly in consciousness, until it finally struck me - words are just abstract symbols for the objects they signify. We must first learn the language in order to be able to read and therefore to understand, but this language of words belongs strictly to the quotidian level of consciousness that we are so accustomed to occupying. So, let us postulate that dreams/visions are some kind of content-rich symbols for a language of a higher consciousness.

Another consideration following from this concerns the inability of ordinary spoken/written language to adequately convey the experience of dreams and visions. Examination of the previous argument suggests an answer via a simple metaphor: how well does a (3-dimensional) model of a tesseract (a 4-dimensional cube or hypercube) convey its essence? The answer is obviously not very! We can easily interpret a reduction from three to two dimensions, but that's because we occupy three. We would need to be able to occupy a fourth spatial dimension to fully comprehend its nature, therefore we need to raise consciousness to the next level in order to be able to properly and (theoretically) unambiguously comprehend the content of that higher language.

But how to do it? Anyone know of a reliable source of DMT? ;-)

Latest fractal: Loom

2005-06-14T18:15:00.000Z

I was dithering over how to complete this one, then downloaded a new piece of software GrafxShop. A random try-out of the built-in 'frames' produced this: I rather like the contrast between the sharp flame and faux-scratchy/old photo frame, though I'm sure it won't appeal to all.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 25 - Switch to healthier 'soft' drinks

2005-06-13T14:53:00.000Z

Stop drinking addictive branded soft drinks, whether or not they claim to be "sugar-free", "99% fat-free", "diet" or some such rubbish and try fresh healthy (preferably organic, but it's not essential) juice from a juice bar - just for the taste of it!

If you're really keen, invest in a juicer and make your own for a healthy start to the day.

Latest fractal: Always encroaching

2005-06-12T13:45:00.000Z

Closer to what might be called a 'traditional' Apophysis flame than my recent work. Perhaps the fact that I can contemplate juxtaposing the two words says something about how rapidly the capabilities of the program have developed ;)

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 24 - The power of the check-box!

2005-06-06T15:35:00.000Z

Whenever you complete an order form or questionnaire, whether by post or online, remember to look out for those little check-boxes - the ones you must tick NOT to receive further mail from other companies (unless, of course, you actually do!). A small act like this can greatly reduce the incidence of junk mailing and hence the squandering of precious resource. And it helps in the process of your own increasing mindfulness!

Website update

2005-05-31T15:06:00.000Z

For some reason, I forgot to put last month's update on here. Oh well, here's the latest:

June 2005

General: Time's flying by now: it's summertime already, would that the living were easy. Still, one works at one's pleasures and thus obtains at least a smattering of golden moments amidst the drudgery of the daily grind.

Books: new Poem of the Month.

Food: a new Recipe of the Month re-focuses attention on that great British summer institution, the barbecue, with a suggestion for a complete 4-course feast, incorporating 3 brand new recipes. I seem to have gone bonkers with The Quiche Project, adding 2 new recipes. Plus new cookbook review.

Fractals: new Fractal of the Month, plus a new preview 'mini-gallery' as a taster of my latest work, only now available to view at deviantART due to my webspace beginning to run low.

Freeware: new program review, the deluxe RSS feed reader Newzie.

Garden: new Garden Tip and a further chapter in the major new project, 'A
Year at Padley Wood' - this month, it's Spring. I've also taken the decision to remove all the old garden photos - out with the old, and in with the new.

Philosophy: new quote.

Latest fractal: Surfacing...

2005-05-30T15:18:00.000Z

A very subtle Apophysis render whose structure and lighting give a definite feeling of moving upwards through a medium...

Perfect day #2

2005-05-30T12:38:00.000Z

Well, I never expected to be blogging #2 so soon! Our first visit of the year to our 'special place', Matlock Bath, close to the Peak District and Derbyshire Dales, was as wonderful as ever. The weather wasn't perfect, with high winds requiring the cable cars to be ballasted, yet it was still warm and, where we chose to eat our picnic, quite sheltered. Time always seems to pass equivocally yet dreamily. Later on, looking round from our place near the river, the Prospect Tower announced itself from an unusual angle, peeping out from behind some leaves bathed in the mellow evening light: this was the image selected to represent the day.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 23 - Switch to environmentally-friendly cleaning products.

