Category Archives: Musings

Nova by Numbers

Posted on by

Lately, I’ve been thinking about my relationship with numbers. Reliable, predictable, unchanging and familiar, numbers have been my lifelong friends ever since my first primary school teacher sent me to work through my maths books alone in the quiet room so that the other children wouldn’t disturb me. Whatever may be crazy in this world, numbers always make sense and always will make sense. I could argue my opinions on alternative therapies or which actor made the best Doctor Who until the breath leaves my body and someone will always disagree with me, but seven multiplied by eight will always be fifty-six. Regardless of language, culture, religion or politics, it is a fact which cannot be disputed. There is no room for opinion or manipulation. An alien from the other side of the universe would still agree that 7 x 8 = 56. I find that beautiful.

I have begun to wonder whether the way I visualise numbers is unusual. I have a good memory for numbers and am able to remember not just telephone numbers and my own various ID numbers, account numbers and the like, but also a whole host of numbers used in my work to the extent that colleagues ask me rather than look the numbers up for themselves! Sometimes, when I need to recall a number, it doesn’t come straight away. I close my eyes and wait for a moment, but it isn’t necessarily that the numbers are missing. I can often see the numbers, just without any kind of sequence. Closing my eyes for a moment allows the numbers to shuffle and sort themselves into their correct positions so that I can just read the whole number from the mental image. I would be interested to know how my brain actually stores the data for it to retrieve the numbers that way.

I would also be interested to know how commonplace my relationship with numbers is, but it’s somewhat difficult to explain. For a long time my mental arithmetic skills were like an old bicycle at the back of the garage: unused and rusty., but since I have regained those skills, I don’t even need to work out change any more. I just know the correct change because I can see it in my head like the last piece of a jigsaw: a visual piece with size and form that fits onto the value of the transaction to complete the whole sum that was offered.

I imagine that some people relate to words in a similar way, while others probably relate to subjects, systems or concepts that I can’t even guess. I wonder therefore what can be inferred about me from such an affiliation with the constants that form the building blocks of mathematics and the universe. It sounds kind of cool expressed like that. Well, cool in a geeky sense :)

Taking in the sounds

Posted on by

The sea is the soundtrack to my existence.  The gentle lapping, the powerful crashing, the murmurs, the roars and the sighs.  I can always hear it, yet I rarely stop what I’m doing and actually listen to it.  There’s something wonderfully relaxing about the sounds of the sea, reassuring.

I used to say the same thing about trains.  For a while, in England, I lived beside a busy railway line.  Every five minutes a train would pass through, breaking the silence of the leafy suburb, and remind me that time was passing.  Or that I was still alive.  It rather depended on the mood I was in and the time of day or night, but I loved to hear the trains.

Now, I am fortunate that I am constantly accompanied by the singing of the sea, yet because it is constant, I don’t listen for it.  The sea doesn’t announce reminders of the passage of time.  In fact, there’s something almost timeless about it, even transcendent of time, yet there is never silence.  It’s a soundtrack that never began and will never end, and I must make time to listen to it more in future.

 

Everyone needs a sanctuary

Posted on by

This week alone, two of the people I follow online have been upset by hurtful things that others have said to them and have turned to their websites to recount the experience, present their defence and express their hurt.  A hurt that has troubled them long enough to formulate and submit a written response, whilst I have little doubt that those responsible for the upset have forgotten the incidents in question before our friends even started typing!

I will never understand what motivates people to say such unkind things, nor their ability to move on and continue their daily lives without any apparent remorse for the pain they caused, so there’s no point me even trying to analyse it.  I just hope our friends find the strength to move on quickly themselves without giving their verbal attackers the satisfaction of long term effects.

I do find it interesting, however, that the internet is such a powerful comforter in times of distress.  The great digital beast of our time, so often held responsible for everything rotten: organized crime networks and copyright theft, moral corruption, trolls and online bullying…. yet this beast is the first thing some people turn to for comfort and validation.

In the haven of our own websites we are in control.  We can express ourselves freely, without interruption, and we have some control over our feedback.  Our like-minded online friends provide a valuable, understanding support network and we can easily block any negative comments that could have the opposite effect.  Sometimes even just seeing our own response published on the screen can help us to feel better.

Everyone needs a sanctuary.  This is mine.

23 Days to Go…

Posted on by

Having breakfasted by the sea surrounded by Christmas tinsel, accompanied by Christmas music playing on the radio and the wonderful winter wonderland of ChalkCat, I decided it was time to bring a Christmassy touch to Nova’s Haven as well.  So now we have falling snow and a little Santa counting down the days!

