UK Civil Service Management MUHAHAHAHA!

Hi,

I started my working life on the management training programme for a UK government agency. The work was great but none of my actual senior managers knew what I was talking about.

They had all server 20 years and talked their way into a management position rather than bothering with all that pesky management theory and practice.

I look back on those days fondly - until current events remind me of how incompetent many of those guys were.

Case in point.

OMMFG.

NP out

What would you give up?

Hi,

People were recently asked what would they give up from their lives for 2 weeks - in liue of internet access.

The results are just plain worrying.

It's a valid question though - here are some key things I would give up:

1) Coffee

2) Biscuits

3) Fast Food

Hey - it looks like I would be much healthier...

NP Out

Ladies and clothes anxiety

Hi,

I'm going out to a Yule do tonight with my much better half.

As with most ladies she suffers from needless clothes anxiety. She's hot and I know it, but its just one of those things you have to work through.

This time I am going to pre-empt her negative feelings by posting this picture.

This other lady has put alot of work into her look - but just does not have any good basic hotness to work from.

My partner on the other hand very attractive and need fear nothing :-)

NP Out

P.S. this photo also proves the fearlessness of men serving in the armed forces.

The Most Awesome Japanese Wig Site Ever!

Hi,

It's a thing of web beauty.

A site that allows you to upload a photo. Then resizes and grades the image so you can add wigs and glasses to a near 3D model.

It's wig-alicious!

Also hours of fun - no kidding.

Travis has never looked more like a washed up Friends actor...

NP Out

P.S. The site is in Japanese so persevere with it. The rewards are out standing

Making People Notice Your Passing

Hi,

My Dad used to work for British Rail in the UK. He would come home with some funny work stories , but would also get quite angry about others.

The worst reaction he ever had was to people comitting suicide by walking in front of busy commuter trains.

According to psychologists people choosing this kind of exit want to cause inconvenience and shock in as many people as possible.

Of late there have been idiots killing themselves in front of a media audience. Either DIY with a webcam, or in front of new crews.

The thing is - the delay to trains was not what got my Dad angry. He got upset because the poor train driver could never stop in time - and ended up feeling resposible for killing someone. Even if that someone was a self involved wanker.

I guess this new media suicide doesn't wreck an innocent persons life. Unless you count the affect on untold idiots who insist on watching the clips themselves.

Personally I read the web-page but never watch the clips. I prefer my dead losers to remain un-witnessed.

I just felt the world get lighter.

NP Out

Rock on!

Hi,

I'm a big fan of computer games and played alot of Guitar Hero II when it came out.

There's nothing like nailing a hard rock track on a plastic guitar with large, colourful, plastic buttons.

It is frighteningly close to doing it for real - minus the huge anxiety at the beginning and the huge exhaustion at the end of a live gig.

Now you've got guitar hero on tour and rock band. Both of which provide multiple instruments (guitars, drums and vocals).

You can rock out with your friends and get a serious pleasure high from nailing hard tracks.

The genre is hit such critical mass that you can even get versions of the game specific to your religious tastes.

The humour involved in christian rock goes up a notch when you watch the video of mid western familys enjoying a hedonism based music scene from their own home.

The more advanced games allow you to start composing your own tracks. Making it possible for people to collborate and create music in a simple and easy way.

But is rock n roll really supposed to be this easy to take part in? Have they finally crossed a line and forced the sound of youth rebellion into a plastic package?

More importantly do you want to play on the plastic guitar, drums or sing into the microphone?

Just one more track man!

NP Out

Pants Wettingly Good Art

Hi,

I do not use this phrase lightly.

Dealing with wet pants is one of those things I still have a problem with in spite of being a dad to a 3 year old...

Alex CF just hit my top 5 artists of all time, and it took just 5 minutes of looking around his website.

Imagine you could buy a specimen case brought back from the Lost World penned by Arthur Conan Doyle...

Or maybe some remnant of the expedition to the Mountains of Madness in antarctica penned by the great H.P. Lovecraft...

Or even the travel case accidentally left behind by Death when he was making a house call...

This artist just blows me away with the detail he puts into his creations. His ability to model and hunt down minor antiques to put the touch of authenticity into his work is staggeringly good.

The fact that his work centres around good books, and myths, that intrigue and delight me just adds to my enthusiasm.

This is the first time I have wanted to rush out and buy an artists work in the last 10 years.

Wow

NP Out

P.S. big thanks for technoccult for yet again pointing me in a direction I hadn't known existed but for some reason felt like I had been looking for - for ages

Americans - Screwed up or Righteous?

Hi,

The verdict - Screwed Up

This product is indeed now available and its mere existence made me laugh so much coffee came out of my nose.

Is it the ultimate act of Democrat denial? These guys don't approve of masturbation or anything short married sex.

Is it stark political commentary? Erm probably not.

More importantly - do you think her husband has one?

