blogtrotter

Name:
Location: Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany

I'm a sort of creative person, seeking the meaning of life . Hard to capture the essence of the mind/brain/soul - but I delight in arguing with ultra-materialists on consciousness. Ah! the smell of a rose and its redness, the smell of a fine wine, a sunset, - great stuff, and all subjective. Oh yeah and actually am Scorpio by 4 hours according to expert astrologer friend - blogger auto-star-sign system missed the fact that I'm on the cusp. Though I agree with Casius when he said "the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings".

Monday, May 30, 2005

Bar-b-qs and birthdays

It was the long hot Corpus Christi weekend here - hottest May Weekend on record and that was good on one hand as we had 2 bbqs - first was in the Odenwald at Ian's farmhouse - wonderful lamb from a party service and Ian's inimitable ratatouille - plus his interesting wife, sister in-law (with whom our kids walked the dog and chatted amicably in the cool thick walled house, apparently, we heard later), kids (big, doctors etc.) and friends. Then next day the heat held up and it was our turn to entertain B's relatives and we did that in style as well, if I say so myself. So it was hard to return to the grind today, but lucky nature played along with us in turning cooler for the office stint. Now having dealt with Ian's 62 birthday and leaving do from work (end of an era, only to be kept up by e-mail, the boon of retirement), thoughts turn to my mother's 80th on thursday - just ordered a bunch of flowers and a copy of my book, of course, at good old http://pabd.com/topics/scifi (top of the page, "Grannnies & Time Machines"). Then at end of June we will all congregate from over the globe for a big restaurant meal to mark the occasion. Let's hope it goes off okay and the long lost brothers will be in the same place at same time for first time in several years. That would be nice for mother and us - hopefully one big happy family...

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Theology on the terrace

Let’s see – where are my notes for fair copy? Ah yes, a bookmark in Ratziner/Metz/Moltman/Goodman-Thau. What better on Corpus Christi than to relax into scholastic theology. And to my delight I find that the pope is a fine writer. Now for that entry… I was turning away from the table with a cup of coffee in one hand while with the other hand I switched off the light hanging over the breakfast table. I did this because the morning light on this fine spring day had become quite strong already. However as I did so, I could almost feel brain cells powering down and a corresponding diminution in the amount of dopamine or similar neurotransmitter. At the same time, however, I was inside the feeling. Later I relaxed with my Ratzinger. And a thundering good read it is too. He knows his way round Aquinas, Adorno, Teilhard de Chardin etc. No wonder he made pope. I felt justified in reading this as the Corpus Christi procession went past, with the sun glinting on the monstrance. And the brass instruments of the band. Then I strolled out into the garden to savour the fragrance of our spring plants and the beauty of the roses. It was good light for painting, so I added some more vibrant colours to the surreal space-scape to the sound of Kitaro wafting onto the terrace.

Sunday, May 22, 2005

Heim fame, book & pneuma

Yeah, in Benford's tales of Olmy the exclamation is 'Star, Fate and Pneuma!' - I was reading one of his stories at the weekend and very fine it was too. Also managed to correct translation of a German article on Burkhard Heim - with any luck it could appear in New Scientist.
Wouldn't it be great if Heim's Grand Unified Field theory or Theory of Everything as they say these days replaced String or Brane theory as flavour of the month? Then as one of his few scientific supporters at the moment I would feel myself vindicated. Maybe that involvement may get me more attention than the book http://pabd.com/2005/books/hdeasy . Thunder rolls in the background as the strange May weather changes yet again - it's been sunny but sticky and humid all day, as yesterday. We ate outside at local newly renovated Kirchmuhle Restaurant - nice there on the banks of the river. The cat has taken to lyign on the mat in front of the house all day, for hours on end.

Thursday, May 19, 2005

To sleep, perchance to dream

Batter out house, three cornered Momo!

Yes, the passionate black feline did it again - miowed so pitifully and hurled herself against the door until we had to let her in.

I would have read more sci-fi or philosophy but when the cat is there it's early to bed, early to rise.
Sure enough, at 04:30 it"s not hte secret police but the cat, shuffling papers politely to get my attention.
I groan groggily, forcing her to let out one plaintive miow.
That's enough for me. Shrugging off sleep after 4 1/2 hours, I get up slow and easy.
meantime cat has become intersted in ball of paper. I'm having none of that and walk determinedly downstairs. She is trained well enoguh now to give up that playfulness and march after me down to the kitchen, snacks and out the door.
Back to bed for more shuteye. Wake after an hour. Doze for 1/2.
C'est la vie!

Monday, May 16, 2005

Internet connection kaput at home...

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

time = consciousness

They're the same, aren't they? The two are inextricably intertwined. In Quantum Mechanics, it is energy and time that are conjugate variables, like the more famous position and momentum. But in the world of experience it is time and consciousness that are thus entwined. No aspect of C is thinkable without time - not even the building up of the image on the internal TV screen for the internal little man or homunculus to view. Similarly it is C that brings time to life, breathing fire into what would be otherwise just a coordinate, as Hawking would say.

Monday, May 09, 2005

after a long weekend

It's been a long weekend in this part Germany, so I was a bit slow re-aating to the work rhythm. Wasn't too bad though - I have wonderful colleagues. I must fix that puncture, though it be slow and overnight. At least rain spared us today, unlike during the weekend: though ahving sadi that, we escaped lightly at Frankenstein, around whose castlw we walked on at times muddy slippy wood paths. But the kids had fun, which made it easier for us. All the more hunger for mothers' day cake and later curry.

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Selling page for my book now on-line

Yes, it's finally there:

http://pabd.com/2005/books/hdeasy

I've already had a few people ordering through this site. Check it out! Also, I'm now on Ukauthors.com, under the name Easyd. Some new bits of fiction and philosophy there.

Otherwise, we're taking it easy here on a rainy public holiday. Sunshine comes through now and then so I'll go for a walk before lunch of Schnitzel. Positive developments in the week:

* The space shop at ESOC accepts my book for sale - produced poster for it with mug shot from my old interview days. A bit reddish but it will do.

* Getting into philosophy a bit more - reading Heidegger book again, Bergson & co.##

* Carolyn returns from her 3 day school trip none the worse for wear - needed to catch up on sleep though, as the boys had kept them awake. So she was a bit cranky yesterday eve but after a 12 hur sleep she was bright and cheerful again.

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Now for an olive nut

Now for an olive nut. That actually means a brazil nut still with a thin layer of hard-necked olive oil coating it, dating from the broken bottle disaster of the week before. Now after some days of rain and the sudden beginning of summer (or a spring sneak preview thereof) I returned to the scene of the 'crime' where I polluted the environment to the extent of spilling some drops of the broken oil on a spot outside our house. Never mind, though – time, the great healer, will soon put paid to that blemish. And indeed after another downpour it is almost gone. Would that all our sins could be washed away like that. Will the new pope be a lenient father confessor?

Book flight to Dub for July - to see long lost brother and wife. That will do us all a power of good. These anipodal realtionships are a strain for those of us who are non fully fledged members ofthe jet set.