The Market

I have mentioned that my recent trip to Thailand made me a better person and I would like to express the amazing realisation, almost epiphany, that I had while over there.

I have for a long time been a supporter of the invisible hand of the market, the idea that if we stop restricting the marketplace it will come to our rescue and turn society into utopia. Needless to say after our trip, my confidence in this idea has declined.

First I would like to note that I believe the stress caused by work in western societies is non-existent in Thailand. The workload required by employees there is significantly lower than in Australia for a couple of reasons.

  1. The low wages: everywhere seems to be overstaffed, the workload is spread out over many employees because labour is cheaper than technology in most cases.
  2. The culture: Because it is too hot to wear anything serious (Like a suit) the majority of people wear singlets and shorts. This encourages a relaxed workplace where employees can be often seen napping.

The best example of this we saw at a restaurant we were having breakfast at. We were sitting and watching five contractors replace the door, two of them were holding the door stable, one was holding the ladder for the fourth guy who was screwing the door back together. The last guy was sitting taking a break. Their job ran smoothly and was finished pretty quickly.

You can compare that to the situation in Australia, this 5 man job becomes a solo job where mr handyman has to balance himself on the ladder, hold the door in place and simultaneously screw it back together. His muscles are probably aching from trying to keep everything steady for an extended period of time; his phone is probably ringing off the hook because he is also the manager and he has overbooked himself.

After work the Australian probably goes home, opens a beer and sits in front of the television because he is too exhausted to do anything else, he then announces to his wife how much he hates his dead-end job. The 5 Thai guys will probably go to the bar after this job to have a break and they all are pretty happy.

The problem is that the Australian probably gets paid more than all the Thai guys combined. The live in what is relative poverty to us. We met these people who didn’t have a shower, rather they had a hose and a bucket. But they were normal people, not like beggars or people who messed up their own lives, it is just the way that many of these people live.

And that brought me to my conclusion, that important things (Like showers) are actually inefficient luxuries that the market will do its very best to rid itself of. Because someone spending extra on luxuries (Read: SHOWERS) can afford to be paid less. And that sucks, it makes me glad that the minimum wage here is as ridiculously high as it is, even if it means we have to do the workload of 5 people.

 

2012
09/15
CATEGORY
Business
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In over our heads

Not too long ago the news was buzzing about the discovery of the Higgs Boson. This was an important milestone for physicists but because the discovery confirmed rather than countered the standard model all that really came out of it was that scientists were right all along, and they continued working exactly as they were, nothing changed.

However for ordinary people the discovery was a little confusing. Most people only just grasp the concepts of atoms and molecules, but the discovery was made in an area deeper than what most people had every bothered thinking about.

I am no expert in physics, I haven’t had much experience with sciences at all since high school, but I do have a passing interest in them. The many on-line video’s and documentaries I watch meant that I had at least heard of the Higgs Boson before the discovery and I had a vague idea what was going on.

Anyway if it takes as much effort as it did for me to be mildly confused to what was going on, what hope does the rest of the population that is too busy to read pointless articles and watch documentaries have of understanding what is going on.

Science is entering a realm where most people can’t understand what the theories mean. It takes years of study just to recognise what is happening, years more to be able to contribute anything worthwhile.

So if being the ‘tip of the spear’ in science is completely out of the reach of ordinary citizens, what disciplines are left where one can contribute innovative ideas without quitting their day job?

2012
09/13
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philosophy
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On Being Easily Influenced

It is kinda shameful to admit that every-time I watch a film or read a book I tell myself “I could do that”. Like I finish a travel book and I immediately want to go to every country, or I finish reading Steve Jobs biography and say “I could build an amazing electronics start-up”.

The problem is not that I can’t do these things, but more that I don’t have enough time in this world to do everything I want to.

And that is the question that stumps me so often, what do I do with the limited time I have?

2012
09/11
CATEGORY
Future
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Compiling Linux

Yesterday I compiled my own Linux kernel and although it wasn’t actually that hard in hind sight, it did take a couple of days and many hours work. I am super proud of myself 🙂

What is the point of compiling your own copy of linux? Well many of the sites around babble on about increasing support for drivers or making your system quicker. But to be honest I don’t really know why you need a copy of linux you made yourself, the reason I did it was so I can work on directly programming to output ports on my computer (And to do so I need a few deleted files that can only be regained with a fresh compilation).

