tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85198595505056728442024-02-20T02:03:43.164-08:00Rock and Poll(ution)This is where it gets a bit sciencey - the entries will hopefully be environmentally-based as much as possible, and where I can't 'do what I do best' then I'll 'link you to the rest'.
The truth is within here. Watch this space...'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-84011610857609249482010-10-10T22:48:00.000-07:002010-10-10T22:52:50.907-07:00Why aren’t we Hungary for science?<p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Following what could be the most substantial environmental disaster for the next decade, why weren’t the papers quick to pick up on its potential effects or, more importantly, its actual fallout? Politics, probably.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Less than a week ago a reservoir in Hungary, not too close to the capital Budapest, which contained a huge amount of toxic material, burst its banks and spread across the western part of the country. The coverage didn’t focus too heavily on the damage that was done (4 dead within a few minutes), but more the graphic pictures of a red-sludge covered countryside, because that’s eerie and something that people here could grasp as we too have fields that have been flooded when rivers burst their banks, and that the deluge may reach the Danube and accordingly affect other countries.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">The other countries, though, were not in Western Europe, as the Danube doesn’t flow that way from Hungary, and the material didn’t flow directly into the river as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsurface_flow">subsurface flow</a>, through the soil over a long period of time, as is most common, would be the manner in which more of the toxic stuff will begin to poison fishes. (Fish have already been falling out of the tributaries, but they don't have a big fishing industry in Hungary so it's not a big issue, despite being one of the few things that people immediately visualise after these sorts of disasters. Their farming, however, will be seriously troubled as the soil is unlikely to be able to produce much over the next few years.)</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">That’s not to say that the coverage was perhaps insignificant; page 31 in the Metro and page 35 in the Daily Mail, for example, on Friday was exactly what you might expect of it. However, given that Hungary will require a lot of investment from the EU to cover the costs of the damage, one would have thought the Mail in particular would have bumped it up the agenda. </span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">But it coincided, unfortunately, with some major domestic politics (it was Party Conference fortnight), some miners in Chile finally getting their escape tunnel built, the Commonwealth Games and, perhaps more importantly, X-Factor and the hot topic of Gamu’s potential deportation. I can guarantee you that in ten years time this Hungary thing will still be an issue, at least for more people than will have been affected by the other things.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Is it because we don’t want to hear about science at the moment? We’re as interested as ever, and it’s the Royal Society’s 350<sup>th</sup> anniversary, we had the Nobel prizes this week (3 British-based winners), Kew Gardens is producing a definitive guide to the world’s plants, institutes across the globe are collaborating to survey the ocean species and we continue to strive for the ultimate ‘make me better without giving me an erection...necessarily’ pill. But these are not going to take the front page. Instead, thanks to The Times, the science we have spread across our papers is more about cuts to scientific research.</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">But no one hears about the research. Either the media’s not deeming it ‘in the public interest’ ahead of stories involving celebrities and their viewpoints on shoes, or the scientists aren’t selling their findings well enough. Perhaps that’s just because no one’s doing anything exciting. And, at the end of the day, when the media is there to make money as much as it is to get the crux of the story, if the truth is boring then why will people buy into it? </span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"></span> </p><p style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">'McGuinness</span></p>'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-19649707496086107712010-09-28T08:26:00.000-07:002010-09-28T09:08:50.963-07:00Indian Vegetables (not just the officials in Delhi) - Comment(Most of what follows, and what preceded it, is likely to have been sourced from the BBC website.)<br /><br />In an age where the climate change is not the next big thing, it has been and has since become probably the most heated (excuse the pun) debate among scientists, the media and the ubiquitous 'man-on-the-street'.<br /><br />So with a worldwide decline in bee populations, noted in India in the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11418033">Science and Environment section</a> of today's updates, I would personally like to know what links there are to climate change, if any. It could well be symptomatic of Jerry Seinfeld's famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_Movie">'Bee Movie'</a>, where mid-way through the film the bees defeat humans in court, claim back their stocks of honey and subsequently no longer need to work, so pollination of plants doesn't take place and the world slowly dies. I somehow think there may be a 'better' explanation.<br /><br />Drop 'Bee decline climate change' into Google and you'll immediately come to the Wired website. Yet phrases such as 'climate change may be to blame' and later 'the exact explanation has continued to stump scientists' retain an air of mystery that helps no one pinpoint anything closer than mere speculation. Which, luckily for you guys, is about all I'll be good for at the moment!<br /><br />How anyone worked out that pollination is worth £141bn globally (£200m in the UK in 2009) is fascinating, but that's by-the-by. Not only is climate blamed, but more efficient methods of farming too, which have ironically removed many of the flowers from fields which would traditionally be useful for pollination. No doubt GM crops will have to take some stick, especially from HRH Prince Charles and his cohorts, while perhaps those foreign, disease-ridden bees who travel around the world like gypsies, stealing pollen from those who have used it for years and leaving the environment in tatters, may have to be extradited back to where they came from. If indeed they could be found.<br /><br />Yet those bees are in demand, and much like cheap labour, they're necessary for the economy to buck its current trend across the globe. If they're fit and able to pollinate, let them run free. Sure, it's a travesty that grey squirrels out-competed the red ones here in the UK for the most part, but it's survival of the fittest, and if we're to remain the dominant force in the food chain then there needs to be food below us! Hence any bees will do.<br /><br />There is, of course, the chance on some minute level that non-pollination may come back to enhance the effects of climate change by leading to crop failures, release of carbon and not removing it from the atmosphere. Though perhaps far-fetched, it cannot be ruled out and accordingly there'll inevitably be studies into pollination-linked deforestation, particularly in areas where aggriculture and cultivation are so prominent.<br /><br />This doesn't get us any closer to the answers, though. Bees are dying, the seas are losing more fish stocks every day (although that one can be blamed partly on commerce), the deserts are encroaching ever further onto the once-fertile plains around their fringes, the sun's getting hotter, the seas are getting choppier...everything that could go wrong is doing just that.<br /><br />But help is on its way - perhaps we can simply <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21902036/">suck the CO2 out of the air </a>.<br /><br />It's not an outrageous idea, and provided it is fuelled responsibly and doesn't cause more harm than good, should we consider looking into it as a possible future alternative? Much like the episode of Futurama where they fire a giant meteor of garbage into space to rid the world of its waste, perhaps there's a lot of vacuuming (and vacuum-filling) to be done.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-63610435521135214322010-09-23T09:48:00.001-07:002010-09-23T10:01:04.802-07:00This is Science(Should that be with or without a capital letter? Discuss.)<br /><br />So in a change from what I may have previously brought you, this blog shall now divert weirdly into the socially questionable, and probably factually dubious, updates on science in the media, or perhaps something more - how it should be portrayed.