Two weeks late!

Well not really late, but I have been slack in my postings. This is probably down to me starting a new job, helping Louise practice her interviewing, and generally being a good for nothing lazy bones.

So the new job - this is going really well. Best of all are the hours - I haven't worked a 40 hour week since starting. (Although this does hurt my pay packet slightly). But a close second is the work itself. I have already learnt much more about access and excel querying capabilities than I realised existed. Pivot tables are really powerful when you can link them directly to a database of a couple of million rows of data! I am hoping that i can work hard and really make an impression at this organisation. It is really interesting work and is with some very interesting people.

Onto the news... There was recently an article about a local cop who said we were in danger of becoming an Orwellian society because we (as in the Royal UK "we" - gosh am I becoming a Brit?!?) are not so far away from having CCTV cameras on every street corner. Certainly in London I must be recorded every day dozens of times, and it not like I'm covering a large area.

But I have to disagree - there are fundamental differences between an Orwellian society and current UK society. The Orwellian society had a number of elements - Cameras in every home, A reduction of the language down to just 200 words, A world divided into 3 areas, 2 of which were always at war, and the powers that be would change the enemy at will. There were also the secret police, the re writing or eliminating of history, and the constant bleating of the all powerful leader as the only TV channel.

Todays society has similarities - We have CCTV cameras, some now with speakers to tell people to not act a certain way (e.g. "Don't ride bikes because this is for pedestrians only"). But is this really any different to the constant "Don't smoke on the underground". One thing that I feel has stronger similarities to an Orwellian society is that we always seem to have an enemy - The Cold War, Iraq, The Axis of Evil, North Korea (perhaps a truly Orwellian society - minus the cameras). (But perhaps we could all have a common enemy - Global warming. Something to unite and focus us all).

But what Mr Orwell didn't take into account was the internet. The fact that now anyone with a computer can publish, and this information is shared around the world free and to anyone that cares to read. If the internet is ever controlled in a way that stops us from being able to publish our thoughts then freedom will truly be moved backwards in a way our generation hasn't experienced.

I think the other thing that stops us from being an Orwellian society is that we are hedonistic. But Hedonism is complex - its not just about entertainment but fulfilling oneself. People don't watch crap TV programmes like Big Brother because its entertaining, I believe they watch it because they get more out of it, like participating in a conversation the next day, or perhaps they feel better by having a laugh a few idiots on TV. Anyway, please excuse the big pointless digression!

And do we have constant bleating of an all powerful leader on TV?? Not that I see. We certainly aren't like North Korea and the "Dear Leader" (although I wonder if this is culturally misconstrued and every older person is called "Dear", just like here our grandmothers call their grandkids "dear"!!). Perhaps our bleating comes in the forms of advertisments, which tell us how to live. But fortunately there is competition and so we have much choice in which path to follow.

I'm not sure where this plethora of thoughts is actually taking me. Perhaps because I have no answer it means I haven't been Orwellianised yet. Or perhaps it means I am more susceptable to it!! Probably I am part of the machine - spewing forth a host of information in a particular fashion that will make you all think one way without even realising it (both you and me that is). Perhaps you'll just think this is a load of nonsense.

Finally, tonight Louise and I had dinner in a Thai Restaurant. The service was great. They moved around so fast and seriously it was like waiting for a Jackie Chan movie to suddenly break out as he chased the triads to rescue Madeline from evildoer child traders in central London.

Tomorrow is Brighton, Finally!!