full metal sean

Cemetery Junction trailer

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Fri, 28 May 2010 00:04:00 +0000

Can't wait for this to come out!
- At UK Cinemas 14 April 2010

Posted via web from Sean Ramsey's posterous

Y the Last Man Film (2011)

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Wed, 26 May 2010 09:30:00 +0000

Rumoured to be made into three films, first of which plans to be out in 2011. Brian K Vaughan wrote the draft for the screenplay.

Posted via web from Sean Ramsey's posterous

Russell Brand in 'Debunk'd'

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Tue, 18 May 2010 03:27:00 +0000

via youtube.com

This is so good.

Posted via web from Sean Ramsey's posterous

Woman and her dog, joby, at the beach

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Mon, 17 May 2010 11:46:00 +0000

via youtube.com

via Mitch, via Dave.

Posted via web from Sean Ramsey's posterous

Some guy on drugs

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Mon, 17 May 2010 11:36:00 +0000

via epicfail.com

Posted via web from Sean Ramsey's posterous

Butt Drugs Commercial

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Mon, 17 May 2010 08:04:00 +0000

via youtube.com

This is hilarious.

Posted via web from Sean Ramsey's posterous

Bowmore Islet Single Malt

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Mon, 17 May 2010 06:07:00 +0000

Had a glass of Bowmore Islet Single Malt last night. Great stuff. Distilled in similar regions to Laphroaig, which is still the best scotch I have tasted so far.

Pictured is some that was bottled in 1965. That would probably taste pretty good.

Posted via web from Sean Ramsey's posterous

England win world cup!

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Mon, 17 May 2010 03:23:00 +0000

Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet
Result: England won by 7 wickets

via cricket20.com

Posted via web from Sean Ramsey's posterous

NEW BLOG and ENTRY!

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:38:00 +0000

NEW!

New blog and philosophy post:

seanphilosophy.blogspot.com

School of Athens

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:30:00 +0000

Something I picked up from an introductory Philosophy lecture today.

School of Athens - Raphael

This shows influential philosophers (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle)

and mathematicians (Pythagoras).

This is today.

Take note of the bored girl on the right yawning.

Pretty cool.

Old Jarrad

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:17:00 +0000

Situation: Two couples sitting inside a pub. One of which includes Georgie and Jarrad. They are having a comfortable social time. Then some friends of the couple that Jarrad is not coupled within arrive at the table. Introductions are neglected, the friends just talk between themselves. Jarrad is listening to the newly arrived Michael.

Michael: I’m in this huge band and we’re gonna be big. I’m the frontman and when people watch, they come to see me. I have an aura that blows the perception of all mankind.

Jarrad: Wow! That sounds fancy! Pretty fancy guy are ya?

Michael: Huh?

Jarrad: Do you fancy yourself as quite the big thing. The next Bowie?

Michael: (turns to friends) Who is this guy?

Friends: He’s Georgie’s boyfriend.

Michael: Well I don’t like him.

Jarrad: Yes! Well I like you! You are honest and I like that. You and I were both honest with each other. But you could have been more honest, you could have told me that you do consider yourself the next Bowie. The next Jesus Christ. That would have been more honest. Because I’ll be honest with you, the world revolves around me too and if we become friends and share matching geographical locations, our orbits will collide and the world will shine brighter to all who are around us.

Michael: I was just telling a story about what this arrogant prick outside was saying.

Jarrad: Oh. Well perhaps I should go outside then.

Red Group Therapy

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:29:00 +0000

Since being in hospital, I have been attending 'Red Group Therapy'. This is a group where I get to draw things with crayons, fineliners and watercolours.

This first one is called 'Mitch and his mate'. Mitch is the one on the right. I used crayons and watercolours.

I did these other two with a fineliner and also a bit of permanent marker.

I hope you like them.

My First Ever Short Story

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:43:00 +0000

The following is a short story that I wrote tonight in just under an hour, its hardly edited so go easy on it. Plus I'm pretty dosed up on valium so it might not be as okay as I thought. By the way I'm currently in a psychiatric hospital so don't be questioning the reality of the content or I'll have you sectioned.

WHAT A THRILL

For the purposes of this story all you really need to know about our main character Peter is that he gets bored very, very easily. If he’s not attempting to befriend neo-Nazi fascists whilst pretending to be a blonde Jew then there’s a good chance he’s hacking his best friend’s Facebook and bringing his defacto relationship to an end. However, it would also be useful to know that Peter is, as many of his companions would agree, an otherwise sane young man.

