All posts by Paul Raven

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Teenager granted the right to “die with dignity”

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Over here in the UK the current big front-page story is Hannah Jones, a thirteen-year-old girl who has a hole in her heart as a result of childhood leukaemia medication. The actual news is the about-face made by her local healthcare authority, which was planning to force her to have a heart transplant against her own wishes; intervention by a child protection officer encouraged them to drop their court case and let Hannah stay with her family as she wished.

The “right to die” is still a very contentious issue (and will doubtless remain one for some time to come) but Hannah’s case is complicated by her age; I think it’s a safe assumption that had her parents not agreed with her decision, things might have gone very differently. Which brings us to the perennial question – at what age should the law permit you to make life-changing decisions like this for yourself? And to what degree should the religious beliefs of your family be taken into account, if at all?

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Virtual in Vermont – software corporations get the green light

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abandoned laptop in coffee shopVia Charlie Stross, who isn’t entirely over the moon to see a trope from one of his novels coming true, we hear that the state of Vermont has passed a bill allowing the creation of limited liability corporations that are almost entirely virtual:

… up until now, U.S. law required LLCs to have physical headquarters, in-person board meetings and other regulations that have little relevance in the digital age.

No longer. Under the new law, for example, a board meeting may be conducted “in person or through the use of [an] electronic or telecommunications medium.” A ‘virtual company’ will be, as a legal matter, a Vermont limited liability company,” said Johnson. And other states are required to recognize the corporation as a legitimate LLC.

Interesting news. Hell knows that with the economic downturn, it’ll be a much more sensible idea to operate from coffee shops and build your swanky futuristic-looking headquarters in Second Life… even though the rent there isn’t as stable as its residents would like. [image by Zesmerelda]

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Will the Phoenix rise again?

NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander - artist's impressionVia pretty much everywhere comes the news that NASA has pronounced the Phoenix Mars Lander “silent, presumed dead”. The Martian winter is settling in, and the resulting cold and darkness have put the plucky robot out of action, though there is a vague hope it might revive itself when the seasons change. [image courtesy NASA]

In addition to finally confirming the water-on-Mars matter, Phoenix has been a real (and much-needed) media success for NASA; they tapped into the right channels to keep the mission in the public consciousness, not just through a regular (but very sexy and content-laden) website, but through Twitter as well. It feels as if now, after two decades of disappointments, disasters and disillusionment, space is something to get excited about again. Let’s hope it stays that way, eh?

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NaNoWriMo advice: Write or Die!

Some of you brave souls who’ve taken on the NanoWriMo challenge this year are struggling with your daily wordcount targets… at least, you are if my Twitter feed is to be believed!

I know where you’re coming from: that intimidating blank screen, the panoply of possibility, the agony of indecision… not to mention the constant self-editing. All of these are major factors in me not having a writing career that makes John Scalzi look like a hobbyist[1].

But help is at hand! The Lifehacker team have discovered the ultimate anti-procrastination app for writers, the aptly named Write or Die:

Set a word count and time you want to write for. Then, set how you want the app to “remind” you if you stop writing—”Gentle” pops up a text box, “Normal” plays a harsh sound file, and “Kamikaze” mode slowly deletes back from your stopping point until you get back to it.

Kamikaze mode sounds thoroughly evil, but I’ll bet it gets you hitting your targets pretty fast. Then there’s just the editing to do…

[ 1 – It must be pointed out that laziness and lack of talent are also major players; even more major than the others, perhaps. ]