Brown Motion

This summer the season's big media event (other than the unfortunate and psychotic events in the world) is the Summer Olympics in Brazil. Many a country tries to send their very best to compete in what is labeled as games of skill, stamina and showmanship. Athletes spend sometimes a lifetime chasing this epitome of their chosen sport and prove to themselves that they can in fact be among the competitors the very best;  in the World! Now while I am not a big fan of organized sport of any kind I do know that there are some genuine individuals who have staked everything for the sheer love of a sport or game.  For them their endurance and stamina and perseverance has guided their trajectory to a point where they can bask in the adulation from the crowd; win the medal or not.  Usually only one person gets gold or first place even if there is a photo finish against the person that came second.  Does that make the second place winner or the five setter tennis opponen...

In the ongoing saga of 'we are in trouble' (refer earlier pedantic ramblings elsewhere on this site) I think the decline of civilization is coming in spades. First it was the desire to excel - win - be ahead of the pack etc. Now its retarding to falling bridges, crumbling airports, people shooting other people (more than before) and stripped titles. Most recently some federation of something or another decided to strip a cycling hero (more on use of this hackneyed term later) of his by contesting that he used performance enhancing drugs to aid in achieving them in the first place (no pun). In fact I should say he took them to come in the first place (now that should be clear as mud). But wait - what is with the redundant descriptor 'performance enhancing'? What other types of drugs do you think an athlete would take before hitting the road in the Alps? Viagra? I suppose if he was multitasking then yes but there is no evidence of that impropriety according to t...