Most cultural, sociological, philosophical and other currents that are discussed superficially in contemporary Western European texts can be traced back to Greek society in the fifth century BC, or further. The reason for this is the fact that it is the first European society for which a lot of written source material is available. That triviality is often used as a justification for the existence of a current, while it merely states that not all that much changed in these domains in the last 2500 years. The evolution of thinking is rather slow on average.
There is however no reason to despair. We have all the more motivation to concentrate on what is truely contemporary and new. The surprising fact is rather that so much of the details change continuously, and gain at least temporary importance. These facets are fascinating and we must attempt to concentrate on them.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Toys for us
There are some baby items that work, and others that don't. For ease of future parents, I post a few that do serve a function.
The play mat by Tiny Love is useful from very early on in stimulating the baby's senses. Our two weeks old Alexander had a few minutes of fun attempting to bite the ape's foot and the elephant's trunk, before becoming hysterical either because he did not succeed or because he is addicted to bodily warmth.
The pet by Sigikid (which we have baptized Siegfried) is flat (and therefore manageable to a very young baby) and has nice contrasting checkered and striped panels. The material is soft enough to be pleasant to the baby, yet rough enough to make itself felt as a definite presence.
The play mat by Tiny Love is useful from very early on in stimulating the baby's senses. Our two weeks old Alexander had a few minutes of fun attempting to bite the ape's foot and the elephant's trunk, before becoming hysterical either because he did not succeed or because he is addicted to bodily warmth.
The pet by Sigikid (which we have baptized Siegfried) is flat (and therefore manageable to a very young baby) and has nice contrasting checkered and striped panels. The material is soft enough to be pleasant to the baby, yet rough enough to make itself felt as a definite presence.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Financial rip-off
The bail-out money spent by (mostly western) governments was a rip-off for a majority of the population. The right course of action would have been, in my rough naive estimate, to have financial institutions go bankrupt for a total value of about half the amount of the bail-out money. The net effect of such politics would have been much more beneficial. A few more banks should have sunk.
Recall that it was argued that the bail-out money would benefit the little man. The immediate fear of the common man was to lose the savings he had in the bank. However, the fast government guarantees of savings up to a certain amount (depending on the country) alleviated that fear immediately, although it lingered irrationally. That guarantee was necessary and sufficient, in a first instance. At that point, in a crude first step approximation, only people with a lot of money in the bank had to worry. And they did, and pressured governments to save all the money they had in their bank, by saving their bank. And guess what the government did.
Therefore, the tax payers money went to saving the surplus savings of the very rich.
The little man's guarantee never came into effect. The limit of the guarantee of savings never came into effect. And that says it all. The rich remained rich.
Really, they became richer. Banks faired well, and bonuses were paid, not only for good results, but also for the most disastrous year since the great depression. You have to wonder how the word bonus applied to those financial specialists who guided their institution to bankruptcy, only saved by the lobbying power of their clients.
Anyway, that was a first step crude approximation. There is no doubt that in the middle term, banks needed to be saved. But only after a few rich had paid, and after a few ordinary people had reclaimed their guaranteed savings. Because the banking system is in effect important, as was correctly argued, to make sure the market is fluid.
This illustrates well how purely ideological left or right reasoning did not apply to the crisis. One needed ideas from both camps to act reasonably. Note how during the crisis, the right wing was mightely quiet, convinced as they were that the government should intervene to save their donors, and their party. Their ideological failing was commented upon, but never really became the center of a public debate. It was said however that the left could not profit from the manifest failing of rightwing ideology. I would argue that the reason is that the left did not realize that for once, it needed to use right wing ideology (- let the free market take care of itself for a while -) to clean up after the rich. Exceptionally, the free market was implementing left wing ideology. Sure enough, ideological flexibility is near zero these days, so none of the above points were thorougly debated, let alone implemented by prominent politicians.