This is a very short story and is mainly comprised of a phone conversation between Peter and his friend Stephen.

“Hey Pete, I was talking to Leah and she was saying that you had been admitted into a mental hospital. Is everything okay? I know that’s a silly question but I had no idea there was a problem.”

This question was met with a Peter-laugh. Quite cheerful but short of manic. “No, no. There’s no problem. It’s all a farce mate. You can do whatever the fuck you want in here. Today I pressed the emergency button in my room and all the nurses came running in all panicky.”

Stephen’s laugh was one of admiration, for Stephen was one of those human beings who was usually only invited to a party because he was just part of the group. It was not uncommon he would be forgotten. “I knew it was just you at your old tricks again. What did you say when the nurses came in?”

“I just put a surprised face on. They asked what the problem was and I just said there’s no problem, except that the light switch doesn’t seem to be working”. This probably wouldn’t have made much sense to Stephen, as he was not endowed with the knowledge of the lights being controlled by double switches. Its quite possible that it wont make sense to you either, however that is just something I can only apologise for.

“Can I come and visit you?”

“No way, the only gags your capable of are the ones on a Saturday night. Or in your case every night”. Peter was of course referring to the expulsion of an excess consumption of alcohol and not the fellatio-induced kind that your less than pure mind may have conjured up. I must admit, however, that was how it sounded to me too.

“What if they keep you in there for all those naughty little pharmaceuticals you’ve indulged in over your lifetime? When Aaron went to hospital they took a urine test as soon as he arrived.”

“Ha! Now that’s another one! I gave them a cup of water with a Hairy Lemon in it and they still haven’t come back to me and its been over a week. But let me tell you its Valium galore in here! All you have to do is drink half of Cambodia’s coffee supply and tell them your extremely anxious. They take one look at your trembling hands and her presto – Valley-YUM!”

“So how did they let you in?”

“Well there’s no blood tests, no brain scans. It’s just a pile of questions. I told them that I was in direct contact with aliens, who relayed information to me from the CIA and that was enough.”

“Man, this is seriously the funniest thing you have done yet. But as a good friend I have to be frank with you. I wouldn’t go any further than what you have already cos I know what you’re like. Always looking for the next rush.”

“Well it’s a bit late for that, Confucius. About an hour ago I went into someone else’s room and threw their TV out the window.”

“What the fuck? Are you serious?”

“Yes!”

“That’s just stupid, man. Maybe you really do belong in there for a while.”

“It’s fine man. Like I said, you can get away with anything in here. They let you off cos you’re ‘mentally ill’. It’s like I’m magic. I’m connected to the powers. I can do whatever I want. If I imagine it, it happens.”

Then there was a knock on the door.

“Hang on a sec, Stephen. Someone’s knocking on the door”

“Hello?” Stephen inquired.

At the door stood two uniformed policemen in front of a concerned robust nurse.

“Is there a problem?” asked Peter.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to come with us Peter Veina.”

“Gee, I’m used to you guys taking drugs off me, not giving them to me.”

“You can save that smart talk for the walls of the locked cell at Mount Redford Psychiatric Hospital.”

“Oh, poo!” said Peter.

Drawings that I drew

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:57:00 +0000

In the most narcissistic of attempts possible, the following represents the doodles that were made by me when I studied third year pharmacology. They include pictures of a good man, who was certainly my best friend in the course, as well as a few other lovable characters.

I drew this one yesterday:

How to be a genius!

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:25:00 +0000

The Knowledge vs. Intelligence Paradox

This is the bit that you read so that the main point makes sense. If you can’t be bothered with it, you can skip to the main point and heck! it might even make more sense. Hu-huhk!

I present to you two things – knowledge and intelligence. I don’t mean personally, but theoretically. (God I secretly hope that this gets misinterpreted and people think I am an arrogant twadling).

Knowledge and intelligence. Between these two entities exists a paradox. People think of knowledgeable people as having a special intelligence, yet more knowledge reduces the level of intelligence required to solve a problem.

