You Really Need To Get A Valve Amp...

My guitar-playing friend says that at some stage I really must get a valve amp, and I know he's thinking Fender. It's on my "things to vastly over-think" list.

Okay, so, which one should I get? Cue watching endless Guitar Tube videos comparing this and that.



(And that's just one of a zillion)

Wrong question. Better question: what benefit am I looking for or expecting? Is it realistic?

I mean, I've damn near tamed the Katana with the HX Effects. It does a really good impersonation of a valve amp clean tone. What more do I want?

I want edge-of-breakup! I want to sound like Tony "Bruno" Rey or John Roggio on their Saraya albums.



(Pouts. Folds arms defiantly.)

(Soothing but condescending tone) That's only for the Big Boys who can record and play at 100+ dBC. Now have a wash and change into your pajamas. Don't do that. It is not the end of the world. No. Life is not empty and meaningless. Don't be silly. Have you done your homework?

(Stamps foot.)

If I can't have that, I don't want one!

(Runs away to cry in secret.)

From Pendulums to p-Adic Numbers - A Philosophy of Mathematics

For quite some time I have been working on an essay on the philosophy of mathematics. It's gone through many changes since I first started jotting notes on the commute and in various cafes around London, and bears no resemblance to anything I thought I would write when I started. It isn't complete and probably never will be, since there are always more insights and examples to add. It does have most of the philosophical points I want to make, and talks about most of the maths I feel even half-way competent to discuss. So I'm going to make it available for whoever needs some light entertainment. It will get updated from time to time.

The link is here (link)

It's an attempt to answer these questions:

How is it mathematical techniques and tools are so suited to describe physical processes? 

How do mathematical concepts work?


What kinds of knowledge does mathematics provide?


How do we know that a theory does not harbour fatal inconsistencies? 

How do mathematicians get and develop their ideas?


How do we judge the value of a technique, theorem or subject? 

What constitutes progress in maths?

It proceeds through discussions of these issues in the context of differential equations, functional analysis, infinity, functions, numerical analysis and recursive functions, and the various types of numbers, from the counting numbers to the p-adics. There's a discussion of axiomatics and model theory and a brief look at category theory; the way mathematical ideas are structured and what mathematical knowledge is (epistemology); how we might appraise different mathematical theories (methodology); and what constitutes progress and then a discussion of how to get ideas and solve problems (heuristics).

What there isn't is detailed presentations and rebuttals of existing philosophies of mathematics, what I've called the “where Smith mistakes Jones’ summary of Brown’s critique of Frege’s

misunderstanding of Kant” school of scholarly discussion. 

Rigging

 

You know which boat this is, and where it's located. Worth clicking through to get a better view of all those cables and ropes, none of which are called "cables" or "ropes" by Real Sailors, but then. I'm not a Real Sailor.

Charlton House

 Most of it is open to the public, but sadly there's no historic furniture, art or decoration there. It's a ten-minute walk up the hill from Charlton station, and worth an amble around the park, a cup of coffee and slice of Victoria cake in the cafe. 

Negative Space, London Bridge Station

All the Kool Photographers talk about using "negative space", but I always thought it meant they exposed those part of the picture incorrectly. But this one seems to work.

 

Bleak Mid-Winter Suburbia

It's not enough to get out for a daily walk. The walk needs to be pleasant, or at least neutral, to look at. Hedges on country lanes, with an occasional glimpse across a valley, or perhaps a path across a flat moor, or maybe even along a canal. Not round the outside of an industrial estate. But we make do and carry on.

 

One Wall of the Walled Garden, Golders Hill Park

 

Golders Hill Park is a couple of stops up the hill from the station. It's well worth the visit.