<br /><br />I'll set out from the start: I have only just started my course here in the MA Science Journalism at City University London, so possess no great claim to know what I will likely cover in any more detail than the sources from which I aggregate the information. Additionally, if you're looking for someone to offer something opinionated on the subject then I fancy those days are now behind me, in the quest to become a better, streamlined, more professional supplier of information.<br /><br />And that's all I plan to do; give the science I see to the people who want to see it, without any further investigation unless it is absolutely warranted. Many may well discuss the irresponsibility of some media in which controversial topics become marred in simply that, but not necessarily covering the public's desire to read the stories. In the current culture it is apparent that doom and gloom, while perhaps not promising for the advancement of society, is what people depressingly care about reading. Cynicism is healthy, though many people actually feel empowered by not believing everything they read in the press - accordingly, if reporting can be managed without any immediately damaging or distressing side-effects, the patience (if afforded) by the consumer will benefit them.<br /><br />I'm no academic but it'd be rich to suggest I know what people want to hear about. I'm more consumer than provider, and for a good while I'll be in front of the page rather than behind the story, but in time I hope this will change and I can bring my legions of follower to think similarly.<br /><br />The aim - to acquire the skills to help me bring more of the truth to light in the public eye.<br /><br />The fall-back option - get most of the skills and contacts and get into journalism, with the hope to one day start exerting any shred of influence.<br /><br />The inevitability - pass shorthand, be okay with most of the technical stuff, try to get a job in a large production company and play the game, hoping to one day win the lottery or get picked up by someone's rich and well-connected parent.<br /><br />This is Science, I think.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-61890862679805164182010-08-19T13:08:00.000-07:002010-08-19T13:31:45.899-07:00The onset of m'lazeI don't go so long between blog entries on purpose. I don't think it adds anything to only update once a month, it's just I have for so often sought to find something else in my life. This isn't because the last one became a diary, a place for my thoughts which started to alienate me from the world, began to remove me from living with people who existed beyond words alone. But that could be a good reason all the same.<br /><br />We'll find out whether I can still use those words for good; I've found limited necessity to be creative over the last three months as not only have I no academic work to currently occupy myself, but only a handful of match reports for baseball and no press for QMessenger to be getting on with. I trust this is a period that'll pass.<br /><br />In the meantime I have come to understand how much of an effort everything can be, provided that you fall into the trap of supposed reality.<br /><br />When I first started working for the Students' Union I used to finish my jobs immediately and get on with doing the post rounds as well, extending further to go to the other side of campus on an almost daily-basis. However, something stopped me continuing this. Maybe it was the introduction of the new Sabbs, with whom I didn't wish to miss a beat, or perhaps it was that I felt as though my role didn't extend to that, or perhaps, and more likely, it's because the effort I was putting in wasn't seen to be matched whole-heartedly (and this is merely my interpretation rather than a truth, a reality or statement of fact) that subconsciously had a knock-on effect.<br /><br />Perhaps it was taking on the responsibilities outside of work, such as the baseball club, which required a substantial increase in time, effort and resources to continue its success (we have somehow made the playoffs now), perhaps it was the extension of my contract (I had initially looked at the brief time I had left and made the most of it, but since I will be here another six weeks and the position is being replaced by another staffer I see less importance, that my legacy will be reduced or at least the work I'm doing will be continued and/or it will lead to that which I most detest), or perhaps it was understanding that life exists outside of the Students' Union (although it's less likely to be that). But something triggered to allow me to become complacent, to become more inclined to the easy option and, more poignantly, to become genuinely lazy.<br /><br />I don't do much thinking outside of what can be immediately applicable. When I'm in the shower I no longer drift towards the thoughts that haunted me before, about the existence of a life outside our mortal souls and of, somewhat surprisingly, helping those more in need than myself. But I barely think anything other than who I will need to contact to ensure the tasks I'm responsible go ahead. And then start an argument in my mind about where it will lead, so while I'm playing hypothetical mind-chess and getting clean on the outside, the drive, desire and essentially the one thing that defined me 18 months ago (my honest approach to ensuring that everyone I could help could put the weight of the world on my shoulders) has probably disappeared forever.<br /><br />I'm never on MSN Messenger anymore, something that I used to be on permanently, and I have flaked on plans and reduced the responsibility of arranging them. 2 years ago the notion was unfathomable. Now it's inevitable. Is it growing up?<br /><br />Surely if you do something every day for the entirity of your life, it's something you'll always be able to do. For example running for the bus, pulling all-nighters, drinking from a beer-bong without consequences. But the moment you forget is the moment you lose. Not because you battle against the onset of forgetfulness, energy and desire from the moment you start something, but because time will always catch up. And it's not something you can ever win. But, readers, you can always try to outrun it. Like the T-Rex in Jurrasic Park.<br /><br />I absolutely need to get excited for life again, and this may mean making a break of something to restore where I come from and understand where I want to go. Disgracefully I live to work at the moment; I've nothing to do during the week but offer everything I have to the SU. But I will find a reason to exist. And, more importantly, I'm going to find that one thing that I'll be able to do for the rest of my life. Not starting tomorrow. Starting now.<br /><br />Push-ups. I've never been able to do them, so now's the time to start. 10 a day. Go.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-22284269121770183582010-07-05T13:08:00.000-07:002010-07-05T13:33:09.293-07:00Breathe easy, big manMy clothes are tighter now than ever they've been. The restrictive nature of my growing body is matched only by the overly seasonal temperatures in which my fabrics appear to be washed and dried in during this current warm spell, and what may be comfort eating is in fact lazy nutrition.<br /><br />All in all I'm now verging on 14st, heavier than I've ever been in my life, but even that extra four or five pounds is having a tremendous impact on my knees and ankles as I run in to bowl or tumble on the floor to field the ball, or even as I hustle to first base to beat out a grounder to short.<br /><br />I should really keep a better grip on my health, as it is likely that my body will outlast my mind, yet at current pace one may collapse before the other, and my thoughts remain fairly well-conceived.<br /><br />Deanne and I are currently moving around a lot, which has pressured us into eating whenever we can. With only two evenings per week spent at the flat in Mile End, there's precious little fresh food and so I eat out of the cupboards and the freezers; fat and starch-heavy. At the weekends it is often ready-meals or take aways, which poses similar problems, as again there is only limited fresh food in fridges and as my parents' eating habits have been disrupted by my to-ing and fro-ing, so have their buying habits taken a hit and subsequently reduced healthy variety. That said, I have the chance to cook for myself but often neglect to do so, as I always seem to be in a rush nowadays.<br /><br />I only have one evening to myself, and over the past month I have tried to fill it with as many people as I can, knowing it won't be long until people disappear again or Deanne and I will be living far away from the norms of the East in the doldrums of the South West. Of London, anyway.<br /><br />And so I sit here, for the first time in about six weeks, alone without purpose on a Monday night, with no one to share my time with and no revising to be doing. If I were to presume to start my course now then it'd undermine the cost of the thing, so I want to be taught to get value for my money.