time for some new terms

OK. Enough about food and drink and truth. It's getting a bit boring I'm sure.

I came across a new term, if you could call it a term, on a website the other day and when I first saw it I thought to myself "that's not a real word". Then I thought about it for a while, but not for too long, and realised that if Shakespeare could invent new words, and he sure did add plenty of gems into the English language, then people scattered around the globe can add the odd new one here and there without it being much of a problem.

So here it is.. Teledildonics.

I know, I know. Some people reading this will be immediately affronted. I can tell you I certainly was. Then I thought about it and reconciled myself that people are free to create terms just as crazy as this in regular fields of science and industry.

How did I come across this word.. indeed that is the real question. Well to be honest I came across it (ahem) while browsing Google News last week and there was a link to a story in Wired News with a pretty crazy headline about sex machines. Now me in my innocence presumed it was an article about James Brown but alas no.

I was planning to let this pass and not mention it until I saw something tonight that made me think again about this makey-uppey (yes, that's right, I'll be sending this in to the Oxford Dictionary or whoever owns the English language tomorrow) word thingummybob.

Yes, a group of Irish schoolkids carried out a "bitchcast", which is a podcast where you bitch about stuff for the duration of the podcast. Excellent idea? Well I have to admit that I did not download the 14.9 Gb file so I can't really comment on the outcome or value of the bitchcast but it certainly sounds like a first-of-a-kind to me. Click here for details (and wait until I tell Katie and Alley that you were listening to the bitchcast - they are gonna be so like not talking to you and there's no way like that you can hang around with us anymore... etc)

Now to look for more new words, to seek out a new paradigm if you will.

Death to decaf drinkers...

Well maybe not death, at least not right away. I just can't believe how many of these stories make the news these days. I seem to be on a bit of a roll anyhow, with another article making the news today about the dangers of drinking decaf coffee.

So, hands up anyone who has ever heard of the Robusta coffee bean? Indeed. Most people have heard of varieties like Arabica, Java and Kona but probably not heard so much about Robusta.

Good name Robusta? maybe or maybe not. It seems that in an effort to dredge all of the caffeine out of the beans, you can end up taking all the taste out too so these Robusta beans are, well, robust. Hence after you've washed all the caffeine out you're left with something by way of flavour.

Personally I think "flavour" is being generous. From where I sit/sip decaf tastes like rainwater from a manky gutter, or maybe the waste container from one of those carpet shampooing machines. I don't like the stuff at all.

Anyway some boffins, as I shall forever henceforth refer to anyone with a research background, a white coat or a clipboard, reckon that these beans used to make decaf have loads more fat than regular coffee beans.

So, you might be drinking less caffeine but loading up on some pretty dodgy fats.

If you're bothered to read the original article click here.

mmmmm... healthy bacon

In an obvious affirmation of my previous post, I read today that a group of boffins in the USA have created bacon that is actually good for you.

"A group of university researchers in the United States announced Sunday that they had created what sounds like a nutritional holy grail: cloned pigs that make their own omega-3 fatty acids, potentially leading to bacon and pork chops that might help your heart." (link to original article)

click here for a picture of the new healthy pigs and the guy who came up with this idea.

Now put that together with the healthy eggs and coffee I wrote about earlier and we've pretty much sorted out breakfast, that's if you side with the "all of this stuff is OK for you" brigade.

Life is great!

The emergence of two truths

It's hard to know these days where we stand when it comes to truth. I mean absolute truth, that which is irrefutable and just can't be argued against.

One key emerging trend seems to be the increasing polarisation of the planet, at least as far as opinion goes. No longer is there a generally held belief about many things. Instead we have the mass-polarisation of opinion. Expressions such as "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem" or "you're either with us or you're against us" evoke flashbacks to the days of McCarthyism in the USA as ordinary people were brainwashed with talk of reds under their beds. In the last 15 years in my view, roughly co-inciding with the emergence of the internet as a generally available information channel, more and more of this polarisation has occurred.

