Those who know me know I absolutely abhor mobile telecommunications. The devices, the networks, the plans, the data - I can't stand the bloody things. But, owing to certain upcoming changes in my life, it rather became a necessity that I delve, once more, into the sordid and complicated world of PHONES! <insert scary and dramatic music>
The first problem I had was budget. I'm a pauper. Surprisingly, being opinionated on the internet doesn't earn you money and since people don't want to buy funny, original novels - choosing instead to buy Battle Royale with younger characters, an overdone fantasy setting made popular by a TV adaptation of the books that came first, or twisted, gender subversive BDSM-lite (I'm not bitter, honest!). So the upshot is that I'm broke as fuck. The problem with that is that I also need a semi-decent device! My life is about to get all kinds of busy and I need something I can keep by my side and have it be a communicator and organiser in one. In short, I needed a smartphone.
There are cheap smartphones on the market, but they're basically bricks running copies of Android so antiquated the screen settings only include black and white, or sepia. What is more, these tend to cost £20-30, which, for something that is barely functional, does not represent good value for money.
So, what do we do!?
Well, enter ZTE! ZTE are a Chinese telecomms manufacturer who seem to have really come into their own in Western markets in the smartphone era; mainly via offering their handsets as carrier-branded models to networks for cheaps. Thus, I got myself a T-Mobile Vivacity (Specs via GsmArena) (link to T-Mobile) - Which is basically a reskinned ZTE Crescent.
Appearance
The phone itself is designed to look like an iPhone (images in link) - So much so I consider it a complete rip off. This is not a ZTE thing, I think this is a T-Mobile thing, as the other branded reskin of it, the Orange San Francisco II - has a slightly different appearance. But, you can't complain that it looks too much like an iPhone. It's like moaning that your car looks a bit too much like an Aston Martin when it isn't one...It looks good - that's all that matters. The phone itself is also very light (around 120g), thanks in part to it being made of plastic. The plastic is sturdy enough, but if you're truly a vainglorious git, you may want to avoid it for status reasons and, it attracts fingerprints like nothing I've seen (well, since the piano black PSP). Also the buttons (on/off and a volume rocker) are neat, discrete and well placed.
Shall I give an arbitrary score? I think I shall. It is pretty, and it is functional - but expect little originality. A solid 7/10.
Display
One of the important things when it comes to getting a smartphone, the display on the Vivacity is actually one of the most surprising things about it. While I have seen much better, brighter screens, for the price-point, the Vivacity's screen is actually very good. Coming with a 3.5" TFT capacitive touchscreen, it is both bright and responsive. If you have large fingers, the keyboard may be a little fiddly when in portrait, however. As with the phone, the screen seems to be some kind of fingerprint magnet, so get yourself a protector that is less so, or expect to clean it a lot. But the tradeoff is you get a budget phone with a 480x800 screen that nets you approximately 267 ppi that will be great for any mobile entertainment needs. For the price you pay, having to give it a wipe on your jeans more often than not is hardly the end of the world (See Dec. 21st, 2012)
While not the greatest screen, it is bright, with excellent vivid colour, sharp pixels and an excellent resolution. This gets an 8/10.
Camera
Now a mainstay of mobile phones, much to the detriment of photographic quality everywhere, phone cameras are serious business, and when you buy from the low end of the market, you don't expect to get much bang for your pound. Even phones like Apple's flagship device have cameras so seemingly aged (despite them being quite new) you can often see the faint top-bar of the lens' zimmer frame in shots - and thus the popularity of filter apps such as that one everyone uses whose name escapes me but that basically takes grainy photos and then goes "No look, the graininess is just deliberate and intended to be artistic..." when it's not.
So, the Vivacity provides you with a bit of a shock when you first try out its modest, yet passable, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash. Responsive and clear it will take good shots of you and your mates arsing around, or of inane things no one really cares about but that you think worthy of taking a photograph of. Really, if you want a good review of the photo clarity in the Vivacity, look elsewhere (Pocket-Lint review), this is of little importance to me. I have tried it out for a few shots and it is crisp, it is clear and it is functional. It is better than the camera on the iPhone 4, in my opinion, despite the iSight camera supposedly being 8 megapixel and the best thing since sliced bullshit marketing shtick. For your basic needs, the Vivacity has you covered, but if you want to take good photos DON'T TAKE THEM ON YOUR PHONE! GET A BLOODY CAMERA! Seriously, you can get a 14 megapixel camera for about £30-40 these days, which dwarfs the price you pay for a phone with a decent camera!
Ranting aside, the Vivacity also has a front facing, basic, VGA camera - while I haven't had the chance to test it out yet, it's probably grainier than a flour mill and as clear as mud - but that's not to fault the Vivacity, I think most front cameras I've seen are like that. It also has a camcorder function, but like with VGA, these tend to have the clarity of 70s straight-to-video blaxploitation films...In fact, if you want to record a parody or homage blaxploitation film...Phone camcorder! That's probably what they used for Black Dynamite or something...
The camera is not a selling point for me, but if you like that sort of thing the Vivacity brings you a 5 megapixel one that put the rest of the budget competition for shame (Most I saw were around 3.2 megapixel) - but that maybe doesn't compare to the big boys. As a result, another solid 7/10.
Sound and Call Quality
The Vivacity comes with your basic alert types. An innuendo-laden vibrate function and a loudspeaker for young people to play annoying, bland, senseless, lyrically and musically inferior pop songs on. With support for both MP3 and WAV ringtones, you can certainly get your fill of shit music on this device and the speaker, while not winning any awards, is of a pretty decent quality. The phone also comes with a 3.5mm jack so that people with two brain cells to rub together (of which there seems to be too few) can plug earphones or headphones into the device and not subject us to their ear-bleedingly piss poor and soulless music. The volume is excellent also, and I don't think I'll ever miss a call again, which is why I, in my misanthropic fervour, shall keep it on silent.
The call quality itself is pretty decent also. Again, comparing it with other devices I have used it is not better, nor no worse. The ear-speaker is clear and not muffled or tinny in any way, and no one has complained on the other end of my being distorted or muffled. It's a functional phone and thus the phone part of it is, not surprisingly and rather tautologically, the most functional. A very decent quality for a very low price.
Not much to talk about here. It work and it works well. A solid 7/10 again.
