Archive for August, 2004
The Olympics
Posted by smokingpen in olympics on August 17, 2004
I’ve been watching the Olympics. Not to the extent that I am glued to it, but I flip back and forth between NBC and whatever else is on. So, I am watching it, and I am glued to the T.V. during my favorite sports, namely volleyball, and specifically women’s beach volleyball. This is a sport I can watch frequently, and I hope that it has less to do with the women and more to do with the sport – as volleyball is also the only sport that I really enjoy playing.
Given that, I am tired of watching the United States win at most things. I know that we are the odds on favorites for most sports because we can throw money and people at them until we are the best, the most scientific, the most engineered, the most ready to go to an amateur event and win; but to constantly have the United States National Anthem playing, over and over again has got to be one of the most embarrassing things anyone can listen to. Imagine the host country just wishing, just hoping, that their team will get a gold somewhere just to hear their anthem played; imagine those kids in some obscure nation that want their athletes to win, and in the end you can imagine what it must be like to watch the same team win over and over again.
I do understand that people will tell you it’s the honor of going that is important, not the act of winning. If that were true, if that were really true, then we wouldn’t dump tens and hundreds of millions of dollars a year into athletes to train them and focus them on winning in their competitions. We would not spend $700 million dollars to broadcast the Olympics. The whole event, though important for national pride, would not be so overwhelming as to require the amount of attention that we throw at it.
Don’t get me wrong, I want to see our people win. I want to see our athletes be the best of the best; but at the same time, I want the competition to be even. I would love to watch truly amateur athletes compete head to head where someone from Zimbabwe had a chance of winning, or someone from Madagascar, or someone from some third world country who had trained hard, saved everything, worked a job, and dedicated his, or her, entire life to going to the Olympics. That is what I am impressed by. That, of all things, is what I want to see.
Go U.S.A. but more, Go World.
John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West
Real Heroes Fly
I updated the other site
Posted by smokingpen in site maintenance on August 14, 2004
I have updated the other StandingWater Creations site. There is stuff there, it no longer redirects directly back to here. Basically, this will be my static page that tells the world about me, about my writing and other creative projects, and will hopefully be used as an educational outlet. In essence, between my BLOG and StandingWater Creations you will be able to track what I am doing. Now if I could just find a real job.
John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West
Real Heroes Fly
The Difference Between Here and There
Posted by smokingpen in East v. West on August 14, 2004
I woke up the other morning, it was uncomfortable and a part of me was completely set to go straight to the store, purchase whatever it was that I needed at whatever cost, come back to the house I am staying in and install it. That’s what I was going to do. It didn’t occur to me, until later in the day when I’d ignored what I was going to do, that I had lived like this once before in my life.
What occurred to me, and this may not come as a surprise to anyone, is that the difference between Utah and the East Coast is really the difference between arid weather and humid weather. Dry and wet. That’s what got me. Since leaving Texas for, uhm, different pastures, I have lived in an arid environment where when people talk about intolerable humidity they are talking about the evaporation of water for an hour or so right after it rains. They are not talking about the pervasive, and constant, amount of water in the air. And to make matters slightly worse, since there’s a hurricane and a tropical storm moving up the east coast out of Florida, pushing all sorts of mostly awkward weather patterns into the northeast, it meant that I had to actually live through an increase in the natural humidity for the area.
Not since Texas, and I believe before my mission, have I had to live through humidity like that. It was before my mission when I was working swing shift at a plastics plant, and every third week-ish had to work graveyard which meant sleeping days, did I have to try and get a goodnight’s rest while somehow expecting the temperature to cool off and the moisture in the air (which makes everything permanently wet) to disappear, have I had the problem I had the other night.
Most nights, the temperature drops, the humidity lessens, you get some sleep, the next morning (or afternoon… you know, whatever) you wake up and the humidity is back, but it’s not that bad. Yeah, uhm. Not the other day. It was bad and I wondered how I’d fallen so far as to lose my sense of ability to sleep anywhere under almost any condition? What happened to me? How can I have fallen so far?