No longer can we see something presented as true and fair when everything can be accused of being subjective and tainted by self-interest of those comissioning the article or the news item.

Let me give some recent examples.

A diet rich in fish oils is good for a healthy heart. This was the generally announced outcome of research into the benefits of omega-3, a component found in fish oils which in turn are found in diets containing lots of fish. Suddenly you can't move for all the fish-oil and omega-3 being inserted into our food. I've seen it in vitamin supplements, margarine and most recently in milk. All well and good until you read that a dispute has arisen about whether this is in fact really true at all. There is now divided opinion about whether omega-3 and fish oils really do offer the benefits that have been suggested. It seems that in at least one study the reverse was found and increased incidence of cardiac problems occurred. So what are we now to think about fish oils?

Here's another. In Ireland a plastic bag tax was levvied some years ago to decrease the environmental impact of plastic bags, most of which were not bio-degradeable. They go into the ground and sit there for years and years polluting and destroying we are told. In their place consumers are requested to use eco-friendly bags, made of cloth or paper, thus improving the country and lowering the impact on the environmentof these cursed plastic bags. But is this the absolute truth? Has the environment benefited from the reduction in the use of plastic bags? It would seem not. Again a recent study suggests that the extra weight of paper and cloth bags, multiplied by the sheer number of these in use (go ahead and do an inventory of just how many bags you have in your own home) and this in turn has meant extra freight costs which of course means more emissions pumped out of big freight containers as they shuffle along the motorway bringing bigger bags to the stores. Again this is a point of view and clearly a directly opposing view to those who suggest the plastic must go.


I remember being told several years ago that I needed to cut back on drinking coffee, something about it being dangerous to drink too much of the stuff. Well we seem to have a polar opposite view on that too, with some saying that a little is good for you and others yet saying that you can drink all you like and to hell with the naysayers. Hard to know where to stand on this one too.



Maybe one of the best examples was the suggestion that eggs are bad for you in large doses due to their high cholesterol levels. Too many eggs consumed leads to high cholesterol leading to heart and blood pressure problems. Or so we were told. It now seems that more recent research suggests that eggs by their design have a component that negates much of the cholesterol, essentially inhibiting the human body from taking on the cholesterol we were worrying about. I think this too represents a polar opposite opinion. Once again I am flummoxed about where to stand on this.

I haven't even ventured to talk about news media, sports broadcasting and stuff like that because clearly there is a polarisation of viewpoint going on there too.

Van Morrison was on the news a couple of weeks ago railing against the internet. His assertion was that in days past people used to study something in great detail before they would be considered an expert on something. Nowadays, he complains, people just look stuff up on the internet and claim to be expert. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with his view but clearly when looking something up on the internet you need to recognise if what you are reading is based on one extreme pole of opinion or the other extreme, or hopefully somewhere thankfully between the extremes of modern viewpoint.

p.s. you'll notice I like to use Wikipedia as a reference. Another example of extreme polarisation as others assert that Wikipedia is not reliable. This is getting a bit old.

Time for a psychologist counter at the airport?

Today is Sunday even though it is Monday. I have just returned home from a working weekend and what should really be Sunday is actually Monday. So in my own mind I have decided that tomorrow will be the Monday of my week.

Anyway, enough about that. I made a return flight to the UK this weekend and on both legs of the journey I saw and heard some mad stuff. That's mad as in "certifiable", and of the "looney bin" variety.

People seem to reach a heightened state of anxiety when they reach the airport. Way before they reach the aircraft (where it would be understandable to have high levels of anxiety) they are troubled to the point where they do things that just don't make sense.

Many years ago I remember watching a Monty Python sketch about "senile delinquents", a gang of marauding pensioners who went around beating up people while uttering their motto of "make tea not war". I think I bumped into a 5-person strong gang of senile delinquents in the airport on Saturday. Needless to say they wanted to fly to A but for some reason known only to them they were all sitting at the gate for a flight to B. I won't say where they were going as that will only add to potential attribution errors already forming in your mind.

