The feeding strategy of a cunning rabbit.

We have two rabbits, now. Mochi is a fluffy, chunky grey rabbit and Sushi is a slender, golden rabbit. Both are baby girls, relatively speaking.

Now, we try to be proportionate when it comes to feeding them, so Mochi is always given more food than Sushi, simply because she is bigger. However, Mochi doesn’t seem to think this is fair enough.

A couple of days ago, Mochi and Sushi were each given a leaf of Romane Lettuce to eat. Mochi’s was, as usual, larger. As was typical, Mochi immediately tucked in, as if ravenous, nibbling as fast as it is possible for a baby grey rabbit to nibble. Before long, Mochi had nibbled her leaf down to a fraction of its former size. Sushi, however, was eating at a much more leisurely pace and was far behind. Mochi stopped, then, in her nibbling and looked across at Sushi’s much fuller lettuce leaf. At once, Mochi moved over and nudged Sushi out of the way, and started nibbling up Sushi’s leaf, too. Sushi stood there, looking non-plussed at her elder and larger “sister”. Mochi didn’t seem to notice or care.

In a moment, Sushi’s leaf was all gone. Then, Mochi returned to what was left of her own leaf, and finished that off too.

It was funny to watch Mochi at work, for this little stratagem turned out not to be a one off action. Indeed, Mochi employed the exact same stratagem three times in a row, one leaf after another.

Given Mochi’s tendency to work out ways to gather all the food to herself, we are taking extra care to make sure Sushi gets her share. It looks like the size difference between Mochi and Sushi is likely to be maintained indefinitely, the way they are going. Indeed, they promise to become a bit like that comedy duo of my childhood: Little and Large.

I have decided to mention the rabbits because our three boys love them. They now spend more time with the rabbits, than probably any other single leisure activity, including the TV and their computer games. They visit them several times a day and are forever playing with them. Even Ainan takes time to be with them, observe them and interact with them. It is warming to see the boys take care of the little rabbits – and refreshing, too. In many a household full of boys, as ours is, there are too few opportunities to see the softer side of the boys expressed. So, it is good to see them caring for the fluffy ones – and to see just how much they are enjoying expressing themselves in this way.

The mysterious origins of Daddy Cawley.

A couple of months ago, at the dinner table, where many a good conversation transpires, Tiarnan, then four, looked across the table at me, his eyes intent on understanding something eminently mysterious.

“Where are you from Daddy?”, he began, with evident genuine mystification,”How were you made? “

“I have a mummy and daddy, too. I was a baby once.”

It must be remembered that I live far from my homeland and that Tiarnan has rarely seen either of my parents, therefore. Thus, he is not accustomed to thinking of me as a person with parents.

For some reason, this didn’t seem to satisfy him. He saw in it, the basic inherent problem of this explanation.

“And them?”, he continued, determinedly, “Where do they come from?”

“They had mummy and daddies, too.”, I said, to his interested, all absorbing eyes.” Everyone does.”

“Even aliens have mummies and daddies?”, he queried, without even pause for the beat of a heart.

“Yes, Tiarnan, even aliens have mummies and daddies.”, I said, reassuringly, though, mentally, I made a reservation of “assuming they follow our pattern of birth and death and evolution.”

Tiarnan’s tongue grew still. Yet, I could see that his question was not fully settled in his mind. However, he had assessed, perhaps, that there were no further answers to be had, from me, regarding it.

I let him think on.

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page. To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Borders Bookstores and the Kindle Effect.

The Kindle is killing books – or, more precisely, the Kindle is making physical books less available. News out from the US, suggests that high street bookstores may, one day, be little more than a fond memory, because of the Kindle and Amazon. Borders bookstores is, today, on the verge of bankruptcy and may file for it, later this month. The venerable and respected owner of 500 bookstores is expected to close at least 150 of them, in a desperate effort to save itself.

An indicator of just how dire things have become is that, only last week, Borders secured a $550 million dollar credit facility from GE Capital, a subsidiary of General Electric. That works out at 1.1 million USD per store, to keep the show running.

Part of the reason that Borders is failing, now, is that it was slow to move on the advent of digital books. It entered the digital market with an online presence fully eight months after Barnes and Noble – and three years after Amazon. Borders' sales have fallen an astonishing 37.3 per cent in the last three years, pushing the company to the edge of ruin.

