State of the cranium address

Good day to you fellow web surfers. Today I bring you my State of the Cranium address ... From my bed, wirelessly, listening to Radio 5 Live.

This address aims to give you, well me really, a full list of what's going round in my head at the moment. You know how songs stay on your mind? And how you get little obsessions about things? Well that's what this is about.

My head has been cluttered with the following lately

* WORK -- this is a given. Isn't it? Many very interesting things going on at work at the moment, new directions for me and my team. Oh and some interesting Xmassy things.

* JAPAN -- I keep reading lots of stuff about the country, its people, its trends, its culture. I'm fascinated by it and am looking at how it might be possible to visit next year. Just how accessible is it for a visually impaired person to turn up in a radically different non-european culture with a totally different language and expect to get by?

* CHINA -- As above. But I'm more interested in the politics and the way of life. I'm not currently considering a trip there. Have been reading a lot about the politics and growing situation between mainland China and the 'rogue state' (a perspective thing) of Taiwan. There are thoughts that it might declare its independence in 2008 during the Olympics in Beijing while the rest of the world are looking on. China has said that if Taiwan goes independent, it may well be moved to take some kind of military action.

* IPTV -- Linked to work, a little, but fascinated by the current trends towards this new way of delivering / receiving television. Essentially anything with a URL could be considered a channel in this system. Murdoch's expensive satellite dish infrastructure could become a huge white elephant hence his sudden interest in acquiring online companies. A TV ether is on the horizon and, when BT's <I>Freeview +</I> is launched next summer, there will be set-top boxes available to pick up this new television revolution. Soon we won't be able to appreciate where the internet starts and TV ends. Or something. Multicasting not broadcasting. There is so much more to this.

* FOOD -- Getting more and more fascinated by different foods out there, different cultures, ways of putting food together, different cuisines. Mostly though am interested in wholesome food and what food means to me and to people. IIs it not the Chinese who say: "treat your kitchen as if it were your pharmacy". Jamie Oliver highlighted how well-fed children behave better in the classroom ... Amazing stats to back this up. Food is an amazing thing. And where does food begin and medicine end? Or something?

* FAMILY -- God family are important aren't they? Networks around you, family, friends, relationships. I'm 35 now and am starting to think about all this very differently.

* BUSH AND BLAIR -- For Christ's sake kick these men out of their offices. Expose the dirtyness of the Iraq war. Appreciate that aggression can never be the solution on so many levels.

* TIME -- I must do more with my time: write, read, go out and eexperience new things.
This is the State of the Cranium address for late November 2005 and I commit it to you. (I won't bore you with how excited I am about my new idea to put my whole CD collection on my hard disk)