<br /><br />What do you do with time? Think? Eat? (That one's been most popular so far) Clean? Desire? Dream? Sleep?<br /><br />I have half a mind to get stuck back into Robinson Crusoe (not like that) as I help him towards the end of his habitation on the island, but it's easier to stick on a film and watch the night flitter away.<br /><br />Society has never helped those with determination until they can manufacture an idea that saves other people time. Ironically, then, it's not worth even trying until I can devise a way to prevent myself wasting time creating something that will have been a waste of time to create, unless of course I can save the time I spend working on the thing by utilising it. And even then I break even, temporally at least, and hope to the mighty workings of fate itself that someone else will give it a value worthy of my time.<br /><br />And herein lies the problem. What worth is time if there's nothing to do with it? Nor anything to achieve by it? Or experience during its passing? What value is money without the time to spend it? What value are possessions without the time to use them? What value is company if it exists in a dimension you are unable to control or join with? What is the point?<br /><br />I have come to the conclusion, after many minutes of pondering such questions, that it is all about what you make of it. If I clean up then it is not in order to waste time, as in many ways it is deemed productive, but rather that it saves me the effort later when I may not have either the time or the inclination to bother with such trivial matters. If I choose to eat a well-prepared meal rather than a quick-fix to my ravenous body, then the provided the cause is fit for purpose then who should hold me accountable but myself, and it's likely that having already decided it was OK to act in such a way I'll probably fare favourably.<br /><br />So there are those who claim, or it is claimed of them, to be time-wasters, those who use, or eat, up that most precious of commodities. But who are they who call them such to judge? Have they weighed up all the factors, examined them against themselves, the mean, the average, the range, the mode, the other statistical variants upon which empiricism is based to decide at their response? Probably not, because it would be a waste of time.<br /><br />Think, dear reader, about the moments that have passed in the creation, distribution and interpretation of this entry. Am I a time-waster? Was it that my ill-prepared dinner allowed me the time to create this piece? Was it that my choices to live, work and play where I have laid my hat did afford me the opportunity to write this article? I ask only because I feel it is worth asking, and that the time taken to consider the answer may help you at a time when such matters are as pressing as the belt around my waist.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-84134941962937974612010-06-21T15:18:00.000-07:002010-06-21T15:30:55.628-07:00The comings and the goings and the fallings and the risingsGuys and girls<br /><br />It seems as though it's been forever since I last updated, and I guess in the world of blogging (the so-called 'blogosphere'), a month and a half is a long time. During that period a lot has happened, a lot has been said and a lot has been covered, so I'll try to briefly run through the various occurences.<br /><br />1) Wedding date set. Though we cannot necessarily afford to invite everyone we know, nor everyone we really care about and their plus-ones, we have taken a step towards permanently loving one another alone by booking the prestigious venue for Saturday 31st March, for around 3pm ceremony. Hopefully the sun'll be out so the place will be a little brighter. Save the day.<br /><br />2) Exams over - I got through all five exams without really hitting any apparent stride, and although results won't be out from this for another fortnight, I am confident that I'll have done enough to secure my position on my masters course for next year. I really need it.<br /><br />3) Eating out. Deanne and I went for dinner at our first Michelin Star restaurant last month as a joint birthday present. The food was sublime, and though we were absolutely smashed on two-for-one cocktails (working our way towards immortality on the wall of the bar, as well as a complimentary bottle of champagne), we really enjoyed the occasion. Plus tomorrow we have half-price dinner at the sister restaurant, so doubly good.<br /><br />4) Joint lives. We are now the proud owners of a joint bank account, so if we're to steal it'll only be from one another. That's the real love.<br /><br />5) Success - generally on and off the field we've been doing well, especially in the ol' cricket where I've finally been a contributor at a slightly higher level than usual as we've moved to top of the division in a league, by rights, we shouldn't be in (4th team in 3rd XI's 2nd division). #<br /><br />6) World Cup. I don't much care for football, and as the form until the last couple of days has shown, that's completely justified as many teams had yet to get going. Portugal's demolition of North Korea may be the start of something new, though. Here's hoping.<br /><br />7) Work. Fairly easy, well within my capabilities, though very, very interesting to go through records of times gone by and suchlike. Nostalgia is exactly how it used to be, and if anything I'm hoping to make it more so.<br /><br />And thus concludes most of my life for the last six weeks. I apologise if I've not mentioned you by name, but chances are you've had such an impact I've taken it for granted. I am sure everyone knows their current status in my life, and especially those with a definite chance of the ol' invitation their way to that special day, but I currently only have but one day to myself a week and have rarely chosen to spend it alone. Make yourselves available on Monday evenings in East London and I can make those dreams come true.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-72663145566932765682010-05-04T14:40:00.000-07:002010-05-04T14:58:21.185-07:00Hearing the screens shouting back at youDear readers, please accept my apologies again for being distracted this past month. Whenever I think for a minute I find something else to do, and I fear you'll probably know that I am updating as I feel I cannot bear to face another moment of revision.<br /><br />The last two minutes have been hell.<br /><br />It is a perculiar problem that I continually face, perhaps more apparent now I know that there's a goal that can be easily achieved should I put my mind to the game. But then, getting a grade that I'm not deserving of undermines the entire purpose of a degree, which should be to attain a higher level of education regardless of the outcome. I understand to some extent the necessity of examinations, although I might be more inclined to agree with their implementation if they offered a more holistic approach to interpreting what someone is not only capable of now, but what they've done to be more employable (if that, of course, is what people come to University for) or more rounded, whilst also specialising in one certain aspect of their education.<br /><br />My greatest strength, in that sense, is by far more of a hinderance than Achilles' fabled heel. I have always associated knowledge with, 'will it come up in a pub quiz?' From a young age I found myself champing at the bit to know things, without wanting to delve too deeply into the hows and whys, because essentially they were just theory, whereas facts are undisputed. And doing a Geography degree, where processes play as much a part of knowing the truth as uncovering exactly what it is we see and interpret, probably doesn't benefit from this rather superficial outlook on life.<br /><br />But then over the last few weeks, as the election campaign has heated up and for the first time I have actually bothered trying to keep pace with the people rather than the likely outcome, I'm increasingly aware of how insignificant much of this is.<br /><br />Note, first, that this might also have been influenced by my failure in the Sabbatical elections.<br /><br />Point 1: What can we realistically hope to achieve individually that isn't taken further by a global or multi-national organisation? If I want something to happen, then it's likely Windows 7 was my idea, or 'Yes We Can' might swoop down and pick me up in its wings. Ideas are no longer individuals' possessions, but rather their corporations' intellectual properties. And that's not a bad thing necessarily, because if it's all about making society that much better we have to accept individually we may be unable to cause a change and subsequently require input from a firm willing to take a chance. The issue will probably become better explained in point 2.<br /><br />Point 2: There are no borders. Lines in the sand are far gone by now. The Global Financial Crisis, the War on Terrorism, Climate Change/Global Warming. While perhaps locations might be the hotspots for activity, so little is now reduced to a conflict that occurs only between two organisms in one location that it becomes impossible to track changes, let alone causes. So my point comes back to it being not only easier but, perhaps idealistically, more relevant simply to record observations, report facts. 