Memory
Now, if you want an area where budget smartphones come unstuck, you've found it. On the positive side, it comes with a MicroSD that can take up to a 32GB sized card. Plenty of memory for you to put bland pop tunes and silly games on. But with only 512MB internal memory, Apps 2 SD (or A2SD - which will transfer any apps - or parts of apps - to the SD card instead of the default install location on the internal memory) is a MUST! If you plan on being a heavy app user and can't find your way around moving apps to the SD card - you're going to have trouble with this device. If you can do that, however, getting yourself a 16 or 32GB memory card will easily solve your memory issues - indeed, the phone itself comes with a 2GB MicroSD, which should be enough to placate any basic user.
Frankly, it is easy to complain about the bad internal memory, but other devices around this price point don't fare much better and in the 'you get what you pay for' stakes, it is only really this and the plastic casing that stand out. This really is one of the only downsides to this phone, and one easily combated, as mentioned above, by getting yourself a decent SD card and A2SD. Still, it's noticeable and it does make a little extra work when you're downloading, thus the memory gets a decidedly average 5/10.
Operating System (and potential for fuckery)
The Vivacity comes preloaded with Android Gingerbread (2.3.5) which is perfectly functional and it comes loaded with little T-Mobile bloatware. However, with a good strength community on Modaco, due to this phone being an excellent device for the price-point, there are custom ROMs available (install at your own risk) that can debrand your front screen, give you all sorts of customisation or, as is the case with myself, for a small trade off of LED flash and front camera function, give you a very functional version of Android 4.0.4! Yeah, I'm not kidding. This, even with a paltry 512MB RAM, can run Ice Cream Sandwich quite well - indeed in my opinion this is running better than the preinstalled Gingerbread.
That's where this phone really shines. Messing around with its systems, rooting it, unlocking it, changing ROMs and settings and customising it...With a little bit of research, it is easy to make this device truly your own. Electronic-fuckery is strong in this one and it is one of the reasons I got the device. I knew I could unlock it free, and I knew I could update the ROM to something I wanted.
With Ice Cream Sandwich on mine, responsiveness is pretty good. The occasional freeze, but it did exactly the same with the original Gingerbread for me! But, as mentioned, there are good communities supporting this device (or its kin, the ZTE Crescent and Orange San Francisco II - all exactly the same device) so if you have any issues, it shouldn't be too difficult to get help.
The OS runs well on the device. Both original and other ROMS. I don't think there are any plans to upgrade the official OS, so if you don't know what you are doing, or don't want to lose front camera functionality, then you'll be stuck with Gingerbread. Not catastrophic by any means, as it is a good, functioning operating system with much support. But it is going to become fast outdated with the advent of 4.0 and that this budget device has a very workable solution in that regard is a credit to the modders.
While Android 2.3 is becoming outdated, the ease with which the Vivacity can be messed with, customised and upgraded, and the fact that it is so cheap making you less nervous about invalidating your warranty to do so, make this a solid, affordable option for an Android 4.0 device! It may not run perfect, but you can bet someone is working on optimising it further! As such, I have to give this a respectable 8/10.
Battery Life
When looking into this phone, battery life was one of the big issues that got flagged up, especially on T-Mobile's site itself. But as usual, when you get masses of reviews from laborious shitmunchers who expect to have everything turned on for no cost to power efficiency, you get a lot of stupid. With a bit of care you can extend the life of your 1500 mAh li-ion battery quite a bit.
Let's not excuse the fact, though, that if you are running this device with everything switched on, running an app, making calls etc. You probably won't get much more than a day's heavy use. Things like bluetooth, wifi, GPRS (all included - not bad for your money) will drain your battery and the screen seems to be quite power intensive on its own. Out of the box, this thing is going to go through juice like a thirsty me - SchlurpySchlurp.
But as mentioned, with a bit of management, you can make this go for three days without needing a charge. I've made a few calls, sent few texts, opened the browser for a bit and after about three days I'm down to just under half battery. I recommend finding a free power management app, that will monitor both power and performance and give you a quick interface with which to shut off your extraneous tasks. I believe you do have a default control panel to give you the ability to switch things off, but I am using NQ Mobile Booster and it is working well for me, and it is hardly any effort at all, since I have the widget on my front screen.
So, while the battery life is inexcusable, it is mainly the ignorance to the power management that leads to people having issues. Still, this has to be a sub-par 6/10.
App Playability
With access to the Android Store, or Android Play or Google Play or Play Play Store or whatever the hell it's called now - You have access to thousands of apps to help eat up your battery, steal your attention and distract you from the fact that you had to buy this device due to a grotesquely unfair capitalist system that is currently going to rot at the moment - leading to mass misery and resource wars...YAY APPS!
Of course, your basic stuff runs on the Vivacity with no issues. I've even had basic 3D games running on it. The problem comes with the fact that, with only 512MB of RAM, a reasonable 800MHz processsor and little by way of graphics processing, this device will not run the higher end games. But if you want to play higher end games, you're probably nerd savvy enough to know you'll need a device that can handle them and will avoid this anyway. But for your basic everyday use the Vivacity is a terrific piece of kit that can process any basic app and still give you a daily dose of Angry Birds on the bus/train/at your desk when you should be working. For basic use, the Vivacity is excellent, with the main problem coming (as described in the Memory section) with storing any apps you may want or need. Apps 2 SD is a must!
Overall, I'll give this another solid 7/10. It's no higher, because it can't run the high-end apps, but it's functional with basic, everyday apps that most people will want.
Other Stuff and Summary
As with most phones these days, this device comes with a lot of other functionality for your money. GPRS, bluetooth, WiFi (which can often go missing on budget devices), accelerometer, proximity sensor, compass, FM radio, music and video playback etc. etc. This is a budget phone that comes loaded with most of the things you expect from mid-to-high end devices - and they function like you would expect them to on mid-to-high end devices - Only you don't pay the mid-to-high end price.
The T-Mobile Vivacity/Orange San Francisco II/ZTE Crescent/Whatever you want to call it is never going to dazzle people. Value for money just is not important in a culture as vain and status-driven as ours. Where everyone needs the biggest, brightest screen, the newest device, the fastest processor, or even worse, just need something with an Apple motif on it. But if you are one of those people who don't buy into this status, and just need a functional phone, but maybe are looking into branching out into the smartphone market - This device is perfect for you, it truly is. This will do everything you need from it, and more, and to the same ability as a device that can cost up to three times as much. It is good looking, discrete, with a good screen, reasonable touch, and really is a big surprise for the price I paid. I was expecting much less and it is nice when such a device gives you a pleasant surprise. The 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM and tiny internal memory are already outdated, soon to be damn near antiquated. But they do the job, and if you're looking for an entry level smartphone, you can do much, much worse and pay all the more for it.