OMFG

NP Out

OK now I'm officially old

Hi,

The highlight of my weekend was taking my 3 year old daughter to Te Papa. Which is probably the coolest kid focussed museum I've ever been to. Oh and it's local and free too.

They've recently installed a huge interactive video wall, which lets anyone create an interractive masterpiece from stock images and even pictures and video updloaded to their web-site.

It is great fun to play with and dozens of people can use and interract with it at the same time.

I'm a very technical boy - so my feeling aged wasn't caused by this awesome and easy to use piece of technology.

It took me 2 minutes to work out how so retrieve and display images using a base station and then beam them to the wall. Not too shabby for a late thirties tech head.

All the other adults had to have an expert guide them for the first 5 to 10 minutes. So I was feeling smug.

My daughter was watching me the entire 2 minutes and then asked for a go. Not only did she handle it perfectly straight away but she also used multiple fingers to control the touch screen interface in Apple Mac style. This increased her speed and ability to find cool images and then display them on the wall.

The thing is it never occurred to me to use MAC shorthand on the damn thing...

She's only 3 godsdammit!

Is this the start of a slippery slope? In a couple of years will I be getting her to program the 3DTV recorder for me?

NP Out

P.S. on the bright side my daddy-pride level was huge :-)

Other Election News

Hi,

The US presidential race is occupying alot of press - but right now the Austrian election is holding my interest the most.

Austria has a good electoral system which encourages more than usual 2 horse race (10 parties took part in the latest legislative election). Of course this means that minority governments and coalition governments are the norm.

The current election currently has the Social Democtrats in the lead holding 29.7% of the seats. The interesting thing is that two far right wing parties now hold 29% between them.

That represents a huge swing to the far far right - which has got alot of commentators and European pundits worried.

But this is not the rise of a fascist state. Its the people of a democratic nation voting for the leadership of their country. I applaud the fact that Austrians actually get a choice when they vote on election day and that their choices can bring a radical change to how they are governed.

Part of me is still slightly anxious about this result.

Its just as well the two charismatic leaders of the right wing parties loathe each other and do not agree on anything.

NP Out

I'm starting to be predictable

Hi,

There are lots of things that come to mind to blog about today.

• Archaeologists discover Egyptian zombie plague

• Ancient Iranian city a matriarchy - shocking

• Over reaction to the Large Hadron Collider
  

But as per usual I'm going to go with giant fertility symbols cropping up in strange places.

Global warming is causing all manner of strange icebergs to crop up, and this one made me laugh so hard coffee came out of my nose.

Is mother earth showing an extreme reaction to mankinds neglect - or just letting us know what she thinks of us?

I'm voting on the later.

NP Out

Chrome Doesn't Suck

Hi,

One more quick update. I've been testing the new Google Chrome browser all of this morning.

It is quite frankly brilliant.

Chrome is similar to Opera, but faster, easier to use and completely open.

If you're a Windows user go get it now - you won't be sorry. MAC and Linux users have to wait a bit though.

NP Out

Is the Anglican Church changing Gods?

Hi,

Interesting news from the Anglican church, who always get alot of respect from me for adapting to meet the needs of modern society.

But have they gone too far this time?

The Birmigham Cathedral is going to open Anglican themed wine bars as a way to encourage converts and hopefully make some money.

The clergy of the cathedral are behind this move which is definately blurring the line between the church and its community of alcohol loving English folk.

"Fully in line with Christian sacrement" you might say. But - as with most of the rest of Christian dogma and ceremonies a wine sacrement was borrowed from other older religions.

Most well known is of course the worship of Dionysus. Who is actually alot older than his most associated Greek pantheon.

Lets hope that this subtle switch of deviotions does not spread. Orthodox Christians will not like their Sunday worship turned into a all out debauched revel.

Then again it might tempt me into attending...

NP Out

Veils - Its a cultural thing

Hi,

Middle eastern females wear veils and their cultures reinforce them doing so.

Parts of the Koran also talk about veils and body concealment. but then again you can read an awful lot into the Koran.

There continues to be alot of discussion about this on the net. Is it a religious thing, is it an oppression thing etc. Blogs in the west tend to agree that mandatory veil wearing is not a good thing.

But don't veils make women more alluring and sexy?

The Egyptians are definitely pushing this angle with advertising showing that girls who wear veils find it easier to get a husband. In fact Egyptian women are finding that veils just increase harassment.

In some ways do veils and body covering clothing mean that a woman has to be alluring on a more than physical level. There are middle eastern "beauty" contests where other attributes are seen as being more important than just good looks.

Isn't considering a woman as something more than being physically attractive a good thing?

Of course the clothing police do not stop at veils.

There are new lines of clothing for Strict Muslim ladies to allow them to enjoy sporting activities without exposing their bodies.

So at what point do veils and concealing clothing become something that is aberrant to western women?

Well the control aspect is definitely not their cup of tea. Especially when it can be enforced to extremis.