'Truths'.<br /><br />Point 3: Heart of gold. I may not possess one, but as the world crushes individuality, without removing the entitlement of individuals to enjoy themselves, express themselves or exist as they wish to live, then it will become clearer to those you surround yourself with whether you'll survive it all. You will need a strong mind, perhaps a strong body, but more importantly you'll need the drive and determination just to get over the hurdles, let alone whatever potential impacts getting up and down might then lead to.<br /><br />Note, again, that this entry comes after 2 months of working in an unnecessarily stressful environment within London, whilst managing to be more in love with my fiance than I ever feared would be possible, semi-running a whole new baseball club which just about has enough resources to survive and finishing my degree.<br /><br />Nothing can be taken for face value anymore, and I accept this. But until answers might require responses to 'how' or 'why' on the ol' pub quiz, I'm content to see the world and say, 'yes'.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-16779870424803718482010-04-08T14:01:00.000-07:002010-04-08T14:14:06.725-07:00Absence of mind, presence of bodyDear followers,<br /><br />I apologise for neglecting you for so long over the last few weeks. After my last post many of you will know that I embarked upon an election wrought with controversy, not least from one of my candidates (more on that story later), and came out the other side smelling only of the fragrance of whatever shower gel and shampoo I had used at the time.<br /><br />I didn't win, indeed I actually lost my position outright, but fortunately the people who did vote for me first off also had the sense to give second choice votes to the right person who wasn't me. Subsequently, as I said at the time and continue to tell people now, the electorate made the right choice in the end.<br /><br />When I said 'more on that story later', I meant now. It turns out that one of my unsuccessful opponents ran in an election shortly after, employing many of the same tactics as he'd done in our campaign. Having been caught and cautioned in our own vote, one would assume that he would have learned from his mistakes, but alas he, along with another candidate for a similar position, did exactly as they had done previously and both were thrown out of that election. Not necessarily for better, but because at the end of the day cheats never prosper.<br /><br />And I think that's the most happy I've been since my fiance agreed to marry me (that came after the last entry as well, but forgive me for skimming over that one as it's a little more personal and a little less accessible for those who don't know the backstory).<br /><br />Now I took a trip to America to get over my loss, which also coincided with a fieldtrip we were planning anyway - what chance?!. It was an eye-opening but somewhat underwhelming experience. The fabled tales of the land of the free must surely have been faked; car adverts, food adverts and the obvious limitations of social expression were clear for most to see. Yet without meaning to go all human-geography on you, it was an OK trip to an OK location, where the company and content of the course made it far more bearable.<br /><br />I quickly became bored of alligators.<br /><br />On returning from America I went straight into a successful job interview, so the last month of my degree I decided to get a full-time job within the institution I was unsuccessful in being elected into. Doing basically what I'd planned on managing had I won the vote.<br /><br />I shalln't disclose details of the job or personelle. Most of you will know them or something similar to it within your own walks of life and I don't want to get blown up for libel before I've received my first paycheque!<br /><br />Either way, as the 'real' elections loom (NUS, General, GeogSoc President), I'll leave you knowing only that the sporting year has already been a good one. 2010 brought with it the Winter Olympics and will play host to the World Cup, but I've already been a part of a team that has won one league, won the Merger Cup (first time in forever), been promoted from another and won its first ever baseball fixture. They're not all the same team, but they have the same characteristics - a desire to play honestly, play hard and play well.<br /><br />I think the key one will always be the first - as I've said time and again, as long as it's true to you then it's true. You don't need references, you don't need justification. No one has the right to quiz or question what you feel, as long as it's what you feel.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-4666491288016254062010-01-26T16:17:00.000-08:002010-01-26T16:28:14.724-08:00Step 1 - embrace the truthWhile I've never been one to seek the truth and the truth alone, I'd like to think of myself as an honest, upstanding young guy. And so, in that vein, I'm running in an upcoming election.<br /><br />I've let a lot of people know about it before, and I'm not declaring which one it is formally due to a number of severe punishments that might blight my campaign, and potentially cause me to pull out. Which I don't want. And neither will a certain body of people.<br /><br />I have dedicated a lot of my time to such activities before even thinking about going on a march to win this particular election, and although I appear to be policy-lite I can assure everyone that I will be true to what I set out to do. They're not unachievable tasks by any means, but that said they are the sort of things that most people would find time in their schedules to avoid. Subsequently I hope to evolutionise the organisation into which I hope to be elected by simple structures and an improvement of infrastructure and coherence of policy within afformentioned organisation.<br /><br />It's difficult to do this without winning an election. And it's difficult to win an election without being quite outspoken about ridiculous policies that might attract a voter but also a cynic. I feel that my only weaknesses are that I refuse to overstretch myself, but my counter argument would be that I will be able to change the small things to make the big things easier to manage in the future. It's not a legacy, it's a sustainable approach to the future of an organisation I genuinely feel I belong to. And it's a long time since one of those has come along.<br /><br />It is increasingly tricky to preach what I practise in a world where only the extraordinary get credit. I accept that in many ways I will be relying not on policies or people skills but rather the enticement of voters via pretty young people, which traditionally fares well against those with more rigorous beliefs or upstanding issues. While it is a sad state of affairs, at least it is an honest approach to a population who increasingly choose abstaining because they can't be bothered to go out of their way to actually declare themselves as abstaining instead of dirty tricks employed by far too many of my colleagues here on this planet.<br /><br />If I lose, then so be it. As long as I lose in the right way, to someone who has also earned the right to stand, let alone reside in the office of this position, and to someone who has gone about the election in the right way. I refuse to accept a defeat at the hands of a mercenary who only wants something to put on their CV because they have nothing else to say for themselves.<br /><br />If they'd embraced what the role stood for in the years leading up to this moment then they wouldn't be so narcissistic in their approach.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-15356817569558009082010-01-10T07:53:00.001-08:002010-01-10T08:04:53.655-08:00There is a lightMy dissertation is finished (although not officially submitted), the worst of the weather is probably over (touch wood) and it won't be long before I can start planning the future of the Students' Union here at Queen Mary. But what about the rest of the world?<br /><br />I will confess that this will be somewhat more contemporary an entry compared to some of the others, but bear with me:<br /><br />Terrorism is still happening. Take Yemen, Angola, Detroit, Somalia, Afghanistan... for all our efforts to apparently rid the world of terror (start with the moooooooovies and work backwards, it's probably easier to nanny the planet if you begin with the media) there have been precious few inroads. That said, perhaps we're seeing more evidence because there are more reporters or it's more likely to make the headlines. As I said, out of sight, out of mind - change the broadcasters' output if you want to win this one.<br /><br />The economy hasn't made many advances from where it was last time I checked. Perhaps fewer people are being made unemployed, fewer banks are failing and the like, but for the most part it seems to be just as 'bad' as it ever was. I haven't yet experienced any of the fallout from before, but I'm sure it's coming. No change.