samski_the_duck

Or…
…last chance to stand.

Yesterday I had my appointment with the surgeons regarding my feet. It didn’t go that well, and I’m, fairly disappointed. It’s been more than a year since I last mentioned it, so here’s the problem: The inside tendons on both feet are pulling each foot inward so I can’t put any weight, let alone stand on them. The attempt to put them right, two years ago, went catastrophically wrong and it’s a bit of a miracle I’m still here. I know a few other Ataxians with the ankle problems, but none so severe so I can’t ask advice. I really hate my feet; it’s not aesthetics, they cause most of my dependence.

Anyway, I went back recently as the straightening I did get has now vanished and the pulling is giving me discomfort/mild pain. I wanted to ask if there were any other options besides doing the same again. I had x-rays done but surgery is looking unlikely, fucking Hobson’s. :(

Well not quite, here are the options:
1. Frames as before – Too dangerous, also in two years time I’ll be right back here now.
2. Frames with bone fusing – Too dangerous and fusing bone together presents other risks.
3. Splitting the tendons – Too dangerous and there’s a huge unknown of how they’d react.
4. Do nothing.

There was the offer of more botox to kill a few nerves, but didn’t do much noticeable good last time. M y only option now is to wait to see if stem cell treatment will help (years off).

I feel fucking shit.

Or…
… it’s a good news/bad news situation, except you’ll probably have to wait ‘til tomorrow for the bad as I’m pissed.

“Alcohol is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life.” - George Bernard Shaw

Dad came out of hospital today. It’s a great feeling of relief, I know! Mum picked him up on her way over here as I had an appointment at the BRI. He stayed here, which was fortunate as the electrician turned up to install my new shower. Proper hot water. Mmmmmmmm…

Also my duck T-shirt arrived:


You’d have thought all this happening on the same day would have tipped me off…

Or…
…silence… I kill you!

“When you laugh at things they are no longer dangerous.” - Raymond Devos

‘Achmed, the dead terrorist’ was mentioned on the Gorum, so I had to have a look. I know it’s a personification of a stereotypical view and it represents the negative extremity of our age in a twisted fashion, blah blah blah…I just think it’s amusing, oh and I agree with the view that humour is the antidote to such memetic tumours as extremism. Check it out:



On a more serious note, the Humanist association are folling up the ‘Probably no god’ bus campaign with similar fonted billboards:



The bus campaign was labelled as too aggressive, by some. Although I don’t agree, I can see how a softer approach such as this would be harder to argue with. I’ve had discussions of how the atheist message can be deemed argumentative or ‘annoying’ due to its disruption of the status quo. My point was of past parallels. Anyway, I think this message is particularly good as it subtly attacks the crucial absurdity of cross-generational infection. :)

Or…
…the family conspiracy to bring down the NHS continues...

Slightly bad news.

Dad was taken into hospital with chest pains of Friday. They had to put a stent in his heart, through his leg. Mum took my brother and me in to see him on Sunday, the irony being that last time he was visiting me on the cardiac ward (It’s probably not related in cause). He looked okay when I was there but apparently he’ll be in til the end of the week.

Between me, Mum, Dad, Grandpa, Aunt and cousin, we’re giving the NHS a good thrashing ;)

Or…
…and the results are in .

Here’s the results of New Scientist’s Darwin Now competition in which we had to suggest ways that animals would evolve in response to human pressures. Most entries went with cuteification, as we all how bleeding-heart-conservationists prefer to save cute creatures. The winner was the hagfish which will evolve the ability to play with a piece of string! :S

Beats my boring generic entry:

In present circumstances, humans are engaging in conservation of endangered species. Considering many people's preference for the cute, cold-blooded killing cat over the efficient and merciful spider, selection pressure will soon favour the most endearing, mentally disarming features such as a sad face, warm fur and a friendly cry.

There’s a lesson to be learnt here…

Or…
…why is my immune system so fucking shit?

Ill again. It’s just a medium-sized cold that I picked up over the weekend and I’m fairly sure who from. The upshot is, I’ve been feeling bad and I’ve already had to cancel a few things. :(

Or…
… knowledge in a new direction.