Or are Western women just preoccupied with their looks?

NP Out

Favourite Philosophers No 1 - Alan Watts

Hi,

Just a quick blog about a philosopher I never stop reading or listening to - Alan Watts.

He was a conflicted man, both personally and philosophically. But his take on common sense mysticism and his deep understanding of different points of view / religions is something I find alot of solace in.

He was a late 60's counter culture philosopher, but also in his life a minister and theologian. By the time he died he had published numerous philosophical works and changed a generation.

Here are some on-line links to some of his talks and video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKGO7dAIvQU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRq0ZnA4V7s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0caqNCIUSZM

He's the kind of philosopher who can point out the emperor is naked and turn it into dry humour. The emperor in this case being a society of people accepting everything they are told.

Also he's normally sporting a top beard, which earns him several hundred cool points.

Np Out

The Darker Side of Photo ID

Hi,

I'm a big fan of anonymity. When someone wants to shrink into the background and not have their daily routine and habits measured they should be encouraged to do so.

I won't even carry a Flybuys or swipe my AA card when I buy something just out of general principle. I'm missing out on my reward points which is fine by me - though my better half gets a little up tight about it...

The Liberty organisation in the UK is dedicated to maintaining equal rights and the ability of citizens to be anonymous if they want to. They've been around for years and campaign against things national ID cards and photo drivers licenses. I fully support them.

However there are other reasons to insist on anonymity that I find intriguing and scary at the same time.

The increasing level of surveillance and ID tracking is a sign to some people that Satan has arrived and is busy marking his followers.

I'm all for people believing what they want - but the thought of people making decisions based on a fiery revelations ending makes my knuckles itch.

NP Out

Word for the day - Terrorism

Hi,

"Terrorist" as a word has grown massively in the last few years. It is being adopted and used to provoke reactions in all kinds of settings and with much greater meaning than ever before.

Just like "Virgin" went from being a high impact, in your face, word in the 80s to a brand name, Terrorist is now a brand label too.

This clothing line is produced by Joe Corre - the son of counter culture designers Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood. From what I've seen of the clothes they are bloody brilliant and rival some of his mothers tailored pieces for quality and originality.

Hopefully "Terrorist" will go the same way as "Virgin" and become a completely accepted brand name and lose some of its slap in the face quality.

Right now of course it is being used to illiterate all kinds of threats to western society, including the threats posed by modern culture and media.

I might not agree with the label being used in this way to describe threats to good old fashioned Christian values. I do however nod approvingly at the end of this article which suggests people actually take a parental in what their kids read, watch and play. Hell - that's just good parenting IMHO.

Are bad parents terrorists? I guess it depends what they do to their kids.

Terrorist is a label that is also used correctly in the media. People who use fear to drive change by killing people just abhors me.

As an anarchist I just get angry when people threaten and take lives to try and engineer a change in society. I've also got major doubts about its effectiveness. Whether its a terrorist cell or a government.

Scare people and hurt them and they somehow never end up agreeing with you.

However I'm always up for a little bit of ontological terrorism...

NP Out

The Governator vs COBOL

Hi,

Arnie 0 - COBOL 1

This isn't a reference to Arnie taking on a world from Battlestar Galactica.

It's a reference to the 2nd generation programming language COBOL halting his plans for pay cuts in the Californian Public Sector.

This is a great example of old technology lasting longer than the people who can support it. Like NASA searching rubbish tips and eBay for computers old enough to run their 80s software.

Reading on in the article it is pretty obvious that firing the part time workers who maintained this code wasn't a good move for Arnie. Asking for help from people he's trying to give pay cuts to also seems to be a poor strategy.

The moral of the story is - if you're making a 40 year investment in a computer system make sure you've made a similar investment in the people who maintain it.

I'm still chuckling over this, and considering sending in my CV and asking for a big money contract :-) I've got mad COBOL skills from wayyyyy back.

NP Out

Are you a victim or an anarchist?

Hi,

The internet news is pretty much dominated by stories about stupid people doing stupid things and usually ending up broken or dead.

The stories get even more popular when they have an angle on a popular issue.

This kind of victim watching makes people laugh and helps to reinforce their low view of their fellow man - which is fine by me. Though it can contribute to victim behaviour in my opinion.

Though I do get a chuckle out of the thought that house prices could tumble in a "fat suburb". I loathe the fact that people can blame any kind of metric or net available study for the fact that they eat too much and don't exercise.

I get much more enthusiastic about people actually refusing to be victims and actually doing something to change their lives.

Take the recent case of Indian villagers taking exception to a large corporation planting a chemical research station next to their homes.

Or US citizens objecting to USD 50 million being spent on security for a government event when basic services are not available to people living in the city where it is being held.

These people are working outside of their local governments and corporations to force changes to their communities.

Do these acts make these people anarchists? Are they doing the right thing?