And so let's move on to...
Price
This was a cheap device when it was released last November, costing around £100, and it was given decent enough reviews then, praising it for being a very functional entry level smartphone. A recent price drop to £69.99 made this phone one of the best options...But at the moment, from T-Mobile, for this handset as a pay-as-you-go it will cost you £49.99+£10 credit.
£59.99!
That's an amazing price when compared to anything else of the level and functionality of this phone, and that was the main reason I got it! Needing only a simple smartphone, and not wanting to spend too much I have been shocked and overjoyed by just how well the Vivacity works, and as mentioned a few times before, there is a huge online community of people who, owing to their passion for electroni-fuckery, and the cheap price of this device, are working on mods, fixes, customisations, OS upgrades, improvements etc. etc. It's truly an amazing device for the price.
Overall, in terms of functionality as an Android phone, I'd give this a solid 7/10. But when you take into account the price, it pushes it into 8 or 9/10 territory. At a time when even older devices made redundant by upgrades (iPhone 3G, Samsung Galaxy S and SII now) can cost a couple of hundred pounds, ZTE have provided an excellent and cheap device and T-Mobile have given a great deal on it. Keep in mind that Orange still sell the same phone, in their San Francisco II, for double that price! Anyone looking at upgrading an old PAYG dumbphone to a new smartphone should consider this device.
Alternatives
Virgin Mobile currently have the ZTE Kis for a similar price, with some very good deals on it. However, the Kis is inferior and the ease of unlocking the Vivacity means even if you really like Virgin's tariffs, you can get them on a better phone!
Various featurephones - Many networks will offer these for reasonable prices, but they come with custom operating systems that lack the punch of Android. Usually sold as being social media or music/video friendly, they will do nothing the Vivacity can do, and less.
Huawei Ascend G300 - The ONLY phone that made me hesitate about getting the Vivacity. Currently locked to Vodafone, the Huawei is considered by many to be the best low price Android smartphone out there. Currently around £99 locked to Voda, that exclusivity ends soon. Expect sim-free, unlocked prices to be a bit more, however. If you can get hold of one of these, unlocked, for the £99 price point, it's definitely worth it. But I suspect unlock prices will definitely be around £120-130 - which pushes this from the budget, to the mid-range for me and puts the Vivacity ahead of it. One of the other things to note is that, at the moment, unless your really like Vodafone, there is no easy, free unlock for the G300 - meaning you either have to take it to a shop/buy an unlock code/buy an unlock code from Vodafone - which will cost a further £10-20...It's a great phone, like I said, but it's not £59.99, is it? For those not willing to make a £100+ investment, the Vivacity is King.
Other Links
Review on CNet, including a good little video.
Saturday, 4 August 2012
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
On Reform of the House of Lords
Recently, there has been a mass of these 'Reforms' going through the UK's political elite, collected in their respective houses with the green or red leather benches. In terms of modern governmental practice, these reforms seem to be either one of two things. The first is the depriving of the public of necessary and previously workable services under the guise of 'austerity' - a sort of reverse Robin Hood scenario where the government rob from the poor to pay the rich, despite the rich having made the costly mistakes through gross financial mismanagement in the first place. The second kind of reform is one whereby it means little or nothing to no one and serves merely as a nonsensical distraction, to keep the public from getting truly up in arms about the first kind.
The currently proposed House of Lords reform is an example of the latter. People will argue that these reforms would be the greatest shake up of the House of Lords in living memory...but that's not exactly a difficult thing to do when the house of lords is only outdone in its anachronistic capability by the monarchy this country still recognises as its supreme authority. The abolition of hereditary peerships was supposed to be the biggest shake up in the Lords, making it less cliquey and elitist and yet it is, not surprisingly, still a who's who of elitist twats. This reform would be no different.
"Ah!" you say, "but we want to make it so that most peers are elected!" Oh brilliant! So now, instead of being able to blame an antiquated and unfair political system built upon lies and nepotism for the out-of-touch nature of the House of Lords - Now we can blame ourselves! YAY! Presumably, if elections to the Lords were to take place they would take place using the same ridiculous, redundant, false, farcical, two-party popularity contest we use to elect our public servants today. Now, there would be further need to boost party coffers as election campaigns for Lords needs take place as well as for MPs, and as if our outdated 'first past the post' political system were not nearly unrepresentative enough, now your Lords could all find themselves from the political party in favour at the time of their election, too...Potentially increasing the stranglehold that destructive, elitist wankers following bullshit, false ideologies in the guise of 'political parties' have on this country!
You might think this lack of support for these reforms means I prefer the old way of doing things. "Oh, you'd rather it stay just as it is!" You'd say with a knowing, condescending snort that makes me want to punch your smug face! NO! I don't like the system the way it is, but nor do I think it needs reform. As far as the House of Lords goes I think it needs complete demolition, along with the farce that is the House of Commons, and that inbred elitist demon-slug that is the monarchy. I think we need a completely new, more representative and barely existent political system in this country that lets people get on with their lives, does little to interfere and doesn't have a foreign policy susceptible to lobbying from companies that produce weapons, or need natural resources. I want a system that doesn't seek to take something so wonderful as the National Health Service, a system that is the envy of much of the world, and dismantle it into nothing short of a deconstructed cash cow on something so base as the whims of their own avarice. Reform is not going to achieve this. All it is going to achieve is distracting you from the fact you're being robbed blind, manipulated and treated like capital and not human beings. It's going to give you something to moan about over your coffee while you read whatever agenda laden newspaper you happen to prefer, but never actually do anything about it. An elected House of Lords is just another distracting sideshow to make you feel like you have any say, power or control. But you don't have any while you allow yourself to be so easily distracted and manipulated. You don't have any power while we continue this false left-right paradigm in politics. You don't have any control while politics is manipulated by the media - who shape your opinions subconsciously. Opinions you later claim are definitely your own. The only reform I would support is a reform of your consciousness. See the truth, learn from the past, be in the present and change the future.
