thecages

I've arrived in Austin TX after a journey that nears 28 hours in total with just one narrow escape on the final connection between Washington and Austin.
Predictably the security at the airports was absurdly tight (I've had my shoes X-rayed) but in all the trip (I hesitate to call it a journey) was relatively uneventful.

I mentioned to a friend of mine that I've thought to name this visit to the US my Empire in Decline Tour (cool name for a rock show huh?) since I'm convinced that one of the defining aspects of this time (this zeit) is that we are witnessing the decline of the American empire[1][2].

He promptly phoned me on Saturday evening to tell me about Hurricane Ernesto making its way toward the Gulf of Mexico[3] as Morrisey sings:

Armageddon - come Armageddon!
Come, Armageddon! Come!

So here it is: Empire in Decline - part 1.

Yes, the cars are enormous and the soft drinks are bottomless.
That's about all I have at the moment as I fight to stay awake and so ward off the inevitable Jet-lag monster.

Tonite is(apparently) tex-mex at a strip-mall joint and Saturday is(hopefully) college football at the University of TX's 85000 seater stadium.


[1] The other two being the rise of Celebrity Culture and the Invincibility of Technology. More on these later.
[2] True, the decline of the West in general and America specifically has been around as an idea for decades. But somehow I think that historians will look back at George W. and say 'There! See right there, in his eyes. That's where it happened'.
[3] Which has since been downgraded to nothing more than a tropical storm. Austin isn't affected by hurricanes in the Gulf. I'm told that 'a hurricane means that we're going to get rain, so people are glad'.

I've had an inner-ear infection since about Sunday. It's been terrible.
One of the symptoms is Vertigo and my head has been to a lesser or greater extent spinning since Sunday evening.
Yesterday I couldn't read and kept bumping into things at home. Today is a bit better (I'm back at work) but I'm still woozy and absurdly have gotten used to reading the swaying monitor in front of me.

At first I thought it was some sort of food poisoning and(not uncharacteristically) freaked out.
So Anita and I jumped in the car at 04:30 on Monday morning and zoomed off to a nearby hospital.

Hospitals are unpleasant at the worst of times, but on a Monday pre-dawn morning when the night staff are sourly watching for each tick of the clock and feeling like I'm on the precipice of the mother of all hangovers it's downright yucky.
One of the nurses commented to the attending doctor[1] that perhaps I should see a shrink (it all being in my head etc. etc.).
She had noticed that my admittance form showed my being on medication.
If I hadn't been so woozy as to continuously just about fall off the bed I would have stumbled over there and given her a piece of my mind[2].

In the end I was sent home with a prescription for an antibiotic and a sick-leave certificate.
This left me spending Monday either on the couch or on the floor, depending on the motion of the ocean.

Having spent this time vaguely croozing daytime TV (including an episode of Dallas) one thing that I can now definitively say[3] that I've idenfitied THE SINGLE WORST artist[4] in the history of recorded music (thanks to VH1).
Yes, it's Enya.

My goodness - she's awful.
Twee, banal, neophytical compositions plucked out on the same frickin synthesizer since 1988.
She is incapable of any sort of mood, range or sound beyond the ethereal kack she displayed so breathtakingly on her debut single: Orinoco Flow.


And the lyrics, oh my, the lyrics.

Let me sail, let me sail,
Let the orinoco flow,
Let me reach, let me beach
On the shores of Tripoli.
Let me sail, let me sail,
Let me crash upon your shore,
Let me reach, let me beach
Far beyond the Yellow Sea.

From Bissau to Palau - in the shade of Avalon,
From Fiji to Tiree and the Isles of Ebony,
From Peru to Cebu hear the power of Babylon,
From Bali to Cali - far beneath the Coral Sea.

From the North to the South,
Ebudà into Khartoum,
From the deep sea of Clouds
To the island of the moon,
Carry me on the waves
To the lands I've never been,
Carry me on the waves
To the lands I've never seen.

We can sail, we can sail...
We can steer, we can near
With Rob Dickins at the wheel,
We can sigh, say goodbye
Ross and his dependencies

We can sail, we can sail...

[1] In a sophomoric whisper which the cloth screen into which I had been admitted didn't even begin to dampen.
[2] And probably a piece of my dinner deposited on her squeeky-soled shoes as well.
[3] And this is big - I don't easily settle questions of music[5].
[4] Though I don't think that she even deserves such a distinguished epitaph.
[5] Especially not questions that involve worsts or bests[6].
[6] The only other such question that I'm satisfied to have settled (in my own mind at least) is for greatest recorded guitar solo of all time: Cherub Rock - Smashing Pumkins.