Hell yes.

Np Out

Trash Thieving Bastards

Hi,

I am dangerously close to complaining to a local authority. As I'm an anarchist at heart you can see that things must be pretty bad...

I was reading yesterday about how recycling theft is rife in the US.

People go around in trucks and steal the high value recycling items from people's green bins (such as paper and aluminium cans). Leaving behind the low value stuff such as plastic.

This means that the local authorities and genuine recycling companies make a loss and an important green service starts losing money.

So I got out of bed this morning and noticed on the way to my car that our recycling had been rummaged through and the cans and paper removed.

The bastards!

My better half didn't see a problem with this banditry, seeing the thieves as people helping recycling to take place. I had to disagree, on the basis that the real recyclers wouldn't be able to make a profit from what was left. The high value items help to pay for the recycling of other low value materials.

Oh and recycling was left strewn around the road (including glass).

If I catch these wankers I'll shove my recycling so far up their arse they'll need a pot-holing team to get it out again.

I'm not being pro-authority here. But I am definately for a good business recycling my trash and helping to reduce the mounds of crap that I contribute to landfill.

Np Out

A new / old Fertility god in the heavens

Hi,

The third plutoid (dwarf planet outside of the orbit of Neptune) has now been officially named.

To my delight it has been called Makemake. An Easter Island deity, who is a major fertility symbol in the Rapa Nui mythology.

I'm a big fan of fertility gods, and even more so of the Polynesian male fertility gods. The western male gods of this type were some of the first to go under the chopper.

The icing on the cake for me is that the nickname for this plutoid before its official naming was EasterBunny.

I wonder why they've switched from a major western fertility symbol to a Polynesian one?

OK maybe I don't :-) Acknowledging the ancient gods and symbols that were absorbed by western Christianity has always been a bit fraught.

Choosing a fertility god from a defunct, tiny, religious pantheon just seems like a cop out to me. I would have been much happier if they'd gone with the bunny and explained why.

But I'm still ecstatic they've gone with a god representing a huge stiffy.

NP Out

Evil Genius Blog

Hi,

Just a quick post to say that this is too cool to miss.

A sing-along blog written by a super villain - written by Joss Wheedon.

So stop reading this and go watch these 3 blog episodes right now.

Np Out

I'm bloody man sick

Hi,

Today I'm going to have a self indulgent whinge...

Last night at 02:00 and 05:00 I spent an unpleasant hour throwing up in the toilet and then couldn't get out of bed at the usual time.

All day I've been sitting upright and doing alot of napping and visiting the aforemented toilet alot.

I missed an important video-conference and just generally felt crap all day. Like I had vomit coming out of my stomach and everything below my navel was a solid block of pain.

It turns out there's alot of it going around. And it has been dubbed by many the "man flu".

Which bascially means that when women get it they get better quickly and guys just drone on about it for days and think they're dying.

Here's a good case in point from youtube.com

It might be all true - but I still feel like I'm dying :-)

But at least I can use the computer now without getting sea-sick so things are looking up already!

NP out

Would Henry VIII be in favour of Female Bishops?

Hi,

The Anglican church has been making the headlines of late.

I've been applauding their efforts to update their church to the moral sensibilities of the last century. From accepting gay couples into their congregations and truly opening up the Anglican churches in the UK to become part of a modern community.

This kind of slow moving revolution has recently reached the point of ordaining homosexual priests and female bishops.

This has caused a massive outcry from Anglican conservatives in the UK and elsewhere. With cold war style defections being publicly discussed.

All I can say is that I'm enjoying the spectacle of modernity versus church values.

Rather than discussing "what would the current Pope do?", or even "what would St Paul do?" I think we should be asking a different historical figure - the founder of Anglicanism - King Henry VIII of England.

Anglicism was of course created by the good King to fuse together state and church, and stop the Catholic church from restricting his god given right to rule. Henry was an egotist but also a realist, and I think he would have a few pointed and practical words to say on the subject, something like:

"How dare you lessen the power of the Anglican church! Is she any good at her Job? Oh she likes girls huh? Send her and her friend around to my quarters later."

The funny thing about writing this post is that I was pretty sure how Henry would act - but completely unsure as to how our current Queen would.

As head of the Anglican church I would really like to hear what she has to say on the subject.

NP Out

Shopping - the Hunter Gatherer in me

Hi,

Well for a change I had a few blog-able things to talk about today. I could have gone with any of the following:

• Natural "Gun" Selection
• Sticks and stones escalation by Hippies
• Strict Vicar gets bad press
  

Instead I'm going to go with my love of shopping.

I just love going out on a shopping trip and finding really cool stuff to buy that I was not expecting. Think of it as the modern version of game hunting.

On-line stores are always a last resort for me, because finding and ordering what I want is a short, direct, exercise. It's just no fun at all.

However I've come across an on-line bookstore which actually encourages good old fashioned browsing.

