Earlier this term I wrote a list of ten topics that I need to write on. These are not topics on which I have complete expertise, but they are issues on which I have opinions which ought be communicated. I thought I could write on one a day, or one every few days, and that [...]
Archive for the ‘beginning’ Category
On Topics for Writing: “Hot Cognition” and Play
Posted in Ethics, Philosophy, Pragmatics, beginning, writing on November 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal
Posted in Art, Capitalism, Philosophy, Picturesque, beginning on October 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal is free. This means you don’t have to pay, (except for some temporary exhibitions). That and the collection is quite astonishing – including the likes of Monet, Picasso, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, etc… There is also a serious ancient Greece exhibit which, unlike the ROM’s, doesn’t pretend that Roman [...]
The arrival of the future. Part 3 of 3: BMW’s GINA project
Posted in Art, Capitalism, Pragmatics, Things, beginning on September 25, 2009 | 1 Comment »
You might be wondering how a concept car could signal that the future has already arrived. Concept vehicles, we normally think, project futures that may or may not arrive. For instance, the minivan was first shown by Lancia in 1978 – but it didn’t “arrive” until Chrysler’s great success in the 1980s.
However, what we can [...]
The arrival of the future. Part 2 of 3: Unmaned Aerial Vehicles
Posted in Ethics, Philosophy, Technology, beginning on September 24, 2009 | 19 Comments »
As children the notion of unmanned aerial attack vehicles, engaging human targets with their computer brains, was reserved for the realm of dystopian science fiction. However, vehicles that can fly autonomously are possessed by the military of the United States and Israel. Machines that engage human targets under no direct supervision by a pilot are [...]
The arrival of the future. Part 1 of 3: The iphone
Posted in Capitalism, Pragmatics, beginning on September 24, 2009 | 1 Comment »
As modern technological individuals, we’ve been trained to expect the arrival of the future. “The future” is characterized by the automation of simple human tasks (skip to 1:40), the automation of war (in the sense of the machines become automatons), and the becoming increasingly emotional and physical of human-computer interfaces. Humans can remarkably bad at [...]
York Debating Society
Posted in beginning on September 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In Victoria this summer I promised Erin Rennie that I would attend at least one meeting of the York debating society – and today for the first time I attended a meeting. Today for the first time I attended a meeting of the While I’ve been meaning to check them out for years, I’ve always [...]
First week back, and a new blog
Posted in Ethics, Philosophy, Pragmatics, beginning on September 13, 2009 | 1 Comment »
It’s Sunday – meaning I’ve been back in Toronto for an entire week. I’ve been to many parties, seen many familiar faces. I have one class, two jobs, other papers to write – it will be a busy term. But, there will still be time for reflection.
It’s hard to know what to write when I’m [...]
Rail Journey Across America: Conclusion
Posted in beginning on September 7, 2009 | 2 Comments »
As the sun goes down and we pass through Oakville, I feel the journey gathering to a close. There is an uncanny famiiliarity to being back in Canada. Strange to be home after having become at-home with being in a strange land (with not-being-at-home). America really is a different land to the one we have [...]
Red Racer IPA
Posted in Capitalism, Ethics, Pragmatics, Pubs, beginning on August 31, 2009 | 2 Comments »
This beer is expensive – it comes in cans, yet costs over 12$ for a six pack. This, and the fact it’s brewed in Vancouver, and that it won something called the “Craft Beer Vancouver” competition were the main reasons I picked it out. The competition win purported it to be the “best brew in [...]
Bouncing Around B.C.
Posted in Pragmatics, Things, beginning on August 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In the last short while I’ve been to Victoria, Chemainus and Vancouver sleeping on couches all the way. Here were some of the highlights:
Driving furniture from North Vancouver to Victoria and nearly missing the last ferry.
Couch surfing in Victoria at Erin and Andrew’s flat when 3 other people had the same idea.
Visiting my grandmother in [...]
