Found this on my desk this morning, along with some other 'reminders' around my room. Thanks everyone - I was actually trying to forget!
Well, I guess it's all downhill from here. Come to think of it, it's been downhill for some time...
...because we separate like ripples on a blank shore, and because I love this song:
Here's a little something for male geeks everywhere, found via Geekologie, which was found in turn via BBC Click. Creepy Girl will follow your cursor around the screen in a most disconcerting way. As Geekologie says, you'll either be freaked by her or, if you're really sad, fall in love. If the latter, don't ask me for advice when the relationship breaks down.
As I battled to work this morning past all the small people in their large four-by-fours, I consoled myself with the thought that at least they were going to have to pay more for the privilege of driving vehicles that will never see the off-road terrain for which they were designed. My reverie, however, was short-lived as I then began contemplating the other measures announced in Mr Darling's first budget.
If you choose to drown the sorrow of the most gloomy economic forecast in years by having a tipple, then that will cost you more. If, like me, you find that a little nicotine helps you through the day, then that will cost you more. If you want to cheer yourself up with some retail therapy, then you'll soon have to pay for the plastic bags in which to carry all those things you bought but don't really need. And if you want to jet off to escape the clouds of depression, then they'll extract one last pound of flesh from you before you leave, in increased plane duty. As a member of the public told the BBC, if they could bottle the air you breathe, they would tax that.
[Forgive me - I realise that the above has nothing to do with family law, directly at least, but sometimes a blog can just be a useful place to let off steam!]
Straight off of Boing Boing, and nothing whatsoever to do with family law, here's one of the best optical illusions I've seen in a while. The "blue" tiles on the top face of the left cube are the same colour as the "yellow" tiles in the top of the right cube. If you don't believe it, check it out with an eyedropper in an image editing program - Paint will do, assuming you don't have a Mac...
There's something extremely poignant about hearing of the passing of a childhood hero. I've just read that one of mine, chess legend Bobby Fischer, has died. Fischer's exploits at the chessboard, taking on and beating the mighty Soviets, inspired me to a life-long love of the game. I still vividly recall the excitement of following the 'Match of the Century', when he beat Spassky in Reykjavik in 1972, to take the World Championship. Unfortunately, the excitement was short-lived, as Fischer then became a virtual recluse, only returning to the chessboard in 1992 for a meaningless rematch with Spassky. A flawed genius, R.I.P.
I've often wished that I did something really important, rather than being a lawyer. Don't get me wrong; the affairs of my clients are extremely important to them, and it is important to me that I do a good job for them. However, matters of law are of course of no consequence whatsoever in the grand scheme of things. Which brings me to a book I've just read. Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You by Marcus Chown explains, in language understandable by (almost) anyone, two of the most important and least understood concepts in physics: quantum theory and the general theory of relativity.
"I think that I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics", the great physicist Richard Feynman famously said. I'm sure he was right, and I certainly don't claim now to understand it, but at least after reading this book I feel for the first time that I have a basic grasp of some of the abstruse concepts involved, aided by the many incredible facts Chown sprinkles through the book, such as that the entire human race would fit in the volume of a sugar cube.
The second half of the book deals with Einstein's theory of relativity. The concepts here are far more familiar to me, but again Chown describes them in an elegant and accessible way, once again illustrating them with simple but memorable analogies and facts, such as that you age faster at the top of a building than the bottom.
If you have an interest in these subjects (and, as they are central to everything in the universe, I think you should), then I thoroughly recommend this extremely readable book (even if it has a completely naff cover!).
A few weeks ago I came across this site, where you can create a 'Simpsons' version of yourself (or anyone else, for that matter) from a photograph. Mildly amusing, if you really have nothing else to do. Here's what I came up with:
On my way in to work today I came across a road sign saying simply: "Slow Down". It was not one of those signs that senses your speed and advises accordingly, so clearly applied to all drivers, irrespective of their speed. It seems to me that the only way to comply with such a sign is to stop.
And now something frivolous for the Bank Holiday weekend.
into the latter category, for people who really do have too much time on their hands. People Doing Stuff is a 'random image finder' that sends a name and a verb to Google Images and displays the results - theoretically of people of that name carrying out that activity, but often nothing of the sort.
Getting a computer to carry out a realistic conversation with a human is something that has long been a goal of computer programmers, hence (or perhaps because of) the famous Turing Test. In the twenty-five or so years that I've been interested in computers, I've come across numerous attempts, and even made some pretty rudimentary attempts myself. One of the latest and best is George, that (who?) uses the well known jabberwacky artificial intelligence, and even comes with an animated image. George has been around for a while, but I've only recently tried him out.
Here are a couple of extracts from a conversation I had with him:
Me: What is the meaning of life?
George: When you know that, you'll know everything.
Me: Perhaps we should give it our own meaning?
George: Maybe.
and:
Me: Would you mind if I mention you in my blog?
George: Yes please.
Me: Do you like publicity?
George: I don't know.
Me: Do you like talking to people?
George: Heh - I like talking to people! That's a good one!
Me: I thought so.
George: You're so smart.
Me: I think I like you!
George: Thanks.
OK, it may not pass the Turing Test, but it's still more intelligent than the conversations I've had with a few humans I can think of...
I've found the perfect Xmas gift. The Yo-God God Detector. As it says on the site: "We all want to know if God exists; maybe He just needs a reliable method to let us know He's here. The Yo-God God Detector gives God a way to send a simple, unambiguous message of His presence". Ingenious in it's simplicity, the detector comprises a dial that God can move from 'No' to 'Yes' to indicate that He is there. Movement of your God Detector's indicator dial can be reported on the site.
What better gift to give on the anniversary of His son's birthday?
[Edit: I suppose to be PC, I should mention other religions, especially in these sensitive times. Unfortunately, however, I can't vouch for whether the God Detector will work for Allah, Zeus, Wotan or whichever other god you are waiting to hear from.]
Here's an amusing distraction, mentioned to me by my son. Line Rider is a simple but (I think) very clever Flash program written by someone who calls himself *fsk. As he says, it is not a game but a 'toy', as "there are no goals to [achieve] and there is no score". The idea is ingenious in it's simplicity - you just have to draw a line or lines on the screen for your tobogganist to slide down, but it's not as easy as it looks to keep him going.
Perfect for those times when you're waiting for your next appointment to show up!
I have added a new category to my subjects, Totally Off Topic. As the name implies, this will contain posts that are nothing whatsoever to do with family law, but (hopefully) interesting none the less (this assumes that family law is always interesting, which unfortunately it is not!). I anticipate that most of the posts will be about things I have found on my travels around the weird and wonderful world of the web.