OK it doesn't have every good book I've read in it, but it does encourage me to walk amongst the shelves and spy out something new and unexpected.

I like that alot.

NP Out

Wotcha bro!

Hi,

One of my long time pet peeves living in NZ is the ability for Kiwis to get a pseudo UK accent by virtue of spending a week drinking in London while on their OE (overseas excursion).

It turns out that a newly documented case of a stroke causing an accent change has happened in Canada.

So maybe these Kiwi travelers are suffering some kind of medical stroke, or extreme brain trauma, when spending time in the UK.

My money is on these poor individuals being hit in the head by a 2 x 4 by a cockney enraged by their fake accent...

10 cool points to anyone who can describe who the role of the people in the photo above, and where the tradition of wearing pearl buttons comes form.

NP Out

You don't have to be autistic to work here but...

Hi,

Alot of the top IT engineers I have worked with have had major issues with their other kinds of intelligence (especially social).

When I found an article
investigating autism in IT workers I felt strangely vindicated and sad at the same time.

Where I work right now is a haven for IT engineers, and they placed at a large distance from their end customers.

We've definately created a good place for them to work and play to their strengths.

Playing to people's strengths is all part of managing them - but what happens when you take someone so far outside of their comfort area that they freak out?

Just saying "Do your job" doesn't cut it in my book.

NP out

But can science explain a Picasso?

Hi,

Soon for sure.

V S Ramachandra is definitely in my top 10 scientists of all time, and I had never heard of him before watching this presentation.

Anyone interested in the science of the brain, and art, should watch this video.

If you're of Indian heritage watch it twice :-)

I immediately mailed an artist friend of mine to ask if numbers evoked colours in her vision.

NP out

The Day after the Rapture

Hi,

Many fundamentalist Christians believe that before the end of the world all true believers will be lifted up to heaven to dwell with their god. This whole process is referred to as The Rapture.

Actual belief about when the Rapture will take place is divided. But most of these beliefs have the earth continuing in dire straights for some time afterwards.

A new web based service has started up to deal with the problems facing Christians caught up in the Rapture.

People can lodge documents and messages with the service which will only be released once the Rapture takes place.

Once you're lifted up to heaven you can put your legal affairs in order and say goodbye to loved ones who did not make the grade. Tricky legal positions will crop up - such as you will not have left a corpse so normal inheritance law will not apply. So you can lodge a power of attorney with this service which is enacted after you have been physically transported to heaven.

It is good to see web entrepreneurs finding and exploiting new religion driven markets. The site must be run by pagans to make sure that the service keeps running after all of the true believers have departed.

However I'm not so sure that fundamentalist Christians should be targeted so aggressively. They've got enough problems of their own to deal with.

Personally I won't waste my money on it - I'll be one of those left behind...

NP Out

Book Burning - Criminal or Cleansing?

Hi,

I've just finished reading a news story about an amazing pastor in the US who is encouraging the burning of violent computer games and music by his parishioners.

Normally I am against any kind of censorship for adults. In the past book burning has been associated with some very bad groups of people indeed.

After reading the article however I do not consider this burning exercise to be censorship. It is more akin to the burning of items during pagan cleansing rituals.

Burning items to cleanse yourself is still a part of modern culture. From the photos of old lovers through to burning your rejection slips from publishing houses.

The Pastor is encouraging his community to cast out influences which are damaging to them. He's engaging the young people in his community in a positive way through a negative act.

Read the whole article on him before you pass judgment.

Wow - it looks like I am actually agreeing to someone burning books, and they're Christian...

I wonder at what point I will start disagreeing with this move when it escalates.

NP Out

Another Giant Penis

Hi,

Well that title got your attention didn't it?

Previous posts have covered my love of practical jokes and fertility symbols. So I just had to blog about an excellent school prank perpetrated in US High school.

Overnight a "2008" made from desks on a school playing field morphed into a giant phallus.

Nice one kids.

The original article also has a quote from a student with the surname of Cummings. Which is as my US cousins would say "pure gravy".

NP out

Mortality - Death and Avoiding it

Hi,

There has been alot of press lately on death and cheating it.

In one startling case a man chose to commit suicide after his partner did. By drugging himself and then jumping in the mortuary freezer that her corpse lay in.

I kid you not...

The kind of place someones head has to be in to pull this kind of stunt is beyond me. It also goes to show you're better off killing yourself at home rather than in a public institution.

There are other more reliable ways of offing yourself of course. Quite a few of which include over indulging in something pleasurable.

I'm not surprised that a man overdosing on an aphrodisiac based on poisonous toad venom made the top news.

People cheating death have also been media noticeable in the last week and a bit.

From doctors misdiagnosing patients death, through to people overcoming huge odds to walk away from certain death.

The ebb and flow of media stories seemed quite mundane until I came across some intriguing articles about people who strive to postpone or overcome death itself - through many different kinds of augmentation.