So here is how I did it (Not that anyone else will need to):

  1. Firstly I did everything on Ubuntu (12.04), I used a virtualised system so I didn’t mess up the computer I use everyday.
  2. Next I got Ncurses, it is used to make the menu where you decide what the new Linux will support.
  3. Download the kernel; I saved it to the desktop but in hindsight saving it to the home folder is probably better. Unzip it
  4. Next navigate your terminal to where you saved the the unzipped kernel.
  5. Type ‘make menuconfig’ this is where you say what hardware you have (to make sure your Linux doesn’t support extra stuff your computer doesn’t have).. Because I didn’t care what my kernel did I just exited straight away. The program then creates the .config file that will be read when creating the kernel.
  6. Type ‘make all’ this is where the computer reads all the source code you downloaded, matches it against the settings you created in the last step to create something the CPU can read. Note that if you downloaded the most recent kernel (3.6) you will see that it is around 80mb. THIS TAKES AGES TO COMPILE. Legit you type make all then wait like 6 hours while the computer does it’s thing (Depending on how fast your computer is).
  7. Wait some for it to compile.
  8. wait some more…
  9. Then it will finish compiling, you feel a rush of relief then you quickly do the next step before the computer decides to change it’s mind.
  10. Type ‘make modules_install install’ and wait like half an hour for it to finish installing.
  11. Restart your computer.
  12. Type ‘uname -r’ and notice you have the version of the kernel you downloaded.
  13. Bash head against wall..

After all this my Ubuntu actually ran slower and was more painful to use, but irregardless I have a copy of the Linux kernel that I compiled on my own.

Note: This is the tutorial I roughly followed.

Note2: What is a kernel? I actually am not sure myself, I think it is what programs talk to when they need to interact with hardware. I.e you press save in Microsoft Word and MS Word goes ‘Yo, Mr Kernel, I need to save this shit somewhere’. The kernel then goes ‘yer no worries mate’ and does all the work but is never recognised.

2012
09/09
CATEGORY
IT
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Nothing Changes

I recently stumbled upon a page where photo’s of Russia, before the Russian revolution, had been converted to high-definition colour images. This page reminded me of an idea that I consistently have that is, people have hardly changed at all.

I first had this thought when I heard that the “Wild West”, a time in America’s history known for its bandits and gunfights, had an average of 6 murders a year. This goes against the idea that people who lived in the past had it harder than we do. I guess the image of difficult times without technology comes from people wanting to believe that we are more advanced and therefore better than they were (Also probably a bit of our grandparents always complaining about how much harder it was ‘Back in their Day’).

Before looking at those photo’s from 1900 Russia I had the usual subconscious expectation of the following:

  • People who believed the world was flat
  • People struggling without computers
  • Everyone poor and begging
  • Slaves

But when looking at them they almost pass off as modern times, there are a few minor differences but that is the point, they are only minor differences.

I would think that most of the differences  that exist between now and the 1700’s would arise more from the different assumptions one grows up with (Not fundamental differences like the computer and the internet). Today we are raised very logically, we understand how things can work without being able to physically see them work (Computers) and we get told how important education is (Go to uni, get a good job). I can’t speak for people who lived hundreds of years ago but I assume it was different (Not better or worse, just different).

The conclusion I come to when I think that things haven’t changed much is this:

  • Technology, although amazing, probably doesn’t have that big an effect on us. The new ‘things’ that we have, actually aren’t that important.

That is why when one disconnects from the grid (Ditches their phone and deletes their Facebook) the world doesn’t end, rather they start to be a little happier.

2012
09/08
CATEGORY
philosophy
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Back again

Coming back to Australia after the warm days and nights in Thailand has actually been pretty nice. Thailand is amazing, I definitely feel a little changed from the experience but as usual coming home to nice food and a comfy bed always a good way to end an adventure.

The most interesting perspective I gained came from being the countries definition of “Upper Class”. The attention you receive because you are western results from the assumption that you have money (Which you do), and they have much to gain by giving amazing customer service. The change in treatment really makes you appreciate what you have.

But being back means it is time for me to focus a little on my future. I need a day job so I can work towards my next long-term goal:

1) Having the skills necessary for game development on the Ouya when it is released.

Considering my starting skill set I feel that it is a pretty relaxed goal for the deadline (6 months) but it is at this sort of level where I believe I will be able to call myself an “intermediate”.

I will probably reward myself afterwards with another overseas experience which is something to really look forward to.

Good times ahead

2012
09/06
CATEGORY
Future
Travel
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Packing

After my trip to to New Zealand I learned a lot about what you actually use and what gets in the way. So packing for my trip to Thailand has actually been really fun, mostly because of how empty my bag is.

Naturally I went and watched a heap of videos on minimal travel packing.

But it’s amazing how much clearer your head is when you have less stuff, not just when travelling but with life in general.

2012
08/23
CATEGORY
Travel
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Goal Review

When I first moved back home after graduating (29th of June) I wrote out a few short term goals that I wanted to accomplish before I left to go travelling. I had originally given myself 3 months to achieve these but I changed my mind on when I wanted to leave, giving myself 2 months instead.

Here are the goals I wrote down:

1) Financial;
Save up an extra $3,000 – $4,000 for Trip.
2) Fitness:
Weigh 85kg and still have ABS (<10% bodyfat). Have consolidated the gains by doing high rep training (Endurance).
3) Learning:
i) Have read books and gained an elementary understanding in Chemistry, Biology, Contract Law, Employment Law, Investment Science and Mathematics.
ii) Further progress in programming. Finished tutorials, Read CPU and Assembly. Redo Python. Learn Android development and look into the game programming tutorials.