It feels slightly colder today too and it’s making me a little nostalgic for that timeless weekend afternoon spent sitting in the student union bar, watching the snow falling outside as the daylight turned to darkness, snug and warm, cradling my pint of student beer while the same Christmas music played on the jukebox…..

Lovely :)

Counting down to Christmas

Posted on by

It always seems strange welcoming in December in the sunshine, and this year is no different.  We have some cloud cover at the moment casting grey shadows on a sea that’s sparkling silver wherever the sunshine slices through, but it’s a balmy twenty-one degrees with zero percent probability of a white Christmas anywhere other than on the peak of Teide.

Nonetheless, the very un-Dickensian climate does not melt our wishes for a magical Christmassy December!  It’s only the first day of the month and already Christmas lights adorn the Canarian streets, bringing them to life after dark with a myriad of colours in seasonal formations.

I put my Christmas tree up last night with more than a little help from my wonderful friend.  Now it feels that Christmas is really on its way.  It may be lovely to dream of a white Christmas, but it’s lovelier to admire the twinkling icon of Christmas right here in my living room with sunshine reflecting off the silver baubles :D

Fast & Fresh

Posted on by

In my last post ChalkCat Checks In, I promised that Nova’s Haven would soon be receiving some special attention of her own.

The first step is now complete as Nova’s Haven has now moved to a new server, faster, more reliable and without the continual go-slows and down-time that plagued us on the previous host.

This is the start of a fresh new era for my blog and time to find out just what Nova’s Haven is about and what she can do.  Should be fun ;)

ChalkCat Checks In….

Posted on by

Nova’s Haven now has a sister :)   Well, sort of.

If ChalkCat were a sister to Nova’s Haven, she’d be the serious, studious type.  Nova’s Haven enjoys sharing random thoughts, moments of reflection, she seeks happiness by making observations on the things she finds pleasant.  Everyone is invited to join in by commenting, but basically it’s a monologue – let’s be honest, Nova’s Haven is away with the fairies most of the time ;)

In contrast, ChalkCat thrives on discussion, debate.  She’s the sister who reads books and watches the news, then meets with her educated friends to exchange views on all the topics that have arisen since their last meeting.  She will probably close the door on her sister, leaving Nova’s Haven sitting alone, watching the sea, which is probably where she would rather be anyway!

As a project, ChalkCat has demanded some special attention, which is the reason my poor blog has been, ashamedly, a little neglected at times.  (That should begin to change now, Nova’s Haven is due some special attention of her own)  Now, with the support of a few good people, a little seed of an idea has grown into something that I am very, very proud of!  I haven’t finished tweaking it yet, I probably never will, but I’m ready to show off my pride and joy.

ChalkCat is proof that it doesn’t matter what you know or don’t know when you start out; with the right level of determination and dedication, you can learn everything you need as you go along :)

So, what is ChalkCat?

Well, chalk is obviously something used on boards, and a forum is a whole series of boards. Cats are independent creatures, with minds of their own, too intelligent to follow the crowd blindly. They do their own thing, play, think, hunt at times, with affection … but also claws when needed!

So ChalkCat is such a forum, a fusion of thought-provoking discussion, information, oddities, fun … whatever you want it to be, really. We are not a Tenerife forum, though we are a forum created by Tenerife residents, with a Tenerife section packed with Tenerife information, news and events. There is much more to ChalkCat, however, so we are not just another forum about Tenerife.

That’s why ChalkCat is different.  We want to expand way beyond this island, and hope to attract members from all around the globe.  We aim to invite different perspectives from members with diverse backgrounds and experiences.  We want to create a stimulating community with intelligent discussions on a wide range of subjects, whether current events, astronomy, nature, politics, technology, ethics, travel,  or whatever we happen to be thinking about today!

We want to be different. We are different. Welcome to ChalkCat!

A Sunny Day

Posted on by

It’s peaceful in the garden,
Where the leafy trees align.
On the fence Mr Robin sings
A tune to his valentine.
I wonder how the real world
Can be so far away
From me and Mr Robin,
On this beautiful sunny day.

In among the flowers,
A honey bee bumbles by.
There’s plenty of pollen for picking
As the scent-filled breezes sigh.
Up above, the wispy clouds sweep
Lazily on their way,
As though time has no meaning
On this beautiful sunny day.

Far away two dogs at play,
Carried mutedly on the air.
Mr Robin is singing on,
In the garden he has no care.
But the real world has summoned
And now I must away,
How I wish I could live forever
In this beautiful sunny day.

 

by Nova.