Studio Kanzen,

this evening I discovered someone/something called “SubPixel”. My sister asked me what videos were mine on YouTube, saying that she did a search for “subpixel” and found something that looked like porn, so didn’t open it at work. Something about a guy with his shirt off and a girl with her hands somewhere near his groin. “No, I don’t think I have anything that looks like porn, or anything with a guy with his shirt off.”

What was she talking about? YouTube. Search.

I see… SubPixel: Clone a Willy Penis Mold Kit Review

Quite amusing, but no, not one of my videos.

Hi, I’m subpixel. I’ve been pushing pixels under that name since 2002 when I started taking club and party photos for Australia’s dance music community at InTheMix: “sub” as in music, and “pixel” as in pictures (digital photographs). On later reflection it occurred to me that the name had other interpretations, such as “subpixels” meaning “images from a subculture”, or “subpixel” being the thing (or person) underlying/behind the images I was capturing, especially since I was responsible for the images and rarely “in front of the camera” in my own photos, or those taken by other photographers in the Sydney scene.

After being an InTheMix photographer for a year or so, and having made many new friends along the way, I was more inclined to go where some of those friends were going, and less inclined to take on ITM photography assignments elsewhere, though still continued taking photos, including as “official photographer” for an underground party called Undercurrents, and today have an archive of some 70,000+ images and short video clips. I was without a camera – I mean a camera I cared to carry with me, since, now I think about it, I did actually have at least one other – for about 6 months two years ago, and found that to be a bit depressing. That slowed me down a bit, and I don’t seem to have been taking as many since then (or perhaps for a while before), though do go through spurts on occasion.

Photo madness in decline, I am still behind the pixels nonetheless. I acquired subpixels.com in 2003, and continued to use the name, especially for creative projects. In 2006, after a late night laptop-and-video-projector good times retrospective for a friend’s farewell at a city fringe music bunker (another friend’s house with a killer sound system and wall to wall wax) in Sydney, I was asked to supply visuals for a live electronic music gig called Laptopjam, and so the subpixel name moved on to be my VJ moniker.

I appeared mainly at live electronic gigs, VJ meetings and house parties in Sydney until I was roped in as resident VJ for a fledgling club night (Mind! Reggae Dubstep) in Brixton by Italian DJ Unity Selekta along with Earl Gateshead [Trojan Soundsystem] when I moved to London in 2008, strangely enough from my Gumtree listing looking for a place to live. Around the same time I discovered a local VJ community, VJlondon, where I made friends, had fun, and through which landed various gigs around London including a couple more live electronic gigs. I also joined the sizeable contingent of VJlondon crew appearing at LPM 2009 – Live Performers Meeting – in Rome, apparently the only Australian representative. Through Dr.Mo, who organised most of the VJlondon gatherings, I met architect and artist Alex Haw of atmos (currently working on the CLOUD for the 2012 London Olympics), with whom I collaborated to realise the Weather Projection installation at the inaugural Smart Light Sydney festival – me, a Sydneysider, scrambling to write the code in London (and in Rome after LPM!), and Alex, a Londoner, scrambling to put together the hardware (and content) in Sydney – such a mixed-up world we live in! Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it to Sydney to see the result, but I’m back in Sydney now, and have rejoined forces with the live electronics party/promoter Midi In The City as well as taking up residency with the closely related TECHnique crew for their monthly techno parties and festival vibes at the Earthdance Sydney 2009 Campout. I have just completed another international collaboration, this time with Venetian producer and deepindub netlabel founder, Maurizio Miceli: a “VJ clip” for Way Out [DIDVJ002] to promote his latest EP.

You can find clips from and information about past VJ gigs at SPXL.TV, and other stuff like my blog including experiments with Processing at subpixels.com.

spxlOrigamiButterfly

View sketch page for source code.

This program is an optimisation and modification of the fabulous Origami Butterfly by Kyle McDonald, which in turn is a modification of the Origami Butterfly Method by Jonathan McCabe.

I haven’t changed (at least not that I’m aware of, and not intentionally!) the actual image process, just the implementation and how the the paper folds are determined – well, the last fold, anyhow, which I’ve animated,

The modifications to the implementation resulted in a massive speed gain (about 3x the original), enough to have “smooth” animations instead of one still image every two seconds. The “animation” I have done is pretty basic, and might be extended in future to animate more than the last fold, or to animate that fold in some other manner.

Oh, and I added another source texture – a photo of Funckarma at Plastic People in Shoreditch that I took last year. Neon glow FISK. Awwww yeahhhh. :o)

-spxl

Esfera_mod_by_spxl_6
based on Esfera.pde by David Pena

Source code:
Esfera_mod_by_spxl_6.pde
Hair.pde
Oscillator.pde

On Thursday 18 December there was another VJlondon.org meeting at Cafe 1001, and again there was a triple-head setup with three projectors onto the back wall of the main room. Nice!