The currently proposed House of Lords reform is an example of the latter. People will argue that these reforms would be the greatest shake up of the House of Lords in living memory...but that's not exactly a difficult thing to do when the house of lords is only outdone in its anachronistic capability by the monarchy this country still recognises as its supreme authority. The abolition of hereditary peerships was supposed to be the biggest shake up in the Lords, making it less cliquey and elitist and yet it is, not surprisingly, still a who's who of elitist twats. This reform would be no different.
"Ah!" you say, "but we want to make it so that most peers are elected!" Oh brilliant! So now, instead of being able to blame an antiquated and unfair political system built upon lies and nepotism for the out-of-touch nature of the House of Lords - Now we can blame ourselves! YAY! Presumably, if elections to the Lords were to take place they would take place using the same ridiculous, redundant, false, farcical, two-party popularity contest we use to elect our public servants today. Now, there would be further need to boost party coffers as election campaigns for Lords needs take place as well as for MPs, and as if our outdated 'first past the post' political system were not nearly unrepresentative enough, now your Lords could all find themselves from the political party in favour at the time of their election, too...Potentially increasing the stranglehold that destructive, elitist wankers following bullshit, false ideologies in the guise of 'political parties' have on this country!
You might think this lack of support for these reforms means I prefer the old way of doing things. "Oh, you'd rather it stay just as it is!" You'd say with a knowing, condescending snort that makes me want to punch your smug face! NO! I don't like the system the way it is, but nor do I think it needs reform. As far as the House of Lords goes I think it needs complete demolition, along with the farce that is the House of Commons, and that inbred elitist demon-slug that is the monarchy. I think we need a completely new, more representative and barely existent political system in this country that lets people get on with their lives, does little to interfere and doesn't have a foreign policy susceptible to lobbying from companies that produce weapons, or need natural resources. I want a system that doesn't seek to take something so wonderful as the National Health Service, a system that is the envy of much of the world, and dismantle it into nothing short of a deconstructed cash cow on something so base as the whims of their own avarice. Reform is not going to achieve this. All it is going to achieve is distracting you from the fact you're being robbed blind, manipulated and treated like capital and not human beings. It's going to give you something to moan about over your coffee while you read whatever agenda laden newspaper you happen to prefer, but never actually do anything about it. An elected House of Lords is just another distracting sideshow to make you feel like you have any say, power or control. But you don't have any while you allow yourself to be so easily distracted and manipulated. You don't have any power while we continue this false left-right paradigm in politics. You don't have any control while politics is manipulated by the media - who shape your opinions subconsciously. Opinions you later claim are definitely your own. The only reform I would support is a reform of your consciousness. See the truth, learn from the past, be in the present and change the future.
Friday, 6 July 2012
Human Civilisation in a Nutshell...
...Still fighting each other over the thoughts of those who claim to be in contact with omnipotent, invisible sky people or shiny rocks and the artificially prescribed values thereof.
~Old Posts~ Make Sports, Not War
Being, as I am, a simple man I do quite enjoy sports. Not so much playing them, alas my passion for that was killed many years ago. But watching them.
It is while enjoying the IRB Rugby World Cup 2011 that I wondered if sports could not be used to solve international disputes.
You see, war, well war is a terrible thing. Hideously, grotesquely expensive not just in terms of actually monetary wealth but in terms of life as well. And not just human life either, let us consider that ‘collateral damage’ must also include animal life too. It makes you wonder why, instead of investing massive amounts on weapons, the technology of killing, the science of killing, the psychology of killing and invading. Why do we not, instead, invest all that money in sports?
I don’t think it is too farfetched an idea, indeed both methods of international dispute resolution are as redundant and futile as the other. But sports, like military training, pits one group or team against another. Sports training, like military training, has a great deal of emphasis on discipline and hierarchy. Sports training, like military training requires the participant to be physically fit and mentally sharp. They are essentially one and them same thing. Except one can be fun, and one most certainly isn’t unless there is something dreadfully wrong with you.
What is more, there is less dehumanisation involved in sport. When you are on the pitch/field/area of play the atmosphere may well be hostile, passions may flare, sparks may ignite little battles, but once time is called you can all be friends again and go share a drink and a meal. Unlike with war whereby, if you are the victorious party, you will presumably have very few people to go share a drink and a meal with. Indeed you may very well not have anywhere to go to get a meal, because you’ve bombed it.
It is while enjoying the IRB Rugby World Cup 2011 that I wondered if sports could not be used to solve international disputes.
You see, war, well war is a terrible thing. Hideously, grotesquely expensive not just in terms of actually monetary wealth but in terms of life as well. And not just human life either, let us consider that ‘collateral damage’ must also include animal life too. It makes you wonder why, instead of investing massive amounts on weapons, the technology of killing, the science of killing, the psychology of killing and invading. Why do we not, instead, invest all that money in sports?
I don’t think it is too farfetched an idea, indeed both methods of international dispute resolution are as redundant and futile as the other. But sports, like military training, pits one group or team against another. Sports training, like military training, has a great deal of emphasis on discipline and hierarchy. Sports training, like military training requires the participant to be physically fit and mentally sharp. They are essentially one and them same thing. Except one can be fun, and one most certainly isn’t unless there is something dreadfully wrong with you.
What is more, there is less dehumanisation involved in sport. When you are on the pitch/field/area of play the atmosphere may well be hostile, passions may flare, sparks may ignite little battles, but once time is called you can all be friends again and go share a drink and a meal. Unlike with war whereby, if you are the victorious party, you will presumably have very few people to go share a drink and a meal with. Indeed you may very well not have anywhere to go to get a meal, because you’ve bombed it.
I stress again, both methods are strikingly similar in many ways, and both are as redundant as each other in regards to settling scores. All that is proven when one army is victorious over the other is that one army had better weapons, tactics and/or numbers than the other. All that is settled in sports is that one team had better players, tactics and or training than the other…See how similar it is? If anything sports is a much fairer way of solving disputes but maybe that’s where the problem is.
I’m missing the rugby to write this piece. If it seems at times my thoughts are distracted or being interrupted then that is the reason. But, I just think sport was an evolution. I think sport was mankind evolving a way of conflict so that rather than have blood spilling all over the place and families torn apart by bereavement and destruction of land, homes and habitats - Instead there’s just an hour or so of fun, followed by a friendly handshake and resolution as one team proves itself victorious over the other in the spirit of fairness. I think it’s time we started demanding this. No more war, just sports!