The danger, one would argue against my position, is that the whole system would have collapsed in no time. I don't believe this is the case, because the demand for basic goods as well as for a large number of luxury products never went down. No enormous amount of jobs, except in the financial industry, and in industries that were already in grave difficulties were lost, and this is no accident. If we had saved less banks, we would just have lost more leechers from the system. Only the part of the system that was not essential for satisfying the still existing and persisting demand was in danger. Only that part profited from the massive bail-out.
Recall that it was argued that the bail-out money would benefit the little man. The immediate fear of the common man was to lose the savings he had in the bank. However, the fast government guarantees of savings up to a certain amount (depending on the country) alleviated that fear immediately, although it lingered irrationally. That guarantee was necessary and sufficient, in a first instance. At that point, in a crude first step approximation, only people with a lot of money in the bank had to worry. And they did, and pressured governments to save all the money they had in their bank, by saving their bank. And guess what the government did.
Therefore, the tax payers money went to saving the surplus savings of the very rich.
The little man's guarantee never came into effect. The limit of the guarantee of savings never came into effect. And that says it all. The rich remained rich.
Really, they became richer. Banks faired well, and bonuses were paid, not only for good results, but also for the most disastrous year since the great depression. You have to wonder how the word bonus applied to those financial specialists who guided their institution to bankruptcy, only saved by the lobbying power of their clients.
Anyway, that was a first step crude approximation. There is no doubt that in the middle term, banks needed to be saved. But only after a few rich had paid, and after a few ordinary people had reclaimed their guaranteed savings. Because the banking system is in effect important, as was correctly argued, to make sure the market is fluid.
This illustrates well how purely ideological left or right reasoning did not apply to the crisis. One needed ideas from both camps to act reasonably. Note how during the crisis, the right wing was mightely quiet, convinced as they were that the government should intervene to save their donors, and their party. Their ideological failing was commented upon, but never really became the center of a public debate. It was said however that the left could not profit from the manifest failing of rightwing ideology. I would argue that the reason is that the left did not realize that for once, it needed to use right wing ideology (- let the free market take care of itself for a while -) to clean up after the rich. Exceptionally, the free market was implementing left wing ideology. Sure enough, ideological flexibility is near zero these days, so none of the above points were thorougly debated, let alone implemented by prominent politicians.
The danger, one would argue against my position, is that the whole system would have collapsed in no time. I don't believe this is the case, because the demand for basic goods as well as for a large number of luxury products never went down. No enormous amount of jobs, except in the financial industry, and in industries that were already in grave difficulties were lost, and this is no accident. If we had saved less banks, we would just have lost more leechers from the system. Only the part of the system that was not essential for satisfying the still existing and persisting demand was in danger. Only that part profited from the massive bail-out.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Visionary blindness
When Louis XIV both dominated land and sea, he did not build a colonial empire. After brilliantly choosing his faithful strategists, and constructing a fantastic kingdom with plenty of richness for decadent wastefulness and impressive theatrics, he failed to execute a winning strategy for the future because he believed military dominance was rooted on land.
Ever since, France has attempted to catch up, with plenty of trumps in hand, and the occasional outburst of brilliant independence (as exemplified especially by the formidable De Gaulle). It is impressive how the country has maintained such vitality and spirit, while keeping its head buried in the ground.
At the present time, one can enumerate tens of themes on which it is trailing the competition (efficient administration, suburban policy, women's rights, integrating science and industry, a global strategy in higher education, language teaching, automotive industry, ...) which could easily be cured with the country's impressive resources and abilities, but which are not because it still seems to be digesting Louis' strategic mistake.
Only when one lives in a great nation can one feel the frustration of the waste of enormous collective possibilities.
Ever since, France has attempted to catch up, with plenty of trumps in hand, and the occasional outburst of brilliant independence (as exemplified especially by the formidable De Gaulle). It is impressive how the country has maintained such vitality and spirit, while keeping its head buried in the ground.
At the present time, one can enumerate tens of themes on which it is trailing the competition (efficient administration, suburban policy, women's rights, integrating science and industry, a global strategy in higher education, language teaching, automotive industry, ...) which could easily be cured with the country's impressive resources and abilities, but which are not because it still seems to be digesting Louis' strategic mistake.