I’d decided that this time I’d work on this Processing sketch to have some 4:1 content for the massive screen. Up until this point, the tentacled object in space had been stationary and not especially interesting-looking. On Thursday morning I started tweaking the program with a view to actually being able to VJ with it, adding a bunch of new features like being able to move it around, make it bigger (“zoom”) or smaller, and more easily change some of the parameters. The tentacle shape changed a bit, as well as the appearance with some new oscillators to change the red, green and blue of the colour, and some mystery 1′s and 0′s on the surfaces. I’m no expert on lighting yet, but at least I managed to do something about it being so dark (as appears in Esfera mod by spxl 5).

I was perhaps a little too engrossed in what I was doing, and at some point realised I was already running late for the gathering!.. and rushed off to Brick Lane with my still warm code. The setup at Cafe 1001 was improved on last time, with a large table for laptops, etc bhind a raised bench with the projectors on it.

The tentacled space thingo was quite well received by the crew, though at that stage it was a bit of a beast to deal with effectively. Having pointer and keyboard inputs, I plugged in my Wacom and handed it to Rob to move it around while tapping at some controls myself on the keyboard. Even at 1920×480 it seemed to run pretty fast (and so it damnwell should!), and with the ultra-widescreen had a nice spacious and spacey feel about it.

I also tried running the radial gradient array sketch at that resolution, but, being a 2D pixel-based affair, my machine just wasn’t fast enough (or rather the program is too intensive) to get above a crawl instead of scintillating flashing colours.

Nevertheless, both sketches have been updated since then, and the Game of Life sketch created, and I’m starting to get a bit mental with trying to put nice comments and such on everything as well as make improvements and add new features. I think the commenting is taking as much time as anything else!.. and of course generally tidying things up, rearranging files on the webserver, updating all the past blog entries with Processing sketches to have a consistent look, and so on. I think I should really investigate creating a plugin or filter or something for WordPress – maybe a little database to keep track of the sketches and format them all nicely. I’m already running in to versioning issues, and changing the structure of the files is bad news for old blog posts!

Yesterday I did some work on creating a better timewarp effect – rather than change the speed of all of the oscillators, instead manipulate the “number of milliseconds” that have passed (this value is used in calculations by the oscillators) and also modify things like how far the object moves or rotates for the frame. Since the program was using simple easing logic, I’ve fudged it by multiplying the easing factor by the square of the (less then 1.0) timewarp factor, or leaving it alone if the timewarp factor is 1 or more (making the movement “faster than the mouse”, as it were,  seemed like a bad idea).

You see the brighter patch of red on the top-right of the sphere in the screenshot? That’s caused by five point lights just near the sphere arranged around the funnel of text. unfortunately the Java applet doesn’t seem to play on my machine (nor does version 5 of this sketch), and I think the lights (or use of lighting generally) is what causes it to fail. Then again, I don’t actually know, so this is only a guess! If you have the PDE installed you should be able to recreate the sketch from the source files.

-spxl

It is a musical household and I think I am going to like living here. That is assuming the cold doesn’t make me dislike everything! :o)

-spxl

Tuesday 28 October

It seemed to be quite chilly when I was out last night, and this evening, when a houseguest came inside, they announced that it was snowing outside. What?… I open the window to take a closer look outside, and sure enough… snow!

I guess it is time to go shopping for a warm jacket then. Especially since my last jacket was nicked a couple of months ago at the Notting Hill Carnival (or just after it, since the carnival was closed for the night at that stage).

Speaking of things getting nicked, I might recount a tale from Saturday night. I had a mind to write about it just after it happened, but instead became engrossed in playing with visuals and making some new videos. Put on your slippers and dressing gown, grab a blanket and come sit by the fire…

Shunned // Shunt

Saturday night, 25 October, I caught a bus down to London Bridge to check out the final night the Netaudio mini-festival at Shunt Bar. It had been running there the previous two nights without me knowing about it, and I was keen, from what I’d read it was about, to go. There was some warning about arriving early as the bar tends to get very busy, but I didn’t manage to get down there until a bit after 9pm. When I arrived I saw a queue. Walking, walking… where does it end? Woah, it goes around the corner and far beyond that. Eventually find the end, wondering if it was going to be a complete waste of time. Soon enough, one of the staff came down and said that, based on last night’s experience, queuing from around that point we could expect a three hour wait. Yes, three hours. And, given that they close the doors at 11pm (the bar itself closing 2 or three hours later), that essentially meant there was no chance of getting in at all.

Disappointment!