<br /><br />Society is still a little too angry for my liking. We continue to blame everyone else for everything, we come up with solutions with practicable methods of applications, we have an excuse for every moment of adversity and we refuse to admit responsibility. This is where I come in. Take it on the chin, accept that no one will ever give you credit, even if you shout it out, and season your life well. A pinch of salt gives flavour to what would otherwise be bland. Where is society angry? People like me getting frustrated with people using the increasingly lenient flow-charts or scripts of dealing with problems that we're faced with. 'I can't come in, I've got a cold'. Rubbish. I went to school in crutches for a month, so why can't people with the sniffles go to somewhere they get paid?<br /><br />I have begun to lose my way I fear, but then I am just as part of the problem as I am a commentator on it: if it weren't for the royal family there wouldn't be a constant in our lives. Think about it, it makes sense, even if you don't agree with their position.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-70615376810511882282009-12-29T07:26:00.000-08:002009-12-29T07:38:31.285-08:00A call to armsAre there winners and losers in life? Probably. It's all about interpretation, and provided you realise where you stand then you're likely to know something more about yourself than others will suggest they know about themselves.<br /><br />It's a little cryptic, that, so I suppose I should explain.<br /><br />It's more than just an outlook. Anyone can be positive, anyone can be negative. Anyone can be neutral. It is about what you make of your outlook, whether you know to some extent there are flaws in your brilliance or brilliance in your flaws, or neither nor of nothing neither. As my friend said this afternoon, we have as a people decided that the only way to make things better is to tell ourselves they're better and disregard the truth or the reality of the situation. There's positivity, and then there's reckless optimism without any basis.<br /><br />So this call to arms is more to allow ourselves to assess the truth. Do you know what you want? If so, do you know how you're supposed to get there? More over, do you know where you are now? Perhaps all this is a little irrelevant for those of us who don't concern our lives with the thinking part of acting, but rather the acting part of living. Care and consideration are tomorrow's problems, today can only continue if you bother to make something happen.<br /><br />Personally I'm very cautious. Not so much that I don't do anything, but enough that I know most of the consequences before embarking on a journey. Or at least I think I do, anyway, and to some extent I guess that's what I always tell myself, perhaps falsely, and therefore perhaps crushing or suppressing any notion of the truth in order to appear happier or more content.<br /><br />That aside, when we get the constitution voted on and put things in place for baseball this season then we'll be fine. It's a little off-topic now, but we can afford to lose some people to the other team as I'm sure we'll gain more who want in from the ground-floor. There have been discussions before, and there will be some again, about who we will allow to join us and who might go elsewhere, but for the most part I'm hoping that the good ones stay and get some game-time and some fun-time with us, while those who apparently already know what they want go do what they want. We won't judge them for it, but we know that they've made a decision. A consequence will follow. It's how they act with those consequences that makes a difference.<br /><br />From the meeting the other week it seems clear that we're not the only Club that has issues in this sense, nor are we among a minority. Not enough structure in place means that there's little assistance for helping those who have dreams of greatness aspire towards them. We hope only that as many people get as much enjoyment out of it all as is possible, and whether we're measuring 'enjoyment' with the same, or even the correct, statistic remains to be seen. But seeing is believing, and by this method we'll know whether it is being outwardly happy, inwardly content or having no opinion either way that will determine how we develop as a community.<br /><br />I'm hoping that enough people say the right thing and jump on board with us. I'm hoping there is enough precedent from another local Club, and one just folded, that inspires people to step back and go for what they really want.<br /><br />And perhaps it is that moment of stepping back to embrace reality that changes everything.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-51643001690539522082009-12-11T08:28:00.000-08:002009-12-11T08:48:51.580-08:00What inspires debate?There are many talking points in life, breaking news stories and controversies amongst friends, families, pets and peers. But what sparks conversations into full-blown heated and passionate speeches and heart-felt pleas for agreement or acknowledgement?<br /><br />1) The most topical issues of the day.<br /><br />Examples: racism, climate change, social (im)mobility, economics (these are perhaps more contemporary than immortal/eternal, but will likely rage on in debate for many years to come).<br /><br />Reasons: everyone will have a different view on how to change what is the norm, or at least what is taken as a given in the current political or social climate. However, much of these will have come from influence by the media or influential/talkative people outside the group within which the 'debate' is occurring.<br /><br />2) Social/societal influences<br /><br />Examples: sport, art, politics, television, music.<br /><br />Reasons: Personal interpretation is more influential here - everyone is different, people will find different things more exciting or more entertaining than others, but because these are far more emotive in terms of understanding or reasoning, there does not need to be justification. The wonderful thing about this part of the model is that everyone can have a say and need not be told otherwise by someone who is apparently better informed - opinions are just that, and you cannot tell someone that they're wrong because they don't like something you do, even if you're adamant that you're right.<br /><br />3) Age-old dilemmas.<br /><br />Examples: Religion, philosophy, science.<br /><br />Reasons: People can be richly or poorly informed either way, and while it benefits to have read widely about these sorts of topics, just because you're not completely clued-up on a subject does not mean that your views aren't important. Some might be loathed to accept personal opinions in this area, but again the fact that you've got an opinion does not exclude you from having them or contributing to the debate. However, if you haven't heard the whole story, and let's face it, NO ONE HAS, it might be best to see what other people are saying and picking holes in their argument rather than having one of your own. None of these subjects will ever produce fruitful responses to the point where everything is explained, so debate is the only way to make any social or emotional progress, given that there is very little in terms of pragmatic answers that can be described, explained and justified.<br /><br />If debate is only about winning, then you are not debating, you are arguing deafly.<br /><br />If debate is only about chatting, then you are not debating, you're conversing.<br /><br />If debate is only about making a difference, then you are not debating, you are deciding.<br /><br />Debate is only there for us to pass the time, but at the same time it is only there so we can try to change whilst preserving our way of life, it is there so we can see a new side to every story without losing focus, it's there so we know less about ourselves but in more ways than we ever knew we could. Debate is rubbish. Debate is brilliant. Debate is nothing and everything.<br /><br />*<br /><br />There are weaknesses to this model - notably a lot of people will only spend time with people who they have known for a long time, have been forced into working/living with for a set amount of time or are of the same beliefs as them, so debates can tend to be one-sided and reserved, thus limiting the progress that can be made - no one really wants to annoy those who they either choose to be close to or cannot escape nonetheless. Are these really debates? Perhaps it is that fear of losing standing in our own friendship groups that means we cannot really say what we're thinking. Perhaps that is why many people are easy-come easy-go in MY life. Perhaps that is why social change or views are age-old, passed on from generation to generation (albeit subtly) as the fear of change can never be truly ignored.