If you've ever spent time building a relatively complex web-based user interface this should be familiar.

Eaargh - it's off to AUSTIN next week. Here's the flights.

1PYKE/WERNER                           
SA  342   26AUG CPT    JNB   1340   1540
SA  207   26AUG JNB    IAD   1750  #0555
UA 7273   27AUG IAD    AUS   0815   1034
UA 7228   15SEP AUS    IAD   1625   2033  (overnight)
SA  208   16SEP IAD    JNB   1250  #1200
SA  343   17SEP JNB    CPT   1400   1610

fck.

This is cool - the world's first commercial Darknet[1].
I've previously mentioned Darknets and this is the coolest one yet.
Why? Because it is being launched and promoted by a Swedish politikal party.


Their campaign is about three things:

• Kulturen måste släppas fri (reform of copyright that stifles the development of culture)
• Patent och privata monopol skadar samhället (replacement of the current patent system)
• Privatliv (protection of privacy)

uhm, cool[2].

Also check out their international affiliates.


[1] Here's a another definition - very much more ominous.
[2] Personally I'm not against copyright and patents[3] but it's cool to see a serious political party with such a progressive agenda.
[3] though I do think that currently copyright and patent mechanisms are being abused to the point of nausea.

I wonder whether this will cause me to blip onto the Carnivore/Echelon radar.
Hello officers of the Total Information Awareness squad :)


One of the side effects of the recent liquid/gel is that every angry teenager has (probably - hopefully) by now checked out TATP - Triacetone Triperoxide.

I've not messed around with explosives for many years now[1] and truth be told I've actually become quite scared of volatile chemical reactions[2].

But this TATP shit is just TOO EASY to not reely want to try making it.
Some lite reading from some totally legit sources (no Mujahideen training required).


Disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm talking about - at work this isn't a problem, but in reel life it could get you killed.

The basic principle is this:

• Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) is rich in both Oxygen and Hydrogen - two bad muthers when it comes to oxidisation (the foundation of all violent reactions).
• Acetone (CH3COCH3) is a very volatile Ketone (it boils at -95.4 °C) which makes it a freaky partner for a strong oxidant (such as Hydrogen Peroxide).
• The two can be tickled into a very unstable multi-peroxide structure by a suitable catalyst (which Sulphuric acid just happens to be).
• This structure (shown below) forms a crystaline powder which[3] will happily dissociate into gaseous compounds - very quickly.

The explosive power of TATP does not involve the release of heat (unlike the vast majority of explosive reactions) - it occurs simply due to the very rapid reduction in density as the material returns from solid back to a gaseous state.
Doesn't sound very exciting (no orange ball of flame) but don't be fooled - TATP was the compound that ripped apart London in July 2005.


Very little equipment is needed (glassware, eyedropper, fridge, spare digits), the procedure is simple and the result (I believe) could be relatively safely transported in a cold water solution.

And now the real question: is it worth synthesising? Should it be synthesised?

I think so. I think that every serious individual should consider strolling down to their local hardware/pharmacy, should consider following the procedure to produce a minor amount (1 gram will do[4]) in solemn sincerity.
Not to blow up neighbourly post boxes or to threaten those they don't like; but just to push at the boundaries of their outstretched arms.

It's simply a hack - an elegant scratch at the sterile surface of OK-every-day living that reminds how thin the regulatory veneer of mediocre society is.
A tiny flash that is proof of how little it takes to cut through to the reality where you're not meant to go.


[1] Since nearly blowing off my right thumb when I should already have known better
[2] After another near miss with superboiling catalysts a few years ago
[3] With a slight injection of energy in the form of heat, friction or pressure
[4] The largest stockpile that I could find information about was a 400Kg depot found in Gaza during an Israeli raid.

whoo-boy - crazy week.
The weather has been absolutely insane - freezing, wet and sunny. It's been good.

Ah'm feeling so low
Like the clouds that bring the snow
From the Northern side of town
.

I'm off to Austin, TX soon for a three-week tour of duty to implement the first pilot site of the four month-old product that we've been working on.
It works, but it'll have to do a major amount of maturing in a hurry.



The Good


I've recently become obsessed with Pink Floyd's Animals[1]. It's a mean concept delivered with stabbing clarity.

-- Dogs (17:06)
And when you loose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown.
And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone.
And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around.
So have a good drown, as you go down, all alone,
Dragged down by the stone.