Well, what could he recommend nearby that might be somewhat similar? There’s nothing else anything like it, apparently (I’m not surprised, really), so I decided to head back to see what Shoreditch held in store.

Spacelapse // London Bridge

I decided that I would walk back to Shoreditch. A chance for some healthy exercise, even though it was a bit chilly, and reflection on why I hadn’t left the flat earlier to go to the Netaudio gig. Also hoping that I didn’t get lost, given that I didn’t have a map.

Crossing London Bridge, I decided to take a bunch of shots of the Tower Bridge and see if i could make a ‘spacelapse’ animation something like I have seen made by Dr.Mo. And so I’d take a long exposure (4 seconds) photo with the camera resting on the bridge’s railing, take a bunch of steps (about 8), and snap again. This tooka little while, and I had a few strange looks from people, but noone getting in my face or being aggressive, which is a good tradeoff. :o)

In the end, I’m not sure that the photos are of suitable quality, nor perhaps great enough quantity to make a decent animation, but I haven’t really played with it much to see for sure. A project to put on the back burner, I think.

Seeing the Light

It didn’t seem like too long before I was back at Bishopsgate, Liverpool Street Station, theh Shoreditch High Street. I didn’t know what was on or where I wanted to go, but had a general idea to check out some place(s) that I hadn’t been to before. One such place was The Light. Open. Plenty of people around. In I go. Seems to be a lot of (fumbling for right term) “classy”/snooty/suited/gold-digger-y people around in the bar on the ground floor. Perhaps nice to look at, but I didn’t attempt barging in on anyone’s conversation.

The music seemed irritating-less enough, so went upstairs to see where it was coming from. At the door I’m told that there are some private parties, but it is also open to the public for a fee. How much? Two pounds. Okay, I think I can deal with that. :o) The night is called Mediterraneo, though I’m not sure exactly what the Mediterranian connection was. The DJ had copies of a mix CDs scattered at the front of the booth for the taking, so I stashed one in my pocket before taking my stuff down to the cloak room.

Had a dance for a while, and a few beers (I’m still not overly keen on beer, but I don’t find it so terrible any more that I can’t drink it), and ended up chatting for some time with a guy who was evidently friends with the DJ (since he was behind the booth) about music production and I can’t remember now (three weeks hence) what about. I remember he was from eastern Europe, but can’t remember if he was Polish or from somewhere else.

Anyhow, had a nice enough time there, had a good dance, had a chuckle at a couple of trashy drunk girls doing crazy stuff all around the place, and all for not much more than the entry price might have been for the Netaudio festival. (Note: I have to talk it up else feel depressed about not getting to spend my tenner at the Netaudio festival!) And I’d finally seen the Light.

The Light is scheduled to be closed down, for redevelopment, I believe. There’s a big poster about saving the light in the downstairs bar.

Canadians + Kebabs // Hoxton

I was hungry well before leaving The Light, so was on a mission to find some food. I stopped by T-Bar to see what was happening – about to close, so continued on. Takeaway Chinese sounded good, so head over to the place on the corner where Great Eastern Street meets Old Street, thinking “honey chicken”… but finding they were about to close when I arrived, with a few measly scraps of stuff I wasn’t excited about, so left empty-handed. Made a decision to head back over to the Caltex / Somerfield minimart on Shoreditch High Street, but walking along Old Street decided to check out Hoxton Square on my way through. In that directin encountered a kebab shop and decided that food now was better than food later, so went in and queued for service. A couple of guys came in after me, and I ended up talking to them about the menu, wondering just what exactly an order of “meat and chips” would land us. It seemed like a “good idea”, since so far I’ve not been impressed by the pocket bread they seem to use here to house the “kebab”, only I wanted one of those big juicy peppers with it. I think that’s what I was after most, since my first encounter with them in kebabs when I was in Berlin last year…

Anyhow, kebabs, meat & chips, whatever, we were talking for a bit before deciding to exit the shop. I have a vague recollection of a someone walking past and asking us some strange question; we were all in some sort of take-the-piss mood and I think we confused them, even though it seemed their initial intent may have been to confuse us. It was three weeks ago now, so can’t remember really what that was about. One of the Canuks spied some girls and made a comment about “follow the legs”, so we parted ways. Shortly after I saw one of them giving a girl a piggy back down the road. Time for another chuckle.

Byron // Old Street

On my way home I encountered an Aussie who was looking for “Dalston Street”. He’d had a few drinks and was asking pretty much everyone he passed, saying he’d only been in town for a day. I didn’t know where Dalston Street was, but figuring it is in Dalston, thought I’d help him at least find the right bus to go there, especially since it was in the direction I was already walking and not far away.

