WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 99

Three Visitors

Three visitors called to the home of a poor family. They were all invited inside but one of the visitors spoke. “Only one of us can come in. I am Love and with me are Success and Wealth. Go and check with the family which of us you would like in the house. The mother, father and daughter sat down to talk about it. The mother said, “I think we should invite Success in, you can get the promotion you are after and our dear daughter will get accepted into the best college.” The husband disagreed, “I only want the promotion for the extra money. Let us invite Wealth into our home, then we will not be concerned about promotions and colleges, we will already be prosperous.”

The daughter looked up at her parents and spoke softly. “Mum and dad, I appreciate that you want us to be wealthy and successful, but in the long run I feel it would be better to have Love.” Her parents smiled at her wisdom and went out to invite Love into their home.

To their surprise Success and Wealth followed Love inside. The mother said, “I thought only one of you could come in?”

Love explained, “If you had chosen Wealth or Success, they would have entered alone, however where Love goes, Success and Wealth always follow.”

FREE prize draw

MAGIC SEEDER

This week I have been using the Magic Seeder seed sowing tool which is based on the principles of automatic seed dispensing machines that large growers use, but this fits snugly into one hand and only cost €6.90.

The Magic Seeder can be used to sow seeds of all shapes and sizes up to 2mm. One problem when sowing seeds is getting compost and water onto our fingers, which makes the smaller seed sticky and hard to spread out properly. The Magic Seeder keeps the seed dry and accurately spreads the seeds out in trays, pots or plugs.

It took a bit of time for me to get used to the device as I have to figure out how hard or gently to press down my thumb on the syringe like plunger that frees the seed from the chamber. Once I had mastered this I tested the device on seed as small as lobelia to the size of lettuce seed, laying them out neatly in straight, even lines. Another benefit from using the Seeder is that it can reduce seed wastage and cut down the chance of disease through sowing too thickly. The Magic Seeder also is used by the Royal Horticultural Society with great success. See them in action on the magicseeder site.

To win one of two Magic Seeders I have to give away, just go to gardening.ie and leave your e-mail address, mentioning the name Magic Seeder. Good luck

Closing date March 31st 10

Transition Event

PRESS RELEASE

PR Contact: Kathleen O’Hara Farren for Transition Inishowen Initiative
Tel 086 1211898 and 074 9381000

How can you save money and discover new ways of working with your
local community? To find out more, all are welcome to “Transition
Inishowen's Day of Events”, Saturday March 27th. The two free events
are organised by the voluntary group Transition Inishowen Initiative.
In the morning there is a talk and slide show with practical examples
of DIY solar thermal (domestic water heating). Then after a light
lunch there is a film screening of “In Transition 1.0”, in which you
meet inspiring individuals and groups from around the world who are
learning ways to live more sustainably, whilst saving money and having
a good time.

Transition Inishowen is a member of the national group Transition
Towns Network of Ireland and Northern Ireland which is a group helping
people help themselves to adjust to a future with less fossil fuel and
increasing effects of climate change. “In the face of fluctuating oil
prices and the fact that global oil supplies are due to peak and then
decline in the near future and also with the ever more obvious effects
of a changing climate, every community needs to adapt to become more
resilient and better prepared.” said group member, Claire Gilmour.
Since February 2009, Transition Inishowen have been raising awareness
of Peak Oil and Climate Change by having film screenings, slide shows,
skills workshops and giving one-on-one support to help strengthen
individuals and building resilience in the community, resilience being
the ability to withstand shocks and crises.

All are welcome to one or both events which take place in the IDP
(Inishowen Development Partnership) offices on Pound Street Carndonagh
(opposite ICRFM) The Solar workshop is at 11am. Light lunch is at 1pm
and the film “In Transition 1.0” is on at 2pm. Admission is free.

If you have ever thought about installing solar panels but felt
daunted about finding the most suitable system for your house, and by
the cost and the installation process, then come to the Solar Workshop
presented by Cye Bannon. Cye has recently installed a solar evacuated
tube setup at his own house in Belfast, and has trained in the other
main solar thermal technologies. He is keen to share his knowledge and
experience. In this workshop he will be explaining his idea for a
solar co-operative aimed at supporting DIY installation of solar
thermal (domestic water heating). He will have a slide show and some
examples on display. Self relience and thriftiness are central to
this workshop.

The film “In Transition 1.0” features professional and amateur footage
of communities around the globe who have taken steps to “walk the
talk” of living more sustainably. You can see how much optimism and
empowerment is gained by doing this. Many issues are covered such as
renewable energy, public transport, green businesses, local food
production including growing your own, and learning or relearning
basic skills such as baking your own bread and mending your own bike.
A slower more meaningful lifestyle is embraced, community spirit is
fostered, and also an awareness that you are living more in harmony
with the environment.

