Phew!
Phew it is, to the last exam I say, begone! And few it is: to the blogs I should have written this past week or two, I say, begone! How did I fare? I don't know. I know that the "Advanced World Wide Web" paper was the hardest I've sat, and I put this down to the teaching of the subject and not the subject (and so does everyone else I've spoken to in the class before you shout anything about bad workmen blaming sour grapes...). The Object Technology 2 exam was also hard, but I think I did OK (and thereby give the kiss of Death to that one...) Time will tell, about a Month of time, and then I'll get my results: and then I'll start my placement. It's weird, no more Uni for 16 Months - and yet I'm still "at Uni"! No more exams, no more assignments either. Can't be bad.
So my brain's fried, I just want to, well, just want to shovel earth or something, which is conincedentally precisely what Becky wants me to do at the allotment (groan); Mikes put up a fence at the back and we need to dig all the enclosed section over and put grass seed down. There's a lot of digging to be done...
Just finished reading "Billions and Billions" by Carl Sagan - what a great book, and what an insightful - even great - person Mr Sagan seems to have been. If only such people were given the power to change things in the world...but power and wisdom (long-sightedness) seem to be not often found together. They seem to be the antithesis of each other. If being "in power" means thinking about the next term, the next election, the current opinion polls and the countries electorate - in other words the here and now - then being wise means thinking in much broader terms, the big picture, the not here and the not now, thinking of how our (in)actions affect those not here - in other countries - and not now - our children and grandchildren. As quoted in the book "We have not inherited the Earth from our ancestors, but have borrowed it from our children". This is especially the case where environmental issues are concerned. As the Bible says, man hasn't the wisdom to "guide his own steps" into the future - so will God guide us, take back what is his? Or is the Bible all the guidance we need? Or neither? How are we to know?
The last chapter in the book is finished by his wife, as Carl passed away whilst writing the book. Here are some quotes from that Chapter:
"Six times now I have looked death in the face. And Six times Death has averted his gaze and let me pass. Eventually, of course, Death will claim me - as he does each of us ... I've learned much from our confrontations - especially about the beauty and sweet poignancy of life, about the preciousness of friends and family, about the transforming power of love. In fact, almost dying is such a positive, character-building experience that I'd recommend it to everybody - except, of course, for the irreducible and essential element of risk ...I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking ... The world is so exquisite, with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's little good evidence. Far better, it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look Death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides." - Carl Sagan
"Contrary to the fantasies of the fundamentalists, there was no deathbed conversion, no last minute refuge taken in a comforting vision of a heaven or an afterlife. For Carl, what mattered most was what was true, not merely what would make us feel better. Even at this moment when anyone would be forgiven for turning away from the reality of our situation, Carl was unflinching. As we looked deeply into each other's eyes, it was with a shared conviction that our wondrous life together was ending forever." - Anne Druyan
So my brain's fried, I just want to, well, just want to shovel earth or something, which is conincedentally precisely what Becky wants me to do at the allotment (groan); Mikes put up a fence at the back and we need to dig all the enclosed section over and put grass seed down. There's a lot of digging to be done...
Just finished reading "Billions and Billions" by Carl Sagan - what a great book, and what an insightful - even great - person Mr Sagan seems to have been. If only such people were given the power to change things in the world...but power and wisdom (long-sightedness) seem to be not often found together. They seem to be the antithesis of each other. If being "in power" means thinking about the next term, the next election, the current opinion polls and the countries electorate - in other words the here and now - then being wise means thinking in much broader terms, the big picture, the not here and the not now, thinking of how our (in)actions affect those not here - in other countries - and not now - our children and grandchildren. As quoted in the book "We have not inherited the Earth from our ancestors, but have borrowed it from our children". This is especially the case where environmental issues are concerned. As the Bible says, man hasn't the wisdom to "guide his own steps" into the future - so will God guide us, take back what is his? Or is the Bible all the guidance we need? Or neither? How are we to know?
The last chapter in the book is finished by his wife, as Carl passed away whilst writing the book. Here are some quotes from that Chapter:
"Six times now I have looked death in the face. And Six times Death has averted his gaze and let me pass. Eventually, of course, Death will claim me - as he does each of us ... I've learned much from our confrontations - especially about the beauty and sweet poignancy of life, about the preciousness of friends and family, about the transforming power of love. In fact, almost dying is such a positive, character-building experience that I'd recommend it to everybody - except, of course, for the irreducible and essential element of risk ...I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking ... The world is so exquisite, with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's little good evidence. Far better, it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look Death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides." - Carl Sagan
"Contrary to the fantasies of the fundamentalists, there was no deathbed conversion, no last minute refuge taken in a comforting vision of a heaven or an afterlife. For Carl, what mattered most was what was true, not merely what would make us feel better. Even at this moment when anyone would be forgiven for turning away from the reality of our situation, Carl was unflinching. As we looked deeply into each other's eyes, it was with a shared conviction that our wondrous life together was ending forever." - Anne Druyan
posted by John Doran-Armstrong at 6:16 PM
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