Immortality questers like this have been documented since the middle ages. It's actually quite shocking about some of the key historical figures in the 20th century who have been a part of this diverse movement.

The big question here is not "would you commit suicide"- but "what would you do to prolong your life?"

Personally I can't even give up cigarettes...

NP Out

Reality was Great until the power went out

Hi,

You can walk around my place of work like a ghost some days. People are at their desks working at their PCs and listening to music. They don't even register someone passing their work space because they are too intent on a different landscape.

OK maybe not just working, but chatting, blogging, researching, networking and gaming.

Not too long ago we had a power cut at the office, along with the rest of the city, which lasted over 3 hours.

Cue alot of unreasonably angry and somewhat insecure people forced to relate to each other using old fashioned methods of communication.

This occurrence started me wondering about more extreme ways of creating artificial reality. I'm not talking about sci-fi VR such as Cronenberg's eXistenZ, but what is freely available right now on the open market.

Equipment like the Digital Escape mask being worked on by Frog Design really interest me. Its not there yet but will eventually allow the sight, sound and even sense of smell of the wearer to be under their own control.

Technology for projecting scents has come a long way recently, with new patents being lodged for all kind sof virtual smell appliances. My favourite is the smell gun.

Sensory suits have been around for a while, but have been beset by problems. Not least of all them being a bit rubbish.

Mass produced vests for use with computer games are hitting the market right now.

Did that guy shoot me in the back? Hell yeah my kidneys are complaining...

They also come in pink for the ladies.

But does all this equipment actually help to create a convincing virtual reality? The extra sensory inputs would no doubt help to impose a reality - but will it also be more restrictive than someone just using their imagination?

Maybe we're already there, and our minds are sophisticated enough to conjure our own reality without all the hardware.

Read a good book lately? They always have better special effects than their movie adaption.

NP Out

Star Wars Merch - from Sublime to OMFG!

Hi,

The creator of Star Wars continues to cash in on his success with merchandising. I say - Go for it Lucas at least two of your movies were great!

Just coming available now is a remote controlled droid (R2D2) which acts as a home media center. It projects your movies against a wall, plays your DVDs and CDs and will follow you around like a dog on a power lead.

The remote control is a step too far, but all in all it is pretty much excellent.

There is a definite dark side to this whole merchandising thing...

Lucas also does pet dress up costumes, and the only one available right now is this one.

Dressing a pug up as Darth Vader is one thing. But dressing a dog up as the Star Wars sex symbol Leia in a harem outfit?

That's just disturbing, and the people who buy it need to be closely watched. As a colleague put it "this is borderline bestiality".

I'm not sure if bestiality has a border-line. However now that I think about it I am sure that the way people act can be identified by what they buy for fun.

Or maybe it is already happening...

NP Out

Boom!

Hi,

10 cool points to those who can name 90% of these references. There are only 2 frames I was stuck on:-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0tVjmHhnCo

Np Out

MP Bites; Computer Game

Hi,

Finally a blog about a computer game! it's about time :-)

GTA IV has been out for a day and its causing ripples already.

GTA is a sandbox of a game, which allows players to act as part of the US criminal working as part of the dark side of American society.

I played the first GTA and found it to be too open ended to be fun. I've not picked up any of the successors - though now I'm going to have to...

An NZ MP has pushed out the old and dusty bandwagon of games causing a drop in our society's moral values.

This from the MP who brought us the abortive Christian Party (they couldn't agree on who was in charge) and who resigned from his political party because of an anti-smacking bill but then forgot to vote against it.

I just love these people. Art reflects life and vice versa. So censorship can change society.

But does ignoring a part of society make it go away?

Just remember folks - guns don't shoot people, kids who play computer games shoot people.

NP out

Belief in Medicine

Hi,

Just a quickie today.

In our increasingly fundamentalist times belief and science are locking horns on a regular basis.

A news story I read today reinforced this battle. With parents who practice faith healing being prosecuted for their actions contributing in a major way to the death or their daughter.

Faith healing has been shown to work in some cases, and has definately helped people gain the will to recover from major illnesses. However there is no clear, and repeatable, evidence of this kind of healing working with a high percentage of success.

Whereas medical diabetes treatments are working all the time, every day, for millions of people worldwide.

So are these people short sighted and blind in their faith? Or is society to blame for not allowing people to treat their own families illnesses in their own way?

All I know is that one girl would probably be alive today if they had room in their belief structure for Doctors.

As a parent I'm going to give them a score of 0 out of 10 for parenting and leave it at that.

NP out

Genetic Fate - Better Than The Old Fate

Hi,

In the headlines at the moment are articles covering the use of DNA testing to identify anti-social behaviour.

This seems like a good thing until lawyers start to use genetic flags like this to show that their clients are acting under the influence.

What piques my interest is that the people using this defence are effectively stating that they have no free will.

