totally random things

[chelidon]

If you are intrigued by the intersection of mathematics and art, or just like looking at cool, pretty things check this out. Warning: you need a Java-enabled browser, and it is a *huge* time-waster ;>

The lilacs are blooming here...absolutely and utterly glorious.

Eudora, my email client, kindly tells me that I have received 40,117 email messages this year so far, out of which 40% was junk email, and from the remaining 60%, I have read 43% (Most of the other 17% are press releases and such that can be discarded without opening based on the subject line). That works out to about 93 emails actually read on average per day, every day of the year. I send out another 11 emails on average per day, every day, spending on average, about 3 hours every day reading and writing email. Yikes. No wonder I am so grateful for my time away from the computer.

Speaking of time, a bit on the nature of it, from L. Carroll -- I do suspect that we've been going further and further into the Looking-glass world in this respect...

-------
Alice never could quite make out, in thinking it over
afterwards, how it was that they began: all she remembers is,
that they were running hand in hand, and the Queen went so fast
that it was all she could do to keep up with her: and still the
Queen kept crying `Faster! Faster!' but Alice felt she COULD NOT
go faster, thought she had not breath left to say so.

The most curious part of the thing was, that the trees and the
other things round them never changed their places at all:
however fast they went, they never seemed to pass anything. `I
wonder if all the things move along with us?' thought poor
puzzled Alice. And the Queen seemed to guess her thoughts, for
she cried, `Faster! Don't try to talk!'

Not that Alice had any idea of doing THAT. She felt as if she
would never be able to talk again, she was getting so much out of
breath: and still the Queen cried `Faster! Faster!' and dragged
her along. `Are we nearly there?' Alice managed to pant out at
last.

`Nearly there!' the Queen repeated. `Why, we passed it ten
minutes ago! Faster! And they ran on for a time in silence,
with the wind whistling in Alice's ears, and almost blowing her
hair off her head, she fancied.

`Now! Now!' cried the Queen. `Faster! Faster!' And they
went so fast that at last they seemed to skim through the air,
hardly touching the ground with their feet, till suddenly, just
as Alice was getting quite exhausted, they stopped, and she found
herself sitting on the ground, breathless and giddy.

The Queen propped her up against a tree, and said kindly, `You
may rest a little now.'

Alice looked round her in great surprise. `Why, I do believe
we've been under this tree the whole time! Everything's just as
it was!'

`Of course it is,' said the Queen, `what would you have it?'

`Well, in OUR country,' said Alice, still panting a little,
`you'd generally get to somewhere else -- if you ran very fast
for a long time, as we've been doing.'

`A slow sort of country!' said the Queen. `Now, HERE, you see,
it takes all the running YOU can do, to keep in the same place.
If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as
fast as that!'

`I'd rather not try, please!' said Alice. `I'm quite content
to stay here -- only I AM so hot and thirsty!'

Comments

[coraljune.livejournal.com]

`Now, HERE, you see,
it takes all the running YOU can do, to keep in the same place.
If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as
fast as that!'

Yeesh. Gah... This feels strangely familiar. Why does life get this way? I'm sure it's more through fault of my own than anything I can properly blame on Society, but still! Ouch... I gotta get back to the business of reclaiming my own Time, or learn how to work as its ally and not see it as an enemy, and (just maybe) rest a little by this tree here to try to catch my breath. Good timing - I needed the reminder.

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

Timing is everything... ;>

[coraljune.livejournal.com]

Yes, 'tis. E.g. Portia and Nerissa...
Timing, with a dash of context thrown in, can make all the difference.