Halo Stickman

Yes, it's sad to think of those little kids looking down at us, lost in their own little word clouds

Looks like bletch was a mainboarder back in those days.

Like!

I reckon 602 seems a bit angry about something

What we need now is a detailed analysis as to why people like pap are good at word clouds. With a nod to the muppet master-general: WARNING, what follows is not muppetry – at least, not in the finest sense – is a bit wordy, and may contain nuts and b0llocks. Bletch, do you think word clouds (or a future more powerfully refined version) could ever have the potential to solve the debate as to whether or not Shakespeare actually wrote all the stuff attributed to him, or to answer the allegation that Jeffery Archer’s books are written by a team. Also, I read an analogy comparing the journey of an individual’s mind to that of the trajectory of an aeroplane’s flight path, i.e. steep ascent from birth to adulthood, followed by a long level flight, before a steady descent beginning around age 50 (of course, some people’s descent is steeper than others, and some poor sods just drop out of the sky like a stone). As words are supposed to be windows into the mind, I’m wondering, if you used word clouds to chart an author’s career (or even a muppet's career), whether or not they would show a similar profile. Who knows, perhaps, say, Terry Pratchett’s illness could have been picked up by word clouds long before his actual medical diagnosis.

Yep, the thought that our own lives might be affected by the experiences of our ancestors is mind-blowing, and like many others, I have a keen personal interest in such things, especially the possibility that my grandfather’s WWI experiences might be still casting a long black shadow over the lives of his descendants. As is common amongst soldiers, he never talked about his experiences, but, I think it’s true to say, they were very grim; he certainly suffered bouts of clinical depression for the rest of his life, one of which led to his eventual suicide. Sadly, many of his descendants have also suffered from this wretched condition, although, fortunately, not with the same sorry outcome. I’ve long accepted there is a genetic component to many illnesses including clinical depression, but the thought that they may have been triggered by our ancestor’s experiences, whilst not offering much in the way of relief, is, nonetheless, interesting. And, who knows, if it is simply a case of inherited genetic markers, then maybe, one day, people will discover a way to remove the bloody things. From my own family’s point of view, it would be useful to discover whether or not there was a history of clinical depression within my grandfather’s ancestors i.e. before his WWI experiences; but, from such a distance in time, it is virtually impossible to discover whether such an illness existed within generations of 19th century agricultural labourers. Anyway, back on topic, what’s the weather doing tomorrow? Much more of this ****ing rain and I will damn well top myself

Yep, Polaroid Saint, the relatively new field of epigenetics is something I find particularly fascinating; it’s certainly throwing up a challenge to the more orthodox neo-Darwinism view of the mechanisms of evolution. The idea that an individual can have certain genes switched on or off, or even attenuated, by a chemical reaction (involving hormones etc) to his or her environment, and that these switched-on-or-off genes are then inherited by succeeding generations threatens to drive a horse and carriage through more conventional thinking. Checkout the studies into the Overkalix or Dutch Hunger Winter generation cohorts; or the theory that switched on stressor genes in WWI soldiers etc may be responsible for depression and other illnesses within their grandchildren. Of course, this is all new science and, like all good science, it will stand or fall by a rigorous process of testing and evidence examination. Nevertheless, recent books such as The Epigenetics Revolution by Nessa Carey, Epigenetics in Four Dimensions by Eva Jablonka, Epigentics: How Environment Shapes Our Genes by Richard Francis, and Identically Different: Why You Can Change Your Genes by Tim Spector have gone some way towards persuading me that there might, after all, be some mileage in Lamarck’s long-ridiculed idea of inheritance of acquired characteristics. At the very least, these books etc have made me think that it’s probably prudent – for the time being anyway – to keep an open mind and not be too dogmatic when it comes to evolutionary mechanisms. Although, in truth, at risk of sounding like a sanctimonious t wat, I find that keeping an open mind and avoiding dogmatism is pretty useful when it comes to most things.

Careful: Lamarckism is making a bit of a comeback in certain quarters. http://machineslikeus.com/news/epigenetics-defense-lamarck http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/theory-knowledge/201312/revolution-in-evolution-return-lamarck

Is Fonte big enough? I dunno, ask david in sweden. P.S. Many thanks, bletch, for that interesting insight into word clouds. Lots of potential, I reckon.

Agree, this could happen. On the other hand, it could be just the competition to develop the younger players and keep the fringe players match sharp.

…or he could simply play the U21s in next season’s Europa Cup. I wouldn’t have a problem with that – as long as he made his intentions clear to fans from the outset – because, unlike the FA Cup, I agree with MP that the EC can ‘kill clubs’.

Coming soon: ‘rested player of the month’ trophy.

Not trying to unstitch bletch’s word cloud are you Bearsy?

