There is a unbelievable temptation to try to become a geek philosopher. Take established thinking and re-tell it with a techy-vibe and try to present it as something new. A temptation so great, that I am going to do it. Why not. Its not like I’m alone.

“The Permanence of the Water and the Hills”

Its a question of permanence. As you get older (and particularly when people around you start to die) you lose the sense of the infinite you have when you were young. I first really noticed this when my attitude to collecting changed. There was a time when I would have (and did) collect just about anything. Stamps, coins, football programmes, games consoles, CD’s, VHS cassettes, DVD’s, books, the list is a collection in itself. Over time, my temptation to collect has reduced. I think this is partly due to a new ‘what is the point?’ attitude that makes me think that ultimately all this stuff will just be some a big pile of rubbish that my beleaguered descendants will have to dispose of. This is, of course, terrible fatalistic and, while I’m alive I can doubtless benefit from such thing from the sense of ‘having’ that collectors will know well.

In a less tangible way, I began to wonder about the vast amounts of information I have collected in my head. As many who know me will testify, I know a vast amount of garbage and have, over the years, actively set out to learn more stuff and ‘collect’ more garbage to remember. Obviously, this is handy for well, quizzes mainly, but if it makes me feel better than it does no harm. But unlike physical collections, this accumulation of knowledge will disappear in an instance, all 21 grams of it. Viz, I am RAM.

Of course, when I first read “Being and Nothingness” I don’t think I really understood it (and probably wouldn’t now) but I’m sure JPS wouldn’t have of a clue about blogs either. So there.

Therefore, this kind of thinking compels you to look for some degree of permanence that can come from this accumulation of such easily lost knowledge and experience. Its not really about “nothingness” if you don’t want it to be. Clearly, this is one of the central joys of having children. Not only physical creations but hopefully you can give them the tools they need to have a better attempt at life than you have managed.

Maybe this is at least part of why I write, take photos, blog. After all, barring some massive natural disaster like Internet falling apart under the heat of global warming, this is a very small chance that this blog post may exist when I don’t. Viz, this is ROM.

This is it folks, my legacy, my gift to history, the exam submission on which my existence will be graded by future generations.

D-, could try harder.

Website of the Day:
Hey, you can get some lovely Oak Furniture at Chris Sharp Cabinets.

Track of the Day:
The randomiser re-discovered “Lady Grinning Soul” by Bowie tonight for me. A song so good it has its own Wikipedia page. Well done randomiser, must think of a better name for you, cause that’s a rubbish name and you’re not random either.