According to Richard L. Gregory, this paradox can be solved by thinking of intelligence in two different senses:

Kinetic intelligence – this is active processing of information, the type of intelligence measured by IQ tests.
Potential intelligence – this is stored information which is selected and applied to solve a problem. It is this type of intelligence that is measured by say an eighth grade geography test.

Within this way of thinking, the two go hand in hand. Kinetic intelligence is required to select and apply potential intelligence. Kinetic intelligence is required to gain potential intelligence.

Gregory, RL (1997) Knowledge in Perception and Illusion. Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences 352(1358): 1121-1127.

Now I want to add another element to the paradox, hopefully rendering it even more paradoxical.

The Hollow Face Model

You may have seen this. Look at the picture of the two masks. The left shows the front of the mask. Reality sees a convex face and so should you. The right shows the inside hollow part (the back) of the same mask. Most people see a convex face here too, despite the fact it is in actuality a concave face.

So, one perceives what is in fact a hollow mask as being convex due to potential intelligence (stored information). We see a convex face because this is what we expect to see. This is what our pre-conditioned brain allows us to see. Without any potential intelligence, leaving only kinetic intelligence, I think that one would come to a different conclusion. To me, this is an analogy for many creative and scientific breakthroughs. By this I mean, often people are held back by their preconceptions of how something is ‘supposed’ to be, when if this could only be suspended, a correct or more satisfactory outcome could be achieved. This is also why the use of small doses of LSD were complementary to Francis Crick’s discovery of the DNA double helix structure. The small dose of LSD allowed Crick to escape his preconceptions and visualise the DNA model in a way that others could not.

...

Upon writing this, I found this article on physorg.com, which states that schizophrenia patients are not fooled by the hollow mask illusion. It also mentions a link between this fact and the fact that cannabis users are also less likely to be fooled. Now ignore the link between schizophrenia and cannabis for a second and pay attention to the... Link between cannabis and a large proportion of pop music breakthroughs? Creativity… considered genius… John Nash – schizophrenic and creator of game theory? Creativity… Genius…

Coincidence? I think not.

I find it tremendously interesting how something (stored information) that most people would associate with intelligence can be so inconsistent with genius, something that most people also associate with intelligence. Here’s where I pull my punches, I obviously feel that there still exists a correlation between stored information and genius, thus presenting the strange and lovely field of daisies where the paradox lies.

The significance of all of this is very interesting. How does one eliminate preconceptions so that creativity can prosper without the use of mind altering drugs or mental disabilities?

Fight me!

Or just help me.

A welcomed visit from Aunt Flow.

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:54:00 +0000

If you came here thinking that this was about menstruation then I apologise. Funnily, I know a lot more about the ovarian cycle and menstruation than I do about what you may or may not be about to read so if you would like to discuss periods I guess just add me on msn.

Another opener: if you think that you have the propensity to become what is known as a genius then you should really get into this stuff. If you already are a genius then odds are you're not.

Just watched a video (below) about a very interesting psychological theory, a mental state, called ‘flow’, which (in the danger of oversimplifying) can be described as that feeling you get when you are completely immersed in a task and achieving complete focus and success in that task. Wikipedia provides the following colloquial terms for ‘flow’: ‘on the ball’, ‘in the zone’ or ‘in the groove’. I shan't lie or hide from you that these terms do conjure up images of beefy alpha male baseball coaches but it is important for all of us to accept that this concept of flow is relevant in lots of other areas where oceanic proportions of testosterone are not a prerequisite.

The theory of ‘flow’ was proposed by the Hungarian positive psychologist, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, who is the very man that presents the video…

[via Limbidgit]

This is a transcript of a summary slide he presents:

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE IN FLOW?
Completely involved in what we are doing – focused, concentrated.
A sense of ecstasy – of being outside everyday reality.
Great inner clarity – knowing what needs to be done and how well we are doing.
Knowing that the activity is doable – that our skills are adequate to the task.
A sense of serenity – no worries about oneself, and a feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of ego.
Timelessness – thouroughly focused on the present, hours seem to pass by in minutes.
Intrinsic motivation – whatever produces flow becomes its own reward.

Following this explanation he then presents a graph showing different mental states across different levels of skill and challenge. A screenshot is shown below. I have numbered two transitions, which I discuss underneath.