Only when one lives in a great nation can one feel the frustration of the waste of enormous collective possibilities.
French civil servants : to cut, or what to cut
While the French civil servant mass would seem to be too high (as advocated by the political right wing), cutting in railway, postal service, and especially education public employment is not the way out. Rather, the layered structure of public administration which makes for long pathways from the provincial base to the centralized political top should be trimmed. However, since it is this very backbone that permits the main man to effectively control and gain support from the whole of France, it is not the target of necessary reform. President Sarkozy often does seem to have the right central concept in mind, but too often fails to either be informed well enough, or to overcome political short term strategic reasoning to take the right decision on the ground. He should head the lesson from former shining examples in this department like the Roi Soleil, who managed to govern a country (without rapid means of communication or transport) with a handful of administrators.
Nobel style
A Nobel prize winner answers New York Times questions in an original style. Frank and humourful, Greider's tone struck me as exceptionally down to earth.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Small cars, sports cars
The Top Gear team is funnier and more creative than most advertising companies. They make a point of using small cars for what they're built for : soccer.
No censorship ?
MIT uses uncensored student writing to attract prospective students according to the New York Times. That fact is newsworthy because (externally) uncensored writing is generally frowned upon, even when the writer applies a healthy dose of self-censorship. The internet has influenced modern society in uncountable ways, and it has laid bare some of its nastier habits. Indeed, we have gotten so used to censored inhibited writing that there is a public outcry the minute amateur writers produce short random texts. We sue people over three phrases on Facebook, and we fire them over an exclamation on Twitter. The internet gives contemporary society the chance to adapt its criteria for censorship to much milder ones. Hopefully, the much lower treshhold for producing public discourse will lead to more frank, higher level public debates.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Justification de domicile
It seems that I have had to copy every single electricity bill I have received from the EDF company in order to prove that I reside at the address where I have lived now for over 3 years to various instances of government, to companies, employers, and other suspicious friends. It is actually a miracle that my name appears on the bill since the electricity is in my wife's name, and otherwise I would not have a single document that is generally accepted as a "justification de domicile". (I will spare you the workaround that one needs to apply if this is the case.) I guess we should be thankful that all these instances do not own a central database with information on our whereabouts and that they do not base themselves on citizenship for every single service that they provide but I can't help but think that there should be an easier way of handling my administration. I wouldn't mind if some information was exchanged between selected agencies, including for instance all municipal services. No, over and over again millions of people need to store their bill, and occassionally go make a single copy of the little form provided by a company of dubious repute to hand it to a town's clerk who files it in our dossier and puts a check mark next to our name. This annoying feature of everyday modern life is shared amongst many great nations. I challenge inventive administrators and tired citizens to come up with an equally (i.e. mildly) secure and less annoying alternative.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
F-book
My Facebook account is history. The non-stop flux of friend requests from members of various social groups to which I did or did not belong at various points in time was a clear sign of the randomness that the internet effortlessly generates. Facebook did not allow sufficient fine tuning to organize the whole into a reasonable format, nor did it allow flexibility in choosing to receive one message in three say from enthusiastic babblers. My old friends also regularly defended ridiculous political positions either explicitly, by referring to their favorite political party or by repeating party slogans, or implicitly by describing in detail a very limited aspect of society, or their own environment. Moreover, reading random discussions that are made up of two word phrases is annoying. The fantastic finds by good friends or acquaintances of interesting videos and links did not make up for the constant influx of noise generated by people who believe that internet makes the earth flat. Too much time is wasted in wading through crappy posts to find a gem. Self-censorship seems contradictory with contemporary internet usage. Moreover, taking into account all sensitivities of every single acquaintance that I made over a lifetime too often lead to silence. Blog posts have the clear advantage of having as a default setting that they are not randomly sent to people who may be involved in more interesting activities.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
French Higher Education
French higher education is good, especially the Grandes Ecoles. That is normal since they get 30 percent of the budget for 5 percent of the students. The elite that makes it into the Grandes Ecoles, after passing entrance exams, is very well trained.
