A page that speaks
of the future, the present, and the past; from a perspective of the community,
our family, and myself. Some say a picture
is worth a thousand words...
THE FUTURE
The Future is where I work. My job makes
me look above the rim of the daily newspaper and focus on the distant horizon.
What will we do in the year 2030? what are the wildcards that will give
the road to the future its spice?
Some believe that our current existence has
a very limited future. The writer and mathematician Vernon Vinge
has put a peg on the ground and suggested that as computers reach and then
overtake human mind equivalence, our current mode of existence will be
swept away forever. You can read about his beliefs here
. Of course you don't have to agree with
him, but it is an interesting idea. In a way, Vinge's Singularity
is as alien as the Apocalypse; a full stop at the end of human history...
If you want to have a look at what other shapes the future could take,
have a look at my Futures Page.
THE PRESENT
The Present is where I live. Canberra
is a typical late 20th Century city, with the ugly bits rubbed out.
Some people say that its very perfection makes it bland, lacking that bit
of spice that brings excitement to existence. I disagree. I
think a city is in fact a machine for living, and I like my living to be
comfortable.
One of the chief attractions to living in Canberra,
is that it has four well determined seasons, and the abundance of european
trees, make Autumn a feast for the senses. There is an odd pleasure
in kicking away piles of dead leaves which bring echoes of childhood days...
THE PAST
The Past is where I play, or rather played...and
maybe will play. By this I mean that for a long time I was a member
of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)
and may one day be again. The SCA is a worldwide group of people
dedicated to the study and recreation of the Middle Ages (not necessarily
as they were... but as they should have been) There
are lots of good people there and lots of good ideas. The Australian
link to the SCA can be found here.
Otherwise, if you "been there, done that", you may care to visit the
SCA 12-Step Recovery Page .
THE COMMUNITY
The human interest in developing and maintaining
working communities is a hard-wired part of ourselves, despite what you
may sometimes see on tv. I believe that one should not only draw
strength and sustenance from it, but that one should put something back.
What communities most need not your money, but your time. In my case,
I try to do my bit by training as a Scout Leader. The homepage for
our own group is here.
There are more links to the Scouting Movement in the Links Section.
THE FAMILY
What exactly is a family? Is it a bunch
of people whose blood sings together? or a group of strangers moodily sharing
the same roof? Maybe there are as many definitions as there are families.
The problem is that such a broad definition makes it worthless for analysis...
Our family is the typical nuclear-thingy.
Two adults, three kids, a dog, a cat, and several fishes (the number of
fish varies according to whether we remember to feed the cat or not).
Some words and photos can be found here.
DA ANIMALS....
Some people go overboard about their pets.
We just consider them part of the family. True, the dog sleeps outside,
and the cat gets locked out of the house during the day, but they are still
family members. Our dog Maxii is a two year old Briard. A Briard
is a French Sheepdog. He is about the size of an Old English Sheepdog,
but has long black wavy hair. The best way to describe him is as
a "walking flokati rug, with a wet nose and sharp teeth".
Our cat Schnookums is a sealpoint Birman.
Someone must have once told him that Birmans are the kings of cats... and
he has never forgotten. He carries himself with imperial majesty,
but his name (thanks kids) punctures is self-importance. We'll have
some photos of the critters as soon as we can get them to stay still while
we scan them!
OTHER INTERESTS
How can we leave this page without a reference
to the SCA? The most wonderful bunch of inventive, resourceful, clever,
anarchic (and anachronistic) bunch of dreamers to ever walk the earth.
Research shows that most members of the SCA stick around for about 3.5
years... Jacquie and I were members for eight years. Maybe
that says we are a bit slow, but I think it is more that we were having
too much fun.
Alas, although all good things must come to
an end, sometimes parting is less than a sweet sorrow. I think there
should be a 12 Step Recovery Process for ex SCA people. I'm doing
a start on it here
DRAGONS
If dragons never existed, why have they remained
so popular in the mythology of so many cultures? Even odder is that they
have kept such different symbolisms. Their image can be that of
the fierce dragon that is the symbol of a cruel and unyielding Nature,
demanding tribute and apeacement in the form of the most desirable damsels,
and the most precious produce; or the wise beast, whose eyes reflect knowledge
like the echoes of history. I like the latter symbol. To my
mind wisdom is that which all people should seek above everything else;
the pinnacle of the human condition. Anyway, enough pontificating,
here is a page about dragons.