-- Pigs (11:26)
Bus stop rat bag, ha ha charade you are.
You fucked up old hag, ha ha charade you are.
You radiate cold shafts of broken glass.
You're nearly a good laugh,
Almost worth a quick grin.
You like the feel of steel,
You're hot stuff with a hatpin,
And good fun with a hand gun.
You're nearly a laugh,
You're nearly a laugh
But you're really a cry.

-- Sheep (10:19)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me down to lie
Through pastures green He leadeth me the silent waters by.
With bright knives He releaseth my soul.
He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places.
He converteth me to lamb cutlets,
For lo, He hath great power, and great hunger.
When cometh the day we lowly ones,
Through quiet reflection, and great dedication
Master the art of karate,
Lo, we shall rise up,
And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water.

The Bad

More fuel to 'Big' Dick Cheney's fire[2]




The Ugly

A recent article in the Daily Mail about a couple of 12 year-olds who had their privacy visciously invaded by DNA-swab bearing cops.
The privacy issues are well known and really not that shocking anymore.
What's really ugly about this article is not the topic or the nasty truth about the digital and organic trail that is being collected with increasing resolution from all of us.

The ugly thing is the picture of the kids in this article.


Look at them - they've been styled.
He's had a haircut and they've been fitted out in their Mall-day best.
They've all been posed for the shoot - a little pensive, but composed, sincere, mature.
What the fuck?
Their rights are violated and the outcome is inevitable - a media event ('Quick mom, we're going to be on the news!'), instant celebrity - the time of your life!
yuck.



[1] The only one of their albums that I've really gotten into - it's more stripped down than the other which all just seem too elaborate.

[2] "I had other priorities in the sixties than military service." –on his five draft deferments, April 5, 1989

There's at least 11.5 billion Channels and Nothin' On.
You could spend days, weeks, months on the internext and get nothing but super doo-doo crap.

Here's one that's not crap; www.style.org.

style.org is a service of 13pt, and is dedicated to the memory of Col. Stephen CraigMcCormick.

Style.org is a small collection of beautifully executed jokes, timewasters and some really subtle social commentary.
It has a political slant, but is more about presenting data in a nuanced way rather than grandstanding.
Are the authors liberal or conservative - who knows?

The thing that I most like about it is the consistent attention to detail that makes each piece worthwhile, even if the topic doesn't really draw you.

My favourite item (and pick for the best thing I've seen on the web this year) is the
State of the Union Parsing Tool
Sentence length and word incidence in George W. Bush’s State of the Union Addresses.

Here's a no-brainer; Iraq vs. economy - watch the spike around 2004.


A more subtle(but telling) one is family vs. terror.



It also has a nice option for comparing a variety of historical speeches by US Presidents.
Now if only they'd let you upload your own texts!


Other cool items include
Mapping Votes by County
County maps and the 2003 California Statewide Special Election















and Camp Delta
Nationalities of enemy combatants detained at Guantánamo Bay, the “legal equivalent of outer space.”











For scientific types there's things like
The Strouhal Number in Cruising Flight
Animals swimming or flying at cruising speed use similar ratios of stroke frequency and amplitude to forward speed.

Based on national averages today has to be the coldest day this winter so far.
WeatherSA have the following on their frontpage

National Warning - Issued on Tuesday, 1 August 2006 at 05.00

CONDITIONS FAVOURABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF RUNAWAY FIRES ARE EXPECTED OVER THE NORTH-EASTERN PART OF KWAZULU-NATAL AND THE LOWVELD.

VERY COLD, WET AND WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ON THE HIGH GROUND OF THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN CAPE PROVINCES, SPREADING TO THE EASTERN CAPE HIGH GROUND,

SOUTH-EASTERN FREE STATE AND LESOTHO.

SNOWFALLS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE SWARTBERG MOUNTAINS WITH HEAVY SNOW OVER THE EASTERN CAPE HIGH GROUND AS WELL AS LESOTHO IN THE EVENING.
HEAVY FALLS OF RAIN ARE EXPECTED IN PLACES ALONG THE CAPE SOUTH COAST AND ADJACENT INTERIOR.
VERY ROUGH SEAS WITH WAVE HEIGHTS IN EXCESS OF 5M ARE EXPECTED BETWEEN CAPE AGULHAS AND PORT ALFRED.