What I mean is, I have had to adapt to all sorts of different conditions and situations already (for example people here like to wear their LDS conversion stories on their sleeves and share those stories at the drop of a BoM whereas in Utah you share mission stories at the drop of spittle from the baby in your lap), but on top of adapting to new conditions and situations here I am having to come to terms with humidity, in an extreme, yet again. It’s not all bad. I mean, given that I can locate a job where I want to be working and other things come to fruition then purchasing an air-conditioning unit with humidity control won’t be bad, regardless of where I choose to work, but at the same time, getting to that point, making that distinction – or whatever, is proving to be a chore in and of itself.
I can deal with humidity just like I can deal with the extremes of heat. There isn’t a lot to be said, or implied, in either area. What is interesting to me is that I chose to come and do this. I chose to drive for four days straight to sit in a sweat box and actually enjoy sitting in the sweat box. It’s proved to be an interesting adventure and experience.
More later.
John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West
Real Heroes Fly
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov — book review
Posted by smokingpen in Aldous Huxley, Ayn Rand, George Orwell, Isaac Asimov, book reviews on August 11, 2004
When I saw that they were going to make a movie out of I, Robot a science fiction bit by Isaac Asimov, I had to go out and break my long time rule of not reading science fiction and buy this piece of science fiction. The first disappointment I had, when walking through the Layton, UT Barnes and Noble store was that they did not carry ANY copies of that book that weren’t printed with a cover showing Will Smith. I like Will Smith, I hate books that advertise movies. This almost stopped me from buying the book and ignoring the movie altogether – or at the very least, to walk into a used book store and purchase a nice old, in need of a new home, copy of the book rather than something that was a tie-in to a movie. Because of time constraints, I believe I was on my way out the door to go rafting down the lower Snake River outside of Jackson, WY, I grabbed I, Robot and three other books and raced out the door.
What is interesting to me is that when I was 12 or 15 I tried to pick up some Asimov because that was what my older brother was reading at the time, and discovered it to be a difficult book to read, understand, or even want to continue with. So, at that time I deemed Asimov to be off my reading lists and have never really thought about picking him up again. That is, until I saw the previews for a movie starring Will Smith.
Basically, without seeing the movie, I understand the plot to be that robots have become an integral part of human society. They take care of our children, they walk the dog, clean the dishes, do all of the dirty work that we don’t want to do ourselves and are tired of hiring illegal aliens to do, illegally, and so robots – which look a lot like humans, are now the central force behind many of the jobs that are to disgusting or to dangerous for humans to do. The problem is that robots are becoming self-aware and are not happy with this scenario; they rebel, and in the end a lot of robots are destroyed and I am sure that Will Smith is considered a hero.
Now, that would make for an interesting book in my opinion, but having tried to read Asimov years ago and having a wicked long memory, I didn’t recall his writing style leaning in that direction. Instead, I recall it being … different. Weirder somehow. Not what the movie was portraying.
In truth, I was right. The book delves into the theoretical possibilities of creating a self-aware robot (personally I don’t believe that to be possible) that begins to believe that it is superior to human-kind. However, at the same time that the robots are becoming more complex and more self-aware, they are rules by three laws. A robot cannot through action or inaction cause injury or death to a human, robots must obey orders given to it by a human, and they cannot intentionally harm or inure themselves unless there is a conflict with the first two rules. Therefore, built into the robotic matrix, is a failsafe against the type of movie that Twentieth Century Fox produced in that Robots cannot harm a human or through inaction cause a human to come to harm.