The group would also like to draw your attention to the fact that
March 27th is Earth Hour day, established by WWF (Worldwide Fund for
Nature). We are all urged to switch off all lights (if not all
electricity) for 1 hour at 8.30pm. Last year hundreds of millions of
people around the world took part.

Transition Inishowen anticipates a big turn out for these events on
this special day! Contact email: transitioninishowen@gmail.com.

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 98

Grace of the Elephant

There was once a huge elephant crossing a wooden bridge high above a raging river. The bridge was old and rickety and it shook under the weight of the elephant. As the elephant was crossing the bridge he heard a voice, “Son, son” the voice said. The elephant looked around him, but he was all alone. “Son, son” the voice continued. When the elephant reached the other side of the river, he saw a small ant crawl onto his nose. “Son” the ant cried. “We almost collapsed that bridge, didn’t we? Our weight was so great, so immense that the bridge almost collapsed beneath us, didn’t it son?”

Of course the elephant knew that the ant’s weight had been completely irrelevant to whether the bridge collapsed. And of course he knew the tiny ant was not his mother. However what good would it have done to engage in battle of egos with the ant? Instead the wise, calm elephant simply said, “You are right, Mother, our weight almost broke the bridge.”

Strange sighting in a bowl of soup

Can't quite think who it reminds me of.......any ideas?

Truth is Stranger than Fiction

My lads essay from school

“There is no way I want to stay a mere human.”

Dr Kevin Warwick

Dr Kevin Warwick is a British scientist and professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading. He left school at 16 but went back to University at the age of 22. He has been doing experiments on cybernetics and robotics. He is the first person (outside science fiction) to actually become a cyborg. A cyborg is a word for a cybernetic organism (part organic, part machine). He is interested in how artificial intelligence can be used to improve humanity and feels that humans are limited in their sense perceptions.

At the risk to his own life, Dr Warwick in Project Cyborg 1.0 (1998) got an implant embedded in his arm. It had a signal unique to his individual requirements and Dr Warwick was able to operate doors, heaters and computers without lifting a finger. This has implications for people who have disabilities. In another experiment Project Cyborg 2.0 (2002), he got a different implant put in. This interfaced with his nervous system and meant that he could control things such as the movements of a robotic arm through thought alone. This is even more amazing when you consider that the robotic arm was on the other side of the world to him. He could also feel pressure that was put on the arm.

Kevin Warwick is at heart an adventurer. He believes that humans need to evolve. By using the technology of silicon chips he feels we can enhance our senses. For example we could be able to see in X-ray, infra-red or up to 8 dimensions. He thinks in future we will not need to communicate through speech but simply through thought alone. He feels speech is a slow and prone to error method of communication. Kevin Warwick sees technology as being more advanced than human beings and that artificial intelligence could take over decisions and eventually be in control of humans because computers can make better and faster decisions. Science fiction points to the dangers of a situation where this might happen and that inspires Dr Warwick to research cybernetics. He wants to be part of a new humanity, what he would see as a better and more evolved humanity. One day he thinks that humans will choose to get upgraded and have enhanced abilities through implants. People can choose whether or not to become a cyborg, but if they didn’t they would be to the new human cyborgs what chimpanzees are to us now.

In Project Cyborg 2.0, Dr Warwick’s wife got a similar, although not as sophisticated chip put into her central nervous system. They were trying to find out whether they could speak to each other through thoughts alone, perhaps by using the internet. They will be looking at questions such as how will the brain adapt to unfamiliar information coming in through the nervous system.

People and animals are already starting to get microchips implanted, for example dogs and children whose parents are over protective and scared of abduction (particularly after the Madeline McCann case). It is thought that in the future these chips will be able to hold all sorts of information such as bank details, medical details and can be updated when necessary.

There are all sorts of ethical questions and Warwick (or Captain Cyborg as the papers call him) works closely with a woman called Danniella Cerqui who is an expert on ethics. It raises the whole question of what it might mean to be human and conscious.

When Dr Warwick heard John Searle’s view that a shoe is not conscious therefore a computer cannot be conscious, he responded by saying “that by the same sort of analogy though, a cabbage is not conscious therefore a human cannot be conscious.”

So what might it be like in the future? Would you get an enhancement to see more clearly, hear better or lift heavier things? Will the world be even more divided into haves and have-nots as this technology may not be cheap? What if we have to have chips in order to get our money? Does having a single implant make you a cyborg? What if an enemy power could use this technology against us by causing death to us through malfunctioning chips?

Progress can never really be halted and people will always use technology to their own ends whether we may judge it good or bad. It looks like this technology will be the way of the future.