And another thing. If we invested all that money that goes to war in sports the populations in the Western world would be easily able to solve their obesity crisis. I mean, I would gladly sign up for two years compulsory service if all it meant was two years playing football, cricket, rugby etc. and the possibility of playing in an international match for my country and her allies…A lot of men and women would gladly sign up for that! Hell, they’d do it gladly to save them a fortune on gym subscriptions! Our children would be raised in a happier, healthier world where they are taught that even the most serious issues in the world are trivial when there is fun to be had in their resolution. There shall always be conflict, and disagreement. That is a fact. But to say that, as a result, there must always be war is to be completely blind to any other possible solutions or resolution methods. Make sports, not war. That’s the answer.
And another thing. If we invested all that money that goes to war in sports the populations in the Western world would be easily able to solve their obesity crisis. I mean, I would gladly sign up for two years compulsory service if all it meant was two years playing football, cricket, rugby etc. and the possibility of playing in an international match for my country and her allies…A lot of men and women would gladly sign up for that! Hell, they’d do it gladly to save them a fortune on gym subscriptions! Our children would be raised in a happier, healthier world where they are taught that even the most serious issues in the world are trivial when there is fun to be had in their resolution. There shall always be conflict, and disagreement. That is a fact. But to say that, as a result, there must always be war is to be completely blind to any other possible solutions or resolution methods. Make sports, not war. That’s the answer.
~Old Posts~ Occupy
There are, at this moment in time, multiple movements across the US and the World to occupy financial districts in major cities in protest. Indeed, Occupy Wall Street has already being going on for about two weeks now, with estimated numbers of occupiers at 300-700, and estimates of people joining the protests daily at up to 5000+ (with estimates set to get higher as more unions take to the streets.) But the message has unfortunately been blurred. People are confused as to what these protesters wants and, with Occupy the London Stock Exchange coming up, I want to clarify quite what my intentions are when I am protesting.
This is not just about workshy hippies moaning because they can’t get a break, although of course that does come into it. My participation is for one goal and one goal alone; the removal of corporate power from our Government. The removal of ‘lobbyists’ - whereby lobbying is essentially corruption but given a silly name so people don’t think of it like that. Corporations, and particularly banks have far too much power and influence in our political systems to the extent that we are living in a virtual dictatorship. If you go to London today you will find Transport for London (a government organisation) have for-hire bicycles all over the place. This is a very good idea. What isn’t a good idea is the fact that this scheme is sponsored by notorious tax dodgers ‘Barclays’ - who are a bank. No government initiative should have corporate sponsorship, this is not acceptable. Particularly when the sponsorship would not be required at all if the companies actually coughed up their taxes. It is disgusting, it is amoral, it is unjust, it is corrupt and it has to stop.
With the country operating at a huge deficit, and the people. The good, honest, hard working people, being pressed more than ever due to higher prices, higher taxes, even a fucking increase in VAT - The least equal tax of all because all of us have to pay it! - Companies like Vodafone get off paying BILLIONS - Yes, BILLIONS - of pounds in taxes thanks to cushy deals being instrumented behind closed doors, without public consultation, without professional consultation with the Inland Revenue’s own lawyers and tax experts! This is a country that is working AGAINST you, not for you. You are being squeezed ever tighter so that the vile financial institutions who made the mess our economies are in at the moment can be bailed out time and again. The reason you are being used as collateral is simple. Sure, banks could lend to each other to get themselves out of trouble. But all the banks are broke. So they go, cap in hand, to your governments for help after having caused the mess themselves and use your tax monies to pay them because, well if banks lend to each other and one bank forecloses and can’t pay, no one wins. But if an individual can’t afford their bill to the government, well then you can see all sorts of legal proceedings against that person. You cannot, unfortunately, be a conscientious objector to taxes.
So what can you do? You can protest. It has got to a stage in our political arena whereby the supposed ‘democratically elected’ officials are no longer working for we the people as they are obliged to do so. They have become so comfortable in an atmosphere of apathy and bullshit two party politics that they’re happy to take turns. Left wing, right wing, it doesn’t matter, the Imperial Eagle needs both to fly and that Eagle’s name is finance. Whichever party gets power in the UK, they will always serve the financial institutions and large corporations. There may be a little more union give-and-take from Labour, there may be a bit more mollycoddling of the middle and upper classes from the Conservatives but they both shall always work in favour of the banks and large corporations. This has to stop.
This is why we need to occupy. To let it be known that this is OUR country, that we, the people, are the power base here. We elect our officials to work FOR us, not to control us. The Prime Minister is not our ‘leader’ he is our BITCH and he should do what we, the people, want. You only have to look at the country to realise what a shambolic mess it is in, but if you’re not part of the solution you are part of the problem. Apathy never solved anything. Doing nothing never achieved it’s goals. Political change and reform never came from sitting on your arse watching football, X-Factor or bloody soaps. This is not beyond your control. This is not just ‘how it is’ - You have the power to change it. David Cameron is not an immortal, he is not a God, he is not a superman, he is a human being, like the rest of us. He is a man. He was born a crying baby, he bleeds red, and he shall one day die, like all of us. He has no more power than you or I besides that which we believe he may have. Stop believing. Stop thinking he has power when it is you who truly have the power. Take your country back. Before they ruin it for all of us.
Occupy the London Stock Exchange - October 15th until we win.
To all the occupiers worldwide - There is no defeat. You’re already winners. I love you.
This is not just about workshy hippies moaning because they can’t get a break, although of course that does come into it. My participation is for one goal and one goal alone; the removal of corporate power from our Government. The removal of ‘lobbyists’ - whereby lobbying is essentially corruption but given a silly name so people don’t think of it like that. Corporations, and particularly banks have far too much power and influence in our political systems to the extent that we are living in a virtual dictatorship. If you go to London today you will find Transport for London (a government organisation) have for-hire bicycles all over the place. This is a very good idea. What isn’t a good idea is the fact that this scheme is sponsored by notorious tax dodgers ‘Barclays’ - who are a bank. No government initiative should have corporate sponsorship, this is not acceptable. Particularly when the sponsorship would not be required at all if the companies actually coughed up their taxes. It is disgusting, it is amoral, it is unjust, it is corrupt and it has to stop.