The book is a little different. Okay, the book is completely different. Basically, Asimov’s I, Robot is a history of the U.S. Robotics Company and all of the robots they’ve created through the years. It follows, loosely, the narrative accounts of the first robo-psychologist and the experiences she has had with robots from the first speaking robot all the way to the robot that was credited with inventing faster than light travel through space. She talks about the nuances of each robot and in the end the solution for the robots isn’t that they perform as humans would expect, but rather as their duties require. At one point, there is a tale of robot who, after observing all of the workings of a deep space energy station, creates a religion, declares himself a prophet, and locks up the humans so they cannot meddle with the operation and function of the station. The humans are worried that they are either going to die or they are going to lose their jobs when in the end the robots functioned better than expected. Their solution to the perceived problem was to send all new robots out to be converted to this new religion before shipping them off to their assigned space stations.
In the end, there was only one real piece of actual conflict in the entire book, conflict that could’ve resulted in a human death – and it was caused by human and government fallacy. As I have watched the previews of for the movie, I’ve seen a similar scene play out, but in truth, causing harm or death to a human through action or inaction was still the protecting principle and knowing this, even with an altered set of the three rules of robotics, there was never any real possibility for harm.
This is a good book. It is along the lines, in my opinion, of the speculative fiction that was prevalent when this was published. Ayn Rand, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and others all wrote in a vein that this seems to fall into. And on top of that, it is entirely worth reading.
John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West
Real Heroes Fly
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson — book review
Posted by smokingpen in Kim Stanley Robinson, book reviews on August 11, 2004
I recently put down Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. Good book. It explores the scientific theory, through a science fiction story, of what would need to take place in order for human-kind to travel to and eventually colonize Mars. The general plot of the book doesn’t sound all that interesting, and unless you are a nut who likes to read well written stories that incorporate science fact with science fiction you’re probably not going to be super-fly on this book either. But the premise is good, the story is great, and the outcome is exactly what you would expect when you know that Kim Stanley Robinson has written two other books behind it, Blue Mars and Green Mars.
I’ve not been a science fiction reader in several years, like since I was in high school, but this book, picked up on a whim, was probably just what I needed to begin considering this genre of writing as a serious place to read from. However, in a fit for something entertaining, and not something I really had to think about, I purchased ‘I, Robot’ by Isaac Asimov in lieu of going and seeing the movie of the same name; and I purchased the three available ‘Ring World’ books by Larry Niven before ever picking up ‘Red Mars’. Can I just tell you that two of the three authors were enough to excite me about science fiction again that I am now looking for new authors and new books to read.
However, Red Mars begins by following the subterfuge of one of the first 100 scientific colonists to Mars. A research team that was set up by the combined efforts of Russia and the United States during the first part of the 21st century. This team included several other nationalities, though were generally only following the Russians and Americans through the story. The main characters, or more specifically the ones whose points of view Kim Stanley Robinson chooses to follow, are Frank – the American leader, John Boone – also known as the first man on Mars, Maya – the Russian leader, Nadia – a Russian who is also an engineering whiz, and Michael – the only non-American and non-Russian whose point of view matters (he’s from Italy and is the psychologist sent with the team to keep them sane). Throughout the book there is deceit, subterfuge, lying, stealing, an entire Mars grown hidden-subculture, and a stowaway on the first ship, the Ares, that all come in to play as the governments of Earth begin to see their populations increase, their precious metals and other minerals decrease, and the potential for a new life on Mars. On top of all this there is even a super villain, or should I call them super-villains, that make life on Mars all that much more difficult with the ending of the book being expected even though it may not exactly have been anticipated.
At over 500 pages, Red Mars can prove to be a little daunting and if you are not really interested in learning something new about science and the theory behind the possible colonization of Mars and the steps to begin terraforming, then this book probably isn’t for you; however, if you like a good story that is based in fact – and not someone’s made up logic and science – then Red Mars is a good book to pick up, read, and enjoy as you will become enmeshed in the lives and intrigues of the first 100.
John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West
Real Heroes Fly
Before and after the move
Posted by smokingpen in East v. West, Personal Entries, religion on August 7, 2004
I have begun to notice that many of my thoughts are beginning to rotate around the date of my move from Utah to Boston. There are the events that took place before the move and those that take place since the move. Nothing that crosses over between the two seems to matter, much, to me. It either happened before or after. Not during.