So to review:

1) The financial goal was a complete failure. I didn’t end up getting a job, mostly because I felt bad that I would only be around for a couple months. I did keep down my expenses however so I didn’t lose to much money.

2) Fitness was reasonably successful. I managed to get to 80kgs (Starting at 70kgs), I am probably a little above the 10% bodyfat (abs are there but only just) but I didn’t really get around to the consolidation training (If that is even a thing which I am not too sure about anyway).

3) Learning was pretty good. With a bit of discipline I managed to cut out television and video games (Mostly) and my spare time was dedicated to reading.

i) Although I did read 200 pages of an introductory Chemistry textbook, the science topics tried to learn mostly through Khan Academy Video’s and Crash Course youtube. The Law subjects I couldn’t find a good textbook for so I never got around to it. I have a couple Investment books I need to read still, and I read an introductory book on Mathematics.

I did deviate a bit reading a few books outside these area’s. These included Steve Jobs Biography; his favourite book – Autobiography of a Yogi (Which was really spiritual and an area I hadn’t really ever looked into);  A few books on Philosophy. And I got into the history documentaries on youtube.

ii) I was actually really glad I was able to get back into my programming. I got half way through my tutorials before getting stuck (problem with virtualising the operating system which I couldn’t do much about). I Read 2 books on CPU’s and Assembly/Machine Code. 2 more books on introductory Python. And I am currently a third of the way through an introductory android development book.

Misc other things I did:

Pulled apart an engine, started meditating (Which I need to do more), and kinda importantly I got my head around what I was going to do with my life (Transitioning from College life to the real world).

For the future:

I want my programming skill to increase further, the ouya comes out mid next year and I would like to be able to make Indi games on it. This will require finishing my book on android development, then another on android game development. Some stuff on web development and I need to look into the whole games engine topic (I have a good tutorial on game development with direct X which I think will work). Also some stuff on IT administration might be important.

I am also really liking the philosophy books, I want to read more of these and start writing about philosophical ideas.

Anyway I am pretty happy with the progress I made over the last 2 months, I probably should have worked, It wouldn’t have interrupted my other goals too much plus more money for travelling would have been nice.

 

2012
08/21
CATEGORY
Future
goals
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The legal system

The idea that every legal issue should be debatable is a good idea in principle, people involved in legal issues should be able to argue their case based on the individual merits of the case. However basing such an important system around ‘everything is debatable’ creates an economic demand for skilled and knowledgeable debaters. This is why lawyers exist. Also because of the high potential costs surrounding a loss in the legal system the demand for lawyers is pushed even further.

This establishes the high costs of good lawyers.

Of course having a better lawyer means you are more likely to win. But the proxy to having a good lawyer is money (More money = better layer = higher chance to win. Therefore wealth = winning).

The next important thing to notice is that precedents are set by the cases. The winners are recognised for being right and that determines the decisions of future cases. Notice the connection? There is an ingrained bias to favour the winners, and in this case the winners are more often the wealthy. This means that legal precedents are more likely to favour the interests of the wealthy (Because they win more, because they can afford the better lawyers).

Which makes it evident that any legal system that has the following three characteristics will favour the wealthy.

  1. Everything being debatable
  2. Right to legal representation
  3. Legal precedents

Having a legal system that favours the wealthy has obvious problems. The most evident is that illegal activities are often profitable; It is possible for a criminal to become wealthy, then have the legal system favour their interests. This Makes the paradox of a criminal possibly being above the law simply because he is a criminal (via the wealth created by his illegal activities).

So is it possible to have a system that doesn’t have these deficiencies? If one of those three assumptions are removed then I believe so. However I don’t know if having a legal system without those assumptions would function at all..
*******

I discovered at a very early age that if I talked long enough, I could make people believe whatever I wanted them to. So, either I’m God, or truth is relative. Either way, booyah. – Jeff Winger

2012
08/19
CATEGORY
philosophy
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Wikileaks

With all the stuff going on with Julian Assange of recent I can’t help but feel that the governments and media are trying to sweep the issue under the carpet. The stuff that is happening to him is obviously political in nature and an attempt to quieten people who question the system. If this stuff was more publicised this would be obvious but they are trying to keep it quiet to prevent a backlash (Julia Gillard called him a criminal which was publicly embarrassing for her).

It is not very often anyone Australian has an impact on the world and it really is a shame that we don’t try to help him more, I mean drug dealers that gets arrested in Asia have the government’s support, but not Assange.

Everyone seems to agree WikiLeaks was a good thing to the world but I guess if you mess with with powerful people they will always hit back hard.

 

2012
08/17
CATEGORY
Uncategorized
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