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contours provocations
journal - 2004-0204 - 2030 Bugs; Gulls; Larks; Books This afternoon I went to the clinic with another one of a long series of upper respiratory bugs. The waiting room was relatively quite, so it didn't take long to be called back. The nice cute doctor gave me a small cardboard box of cartons of antibiotics and nasal sprays. For which I was most thankful since the retail price for such would be in the $75 - $100 range. This happens with such frequency that it's fruitless to become irritated about it. Each bout follows a cycle that plays out regardless of what I do. Over the weekend, I stopped at the grocery and looking up I saw sea gulls swooping from lamp post to lamp post. My first thought was that they couldn't be gulls, but then I heard their distinctive cry. When I came out they were gone. Later I parked in front of OfficeMax, which is not far away, and there again were the gulls. There a wonderful sense of magic in watching them float on the wind and swerve on extended wings. Sunday at lunch I sat at the sushi bar reading the latest copy of "PC Magazine." Ever now and then, I could pick out bits from the background music. At some point, I realized it was Ralph Vaughan Williams' "A Lark Ascending." Certainly one of my favorites, and one that conjures up feelings of sadness but also hope. It's one of many pieces that I can "hear" in my head. But I can't articulate it. "Externalize" might be a better term. Some months ago, I started listening to BBC3 at work. And one of the great features offered is an analysis of approximately 100 classical selections. I lack the capacity to truly understand what I'm hearing. But the critiques have given me a better sense of the mechanics. And a realization of the complexities. One of the programs is on "A Lark Ascending," and I need to listen to it aqain. Several weeks ago, I listed some of my books at Amazon.com as part of their seller's service. I hate to throw out books I no longer want, so I thought this was a good way to find them a new home. And make a few rubles in the process. As I posted, I quickly realized I was in a very competitive market. Especially with any book that was ever remotely considered popular. Several times, the listing indicated that hundreds of books were available in the used category. Most likely, the ones that might stand the best chance of selling would be those that are out-of-print. But in terms of my collection, how do I know that. Saturday, I got an email saying that one had been sold. And as I figured it was an obscure book of which only a handful were available. One, new; six, used. As I recall. But here's the flipside. It may very well be that the books that are out-of-print are the very ones I want to save. Oh, me! Oh, my! PAX! journal | archives | home | e-mail |
"Ironically, the most significant consequence of the view that the natural world is computational may be the death of the notion that technology is applied science. ... if computation is the basis of all nature, then science is just applied technology. ... Scientific theories are more properly viewed not as discoveries but as human constructions. It's already happening in physics: Philosopher of science Andrew Pickering suggests that the quark which in its unbound state has not - and some say cannot - be observed, should be regarded as a scientific invention rather than an actual particle."
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