1. In reference to this graph, the first situation I want to consider is one where the person is endowed with a high skill level (far right of horizontal axis), such as is the case when people have mastered a particular subject or area. I think that this is an extremely convenient position to be in and provides support for the importance of specialisation in society – it is through specialisation that enables the acquirement of a high skill level. Anyway, from this position one can make a transition from ‘relaxation’ or ‘control’ to ‘FLOW’ simply by increasing the challenge level (an upward shift in vertical axis). Unfortunately, ways in which this can be accomplished are not explored in this particular video.

From my own point of view, however, and through my own experiences with flow, it certainly rings true that I am much more likely to encounter the shift when I am under pressure. The kind of pressure that accompanies an increase in challenge level. The thing that helps me with increasing the challenge level (and thus increase pressure) is to set myself difficult targets and perhaps even unrealistic time constraints. This sounds like it would be a dangerous idea, and sure I agree it would be if one is on the precipice of a manic episode, but I think it is worth considering. The only reason that you would deem a time constraint ‘unrealistic’ is because you are assessing the possibility or likeliness of completing the task under the assumption that your resources (your mental power and concentration) are at a normal level. It is hence intuitive that under these assumptions one can only achieve mediocrity. By placing ‘unrealistic’ expectations upon oneself, one creates pressure and just to reiterate, I think that pressure is one way in which a state of flow can be induced. It is of course possible that this technique is specific to my own mental state and after all I am no psychologist by any means and have not done any research on this – it is merely a personal account, perhaps rendering it worthless to others. But I would love to receive feedback from people on how they achieve their flow – I am sure that the process leading to the attainment of this phenomenon varies from person to person. Could make for very interesting discussion.

2. Even if you consider a scenario where a person is equipped with an average skill level (middle of horizontal axis), I think my theory is still relevant. This is because a high challenge level would induce a state of ‘arousal’. Mihaly states in the video that it is the state of arousal that breeds the most optimal environment for learning. And correct me if I’m wrong but learning correlates fairly well with increasing ones skill level and thus increasing the likelihood of entering the phase of flow.

In closing, something that I find interesting is that not only do I experience flow in conventional and predictable areas such as my studies or writing, but I also experience it when gaming. I think this is an area that a lot of people could collectively relate to and I’m sure that a knowledge of this psychological theory is utilised in the design of many successful video games.
Again, would love to hear people’s thoughts.

Cynicism vs. Skepticism – Part One: Cynicism is the lazy bear’s hammock!

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 05:51:00 +0000

You may have noticed something missing in your life of late – an unquenchable void mysteriously throbbing, all the while you’re wondering why. Well it is most likely due to the fact there have been no blog entries from little old Sean. This is for a couple of coupled reasons:

1. My mood: downward turn – forces one to take a good hard look at oneself.

2. Battle with cynicism – I have always prided myself on being a critical thinker, however over the years I have somehow allowed that critical thinking to escalate into a particularly potent brand of cynicism, which, for the record, is about as healthy for relationships as… as. As as.

Anyway, it is these two things combined that have forced me to question how critical I am being and in turn how (I hate to say it) hateful I have become. This has guided my thoughts to the nature of cynicism, as compared to the nature of skepticism. (Furthermore, it is this critical thinking, the one that has been put on hold for fairy floss and pictures of woodland animals, that fuels many of my blog entries). A nice description of skepticism (not that I’m denouncing faith in any way – it’s the comparison between cynicism and skepticism I ask you to pay your attention to) I found in an article by Mark J. DiNubile goes like this:

“Skepticism is… less adversarial than cynicism but much more demanding than faith. Under the weight of solid evidence, the skeptic can be moved toward acceptance and even evolve, albeit reluctantly, into a true believer.” (DiNubile, 2000)

I think that a lot of intelligent people start off with skepticism, but it is incredibly easy to slip into seeing the world through a comfortable filter of cynicism. This is a world without hope and perhaps more relevantly a mindset where creative, original and challenging thinking does not exist. I have lately made an effort to stop being so critical, in order to avoid this dreaded cynicism, however this is about as specific a remedy as chemotherapy. So rather than irradiating an entire portion of my mindset, taking a subtle step back to REAL critical thinking (and perhaps skepticism if we must label it) is a better treatment option.

References:

DiNubile, MJ (2000) Skepticism: A Lost Clinical Art. Clinical Infectious Diseases 31(2): 513-518.

BSc > Philosophy and drinking wee

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:35:00 +0000

Felt the urge to write a little entry so here it is.