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-43553799463598834602009-11-25T18:22:00.000-08:002009-11-25T18:37:28.272-08:00Politically conservativeNotice the small 'c'.<br /><br />I am not adverse to change, but rather I do not support it as a policy. Development of current strategies might be needed, and indeed alterations to institutional beliefs are likely, but on a whole I think change undermines where we have managed to come from.<br /><br />Posed with this question less than a week ago, my response was to politicise the origin of mankind; we were not evolved from democracy, nor were we brought about by a CHANGE in policy, but rather a physiological adaptation to our environment hundreds of thousands, potentially millions (if you believe the descention from certain proxies) of years previous to our own.<br /><br />Essentially, and this is only opinion based on my personal studies, albeit limited, into the evolution of hominids, we acclimatised to our environment the same as animals and plants do now, and the same as physical elements adapt to alterations in the 'mean' inputs. I believe that where we've come from coincides with where we're going to, and in the long run human occupation is just an intellectual means to justify where we are now and where we're going in the future.<br /><br />I believe that we can do little to alter what we've already done, and what we've already done has little impact on what would naturally have occured. As a Geographer, it is my right to define what might happen in the short-medium term based on what has happened previously, hence my OPINION that there will be little significant change determining the future of the planet.<br /><br />As long as life exists, I will not scoff. We were coincidence as much as fortune; dumb luck of Darwinism. To demand more than what we've been granted is another example of the selfishness of humanity in the face of biological adversity. We may not have been directly responsible for the extinction of many flora or fauna, but living without guilt is a dangerous road to follow. You become Budhist without really anticipating the alterations in one's outlook on existence.<br /><br />So here I am, plodding along as another entity of what we've come to accept as 'real life'. While merely a blip in the history of this wondrous and exciting planet, we have carved our paths out of faith and acceptance, determining the fate of mankind by the actions we have now, in the past and in the future. But while we are concerned about ourselves, we should be more determined to encourage life outside of our megafaunal habitation; few will agree, but the key to life is held with the algae and plankton rather than the elephants and whales.<br /><br />We will never be able to protect everything that's required, but referring back to the original title of this entry, we must at least attempt to preserve things as they are and fight 'change'; it only seeks to undermine what we've managed in this heartbeat of humanity compared to the history of our space-rock.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-16544408822632426652009-11-18T16:31:00.000-08:002009-11-18T16:50:13.398-08:00Flat out and sprawledI'm not working hard. I'm not playing hard. I'm getting lucky, but I've earned the right to in some respects, and I'm getting berated still, but then karma is a wonderful thing.<br /><br />Having offered to step up and fill the goalkeeper's boots at University, I produced a display worthy of my self-appointed man-of-the-match award. It wasn't as busy an evening I've had in net before, nor was it as flambouyant, but I didn't concede despite a number of attempts from the opposition, some more impressive than others, and regardless of the fact we only scored one, we still won the game this afternoon.<br /><br />But the argument has long been beyond mere mortal factors such as the performances we have turned in or the results we have gotten out of it; rather, it's why we bother in the first place.<br /><br />For me, competition has never been 'competition'. I can thank my parents for bringing me up to believe in the taking part rather than the winning, and although I do like to win, it's still a philosophy I attempt to conform to even now. For example, I have stood in campaigns and campaigned for candidates, I have wanted for something to happen and, regardless of whether it won or lost, took place or was overlooked, it is the fact I cared enough to be a part of it that holds dear to me.<br /><br />I have tried and failed so many times that counting successes to failures makes no difference. Instead, despite the best efforts of influences from within my upbrining and Society around me, I care little for the relatively minor outcomes that affect my life. People will always think in collective terms, and regardless of whether they feel they're bettered by some factors, the guilt, or relative guilt in terms of a social conscience, will always force them to think the same as the people in their lives they value the most. Usually this means family or friends, but every so often it involves people beyond their social circles.<br /><br />Every so often, however, they think 'controversially'; OPINION outweighs facts, or at least OPINION outweighs 'greater judgement'.<br /><br />This entry, and indeed this blog, is not exempt from political, or Political, influences, but for best interests it tries to remain as unbiased as possible. Indeed, much of the 'politics' discussed tends to resolve around the one institution I care the most about, in Queen Mary University's Students' Union administration.<br /><br />I have made comments in the past, unjustified, to suggest certain elements aren't pulling their weight, and it is perhaps me that needs to question the amount of effort I'm putting in compared to the amount I expect to take out. If the ratio ever exceeds 1:1 (with me being the second entity), then of course I am right to complain, but at best what I am seeing is 1:7, so subsequently my thoughts hold no validity.<br /><br />Again, this is an attempt to enlighten the population by quantifying suggestions.<br /><br />So here I am, pouring my thoughts and OPINIONS out to those who'll listen. I cannot sometimes justify my beliefs in any more than a simple sound, a gargled, 'bleugh' or a forced, 'meh'. But I have at least realised that is not my place to question, nor is it my place to blindly follow. As with most things in life, there is a happy medium from which we can begin to understand the forcings happening beyond our control, and from there we can either seek to justify, question for betterment of the masses or accept in order to avoid confrontation.<br /><br />With my dissertation due in soon, plus other coursework and numerous personal objectives reaching their climax, I am in no position to formulate a strategy to do anything other than the last of those options, so I hope that, despite the limited readership of this particular blog, others in and around my current walks of life will accept something similar.<br /><br />That is not to say that anytime soon I won't throw in the towel in a heat of passion and rise up against the authorities I voted in, rather for the meantime a peaceful transition towards the next stage of SU evolution, and indeed fiscal, social and perhaps even biological enhancements, would be the best chance to change what is 'wrong' with our lives.<br /><br />'McGuinness.'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-27485954462345880272009-11-03T05:38:00.000-08:002009-11-03T05:56:44.959-08:00Big words: why the mystery?Once again, I can only apologise for leaving it so long between posts, but out of nowhere this year I've actually decided to do some work.<br /><br />Anyway, without meaning to return back to the issue of 'truth' constantly, I think a lot of people really need to get with the programme. Yes, sometimes it isn't what you want to hear, and sometimes the truth hurts, but unfortunately the truth is the one thing that's indisputable in this world. Ironically, of course, the real truth is the only thing that has been completely manufactured by mankind; 'scientific truths' are subject to investigation and cannot be controlled, while the varying levels of truth offered through documentation, archives and evidence, the very things that we ourselves have created in order to control our own lives, is crystal clear.<br /><br />Even if sometimes there's a lot of jargon associated with it in order to disrupt our ability to find the facts and instead allow for degrees of uncertainty, or what I like to call 'interpretation'. Interpretation relies on a personal, ontological perspective on how something should work, be it a policy designed to enforce a law or rule or be it a philosophical basis for belief in, or against, a religion or popular thought.<br /><br />While these are, of course, the truth, it is often unclear how the rules should be enforced, what level of enforcement is required and, at times, what is breaking the rules. Take the many translations of religious texts, for example. Because it is impossible to truly understand the intentions without having a) been there when they were being written, and b) knowing fully the language they were originally written in and the various likely mistranslations that could occur, it is no wonder that there is so much confusion, even within those groups that essentially worship the same idols.