2005-05-30T09:17:00.000Z

These alternatives to the run-of-the-mill cleaning products are so widely available now that there's no longer any excuse to avoid them. Probably best to take one at a time: multi-surface cleaner; washing-up liquid; toilet cleaner; and perhaps leave until last the most 'difficult', washing powder. Why 'difficult'? Well, if you're expecting identical results to your normal chemical cocktail, it may even be better to miss this one. If you're fully committed to ditching the chemicals, then be prepared for lack of optical whiteners and less in the way of broad-spectrum stain removal. Best to treat stains as they occur using traditional methods like lemon juice, vinegar and whatnot - plenty of help elsewhere on the 'Net for these.

Blue boy!

2005-05-22T19:07:00.000Z

Ah, summer's definitely here now - the first flower on our little group of meconopsis grandis (blue Himalayan poppy), that incredible, ultra-blue that announces itself only as a faint eye-defying luminosity one morning, amidst, amongst other flowers, its own Welsh cousins, m. cambrica. With the afternoon light forcing its translucency, I thought this relatively rare flower deserved broader coverage :-)

Latest fractal: Solar flair

2005-05-22T14:10:00.000Z

No, it's NOT a misspelling: this sun has talent!

Apophysis flame, plasma 'surface' created and blended using the GIMP.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 22 - Compost!

2005-05-22T14:07:00.000Z

Yes, I'm using this in the verbal rather than nominal sense, in the imperative voice. But enough of grammar: save vegetable and garden waste and make a compost heap. This cuts down the amount of domestic waste that has to be removed and landfilled, and you can use the compost to replace chemical fertilisers. And don't trot out the old myths about them being smelly and attracting 'vermin' - these are absolute bunkum, invented by bourgeois wimps with a cleanliness fixation. OK, a little knowledge is required, but surely the acquisition of practical know-how is a good thing in itself.

Key points: a good mix of vegetable waste, light prunings and grass cuttings work well. Shred woody stems and add the shreddings if you prefer not to use them as a mulch. Cover the heap with old carpet to keep in the warmth. At the end of the season, begin a new heap and turn the old one, then leave for another 6 months (covered with that carpet!), and you'll have a sufficiency of decent nutrition for the garden that costs nothing but a little effort and saves you money as well as allowing your garden to develop its own mini ecosystem. You KNOW it makes sense!

Latest fractal: Lifecycle

2005-05-17T18:51:00.000Z

A visualisation of the Universal cycle: the lower part is the physical world, the outer upper parts higher non-physical states. The central upper core represents the Ground Luminosity, the Implicate Order, the Cosmic Unconscious, call it what you will. From this core, all other states are fed by a narrow thread; feedback loops return that which is spent.

Perfect day #1

2005-05-16T07:20:00.000Z

Sometimes, there are days that come close to perfection: weather, mood, food, wine... all conspire to provide a memorable whole. After one such day, yesterday, the 15th, we set off for a stroll in the evening, around the local fields. Returning along the lane, we noticed a balloon, so distant when we set out, was now quite close and floating low over the fields, as though seeking a spot to land. I captured the moment as it drifted over a field of rape, with the church of a neighbouring village just beyond: it seemed a fitting moment to close such a day.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 21 - Turn OFF the television when not in use, don't leave it on standby!

2005-05-15T20:04:00.000Z

There are various estimates for the average standby power-use on televisions, from fractions of a watt to over 10W, depending on model. And of course, this is 24/7 power consumption, so the low figure can deceive concerning the contribution to overall household electricity bill. But the fact remains that IT REALLY DOESN'T NEED TO BE ON STANDBY! Of all the common domestic electrical appliances, the TV is one that's pretty much guaranteed not to require power to keep 'residual' functions ticking over. So it's just pure laziness. So stop it!