Now, to my mind, this development is far from welcome. The whole point of Amazon and the Kindle was, from my perspective and that of many consumers, no doubt, to give us all more choice. However, the success of Amazon, for paper books, and the Kindle for digital ones, is such that the end result might be a loss of choice for book readers everywhere. I read recently, that around 10 % of books sold were by Amazon. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of that figure – but let us look at what it means. 10 % might not sound like much – but it is, for what it means is that those books sold by Amazon were NOT sold by physical stores. Thus, the numbers of books sold in physical stores can only have dropped. Now, physical stores have a big, inherent problem: they have large fixed operating costs in terms of rental, utilities and staff. A modest drop in sales can mean a very significant drop in profitability, as overall profits can easily drop below operating costs, or too near them for comfort. The result is what we see with Borders: a great name reduced to having to borrow large sums just to survive, whilst closing one third of its stores to further cut costs.

Much of the blame for all this can be laid at the foot of the Kindle. You see the Kindle does something that might not, at first, be obvious: it stops people from visiting a bookstore. With a Kindle, you can order what you want, at home, without ever having to make a trip to a physical store. This means that the book you purchase via Kindle, will prevent not only the trip to the store – but all the other purchases of books at the store, you might have made, had you been there to accidentally stumble upon them. Thus, one Kindle sale, could cost a physical bookstore several sales.

The Kindle is growing in popularity month on month. Fewer people are actually taking the trouble to visit physical bookstores as a result. This can only mean one thing: the pressure on real bricks and mortar bookstores, can only increase in the coming months and years. More bookstores will have to close down, to further reduce costs. This will mean that the average distance to a bookstore will increase for all customers – which will act as a disincentive to get up and actually visit that physical store. That, of course, will mean that fewer customers would visit the fewer stores – which will lead to more of them closing down and so on. It seems likely that we are entering a vicious circle which could end the presence of physical bookstores on our high streets and in our malls. What is sure is that they are about to get a whole lot rarer.

All of this is a pity. Browsing in bookshops is one of life’s sublimer pleasures. It is also a pleasure not replaced by the Amazon experience. There is something supremely delightful about holding real books in one’s hands, and flicking through the pages for the first time, to see whether this book is The One. Amazon, whilst highly convenient, is only a partial replacement for that experience – though it does have the edge in terms of range of books available. (I should add, though, that my own views of Amazon are coloured by the fact that Amazon has never let me order a book, so far, from either Singapore or Malaysia…it doesn’t seem that they support these destinations).

One day, our grandchildren might have to ask: “What is a bookshop?”, if we ever mention them, to them. Now, wouldn’t that be sad? I have no doubt, however, that they will know what Amazon is, and they will probably all be using Kindle 20s (or whatever model they have got up to by then), in school and everyday life.

I don’t wish to be misunderstood. I think the Kindle is a great idea, and highly convenient. It is a step forward with many life enhancing benefits. However, to me, it seems sad if this innovation should be at the expense of the traditional bookstore. I am all for an expansion of choice, not a change of choice from one medium to another: I would like both media to survive. Let us hope that they find a means to co-exist, and not fall prey to the Kindle Effect. This would be better for everyone, except, perhaps Jeff Bezos.

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page. To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Lost in Austen TV series.

Lost in Austen is a four part British TV series, in which a modern day woman, Amanda Price, played by Jemima Rooper, is propelled back into the fictional time and world of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It was written by Guy Andrews and directed by Dan Zeff.

Now, what I found most curious about this programme, was its air of familiarity. You see, in the early 1990s, I invented a character I called Lord Valentine the Misplaced, who was an 18th century dandy, alive and well, in 20th century London (and New York). Thus, the juxtaposition of the 18th century and the modern era – which is evident in Lost in Austen, is something which I really did, for myself, in my own life, long before this tv series was written. My work was also covered in Time Out magazine, The Observer newspaper, on CNN, on Reuters and NBC news, and on the radio, so many people would have heard about it. It is possible that one of those people was Guy Andrews (or Dan Zeff for that matter). Either that, or they could have been indirectly influenced by my work, through the imitations of others, of which there were many.