<br /><br />If my idols (or ideology) is to enforce the rules of a certain organisation then my interpretation has to be as limited as possible; I want the facts and the figures rather than knowing the wrangling room within which I can operate. I would like a strict set of guidelines to follow and procedures to put in place. This is why I think I would probably operate well in administration - I've been too quick to use big, unnecessary words that sometimes lose the weight of the meaning in their useage in an attempt to avoid appearing either dumb or patronising.<br /><br />However, it has quickly come to my attention that while people are clever, the population is stupid (to paraphrase Tommy Lee Jones in 'Men In Black'). It is easier to keep everything clear and open by using the small, concise words that allow for no, or limited, interpretation. This is not a scathing attack on the misplaced romanticism of this language I love so much, but rather a call to those who abuse its vaguities in order to remain enigmatic or ambiguous, so as not to have to enforce a policy. I am not calling for Newspeak, but I reckon there's a place for something similar to avoid catastrophes of varying magnitudes in the short-term.<br /><br />Words such as 'significant' or 'substantial' need to be put in context. We have mathematicians capable of producing insanely complex formulae to work out taxes or inflation, so why can't we put some of their genius to define, numerically and quantitatively, these phrases? For example, 'significant' could be, 'less than 50% but more than 25% of a budget, plus 25% of its previous year's budget', while 'substantial' could be, 'anything higher than 40% of its previous year's budget plus 40% of its current expenditure' or something. While these are only suggestions, which themselves are limited, it immediately begins to reduce the risk of interpretation, or misinterpretation, depending on how you choose to view this particular topic.<br /><br />I hope this has cleared up my position on big words and their over-use and unnecessary appearances in many documents that define how we live our lives.<br /><br />(Yes, many of you will probably think that THIS entry is either packed with a few misleading or unnecessary words, or indeed that it was a waste of resources to write it, but no great things were ever done by sitting around thinking. Policies need action, and action defines the man.)<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-76023041508802089812009-10-21T17:11:00.000-07:002009-10-21T17:27:42.096-07:00Don't believe the truth (apparently)There are two ways to look at the truth: your truth, the one you believe to be completely right without compromise; or the truth that perhaps exists outside of your jursidiction, where you cannot complain about the outcome, let alone the inputs that lead to that position of thinking.<br /><br />After the abuse I've put up with, I believe (honestly) that I can have a good perception of the way things work in our particular circle. This puts me, in my OPINION, in the first of these two examples.<br /><br />One sect of the Hockey Club at Queen Mary is fortuntate enough to have my responsible over-looking of their position, notably that I won't call up every offence if it then hinders an advantage. One sect is unfortunate not to have this bonus, based almost purely on the fact that I play for them. In future I will probably not be allowed to play being that I'm too good an umpire.<br /><br />Regrettably, though, my level of umpiring is no higher than that offered by the girl who half the time sleeps in the room below me.<br /><br />I don't think I'm a great official, but after agreeing with my opposing forward this evening I've been told that my comments were out of order. In my opinion that leads to censorship of the truth, which is worse than allowing lies to spread. At least in allowing them there is the freedom of speech, such as the BNP appearing on Question Time tomorrow (22nd October), rather than being as much an oppressor as their views would encourage.<br /><br />In fairness my comments were justified in my OPINION. The amount of times I've been told that I'm wrong supercedes the amount of times I've said any umpire was incorrect in the decisions they've made, so while I apparently have been out of order this evening I would like to remind this one-man jury that I could quite as easily have thrown in my towel regarding umpiring other people's matches to preserve my sense of well-being; in order to not feel overly pressured or under appreciated. Just because she has boobs, and you want to 'get on that', doesn't mean her OPINION, or OBSERVATION, is any more valid than mine.<br /><br />Subsequently I WILL be officiating the next fixture. Subsequently any 'stick' will result in either a 10-yard fine up the pitch or a card. And that's not because I know the rules any better (in this instance I'd quote that I didn't get as high a score), but simply because I intend to enforce them.<br /><br />There are far too many examples to cite in upcoming fixtures, regarding specifically the level of officiating, but given that the boy who will fight HER battles sleeps downstairs from me and will subsequently smack me in the mouth for spouting MY truth, I shall 'abstain'. I already have written off any reconcilliation with my racist cousins, so what chance have I got with people who don't even share one, if not 23, chromosones, with me?<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-79520221314864350402009-09-30T18:22:00.000-07:002009-09-30T18:30:43.416-07:00Perspiration to the nationIn the first of what is likely to be a series of drunken Wednesday night blogs, similar to those I published under a slightly different pseudonym while down in Brighton, let me start with a discussion of that most disgusting, yet most natural, of juices, sweat.<br /><br />No one can physically stop themselves from getting wet and salty, as it's the body's way of cooling itself down. Some people can't produce the right enzymes, some animals weren't even born with the glands capable of producing such liquids, but it is taken as a given that everyone, at some stage in their life, will find the atmosphere too stuffy or the company far too arousing.<br /><br />Or will be unable to moderate their behaviour to the extent that they prevent themselves from getting excited.<br /><br />The last couple of days we've made the most of Hockey training, pushing ourselves as far as we were willing to at the start of this campaign, bolstered by a belligerent attitude from our captain (something that in the past has been lacking big-time.)<br /><br />On winning on Saturday it was only fair that I took my own desires to the pitch to ensure that the new crop, and the returning old heads, would do much the same in order to not only prevent relegation but genuinely contend for the top spot. Regardless of whatever the other teams in our league are capable of, we're more than able to go for promotion this year (in both Club and University leagues), so my Geography work may go on hold to prove this point.<br /><br />It won't. But at least I care enough now to jeopardise not only my current life by my future career opportunities by believing so strongly in something. That's not what the previous blog managed at all...<br /><br />Before I start rambling, this is just a brief update to suggest that the Freshers we have inherited this time around are a good bunch from what I can make out, and that provided the Committee don't let power go their heads we could have a good, solid year from which we can build on.<br /><br />In the meantime, I've got a lot of fieldwork to do and no risk assessment yet signed off to allow me to do this. I also have to call the farms within the next 24 hours to make sure I can come up and do my stuff. I may have to produce a questionnaire in order to finalise my work. I hate human Geography.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-15568176650958479602009-09-25T15:29:00.000-07:002009-09-25T15:44:49.301-07:00The possessiveness of mankindOne week into the tenancy of my year-long contract to spend with my new flatmates, who I have already decided are infinitely better than the ones I spent 8 months with in Brighton, I still cannot stop myself from thinking, 'well that's mine'.<br /><br />Perhaps it's because that first experience scarred me so much, perhaps it's because inherently I'm just as selfish as anyone else and refuse to openly admit it. Perhaps it's because I fear that if I don't keep telling myself that I'll eventually fall into one of those 'traps' whereby I suddenly think that the world isn't so bad.<br /><br />And this past week might have me think just as much.