Tuesday, October 29

I had a busy night in which I woke twice to find myself planning different events. The first event was called As Small As Possible and took the form of a lecture followed by 55 minutes of group relaxation, the aim of which was to sit with a clear mind and to empty one’s mind as fast as it filled. To assist with this everyone had a notebook and pencil to hand for ideas that arose and clamoured to be remembered.

The second event was the launch of a book that argued that alcoholism and obesity are not diseases but socially engineered choices. It also argued that not all choices are bidirectional or can be undone, and that saying that they are choices is not at all the same as claiming that they can be unchosen. We are creatures of habits as Peirce almost said and most of what we become has its roots in habits we adopt socially because they enable us to fit snugly in the spaces left by the habits those around us have adopted. None of these choices are individual but none of them are diseases.

Then I woke up for a third time and let the cat out.

I spent the day leading an all-day workshop in Block 2 of the Advanced Web Apps course, pausing only to have a quick bowl of chilli con carne. We finished at 16:10.

Now I am waiting on the 97 bus at Itäkeskus to get home. The light mornings already mean dark evenings. I am staring out of the window on a wet and mournful day.

I will stay home for thirty minutes before returning to Arcada to work on my thesis. In reality, having had an idea that is (to say the least) disruptive, I will read and then set everything up so that I can write on my way to Plymouth and at the hotel.