Slavoj Zizek on Philosophy

Wanted to share something I found interesting about the nature of philosophy from the documentary, Zizek!, by Slavoj Zizek

[Personally transcribed from Zizek! (2005)]

“Philosophy does not solve problems. The duty of philosophy is not to solve problems, but to redefine problems. To show how what we experience as a problem is a false problem. If what we experience as a problem is a true problem then we don’t need philosophy. For example, let’s say that now there would be a deadly virus coming from out of space, so not in any way mediated through human history, and it would threaten all of us. We don’t need philosophy there – we simply need good science.”

He explains that philosophy is not needed because the threat is real.

Finalising a degree in science

Funny, too, how philosophy always seems so much more appealing to me when exam times are no longer creeping up, but rather forcing the toes to hyper-extend and the neck to fold backwards like that oh so poignant scene in Titanic when they are about to drown on board. Throughout my entire science degree, not a day has gone by where I haven’t questioned the appropriateness of my decision to study science in favour of other more heart-warming, more fuzzying subjects, like English and philosophy. But now, here I am with a week to go and I am not fond of the eerily whispering voice assuring me that “It’s all too late.” I. Am. Committed. Next year, honours; next decade, a boring old Sean that cooperatively melts into the homogeneous soup of citizens that comprise this city.

I’m not depressed. More like in shock. Everything now evokes a somewhat thwarted level of emotion.

Other things that are graduated include rulers and measuring cups.

Facebook and Privacy

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:18:00 +0000

Following on from my last entry, I feel the need to explain further why it is that Facebook does not provide adequate resources for relationships of any depth. To quickly recap, I briefly mentioned how Facebook was not the answer to the problem we are faced with today, which comes in the form of limited time (due to economic growth or whatever you think) with the necessity of relationships still very much present.

When pondering why Facebook wasn’t the answer, it occurred to me through the philosophy of privacy. Alan Westin (1967) defines privacy as “the ability to determine for ourselves when, how, and to what extent information about us is communicated to others”. This is where I came unstuck. The phrase, “determine for ourselves”. It occurred to me that perhaps people’s activity on Facebook was in violation of privacy to a much lesser extent than I had thought (excluding violation through the uploading of photos). News Feeds. It has always astonished me how comfortable people are with having all of their actions reported via News Feeds when there is the option to turn them off.

The anthropologist, Robin Dunbar, argues that each human has an upper limit on the number of people he/she can know at a time. It slides down a tangent of evolutionary biology from apes, where social bonds developed through grooming could only be maintained in groups under the limit of 55 (1). Dunbar says that for humans 150 is a more suitable number, with only 5 of these being ‘close friends’. It has been proposed that Facebook enables this ‘Dunbar number’ to increase, however critics argue that this profusion of weak ties (habitually reading News Feeds) can result in spreading ones “emotional energy too thin”. Danah Boyd, a fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, argues that News Feeds may well be generating a new class of relationship that is nearly parasocial. The fact that the other person barely knows you exist doesn’t seem to be a big issue, all the while you’re getting all emotionally spread out and you’re margarine's existence has transpired so the breads just getting all torn up.

However, and it is a large however (one that requires a fanciful flip of the old mind), if we follow an alternate definition of privacy by William Parent we can explore a whole different path. He defines privacy as “the condition of not having undocumented personal information known or possessed by others”. Under this definition, we can happily accept that Facebook does reduce ones privacy. This is a problem because, in my view, in order to form relationships of substance privacy is necessary. I will explain through James Rachels.

Rachels argues that to maintain different sorts of social relationships with different people, one must be able to exhibit different patterns of behaviour (2). Privacy is key in doing so. Some may propose that this is hypocritical or dishonest, but what are they? Eight? Remaining on the feet of Rachels (you know that skillful thing where you can walk people around on your feet), how do you act around your children? Playful, affectionate and sometimes firm. Employees? Businesslike. (As an interesting aside, a survey of 500 colleges indicated that 10% of admissions officers have viewed applicants' Facebooks (3)). Mother-in-law? Respectful and polite. And ultimately, how do you act around (just) yourself? Obviously the mask comes off to some extent and the mere fact one would accept the existence of said mask confers to an acceptance of variation in behavioural patterns around different people. But what's more - isn't it wonderful, this idea of relationships and releasing small pieces of information to another human being - the information transfer that occurs through a voluntary sacrifice of privacy. Thus, privacy is necessary for the maintenance (and development) of rich, chocolatey relationships.

