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2006

Entry 452, on 2006-12-31 at 20:52:33 (Rating 3, Comments)

Well the year 2006 is rapidly coming to an end (less than 3 hours to go here in New Zealand) and I think I need to comment on the year from the perspective of the subjects that interest me. First, it is New Years Eve, and what am I doing? Going to a party? Err, no... blogging.

The Internet has become even more a part of my life. Every day I'm looking around for subjects to blog about. I look forward to the publishing of my favourite podcasts (in fact, I don't use my iPod for music any more, its used full-time for podcasts). I think the importance of the 'net to me is reflected in its importance to the world (at least the western world) as a whole. Time's nomination of "everyone" as person of the year shows this has filtered through to mainstream culture.

International politics haven't improved much. Its good that Bush's disastrous presidency was punished in the mid-term elections, but its hard to get too enthusiastic with the alternative in American politics. Americans need to change their whole system to make any real progress. The situation in the Middle East doesn't seem to be getting a lot better: Iraq is a disaster, and Afghanistan is heading down hill. Palestine and Lebanon aren't looking good either. Now the US is picking on Iran. What next? At least when Bush finishes as US president things should improve to some extent. I don't want to say too much about the subject, but the execution (or murder might be a better word) of Saddam Hussein is disgusting... another martyr is created.

Apple is looking good. Mac computers are gaining market share and credibility, and the iPod has continued to be the preferred MP3 player. Microsoft's pathetic Zune has had no real effect. Steve Jobs promises that 2007 will be an exciting year for Apple computers and gadgets. I just can't wait!

Global weather continues to get stranger. I accept that there are natural cycles which affect the weather, but there is little doubt that human actions have made a significant contribution as well. But there will never be effective action against climate changing emissions because too many governments are supported by big business which has good reason not to change the way things work now. The future beyond their next balance sheet is of little importance to them.

In summary, I don't think 2006 will be seen as a great year for the human race in general. Maybe 2007 will be better - I hope it will. Politics tends to go in cycles, so extreme Bush-style policies will hopefully be a thing of the past.

Comment 1 (538) by Anonymous on 2007-03-21 at 21:41:23:

I don't agree with you about global warming. The problems we are having with the climate are just to do with the natural variations caused by sola cycles and other things. We can't do anything about it so why should we damage our economy trying?

Comment 2 (539) by OJB on 2007-03-21 at 21:48:36:

I think the consensus amongst scientists is that a significant part of the global warming phenomenon is caused by human activity. At one point it looked like it might have been linked to solar activity, but more recently that hypothesis has looked less likely because global warming continued after the solar activity decreased.

We won't destroy our economy by trying to stop this problem, but we will destroy it by ignoring it! Anyway, because of changes in the global economic balance (eg China), lessening reserves of fossil fuel, etc we will need to change the way the economy works whether global warming is a reality or not.

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