I have recently been asking whether the God of the New Testament is the same as the God of the Old. In my reading of the two documents I find a distinct change of emphasis - e.g. the contrast between Old polygamy and New monogamy. This morning I find the opinion of Marcion (obit circa 160) that the demiourgos who created the world has been entirely superceded by a superior God, the Father of Jesus. I paraphrase in a satisfactory summary: the God of Battles is overcome by the God of Love.
Sunday, 28 February 2010
Saturday, 27 February 2010
how do I make an avatar for twitter?
I'd like my twitter avatar to be a photo of my face. All my Jpegs are far too big. Is there any way I can reduce a 2000 Kb image down to 700K file size?
And how can I tell when an image is no larger than 600 x 600 pixels ?
(This may be a case of 'easy when you know how'. I just have to confess it's not something I've ever had to do before!)
TIA
Pagans and Others
Tis done. 4818 words wisdom ready for Monday night.
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange
Friday, 26 February 2010
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Orange mobile phone network
I'm beginning to get fed up with waiting. If my new phone is not properly connected by 4 o'clock I'll have to cancel the contract.
for march 1st
Tis almost done. I am complete with 5206 words. Now I can trim. So shall I stand and speak before the Secret Chiefs upon St David's Day.
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
mobile phones from Orange
Is anyone else experiencing delays from Orange? I signed a contract for a new phone last Saturday (20th February). It's now almost the end of Tuesday 23rd and all my new phone will do is indicate "SIM not provisioned:2"
Sunday, 21 February 2010
two little birds
Across the road there's a house with six chimneys. Just now I look and mummy and daddy bird are feeding their chicks in the nest. (The chimneys are still there for old times' sake. Coal fires in the grate are but memories of thepast.)
- Francis
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
tuesday 16 february 2010
I see the Centre for Pagan Studies is displaying my Day for Doreen report on their website.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
the model in the mind
It is now many years since I first came across the idea of the model in the mind. I imagined an old time pioneer moving westward with his family in a covered wagon as the North American continent opened up to those seeking fresh lands to harvest. In my mind's eye I could see him stopping one day and telling his family 'Here we stay. There we shall build our cabin. There we shall sow our corn. We shall take our water from the creek flowing there through the hollow.' In other words, that imaginary old time pioneer had observed the lie of the land and constructed a mental image of how it could be changed. This is how he made his plans for his future. This is how the model in the mind worked. How it could be applied to the crucial stages of our own lives.
This morning I came across something not quite the same. I was reading Steven Rose (2005) The 21st century brain. On page 30 of the 2006 Vintage paperback edition he draws attention to the way in which an organism builds up its assessment of the external world and responds by making its response based on that assessment. So far, so good. But, as I ponder on the implications of Rose's words, it strikes me that how each of us actually sees the external world depends very much on the mental attitude conditioning the way we look. For one, the view of an overnight fall of snow proposes a dismal picture of an impending struggle to get to the shops to buy a loaf of bread. For another, the vision is of a sparkling pristine landscape stretching out to a brilliant eternity.
My thoughts stray to the observation of a particle - or is it a wave? I now recognise just how much the presence of the observer determines what is seen - and that in the case of us humans, we can choose to look on the bright side, or ignore it.
[Here endeth the lesson. I had not intended to build me a pulpit.]
© francis cameron, oxford, 10 february 2010
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
reviving connections
It's so good when a familiar face not seen for thirty years shows up on the screen courtesy of the owner of the face and the proprietors of the social networking site. Some distant memories are so keen they are as poignant as yesterday. Pictures of activities flood in and overlap like the contents of one of those old fashioned 'what the butler saw' machines on a seaside pier. Then there's a quite tangible feeling to the encounter as though the actual real person is sharing the same seat - except we are both young again and if we went back all the places would be changed but the memories would be untarnished and time could wing her chariot wherever we wished it to be. Memories. Life is rich. Glittering with jewels in a cave with the surf roaring and booming outside. O temps suspend ton vol / et vous, vos heures propices / suspendez votre cours - a niente ..
Sunday, 7 February 2010
sunday 7 february 2010
Andrew Marr had a very good show on BBC1 this morning. All six guests were open and communicative.
Francis
Francis
Saturday, 6 February 2010
firefox
Tis done. I has Firefox up and running. So many new things to try out and get organised. A bit at a time for everything will get me there in the end. Of all the new stuff this year so far, Twitter is the one I find hardest. The easiest is posterous.com - and that's a tremendous advantage. I even managed to post a photo without any trouble at all - apart from locating the image on the hard disk. But that's a mere paradiddle ..
my thunderbird has wings
Last night, thanks to the Computer Active ultimate guide to free computing, I downloaded Thunderbird - and I'm glad I did. For years I've happily used Gmail but something's happened recently which makes it impossible for me to send an email with an attachment. I suspect it's something to do with the underlying Google (the older version) or with the way my set up now reacts to Google Chrome. When I move over to the little Asus EeePC, which uses Firefox with Linux, I can send a gmail with an attachment - so long as the material I want to attach is already on that machine. Problems begin when I try to transfer stuff using a memory stick. I used to be able to do this without any bother. Why can't I do it now? (We used to have an acronym RTFM. I know. I'm one of those people who reads the manual before even switching on the power. Trouble is :: the manual doesn't cover the process I want to use. Hey ho! The wind and the rain!) There's always the awful possibility that it's me that's the cause of the problems. And I used to be such a dab hand with a Sinclair Spectrum. 48K and a color screen!!
I'm tempted, very tempted, to download Firefox on this machine. (Fujitsu Siemens Amilo.) The thought of that combined with the Open Office I downloaded last week is almost too good to miss.
saturday 6 february 2010
I look out of the back window and I see catkins on one of the trees in the hedgerow.
metope of the parthenon, british museum
This is one of my favourite pieces of sculpture
and the display is outstanding.
Francis
Friday, 5 February 2010
friday moming 5 february 2010
A good start on a fresh version of 'Pagans and Others in the Roman Empire'
Thursday, 4 February 2010
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