With the country operating at a huge deficit, and the people. The good, honest, hard working people, being pressed more than ever due to higher prices, higher taxes, even a fucking increase in VAT - The least equal tax of all because all of us have to pay it! - Companies like Vodafone get off paying BILLIONS - Yes, BILLIONS - of pounds in taxes thanks to cushy deals being instrumented behind closed doors, without public consultation, without professional consultation with the Inland Revenue’s own lawyers and tax experts! This is a country that is working AGAINST you, not for you. You are being squeezed ever tighter so that the vile financial institutions who made the mess our economies are in at the moment can be bailed out time and again. The reason you are being used as collateral is simple. Sure, banks could lend to each other to get themselves out of trouble. But all the banks are broke. So they go, cap in hand, to your governments for help after having caused the mess themselves and use your tax monies to pay them because, well if banks lend to each other and one bank forecloses and can’t pay, no one wins. But if an individual can’t afford their bill to the government, well then you can see all sorts of legal proceedings against that person. You cannot, unfortunately, be a conscientious objector to taxes.
So what can you do? You can protest. It has got to a stage in our political arena whereby the supposed ‘democratically elected’ officials are no longer working for we the people as they are obliged to do so. They have become so comfortable in an atmosphere of apathy and bullshit two party politics that they’re happy to take turns. Left wing, right wing, it doesn’t matter, the Imperial Eagle needs both to fly and that Eagle’s name is finance. Whichever party gets power in the UK, they will always serve the financial institutions and large corporations. There may be a little more union give-and-take from Labour, there may be a bit more mollycoddling of the middle and upper classes from the Conservatives but they both shall always work in favour of the banks and large corporations. This has to stop.
This is why we need to occupy. To let it be known that this is OUR country, that we, the people, are the power base here. We elect our officials to work FOR us, not to control us. The Prime Minister is not our ‘leader’ he is our BITCH and he should do what we, the people, want. You only have to look at the country to realise what a shambolic mess it is in, but if you’re not part of the solution you are part of the problem. Apathy never solved anything. Doing nothing never achieved it’s goals. Political change and reform never came from sitting on your arse watching football, X-Factor or bloody soaps. This is not beyond your control. This is not just ‘how it is’ - You have the power to change it. David Cameron is not an immortal, he is not a God, he is not a superman, he is a human being, like the rest of us. He is a man. He was born a crying baby, he bleeds red, and he shall one day die, like all of us. He has no more power than you or I besides that which we believe he may have. Stop believing. Stop thinking he has power when it is you who truly have the power. Take your country back. Before they ruin it for all of us.
Occupy the London Stock Exchange - October 15th until we win.
To all the occupiers worldwide - There is no defeat. You’re already winners. I love you.
~Old Posts~ Nice Weather
It is quite warm, and, by all meteorological accounts, it is set to steadily get warmer. “Why is that a problem?” I hear you cry with a unity unfortunately lacking in your political aspirations. Well, it’s a problem because unlike you sun-loving, skin cancer chasing, bikini wearing, shorts and flip-flop donning, sunglasses worshipers I abhor hot, sunny weather.
While you’re outside slathering yourself in oils and lotions and believing the hype about sunny days being in some way good for you; I am inside with a thousand fans blazing, panting like an over-worked dog. While you’re out squinting past the burning rays of the sun and her oppressive, dazzling light I’m at home, curtains drawn, probably with a DVD on or something. People always say “It’s a nice day, you should get out.” But, let us analyse that statement.
Firstly, the description of the day as ‘nice’ is entirely subjective. Unless of course that is you’re some pre-programmed sheep, inherently incapable of defying your programming that tells you that just because the big yellow thing in the sky is present and making the temperature a little higher then the day must be ‘nice’. Secondly, I don’t want to get out more on days like that. It’s hot, you get all sweaty, In order to somehow survive without melting you have to dress like an idiot and what is worst of all about hot, sunny days when you don’t like hot sunny days is you have, surrounding you, a thousand and one idiots who all think you’re in some way a bit malfunctioned because you don’t like it as much as they do.
Fuck you sun worshippers. I do not like hot, sunny days. They’re shit, at least to me. Because I am a human being, with a free mind, and free will, and as such it is perfectly well within my rights to think that a hot sunny day is NOT NICE. It does not make me weird, odd, strange, misplaced, out of touch, out of sync, malfunctioned, malformed or disabled. I JUST DON’T LIKE HOT FUCKING SUNNY DAYS, OK!?
I am so sick of everyone always telling me how nice it is. Where is the objectivity!? I don’t think it is nice, and that means there must be others like me out there because I am fairly certain out of nearly 7 billion people I am not the only one who thinks hot, sunny days are not nice. It is one of those things, like language, whereby some things are considered ‘good’ and some things are considered ‘bad’ almost arbitrarily because, well, they just are. The word ‘fuck’ for instance is considered ‘bad’ by most, although common of use. But there’s nothing bad about the word fuck. It’s just a fucking word. I’ve never seen a word knife someone to death for their iphone. I have never seen a word start a war. The same is true of weather. Just because you all think it’s ‘nice’ it doesn’t mean it is. I’ve never known a hot sunny day to prevent world hunger. A hot sunny day has never caused a ceasefire in a war, so the opposing armies can go have a fucking picnic. There is no good or bad in either context, there just is. There are words, there is weather - No good or bad.
The flipside of this, of course is that surely I can’t enjoy bad weather; because that is ludicrous. Well, no it isn’t. I love walking in the pelting rain. There is something about it that is free and cleansing and right; and there is something so lovely about arriving home after a walk in the rain, soaked through, and peeling off your wet clothing (maybe taking a quick shower thanks to all the pollutants and shite in rain) and then just warming yourself. I love the cold. I love an autumn morning more than anything else; when the delicate backdrop of the pink-hued sunrise kisses the orange, red and brown leaves and everything looks gilded. And as you walk past fields and parks that golden morning sun twinkles on the dew and it looks like a sea of stars before your feet. You’re wrapped up relatively warm but you can still feel a slight chill, and the air has such a harsh bitterness that it tickles your lungs after you’ve just left a warm abode. The delicate scent in the air of wood smoke from someone’s chimney.
Storms are another thing. They’re lovely. The air aflame with licking forked tongues from some electric-blue reptilian devil in the sky. The booming roar of the heavens as clouds collide in epic battles of air pressure. The hard, yet gentle rapping on windows, doors and rooftops as rain, like some majestic tapdancer, clicks its heels with wondrous choreography.
