A Masters Topic Finally

So as some of you probably know I have finished my masters proposal and finally have a real topic. Basically I am taking a certain type of social-ecological model used in decision making and policy planning and trying to hook them up to real time data. I'm doing this to check:

1. That the models are correct
2. That the decisions made based on the models still make sense.

I have a project page available here, which has a longer description and various useful links (like my actual proposal) for people who are more interested. I am also releasing all my source code as open-source, and releasing all my articles/thesis material under a creative commons license (more details at the project site). So go have a look, it will help you understand what I'm saying when I am ignoring you and talking to myself (come on, we all do it sometimes).

Bring back the Airships

Today I want to talk about a topic that is very close to my heart. Long ago in a far more civilized time, before twitter feeds and the blogosphere, yes before cellphones and even the internet, people were happy to do things slowly. And when these fine people needed to locomote their favored form of transport was the Airship.

Airships, also known as Zeppelins or Dirigibles (From the French "diriger" to direct plus -ible, meaning "directable" or steerable) once ruled the skies. These graceful giants floated across and between continents, ferrying the most important people to there most important business with a level of  luxuriating comfort unseen in modern air travel. At their height the transatlantic route between Germany and Brazil took a leisurely 68 hours, much like a weekend in a luxury hotel.

USS Los Angeles (ZR-3) flying over southern Manhattan Island, New York City

Sadly, despite the elegance of these mighty beasts, the unquenchable desire of man for speed and stress coupled with the Armageddon of the world wars led to their eventual retirement from use.

But I feel this is a tragedy. How can we have discarded the fair Dirigibles for such filthy a replacement as the jumbo jet? In light of this, and in the same spirit as the conservation of the Panda Bear, I propose to start a political party with the sole and express purpose of bringing back the Airship. It is my firm belief that this step will start us on an unstoppable road to a more civilized and sophisticated society.

Please join me, by spreading the virtues of airships, and remember: Airships! Awesome!

Reveling in the awesomeness of technology.

Below are two maps of down town New York. The one is an antique map (in French I think), the other is a Google earth image. I think sometimes we forget how awesome technology is. I thought we needed a reminder. I'm sure you can figure out which is which.

Revel.

Eventually you get desperate

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Homage or a blatant lack creativity

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Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?

Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?

-By Bob Dylan

He sits in your room, his tomb, with a fist full of tacks
Preoccupied with his vengeance
Cursing the dead that can't answer him back
I'm sure that he has no intentions
Of looking your way, unless it's to say
That he needs you to test his inventions.

Can you please crawl out your window?
Use your arms and legs it won't ruin you
How can you say he will haunt you?
You can go back to him any time you want to.

He looks so truthful, is this how he feels
Trying to peel the moon and expose it
With his businesslike anger and his bloodhounds that kneel
If he needs a third eye he just grows it
He just needs you to talk or to hand him his chalk
Or pick it up after he throws it.

Can you please crawl out your window?
Use your arms and legs it won't ruin you
How can you say he will haunt you?
You can go back to him any time you want to.

Why does he look so righteous while your face is so changed
Are you frightened of the box you keep him in
While his genocide fools and his friends rearrange
Their religion of the little ten women
That backs up their views but your face is so bruised
Come on out the dark is beginning.

Can you please crawl out your window?
Use your arms and legs it won't ruin you
How can you say he will haunt you?
You can go back to him any time you want to.

Copyright ©1965; renewed 1993 Special Rider Music

Life in Cape Town, to my Italian friend.

This was a letter to an Italian friend, But I liked it enough to post.

Cape Town is just going into Autumn, but you almost can't tell. It's just the odd slight chill in the evening and the changing glare of the afternoon sun on the city that gives it away. If you look closely you'll see sun is slipping behind the mountain earlier and earlier. But the days are still beautiful and the days are still warm.

I'm still sleeping on my friends floor. They live just below the university which is on the slopes of the mountain. I spend most of my days drifting around, either in the city or in my mind. When the mood strikes I catch a taxi into town and amble around the little shops and coffee shops in the older parts. I look for other drifting strangers an talk for hours about politics and women, trying to get a little good advice about both.

Other days I spend sleeping and at night sit outside and plan to write or occasionally write down my plans. I can do this all night, tracing the progression of the Southern Cross through the sky, using it to tell how much time has passed while the coal on my shisha slowly burns down. When I feel morose I listen to Nina Simone and reminisce about old lovers and past chances.

If I can gather a small group we go to the beach and smoke while talking and catching up on each other. If we stay long enough we can watch the sun set over the ocean with a glass of wine.

When motivation strikes , which it rarely does, or my anxiety about motivation becomes great enough to urge me to action, I'll spend a bit of time looking for an apartment or lining up the odd job interview.But motivation never strikes for that long so I end up achieving very little.

Everyone else is very busy so I spend allot of time looking for company. This can end up as lunch with an old friend or tea, cake and conversation with a new friend.

Friday afternoons I spend in the university pub with my old classmates, we talk about old shared troubles and I get a chance to find out about there current ideas and lives. Every second Thursday I meet a group of guys for Whiskey Club. We all dress up in suits and sit in armchairs while drinking some good, expensive whiskey. This goes until late while we revel in our approaching manhood. We make outrageous plans to buy boats and swap advice on the economy and jobs. As the night goes on we end up swapping more bad jokes than good advice.

Everyday I end up hoping tomorrow will be a little more exciting, unless today was particularly perfect in which case I hope tomorrow will be just as enjoyable.