Cyborg Soloist

OK, this is interesting. Two years ago, I wrote on this blog, "During a concert, one hears the physical effects that performers have on musical instruments -- and of course their voices. However, one does not highlight any physical effects besides. One might think of jumping on stage, moving a microphone, even such actions as a performer moving their eyebrows or turning their wrists." Today there is a video on CNN of someone who has now done just this, titled Cyborg Soloist: https://edition.cnn.com/world/video/uk-cyborgpianist-transformers-hnk-spc OBSERVATION: You saw it first on this blog! Which would suggest: this was indeed a good (mental) invention. I think my inventions (almost) all are good ones, on this blog.

In the Name of Mercy

It's not dead, it's ... alive! I am the editor of Pi Gamma, the successor to Pi Beta, of which I was an editor. That reached no. 7 among philosophy publications in the UK. Pi Gamma has a far more modest boast, with less than 150,000 page-views. Anyway, there is now a new poem up on Pi Gamma, by the renowned author Yahia Lababidi, In the Name of Mercy: https://philosophical-investigations-mirror.blogspot.com/2026/06/in-name-of-mercy.html

Christmas Lunch

This one's just a pretty picture: Christmas lunch in the townships -- not yet fully loaded up. A chop still came on top of this. The meat is typically barbecued outside. Beans are always popular in a township meal. A classic is samp and beans. 

New Chromebook

Alas, one-third of my computer screen blew out -- a Chromebook which ran (mainly) Chrome and Linux operating systems. It was time for a new computer. So I bought a new Chromebook (the Chromebook has impressed me). I powered up my new computer, and it requested my e-mail address and password, and ... up popped my old computer! I was astonished. Where did it get that? Now I just needed to copy my files across -- which was zippy. However, I needed to recreate the Linux section of the computer -- but that was easy. OBSERVATION: It's all very well for Google to have such magic powers over my computer -- and millions like it -- but what if somebody somewhere turned malevolent?

Single Mothers: My Experience

There is, in our Black and Coloured communities in particular, a very big problem with single parenthood. For instance, over 40% of mothers are single parents. This often has a degrading effect on both mothers and children -- and makes life hard for the mothers. From this point of view, it has been interesting to see 15 years of development now in my wife's community. A child of, say, 5 years old is now 20 years old ... I can think of one who got married. A few fell pregnant, then married their lovers -- which is the next best option. A few fell pregnant and stayed with their lovers. A few fell pregnant and suffered the degradation I speak about. Some had close shaves -- for example, one was expelled from school. And a few kept themselves pure. OBSERVATION: It is a very big clan.

Race Relations

I last visited the USA 20 years ago. I found race relations there to be awkward, even strained. Back here in South Africa, where race relations a generation ago were disastrous, I now find joy in race relations every day. I find a happy harmony, and a celebration of diversity. Of course, it will not be like that everywhere.

Potato Patch

Son M lives in a Church manse in Switzerland, which he sub-lets to refugees. Across the road, he has a garden, which he regularly tends. This is his potato patch. The house is seen in the background. In fact wife E planted the potatoes last year.

40 Days a Week

Next semester, I am working as a seminary lecturer full-time. Full-time = three courses or more. That might not seem like much, but consider the following. One lecture is 90 minutes. In seminary, they generally say that one minute of sermon = one hour of preparation. Say, 20 hours for 20 minutes. I shall be teaching 90 x 3 = 270 minutes a week, so that makes ... 270 hours, which is nearly 40 working days a week -- at university level. OBSERVATION: That is theoretically impossible. So for the lecturer, the question is: how to make it possible. I have a professor friend who says, you are not just teaching a course. You are conveying you. That makes one feel rather vulnerable -- but it is part of the secret.

Greeting in the Pews

A worship leader invited us yesterday to greet people in the pews. I turned to the person behind me, and the conversation ran like this:

Me: "I know you! I don't need to greet you!"

Answer: "They didn't say you must know me. You must greet me!"

Me: "But then again, do I really know you?"

Answer: "That's impossible. I don't even know myself."

Me: "Don't even know yourself? Isn't that strange?"

Answer: "The Bible says that all of humanity is strange."

Then the worship leader called everyone to order. OBSERVATION: Of course, it is quite true that we don't even know ourselves. It is rather a problem, how little we do.

Aspirant Intruder

An aspirant intruder this week tried to enter my e-mail account. They typed in my correct e-mail address and password -- nevertheless, Google stopped them. I double-checked: does Google stop people with the correct e-mail address and password? Google says: "Google actively stops hackers from accessing accounts, even if they type the correct email address and password". OBSERVATION: This raises some obvious questions. How did someone obtain my correct e-mail address and password, and what did they want?

Chance Meeting

I was in a Church pew today, and greeted the couple in front of me -- and recalled that I had taken a photo of them years ago (not knowing them by name). They are now a married couple. I took the photo when they were first an item -- I think in 2019. OBSERVATION: It took a search and a half to find the photo, which I sent to them.

Pre-Birthday Celebration

Son M celebrated a pre-40th birthday party in Switzerland this week. I said it is an honour that so many people care about you. M now lives in the town of Herzogenbuchsee in Switzerland. His 40th is on Tuesday. The day is hard to forget, as the streets were lined with troops when he was born. Today it is called Youth Day -- a national holiday.

CORRECTION: This post serves as proof positive that I am a typical father. I got his 40th birthday wrong. M's birthday is on 14 June, not 16 June. Youth Day is indeed on 16 June. The troops were on the streets from the morning of 15 June.

Ordination Sermon

I found this photo today, of me preaching my ordination sermon, on 15 November 1983. Ordination in the Congregational Church is where a congregation formally recognises what God has already done, which is called you to ministry. I received the title "Reverend" on this day. In my case, the fellowship or denomination ordained me separately, too. OBSERVATION: "JHS" on the pulpit stands for "Jesus Hominum Salvator" -- Jesus, Saviour of Humankind. If it says "IHS", that stands for “Iesous Huios Soter” -- Jesus, Son and Saviour.

Laser Microphone

Every now and then, a small electronic revolution comes along: say, transistors, LEDs, or Nd magnets. There is one about to burst on the scene: the sensiBel SBM100B laser microphone (pictured) -- which is small enough to fit on one's fingertip. It is due to go into full-scale production next year. OBSERVATION: If I myself had had this for my designs, it would have made a big difference. Its frequency ranges over a few Hz to nearly 200 kHz, and it delivers the same audio recording quality as professional studio microphones 50 to 100 times the size. 

Metaphysical Notes 2024

I discovered today that the 10th Anniversary Edition of Metaphysical Notes -- my first complete metaphysics -- could not be found on this blog by searching for "Metaphysical Notes". In 2024, I issued a 10th Anniversary Edition of this 2014 work -- originally published by the Philosophical Society of England. For all its terrible flaws, I realised in 2024 that it was original, and it was cohesive. It deserved to be brushed up. In the new edition, the ideas are unchanged, yet readability is improved. Find it free at (click here) Metaphysical Notes. One can even download it there.