I sincerely hope that this entry hasn’t been too boring and that some people have appreciated the brief exploration of how the philosophy of privacy interacts with the phenomenon of Facebook.

Here are some references that I couldn't hyperlink to:

(1) Thompson, C. (2008) I'M SO TOTALLY, DIGITALLY CLOSE TO YOU, New York Times Magazine, 42.
(2) Rachels, J., 1975, “Why Privacy is Important”, Philosophy and Public Affairs 4: 323-33
(3) Hechinger, J. (2008) College Applicants, Beware: Your Facebook Page Is Showing, Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition 252, D1-D6.

A Virtual Blogging Community 2

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:11:00 +0000

* Warning: this might require a new web browser (room for tabs) *

I really wanted to blog but there is currently somebody hammering something next door and it is slowly going to make me furious. The only thing is, I can NOT understand how it is pulsating so fast.

Okay I have to check.

No visual signs of chaos, a lack of sensation very much made up for via the ear holes. I asked Katie and she informed me from her cup to my cup, via a string of nonchalance, that it was an electric hammer. An electric hammer? The internet says they exist and that I am ignorant. But I'm not so sure it sounds mechanical enough... there exists the odd peak and trough of intensity, possessing the resemblance of a man masturbating his prosthetic member against an alloyed steel shed. Maybe they have different settings or something. I just hope that I can stop thinking about it and that I don't go out on a mystery solving adventure.

What does everybody think of Skype? It is one of those things that, despite how very big it has become, I have somehow managed to bypass any shape or form of relationship with it, no matter how professional, no matter how platonic. Like Stephen Fry said, it has achieved that ultimate accolade of mass-market penetration - being used as a verb. "I Skype, you Skype, he/she/it Skypes, we will have Skyped, they would have been Skyping".

The purpose of this entry is to convey how extremely eager I am to change the way I interact with my friends, essentially along the same vein as the blog I posted last year, in which I attempted to start a revolution amongst my circle of friends, only to realise I hadn’t quite invented the wheel. In fact, it was probably on par with inventing the wheel, allowing ourselves for one second to be endowed with the contextual knowledge of timescape – it was 2007.

If I could put forward two ways in which the ideals underpinning said blog entry can be put into practice... One of these, good. Two, better (I only say this to sound less crazy).

1) Everyone who is my friend should start or continue a blog, no matter how dull.

2) Everyone needs a feed aggregator. Google reader works well for me and combines with the benefits of iGoogle, which I find very helpful indeed.

This will of course sound crazy to the innocent ear, however a read of the referenced entry will clear that all up like a good quality cleanser. Whether we like it or not, if we are going to be productive as a society, regular "hangouts" are becoming as dead as a dodo. Not to say, the occasional party and catch up isn't imperative, because it is, but realistically when time is limited, one must find other ways (OUTSIDE OF FACEBOOK) to stay in close contact. The reason Facebook is NOT an answer to the problem at hand is because generally it is superficial and moronic and in actual fact, counterproductive.

And to prove that the above capital letters are a manifestation of pure and potent passion, the hammering has, as a matter of fact, stopped.

Casting Ones Pod into Ones Mind

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:23:00 +0000

Disclaimer: I have accidentally let my soul go to some strange clean-shaven goat and now I am forever indebted to the service of Bad puns. Also, they make me happier than a baby's giggle so hush yourself.

I have recently become infatuated with the medium of Podcasts, a fact which has prompted the coining of the term, “Podophile®” (Registered trademark of Sean Ramsey). So I am indeed a registered podofile. On the list.

Speaking of lists, I am looking for more podcasts to add to my menu. So all (more realistically, some) of your suggestions would be most appreciated.

I am currently listening to:
The Ricky Gervais Podcast
Russell Brand
Science Talk: The Podcast of Scientific American (latest one is really great if you are interested in the LHC)
Stephen Fry’s Podgrams
Philosopher’s Zone
Lingua Franca

And am interested in looking into:
Empire TV
The Clive James Show
Monash Philosophy Society Podcast
Neurolinguistic Psychology Podcast

But yes, I do love that dizzying, exciting feeling you get when your head is being bombarded with information. Quite fascinating how it can border on panic, with the desire to retain all of the information making a mockery of the inadequacy of my brain. It seems paradoxical, how enjoyable ones immersion in information can be, despite how anxiety-instilling the prospect of, say, forgetting a quote and not being able to use it at a later date. Or perhaps it isn't. Perhaps, it is quite linearly the fear of something beautiful getting away.