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 20 - Buy free-range eggs rather than battery-farmed ones

2005-05-08T18:26:00.000Z

The conditions under which battery-farmed hens are kept are worse than concentration camps. Virtually no room to move, nothing of interest, fed a 'diet' of chemically-'enhanced' rubbish... The result is moody and aggressive behaviour, deformity, short life-span and... crap eggs. You'll be doing yourself, as well as future generations of birds, a big favour by switching to free-range: a more naturalised lifestyle and normal diet mean happy birds and better-tasting eggs. Unless you're poverty-line material, the minimal extra financial cost shouldn't hurt.

Of course, better to give them a miss altogether, but that's another story.

Socialising II - Networking

2005-05-04T19:18:00.000Z

The term 'networking' became trendy many years ago in the early nineties to describe the web of relationships between all the 'happening' people in media, arts, film, all the usual suspects. But like the people themselves, it was just a fad and the concept faded, only to be taken up by the world of business with some gusto, to the extent that it's used even now, and without a trace of irony.

In common with hairdresser chat, it's all about alignment: "What are we driving at the moment?"; "Family?"; "We're off to Mexico/India/the Far East later this year"; and so on. But then there are the shared rituals that cement the bonds tentatively (shyly, even?) forged through purely conversational gambits: tea/coffee and BISCUITS (oh, the importance of these nutritional paragons!); lunch - but no alcohol, this is a health-and-safety-conscious world now, don't you know; the exchange of business cards (I'm only just holding back here); and finally, if we're on a biggy, dinner in the evening - and here, we can let ourselves go just a tad and get a little tipsy (oooh!).

Yet none of this is new. It's always been like this: the '70s, lyrics from Pink Floyd's 'Dogs' - "Like the club tie, the firm handshake, a certain look in the eye and an easy smile"; and the '80s, the phrase 'It's not what you know, it's who you know'. So, just re-packaging the old ideas, a bit like marketing in general. No, too much, it'll have to come out: as the character Oliver in Julian Barnes' 'Talking it Over' so aptly opined, "Hie me to the vomitorium, pronto."

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 19 - Gradually boycott blacklisted companies

2005-05-01T17:58:00.000Z

Time to put to use that 'ethical consumer guide' you subscribed to in week 16. Identify, by a gradual process, companies (listed by the guide as particularly unethical) whose products you purchase, and then identify alternatives that you consider will adequately replace them, made by companies given the thumbs-up by the guide. Sometimes, such products are a little more expensive: let your budget/conscience determine how far you go.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 18 - Make your vote count

2005-04-25T19:10:00.000Z

Keeping things topical, it's worth thinking about this as it's generally a five-year sentence. After yet another term of broken promises, Bush-worship and increasingly paranoid laws, you'd be forgiven for abstaining from the whole charade. We KNOW the Tories are even worse than Neo-Labour, yet there's little real ground between them. Given this fact, we can pretty much imagine how much overlap there is for a so-called 'middle' party: would the LibDems REALLY make a difference? Probably not. Party politics is dead, yet it's all we've got at the moment. A non-vote is thorn-in-the-side for the whole system, but is it the best way to use it?

The whole thing is a delicate balancing act, so whichever way you lean, consider the consequences of your choice rather than blindly following old paths or simply giving up. It may put the 'mock' in 'democracy', but I'd sure rather live with the system we have than with a military dictatorship or worse: it's well worth thinking globally to change your jaded local perspective.

Who should you vote for?

2005-04-22T12:53:00.000Z

I was brave and took the test, and it turned out as expected (though only just!) Don't know whether there's an in-built bias, but, as the elections loom, it's worth checking out to see whether your stance on major UK issues matches your intended vote.

Of course, this completely ignores tactical voting...

Who should I vote for?

Your expected outcome:

Green

Your actual outcome:

Labour -17
Conservative -42
	Liberal Democrat 80
	UK Independence Party 24
	Green 82

You should vote: Green

The Green Party, which is of course strong on environmental issues, takes a strong position on welfare issues, but was firmly against the war in Iraq. Other key concerns are cannabis, where the party takes a liberal line, and foxhunting, which unsurprisingly the Greens are firmly against.