For most of the film, Amanda Price is in the 18th century. She is initially dressed as a modern woman. This juxtaposes the imagery of the modern era, with that of the 18th century, just as I did in my work, Lord Valentine the Misplaced (or simply Lord Valentine). In the final episode, there is a scene which is straight out of my own life (and which was photographed, in the early 1990s). Darcy, played by Elliot Cowan, is transported into the modern era and is seen in the environs of Piccadilly Circus in London. The interest of this moment, comes from the shock of seeing Darcy’s 18th century clothing, in a modern setting. He looks out of place, or should I say, “Misplaced”…just like Lord Valentine was. In fact, this imagery is completely unoriginal and is a direct lifting of my own, prior work.

What I find tiresome about these plagiarisms from my own lived experience and created work, is that the borrowers never acknowledge their source, or that what they are doing, is not original. They just lift it, without giving credit. What is even more bothersome is that some critics praise the plagiarists for their “creativity”. These are clearly critics who have not heard of my prior work.

Lost in Austen is enjoyable. It is a good, fun series. However, the imagery used is not original, in any way. It is just an echo of what I expressed in the early to mid 1990s.

I understand that Sam Mendes is to be Executive Producer on a film version of Lost in Austen. That is great – but it still won’t make it an original conception. It might make it an enjoyable movie, however.

So, when the film comes out, remember to tell your friends about the true inspiration behind the imagery of the film. Tell them of Lord Valentine the Misplaced, the 18th century dandy, alive in the modern world - and my creation of him. Thank you.

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page. To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Second donation from Singapore.

I have received my second donation from Singapore. This is from Lee Li Jen, of Singapore, amounting to 20 US Dollars. Thank you, Li Jen for your kind support.

It is interesting to note that both donations, so far received, have come from Chinese Singaporeans. In notes from both donors, they made it clear to me that they enjoy and value my writing. This is gratifying to learn. It seems that they feel there is some importance to what I write. Thanks for letting me know.

So, Singapore is in the lead by far, compared to all other nations, so far, in this donation drive. I wonder whether any other nation will put in a showing? My intention is to tally up the totals for each nation, at the end of one year, from the start of the drive, to see how each nation compares. Interestingly, Singapore is presently No.1 (where it always likes to be, of course). Thank you to those Singaporeans who have donated.

I will keep you informed as to how it progresses, throughout the year. In the meantime, I will carry on blogging as usual.

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page. To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Predicting race car performance.

A month or two ago, Ainan explained to me one of his little projects.

“I have written an equation to predict the theoretical best performance for a car, around the Nurburgring race track.”

“Really? How does it work?”

“Well it uses the skid pan lateral g test results; the power to weight ratio – so you need the power and the weight; the 0 to 60 mph time, the 0 to 100 mph time and the braking time, of 100 mph to 0 mph. You just enter these values into the equation and it will give a good estimate of the best possible time around the track.”

“Have you tested it against real world cases?”, I prompted.

“Yes. I tested it for the Pagani Zonda R. My estimate was 1 second quicker than the best actual recorded lap, by a real driver.”

“That is pretty close to the perfect result. The driver must have been pretty good.”

“Yes.”, he paused, momentarily, “but I tried it for the Bugatti Veyron, and my theoretical result is much better than actual driver performance.”

“They probably brake too hard.”

For those who don’t know, the Bugatti Veyron has particularly powerful brakes, which can lead to the driver slowing too much for corners than is really necessary.
He nodded, his agreement.

“I am mainly using it to predict the performance of future cars.”, he explained.

“So, just from the car’s specs you would be able to work out how well it would do around the Nurburgring, with an ideal driver and an ideal lap?”

“Yes.”

This kind of exchange is pretty typical with Ainan. He likes to invent his own tools to achieve his aims. The form these tools take, depend very much on his interests of the time. However, I see in this the experimental and theoretical sides of a scientist – both are evident in the way he constructs his projects and his understandings. For now, of course, his theories and experiments are centred around his personal interests and guided by his stage in life – that of a prodigious child. Later on, he will, no doubt, turn to bigger problems and more significant projects, as he enters the adult world and working life. Yet, he will, I am sure, take with him the young theoretician and experimenter, that he has already become: the same mental proclivities will, no doubt, inform his future work, too.

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page. To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html
and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)