Intellectual and comedic genius

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:38:00 +0000

My eyes looked at this magazine and then my brain be'd really brilliant. Then my hands did some crafts and created this.

Oh and you want to hear my favourite joke of all time?

Q: What's the definition of a mistress?
A: Something between a mister and a mattress.

Genius.

Discussion Disgust

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 05:21:00 +0000

I shall begin with a dose of context so that the impending story has an increased chance of convincing you to relate. You should ensure that it goes in, otherwise you'll find yourself reluctant to relate and what's more - you will have no one to blame but yourself.

This semester for Biochemistry each student within a group of 4 is to present a seminar on a published scientific journal article. The setting of this story resides within a preparation meeting, wherein the 4 students as well as 2 professors meet to discuss who will present which section (introduction, methods, results, discussion) and other specificities not relevant to the story.

Prior to the meeting, 3 of we students who had arrived early were sitting down expressing our distaste towards the article, the two students that weren't me doing most of their expressing with their ears. I made particular reference to the poorly written discussion (which is the section I was to present) as well as the fact the article boasted more about their "powerfully novel" discovery than did Watson and Crick when they discovered the structure of DNA. My opinions were clear and plentiful. So plentiful, in fact, that the capacity of the expressive ears had been reached so a good portion of it was left to linger mischievously in the air.

The door opens. A nervous giggle escapes one of the airborne opinions. Enters, the two professors: the unit coordinator and ... the author of the journal article.

The. Author. A hovering choir of gasps.

We sit. the unit coordinator asks me, "Are you Sean Ramsey?"
I reply honestly with a "yes".
"The Hero of last night!"
With an iota of charm I unknowingly possessed, "I hadn't realised I was the hero, but i am of last night".

The previous night, you must know, on the Biochem forums there was some degree of debacle surrounding a question in a biochemical calculations assignment that was miswritten. I pointed this out and the unit coordinator changed it. Except. That. It was still wrong. I was tactfully polite in my second announcement, as I felt that with the excuse of a flu no longer valid, embarrassment may be in her coffee cup. It was eventually fixed. All was well.

I, Sean Ramsey, was the hero (and depending on Hero(ine) Duration Extinction Coefficients, probably still am) because "we fixed it all up" and I dealt with it in a "humourous manner". She was making reference to something I said about how the recurrent re-checking of biochem calculations transcends to a more general form of doubt, which was manifesting itself in the outside world in the form of an inability to cross roads. She liked it. And then so did I. My egoballoon was big and buoyant. Counter-intuitively, rather than bounce and play, my overlooking opinions just anxiously and reluctantly rested atop. (*hopes that "egoballoon" conveys correct meaning*)

During the meeting, I innocently asked the author about the similarity between the introduction and the discussion (because it was an issue - a girl in my group was to present the introduction, me the discussion - we couldn't present the same thing?!). It was no use. My opinions heard their names being called, and down they came like heavy gargoyles.

He defensively interrupted me with a wad of insulation thick enough even for the gargoyles.
"As do all journal articles".
Someone had mentioned this before.
I paused then said "Okay".

"You need to say the same thing in a different way".
To which I replied without a spare thought, "I'll be doing mine in a deeper voice". He did not like it. I don't know why I said it. Better and less permanent than real suicide?

My opinions left, heads hung, as soon as the Professors did.

Suffice to say, the presentation should be an interesting experience, particularly because the two professors described above comprise the marking panel. Actually, take away the above "particularly" and put it down here: particularly because my Powerpoint presentation is, at the present time, wittily and puntasticly entitled "Discussion Disgust".

The Invitation

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:22:00 +0000

This morning started with a confrontation. Well, before that there was effrontery and a trespass of both property and etiquette. But following that there was a confrontation.