Take the test at Who Should You Vote For

Socialising I - Hairdresser Chat

2005-04-21T12:33:00.000Z

I've never been much of one for empty chit-chat, so it's interesting to analyse what it takes, what its mechanism is and what its point is.

It takes universal compatibility, that is being pretty much just like everyone else, or at least an ability to act as a simulacrum thereof. It consists in a broken, though potentially near-infinite string, of mindless platitudes and/or bursts of ego-driven self-aggrandisement. And its point ? Well, it appears that reassurance, a warm winciette comfort-blanket, is the ultimate goal and what does that say? It says that the ultimate driving force for most of humanity is fear - fear of being alone, different, insignificant; fear of purposelessness, pointlessness; fear of death.

So maybe when you no longer have the energy nor desire to exchange inanities with your hairdresser, you've come to terms with your own mortality ;-)

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 17 - Pick up litter, don't just moan about it!

2005-04-17T15:21:00.000Z

If you're the sort of person who runs to apoplexy on seeing the discarded detritus of other people's pointless existences, deal with it positively by removing the offending items to a designated area (read 'bin') - you'll feel better and will actually be abetting your own cause!

Orders of Infinity

2005-04-16T12:47:00.000Z

I picked up this rather neat logical 'trick' from a book called 'Theories of Everything' by John D. Barrow. Any person of reasonable intelligence would, without specialist knowledge, surely think that 'infinity' is a single concept. I know I did. Take, as an example, the set of whole numbers. You could begin writing them down and never stop... onwards to infinity.

Now take the set of 'irrational' numbers (that's all numbers that cannot be expressed as a ratio of whole numbers). Intuitively, you might say that there are an infinite number of such numbers between 0 and 1, therefore there must be more of them than whole numbers, but then the concept of infinity comes swinging back in and you think, "Well, infinity is infinity, so it's all the same." But, your intuition was correct! Here's the 'proof':

Imagine writing down ALL these irrational numbers (impossible, but stay with me here). Here is what a small section looks like, all completely random:

...
0.125486312856...
0.956476213163...
0.614585484764...
0.437644646468...
0.316546416485...
0.731515565855...
0.265475487964...
0.632995245513...
...

Now take a number formed by taking a diagonal down through all those (1st digit from 1st number, 2nd digit from 2nd number... etc.):

0.15464544...

Now add 1 to all the digits:

0.26575655...

This number is different from every single number written down because it must differ in at least one digit from each (by the addition of that 1). Hence, you thought you wrote down every number possible, but there are clearly many more. Irrational numbers are said to possess a higher order of infinity than whole numbers. Expressed more poetically, does infinity require, for its expression, an infinite number of grains of sand, or, as Blake suggested, can you

"... see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour."?

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place: Week 16 - Subscribe to an 'Ethical Consumer' Guide

2005-04-10T18:16:00.000Z

This is always a great place to start if you're feeling strongly committed, perhaps more doubtful if you're not. The sheer bewildering heaps of statistics and facts never before investigated may provide the energy of anger necessary for full and vigorous dedication to a new and more mindful lifestyle... or it may all look so daunting that it puts you off for life. Be your own judge here.

52 Weeks to Make the World a Better Place

2005-04-10T09:20:00.000Z

I'm sure that there are many such guides published in various forms - newspaper articles, books, websites..., possibly ad nauseum. This one is intended as a kind of drip-feed version, to stimulate flagging interest at a regular interval. I shall attempt to publish each Sunday/Monday, my time, but there will inevitably be a few that fall outside the window so I'll apologise in advance (perhaps I should apologise for the assumption that such an apology is necessary?!#@).

But why bother? Well, there are so many smart-ass aren't-I-a-clever-bastard-'cos-I'm-so-cynical blogs about, I thought it time to redress the balance with a little simple positivism. But 52 is enough - I'll publish as a rolling cycle (will A Different Corner still be here in a year?) as no-one, surely, will remember a blog entry from a year previously. Or am I being a cynical bastard?