In a world where people can blame their mental and physical state for their own mis behaviour we now can add another item to this list - Genetic Destiny

Now I am not saying that these are bad, or invalid, defences. What I am saying is that free will, and the ability to make our own decisions, is one of the corner-stones of my personal philosophy.

To me free will and fate are the same thing.

Went there - or - Put there.

Without another frame of reference you cannot tell the difference between the two. Can they now, and is that a good thing?

I think not.

NP out

Top 5 Religions

Hi,

As a polytheist I will believe in anything given half a chance. Here is a list of my current Top 5 religions that I find it hard not to respect.

1. Santo Daime

• Doctrine 4
  
• Complexity 7
  
• Growth 9
• X-Factor 9

That's a total score of 29 for this Brazilian based wonder.

A relatively simple doctrine that has a wide heritage taken from Christianity, south American shamanism and African animism.

It gets a massive 9 x-factor score because of the use of shamanistic drugs in its sacrament. I fully endorse the use of psychedelics as aid to spiritual growth, and they have helped me alot in the past.

In Santo Daime you're experiences are guided and interpreted by spiritual leaders. It all adds up to an inward experience that is better than a dozen trips to your shrink.

Of course many Santo Daime worshipers in the Western world have had problems practicing their religion - their sacramental tea contains a type A drug. Their religion is underground in Western Europe because of this but their following is growing at a huge rate.

2. Santeria

• Doctrine 7
  
• Complexity 6
  
• Growth 6
  
• X-Factor 8

Santeria has to be the most fascinating and alive religion existing. It comes in at a close second place with a score of 27.

Strictly speaking it is a blend of the African Yoruba faith and the worship of Christian saints and mythological figures. But this doesn't even scratch the surface.

Calling it Voodoo really doesn't cover it either.

Imagine gods who are not only alive, but willing to pop around your house for tea and communicate with you through your elderly grandmother.

My patron from this pantheon is Baron Zaraguin.

This religion is so popular, and believed, in the southern US and Cuba that special Catholic churches have risen up in which people volunteer to be possessed by the Loa so that they can be exorcised by priests.

That's the front line of a religious battle that has been going on for quite some time.

3. Catholicism

• Doctrine 7
  
• Complexity 8
  
• Growth 3
  
• X-Factor 3

That's a respectable 21 for this aged Goliath.

Catholicism is on the rise. Shades of tolerance on the home front are causing lapsed Catholics to return to their faith, and that old time religion is being pushed hard by missionaries in the developing world.

With a doctrine that is a pick and mix of different beliefs and laws it still manages to put out a united front and do good work helping people.

It gets respect from me because it introduced structured polytheism to many countries and kick started a number of other religions (not least 1 and 2 above).

"Hey - don't you mean mono-theism?" I hear you cry.... Well no.

Hands up if you're wearing a St Christopher rather than a Cross.

4. Mahikari

• Doctrine 5
  
• Complexity 3
  
• Growth 4
  
• X-Factor 6

What happens when you practice ancestor worship and then have your most worshiped living god forced to renounce his divinity (and that of his ancestors) at the end of world war 2?

Well you get Mahikari, which comes in with a score of 18.

Imagine a Japanese version of the Illuminati, that plots to extend their influence and reinstate their most holy blood line to its previous eminence.

A ground force of ordinary people looking for happiness are the basis for the religion, with upper echelons being taken by big businessmen, politicians etc.

Sounds like a top 100 book doesn't it? Well there are enough personal accounts, and legal cases, out there to show that this group is alive and well.

It's largest growth area is in the USA funnily enough.

5. Pastafarianism

• Doctrine 3
  
• Complexity 3
  
• Growth 5
  
• X-Factor 6

Kicked into last place with a score of 17 is the Church of the Flying Spaghetti monster.

Its a brilliant creation of internet culture that sets itself in direct competition with American creationist Christian doctrine.

Having a good poke at statistics and its role in US politics is the icing on the cake.

Theologians have greeted the new net religion with applause in some cases, because it brings back some much needed humour into religious debates.

Or are the Pastafarians just providing ammunition for other religions to fight with?

NP out

P.S. For 10 cool points name a famous Grant Morrison character who has Baron Zaraguin as a patron.

Tattooed Beat Messiah

Hi,

As an English bloke tattoos are part of my culture and a permanent part of my wardrobe. They are a way of self expression in the UK and many other countries that just never dies out (no pun intended).

The science and evolution of tattoos never stops either. Not just in the art design of the pieces but also in the way the pieces are applied and augmented.

One the right you can see a pretty wild augmentation. The owner of this leg tattoo had small silicone inserts placed under their skin to get that all important busty effect.

All went well until the implants started leaking and causing some major health issues. But that's another story.

There have also been recent moves to widen the appeal of tattoos so that anyone can be cool.

New technology means that the same approach used to give a busty effect above can also be used to provide braille tattoos.