ADVISORIES VERY COLD AND WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ON THE HIGH GROUND OF THE WESTERN, NORTHERN CAPE PROVINCES, EASTERN CAPE, FREE STATE, KWAZULU-NATAL,

GAUTENG, MPUMALANGA AND LESOTHO ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY.

HEAVY FALLS OF RAIN ARE EXPECTED OVER THE EASTERN CAPE, LESOTHO AND SOUTHERN KWAZULU-NATAL ON WEDNESDAY.
GALE FORCE SOUTH-WESTERLY WINDS ACCOMPANIED BY VERY ROUGH SEAS ARE EXPECTED BETWEEN PLETTENBERG BAY AND RICHARDS BAY ON WEDNSDAY AND THURSDAY.

Basically the entire country is in doo-doo.

The cause of this is a massive cold front(cloud cover is the grey bits on the satellite image below) which stretches from the South Eastern coast into the

North Eastern reaches of Namibia.


And as with all really badass cold fronts it is pushing a thick blob of warm air in front of it which means that if you're not freezing your toes of today

(you will tomorrow) you are at serious risk of veld fires today.

Here's a little list of what's expected at weather stations across the country.
The coldest maximum temperature expected is 2 °C (Brandvlei, Calvinia, Fraserburg and Springbok) and the highest humidity expected is 100% (Douglas, Fauresmith, George, Kimberley and Springbok).

Basically, Springbok is fucked.
Gough Island (55 °F / 13 °C - 58%) seems positively balmy by comparison.

Here's a list of weather stations and their expected conditions.