<br /><br />I have come to realise, and this might yet be hasty so bear in mind that I've only been away from the relative weight of family for a week at this stage, that not all people at University are as they seem. Some of them are a lot more genuine than I first thought. Some of them were just difficult to get on with because I was so concerned by making my own feelings heard. Perhaps I was too quick to judge (in the case that I've only known these people a few months, perhaps a couple of years, rather than on and off my entire life).<br /><br />The ones that have shown themselves to be good are those that I was wary of, but now I have found myself to be exactly like them. I'm canvassing a vote before I've even started campaigning, and they just started a little earlier than me. Whether that makes me an arse or whether that makes me normal I don't know; the world I currently exist within makes me out to be a politician whether I like it or not. Diplomacy tends to be the only way to end an argument that never should have started if we were all a little more open in the first place.<br /><br />But then that's much like life in general. If we never say what we are thinking, or struggle to portray exactly what we mean, then we're bound to cause upset or unrest when we finally seem to 'explode' into a tirade of apparently unprovoked opinions set at someone's throat. We might not necessarily mean them, although in my case I stand true that everything I've said before I've meant at the time, if not as a permanent belief, but nonetheless we say them and get on with our lives. If we don't vent then we only end up causing serious damage to ourselves, so my selfishness is born out of a desire to make the world a better place in the future. In my opinion. Because in my opinion, of course, the world is a better place with me than without me.<br /><br />And perhaps that relates back to my earlier point. Washing up pots and pans and clearing out cupboards, albeit briefly, earlier this evening I must have stumbled across what I now apparently see to be a profound metaphor for life: I'm possessive over my things because I'm selfish, and I'm selfish because I'm selfless; I give almost everything I have to other people, and I sometimes feel as though it comes across as though I only want their love rather than what's best for them.<br /><br />I want to believe that I'm doing it out of compassion, like the Dalai Lama has taught me so far this year, but I reckon it's because at the heart of any situation I find myself in I always turn to what's best for me. It just so happens that it also helps more people than it hurts.<br /><br />Utilitarianism is hard (not just to spell!) It requires more statistical analysis in every aspect than is always necessary or justified, whilst also causing more suffering than it's worth in most cases. In this most recent case I know that in my heart of hearts I wouldn't change a thing, although in the past that has not always been the case. If it comes back to me in a bad way then so be it, but honesty is the best policy, and if unfortunately your honesty comes at a price then perhaps you should change what you genuinely believe in, or perhaps stop believing in anything. Ideas are all the world has ever been based on, not opinions to be forced upon others.<br /><br />It is not my place to judge you; I'm no higher being, merely a boy with a blog, a man with too much time on his hands. If you've found my comments to be out of place then perhaps look within before responding. If I'm wrong then I'm wrong. At the end of the world there is no right answer, only the finality of existence, as we know it anyway. Don't let the little things bother you.<br /><br />Anyway, they're only words. And what did words ever do to you?<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-21343872229789793952009-09-16T05:50:00.000-07:002009-09-16T07:50:47.195-07:00Struggling to be funnyMaking people laugh is VERY tricky, especially doing it consistently without feeling like you're resorting to lowest-common-denominator jokes or situations (such as falling over and injuring yourself or saying things loudly in stupid accents or broken speech.)<br /><br />I'm lucky enough to have a girlfriend (yes, that'll usually be a lucky situation for me given that I am almost impossible to tolerate for more than 10 minutes) who laughs at almost everything, which is grand, but I still want to take that and make everyone else chuckle just the same. It's annoying and sometimes impossible, and given that I am not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed and don't know enough about anything in particular to delve into something so deeply that everything is witty it makes it even more frustrating on my part.<br /><br />I'm happy to sail around the social world, jumping in with small comments that make me sound at least half-smart, but I would much rather be able to say them and choose not to, knowing that I would be adding them all up and arrive with something incredibly hysterical later on. Timing is everything, in more than just this small aspect of our existences, and I am afraid, friends, that my time is either yet to come or flew by long ago.<br /><br />Perhaps when I was in Brighton I missed my chance to really go for it. Perhaps the fear of failure was more daunting for me than ever it was before, perhaps I'm genuinely terrified about what people in the world actually think of me. Perhaps I would much rather be the centre of attention than the star attraction, if you catch my drift.<br /><br />I will, for now at least, try to be the quiet one. I don't really have anything clever to say for the most part anyway so I may as well sit back, think about things and work out the best line to take when questioned or pushed on any issue. Perhaps I might actually be good in diplomacy, again not because I make the right decisions but instead because I don't make any decisions, and I only formalise opinions once my paycheques have stopped coming and I've attained all the titles I hoped to achieve when setting out my stall.<br /><br />Like everyone else in government, I'll remain quiet and end up a servant of her majesty's highest honour because I kept my charity private and my profile obscure. I towed the line; I was scared to veer off into the employment wilderness, the public metropolis, and come back stronger, more popular, more loved, more admired and more revered. Because in the end, it's not what people think of themselves but actually knowing that they did as little wrong in their life as possible, that the mistakes they made couldn't be avoided, or they knew would bring with them consequences that they could handle, and in the end would move them to more success in the long run.<br /><br />But then, everyone's selfish when they can't share a gift. And I can't share laughter, so I'm taking it away from everyone else too.<br /><br />'McGuinness'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519859550505672844.post-3856175315495688872009-09-08T01:57:00.000-07:002009-09-08T02:10:44.279-07:00The new slangIt's been almost three weeks since I was last able to write down a briefing of my life, but having been told that I was a little too candid for my own good my hand was forced into shutting down the previous, infamous (or at least in-obscure) blog. So please brace yourself as I attempt to put down what I hope to achieve with this new title.<br /><br />1) I will attempt to portray what it's like to live a pretty average life. While almost everyone in the 'blogosphere' (I agree with Charlie Brooker when I sudder at the thought of that term as the correct one for this form of communication) does this, mine is packed full of anger and controversy. However, now that I am living away from home I will at least try to be more thoughtful and considerate when I attack my prey.<br /><br />2) I will make some generalisations without any references or justification. Essentially this is the same as before, but I feel that in the last four years I've gotten to a place that allows me to appear apparently informed.<br /><br />That's about it for now, but I have to warn you that you WON'T like what you have to read, you WON'T agree with much of it and you're likely to want to harm me for the fact that I am:<br /><br />a) pretty Conservative, both in Party and personal politics.<br />b) a tiny bit racist, although I feel I am able to embrace that as part of my personality (the same way that 'reformed paedophiles' now operate tour buses in London - see Brasseye)<br />c) lazy and depressed<br /><br />There's more, but I have perhaps rushed this first entry simply because I cannot stand the idea of leaving it any longer before airing my views. That has been a drawback in the past, but no longer. I hope.<br /><br />'McGuinness<br /><br />P.S. If anyone does want a full catalogue or perhaps only random months of the previous blog (jonezeeman.blogspot.com) then just get in touch with me here and I'll send them over; I've archived them for later in life when I'm famous enough that someone might read my memoirs.'McGuinnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16211372509058982729noreply@blogger.com0