The Right to Freedom

I've was having a discussion with a friend the other day, and it has been mulling over in my head since, so I thought i would make it my first blog post in quite some time........

Freedom to be who you are, say what you want and do what you want is important and should be attainable for everyone in this world, but are we ready for that?

I have a horrible feeling many arent

Because with freedom there comes one important, but vital, responsibility - the ability to accept the consequences on your actions - the freedom to confront the impact that the actions resulting from your freedom have on other people

And would it be truely freedom anyway if your actions have a negative impact on other people? surely in that case you are therefore restricting the freedom that these people are also entitled to- so in our society is it truely possible to have freedom for everyone?

I think maybe we should aim for a new ideal - the freedom for everyone to live how they choose, with the important caveat - that this freedom is allowed on the condition that your actions do not knowingly impact negatively on the life that someone else has chosen to lead

If you choose to knowingly carry out such an act, then I question whether you yourself actually have the right to freedom - although I do freely admit that this is a point that needs much more discussion and that one person alone could not make that sort of decision

Of course if you unknowingly make a negative impact, whether through ignorance, or genuine innocence, as long as you make the necessary reparition and make an effort to ensure that such an error does not occur again, then I dont see that there should be such a problem

Because surely if you value your freedom then the freedom of those around you should be just as precious as your own

Just remember that if you can violate someones freedom without check then it is equally possible that someone will do the same to you

How would you feel if that happened to you?

a thought provoking article.....

....or is that a despair provoking article, after reading this i cant help but wonder what hope there is left for us, although by the sounds of it there might be for plants if nothing else its bloody entertaining hehe

on the plus side the comments to this article are genius

no more tree hugging for me i guess.....well unless they're consenting adults anyway....

A long overdue update

so its been a while since i have posted, so i thought i would take this time, whilst a map i have spent the last day and half georeferencing and georectifying (for those non-geographers this means making the map match up in overlay with another map - it sounds more exciting in technical terms i think) goes ahead and reprojects into a new co-ordinate system. This always takes at least 2 hours on my computer, not entirely sure why - image size combined with working on a shared drive possibly (answers on a postcard please) so i thought i would use my time productively rather than my usual occupations of how long i can balance on one leg, counting the bricks on the wall, balancing books on....yeah ok you get the idea.

this then is a general catch up on what i have been up to recently. since i last posted i have:
- been to France for the weekend, to bosch's parents house in Normandy, several of us went on motorbikes and had a bloody good weekend, spent most of Saturday travelling from the ferry port to the house sightseeing as we went, including Bayeux, Aramanches sur Bain and Omaha beach and had a monster 5 course dinner at a lovely local restaurant - mmmmm so tasty. Boschs pillion seat however is not kind and i walked like John Wayne for a couple of days afterwards.

- worked hard, both at uni work and and work work (which is in uni, confusing huh?)

- and of course, me being me, partied pretty damn hard too hehe

But as far as I am concerned the best part of the past month, and the main reason for me not blogging, is going away for work. To Oxford (added bonus as i could spend a serious amount of time with mum and dad) The main reason for going was to research and copy maps relevant to the work i am doing - and this is the best bit - a legitimate reason to go play in the Bodleian Library - one of the earliest and best libraries in the UK and a damn good map library - i was in out and out geek heaven. It also featured in the Harry Potter films. yes i know the bod has so many more claims to fame than this, most of them better, unfortunately people seem to remember only the most recent achievements of both buildings and other people even if they are not their best so therefore this is the reference i shall make.

The added advantage of gaining access to the bod was that my readers card allowed me access to areas that tourist very very rarely get to see - and it is beautiful in there. The oldest section is actually medieval, called Duke Humfrey's library, and is filled with very old leather bound volumes, medieval painted wood panelling covers the walls and ceilings, with renaissance stained glass windows - absolutely amazing. The rest of the library is beautiful - white washed walls, large, lead filled windows and the best bit, as it is a copyright library every book that has ever been published in the UK, and in many other countries, has a copy here - squeee

and as for the maps, wow, one of the books i worked with was a 1829 atlas - and it was so beautiful, not just the maps but the paintings they included to show scenery from the relevant countries - why cant we get books like these nowadays? America looked a bit funny though hehe.

ok so i've finished geeking now

As for whats coming up, it looks pretty manic both on the work and play front (yes i know but i will be cutting down a bit, honest!) its going to be tiring and ch alleging but hopefully at some points enjoyable and ultimately rewarding. All i have to say is roll on the summer, lots of festivals, fun with friends and max coming over to visit -booooooooom :D, and a visit to Amsterdam too of course - hehe look out summer here i come ;)

spring

After a week of cold miserable weather I fully expected the first official day of summer to be miserable.

But it has been such a lovely sunny day that I have actually had the windows open for most of the day :) and i cant help but keep smiling at nothing as a result - it finally feels like spring :)

all I have to say now is bring on the summer............

Muse

Muse have a new cd/dvd combo out, H.A.A.R.P - it's frickin awesome, i'm sat here trying to decide whether it is happyness, awe or sheer goddam shivers down my back that are going to kill me first

I recommend getting it, in fact, scrap that, dont think, just get it, if you cant download it then goddam buy it like i did (yes i know that's a shock to some of you), if you havent the money then beg, borrow or steal to get it, if necessary kill - god will not consider it a sin - he wants a copy too (if you feel a bit bad when you take this option - and believe me once you see this dvd it will become an option - my friend the black pope should be able to help with your confession)

and if you haven't heard of Muse - where the hell have you been?!!!!!! go find and listen!

hehe

emo