There are various problems with the present system. Since the entrance exams are very competitive and extremely important for the future careers and lives of the students, children need to be prepared to have very high problem solving capabilities at eighteen. That requires that children enter very good schools at an early age. That jeopardizes the otherwise democratic nature of the entrance exams. The influence of the direct environment on the children's far future is big.
The Grandes Ecoles are separated. They are not universal (as universities are) in that they usually have a single department with a single vocation (e.g. electrical engineering). That compartmentalizes the elite and makes for little cross-discipline and cross-professional fertilization. That takes its toll on the flexibility and creativity of French administration, technology, research and industry, etcetera.
The university students (which remain an important resource of talent) suffer badly from the fact that the head of the student body is chopped of by the Grandes Ecoles. The university degree is devalued in the presence of the close knit Grande Ecole elite.
Long term the only solution that one can envisage is the joining of Grandes Ecoles to form elite universities within France. Or the joining of Grandes Ecoles to universities in such a way that they retain their exceptional quality.
Grandes Ecoles cannot disappear since they are of the highest level. They must however allow their elite students to communicate more freely with students from other domains, and they may take the task of leading the whole of the French higher education body closer at heart. Universities should aspire to cooperate and compete with the Grandes Ecoles, with the conviction that they are expected to find talent in numbers, or in latebloomers or disadvantaged youngsters.
These are changes that can only be implemented gradually and in the long term, through careful and informed planning, by both the higher education community and central administration. There is no easy changing of more than 200 years of impressive history.
There are various problems with the present system. Since the entrance exams are very competitive and extremely important for the future careers and lives of the students, children need to be prepared to have very high problem solving capabilities at eighteen. That requires that children enter very good schools at an early age. That jeopardizes the otherwise democratic nature of the entrance exams. The influence of the direct environment on the children's far future is big.
The Grandes Ecoles are separated. They are not universal (as universities are) in that they usually have a single department with a single vocation (e.g. electrical engineering). That compartmentalizes the elite and makes for little cross-discipline and cross-professional fertilization. That takes its toll on the flexibility and creativity of French administration, technology, research and industry, etcetera.
The university students (which remain an important resource of talent) suffer badly from the fact that the head of the student body is chopped of by the Grandes Ecoles. The university degree is devalued in the presence of the close knit Grande Ecole elite.
Long term the only solution that one can envisage is the joining of Grandes Ecoles to form elite universities within France. Or the joining of Grandes Ecoles to universities in such a way that they retain their exceptional quality.
Grandes Ecoles cannot disappear since they are of the highest level. They must however allow their elite students to communicate more freely with students from other domains, and they may take the task of leading the whole of the French higher education body closer at heart. Universities should aspire to cooperate and compete with the Grandes Ecoles, with the conviction that they are expected to find talent in numbers, or in latebloomers or disadvantaged youngsters.
These are changes that can only be implemented gradually and in the long term, through careful and informed planning, by both the higher education community and central administration. There is no easy changing of more than 200 years of impressive history.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Poppin'
Its always refreshing to see new kids on the Parisian block poppin' up some unseen dance moves.
It seems that the US both has the impressable critical mass as well as the educated sensitivity for youth pop culture to continue to produce the most innovative variations of superficial styling. Lil Mama gives an example in Lip Gloss which combines a teen theme with teen dance music, and new dance moves copied by cheerleaders all over the country, reminiscent of popping, in turn reminiscent of breakdance, vogue, crumpin' and movements popularized by Michael Jackson. The producing of the music shows great talent and industrial control.
It seems that the US both has the impressable critical mass as well as the educated sensitivity for youth pop culture to continue to produce the most innovative variations of superficial styling. Lil Mama gives an example in Lip Gloss which combines a teen theme with teen dance music, and new dance moves copied by cheerleaders all over the country, reminiscent of popping, in turn reminiscent of breakdance, vogue, crumpin' and movements popularized by Michael Jackson. The producing of the music shows great talent and industrial control.