Website update

2005-04-01T12:38:00.000Z

One of the things I always planned to do with this blog is to anounce my website updates. So now, all you have to do is install a suitable RSS aggregator (see recommendation 'Abilon' on the Freeware page) and subscribe to this blog (use the URL "http://padleywood.blogspot.com/atom.xml" without quotes). That way, you get all recent feeds including the monthly website update. Go on, treat yourself!

This month:

General: this month, the website celebrates its 3rd birthday with a 'Focus on Freeware' issue!

Books: new Poem of the Month.

Drink: new Drink of the Month ('The Cranberries' - Finlandia Cranberry Vodka and cranberry juice, with 4 recipes).

Food: time once again to head down Mexico way for the Recipe of the Month. There are also new recipes for couscous, gnocchi and wraps.

Fractals: new Fractal of the Month.

Freeware: as well as Spotlighting the wonderful Maxthon browser (see below), there are some other excellent programs reviewed this month, plus some 'passengers' dropped, as the whole section gets a spring clean.

Garden: new Garden Tip

Links: this month, Spotlight on... (usually a site new to me, but could be an old favourite):

This browser (Maxthon) just gets better! I cannot recommend it enough, hence the Spotlight. In addition to the existing review, I'll mention some of the add-on features available via the DAILY updates. Essential is the RSS feed plugin that now comes bundled as standard. Add feed from the plugin site, click the sidebar tool and you get a list of recent updates(with tooltip descriptions) in the sidebar, without having to visit the website. Click an item to open its webpage in a new browser window where you can download and read a fuller description.

Other invaluable plugins include Weather feed and LookUpWord, both sidebar, and CloseTabs (9 options - most useful for me is close all to right) and CopySelection (copies selected text plus page title and URL to the clipboard), both toolbar.

I've also been spring-cleaning the links too, deleting dead links and updating those that have moved.

Resolving Duality

2005-03-25T13:09:00.000Z

A fundamental 'cross-platform' concept in life is duality, the idea of the existence of opposites. A convenient way of representing this is a piece of string, each end being the opposite of the other, so good/evil, rational/irrational etc. This method then neatly suggests the existence of all in-between states in a spectrum. To fully extend the idea, consider each parameter to occupy one dimension in n-dimensional phase space, and you may 'plot' the position of any individual in that space (only, of course, as a hypothetical exercise).

Traditionally, the resolution has been to speak of, for want of a more precise phrase, a 'divine viewpoint' from which all dualities apparent from our 'mortal viewpoint' vanish. Now this has the feeling of a woolly get-out clause to me, so I needed a way to picture it. Cue return to the string model: the string is naturally pictured as occupying a single dimension, i.e. it's straight. Introduce a second dimension and the opposite ends may be bent round to touch each other - what were perceived in one dimension as being maximally separated may appear adjacent from a higher-dimensional viewpoint. Yet within the single dimension of the string, a hypothetical 1D observer would notice no difference.

Duality is resolved! I feel, though, that I'll have more to say on the subject soon...

So why a blog?

2005-03-22T15:29:00.000Z

I have my own website, a raft of other interests and very little in the way of spare time, yet here I am plunging into the confused and murky waters of blogging. Why? Well, given that the waters are thus, it makes the whole thing rather interesting. Fluid. It hasn't yet calcified into dull expectation. I like the fact that blogs run from web-savvy schoolkids talking drivel to well-researched and argued political commentary. But this, I hope, will be a little different from the majority. I've never run with the pack, always burning my own tracks through life. Yes, there'll be random musings and links to something interesting (always with some personal comment), but the view will perhaps take in the scene from an unusual vantage, an angle previously unexplored.

A fresh project taps hitherto undreamed wellsprings of creativity, so I'll strap myself in for this ride (I love mixing metaphors!) and see where it goes - should be a good'un! Ah well, time to mix me a cocktail (4 p.m. IS respectable, isn't it?) and start cooking: Indian tonight, so much to do...