Co-operatives and Liberation, not necessarily in that order
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 […]
Read More The arrival of the future. Part 3 of 3: BMW’s GINA projectI thought it would be in good form to create an easier way for people to trace through the cross country adventures I’ve had this summer, so I created a page on the blog to facilitate this – with links to all the relevant posts, in order, and also links to photos. I even posted […]
Read More New Page – Cataloguing this summer’s adventuresAs 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 […]
Read More The arrival of the future. Part 2 of 3: Unmaned Aerial VehiclesAs 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 […]
Read More The arrival of the future. Part 1 of 3: The iphoneI often make the case that torture in the middle ages was a moral act. Given what people believed about the afterlife, torture wasn’t just morally neccesary or acceptable, in certain situations it was downright deserving of approbation: “The penal law sought to save [the accused’s] soul. For this reason, a convictd person who confessed […]
Read More Social Beliefs and Personal ValuesWe all have them. They’re what drive us, what we strive for. What we sometimes have to give up. What we set up as provisional ideals, goals, projects. What guide us through difficult decisions. What we ponder over. What we die for (or from). When our ideals differ from those of others, we have values […]
Read More ValuesIn 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 […]
Read More York Debating SocietyIt’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 […]
Read More First week back, and a new blogCross America Rail Trip Day 1 – Morning (Cascades from Bellingham to Seattle) Day 1 – Afternoon (Seattle) Day 1 – Evening (Empire Builder in Washington State) Day 1 – Photos Day 2 – Morning (Empire Builder in Montana) Day 2 – Photos Day 3 – Afternoon (Chicago) Day 3 – Chicago Photos Day 4 […]
Read More American Rail Trip AmalgamationAs 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 […]
Read More Rail Journey Across America: Conclusion
Only a Northern Song 