“The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as long as we live.”- Mortimer Adler.

Somewhat contradicting the last entry is the new module of my course that I started last week. Still at level 1, it’s only worth 10 points, but it’s more relevant to the psychological aspect of the BA. There are only three assignments for this course but I need to do unmarked reviews on my learning, or some bollocks like that. See the to-do list below.

I haven’t heard about my last course yet…

To-do List
Learning Plan
TMA1
TMA2
ECA
Learning review
Tax forms
Ankle specialist
Replace phone
Donate top box
Writing definitions list
Sort magazine back issues
Decking
Christmas prezzies
Book writing

Or…
…trolling is not a fair substitute for having a life .



There’s a reason for the lack of recent subjective entries, on a public setting. That is that I don’t seem to be doing much novelty wise. I spend a lot of my time online, Facebook and the Gorum mostly. That’s the source of the trolling comment. Sundays I have dinner at the ‘rents and Wednesdays I have Paul’s Place. I will have something unusual to report this weekend; we’re off to Blackpool with Paul’s Place. Rawr!

Bit worried about these tax forms I’ve finally done for my PA work.

I’ve also become rather addicted to another game. No wonder I never get anything done. 8|


Finally, my T-shirts from splitreason.com and itiswhatitis.co.uk/ both arrived today!

Or…
…legends and all that shite .



I just finished reading Emphyrio by Jack Vance.

I enjoyed it. This was a detailed and intelligent read, which used plentiful complex language and ideas to convey the world, indeed, worlds within. I’m slightly troubled? Bemused? Interested? At the use of regression within the societies, it fits in with the story of the protagonist planet, here, but the contrast in others wasn’t so obvious.

I think the story says a lot about myths and legends and there were a few plot twists in relation; some expected, some more surprising but probable given the distant future setting.

8/10

Or…
…who wants £150, then?

I’ve recently received my Ambassador voucher from Vision Express. If you’re interested in getting your eyes lasered give me a shout and you can have £150 off. Details can be found here.

Or…
…circumventing the paradox.

“Difficulties are things that show a person what they are.” - Epictetus.

Horizon’s latest offering ‘Fix me’ has left me with a bit of a quandary. These kind of things put me beyond ambivalence. I'm fascinated at what science is now doing, sceptical about the outcome. Hopeful about imminence conveyed, really annoyed about what those fucking Asian 'clinics' are doing and somewhat contemptuous of some people's opinions. I'm a bit excited too.

There are all the usual questions and more buzzing around in my head, such as the social and medical questions and that of identity. As said in the program, stem cells have the potential to correct the problem, not merely treat the symptoms. Ataxia poses a relation to all three of the subjects, so it’s very relevant and change to my life when this becomes generally available will be extreme. I don’t feel any infringement to my identity without Ataxia, even so, but why now do I feel apprehensive?

I’ve said before about comfort zones.

It’s a relevant topic for the GM industry too. The first generation of GM foodstuffs limited gains to the producers. Now health benefits are being added within new products. Omega-3 is one such example. Soya has been engineered to produce it, so it will ultimately save lives, but it will also relax pressure on fish stocks, the only current source. How can the hippies argue against this?

Progress is good. We need to embrace change. With lifespans increasing and rates of nascent technologies appearing and altering our lives, we can all be certain to encounter and endorse things much stranger and different than these.

Or…
…Milestones, driving and psycho chickens.



Dad was 60 at the beginning of the month, so we all went out for a meal at Hinton Charterhouse. Yesterday was the first time since then we could get everyone together since the 1st. Mum was going on about having all her chickens home, as she does. Philip, Suzie and I clubbed together to get him one of those expensive driving experience things (Aston Martin, who’s he? :P) Dad can now get a free bus pass too!

Side note: Not much else going on this Halloween. I lead a dull life. I may venture down the pub, later.

Or…
…newfags can’t TriDuck.

.

The concept has been inspired by 4chan. The main TriDuck pic is here.

Unrelated, but I was amused by the finding that well-endowed ducks are less susceptible to bird-flu. :D

Or…
…down with this sort of thing, careful now!

