Event - punting, Grantchester shop, Naath, Poohsoc & Mobbsy

[jack]

This Sunday Tom, Naath, Nick, Chess, Mark, Mobbsy John and I punted to grantchester.

Shop: Everyone seems firmaly convinced that there is a shop in grantchester, but no one has been able to find it. I think it's one of these Brigadoon only-there-if-you-believe-in-it deals, like the Russian Ballet School in the little alleyway between the Mill and the Anchor, who's existance indicator function seems to be nowhere continuously 1, and rarely continuously 0.

Naath:I believe Naath said in one her long memes that she looked better with clothes than without; I am inclined to disagree: she's very beautiful without. And I predict the swimming-costume-under-transparent-clothes look is becoming the new black (and so appropriate for post-goths), due to being appropriately decent, yet a bit sexy, and appropriate for either river or party, worn by a few more people as time goes on, and a recognition that decency is how much area, as well as which -- so half covering your body is decent, be it a backless dress, or peekaboo hearts, or all-over net work equally well.

Poohsoc: Ameeting was opened, during which it was decided that "Yes", "No", "Abstain" and "Apathy" were insufficient results, so the voting was expanded to include any three from "True", "False," "Bottom", "Lost bottom", "Not written down", "AGH! NO! Never!", "Of course", and "By default". The minutes have probably been lost, but at least we we go the minutes from the Oblivion party read, so no-one else need know that happened, unless I post it on a public forum.

Mobbsy Having met him (Hi. *waves*) again, I'm remind of our conversation on sat. There's several problems with the anonymity of lj: when I was discussing Cartesian Doubt with him, I didn't know who he was, so didn't remember *who* I'd argued with about that; my handle, CartesianDaemon, is just supposed to be a random pun, but gives the impression I'm an expert on Cartesian Doubt or something, when really I just find it interesting.

Relevant joke: There are three sorts of people in the world: those who doubt that 1+1=2, those that can't see how you can doubt the existance of anything tangible, and Rene Descartes.

Note: I am currently staying with grandparents, so updates, comments etc. may be sporadic. I'll write up my stay in a bit.

Quote of the day: "In order to have a firm basis for his philosophy, he resolves to make himself doubt everything that he can manage to doubt. As he forsees the process may take some time, he resolves, in the meanwhile, to regulate his conduct by commonly received rules." -- Bertrand Russel on Descartes

Comments

[beckyc.livejournal.com]

I think I've cycled or walked up every road in Granchester, and I don't think there is one. Nobody found it on the CTS punt trip either. OTOH, if you have a bike, it's not too tricky to go to Safeways. Don't try it on foot though!

[emperor]

I always seem to miss the social gatherings where people take their clothes off. pah!

[naath.livejournal.com]

I maintain that my swimming costume is perfectly adequate for decency... the net is to keep the sun off my sensitive skin.

[emperor]

I guess in the absence of .jpgs, I'll have to take your word for it!

:)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Well, yes. I spent a whole paragraph pre-emptively agreeing with you :)

(Isn't it depressing that given a choice between talking about Cartesian Doubt and naked women, everyone goes for the women? :))

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

That's what I say. But rumours persist. Justin swears there's a cinema in Grantchester, and we just ended up agreeing to differ.

[tienelle.livejournal.com]

So, what's Cartesian Doubt when it's at home?

[chess]

I still *have* the minutes, I'm just too lazy to get them off my Psion and onto the interwebnet.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Cartesian Doubt refers to what Descartes did: doubting everything to attempt to build a coherant philosophy. For instance: how do I know I'm not dreaming? How do I know I'm not in a Matix? How do I know I even exist? etc. He famously followed this with "Cogito ergo sum" ie. that he was thinking showed that at least something of which he was part existed, so SOMETHING was certain. (Though other writers have looked at this differently. Some people doubt 2+2=5, since God might make us count wrong every time. But if so, we must doubt even basic logic, so I don't think any argument, even Cogito, makes sense.)

There should be a good introduction to Descartes somewhere online I can find if you like. But everything he did after that seems doubtful to me: he deduced the existance of God, and assumed God would never deceieve him, and hence that everything -- except optical illusions -- are true.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

And I thought I was lazy, being too lazy to type minutes up :) Seriously, no hurry, I don't think it really matters if these get 'lost' :)

[chess]

Meeting of the Pembroke College Winnie the Pooh Society, 1st of August, 2:56pm, on a punt on the Upper River.
Present: Jack, Nicholas, Naath, Tom, Chess
Guests: Mobbsy, Mark, John
Horrible recursion is fun - 3 for, 2 abstained, passed
Votes to let visitors vote - passed
Rosie is discussed at length.
I have two pink Joosters I should throw at a duck - passed
Mark, your hat has fucking dragonflies on it - motion apathied.
Interracial dragonfly porn is just fine - John
Expect anything, like vicious tentacled branches - Mark. Yay! - Nicholas. Woot! - Naath
You have to poke Tom and tell him to second if you want something seconded - passed
Some stuff - Nicholas
People said some stuff which seemed funny at the time, but it won't be amusing if you read it - Mobbsy
You could dangle it in the river to keep it cool - motion is lost bottomed.
Jack/Edith slash is mentioned.
The minutes of the Oblivion Party reading are read.
We should have a mead party - passed
Motion to censure Neil - indeterminented
Why don't you do that? It might be funny - Absolutely Not
Do we have a sign yet? No, we have people floating their balls - John
I have a bottom to punt with - Mark
Motion that someone should write that down - actively apathied

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

These sound like some more minutes we'll have to have a special meeting to read them out in in which we're carful not to say fresher-shocking things :)