M & I are starting a food blog here: Dreaming of Winter.

After spending the start of this year doing lots of wonderful cooking and shooting a bunch of photos to go with it, turning the passion into a blog made lots of sense.

The theme is based on our mutual love of winter. Hearty winter soups, rich roast meats and delightful desserts. There may be some lighter summer fare, but don’t count on it.

I also started another photography blog where I intend to post about recent shoots, something I’ve avoided going into too much detail with on this blog.

Dilemma of civilized man; body mobilized, but danger obscure

- page 161

While on holidays I finished Phillip K Dick’s book, The Man in the High Castle, a story of how the world might look if the Allies lost the war. Like all great science fiction, this is a biting commentary on our own culture. Well worth a read.

• On the flight, I get to watch lectures on iPhone development from Stanford, along with talks from a conference in California.
• Catch up with family and friends in Singapore, as a result of sharing my location on Facebook.
• Photos I took of Singapore are instantly shared with other friends and family around the world.
• I keep in touch with my girlfriend back home using free telephony via the internet (thanks Skype).
• A friend at work recommends a book to me, and I order it from America to arrive at my Melbourne office, along with some other recommended books to read.
• Reviews, freely published on the internet, guide me through a tricky lens purchase. Global warranty allows me to haggle in Singapore’s Chinatown for a lower price than back home.
• Hear about a new album by Fat Freddy’s Drop, a New Zealand band, on Twitter on my phone, purchase the album and instantly(ish) download via wireless internet
• My camera (5D2) gets updated with new features today, via the internet, making it more video capable.
• Subscriptions via NetNewsWire and Tweetie on the iPhone guide me through the bankruptcy  intricacies as two 20th Century car companies fall apart.
• I can share this with you, as publishing is freely available.

Thinking back only a few decades, most of this would seem science fiction. I’m looking forward to the next few!

ps. I still hold out hope for personal flying devices in my lifetime.

After being overly busy with work, a weekend in Melbourne allowed for relaxing travel. Michelle and I went down to Sorrento to visit a friend for high tea.

Lots and lots of cakes, some beautiful sandwiches and then more cakes. All mixed in with a wide variety of tea. Conversations were diverse and drifted between deep and idyllic.

A wonderful way to unwind.

It was also a good opportunity to play more with my new camera. I am really pleased with the results. The colors out of camera are more inspiring than from my old camera.

There are a few more on my Flickr page.

Jeff Hawkins’ TED talk on brain science got me thinking. He posits that the act of thinking is about predicting, rather than about behavior. This model of reasoning makes sense, and will simplify the computer modeling of thought.

What I find interesting is that our own brian is not great at prediction. We are making progress in the study of our own biases and their impact on prediction and decision making.

For discussion, “Judgement under Uncertainty” is a must read; a collection of papers on our known biases.

When we computerize this model, do we introduce the same or similar biases? Does it make sense in silicon, to recreate our own limitations? What happens when we invent a new form of consciousness with bias removed?

Jeff’s talk is here:

ps. TED talks are a great way to pass time on flights.