Auckland/Conference, Overlander and Palmerston North

[tcpip]

Spent three days at Auckland for the Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy and gave my paper on Lying in Politics Revisited (draft). Seemed well received with third parties telling me it had attracted some interest. Was particularly pleased with recommended further readings in the psychology of moral disengagement and for further elaboration on strategic action. Was also impressed with Paul Miller's (ANU) paper on "The Ambiguity of Freedom" which argued for freedom to be understood as a process and a relationship rather than the traditional model of sovereignty and, continuing on the theme, Matheson Russell's paper on Hannah Arendt's intersubjective concept of freedom and agency. Also managed to meet up and had a great yarn with James Flowers of Redbrick, current publishers of the Earthdawn and Blue Planet roleplaying systems. Managed to miss the entire third day of the conference following drinks with James, then drinks at the conference dinner, and then drinks at a club afterwards!

Took the Overlander down to Palmerston North, which is the first time I'd made that journey by train and was very pleased to do so. It was quite a feat of engineering to have a trainline, requiring flat and straight tracks, through a land famous for hills, valleys and bends. Staying in Palmerston North for a few days to visit mother and brothers was pleasant, very relaxing but quite unexciting. There is only so much small-town gossip I can handle before my eyes glaze over; lengthy stories of who married who, where they live, what their home is like, and what their relationship is with other members of the community. There is no discussion of great ideas, and little of great events (hat-tip to Elanor Roosevelt). Although well-meaning people, an ignorance of worldly affairs leaves me wondering how people derive meaning and satisfaction from vicarious trivialities.

Anyway, I'm now in Wellington at Geekmansion with beagl and kimeros. I can see how one could spend entire days in conversation and/or coding looking over Evans Bay to Mount Victoria. Beautiful.

Comments

[tatjna.livejournal.com]

Woo hoo for you being at the Geek Mansion!

(it's lovely)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Most certainly... Geek Mansion is one of the best locales in Wellington..

Am I going to see you during this brief visit?

[tatjna.livejournal.com]

I would hope so. How long are you around for? Will you be celebrating the post-apocalypse on Saturday?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Alas, I leave Saturday afternoon... So it's either this eve, tomorrow or Saturday morn..

[tatjna.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I may have to wangle a visit to the Mansion.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Or, apparently, beers at JJ's on Cuba St later this afternoon (see Munden's comments below)

[tatjna.livejournal.com]

I'm actually going to be at Murphy's this afternoon on another appointment, so there's a good chance I'll see you there. ;-)

[allyn.livejournal.com]

twas lovely to make your acquaintance

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Likewise! What a great night!

[mundens.livejournal.com]

Welcome to Wellington Lev!
That's my son programming AI in the corner. :)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Oh! Oh! Now it all makes sense!

I tried to call you a couple of hours ago... If you have the Earthdawn set on you I'll pick it up tonight, either at JJs or curry? :)

[mundens.livejournal.com]

Yeah sorry, got your message, but have been in a lot of meetings today.

JJ's or curry should be fine, otherwise I'm in town until normal work closing Friday.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

OK, JJ's it is then. IIRC the Geek Mansion crew will be at curry as well :)

[madame-mage.livejournal.com]

AWESOME paper you wrote, I must say tho, if Bush was tried for War Crimes and impeached while in office, the vice president Dick Chenney would have stepped up to fill the vacancy left by Bush, NO one in their right mind in this country ever wanted that to happen, he's an evil bastard. So this was a deal-with-the-lessor-of-the-two-evils situation.

Im amused that our gov't under Repug rule thought the American people wouldn't get a hint about what was going on, The horrible tragic event of 9/11 around the time Bush's approval ratings were slipping, boosted him well into the spotlight. By god by golly yippiee ki ay this heah cowboy was gonna git him some terrorists and score some oil in the process..

Facepalm*

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Well, it's not that awesome yet I still have to patch it up into a publishable form..

Of course it does seem surprising that the Bush/Cheney government didn't realise how quickly people caught on to what was happening. Yes, they must have expected some negative press but the rate at which opinion changed certainly has much to do with the ability of online communications to provide information with multiple sources of verification (and hooray for quality institutions like google scholar and wikipedia).

On the other side of the coin, it does seem that to a large extent however the lessons of how effective industrial and direct action can be has largely been forgotten. Enraged citizenry serves no purpose except for an ulcer if that justifiable rage is not directed in an effective manner.