Anyway, the logical rational and sane person would wander about and occasionally check that all was in order, the old "am I in the right place?" type of thought going through the mind. Not this gang. Here the strategy was to wait until T-5 minutes and then approach the desk of another flight just about to board. Of course this flight is not going where they wish to go so they move in to disrupt the maximum number of "younger people".

Next come the shrieks and squawks, the throwing of hands up into the air, and the look of utter and complete astonishment. I overhear the desk counter agent telling them "that flight has already boarded in area C, this is area A" so not only are they at the wrong desk, but they have missed their correct gate by a matter of the length of the entire airport. Excellent work.

The desk counter agent fails to spot their tactictal manouevre and foolishly tells them that they can be booked onto the next flight to that location, tomorrow morning.

Cue shrieking and wailing and more arms in the air. Eyes dart desperately from left to right as the sheer incomprehensibility of this suggestion sinks in. A quick-thinking colleague ushers a cart to come and bring them to another gate to fly them to another airport, presumably close to where they want to go. Then they are off and peace is restored.

How can this happen? Maybe it's a generation thing but there is a point at which you need to check if you are at the right place to catch your flight. This is not the first time I have seen this.

On the way back Gary is sitting behind me. I'm not sure where Gary is from, but he sounds very Australian but in a kind-0f "I lived in Oz for 5 years" way. The accent just does not sound authentic to me. He's on the phone to someone and is complaining vigorously about the "bladdy witha over here" as he puts it. He's telling the unfortunate person at the other end of the line that he is planning to go to Australia for a holiday to get away from the "bladdy witha" and how he plans to move there in September anyway. Clearly he did not know that the weather in this part of the world would be different to that of Australia. The chosen plan of action makes sense, Gary gets his sunshine fix and we all get some respite from his whinging. The Australians love to go on about the whinging poms so this whinging Aussie presents a striking contrast in my mind.

I've arrived home and now I will go to bed. I will dream tonight for the last time about the Russian oil and gas industry for the work is done and now it's time to move on to write about budgeting and planning. Will this excitement ever end?

From flow to reverie

I'm at my desk upstairs working on my first book - the one I have been talking about for such a long time. I guess I reached some kind of low-activity point over the past year, partly because I have a bunch of other stuff going on and partly because some of the folks who have been egging me on have not been around for various reasons (you know who you are).

Anyway I have been aware for some time that neither of these reasons is sufficient to prevent me from putting in the odd half hour here and there and that's exactly what I've been doing. I have had a fortuitous encounter in recent weeks with someone who has helped me to refocus my efforts and to somehow fit everything in and push forward.

So, it's like life's reward in action sitting here at the desk. I've just finished 30 minutes of pure FLOW, beautifully ended by the sound of Robert Schumann's Traumerei (Reverie) on the new piano downstairs. I don't know much about classical music but I know that I like this particular piece because it is just beautiful.

I will close the lid on the book for another night but I'm definitely moving forward on this. Looking forward to a day off on Friday because on Saturday I'm off to the UK again, this time for an extra day.

Another rainy day

Today was a very dull day. The rain has been falling since 3 in the afternoon, first just spattering and spitting and now as darkness has started to fall the whole scene outside the window is bleak.

I've been thinking about another idea for a book. This one is pretty bizarre but has real potential. If you like Patrick Lencioni's work, or have a soft spot for Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance then you'll be somewhere along the road to what I have in mind. A couple of years back I had the good fortune to meet Espen Holm in person and he certainly made me think about some creative ways to deliver heavy subjects into the wider world.

I don't know anything about Erma Bombeck but I came across something she wrote last week that stunned me. I'm going to try and find out something about who she was and what she did. I'm sure I can take some time out of my busy Russian Oil & Gas research to do that.