There is such romance that can be extrapolated from those weathers that cannot from hot, sunny weather which, unfortunately for me carries connotations of idiots getting too drunk for their own good, alcoholics tanning themselves to the point that their rotund beer-guts look like bulbous leather domes. Toothless skanks wearing far too little clothing. Sweaty masses ambling about in the oppressive humidity. When it is hot, you toss and turn at night, distancing yourself from a loved one as you have to peel your bodies apart with discomfort. In the colder seasons it’s all about snuggling. Coming together to keep warm. Staying indoors a lot and communicating. To me there is something very civilised about the cold, the damp and the dreary. Spring and summer may pack the heat. But Autumn and winter are cool, and they have soul.
While you’re outside slathering yourself in oils and lotions and believing the hype about sunny days being in some way good for you; I am inside with a thousand fans blazing, panting like an over-worked dog. While you’re out squinting past the burning rays of the sun and her oppressive, dazzling light I’m at home, curtains drawn, probably with a DVD on or something. People always say “It’s a nice day, you should get out.” But, let us analyse that statement.
Firstly, the description of the day as ‘nice’ is entirely subjective. Unless of course that is you’re some pre-programmed sheep, inherently incapable of defying your programming that tells you that just because the big yellow thing in the sky is present and making the temperature a little higher then the day must be ‘nice’. Secondly, I don’t want to get out more on days like that. It’s hot, you get all sweaty, In order to somehow survive without melting you have to dress like an idiot and what is worst of all about hot, sunny days when you don’t like hot sunny days is you have, surrounding you, a thousand and one idiots who all think you’re in some way a bit malfunctioned because you don’t like it as much as they do.
Fuck you sun worshippers. I do not like hot, sunny days. They’re shit, at least to me. Because I am a human being, with a free mind, and free will, and as such it is perfectly well within my rights to think that a hot sunny day is NOT NICE. It does not make me weird, odd, strange, misplaced, out of touch, out of sync, malfunctioned, malformed or disabled. I JUST DON’T LIKE HOT FUCKING SUNNY DAYS, OK!?
I am so sick of everyone always telling me how nice it is. Where is the objectivity!? I don’t think it is nice, and that means there must be others like me out there because I am fairly certain out of nearly 7 billion people I am not the only one who thinks hot, sunny days are not nice. It is one of those things, like language, whereby some things are considered ‘good’ and some things are considered ‘bad’ almost arbitrarily because, well, they just are. The word ‘fuck’ for instance is considered ‘bad’ by most, although common of use. But there’s nothing bad about the word fuck. It’s just a fucking word. I’ve never seen a word knife someone to death for their iphone. I have never seen a word start a war. The same is true of weather. Just because you all think it’s ‘nice’ it doesn’t mean it is. I’ve never known a hot sunny day to prevent world hunger. A hot sunny day has never caused a ceasefire in a war, so the opposing armies can go have a fucking picnic. There is no good or bad in either context, there just is. There are words, there is weather - No good or bad.
The flipside of this, of course is that surely I can’t enjoy bad weather; because that is ludicrous. Well, no it isn’t. I love walking in the pelting rain. There is something about it that is free and cleansing and right; and there is something so lovely about arriving home after a walk in the rain, soaked through, and peeling off your wet clothing (maybe taking a quick shower thanks to all the pollutants and shite in rain) and then just warming yourself. I love the cold. I love an autumn morning more than anything else; when the delicate backdrop of the pink-hued sunrise kisses the orange, red and brown leaves and everything looks gilded. And as you walk past fields and parks that golden morning sun twinkles on the dew and it looks like a sea of stars before your feet. You’re wrapped up relatively warm but you can still feel a slight chill, and the air has such a harsh bitterness that it tickles your lungs after you’ve just left a warm abode. The delicate scent in the air of wood smoke from someone’s chimney.
Storms are another thing. They’re lovely. The air aflame with licking forked tongues from some electric-blue reptilian devil in the sky. The booming roar of the heavens as clouds collide in epic battles of air pressure. The hard, yet gentle rapping on windows, doors and rooftops as rain, like some majestic tapdancer, clicks its heels with wondrous choreography.
There is such romance that can be extrapolated from those weathers that cannot from hot, sunny weather which, unfortunately for me carries connotations of idiots getting too drunk for their own good, alcoholics tanning themselves to the point that their rotund beer-guts look like bulbous leather domes. Toothless skanks wearing far too little clothing. Sweaty masses ambling about in the oppressive humidity. When it is hot, you toss and turn at night, distancing yourself from a loved one as you have to peel your bodies apart with discomfort. In the colder seasons it’s all about snuggling. Coming together to keep warm. Staying indoors a lot and communicating. To me there is something very civilised about the cold, the damp and the dreary. Spring and summer may pack the heat. But Autumn and winter are cool, and they have soul.
~Old Posts~ The Scientific Agenda
Science! Oh it’s a wonderful thing is it not? Turning the imaginings of the past into present reality. Who would have thought videophones would actually exist one day, but not just that, they would fit in the palm of your hand, and you could use them without the aid of wires and things…It really is a marvel isn’t it!?
Well, yes but, let us not forget that we still have incurable diseases, poverty, famine, and war. And indeed, technological advancement has been of huge benefit to war. So let us not go giving blowjobs to scientists just yet, eh?
Here is the problem with science. Rather than grant monies being doled out to people performing the most worthwhile research, every single bit of funding comes with an agenda. That agenda is always to the detriment of actual scientific advancement and that is why we, as a human race, are being held back. You see, instead of having every able mind slaving away trying to cure cancer; a lot of able minds will be away in their top-of-the-range labs doing work funded by a women’s magazine on why men get Man-Flu. Think I’m joking about that - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8793301/Women-found-to-be-the-tougher-sex.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter - I am not joking about everything but it being funded by a women’s magazine.
Let’s fucking face it. I’ll make an admission now. I am a science student. Well, all being well. I can give you one bit of advice for free; as a scientist. There is NO FUCKING POINT studying the common cold virus. NONE. ZERO. ZILCH. Why? Because it mutates too quickly. If, perchance, we ever do invent a ‘cure’ for the common cold (which we probably won’t…but if) then it would be one of the most dangerous things mankind could do, because rhinovirus will not go away, and its next mutation may well kill ALL OF MANKIND! There is a precedent. A lot of the ‘superbugs’ you can catch in hospitals are so dangerous because they are mutated strains that have developed a resistance to antibiotics. So, leave the cold alone, let us have the scientist spent wasting time on this putting their time and energy into researching actually important stuff like, I don’t know, say the massive epidemic of HIV and AIDs in third world countries.
