State Elections, Jolly Socialists, Alpha Micro Operating System

[tcpip]

There has been some elections in Australia recently, in South Australia and Tasmania. In the former, the Labor government has been returned for a third term, albeit with a significant swing against the government. As a result it seems that the Rann government has lost only two seats, despite only receiving 48.5% of TPP - how? Because the swing was non-uniform. In safe Labor seats it was, on average, over 10%, and even in marginal Liberal seats it was almost 9%, but in marginal Labor seats it was a mere 1.6%. In Tasmania, it looks like a hung parliament with a massive 12% swing against the sitting Labor government (split 7% to the Liberals, 4% Greens, 1% other). With their multi-member, proportional representation system counting is still going, but looks like Labor 10, Liberal 9, Greens 4, and independent Andrew Wilkie picking up 1. Sitting Premier David Bartlett is a bloody idiot who is seems prepared to give up government rather than deal with the Greens. So whilst Labor seems to have been returned in both states, it should be a clarion call for other state parties to get their act together and, in particular, work closely with the rising power of the Greens.

On Saturday went to a Socialist Party educational meeting, the sort of thing I hadn't been to for years. It was pretty much orthodox Marxism, and I really should have expected that. As a post/ex-Marxist trouble-maker, I initiated a bit of debate by proposing pragmatisim against materialism in the first session, pointed out the economic calculation problem in the second, and following Luxemburg's dialectic contra-Lenin's "vanguard party" approach in the third. It was particularly interesting that as a nominally Trotskyist party, the Socialist Party seemed unaware that Trotsky supported market relations over all-encompassing plans: Economic accounting is unthinkable without market relations., he wrote. The following day the chief member of the Melbourne branch and Yarra City Councillor, Steve Jolly, was (purely coincidentally) speaking at the Melbourne Unitarian Church about those experiences and the social problems of that area. I took the opportunity to raise with him the idea of the social and economic superiority of site rating for rates, rather than capital improved or net annual value - he has asked me to correspond further on that issue.

On a completely non-related topic many years ago I used to own an Alpha Micro AM-100, passed on from jamesmcparlane. It was a pride and joy for many years being the first computer that I personally owned (yes, I started with a multiuser minicomputer - fate really). I used its version of Pascal to hand in my assignments for Principles of Computer Science (heh, now Java-based) - on paper, as the Control Data 14" metal platter "Hawk" drives would be somewhat inappropriate. Anyway, all this history because some clever puppy has brought out an Alpha Micro Operating System emulator along with scans of plenty of old manuals. It's been quite fun playing around with this emulator, although I do wish I still had my old programs! Such is the joy of "computer archeology".

Comments

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

I think Principles of Computer Science was Pascal the year I did it too, I think for the last year (Intro was BASIC)

It was something between Pascal and Java but it is too early for my brain to remember what.

Since I'd already done TEE computing in Pascal it didn't require a huge deal of learning.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Yes, for some unknown reason I never did Intro.

Pascal and Java have quite a few differences in syntax and orientation.

For a while Murdoch's computer science programme was fond of an in-between language called Modula-2, also designed by Wirth. I remember using it in Computer Architecture, or rather, using the PDP-8 emulator that was written in that language.

Since I'd already done TEE computing in Pascal it didn't require a huge deal of learning.

It is a point of my life that I still sometimes kick myself over; in Year 10 I did computing and, perhaps not surprisingly, I did very well in it. For some reason my adolescent brain decided not to take it as a course in Year 11 and 12. Instead I did physics and chemistry, both of which I was quite average at.

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

Was it a TEE course when you went through? I think I was one of the early ones. Mind you as a science geek I did computing, physics, chemistry, Math II and III and English lit (in case I decided I wanted to go to UWA which I didn't). No one mentioned I could take the English Exam which is a shame as it was only my English lit score (exam not term) that drew my score down a bit.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Well, when I sat the equivalent exams (TAE, 1985), the TEE didn't exist! But Computer Science certainly was an option. I sat the History and Ancient History exams without taking the courses. Maybe I should have done that with Computer Science as well.

The final courses I did were Politics, Accounting, Mathematics I, Chemistry (I should have done Physical Chemistry), English Expression (I should have done English Literature), History and Ancient History. There was also a little creature called a scaling test, which was worth a handful of marks and was made mostly of logic problems. IIRC it was my highest grade!

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the Scaling test was my best score as well. Finished early too.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

So they kept it? Well, that's good news. I think general logic problems are pretty important...

In the above list I (somehow!) managed to leave out Economics...

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

Well, they had it in my year, but then I don't think I was that many years behind you.

[lokicarbis.livejournal.com]

Alternately, it may be interpreted as a clarion call for Labor and Liberal to work closely together against the rising power of the Greens. Which at least would hopefully end those ridiculous campaigns where each of the two majors tries to convince people that the Greens are allied to the other one...

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

That is not implausible; certainly there are overseas examples of such a coalition (e.g., the Grand Coalition in Germany to keep Die Linke out of office, likewise in the Netherlands to prevent the Socialist Party etc). Nevertheless, it would be extremely unusual in Australian conditions - indeed a Labor-National coalition is even more likely (such as recently was the case in South Australia with the sole NP member being a minister in the Labor government).

thanks

[shannonkringen.livejournal.com]

it's nice to meet someone like you here with simillar views as mine and who is polite when sharing about them...and i get the feeling you have respect for people who don't agree with you and don't play games of one up, one down etc.

just wanted to say hi and thanks for the add. i added you back!

-shannon

Re: thanks

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

It was good to read your posts and comments as well; and likewise with the ability to respond to those who disagree with us (after all, we all disagree with everyone else on something).