There have been a few semi-related incidents of late. I seem to be a bit behind everyone else in giving my opinion (for a change). There have been a few stories on the news, websites an d the Gorum in relation so I thought I should give my stance.

1) The Daily ‘Hate’Mail. Last week, before their latest rant kicked off I was slating them on another blog (jordan179) for the false impression they convey about this country, ie that we’re on the verge of anarchy due to being overrun by paedo, skiving illegal immigrants. Here’s b3ta’s challenge last year.
2) The latest rant was a blatantly homophobic article by Jan Moir about the singer Stephen Gately. See here. Although careful to avoid any definitive wording the implication is clear. I agree with this.
3) The BNP. Bunch of genuine Nazis whose leader, Nick Gryfin, appeared on Question Time in the name of ‘balance’. See here. I thought this was an inspired move by the BBC; everyone would get to hear their venomous policies and find out what a horrible little cunt Griffin is. No. They had to set up a pathetic lynch mob so everyone else looked as bad as, or worse, than him.
4) The Royal mail. Well, the strikers. I’m sure the millions unemployed in the current recession would love your jobs ‘terrible conditions’ and all. The demands are quite unrealistic.

Or…
…itinerant life is itinerant.,



I’ve been relatively busy lately. There’ve been the Ataxia things; the conference and faerie stuff I already said about (Don’t think I mentioned we raised £411 that day). Since then the branch met in Tiverton for a meal and to discuss next year’s stuff. Steve and I went to see Jimmy Carr at the Colston hall; he’s a bit of a cunt, really, but I’m gonna steal that ‘Cabbage Patch’ reference.

Also I’ve been to the cinema* a few times, it’s great that Yate now has a few accessible bus routes. I can go into Bristol whenever I want! Good news for shopping and cinema. It’s been ages since I’ve done a film list! In order of preference:
Seven Pounds
Creation*
The chaser
Mad detective
The international
Pandorum*
Things we lost in the fire
Until the end of the world
Rec
Ice age 3*
He’s just not that into you
Anamorph
Meet the Spartans
Conspiracy
London in the raw

What else? Oh yeah, the OT visit/Physiotherapy thing. What a waste of time. The lady asked some questions, took measurements and such. I’ve now read her report, which is quite depressing and is full of stupid ideas. There is one marginally sensible one but I don’t know how financially viable it’ll be. It’s got them off my back for a year, though.

Talktalk sent me a letter telling me off for exceeding my download limits. Too much porn methinks. :S

Finally, I seem to have become slightly addicted to a game on facebook called Blockade. It’s not my fault! It’s a beautiful concept!

Pub now.

Or…
…an explanation of consciousness.



A few days ago I finished reading Out of our heads by Alva Noe. I chose it because I thought it would be an interesting balance to the book I read recently, the birth of the mind, which is very much in favour of a brain-centric mind. It is a view that I subscribe to, but I went into this with an open mind (sorry, that was awful).

Unfortunately I hadn’t even finished the introduction before I came across my first grievance: It concerned the central maxim, that the reason a century of brain research his brought us no closer to understanding the human mind is because we are looking in the wrong place. There are other reasons, including the idea the mind has no physical presence and it is the effects we need to look for. Then there’s the fallacy that we haven’t made progress (see below).

I have a real problem about how he presents his evidence; there’s no bibliography only a linked notes section. The arguments he puts forward are circumstantial, or worse, anecdotal: “When my son and I were in Germany…” I shit you not. One of the best allusions is to the Fusiform Face Area (FFA), which plays a part in facial recognition. It’s in the brain, which opposes his argument!

There are some other bits of information, some explanation of the theory of mind and the 1981 Nobel about processing visual information, but does a blind person have anything less of a consciousness than someone who can see? There’s also an entire chapter devoted the rather irrelevant subject of habit. I think ultimately the idea stems from personal incredulity on Noe’s part and a misapplication of the Heidiggerian concept of ‘Dasein’.

It’s a very woolly idea, which hasn’t convinced me.

3/10

There was an article in New Scientist about out-of-body-experiences and the brain. Ironically it was called ‘Out of your head'. It describes how stimulation of the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) of the brain can induce an out-of-body conscious experience. Things like this and even the correlation of brain activity and thought under an MRI, disprove Noe’s lack-of-progress claim.