An example can be seen on the right. Entire outline pictures and textures can be produced with this technique, not just the letters of the braille alphabet.

Plans are being made for cyber aware tattoos, which are something right out of popular science fiction. These tattoos would identify the owner and act as a secure method of identification

Of course tattooing and modern technology have a long and not so illustrious history.

The IBM punched card system used to manage the workload and population of German concentration camps allocated inmates unique numbers as well.

No prizes for guessing where these numbers ended up on the inmates.

In a way all tattoos act as identifiers for the people who wear them. I know it would be very easy to identify me from my ink-work even if I had been in a horrific accident.

So maybe the act of individuality that is wearing a tattoo goes too far. Wearing tattoos makes you 100% unique and ruins any chance you have at being anonymous in the modern world.

NP Out

P.S. 10 cool points for anyone who can name the lead singer and band related to the title of this post

The Real Cost of a Virgin Bride

Hi,

Dowries are still the norm in Asia and the Far east for high class weddings between important families.

I actually think dowries are a good thing. Attaching money to a wedding is a kind of insurance policy, and in countries where women are an underclass it has to be good for a lady to point at her price tag and know her worth.

In the news today was the first negative dowry I have ever seen. Simply put the wedding was drawn up on paper, the couple decided not to wait, and then his parents walked away from the ceremony.

So the bride's family are suing for over AUD 1 million because of her loss of virginity.

This is obviously not about the loss of status, or the cost of a repair job. It is about the loss of an expensive commodity.

Let's face it this kind of commodity has retailed at a premium for all of recorded history. In western Europe it is probably too rare to price, with recent stats showing on 4% of 24 year olds are virgins.

So should we be putting price tags on abstinence and clean behaviour?

If these items were traded I know for sure that their value would vary widely depending on where they were sold.

So I foresee an international market in these commodities with healthy, virginal, sane, men and women fetching a high price.

Whether anyone would qualify for the "sane" category is another matter entirely.

NP out

Gin and Tonic at Work...

Hi,

I'm blogging mid way through a work-place experiment.

I am using software simulated alcohol, which is currently bubbling its way through my headphones as sound waves while I am writing.

Apparently it is the equivalent to 3 gin and tonics.

You can get a demo hit of alcohol yourself here.

These first 2 hits are free...

Going into a bit more detail, these doses comprise of various sound waves that are generated by a small media player.

These waves are supposed to affect your brain waves and generate a particular feeling, or substance experience.

I'm currently 1/3 of the way through my demo alcohol dose and I have noticed the following symptoms:

• My palms have gone cold and tickly
• My eyes are going glassy
• I do genuinely have a feeling of relaxation
• My spelling is awful...

All that is missing is some relaxing red visuals and I would swear I was undergoing a session of Ganzfeld treatment.

Ganzfeld is an ESP receptive state caused by lying someone down, playing white noise through headphones, and making them wear goggles which display a low level of red light.

I tried it out a few times in my twenties to see if there would be any change in my perceptions - and post treatment there was. like a low level version of a ketamine come-down.

This shot of virtual alcohol is different from Ganzfeld audio, because it much more controlled and does vary over time.

So right now I'm going to give this treatment a thumbs up. Its not real alcohol and I know it, however it does have a marginally similar effect and can be used anywhere.

At 65% of my does I have just realised that sound frequencies like this are also used to prime people who are brainwashed.

Ah well - I guess this is self administered.

NP out

Hello Kitty - Fashion Victim

Hi,

Daughter No 2 has been avidly watching Hello Kitty since I bought her a DVD when I was in Jakarta last.

It's hard not to buy DVDs in Indonesia when most disks cost less than a cup of coffee back home.

It is wholesome stuff, and good toddler-education. Covering such subjects as sharing, saying you're sorry and being a friend.

As with all toddler telly the theme tune is catchy and continues to drive me insane. Especially when your daughter sings it at full volume.

Of course Hello Kitty has been around for ages and is a huge character in the Japanese "Cute" culture phenomenon. Where mainstream adults display their affections for their favourite cartoon characters in the way they dress.

You can get everything from neck-ties through to Hello Kitty g-strings. And it turns out that Thailand are getting in on the act - but with a completely different angle...

Police officers who commit minor offences are being forced to wear a rather distinctive little Hello Kitty armband.

You can find the BBC article on it here.

So we've got the juxtaposition of people displaying affection to a character and those being punished and made to look soft by being forced to wear an icon that lessens them.

This all got me wondering... as you would expect.

Could people be punished by forcing them to wear unfashionable labels, or to advertise products they use which fall into the "unmentionable" category?

I find the idea of a drug possessing Paris Hilton being forced to wear items from J C Penney's, or a vote defrauder Hilary Clinton being forced legally to wear a shirt advertising Super Size Tampons, bloody hysterical.

Not a fashion crime - more of a fashion punishment. Definitely a low cost approach to home detention.

NP out