If that does actually happen, do we know if Mopo plans to field a full-strength side for Champion’s League matches?

What is the ****ing point of it all? I wish I had a pound for every time I’ve asked myself this question after a miserable Saint’s performance… and another pound for every time I’ve stopped asking it before our next match kicks-off.

What annoys me about our team selection is not only is it disrespectful to the fan-base, especially the travelling fans, but also the message it sends to our players – for me, it’s as good as telling them that whilst they remain Southampton players they have no chance of winning anything. Let’s face it, we’re never going to win the Premiership, and not selecting our strongest team means we’re never going to win a cup competition. I just cannot find any justification for that team selection; I’m upset and totally bewildered.

Hey, WG, I didn't know you lived next door to MP

Hey, bletch, these word clouds are great, I’m only too sorry they’ve passed me by these last few days. Could you use them to do some in depth psychological profiling – rank posters in order of Saintliness or insaneness etc?

Oh go on, GM, you have to admit there is a certain irony in a guided missile being hoisted by its own petard.

And if those channels aren’t regularly dredged, I for one will blame the EA! Seriously though, I agree with everything you’ve said there, but, IMO, it was your previous post that hit the nail on the head: short-term governments and long-term strategies rarely make compatible bed-fellows. The residents will be hung out to dry, and anyone hoping to hear sustainable long-term plans as to the best way forward for low-lying areas such as the Somerset levels will be left to whistle in the wind (to mix a metaphor or three).

Minty, those links are interesting in that they explain good reasons for dredging, or not dredging, whilst laying out alternative strategies – thanks for posting them. My comments on this thread have been restricted to the flooding on the Somerset Levels – mainly because it’s an area for which I have some personal knowledge, not to mention, affection. I think it’s important to acknowledge that serious flooding to properties (as opposed to the normal flooding of fields) began on the Levels 5 or 6 weeks ago, i.e. before the January deluge, during which SW England and S Wales received 182% of its average Jan rainfall – Met Office website. The previous month’s rainfall percentages for this region were Dec -141%, Nov -76%, Oct -145%, Sep - 82%, and the annual percentage was 96%. So, whilst this area received less than its average annual rainfall, the 4 month period leading up to the start of the flooding were above average. January’s rainfall has, of course, exasperated the situation. My gripe has always been with the EA’s decision, about 18 years ago, to stop dredging the main rivers on the SL. For me, the question is this: has this decision been responsible, or partly responsible, for the December flooding of properties in this area? I guess we will never really know for certain, but it’s my conviction that it almost definitely hasn’t helped the situation. The EA obviously knew the likely impact of their decision to stop dredging, therefore should they have made this clearer to residents? Now, before anyone starts banging on about the lunacy of building on natural flood plains, let me say that they are pushing against an open door with me – I was dismayed to see on the news that large houses appear to have been recently built on the lower ground of the SL. I’m even more dismayed that the media seems to be focusing on these houses and their residents because in my opinion this detracts from the more pertinent situation of residents living on the higher ground in houses that have never previously flooded. Finally, if governments and their agencies have neither the will nor the money to spend on maintaining low-lying areas such as the SL, then perhaps it’s time to broaden out the discussion, and ask what the future holds for people who have lived and worked in these places for generations.

But when I bought my mother a bird-table for her birthday, an online reviewer from Orkney said it was so well made and sturdy, not once had it blown over in his garden. Yet, the bloody thing has blown over in my mother’s Isle of Wight garden at least a dozen times this winter! Cheers for straightening out my confusion over your original post, Minty. I'll look through those links and get back to you if I have any further comments.

Cheers ecuk268, I understand that water will not flow uphill unaided, that zero or negative gradients pose problems, and that some rivers are tidal as they approach their estuaries; therefore, I understand that dredging by itself will never be the total solution to an area’s drainage problems, and that sea defences, sluice gates, ditches, pumps etc will also be required. I understand that the planting of trees, reed-beds etc can enhance an area’s drainage capabilities. In addition, I’m aware of evidence that sea-levels are rising, and I understand that, if predictions of continued sea-level rise prove to be correct, then the costs of maintaining low-lying land will rise in accordance. What I still don’t understand is this: IF low-lying areas such as the Somerset Levels, the Fens, New Orleans, Holland etc are to be maintained largely in their present state, how is dredging not PART of the solution, or, as Minty said, ‘doesn’t really help in the long term’?

Minty, although I’ve been critical of the EA’s decision to stop dredging the rivers serving the Somerset Levels, I’m genuinely interested in all sides of the debate as to the best way forward; therefore, I would be grateful if you could supply details or references for this documentation.

That’s because the whole of Somerset has been earmarked as a wetland bird reserve