mind the gap
Originally uploaded by Danny_B.
What is up with this??
Cheap nasty spraypaint stencil public information signage. Trying to be cool like London. I think the gap between the platform and the train is the least of their worries.
What about the gap between the time the train is scheduled to arrive and the time that it actually does arrive?
Or the gap between the regional council's policy to promote cycling, and the rail transport operators imposition of a $1 surchage coupled with their ban on bikes before 9am and between 4pm and 6pm?
And they tell us to mind the gap??
Pfttt.
Other people struggle with this too, I know.
But it is surprising that more often than not, people actually know what you're talking about.
It is similar to the phenomenon where you can rearrange all letters except the first and last in each word of a sentence and it is still readable/understandable.
Our minds fill in the gaps, or join the dots, so to speak.
I guess this leads to the degradation of language, where words lose their specificity and their distinct meanings are genericised such that the more appropriate word for the given use is eventually dropped from one's vocabulary.
This is illustrated in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, with the introduction of Newspeak.
But this is actually happening.
We have to take our language back; fight the urge to settle for generalised words; use a dictionary and/or thesaurus; correct those who commit literary and linguistic offences.
Well - I've set myself a challenge, and I expect you to hold me to account.
Yesterday, they miraculously disappeared and rematerialised a few seconds later as a delicious chocolate chip cookie. A cookie remarkably similar to those sold from the vending machine at work. In fact, it was so similar as to be identical.
Bizarre incidents such as this occur quite frequently, with an empty space on my desk suddenly being replaced with a strong, hot, cup of steaming black coffee. Or sandwiches mysteriously disappearing from my lunch bag around lunchtime, accompanied by a satiating of any hunger I may have.
The words and colours displayed on my computer monitor change repeatedly throughout the day.
And I can move from one environment to another, simply by moving my legs. It is as if everything were being rotated about the point which is my feet.
My existence is saturated with endless wonders.
Not sure why. Was up and down and stuff.
Auckland public transport is a farce. With Michelle in her last week of work, I'm looking for an alternative means of transport to work.
I have a BMX, which would be perfect for getting from home to the train, from the train to work and vice versa. But no, no bikes allowed on the train before 9am and between 4pm and 6pm. So so stoopid. And even outside of those times, bikes cost an extra $1.
I also have a road bike, but 30kms each way is just a bit much.
With a baby on the way, and an elderly Nissan Skyline that won't fit a baby buggy in the boot, a new car is in order.
My list of preferred vehicles is as follows:
- Toyota Caldina
- Toyota Carib/Corolla wagon
- Nissan Primera wagon
- Mazda Capella/626 wagon
...then there was the architect who had an unhealthy obsession with designing complicated shopping malls.
The psychiatrist told him he had a complex complex complex.
- by dan willis
- They look cool, without question.
- Mac screen fonts are anti-aliased
- They produce better performance per MHz (lovely RISC)
- They look cool
- TextMate.
- And they look cool
I need to do more work.
Think of the Greek empire, and subsequently the Roman empire.
This passage in Romans (funnily enough), gives some sort of a Biblical grounds to the above observation.
In the 18th century, Edward Gibbon wrote 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire', which proposes that homosexuality led to the decline of the Roman empire. A Google search returns a number of articles and discussions surrounding this idea.
Homosexuality is now an unignorable issue in New Zealand society, with the government implementing legislation that considers and allows for homosexual relationships.
Are we seeing a decline in morality here in New Zealand?
If so, how does this moral decline affect our society?
The passage quoted above mentions homosexuality first (verse 26), and in reasonable detail, but does goes on to list wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice. People become gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless (verse 29 onwards).
We are seeing an increase in obesity, violent crime, youth offending, and many other things that indicate that God is turning us over to our sinful desires.
Yet to an extent, New Zealand is advancing and thriving, with low unemployment, a strong economy - but are these positives merely superficialities, a mask that will soon be pulled away to reveal the ugliness and decay beneath?
autocannibalism is actually a word.
An excellent article by Bruce Schneier that looks at the sheer uselessness of a national ID card for security purposes (or any purpose, for that matter).
Psst.... wanna see a real live volcano?
Me discover car not fit baby buggy in boot. Me need new car.
Me say vote Bush.
Although me think carbombs in Baghdad is sux, me still think democracy in Iraq is lessest of any evils.
Me shut up and do work now.
PS: My new being employed technique is unstoppable.
- I like the city. Even when it is raining and buses run red lights, and the traffic is heavy. It is cool.
- The new Apple iMac G5 is hot!
- Cooked breakfasts are/were yum.
- Making fat stuff faster and skinnier is tricky.
- I have marveled at the fact that my home PC hasn't had a virus, despite the fact that we have no antivirus software and I do spend a lot of time on the internet. But I have recently figured out why it has not been infected. There isn't enough room left on my hard-drive for a virus.
- Cars are wonderful things. Partiularly ones with powerful internal combustion engines. But I'm not ashamed of my green side. Which is why I think the new Toyota Prius is cool. And I think nuclear power is cool too. Rod Donald doesn't. He doesn't know why he doesn't either - he just doesn't.