But, sadly, the funding for those sorts of projects comes from charities, and even then, the charities budgets are split between paying wages of staff, paying for existing projects and treatments, etc. etc. Actual research gets very little in the way of funding. And herein lies the issue.
Funding always comes from somewhere and that somewhere will always have an agenda. Sadly, science and agenda do not go hand in hand. The basic dogma of science is that everything is theory - Everything has the potential to be proven wrong. There is no bias in that system and any bias in scientific literature comes from one thing and one thing alone; Who funded it?
For example, the commonly held belief is that smoking is very bad for you. This is just a theory but, it is one that has a mass of evidence in its favour. However, research funded by tobacco companies, for instance, may have a different view. It may underplay links, it may even claim benefits. This is just a hypothetical example but I am sure if you check back in the literature you can find tobacco company funded research and check whether or not my hypothetical is true.
This is something that has to stop. Scientific advancement should have no agenda but the betterment of mankind. One obvious, controversial field for example would be genetically modified crops. Research funded by companies with an Anti-GM agenda will be biased in their favour; research funded by companies with a Pro-GM agenda will be biased in their favour and somewhere in the middle the truth is being obscured as a result. Science should always be unbiased, and have NO agenda whatsoever. As a scientist-in-training I have always held the belief that I know nothing. That I know absolutely nothing about what I am researching and thus, the results are the results. There is no point to prove. There is no agenda. There is just experimentation, and data at the end of it to be analysed.
If every scientific study were to be carried out with this level of objectivity; and if the market driven economy were to support it, advancement would flourish. Unfortunately, as it is, all we are going to get is bullshit stories telling us one week how tomatoes help skin and the following week how make your skin worse. Instead of a cure for cancer you’re going to get another pointless piece of research about why women are better than men or men better than women. Rather than have any REAL discovery, all we are going to have is endless newspaper dross making scientists look like nothing but boffin pranksters in labcoats.
When you next read a story about a nonsense piece of research. Don’t giggle and think it’s funny. Ask quite why your relatives are still dying of cancer while the finest researching minds the world has to offer are being made to devote their time to such bullshit. Write a letter to the newspaper, website, or agency that promoted that story and tell them you are ashamed that they are publishing such nonsense and not helping fund research into real issues. And ask your politicians quite why private corporations are being allowed to fund such useless research when there are still REAL ills in this world waiting for a eureka moment.
Well, yes but, let us not forget that we still have incurable diseases, poverty, famine, and war. And indeed, technological advancement has been of huge benefit to war. So let us not go giving blowjobs to scientists just yet, eh?
Here is the problem with science. Rather than grant monies being doled out to people performing the most worthwhile research, every single bit of funding comes with an agenda. That agenda is always to the detriment of actual scientific advancement and that is why we, as a human race, are being held back. You see, instead of having every able mind slaving away trying to cure cancer; a lot of able minds will be away in their top-of-the-range labs doing work funded by a women’s magazine on why men get Man-Flu. Think I’m joking about that - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8793301/Women-found-to-be-the-tougher-sex.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter - I am not joking about everything but it being funded by a women’s magazine.
Let’s fucking face it. I’ll make an admission now. I am a science student. Well, all being well. I can give you one bit of advice for free; as a scientist. There is NO FUCKING POINT studying the common cold virus. NONE. ZERO. ZILCH. Why? Because it mutates too quickly. If, perchance, we ever do invent a ‘cure’ for the common cold (which we probably won’t…but if) then it would be one of the most dangerous things mankind could do, because rhinovirus will not go away, and its next mutation may well kill ALL OF MANKIND! There is a precedent. A lot of the ‘superbugs’ you can catch in hospitals are so dangerous because they are mutated strains that have developed a resistance to antibiotics. So, leave the cold alone, let us have the scientist spent wasting time on this putting their time and energy into researching actually important stuff like, I don’t know, say the massive epidemic of HIV and AIDs in third world countries.
But, sadly, the funding for those sorts of projects comes from charities, and even then, the charities budgets are split between paying wages of staff, paying for existing projects and treatments, etc. etc. Actual research gets very little in the way of funding. And herein lies the issue.
Funding always comes from somewhere and that somewhere will always have an agenda. Sadly, science and agenda do not go hand in hand. The basic dogma of science is that everything is theory - Everything has the potential to be proven wrong. There is no bias in that system and any bias in scientific literature comes from one thing and one thing alone; Who funded it?
For example, the commonly held belief is that smoking is very bad for you. This is just a theory but, it is one that has a mass of evidence in its favour. However, research funded by tobacco companies, for instance, may have a different view. It may underplay links, it may even claim benefits. This is just a hypothetical example but I am sure if you check back in the literature you can find tobacco company funded research and check whether or not my hypothetical is true.
This is something that has to stop. Scientific advancement should have no agenda but the betterment of mankind. One obvious, controversial field for example would be genetically modified crops. Research funded by companies with an Anti-GM agenda will be biased in their favour; research funded by companies with a Pro-GM agenda will be biased in their favour and somewhere in the middle the truth is being obscured as a result. Science should always be unbiased, and have NO agenda whatsoever. As a scientist-in-training I have always held the belief that I know nothing. That I know absolutely nothing about what I am researching and thus, the results are the results. There is no point to prove. There is no agenda. There is just experimentation, and data at the end of it to be analysed.
If every scientific study were to be carried out with this level of objectivity; and if the market driven economy were to support it, advancement would flourish. Unfortunately, as it is, all we are going to get is bullshit stories telling us one week how tomatoes help skin and the following week how make your skin worse. Instead of a cure for cancer you’re going to get another pointless piece of research about why women are better than men or men better than women. Rather than have any REAL discovery, all we are going to have is endless newspaper dross making scientists look like nothing but boffin pranksters in labcoats.
When you next read a story about a nonsense piece of research. Don’t giggle and think it’s funny. Ask quite why your relatives are still dying of cancer while the finest researching minds the world has to offer are being made to devote their time to such bullshit. Write a letter to the newspaper, website, or agency that promoted that story and tell them you are ashamed that they are publishing such nonsense and not helping fund research into real issues. And ask your politicians quite why private corporations are being allowed to fund such useless research when there are still REAL ills in this world waiting for a eureka moment.
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