During that period of time when I was moving it was all about those four days on the road. I was in the truck with Andy. We drove. Occasionally we stopped because Debbie and the girls needed to stop. But in the long run, it was about being on the road for twelve hours a day for four days. They were long, not necessarily comfortable, and in the end I was happy to see the 2500 miles of road behind us. That was during the move.
Before the move I planned, prepared, scoped, looked, thought, prayed, and did whatever else was appropriate or necessary, within my purview of this change, to prepare for life on the Right coast – this is the East coast for those who look at a map and can’t adjust to left and right. The Left coast is the Pacific, the Right is the Atlantic. My thoughts were centered on how this would affect those around me, the reasons I was moving, the reasons I’d gotten to this point, constantly asking “why” in relation to the move, and several other variations related to family and friends. It never really occurred to me that the move itself might prove to be difficult.
But moving is difficult. I am beginning to believe that it doesn’t really matter whether you move with a caravan of people, family included, or you move alone. There are changes that have to take place. You have to gather around you new people, make new contacts, struggle for new opportunities, and in the end make decisions based off of notions that may, or may not, be acceptable within the new purview that you find yourself in. In my case, I’d never been to Boston before and making the decision to move here, to accept that this was the right change for me, to do that as a part of my ‘new’ life was a little overwhelming. In essence, I’d decided to change everything about who I was for some notion of what I might become. So I packed up my things, gave a lot of my stuff away, stored my books (which proved to be very hard for me) and relocated to a new part of the world. It is, I’d imagine, like the pioneers or Saints as they left what was familiar for what was completely unfathomable in the west. Except, in my case, I was leaving what was comfortable for what I thought was going to be a cake walk.
This is not to say that I am naive enough to believe that this whole affair wasn’t going to require changes and adaptations. Both have been taking place; both have been occurring; both will continue to occur. I meet people all of the time and one observer (thanks Larry) suggested that I have a tendency to have interesting people around me all of the time. I don’t know how true that is, though I guess I can see the interesting persons that have been in my life – or some of them, but I do know that sometimes relying upon the observations of friends and relatives to get a better handle of a situation has some wisdom in it.
One of things that have happened to me is that I have become a little melancholy toward the loss of so many good friends. I left them all behind because I knew that it was time for me to move. That knowledge hasn’t change, though my internal time-frame isn’t the same as a realistic time-frame I guess, but I miss my family and I miss my friends. I can call them. That’s true. But what I want is to be able to jump in a car and drive to a house and just hang out. That’s not been a reality since getting here. I don’t own a car and just the other day it occurred to me that one of the best solutions to malaise was to put on clothes, grab my backpack, and walk to the store. The store, just so you know, is about four or five miles away. So, I walked to the store. It felt great until I was about halfway back to the house I am living in with Andy and Debbie and their two girls, then my legs started to rebel and the sickness that had kept me at home the day before started to flair up and the result was that I started to feel the change all around me.
Not feeling well is definitely not one of those things you want to have happen when everything else around you is in a rapid state of flux. And I have not been feeling all that well. Different parts of my life feel as though they have been ripped from my hands and that is never a positive feeling. It’s a rather negative one. Yet, as I contemplate and fight the temptation to give into impulse and the ease of returning to what is comfortable, I find there is an amount of comfort in knowing that I made this decision for the right reasons. The changes that take place, they take place after the move. I grow, after the move. I meet new people, after the move. Everything that is happening to me, right now, is happening after the move. And it will continue to do so.
John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West
Real Heroes Fly
I decided to make a change
Posted by smokingpen in site maintenance on August 5, 2004
I’ve decided that I am not going to be pursuing the freelance writing thing. Instead, I will work on my writing, on different ideas and such. Okay, this is really just an entry to have an entry until I can start posting what is happening and what I am working on different areas.
John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West
Real Heroes Fly