I had a terrifying flashforward this morning. Put simply this is the opposite of a flashback. The scene contained extreme disappointment. It was not a good feeling. Tonight I will write to safeguard against the vision coming true.

My irrational fear of counting down

Standing at the microwave oven this morning, heating up the baby's bottle, it occurred to me that I have an irrational fear of counting down. I watched the timer on the microwave oven count down from 25 seconds and it made me uncomfortable.

My mind wandered back to a sunny summer day in Cary, North Carolina in 1998. I had just checked in to my room at the Embassy Suites and having unpacked my suitcase I did what most sane business traveller would do. I got the laptop out and connected to the internet.

You know coming from Europe the concept of an unlimited local call for 75c was just phenomenal. I opened the dialer programme and a short bout of whining later and I was connected.

I launched my browser, did a quick search for an mp3 that I was looking for and clicked "save as". This was in the pre-iTunes, pre-napster, pre-broadband days of course.

So with 4MB or so to download all there was to to was wait. So I waited, and I waited and I waited. Cast your mind back to these dark days. It was painful to wait.

In times like these I had to leave the room, or turn on the TV, or do anything. Anything but sit there and watch the clock count down.

In London recently I caught myself doing something similar on the tube, or the London Underground to give it the correct title. I boarded the tube at Heathrow with a work colleague, headed for Hyde Park Corner station. I'd say we were about 2 stations in to the journey when I started working out how many stations we still needed to visit before we could get off the train.

Ditto a recent flight to Madrid. The plane had just about reached cruising altitude when I was checking my watch and working out how far from Madrid we were.

At times like these I am indeed "consumed with the end". A wise man I once met shared an insight about people who are consumed with the end. It is identified as being a clear source of stress, manifesting itself in situations like traffic, bank queues, airline check-in queues and so on.

I know I shouldn't be consumed like this and for the most part I am not. Timers bring out the worst in me. I just can't bear to look.

We've all seen those old movies where there is a huge bomb with a massive timer with an easy to read LED display, how thoughtful! The vision of the LED display counting down, maybe that's what freaks me out. Maybe I am subconsciously programmed to fear things that count down.

Now we have traffic lights and pedestrian crossings that count down to the point where it is safe to cross the street. Fine for most people but not for me.

Either way, I don't like waiting for things to reach zero. I can't bear to look.

The Russians are coming

I have been reading economics for the past 2 weeks and studying the Russian oil and gas industry. One of the most incredible aspects of what I have been reading is the sheer potential of the Russian economy. For sure Russia has been mentioned in the same breath as China, India and Brazil as one of the emerging markets but for me this could actually be the most important, certainly inside the next decade.

China has more people hence more consumers but for hands down wealth potential there is nothing to even come close to what Russia has. It all comes down to two little three-letter words that I have already mentioned, oil and gas ("and" is also a three letter word but is not worth a whole lot).

Put simply not only does Russia have a load of oil and gas in reserve, they have the capacity to produce more than almost anyone else in the world, maybe with the exception of the Saudis. The Russians have benefited from a devaluation of their currency some years ago and this lowered their production costs dramatically meaning profits have soared in recent times. Another factor is that they are not members of OPEC and don't have to kiss up to OPEC the way many other oil producing nations do. This is a distinct advantage.

Another element is the nature of the way that foreign companies are permitted to operate at present inside Russia. It's not perfect competition in any sense so foreign companies must act as partners with Russian entities and this means they have limited opportunities unlike in other oil-rich markets. In addition much of the oil and gas industry was sold off in the 90s but has been gradually taken back under the control of the state. Major players like Gazprom have a large chunk of their stock owned by the Russian state.

Anyway when you do the straight line projections in Excel and work out what is possible given the certainly-likely scenario of oil price increases then these guys are in a position to resume their role as super-power and to join the US once again at the top table of influence.

The only downside is that the oil reserves of the entire planet are due to run out at some point in this current century although some disagree with that view. Before that happens oil prices are expected to peak and I've seen figures of $182 per barrel (!!!) quoted as a likely peak price. This is very scary.