Location           Temperature    Humidity
Alexander Bay      48 °F / 9 °C      87%
Alexander Bay      48 °F / 9 °C     87%
Babanango          61 °F / 16 °C     34%
Barkly East        41 °F / 5 °C     40%
Beaufort West      42 °F / 5 °C     
Bethal             51 °F / 10 °C     51%
Bethlehem          50 °F / 10 °C     47%
Bisho              59 °F / 15 °C     88%
Bloemfontein       48 °F / 9 °C     82%
Bloemfontein City  48 °F / 9 °C     82%
Bloemhof           50 °F / 10 °C     75%
Brandvlei          35 °F / 2 °C     
Calvinia           36 °F / 2 °C     89%
Cape Agulhas       50 °F / 10 °C     87%
Cape Columbine     52 °F / 11 °C     66%
Cape Point         52 °F / 11 °C     88%
Cape Saint Francis 57 °F / 14 °C     82%
Cape Saint Lucia   68 °F / 20 °C     42%
Cape Town          50 °F / 10 °C     87%
Carolina           52 °F / 11 °C     60%
Cedara             53 °F / 12 °C     28%
Charters Creek     66 °F / 19 °C     68%
Cradock            49 °F / 9 °C     88%
De Aar             44 °F / 7 °C     96%
Dohne              52 °F / 11 °C     89%
Douglas            43 °F / 6 °C     100%
Durban             57 °F / 14 °C     72%
Durban Virginia    66 °F / 19 °C     33%
East London        59 °F / 15 °C     88%
Elliot             51 °F / 11 °C     
Ellisras           65 °F / 18 °C     
Ermelo             51 °F / 10 °C     57%
Estcourt           45 °F / 7 °C     47%
Fauresmith         43 °F / 6 °C     100%
Fort Beaufort      54 °F / 12 °C     90%
Frankfort          54 °F / 12 °C     37%
Fraserburg         36 °F / 2 °C     87%
George             46 °F / 8 °C     100%
Giants Castle      45 °F / 7 °C     33%
Gough Island       55 °F / 13 °C     58%
Graaff-reinet      49 °F / 9 °C     93%
Grahamstown        53 °F / 11 °C     93%
Graskop            52 °F / 11 °C     58%
Greytown           55 °F / 13 °C     34%
Henkries           46 °F / 8 °C     63%
Hermanus           52 °F / 11 °C     88%
Hoedspruit         67 °F / 20 °C     51%
Irene              58 °F / 15 °C     45%
Ixopo              47 °F / 8 °C     64%
Johannesburg       55 °F / 13 °C     54%
Kathu              41 °F / 5 °C     
Kimberley          43 °F / 6 °C     100%
Knysna             49 °F / 10 °C     
Koingnaas          47 °F / 8 °C     88%
Komatidraai        63 °F / 17 °C     77%
Kroonstad          53 °F / 12 °C     42%
Laingsburg         40 °F / 4 °C     
Lamberts Bay       45 °F / 7 °C     83%
Langebaanweg       49 °F / 10 °C     76%
Levubu             63 °F / 17 °C     60%
Lichtenburg        56 °F / 13 °C     37%
Lydenburg          52 °F / 11 °C     58%
Makatini           60 °F / 16 °C     75%
Malmesbury         50 °F / 10 °C     87%
Mandini            68 °F / 20 °C     22%
Mara               64 °F / 18 °C     50%
Margate            64 °F / 18 °C     
Marion Island      33 °F / 1 °C     78%
Matatiele          47 °F / 8 °C     24%
Messina            67 °F / 20 °C     50%
Mmabatho           57 °F / 14 °C     55%
Mossel Bay         50 °F / 10 °C     76%
Mount Edgecombe    66 °F / 19 °C     33%
Mtunzini           61 °F / 16 °C     72%
Nelspruit          52 °F / 11 °C     58%
Nelspruit          52 °F / 11 °C     58%
Newcastle          52 °F / 11 °C     54%
Noupoort           43 °F / 6 °C     
Ottosdal           54 °F / 12 °C     45%
Paarl              50 °F / 10 °C     87%
Patensie           57 °F / 14 °C     82%
Phalaborwa         62 °F / 16 °C     77%
Piet Retief        59 °F / 15 °C     55%
Pietermaritzburg   48 °F / 9 °C     41%
Pietersburg        59 °F / 15 °C     56%
Pofadder           39 °F / 4 °C     90%
Pomfret            46 °F / 8 °C     76%
Pongola            58 °F / 14 °C     52%
Port Edward        61 °F / 16 °C     
Port Elizabeth     57 °F / 14 °C     82%
Port Nolloth       49 °F / 9 °C     87%
Port Saint Johns   63 °F / 17 °C     85%
Porterville        46 °F / 8 °C     81%
Postmasburg        38 °F / 3 °C     
Potchefstroom      62 °F / 16 °C     39%
Potgietersrus      59 °F / 15 °C     63%
Pretoria           59 °F / 15 °C     30%
Pretoria-unisa     58 °F / 14 °C     49%
Prieska            44 °F / 7 °C     
Queenstown         45 °F / 7 °C     62%
Riversdale         47 °F / 8 °C     91%
Robben Island      51 °F / 10 °C     68%
Robertson          50 °F / 10 °C     87%
Royal Natal Park   49 °F / 10 °C     82%
Rustenburg         51 °F / 10 °C     
Sezela             57 °F / 14 °C     72%
Shakas Kraal       66 °F / 19 °C     33%
Shaleburn          38 °F / 3 °C     62%
Skukuza            58 °F / 14 °C     86%
Slangkop           51 °F / 10 °C     68%
Somerset East      57 °F / 14 °C     82%
Springbok          36 °F / 2 °C     100%
Springs            55 °F / 13 °C     54%
Standerton         49 °F / 9 °C     54%
Strand             52 °F / 11 °C     88%
Struisbaai         50 °F / 10 °C     87%
Sutherland         30 °F / -1 °C     73%
Table Bay          51 °F / 10 °C     68%
Taung              50 °F / 10 °C     70%
Thabazimbi         70 °F / 21 °C     40%
Thohoyandou        64 °F / 18 °C     64%
Tigerhoek          50 °F / 10 °C     87%
Touws River        50 °F / 10 °C     87%
Tristan Da Cunha   53 °F / 12 °C     
Tshipise           69 °F / 20 °C     47%
Twee Rivieren      46 °F / 8 °C     76%
Uitenhage          56 °F / 13 °C     77%
Umtata             50 °F / 10 °C     58%
Upington           41 °F / 5 °C     76%
Van Reenen         58 °F / 14 °C     
Van Zylsrus        46 °F / 8 °C     76%
Vanwyksvlei        42 °F / 6 °C     88%
Ventersdorp        54 °F / 12 °C     47%
Vereeniging        57 °F / 14 °C     38%
Vioolsdrif         48 °F / 9 °C     87%
Vredendal          46 °F / 8 °C     85%
Vryburg            49 °F / 9 °C     88%
Vryheid            61 °F / 16 °C     22%
Vyeboom            50 °F / 10 °C     87%
Warmbaths          63 °F / 17 °C     37%
Waterkloof         58 °F / 14 °C     49%
Welkom             54 °F / 12 °C     39%
Wepener            52 °F / 11 °C     47%
Willowmore         43 °F / 6 °C     91%
Witbank            56 °F / 13 °C     12%
Worcester          50 °F / 10 °C     87%