Andy Oakley

At the peak of the hierarchy of spiritual beings stand those elemental forces of nature which have no concrete form. At their head is Kaila, the god of weather and of the sky. Kaila is the creator and thus the paramount godhead of the people. He is aloof, as the mightiest deity should be and man is no more than dust under his feet. He demands neither abasement nor worship from those he created. But Kaila is a just god, for he is all things brought about by the powers of nature, and nature, who is completely impartial, cannot be unjust.

It is permissible to appeal to Kaila, yet there is no implicit belief that Kaila will hear or respond to prayers couched in the midge-like voices of men. This quality of impersonality, of detachment, in this god of the Ihalmuit strengthens the majesty of his power. Kaila is no simple creation of mens’ imaginings shackled to the whims and fancies of human minds. Kaila, to the people, is an essence. Kaila is not spoken of with fear, nor yet with love. Kaila is. That is enough. What man may do or not do is of no more direction concern to Kaila than the comings and goings of ants under the moss. Kaila is not a moral force, because the Ihalmuit have no need of a spiritual magistrate to administer moral law. Kaila is essential power. He is the wind over the plains; he is the sky and the flickering lights of the sky. Kaila is the power of running water and in the motion of falling snow.

He is nothing – he is all things.

The Industrious Clock. Fascinating.

Everyone get’s spam, it’s nothing special. However, I felt the following really couldn’t go without mention.

I watched more television today than usual. And, as usual, I wasn’t disappointed.

Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of American commercials are the subtitles. The typical ‘professional driver, closed course’ is OK, but perhaps stating the obvious. Despite the massive number of SUV-driving road users here, I find it unlikely any are going to be inspired to take their $30k vehicle offroad high into the mountains or through the thickest jungle. My current favorite depicts a Ford Explorer driving on top of the clouds with the important caveat ‘dramatization’.

I see Mt Etna erupted in Sicily again. Amusing to hear about molten lava passing through a ski area, but thankfully no-one has been injured.

It seems everyone is desperate for their 15 minutes. On the local news tonight I heard about a ‘former relative’ of Muhammad claiming that his motives were revenge, citing himself and his family as the real targets, with the list of dead just incidental before the ultimate goal. I took it in bad tase, and still remain puzzled as to how one uses the title ‘former relative’.

Lazy day today though, I took an uneventful drive up to Gasworks Park where I took a photo that is now the backdrop of andyoakley.com.

Without a doubt, the news I was most intrigued by today was the discovery that Tetris is hard, NP hard in fact. Still, I got 214 lines on a plane to Bangkok, so I’m sure that counts for something.

I am very impressed by the speed that the DC sniper case has been resolved. Given the apparent lack of clues and leads, the fact that the police have two people in custody must be a great relief. I still feel sorry for the two guys in the wrong place at the wrong time.

With the launch of MSN 8 today, I was pleasantly surprised to see boats sailing around Lake Washington this morning sporting MSN sails.

To say I was surprised to find that the Bill of Rights wouldn’t pass a public vote today would be wrong. I am truly fascinated by the notion of a democracy; the power lies very much with the people, yet they are often those least informed to make a decision. Freedom (or lack thereof) of the press possibly has a bearing, but why are extreme views always ridiculed or ignored? There’s comfort in knowing you agree with the majority, even if you’re not quite sure everyone’s right. Strength to stand against the flow of opinion is difficult, especially without all of the facts in hand. There must be a happy medium.

Shamelessly borrowed:
Looking for a guy on the internet: $50/month
Talking to a guy LD every night on the phone: $80/month
Falling in love: priceless.

I’m intrigued as to how anyone can find love on the internet, I just don’t feel the medium is conducive to it. Still, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise. A wise one once told me ‘everyone on the internet is a man’; a sobering thought.

From an e-mail I sent Ed yesterday..

As I�?Tve almost been here for a year, I decided it was about time I wrote down a little list I�?Tve been making in my head. America has a lot of good points, but I think these thoughts, which really comprise a set of recommendations, would make this country so much better.

Things I would like

• Heinz baked beans, one of those ridiculously large cans
• A tube of Smarties, preferably two or three
• Mr Kiplings cakes, especially those ones with hard bits on the outside and cream inside
• PG Tips, or Tetley at a pinch
• A Pret a Manger sandwich, those All-Day Club ones that smelt like Big Mac special sauce
• Marmite
• Radio 1
• A Dairy Milk bar, chocolate here tastes like chalk
• A salad from Marks and Spencer
• A Wrights pie, I took the factory tour and survived
• A pint of Boddingtons
• Sainsburys economy swiss roles, nutritious at only 15p
• Home made Shepards Pie
• Knowing that there was football on TV that I could watch, if it interested me
• Commercial-free television
• Lucozade
• A pint in the Mainwaring, by the fire �?” it�?Ts getting colder here

Things I dislike

• The fact that any response other than �?~Great thanks!�?T to the greeting �?~Heyhowsitgoing�?T makes people shy away, looking at you as if you�?Tre suicidal.
• Dollar bills. Too bulky, useless.
• Sales tax. But how much does it really cost?
• Dating. Too confusing.

Things that are good

• No 2c coin. Britain is seriously behind in this respect.

It turns out I’m eNTp, an inventor, by Myers Briggs.

Right now, I have the strangest craving for British food.

McVities biscuits, Mr Kipling cakes, Smarties, Baked Beans, Dairy Milk. Mmmmmm. Even Fairy Liquid seems appealing just at the moment.

I’m sure this will pass.

Another busy couple of days, and not too much to report for it. Most problems at work are now resolved, so at least that should calm down somewhat.

I watched Man on the Moon tonight which I thought was fantastic.

The D.C. Sniper case continues to unfold, albeit rather strangely. It’s certainly placing fear in the hearts of many; all of a sudden anyone is at risk just going about their daily business. To me that seems like a far more effective means of terrorism, but at this point I hesitate to jump on the bandwagon and attribute these events to ‘international terrorism’.

I see the human race now uses 83% of the world’s land surface for our various activities. Although I generally hate to use film quotes,

One has to wonder, with the current use of fossil fuels, global warming and increasing nuclear threats, where will we stand in 30 years time?