Anyhow, this guy is from Byron Bay, and is staying with friends in London, just arrived the night before. Working or studying in Byron? Studying. At the SAE? How did you know?! .. It’s the only school I know of in Byron. Lucky guess. Talked briefly about the school, asking about whether they have the (multi-)media, 3D etc courses up there. Yep.

On to more important things – someone said to me not so long ago that Kinglsand High Street is notoriously dodgy. Not the whole area, just the corridor of the street where a large number of people pass through every day and night. I told Byron (I didn’t catch his name) about this, and he said he knew something about it, and that’s why his wallet was in his front pocket. Okay, good start. Anyhow, at the point where I was about to say ti him that if he sees anyone looking a bit strange in the area (we were on Old Street, near to Shoreditch High Street / Kingsland Road, at this point) to stay away from them, we were greeted/accosted by a group of four guys.

Artful Dodgers // Old Street

I still had my hands full, eating the “meat and chips” as I walked, and the meeting started with one of the group asking Byron “What’s your name?” Uh-oh… this is not something you expect to be asked by someone you’re just walking by on the street. Given what I was just abou to talk to Byron about, I was instantly suspicious. I was asked my name too, I think in a bid to keep me distracted. I was trying to keep an eye on what was going on with Byron and saw what appeared to be the leader of the group give him a big hug, reaching straight for Byron‘s back pocket – not into it, just feeling the outside to see if something was there. Oh, shit… I’m trying to ignore the guy who is more or less standing between me and Byron, being wary of him coming any closer or trying to touch me, still holding my dinner, but he is successful in distracting me enough that I can’t quite follow the action. I see the group leader hand Byron his phone – some sort of (intended to be seen as) playful/friendly gesture, and I knew there was a good chance that the phone wasn’t all he’d managed to get his hands on. Byron, still fairly drunk asked somehing like “Where’d you get that?” and might have even thanked the guy… I made my way closer, raising my voice saying “Come on, man, we have to go”, putting my hand on his shoulder and trying to physically drag him away. The group of guys let him go, and walked off towards Shoreditch High Street.

Now was my chance to tell Byron what I was about to say before we were interrupted, and suggest he check his pockets. Sure enough, his wallet was gone. Byron asked what to do. I didn’t really know, and suggested he could try asking for it back. Four gangsters vs. me and a drunk guy didn’t seem like good odds if there was any (more) trouble… Byron chased after them. Seemed like a bad idea at that moment. I checked my own pockets and continued walking along, hoping I didn’t have to make an emergency call to the ambulance and/or the police. Amazingly enough, when I caught up with Byron, he’d retrieved his wallet. He thanked me repeatedly, and found that his ID was still in there and either his credit card was still in it, or he’d left it at home, I’m not sure which (and I’m not sure if he was sure).

Anyhow, Byron stll needed to get home, so I continued on with him to the bus stop on Kingsland Road to find out what bus he should take. It started to rain when we were there, so I asked another passenger if they could try to guide Byron on to the bus, which they would be getting themselves. I had to assume Byron would know where to get off (I asked him, and he seemed to think so), and I had to dash home myself in the rain (using the foam takeaway pack as a tiny attempt at sheltering myself). As I went, I hoped that Byron didn’t get done over again before making it back to his friend’s house…

-spxl

Same reason as you should question anything really, and it perhaps seems strange that I hadn’t really questioned this particular thing before that I can think of.

Anyhow, as I said, Australia’s water supplies are (typically) fluoridated. As are many or most in the USA. I’m currently  living in the UK, and it isn’t the norm here. Yet. There are current proposals to introduce water fluoridation in to more areas. One such area is Southampton, and the NHS (National Health Service) is currently conducting a “public consultaiton” about it, inviting the public to express their views. I’ll note that the views are not considered as ‘votes’, so regardless of what the public has to say, the controlling body can still decide whatever it wants.

Given the massive bias in favour of fluoridation on their website, it doesn’t take a genius to work out what they might want.

I’m not a resident of the Southampton, but I decided to take some time out to fill in the Share your views response form anyway. Someone from the University of Birmingham is supposed to read it as part of an independent review. Meanwhile, I’m posting my answers here for everyone else to see. I haven’t corrected it (except where noted), but did add hyperlinks for your (and my!) convenience).

-spxl

Share your views

Have your say: what do you think about putting fluoride in the water?

In 2009 the Board of South Central Strategic Health Authority will decide whether it is a good idea to put fluoride in the water supply. They will base their decision on research evidence, surveys, expert guidance and feedback from local people. The consultation is not a ‘vote’ so the option with the most support will not necessarily be chosen. It is more important for the Board to understand the reasons for your views and the pros and cons of putting fluoride in the water. Please spend a few minutes to let us know what you think. Feel free to attach a letter or additional pages.

1. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

Leave blank if you do not know or have no opinion.

The consultation document describes the evidence in a clear way

Response: Strongly disagree

Adjusting the level of fluoride in the water supply will help improve dental health

Response: Strongly disagree

I support increasing the level of fluoride in the water supply up to one part per million

Response: Strongly disagree

2. What are the main reasons that you support or disagree with putting fluoride in the water?

Reason 1

Essentially forcing people to take a medication or medicament is completely unethical; placing fluoride in the water supply makes it extremely difficult to avoid. This fluoridation program has been expressly indicated for relief to areas of lower socio-economic background, and as such, many of the people, even if they do want to avoid exposure to fluoride (for example those who suffer acute toxicity) will find it virtually impossible.

Reason 2

Fluorides are known poisons, and have never been proven by valid scientific research to be safe for consumption nor topical use at any concentration. Fluoridated water has also never been proven by valid scientific research to decrease the incidence of tooth decay (dental caries). There is valid scientific research that shows an INCREASE in the number of dental caries in children with an increase in the level of fluoride (the exact opposite of the intended benefit of water fluoridation), and fluoride is known to have significant health risks, especially to children and infants, the very group this program is intended to help. Even if we were to believe that fluoride was safe and that water fluoridation does decrease the level of tooth decay, the proposed program to introduce water fluoridation in some areas does not cover even most of the at-risk children this program is supposedly targeted on (as discovered by Stephen Peckham, BSc., MA(Econ).). This raises the question of, even assuming water fluoridation works, what to do about the remaining large portion of this group in need of attention.

Reason 3

Fluoride at one part per million only specifies the concentration in the water supply, and says nothing of the dose administered to any given person. Nor does it take into consideration a person’s level of fluoride exposure due to other sources, such as fluoride toothpaste, fluoride treatments from your dentist, fluoride in foods and in products such as baby formula. Even more alarmingly, the fabled “safe” 1ppm concentration is an “adult” strength which will be equally applied to children and infants. The 1ppm figure itself does not have any particular scientific basis – it is only thought to (or, more accurately, said to) provide enough “positive benefit” (keeping in mind no positive benefit has ever been proven) whilst keeping the incidence of undesirable “fluorisis” at around 10%. Even in that train of thinking, the 10% incidence of fluorisis is an underestimate, from evidence in areas that have introduced water fluoridation, and the number of people requiring expensive medical treatment for higher level fluorsis far outweighs the supposed cost reduction gained by introducing fluoridation in the first instance.

3. What are the main advantages and the main problems with putting fluoride in the water supply?

List any advantages, with most important at the top; List any problems, with most important at the top

Advantage 1

Some company/companies/persons will make a profit from dumping toxic waste into the water supply. Certainly an advantage for those involved, but not an advantage to the community.

Problem 1

Toxic waste will be dumped into the water supply. The chemicals used are not “pure” or in any sense “pharmaceutical grade” – the (already toxic) fluoride compounds put into water are often contaminated with lead, arsenic and other substances. Aside from the alarming health consequences from exposure to fluorides (from drinking water and other sources), fluorides are probably the most significant environmental pollutant; adding fluoride to the water supply is another form or source of fluoride pollution in the environment. The chemicals from water fluoridation tend to have negative impacts on infrastructure, leading to destruction of pipes and therefore additional costs and water supply problems.

Advantage 2

Fluoridating the water supply in Southampton and south west Hampshire will add weight to the argument, or public perception, of the safety and “normal” or “widespread” implementation of water fluoridation (and also the fluoridation of other products such as salt, milk, other foods and fluoride treatments), just as other existing examples of fluoridation are being used to justify the legitimacy of introducing fluoridation to the water supply in Southampton and south west Hampshire. This is an advantage to any company/companies/persons who might like to introduce (to profit from or otherwise) fluoridation in other areas and/or products, but not an advantage to the community.

Problem 2

Fluoridating the water supply in Southampton and south west Hampshire will add weight to the argument, or public perception, of the safety and “normal” or “widespread” implementation of water fluoridation (and also the fluoridation of other products such as salt, milk, other foods and fluoride treatments), just as other existing examples of fluoridation are being used to justify the legitimacy of introducing fluoridation to the water supply in Southampton and south west Hampshire. That is, the public perception of fluoride safety will be increased by the use or existence of fluoridation, absent of (and indeed contrary to) medical and scientific evidence. People will then, essentially, be a making medical desicions based on non-medical evidence, unwittingly endangering their health (and the health of those who otherwise object to fluoridation).