Or…
…the never-ending to-do list.


I don’t think I’ll ever have ‘nothing’ to do, or if I do, I’d welcome a big kick up the arse to find something to pursue. I feel I must say that some of the older tasks on my list, are being slowly dealt with. I have the top box advertised at Paul’s Place, and of the magazine back issues I’ve read my entire Interzone, and New Scientists. Only Bizarre to go. They haven’t been a priority.

Talking of, I got my TMA5 back: 61%. Hmmmz. Also at the start of the month I posted off my final TMA for the module. No reply yet, but it definitely pass-worthy, I just hope it wasn’t lost in the postal backlog. The next module starts in November.

To-do List
Doctor Appointment
Change prescription
A4e
Arrange trains
Opticians
Ankle specialist
Replace phone
Donate top box
Transfer writing notes
Writing definitions list
Sort magazine back issues
Decking
Christmas prezzies
Book writing

Or…
…thinking is so easily dismissed.

“Necessity is the mother of invention.” - Plato.

After my blog about reversible climate change and the Eocine there’s this article in New Scientist saying more or less the same thing, although there is a killjoy alternate of a Venus-type effect. I know which I’d prefer. :P On a related note, the mag just finished a four issue special entitled ‘Blueprint for a better world’. Amongst the artiles on population, ideas and technology is this, technological solutions. I’ve always said our salvation comes from our invention and not hippy crap like sharing bathwater and turning your tv off standby. >I’m not alone, specifically here it’s about food production. One thing that wasn’t covered was the potential for off-world colonisation…

In other news, it is the time of year that the Nobels are announced. Something talked about a lot is Obama winning the peace prize. There were over a hundred nominations for this. I know he’s not Bush, but that doesn’t qualify him for an award. I get the feeling it’s the latest salvo in the internal war of ideologies. If I was Obama I would have returned it saying I hadn’t earned it (yet). Points scored for humility AND realism. Oh well, the peace prize is the furthest from science, as Nobel intended.

I’m in the camp that says the categories need to be modernised. See here. A fine example of the argument that modern fields fall between the gap is here. I think the work identifying and researching telomeres is extremely worthy of recognition, but it’s a bit of a stretch to call it medicine. The only disagreement I have with the new prizes proposed is the idea of biodiversity. It seems to me a bit of a quirk, a fashionable idea at present, outside the boundaries of science. They replied no to a change, by the way. Boo.

Proving there is some humour in science, this year’s IG Nobels were also announced.

Or…
…back to reality.

So yeah, I tend to get ahead of myself. Leap before I look. That sort of thing. In this case I am prematurely optimistic about the HDAC inhibitors. The trials which will HOPEFULLY start next year, will be phase I only, it’ll be a couple of years until they start measuring effects in Ataxians with double blind trials IF ALL GOES WELL. Then I don’t know what effect it’ll have, certainly none on my ankles. I’m going back to see the specialist about them…we’ll see what happens.

Anyway, the conference; it was in Manchester this year. Further up north and the ‘rents had work, so I got Steve my PA to drive me, way cheaper than by train. I only took a few pics, and they aren’t as snazzy as the professional ones I borrowed last year:


My view of the stage.


Pics from the evening; dinner and occasional dancing (Here annoying Tina).

I don't like it when someone asks if I have a girlfriend and on hearing me saying no, they act all surprised, saying stupid things like how I should be beating them off with sticks (snigger) It sounds like a compliment but it makes me wonder what the fuck I'm doing wrong (Although it’s normally people who don't know me very well. Small hint).

For example the DJ at the Saturday night disco. We were chatting outside and we had the above conversation. Anyway, a little later between songs he announced to the room I was looking for a girlfriend. :o Git. I was desperately trying to hide under the palms of my hands. On a positive note I did get some kisses from very attractive ladies. Not quite sure if this is win, though.

Overall, a little more moderation in my optimism please.

Or…
…somewhat lacking motivation.



Duckie was inspired by this random chat-up line I found whilst browsing, yesterday:
I wish I was a Helicase so i could unzip your genes.