I awoke abruptly with a sharp and forceful turn of our old fashioned door bell – the ones that were used before people had evolved ears. Obviously these people could hear to some degree, except without the presence of an outer ear to gather the sound waves their auditory perception relied entirely on the sound waves hitting the pinholes on each side of the head. Whether or not the sound tended to lip in or out of the ear hole when hitting at an edge, I am not certain. It is knowledge I am simply not endowed with. Regardless, the door bell is loud and it woke me. My eyes opened, the perception of my surroundings narrowed to linear. My heart rate quickened, my mouth went dry and my focus further converged to red laser beams.

I peer through the curtains to see an orange-shirted figure locomoting to the back of my house. Sure, it's a rental, but it's MY house. I have rights. Rights of privacy. Must protect territory. I scuttle through the house to send beams through the back door window. I see a certain relative of Katie's clanging and banging some things from the boat they keep here. He has become shirtless. I open the door and stand there, waiting for some kind of confrontation. Fight or flight. I went with fight. I'm a lion and a tiger and a bear, all in one.

He leaves with his eyes intact. No confrontation.

Left to think through the ethics of the situation, I am puzzled. Unless invited, he should phone before coming, as is stated on the lease agreement. However, he is family. He should be able to come round whenever he feels like, invitation or no invitation. However, I don't get to mow the lawn or pay the rent whenever I feel like, which is also clearly stated on the agreement. Not to mention, I would be angry at any of my friends for just showing up without a phone call. Besides, 9:30am is too early for me and it IS an invasion of privacy.

Still not entirely sure of my ethical stance, I phone hoping to gain some clarity whilst immersed in discussion/argument. He answers.

Relative: Hello
Me: Hi, is this [relative]?
Relative: Yes, I was just at your house.
Me: Yes, so that WAS you. Okay, I just needed to make sure. Scared the secure feeling out of me.
Relative: I rang the bell to let you know I was on the grounds.

This is where I was tired and my mind got fixated on the fact he unexpectedly brought up the legal technicalities side of it so immediately and without provocation. In a less tired state of mind, I would hope I'd have said:

Me: Oh, sorry, you phoned? Sorry, I must have missed that, sleeping.

... or more explicitly (this is what I so badly wanted to say at the time):

Me: Don't ring the bell to let me know you're on the grounds! Phone up first - I could have been sitting in your boat, furiously masturbating for all you know.

... and just wait for the response.

I actually said:

Me: Yes, I heard.
Relative: You were home?
Me: Yes, ASLEEP. I have an irregular sleeping pattern.
Relative: Don't we all these days?
Me: Probably.

Thank God he managed not choke on the stuffed olive that was audibly in his mouth, the pretentious bastard. “Don't we all these days?”

Me: Probably not. Probably NOT!

It ended civilly the moment he invited me to his birthday party. Civil like the strategic placement of teddy bear-clutching-children along a warfront. No confrontation.

Playstation Ken-Finity!

fullmetalsean@gmail.com (fullmetalsean) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:13:00 +0000

It's official: Playstation 17 is coming out at the end of this year.

Sony President, Ken Kutaragi held a time-savvy press conference today (or last year), during people's lunch breaks, stunning the world by announcing the imminent release of the PlayStation 17.

Below is a sneak preview, the first a photo of Ken Kutaragi holding his little baby and the second an enlarged version of the console. Looks to be modelled on the former Playstation 4, which is of course yet to be released.

When asked what made this system different from the 13 previous unreleased systems of common physical appearance, Kutaragi replied: "Well, as you can see, this has a 17 on it, and the other models had a 3 and a 4 and a 5 and a 6 and a 7 and an 8 and a 9 and a 10 and an 11 and a 12 and a 13 and a 14 and a 15 and a 16. That increase represents an entire family of extra integers of gaming quality, one the critics said we couldn't achieve for another 10 years." I personally haven't had the chance to ask how this theory correlates to the increase of 360 integers, in the case of the Xbox 720. Just as I opened my mouth to ask, he accused me of media propaganda and denounced my utilisation of awfully old articles. He also reminded me that he wasn't even the president anymore, but had retired! Sorry, Ken. You are the figurehead of what I perceive to be evil. As far as I'm concerned, you are synonymous with Kazuo Hirai.

The new PS17 system comes complete with Glree-Ray technology, in a bid to completely thwart the progression of the 'Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD' battle. Kutaragi agreed that it was “a bit like” terrorism is to globalisation and traditional warfare, "We don't want to play the game anymore! It's time to change the rules!".