Advantage 3

Fluoridating the water supply in Southampton and south west Hampshire will, from historical evidence, probably increase the level of dental decay (or dental caries) in the local population (compared to not fluoridating the water supply and excluding other factors such as future increased education of access to dental treatment). This, and other adverse health efects, will be an advantage to companies/organisations/people who stand to profit from (or otherwise desire) an overall increase in the level of dental and other medical problems, supposing that the community will tend to insist that more be done to address the problem(s), but not an advantage for the community.

Problem 3

Fluoridating the water supply in Southampton and south west Hampshire will, from historical evidence, probably increase the level of dental decay (or dental caries) in the local population (compared to not fluoridating the water supply and excluding other factors such as future increased education of access to dental treatment). This is clearly in contradiction to the responsibility of the Southampton City Primary Care Trust, the organisation responsible for the health of the people in Southampton.

4. Are there any alternatives or things that health services should be doing to improve dental health?

Alternative 1

Improve access to dentists. Increase the number of dentists available to the community, and reduce the cost barrier. It is already known that access to dentists is a problem in the area, and there is no excuse not to address this problem. Almost by definition, children who don’t have their teeth checked are going to suffer from unchecked problems – if they (or the parents) are not initially made aware of the problem, the problem will almost certainly continue. Access to dentists could include the (re-)introduction of dental checks in schools so there is not additional burden for parents who might not have the time or other resources to make/attend dentist appointments.

Alternative 2

Improved education. The trend of reduction of the incidence of dental caries across the Western world has been much the same both in countries/areas that introduced water fluoridation and those that didn’t introduce water fluoridation. It is important also to note that areas that did have water fluoridation and have since stopped, did not then have an increase in the level of dental caries. The main reason for the reduction has been the increased education and awareness of dental hygiene, as well as access to dentists. Education includes not only how to properly brush/floss teeth, but also on the factors that damage teeth in the first place – notably sugar and acids, for example as found in soft drinks and many juices. The education needs also to be for the parents who supervise and care for their children and infants. The current education mentioned in the consultation document mentions “using a fluoride toothpaste”, the implication here being that the very fluoride in such toothpaste is a cause of dental problems. The rejection of water fluoridation should be a rejection of fluoride generally, especially from products for infants such as formula and baby food, both of which currently carry (in some cases) excess dosages of fluoride (under the current “recommended” dosage guidelines, noting that any fluoride at all should probably be considered excessive).

Alternative 3

Look to the health services of other European countries for advice on non-fluoride-based dental care.

Do you have any additional comments?

The information presented, both on the http://www.southcentral.nhs.uk/fluoridation/ (sub-)site and in the linked documents such as the “Water consultation fluoridation document” is extremely biased in favour of fluoridation, and cites particular favourable references that are themselves biased towards fluoridation and/or considerably dated and inaccurate.

The report, “Economic Implications of the Fluoridation of Water Supplies in Hampshire and Southampton City PCT“, is cited as “[a]n independent study, commissioned by the SHA to assess the impact on dental health of adjusting the level of fluoride”. Aside from the fact that it is not a medically based nor relevantly independent (disclaimers, “Abacus International is relying on data provided by South Central SHA”; “South Central SHA limited the scope”; it is an economic model: “By nature, Health Economic modeling is ‘assumptive’”), makes no claims as to the medical/scientific basis for water fluoridation, instead taking the given values for effectiveness of reduction of dental caries. The quoted estimate of preventing childhood decay in 36,032 “teeth” (that should be carious lesions) over a 20 year period at a cost of £11,526 (32 pence “per tooth”) is  for the a specific set of model inputs including “as estimated reduction in the incidence of carious lesions in the fluoridated area of 25%”. This is a gross misrepresentation of the report, since it is only one set of outcomes for the model.

The report’s conclusion states, “The primary driver of this analysis is the assumption that fluoridation of the water supplies in parts of Southampton City PCT and Hampshire PCT can reduce the future incidence of dental caries by 25% compared with the current level of caries incidence in Southampton City PCT.” There is no medical or scientific evidence to suggest that a 25% efficacy is supported. What else does the report say? “Reducing efficacy of fluoridation to 12%, reflecting [the] worst case scenario [supplied by South Central SHA], will result in a net cost to the NHS of £782,271 and a cost per carious lesion avoided of £45.23. The total number of carious lesions avoided is 17,296.”

Even a press release for the referenced York Review contains an admission that “water fluoridation does appear to reduce the incidence of caries (tooth decay), but it is smaller reduction than previously reported”. Later their press release indicates that they found “an average 15% reduction in tooth decay”. It is likely that the actual figure is significantly less, possibly zero.

The report’s closing words (before references, etc): “For the purpose of South Central decision making, Abacus would suggest to treat the economic picture as a cost neutral, with a potential downside of a net cost of £782k over 20 years and a potential upside of £226k dental health care cost savings.”