Using these kinds of numbers you can get some sense of why oil is significant to the Russians.

However now that the US has started to catch on to the need for other forms of energy, applying simple economic principles around demand and supply, it's possible that if demand for oil starts to drop because we're using alternative sources of energy such as cow dung in each of our Lexus RX-h cars then oil prices become irrelevant for many of us and they will surely start to drop.

The Russians are coming but the good news is that they want what we want. Starbucks, Mercecdes-Benz, Ski holidays and Digital TV.

Let's hope those Japanese guys get the whole "petrol from cow dung" thing sorted quickly.

Everyone should buy a Piano

Today I spent 3 hours driving to the middle of nowhere with my wife to buy a Piano. This is a big deal because a Piano can be expensive. We found the place and it was certainly off the beaten track and they had a whole bunch of Pianos there.

Me being devoid of musical talent and having no clue about what would constitute a good purchase decision, I stood back and listened as the missus told the guy exactly what she wanted.

He tinkled on the ivories of a few nice looking models and within minutes it was clear that she had seen the Piano she wanted. We trotted around the shop once or twice more looking again at the runners up but we came back around and it was clear what she wanted.

She paid for it and it will be delivered on Friday. This will be very exciting to have in the house and I can't wait to see the look on the faces of the boys when the delivery guys plonk this in the front room.

Driving back, also for 3 hours, I was thinking a lot about what a big deal this is. We always said that we wanted to buy a Piano but somehow we never really believed entirely that we would do it. So to be driving back having done the deal was a great feeling.

Of course I will need to master the Piano and will probably do that after I have mastered the guitar. Lately I have been playing 3 favourite tunes, each lasting approximately 3 seconds. I have also been trying to keep the baby from putting spoons inside the guitar as it seems to affect the acoustics.

I heartily recommend the purchase of a Piano. It is a good thing to do.

Are people haughty any more?

The simple answer is yes. Some people are indeed haughty these days. It's one of those words that you don't really hear and if I'm honest it doesn't carry with it much that is complimentary. It tends to be used when someone is a bit aloof, a bit snobby perhaps and gives the impression that they look down on "ordinary people" as they might see them.

I was listening to an audio file that I downloaded from a very well known newspaper. The paper claimed it was a Podcast but I prefer the term Notcast (or file) since it is clearly was not a podcast rather it was a simple mp3 file. Even more annoying the files are not normalised (I won't explain that here if you don't mind), some need attenuation (ditto) and some have an introduction while others don't. Others quite simply end too abruptly. Anyway none of this is central to the point of this posting.

So this columnist, as she is termed, has recorded a whole host of short audio files in which she discusses aspects of her daily work and life. While her insight is interesting and humorous for the most part, she reveals too much about her own preferences and opinions in my view.

This is where the haughty question comes up. She tends to have a go at small things that are really quite normal and not worth worrying about. Stuff like stress, annoying aspects of the modern workplace such as people showing photos of their babies, american office terms and so on.

I'm left with the impression that if everyone acted like she acts then the entire office landscape across the globe would suddenly become wonderful. She attacks an academic who studies links between Formula 1 motor racing and business and says that the institution sponsoring the study should be ashamed or words to that effect.

This is strong stuff and a missed opportunity in my view to do something with more journalistic integrity and more objectivity.

I don't want this to sound like I'm bashing one culture so I'm not going to reveal the names here but it seems to suggest that the haughty concept is alive and well and this is not a good thing. A quick flick through the works of Hofstede and a quick look around the nearest shopping centre on a Saturday afternoon would reveal much about how the world is changing, whether we each like it or not.

Life is all about reactions and those who react from the reptile part of the brain will not survive. For sure they will go on and write ever more column inches of why the present is lamentable and how if only we could go back to old ways things would be wonderful. The old "why can't the status quo be the way forward" argument.

Time to stop judging and start living I'd say.