About Letters

Hello, I’m Cathal Garvey. I live in Cork, I studied genetics in UCC, and I’ve currently working with the Cancer Research Centre here on campus. I like good weather, music of most sorts, Sci Fi books and shows, I’m an apologist for bad movies, and my favourite pastime is playing Roleplaying games, or more recently LittleBigPlanet.

“Letters” is a blog originally started in support of the controversial Lisbon Treaty in Ireland, but which grew outside that before long. In part through conversations with friends and through a growing sense of unease with the way things were going worldwide (Less freedoms and more propaganda), I felt I might jump on the “Blogosphere” bandwagon and start saying what I was thinking where it might be read.

The blog was originally hosted on Blogger, as “Love Letter from Lisbon” (later “Letter from Lisbon” and now simply “Letters”, reflecting how it doesn’t have as much to do with Lisbon anymore), which was supposed to be ironic but was perhaps only amusing in my head. As I figured out the workings of my website, Cunningprojects.com, I moved it over here instead, to make it more personal and to add functionality.

I’m hoping to make something more impressive of it now, and to have more to talk about. Along with my other projects online, I’d like to see it being of use to someone. Nowadays I offer my thoughts on:

• Politics – Particularly as it applies to Ireland, but global issues concern us more and more. Tensions are increasing between the US and everyone else, and with Ireland’s government unquestioningly supporting their petty wars in spite of our complaints it’s something for everyone to worry about.
• The Environment – People are only just waking up to things that were well-accepted by genuine scientists for a long time; the world isn’t able to deal with the release of all that stored carbon and the simultaneous destruction of the natural processes to manage it, and we’re paying the price now: Already, the world is certain to rise at least 2?C. Any more than that would be a global catastrophe that could threaten civilisation.
• Technology – Arguably the way forward in fixing many of our modern problems, as it has been in the past. Although currently saddled with a total dependance on the oil industry that’s killing us, technology is quickly evolving to offer us new ways to live our lives in comfort and safety without destroying everything around us.
• Science in General – If there’s hope and if there’s fear, it’s in science. I believe in the predicted Technological Singularity, but I don’t know if it will be for better or worse. I have a personal philosophy that the solution to a problem has probably already been discovered, if only we could look, and I think patent law has done more to cripple the dissemination of these solutions than anything else.
• Civil Rights – As Americans destroy their own rights in search of boogiemen, governments in Europe are drafting their own ideas for a new Big Brother. Already, our emails and our phonecalls are subject to inquiry. Soon, there are plans to install cameras in the seat-backs of planes and use cameras that can literally see you naked at security checks. It’s happening too fast for most to notice, but we’re losing our freedom and for no clear cause.
• My Take – It’s one thing complaining about the state of things.. but what would I do if I had the choice instead? For that matter, what would someone reading my blog do? I’d be delighted if I got dialog going here on solutions to the problems I post about.
• Fun Things – Because life will always be the coolest thing you can do, no matter what’s happening around you.

I hope someone out there enjoys this, be sure to leave me a comment with whatever you think when you read here! Good luck,

Cathal Garvey