Overall, the report is meaningless in terms of whether or not dental decay will be reduced. It can only speak of the potential economic benefit (or additional cost) in certain cases where average efficacy is assumed.

The York Review, published in 2000, which the presented information appears to rely on heavily, claims “an average 2.25 less decayed missing and filled primary/permanent teeth amongst children living in fluoridated areas compared to non-fluoridated areas” , which is completely outrageous given that the average DMFTs for 12 year olds in many non-fluoridated countries at the present time is less than 2.

That particular example, in words taken directly from the FAQ on this site: (4.1) “Reviews of the evidence show that fluoridated water can increase the percentage of children free from tooth decay by around 15 per cent. The average decrease in the number of teeth that are decayed or filled or extracted in the studies examined was found to be 2.2 teeth.” (2.1) “The average number of decayed, missing or filled teeth for five year olds in Southampton is 1.76, compared with the national figure of 1.47.” Clearly the average of 1.76 in Southampton cannot be reduced by 2.2 to a figure below zero, and as such is complete nosense.

Another reference from the York Review: (2.1) [correction: FAQ 5.1 Is fluoride safe?] “Studies carried out by York University and the Medical Research Council systematically appraised and reviewed the scientific literature and found no evidence that fluoride added to water causes harmful side effects.” Later in the FAQ appears, (5.13) “In some developing countries where people are exposed to high levels of natural fluoride in the ground water – skeletal fluorosis is a widespread problem. Bones become weaker than normal and the bones of the legs can become deformed. Ligaments can get stiff and become less mobile.” This of course makes the first “implication of fact” (that there are no harmful side effects) glaringly disingenuous.

Fluoridation proponents often claim there is no scientific data to support claims of any ill health effects from fluoride. This claim is not true. On the flipside, there is no valid scientific data to support proponent’s claims of safety, nor of achieving the supposed dental health benefits.

It is true that a large number of dentists publicly support fluoridation, but this is likely to be more out of ignorance, or, for many, out of pressure to maintain that public support despite private reservations or objections – it is well known that dentists who have in the past spoken out against fluoride have been forced out of business. Note that is quite distinct from having any sort of rational argument; it is financial and political pressure with no sound medical or scientific basis.

Given that the purported economic costs are based on an efficacy (dictated by South Central SHA) of 25% reduction in the incidence of dental caries, and that the model, as stated in the report, is highly sensitive to the assumed estimated efficacy, if the actual efficacy is significantly less, then the proposal is a huge white elephant, at best. That is neglecting any negative health impacts that might be caused.

I will note at this point, the reference in the “Easy read” version of the consultation document, beside the photo of a man wearing a “Dentist” nametag: “Many dentists think putting fluoride in the water is a good idea”. There is no mention of “Many dentists think that fluoride is a poison that will make you ill and harms the environment.” Dentists and other health professionals have, in the past, been used to advertise all sorts of products, including cigarettes, and I find it deplorable that this depiction/propaganda (in particular) is being used against those possibly less able to understand the issues (I’m making an assumption about the target audience of the easy read document).

I do note, on a positive side, that admission of the source of the fluoridation chemicals is better than some other references (which completely deny that they are waste products of, for example, fertiliser manufacture). There is a link to “Hampshire Against Fluoridation” (http://hampshireagainstfluoridation.blogspot.com/) on the Useful Links page of the site under “Interest Groups”, but this seems a small consolation to the massive bias elsewhere throughout the site, links and related documents.

A little about you

We would like to know a little about you to make sure that we have the views of a wide range of people.

This section witheld for pricacy reasons.

Result page

Thank you for your response to the fluoridation consultation. All responses will be logged before being analysed independently by a team from the University of Birmingham. A final decision will be made by the Board of South Central Strategic Health Authority in February 2009.

If you would like to be informed of the decision made by the Board in February 2009, please send your e-mail address to fluoridation@southcentral.nhs.uk.

The Dark Ages

It seems that I’ve been accursed with darkness the past few days. First the bulb in my lamp went, then this evening my ceiling light. Grr. Off to the shops for some groceries (and light bulbs) I go. I arrive home to find a flatmate cooking in the kitchen. A minute or two later..

*blink*

Power outage.

Not paid the bills?.. Wait, it’s not just us. Okay then. Good thing I’m planning to head over to Brick Lane just now for the vjlondon.org meetup. Hopefully the power will be reconnected by the time I get back. One can hear a lot of shouting and cursing in the local neighborhood. And cars blasting their horns. I’m sure that helped loads.

I put away shopping, pack my laptop, and head off. Walking down the road I note that this power outage is quite extensive. Even as I go further down Brick Lane, no lights. It’s not until Quaker Street that there seems to be any consistent power.