The education of postponing judgement
Freedom of expression is limited in Alabama, as experienced by the Top Gear crew in their famous caricature of the US.
There is no doubt that one can paint slogans on cars that are experienced as insulting in any given place, while claiming their place in the global debate. However, it has struck me multiple times that most locals at least seem to have the acquired ability to postpone judgement during a brief encounter. Exceptions may be triggered by the construction of a sharp artificial local identity in the face of economic hardship, strong cultural pressure or other extreme strains. Postponing judgement should be an integral part of education in a just society. A debating culture, a mix of expressed identities at school, the surprise experience of learning any type of new fact may add to feeling that postponement and deliberation are useful reflexes.
There is no doubt that one can paint slogans on cars that are experienced as insulting in any given place, while claiming their place in the global debate. However, it has struck me multiple times that most locals at least seem to have the acquired ability to postpone judgement during a brief encounter. Exceptions may be triggered by the construction of a sharp artificial local identity in the face of economic hardship, strong cultural pressure or other extreme strains. Postponing judgement should be an integral part of education in a just society. A debating culture, a mix of expressed identities at school, the surprise experience of learning any type of new fact may add to feeling that postponement and deliberation are useful reflexes.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Paris Prizes 2009
The traditional Paris prize per square meter per arrondissement for non-new appartments.
And the prize evolution. The crisis has made itself felt.
Copper and flexible plumbing (PER)
To move my sink, I used flexible tubes. Since I live in France, I used PER (Polyéthylène Réticulé) but I bet you can find a local equivalent without much trouble. Those flexible tubes came in diameters of 12 and 16. Since I was only moving my sink, the twelve diameter tubes sufficed. I bought tubes which were inside strong protecting tubes (which therefore look as if they are much broader). Using a slide caliper - use google images do determine what I'm talking about if necessary; this hint applies to all words that you do not understand - one can determine the thickness of the copper pipes. Mine turned out to be 14 mm thick (in some places, but in others they were 10 mm and 12 mm thick, so be careful in attempting to determine the thickness without proper measuring instrument). Therefore, I needed pieces connecting my 14 mm thick copper and 12 mm flexible tubes. The difficult part is identifying the right pieces. Make sure you go to a do-it-yourself shop with qualified employees and a huge collection of components. Don't bother to attempt to solder copper. The american/instant or biconal connections will do the job just fine.
To extend my copper network, I closed the relevant fossets, checked that no water was running through anymore, and opened up the copper network. To do that, it turned out that my 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 as well as my adjustable wrench came in handy. I removed all that was on the end of the copper tube, and used my connection. To put it on, I first pushed/screwed it on the flexible, the one the copper (respecting the direction of all the individual components). The hard part is to make sure you pushed it far enough. (I removed part of the protective layer, cut it along the length, and put it back on after the connection was made.) All the rest is an easy exercise in screwing tight all components, and tighter still when you see that the connection leaks.
On the other end, I connected my PER tubing to the fossets. Again, the hard part is only to identify the right connecting pieces. My fosset came with a flexible feeding tube that ended in a female unidentified end. A good trick is to bring the flexible tube along to your local shop and either ask for help, or when the relevant components are in plastic bags, you can attempt to screw them on in the shop, even with the plastic bag still on them. The relevant connection turned out to be PER 12 to 12/17 (in French nomenclature). Again, after identifying the right connector, the only further annoying part is to push the tubes far enough up the connector, and the rest is an easy turning of the wrench.
The PER site http://plomberie.per.free.fr/ was useful, but not exhaustive.
To extend my copper network, I closed the relevant fossets, checked that no water was running through anymore, and opened up the copper network. To do that, it turned out that my 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 as well as my adjustable wrench came in handy. I removed all that was on the end of the copper tube, and used my connection. To put it on, I first pushed/screwed it on the flexible, the one the copper (respecting the direction of all the individual components). The hard part is to make sure you pushed it far enough. (I removed part of the protective layer, cut it along the length, and put it back on after the connection was made.) All the rest is an easy exercise in screwing tight all components, and tighter still when you see that the connection leaks.
