www.thegilmours.co.uk

This is probably a question for a poll, but hey, i’m going to blog about it instead.

What is this Facebook Phenomenon? I just don’t see the attraction of having a virtual network of friends whom i interact with solely through a third party website! And yet I received a stiff defence of its merits from my sister on the telephone today and I’ve now received countless invitations to join the network from ex-workmates, new workmates and friends from University.

Am I simply denying myself the pleasure of being hermetically attached to my computer for more hours of every day or am I - like Nero and his friends (mercenaries?) in the Matrix- among the socially excluded of the cyber world? Am I officially unemployed because, unofficially, i’m not yet registered to work on Facebook? Should I be claiming benefits for my ignorance of the social network available “freely” to all with a broadband connection? Maybe I should apply my social inclusion economic development planning skills to the cyber world and start teaching insecure individuals how to get recognised on the web?!

Personally, the risk of meeting ex-girlfriends, arch-enemies from school or even someone i know, puts me off completely! How low can our levels of communication sink? I don’t need a picture, profile and a display of my personal “web” of friends to maintain either my self-esteem or my friendships and i struggle to understand why someone might want to broadcast themselves to the world via a computer when the real world is so much more effective in doing so.

We might laugh at the cultural tendancies we observe here in Chile- the chileans and the Europeans working in Chile- but we do value them highly. Close family ties and the eternal stories of the intrusive Chilean “mother-in-law” may frustrate us foreigners sometimes, but we really respect it and recognise its benefits to society. Our ongoing debate about greeting a stranger with one kiss or two and on which cheeks might sound somewhat “simple” but the debate alone highlights the relative dependency that the english speaking world has upon the non-contact sport of networking via cyberspace, relative to our European counterparts. And the difference is not just explained by different levels of connectedness such as the number and cost of broadband.

Do we face a collective social confidence crisis that leads us to hide behind our computer screens to avoid real interaction or to hide our flaws and our sensitivities? Like e-mail, we can say so much more yet it can be so much more easily misinterpreted! In the words of Yusuf Islam, “please God, don’t let me be misunderstood” is both a guide to creating your Facebook profile and any responses to it!

Perhaps it is just a convenient way to avoid catching a dreadfully overcrowded/late/unreliable/slow train or bus to actually go and see that person? I don’t know… but it seems that Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting was not only right but profound in his analysis of the risks of substituting real relationships for other forms including cyberships- “Choose Life”! (I don’t mean 2ndLife! That could be another whole blog couldn’t it?!)

You won’t find me on Facebook yet but its only a matter of time before i drag my lazy, antisocial cyberbum into the highly connected, over-caffinated real-world-divorced community.

Its about time we gave you an update on our lives.

Last week Douglas returned from the UK after a two week trip for work and leisure. He returned to take an active role in the National Christian Resources Exhibition at Sandown Park Racecourse in Surrey, in particular, promoting the new CRE website to be launched later in the summer. He also had a chance to meet his new managers from the Bible Society (who have bought the company from Douglas’ energetic but aging director Gos Home). The exhibition was a great success and he really enjoyed being a part of the show, meeting the faces behind the names and email addresses of clients he communicates with from Chile.

Following the exhibition, he spend 5 days in Scotland, with friends and his family. It was great to visit and assist in the redecoration of Chris Reilly’s new flat (Doug’s best man). He also spent two days walking and sailing, in the borders and central Scotland respectively. The latter, sailing on Loch Earn, seems to have rated highly on the “most exciting experiences of his life” list and might have convinced him on the benefits of rain and wind again!

Well, he made it back to Chile with almost 50kg of baggage including a rather erroneous set of “skis” which were actually a set of roof rails for the car, padded with around 15 books, both of which are a pain to source here (a pain in the butt and to the wallet!). The books include a range of stories and Godly guidance books for our youth group, Cross Connexions. Not only can’t you get these in Chile, but they are subject to a book tax of 10% (a rather ancient law enacted during the Pinochet years to discourage the spread of radical ideas and, ermmm, education).

We hosted our mad youth for a sleepover at our house while Doug was still recovering from his flights. We studied the Holy Spirit and the theme of Pentecost by playing silly games, making a kite, eating fajitas, cake and popcorn and anything else unhealthy!