Coming out of the darkness and into the light

Listening to music on the way to Cafe 1001, the refrain from one track, “It’s just another excuse!”, seemed entirely appropriate for the situation. Come on London, what else can you throw at me? Darkness? Pah!

Emerging from the blackout zone and into happy lights and fun land, when I arrived at Cafe 1001 I found Dr.Mo and some others setting up, and a documentary film crew. And people practicing Capoeira. nebulus (nebulus design on Facebook, nebulus design videos on vimeo) had his custom hardware controller and had brought two projectors, added to a third and a Triple Head To Go made for a superwide 4:1 display across the back of the club. Nice! His realtime generative 3D visuals looked pretty amazing too.

I was asked to be interivewed by the film crew, which was for a University Video Project, and which is itself to be art of a 30 minute TV show. Not sure if I’ll be on TV. I’ll let you know if I am (or will be).

After the interview I asked to connect my laptop briefly to the triple-head in order to detect the screen size, and Mo suggested to set up properly instead of just testing it. After a small amount of confusion (thinking I should see more than one external display) I was beaming out on five heads (if you include my head and the laptop screen, though these latter two didn’t display the visuals output).

Of course none of my source material is in a 4:1 aspect ratio, so I had to look for footage that wouldn’t look too odd when stretched, and was also able to trim the top and bottom of some other clips on the fly for an acceptable result.

Actually, it was better than acceptable. It was starting to look pretty rad, if you don’t mind me reviving an old schoolyard term. I was well pleased with what I was seeing, and that, really is the point of doing this sort of thing in the first place.

I also liked seeing the custom visuals nebulus was pumping out. He had one laptop closed with another sitting on top of it, subsequently repeatedly overheating the lower machine, which was a shame. He managed to get things running on a single machine, though not quite as smoothly (and with, apparently, less complex visualisations).

Overall I had a pretty good night. When I arrived home the lights were back on (and flatmates were home).

Thanks to Dr.Mo for organising the meetup, nebulus and Silent Eclipse for the projectors, Deepvisual and whoever else supplied equipment.

A mini review from Deepvisual on the vjlondon forums:

Source: Next VJ meeting – Thursday – 30th of October – Café 1001

more fun…

very few of the regulars turned up???
instead we had a surprise visit from the lovely Joanne (Silent Eclipse) and an interplanetary freak-out from Nigel (nebulus) with his astonishing planetarium visualiser software.. George ( sub pixel) then took over the triple head for a while and put Neon through its paces.
the Student film crew were out in force, I found out I had started visuals before they were all born…
and we even had a walk-in VJ who had heard in the street that there were VJs in the venue this thurs and came along.

See a video of me playing on the triple-head below.

-spxl

subpixel visuals: live at Cafe 1001 – vjlondon meetup, Thursday 30 October 2008 from subpixel on Vimeo.

Video link: Mind! Reggae Dubstep | 22 Oct 08 by spxl

I created this video from clips and photos I took at Mind! Reggae Dubstep on Wednesday night (22/Oct/2008) at The Dogstar in Brixton.

I wasn’t counting on the mindlondon.com branding across the top being made so blurry in the YouTube version, and the titles could certainly do with some improvement. I might try making a nicer overlay next time. I figured I’d already spent enough time pfaffing about, and it was time to release something!.. The render, re-encode, upload cycle takes quite a bit of patience.

-G.

And yes, I shall continue with the mind puns. I hope you don’t, er, get bothered so much by it. ;o)

I went to Denmark last week to celebrate the double birthday I share with one of my best mates. It’s a somewhat disheartening thought that I’d not seen him for a year, but while I was there I managed to forget about all the time (and troubles) in between and it felt like I’d never left, and the previous birthday was only a week or so ago. Time is a funny thing, or at least our perception of if can be. It’s all in the mind! More tangible, and certainly tastier, were the nice dinners I had – Chinese in a restaurant on Thursday, fried pork (a Danish specialty) at a friend’s house on Friday, turkey at another friend’s on Saturday – not only because of the food, but because they were occasions with friends.

-G.

-G.

MIND visuals by subpixel

MIND! :: Roots :: Reggae :: Dancehall :: Drum & Bass :: Dubstep :: Breakbeat

Music by:

• Earl Gateshead (Trojan Sound System)
• Unity Selekta

Visuals by subpixel

Wed 01 October, 10 til 2

The Dogstar. 389 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton SW9 8LQ

Directions: Exiting Brixton tube station, turn left. Turn left at Coldharbour Lane (KFC is on the corner). The Dogstar is a couple of minutes walk away on the right hand side of the road. Easy! :o)