On the other end, I connected my PER tubing to the fossets. Again, the hard part is only to identify the right connecting pieces. My fosset came with a flexible feeding tube that ended in a female unidentified end. A good trick is to bring the flexible tube along to your local shop and either ask for help, or when the relevant components are in plastic bags, you can attempt to screw them on in the shop, even with the plastic bag still on them. The relevant connection turned out to be PER 12 to 12/17 (in French nomenclature). Again, after identifying the right connector, the only further annoying part is to push the tubes far enough up the connector, and the rest is an easy turning of the wrench.
The PER site http://plomberie.per.free.fr/ was useful, but not exhaustive.
Blocked drain pipes and PVC
When your drain pipes get clogged, first determine at what point the blockage resides. One can determine this by knocking on the tube, or by letting the tube empty out, then fill it again. Estimate the point where the water doesn't run through anymore by the volume of water necessary to fill up the tube.
Typical causes of blockage are hair, plaster, chemicals that solidify and tooth picks. Do not ever throw these down your drain.
It is easy to mechanically remove a blockage if it's nearby the end of the tube, or a point where the tube is easily opened up. I have found that a metal cable with a pin at the end that one can twist to increase the tension is a very useful tool to open up drain pipes.
When you cannot reach the clog, opening up the drain pipe is necessary. Try to make sure on beforehand that you open it up at the right spot. If the drain pipes are copper than just get rid of the copper part all the way to the sink (for household plumbing) and replace it by PVC, which is much handier. A 40 mm diameter drain pipe will do the job. The old copper draining may well have the same diameter, in which case it is easily connected to the PVC replacement at the end.
When putting in a PVC drain pipe, make sure that you realize that angles are never straight (but 87 degrees point 30), and that T-elements typically have to be put in in accord with the directions of the flow. Take your time to puzzle together an effortless and tensionless connection between the points you need to connect. Make sure the tube does not run through a place that you need for some other purpose.
When gluing your PVC connections, mark them first both for depth and connecting angle, by a line parallel to the end of the tube, as well as a line orthogonal to the section (which runs over two pieces to be connected at a given angle). Use sufficient glue. Spread it out with a brush or your fingers, evenly over the two pieces to be glued. Push them together hard, and do not twist.
PVC drain pipes are easy.
Should leaks still occur, then you can resort to a paste that is made of two components which after mixing becomes hard after a period of time. This is a last resort.
Typical causes of blockage are hair, plaster, chemicals that solidify and tooth picks. Do not ever throw these down your drain.
It is easy to mechanically remove a blockage if it's nearby the end of the tube, or a point where the tube is easily opened up. I have found that a metal cable with a pin at the end that one can twist to increase the tension is a very useful tool to open up drain pipes.
When you cannot reach the clog, opening up the drain pipe is necessary. Try to make sure on beforehand that you open it up at the right spot. If the drain pipes are copper than just get rid of the copper part all the way to the sink (for household plumbing) and replace it by PVC, which is much handier. A 40 mm diameter drain pipe will do the job. The old copper draining may well have the same diameter, in which case it is easily connected to the PVC replacement at the end.
When putting in a PVC drain pipe, make sure that you realize that angles are never straight (but 87 degrees point 30), and that T-elements typically have to be put in in accord with the directions of the flow. Take your time to puzzle together an effortless and tensionless connection between the points you need to connect. Make sure the tube does not run through a place that you need for some other purpose.
When gluing your PVC connections, mark them first both for depth and connecting angle, by a line parallel to the end of the tube, as well as a line orthogonal to the section (which runs over two pieces to be connected at a given angle). Use sufficient glue. Spread it out with a brush or your fingers, evenly over the two pieces to be glued. Push them together hard, and do not twist.
PVC drain pipes are easy.
Should leaks still occur, then you can resort to a paste that is made of two components which after mixing becomes hard after a period of time. This is a last resort.
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