News emerged this week that water and hydro power firms in Chile faced bankruptcy after an extremely long period without rainfall. Yesterday we had the first rain (with the exception of a one hour flashflood in early March) since November. This has restored the quality of air in Santiago to the relief of everyone and has restored the green to many plants and lawns. It also, unsurprisingly, restored traffic jams to unprecedented levels! More news to follow regarding a failed new public transport system (Transantiago) in the coming weeks.

Rachel has been working hard to submit her first paper for publication. It is very exciting to finally reach this stage after several rounds of comments, criticism and amendments. She is now attempting to resucitate a pipeline model developed as part of her PhD in Edinburgh to full health in order to develop her second paper on the subject of where black holes are found in galaxy clusters (more or less, right darling?).

Rachel has just received her shift rota for the next 4 months. Praise the Lord! as it gives us much needed time together (3 weeks, then 5 weeks of regular life in Santiago with 3 weeks of holiday in August with Rachel’s family). This is exciting and encouraging too. It gives Rachel time to work on her research, a part of her job she feels she has neglected during the madness of night shifts on Paranal.

We’re hoping to enjoy a weekend away in Mendoza, Argentina one weekend soon. There is always a risk that you will not be able to cross the Andes on the international pass, due to snowfall. In fact, more often, returning is a problem! So we’ll just have to watch the weather and act spontaneously.

Your prayers would be appreciated for the following concerns:

Thanks and we hope to be in contact with you all soon.

I find myself watching and laughing rather sadistically. Why? Because the traffic lights of a major road junction by our house have malfunctioned and gone dead.

The street running close to our house is the equivalent of a road estuary. 3 lanes of city traffic (not including the cycle lane and two paths) normally comes to rest at the traffic lights in a 5 lane queue and the lights control the traffic that crosses 3 lanes of fast moving ring-road traffic in each direction (a total of 6 lanes). Normally, it all flows remarkably well and quietly, albeit much more slowly than before the launch of a new but faulted public transport system.

But this afternoon, i can hear, in glorious stereo, the sound of traffic light failure. Nobody quite knows what to do. The local council security guard stands on his motorbike and scratches his head, or rather, types away at his mobile phone in frustration. Street sellers look on with some delight at the ensuing chaos. More stationary traffic means more sales.

However, for the drivers, it is a battle of the wits- who will stop first? who will let the traffic through? how much horn punching will slow an articulated truck? will the bus stop?”

Well i can answer the last question with a resounding no- the bus won’t bother to stop.. he’ll just push on through one, two, three, four lanes of traffic. The truck? Well being a rather large animal and less able to stop in an emergency, the drivers seem quite sensible, slowing and even stopping to allow traffic to pass. Of course, once a truck stops, the other two lanes are safer to stop too, especially since their view is obscured.

Oh, what a nice Freelander driver…. (yes, i’m still watching). Nissan truck drivers are the equivalent of our white van man; the least considerate of either his lane or any other road user! Another driver (of a volkswagen) has just discovered his horn will endure consistent pressure for at least 20 seconds. It’s going to be a long, noisy rush hour!

From a theoretical perspective, i find this driver behaviour fascinating- what makes a driver yield to another? Does he consider the other traffic in his lane or the pressure of other drivers behind him? Or does he simply act selfishly and drive on as fast as possible, even though he may be holding 5 lanes of traffic back by this action?

What is the likelihood that by slowing on the approach to the crossing, a driver will tempt a lane jumper to take the lead in wading through the crossing traffic? Or the likelihood that he will find his path blocked by a crossing vehicle who “grabbed the gap”?

The answer, at least through rather amateur observation, might surprise you. “Group think” makes the probability of yielding quite high. One lane can take the initiative in crossing and in doing so, commands the other 4 lanes of traffic moving with him. After the first yield, the other lanes yield easily and almost uncomplainingly.

After the crossing traffic flow reaches a consistent speed, differences in the speed of individual vehicles in the flow produce gaps which allows a driver in the competing flow to (use their horn and) move forward, stemming the flow, one lane after another until a new cycle is set in motion in the direction perpendicular to the first cycle. On average, the volume of traffic without control actually approaches that of the junction with control (i.e. when the traffic lights are operating), but with lower average speeds and (if traffic flows are not equal) longer queues.

Of course, this analysis excludes the random error element (the impulsive, impatient latin american driver element). Including that, I give it 15 minutes until someone loses a bumper and 50 minutes until someone loses their car or their life.

And it’s not even rush hour yet! Mmmmm… the possibilities.