[madame-mage.livejournal.com]

Heh..*starts to laugh* indeed! Enraged Citizenry here up to their necks with the Bush years, showed their ire and their support for the Democrats by electing Obama. Even Republicans who'd decided they had enough chose the Democratic party and lent their time and support. Every majour newspaper in the country here endorsed Obama, it was incredible. to my mind this was a creative solution and not just energy fizzling out..Gone are the coffee shop politics and the shrugging of the shoulders of what-else-are-we-to-do?

[amazinggoatgirl.livejournal.com]

I think they did realize how quick people were catching on, it's just that for a couple of years there, they created an environment in which bringing it up was completely socially unacceptable. The only thing you could do until about 2003 was furtively preach to the choir or have rocks thrown at you (figuratively or literally) and worry about which watch lists you were on.

I recall on Sept. 12, 2001 at my high school, someone said something to the effect of, "Wait, we're going to start a war over this now? How could that possibly be productive?" and he got his nose broken. Sure, he was a Muslim, but still... I admit I avoided it at least until 2002.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Although well-meaning people, an ignorance of worldly affairs leaves me wondering how people derive meaning and satisfaction from vicarious trivialities.

Just because their world is smaller it is no less real, and the dispute over Farmer Footrot's cows is no less important than the dispute over rulership of Iraq (albeit Farmer Footrot's shotgun is trumped by the US nuclear arsenal).

We make meaning where we find it.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

It's not the scale of issues that concern me. It's the content.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Are they happy? Any less happy? What does it matter?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Does it matter that Hagar The Horrible is more widely read than the Poetic and Prose Edda? That people can recite every football premiership for the past ten years but cannot name the head of state of ten countries?

Indeed, you pose the right questions. What does matter? And what is happiness?

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Does it matter that Hagar The Horrible is more widely read than the Poetic and Prose Edda?

Is the latter Tolkien? :P
The answer is yes, then no.

That people can recite every football premiership for the past ten years but cannot name the head of state of ten countries?

Some days I would be enraged, on other days I can't recall the name of the King of Tonga.

Indeed, you pose the right questions. What does matter? And what is happiness?

I think people like you and I worry about Zimbabwe and Darfur enough so others can worry about the death of Harold on Neighbours. Of course, I think Harold should go to Zim as a missionary. :)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

That would make a good fifth column.

Harold goes to Zimbabwe and people who watch Neighbours suddenly become concerned and involved with the issue.

Imagine if such soaps didn't deal with.. well, whatever issues that they do deal with - I speak entirely from ignorance on this matter having never watched an episode of Neighbours. I can only presume there is a character called 'Harold'.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

I can only presume there is a character called 'Harold'.

Harold has been in the show (despite a brief hiatus in the 1990s when he was dead) since the 1980s. He was married to Madge.

He is a good Christian, appears to be dying of cancer, and may be gay.
He'd be ideal to head off to Zim. I should write to the Neighbours producers. It'd lift the show above Home and Away. I believe there may be another killer in Summer Bay.

I don't watch either, but I know enough to work these things out.

[axver.livejournal.com]

'It was quite a feat of engineering to have a trainline, requiring flat and straight tracks, through a land famous for hills, valleys and bends.'

To put it mildly. What has always impressed me the most about the line is not the Raurimu Spiral itself, but the fact that the guy who designed it, R. W. Holmes, visualised the whole thing simply in his imagination, despite the inability to see it all from one location and the poor quality of surveys at the time. The damn thing's ingenious and the alternate route isn't even worth thinking about - it would've been a spectacular ride, but nobody wants to build something with nine viaducts.

In any case, consider me jealous. I'm pretty sure the only part of that trip I've done is Palmerston North to Taihape, on a steam excursion when I was little.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.. I'm going to have to get the little history book I grabbed on the journey and do more reading. If it isn't mentioned, that ability at mental images of RW Holmes should certainly deserve a mention, although I understand in some mathematicians and engineers it is not uncommon to have such clarity. IIRC Roger Penrose visualises numbers as shapes with a great degree of consistency and accuracy.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Ah yes.. Holmes is mentioned in reference to the spiral with a rather good aerial shot which gives a great indication of the sort of mental map he would have drawn to get it to work..